Which Pokémon should you train first, how do you build a team, how do you save your hearts and jewels? This page gathers our advice for getting ahead in Pokémon Shuffle, along with the list of Pokémon that reach the game’s highest power.
Building your team
- A Mega Pokémon in the lead: its effect often does more damage than the rest of the team combined. Choose it first for its effect, then for its type.
- The opponent’s type: a super effective Pokémon doubles its damage; a not very effective one halves it. Avoid Pokémon that are resisted.
- Complementary skills: an offensive skill (Power of 4, Hyper Punch, Dragon Talon…), a skill that deals with the opponent’s disruptions (Block Smash, Barrier Bash, Rock Break) and, if possible, a Mega Boost of your Mega Pokémon’s type.
- The Auto button builds a team for you; handy early on, it is no substitute for a team chosen to match the opponent. It is disabled in Safari stages.
Playing your moves well
- Play from the bottom: a link at the bottom of the grid makes more Pokémon fall and gives you more chances at a combo.
- Look for links of four and five: they multiply damage by 1.5 and 2, and trigger the Power of 4 and Power of 5 skills.
- Anticipate disruptions: the opponent’s counter shows when it will strike; clear the grid beforehand.
- Don’t waste moves: every remaining move increases the catch rate and counts toward the S rank.
Saving hearts, coins and jewels
- Hearts regenerate every thirty minutes up to five: play in short sessions rather than buying more.
- Coins: stage 37, Meowth, and the weekend Meowth special stage earn coins with every match.
- Jewels are rare: save them for the challenges at the start of the month, for legendary Pokémon in special stages and for important catches.
- Items: Complexity -1 and Mega Start are worth their price against opponents with a low catch rate; there is no point spending them on a stage that is already easy.
Where to invest upgrade items
Raise Max Level and Skill Booster items are rare: give them to a small number of Pokémon that you will use everywhere. The best candidates have a high maximum power and a skill that is useful in most stages. Here are the Pokémon that reach a power of 145 or 150, according to the game’s data:
| Pokémon | Type | Skill | Power (base → max) | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xerneas | Fairy | Volatile+ (hidden: Power of 4) | 80 → 145 | EX 18; special stage |
| Yveltal | Dark | Power of 5 (hidden: Block Smash+) | 80 → 145 | EX 19; special stage |
| Mewtwo | Psychic | Swap (hidden: Power of 4, Mind Zap) | 80 → 145 | EX 20; special stage; Present |
| Primal Kyogre | Water | Rock Return α | 90 → 150 | stage 700 (and UX) |
| Primal Groudon | Ground | Barrier Return Ω | 90 → 150 | EX 53 |
| Genesect | Bug | Horde (hidden: Link 4 ↑, Fighting Spirit) | 80 → 145 | EX 21; special stage |
| Victini | Psychic | Hitting Streak (hidden: Last-Ditch Effort) | 80 → 145 | special stage |
| Dialga | Steel | Block Smash+ (hidden: Crushing Step) | 80 → 145 | special stage; Super Daily Pokémon; day 6 |
| Palkia | Water | Barrier Bash+ (hidden: Whirlwind) | 80 → 145 | special stage; Super Daily Pokémon; day 6 |
| Arceus | Normal | Normal Combo | 90 → 150 | special stage |
| Cresselia | Psychic | Barrier Bash+ (hidden: Eject++) | 80 → 145 | Escalation battle; Super Daily Pokémon; special stage; day 6 |
| Garchomp | Ground | Dragon Talon (hidden: Mega Boost+) | 80 → 145 | Safari Pokémon no. 3; Safari Pokémon no. 27 |
| Darkrai | Dark | Sleep (hidden: Terror+) | 80 → 145 | Escalation battle |
| Regigigas | Normal | Hyper Punch (hidden: Send Back) | 90 → 150 | special stage |
| Reshiram | Fire | Barrier Bash+ (hidden: Barrier Bash++) | 80 → 145 | special stage |
| Zekrom | Electric | Block Smash+ (hidden: Block Smash X) | 80 → 145 | special stage |
| White Kyurem | Dragon | Eject++ (hidden: Barrier Return) | 90 → 150 | special stage |
| Black Kyurem | Dragon | Swap++ (hidden: Block Return) | 90 → 150 | special stage |
| Hydreigon | Dark | Swap+ | 80 → 145 | EX 41; special stage |
| Solgaleo | Steel | Steel Combo | 80 → 145 | special stage |
| Lunala | Ghost | Ghost Combo | 80 → 145 | special stage |
| Silvally | Normal | Any-Type Combo | 80 → 145 | special stage |
| Necrozma | Psychic | Demolition | 80 → 145 | special stage |
| Kommo-o | Dragon | Horde+ | 80 → 145 | special stage |
| Marshadow | Ghost | Hide-and-Seek | 80 → 145 | special stage |
Many of them are legendary Pokémon from special stages: keep an eye out for their return in the rotation. The full list, with the power of each Pokémon, is in our Pokémon list.
Unlocking EX and UX stages
EX stages require S ranks: replay the easy regular stages to earn them with a well-trained Pokémon. UX stages require 500 S ranks and a win at stage 700. See EX Stages and UX Stages.
Bugs and quirks from the time
- Shortly after release, version 1.0.2 of February 20, 2015 fixed a bug that allowed you to use every Pokémon, and version 1.1 of March 6 fixed a bug that gave hearts and coins without paying.
- During the Mega Venusaur competition, a patch prevented players from going back to the HOME menu in the middle of a stage, a technique used to improve scores.
- In March 2016, version 1.3.3 fixed a bug that doubled the rewards of Mission Cards.
