The best Pokemon in Legends: Z-A’s Season 10 Ranked Battles
Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s tenth ranked battles season is live now, and it allows Mythical and sub-Legendary Pokemon but doesn’t allow heavy hitters like Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, Xerneas, and Yveltal. By this point, we’re assuming a good chunk of you who are still playing ranked battles are doing so for the sake of some of the in-game achievements. If you happen to be going for Consummate Gamer, there’s one specific Pokemon allowed in this format that’s going to consistently ruin your day!
Mega Magearna
To get the Consummate Gamer achievement, you have to win 50 ranked battles (against random players, not against friends) without a single one of your Pokemon fainting once. Unfortunately, Mega Magerna is so common and powerful that this achievement is nearly impossible to earn during seasons where it’s legal. Mega Magearna has an excellent defensive typing, though it does have a key Ground-type weakness that’s easy to exploit. Though as easy to exploit as it is, both Magearna and Mega Magearna have a big defense stat. You’ll usually see Magearna run Calm Mind, Fleur Cannon, Steel Beam, and then Thunderbolt, Focus Blast, Ice Beam, Aura Sphere, or Hyper Beam as the fourth move. This Pokemon is incredibly versatile, and you can pretty much pick and choose what you want it to KO. A Ground-type partner like Garchomp and a Water-type partner like Gyarados or Swampert easily covers for Magearna’s weaknesses. As always, Magearna would run 252 EVs in HP and Sp. Attack as well as a Modest nature.
Melmetal
You definitely need insurance against Steel-types this season, because there are a lot of good ones. Melmetal is almost as fearsome as Mega Magearna, though it’s a bit easier to handle because its attacks have less range. Double Iron Bash can’t extend across the screen like one of Magearna’s beam attacks, but it covers a wide area around Melmetal, strikes twice, and deals huge damage. If you see a Melmetal running toward you and you don’t resist Steel, you’re going to want to run away or switch out. It just about always runs Double Iron Bash, Ice Punch and Earthquake, and then either Thunder Punch, Dynamic Punch, or even Self-Destruct. Melmetal’s Special Defense is incredibly weak, so try to target it with Flamethrowers or Fire Blasts to dispose of it before it can cause too much damage. Melmetal usually runs 252 EVs in HP, 252 EVs in Attack, an Adamant nature, and a Life Orb, Shuca Berry, or Occa Berry as an item.
Marshadow
Marshadow may be a little guy (and it is), but it packs a punch. That said, it’s not super bulky, and usually has to run a Focus Sash for an item or a Life Orb if you don’t mind it fainting. 252 EVs in HP and Attack plus an Adamant nature are optimal here as always, and Marshadow always runs Spectral Thief to steal opponents’ Swords Dance and Calm Mind boosts. You’ll also see it run a combination of Close Combat, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Poison Jab, Stone Edge, and Knock Off. It’s got tons of viable moves! It also occasionally runs Shadow Sneak or Mach Punch to get quick damage. Again, Marshadow is frail, so it’s going to go down to just about any super-effective attack. Its typing is great offensively, but leaves it weak to Ghost, Flying, Fairy, and Psychic, with the Fairy weakness being particularly easy to hit given how good Fairy-types are in Pokemon Legends: Z-A.
The usuals
Other than Magearna, Marshadow, and Melmetal, just about all of Pokemon Legends: Z-A’s top contenders are good in this season as well. Garchomp is as excellent as always thanks to its flexibility – it can run a Focus Sash for longevity or Mega Evolve into Mega Garchomp Z to unleash super-fast attacks. Armarouge’s powerful Meteor Beam and Armor Cannon attacks are as ridiculous as ever, Gholdengo can fire off strong attacks with its quick movement speed, and Glaceon – actually, Glaceon is unfortunately no longer viable due to the influx of powerful Steel-types when Mythical Pokemon are allowed. It can’t do a single thing about Melmetal or Magearna except for faint, so you’re better off just bringing Magearna and hitting Garchomp with Fleur Cannon from far away. Definitely check out our other season guides for movesets on these Pokemon – here’s one, for example.
The frauds
There are also a fair number of Pokemon who you’d think would be strong, but aren’t particularly common for one reason or another. Mega Heatran and Mega Darkrai are certainly powerful, and can tear holes into teams with Magma Storm and Dark Void, but they wind up a tad underwhelming at higher ranks. Mega Heatran is easily picked off by Earthquake, which every single physical attacker runs. Mega Darkrai’s Fighting and Bug weaknesses aren’t that bad, but they do render it vulnerable to Golisopod and Sirfetch’d. Its Fairy weakness, however, is rather crippling in a metagame that allows Magearna. Additionally, you might have noticed that we haven’t mentioned Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, Keldeo, Meloetta, Genesect, Hoopa, Latias, or Latios. And that’s because they’re all just okay. The Swords of Justice can raise their Attack and Special Attack just by using Sacred Sword, which is neat – but Cobalion and Terrakion are picked off by Earthquake, Terrakion and Virizion are weak to Fairy-types, and Virizion is quadruple weak to Flying. This means Magearna has an easy time disposing of all of them, so more often than not you’re going to be forced to switch into a different Pokemon anyway to avoid its Fleur Cannon. The same goes for Keldeo, Latias, and Latios – they’re all strong, sure, but they don’t match up too well into top-tier threats.
What Pokemon are you using this season, if any? Are you still played ranked battles in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, or have you moved on to Pokemon Champions?
