The Most Used Pokemon of Pokemon Champions May Be One of the Most Broken (No Legendaries)

This may be surprising Pokemon ChampionsThe most used Pokemon overall is not Incineroar, although it is very close. As a Fake Out user with Intimidate, a good mix of types, good attacks like Flare Blitz and Darkest Lariat, Parting Shot to further reduce enemy Pokemon's stats, and synergy with many teams, Incineroar seems to be a prime candidate. Don't get me wrong, Pokemon like Incineroar, Garchomp, Charizard (turns into Mega Charizarda Y with Mega Stone), Venusaur, Basculegion, Aerodactyl, and Kingambit are pretty much everywhere Pokemon Champions. And yet, one of them is superior in terms of utility, speed, and raw damage, and that's Sneasler.

First introduced in Pokemon Legends: ArceusThe Sneasler did not become available for use in the VGC until later in the year Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's lifetime, but even then, it didn't have such a dominant presence. This is because, while powerful, it was introduced at a time when the meta was evolving differently and the other options were better overall. Ursaluna, for example, is arguably one of the best Pokémon ever made, and has become viable alongside Sneasler and a major abuser of Trick Room strategies. Best pokemon v Pokemon Champions are very different from those in Gen 9 due to the Pokedex and held item restrictions, and without Legendary Pokemon, Sneasler feels like one.

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Why Sneasler is OP in Pokémon Champions

There are several reasons why Sneasler is such a good Pokemon Pokemon Champions'double battles. These are:

• Sneasler has access to Fake Out to pressure opponents with “free” damage by flinching the Pokémon.

• Because Mega Floette is the best Mega Evolution in Pokemon Champions or one of the best, having Sneasler on the team means pushing for potential OHKOs with Dire Claw, a poison that is super effective against Fairy.

• Sneasler has melee access as a STAB move that can potentially OHKO the Kingambit and deal massive damage, though it's not super effective.

• Speaking of melee, its side effect is that it lowers the user's defense and special defense by one level, but the most used item on Sneasler is White Herb, which cancels it once consumed. There's another reason why it's so popular, and that's Sneasler's Unburden ability, which doubles the user's speed when their item is consumed or lost.

• All this makes Sneasler one of the fastest Pokémon ever with Unburden active, as it has a base speed of 140, which becomes 189 with max investment and Jolly nature, which means it becomes 378 with Unburden active. This is enough to surpass the speed of any non-Choice Scarf Pokemon, and even then it can be even faster.

Top partners for Sneasler include:

• Aerodactyl — Pokemon ChampionsAerodactyl is great because it can set up Tailwind to make Sneasler and itself the fastest Pokemon on the field, dealing massive damage spreads with Rock Slide or OHKOing Sneasler with Dual Wingbeat.
• Flotte — Mega Floette can benefit from having a Sneasler on the side to help with the opponent Mega Floette, pressure with Fake Out and give Mega Floette time to set up with Calm Mind.
• Delphox — Mega Delphox outperforms Sneasler and Aerodactyl unless the former has Unburden active, so having one as Sneasler's sidekick is great for extra damage and safety.
• Whimsicott — Whimsicott with Prankster is one of the best Grass-type Pokémon and can immediately set up Tailwind for Sneasler while using Fake Out in the first round, or even allow Sneasler to skip Fake Out and go in for a strong KO attack.

How to fight Sneasler and why it affects team building

It follows that Sneasler isn't just one of the best Pokemon, it's meta-defining because every team has to account for it in some way. One of the few archetypes that usually keep Sneasler at bay is Rain for the most part. Most rain teams in Pokemon Champions have Pelipper to deal super effective STAB damage to Sneasler with Hurricane, and Basculegion is immune to both Fake Out and Close Combat.

Still, even then, Sneasler is a threat to Archaludon due to its Dragon/Steel combo and can threaten other Pokemon on the team. Likewise, there are scenarios where he brings the core of the rain team Pokemon Champions matches is not a good choice. This shows that the impact that Sneasler has is much deeper than it may be, and is a testament to how good this Pokémon really is.