LAPU-LAPU CITY, Philippines — Red didn’t just become the Pokemon Champion just by believing in the power of friendship. He understood the best party of six Pokemon and used them to the best of their abilities.
As such, with the release of Pokemon Champions, I wondered: which Pokemon are defining the current meta right now?
From scouring the internet, asking Pokemon Video Game Championship (VGC) players themselves, and even attending an early grassroots Pokemon Champions tournament in Cebu, here’s what I’ve learned.
Pokemon Champions Regulation M-A
Before we dive into what the current meta of the game is, it is important to know about the status of the game post-launch.
At the time of this article’s writing, Pokemon Champions is running Regulation M-A.
What this means is that there are only a select number of Pokemon available in the game. Specifically, only Pokemon from the Paldea Pokédex with Paldea Origin Marks are allowed in the debut regulation, which also applies to the Mega Pokemon.
Additionally, paradox pokemon, legendaries, and mythicals are not in Champions as of this time.
Now that’s all covered, let’s now look at some of the meta pokemon in this regulation.
Weather Wars is back
With Regulation M-A’s limitations, you could say the current Champions meta is — for a lack of a better term — limited. This is expected as the game is new, and the current format isn’t supposed to be overwhelming for beginners.
Looking back at VGC’s competitive history, limited metas call for throwback strategies. Right now, the meta spotlight is back on the weather wars.
Ever since the weather wars were introduced as early as the third generation, the competitive meta has always included weather control. For this regulation, the weather wars are back in the forefront of competition.
As such, Pokemon like Torkoal, Tyranitar and Alolan Ninetales which can set up the weather with their abilities are a must for each party. Moves like Sunny Day or Rain Dance can also be considered if you run parties with no weather set-up abilities.
In light of this, Pokemon that utilize the weather are gaining much popularity (and success) in this meta. Ice-type Pokemon enjoy increased defenses in Snow, Electric-type moves like Thunder will never miss under the rain, while Solar Beam Pokemon like Meganium and Venusaur can blast opponents in just one turn when the sun is up.
That said, don’t expect Castform to take over though!
Mega Meta (Old versus Newcomers)
Unfortunately, not all Mega Pokemon are available in the game. Despite that, as Cebuano community caster and Play N’ Connect’s Vincent Gochan told me when I met him for the first time during a local grassroots tournament, a good party of six in Champions is centered around a good Mega Pokemon.
From the limited list, it’s basically a battle between the old and newbloods.
Representing the older generation are Mega Gengar and Mega Charizard Y.
Mega Gengar leads the pack as a fast glass cannon that sweeps enemies. With its Shadow Tag ability, it nullifies switching tactics (moves like U-turn or Volt Switch for free switches). Pair Shadow Tag with moves like Hypnosis and Perish Song and your opponent will be forced to deal with Mega Gengar first or else they can’t play the game.
Between the two Mega Charizards, Mega Charizard Y is much more popular just because it can set up the sun with its Drought ability. Once Drought is up, Mega Charizard Y’s Fire-type moves hit like a truck while also setting up its Solar Beam partners to deal with the Water-types that it’s scared of.
Other old Mega Pokemon that are still relevant in Champions include Mega Scizor, Mega Venusaur, Mega Blastoise, Mega Gyarados, Mega Aerodactyl, and Mega Kangaskhan.
Now, let’s talk about the new Megas on the block: Mega Froslass, Mega Delphox, Mega Greninja, Mega Hawlucha, and Eternal Flower Floette.
Mega Froslass calls for snow via its Snow Warning ability. With an already high Special Defense, Mega Froslass gets more tanky with Snow active as it also benefits from the 50% increased Defenses for Ice-types, proving Ice-types aren’t all just fragile glass cannons.
From freezing cold to fiery hot, Mega Delphox razes opponents with its extremely high Special Attack and high Speed. Its Levitate ability makes Mega Delphox immune to Earthquakes and other Ground-type moves that could’ve snuff out its flames. Mega Delphox can still be brought to the ground if you smack it with Physical moves as it unfortunately has weak Defense.
Moving on to another Mega Starter, Mega Greninja maneuvers the battlefield with its extremely high Speed. Furthermore, its Protean ability makes sure every move it does deals Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB), a great ability for a Pokemon that learns a lot of attacks (just like the ninja it’s supposed to be).
Mega Hawlucha captivated the world when it was teased as a Mega Pokemon for Pokemon Legends: Z-A. In Champions, Mega Hawlucha is a versatile addition to your party that’s got four resistances (Fighting, Bug, Grass, and Dark) and one immunity (Ground) all thanks to its Fighting and Flying type. Furthermore, you can also run Hawlucha in its base form, adding another layer of party complexity for your opponents to figure out.
In the main series games, it’s canon that AZ’s Eternal Flower Floette is a Pokemon capable of mass death and destruction. Thus, it should come as no surprise that its Mega form is uber powerful in Champions, especially with its Fairy Aura ability that boosts Fairy-type moves on the field by 33% (on top of STAB, too). Plus, Fairy-types like it are generally great as well. That said, adding Mega Floette to your party makes you predictable as people would know that’s your Mega Pokemon (and you’ll also be extremely weak to Steel-types).
VGC Staples
As expected, VGC staples that are in the game have become part of the meta. After all, they’re staples for a reason.
Whimsicott, Incineroar, and Pelipper are great support Pokemon that are always meta if present in a regulation.
Up first, Whimsicott is a great utility support for your party (especially in the Doubles format). With its Prankster ability that increases status moves by +1, it can set up speed control with Tailwind, call for a Sunny Day, heal with Leech Seed, lock out opponent’s moves with Encore, and so much more. It’s really just up to you how you’d want your Whimsicott.
Next, the bane/joy of VGC, Incineroar is, and will always be, meta when the regulation allows it. Inceroar is intimidating because it has the Intimidate ability (pun-intended), which lowers the Attack stats of its opponents.
With a wide coverage of moves, you can have a hit-and-run strategy with Parting Shot (also a great combo with U-turn and Volt Switch Pokemon for stacking Intimidates), flinch opponents with Fake Out, delete opponents with Flare Blitz, and more. Incineroar is also pretty tanky so it can take a lot of hits (especially when Sitrus Berry is equipped).
Just like Whimsicott, Pelipper is also a great utility Pokemon. More than that, it’s a weather war staple as its Drizzle ability automatically sets up the rain.
You can also run Tailwind for Speed control, Protect and Roost for stalling strategies, Muddy Water for STAB-boosted multi-Pokemon targets and accuracy drops, and a sure-hit Hurricane under the rain. Pelipper’s downside, though, is its Super Effective weakness to Electric-types (which it also boosts with rain).
Paldea Presence
With a regulation centered around Paldea, it also makes sense for Paldea Pokemon to be present in the meta. As such, Sinistcha, Kingambit, Farigiraf, and Archaludon are my top picks.
Sinistcha is a good cup of matcha. Not only is it tanky but it can also heal its teammates with its Hospitality ability (which restores a quarter of an ally’s max HP). With its signature move, Matcha Gotcha, it can stay longer in the field and maybe even Burn opponents (burnt opponents also get an Attack debuff). Run moves like Rage Powder and Trick Room and Sinistcha makes for good support as well.
In this meta, Kingambit never bows down to opponents with its nine resistances (Normal, Grass, Ice, Flying, Psychic, Rock, Ghost, Dragon, Dark, and Steel) and an immunity to Poison. It also has a Defiant ability which is a great anti-strat for Intimidate tactics. Alternatively, Supreme Overlord Kingambit is a terrifying sweeper when it’s the last Pokemon standing. That said, a good beating with Fighting-type moves will bring Kingambit down to its knees.
Farigiraf is arguably the best Trick Room setter in the current meta. Out of Farigiraf’s three abilities, its best one is Armor Tail as opponents are prevented from using priority moves, although it can also run Cud Chew to reuse equipped berries once or Sap Sipper to negate Grass-types. Although used primarily as a support, Farigiraf can also run offensive movesets like Psychic and Hyper Voice if needed.
Although some fans unfortunately call this Pokemon a “terrorist”, Archaludon continues to be unfair, especially if you don’t have ways to deal with it. If you can’t one-hit knockout (OHKO) Archaludon, it gets stronger every time it’s attacked thanks to its Stamina ability.
It also has Sturdy (which basically lets you survive OHKO attacks with one HP even without a Focus Sash) and Stalwart (ignores abilities or moves that draw in moves like Lightning Rod or Follow Me). Oh, Archaludon also has resistances to Grass, Normal, Water, Electric, Flying, Psychic, Bug, Rock, and Steel and an immunity to Poison.
Legends Lurk in Champions
Pokemon Legends: Arceus introduced a handful of new Pokemon forms and evolutions, some of which are competitively viable in VGC.
When Sneasler became VGC legal during the Scarlet/Violet era, it immediately made its name known. With its Unburden ability, White Herb or Focus Sash Sneaslers become speedier threats that can cripple opponents with Dire Claw. Speaking of Dire Claw, not only it has STAB thanks to Sneasler’s part Poison-typing but it can also either inflect Poison, Paralysis, or Sleep when it lands. Besides being a possible closer, Sneasler can also run support moves like Fake Out, Feint, U-turn, and Coaching if needed.
Meanwhile, Basculegion (Male) is a pretty balanced Pokemon for your party with its great Water and Ghost-typing. It has three options in abilities: Adaptability (boosts STAB moves), Mold Breaker, and Swift Swim (double Speed in the rain). For moves, priority STAB move Aqua Jet deals good chip damage while Last Respects is a nuke of a move especially when most of your party has fainted.
Final Party of Six
To wrap it all up, with the current format, your final party of six should have these non-negotiables:
- A Mega Pokemon of your choice.
- A Pokemon for weather control (else you play at a disadvantage).
- A speed gear (a Pokemon that dictates the field’s Speed).
- A damage dealer that’s a reliable closer.
- Support Pokemon that synergizes well with your playstyle.
You can pick from any of the Pokemon I’ve talked about in this article. Or not. After all, the fun part in Pokemon VGC is finding a team that you like and figuring out how to make it work.
This article merely serves as a guide. A starting point for how to form your competitive party. In the end, it’s up to you, the trainer — the main character — of your own story.
Whether you use meta Pokemon like Incineroar or Archaludon, or find niche strategies like Mega Manectric, the choice is yours.