CompetitivePokemon’s Uber tier is where dreams come true or completely fall apart, depending on who you ask. As such, it can be a highly volatile and unpredictable setting for competitive battling as just about any Pokemon and strategy is fair game, including many powerful legendary and mythical Pokemon.
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With that said, there are some restrictions in place to prevent Uber tier from becoming as broken as Anything Goes, such as bans on certainoverpowered abilities. However, you’ll find many OU (overused) Pokemon are still viable at this level with just a few changes to their moveset and stat spread. To ensure you’re consistently climbing up the ladder, consider using the best Pokemon for Uber tier.
10Palafin: Deadly Dolphin
First introduced inPokemon Scarlet & Violet, Palafin is an adorable Water-type dolphin Pokemon that turns into an absolute monster once you activate its ability Zero to Hero. This entails switching Palafin out once it’s on the battlefield, in turn raising its base Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense stats.
While this can be tricky to pull off in Uber tier where opponents are more likely to predict your every move, in many cases, it’s worth the risk to have one of the strongest Pokemon in Gen 9. In Hero form, Palafin can one-hit KO much of its competition withpowerful Water moveslike Wave Crash and Flip Turn, as well as finish off weaker enemies with priority Jet Punch.
9Annihilape: Bulk Up Bully
Annihilape has several notable advantages over its distant relative Primeape that allow it to dominate in Uber tier. For one, itsFighting/Ghost-typingis quite uncommon and has only a few weaknesses; additionally, Annihilape’s stat spread offers better HP, Attack, Defense, and Special Defense.
Combine these with access to Bulk Up and potent stab moves in Drain Punch and Rage Fist and you have a clear-cut candidate for Uber tier. While it’s not impossible to stop Annihilape from setting up, it has the potential to sweep after just a few Bulk Ups.
8Iron Bundle: Gifted With Great Power
When you consider just how weak Delibird is from a competitive perspective, Iron Bundle’s instant jump to Uber tier is quite the feat. Described as a futuristic relative of the gift-giving bird, this Paradox Pokemon boasts an impressive 124 Special Attack and 136 Speed.
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Furthermore, its dual Ice/Water-typing allows it to resistmany common weaknessesof both individual types while punishing opponents with stab damage from Freeze-Dry, Hydro Pump, and Ice Beam. In the event Electric Terrain becomes active, Iron Bundle can easily out-speed its most prominent counters as well.
7Espathra: Psychic Speed Engaged
Pure Psychic-typeEspathra may not seem like an obvious choice for Uber tier as the majority of its stats are decent at best. However, what this Pokemon lacks in raw power it makes up for with its ability Speed Boost, which increases its base 105 Speed stat by one stage each turn.
Once maxed out, Espathra will out-speed the vast majority of Uber-tier Pokemon, including those with fully invested Speed EVs. The benefits don’t stop there as access to Calm Mind and Stored Power allow Espathra to deal heavy damage to anything that’s not a Dark-type.
6Chi-Yu: Wall-Shattering Special Attacker
Much like the otherTreasures of Ruin Pokemonin Scarlet And Violet, Chi-Yu is blessed with great stats and a competitively viable ability in Beads of Ruin, which reduces the Special Defense of any other active Pokemon by a multiplier of 0.75.
This ends up working in Chi-Yu’s favor as its base 135 Special Attack is its highest stat. To add to this, it has access to many of the best offensive Special Attacks in the game, including devastating stab moves like Overheat and Fire Blast that are capable of two-hit killing even the bulkiest of Pokemon.
5Flutter Mane: Best Revenge Killer
Delibird isn’t the only Pokemon to receive a competitively-gifted cousin in Gen 9, as evident by the ancient relative of Misdreavus, Flutter Mane. The biggest improvements this Paradox Pokemon has to offer is a significantly higher base 135 Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed.
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Couple this with unparalleled coverage across its movepool, and Flutter Mane becomes a fantastic wall-breaker and revenge killer. Shadow Ball and Moonblast are its bread and butter in terms of stab moves, while Mystical Fire has the potential to synergize with Protosynthesis under the effects of Sunny Day.
4Miraidon: Electric Energy
Considering how manylegendary Pokemon mascotsend up in Ubers, it’s unsurprising to see Miraidon thriving at this level. After all, it has no shortage of strengths working in its favor, including a unique Electric/Dragon-typing and automatic Electric Terrain activation via Hadron Engine.
As if those weren’t enough, Miraidon can leverage its signature move Electro Drift to deal 1.33x more damage to Pokemon that are weak to Electric attacks. To round out its set, Draco Meteor, Overheat, and Volt Switch provide excellent coverage while allowing Miraidon to pivot using Choice Specs.
3Houndstone: Sand-Rushing Specter
Houndstone’s Uber tier designation is one of the more surprising twists in competitive Pokemon history; on the surface, it appears to be nothing more than your run-of-the-mill Ghost-type with fairly average stats. However, the saving grace in Houndstone’s kit is its excellent movepool consisting of potent stab attacks like Last Respects, which increases in power for each fainted ally.
Moreover, Houndstone also has access to Body Press, Play Rough, and Shadow Sneak, allowing it to break through walls such as Blissey along with common Uber-tier threats like Koraidon and Ting-Lu. While the abilities Fluffy and Sand Rush aren’t the most ideal choices, the latter can prove quite useful on Sandstorm teams.
2Chien-Pao: Glass Cannon Kitty
The second Treasure of Ruin to appear on this list, Chien-Pao is a formidable Uber-tier Pokemon with superb Attack and Speed stats. With the right EV investments, it can become very effective at dismantlingdefensive wallsusing Dark and Ice-type stab moves such as Crunch and Icicle Crash.
Next up is Chien-Pao’s Swords of Ruin, which functions similarly to that of Chi-Yu’s ability while targeting the opposing Pokemon’s Defense stat and reducing it by a multiplier of 0.75. This can be a great way to even the playing field since Chien-Pao is quite frail itself, particularly when it comes to Special Defense.
1Koraidon: Fierce Fighter
To wrap things up, Koraidon is a solid addition to any Uber team lacking power and versatility. This is because it can fulfill several different roles, with the most notable examples being aset-up sweeperor competent Choice Scarf user.
The former relies on stat-boosting moves like Swords Dance and Agility while the latter seeks to reap the benefits of Koraidon’s Orichalcum Pulse ability as soon as possible. With the proper Speed EV investment, you’ll find this Pokemon out-speeds many common checks while dealing consistent damage through itssignature stab move, Collision Course.
