The current competitive scene in Pokemon Champions is unique because, despite a smaller selection of Pokemon and items, almost any strategy can work. With fewer dominant choices, Pokemon and combinations that are usually less effective have a chance to shine, and can even lead to tournament wins and top rankings. For instance, while Archaludon is often used on rain-focused teams, World Champion Wolfe Glick surprised everyone by building it with a completely different approach – prioritizing speed and special attack over defense, and using the Sturdy ability instead of Stamina. Pokemon Champions offers a lot of creative freedom, especially if you utilize Pokemon from the first generation or have strong counters to them.
Generation 1 of Pokemon Champions continues to showcase a preference for certain Pokemon, with a large number being readily available despite the original Pokedex only containing 186 species (excluding regional forms and variations). Powerful strategies are emerging, such as sun-based teams utilizing the combination of Chlorophyll, Sleep Powder, and Heat Wave with Pokemon like Mega Charizard Y and Venusaur to inflict massive damage. Mega Gengar is also popular, functioning either as a disruptive Shadow Tag and Perish Song user or a fast, hard-hitting attacker. However, Aerodactyl is clearly the most prominent and successful Pokemon in the current meta.
Why You Should Use Aerodactyl in Pokemon Champions
Aerodactyl is a top-tier Pokémon, consistently ranked as the seventh most-used in competitive battles according to pokebase.app – and likely even more popular in actual gameplay. Its success comes down to a number of key strengths.
- Excluding Mega Evolutions, Aerodactyl is the third in line for fastest Pokemon (130 base Speed) in the game after Dragapult and Jolteon, with the former being used sporadically and the latter very rarely.
- Aerodactyl has access to Tailwind to control speed on the field, making its team faster for four turns.
- While there are good Tailwind setters, the only one that’s faster than Aerodactyl is Whimsicott with Prankster. Whimsicott is one of the best Grass-type Pokemon ever, but its arsenal is arguably less useful than Aerodactyl’s overall.
- Aerodactyl typically uses Focus Sash to stay alive longer and more safely set up Tailwind. In the case of going up against Whimsicott, Aerodactyl will always survive the turn with a Focus Sash, even if its Tailwind goes second. The only scenario where this doesn’t happen is if Aerodactyl is taken to 1 HP with an attack that also burns or poisons it.
- Aerodactyl can use Rock Slide to deal massive STAB spread damage while also having a chance to flinch all Pokemon hit, which are most likely slower than Aerodactyl itself and may thus miss their turn.
- It has the Unnerve ability, which prevents opposing Pokemon from eating Berries. Considering that Pokemon Champions‘ held items are very limited, the game is very much in a Berry-driven meta, meaning that Aerodactyl blocks this just by being on the field.
- There are no other good Unnerve Pokemon in the game, as they are Tyranitar (which only ever uses Sand Stream), Corviknight (which is particularly good for its Mirror Armor ability to counter Incineroar’s Intimidate and Icy Wind), Arbok (which sees no play and would be better with Intimidate, if anything), and Houndoom (which also sees no play).
- Aerodactyl is typically paired with another broken Pokemon, Sneasler. It can Fake Out opposing Pokemon to make them miss their first turn while Aerodactyl sets up Tailwind, and it can become the fastest Pokemon in the game with Unburden and White Herb. It also counters Pokemon Champions‘ Mega Floette with its powerful and speedy Dire Claw.
There are a couple of ways to obtain Aerodactyl. You can recruit one in Pokemon Champions, or transfer it from Pokemon Home. Alternatively, in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, you can simply buy an Amber Fossil and bring Aerodactyl back to life.
Aerodactyl is Basically Gen 9’s Tornadus All Over Again
All of these factors combine to make Aerodactyl a top-tier Pokémon in Pokémon Champions. Its incredible speed and attack power, especially when boosted by Tailwind, give it a significant advantage. This also simplifies team building – you can focus on naturally fast Pokémon, knowing they’ll be even faster once Tailwind is active.
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A recent observation on X (formerly Twitter) highlighted that Aerodactyl is proving to be incredibly strong in the competitive scene of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, performing similarly to the formerly dominant Tornadus. In Generation 9 VGC, Tornadus, often used with Urshifu, was feared for its ability to break through defensive strategies. However, Aerodactyl takes this a step further. It can learn the move Dual Wingbeat, which instantly defeats most Sneasler, rendering the protective Focus Sash item ineffective.
If you’re struggling to create strong teams for Pokémon Champions double battles, consider using Aerodactyl. I recently added it to my Mega Delphox team and it significantly improved my results – it’s that effective! Surprisingly, its ability, Unnerve, is a key reason why this Pokémon from the first generation is so powerful now.
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2026-04-20 22:37