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With the holiday season getting closer, many new trainers are finding their way to the Paldea region in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Though most trainers may not put any thought towards the competitive aspect of the game at first, they may change their minds after they complete the main story.
The debut of the ninth generation has brought some massive new changes and additions to the metagame. With this in mind, even seasoned veterans may not know where to begin when it comes to constructing the perfect team to take on the wave of online challengers they are going to meet.
Thankfully, there are some great choices players can look for as they travel across the Paldea region. With the addition of new items and abilities, many older favorites have resurfaced into relevancy as well. Here are some great choices players can consider for the competitive circuit.
Note: This article reflects the author's opinions.
What are the top competitive picks in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
1) Maushold
Maushold has been popular in the community due to its incredible niche build. On paper, this creature should not be as strong as it is since it has terrible base stats and a pure Normal typing.
What makes Maushold so oppressive is its signature attack, "Population Bomb." This attack has an accuracy of 90 and can hit up to 10 times. Giving Maushold a Wide Lens increases this accuracy to 99, which makes the attack much more likely to strike 10 times. Maushold's hidden ability Technician greatly increases the base power of this attack, making it a dangerous contender in battles.
2) Houndstone
Houndstone was one of the most hyped-up Pokemon leading to the release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet due to its pre-evolved form, Greavard, getting its own trailer to announce its debut. Thankfully, all the hype was worth it in the end, as Houndstone is so oppressive that it was banned from tournament formats upon release.
Thanks to its signature move, Last Respects, Houndstone can cleave through any opponent not resistant to Ghost-type attacks after all of its teammates are defeated. Last Respects has a base damage of 50 that increases for every fainted Pokemon in the user's party, making Houndstone deal 300 base damage if it is the last one standing.
3) Stonjourner
One of the more niche but effective choices, Stonjourner will really only be useful in double battles, thanks to its ability Power Spot. This ability greatly increases the attacking power of the allies that it is on the field with. This can be great for supporting a late-game sweeper.
Stonjourner can also be useful for sandstorm teams as it can set up the weather condition with a bit of team support. However, due to Stonjourner's low special defense stat of 20, it can be difficult to know when it is best to send out.
4) Kingambit
Much like Houndstone, Kingambit is a pick that gets significantly better with each ally that has fallen in battle. However, unlike Houndstone, where this effect is restricted to a single attack, this contributes to Kingambit's signature ability, Supreme Overlord. It allows for a potentially brutal late-game double team with Kingambit and Houndstone.
Kingambit is a bit slow but makes up for this with incredible power and defensive stats. However, it has a crucial weakness to Fighting-type attacks. This is important to keep the field in mind when using Kingambit since using it at the wrong time can easily throw the player's late-game strategy.
5) Gallade
Gallade has always been a niche pick that has struggled to stay relevant since its glory days in the fourth generation. Thankfully, Game Freak finally gave Gallade the buff it needed in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in the form of a new ability, Sharpness. This new ability increases the power of all Gallade's slashing moves.
Given that Gallade has swords for arms, a majority of its attacks are slashing moves. With great coverage in Night Slash, Leaf Blade, Aqua Cutter, and Slash, as well as amazing same-type options in Sacred Sword and Psycho Cutter, Gallade gets an astounding amount of value from this ability.
6) Jolteon
One of the most useful utility Eevee evolutions players can have on their team, Jolteon is amazing at setting up for its team, thanks to its great supporting move pool and high speed stat.
A moveset of Mud-Slap, a screen of the trainer's choice, Rain Dance, and Thunder sets up Jolteon to be an asset for rain teams as well as providing excellent support, thanks to Mud-Slap damaging and lowering accuracy. Thunder is also guaranteed to hit in the rain and can paralyze an opponent.
7) Palafin
One of the best Water-types introduced to the franchise in a long time, Palafin is a must-have for trainers in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet who find themselves in need of a Water-type on their battle team. While it is incredibly weak in its Zero Forme, this can easily be fixed with a bit of strategy.
By maxing out Palafin's speed EVs, players can quickly use Flip Turn at the start of battle to activate its Hero Forme, which will be sent out once it is back in battle. With a base attack stat of 160 and access to Acrobatics, players will not even need to give Palafin an item for it to be relevant in battle.
8) Dondozo
Much like Palafin, Dondozo is another amazing Water-type to use in online battles, but it has a completely different use case. Dondozo is the only creature that procs the ability of Tatsugiri, Commander. If both are in battle at the same time, which can only be done in double battles, Tatsugiri will go into Dondozo's mouth and greatly increase all of its stats.
With a base attack of 100 and a base defense of 115, Dondozo is already a bulky powerhouse. Pair this with Tatsugiri's influence, and Dondozo quickly becomes unstoppable. However, it doesn't fare well in single battles and can quickly be dealt with by special attackers.
9) Revavroom
A surprisingly amazing pick for sandstorm teams, Revavroom can easily carry games thanks to its defensive typing, amazing stats, and boosts from held items. With both Sandstorm and Shift Gear, Revavroom is easily one of the best set-up sweepers in the current metagame, though a bit niche.
Revavroom does not benefit from the Assault Vest with the set-up sweeper build, but it can get some value with items like the Metronome or Toxic Barb as it only needs to use one or two different moves to completely sweep once it is fully set up.
10) Garganacl
Garganacl is arguably the best defensive tank in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. The typing of pure Rock and a defensive stat of 130 already make it a daunting task for physical attackers to take on. Add in access to moves like Recover and Iron Defense, and players have quite the wall to break through.
Garganacl also has access to the move Salt Cure. This attack does lingering damage, much like Fire Spin and Sand Tomb. However, it deals an increased amount of damage against Steel and Water-type Pokemon, two types with an advantage over Rock-types like Garganacl.
Although these are some of the top contenders in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, players should customize their team to see what works best for them.
