Pokemon Scarlet and Violet guide: How to get better at competitive Ranked Battles

Competitive Ranked Battles can be quite confusing for the average Pokemon Scarlet and Violet player. The things that can be used to beat the main storyline are often no good when it comes to facing competent foes. As a result, trainers have to do the following if they want to get better at Ranked Battles:

Understand what IVs and EVs are and how to improve them.
Learn team building and what the current meta is.
Use good builds for the Pokemon you plan to use (movesets, items, etc.).

It's fine to prefer the singles meta over the doubles one and vice versa in Ranked Battles. The strategies between the two differ, but the basic idea of trying to get better at competitive combat is largely the same.

Here's how you get better at Ranked Battles in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Series 2 was the current ruleset for Ranked Battles when this article was written (Image via Game Freak)

There are two main reasons that drive a player to do well in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's competitive Ranked Battles. First, individuals who make it into the Master Ball tier earn more rewards than those at a lower rank. Second, some players feel accomplished about being among the best in the playerbase.

This guide is largely for casuals who need help understanding how to get better in the competitive scene. First and foremost, you can always practice with rental teams. Ideally, you would use a pro's creation since the EVs and whatnot would have been properly optimized in it. However, those who wish to build their own teams should read ahead.

IVs and EVs in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Every Pocket Monster can have IVs that range from 0 to 31 in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. The higher the value, the better their stats will be. Thankfully, Hyper Training allows players to max out all their creatures' IVs, regardless of the initial value.

You just need a Bottle Cap to enhance one stat or a Golden Bottle Cap to improve all six of them. The former only costs ₽20,000 at any Delibird Presents once you've defeated six Gym Leaders.

Several items associated with EVs (Image via Game Freak)

All Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet can have up to 510 EVs, with 252 being the maximum allocated in a single stat. EV training allows you to raise any creature's attributes, which can be done in a few ways:

Defeat wild Pocket Monsters. You must look up which ones drop which EVs, as unwanted EVs can hurt builds. Equipping Power items to help make this process go quickly.
Use items like vitamins or feathers.

If you have received unwanted EVs, use the following berries to get rid of these stats:

Pomeg Berry: HP
Kelpsy Berry: Attack
Qualot Berry: Defense
Hondew Berry: Sp. Atk
Grepa Berry: Sp. Def
Tamato Berry: Speed

If you don't know what to fight to get EV, here is a very brief list of what to farm in the southern region of Paldea:

HP: Azurill, Lechonk, and Paldean Wooper
Attack: Flamigo
Defense: Tarountula
Sp.Atk: Psyduck
Sp. Def: Spoink
Speed: Rookiedee and Fletchling

Though these Pocket Monsters aren't the only ones you can farm in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the list should be simple enough to understand regarding what you have to fight. A creature with an ideal EV spread will be far more specialized and useful than a random one in competitive Ranked Battles. You can see your EVs in the menu screen of the selected Pokemon.

Team building and good builds

Using websites like Pikalytics can help you see what most players are using in the current meta (Image via Game Freak)

Doing research on what's currently meta is incredibly important to any Pokemon Scarlet and Violet trainer's chances of succeeding in competitive Ranked Battles. For example, popular sites like Pikalytics and Smogon have a treasure trove of information for players seeking to learn what's good and what's not.

Karen's famous quote about using one's favorite Pokemon isn't valuable for winning competitive Ranked Battles. Many Pocket Monsters have a niche, but you should be prepared to use them alongside some genuinely great teammates if you actually want to win in combat.

For example, Flutter Mane is a top-tier threat to watch out for in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Series 2 Ranked Battles. Understanding the entire meta would be too much to explain in a short article, but it's worth mentioning that a good team will anticipate the top threats and see themselves winning matchups against most foes.