Even though Pokemon Scarlet and Violet introduced plenty of new critters to the franchise, many of them are either Legendaries or Paradox Pokemon, which is a new category of critters that consists of returning species from past games that have either ancient or futuristic themes. Paradox Pokemon have proved to be very powerful in competitive battles immediately post-launch, with creatures like Flutter Mane and Roaring Moon being banned from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's ranked ladder, but they are currently not allowed in the first competitive season for Gen 9. In fact, the official ruleset for Season 1 came out last week, and it bans all Paradox Pokemon, Ruinous Quartet Pokemon, box Legendaries, and the Charizard line that was recently introduced with a Tera Raid event.
As such, this first Season includes a total of 380 Pokemon that players can use, and some of them have already been highlighted as the best the game has to offer. In the current meta, which may change when more official tournaments take place and players experiment with teams and builds, there are only a handful of outliers that are being used consistently across the board, and only one of them is from Gen 9. These pocket monsters are: Murkrow, Garchomp, Amoonguss, Hydreigon, and Gholdengo, and they are currently the very best to use in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
The Top Five Best Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Competitive Battles Explained
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players use Murkrow in tournaments and competitive battles to great effect, and that's because it can wield the Eviolite to boost its defensive stats and also use priority utility moves like Tailwind, Haze, and Taunt via its Ability, Prankster. This is likely the best support Pokemon in the game right now, and while it may be weird to see a Gen 2 unevolved critter in this spot, a similar fate was shared by Gen 8's Galarian Corsola.
Amoonguss is another great support Pokemon in competitive battles and has always been, and the main reason why this is the case is that it learns overpowered moves like Spore and Rage Powder, which can drastically change the opponents' strategies. Amoonguss is also naturally bulky, with high HP, Defense, and Special Defense, allowing it to take a few hits even in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's high-damage meta.
Next up are Garchomp and Hydreigon, whose role as incredible attackers have been consolidated in Gen 9. Garchomp is likely the single best physical attacker in the game due to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's lack of new Ground-type Pokemon, and the fact that it can use Terastallization to become a full Ground-type, increasing the damage of its Earthquake and reducing incoming Dragon, Fairy, or Ice damage. A new Pokemon Scarlet and Violet item, called Clear Amulet, also works wonders on Garchomp because it negates stat-lowering effects such as Intimidate.
Hydreigon is a fantastic special attacker, on the other hand, and it has seen usage alongside Garchomp as well, considering that it ignores the splash damage from Earthquake and can dish out a lot of damage on its own. Because of Murkrow's great utility, Hydreigon can safely use Draco Meteor to hit opposing critters, while the crow-like Pokemon can use Haze to negate the downside of the move that decreses the user's Special Attack.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Gholdengo is likely the single best Pokemon in the whole generation, however, and it can be used to great effect in nearly any team. This is because Gholdengo has incredibly high Special Attack and a move called Make it Rain, which has a base power of 120 and hits both opposing Pokemon, with the downside being the same as Draco Meteor's - and again, this can be negated by Murkrow. On top of that, Gholdengo's signature Ability is Good as Gold, which makes it immune to status moves. As such, this Pokemon is the only Gen 9 critter to be in the current top 5 for competitive battles, and players can rest assured that this fact will hardly change in the future.
PokemonScarlet and Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.
