This list will highlight the ten most overpowered Pokemon that have ever existed throughout the history of the entire franchise. This includes Pokemon that are currently in their prime within Scarlet and Violet, as well as those that reached their peak in previous installments.
#10: Giratina
Ranking in tenth place is Giratina who is the third main legendary Pokemon of the Generation 4 games; Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. It has two forms that both contain excellent stats. Nearly all of its base stats are over 100, with only speed being lower. Its massive HP, defense, and special defense make it a tank that is hard for most Pokemon to overcome. Its dragon/steel-type combination allows it to resist 6 types, and be completely immune to 2 others. Giratina does have its fair share of weaknesses, but most can be avoided with smart counter-play.
Giratina card art.
Giratina has some incredible offensive moves; Dragon Claw, Dragon Pulse, and Draco Meteor. Many competitive players have it equipped with the move defog which can negate terrain base moves such as Light Screen, Toxic Spikes, and Stealth Rock. Giratina even has solid status condition options in the form of Toxic, Thunder Wave, and Will-O-Wisp. If all that wasn’t enough, it can even learn Roar to swap the opponent’s Pokemon.
#9: White Kyurem
Base form Kyurem is fairly strong on its own, but what really makes it a powerhouse are its two infused variations. Black Kyurem and White Kyurem can be created by fusing Kyurem with Zekrom and Reshiram respectively. White Kyurem is slightly better due to having a better move pool. Fire moves from Reshiram help counter some types that would otherwise be threatening to Kyurem. Fusion Flare is especially beneficial at counteroffer steel-types.
White Kyurem card art.
White Kyurem has remained a powerhouse ever since its debut in Gen 5’s Pokemon White 2. Nearly every game since has given players a key item to obtain this overpowered form. The rare exceptions are Lets Go and Legends Arceus which do not contain Kyurem. Kyurem was brought back for Scarlet and Violet, which does allow this form to be used. The addition of the fairy-type in Gen 6 has hurt Kyurem and many other dragon-types, but it remains one of the strongest nonetheless.
#8: 100% Zygarde
Zygarde is a Pokemon that took a while to reach its full potential; both in game and in real time. It was originally released in the Generation 6 games Pokemon X and Y, but its 100% complete form didn’t appear until Gen 7’s Pokemon Sun and Moon. Players would then need to collect 100 Zygarde Cells and Cores to unlock this ultimate form.
100% Zygarde card art,
Most legendary Pokemon have a base stat total that caps off at 680. There are a select few that reach 690 and 700, but there’s only two obtainable Pokemon in existence that have higher. Complete Zygarde’s base stat total is 708. Most of this is placed in its HP. Very few Pokemon have more HP than it does, and the few that do struggle to have other decent stats. Zygarde’s other stats aren’t necessarily the best, but they are all sufficient enough to make this legendary one of the strongest ever made.
#7: Therian Landorus
This Pokemon ranks high since it’s the perfect all-around option. It has an incredibly defensive type combination, can avoid multiple top tier moves, has access to some of the best boosting moves in the series, and has high enough base stats to make use of all these pros. This Pokemon doesn’t contain any glaring flaw, which is why it’s such an important part of many competitive teams.
Therian Landorus in Pokemon Go.
Landorus was at one point the most used Pokemon in competitive play due to how well it covers all the essentials. It still remains a competitive top tier option in recent installments, but there’s only two games on the Nintendo Switch that allow capturing this creature. The first is the Crown Tundra expansion for Sword /Shield, while the other is within Legend Arceus.
#6: Sturdy Shedinja
Sheninja is a Pokemon with 1HP, but don’t let that abysmal number fool you into thinking it’s a useless option. It has a great ability known as Wonder Guard which makes it immune to attacks that aren’t super effective. Only flying, rock, ghost, fire, and dark-type attacks will work.
Shedinja in the anime.
What’s even better, however, is transforming its ability into sturdy. This is a tactic that works in doubles by having a Pokemon with sturdy, having a Smeargle that can transfer abilities, and of course Shedinja itself. Sturdy is an ability that will prevent a Pokemon from fainting if it has full HP by stopping the health meter at 1HP. Since 1HP is Shedinja’s max health, it becomes nearly impossible to kill it. Only a select few attacks that ignore abilities and multi-hit moves can overcome this Shedinja strategy.
#5: Arceus
The god of the Pokemon universe has the highest base stat total out of any Pokemon when excluding enhancements such as Mega Evolution. Its base stat total is 720. Each stat category is set to 120, making this Pokemon an expert in any play style the trainer wants it to be. Arceus even has an ability that lets it change into any type by holding a specific item. This makes Arceus one of the most customizable Pokemon in existence. Consistently good stats, attacks, and many diverse type options is wonderful, but it’s not quite enough to be the very best. There are some Pokemon that can even outshine this godly entity.
Arceus boss battle.
Arceus has been an unstoppable monster ever since it was introduced to the series. It fell off slightly during the 6th and 7th Generations due to Mega Evolution helping other Pokemon outshine it, but that mechanic was removed when the series jumped over to the Nintendo Switch. Arceus even received a buff in a game named after itself, Pokemon Legends Arceus.
#4: Mewtwo / Mega Mewtwo Y
Mewtwo has always been one of the strongest Pokemon ever since the original Red and Blue. In fact, the original games are actually where Mewtwo shines best. This is because psychic-types were nearly unstoppable back then, and almost no other Pokemon had stats close enough to Mewtwo. Gen 2 added dark-types specifically to counter the balancing issue the psychic-types had. It wouldn’t be until Gen 6 that Mewtwo once again received a buff that would put it back on the very top.
Mega Mewtwo Y in the anime.
Mega Evolution grants Pokemon it applies to an additional 100 base stat. Normal Pokemon like Lucario would go from 525 to 625, which is still lower than most legendaries. Mewtwo already had 680 before Mega Evolution, so it receiving this same power up meant going all the way up to 780. Mewtwo didn’t only receive just one Mega Evolution. It and Charizard are the only Pokemon that received two distinct Mega forms depending on the version of game you bought. Mega Mewtwo Y is considered better than its counterpart since it is a pure psychic-type that focuses on special attacks rather than a psychic/fighting-type that swaps over to regular attacks.
#3: Mega Rayquaza
Both regular and Mega Rayquaza forms match Mewtwo’s base stat total, but there is one key difference that sets them apart. Mega Rayquaza can Mega Evolve without the need of a Mega Stone. Mewtwo needs to use its one single item slot to be able to Mega Evolve, while Rayquaza can use that slot for anything else. The most popular items to give it are a Life Orb or a Lum Berry. Lum Berry will negate a status effect placed on Rayquaza, while Life Orb can boost its power even further.
Mega Rayquaza in the anime.
When it comes to PVP battles, Mega Rayquaza remains the most broken option in the history of the franchise. Mega Evolution being removed in Gen 8 and 9 does mean this overpowered menace is no longer available, but it remains a creature that has yet to be surpassed by anything players can use. The only Pokemon that rank higher are boss Pokemon that only appear in storylines.
#2: Eternamax Eternatus
Eternamax can not be used by players, but it is still a Pokemon that exists. It is a story exclusive boss form of Eternatus. Many Pokemon on this list thus far got to where they are due to having base stat totals above 680, having great type combinations, and having a good move pool. Eternamax has stats so good that it blows all of them out of the water. Its base stat total is 1,125. Its HP, defense, and special defense are all at or above 250, which makes this the tankiest Pokemon ever created. Even 100% Zygarde looks shameful in comparison. One would assume its attack, special attack, and speed would be low to balance this Pokemon, but even those are incredibly high. So high that they match Arceus.
Eternamax.
To make things even worse for Eteneramax’s opponents; the dragon/poison-type combination is quite good. It resists 7 types, while only being weak to 4. It might as well only have 3 weaknesses though, since one of them is dragon-type itself. Eternamax is so fast and powerful that it’s likely to one-shot any dragon-type that tries to fight it. Your best bets are ice, ground, and psychic. It’s a good thing something so strong is restricted to a story fight rather than something players can casually use in online play.
#1: Ultra Necrozma (Story Fight)
Most Gen 7 Pokemon with enhanced forms would need to choose between holding their Mega Stone or a Z-Crystal to use an ultimate attack. Ultra Necrozma is an enhanced form that works differently than Mega Evolution. Necrozma can reach this form without a Mega Stone, meaning it can also use a Z-Move while in this enhanced state. That alone makes it competition for a top 5 placement on this list, but not quite enough to reach the number 1 spot.
Ultra Necrozma boss fight.
The story fight is why it is so high. Ultra Necrozma has all of its stats raised by two tiers during the fight against in in the main storyline. This means that all of its stats are essentially doubled compared to what they are normally. That’s just enough for Necrozma to barely squeeze past Eternamax. Additionally, the boss fight against Ultra Necrozma is a 1v1 rather than the 4v1 format that Eternamax has. Ultra Necrozma remains the strongest Pokemon the franchise has seen due to this one time fight.
