Pokemon Scarlet and Violet only revealed a handful of Pokemon before launch, and they were just a fraction of the massive Paldean Pokedex, which instead includes a total of 103 new species and 297 returning critters. Among them are Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's cross-gen evolutions like Kingambit and Annihilape, and also Gen 9's many Paradox Pokemon, which are sort of ancient and futuristic forms of existing pocket monsters, but none of these were officially revealed apart from Great Tusk and Iron Treads. However, they were just teased in the final trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's launch by The Pokemon Company, still leaving many fans in the dark about what they were exactly.

Among the officially revealed Pokemon for Gen 9 was Grafaiai, the first-ever Normal and Poison hybrid, which is based on the aye-aye - lemurs with longer fingers that this pocket monster uses to paint across Paldea. Grafaiai is hardly the first painter Pokemon, however, and fans of the series will probably remember Smeargle, a critter that looks innocuous, but one that managed to break official tournaments and competitive battles for the longest time. This is probably why Smeargle and other problematic Pokemon didn't return in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, such as Shedinja, but Grafaiai is set to share some of the issues Smeargle had due to its signature move.

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Why Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Grafaiai Could be As Problematic As Smeargle

pokemon scarlet and violet grafaiai squinting

Grafaiai's stats make it an excellent physical attacker because it has high Speed and decent Attack, and it also benefits from a great defensive type combination in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet due to Normal/Poison having only two weaknesses compared to its four resistances and one immunity. Its Abilities and Hidden Ability are also quite good, especially in the case of the latter being Prankster, an Ability that is often considered one of the best in competitive Pokemon battles due to the increased priority of some moves.

As for its signature move, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Grafaiai learns Doodle, which allows the user to copy the target's Ability for itself and its allies, which can potentially make this Pokemon exceptionally broken in competitive battles, specifically in doubles over singles. This is because copying the opposing Pokemon's Abilities can lead to particularly complex scenarios where pocket monsters that are already great end up becoming OP due to the possible combinations this setup can have. For example, Gen 8 saw some use for Xerneas despite Zacian's dominant role, and Xerneas' Ability is Fairy Aura, possibly still one of the best in the game.

As such, in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, players could use Grafaiai to copy Xerneas' Fairy Aura and use powerful Fairy-type moves that become even stronger. Grafaiai's Doodle can do this and much more, and it can be all the more problematic based on how powerful the Pokemon and how Ability-heavy the competitive meta ends up being, and there is little to no counter to this strategy. A player knowing the opposing Grafaiai is going to use Doodle to copy their Pokemon's Abilities either has to play around with that or waste a turn switching into a less favorable Ability for Grafaiai to copy.

This is very similar to what made Smeargle frequently banned from official tournaments and what ended up being the basis for wider changes and nerfs to problematic Pokemon, such as Darkrai and its signature move, which Smeargle could copy and use at will. Overall, there's a fair chance that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's competitive meta will shift a lot before settling down, and Grafaiai's Doodle could be one of the reasons why these changes will be more sudden than intended.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.

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