Best Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: 11 creatures you need to catch

To become Paldea’s Champion in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, you’ll need to catch and train the best Pokemon in the game. To give you a hand rising to the top of Game Freak’s title, here are 11 of the strongest creatures you should add to your team.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet delivered the franchise’s first truly open-world game, letting players forge their own path through the Paldea region while defeating Titans and winning battles against Gym Leaders.

Whether you’re aiming to make it through the main story and defeat the Elite Four or you just want to win battles against your friends, you’ll need to put together a team of the strongest Pokemon that can cover a variety of opponent types.

From new faces like Gholdengo and Tinkaton to old favorites like Gallade and Dragapult, here are some of the best Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.

Side note: We’ve limited Paradox Pokemon and Legendaries to just one of each to keep this list more accessible for all players, regardless of where you are in your journey across Paldea.

11. Gallade

We’re starting our list with an old favorite: Gallade. This Psychic/Fighting-type Pokemon is a great option for taking on Dark-type, Ice-type, and Steel-type opponents across Paldea, with a huge 125-attack stat and some brilliant moves. That’s not the main reason we’ve included it on our list, though.

Unlike other Pokemon featured here, the main reason to use Gallade isn’t to take down your opponents – it’s to keep them alive! Gallade is one of the best Pokemon to use when catching other Pokemon thanks to the moves False Swipe and Hypnosis. We’ve always got one on our team when out in the wild.

10. Houndstone

The adorable Ghost-type dog Greavard stole the hearts of Pokemon fans around the world when it was first unveiled for Scarlet & Violet, but it turns into a fighter to be feared when it evolves into Houndstone thanks to one particular move: Last Respects.

This move has 50 base power and 100% accuracy, which is nothing fancy, but that power is increased by 50 every time a Pokemon on the user’s team faints. This means if Houndstone is your final Pokemon, the move will reach 300 power and be pretty much unstoppable against anything other than Normal-types.

9. Armarouge or Ceruledge

Depending on which version of the game you’re playing, you’ll be able to evolve newcomer Charcadet into either the Fire/Psychic-type Armarouge (Scarlet) or the Fire/Ghost-type Ceruledge (Violet).

We do prefer Ceruledge as it has a slightly higher Speed stat and the brilliant signature move Bitter Blade, but they’re both excellent and reliable options that are worth evolving and trying out on your team.

8. Slaking

The Normal-type Slaking might not look like the most exciting Pokemon to have on your team, but it’s got a whopping 670 base stats to play with – which is more than most Legendaries have – and a combination of 150 HP and 100 Defense which means it will have some serious staying power on the battlefield.

Bulky Pokemon usually suffer from being quite slow, but Slaking actually has a solid 100-speed stat, giving you the best of both worlds when it comes to taking hits and dishing them out. A positively scary 160-attack stat combined with moves like Giga Impact and Mega Kick make it a top-tier choice.

7. Tinkaton

A Fairy/Steel-type Pokemon was always going to be a nightmare to deal with. Tinkaton has only two weaknesses to worry about (Fire and Ground) with a whopping nine(!) type resistances and immunity to both Dragon and Poison-type attacks. It’s no surprise it’s already become a fan favorite.

If that wasn’t enough, Tinkaton also has one of the best signature moves we’ve ever seen: Gigaton Hammer. This devastating Steel-type attack utilizes that huge hammer to dish out 160 damage with 100% accuracy, so even Pokemon resistant to Steel types will struggle to deal with it.

6. Garchomp

Is anyone surprised to see Garchomp return in Scarlet & Violet? Didn’t think so. This pseudo-Legendary is one of the most beloved Pokemon of all time, thanks to its memorable design and huge power in battle, so it’s definitely worth searching caves to catch a Gible before evolving it into its final form.

Garchomp has access to some of the best moves in the franchise like Earthquake, Draco Meteor, and Dragon Rush, with an impressive 130 Attack stat, 115 Defense, and an above-average 102 Speed to back all of that up. Finally, its dual Dragon/Ground-typing makes it a perfect counter to other Dragon types.

5. Gholdengo

If you thought Legendaries were difficult to obtain in Scarlet & Violet, wait until you try and evolve a Gholdengo. This bizarre Pokemon requires you to find 999 Gimmighoul Coins hidden around the Paldea region, either by locating tiny Roaming Gimmighoul or by defeating Chest Form Gimmighoul.

It’s a ridiculous task, but once you’ve done it, you’ll have one of the best competitive Pokemon in Scarlet & Violet. It’s got an incredible 133 Special Attack (as well as Nasty Plot to boost that further) and decent defense stats, while the Good as Gold ability gives it immunity to any status moves.

4. Palafin (Hero Form)

If you’ve evolved a Finizen into Palafin, you might be a little confused about what’s changed. It looks almost exactly the same, and it’s still not that powerful, right? Well, what makes Palafin such a standout in Scarlet & Violet is the ability Zero To Hero, which activates its Hero Form when switched out of battle.

Hero Form Palafin gets a massive boost to its base stats, going from 457 to 650 – all of which are nicely distributed across the board with the obvious standout being that 160 Attack stat. With moves like Bulk Up and Jet Punch, many players have already deemed it ‘broken’ in battle because it’s just so powerful.

3. Baxcalibur

This solid and scary pseudo-legendary Pokemon introduced in this generation, is one of the toughest physical attackers available in Scarlet & Violet.

This double Dragon/Ice-type ‘mon has an incredibly high attack of 145 and its power grew after The Teal Mask was released, as it added the move Scale Shot which allows Baxcalibur to increase its speed while attacking.

2. Flutter Mane

Of all the Paradox Pokemon in Scarlet & Violet, the Scarlet-exclusive ancient Flutter Mane might just be the best one. It’s got 135 Special Attack, 135 Special Defense, and 135 Speed, which makes it an absolute machine on the special side of things – even if its other stats are pitifully low as a result.

A Fairy/Ghost-typing is brilliant both offensively and defensively, with three immunities and only two weaknesses to watch out for. As long as you’re using it against special attackers, it’s easily one of the greatest Pokemon you can add to your team (and it’s brilliant for those Charizard Tera Raids!)

1. Ogerpon

The first part of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC, The Teal Mask, introduced several new Legendary Pokemon including Ogerpon.

This cute creature is a Grass-type Pokemon, but thanks to its three different masks (Cornerstone, Wellspring, and Hearthflame) it can double its typing to Grass/Rock, Grass/Water, or Grass/Fire.

With the Hearthflame Mask being the best out of them all, Ogerpon is definitely the most versatile Pokemon in the whole game, that’s why it takes the first place on the list.

Those are 11 of the best Pokemon to catch in Scarlet & Violet. For more game content, check out some more guides below:

How to get Marks in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet | How to get all starters in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet | How to co-op with friends in Scarlet & Violet | All Shiny forms in Scarlet & Violet | Sandwich recipes in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet