If you're looking to take on other Trainers in the competitive metagame with Galar Pokemon, these are your best options.

Regardless of what you think of Sword and Shield, there’s no denying they've done wonders for Pokemon's competitive scene. Game Freak made conscious efforts to ensure competitive battling was more accessible, and that corner of the fandom has reached never-before-seen popularity as a result.

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Gen Eight’s Pokemon roster has been somewhat divisive, with its slew of off-the-wall designs, but they’ve been undeniably strong from a viability perspective. Gen Eight’s meta will become obsolete in a few months, though, so as a last hurrah of sorts, here’s a look at the generation’s best in terms of the Pokemon they’ve introduced to the meta.

This list will not include Pokemon banned to Ubers.

As you'll later see, Galar gets surprisingly good competitive representation from its regional variants. Galarian Weezing might seem unspectacular with its placement here, but it's one of the more multifaceted glue guys out there.

Its Neutralizing Gas antics don't quite translate from VGC to Singles, but it's more than happy with Levitate to eliminate that Ground-type weakness. Either way, it's one of the best answers to Fairy-types, and it provides tons of support with Defog, Will-O-Wisp, and Toxic Spikes. It's not great purely from a defensive perspective, though, and it lacks longevity to allow for its services to last.

The series' first Electric/Poison-type has solidified itself as the premier sound-based wallbreaker. Its 114 Special Attack stat isn't quite elite, but when paired with its Punk Rock ability, a Choice Specs held item, and either Overdrive's STAB or the sheer base power of Boomburst (a whopping 140!), its attacks will hit ferociously hard regardless.

For all its bells and whistles, though, it's also a prototypically high-maintenance wallbreaker that isn't fast enough to hit first nor tanky enough to take hits reliably. Pivoting help from teammates is appreciated. Watch out for Ghost-types and Soundproof Pokemon, too, as potential Boomburst absorbers.

Galarian Slowbro is probably best playing more offense-oriented versions of its Kanto counterpart's sets. Scald, Slack Off, Psychic-type attacks, and the Regenerator ability remain available, but rather than play an unkillable defensive pivot, Galarian Slowbro leans more physical tank, with its signature Shell Side Arm, and either Calm Mind or Nasty Plot for setting up.

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But you'd be remiss to not acknowledge the fabled Quick Claw plus Quick Draw set. Combining the held item and signature ability gives it a 44 percent chance to go first. It's one of those RNG-reliant sets, but if you're feeling frisky, go for it.

Linoone’s new evolution takes the Guts wallbreaker archetype and turns it up to eleven. It doesn’t have the most spectacular Attack stat (90), but when paired with an activated Guts and STAB, its Facade will knock opponents into hyperspace.

It adds a Dark-type wrinkle to the formula as well, giving it STAB for Knock Off and turning a utility move into just as powerful an attack as its main one. What holds it back on offense is its below-average Speed, leaving it prone to more hits than desired — and a stray Fighting-type coverage move that could OHKO it.

The Pokemon series' newest Mythical (for the time being) is a uniquely equipped offensive pivot, with a great Attack stat, solid Speed, and a typing that hasn't yet been used by elite competitive Pokemon.

It plays a pretty good pivot, threatening and switching away to keep momentum. It’s most known for its signature Jungle Healing move, and its best movesets usually come with Power Whip, Darkest Lariat, and U-Turn. Several other moves, like Close Combat, Rock Slide, and Acrobatics, are also available. It’s a bit easy to exploit defensively though, despite its good defensive stats, so be wary.

Defensively speaking, Galarian Moltres has two things going for it: 125 Special Defense, and a Dark/Flying-typing that gives it two immunities. That said, it can't play a defensive utility role, since it lacks physical Defense and access to basic support moves like Knock Off and Toxic.

Its best role is likely as a wallbreaker that takes a while to get going, but can deal big damage. It's typically equipped with STAB attacks and two set-up moves used in tandem (Nasty Plot and Agility), and it also gets a Special Attack boost after its Berserk ability activates.

In contrast to its piscatorial counterparts, where Dracovish is banned and Arctovish is unviable, Dracozolt and Arctozolt are both firmly in the competitive line of fire. Both are Electric-type wallbreakers, which work best as weather sweepers.

To differentiate between the two, there’s of course the typing, with Dracozolt being Electric/Dragon and Arctozolt being Electric/Ice. In terms of weather compatibility, Dracozolt has Sand Rush and works best as a sand sweeper, while Arctozolt has Slush Rush and works best as a hail sweeper. Either way, both have solid attacking stats and benefit quite a bit from their shared signature move, Bolt Beak.

In a metagame where offensive Pokemon are largely defined by their Speed, having the highest Speed stat in the game brings many benefits. Regieleki has taken advantage of that distinction to play unique roles on competitive teams.

It’s one of the last true leads in the current-day meta, using its guaranteed first move to set Reflect and Light Screen, or suicide with Explosion. That said, it’s more than capable of playing a customary offensive role with its Transistor-boosted Electric-type attacks. With such extreme stats on one end, though, comes a complete lack of it on the other; it’s laughably bad defensively.

Much like with their Kantonian versions, the Galarian regional birds have Zapdos as their competitive ace, providing the strongest offensive kick of the three. Of course, "kick" here is meant literally, with Galarian Zapdos being a Fighting/Flying-type and boasting a signature move called Thunderous Kick.

Speaking of moves, it also has access to your standard STAB moves for its type, solid coverage moves, and even U-Turn for some pivoting wherever appropriate. It also has the Defiant ability, which can give it helpful, sneaky Attack boosts. It lacks longevity, though, especially when paired with its mediocre defensive stats.

It's like Barraskewda's whole reason to exist is to be the best rain sweeper in the competitive meta. No other Swift Swim Pokemon even hold a candle to it. There are barely any stronger ones, and there most definitely aren't any faster ones.

Not only does its 123 Attack prove to be one of the stronger ones in that pool, but it has a surprisingly wide movepool filled with strong STAB moves, and coverage moves like Close Combat, Psychic Fangs, Drill Run, Crunch, and Scale Shot. Of course, with its massive offensive power comes a trade-off: it's defensively putrid.

While Galarian Slowbro has a distinctly offensive statistical makeup compared to that of its Kantonian variant, Galarian Slowking has almost identical stats to regular Slowking, save for a slightly stronger Special Attack. That build makes Galarian Slowking an excellent defensive pivot with a flair for the offensive.

Of course, its defensive perks are similar to regular Slowking's, being the 110 Special Defense and the Regenerator ability, though its new typing gives it fewer weaknesses. What it adds offensively is almost as valuable. Aside from the usual Psychic-type moves and Scald, Flamethrower, and others, its Sludge Bomb hits pretty hard.

One of the most popular regional birds in the series, Corviknight is a ready-built defensive pivot, with its good defensive stats and typing. Being weak only to Fire- and Electric-type attacks, it can basically switch into any threat, especially physical attackers.

In particular, it's also one of the most capable stalls in the meta, with its aforementioned defensive capabilities, the Pressure ability, and access to Roost. Speaking of moves, while it can deal okay direct damage with moves like Body Press, Brave Bird, and Iron Head, its main asset offensively is Defog — especially when paired with its Stealth Rock neutrality.

While Single-Strike Style Urshifu is banned from regular competitive play, its Rapid-Strike Style counterpart has become a force for its offensive abilities. Its one negligible flaw, a lack of Special Defense (60), hasn't kept it from elite status.

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It has so many exclusive perks that add to its proficiency offensively, such as the signature Surging Strikes that deals three critical hits in a turn, the Unseen Fist ability that allows it to attack through protection, and a movepool that also includes Aqua Jet, Close Combat, U-Turn, and coverage moves like Zen Headbutt and the elemental punches.

Dragapult torpedoed its way to potential status as the strongest pseudo-Legendary as soon as Generation Eight's competitive meta formed. It's one of the lesser pseudos defensively, but it's so damn fast it doesn't matter, and its offensive potency and versatility are off the charts.

You never quite know what set an opposing Dragapult brings. It's both an excellent wallbreaker and offensive pivot, and can deal physical or special offense. It can play a more aggressive game with Draco Meteor or Dragon Darts, or take it slow with the status-boosted Hex. It has great coverage, too; it knows Hydro Pump, for God's sake.

Grassy glidin’ Phil Collins here has become a ridiculously popular wallbreaker in its debut generation’s meta, and for good reason. It deals Grass-type offense at scary levels off Grassy Glide alone, and yet it's also a very versatile attacker with multiple viable sets.

If you're not already in the know, Rillaboom has both the Grassy Surge ability and access to Grassy Glide, a move that gets both a power boost and priority in Grassy Terrain. Alongside that, you have access to several coverage moves, and even Swords Dance, ultimately giving you room to either set up sweep or revenge kill.

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Kyle Laurel is a college student from the Philippines. He spent around three years as a freelance writer before becoming a list writer for The Gamer. He grew up around Pokémon and writes about that the most. You can battle him on Pokémon Showdown (juantum physics, Gen 8 OU or Random Battle).