With Pokémon Home compatibility finally arriving in Scarlet and Violet, we have access to every Pokémon you’ve caught in earlier Pokémon games and stored in HOME accessible to the current generation.
This means the pool of usable Pokémon has increased drastically, with a decent percentage of the new Pokémon coming in hailing from the ancient lands of Hisui.
Not all Hisuian Pokémon were created equal though, which is why we have ranked every Hisuian Pokémon coming to Scarlet and Violet from Home from worst to best, with regards to their viability in the official competitive format, VGC.
All Hisuian Pokémon coming to Scarlet and Violet from Home, ranked
18) Hisuian Electrode
There’s not much to say about this zippy little guy other than the fact it is slightly better than its Kantonian counterpart due to its better typing and move coverage. Other than that, H-Electrode is still very frail and has poor damage output, and they are just simply some things being incredibly speedy cannot save.
17) Hisuian Avalugg
It’s Avalugg with a worse defensive typing and even less Special Defense—we honestly did not think doing those two things was possible, but here’s Hisuian Avalugg.
It does get Strong Jaw and Sturdy, two decent abilities, while also getting a slight increase in its base Attack stat, but it’s not quite enough to justify running this dude on a serious team.
16) Hisuian Decidueye
Hisuian Decidueye’s signature Triple Arrows is cool and all, but with the ‘mon’s average Attack stat, you’ll want the immediate damage from Close Combat.
Apart from this, its bulk is mediocre and its defensive typing is poor. Access to the move Tailwind may seem like it redeems Hisuian Decidueye, but it’s too slow and frail to make use of it. It does get Scrappy, but we don’t think Ghost types are going to be overrunning Reg. D VGC; apart from Flutter Mane, who will end up resisting Fighting hits and who will, more importantly, take H-Decidueye out in a single hit before it can move. Ouch.
15) Hisuian Samurott
Even though Hisuian Samurott gets access to the broken ability Sharpness, its base Attack stat and the Base Power of the cutting moves it gets access to are too low to make a huge positive impact for it.
It is also too frail and slow and will drop to a single Dazzling Gleam from Flutter Mane before being able to do anything. Want to Terastallize it to survive the hit? You just wasted your Terastallization on a mediocre Pokémon who might just get knocked out by a double-up anyways. Hurray.
14) Wyrdeer
Wyrdeer has one niche: Intimidate and Trick Room. But its pre-evo, Stantler, could do that as well while boosting its Defenses by holding an Eviolite too, so just how revolutionary is Wyrdeer? Spoiler alert: not that much. It does have better typing and access to an item slot to fit in something like a Sitrus Berry for survivability, though.
13) Hisuian Zoroark
If Annihilape ever becomes a staple pick in Regulation D, we have Hisuian Zoroark with the Normal/Ghost dual-type to be immune to both of Annihilape’s STAB moves. Pretty funny.
Other than that, H-Zoroark is a much better candidate for pulling off Illusion shenanigans as compared to its Unovan descendant due to its superior defensive typing, while having a slightly better Special Attack stat. Its overall bulk gets worse though, and the ‘mon, in general, is nothing to write home about anyways.
12) Overqwil
Overqwil is a decent ‘mon, having two amazing abilities in Intimidate and Swift Swim. While this evil pufferfish can definitely play the role of an intimidator, do you really want it over a ‘mon with more overall utility like Arcanine or Gyarados?
As a Swift Swim abuser, we can definitely see it being a great speedy support, especially since it has access to moves like Icy Wind, Acid Spray, Haze, and Taunt.
11) Hisuian Lilligant
Hisuian Lilligant gets access to the Physical counterpart of Quiver Dance called Victory Dance, but it lacks the bulk to act as an effective setup sweeper. H-Lilligant still gets access to After You and Sleep Powder shenanigans, and with Chlorophyll, you can classically pair it up with Torkoal to be an even faster support than regular Lilligant in Sun.
10) Hisuian Braviary
While Tinted Lens is a broken ability, Hisuian Braviary is not offensive enough to abuse it. Even though having access to Tailwind may make it look like good Speed Control support, it’s too frail and slow for that role.
Instead, what we recommend is using it as a Sheer Force-Life Orb sweeper, preferably in Rain. This will make Hurricanes 100 percent accurate while giving H-Braviary a 1.3x + 1.3x damage multiplier from Sheer Force and Life Orb respectively, without the Life Orb recoil.
Related: Pokémon HOME’s Scarlet and Violet update is here, with a few twists
This ability and item combo also boosts its signature move Esper Wing, which still keeps its high crit rate as that isn’t considered a secondary effect for Sheer Force.
9) Kleavor
Like Hisuian Samurott, Kleavor also gets Sharpness, but it can actually make good use of the ability with a phenomenal Attack stat and useful cutting moves like its signature Stone Axe that sets up Stealth Rocks, and X-Scissor.
There is a lot to desire in terms of its bulk, however, and its defensive typing is decent at best. With a middling Speed stat, it may struggle to be used in both, Tailwind and Trick Room.
8) Sneasler
Sneasler may be frail, but with enough support, this Pokémon can sweep teams, especially because of its ability Unburden. Give it a Psychic Seed to hold and pair it with Indeedee-F, and you will double your Speed while getting more Specially bulky, letting Indeedee redirect hits while you set up with Swords Dance or simply go for immediate damage with its phenomenal base 130 Attack stat.
7) Enamorus – Incarnate Form
Enamorus’ Incarnate Form possesses the phenomenal and rare ability in Contrary, but can only activate it itself through Superpower, where raising its Attack stat has barely any meaning since its Physical move pool is pathetic.
It does have a great supportive move pool with moves such as Tailwind and Taunt, but you would rather use Prankster Tornadus for that role. It does work as a strong Fairy Special Attacker, but why would you use this ‘mon over Flutter Mane, in that case?
Enamorus Incarnate does a lot of things, but it seems like other ‘mons just play those roles better anyways.
6) Hisuian Arcanine
There’s no reason to use Hisuian Arcanine over regular Arcanine to fill the bulky intimidator role. Instead, use it for its Hidden Ability: Rock Head.
With its secondary Rock typing in conjunction with Rock Head, you now have a 150 BP STAB Head Smash that inflicts no recoil. Pair that with no-recoil STAB Flare Blitz, and no-recoil Wild Charge for coverage, and you’ve got an offensive powerhouse on your side.
You may want to Terastallize out of H-Arcanine’s poor defensive typing, though.
5) Hisuian Goodra
Hisuian Goodra is a clear upgrade from its Kalosian counterpart, with better typing and a better stat spread, especially regarding its bulk.
It also possesses an incredibly diverse move pool that complements an Assault Vest set really well. Without AV, you can simply run three moves with wide coverage along with Life Dew to keep H-Goodra and its partner healthy. Sap Sipper is its preferred ability to counter Amoonguss with Spore effectively.
4) Hisuian Typhlosion
Probably the only good Hisuian starter to use in Regulation D VGC, Hisuian Typhlosion has one great use case: fast Eruptions.
While it is slower than its Johtonian descendant, it is much faster than the regular Eruption user, Torkoal, and with a little Speed control from its partners—or a Choice Scarf—it can very easily burn through teams, especially since it has a higher Special Attack stat than its Johtonian counterpart.
H-Typhlosion’s Ghost typing is also fantastic, making it immune to Fake Out and Facade from Ursaluna, while giving it a STAB boost on Shadow Ball or its decent signature move, Infernal Parade.
3) Basculegion – Male
There is no reason to use the female form of Basculegion with its poorer Physical Attack stat, especially since this ‘mon’s strongest move—Last Respects—is a Physical move, adding an extra 50 BP to itself for every fallen team member.
With Swift Swim, Basculegion-M can easily sweep any team, especially with Rain-boosted Wave Crashes. Add Aqua Jet for priority and you’ve got a beast on your hands.
2) Enamorus – Therian Form
Being evidently the better Enamorus form, Enamorus Therian has superior bulk while being a prime Fairy attacker in Trick Room who doesn’t have to worry about Amoongus’ powder moves due to its great ability in Overcoat. It pairs well with Ursaluna, as they both work in Trick Room while Fairy and Ground coverage are a match made in heaven, quickly being able to clear the opponent’s side of the field with a few button clicks.
1) Ursaluna
Where should we begin with this one? How about with the fact Ursaluna is probably the single most broken Pokémon that will exist in Regulation D VGC?
First off, its Attack stat that sits at a whopping base 140 is enough to warrant this behemoth of a bear the title of a very hard-hitter. But no, its offensive prowess does not stop there. Since it possesses the ability Guts, all it needs to do is get itself inflicted with a Status condition and its Attack stat gets boosted 1.5 times.
But how exactly is it supposed to get inflicted with a Status condition so easily? That’s where items like the Toxic Orb and Flame Orb come in handy, which badly poisons the holder in battle and burns the holder in battle, respectively. You will always want your Ursaluna to hold the Flame Orb, however, as the chip damage you take every turn is minuscule when compared to the Toxic Orb, and the ability Guts lets you ignore the Burn condition’s effect of halving the damage of your Physical moves; a win-win.
Oh, and the burn also helps it by letting the move Facade—which it gets access to—double in damage, turning from 70 Base Power move into a 140 Base Power move. Yikes.
So now, your Ursaluna has a Choice Band-level damage increase with access to a boosted STAB Facade, without being locked into a single move and being able to run Protect. If this wasn’t enough, this ‘mon is blessed with an outstanding HP stat, a solid Defense stat, and decent Special Defense, making it incredibly tanky on top of being the hardest hitter we’ve seen in a long time.
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Couple all this with its low Speed stat, making it the most potent Trick Room sweeper Pokémon has seen in a very long time, and you’ve got Ursaluna: the uncontested strongest Pokémon that will grace the VGC space very soon.
