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When Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were officially released, the Dark/Steel-type Pokemon Bisharp received a brand new evolution in the form of Kingambit. Unsurprisingly, this bladed shogun of a Pocket Monster is a very capable battler in any arena that it steps into.
When it comes to PvP battles, trainers tend to build Kingambit for either offense or defense, since the Pokemon boasts naturally high Attack and Defense stats. Regardless of which build trainers opt for, Kingambit will be a powerful ally in a collective battle team, even in competitive PvP. Furthermore, the PvP meta leans heavily towards physical attackers, a role that Kingambit can take on comfortably and effectively.
Despite Kingambit benefitting from both offensive and defensive builds, it does benefit slightly more from gearing it up for physical combat.
This article reflects the personal views of the author.
Forming Kingambit's offense build in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
With a well-tuned offensive build, Kingambit can shred through enemies while still being able to soak up some incoming damage. While sticking to physical moves, Kingambit has sweep-worthy potential even if it doesn't perform quite as well as some other top-tier Steel or Dark-type options.
Nevertheless, Kingambit shouldn't be ruled out as a part of a competent player's team, as this Pokemon simply has a lot to offer. This may change as Season 1 evolves and subsequent updates or DLCs shake things up, but for the moment, Kingambit is secure in its status.
Building Kingambit for offense in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
- Nature - Adamant
- EV Point Allocation - 252 Attack, 252 HP, 4 Special Defense
- Ability - Supreme Overlord
- Tera Type - Flying
- Held Item - Assault Vest
- Moves - Tera Blast, Kowtow Cleave, Sucker Punch, Iron Head
Clearly, there's a lot to love about this particular build for Kingambit. Both the Adamant nature and the ability Supreme Overlord provide a boost to its Attack stat, particularly the latter, which triggers when an allied Pokemon faints and boosts Kingambit's Attack and Special Attack stats by 10%.
Since its EV training points are maxed for physical attacks, this makes Kingambit's physical moveset even more dangerous as its teammates are defeated, creating a built-in comeback mechanic.
Although this offense build is great, Kingambit has its flaws like any other Pokemon. Specifically, it's painfully weak to Fighting-type moves and adversaries. This is where the Flying Tera Type comes in.
After Terastallizing, Kingambit's glaring weakness is nullified, and it can use Tera Blast to counter Fighting-type foes with heavy damage. At the same time, holding the Assault Vest gives this Pocket Monster a 50% boost to its Special Defense stat, further bolstering it against potential counterpicks.
To put it plainly, running Kingambit on offense is a high-risk, high-reward proposition. However, very few Pokemon can sport the kind of comeback capabilities that this Dark/Steel-type option sports. In full 6v6 singles battles, Kingambit can receive a 50% increase to its offensive output by simply being the last member of its team.
However, players will still need to be careful. Even though Kingambit's Tera Type in this build protects it from Fighting-type attacks, it will still take heavy damage from Fire and Ground-type opponents. Although no build is perfect, this loadout is one of the select few that gives Kingambit a fairly high degree of success in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.
