Pokémon Masters: Is it Worth Rolling for Serena & Fennekin?

Serena & Fennekin are a Tech sync pair that face steep competition from other Fire-types, but are they worth waking up your gems?

Yes, don’t hit snooze on this sync pair! Their ability to cast Hypnosis and affect all opponents is a safe way to set up your Strike sync pair and deal out the damage. Their stats don’t stand out, but Fennekin’s attacks can leech an opponent dry. With a sync grid full of goodies, Serena & Fennekin have the potential to become a staple in many teams.

Serena & Fennekin Details

This Sync Pair was released June 30, 2020.

Role: Tech
Type: Fire
Weakness: Ground
Rarity: ★★★★★

This accomplished Trainer from the Kalos region puts her opponents to sleep to gain the upper hand!

Stats

Serena & DelphoxHPATKDEFSP.ATKSP.DEFSPDBULK*
Lv. 120625126134269154340515
Max Potential725166174309194380631

*Calculated by: ((HP / 2.75) + DEF +SP.DEF)

Moveset

Move 1 – Fire Spin | Fire, Special, Pokémon
Leaves the target trapped.
Power: 38 / 45 | Accuracy: 85 | Gauge: 2 | Target: An opponent | Max uses: –

Move 2 – Hypnosis | Psychic, Status, Pokémon
Puts the target to sleep.
Power: 0 / 0 | Accuracy: 75 | Gauge: 2 | Target: An opponent | Max uses: –

Move 3 – Can’t Stop Us! | —, Status, Trainer
Removes all status conditions from the user. Sharply raises the user’s Sp. Atk. Raises the user’s accuracy.
Power: 0 / 0 | Accuracy: 0 | Gauge: 0 | Target: Self | Max uses: 2

Move 4 – Overheat | Fire, Special, Pokémon
Sharply lowers the user’s Sp. Atk.
Power: 136 / 163 | Accuracy: 90 | Gauge: 3 | Target: An opponent | Max uses: –

Sync Move: Mystical Fire of Positivity | Fire, Special, Pokémon
Its power increases if the target is asleep.
Power: 200 / 240 | Accuracy: 0 | Gauge: 0 | Target: An opponent | Max uses: –

Passives

Passive 1 – Stat Leech 4
Has a good chance of lowering the target’s Attack, Defense, Sp. Atk, Sp. Def, Speed, accuracy, or evasiveness at random when an attack is successful. Raises the user’s stat by the same amount.

Passive 2 – Good Night-mare 5
Powers up moves when the target is asleep.

Passive 3 – Go Viral 9
When a status move is used to inflict a status condition on an opponent, inflicts the same status condition on all opposing sync pairs.

Is it worth rolling for Serena & Fennekin?

Yes, they’re a well-rounded Tech sync pair capable of inflicting sleep on all opponents and they can deal out the damage against snoozing Pokémon.

Sync pairs, particularly Fire-type sync pairs, are often compared to Red & Charizard to determine their value. While Fennekin’s Sp. Attack is unimpressive compared to Charizard, he is also able to self-buff with Serena’s trainer move, Can’t Stop Us! It clears status conditions, raises Fennekin’s Sp Attack +2 and accuracy +1.

The passive ability Stat Leech 4 can lower a target’s stat and raise Fennekin’s by an equal amount. This happens with both attacking moves, meaning the sync pair becomes more powerful with longer battles. They can steal all six primary stats, plus evasion and accuracy.

What makes this sync pair unique is Go Viral 9 paired with Hypnosis. If Fennekin puts one opponent to sleep, all other opponents are also put to sleep. Hypnosis costs two move gauge bars and has an accuracy of 75 percent, but it is endlessly repeatable.

Pick up Dynamic Entry in the sync grid and Fennekin’s first move is a sure hit. With the right timing, opponents may never have a chance to attack and your team can progress through the halls in the Battle Villa without damage and without using Trainers’ moves.

Against sleeping opponents, their sync move Mystical Fire of Positivity has increased power and grabbing the sync tile for Rude Awakening 5 will further boost its power. The Good Night-mare 5 passive ability increases the power of moves and it has sync tiles to make this ability more effective.

For opponents that are immune or break out of sleep quickly, Fire Spin can leave them trapped. It doesn’t work with Go Viral and trapped only damages opponents when they use attacking moves. Generally, a sync build will want to focus on one and not the other–Hypnosis being the clear winner.

Fennekin’s best damaging move is Overheat, which will sharply lower his Sp. Attack each time. Can’t Stop Us! will offset some of the stat reduction and Stat Leech 4 could help, but locked behind sync level 3 is Impervious. Grabbing that sync tile prevents any of Fennekin’s stats from being lowered.

This sync pair is highly desirable for their versatility. They can boost their stats–most importantly accuracy–and lower an opponent’s. They can inflict sleep on the entire opposing team or trap one opponent. Their highly-damaging move can have its downside negated.

You should absolutely roll for this Kalos Trainer and her Pokémon during their Spotlight Scout. They are immediately useful at sync level 1, and only get better as their sync grid is unlocked. They don’t replace Red & Charizard, however, Serena & Fennekin complement the most powerful Trainer.

Deric Kwok

Games are a longtime passion of mine starting from childhood when my mother bought me my very own Gameboy Color. I’ve been gaming ever since. I’m a self-proclaimed jack of all trades, with what I consider a wide skill set ranging from programming to photography. As the saying goes, a master of none is oftentimes better than a master of one.

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