Celebrity PokePals: Picking Beyonce's Pokemon Partners

Vespiquen

Any discussion of Queen Bey's Pokemon team should probably start with Vespiquen, the literal queen bee of Pokemon. Vespiquen aren't particularly strong Pokemon, but we imagine that Beyonce can turn even the weakest Pokemon into a powerful and fierce battler.

Vespiquen's biggest strength is its high Defense stats, although its effectiveness as a defensive wall is limited by its Bug/Flying dual typing, which leaves it weak to several different types of attack. It also comes with Pressure, which drains an opposing Pokemon's PP faster than usual.

Because of its poor typing, we'd imagine that Beyonce would want to put Vespiquen on the attack and quickly. Therefore we'd teach Vespiquen the move Tailwind to boost its speed and Attack Order, a strong Bug Type move with an above average chance of doing critical damage. We'd also give Vespiquen Heal Order to allow it to heal itself quickly.

We'd also teach Vespiquen Destiny Bond, a powerful move that will KO an opponent if it Vespiquen is knocked out before its next attack. After all, Beyonce is a child of destiny and she probably isn't the type to go down without taking her pound of flesh first.

Hoopa Unbound

Beyonce once famously sang "If you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it," which sounds right up Hoopa's alley. Not only is Beyonce the type of trainer who could have a powerful Mythical Pokemon like Hoopa on her team, Hoopa also has plenty of rings to go around.

Hoopa comes in two forms, Hoopa Confined and the more powerful Hoopa Unbound. Beyonce would probably use Hoopa Unbound in battle, as it gives her a true powerhouse Pokemon and has six hands with which to do that "Put a Ring On It" dance.

Since Hoopa will be one of Beyonce's main attackers, she should load up Hoopa Unbound with as many offensive moves as she could to take advantage of its high attack and special attack stats. Hoopa's signature move Hyperspace Fury is a must have, as it deals damage to Pokemon that are using moves like Protect. We'd also teach it Gunk Shot, Psychic, and Phantom Force, giving it powerful Ghost, Dark, and Poison attacks to fight a variety of foes.

Wishiwashi

Beyonce's most recent album Lemonade featured the signature song "Formation", which also became the name of her worldwide tour. We initially struggled to come up with a Pokemon that felt right to represent Beyonce's formation, but then we discovered a Pokemon lurking in the waters of the Alola region.

Wishiwashi is a new Water type Pokemon that will appear in the upcoming Pokemon Sun and Moon games. Although it's standard form is a puny looking fish, it takes on the monstrous "School Form" when it loses a certain amount of health. Wishiwashi's "School Form" is actually a giant battle formation created by dozens of individual Wishiwashi.

Since Pokemon Sun and Moon hasn't come out yet, we can't really assign Wishiwashi moves, but we'd probably give it the fiercest moves possible to make Wishiwashi a Pokemon worthy of being on Beyonce's team.

Milotic

Although it's not the best idea to have two Water Pokemon on an otherwise balanced team, Beyonce needed to have Milotic as it's widely considered to be the most beautiful of all the Pokemon.

Milotic is usually used a defensive Pokemon due to its lack of weaknesses and decent Special Defense stats. It's also one of the few Water Pokemon to know Recover, a move that restores 50% of a Pokemon's maximum health in a turn. Recover is a must have as it will keep Milotic on the battlefield for lengthy period of times, giving it time to wear other Pokemon down.

We'd also give Milotic Coil, a special move that boosts Milotic's attack, defense, and accuracy stats. Milotic also needs some offense, so we'd teach Milotic Ice Beam and Aqua Tail to give Beyonce a counter against Dragon types and take advantage of Milotic's Coil-boosted attack stats.

Ampharos

Every Pokemon team needs a Pokemon that can Mega Evolve, and Ampharos is the only one that fits the bill. While it's non mega evolved form looks like the awkward love child of a giraffe and a sheep, it grows a glorious mane of hair that looks glamorous enough to stand up to Beyonce's impeccable fashion sense.

Beyonce shouldt teach Ampharos with a mix of Dragon and Electric attacks to take advantage of Mega Ampharos's dual typing. Dragon Pulse and Thunderbolt provide it with strong primary attacks, while Signal Beam adds a surprising Bug attack to wipe out pesky Psychic opponents. Ampharos's final move should be a boost move like Agility to give it an extra edge in battle.

Nidoqueen

Rounding out Beyonce's team is Nidoqueen, the first purely female Pokemon and the original queen of Pokemon. Nidoqueen holds a valuable role on Beyonce's team. It's a Ground type, so it can cover Beyonce's other Pokemon's weakness to Electric Types, and it can also be used to place hazards that can seriously damage an opposing team.

Nidoqueen's moveset is built around a hazard moveset. Stealth Rock throws down hazards on the field, while Roar forces opponents to switch out Pokemon, thereby automatically damaging whatever Pokemon switches into the field. We'd also give Nidoqueen Taunt, which prevents opponents from using moves to remove Stealth Rock from the field, since Nidoqueen has the defense stats and bulk to survive the guaranteed offensive moves Taunt attracts. Finally, Earthquake gives Nidoqueen a power move to wipe out Electric Pokemon and other threats to the rest of Beyonce's squad.