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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.

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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.

Miraidon is seen looking at something off-screen with a confident expression.
Unsurprisingly, Miraidon and Koraidon are at the top of their tier.
Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku
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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.

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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.

An Iron Bundle is seen standing in a grassy field.
Paradox Pokémon like Iron Bundle are some of the strongest new additions in Scarlet and Violet.
Screenshot: The Pokémon Company / Kotaku
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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.

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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.