Jessie & Arbok are on the search for Celebi and believe that you will help them accomplish their goals. They are available to players after completing the Double Trouble event. Will they find a place on your team as a good sync pair or is Jessie going to have to return to James and Meowth empty handed?
Until this pair gets a sync grid, it isn’t worth investing the resources to level them up. They’re outclassed by Koga & Crobat, the other free Poison-type sync pair who just recently gained access to their grid. Since Jessie & Arbok are available only during the event, grab them if you’ve got free time.
Jessie & Arbok Details
This sync pair was released July 9, 2020.
Role: Strike (Special)
Type: Poison
Weakness: Ground
Rarity: ★★★
This member of Team Rocket denounces the evils of truth and love, and swears her loyalty to the boss, Giovanni. James and Meowth are her eternal partners in crime.
Stats
| Jessie & Arbok | HP | ATK | DEF | SP.ATK | SP.DEF | SPD | BULK* |
| Lv. 115 | 409 | 236 | 115 | 235 | 121 | 282 | 384 |
| 5* Lv. 120 (Max Potential) | 539 | 303 | 178 | 302 | 184 | 350 | 558 |
*Calculated by: ((HP / 2.75) + DEF +SP.DEF)
Moveset
Move 1 – Acid | Poison, Special, Pokémon
Has a very small chance of lowering the target’s Sp. Def.
Power: 19 / 22 | Accuracy: 100 | Gauge: 1 | Target: All opponents | Max uses: –
Move 2 – Dire Hit | —, Status, Pokémon
Raises the user’s critical-hit rate.
Power: 0 / 0 | Accuracy: 0 | Gauge: 0 | Target: Self | Max uses: 2
Move 3 – Poison Jab | Poison, Physical, Pokémon
Has a moderate chance of leaving the target poisoned.
Power: 92 / 110 | Accuracy: 100 | Gauge: 3 | Target: An opponent | Max uses: –
Move 4 – Blast Off! | —, Status, Trainer
Removes all status conditions from the user. Sharply raises the user’s Attack and Sp. Atk. Lowers the user’s Defense and Sp. Def.
Power: 0 / 0 | Accuracy: 0 | Gauge: 0 | Target: Self | Max uses: 2
Sync Move: Prepare for Trouble Acid | Poison, Special, Pokémon
No additional effect.
Power: 250 / 300 | Accuracy: 0 | Gauge: 0 | Target: An opponent | Max uses: –
Passives
Passive 1 – Toxic Power 5
Powers up moves when the target is poisoned or badly poisoned.
How good is Jessie & Arbok?
There’s potential. As a strike sync pair, they are able to buff, but not max, Arbok’s critical hit, Attack, and Sp. Attack, all things a good damage dealer needs. Each of their abilities works together well to boost damage in some way. But, like many of the sync pairs without a grid, their true value won’t be revealed until later.
Acid uses Arbok’s Sp. Attack, but its power is negligible. Its greatest benefit is the ability to potentially lower the Sp. Defense of all opponents. It only costs one bar on the move gauge, so it’s easy enough to repeatedly use. Lowered Sp. Attack will only affect Acid and the pair’s sync move, Prepare for Trouble Acid.
Poison Jab uses Arbok’s Attack and has a moderate chance to poison the target. Their passive ability Toxic Power 5 will increase move damage against poisoned or badly poisoned targets, but there are easier and cheaper ways to inflict status effects. Poison Jab uses three bars, so you may have few chances to capitalize on their passive ability.
Critical-hit rate can only go up to +3, so using Dire Hit twice will get you most of the way there. Jessie’s Trainer move, Blast off! gives both attacks +2 and both defenses -1 with each use. Jessie & Arbok are a self-sufficient pair which opens up more possibilities for your team, but they don’t particularly shine at being a striker.
Once Jessie & Arbok have a sync grid, they could find themselves in battle more often, but for now, it’s best to get the pair and only throw materials at them when you have extra to spare.