Chesnaught, on the other hand, feels like a well of untapped potential. Like Contrary, Bulletproof is a godsend for this Pokemon, letting it effortlessly brush off moves such as Aura Sphere, Shadow Ball, and Sludge Bomb, among others. I've already seen it in action when it laughed in the face of a Gengar I faced once. Its movepool is interesting. In-game, it has a very varied movepool that all but ensures it stays relevant to your team (Rollout, Pin Missile, Leech Seed, Aerial Ace) but competitively, it sadly misses out on nearly all of the better Fighting type moves (Close Combat, Drain Punch, Superpower.) It has to rely on Hammer Arm or Power-Up Punch for Fighting STAB. It's Grass attacks fare better, and Spiky Shield is amazing in tandem with Leech Seed and Leftovers, though. I fully believe that in the next game, when Tutors are likely to make a return, Chesnaught's movepool is gonna get what it needs. In-game, I enjoyed using Chesnaught slightly more so than I did Serperior, but not by much.

In terms of design, I love both, but I think Serperior edges out slightly ahead of Chesnaught. Chesny's sprite and artwork look awkward, honestly. I think fanart has done a much better job of representing it than official art has. Serpy looks cool regardless.

In terms of pre-evolutions, I prefer Snivy over Chespin, but that's because I've recently bred over 50 Chespin and I'm kind of tired of seeing its face. Quilladin and Servine, I don't care much for.

In the end, I'm voting for Chesnaught though. The thing that sealed the deal? Its Pokedex entry from X.

Pokedex said:

Its Tackle is forceful enough to flip a 50-ton tank. It shields its allies from danger with its own body.

It becomes a human (Pokemon?) shield to protect its friends. How badass is that? In general, I like the whole "Shield" and "Knight" concept they have going on with Chesnaught more than the "Royalty" concept they did with Serperior. I think it was executed slightly better.

I still love them both, though.