After being limited to a Nintendo Switch Lite since 2019, I recently purchased a Nintendo Switch 2; no longer will I be shackled to a small screen for Nintendo games! To celebrate my new console, ahead of starting the new games I bought with it, I decided to go back and replay my favourite Pokémon game that’s available on the platform (as Black 2 / White 2 currently isn’t), and restarted Pokémon Sword.
Not only has playing it on my big TV been a breath of fresh air, it has really made me appreciate just how good those games are after the disappointment that was Scarlet and Violet in 2022. With three playthroughs of Sword and Shield now completed, and to celebrate that today is Pokémon Day, this week I’m going to rank my six favourite Pokémon I used across these playthroughs. I’m limiting entries to Pokémon that released in Sword and Shield, so while I made some incredible discoveries in the form of Pangoro and Alolan Ninetales, they don’t qualify for this list.
Firstly I want to give an honourable mention to Shield’s cover Legendary, Zamazenta, constantly overshadowed by Sword’s cover, Zacian. I had a lot of fun with Zamazenta, and being able to add Steel type to its base Fighting at my convenience was a huge benefit. But now time for the list proper!
6) Coalossal
Coalossal was never intended to last me the entire playthrough, but wasted no time at all in demonstrating how invaluable it was remarkably early on. I already had a Fire Pokémon on my team (Incineroar, I transferred over a level 5 Litten from Pokémon Home) but having found how much I enjoyed Rock types thanks to Klawf during my Scarlet run last year, I decided it was time to try others. Safe to say at this stage I have discovered an appreciation for the type overall.
Coalossal has several features that make it fun to use. As it’s very heavy I get a lot of use out of Heat Crash, and being able to break out the incredibly powerful Burn Up, that also enables Coalossal to drop its Fire typing and become pure Rock type, has helped at times as well.
I will definitely be more open to integrating a Rock type Pokémon in the games going forward!
Moves – Burn Up, Ancient Power, Scorching Sands, Heat Crash
5) Grapploct
Fighting Pokémon are a type I typically shun, but with a design as cool as Grapploct I couldn’t help but try to use it. What a revelation generation 8 was for getting me into types I would usually ignore! I taught my Grapploct exclusively Fighting moves, so while that limited the times it could be useful, whenever I did use Grapploct it never let me down.
There’s not much else to say about it, use it for yourself and you’ll find Grapploct a worthy addition to any team.
Moves – Octolock, Brick Break, Bulk Up, Superpower
4) Galarian Weezing
As a proud Trainer of primarily Poison Pokémon, I always try to sample as many of the new Poison types as I can in every new game. Acquiring a Galarian Weezing as quickly as I could as I loved its design shown off in trailers pre-release, it cemented its place on my team in my first generation 8 playthrough in an instant.
In contrast to how I used Grapploct, Weezing knew only attacking moves of four various types, meaning I could often used it for entire battles thanks to its versatility. I’m also a fan of how vague its Pokédex description is in describing how Weezing’s Galarian form came to exist.
I did also enjoy using Galarian Slowbro and Galarian Slowking, but as they both provided a very similar experience to Weezing, that’s the one I picked to make this list.
Moves – Sludge Wave, Shadow Ball, Heat Wave, Dazzling Gleam
3) Dragapult
I know Dragon types are generally very strong anyway, but Goddamn is Dragapult worth the wait when Drakloak evolves at the ripe old age of level 60. I came close so often to booting Dreepy, and later Drakloak, from my team but had read a multitude of times that Dragapult is worth the wait, so unsurprisingly it was!
Dragapult is easily the best leading Pokémon to use in any battles with Hop, as he always leads with Wooloo / Dubwool who only has stat boosting moves and Normal type attacks, so cannot do anything to affect my Dragon/Ghost. Ghost benefit aside, Dragapult is fast, bulky (enough) and so incredibly strong that there really isn’t much that can touch it. Is it any wonder that it’s generation 8’s pseudo Legendary? Easily one of my favourite Dragon types I’ve ever used, which I robustly recommend.
Moves – Dragon Darts, Dragon Rush, Double Edge, Phantom Force
2) Cinderace
Among my glowing praise for Sword and Shield there exists one major caveat to that which I hate to admit: this is one of the weakest generations for starters. The Water starter, Inteleon, is the worst starter ever in my opinion, with the Grass option, Rillaboom, being barely serviceable as its mono Grass typing limits the moves it can learn and therefore its usefulness in battle. Head and shoulders in quality above these is the Fire wielding Cinderace, who I loved using.
When I wasn’t leaning on its signature move, Pyro Ball, I began utilising Counter when the battle called for it. Counter and Mirror Coat are among the most irritating moves to come up against when they are used right, so of course I found being able to work Counter into my strategies to be a lot of fun.
I generally pick Fire or Water starters in the first run with a new generation, with my choice to start with Sobble this time turning out to be laughably bad with Scorbunny eventually transpiring to be the considerably better option. If I ever embark on a fourth run of Sword / Shield, I would not hesitate to start with and use Scorbunny again.
Moves – Blaze Kick, Bounce, Pyro Ball, Counter
Best Pokémon of Generation 8 – Toxtricity
Generation 8 introduced my new favourite Pokémon of all time, combining my two types of preference for the first time ever: the Poison/Electric Toxtricity. I used both versions of this Pokémon across my three runs of the game, Amped of course being the coolest looking of the two, and both times had a blast with this formidable punk powerhouse.
Overwhelming everything I set it against, Toxtricity immediately skyrocketed to becoming my favourite Pokémon I’ve ever used, usurping Scolipede’s throne, and went on to absolutely dominate in the two playthroughs I had one on my team. If the potency of the Poison type was ever called into question, Toxtricity is the Pokémon I could point to to demonstrate why it’s my favourite type, and an essential component on every team. Toxtricity helped make Sword and Shield the tremendous achievement that I consider them to be, and why I am confident they’ll remain my second favourite Pokémon generation for many years to come!
Amped moves – Overdrive, Boomburst, Toxic, Venoshock
Low key moves – Overdrive, Hex, Sludge Wave, Uproar
That’s my list! Let me know your favourite generation 8 Pokémon in the comments, and Happy Pokémon Day!
Written and edited by Alexx.
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