After the success of the first Pokémon Stadium, and that of the Pokémon franchise in general, an updated sequel with all the content from the Johto region was inevitable. Pokémon Stadium 2, released in 2000, made several changes compared to the original game that set it apart.
The most notable difference between Stadium and Stadium 2 was the variety of rental Pokémon available. While featuring new entries from Johto, players were also able to access Legendary Pokémon, which significantly changed the gameplay experience. Since players today only have access to rentals in the Nintendo Switch Online release, this one difference causes several ripple effects in the way the game is balanced.
10 Tyranitar is a Well-Rounded Brawler
This Kaiju-Like Pokémon is as Scary as it Looks
With an incredibly well-balanced spread of stats, Tyranitar is an excellent support Pokémon that can work on any team. Tyranitar can pick up the slack left by other Pokémon with its high stats across the board, with especially great survivability due to its high HP, Defense, and Special Defense. This allows it to be a durable switch-in that can help deal with pressure from enemy teams. Assisting this is Tyranitar's defensive typing, which resists many common attacking types like Fire and Psychic.
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Interestingly, this rental Tyranitar is set up for support, which is a strategic decision that can help bring the powerful Gen II Pokémon's strengths into focus. Sandstorm can help set up the field and interfere with enemy defenses, which can greatly benefit teams that have options to deal with constant damage. Additionally, moves like Mud-Slap and Leer can give Tyranitar and its team an edge against fast and defensive Pokémon.
9 Blissey Tanks All Possible Damage
The Best Offense is a Perfect Defense
In every appearance across the Pokémon series, Blissey is defined by survivability. This mainly comes from its huge pool of HP, especially due to Pokémon Stadium 2's rental Pokémon each being level 100. Blissey's HP stat makes it an insurmountable wall that can deal with any damage outside of super-effective moves. This makes Blissey the perfect switch-in, allowing players to take their less-durable Pokémon out of the line of fire and restrategize. Blissey is invaluable as a buffer against enemies that may take advantage of a team's weaknesses.
Pokémon Stadium 2's rental Blissey's moveset can wear down enemies int he Gym Leader Castle and win by outlasting its opponent. Defense Curl boosts its already-high Defense and gives Blissey even more time to work with, while Flash makes it harder for the enemy team to hurt Blissey at all. Its attacking moves— Thunder and Egg Bomb—cover a wide range of type resistances.
8 Pinsir is an Excellent Physical Attacker
High Damage Makes This Pokémon a Threat
With its high physical stats, Pinsir is a great choice for a primary attacker on many teams. Its high Attack stat makes it a good pick when players need a Fighting-type specialist to deal with certain type matchups. Additionally, its Bug typing makes it resistant to powerful Psychic types, giving it an important niche against many enemy teams. By using these defenses, Pinsir can take advantage of its Attack stat to steamroll its opposition.
Pokémon Stadium 2's rental Pinsir also comes with a diverse moveset that supports its strengths. Focus Energy is a great tool that allows Pinsir to increase its critical hit rate, making its attacks that much more powerful. It primarily uses Vicegrip and Submission, two strong attacks that leave enemies at a significant disadvantage. For type matchups that aren't receptive to Normal or Fighting-type moves, Pinsir has Fury Cutter as a weakness-covering attack.
7 Kingdra Has Versatile Stats
Well-Balanced and has Great Utility
As one of the few Dragon-type representatives that existed at Pokémon Stadium 2's release, Kingdra is a well-rounded Pokémon that can fit on many Gym Leader Castle teams. Mainly, its highly balanced stats give it plenty of flexibility while holding many options, giving it the ability to defend and attack at once. Additionally, its Water and Dragon typing has utility against common attacking types like Fire, allowing Kingdra to keep many powerful attackers in check.
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Kingdra is equipped with moves that keep its offense going. The rental Kingdra in Pokémon Stadium 2 can take advantage of Leer to begin its pressure on the enemy team. For attacks, it mainly uses Twister and Waterfall. These moves both cover a wide variety of type advantages as well as simply being powerful in their own right, which is amplified by Kingdra's excellent stats. Frustration is also a great option when all else fails.
6 Skarmory is a Speedy Tank
A Unique Stat Spread Makes for an Overwhelming Offense
Skarmory has the special trait of having both high Defense and Speed, making it a jack-of-all-trades in battle. It's able to overwhelm opponents with fast attacks without fearing retribution from most Pokémon. By using this, players can outspeed the enemy team and deal with battles rapidly, leading to less time spent healing or defending. When used in the right places, Skarmory's unique stat distribution can make it a dominating force in any Pokémon Stadium 2 Gym Leader Castle fight.
Skarmory doesn't just use raw power, and the rental Skarmory uses its wide move pool to create a self-buffing moveset. Agility makes Skarmory's Speed even more overpowering, allowing for attacks to be dealt out even more aggressively. It even has Fly, which can be used to evade damage if used properly. Rounding out its kit are Steel Wing and Fury Attack, which give Skarmory excellent type coverage that makes it useful against many different Pokémon.
5 Typhlosion Doesn't Let Go of Momentum
This Pokémon Can't Be Stopped
As Johto's most popular starter Pokémon, Typhlosion is powerful even outside of its excellent utility in the main game of Pokémon Gold & Silver. This mainly comes in its high stats, with great Speed, HP, and attacking stats. This makes Typhlosion a great pick to cover the many advantages of the Fire-type, as it can back up an entire team with its defensive capabilities. While it has many type weaknesses due to its single typing, it makes up for this by walling out disadvantaged opponents and shrugging off attacks outside of types like Water or Ground.
Pokémon Stadium 2's rental Typhlosion has a balanced moveset for the Gym Leader Castle that emphasizes its strengths. Smokescreen is an option that makes Typhlosion harder to take down, allowing it to take down opponents with a lesser risk of damage. For attacking, Typhlosion uses Flame Wheel and Rock Smash, both powerful moves that cover a wide variety of situations.
4 Ampharos Can Destroy Enemy Teams
Powerful Electric Type Attacks Make This Pokémon Strong
With excellent defenses and a great Special Attack stat, Johto's signature Electric type is a powerful player with the potential to impact any Pokémon Stadium 2 team. Its high stats ensure Ampharos is always in its element, and using it intelligently will pay off in dividends. Most notably, its high Special Attack is a huge advantage considering every Electric type move is Special in this combat system.
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Additionally, its Electric typing means it's only weak to Ground types, giving it great survivability against most Pokémon in the Gym Leader Castle challenge. The rental Ampharos in Pokémon Stadium 2 also comes equipped with the right tools to effectively use its strengths. Flash is a great opener that makes enemies weaker, and it can follow up with Zap Cannon for major damage. Rounding out its kit are Dynamic Punch and Swift, both of which can cover type resistances against Electric if necessary.
3 Sudowoodo Adapts to its Surroundings
Reacting to Enemies Increases This Pokémon's Power
Sudowoodo is primarily defined by its physical stats, which leave it with many options for powerful Ground and Rock-type moves to use. Its stats can support its typing due to all moves of the Rock type being Physical in Pokémon Stadium 2, giving Sudowoodo utility against Pokémon with low Physical Defense. This makes Sudowoodo a great pick for teams that need a strong Rock-type attacker.
Pokémon Stadium 2's rental Sudowoodo has an interesting moveset, giving it uses beyond just attacking. However, it does have powerful moves like Rock Slide and Dig, the latter being useful due to making Sudowoodo immune to most damage during its first turn. Uniquely, Sudowoodo can use Mimic, allowing it to copy a move from an enemy Pokémon. This gives Sudowoodo the ability to cover areas it lacks by simply taking that from other Pokémon, giving it a distinct advantage in battle.
2 Celebi is a Powerful Support Pokémon
This Mythical Legend is a Team Player
As something of a secret Pokémon, Celebi's inclusion in Pokémon Stadium 2 comes with many strengths that make it a good choice for many teams as a supporter in the Gym Leader Castle. It has well-balanced stats, with all being equal besides its slightly higher HP. This gives Celebi versatility that it would otherwise lack, allowing it to fill many roles for a turn or two while staying relatively unharmed.
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While its stats give it survivability, Celebi primarily uses its turns to help its team in Pokémon Stadium 2. Moves like Giga Drain and Ancient Power assist Celebi in prolonging its presence in battles but aren't its primary focus. Rather, Celebi centers around Heal Bell, which can dismantle enemy gameplans by curing all status effects on a team. In combination with its high HP, Celebi can use Heal Bell to improve the survivability of any team, giving it a high amount of utility.
1 Suicune Dominates With Special Attack
One of Johto's Icons is Great in Battle
While it has good stats overall, Suicune's build centers around Special Attack. Due to Water attacks always being Special in this system, this allows its moves to hit even harder than they otherwise would. This lets Suicune have some of the best offenses in the game, with its heavy-hitting moves supported by high HP and Defense. Suicune's stats and typing sync up perfectly, allowing it to have a powerful advantage in the right situation.
Pokémon Stadium 2's rental Suicune has a self-supporting kit that helps it stay in battle much longer. To attack, it uses Bubblebeam, a high-accuracy Water-type move that can slow down opponents. For disadvantageous type matchups, Suicune also has Gust to deal with weaknesses to the Flying type. Additionally, Suicune can use Roar to force enemies to switch out in situations where it can't handle its Gym Leader Castle opponent.
Pokemon Stadium 2
Tactical
- Franchise
- Pokemon
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 64
- Released
- March 28, 2001
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD , HAL Laboratory
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- ESRB
- e
- How Long To Beat
- 20 Hours
- Metascore
- 78