There are a lot of healing moves in the Pokemon series and a large number of Pokemon that can use them. But if players are looking for the most effective self-healers, there are some that rise to the top.
Admittedly not all healer Pokemon are useful in PVP situations. Some are situational, while others are only available in certain generations; however, if players are looking for some interesting self-healers to add to their team, then these healing Pokemon should be at the top of their list.
Updated on December 31, 2022 by Ben Painter: With the release of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, comes new Pokemon to catch, collect and battle with the goal to become a Pokemon Master. One of the best ways to battle in the franchise is by using moves like Softboiled, Rest and Giga Drain to heal up the Pokemon's HP.
When the HP is gone the Pokemon faints and therefore the battle is lost. So to gain some back is a great strategy. Pokemon famous for this are Chansey, Snorlax and Venusaur. But many others are capable of these moves and even more so in the Generation 9 games Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. Included in this update is generation 9 Pokemon Arboliva who has an interesting new ability that heals it every turn.
20 Roserade
Roserade is a bit of a glass cannon in that she doesn’t have a whole lot of HP or defense. What she does have however is access to Grassy Terrain and Leech Seed. Grassy Terrain causes the battle arena to turn into a grassy environment. This provides passive healing, 1/8 of HP every turn, and boosts her Grass attacks.
She can also plant Leech Seed in her foes to obtain 1/16 HP every turn at the expense of the enemy. When combined she can gain 1/8 HP from the environment and sap 1/16 of the enemy’s health. Combine with her standard attacks and she can be in pretty good shape at the end of a battle.
19 Chesnaught
Chesnaught has a decent Defense against standard attacks that protect his HP. More importantly, he has access to the self-healing abilities Pain Split and Leech Seed. Leech Seed will drain 1/16 of an enemy’s HP and give it to Chesnaught.
Pain Split is a powerful move that can bring Chesnaught back from the brink if used correctly. It will combine Chesnaught and his enemy’s HP and then divide splits it evenly between the two. If Chesnaught is down to 10% health and the enemy is at 90% Pain Split will cause both to have 50% health, effectively healing Chesnaught and damaging the enemy by 40%.
18 Gourgeist
Gourgeist has a lot of Defense but is a bit low on HP. This makes its self-healing moves Pain Split and Leech Seed very important for its survival. Leech Seed can be used to obtain 1/16 of the enemy’s HP every round passively.
When in dire straits the Pain Split move can be used to drain an opponent’s health and heal Gourgeist if done correctly. The enemy needs to have more HP than Gourgeist for it to work. But when done correctly will leave both Pokemon on equal footing and keep Gourgeist in the fight.
17 Giratina
Giratina may seem like a strange choice for a healer pokemon but it can work surprisingly well. With a large HP pool and decent Defense and Special Defense stats Giratina can take quite a beating. Its self-healing ability comes in the form of Pain Split.
Pain Split can enable Giratina to rob the enemy of their HP and give it to himself if done correctly. Pain Split will add up the two Pokemon’s HP and separate it out evenly. If Giratina is on the brink of death and the other Pokemon is healthy Pain Split can even things out.
16 Wailord
Wailord can work as an effective tank thanks to its large HP and self-healing abilities. Its main method of self-healing is through the move Rest. In two moves Wailord can fully heal itself and be ready to fight again.
Admittedly it isn’t as good at this task as say Snorlax, but for players who need a water-based self-healer, it isn’t a bad choice. Wailord may not be the most exciting of Pokemon, but it can be great on a stall team for players who don’t mind using Rest.
15 Venusaur
Venusaur is a familiar face for those who’ve played the Generation I games or the remakes. As a lowly Bulbasaur, it learns the move Leech Seed which can be planted in the opponent and siphon away their health each turn.
In Generation I the move was a lot weaker as it only took 1/16 of the opponent’s HP. It received a massive boost in Generation II by now taking 1/8 of the opponent’s HP, making Bulbasaur a powerful grass starter. Venusaur isn’t the best fighter, but it is available in every Generation of games and is one of the few passive methods of dealing damage while healing the user.
14 Rayquaza
This legendary ranks a bit lower on this list because it simply doesn’t have the same defensive stats others do when it comes to using Rest, which recovers 100% of the user’s HP and then puts it to sleep for two turns.
Its strong attack abilities mean it can use a move or two to dish out some damage before regenerating all of its lost health through Rest. Its ability to tap into its Mega form without an Orb is also handy for increasing its self-healing uses.
13 Shuckle
Shuckle may be the butt of many jokes regarding Pokemon, but it makes good use of one of the best healing moves in the games, Rest. Rest will regenerate 100% of the user’s health at the cost of putting it to sleep for two turns.
Shuckle may be goofy, but it is a very, very strong tank. With lots of HP, great defense, and special defense, it’s capable of taking a lot of damage and remaining standing afterward. A solid strategy is to apply a status effect on the opponent, and then sleep away any damage done via Rest. Shuckle with Rest is available starting Generation II.
12 Palossand
Palossand’s healing abilities are incredible. With the move Shore Up, it’s capable of regenerating 50% of its health outside of Sandstorms and recovering 2/3 of its HP in Sandstorms. Obviously, players will want to be in the right environment, but even if players aren’t this move is still powerful.
Admittedly, thanks to mediocre stats and combat abilities, Palossand isn’t terribly effective in PVP situations. Nevertheless, it can be an effective tank in the ideal environment and can make a mess of things with Stealth Rock or Shadow Ball.
11 Celesteela
Another Pokémon that can use Leech Seed, Celesteela is easily the strongest and most equipped to take advantage of this passive healing method. With its decent stats and strong defensive capabilities, it can use moves like Protect to stall incoming damage to reap the benefits of Leech Seed.
Unfortunately, Celesteela is only available in Generation VII, and Leech Seed is completely ineffective against Grass types. Against any other Pokémon, Celesteela can be a strong self-healer that holds its own in PVP.
10 Yveltal
Yveltal’s signature move Oblivion Wing is an incredibly powerful move that both heals the user and damages the opponent. It has 80 base power and restores Yveltal’s HP by 75% of the damage dealt. If Yveltal is holding Big Root, this is increased to 97.5%.
The downside is that Yveltal isn’t available until Generation VI, but with the right setup, Yveltal is capable of standing up to higher-tier PVP Pokémon. Thanks to its healthy stats and useful moves it’s very versatile and can step into practically any role.
9 Kyogre
Kyogre is a surprisingly good self-healer thanks to good HP, strong special defense, and the Rest move. Again with Rest, it’s capable of regenerating 100% of its health before falling asleep for two turns. If up against a special fighter, Kyogre can take the hits and return water damage of its own before needing to rest again.
It’s not a great self-healer for PVP, but its more than strong enough for PVE situations. When coupled with the Blue Orb to access its Primal state, Rest becomes even more capable.
8 Groudon
As capable of self-healing as Kyogre is with Rest, Groudon is even more powerful. With strong stats in attack and defense, it's a straightforward brawler that sees a lot of use in PVP. Admittedly, Rest isn’t seen on Groudon’s move sets in PVP, but the ability to regenerate massive amounts of health and resist lots of damage is great for those looking for someone that can heal itself.
The Primal state via the Red Orb is greatly encouraged to fully utilize its self-healing abilities and finding moves to nudge defense and especially special defense up is always encouraged.
7 Snorlax
Snorlax is a strong self-healer that was much more powerful in earlier Generations but saw some decline as the series went on. Even so, it’s too powerful not to mention. It has incredible HP with decent special defense stats that allow it to absorb powerful hits.
Snorlax's main perk is that it’s available as early as Generation I, where it learns Rest at level one. In later generations, it learns the ability in the mid to late 20s, but it’s still a solid self-healer.
6 Chansey/Blissey
These two are probably the Pokémon most fans think of when it comes to self-healers and for good reason. In one turn, Chansey and Blissey are capable of regenerating 50% of their health with no downsides thanks to Soft-Boiled.
The other major benefit is that this move is available early and both Pokémon can use it starting in Generation II at levels 13 and 10 respectively. The other bonus with these two self-healers is they can also heal the team outside of combat. They may not have many uses in PVP, but players will absolutely want one on their PVE team. The immense HP stat also makes their self-healing powers even more incredible.
5 Toedscruel
Name and appearance aside this new generation 9 Pokemon has no resemblance to Tentacruel. A new style of Pokemon was introduced in Scarlet & Violet, which is somewhat of a convergent evolution, see Wiglett and Wugtrio also.
Nonetheless, Toedscruel is a defensive wall in the game with an array of healing moves to boot. Combining its 120 special defence with Giga Drain, gamers have a tank of a Pokemon that will eat up attacks and heal itself right back up. Certainly, one to catch and use in the game, back make sure to watch out for those ice-type moves.
4 Arboliva
A new Pokemon introduced in the new generation 9 games, Arboliva comes with a new type of ability, Seed Sower, which when hit with a damaging move it summons a Grassy Terrain. Which heals it a little at the end of each turn.
Also with Giga Drain and Leech Seed at its disposal, Arboliva is an HP-restoring monster and is certainly a great one to use in the game, water types will run in fear. Gamers can find its pre-evolved form in a lot of places in Paldea.
3 Zarude
Zarude was introduced in generation 8 and at level 90 it learns a very useful move in battle, which is its signature move Jungle Healing, which not only heals itself by up to 25% of its maximum HP but also the rest of the party and also removes any status conditions.
A very useful move indeed and one unlike any other it makes this one of the best healing Pokemon, it is a shame that it is only found on Zarude, which is a rare mythical Pokemon only found through an event in Pokemon Sword & Shield. If gamers were lucky enough to capture one they can transfer it to Scarlet & Violet through Pokemon Home.
2 Plusle/Minun
Plusle and Minun were the original true Pikachu-clone Pokemon introduced in generation 3, they have the unique abilities of Plus (Plusle) and Minus (Minun) which boosts their special attack when used together in a battle.
Within their move set is Rest which allows the Pokemon to sleep to regain HP, combine this with a Chesto Berry, which will wake up the Pokemon then Plusle or Minun are ready to battle after being fully healed up. A useful healer Pokemon. Although not the best in a single battle these two thrive together in a double battle.
1 Lucario
Lucario is one of the fan-favorites of generation 4, and it makes a return for Scarlet & Violet with one of the game's best and most diverse move sets. Aura Sphere, Bone Rush, Dragon Pulse, and Swords Dance to just name a few.
Also, among its moves is the physic-type move Heal Pulse, which restores up to 50% of its maximum HP. Along with Gallade, who is also physic-type, it is the only fighting-type capable of knowing this move. It is up to the Pokemon trainer to choose the way that Lucario battles but having a healing move in its arsenal is always a sensible choice. Perhaps use it against many of the Titan Pokemon in Scarlet & Violet.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available on Nintendo Switch.