Psyshock vs Psychic

Psyshock vs Psychic

Since Psyshock was introduced back in Generation 5, the move Psychic has fallen in usage drastically. But is Psyshock the better move? Lets have a look at both moves a bit more closely. 

Lets start with the original move Psychic shall we? 

Psychic was introduced in Generation 1 as the strongest Psychic type move available, which was a big deal at the time given psychics dominance over the other types as steel and dark were not yet implemented. Psychic has a base power of 95 (90 as of Gen 6) and has a 10% chance to lower the targets special defence by one stage. Pretty standard fare compared to Psyshocks interesting mechanics.

Psyshock was introduced in Generation 5 and was favoured over Psychic for its unique ability (not counting Secret sword) to hit targets on their defence stat and not their special defense. This would allow, say, Latios to break through Pokemon like Blissey and nowadays Assault Vest wearing Pokemon. Sounds like a sweet deal, although the drawback is a base power of 80 instead of 90.

Looking at the VGC15 metagame, and more specifically the top 12 most used Pokemon according to the PGL  doubles ladder, we can run calculations to see which is the better choice if you choose to use a psychic type Pokemon such as latios/latias/cresselia. 

I'll start by showing calcs on all 12 of the Pokemon listed as the most used so brace yourself. I'll be using a Life Orb Latios as the attacking Pokemon in these calcs.

Mega Kangaskhan:

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psychic vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan: 101-121 (55.8 - 66.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 90-107 (49.7 - 59.1%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

Landorus-T:

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psychic vs. 44 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 121-144 (71.1 - 84.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 44 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T: 99-117 (58.2 - 68.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Sylveon:

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psychic vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Sylveon: 79-95 (39.1 - 47%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Sylveon: 126-149 (62.3 - 73.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Talonflame:

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psychic vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Talonflame: 134-160 (87 - 103.8%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Talonflame: 118-140 (76.6 - 90.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Bisharp: Yeah I'm not calcing this.

Gengar: This neither.

Charizard-Y: 

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psychic vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 87-105 (47 - 56.7%) -- 85.9% chance to 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard Y: 109-130 (58.9 - 70.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Thundurus-I:

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psychic vs. 252 HP / 44 SpD Thundurus: 113-134 (60.7 - 72%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 156+ Def Thundurus: 87-105 (46.7 - 56.4%) -- 81.3% chance to 2HKO

Terrakion:

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psychic vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Terrakion: 218-260 (130.5 - 155.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 198-234 (118.5 - 140.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

I'll do this one without a LO as well since its pretty important.

252 SpA Latios Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 152-180 (91 - 107.7%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Latios Psychic vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Terrakion: 168-200 (100.5 - 119.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Amoonguss:

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 236+ Def Amoonguss: 164-195 (74.2 - 88.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psychic vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Amoonguss: 242-283 (109.5 - 128%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Rotom-W:

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psychic vs. 252 HP / 148+ SpD Rotom-W: 75-91 (47.7 - 57.9%) -- 94.9% chance to 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 44 Def Rotom-W: 82-97 (52.2 - 61.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Heatran: Not really relevant so I'll do a common AV user instead.

Conkeldurr: 

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psychic vs. 252 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Conkeldurr: 187-221 (88.2 - 104.2%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Latios Psyshock vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Conkeldurr: 187-221 (88.2 - 104.2%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

So the majority of the most used Pokemon are hit harder, most notably Amoonguss, Terrakion, Landorus and Kangaskhan. A few of these Pokemon have equal defensive stats and that's where the base power of Psychic triumphs over Psyshocks. The AV Conkeldurr calc is interesting as both attacks do the same damage, so the 'I hit AV users harder' argument kinda flies out the window on this particular occasion. 

Honestly I prefer Psychic since hitting a bunch of Pokemon just a little bit harder can make all the difference. Sure Pokemon like Sylveon will become much harder to deal with using Psychic, but I'll happily make that trade off if it means I can 2hko/Ohko seven Pokemon instead of 2hko'ing one. Another point I'd like to make is that in a format infested with powerful Physical attackers, Pokemon are more likely to invest in the defense stat, making psychic a much more viable option in my opinion.

Long story short. USE PSYCHIC