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Certain Abilities like Intimidate or Prankster do exceptionally well in Competitive Battles for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (SV). Read on to learn what best abilities to use for competitive play in Gen 9 and how to make the most out of them.
List of Contents
 Gyarados
Intimidate |
 Salamence
Intimidate |
 Arcanine
Intimidate |
With Incineroar gone, other users of Intimidate can get a chance to shine. Gyarados and Salamence immediately stand out as Intimidate users because they are also powerful offensive threats, while Arcanine is a potent support Pokemon with offensive capabilities.
Intimidate is a valuable Ability to have on your team because its ease of use and powerful effect of lowering opposing Pokemon's Attack stat by 1 stage.
 Murkrow
Prankster |
 Grimmsnarl
Prankster |
Prankster Pokemon give your team all-important support. Being able to move first regardless of Speed is very advantageous and can set the tone for many battles. Sableye and Murkrow offer Prankster-boosted Speed control in the form of Quash and Tailwind.
 Tyranitar
Sand Stream |
 Torkoal
Drought |
 Pelipper
Drizzle |
Early on in a new Pokemon game's lifespan, people tend to gravitate towards building Weather Teams due to intuitive Pokemon choices and consistency.
Tyranitar, Torkoal and Pelipper were all excellent Pokemon to build around after the release of previous mainline Pokemon titles. It is expected that these Pokemon will also do well as the Scarlet and Violet metagame continues to develop.
 Houndstone
Sand Rush |
 Lilligant
Chlorophyll |
 Golduck
Swift Swim |
Pokemon that can thrive in Weather are often good to slot into teams. These Pokemon are often also synergistic with the Pokemon that can set beneficial Weather for them, because they offer 'fast and slow modes' for their teams.
Dugtrio, Lilligant, and Golduck are all significantly faster than their partners. Varying Speed gives teams versatility especially when faced with different forms of Speed Control.
| Weather | Effect |
|---|---|
| Sun | ・The damage of Fire-type moves are increased by 1.5x ・The damage of Water-type moves are decreased by 0.5x |
| Rain | ・The damage of Water-type moves are increased by 1.5x ・The damage of Fire-type moves are decreased by 0.5x |
| Sandstorm | ・Rock-type Pokemon's Special Defense are increased by 1.5x ・Pokemon that are not Ground, Rock or Steel-type take damage equal 1/16th of their maximum HP at the end of each turn |
| Snow | ・Ice-type Pokemon's Defense are increased by 1.5x |
 Farigiraf
Armor Tail |
 Hatterene
Magic Bounce |
Abilities that protect its user somehow are powerful Abilities to have. These Abilities are ideally on support Pokemon, but Hatterene can be a potent Special Attacker in Trick Room.
 Hydreigon
Levitate |
 Armarouge
Flash Fire |
 Gastrodon (West Sea)
Storm Drain |
Abilities that give its user immunities are very useful, especially when used in conjunction with Terastallizing.
Hydreigon, for instance, can Terastallize into a Steel-type with an immunity to Ground. Armarouge can Terastallize into a Grass-type that is immune to Fire, while Gastrodon can Terastallize into a Fire-type that is immune to Water.
 Dondozo
Unaware |
 Skeledirge
Unaware |
 Clodsire
Unaware |
Unaware is a useful Ability because Pokemon with this Ability are able to ignore an opponent's Stat increases. Tanky Pokemon can use this Ability effectively because of their natural defenses.
Unaware is especially useful in formats where buffing one's stats with moves like Swords Dance or Nasty Plot is prevalent.
Best Abilities for Competitive Battle
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