Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Receiving Meta-Changing Competitive Items

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet has received a new trailer that expands more on some of the battling changes that accompany the introduction of Terastal Pokémon. A new Dragon/Normal type Pokémon called Cyclizar was also introduced.

Before the introduction of the Terastal type change that allows Pokémon to modify their type mid-battle, pre-battle preparation was paramount. However, the new changes reflect a major change in battling, firstly by modifying the types of Pokémon mid-battle and now with some major item additions that will change the tide of battle in real-time.

Mirror Herb is an item that allows you to copy an opponent’s stat increases when consumed, much like the move Psyche Up, but now you can use it on any Pokémon, allowing you to copy your opponents’ stat changes. Another item that has the potential to shift the meta is the Loaded Dice, an item which makes multi-strike moves more likely to hit. Most players have disregarded using multi-strike moves in favour of more guaranteed damage, but the Loaded Dice could change this.

Cyclizar comes with an interesting new move: Shed Tail. This move replaces Cyclizar with a decoy but also switches out the Pokémon for another one in your party while keeping the decoy in place. It acts just like the old move substitute, but without any HP cutoffs or significant downside, enabling you to safely switch to any Pokémon you want with little risk. The specifics of this move, like how it interacts with different status moves, are not yet clear.

Terastal type changes will also influence the usage of abilities that give gradual stat increases over time, such as Storm Drain, Speed Boost, or MotorDrive. The ability to drastically change the battle conditions from turn to turn stresses the importance of minute-to-minute decisions inside competitive battles, rather than preparation. Only time will tell how much these changes shake up the Pokémon battling meta. On the surface, they certainly seem to be significant.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet release exclusively on the Nintendo Switch on November 18.