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The Pokémon Tier List Fans Are Waiting On For Scarlet & Violet

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Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are about two months old at this point, but the quest to find out which Pokémon are the very best like no one ever was is an ongoing conversation among the competitive community. Smogon, one of the biggest hubs for competitive Pokémon on the internet, has been trying to sort through the games’ meta for awhile now, and while talks are still unfolding, we do have some idea of who the best Pokémon are in Generation IX.

If you want to just see the top Pokémon, feel free to ctrl+f/command+f “Who are the top ranked Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet?” Otherwise, let’s run through some context for those that don’t know how competitive Pokémon rankings work.

How do Pokémon competitive tiers work in Scarlet and Violet?

There are a lot of Pokémon, and a lot of disparity between them in terms of stats. So when it comes to creating a tier list for a Pokémon game, the community doesn’t just make one giant list. Instead, the Pokémon are divided into separate tier lists that have their own tiers. It sounds confusing, but think of it like this: the gap in stats between a little baby Pichu and Actual God Arceus is huge, and there are hundreds of Pokémon with different stats, movesets, and abilities that make them more or less competitively viable. Overall, the prospect of a perfectly balanced Pokémon game is unattainable in its current form, so rather than try and make a giant list and compare Pichu to Arceus, Pokémon fans divide Pokémon into different tiers that put different mons alongside others that are close in viability.

These tiers have contained rule sets that include and ban certain Pokémon for competitive play, but you’ll see a bit of overlap between the different tiers, as some ‘mons are considered viable in different tiers of play. These different tiers include:

Standard/Overused: This is often considered a ‘baseline’ experience for competitive Pokémon battling. Here you’ll find a lot of the most popular, non-legendary Pokémon.

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Underused: The next tier below is for the middle of the road Pokémon who are decent, but there are typically better options depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.

Rarely Used: Here is where we start to get to the Pokémon that would be a rarity to see in any higher tier play, as a lot of these critters have either some notable drawbacks or would just be better off replaced by a different Pokémon.

Never Used: These are the real stinkers. The losers. The weakest links, as it were. While Never Used is not the standard way of play, some folks just prefer the Pokémon who occupy the less competitive space as it can make for a more interesting or at least different type of competitive environment. Personally, Beautifly is one of my favorite Pokémon, and it’s considered a Never Used Pokémon. Sometimes your friends are just not as good as the pros, and that’s okay.

Uber: This is the tier where most legendary Pokémon fall. Palkia, Arceus, Mew, the Lati twins? All of them exist here alongside a select few normies who have some great stats or strategies. A great deal of Pokémon that fall into the Uber tier are banned elsewhere, and for good reason. They’re the most powerful Pokémon in the game and can pretty easily bulldoze over everything else. So now they get to be in their own pool and fight each other, rather than stomping on a family of Maushold.

A lot of players will pick the Pokémon they like to play the main game, but competitive play tends to require a more calculated team.
Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

What is Smogon?

For the uninitiated, Smogon is basically the officially unofficial hub for competitive Pokémon. Though the site technically abides by different rules than the official Pokémon competitive leagues, it has a pretty robust and thorough system for tier rankings that has become extremely common vernacular for the Pokémon community. It’s so prevalent that it’s recognized across Pokémon hubs like Serebii. So if you’re looking for an official ranking of the best Pokémon straight from The Pokémon Company’s mouth, that’s not what Smogon is. Plus, these kinds of discussions are often spurred by the community, as they’re the most equipped to speak candidly about the strengths and shortcomings of a game. So if you want to learn more about the best Pokémon to make up a competitive team, you won’t find a source more qualified than the users at Smogon.

The site also publishes usage statistics to give people a sense of how often certain Pokémon show up in competitive play, and based on December’s stats, it seems Paradox Pokémon are occupying a lot of space in standard play. Great Tusk was the most used Pokémon in December, with Iron Valiant, Roaring Moon, Iron Tusk, Iron Moth, and Iron Hands all appearing in the top 36 Pokémon in the tier.

Who are the top ranked Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet?

As previously outlined, who the “best” Pokémon are varies by tier, but it’s not just stats that determine how high a Pokémon will rank. There are also abilities, attacks, and stat training that will help a Pokémon climb the ranks. So while those are all key factors, the Smogon community has been debating and discussing the matter since Scarlet and Violet launched.

The easiest place to start is the Uber tier, as that’s where the most powerful Pokémon are, though a lot of them you won’t be able to use in competitive play outside of that tier. Unsurprisingly, the game mascots Koraidon and Miraidon are ranked at the very top of the Uber tier list. It’s often the case for most Pokémon games for the legendary box art characters to rank high, as they’re propped up as a powerful entity at the end of your journey. In Scarlet and Violet, you befriend these two almost immediately as the game starts, but they aren’t usable in battle until the endgame. They have powerful stats, abilities that give them stat boosts the second they’re on the field, and have a lot of tricks in their moveset.

Unsurprisingly, Miraidon and Koraidon are at the top of their tier.
Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

Further down the list, the A rank of best Pokémon is primarily made up of both the secondary legendary monstersPokémon you’ll meet in the Paldea region (Chien-Pao, Ting-Lu, and Chi-Yu are here, though Wo-Chien is not part of the Uber tier) and the Paradox Pokémon that are ancient or futuristic relatives to established Pokémon. Flutter Mane, Great Tusk, and Iron Bundle lead the pack, with Iron Treads coming at the bottom of A-tier. There are a few normies here, as well, with Corviknight, Gholdengo, and Skeleridge also in A-tier.

When you go from Uber to Overused, you’ll notice some Pokémon who were ranked lower than others in Uber are ranked higher in lower ranks. This is because having some of those Uber Pokémon in the pool changes things in the meta, and as they’re not in the OU pool, some Pokémon who suffered from significant counters can rise in the ranks. So right now, Gholdengo, Dragapult, and Great Tusk are at the top of Smogon’s OU rankings for best Pokémon. This is above several legendaries like Chien-Pao and Ting-Lu, who fall into the A ranking alongside some Paradox Pokémon like Iron Valiant and Roaring Moon, as well as some standard Pokémon like Dragonite, Espathra, and Kingambit. As the A ranking goes down the list, some Pokémon that were ranked high in Uber like Corviknight, Iron Treads, and Glimmora appear alongside Dondozo, Graganacl, and Grimmsnarl.

The Paradox Pokémon ranking high makes sense, as they’re meant to be primal/synthetic versions of typical Pokémon with more powerful stats, more diverse movepools, and new typings that often give them a leg up on their modern day counterparts. They are, inherently, meant to be more powerful and dangerous Pokémon than the ones you’ll come across in the rest of Paldea. So they’d naturally float to the top of competitive play, as well.

Paradox Pokémon like Iron Bundle are some of the strongest new additions in Scarlet and Violet.
Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

Should you use the top Pokémon from the competitive tier lists?

Crucially, if you’re looking here for ideas on how to build a good competitive team, know that a tier ranking is not the end all be all of a Pokémon’s viability. For example, a lot of competitive players have latched onto Murkrow because it can use the move Tailwind to increase your team’s speed, and the Prankster ability gives you turn priority when using it. So while Murkrow’s stats are nothing to write home about and it doesn’t show up in most competitive rankings, it’s still a very useful addition to your team.

At the moment, it seems like Legendary and Paradox Pokémon are coming out on top for competitive play in the Uber and Standard tiers, but these rankings are still in flux and will change in the months to years to come as players discover new strategies and builds. These changes are pretty frequent right now because the game is still so new. So things are shifting around with some pretty broad strokes. So it will be interesting to see how the meta changes as time goes on and players learn new combinations and builds.

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Technology

The Secret To Training Powerful Pokémon In Scarlet And Violet

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Terastallizing isn’t the only way to power up a Pokémon.
Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

For most players, Pokémon games are a pretty straightforward affair of attacking enemies’ weaknesses and scoring that sweet one-shot. But Pokémon can become incredibly overwhelming once you start playing competitively. What’s an IV? What’s an EV, if not the cute brown fox who can evolve into a bunch of other, more colorful and elaborate foxes?

In fact, they refer to hidden numbers and background math that competitive players like to tweak and manipulate to create the strongest versions of their favorite ‘mons. EV and IVs stand for Effort Values and Individual Values. These hidden numbers determine the final state of a Pokémon’s six stats, and understanding how they work and how to influence them can give you an upper hand in competitive battling. Let’s take a closer look.

Listen up, students! It’s time to learn how to make your Pokémon the very best.
Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

Not Eevee…EV!

Manipulating Effort Values is quite a time investment, as they’re entirely based on what you expose a Pokémon to as you raise them. Each Pokémon has up to 510 total EV points to distribute among all six stats, but each stat can only have 252 EVs individually.

You raise EVs by using items like vitamins and feathers, which each boost specific stats. Vitamins are the most immediately effective, as each will raise an individual stat by 10 EVs. Before Pokémon Sword and Shield, Vitamins were only effective up to a Pokémon’s first 100 EVs, but now, these items will work to max out an individual stat to the ceiling of 252. Feathers aren’t as powerful, raising an EV by only one point. Pretty straightforward so far, but influencing a Pokémon’s EVs while you train them in battle requires a little more planning.

Every Pokémon you battle grants specific EV boosts when defeated, often reflective of its own base stats. The amount of EVs you’ll get per stat depends on how powerful the Pokémon you’re fighting is. For example, if your Pokémon beats a Pichu, it will add one EV point added to your creature’s Speed stat. However, if you’re fighting its fully-evolved form Raichu, that will net you three Speed EV points. If you felt so compelled, you could go beat up a bunch of unsuspecting Pichu to raise a Pokémon’s Speed EVs, but you’ll hit the stat-specific 252 limit much faster if you’re battling more powerful Pokémon.

Some Pokémon don’t dump all their EVs into a single stat like Raichu does, however. Take Butterfree, for example. It divides its three EVs into Special Attack and Special Defense. So while there are better Pokémon to fight for either individual stat, defeating Pokémon who earn you a spread of EVs is a way to raise multiple EVs at once. It’s just a matter of your goals for stat raising and how you want to spend your time.

One thing worth noting about EVs is that, because modern Pokémon games allow an entire party to gain experience after battles, EVs gained are shared through your party as they gain experience, even if they’re not on the field. So be mindful of what you’re training against and what Pokémon you have waiting in the wings to join the fight, as their EVs will be influenced by these battles even if you’re not using them directly.

Grinding EV can take some time, but you can speed up the process of raising specific EV stats by equipping Pokémon with power items that correlate with a specific stat, such as the Power Anklet that increases Speed EVs, or the Power Belt that increases Defense EVs. All of these are purchasable at Delibird Presents stores for $10,000 each.

This man will help your Pokémon overcome their natural stat deficiencies.
Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

“The circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant”

Individual Values, known as IV, are a bit more complicated. IVs are essentially Pokémon genetics, in that these are stat boosts inherent to the specific Pokémon you have, which range from zero points to 31 points. Once unchangeable, the Pokémon series has implemented various ways to influence them over the years.

Imagine you had two level 100 Raichus and one had 31 Speed IVs and the other had zero. Even if you trained these two Raichus exactly the same way and curated the same EV build, the one that was born with 31 Speed IVs would have a Speed stat 31 points higher than the other. A lot of competitive players will breed Pokémon to try and attain optimal IVs, as parent Pokémon pass on higher IVs based on their own to their offspring.

In more recent games, Pokémon has given players the ability to “Hyper Train” their ‘mons to increase their IVs in exchange for Bottle Caps. This can be done in locations like Montenevera in Scarlet and Violet by talking to a trainer standing close to the town’s Pokémon Center. Bottle Caps can be hard to come by. You can buy them at the Delibird Presents stores around Paldea, but they’re pretty pricey at $20,000 per cap. You can also win them in high-level tera raids, but often just as a random drop. So while it might seem more immediate to be able to use Hyper Training, acquiring those Bottle Caps can take time, which is why some players opt to max out a Ditto’s IVs and use it to breed better versions of whatever Pokémon they’re trying to raise.

My Raichu is not EV/IV optimized, I’m simply showing you the menu where you look at them. Do not yell at me. He is a good boy.
Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

“Just tell them that it’s Pokémon nature”

But no matter what a Pokémon’s EVs and IVs are, a few additional factors will determine whether or not it’s is inherently effective in certain builds compared to others.

Each Pokémon has a set of base stats inherent to its species that grow as you raise your critter, and the direction those numbers go will be determined by how its EVs and IVs pan out. Raichu’s base stats position it as a fast, special attack-driven Pokémon. It has a base speed stat of 110, and its special attack stat of 95 outshines its base physical attack, which is 85.

This helps you determine what attacks are probably most effective for it to learn. Its physical attack stat is still respectable, but at a glance, Raichu is meant to primarily be a special attacker. Understanding EVs and IVs can help you shift those scales, or at the very least make up for certain deficiencies. Raichu’s base physical defense stat is much lower than the rest, coming in at just 50, so if you wanted to help make up for that, raising its IVs through Hyper Training or fighting Pokémon that naturally raise physical defense EVs can help it bulk up a little. But those base stats can be influenced by another factor that can play into how you divvy up your EVs and IVs: Natures.

Alongside its universal base stats as a species, every individual Pokémon you come across will also come with a Nature. These appear in the status summary screens as a means to give you a sense of your Pokémon’s personality, but they also determine one increased stat and one decreased stat. As such, some players will breed multiple versions of a Pokémon in an effort to get one with the most desirable Nature and stat distribution for the build they want.

There are 25 total Natures in Pokémon games right now, and the stats they increase and decrease are as follows, courtesy of Serebii:

Hardy: No change
Lonely: Attack/Defense
Brave: Attack/Speed
Adamant: Attack/Special Attack
Naughty: Attack/Special Defense
Bold: Defense/Attack
Docile: No change
Relaxed: Defense/Speed
Impish: Defense/Speed
Lax: Defense/Special Defense
Timid: Speed/Attack
Hasty: Speed/Defense
Serious: No change
Jolly: Speed/Special Attack
Naive: Speed/Special Defense
Modest: Special Attack/Attack
Mild: Special Attack/Defense
Quiet: Special Attack/Speed
Bashful: No Change
Rash: Special Attack/Special Defense
Calm: Special Defense/Attack
Gentle: Special Defense/Defense
Sassy: Special Defense/Speed
Careful: Special Defense/Special Attack
Quirky: No Change

While Natures themselves are fixed, Sword and Shield introduced Mints, a new set of items that can change the stat distribution associated with them. For example, a Modest Mint will increase a Pokémon’s Special Attack, but reduce the Attack stat as if the Pokémon’s Nature had changed. This won’t change the actual personality it talks about in their summary (that would be brainwashing), but it will allow you to tweak their stats for any competitive schemes you might have in mind.

He’s happy because I just told him we’re going to go change up his EV/IVs so the Kotaku comments won’t roast him for his unoptimized build.
Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

Different pokés for different folks

All of these moving parts can be a lot to keep track of, and these mechanics are really there for the sickest of competitive sickos. It can be rewarding to get a Pokémon to the competitive state you want and see them excel in battles, but it’s also a huge time investment to get your team’s numbers precisely dialed in. But if you’re curious about the world of competitive Pokémon, understanding EVs and IVs is a good metric for whether or not this side of the scene is for you. And if it’s not, you can still do cool tera raids with your friends, like the ongoing Charizard one happening in Scarlet and Violet right now.

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Technology

This New Scarlet And Violet Pokémon Is Surprisingly Overpowered

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Screenshot: Nintendo / Kotaku

Pokémon has a new meta contender in town, and it’s…a cute mouse family? That’s right. In addition to having unsettling in-game implications like how parents hatch out of a single egg, the Tandemaus line is also incredibly powerful: its signature move can exceed the base power of attacks such as Hyper Beam and Explosion. Tandemaus and Maushold have gotten competitive players shaking in their boots.

Tandemaus is a Normal-Type Pokémon that resembles a pair of mice who live together as a family unit. When they evolve into Maushold, they can gain either one or two mice children. Yes, the Pokémon are procreating with or without your approval. And the reason that you’re only hearing about it now is because these Pokémon were introduced in the recently released Scarlet and Violet.

The only thing that saves us all from always being pummeled to death by a family of mice is that its effectiveness is RNG-dependent. That signature move, Population Bomb, is a multi-hit move like Bullet Seed and Double Slap, and it hits anywhere from one to ten times. Each hit deals a base damage of 20, and each hit has a base accuracy of 90. If you miss even a single hit, then the entire move ends. The mice couple raised a family of quitters, apparently.

But wait, there’s more! If you get a Tandemaus with the Hidden Ability “Technician,” it then further boosts each hit by 50%. That’s on top of the 50% Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB). So Population Bomb’s true power is 45-450 if you get the correct Tandemaus. Assuming that RNG favors you for ten consecutive hits, this move can be the most powerful Normal-type move in the game. If you really think about it, do you even need all 10 hits? Just landing four attacks will net you 180 points of base damage. And it doesn’t even come with the typical drawbacks of missing a turn or taking massive recoil damage. You can also further boost Tandemaus with held items such as Wide Lens, which brings Population Bomb’s accuracy to 100 percent.

In order to get the Technician ability for these terrifying fellas, you have to obtain the Ability Patch as a rare drop in Tera Battles. I know, I know. Tera Battles are some of the worst raids I’ve ever played. But think about the gains! Think about crushing your enemies with the cutest Pokémon in the game. If you have more patient friends, you can also ask them to breed you a Tandemaus with the Hidden Ability.

For the rest of us, have no fear: There’s one reliable counter to the tyrannical reign of Technician Tandemaus: The Rocky Helmet. This held item shaves off one-sixth of an opponent’s health bar every time they use a move that makes contact. So assuming that Tandemaus is at full health, you just have to survive six hits—or 270 base damage. The Mudbray line also looks like a good counter—its ability Stamina raises its Defense with every hit. Or you could just run a Ghost-type Pokémon.

This family is here to shake up competitive Pokémon, and it takes no prisoners. And you know what? Good for them.

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Technology

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Guide: Get Every Legendary

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Image: The Pokémon Company

Wherever you’ve fallen in your Pokémon journey in the month since Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were released—either sticking to the grind or protesting some of the year’s most flagrant bugs—you’re still under the shadow of a 24-year-old refrain: gotta catch ‘em all. Though Scarlet and Violet marketing has featured legendaries Koraidon and Miraidon most prominently (likely by virtue of both these serpentine creatures turning into Harley-Davidson bikes upon request), the games actually have six total legendary Pokémon combined. I’ll tell you how to catch ‘em all, every last one of ‘em.

Koraidon

Scarlet players will receive Koraidon naturally as they progress through the game’s core story, and the legendary will be able to start providing transportation at the end of the tutorial. But to unleash Koraidon’s full potential—different types of movement like dashing and gliding—you’ll have to progress through Scarlet’s Path of Legends storyline and defeat the five Titans. Finishing the complete main story allows you to battle Koraidon, too.

But you can also pick up another Koraidon upon completing the game by heading down to Zero Gate and entering the Great Crater of Paldea. Koraidon will be standing on an iridescent cliff outside of Lab Zero, waiting to be caught.

Miraidon

Everything about Koraidon applies to Miraidon, but for Violet players instead. Violet and Scarlet players can also trade exclusive legendaries if they want both in one game, which might incentivize finishing the game and grabbing that double.

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Chi-Yu

Dark/Fire-type guppy Chi-Yu is one of the “Ruinous Quartet,” a group of legendary Paldea Pokémon that represent hatred, fear, and envy. They are cute though, despite their malevolence.

Chi-Yu is floating around North Province (Area Two), in a cave locked behind a glowing blue shrine, or the Firescourge Shrine. Your history teacher Ms. Raifort will mark this shrine and the other three on your map if you talk to her.

You can open Firescourge by plucking all eight blue Ominous Stakes from the ground, which immediately crumble when you interact with them. You’ll hear the legendary cry out once you crush the final stake, the chains on their prison unleashed.

Once you get rid of the blue stakes and reach Chi-Yu, you can fight for it. The legendary will be at level 60, as will be the rest of the Ruinous Quartet, and you should look out for its Beads of Ruin ability, which decreases your fighting Pokémons’ Special Defense by 25 percent.

Chien-Pao

Ruinous sabertooth Chien-Pao is locked in the yellow-lit Icerend Shrine, in West Province (Area One). You can release the frowning Dark/Ice-type by removing all yellow Ominous Stakes. Chien-Pao can use Sword of Ruin, an ability that decreases Defense by 25 percent.

Ting-Lu

Red-eyed Ting-Lu is a stony Dark/Ground-type, sealed behind the green Groundblight Shrine on the Socarrat Trail. You know the drill—get rid of the green Ominous Stakes to get to this Ruinous Pokémon. It can perform Vessel of Ruin, which decreases your Pokémons’ Special Attack by 25%.

Wo-Chien

Closing out the Quartet is Cousin Itt’s nephew Wo-Chien, a Dark/Grass-type obscured by browning leaves. It’s bolted behind the purple Grasswither Shrine in South Province, which you can open by destroying all purple Ominous Stakes. It’s able to use Tablets of Ruin, draining your Pokémons’ Attack by 25%.

 

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Technology

9 Big Things We Learned Today About Pokémon Scarlet And Violet

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Screenshot: Nintendo

Today, the internet is filled with hands-on previews of next month’s Pokémon Scarlet And Violet. Not from us though, because Nintendo has us on their Naughty List. So instead, we read everyone else’s coverage, and have handily compiled everything we learned in the process. Take that, corporations.

With this all in mind, here are nine new things we learned about Pokémon Scarlet And Violet.

Screenshot: Nintendo

It’s Rather Big

So we knew that Pokémon Scarlet And Violet was going to be big, but the general mood across all today’s coverage is, “Woah! It’s even bigger than we thought.” During the hour-long demo the good boys and girls got to play, reporters were restricted to a small section of the overall map, and it turned out even that was far too big for them to sensibly explore in the timeslot.

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During previews, players were given access to the legendary Koraidon, which apparently moves very fast, and even then the area still felt enormous. And to stress, was just a small chunk of the full game. Some guy at Polygon made a comparison to Breath of the Wild.

Legendaries Are Arriving Early, And Going Fast

In previous Pokémon games, we’ve come to expect the Legendary Pokémon to arrive after we’ve battled the seventh gym, or so. While Nintendo still isn’t confirming exactly how early Miraidon and Koraidon will be showing up in Scarlet and Violet, word on the street is that it could be as early as…the start. Two different people who played the game have whispered to me they think this is going to be the case.

This’ll be great news, because apparently they’re very zippy. Even better, their forme-changing ways are automated, so if you’re gliding through the sky (with no stamina meter to worry about) and fly into a cliffside, they’ll switch to climbing up the side themselves. Then plunge into water, and they’ll auto-boat. Which sounds very neat.

NPC Trainers Will Leave You The Hell Alone

A frustration of Pokémon games since there were Pokémon games, NPC trainers have always kicked off battles just because you wandered too close. No more, thank goodness. While exploring Paldea’s open world, such trainers will indicate if they’re up for a scrap, but now you’re the one to trigger them. Which seems only fair—it’s been their turn for the last 27 years.

Screenshot: Nintendo

You Don’t Need To Wait Your Turn In Raids

While raids are still technically turn-based, that’s only between you and the Pokémon. Of the four people battling (wither real or AI), you can all fire off attacks whenever you want, or even at the same time.

When it comes to Terastallizing your monster, you’ll need to get a few regular attacks in first, in order to maintain some sense of balance. And that cheering we heard about before, that boosts others’ attacks? You can do that any time, too, not just when your Pokémon is KOd, as previously implied.

Poké Balls Bounce Three Times

Sure, this is the normal way of things, but we were worried for a moment. In Arceus those prototype p-balls only did the one blip, and it was very wrong. Then in the big trailer a couple of weeks ago, there was footage of something that looked very similar, with only one shake! We were worried. We were ready to keep holding down B no matter what. But in videos we’ve spotted today, thank goodness, all three wibbly-wobs (scientific term) are back. Phew.

Day/Night Cycles Aren’t Tied To Real Life

In Scarlet And Violet, the time of day will run on an in-game clock, rather than being linked to real-life. The same goes for weather. Those ideas seem fun in theory, but in practice they’re a pain in the ass when you’re only able to play at a certain time of day, or live somewhere with dull weather.

Different Pokémon will appear at different times of day, as you might expect, but it’ll all be on Paldea’s own clock. And now storms can roll in whenever, and your little trainer will duck and try to cover their head as you look for shelter.

Screenshot: Nintendo

You Have To Battle Giant Vehicles

Of the game’s three paths (the gym one, the finding giant monsters one, and the battling Team Star one), Starfall Street’s Team Star territory takeovers are the most surprising. Seemingly taking inspiration from Far Cry, they involve battling all the Pokémon of the baddie trainers in a camp, and then facing off against the boss. Previously we saw Mela, one of the Team Star bosses, driving in on a ridiculous machine apparently called a Starmobile. It seems that we actually have to fight this thing in some form, not just the Pokémon on board, although previewers were made to keep schtum about it by Nintendo.

You Can Change Your Face When You Like, But Not Your Hair

Perhaps the most peculiar information to come out today’s previews is that you’re able to change the shape of your face whenever you want, even running around in fields, but if you want a new haircut you’ve got to go to a salon.

I’m so intrigued by what this says about the world of Pokémon, where humans can apparently entirely restructure their facial features and head-bones, but need someone else’s help with a new parting.

The Switch Might Struggle A Bit With The Game’s Ambition

The poor ol’ creaky Switch has been struggling with its own games for years, but according to VG247, they experienced performance issues as they played. Clearly that was true of Arceus too, but we coped. Still, come on Nintendo, we’re ready. We know you’re waiting for BotW2 for the “surprise” reveal, but just let us have a beefier Switch already.

I Played Pokemon Scarlet & Violet EARLY For 2 Hours (Hands On Preview)

For this article I cribbed information from Serebii, Polygon, the video above by PhillyBeatzU, PCMag, IGN, and VG247.

 

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Technology

Pokémon Scarlet And Violet’s Preorder Bonuses Are Terrible

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Image: Nintendo

Gamer salt over preorder bonuses is nothing new. But this time, the Pokémon community’s salt feels partially justified. Amazon recently showed an infographic that details what fans can get by ordering Scarlet and Violet digitally ahead of launch: A set that includes 10 potions, 10 antidotes, and three revives. The rewards feel so inconsequential that fans are mocking the bonuses online.

We already learned of these bonuses earlier this month, But having the paltry rewards shown in an image is a lot different than simply reading about them in a bulleted list.

“I originally had zero interest in these games, but once they said I could preorder to receive 10 potions in-game, that’s when everything changed,” one user sarcastically remarked, pointing out that the paltry bonuses likely weren’t going to compel anyone to buy one of Nintendo’s most anticipated games of the year. Another fan was more overt in their criticism: “You can literally just defeat two or three trainers on the first route to get enough Pokédollars to buy all of these items”

To be fair, players who buy the game digitally will also receive five full heals, three ethers, a rare candy, and a nugget. But those are still somewhat common items that you’ll regularly stumble upon in-game. Some fans have pointed out that Japanese Scarlet and Violet buyers are getting physical artbooks, which is more in line with what most fans expect when they preorder a game. Others are relieving the days of getting exclusive Pokémon in distribution events, like a special Torchic in Pokémon X and Y.

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Up to 90% off

Humble Bundle’s Summer Sale

Game and Save
Great news for PC gamers out there looking to save money and add more games to your backlog which you’ll eventually get to. Humble Bundle has kicked off its Summer Sale in which you can save up to 90% on games.

However, that’s just for if you purchase a single game digitally. Players who purchase the two-pack of both versions will receive 100 Pokéballs. If you buy the game from the official Pokémon Center, you’ll be able to obtain this floral-print backpack. Maybe I’d be more excited if the Pokémon Center hadn’t given me a Scorbunny plush toy for preordering Pokémon Shield a few years ago.

What the store listings should have advertised is the special crystal Pikachu that players will get if they buy the game before February 28, 2023. This Pikachu can use the flying-type move Fly, which it can’t learn naturally. So there is a special bonus for buying the game early, but it’s not exclusive to simply buying Scarlet and Violet before the launch date.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will be released on November 18.



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Pokémon Scarlet/Violet Reveals Wild New Items And Cyclizar

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Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

Three months out from release, there’s still a ton about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet we don’t know, but a new trailer shown during the 2022 World Championship sheds a little more light how the Gen 9 games will shake up the competitive scene in some big ways. Plus, in addition to details on a bunch of new items and Terastal transformations, we also got our first look at everyone’s favorite new big boy lizard, Cyclizar, who may or may not evolve into the game’s colorful legendary mounts.

But first, the new battle mechanics. Here’s a quick breakdown of new tactics that will be available to Scarlet and Violet players this fall:

  • Terastallizing changes a Pokémon’s type to its hidden Tera-type
  • Tera Blast is a Normal-type attack learned from a TM that changes to the Tera-type during transformation
  • New held item Mirror Herb matches an opponent’s stat boost once per battle
  • New held item Covert Cloak protects Pokémon from additional move effects
  • New held item Loaded Dice makes multi-strike moves hit more times
  • New move Shed Tail creates a decoy while your Pokémon switches with one on the bench

The items especially are a big deal. Mirror Herb will make opponents think twice about burning a turn on moves like Sword Dance, while Loaded Dice will make moves like Bullet Seed much more powerful, adding to the arsenal of an extremely competitive sleep doctor like Breloom.

The Terastal transformations are also a big deal. The trailer seems to confirm that you won’t need to waste space on a held item to use Terastallize during battle, and Tera Blast is a good example of what can make the mechanic a game changer. In the trailer, a Tyranitar starts out as a Rock/Dark type, switches to Ghost-type after Terastallizing, and then unleashes a Ghost-type attack with Tera Blast. In addition it changing its damage type, it also suddenly gains the upper hand against its natural foes like Bug and Fighting types.

That has a bunch of players excited for the new strategic possibilities in Gen 9, but the trailer also unleashed a torrent of fan theories around Cyclizar. The Dragon and Normal-type is native to the Paldean region and has a Twisted Metal-style wheel appendage to carry trainers long distances. It also looks a hell of a lot like Koraidon and Miraidon, the Scarlet and Violet-exclusive legendary Pokémon who were previously revealed to double as player mounts.

This has led some fans to speculate that Cyclizar may have a split-evolution, and actually transform into either Koraidon or Miraidon at some point. Others have postulated that given hints around Scarlet and Violet involving time travel, Cyclizar may actually be the present-era form, while Koraidon is the ancient form and Miraidon is the version that exists in the future. Time-based variant forms of other Pokémon have already been reported to exist in the recent batch of massive leaks, so there are a lot of possibilities.

Whatever Cyclizar’s backstory turns out to be, it’s providing more productive fodder for fans than the alternative: once again bashing Pokémon’s graphics. Some players are already poring over the latest trailer and complaining about some of the aesthetic trade-offs compared to Sword and Shield. There’s also some frustration that the new games don’t appear to be as free-flowing in camera and character movements during battle as Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Of course, people were worried Arceus would be a disaster too, only for it to win fans over once it was finally out.

     

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A Surprisingly Big Day For Pokemon News: What You Should Know

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Image: The Pokémon Company

It’s exactly 26 years since the first Pokémon games released in Japan and the developers of the series lived up to the hype of this year’s international Pokémon Day by offering up a ton of updates on current games and one major surprise reveal: new mainline entries Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are coming to Nintendo Switch in late 2022.

When the latest Pokémon Presents livesetream was announced just a couple days ago, fans assumed their might be news about future DLC for Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Instead we got much, much more.

Here’s a quick rundown of everything that was announced and one thing that wasn’t:

Image: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon Go will get Alolan Pokémon on March 1.

The mobile game will see its Pokédex expanded to include Gen 7 additions from Sun and Moon. Those include starters like Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio, and nearly 80 others.

Image: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon Masters EX adds Victory Road.

The gacha game will get a new boss-rush mode where you can battle Victory Road trainers back-to-back. It’s also adding a bunch of new sync pairs over the next month including May and Latias and Skyla and Tornadus.

Image: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon Café Remix gets delivery feature.

The puzzle game will now let Pelipper deliver your drinks and dishes to far away Pokémon including the mythical Pokémon Victini. It’ll also be a way to collect new outfits and unlock hidden abilties to help with challenges.

Image: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon Unite gets mayham mode.

A new type of quick battle will let let players battle without cooldowns, making the MOBA even more chaotic. Mythical Pokémon Hoopa is also coming to the game, which can be earned by playing, along with Duraludon at a future date.

Image: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl finally get Shaymin,

The mythical grass-type resides on a special island you can only reach after getting a special letter from Professor Oak. That event is now officially in the game. Of course, a bunch of players glitched their way in early shortly after the game came out last November.

Image: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon Legends: Arceus Daybreak update is now live.

The “free” 1.1 version patch focuses on investigating mass outbreaks and sounds like it will add new trainer battles. Players can also get 30 free Ultra, Gigaton, and Jet balls when they use the “ARCEUSADVENTURE” Mystery Code by March 31.

Image: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is getting an anime adaptation.

It doesn’t have a name yet, but the Pokémon Company teased a new online series focused on the Hisui region with a piece of concept art showing a trainer trudging through a snowy forest.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are the next games in the series.

The Pokémon Presents wrapped up by giving us our first look at Gen 9, including starters Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. The new games will be open world and are due out on Nintendo Switch before the end of the year.

Image: The Pokémon Company

We still haven’t heard anything about Pokémon Sleep.

Teased back in 2019, the Pokémon Sleep app was supposed to monitor your sleep and connect it to Pokémon Go. It sounded extremely creepy, and nearly three years later we still don’t know anything about how it works. Maybe the Pokémon Company doesn’t either rand that’s why it’s quietly moved on.

And that’s everything we heard about in today’s Pokémon Presents. A busy time for Pokémon indeed. Even with all of the news we did get, fans are still waiting on bigger content updates for Arceus and BDSP. Players glitched into a hidden area in the former and players of the latter are still waiting for the Global Wonder Station to finish construction. In the meantime, I’m sure Pokémon fans can find plenty to fixate on in the Scarlet and Violet trailer.

  

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Arceus’ Silly Mr. Mime Steals Internet’s Heart

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Image: Nintendo / Kotaku

Most wild Pokémon are incredibly standoffish in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. When trying to catch them, I’m used to having to sneak up to them in the tall grass, or pelt them with food until they look somewhere else. They’ll often run away or attack trainers if provoked. Mr. Mime, on the other hand, wants to give you a little show, and the creature’s memorable antics are making quite an impression on players.

Take a look at this Mr. Mime who poured themselves a cup of tea while settling into an invisible couch:

The most striking thing to me is that this Mr. Mime doesn’t go into alert mode when they spot a trainer. Usually, a Pokémon will either choose to fight or flee when they notice you. This one’s just pretending that the trainer isn’t there. You’ve gotta admire Mr. Mime’s dedication to the craft.

Despite being an artist at heart, however, even Mr. Mime has to abide by battle rules, especially when you engage them in battle. This Alpha Mr. Mime (one of the larger, more aggressive Pokémon) straight-up walked off when a player called out a Snorlax. Though it may look like Mr. Mime is peacing out of this encounter, she’s actually just creating space between herself and her large Snorlax opponent, but the nonchalantly aloof way that she turns around is hilarious. It almost feels like she’s doing it for attention.

One of the fun mechanics in Arceus is that your party members can interact with each other when you let them out of their Pokéballs, in ways that have more life and character than what we saw with the camp feature in Pokémon Sword and Shield. Check out these Pokémon cheering after Mr. Mime performed invisible barriers for them.

Not everyone is a fan of Mr. Mime’s antics, however. During one player’s battle with a wild Mr. Mime, one trainer’s Graveller rolled away after his opponent tried to mimic walls in front of him. While it’s normal for Pokémon to back away a little bit when there’s not enough space, it’s funnier to think that Graveller said “no PDA in public, please.” I have to admit, Mr. Mime has a lot of commitment to the bit. I would have expected her to have at least a little bit of self-preservation when defeat or capture was on the line.

The entirety of Hisui is Mr. Mime’s stage, and everyone is an audience member. Even when they don’t want to be.

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Arceus Tips For Pokédex, Crafting Items, More

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Image: The Pokémon Company

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the biggest Pokémon installment in quite some time, and as such, it can be a little daunting, even for experienced players. There’s a ton of stuff to track from new items and Pokéballs to Pokédex entries and updated Pokémon forms.

Here are some things I think you should keep in mind during your adventures.

ABC: Always Be Crafting

Inventory space is a limited commodity in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and the only way to expand the amount of stuff you can carry is paying fees to a Galaxy Expedition Team member that quickly become exorbitant. That’s why, whenever you have some time to catch your breath between battling Pokémon and hunting down rare species, you should pop over to a crafting bench (or, eventually, use your portable crafting tools) to condense those materials into more useful items.

Too many apricorns and tumblestones? Turn those two stacks into Pokéballs, which you probably have on you already. Grabbed a bunch of caster ferns while searching for wisps? You can combine those with spoiled apricorns and balls of mud to make sticky globs, the perfect item for stunning a Pokémon that’s grown too angry to catch. Heck, I’ll sometimes find myself crafting things I don’t even need just to free up space for a stack of items I’m not currently carrying.

If you tend to hoard, keep on top of it and you won’t be surprised by the game saying you’re lugging around too much shit as often.

Screenshot: The Pokémon Company

Wait for Pokémon to show you their backs

With so much to do in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, it can be tempting to rampage through the Hisuian countryside, throwing capture balls willy nilly at any Pokémon stupid enough to enter your line of sight. And while early on that method feels like the most effective route for catching a lot of Pokémon in a short amount of time, it quickly becomes clear that even moderately strong monsters will do everything they can to stay free.

Of course, Pokémon is all about disturbing nature as much as possible, so there are plenty of things you can do to make capturing “friends” an easier task. First and foremost, you should always approach Pokémon from behind. Hitting monsters in the back, you see, improves your chances of capturing them, and you even get a free attack if you start battles with a back throw. Pokémon Legends: Arceus lets you know you successfully hit a Pokémon in the back with a special, more dramatic sound effect.

All those different berries you’re carrying can also be used to distract your prey. If a Pokémon won’t look away from the tall grass in which you’re hiding, just toss one over its head, wait for it to turn around and start munching, and then throw that Pokéball at its butt. Monsters that eat razz berries will be even easier to catch. Other than that, you’ll want to follow the basic rules of capturing Pokémon from previous games if you get drawn into battle: lower their health as much as possible (the move False Swipe, which will never make a Pokémon with more than 1 HP faint, works wonders in this regard) and inflict status effects like sleep and paralysis.

Watch your Pokéballs

Battles against wild Pokémon don’t end when you throw a Pokéball. Nope, those little suckers are going to do everything they can to break free. In previous games, this was indicated by a short animation of the Pokéball rocking back and forth that told you how close you were to actually catching the monster in question if it didn’t work that time.

In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, this whole process is shortened to play nice with the game’s more active gameplay loop, but you’re still going to want to keep a close eye on how your Pokéballs behave after throwing them. It’s all about how high the Pokéball gets off the ground while the Pokémon struggles. A short hop means you’re probably catching whatever’s in the capture device, but if it leaps into the air and seems to be venting a whole lot of steam, watch out, because you may need to try again.

This becomes super important when catching rare Pokémon, like alphas or shinies. When a Pokémon breaks free, you have a short window during which you can aim and throw another Pokéball. If timed correctly, you may even get a free back throw for your trouble. If you’re trying to catch something important, don’t run off until you’re absolutely sure that Pokémon is staying put.

Cancel throws

The game doesn’t teach you this, but you can cancel throwing Pokéballs or Pokémon with a simple press of the B or Y buttons.

Not really much to elucidate here. B simply cancels the throw and returns you to a neutral state while Y cancels the throw with a dodge roll. If you square up a toss but realize a Pokémon has moved or the environment isn’t optimal, this is a great way to avoid wasting resources or scaring away potential captures.

Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

Pay attention to the turn order

Pokémon Legends: Arceus takes a page from fellow role-playing games like Final Fantasy X and Shadow Hearts: Covenant by showing turn order during battle. While Pokémon battles normally play out with a simple back-and-forth format, the addition of agile and strong style move variations or the ability to catch a Pokémon unawares means there can be moments where you or your opponent can take two actions in a row.

That said, turn order isn’t visible by default. During your very first battle in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, be sure to hit the Y button so as to not deprive yourself of this valuable information. The best part is that you only have to do it once for it to stick around for the rest of the game—well, unless you accidentally hit Y again, of course.

Low-level Pokémon can still kick your ass

We’ve all been there. You’re running through an area with wild Pokémon, absent-mindedly traveling from point A to point B and wrecking whatever happens to crawl out of the grass. Maybe you’re also watching a TV show or YouTube video to pass the time as you hunt for shinies. Some moments in Pokémon games don’t require a whole lot of attention, but Sinnoh help the trainer who doesn’t keep a careful eye on their progress in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

Just about every Pokémon you encounter in this spin-off, from early-game Bidoof to the giant, frenzied alpha monsters roaming the countryside, can seriously kick your ass if you don’t take them seriously. I don’t know why that is. Perhaps they were just more powerful before becoming widely domesticated. In any case, you’d be smart to approach every battle in Pokémon Legends: Arceus fully stocked with healing items as well as a few revives because, more often than not, you’re gonna take a beating.

Also, be careful starting Pokémon battles with multiple monsters around. More than one Pokémon can and will be drawn into battle against your solo partner if you’re not cognizant of your surroundings, which only exacerbates the chances of getting your shit pushed in.

Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

Stare down human opponents whenever possible

A cool thing about battling in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is that your trainer is given free reign to walk around a limited area while the mythical creatures are tearing each other to shreds. I like to use this opportunity, at least when I’m facing off against another Pokémon trainer, to walk over to their side of the battlefield and look them right in their eyes.

Does this provide any tactical advantages? Maybe a status effect for making your opponent nervous? Nope, not really. It’s just a fun thing to do.

Don’t release Pokémon until you fill four pastures

Pokémon Legends: Arceus, more than any game before it aside from maybe Pokémon Go, encourages the capturing of massive amounts of Pokémon. Fortunately, it also gives you adequate room to store them all, but at some point, you’re going to have to get rid of a few. My tip: Wait until you fill multiple pages of the storage screen to make the process of releasing Pokémon a much simpler affair.

Upon topping off a fourth pasture, Pokémon Legends: Arceus gives you the ability to mass release Pokémon. The option to select dozens of Pokémon at once to send back into the wild is so much better than doing so one by one but, again, this isn’t something Pokémon Legends: Arceus announces with fanfare. It just sorta happens and it’s up to you to notice the little button prompt at the bottom of the screen.

Take it from me, it’s much better to let those Pokémon accumulate for a bit.

Don’t be afraid to release Pokémon, either

The other side of the coin, naturally, is seeing how much room you’re given to collect Pokémon and being wary of releasing them at all. That’s also a bad idea!

Every time you release Pokémon, whether solo or in a group, they leave behind little presents for you. I don’t know if these gifts change further into Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but over the first few hours of my adventure, I’ve collected a buttload of grit dust, gravel, pebbles, and rocks, all of which are used to improve secondary Pokémon stats known as effort levels.

Like EVs (effort values) and IVs (individual values) before them, effort levels aren’t something you need to concern yourself with if you’re just playing Pokémon Legends: Arceus casually. But those of you who prefer to min-max your role-playing experience, you can read more about the process on wonderful Pokémon info repositories like Serebii and Bulbapedia. Then again, with even normal enemies being pretty tough, it might be smart to think about utilizing effort levels sooner rather than later.

You can turn off the HUD

Do you feel like the Pokémon Legends: Arceus screen is too cluttered? Well, you’re in luck, because nestled within the settings menu is an option to enable HUD toggling.

After turning this feature on, all it takes is a simple click of the right thumbstick to get rid of all the UI elements clogging up the screen, perfect for taking pictures of the game’s lush countryside and wild Pokémon.

Another photography tip: holding the left trigger puts you in first-person mode, another great way to get up close and personal with your Pokémon. For example, here are two alpha Bidoof that I caught one after the other last night. They are my large sons.

Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku

Vibe

You’ve probably noticed already, but Pokémon Legends: Arceus is huge.There’s no reason to rush through it.

My last tip for this wonderful game is to savor it. Enjoy the adventure. Spend an hour here or there between story missions to wander through one of the game’s many areas, watching how wild Pokémon interact with their environment. Take out your favorite Pokémon in town and snap a few photos of their interactions. Before you know it, the adventure will be over, you’ll have collected a full Pokédex of shiny, alpha Pokémon, and there won’t be anything new to see until the next game.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a game decades in the making. It really does feel like the culmination of everything the developers have learned since the series debuted in 1996, not to mention something of a love letter to fans who have long asked for a more open-ended, organic Pokémon experience. Sadly, we’ll only get to see it for the first time just once, so do everything you can to cherish these moments of unknowing.

 

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