As the competitive meta for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has evolved over the few months since launch, one duo of creatures has been a consistent mainstay among the top teams in VGC. Tatsugiri and Dondozo are some of the most frequently used monsters thanks to their amazing synergy and difficult gimmick to strategize around. With their prevalence on some of the highest ranked teams in tournaments like the Orlando Regional Championships, it's clear that this fearsome duo will continue to dominate the meta for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
While these mons looked too gimmicky for competitive usage when the Gen 9 released, Tatsugiri and Dondozo quickly showed their potential, working their way to the top of the usage charts for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC Series 1. Since then, they've proved themselves a serious threat that seem like they were designed with VGC battles in mind given their unique synergy. Even once older monsters become available via Pokemon HOME, it's likely Tatsugiri and Dondozo will remain competitively viable.
It's Hard to Top Tatsugiri and Dondozo's Synergy
The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC Double Battles format works perfectly for Tatsugiri's unique signature Ability: Commander. This Ability activates when both monsters are on the field, allowing Tatsugiri to go inside Dondozo's mouth, preventing it from taking damage for the turn and boosting all of Dondozo's stats by two stages. While this leaves the player with only one mon active on the field that is unable to switch out, a power boost to the already tanky Dondozo means it becomes a near-impenetrable wall with frightening sweeping capabilities.
In addition to the stat buffs that Tatsugiri's Commander Ability provides, Dondozo also gets a boost from Tatsugiri when it uses its signature move Order Up while Commander is active. In addition to dealing solid Physical damage, Order Up increases one of Dondozo's stats further depending on which form of Tatsugiri is in its mouth. The ideal Tatsugiri form to get the most out of Dondozo's offensive prowess is Curly Form Tatsugiri, since it raises Dondozo's Attack when Order Up is used.
Even before the stat boost from Tatsugiri, Dondozo is a formidable opponent with a base stat total of 530 spread favorably across HP, Attack, and Defense. While it has poor Speed and Special Defense, Dondozo is still hard to take down as it can hold Leftovers to restore some of its HP each turn, meanwhile its Ability Unaware makes it ignore an opposing Pokemon's stat changes. It also has access to the powerful STAB move Wave Crash, which can devastate foes regardless of Commander's stat increases. While this move does damage the user, Dondozo's high HP makes the recoil negligible to deal with.
The introduction of Paradox Pokemon as part of the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC Series 2 has helped in reducing the threat posed by this duo. Iron Hands has found some success dealing with the combo as a tanky Electric-type mon who resists Dondozo's Wave Crash, but it is susceptible to a powerful Earthquake. The Scream Tail Perish Trap strategy that won the Orlando Regional Championships is also a great way to neutralize this threat since Dondozo can't switch out with Tatsugiri in its mouth, and Tatsugiri is still affected by Perish Song while Commander is active. Despite these new threats, the Dondozo/Tatsugiri combo persists among competitive battlers.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.
