Summary
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’scompetitive meta is about to shift radically. With the Indigo Disk DLC bringing back and introducing so many key Pokemon, players may feel overwhelmed as Regulation E comes to a close after three months. With proper preparation, however, climbing to the top of the ranks can certainly become a reality.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violethas seen so many Pokemon jump in and out of competitive relevancy, and it can be hard to keep up with such a rapidly evolving metagame. With Regulation F about to begin, this is everything that can be expected within the first few weeks, and how it is best utilized.
Who Is Legal In Regulation F
All Pokemon introduced in the Indigo Disk DLCare now legal, except for Restricted Legendary and Mythical Pokemon such as Mew, Lugia, Dialga, and others. Still, tons of other returning Legendaries such as Entei, Suicune, and Raikou are legal and expected to see usage. Still, there are new and returning Pokemon that have trainers meticulously teambuilding to prepare for.
The Return Of Incineroar
Incineroar, the Fire and Dark-type starter Pokemon from generation seven returns for the first time sinceSword and Shield.Hailed by the community as the king of competitive Pokemon, this defensive anchor has been the cornerstone of most trainers’ teams since it got access to its Hidden Ability, Intimidate. With this ability, Incineroar drops the Attack stats of both opposing Pokemon, indirectly buffing the Defense stats of its partner and itself. It also has a base Attack stat of 115, fulfilling an offensive role and knocking out frailer opponents with ease.
The Heel Pokemon’s best partners are Urshifu-Rapid Strike and Rillaboom, providing trainers with the Grass-Fire-Water core that is critical for safe switch-ins. The Ghost and Fairy-type Paradox Pokemon Flutter Mane is also expectedto be a prominent partner to Incineroar. Here is a common set that trainers will most likely be utilizing as Regulation F begins.
This set allows Incineroar to find a place in almost any team composition. In Gen 8, Incineroar lost access to Knock Off, a Dark-type move that removes an opponent’s items while dealing damage. It can now learn it again and is a staple of its moveset. Fake Out is a necessity for the Pokemon, as threatening flinches upon switching in is far too valuable of a tool. Parting Shot lowers the Attack and Special Attack stats of an opponent, allowing Incineroar to pivot in and out while providing defensive aid to its partners.A Grass Tera-Type makes certainthat it can survive powerful Water-type attacks such as Surging Strikes from Urshifu. Finally, Flare Blitz can secure late-game knockouts.
The New Paradox Pokemon: Raging Bolt
One of Regulation E’s most dominant pairs is Urshifu-Rapid Strike and Tornadus, an offensively overwhelming core that provides massive damage along with speed control. It looks like Game Freak was also aware of how symbiotic the two Legendary Pokemon are, asthe new Paradox Pokemon Raging Boltseems to have been specifically engineered to counter the pair.
As an Electric and Dragon-type, the Raikou relative resists both Urshifu’s Water-type attacks and Tornadus’ Flying-type attacks. Its signature move, Thunderclap, is a special Electric-type variation of Sucker Punch, which guarantees the move goes first if the opponent selects a damaging attack. This, coming off of a massive 137-base Special Attack, ensures that no Urshifu nor Tornadus feels safe in its presence. This is likely to be a popular set for the Pokemon.
Raging Bolt is an extremely bulky Pokemon, and this set takes advantage of its high offensive and defensive stats. The 68 EVs invested in its Speed stat allow it to outspeed every other competitively relevant Pokemon in the game if Tailwind is active, besides Dragapult. Calm Mind raises its Special Attack and Special Defense stats by one stage and can be extremely threatening if it’s even able to use it once. The combination of Protect and Leftovers allows for minimal, yet crucial recovery. A Fairy Tera-Type gives it immunity to Dragon-type moves, one of its few weaknesses.
To conclude its moveset, Dragon Pulse provides thenecessary Dragon-type STAB coverageto deal with opposing Raging Bolt and other threats such as Roaring Moon. This can be switched out for Draco Meteor if more damage is wanted, but the harsh Special Attack drop that follows the move can be game-changing in certain scenarios.
A More Niche Pick In Smeargle
Veteran VGC players know of the notorious generation two Pokemon, Smeargle. It hasn’t been available in the mainline series sinceSun and Moonbut has finally returned toPokemon Scarlet and Violet.While its base stats are among the worst in the game, it’s able to learn almost every single move in existence,which makes Smeargle a unique pick for Pokemon trainers.
While this may sound overpowered, there are only so many moves it can effectively make use of due to its horrible offensive and defensive abilities. Furthermore, the existence of Urshifu-Rapid Strike makes its life more inconvenient. This is because its signature move, Surging Strikes, hits three times, breaking the Focus Sash that Smeargle relies on to stay on the field. Nevertheless, trainers can use the following set if they want to find success with the Painter Pokemon.
Due to Smeargle’s frail stats, aFocus Sash is almost always neededto remain active for more than one turn. Fake Out, which provides almost guaranteed flinch pressure, also helps the Pokemon stay healthy. Follow Me redirects all single target moves to itself, which provides defensive security for its partner. Spore is incredibly powerful as a 100% accurate sleep-inducing move. Combined with Moody, its ability which sharply raises two random stats while dropping one at the end of every turn, Smeargle can begin to outspeed every other Pokemon on the field and immediately put them to sleep.
Mortal Spin, Glimmora’s signature move, allows Smeargle to poison both opposing Pokemon to make up for its minuscule power. This move is also necessary in case it gets Taunted, which prevents the Pokemon from using non-damaging moves. Finally,a Ghost Tera-Type makes Smeargle immuneto Fake Out and other priority moves, such as Extreme Speed.
