Glass Cannons: High Offense, Paper Defenses

Great question. A "glass cannon" is a Pokémon with high offensive stats (Attack + Special Attack) but low bulk (HP + Defense + Special Defense). Let me plot every Pokémon with 400+ base stats on an offense vs bulk scatter.

The bottom-right corner is glass cannon territory — high offense, low bulk. Notice how the orange dots (legendaries) cluster toward the high-offense side. That lone point at the top-left? That's Shuckle — the opposite of a glass cannon with 230 base Defense/Special Defense but only 10 Attack.

Let me calculate a "Glass Cannon Score" — average offense minus average bulk. Higher score = more extreme glass cannon.

Deoxys absolutely dominates with a perfect 100-point spread. It has 150 Attack AND 150 Special Attack, but only 50 in HP, Defense, and Special Defense. Pheromosa is second at 88.7 — an Ultra Beast with 137/137 offense but paper-thin 37/37 defenses. Blacephalon rounds out the top 3 with 151 Special Attack but can barely take a hit.

Absolutely. Let me show you the average Glass Cannon Score by type. Positive means the type leans offensive, negative means it leans tanky.

Electric types are the ultimate glass cannons at +14.7 on average, followed by Fire at +13.9. Makes sense — both are aggressive, fast-paced types designed to sweep opponents. On the other end, Rock (-7.1) and Steel (-5.9) are natural tanks. Steel resists 10 types and Rock Pokémon tend to have massive Defense stats like Golem and Aggron.

Exactly! Speed is survival for glass cannons. Let me plot Glass Cannon Score vs Speed for all Pokémon with a score of 25+.

Most glass cannons cluster in the 80-150 speed range — fast enough to outpace opponents and KO them before taking damage. That outlier at 200 speed? That's Regieleki, the fastest Pokémon ever. Deoxys and Pheromosa are both in the 150+ range. But there are some interesting outliers at the bottom...

They exist, and yes, it's a rough life. Let me find the glass cannons with speed under 70.

Cursola is the most tragic case — 145 Special Attack but only 30 Speed and 60 HP. It's the Galarian evolution of Corsola that's literally a ghost of its former self. Cacturne and its pre-evolution Cacnea are both slow Grass-types with decent offense but terrible bulk. Rampardos has the highest Attack stat of any non-legendary (165!) but 58 Speed means it often gets KO'd before it can attack. These Pokémon rely on Trick Room teams or priority moves to function competitively.