POTW Pokémon of the Week #72: Gallade

Zachie · Dec 17, 2017

In the World of Pokémon, there lives a vast number and variety of amazing creatures to befriend and collect. Every week, we will be focusing on a single one of these Pokémon or evolutionary line and talking about what makes it special. This week's Pokémon of choice is Gallade!

Alright, listen up, because I’m about to learn you a thing about why Gallade is the best freaking Pokemon that came from Gen IV & why you should all run it at least once. Gallade is a secondary evolution of Kirlia which evolves at any level via use of a Dawn Stone, however it must be a male in order to evolve (and it can also evolved into Gardevoir at level 30 if you’re not careful, but we’re not here to talk about that wimp!). It is a freaking BEAST with a base stat total of 518 (618 when Mega Evolved) and a max attack stat of 383 (471 when mega evolved). Throw in a couple of Swords Dances, and you will sweep the opponents team as easily as pushing one of its many physical attacking moves.

It has access to a shit tonne of excellent moves, and you might say something like “Zachie, what about its weaknesses?” and I’ll say “Just listen and learn.” Gallade is 2x weak to flying, but it can also learn both Ice Punch & Thunder Punch, which coupled with an Electric Surge from Tapu Koko turns it into an absolute sweeping beast. A little less impressively, but true nonetheless, Gallade is 2x weak to Ghost, but can learn Night Slash to beat those Ghosts back to the afterlife. It’s last 2x weakness is to Fairy, and Gallade shows no sign of backing down here with access to the beautiful move known as Poison Jab. But it doesn’t end there.. Gallade has access to Shadow Sneak, Night Slash, Leaf Blade, Destiny Bond, Thunderbolt, and Psycho Cut to name just a few. To top all of this off, Gallade has a maximum speed stat of 284 (350 when Mega Evolved) which means that speed isn’t really a problem for this beast of a Pokemon.

Now, you’ve heard a lot about why Gallade is an absolute beast of a Pokemon.. But let’s talk a little about how badass it is in the story of the franchise. You might remember a little wimp named Wally from Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and how he caught a Ralts which ended up being a Gardevoir.. Well, in Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, Wally saw the error of his ways and by the climax of the story he ends up with a beautiful Mega Gallade, and boy is it powerful. In the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl anime you might remember someone by the name of Zoey and she also brought the beast to the Grand Festival where it managed to take down Dawn in the finals. It can fight, it can perform, what more could you ever want in a Pokemon?

Since Gallade is a really fun Pokemon, why don’t we learn a couple fun facts about the Pokemon?

Gallade & Gardevoir have the opposite Attack/Special Attack totals
Gallade & Gardevoir are the only Pokemon from the same evolution line that can both Mega Evolve!
Gallade's number in the Sinnoh Pokédex (Platinum only) and the Almia Browser (Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia) are the same: 160.
His mega evolution bears a pretty nice resemblance to a certain Yu-Gi-Oh! Character, does he not?

Here are some questions to consider to get conversation rolling. You don't have to answer all of them or any of them in your post as long as you're staying on topic and within global forum rules.

Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
How is this Pokémon in-game?
How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
Do you prefer Gallade or Gardevoir?
Do you prefer him Mega Evolved or regular?
Do you think Gallade should get its own Z-Move?

If you have any suggestions for Pokémon you'd like to discuss in the future just leave your ideas at the bottom of your post. Make sure you give your thoughts about the current Pokémon first!

Thanks to @CrystaI and @CynthiaLover for suggesting this Pokémon of the Week!

Previous Pokémon of the Week:

CrystaI · Dec 17, 2017

YEEEEAH!!! One of my favorite pokemon finally come to the PoTW corner! ＊\(^o^)/＊ HOORAY!!!
Also a little bonus for the eccentric writing style of this week...... Well at least it is "memorably special" in another sense.

OK, who doesn't like Gallade? Raise your hand so I can beat you up. Anyone who dislike this pokemon is just utter evil and should be banned forever from Pokemon games.

Why I like it so much? Well basically it was mostly just like it was explained by the OP, Gallade is just TOOOO powerful competitively! Although I didn't play any games from GenVI onward, but in GenIV and GenV games, it was the greatest contributor and best performer in helping me completing the Battle Frontier. I can't imagine my result if I didn't have it in my team.

But competitive strength wasn't really the most major reason why I like this pokemon so much. His character design and aesthetics, also his natural romantic knight-like characteristics that resembles human being unlike any other animalistic pokemon is what drew me most into this pokemon. Whether you were a girl dreamed of some knightly prince, or a boy fantasized yourself as nobleman with some loyal Victorian butler-like servant underneath, Gallade served that role (despite it is not a human but pokemon, though). Just a little side note, Gallade is the main pokemon held by one of the two main protagonist within my current fanfic.

In the case of comparing Gallade with Gardevoir...... Well IMO this will be a tie. As much as I like Gallade, I also like Gardevior equally. They are polar opposite of each other yet they are not mutually exclusive against one another, rather the two are a perfect couple balancing the weakness and bring out the strength of each other. Oh and again a little side note, in Pixiv and Deviantart, there were quite many illustrations that features both of them, most are portrayed as the perfect partners or a romantic couple. Though of course at the same time, there came the joke of if the Gardevoir is male then the pairing Gallade is...... you don't need me to tell you the answer, do you?

ocelotlrama jaguar · Dec 17, 2017

Gallade is awesome. While I don't like it as much as Gardevoir, I still think it is really cool. Its look screams "chivalry." That's just really cool. In-game, it is amazing and can pretty much handle things all on his own if you decided to just blaze through the game with one Pokemon. In the competitive scene, he is outclassed by Gardevoir, but he is still tricky enough that he can catch opponents off-guard. Mega Gallade, with his high speed and massive attack power, can really pack a punch. Not a shabby Pokemon at all, and if you prefer speed, Mega Gallade would be a much better asset than Mega Gardevoir, despite not having a Fairy-type to offset the ridiculous amount of Dragons that appear in the competitive scene. Oh well, teach it Ice Punch and wreak lots of hacov.

Gallade had some nice moments in the anime. Exactly how I expected it to be with his chivalrous nature.

If this Pokemon were to exist in our world, it would be one of the most sophisticated and less-feral of all the Pokemon. Courteous yet deadly when the situation calls for it, but deadly in a sense that it feels the need for violence as a last resort.

I really wouldn't change anything about Gallade. He has a large movepool and his Mega form really amps up his stats. Maybe I would change the Mega form's ability to something a little bit more useful, but Inner Focus is still great.

Mentioned before, I prefer Gardevoir only because of the Fairy-typing can be especially useful. However, I only prefer it by millimeters more than Gallade. Gallade is a really good Pokemon.

Mega Evolved gives him a massive boost in critical stats. The downside is that his defenses aren't stellar, but they pack more power into his attacks and give him more Speed. If given the option, I will still go for his original form, if need be, especially if I can use a Mega that is much more useful in providing backup for the entire team.

A Gallade/Gardevoir Z-move would be fabulous.

Zexy · Dec 18, 2017

Do you like or dislike this Pokémon? Why?
Like. It's awesome.
How is this Pokémon in-game?
Never attempted to use it but I'd guess it is good like Gardevoir, if not better.
How is this Pokémon in competitive play? Are there any interesting strategies you like to use for them?
Haven't tried it there either but I think I've seen some suggested sets for it a while ago.
Do you like this Pokémon's representation in the anime? Are there any moments or qualities in particular you enjoy/dislike?
Zoey using it in the Sinnoh Grand Festival final was its one great moment. Another notable thing about that one appearance is, as explained in the Trivia section of Bulbapedia's article for DP177:

Gallade's appearance in this episode means that (with the expected exception of Porygon-Z who wouldn't appear until a few years later) all non-Legendary Generation IV Pokémon have appeared in an episode of the anime at some point.

I feel like this made it feel even more special. Like a last boss kind of thing.
How do you think this Pokémon would interact with our world?
People would think it is cool.
If given the power to, would you change anything about this Pokémon and if so, what would you change?
Even more physical-oriented stats, better Ability (especially for Mega).
Do you prefer Gallade or Gardevoir?
It's a really really hard pick at this point. When it got introduced, I liked it more as it had a secondary type when Gardevoir didn't. Then Gen VI came in and gave Gardevoir a second typing (that might be cooler than Gallade's), a Mega (Gallade didn't have one yet) and focus as Champion Diantha's main Pokemon, so Gardevoir won over. But then ORAS came in with Mega Gallade and Wally's main Pokemon getting changed, so they got even. And now with Pokemon GO, Gardevoir's available, rare and useful while Gallade's not available yet... so the former is starting to win me over again.
Do you prefer him Mega Evolved or regular?
Mega Evolved.
Do you think Gallade should get its own Z-Move?
To be honest no, as it got a Mega.

Camille · Jul 8, 2021

Absolutely love Gallade. I like him a little better than Gardevoir, although Mega Gardevoir>>>Mega Gallade. I used him once in my Platinum playthrough and he was great, although lacking Close Combat for a long while was rough. I think Mega Gallade could have had a better Ability, but now that Inner Focus has been buffed, I don't mind it (shame the Megas are no longer in Sword/Shield).

POTW Pokémon of the Week #72: Gallade

DO YOU LOVE GALLADE?

Yes

YES

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Zachie

Admoonistrator

CrystaI

The Pokemon Observer

ocelotlrama jaguar

Fluffy with 80% more spots!

Zexy

Quaxly Boy

Camille

Call of Fate

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