Pokémon pros name top Legendary threats to watch out for in Scarlet and Violet’s new meta

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet VGC’s next ruleset, Regulation G, will no doubt shake up the meta by throwing restricted Legendary Pokémon into the mix. Dot Esports talked to pros about the upcoming regulation and which Pokémon to keep an eye on.

At the Europe International Championships (EUIC), we had the chance to chat with some of the best VGC players in the world—Jeudy Azzarelli, James Baek, Chuppa Cross IV, Alex Gómez Berna, Joseph Ugarte, Aaron “Cybertron” Zheng, and Wolfe Glick. In addition to talking about meta threats like Incineroar, Ogerpon, Raging Bolt, and Landorus Incarnate, we also wanted to get their opinion on Regulation G after the new ruleset was announced.

From May 1 to Aug. 31, Reg. G will allow players to include one restricted Pokémon on their VGC teams. This means many of the strongest Legendary Pokémon will be unleashed into the meta, and that’ll be the format for the NA International Championships (June 7 to 9) and Worlds (Aug. 16 to 18). As the format for those big international events, pros are already looking ahead at which Pokémon will crush the competition next.

By far, the most popular response was Calyrex—specifically Shadow Rider Calyrex. The bunny and horse duo is a mighty force with two Abilities, incredible speed, a monstrous Special Attack stat, and a deadly signature move in Astral Barrage. But as overpowered as Shadow Rider Calyrex is, it’s not invincible. Due to its Psychic/Ghost typing, it has two quad-weaknesses to Dark and Ghost attacks. However, Terastallization is the perfect defensive solution for quad-weaknesses while also strengthening its offense. “Because of Terastallization, I think it only gets better—the fact there’s no Dynamax to counteract Calyrex Shadow, and now you can Tera Ghost to even get more damage on your Astral Barrages,” Joseph Ugarte explained.

But with the rise of Shadow Rider Calyrex, we can also expect its counters to rise. Alex Gómez Berna told Dot he believes bulky Dark-type Pokémon will “rise up” in response. “I think Dark-types… defensive ones can have success in these future regs because there are not many Pokémon that can handle hits from Shadow Calyrex.”

The future isn’t quite as dark as it seems, though. As frightening as this bunny and horse duo sounds like it’s going to be, some players like Jeudy Azzarelli are actually getting excited to see it in action: “Everyone’s dreading it, but I’m like ‘Yippee, Calyrex!’”

Aside from Calyrex, James Baek pointed to the three new Gen IX Legendary Pokémon entering VGC for the first time—Koraidon, Miraidon, and Terapagos. Koraidon will bring the sun for all the past Paradox Pokémon like Flutter Mane and Raging Bolt, while we finally have a viable Electric Terrain setter in Miraidon to help out the future Paradox ‘mons like Iron Hands. But then there’s Terapagos. Baek explained, “Terapagos’ Ability when it goes for the Stellar Tera is insane, being able to get rid of terrain and weather. And it’s signature move is super-effective spread and does a lot into opposing Pokémon that Teras. It’s a really, really defining Pokémon, where it can overwhelm teams that aren’t exactly prepared because it’s so bulky.”

Meanwhile, Aaron Zheng has his eye on a popular rain-setter, Kyogre. “I think people are writing it out just because of the existence of Raging Bolt and Water Ogerpon, but I think a well-constructed team can still make Kyogre look really, really good.” Indeed, Kyogre will have to look out for Raging Bolt’s Thunderclap, Wellspring Ogerpon’s Water Absorb, and Terapagos’ Teraform Zero, but this is a Pokémon that “historically has done so well,” so Zheng believes it can pull through again.

With all these Legendary threats emerging, Jeudy Azzarelli also highlighted a few counters to consider: “Every Legendary has their own signature ‘blow up the board’ move, so Pokémon like Mienshao and Iron Valiant will see use just because they have Wide Guard.” As a Paradox Pokémon that didn’t see much usage in previous regulations, this could truly be Iron Valiant’s time to shine. In addition to the Wide Guard access Azzarelli mentioned, Iron Valiant can finally take advantage of Miraidon’s Electric Terrain.

One final Reg G prediction comes from Wolfe Glick: “I think it will probably be a format where a lot of different restricted Legendaries are viable because, with only one restricted Legendary on a team, you can kind of afford to devote dedicated Pokémon that beat multiple of them. So yeah, I think we’ll see a pretty wide meta rather than a very centralized one.”