The meta in Pokémon is always shifting, and Sword & Shield has had its fair share of metagame shifts. In 2020, Sword & Shield saw more Pokémon being added to the game thanks to Pokémon Home. As such, the meta has shifted due to the various new additions in both Pokémon and moves previously unavailable.
Despite the lower number of Pokémon compared to other entries, Sword & Shield still has a hefty amount of Pokémon, with some being far and above the rest of the competition. With every Pokémon having a variety of stats, strengths, and weaknesses, some stand above the rest for one reason or another. Some Pokémon are incredibly powerful offensive threats, while others are amazing support Pokémon.
10 Lapras
Lapras is a Pokémon that's been in the series since the very first Generation of Pokémon, and even survived the "Dex Cut." Not only that, but Lapras would receive a special Gigantamax form and that's where the sheer power of Lapras comes from.
While base Lapras isn't anything too special, Gigantamax Lapras has one of the best G-Max moves in the entire game in G-Max Resonance that only it can learn. The move is not only powerful but will lower all damage taken from all attacks from opposing Pokémon for five turns. In a game like Pokémon, being able to take out Pokémon is the key part of the metagame, and G-Max Resonance hampers your opponent's ability to do so.
9 Conkeldurr
Don't let its low Speed stat deceive you, Conkeldurr is one of the best Pokémon obtainable in Sword & Shield. Conkeldurr has an enormous Attack stat with solid HP to boot. Its already high Attack can be further boosted by combining its ability Guts with a Flame Orb.
While this will Burn Conkeldurr, the Attack decrease from Burn is ignored while also having its Attack stat multiplied by 1.5. Thanks to this, Conkeldurr is the premiere "Wall Breaker" to take care of especially defensive Pokémon. Even though its Speed is slow, thanks to its bulky HP stat it can survive multiple attacks while sweeping the other team.
8 Rotom-Heat
Rotom has a ton of forms, but between them all Rotom-Heat stands above the rest. Despite its low HP stat, Rotom-Heat offers very solid Defense, Special Defense, and Special Attack stats. This allows Rotom-Heat to switch into weaker, more defensive-oriented Pokémon to take care of them.
Since Rotom-Heat is a Fire-Electric Type, it has access to powerful STAB moves in Overheat and Discharge. Even though Rotom-Heat has a 4 times weakness to Ground, its ability Levitate means it's still Resistant to the moves so its Typing doesn't come with that downside.
7 Incineroar
Incineroar was one of the best Pokémon in the official VGC Format during previous Generations, and its reign of terror is shaping to continue into Sword & Shield. With the exception of Speed, all of Incineroar's stats are great, making it quite bulky and powerful especially with IV and EV investments.
Incineroar has one of the best abilities in all of Pokémon in Intimidate. In a Doubles format (which VGC is), it's even better since both opposing Pokémon will lose out on their Attack stats. It also has the move Fake Out, which is guaranteed to flinch the opposing Pokémon forcing them to lose a turn.
6 Toxapex
Toxapex is one of the premier defensive Pokémon and has been since its release. Toxapex sports an outstanding Defense and Special Defense stat that's so good, even its awful HP stat doesn't hinder it in the slightest. Thanks to its Poison-Water Typing, Toxapex is Resistant to some of the most common types in the game.
It can spread Poison to other Pokémon with Toxic while using Recover and holding Black Sludge to constantly refresh its HP. Toxapex can also utilize Haze to reset any opposing Pokémon that may have gotten a stat boost with something like Swords Dance or Calm Mind without the worry of getting one-shot thanks to its incredible defensive stats.
5 Excadrill
Excadrill has always been a top tier threat since its debut, and Sword & Shield continues to see Excadrill at the forefront of the meta. Its one of the most appealing Pokémon in the metagame since there are so many different ways to utilize Excadrill. Excadrill has incredible Attack and HP stats, with a respectable Speed stat as well.
Thanks to its movesets, Excadrill can be used as a Hazard setter and clearer with Stealth Rock and Rapid Spin respectively. It can also be used Offensively with moves like Swords Dance and Earthquake. If mixed with a Pokémon that can start a Sandstorm (such as Tyranitar) it can utilize its ability Sand Rush to double its Speed to really sweep the opposing team.
4 Dragapult
Drapult is one of the best new Pokémon introduced in Sword & Shield and offers a ton of utility that not many other Pokémon can. It can be played as either a Physical or Special attacker since both of those stats are solid. Thanks to Dragapult's sky-high Speed stat, it often doesn't have to worry about opposing Pokémon getting the jump on it.
Its ability Infiltrator allows it to bypass screens such as Reflect and Aura Viel, which makes it quite a solid Pokémon against defensive teams. Thanks to Dragapult's dual-Tying as Ghost and Dragon, it has tons of great STAB moves for both types making it one of the best choices on any team.
3 Melmetal
Sword & Shield is the first mainline appearance of Melmetal since its pre-evolved form Meltan was only obtainable in Pokémon GO. Its first main game debut is an incredibly strong one, thanks to giant HP, Attack, and Defense stats.
Its a pure Steel Type, making it Resistant to a ton of different Types making it even harder to take care of. It's incredibly easy for Melmetal to one-shot opposing Pokémon with powerful moves like Superpower and Earthquake. It also has an exclusive STAB move with Double Iron Bash that will hit twice and also have a chance to flinch the opposing Pokémon.
2 Clefable
Clefable's journey through the years has taken it all over the tier list, but with Sword & Shield Clefable rests as one of the most dominant Pokémon in the entire metagame. With solid HP and Special Stats, Clefable can be incredibly tanky with defensive EV investment.
Thanks to its ability Magic Guard, its immune to any kind of passive damage to make it harder to chip away at. Clefable can run Teleport to get out of the way of potentially dangerous threats as well as Wish to make sure your team stays healthy. Clefable can also use Calm Mind to boost its STAB Moonblast to go on the offensive.
1 Galarian Darmanitan
Galarian Darmanitan instantly was recognized as a threat and stood out as not just the best Galarian Form Pokémon, but the best Pokémon in Sword & Shield. This is thanks to its ability Gorilla Tactics, which raises its attack by 1.5, at the trade-off of only being able to use the first move it uses. With Galarian Darmanitan's already incredible Attack stat, this makes it incredibly powerful thanks to access to moves like Icicle Crash and Earthquake.
Due to the downside of Gorilla Tactics, Galarian Darmanitan can use any of the "Choice" items like Choice Band to make its Attack even higher, or Choice Scarf to make it faster so it can out-speed opposing Pokémon. On Smogun (a competitive Pokémon hub), Galarian Darmanitan is the only non-Legendary/Mythic Pokémon that's banned in nearly all of its formats excepting for "Uber," which is primarily only made up of Legendary/Mythic Pokémon.