The best moveset for Empoleon in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

Out of all of the Sinnoh starters, Piplup is the one who ends up with the most unique typing. The Water and Steel-type Empoleon is a fantastic Pokémon who can demolish opposing teams with ease. High stats help this cause but it really comes down to the moveset that players give Empoleon in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. 

Empoleon has a diverse move pool but players should stick with these four moves for their journey through Sinnoh in the latest Nintendo Switch adventure.

As with any starter, you want to make use of Empoleon’s typing and its stats as well. It has a high Special Attack and a wide variety of items to improve a single move typing even more. For Empoleon’s moveset, we’ve chosen two moves to give it a Same Type Attack Bonus and two others to help cover its weaknesses. 

• Surf
• Earthquake 
• Ice Beam 
• Flash Cannon 

With this moveset, you have three 100 accuracy moves that can carry you through any battle. Surf, Ice Beam and Earthquake might not be the most powerful moves but we’ve decided to go with accuracy over power. If you want the power instead, swap them with Hydro Pump and Blizzard or use one or the other. 

Surf is an obvious choice, as it’s a high-power, special attack Water-type move with 15 total power points. With Empoleon’s high Sp. Atk stat, Surf comes in clutch more times than one. This also applies to Ice Beam, which can cover Empoleon’s weakness to Ground-types. 

Speaking of Ground-types, we’ve gone with Earthquake to give Empoleon some coverage against Electric-types, one of its other weaknesses. Earthquake is the best Ground move in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Empoleon can still make great use out of it even though it’s a physical move. 

Finally, we’re left with Flash Cannon. This is arguably the best Steel-type move in Sinnoh and it allows Empoleon to make use of its Steel-typing. While its accuracy isn’t 100, it’s still high enough to warrant using it in high-profile situations. 

Overall, a fantastic and versatile choice to kick off your adventure around the Sinnoh region.

• Read more: How to find the TM for Flash in Pokémon BDSP

Featured image courtesy of Nintendo / The Pokémon Company.