By Joseph Ugarte, contributing writer
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With Regulation Set G returning to Pokémon Video Game Championship (VGC) competitions in the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet games, it’s a particularly tricky time to anticipate what we’ll see in the upcoming Regional Championships and European International Championships metagame. After spending months in Regulation Set H since the Pokémon World Championships (Worlds) concluded in August, January’s shift back to that tournament’s format—Regulation Set G—is sure to feature the return of established teams, but with room to innovate as well. How will the Pokémon World Championships influence upcoming tournaments using Regulation Set G? Let’s break it down as we return to this old (but new) format.
We witnessed a historic win for Italy at last year’s Masters Division World Championships by Luca Ceribelli, utilizing a powerful Miraidon team that had seen success both online and in grassroots tournaments leading up to the World Championships. The team featured some of the strongest Pokémon that Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet have to offer, including Miraidon, Iron Hands, and Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon. Luca was able to pilot this team to a hard-fought win over Yuta Ishigaki, who used a much more unconventional Ice Rider Calyrex team featuring a Life Orb Pelipper and Choice Scarf Incarnate Forme Landorus, along with the totally unexpected Iron Valiant.
The real question is: How will this team impact the metagame going forward? Will it continue to dominate, or will the format adapt to its presence? The answer might be a bit of both. When players return to tested formats, they usually have more experience as competitors and a better understanding of the metagame, meaning that certain teams or archetypes are optimized faster than before.
However, there are still opportunities for adaptations that haven’t been explored, especially for players finding new ways to prepare for Luca Ceribelli’s team. Although they’re versatile and threaten lots of offensive damage, Miraidon teams can struggle against powerful Ground-type spread moves, terrain changes through top Pokémon like Rillaboom and Indeedee, and dedicated Trick Room teams. Trainers looking to improve their matchups with this team might reconsider the Choice Scarf Incarnate Form Landorus featured on Yuta Ishigaki’s team, and there’s clear potential for Groudon to perform better than it did in the first cycle of Regulation Set G. Similarly, Ice Rider Calyrex with Rillaboom will likely have continued success—Ice Rider Calyrex’s Glacial Lance threatens the knockout on Miraidon, while Rillaboom helps reduce Miraidon’s damage to a controllable level by removing the Electric Terrain set by its Ability. We could also see copies of the World Championship–winning team with tweaks aiming to gain an advantage in the mirror matchup.
Miraidon also had other unique builds perform well at the World Championships. Chenyue Zeng’s team—featuring Dondozo, Tatsugiri, Miraidon, Gholdengo, Dragonite, and Chi-Yu—was able to catch a lot of the competition off guard. Chenyue Zeng utilized an Assault Vest Miraidon, which was different enough from the most common Miraidon loadout—Choice Specs and the Fairy Tera Type—that it typically required different gameplans to defeat. Although the Choice Specs, Fairy–Tera Type version of Miraidon seems to be its most consistent build, there is still room to develop and explore new sets further, like we saw at the World Championships. Life Orb Miraidon has also shown some potential due to the fact that it can switch between moves freely while also maintaining a higher damage output.
Ice Rider Calyrex has been a consistent staple in Regulation Set G. The High King Pokémon’s incredibly versatile toolkit, which exerts heavy pressure with Glacial Lance and High Horsepower, enables it to flexibly fit on many different team compositions. The item Clear Amulet is almost exclusively given to Ice Rider Calyrex, allowing it to stack Chilling Neigh Attack boosts without being slowed down by Intimidate from Incineroar.
Surprisingly, in the Top 8 of the World Championships, every Ice Rider Calyrex team notably deviated from the more standard team compositions that had been established earlier in the format. The teams leaned into newer trends and meta developments with their picks. One of the picks featured on two of the three Top 8 Calyrex teams was Incarnate Form Landorus, with finalist Yuta Ishigaki’s team utilizing the aforementioned Choice Scarf to allow Landorus to outspeed Miraidon and pressure it directly. In contrast, Navjit Joshi’s Top 8 team featured a Life Orb Incarnate Form Landorus next to Regieleki, prioritizing strong pins with Earth Power and Electroweb over immediate Speed, synergizing with a relatively speedy Ice Rider Calyrex’s Glacial Lance.
The final Top 8 Ice Rider Calyrex player, Diego Ferreira, used a team archetype commonly referred to as the “Hard Trick Room.” A Hard Trick Room team completely dedicates its resources to setting up a Trick Room and maximizing its Pokémon’s offensive value during the turns that Trick Room is active. Diego utilized unconventional sets on his team, such as an Ice Rider Calyrex that knew Imprison, giving himself an edge into opposing Ice Rider Calyrex teams and making it harder for opponents to utilize their own Trick Room to counter Diego’s main strategy. Although the team performed well, this team will likely carry over the least into the second cycle of Regulation Set G due to the linear nature of Diego’s build.
Ice Rider Calyrex doesn’t run many unique sets, with Trainers preferring to give it a Clear Amulet and teach it Glacial Lance, High Horsepower, Protect, and Trick Room. Typically, the biggest variations on Ice Rider Calyrex come through its Tera Type. Normal, Fire, Water, Grass, and Dragon all see play, with each Tera Type having different benefits and drawbacks defensively. The Tera Type choice is usually dependent on the partners surrounding Ice Rider Calyrex. You might also see specific teams using unique items such as the Assault Vest, a strategy that makes Ice Rider Calyrex even more difficult to remove from the field, which allowed it to place second at the Japan National Championships. Never Melt Ice was another item adaptation, allowing Glacial Lance to output even more damage—with the trade-off of becoming vulnerable to the Attack stat reduction from Incineroar’s Intimidate Ability.
Shadow Rider Calyrex was one of the greatest threats going into the Pokémon World Championships, with most Trainers having dedicated their time towards finding effective ways to beat it. Despite this, it still received multiple Top Cut placements, though none made it to the Top 8 of the tournament. Although it didn’t perform as well as expected, it is still a powerful threat that must be respected. Shortly before the World Championships, Shadow Rider Calyrex was more frequently paired with Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon, which allowed it to set up terrifying situations wherein opponents had to take both an Astral Barrage and a Fire-type Ivy Cudgel in the same turn. Incineroar and Rillaboom are also phenomenal partners to this core, allowing for safe switches and leveraging Fake Out to set up Shadow Rider Calyrex. It will be interesting to see if that trend continues or if players will try to create new builds to bring out Shadow Rider Calyrex’s potential.
It’s worth mentioning that before the North America International Championships, Mienshao was commonly paired with Shadow Rider Calyrex, but by the World Championships it was generally outclassed by a rival Fighting-type Pokémon: Rapid Strike Style Urshifu. It will be interesting to see whether that was a one-event exception, or if Mienshao will see a resurgence at the next events of Regulation Set G. Shadow Rider Calyrex has some opportunities to continue developing; it is versatile and works well alongside the most powerful, meta-defining Pokémon.
You can expect to see Shadow Rider Calyrex players show bias toward a Nasty Plot setup strategy, leveraging the insane snowball potential from the effects of the Grim Neigh Ability, which grants an additional Sp. Attack boost per knockout as it continually fires off Astral Barrage into the opposing team. It can run a variety of items, most frequently Covert Cloaks, Sitrus Berries, Life Orbs, and Spell Tags. Covert Cloaks and Sitrus Berries are both defensive options that work well next to partners that enable Shadow Rider Calyrex to set up Nasty Plot more safely. Life Orbs and Spell Tags also synergize with Nasty Plot but trade survivability for higher immediate damage output, allowing Shadow Rider Calyrex to play offensively from Turn 1 and naturally get stat boosts through knockouts.
Although the main focus for players was on Miraidon, Shadow Rider Calyrex, and Ice Rider Calyrex, it is worth noting that other restricted Pokémon options will still have a big impact in the return of Regulation Set G. Other notable restricted Pokémon options include Terapagos and Zamazenta, both of which had strong performances in the World Championships, placing in the Top 8 and Top 4 respectively.
Terapagos is a versatile Pokémon that takes advantage of a unique Stellar Tera Type mechanic involving its powerful signature move, Tera Starstorm. When Terapagos Terastallizes and uses this move, it generally hits all opposing Pokémon for neutral damage—and deals supereffective damage to opposing Terastallized Pokémon. Even without Terastallizing, Tera Starstorm is still a powerful move that functions as a single-target, Normal-type attack with high base power and no drawbacks.
Terapagos is typically given Choice Specs, a Power Herb, or Leftovers. Choice Specs and Power Herbs are offensive items, allowing Terapagos to snowball with its damage output faster. Leftovers sets featuring Calm Mind instead slow down the pace of the game, threatening a long-term setup option next to Rillaboom and Incineroar or Amoonguss and Iron Hands. Terapagos also has an Ability that clears all weather and terrain effects upon Terastallizing, giving its Trainer a lot of control over the board state.
Zamazenta is more straightforward in its role, receiving an immediate boost to its Defense stat when sent out for the first time. Zamazenta deals insane damage with its Defense-boosted Body Press, and it can deal even more damage when paired with Chien-Pao’s Sword of Ruin Ability. Sword of Ruin reduces the Defense stats of all adjacent Pokémon, but does not impact the power of Zamazenta’s Body Press, making for a seemingly unintuitive yet extremely potent combination.
Zamazenta is arguably the most “fair” out of all the restricted Pokémon, with a balanced toolkit that functions well when it’s in a position to throw out Body Press multiple times into the opposing team. Heavy Slam is a great secondary option to pressure Pokémon like Flutter Mane as well. Zamazenta can further boost its damage through utilizing Iron Defense, which can make it virtually impossible for physical attackers like Ice Rider Calyrex to break through. Zamazenta also gets access to Wide Guard, giving it ways to support its teammates by blocking Astral Barrage, Water Spout, Terastallized Tera Starstorm, and Glacial Lance.
There are still other unique builds that performed well at Worlds that have room for development, with one of the main standouts being Justin Knox’s team of Dondozo, Tatsugiri, Galarian Weezing, Shadow Rider Calyrex, Female Indeedee, and Rapid Strike Style Urshifu. This team uses Poison Gas and Toxic Spikes to wear the opponent down, eventually building toward using a boosted Dondozo or Shadow Rider Calyrex to close out the game. This concept will likely have some more innovations throughout the format.
Zacian is a restricted Pokémon that has seen some decent success in the format, having one Top Cut at the Pokémon World Championships and also placing in the Top 4 at the Los Angeles Regional Championships. Grant Weldon’s Zacian team featured Regidrago, a Pokémon whose signature move, Dragon Energy, can threaten big spread damage without taking up the restricted Pokémon slot on its team. Regidrago is great at forcing Fairy types on the field, which Zacian can capitalize on by hitting them with a supereffective Behemoth Blade. Kian Campbell’s version of Zacian was a bit more of what you might expect from a Tailwind Zacian team, using conventional, metagame-defining partners like Rapid Strike Style Urshifu, Rillaboom, Chien-Pao, and Tornadus. The team also had a unique pick of Umbreon to give it a better matchup into Ice Rider Calyrex. Zacian likely still has some potential to perform even better in this second run of Regulation Set G, with its main draw being that it can pressure Miraidon before and after it Terastallizes.
Kyogre was able to secure Top 16 at the Pokémon World Championships through a run by European top player Oliver Eskolin. His team used a Calm Mind, Leftovers Kyogre next to Roaring Moon, giving it useful options to pressure opposing Shadow Rider Calyrex. Kyogre has a solid position in the Regulation Set G metagame, with a reliable matchup into Zamazenta, Ice Rider Calyrex, and Shadow Rider Calyrex. Kyogre typically has issues against Rillaboom, meaning that it normally is forced have Grass as its Tera Type, which can be exploited by stronger players. Despite this drawback, Kyogre’s ability to control weather and pressure strong Water-type spread damage with Water Spout and Origin Pulse makes it a fierce contender for the restricted Pokémon slot.
Groudon and Koraidon are also restricted Pokémon worth discussing. Groudon has serious anti-metagame potential due to the rise of Miraidon at the World Championships. It will need to deal with the inaccuracy of Precipice Blades, but we have already seen that it’s possible for Groudon to perform well, as Japanese top player Yuma Kinugawa ended up just one win short of Top Cut with it at the World Championships. Koraidon also just barely missed Top Cut by one win, with the highest-placing Koraidon piloted by Spanish player Carlos Cabal. Carlos’s team featured Ditto, another Pokémon with a lot of potential in this second cycle of Regulation Set G. Ditto’s Imposter Ability allows it to copy the opposing restricted Pokémon when sent out, essentially giving its team access to two restricted Pokémon for the price of one.
Regulation Set G’s return is a chance for players to shake things up, try out new ideas, and maybe even give their World Championships team another shot. The real excitement will come through seeing how players approach these new tournaments. Will players stick to the strategies that worked at Worlds, or will they surprise viewers with something completely unexpected? (You can find the Top 8 teams at Pokemon.com.) Either way, the first Regional Championships are just around the corner, and they’re bound to have some awesome matches. Stay tuned!
This page discusses the basics of competitive Singles team building in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (SV). Read on to learn the basics of Singles team building, such as recommended Pokemon, team synergy, and ideal builds for Singles competitive play.
Team Building Guides Singles Guide Doubles GuideIn competitive Singles battles, each battle is fought between three Pokemon chosen out of a team of six. To win these battles, players need to learn how to build a solid team to cover for all of the different Pokemon on the opposing side.
With the Teal Mask DLC being added to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the competitive ruleset has been updated to Regulation E to accomadate all of the new Pokemon inroduced to the game.
Kitakami Pokedex: List of All Teal Mask DLC Pokemon
This team makes use of offensive Pokemon with maxed-out speed and offensive stats. With a wide range of coverage moves, it will be difficult for unprepared teams to survive the offensive pressure generated by this team.
This team makes use of bulky offensive Pokemon with maxed-out defensive and offensive stats. Whenever the current Pokemon out on the field is being threatened by an opposing Pokemon, you can swap them out to bring in something that resists it instead.
This team makes use of defensive Pokemon with maxed-out HP and defensive stats. With multiple moves like Salt Cure and Toxic that chip away at the opponent's health, combined with healing from moves and items like Roost and Leftovers, this team will stall out the opponent for a slow but steady victory.
It is also good to have bulky offensive threats in the back in case the opponent has good ways to deal with a stall team.
Snow is required to setup Aurora Veil, which is basically Reflect and Light Screen in one move. This helps the offensive Pokemon boost their damage with moves like Swords Dance or Nasty Plot. The Snow also increases the Ice-type Pokemon's Defense and makes Blizzard never miss.
Ranked Battle Regulation E: Rules and Banned Pokemon
The different team archetypes are a way for players to classify a team based on what Pokemon are on a team, how they are built, and how they're meant to be played.
If a team is full of fast and strong Pokemon, then that team would be classified as a hyper-offense team. If a team is full of defensive Pokemon that can heal themselves while chipping away at your health, it would be classified as a stall team.
When building your team make sure to keep in mind what kind of archetype best suits your playstyle. From there you should pick and build Pokemon that best suits that playstyle.
Hyper Offense teams are typically categorized by having multiple Pokemon that have high Speed stats, as well as high Attack or Special Attack. The goal for these teams are to generally get quick knockouts before you are able to respond.
These teams focus on having a wide range of offensive coverage in order to have answers to whatever Pokemon you may bring to fight them.
Balance teams normally have Pokemon with strong bulk and good Attack or Special Attack stats. The goal for these teams are to be bulky enough to not get easily knocked out, while potentially threatening huge damage in return.
These teams typically have ways to heal themselves, whether it be through an ability, move, or held item.
Stall teams are named after their signature playstyle, having bulky Pokemon stall out turns until your Pokemon are knocked out. The goal for these teams are to have their Pokemon stay alive for as long as possible while your Pokemon slowly lose more and more health.
These teams also have different ways to heal themselves, moves that will reduce your health every turn, and moves that prevent them from getting damaged.
Weather teams tend to revolve around Pokemon that benefit from certain weather conditions. The goal for these teams is to maximize the use of their chosen weather condition to benefit their Pokemon while also hindering yours.
These teams typically have Pokemon that benefit from certain aspects being triggered when a weather condition is active, like an ability that doubles your speed while it is Sunny or Ice-types getting a 1.5x Defense boost while it is Snowing.
When selecting the six Pokemon for your team, you need to consider what their role will be. Are they meant to support the team to enable their teammates, or are they an offensive threat that will knock out your opponent's Pokemon?
The goal of a Pokemon with an offensive role is to threaten massive damage, or sometimes even straight knockouts, on your opponent's Pokemon.
Physical Attackers primarily focus on maximizing their high Attack stat to maximise the damage of their Physical moves.
Special Attackers primarily focus on maximizing their high Special Attack stat to maximise the damage of their Special moves.
Mixed Attackers are unique in that they can maximize either one of their Atk or Sp. Atk stat since they have a wide range of strong Physical and Special moves that they can use.
The goal of a Pokemon with a defensive role is to minimize the amount of damage received, while being able to do more damage in return.
Physical Walls typically have a high Defense stat to help reduce the amount of damage taken by Physical attacking moves.
Special Walls typically have a high Special Defense stat to help reduce the amount of damage taken by Special attacking moves.
Pivots are bulky Pokemon that are sent into battle to take hits for their allies and turn an unfavourable matchup into a favourable one.
The goal of a Pokemon with a supportive role is to enable your team to do what they were built to do while also hindering your opponent.
Hazard Setters use moves like Stealth Rock or Sticky Web to either chip away at the opposing Pokemon's health or to reduce their Speed stat.
Screen Setters use moves like Reflect or Light Screen that reduce the damage received from Physical and Special attacks.
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Weather Setters have abilities that can change the weather conditions in battle whenever they switch in.
After deciding which Pokemons you will use, and what kind of team you would want to build, you will need to make sure that your Pokemon will have the correct movesets.
While moves like Flare Blitz and Poltergeist are high base power STAB moves, they are considered to be Physical moves. Chandelure is a Pokemon with a Special Attack stat that is significantly higher than its Attack stat. Even if a Special move would have a lower base power, it would still do more damage than a high power Physical move.
Whenever selecting moves for a Pokemon, you need to make sure that you are playing towards its strengths. In this case, we give Chandelure two strong Special STAB moves to make use of its high Sp. Atk and its Ghost/Fire typing. We also give it Energy Ball to counter Water-types that threaten it, and Calm Mind to further boost Chandelure Sp. Atk.
To create an effective EV spread for your Pokemon, you'll have to take a look at its stats and optimize the ones it needs for its role.
For Offensive Pokemon, EV spreads are often pretty straightforward - with full EV investment on speed and its primary attacking stat. The remaining 4 EVs are usually invested into HP or either of its defensive stats.
Pokemon Garchomp Role Physical Attacker Nature Jolly EV Spread 252 Atk / 4 Sp. Def / 252 Spe Final Stat Values 183 HP / 182 Atk / 115 Def / 106 SpD / 169 SpeGarchomp will usually fill the role of Physical Attacker, because its highest stats are its Attack and Speed. A full investment into Attack and Speed ensures that it hits hard and fast.
Its remaining EVs are placed in Special Defense to make it better survive moves like Ice Beam or Moonblast.
Pokemon will sometimes have unconventional EV spreads, often EV-ing to meet specific benchmarks. Pokemon can be EVd to survive certain attacks or outspeed specific threats.
Pokemon Alolan Ninetales Role Utility Nature Calm EV Spread 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 Sp. Def Final Stat Values 180 HP / 107 Def / 101 Sp. Atk / 155 Sp. Def / 129 SpeAlolan Ninetales's EV spread has a full 252 EVs in HP, with the rest evenly distributed between its Defense and Special Defense. There is some extra investment in Special Defense to help Alolan Ninetales better tank Flash Cannon's damage because we're expecting to encounter more Flash Cannons than Iron Heads.
The items your Pokemon hold during battle are just as important as their movesets and EV spreads. Some held items can drastically increase a Pokemon's stats, provide passive recovery, and even let it survive a guaranteed KO!
Pokemon Landorus (Therian Forme) Role Physical Attacker Ability Intimidate Held Item Choice ScarfLandorus Therian is a great Physical Attacker, but it is prone to being outsped by faster Pokemon.
Equipping it with a Choice Scarf ensures that it will get an increase to its Speed stat, allowing it to threaten knockouts on Pokemon that are normally faster than it.
Keep in mind that in competitive battles, you can't have two or more Pokemon hold the same item. This means that while you may have multiple attackers on your team, only one of them can hold a Choice Scarf.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's new Terastallizing mechanic can be used offensively or defensively, adding a whole new approach to Pokemon Battling and decision-making.
Using it offensively gives your Pokemon a new type for STAB, or if it Terastallizes to a type it already has, an even stronger STAB.
In this case, Scizor already gets a STAB boost if it uses Bullet Punch, but Terastallizing into Steel will further boost Bullet Punch's damage allowing it to threaten quick knockouts.
Terastallizing defensively means that your Pokemon Terastallizes into a type that resists what would normally be a super-effective move. This can save it from getting knocked out in most cases.
In this case, Gholdengo would normally be threatened by super effective Fire-type attacks, but since we gave it a Water Tera, it can just Terastallize and resist it instead.
You want to make sure that you have a diverse and balanced team of Pokemon. Each Pokemon has its own strengths and weaknesses, and when you're choosing which Pokemon to have on your team, you want to make sure that there aren't too many overlapping weaknesses.
At the end of the day, the goal is to knock out all of your opponent's Pokemon before they can knock out yours. It will be difficult to accomplish this if your team is full of supportive Pokemon since your team will be lacking in damage.
It is also not ideal to have a team where the majority of the Pokemon have the same typing, since it opens up your team to be countered by a single Pokemon on your opponent's side.
Ideally, you want to make sure that each Pokemon that you bring will be able to cover for matchups that other Pokemon on your team are weak to. A good example of this is to bring a Water-type to deal with Fire-types that your Grass-types are weak to.
Your supportive Pokemon also need to synergize well with your team. They need to be able to enable your offensive Pokemon to do what they do best.
When building a Pokemon team, you need to think about how that team wants to win battles, and what are the best ways to enable it. If you want to win battles by outlasting your opponents, then build your team around having tanky Pokemon that can take hits and moves/abilities that apply status effects that deal damage over time.
Pokemon HOME reintroduces familiar competitive Pokemon, while introducing new ones from Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Powerful Legendaries and Hisuian Pokemon will be in the format and are sure to shake up the metagame!
It is important to identify the roles that each Pokemon will play when choosing Pokemon for your team!
All Pokemon HOME Transferable Pokemon
Trick Room is even more powerful in Regulation D with the introduction of Cresselia as the premiere Trick Room Setter, and a new Trick Room Attacker in Ursaluna. Iron Hands can help enable Trick Room with Fake Out support and is a valuable member in any Trick Room team.
Rapid-Strike Urshifu is a perfect partner for Tornadus, as its middling speed makes for a great recipient for Tailwind boosts. Tornadus can also set up Rain Dance and boost the effectiveness of Surging Strikes.
Though this duo has many shared weaknesses, its main strength is hyper-offense, which aims to take out as many of the opponent's Pokemon as possible, before they can take out yours.
Pelipper boosts the offensive power of Basculegion (Male)'s Water-type Attacks as well doubling its Speed with Swift Swim.
Rillaboom is a solid partner for Sneasler as it can use Fake Out to flinch faster threats, as well as naturally trigger Sneasler's Grassy Seed with its Grassy Surge.
Because of its mediocre defenses, Sneasler benefits from greatly from Grassy Seed's Defense boost. It also powers up Sneasler's Acrobatics, and doubles its Speed through Unburden.
Heatran, Rapid Strike Urshifu, and Rillaboom form a solid Fire-Water-Grass Balance Core that can cover each other's weaknesses. These three offer perfect type synergy, and give your team defensive switch options. They are also able to hit a variety of types for super-effective thanks to each Pokemon's coverage options. These three Pokemon are usually accompanied by Pokemon with Speed Control options such as Tornadus-I, Thundurus-I, or Regieleki.
Grimmsnarl is a great partner for Hisuian Goodra as it can help it stay in the game longer thanks to its Screens support. Behind Screens, Hisuian Goodra can comfortably set up Acid Armor, and dish out boosted Body Presses.
Chien-Pao and Dragonite are still a powerful duo in Regulation D. They can be splashed into any team, and improve the team's physical offense simply by being there.
Chien-Pao and its Sword of Ruin Ability makes Priority Move users like Dragonite with Choice Band even more powerful.
Chien-Pao is also able to clear out Psychic and Grassy Terrain with Ice Spinner, enabling Dragonite's Extreme Speed to deal sizeable chunks of damage to opposing Pokemon.
Ranked Battle Regulation D: Rules and Banned Pokemon
The introduction and ubiquity of the Treasures of Ruin means that many Pokemon will fit into new roles and niches as they adapt to the new metagame.
While the four major roles remain the same, there's a shift on the Pokemon that fills these roles.
Best Treasures of Ruin Builds for Ranked Battle and Raids
These are Pokemon sent out first at the beginning of the battle and are often used to establish offensive momentum and disrupt the opponnet's game plan.
Series 3 is shifting to an even more agressive playstyle due to the Treasures of Ruin's Abilities, notable Chien-Pao and Chi-Yu, making it easier to deal significant damage without setting up.
Chien-Pao Chi-Yu Flutter Mane Chien-Pao's Sword of Ruin Ability decreases the opposing Pokemon's Defense stat by 25%, allowing it to hit hard without setting up. Chien-Pao's Beads of Ruin Ability decreases the opposing Pokemon's Special Defense stat by 25%, making it one of the better Choice Scarf users in Regulation C. Flutter Mane's high Special Attack and Protosynthesis Ability allows it to deal heavy damage to Pokemon that don't resist its moves.These Pokemon boast high defensive stats, key type resistances, and support moves. Their main role is to take multiple strong hits throughout the battle.
In Series 3, premiere walls in the new metagame include Ting-Lu and Wo-Chien thanks to their Abillities lowering the opposing team's offensive stats.
Ting-Lu Wo-Chien Dragonite Vessel of Ruin Ability lowers the opposing Pokemon's Special Attack by 25%, allowing it to fill the role of a mixed wall and phazer.. Garganacl's immunity to status and access to Salt Cure makes it a great phazer that dissuades both offensive and defensive Pokemon from staying on the field. Multiscale and access to Roost, coupled with key resistances to Water, Grass, and Fire-types, make it a great physical wall that can still hit hard.These are your primary attackers, with a well-rounded team being composed of both physical and special attackers.
In Series 3, sweepers that boast great coverage and powerful Abilities are valued in the ever-increasing fast-paced metagame.
Chien-Pao Flutter Mane Gholdengo Sword of Ruin Ability and access to Swords Dance makes it a powerful physical attacker that's hard to switch into. Can terastallize into Fire or Ground-type to overcome its usual checks and counters. Gholdengo's Good as Gold Ability makes it immune to status moves that may hinder it from sweeping. It can also set up with Nasty Plot and KO most things that don't resist it.In Series 3, Utility and Support Pokemon take more of a backseat thanks to the every-increasing hyper offense metagame.
These new Utility Pokemon can support your team offensively or defensively, but can still deal damage with their own moves.
Wash Rotom Salamence Garganacl It's unique typing, access to Will-O-Wisp, and Volt Switch make Wash Rotom a great bulky pivot. Access to Intimidate as well as Tailwind allows Salamence to function as an effective utility support Pokemon that can still hit hard with its unboosted attacks. Garganacl's immunity to status and access to Salt Cure makes it a great phazer that dissuades both offensive and defensive Pokemon from staying on the field.This refers to how well two or more Pokemon complement each other through their typing by covering each other's weaknesses.
Kingambit Flutter Mane Physical Attacker Special Attacker AttackerKingambit's great physical bulk is offset by its rather common 4x weakness to Fighting-types, which limit its capacity to stay on the field. Partnering with a Ghost-type like Flutter Mane helps cover its weakness since its immune to Fighting-types and can hit back with STAB super effective Moonblast.
Conversely, Flutter Mane's glaring weakness to Steel and Ghost-types mean it's easily stopped by Pokemon carrying priority moves like Bullet Punch and Shadow Sneak. Kingambit resists both of these, with the two forming an offensive core thanks to their natural resistances.
Ranked Battle Series 3 (Regulation C): Rules and Banned Pokemon
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