Highlights

• Ultra Beasts are powerful Pokemon introduced in Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, arriving via Ultra Wormholes in Alola.
• Organizations like the Aether Foundation work to combat these powerful creatures in the region.
• Each Ultra Beast, like Stakataka, Blacephalon, and Buzzwole, has unique abilities that can give them an edge in battle.

In Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, you encounter powerful Pokemon who have traveled to the region of Alola via Ultra Wormholes: pathways that connect the Pokemon world to an interdimensional realm known as Ultra Space. These otherworldly Pokemon are fittingly known as Ultra Beasts and pose a significant threat to any individual unfortunate enough to encounter one.

Multiple organizations, including the Aether Foundation and its leader, Lusamine, have dedicated their lives to fighting against these ferocious monsters. In your adventures through Alola, you will be tasked with staving off an invasion of Ultra Beasts after Lusamine opens the door to their arrival. While all Ultra Beast Pokemon are considered incredibly powerful, some are far more dangerous (and hostile) than others.

Updated March 29, 2024 by Jon Eakin: It's hard to believe that the Sun and Moon generation of Pokemon was already so long ago, but a lot has changed in the Pokemon landscape since then thanks to Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. One thing that hasn't changed is the fascination the community has with Ultra Beasts - these Pokemon that aren't Pokemon from another dimension. While no new Ultra Beasts have made their debut since Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, we decided that they deserved a spruced-up list with some new features anyway.

12 Stakataka

Stakataka is composed of several smaller creatures that attach to each other, forming a massive stone tower with four blocky legs. The legs are collapsible, allowing Stakataka to camouflage itself as a stone tower or a wall. This ability to camouflage gives it a tactical edge, of course, but also places unaware adventurers in harm's way, as Stakataka resents anyone who rests on its body.

Few people would knowingly stroll up to an Ultra Beast for a cat nap, but the anime illustrated how easily a person might mistake Stakataka for a nifty-looking ancient relic. Or a really convenient bench. Oops.

However, if someone were to climb on top of Stakataka and stay there while it tries to buck them off, the Pokemon will become docile out of respect — much like a wild horse might be tamed for riding. Stakataka is essentially playing king of the hill with us, and the prize is not needing to worry about being tossed off and breaking all our limbs. Not a bad perk at all.

It's often easy to spot which real animal has inspired a Pokemon, while others are simply objects come to life. Stakataka is an example of neither. It's instead inspired by a yokai named Mokumokuren which is known to live in walls and can be identified by its numerous eyes. Stakataka features eyes all over its body, so there's more to this wall than a pile of bricks.

11 Pheromosa

Pheromosa is a strange-looking Pokemon that resembles a white cockroach or another insect that morphed into a lithe woman. Its thin body and incredibly long legs allow Pheromosa to run at incredible speeds, making it impossible for humans to evade. It also possesses a pheromone that causes anyone affected by it to stare in sheer awe — hence its name.

Ironically, this powerful insect-like Ultra Beast is thoroughly disgusted by the Pokemon world and is extremely hesitant to touch anything. While her pheromone abilities and high speed make her dangerous, Pheromosa isn't thrilled by the idea of interacting with anything, so there's a good chance it will leave you alone if you don't antagonize it.

10 Blacephalon

This powerful Ultra Beast roughly resembles a brightly colored harlequin with a spherical head covered with multicolored dots. Blacephalon utilizes its strange appearance to disarm opponents by behaving in a silly manner while inching closer and closer. Once in range, the Pokemon's head will violently explode like a demented clown monster; charming, right?

While the opponent is in utter shock, Blacephalon will sap its prey's vitality and use the energy to regenerate its head. It’s an alarmingly strong Ultra Beast to be certain, but if the prey stays focused and keeps their distance, it negates Blacephalon’s primary method of attack.

Blacephalon is unique even among other Ultra Beasts, as it's the only one with a signature move. Mind Blown is a powerful Fire move with a base power of 150. The downside is that the Blacephalon will take damage equal to half of its maximum HP, meaning if it's below that number it will knock itself out. The power is tempting but comes with a high risk, so use it with caution.

9 Naganadel

Naganadel is a dragon-like creature with a large abdomen resembling a bee or wasp and is an exceedingly dangerous Ultra Beast. The bulging abdomen houses a large sac that can store hundreds of liters of poisonous liquid that it sprays at opponents with its needles, even over large distances.

What’s worse is that the venomous liquid is extremely adhesive, so once it latches onto an opponent, that poor soul will become quickly poisoned and struggle to remove the toxic substance. Despite its intimidating facade, Nagandel makes a case for the kindest Ultra Beast as it can be reasoned with due to its telepathic communication powers. Not all Ultra Beasts are malicious monsters.

8 Buzzwole

Buzzwole is another insect-like Ultra Beast that scores high marks in the "nightmare fuel" category. It walks on four spindly legs and has swollen muscles bulging from its arms. This Ultra Beast is incredibly strong and is capable of pulverizing a dump truck in one punch. Its crushing power and unbridled rage certainly give Buzzwole a case for the strongest Ultra Beast — at least in terms of raw physical force.

What’s even more alarming is that it also has the ability to use its proboscis to stab opponents and drain their energy to further enhance its already enlarged muscles. There’s technically no limit to Buzzwole’s raw strength — given a consistent supply of living beings to feed on — which is immensely concerning given that its base strength is already intimidating.

Buzzwole is among the strongest Bug-type Pokemon, and with good reason. It has the highest base HP stat of any Bug-type Pokemon, making it perfect if your Bug team needs a bit of extra oomph.

7 Poipole

Poipole's size pales in comparison to other gargantuan Ultra Beasts, but it is by no means less dangerous. Poipole possesses a number of spikes on its head that it can launch to inflict a deadly poisonous adhesive, cementing itself and its evolution, Naganadel, among Pokemon's most dangerous Poison types.

What makes this Ultra Beast more dangerous than Naganadel is its unhinged nature. Poipole cackles madly while it coats its enemies with venom, suggesting that it takes sick joy in poisoning its victims. While it can communicate with humans, it's likely that it would be like trying to reason with a madman. Evidently, evolution means growing out of the dreaded "it's just a prank bro" stage that Poipole embodies.

6 Kartana

Kartana is another small Ultra Beast that resembles a samurai made out of origami paper, or a meticulously made paper plane; you decide. Similar to Poipole, it's unusually small for an Ultra Beast, but every inch of its paper-thin body is razor-sharp. This makes attacking it a daunting task, as it can easily dodge attacks and slice Pokemon that touch it.

One swipe of its blade-like arms is said to have cleaved a giant steel tower in half. Pokedex entries are infamous for bizarre analogies, but there's no darting around the fact that cutting a steel tower in half is terrifyingly impressive. Kartana's major weakness to Fire-type Pokemon puts a damper on its ferocity, but take caution, as it is no small feat to beat a Kartana in battle.

Kartana is among the best Grass Pokemon for competitive battling but is also notable for an oddity in its catch rate. Kartana has a catch rate of 255 in Pokemon Sun & Moon, while using a Beast Ball to catch an Ultra Beast results in a 5x additional multiplier. That means that if you use a Beast Ball on a Kartana in Sun & Moon, you literally can't fail to catch it. That's better than a Master Ball, even if it is a very specific circumstance.

5 Xurkitree

Xurkitree is a bizarre Ultra Beast that looks like a stick figure made of wire and sparks. This electrical Ultra Beast is capable of delivering massive shocks, as well as hijacking power plants and other sources of energy to recharge and boost its powers.

When low on energy, it will "plug" itself into the ground and absorb electrical currents from the earth. This immobile state would be a prime opportunity for opponents to attack, assuming they survived the massive discharge prior. Its ability to increase its power poses a frightening proposition for any who dare to challenge Xurkitree, as even mighty Electric types like Zapdos would struggle to establish supremacy against Xurkitree's unstoppable onslaught.

4 Celesteela

This Flying and Steel-type Ultra Beast roughly resembles an alien housed inside a strange metal rocket. It can use its arms to propel itself through the air at incredible speeds. These arms also store a highly flammable gas that it can use to set fire to entire forests. How rude.

A potential weakness lies in its surprisingly plant-like characteristics. Celesteela is said to draw nutrients from soil similar to Xurkitree's electrical absorption and could be attacked during that feeding. But again, it burns entire forests. The malice required to destroy the homes of countless Pokemon is really not something to trifle with. Steer clear of any wild Celesteela unless you have a Beast Ball to contain this freakish monster.

3 Guzzlord

Guzzlord is the heaviest, and certainly the largest, of all Ultra Beasts known to mankind. The spherical Dark and Dragon-type Pokemon is said to possess an insatiable hunger, constantly devouring anything and everything foolish enough to cross its path.

Its voracious appetite and size enable Guzzlord to consume entire mountains. If it can consume a mountain, surely it can consume a village. If it can consume a village, you could imagine it's probably a smart idea to avoid its massive maw. Also, in Sun & Moon, there's one Guzzlord that's such a troublemaker that Celebi sends Ash through time to help a guy stop it from ruining what's left of his world. If you need to employ Ash's plot armor just to save what remains of the world, then you know it's no joke.

2 Necrozma

There is much debate as to what defines an Ultra Beast, but the Aether Foundation regards Necrozma, and all its forms, as an Ultra Beast, so it counts. Not to mention that Necrozma's Pokemon TCG cards labeled it as an Ultra Beast as well. Ultra Necrozma definitely passes the eye test to boot, as every aspect of it, from its majestic wings to its gargantuan size, deems it deserving of its title.

Whether in Dusk Mane or Dusk Wings form, Necrozma gains access to an incredible array of powers when it absorbs Solgaleo or Lunala, respectively. These powers include some of the most punishing Psychic abilities and ferocious Ghost-type moves that set it above many other Pokemon of those types. While the argument of its Ultra Beast status will always have merit on both sides, there are few creatures capable of meeting Necrozma head-on and living to tell the tale.

1 Nihilego

One of the few Pokemon that may surpass Necrozma in sheer fear factor is the monstrous Nihilego. Nihilego is an Ultra Beast reminiscent of a humanoid jellyfish but moves with a graceful and dainty aura. This strange dichotomy instantly puts its victims on edge. Nihilego is a no-holds-barred parasite, injecting a brainwashing neurotoxin that draws out the violent tendencies of the host. This grim fusion boosts Nihilego's powers significantly, as well as any underlying power from the host themselves. Just ask Lusamine.

Nihilego takes the crown for the most dangerous and evil Ultra Beast because it can, theoretically, assume the form of any and all prior competitors. Picture a Buzzwole infested by Nihilego. Once its strength is exhausted, Nihilego could move on to Guzzlord, then Xurkitree, then whoever suits its follow-up purposes the best. Without a doubt, there's no limit to Nihilego's power, asserting it as the most terrifying Ultra Beast in Pokemon.