10 Pokémon I'm excited to use in Regulation E

So this is the last month of Regulation D and, honestly, it has flown by. I remember when everyone was losing their minds in the run-up to its release and then it was the format for Worlds and eventually, people calmed down. But with Regulation E, we’re getting a lot of new Pokémon available from HOME so I’ve picked out a few I’d love to try on the competitive ladder.

1. Poliwhirl/Poliwrath/Politoed

That’s three different Poliwag evolutions and they all do different things. Kinda. So you might be thinking “why would you use a middle stage evolution instead of Poliwrath or Politoed?” Well, Poliwhirl gets access to Eviolite which gives it more bulk than Poliwrath. It also gets abilities like Swift Swim and Water Absorb which, depending on your strat, can give you extra speed with your support or extra support with your support. The latter will be particularly hand for switching into Urshifu Surging Strikes. I was looking for an example of Eviolite Poliwhirl and found a team made by Pokésports for the SwSh ladder back in Series 12 last year. It wasn’t the best showcase but you can check out the Poképaste for move/spread ideas.

Poliwrath is an alternative Water/Fighting type to Urshifu if you want… more special defense I guess? Okay, so it’s not a good alternative but maybe you could give it a Choice item, pair it with a Tornadus with Rain Dance and Tailwind, give it Poison Jab and hey presto, it’s a Flutter Mane counter! What do you mean I’m clutching at straws???

Finally, we have Politoed and I actually have a history with the big frog as I used it a lot as my rain setter before Kyogre was allowed in SwSh VGC. Besides having Drizzle, it’s also very bulky and a great support Pokémon with a lot of great support moves and disruptive moves like Encore, Icy Wind, and Perish Song if you’re into that style of play. I managed to get some shiny Poliwag which I evolved so I have access to shiny forms of all of these.

2. Snorlax

Snorlax has defined metas in the past and it’s a great choice for extreme bulk and attack. And let’s not forget that wide movepool and it’ll be interesting to see how it fares in SV.

3. Sentret

Sentret, for all intents and purposes, sucks in VGC. Even in Little Cup it sucks. But I thought: what if I tried it anyway? And so I theorycrafted a team:

Sentret @ Focus Sash
Ability: Frisk
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk
Adamant Nature

- Protect
- Sucker Punch
- Helping Hand
- Follow Me/Baby Doll Eyes

It also gets Trick so you could try some Choice item swapping? It’s silly. But I’m in the mood for silliness in Reg E.

4. Milotic

Milotic was a PAIN in SwSh. It had Competitive, Scald, Coil, and it ultimately wouldn’t leave the field. Now it’s my turn to try it. I’m not sure on the accessibility of Scald but it’ll be a welcome addition to the game with its power and burn chance. And with Intimidate still around, there’s a lot of opportunity for Milotic to make a name for itself again.

5. Dusclops

Dusclops was also a PAIN in SwSh. It was a key Trick Room setter and would frustrate players who couldn’t get rid of it. Cresselia has been a good bulk TR Pokémon but Dusclops + Eviolite knocks it off the top spot in terms of bulk (to compensate for its abysmal HP).

6. Yanmega

Yanmega intrigues me. It has decent speed and special offense and access to moves like Bug Buzz, Air Slash, Hypnosis, Screech, Shadow Ball… I’m clutching at straws again. But it does also get Speed Boost and that gave Ninjask a niche in SwSh so there’s hope for the big bug.

7. Conkeldurr

As I wrote on my Gen 5 faves page, I have a soft spot for Conkeldurr and I’d like to try it on ladder having seen what Wolfe Glick win an International Challenge with it in May 2020 and well, everyone else from 2011–2021. It’s built a bit like Ursaluna with its super high attack, high HP and defense and slow speed. And it gets Guts. Like Ursaluna. But Iron Fists is also an option to boost its punching moves like Drain Punch. The possibilities are endless here.

8. Chandelure

My flaming chandelier is back and ready to cause ghostly havoc on the meta. It’s a glass cannon for sure but it’s a powerful one at that. It’s worth noting that Chandelure has a stronger Shadow Ball and more defence than Flutter Mane but that’s where the comparisons end. It’s a frail baby but maybe it could do something in the meta.

9. Trevenant

The ghostly tree, the undead Sudowoodo—Trevenant is back and it’s ready to Harvest and Horn Leech the meta. It’s also another Ghost/Grass type to counter Urshifu, in the spot that Brambleghast has been occupying since everyone jumped on that bandwagon a few weeks ago. It’s Attack is only 5 points less than the spectral tumbleweed but it’s bulkier, albeit slower. I think we’ll see some use of this thing and it’ll disrupt matches in the right hands.

10. Charjabug/Vikavolt

So apparently Eviolite Charjabug was a thing back in the day and I’d love to try it now. It also has the ability Battery which boosts allies’ special attack by 1.3x, which is a free Life Orb without the recoil. Unlike, say, Stonjourner, Charjabug is way bulkier and can stick around longer to maybe add further power to its partner with Helping Hand, provide speed control with Sticky Web or Thunder Wave, or set up screens. Or Screech. There’s a lot to go on here if you wanted to try this little thing.

And last but not least, it’s Vikavolt. I used one in my Ultra sun playthrough and it’s a beast. 145 Special Attack on a Bug type? That’s more than Volcarona. Unfortunately, it’s quite frail and very slow (45 Spe) so maybe it could be have Focus Sash and cause chaos in Trick Room? The potential is there anyway.

What would you like to use in Reg E. Feel free to email me your suggestions!