Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC Series 2 is underway and changes to the availability of certain mons have shaken up the meta in a drastic way. The biggest of these changes is the inclusion of Paradox Pokemon in VGC Series 2 among the legal monsters available for competitive play, who were previously banned from use in VGC Series 1. Although many players anticipated Paradox Pokemon like Flutter Mane and Iron Hands to dominate the meta, it was Scream Tail that helped secure victory at the Orlando Regional Championships.
Paradox Pokemon are some of the strongest new creatures added in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and players were anticipating their addition to the competitive meta by preparing builds for some of the most powerful past and future forms. The most used Paradox Pokemon in the current meta are Flutter Mane, Iron Hands, Roaring Moon, and Iron Bundle, so it came as a surprise when a team using Scream Tail as its centerpiece won the recent Orlando Regional Championship. Scream Tail doesn't have a lot to offer players, but the Perish Song strategy used to win the regional championship proved quite hard to beat.
A Former World Champion Showed Scream Tail's Full Potential
The winner of the Orlando Regional Championship for VGC Series 2 and owner of the aforementioned Scarlet and Violet Scream Tail team was 2016 VGC World Champion Wolfe Glick. The former champion turned YouTuber made use of Scream Tail's access to the move Perish Song, which forces all monsters on the field to faint after 3 turns unless they switch out of battle, alongside Gothitelle with the Ability Shadow Tag to prevent opposing mons from switching out. The resulting synergy allowed him to build a team that benefits from swapping between members while forcing his opponent into the "Perish Trap" created by Scream Tail and Gothitelle.
Scream Tail doesn't excel in any particular stat, however, it has decent overall bulk which can be used to help it take some hits from opposing mons while surviving long enough to threaten with Perish Song. In addition to being used for its Shadow Tag ability, Gothitelle made an excellent teammate for Scream Tail with access to Heal Pulse which could be used to heal its partner during Pokemon VGC's double battle format. Additionally, Wolfe's use of Amoonguss as another support mon for Scream Tail also helped keep it in play, drawing enemy focus with Rage Powder and taking hits thanks to its impressive defensive stats, as well as using Pollen Puff to hurt opponents while healing allies.
Beyond those mons, his team utilized Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Palafin and Arcanine to keep opponents in check. The constant need to swap team members out to avoid Scream Tail's Perish Song made Palafin's Zero to Hero Ability easy to trigger, giving the mon an incredible stat boost from 457 to 650 in its Hero Form. Arcanine also benefited from frequent switch-outs with its Intimidate Ability lowering the opposing monsters' Attack stat every time it switched into battle and the addition of the Water Tera type on this mon meant it could Terastallize and survive threats from common foes like Dondozo.
While this team did include Flutter Mane as its final member, it didn't see as much use as the other Paradox Pokemon on the squad. With Scream Tail as the cornerstone for this team, Wolfe was able to successfully control the momentum of battle by either forcing opponents to constantly switch out team members to avoid Perish Song or lock them into their doom with Gothitelle's Shadow Tag. As a result of this success, it's likely that Scream Tail's Perish Trap strategy will see a bump in usage in the competitive meta for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet going forward.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.
