The Best Water-Type Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet

There are a lot of Water-type Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, 54 if Rotom’s washer-form is included, but the question remains, which is best? While a Water-Type Pokémon can thus use surf to get around certain obstacles is not necessary for Generation IX, it is still a very useful typing to have. Water-types might be weak to Grass- and Electric-type attacks, but they’re resistant to Fire-, Ice-, Steel, and Water-type attacks, and thanks to the Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB), are excellent for dealing with Fire-, Ground-, and Rock-type Pokémon.

Out of all the Water-type options, five (technically six) options work best. The first is an evolution of the Water-type starter, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet‘s Quaquaval. While the addition of the Fighting-type at its final form makes this Pokémon weak to Flying-, Psychic-, and Fairy-type attacks, this is balanced out by resistances to Rock-, Bug-, and Dark-type attacks. The real strength lies in how its Torrent Ability, which increases the damage to Water-type moves by 50%, and it works with the standard STAB bonus and an Attack Stat of 120. An adequately leveled Quaquaval becomes a monster when it learns either Liquidation or Wave Crash, both Water-type physical attacks.

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The Best Water-Types In Pokémon Scarlet And Violet

Next, there’s Iron Bundle, a Paradox Pokémon in Pokémon Violet. Its Water- and Ice-typing does leave it with more weaknesses (Fighting, Rock-, Grass-, Electric-) than resistances (Water- and Ice-), but it has high stats in 114 Defense, 124 Special Attack, and 136 Speed. One good Hydro Pump can knock out an enemy before it can attack. But the main problem with Iron Bundle is that it’s end-game content, so it can’t carry the player on their Pokémon journey.

The best non-starter options, in that case, are either a Palafin or a Wugtrio, both for unconventional reasons. Palafin isn’t that impressive in its Zero form, especially since its only good stats are 100 HP and 100 Speed. But if Palafin is switched out and then brought back onto the battlefield, it will be in its Hero form, with increased stats and a monstrous 160 Attack, leaving it a danger to all enemies. Wugtrio, the evolved stage of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Wiglett, also has a secret power-up under the surface. It’s pretty weak and not the most fun to level up, but at level 30, it learns its signature move, Triple Dive, which hits three times and leaves an enemy, making it a deceptively powerful high-end move.

Finally, there’s an oddball combination that, while the most powerful choice overall, can only happen in double-battles. If the player sends out both Dondozo and Tatsugiri together, their abilities, Order Up, and Commander will synergize. Tatsugiri will hop into Dondozo’s mouth and increase every stat except HP by two stages, with an additional stage increase to one stat dependent on Tatsugiri’s form. This leaves Dondozo the strongest Water-type in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet overall due to the massive stat boosts it starts a battle with, but this does leave out Tera Type Pokémon.

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