Flutter Mane’s days atop Scarlet, Violet VGC numbered as new Pokémon rise with format change

Flutter Mane has been by far the most consistent Pokémon in the metagame since its explosive introduction to Scarlet and Violet VGC, but that could be changing soon when Regulation D’s ruleset arrives.

Last week, Regulation D was announced as the next format for Scarlet and Violet VGC from July 1 to Sept. 30. With this new ruleset, a bunch of new Pokémon transferred from Pokémon HOME will be thrown into the meta, meaning everything is about to change. This includes Flutter Mane’s place in the meta.

Based on stats from major tournaments held under Regulation B and C rules, the Ghost/Fairy Paradox Pokémon has been at the top of the usage charts, event after event. In fact, it was on 79 percent of the teams at the Europe International Championships back in April, which is a rare achievement in competitive play. At that point, Flutter Mane seemed unstoppable, and many players were concerned it would negatively impact the meta.

With another Scarlet and Violet win secured by Flutter Mane at Milwaukee Regionals this weekend, one fan wondered if the ghost’s usage stats would reach 100 percent at Worlds with every single participant running it.

Most players in the community don’t think so though. If anything, it will likely see a drop in usage thanks to all of the strong new Pokémon entering the meta with Regulation D—the wild format to be used at the World Championships this year.

For example, two new Regulation D additions, Urshifu and Ursaluna, are expected to help define the meta with how powerful they are. They also happen to match up fairly well against Flutter Mane.

One fan said the two Urshifu forms “have priority that can threaten it at least a little. They can also Tera their fairy weakness away and have strong physical attacks to deal with it, such as their signature (always crit) moves and coverage in Iron Head.”

Meanwhile, Ursaluna is part Normal type, making it completely immune to Flutter Mane’s Shadow Ball. And although it’s slow, the Hisuian bear has enough bulk and physical power to “absolutely shred” the Paradox ghost.

Another player reminded everyone about Heatran’s return to VGC. The Fire/Steel Legendary Pokémon not only quad resists Flutter Mane’s Fairy-type attacks but also has strong Steel-type moves to hit it back for super-effective damage. Suddenly, the ghost doesn’t feel so invincible anymore.

Of course, we have yet to see how any of these Pokémon interact with Flutter Mane at a major tournament.

The first official Regulation D event will be Worlds, so we won’t know where the Paradox ‘mon will fall in terms of usage until the biggest tournament of the year.