Pokemon Scarlet and Violet comes with a brand-new Pokedex for players to complete as they explore and capture new Pokemon the franchise has never seen before! Not only that, but Paldea even has included many older Pokemon from previous generations, so players may just happen across their favorite Pokemon from previous games.
With so many Pokemon in Paldea, there is a small selection of Pokemon that are genuinely great for competitive battling. Since there are so many creatures in the game, players would expect almost every one to be able to individually hold their own, but for many poor Pokemon, that just isn't the case.
10 Spidops
Spidops is the final evolution of the new Paldean Bug-type Pokemon, Tarountula. This Pokemon has a great design! At first sight, especially in its shiny form, Spidops bears a cool-looking, slight resemblance to the Marvel hero Spider-Man. Though early-game Bug-type Pokemon have always been traditionally weak, many players have held high hopes for Bug-type Pokemon that are actually combatively viable.
Spidops, being one of the coolest new Bug Pokemon, deserves higher stats, specifically higher Attack and Speed. With Silk Trap and other great moves, this Pokemon could have been high-tier.
9 Sableye
Sableye has been adored by fans for the many generations that it has appeared in, and the Pokemon has even made a name for itself in Pokemon Go. Unfortunately, like other Pokemon games, this Ghost-type Pokemon doesn't have the stats to be competitively viable in competitions or in general.
Sableye's move pool is pretty outstanding, like most Ghost types, but the little Pokemon's total base stats equal 380, which is even lower than a Kricketune's base stats total would be. Even a Floette has more health than Sableye.
8 Kricketune
Kricketune has been a staple of "early-game Bug types" ever since the 4th generation of Pokemon. This Pokemon is a Bug type with some good moves, though its move pool could be enhanced.
Perish Song is its own signature move, which is great, but this Pokemon has horrible stats, and other than buying time or throwing a small wrench into the opponent's plans, Kricketune wouldn't be able to stand up to the majority of competitive Pokemon. Kricketune needs Attack buffs, Speed buffs, and Health buffs to keep it relevant.
7 Tropius
Tropius is a fan-favorite in terms of Pokemon that almost no player uses, but is nice to fill up the Pokedex. In Paldea, It's nice to see the Grass giant roaming around the wilderness. Some players find love in Tropius' design, but the Pokemon is nowhere near capable of taking care of itself when in a competitive situation.
Being a Grass and Flying-type Pokemon, Tropius has way too many weaknesses for comfort and not enough type advantages to make using it worth it. The Pokemon has good moves, but its stats need to be buffed in order to make up for its heavy disadvantages.
6 Cacturne
Cacturne is a Pokemon with one of the coolest designs in the franchise, but because of its typing and stats, this Pokemon may just remain on the bench within Pokemon PC boxes. Cacturne is a Dark and Grass-type Pokemon, which does give it some heavy disadvantages, but the Pokemon does have some great type advantages.
Sure, Cacturne's Special Attack and Attack base stats are equal and nothing to scoff at (115), but the cactus Pokemon is slow, has low Health, and stands without proper defenses to shield itself from its may weaknesses.
5 Vespiqueen
Vespiqueen is just about on-par with most early-game Bug-type Pokemon, but the queen of the Combee finds itself more capable than most Bug types in the game. Still though, Vespiqueen has horrible stats in comparison to the majority of the Pokedex.
Not only that, but this Pokemon has five different weaknesses, with one of those weaknesses being a 4x multiplier. This is due to the fact that it is a Bug and Flying-type Pokemon. The typing may make sense, but it just is bad. Vespiqueen needs a drop in Attack and a buff in Special Attack to be more viable.
4 Zangoose
Zangoose is one of the best Pokemon that don't actually have an evolution, which is one of the main aspects of the Pokemon franchise! This Pokemon, in its normal form, is just a Normal type. Normal-type Pokemon, perfectly enough, are pretty balanced in terms of advantages and disadvantages.
Zangoose has decent base Attack and Special Attack stats, but otherwise, this Pokemon falls short. Zangoose even has a smaller base stat total than Klefki, which doesn't exactly make sense. For this Pokemon to be considered good, it needs a buff in Health and Speed.
3 Banette
Banette is one of the best designed Ghost-type Pokemon and even looks intimidating. For any player that checks the Pokemon's stats, they will find that it isn't very intimidating at all. Oddly enough, its Attack stat is its highest stat.
If Banette were to be a competitive Pokemon, it would definitely need a buff in Attack, followed by a drop in Special Attack, a buff in Health, and a buff in Speed. With all of those changes in its stats, Banette could be a promising partner in competition,
2 Clodsire
Clodsire is one of the newest Pokemon that Paldea has unveiled, and one of the few Pokemon that are inspired from previous generations, though it isn't a regional form. Clodsire is the final evolutionary form of Paldean Whooper, and as the final evolution, one would expect the Pokemon to be great in terms of stats.
Unfortunately for the Poison and Ground-type Pokemon, its stats aren't very good. Clodsire does one of the best base Health stats in the game, but its other stats just don't make it seem like a viable Pokemon unless one were trying to "run the clock."
1 Medicham
Medicham has seen many appearances in the Pokemon franchise for years now. It has one of the best designs in the entire Pokedex, one of the coolest typings for a Pokemon, and some of the best moves that a Pokemon could learn.
With all of that, it is a disappointing feeling when one would look at its stats, as its stats aren't good at all. Medicham is the final evolutionary form of Meditite, a Psychic and Fighting-type Pokemon. Medicham's stats are even lower than a Dunsparce. No hate to Dunsparce.