Which each new generation in the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokémon series, two particular types of critter come along that fans are most eager to see: new starter Pokémon and new Legendary Pokémon. Grookey, Scorbunny 💫and Sobble have been a bit of a mixed bag, as have Generation 🅺VIII’s cover Legendaries: Zacian and Z๊amazenta.
The respective mascots of168澳洲幸运5开奖网: Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are quite similar in design and concept, but have very different strengths and weaknesses. Which is the𓆉 better Pokémon overall? Let’s take an in-depth look at everything they have to offer (from design to typing and movepools) and find out!
10 𝔉 Zacian: It’s An Absolute Powerhouse, Stats-Wise
For a lot of Pokémon fans, preferences all come down to one thing: raw stats. It doesn’t matter how super-cute a Pokémon is, whether it would be a loyal companion or any of the rest of it: if they’r𓂃e not the very best (like no-one ever was), they’re being completely passed over. Competitive Pokémon is a harsh mistress, friends.
As such, the first thing many players will have noticed about these two Legendaries is Zacian’s 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:sky high base Attack: 170 in Crowned Sword form. Crowned Shield Zam🌠azenta, meanwhile, has 130 b༺ase Attack. In terms of power alone, then, there’s a clear winner here.
9 ♛ Zamazenta: It’s In A Different League When It Comes To D📖efense
Now, we don’t kn🌜ow if you’ve noticed, but Zamazenta has one heck of an enormous, absurd shield where its face should be. This is a not-so-subtle hint that, when it comes to stats, it’s going to lean just a shade to the defensive side.
Snark aside, this is Pokemon’s age-old power/speed versus frailty thing cropping up again. A lot of the most powerful Pokémon are glass can༺nons, and while Zacian doesn’t exactly have paper-thin defenses (base 92 HP and 115 in Defense and Special Defense isn’t remotely bad), it doesn’t come close to Zamazenta in that contest. In Crowned Shield form, the pair’s stats are flipped: it has base 145 in Defense and Special Defense, a significant increase in bulk.
8 Zacian: Its Ability Is Incre𒐪dible 🌳
As Pokémon veterans will know, base 170 Attack is… well, a whole darn lot of Attack. There’s more💧 to the strength of a Pokémon than raw numbers alone, however, so le💦t’s take a look at another huge factor in Zacian’s power: its Ability.
Where reduces the fo🌺e’s Attack by one stage, Zacian’s Intrepid Sword has the opposite effect: it increases its own Attack by one when it switches in. It’s simple but devastating, offering a ‘free’ 50% boost to its already formidable physical moves.
7 Zamazenta: Its Typing Seems To Benefit It﷽ More
Typically, both of these Pokémon will be used with their Rusted Sword/Rusted Shield equipped, 💜as their Crowned Sword and Crowned Shield forms unleash their true potential. As such, theꩲir respective Fairy and Fighting pure typings (in their Hero of Many Battles forms) don’t really count for much.
Fairy/Steel and Fighting/Steel are their respective typings in their ‘true’ forms, and it seems that Zamazenta’s Fighting/Steel is a better fit for it. While it c💝ould do without the common weaknesses, it has many resistances. Zacian might get a better deal in that sense, but it doesn’t really seem to define either Fairy or Steel in the same way that Zamazenta does with Fighting and Steel. It’s more of an aesthetic thing, but it’s not all about competitive value.
6 ♊ Zacian: It’s Su💙per-Fast Too
As we’ve already pointed out, there’s much more to a truly great offensive Pokémon than attack power alone. After all, Shuckle is capable of putting out perhaps the most dam🤡aging attacks in the game (after swapping its defenses with its attack and boosting up as much asღ possible), but how often is it ever going to actually pull that off successfully? Never, that’s how often.
Attack is no use without either bulk or Speed, and Zacian has a whole lot of the latter. Its Crowned S𓄧word form boasts 148 base Speed, with which it can outpace almost anything. Crowned Shield Zamazenta, m🦄eanwhile, has a very respectable base 128 Speed, down from 138 in its prior form.
5 Zamazenta: Visually, It’s Not✅ A Meme
Yes, this one’s completel😼y subjective, but it’s another angle that has to be considered. Some of us aren’t interested in comparing the competitive worth of Pokémon at all, and visual appeal is much more of a factor.
We can appreciate Zacian’s design, we absolutely can. Those flowing strings-of-sausages-looking braids, the super-neat sword in its mouth… what’s not to like? Sadly, though, that sword is exactly the problem. As the meme-makers of the Internet were quick to point out, it gives Zacian a huge resemblance to Great Grey Wolf Sif of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dark Souls fame. In that 🙈sense, Zamazenta could be considered a much more original design, unlike anything we’ve really seen before.
4 🎃 Zacian: Fairy/Steel Is Strange, B🔴ut Very Effective
As we’ve already noted, there’s an argument that Zamazenta’s typing in both of its forms make more sense for it. However you feel about that, there’s no denying that Zacian’s typi👍ng is just another factor that makes it a formidable attacker.
There are very few Fairy/Steel Pokémon in the series, and they tend to be bulkier (Klefki and Mawile/Mega Mawile). It’s an excellent combination in terms of weaknesses and resistances, though, and offers ♏nice STAB coverage. Zacian certainly has the coverage to patch up any holes there, as well, meaning few foe💝s are safe from its wrath.
3 ♈ Zamazenta: It’s A Real Beas🐽t When It Comes To Defenses
So, we’ve waxed lyrical about Zacian. With its speed, damage, typing and Ability, it’s one of the best all-around offensive Pokémon ever. That doesn’t mean we can sleepꦿ on Zamazenta, though.
Intrepid Shield, as you’d probably expect, gives it +1 Defense simply for switching in. This bolsters its already dang high Defenses to silly levels, to the point that it can 🐻weather very strong super effective hits (albeit not for long). With the right team composition, it could be just the Pokémon you need.
2 Zacian: Za💞mazenta’s Movepool Really Lets⛎ It Down
As impressive as Zamazenta’s defensive potential is, it has one major shortcoming: it doesn’t really have many moves to take advantage of it. Typically, Pokémon with these sorts of stats want to have recovery and the ability to support the team with the likes of Aromather🎶apy, but Zamazenta doesn’t get anything🃏 much like that.
As a result, it really suffers from wasted potential. Zacia🧔n has very strong STAB and coverage, as well as the chance to boost to astronomical levels with Swords Dance. To truly be an effective counterpart, Zamazenta needed defensive options as good as Zacian’s offensive ones.
1 Zamazenta: It Has ꦍA Chance To Perform Well In Doubles
So, yes. In terms of damage potential alone, Zacian has very few (if any) rivals.🌼 It’s up there with Mega Rayquaza, which is terrifying to even think about.
The thing to remember about this, then, is that it’s a very, very high-profile target. In a double match, as hard as it might try, it won’t really be able to eliminate both opponents in time and doesn’t have the defenses to survive being focused down. Zamazenta, meanwhile, has a bit more utility there, with Wide Guard (thanks for throwing this potentially glorious 🌄dog some kind of bone, 𓃲Game Freak) to defend its allies and far more survivability. Much more of a niche Pokémon, perhaps, but it certainly has areas in which it shines over its blade-biting counterpart.