An August 21st trailer on competitive play additions took the Pokémon Scarlet & Violet community by storm. Three new items, along with plenty of other treats, were revealed.
Along with some information from previous trailers, this trailer is starting to give fans an idea about what the competitive state of Scarlet & Violet will possibly be like. There will be brand-new answers to old strategies thanks to new items, and there will, of course, be lots of new Pokémon to explore, witness and experience in battle.
Loaded Dice
Loaded Dice is a brand new item in Scarlet & Violet that increases the likelihood for additional hits of multi-hit moves like Rock Blast and Bullet Seed.
There are many Pokémon that need buffs in Scarlet & Violet, and Loaded Dice is a buff to a very specific archetype of Pokémon, which is anything that wants to use a multi-hit move but doesn't have Skill Link. This is a pretty niche group, mostly consisting of Technician Cinccino and Breloom in terms of viable users.
Mirror Herb
When a Pokémon is switched in while equipped with the new Mirror Herb item, they'll copy all the stat changes of the opposing Pokémon and eat the Mirror Herb.
Moves that increase stats like Swords Dance and Dragon Dance are pivotal to closing out games in competitive play. Mirror Herb can potentially shut down sweepers by bringing out a Pokémon with Mirror Herb and a faster base speed than the sweeper. This will copy every major stat increase and let the Mirror Herb player sweep instead.
Paldean Wooper's Evolution
Quagsire is largely eclipsed by Gastrodon in doubles, but in singles, it's surprisingly popular on Pokémon Showdown thanks to its ability to counter Zacian, the strongest Pokémon in the game.
Whether Paldean Wooper's evolution is a Quagsire form or not, it's one of the few Scarlet & Violet Pokémon revealed so far that fans have a pretty good understanding of in terms of stats and move pool. Its Poison/Ground typing and remarkable ability in Water Absorb will make it a force to be reckoned with, regardless of the evolution's name.
Koraidon & Miraidon
Koraidon and Miraidon are still very unknown factors in the game. However, if their predecessors are anything to go by, then they'll be a major threat in VGC and likely banned in almost every singles format.
Generally, box art legendaries are some of the strongest Pokémon in the game. It's possible that they will end up like Zacian and Zamazenta, where Zacian dominated both doubles and the uber format in singles while Zamazenta was virtually unseen. Hopefully, they'll be more great and equally viable duos like Xerneas and Yveltal in the future.
Shed Tail
Shed Tail is a new move that swaps out the user and gives a substitute to the swapped-in Pokémon. Fans currently only know one user, which is Cyclizar, a new Pokémon that appears to be related to the Koraidon and Miraidon.
"Pivot moves" like U-Turn and Volt Switch are very powerful in competitive, and so is Substitute. Combining the two is potentially game-breaking, but there are two things are holding Shed Tail back, and that is the number of users and the HP cost. It seems the move, strong as it is, will be restricted to some very specific Lizard Pokémon. Additionally, it costs 50% HP to use.
Tera Blast
Tera Blast is a new move in Scarlet & Violet that matches up with the new Terastal mechanic. The move copies the type of a Terastallized Pokemon's Tera type.
While there are many interesting Terastal variations, plenty of the most interesting options were hampered by the Pokémon not having a good STAB (same type attack bonus) move in its new typing. Tera Blast fixes this issue immediately, making almost any Terastal Pokémon viable.
Covert Cloak
Thanks to the new Covert Cloak item, players will be able to avoid the secondary effects of all moves. This includes burns, flinches, and other negative effects like stat drops.
Ice Beam, Scald, and other moves with brutal secondary effects are very common in competitive play. Avoiding a brutal Ice Beam Freeze, a Scald Burn, or an Iron Head flinch can be the difference between victory and defeat in battle. Bulky physical attackers like Melmetal will be especially fond of the item, as they can switch into scalds without fear of being burned.
Terastal
Scarlet & Violet's big new mechanic is easily its biggest contribution to competitive play. Terastallizing allows a Pokémon to change into a predetermined type, with each individual Pokémon having a unique Tera typing.
Terastal will likely completely change how the game is played, for better or worse. Competitive players must always keep Terastal in mind every time they click a move. Move choices can go from a super effective one-shot to a complete disaster with just one typing change.