#826 - Orbeetle

                                    

                                          
Ledian : W-who are you?
He/she asks while looking at Orbeetle.
Orbeetle : I'm you, only better. 
(Sorry, I just couldn't resist doing that....because it's true.) 
Sword and Shield brought us a brand new ladybug pokémon, and as much as I hate putting poor Ledian down, Orbeetle just absolutely blows the bug/flying type away by actually being good.
(For any huge Ledian fans reading this, I promise there will be no more Ledian slander past this point....maybe. After all, I do like it, and did a chapter on it some time ago which you should totally check out.) 
If that introduction didn't make it clear, I really like Orbeetle, and for multiple reasons, the first of those being its design. 
Orbeetle's design is interesting because it's of course based on a ladybug, but with elements of a UFO incorporated in, which is even more prevalent in its Gigantimax form. 
Side note : I love how Orbeetle's pre-evolved form Dottler looks like a D20.
Getting into base stats, Orbeetle has 45 attack, 110 defense, 80 special attack, 120 special defense, and 90 speed.
Despite not having amazing special attack like a lot of other psychic types, it's by no means bad, but where Orbeetle really shines is those impressive defenses and good speed. 
Orbeetle has a BST of 505, which is even higher than those belonging to the likes of Scizor and Heracross, which is quite an impressive feat for a type so often viewed as being weak.
Moving on to moves, Orbeetle unfortunately gets very little in terms of move variety outside of psychic and bug attacks, only getting Energy Ball, Solar Beam, Giga Drain, and Shadow Ball for coverage. 
Despite this, the cosmic ladybug gets access to some incredible status moves such as Confuse Ray, Light Screen, Reflect, Iron Defense, Calm Mind, Agility, Sticky Web (Egg Move), Hypnosis, Mirror Coat, Ally Switch, Safeguard, Baton Pass, and Psychic Terrain.
As for Orbeetle's abilities, its two standard ones are Swarm and Frisk.
I've gone over Swarm several times before, so all I'll say here is that it's the bug type version of the standard starter pokémon ability and can be nice to have when in a pinch, but is a bit situational. 
(Honestly, Orbeetle doesn't even really need Swarm since it can learn Calm Mind, which is far more useful, but it's a fine ability to have, and at least does something unlike Frisk.) 
Frisk....reveals if your opponent is holding an item.
Yep, that's all it does.
It doesn't even have some kind of secondary effect outside of battle like Flame Body or Keen Eye.
Well, at least it isn't an actively harmful ability like Klutz, so that's something I guess. 
Stick with Swarm my friends, because I think it's easily the best ability Orbeetle gets, and I'm saying that even before I go over the hidden ability, which is Telepathy. 
Telepathy makes Orbeetle immune to damage from its teammates during double or triple battles. 
So yeah, this ability is pretty much useless while playing through the game normally since any kind of battles besides 1v1 are few and far between, but in terms of online battling, having immunity to friendly fire isn't anything I'd call bad. 
If you're looking to use Orbeetle for competitive play, Telepathy is definitely worth considering, otherwise just stick to Swarm. 
Having used an Orbeetle during one of my playthroughs of Sword and Shield, I must say that this bug/psychic type does have some flaws. 
You can catch a Blipbug at the beginning of the game, and it evolves into Dottler super early on at level 10, but you'll be stuck using Confusion, Struggle Bug, Light Screen, and Reflect all the way to level 30 where Dottler evolves into Orbeetle, making this evolutionary kind of a pain to raise. 
(Dottler can learn more moves via TMs and TRs, so it's not as bad as it could be.)
Also, there's a slight problem with Orbeetle's typing.
Bug/psychic is both super effective against and weak to dark types, which is awkward considering the numerous dark mons you'll be facing in Galar via Team Yell, Marnie, and Piers. 
(Seriously, I can't tell you how frustrating it is to have one of your dark type counters also be weak to them, but taking into consideration Orbeetle's natural bulk, it isn't too much of an issue.) 
As with a lot of gen 8 pokémon, Orbeetle has a Gigantimax form, which I shall now go over.
Gigantimax Orbeetle is one of if not my favorite Gigantimax forms in terms of appearance. 
Remember the UFO aspect of Orbeetle's design I mentioned earlier in this chapter? 
Well, now that aspect has been cranked up to 11 since Gigantimax Orbeetle is literally a flying saucer. 
Now, Gigantimax Orbeetle's Max Move is kind of weird to talk about, that being G-Max Gravitas 
G-Max Gravitas changes gravity for five turns. 
What does this mean?
Well, it's a bit too complicated for me to explain in full, so I'll be posting a link to a Bulbapedia article explaining the effects of gravity. 
In the end, Orbeetle is a great bug type that despite being a slog to raise from a Blipbug and barely has any coverage, it has really solid stats, an awesome design and Gigantimax form, and an admittedly confusing Max Move. 
Sorry Ledian, but Orbeetle is obviously the superior ladybug mon. 
(Please Game Freak, give poor Ledian a Mega Evolution in Legends Z-A. It really needs one.)