Water is a great typing in Pokemon. The typing is home to some of the most famous, reliable Pokemon in the franchise, and many of us are conditioned to require at least one on our team at all times thanks to so many years of needing something to use Surf.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet has a great roster of Water-types to choose from. From old favorites to newbies who stun us with how powerful they are, it's definitely not a bad idea to get one of these on your team as soon as possible.
10/10 Slowbro
Slow as molasses but bulky enough to make up for it, Slowbro has been an old reliable ever since the Kanto days. It has a great Defense stat, which should help against the profundity of physical attackers in Paldea, and it's got a respectable Special Attack stat to dish out the damage in return.
What makes Slowbro a solid choice in this game is the fact that by level 36 it has access to both Surf and Psychic, arguably two of the most reliable damage dealers from the Water and Psychic-type movepools, respectively. Those, paired with Slack Off, turn Slowbro into perhaps not a huge threat, but a great teammate to have around.
9/10 Whiscash
Water and Ground is a fantastic type pairing. As long as you don't let your Pokemon near any Grass whatsoever, you have an offensive powerhouse – Water isn't resisted by many types at all, and Ground is a fantastic typing for targeting Pokemon that are usually quite bulky, such as Rock and Steel-types. This alone makes Whiscash a great pick, and we'll see this same typing later on, too.
Holding Whiscash back slightly are its mediocre offensive stats, but it's a wall of HP and the typing keeps it relevant even in the later stages of the game and it has great moves. Deck it out with Earthquake, Chilling Water, Dragon Dance, and maybe the Tera Blast of your choosing and you're set.
8/10 Azumarill
The biggest mistake people make when considering Azumarill is underestimating just what a powerhouse can be. This goofy, adorable creature can ruin a Pokemon's day with it's fantastic moveset, especially when paired with the Huge Power ability, which doubles its Attack stat.
You could go for a more defensive Azumarill with Thick Fat, but Huge Power is where it's at.
In terms of physical Water-type moves, Azumarill is forced to choose between the stronger but inaccurate Aqua Tail and the slightly weaker but more reliable Liquidation. Either way, Azumarill will pack a punch, and with the fantastic offensive Fairy-type and coverage in the form of the excellent Superpower, Bounce, and Ice Spinner, Azumarill can't go wrong.
7/10 Gastrodon
Remeber all that gushing about pairing Water with Ground? Read that again, and now add better stats to the mix. Gastrodon is a special wall with an emphasis on the Special side, so you'll be running Earth Power instead of Earthquake, and it has a stronger Surf.
Gastrodon's biggest advantage over Whiscash is that it makes for a far more convincing wall while also being a great attacker. Make it remember Recover and chuck up a Substitute – that's one beast your foe isn't taking down anytime soon. Unless they have even a single blade of grass, that is.
6/10 Veluza
The first new Pokemon of the bunch, Veluza is an impressive physical powerhouse with decent typing. What sets it apart from others is its moveset, which is pretty glorious. Apart from the usual STAB moves in Liquidation and Psycho Cut, Veluza can sport Night Slash, Drill Run, and the last resort Final Gambit for excellent type coverage.
Making Veluza truly special will take a bit of effort, but with a handy Ability Patch earned from high-level Raids, Veluza can get the Sharpness ability, which will make its slicing moves that much more powerful. Aqua Cutter goes from a Water-type Slash to a 105-power critical-hit factory boosted by STAB.
5/10 Gyarados
Gyarados has been a top-tier Pokemon ever since we first met it in the first generation, and between EXP sharing and experience candy, the slog of raising a Magikarp is barely an issue. You can have your own fighting machine within minutes even just an hour or two into the game.
While it's slower than some of Pokemon's renowned combatants, Gyarados does get access to Dragon Dance at level 36, and it should never be taken off its moveset. One or two uses turn Gyarados from a formidable fighter into an utter beast, and attack moves like Waterfall, Earthquake, and Stone Edge give Gyarados all the firepower (waterpower?) it needs.
4/10 Wugtrio
We regret to inform you that this stupid-looking thing is actually pretty amazing. Wugtrio has all the Speed and Attack of a regular old Dugtrio but with the superior mono-Water typing. It falls to a sneeze, but that's only if it lets anything stay alive long enough to sneeze on it.
Its exclusive move, Triple Dive, is great for obliterating enemy substitutes and fishing for critical hits, and it has Sucker Punch for that all-important priority. Something to note is that if Sucker Punch fails, Wugtrio can follow the failure up with a devastating 150-power Stomping Tantrum. Definitely something to keep in the back pocket.
3/10 Vaporeon
Everyone loves the Eeveelutions. It's the law. Luckily, Vaporeon is easy to love – with a fantastic design and stats that Gastrodon dreams of when it goes to sleep at night, Vaporeon is great. It's another special wall with the attack stats to back it up, and it's good at its job.
Vaporeon has lots of tools to take advantage of. You could lean into the offensive side of things with Ice Beam, Hydro Pump, Shadow Ball, and even Trailblaze for some surprise Grass-type coverage, or you could go more bulky, with Aqua Ring and Substitute being good choices.
Any Vaporeon will greatly appreciate Calm Mind, further improving both Special Attack and Special Defense in a significant way.
2/10 Paldean Tauros – Aqua Breed
When you encounter herds of Tauros, there's a chance that one of them might be a little bit… different to the others. If you're playing Pokemon Scarlet, you'll be looking at a Fire and Fighting-type, but Violet has the clearly superior Water and Fighting-type Aqua Breed. You can spot it by its wavy horns.
Paldean Tauros already trades a bit of Speed and Special Attack for even better physical stats, and it can put them to use incredibly with powerful, if risky attacks. Thrash might confuse Tauros, Wave Crash comes with recoil damage, and Close Combat lowers your defensive stats, but gosh if they don't just obliterate your foes. Toss in Raging Bull, which breaks Light Screens and Reflects, and you've got yourself a winner.
1/10 Palafin
One of the cutest new Pokemon with an incredibly interesting mechanic, Palafin turns into an absolutely monstrous attacker the moment it's sent into battle for the second time during an encounter. Its Hero Form has great stats across the board, with above average Special Attack, decent Speed, a nice amount of HP, and an absolutely stellar Attack stat equal to Slaking and Regigigas, who both have severe drawbacks to balance them out.
Palafin even gets an almost-exclusive move in Flip Turn that enables this setup even easier. Functioning as a Water-type U-Turn/Volt Switch, you can send Palafin out as your lead and get Hero Form up as soon as possible without losing momentum.
With a fantastic movepool that includes Wave Crash, Close Combat, Outrage, Zen Headbutt, and Drain Punch, Palafin has a tool for every occasion.
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