My Frustrating Start with Persian Battles
Okay so last Tuesday I kept losing battles against Persian users nonstop. Really got on my nerves honestly. That cat kept wrecking my team with Hypnosis and Pay Day combos like it was nothing. My usual electric attacks just tickled it while my water types got shredded by Night Slash. After losing 8 matches straight I was like nope gotta fix this now.

My Testing Process
First I dug through my move collection trying everything:
- Earthquake? Total failure. Persian dodged like it was dancing. Barely landed once.
- Fire Blast? Waste of energy. Too slow to charge and the cat just taunted me during setup.
- X-Scissor? Got closer but still lost 60% health trying to connect.
Then I recalled Persian’s Normal/Dark typing – feels obvious now but totally blanked before! Grabbed my Machamp and taught it Brick Break (yes the TM cost hurt but worth it). Also experimented with Power-Up Punch since my Scrafty could learn it fast.
What Actually Worked
So apparently all dark types HATE fighting moves – super effective damage plus interrupts their sneaky playstyle. Here’s the winning recipe:
- Brick Break first turn – smashes through their Light Screen/Safeguard crap
- Immediate Power-Up Punch followup before they recover
- Lucario with Close Combat as backup for when they switch
This combo dropped Persian in three hits max. Even when they tried U-turn escape, the damage stuck hard. Did ten test battles yesterday and won nine!
Quick Wins I Discovered
Couple things saved my win rate big time:

- Timing Counters when they Fake Out – they always spammed this
- Leading with non-fighting bait to waste their Hypnosis
- Switching immediately if Persian holds Razor Claw
Now Persian users quit halfway when they see my Hitmonlee lead. Feels amazing flipping from constant losses to easy wins just with move tweaks! Next time you face that annoying cat, remember: fighting moves first, everything else last.