As players are becoming accustomed to the Paradox Pokemon of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, some stand out as far more powerful than others. One of the most powerful of these new mons is Paradox Salamence - also known as Roaring Moon, a monster exclusive to Pokemon Scarlet. As a Past Paradox version of a pseudo-legendary, Roaring Moon has some big shoes to fill, and it manages to do so with a more optimized stat spread and fantastic ability. Roaring Moon towers over most other Paradox monsters in Pokemon Scarlet, establishing it as one of the best additions of Gen 9.
First introduced in Gen 3, Salamence has always been a fearsome creature thanks to its base stat total of 600 - rivaling that of a Legendary Pokemon. Although Roaring Moon doesn't quite live up to this total given only 590 as its base, it's a marginal difference that is still higher than any other Paradox monster in Pokemon Scarlet. Ironically, Salamence is exclusive to Pokemon Violet, so Pokemon Scarlet players will need to take advantage of its Paradox form instead.
Roaring Moon Has More Streamlined Stats Than Salamence
Despite having a slightly lower base stat total, Roaring Moon improves upon Salamence's stats in a few key areas. It has better overall bulk thanks to an increase in HP and Special Defense, and its offensive stats are no longer as balanced to instead favor Attack. Although this removes its utility as a mixed attacker, Roaring Moon has a higher overall Attack than Salamence, meaning it can better optimize strategies based around its physical capabilities.
Roaring Moon becomes an even greater offensive threat thanks to its ability Protosynthesis, which boosts its highest stat by x1.2 when in harsh sun or holding a Booster Energy. This is an ability given to all Past Paradox mons in Pokemon Scarlet, but Roaring Moon earns particular note due to this ability's power to increase its Attack stat further. Roaring Moon also has a higher Speed stat than Salamence - just behind Flutter Mane's 135 Speed in terms of Paradox Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet, but made an even greater threat when combined with its awesome Attack stat.
Despite its Typing, Roaring Moon Still Outclasses Most Paradox Pokemon
One downside Roaring Moon has compared to Salamence is a x4 weakness to Fairy types due to its Dark/Dragon typing. Salamence's x4 weakness to Ice is not as common as Fairy, making it less of a threat in competitive play. There are Paradox Pokemon with better typings out there, such as Flutter Mane being a Ghost/Fairy-type, leaving it with only two weaknesses. However, the new Terastallization mechanic helps mitigate Roaring Moon's adverse type combo by allowing it to change types.
With access to a strong movepool, Roaring Moon can set up some devastating combos with the use of status moves like Dragon Dance to boost its already great Attack and Speed. Physical Dark or Dragon attacks like Crunch or Dragon Claw receive the usual Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB) damage, increasing their power by x1.5. When Terastallizing, it can gain additional STAB damage depending on its Tera Type, with Flying being a good option due to Roaring Moon's access to moves such as Aerial Ace or Acrobatics. With these levels of strength, it comes as no surprise that Roaring Moon's Pokedex alludes to its relation with Mega Salamence of the Hoenn region.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.