How to unlock
Use the matching region banner. Rarity pity guarantees a tier, not this specific Pokémon.
| How to unlock | Details | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Starter selection | No | This route does not apply to this Pokémon in the current version. |
| Region gacha | Yes | Pull its matching region banner. The rarity roll and uniform species selection both matter; use the target-species calculator. |
| Rescue event | No | This route does not apply to this Pokémon in the current version. |
| Wild shiny collection | No | This route does not apply to this Pokémon in the current version. |
| Rift encounter | Yes | Win its legendary arena to record the defeat and earn a Bond. A normal rift victory is separate from playable ownership. |
| Shiny rift collection | Yes | Defeat its shiny rift version to collect both shiny and normal variants. Arena selection, shiny generation and winning are separate conditions. |
| Normal rift victory grants playable ownership | No | Use its region gacha or defeat its shiny rift version to obtain playable ownership. |
A rift victory, a defeat record and a playable collection unlock are separate events. Check the actual acquisition route.
Starting move
Water Gun · Projectile · Damage 14 · 0.44 s
Only the selected slot attacks. Bonded moves in that slot can fire together.
Move evolution: Scald · Power
Learnable moves
Normal moves and moves matching this Pokémon’s types are available in its run pool.
| Moves | Types | Attack behavior | Damage | Cooldown | Move evolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tackle | Normal | Melee arc | 16 | 0.5 s | Take Down · Vigor |
| Quick Attack | Normal | Dash | 20 | 0.75 s | Extreme Speed · Sprint |
| Swords Dance | Normal | Support buff | 0.13 | 0.85 s | — |
| Agility | Normal | Support buff | 0.1 | 0.85 s | — |
| Harden | Normal | Support buff | 0.07 | 0.85 s | — |
| Body Slam | Normal | Melee arc | 36 | 0.95 s | Giga Impact · Power |
| Hyper Voice | Normal | Radial burst | 12 | 1.15 s | Uproar · Reflexes |
| Substitute | Normal | Turret | 14 | 4 s | Double Team · Armor |
| Water Gun | Water | Projectile | 14 | 0.44 s | Scald · Power |
| Bubble | Water | Radial burst | 9 | 1 s | Surf · Sprint |
| Hydro Pump | Water | Piercing beam | 29 | 1.5 s | Hydro Cannon · Power |
| Aqua Ring | Water | Support buff | 1.6 | 0.9 s | — |
| Bubble Beam | Water | Cone spray | 6 | 0.65 s | Aqua Tail · Power |
| Dragon Rage | Dragon | Piercing beam | 24 | 1 s | Draco Meteor · Power |
| Dragon Dance | Dragon | Support buff | 0.11 | 0.7 s | — |
Build direction
Palkia starts with Water Gun, a Projectile attack. Build the early run around this actual starting behavior, then choose alternatives from its legal pool.
Start at range and align enemies for the projectile path. Projectile count is emitted shots, not guaranteed hits on a boss.
Strengths & limits from its stats
Base HP 110 versus dataset median 99; movement 120 versus 105; attack multiplier ×1.52 versus ×1.17. Medians use all 966 entries and describe base stats, not win rates.
Its HP is at or above the dataset median, giving a larger base health buffer than lower-HP entries; this does not remove type weaknesses or incoming warnings.
Movement is at or above the median, which helps repositioning under equal modifiers. Liquids, snow and traps can still reduce effective speed.
Move choices & active slots
Its regular learn pool contains 15 moves across 8 behavior families. Choose a different behavior or attack type for a real target problem; learning extra ordinary slots does not add simultaneous damage.
For a different damage pattern, inspect Bubble / Hydro Pump. These are legal alternatives from its pool; compare their level, evolution and target conditions before replacing the active attack.
Upgrade & evolution route
A practical first budget shortlist is Reflexes / Critical Hit, based on the stat comparison above. Compare costs and your actual failure point; these are recommendations, not a universally optimal purchase order. Permanent levels belong to this Pokémon.
For Water Gun → Scald, reach move level 5, take the Power card in this run and select the evolution offer. Buying a similarly named permanent upgrade does not satisfy that condition.
This analysis is derived from the displayed source stats and combat rules. It does not claim playtesting, measured win rate or guaranteed run length.
Plan a build
In-game stats, not main-series battle stats.
Only the selected slot attacks. Bonded moves in that slot can fire together.
Shiny
| Shiny | Details |
|---|---|
| Shiny sprite available | Yes |
| Gacha generation | 1/100 |
| Rift legendary selection | 1/512 |
These are generation odds for an eligible source, not a guaranteed capture. A wild or rift shiny must be defeated to join the collection; gacha also applies its collected-shiny re-selection rule.
Legendary rifts
After 75 seconds, valid checks occur every 30 seconds with 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% conditional chances. A live boss skips a check; existing portals and arenas also change eligibility.
Unbeaten legendaries have weight 4; beaten ones have weight 1. The selected legendary chooses one of its types for the arena.
Related pages
Game data & sources
The linked game files show where these stats, costs and rules come from. Updates to the game may change them.
Data version: a9b21f09
- https://github.com/JPTER78/pokesurvivor/blob/a9b21f091d7e2e0b10bc9ef94836447bf63cddeb/js/data/pokedex.js
- https://github.com/JPTER78/pokesurvivor/blob/a9b21f091d7e2e0b10bc9ef94836447bf63cddeb/js/data/moves.js
- https://github.com/PokeAPI/pokeapi/blob/master/data/v2/csv/pokemon_species_names.csv