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From mechanical sharks to transforming dolphins to Diglett’s watery cousin, there are some excellent Water Pokemon to choose from in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, some of which have powerful stats and abilities.
8 Wiglett
It’s kind of easy to dunk on Wiglett for being, essentially, water-Diglett. However, Wiglett has a certain charm, and while it’s similar to Diglett in appearance, it’s actually pretty different in terms of abilities.
Wiglett isn’t the strongest Water Pokemon on this list, but it’s worth having around. It has two possible abilities: Gooey, which lowers the Speed of any enemies that come into contact with it, and Rattled, which raises Wiglett’s speed when it’s hit with a Bug, Dark, or Ghost-type move. Wiglett evolves into Wugtrio (sound familiar?) from level 26. Catching a Wiglett can be tricky: approaching it head-on will cause it to hide, burrowing into the ground. Players should sneak up behind it, target it with ZL, and then start a battle with ZR.
7 Finizen
Arguably one of the cuter new Pokemon for Gen 9, Finizen is a dolphin Pokemon. They don’t tend to travel alone, so players will find it along any coastline in Paldea in clusters. Finizen has the ability Water Veil, which prevents it from becoming Burned by Fire attacks.
Finizen is a lovely addition to any players’ team. It has some interesting attacks at later levels, including Acrobatics (which does massive damage if the user isn’t holding an item) and the classic Hydro Pump. Finizen evolves into Palafin and is the only Pokemon in the game to evolve when the user joins a Union Circle.
6 Wugtrio
One can’t have Wiglett without Wugtrio. Wugtrio isn’t the best Water Pokemon in Gen 9: it has fairly average stats, so players will be choosing it initially for looks alone. However, it does have a very high speed of 120, which is interesting.
Wugtrio can learn the move Triple Dive. Triple Dive is a water-type multi-strike attack, hitting the target three times. This is a potentially powerful move as Wugtrio levels up, so this may make up for the less-than-stellar stats.
5 Veluza
Veluza is a kind of mechanical shark Pokemon. Arguably, it’s kind of ugly. It’s also kind of cool at the same time. Putting looks aside for a moment, it’s a pretty decent addition to the Pokedex. Stats-wise, it’s above-average: it’s an aggressive Pokemon with some strong attacks, including Aqua Cutter, Liquidation, and Fillet Away.
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Veluza is a single-stage Pokemon, and it actually has two types (Water and Psychic). It can be found in any coastal area in Paldea, and it’s pretty straightforward to catch. Using a Net Ball can increase the players’ chances of success.
4 Quaxly
How can anyone ignore Quaxly? One of the three starter Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, Quaxly is an adorable little duck with a quiff. Excellent stuff. It’s fairly typical for a starter Pokemon in terms of stats, but it has some excellent abilities later on, including Aqua Cutter and Acrobatics.
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Quaxly’s evolutions (Quaxwell and Quaquaval) are divisive, to say the least. However, Quaquaval is a decent Pokemon to head up a team later in the game, and the Quaxly line is arguably one of the quirkiest starter Pokemon players have had for some time.
3 Palafin
Palafin evolves from Finizen, but not without effort: players must join a Union Circle to evolve Palafin, the only Pokemon with this requirement in the game (Palafin must be at least level 38 to do this).
Finizen is a great upgrade. In its regular form, it looks almost exactly like Finizen, but with the addition of a small red heart. However, if the player switches out Palafin, it will transform into Hero Form, and stay that way for the rest of the battle. The Hero Form is pretty imposing: it has excellent stats, with a huge attack stat that makes Palafin an excellent fighter.
2 Quaquaval
Quaquaval is Quaxly’s final evolution. It’s a stylish Pokemon, and it has some gorgeous animations. Having said that, it’s also a strong Pokemon with some excellent stats, with its highest stat in Attack. This makes it a powerful choice to head up a Pokemon team in the later stages of the game.
Quaquaval has some interesting moves, too, including the extremely apt move Feather Dance. Quaquaval is based on carnival dancers, so this is the perfect move. This move harshly reduces the opponent’s Attack stat, which is incredibly useful.
1 Dondozo
This is a single-stage Water Pokemon. It’s not the prettiest species, but it’s a big one! With a high HP, but a low Speed stat, it’s an excellent defensive Pokemon. Dondozo makes a great pair with another Pokemon, Tatsugiri. Dondozo’s signature ability (Order Up) works well in tandem with Tatsugiri’s signature ability (Commander).
If Dondozo has Tatsugiri in its mouth, it boosts one of the user’s stats based on Tatsugiri’s form. Meanwhile, Tatsugiri won’t be able to switch out, but it will have all of its stats boosted. A fair deal, and an interesting pair to use in competitive battles.
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