Best Water Type Pokemon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have successfully pushed the Pokemon count over the 1,000 mark this time, with Generation IX bringing the total to 1,008. This is a remarkable achievement, over 6 times the original Gen I count of 151, and in the case of this Generation, there are several with spectacular competitive potential. While many are spread across the different types, Water type Pokemon got a particular blessing this time around, with some of the best new additions of any type in Scarlet and Violet. We’ve gone ahead and researched their stats, abilities, and move sets to find the best 5 available.

Who Are the Best Water Type Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet?

We wanted to look into the most competitively viable Pokemon available, regardless of whether they get banned in some circles or not. Some are speed demons, while others are general heavy hitters. We have them gathered here, in no particular order:

Veluza

Veluza is a cool new Water-Psychic Pokemon with some powerful offensive potential and surprising bulk. It would likely benefit from a Choice Scarf to make up for the slight Speed deficiency, but thanks to the ‘Sharpness’ Hidden Ability, boosting the power of Slicing moves by 1.5x, they’ll be slicing and dicing the competition. Veluza’s base stats before any extra training or investment are the following:

• HP: 90
• Atk: 102
• Def: 73
• Sp. Atk: 78
• Sp. Def: 65
• Speed: 70

Along with moves like Aqua Cut, Psycho Cut, Night Slash, and Drill Run, this Pokemon could be a fierce sweeper with good coverage and STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus, +50% damage) potential.

Quaquaval

This is the wonderfully flamboyant Water Type Starter Pokemon’s final evolution. Quaquaval is enormously strong, with a solid base Attack being their predominant offering on any competitive team. What’s scarier is the ‘Moxie’ Hidden Ability they have, meaning every time Quaquaval KO’s an opponent, they get an Attack boost. This can turn Quaquaval into a dangerous sweeper capable of crushing tankier Pokemon with relative ease. Here are Quaquaval’s base stats:

• HP: 85
• Atk: 120
• Defense: 80
• Sp. Atk: 85
• Sp. Def: 75
• Speed: 85

A Choice Band will do this Pokemon some serious favors, so long as you still invest in Speed, or alternately have them hold a Choice Scarf and let Moxie do the rest of the lifting. Moves to really break down your opponent include Wave Crash, Close Combat, Aqua Step, Ice Spinner, and/or Brave Bird.

Dondozo

Dondozo is an interesting addition to this list as it is an incredibly bulky Singles Water Type contender but also has a unique place in Doubles. With a staggering physical bulk, predominantly an amazing 150 base HP (not quite the level of Cetitan and certainly still nowhere near Blissey), and physical Defense, Dondozo also has a surprisingly high Attack stat, with the main drawback of a bad Speed stat. Here are Dondozo’s base stats:

• HP: 150
• Atk: 100
• Def: 115
• Sp. Atk: 65
• Sp. Def: 65
• Speed: 35

Dondozo is a natural tank with a pretty great move pool, with Curse being handy combined with Unaware, preventing other Pokemon from benefiting from stat boosts while Dondozo is on the field. Other moves that help include Liquidation, Body Press, and Rest. Leftovers as a held item are beneficial to keep Dondozo in play when taking hits from other contenders. Additionally, if you have Tatsugiri on your Doubles team featuring this, you can have Order Up along with Tatsugiri’s Commander Ability to essentially combine the two, putting Tatsugiri in Dondozo’s mouth and dealing heavy damage while boosting Dondozo’s stats even further depending on which Tatsugiri you use.

Iron Bundle

Iron Bundle is an Ice and Water Type Paradox Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet and a welcome revision to Delibird at the same time. The Pokemon is ferociously fast, able to counter Grass threats, has surprisingly good physical Defense, and has exceptional Special Attack. This, combined with Quark Drive for Electric Terrain or Booster Energy, make for massive stat boosts, especially to Speed, often freeing you up to invest in other stats, of which the base scores are:

• HP: 56
• Atk: 80
• Def: 114
• Sp. Atk: 124
• Sp. Def: 60
• Speed: 136

You can reasonably use the Choice Specs to boost Special Attack further while investing in Speed at the same time, or the Choice Scarf. Alternatively, you can use the Life Orb and take advantage of naturally stunning Speed to sweep most of the competition. Iron Bundle can do lots for your team, including Hydro Pump for deadly SpA STAB damage, Ice Beam or Blizzard for potential Freeze shenanigans, Substitute, Protect, and more. There are lots of rough options to make this a powerful offensive Pokemon.

Palafin

Palafin is a broken Water Type Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet. They boast an obscene stat spread, collectively amounting to 650 when activating their Ability, ‘Zero to Hero’; while this is not Arceus, that’s hardly the point, as no regular Pokemon should approach the base stats of a Pokemon god. But Palafin is built different, with base stats before transformation giving reasonable physical bulk and Speed. But all you have to do is switch them out for the ability to activate, making this a likely common lead. The base stats before and after transformation are the following:

Zero Form:

• HP: 100
• Atk: 70
• Def: 72
• Sp. Atk: 53
• Sp. Def: 62
• Speed: 100

Hero Form:

• HP: 100
• Atk: 160
• Def: 97
• Sp. Atk: 106
• Sp. Def: 87
• Speed: 100

It’s tempting to say forget what we said about Greninja being peak performance in some ways, as Palafin is insane. With access to Wave Crash, Waterfall, Iron Head, or Zen Headbutt for flinch shenanigans, Flip Turn for switching out, Close Combat, and more, this Pokemon is a freight train ready to plow through many threats.

With any of these Water Type Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet, you’ll be able to handle plenty of opponents. But make sure that above all else, if you choose to play competitively, do so in a sporting manner: don’t be a power gamer if facing casual opponents, and if you’re winning or losing, take either gracefully. No sudden disconnects, and remember, it’s Pokemon, so have fun!

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet released on November 18, 2022, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.