Overview
Misty & Psyduck come to us as the latest in a line of free Sync Pairs, and DeNA is keeping one fact fairly consistent as of late: they’re actually fairly useful! Right out of the box and raised to Five Stars, they’re actually pretty bulky overall, able to tank nicely with support options that can boost their own defenses and vitality, as well as the team’s survivability. They also have the coveted Support EX form available, which can open up the resulting EX Support buff the first time that they use a Sync Move. This is a solid part of what makes them valuable, especially to newer players.
That said, Misty & Psyduck are nice, but will primarily find utility with newer players. This isn’t to say that they’re worthless to more seasoned players, but they are a bit outclassed in most of what they do if you look at all of the Sync Pairs that they compete with. Because of this fact, this article will focus a bit more on the Free-to-Play side of the game when it comes to recommendations. Still, Misty & Psyduck do have their own unique play-style. This is exemplified with their EX Support grid, which puts a heavy emphasis on their EX buff capabilities. The Rain EX Sync Nuke set leans heavily into their Sync Move, and actually makes it fairly strong if used while it’s raining. Finally, the Non-EX Support grid is more for players that may find use in Misty & Psyduck, but don’t want to invest the Five Star Power-Up tickets needed to unlock their EX form.
Sync Grid Build - EX Support
EX Support
While Misty & Psyduck can be useful in their own niche, their grid sadly doesn’t have a whole lot of utility on it outside of the obvious choice of Potion: MP Refresh 3 and Potion: Master Healer, with Potion: Move Gauge Refresh 3 added in just because going through it is the easiest way to reach the good tiles. Syncro Healing provides a bit of team healing while Psyduck face-plants its way into the first Sync Move of the battle for the sake of that sweet, sweet EX Support boost, and Duck and Cover! MP Refresh 3 is next as its name is a pun. Also, it is nice to be able to use it a second time if possible. Finally, Duck and Cover! Move Gauge Refresh 3 is less than great, but it is a repeat of a pun… and I guess it’s the easiest way to get to the previous two nodes.
The main draw of this grid is the power that the Support EX Sync Buff brings to the table. Free to Play Strikers like Giovanni & Mewtwo or Cyrus & Palkia can choose to give the first Sync Move of the battle to Misty & Psyduck, and in exchange gain a huge damage buff directly after. This does, however, leave the team’s offensive buffs a bit unbalanced. Sync pairs like Rosa & Serperior, Bugsy & Scyther, or Lt.Surge & Raichu can fill in the last slot and help balance team needs, or a sync pair like Skyla & Swanna can swoop in and buff team Speed if Attack/Special Attack and Critical Rate are already handled by the team’s Striker.
This grid is a great early-game source of an EX Support buff, as Psyduck’s bulk and Defense/Potion/Regen team support makes it easy for many teams to survive well into their second Sync cycle and beyond. This grid is a great way to brace against the Champion’s Stadium and start farming the rewards early-game, and can also work well in Legendary Arena stages for similar reasons. It can also help get through several stages of the Battle Villa, especially with a bit of MP Refresh luck.
Sync Grid Build - Rain EX Sync Nuke
Rain EX Sync Nuke
So you’ve got Misty & Psyduck upgraded to EX, and you’ve got them on a Rain team to capitalize on Racing Rain 1. Why not merge these two concepts together and make a Sync Nuker that is genuinely capable of… at least a bit of damage? The Potion tiles and Syncro Healing 1 are just like we’ve seen in the previous grid, but this time we reach them by going through the two Sync Move Power + 25 tiles, and even pick up Shower Power 5 along the way. If the plan is to use Psyduck to activate the coveted Support EX boost, then this is definitely the way to actually get a bit out of it along the way. The resulting damage isn’t outstanding, but it’s actually surprisingly high given this unassuming little support unit’s appearance.
Obviously, a rain setter is a must-have for this grid. Early-game players will probably have access to Winona & Pelipper for this job, though May & Swampert or Archie & Kyogre do the job better for those who have them. Cyrus & Palkia can take advantage of the rain as well, can self-buff with ease, enjoy some Potion support after they’ve used their self-buffs, and generally don’t mind giving up a Sync Move early-game, so they’re a great Free to Play fit to take advantage of what Psyduck has to offer with this grid. Claire & Kingdra also love the rain, and hit fairly hard with proper setup. However, it’s very much worth noting that this grid will require Support with Special Attack and Critical Rate in order to really succeed. Professor Sycamore & Xerneas, Rosa & Serperior, or Player & Torchic are all Free to Play options that can provide at least part of this advantage, but making room for a Rain setter will not work with 2 units to provide support, so this setup will need to rely on Sync Pairs that are not free to play, such as Sabrina & Alakazam, to see maximum utility.
Since Rain is the name of the game, this grid is going to work best in shorter battles. Battle Challenges are a solid fit here, as they will generally not last an extremely long time when compared to some other game modes. Water weak stages of the Champion’s Stadium will also not appreciate the wet sting that this grid and the resulting torrent can bring.
Sync Grid Build - Non-EX Support
Non-EX Support
Without making the investment to EX Misty & Starmie, taking up a Sync Move is basically tantamount to throwing it away in most cases. So in this case, we have the same Potion setup as the previous grid, but this time we pick up Agile Entry 1 for a bit of evasion when entering the battle, and Water Gun: Move Gauge Refresh 9 to make Water Gun take effectively 0 Move Gauge bars on use, virtually eliminating Psyduck’s already small Move Gauge footprint. It’s not much of a gain, but it’s arguably the best use of energy for a non-EX Psyduck for the most part. It’s also possible to go in a different direction and pick up tiles for Full Heal, but they won’t be needed in the vast majority of battles.
This grid is a little bit of a jack-of-all trades. Misty & Psyduck primarily tank and heal with it, but they also have the advantage of basically never needing to disturb the move gauge. This can give more demanding Free to Play Strikers like Player & Solgaleo or Iris & Haxorus carte blanche if team Speed turns out to be an issue.
Honestly, if you don’t have Misty & Starmie up to Six Star EX, then this is, as stated, the go-to grid in most cases. They’re a choice tank for any stage if top-tier tanks aren’t available, and can operate in basically any game mode perfectly well.
Lucky Skills
If you intend to use Misty & Psyduck, then their prime role is as the team’s tank. As with almost every tank in the game, Vigilance is the way to go. Critical Hits tend to take large chunks of HP and ignore the Defense and Special Defense buffs that Misty & Psyduck can grant, so the ability to defend against them is key.
Critical Strike 2 is also an option specifically for the Rain Nuke build but it's mostly for screenshot purposes in all honesty so it's more recommended to go with the safer route by picking Vigilance.
Useful Links
If you're looking for help building your other Sync Pairs or getting a sense of what each does for your gem economizing efforts, the Sync Workshop Index is the place for you! Even if you aren't, really, you can't go wrong with it in an attempt to broaden your understanding of the meta or just find something interesting to binge read either.
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