Ranked Battle Series 9 is now underway and a proper analysis of the top-level Pokemon is precedent to understanding the tides of the game. It is true that building a team sounds like a daunting task. But, all that is needed is one primary Pokemon to base composition around. This overview will have information on three of the best Pokemon for ranked battles and can help players decide which Pokemon to choose to make a team around.
The provided analysis will be going over the Pokemon themselves, their stats, recommended moves for their best sets and strategies, and last, but not least, recommendations for teammates. This article will cover the first part of these picks, with the continued coverage here at The Game Haus. This article will cover the singles format, with doubles being covered in a related one. Whether it is the battlefield or escaping that hungry Bewear in the Wild Area, these three Pokemon are overpowered.
Zapdos is one of the three legendary birds along with Moltres and Articuno. They are all part of the Legendary Birds trio headed by Lugia. Zapdos is also one of the best electric types to use in Ranked Series 9, alongside others like Regielecki. This beautiful bird rocks its trademark dual Electric/Flying typing. Its two abilities are Pressure, which doubles the amount of PP used during a move, and Static, which has a 30 percent chance of paralyzing the enemy upon physical contact.
HP: 90
Atk: 90
Def: 85
Sp Atk: 125
Sp Def: 90
Spd: 100
One of the best ways to play Zapdos is as a Dynamax Special Sweeper. For its Dynamax build, be sure to have static as the ability so that paralysis can infect the enemy team like bugs in a crop field. The recommended item is a Life Orb as it will buff Zapdos’ attack and special attack by 30 percent; making sure that the Zapdos has a Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk) to ensure that it is faster than anything the opponent has.
Its best moves consist of Thunderbolt and Hurricane to capitalize on the Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB), boosting them by a x1.5 multiplier. With Zapdos’ high special attack stat and its Life Orb, STAB alone can make taking hits from Zap a nightmare. Heat Wave is the third move to counter Zapdos’ weakness to Ice-type Pokemon. And finally, Roost to keep Zapdos in the game through healing and to counter the HP loss from the Life Orb.
Despite being good for sweeping, Zapdos’ build does not possess a counter for its rock-type weakness, making it a good idea to have a water, grass, or fighting type on the team to switch into. Taking into account as well that Max Lightning will also activate electric terrain, any Pokemon that can at least learn electric-type moves will be insanely helpful for protecting water-type allies with boosted moves.
Putting this soccer-playing easter bunny in the spotlight for our second pick, Cinderace sports an impressive kit and can be obtained as a starter. Sometimes, we really don’t know the power we hold, especially when they can have a hidden ability that changes their type. Cinderace sports a pure Fire typing along with Blaze as its ability and Libero as its hidden ability.
HP: 80
Atk: 116
Def: 75
Sp. Atk: 65
Sp. Def: 75
Speed: 119
For Cinderace, it is time to go over its Blaze ability build as this is what’s most readily available to players unless they want to breed Scorbunnys like rabbits for Libero, or if they got it from the Pokemon HOME launch event. For this build, give Cinderace the Focus Sash item so it can survive at 1 HP if hit with a strong super-effective attack. Jolly (+Speed, -Special Attack) is the best nature for it to have.
Cinderace’s move set consists of Pyro Ball for STAB, High Jump Kick for countering its rock weakness, Sucker Punch in order to get that priority hit in on an enemy that is on its last legs, but is faster than Cinderace without the priority, and Bounce to give it access to Max Airstream when dynamaxed to make it an even faster Pokemon.
It is recommended to have teammates that can cover Cinderace’s weaknesses to water and ground (having rock type coverage is helpful. But Cinderace can also cover this itself with High Jump Kick. Roping in our first pick, Zapdos is a great teammate for Cinderace as it effectively counters the fire rabbit’s water weakness, but keeps the team composition strong by being immune to Ground. Grass and Water also work very well with Cinderace.
Despite this little guy’s jealousy of the series mascot, it can take solace in the fact that its kit makes it MUCH more viable than the fan-favorite electric mouse. Mimikyu returns and remains at the top of the meta for Series 9 Ranked Battles. This Ghost/Fairy type wants to be Pikachu and wears a costume of the yellow mouse to attract people’s attention. Mimikyu also joins the fray with its godly ability, Disguise. This practically allows it a substitute for a turn without taking up one of the four available move slots.
HP: 55
Atk: 90
Def: 80
Sp. Atk: 50
Sp. Def: 105
Spd: 96
One of the best ways to use Mimikyu is as a lead with a physical Swords Dance set. Jolly nature and Life Orb are the best for this build. The moveset is Swords Dance for buffing Mimikyu’s attack, Shadow Claw and Shadow sneak for STAB and priority, respectively, and Play Rough for secondary STAB damage.
For teammates, it is recommended that choices revolve around covering Mimikyu’s weaknesses since this is running a Swords Dance STAB strat. Picks should be strong against Steel and Ghost. Cinderace is a great pick for someone who can back Mimikyu up. Ghost will not be that much of a concern as with Shadow Sneak and Swords Dance, Mimikyu should be able to deal enough damage to defend itself.
These three Pokemon are capable of giving a solid foundation for any team and are incredibly fun to use. The battles are hot, but with these three Pokemon available, any trainer can come up with a good enough composition to cool them down.
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