Greninja

Last updated: 2026-06-03

Greninja Overview

Greninja is a Water/Dark-type Pokemon introduced in Generation 6 in the Kalos region. It evolves from Frogadier starting at level 36, which evolves from Froakie, the Water-type starter of Kalos. Greninja is known as the Ninja Pokemon, and its design draws from the concept of a ninja combined with a frog — its tongue is wrapped around its neck like a scarf, and it throws water stars made of compressed water.

Greninja gained massive popularity due to its appearance in the Pokemon anime, where Ash Ketchum's Froakie evolved into a special Greninja capable of transforming into Ash-Greninja through the Battle Bond ability. This form changes Greninja's appearance and boosts its stats. In battles, Greninja uses its incredible speed to strike first with powerful Water and Dark-type moves. Its signature move, Water Shuriken, was upgraded in the anime to a high-speed multi-hit attack, and in the games it always moves first when used by Ash-Greninja.

Battle Strategy

Greninja has been a top-tier competitive Pokemon since its introduction in Generation 6. Its base 122 Speed lets it outpace most of the unboosted metagame, while 103 Special Attack provides solid offensive pressure. The Protean ability, prior to its nerf in Generation 9, was Greninja's main draw — it changed Greninja's type to match the move it was about to use, granting same-type attack bonus on every move and unpredictable defensive typing.

In Generation 9, Protean now activates only once per switch-in, but Greninja remains a threat. A standard special set runs Hydro Pump or Surf as Water STAB, Dark Pulse for Dark STAB, Ice Beam for coverage against Dragon and Grass-types, and either Extrasensory for Fighting-types or Grass Knot for Water and Ground-types. Greninja can use a Life Orb to maximize damage output, or a Focus Sash to guarantee survival against faster threats and OHKO back with the right coverage move.

The Battle Bond variant transforms Greninja into Ash-Greninja after securing a knockout. Ash-Greninja has base 132 Special Attack, 153 Speed, and 100 Special Defense — significantly bulkier and faster. Water Shuriken becomes a priority move that hits 2-5 times, making it excellent for breaking Focus Sashes and Multi-Scale. This form is particularly effective in longer battles where Greninja can secure a KO early and then sweep.

Evolution Chain

Competitive Usage

In VGC regulation sets, Greninja sees sporadic usage due to its frailty and the prevalence of bulky Water-types like Dondozo and Gastrodon. Its best role is as a fast special attacker with Mat Block support — Mat Block, a signature move, protects the entire team from damaging moves on the first turn of use, which is extremely valuable for setting up Trick Room or Tailwind. Greninja pairs well with Rillaboom, whose Grassy Terrain boosts Greninja's survivability. In Smogon OU, Greninja has been a staple in every generation it has appeared. Its Speed tier allows it to outrun threats like Garchomp, Landorus-T, and Dragapult. Common counters include Toxapex, which resists Water and Dark and can inflict Toxic, and bulky Fairy-types like Azumarill and Clefable that resist Dark and threaten back with super effective moves.

Greninja's versatility is its primary strength. It can run physical sets with Gunk Shot, Knock Off, and U-turn to surprise specially-defensive checks. A Choice Specs set turns Hydro Pump into a nuke that OHKOes many neutral targets. While Greninja's Defense and Special Defense are mediocre, its Speed and movepool make it one of the most flexible offensive Pokemon in the game.

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