The Pokemon Company has published a special feature on their official website discussing the top most recommended Pokemon for battles in Pokemon Sword And Shield.

The list is comprised solely of Pokemon native to the Galar Region, and is divided into Single Battles, Double Battles, and a “General” category for Pokemon which excel in both.

If you’re interested in finding out which Pokemon made the cut, you can read the full feature here or check out some highlights below:

Single Battle

Galarian Darmanitan

…The key to Galarian Darmanitan’s success is the Gorilla Tactics Ability, which increases its Attack stat while only allowing it to use the first move it selects in battle—the same effect as the item Choice Band. What makes Galarian Darmanitan so devastating is that since it’s locked into one move anyway, there’s no additional drawback to giving it a Choice Band to boost its Attack even further or a Choice Scarf to boost its Speed in addition to its Attack…

Corviknight

…As a Steel type, Corviknight can slow down many of the preeminent attackers available, especially powerful Dragon types and Fairy types. And perhaps owing to the Flying-type part of its heritage, Corviknight also has access to Defog as an Egg Move, making it a great choice to protect its teammates from the harmful effects of Stealth Rock and similar moves in full six-on-six Single Battles…

Cinderace

…Like many Pokémon that are successful in Single Battles, Cinderace is very quick and can dish out a lot of damage with powerful attacks like Pyro Ball and High Jump Kick. And like many of the popular offensive Pokémon discovered recently, it makes great use of U-turn to do a little damage and escape battle, helping its Trainer get a leg up on the opponent with a mid-turn Pokémon swap. If you’re planning to use Cinderace in the Battle Stadium, these are great strengths to focus on…

Double Battles

Indeedee

…Indeedee’s Hidden Ability, Psychic Surge, is a great boon to the role it plays in Double Battles. Psychic Surge makes it very difficult for the opponent to use Fake Out successfully, and since many of the Pokémon that are typically taught Taunt also have the Prankster Ability, the Psychic Terrain that Indeedee creates blocks that, too. Indeedee is an indispensable ally to teams that desperately need Trick Room to be activated, as well as to frailer attacking Pokémon…

Duraludon

…Duraludon has been a powerful choice in Double Battles because of its Hidden Ability, Stalwart, particularly in those battles taking place at Video Game Championships events. Stalwart makes Duraludon’s moves ignore the effects of opposing Pokémon’s Abilities and moves that draw in opposing Pokémon’s moves…

Alcremie

…Alcremie’s secret ingredient is the move Decorate, which raises the target’s Attack and Sp. Atk by two stages. This neat trick harkens back to the early days of the Video Game World Championships, where players often had a Pokémon like Cresselia use Swagger on a partner holding a Lum or Persim Berry to gain two levels of Attack…

Both Singles & Doubles

Dragapult

…Quality typing and great stats highlighted by its blazing Speed give Dragapult plenty of options in both Single and Double Battles. In both formats, it’s effective as a strong special attacker with a variety of useful moves while holding Choice Specs, Life Orb, or Choice Scarf. It’s plenty viable as a physical attacker in Double Battles, as well. And in Single Battles it can effectively run a more supportive set playing off its Ghost-type tricks with Hex and Will-O-Wisp…

Grimmsnarl

…The tricky Grimmsnarl is an interesting Pokémon because it’s powerful in both Single and Double Battles by doing slightly different things. While typically players in both formats opt to take advantage of the powerful Prankster Ability, what happens next is a little different in each format…

Dracovish

…Dracovish is a bit fascinating in that it’s very much the same Pokémon in both Double Battles and Single Battles. If Galarian Darmanitan owes most of its power to its Ability, then Dracovish takes this concept a step further by owing its power to a single move—Fishious Rend…

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.