When it comes to Pokemon battling, having a good offensive strategy is key, so it's just as well there’s plenty to choose from in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. Generation Nine introduced a multitude of game-changing Special Attackers that continue to define the competitive meta, adding several unique abilities and moves that truly make these Pokemon thrive in Paldea.
Special Attackers are completely immune to common nerfs like Intimidate, and their attacks won't trigger contact-based abilities such as Toxic Debris. While they tend to be slightly slower than their physical counterparts, Scarlet and Violet has changed that by introducing strong Special Attackers with speed to sweep. Paldea has a plethora of powerful Special Attackers, so finding the best for your team can be difficult.
Updated September 29, 2023 by Jacob Whaling: The Teal Mask DLC is out, and with it comes new and old Pokemon alike. We've updated this list with s few more of the best Special Attackers in Scarlet and Violet.
13 Espathra
Cleopatra's favorite ostrich Pokemon is certainly one fit for competitive royalty - especially in singles! It’s one of the few to get the Hidden Ability Speed Boost, which raises your Speed stat by one stage after each passing turn. Its base Special Attack of 101 may not be as high as some of the others on the list, but its signature move makes it a much bigger threat.
Lumina Crash is a powerful Psychic Special Attack that harshly lowers the target's Special Defense stats. Combining this with Speed Boost allows it to crash first and shatter the opponent's defenses, making it ideal for any team seeking to boost its offensive output.
12 Farigiraf
This astronaut giraffe’s potential as a Special Attacker is truly out of this world. It has a lot to work with, from its expensive move pool, a bulky base 120 HP, and a Special Attack stat of 110. In addition, it towers above the competition as a Trick Room setter and sweeper.
Its Ability, Armor Tail, prevents Priority Moves, making it ideal for setting up a Trick Room since your opponent can’t use them to counter the speed advantage. It also gets access to Hyper Voice, a powerful Special Spread move, and it can double its power by Terastalizing into a Normal-type. Fargiraf certainly has enough tools in its kit to make any opponent's head spin.
11 Glimmora
It’s rare to see a Rock-type Special Attacker, making Glimmora a pleasant surprise. Its impressive base 130 Special Attack can dish out huge damage, particularly with Power Gym and Sludge Wave, and it makes up for its mid-tier Speed with its supportive capability.
It has access to both Screens, and a unique signature move called Mortal Spin — which poisons both targets while clearing any stage hazards. There’s a lot that powerful poisonous rock can do, making it a really toxic addition to the competitive meta.
10 Tatsugiri
Since Tatsugiri is the signature power-up treat for Dondozo, it’s typically seen as nothing but support, yet it has a lot of overlooked potential. While most of its stats are mediocre at best, it does have a base 120 Special Attack and access to some of the most powerful moves in the game. As a Water/Dragon-type it has many defensive advantages, with its only weakness being other Dragons and Fairy-types.
With the right support, Tatsugiri can KO a Garchomp with one Draco Meteor. Since any attack targeting Tatsugiri will automatically miss if Dondozo is brought in, opponents will frequently double into that slot predicting a switch in. The mind games create their own personal redirection and grant it a lot of potential as a Special sweeper.
9 Armarouge
One of the biggest cannons in Generation Nine has to be Armarouge. Although its Special Attack stats are lower than those of Hatterene, it still fills that same niche. It’s the only Pokemon this generation with access to Expanding Force — a powerful Psychic-type move that hits both Pokemon if Psychic Terrain is up.
Its signature move, Armor Cannon, is great for dealing with Steel-types, often threatening the support needed for it to thrive. With a Grass Tera type, its new Fire weakness becomes protected with its ability Flash Fire and immune to Powder moves. With Water being such a threat, it’s a great pivot and even gets access to Energy Ball. Given everything it can do, Armarouge brings a lot of heat as a Special Attacker.
8 Hydreigon
As a Special Attacker, Hydreigon is a triple threat. It’s one of the best Pokemon to be able to fully utilize the benefits of Teratalization, great base stats, and a movepool that has both supportive and offensive options. With moves like Flash Cannon, Heat Wave, or even simply utilizing Terrablast, Hydreigon can flip its 4x Fairy-type weakness into an offensive threat through Terrastalization.
Steel and Poison are some of the most common Tera Types it's seen with, but it can also use Fire, Fighting, or even Fairy Tera Types. This means your opponent never knows what they’ll get, so it makes sense that Hydreigon has become one of the most common Special Attackers on the ranked ladder.
7 Miraidon
Of the two Box Legendaries, Miraidon is the more competitively viable. Its Ability, Hadron Engine, creates Electric Terrain, boosting its Special Attack stat and giving it an additional STAB bonus on Electric-type moves.
Combine this with its base 135 Special Attack and this mega mecha-motorcycle can run laps on its opponents. The fact that Hadron Engine also activates Quark Drive on other Paradox Pokemon is simply the icing on the cake for this time-traveling techno dragon!
6 Chi-Yu
This Legendary Pokemon may not look like much, but it's one of the strongest Special Attackers in the Pokemon world. Chi-Yu has an impressive base of 135 Special Attack, but its Ability is what makes it special.
Beads of Ruin lowers the Special Defense of all Pokemon on the field except for itself — making everyone more vulnerable to Chi-Yu's attacks. As a Fire/Dark-type, it has a lot of coverage options. It gets both Heat Wave and Snarl, which can provide both damage and support. Don’t let it fool you, this ancient goldfish will absolutely flush you.
5 Iron Moth
The Volcarona of the future is one of the most optimized Special Attackers in Paldea. This mecha-moth is capable of incredible damage with its base 140 Special Attack and has the potential to boost it upon switch-in with Quark Drive.
As a Poison/Fire-Type, it has some of the best coverage options, and with a base 110 Speed, it’s typically the fastest thing on the field. To top it all off, its signature move — Fiery Dance — raises its Special Attack even further, so it can snowball its office of power and sweep entire teams.
4 Flutter Mane
Flutter Mane is a Ghost/Fairy Paradox Pokemon, based on Misdreavus. Flutter Mane has nearly perfect stats for a strong Special Attack sweeper, with its 135 Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. It's really only held back by its low HP and Defense, but when you're sweeping through the enemy team, does it really matter?
Plus, Flutter Mane has access to some strong STAB attacks like Moonblast and Shadowball, and coverage moves in Energy Ball, Thunderbolt, Dark Pulse, Power Gem, and more. Flutter Mane's excellent stats and great move pool make it a popular choice for both Tera Raids and Competitive Battles.
3 Gholdengo
Gholdengo is one of the most treasured Special Attackers and a highly valued Pokemon on the competitive ladders. This snowboarding string cheese mascot has a base Special Attack of 120, and a unique Steel-type spread move called Make It Rain with a base power of 130. It's completely immune to status moves due to its ability, Good as Gold, and its Ghost typing helps cover some of the Steel-type weaknesses.
While this new attack does lower its Special Attack stat after each use, this can easily be mitigated with a partner using Haze, which is why it's so commonly seen alongside Murkrow. It's a great sweeper, but also works as a potential pivot against common threats like Amoonguss. This golden boy steals the show when it comes to Special Attackers.
2 Vikavolt
Vikavolt is a decent Special Attacker with one of the highest Special Attack stats in Scarlet and Violet, sitting at a nice base of 145. However, Vikavolt's other stats are pretty low by comparison, with a sad 43-base stat in Speed. Where Vikavolt shines is its move coverage and unique typing in Bug and Electric.
Outside of Miraidon, the only other Electric-type Pokemon that even come close to Vikavolt's Special Attack stat are Magnezone and Sandy Shocks. Because of this, Vikavolt excels in Tera Raids where Electric-type is super effective. And, if you can buff up Vikavolt from outside sources, it becomes even stronger.
1 Chandalure
Chandalure is a great Special Attacker with the unique Ghost/Fire-typing. With an impressive 145-base Special Attack, not many other Pokemon will be hitting harder than Chandalure, especially with Fire-type attacks.
Unlike Vikavolt, however, Chandalure has a respectable 80 base Speed, and decent defensive stats, making it capable of standing on its own without support from other Pokemon. When paired with its great coverage through moves like Hex, Overheat, Shadow Ball, and Flamethrower, Chandalure will be dishing out some excellent damage.