Although Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were criticized on launch due to technical and performance issues, they also stirred controversy among fans due to the quality of the new pocket monsters introduced with Gen 9. This is not because Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players don't like the new critters, but rather because several of them are quite unbalanced compared to past additions, which is further exacerbated by the fact that Gen 8 was ridden with very good monsters as well, such as Zacian, Regieleki, and both forms of rider Calyrex. New creatures were far from the only issue with competitive battles and general game balance, however, as Gen 8 also saw the rise of a peculiar Pokemon that was already strong in Gen 7: Incineroar.
The problem with Incineroar was that it was exceptionally bulky, was capable of dealing decent damage with STAB moves like Flare Blitz, had access to Intimidate as its Hidden Ability, and on top of that, it was given Parting Shot in Gen 8. Intimidate plus Parting Shot was an incredible combo that resulted in most physical attackers being ridiculed, and while Incineroar is very much gone in Gen 9, the new mainline games introduced something equally (if not more) broken. This creature is none other than Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Gholdengo, the evolution of Gimmighoul.
Why Gholdengo is Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Incineroar
Incineroar was the single most used Pokemon alongside Zacian, which is an incredible feat in and of itself, as Legendary Pokemon's usage is often high due to their incredible stats and generally more powerful moves or Abilities, both things that made Zacian shine. However, Incineroar dominated Gen 8's meta because there was no effective answer to Intimidate and Parting Shot, and they could effectively annihilate the offensive power of any physical attacker by two stages and that of special attackers by one. Gholdengo doesn't have these tools, and yet it is one of the top 5 Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
The reason is that Gholdengo packs an incredibly high Special Attack stat combined with incredible moves and an equally incredible type combination in the form of Ghost and Steel. Gholdengo's signature move is called Make it Rain, which has a base power of 120 and hits both opposing Pokemon in double battles, with the only drawback being that it reduces the user's Special Attack by one stage. For these reasons alone, Gholdengo is already skyrocketing in usage in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet competitive battles.
And yet, another major reason that makes Gholdengo such a powerful critter is that its signature Ability, which is called Good as Gold, makes it immune to status moves of any kind. All these things combined make Gholdengo one of the best Pokemon ever made, as it is immune to moves like Taunt or Encore, and then it can also easily pick up kills with moves like Shadow Ball, Dazzling Gleam, and Make it Rain. Gholdengo is also really hard to counter properly due to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Terastallization, which can make it unpredictable with Tera types like Flying, Steel, Water, and Fairy, just to name a few popular ones.
It doesn't help that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players are using Murkrow to win tournaments, as it is the best Tailwind setter in Gen 9 right now, as well as a very valuable support Pokemon thanks moves like Quash and Haze. It's a great one to use alongside Gholdengo because it can set Tailwind first, and then Haze after Make it Rain to remove the Special Attack drop as well as potential boons on the opposing team. Overall, Gholdengo is the new Incineroar because it's currently sitting at around 30% usage in Gen 9, much like Incineroar was in Gen 8's VGC era, but the core reasons behind this do differ.
PokemonScarlet and Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.
