Greninja got a significant tweak in the latest Community Day event. The addition of Water Shuriken in its Fast Move arsenal and the event-exclusive Hydro Cannon Charged Move has made it the most preferred Water-type meta. However, there are some lingering doubts about the Greninja meta performance in Pokemon Go.
Evolving from the Bubble Frog Froakie, the Ninja Pokemon has a Max CP of 3001. It possesses high utility in Great League as well as Ultra League.
The dual Water/Dark type can also be used as a Dark-type offensive meta with the help of the Feint Attack-Night Slash combo but it has low EPS and stats compared to the Water-type build.
There are some downsides to Greninja as well. Here is an analysis of the new meta.
Greninja meta performance in Pokemon Go Great League
Due to its fast moveset, Greninja is mostly used at the beginning of trainer versus trainer battles to lure Shields. It also functions as a Sweeper, capable of taking down the enemy with its quick Water Shuriken energy generation followed by the whopping 130 DMG dealt by Hydro Pump Charged Move.
Greninja has good meta performance in Great League but its fragile bulk can be problematic. With its CP being capped under level 20, Great League fails to unleash its full potential.
It also possesses five weaknesses – Electric, Fairy, Fighting, Grass, and Bug. Other commonly used Pokemon like Scrafty, Lanturn, Serperior, Togedamaru, and Togekiss can give Greninja a run for its money.
It is important to reserve Shields for Greninja in the Pokemon Go Great League. By defending its low Defense and HP, it allows trainers to continuously spam Hydro Cannon and destroy the opponent. Night Slash can be used to counter other water-type, ghost-type, or psychic-type Pokemon.
Greninja performance in Pokemon Go Ultra League
Greninja is a glass cannon in Ultra League but its moveset make up for that. Water shuriken deals 6 damage and generates 14 energy across three turns, making it better than the EPS and DPS of Mud Shot and being somewhat matched by Lock On in EPS.
It can stand toe-to-toe with Registeel and Giratina and with the help of Shields, Greninja could overcome the monster metas in Ultra League.
Thanks to Carbink being capped off at 1658 CP, Greninja will be saved from its future nemesis in the 2500 CP league.
The Ninja Pokemon can also counter traditional dual Grass/Poison-types like Venusaur and Roserade with its fast-paced moves in the Ultra League, given that Greninja dodges the oncoming Grass-type Charged Moves.
Overall, Greninja is best suited for the Ultra League. It does possess good utility in Great League but it may backfire on the user due to its fragile bulk.
How to get Water Shuriken and Hydro Cannon combo in Greninja?
Trainers that own a Greninja can make it learn the Quick Move Water Shuriken via repeated Fast TM attempts. However, the Hydro Cannon attack was exclusive to the Community Day event on August 13, 2023. Those who upgraded a Frogadier into Greninja during that time period made it learn the Hydro Cannon Charged Move.