5 years after falling flat in its own game, Pokemon Sword and Shield's worst legendary is back from the dead, and it's running rampant in the competitive scene

May. 13, 2024

Zamazenta’s buff in Scarlet and Violet is finally paying off

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

They say every dog has its day, and that’s exactly what’s happened for the previously underwhelming Legendary Pokemon, Zamazenta. The mascot for Pokemon Shield has long been overshadowed by its stabby counterpart, Sword version’s Zacian, but a buff to the Pokemon inScarlet and Violetis now seeing it wreak havoc on the competitive scene, perhaps ascending to the ‘goodest boy’ status.

Back whenSword and Shieldlaunched, competitive Pokemon players everywhere were baffled as to why Zamazenta couldn’t learn the Fighting-type move Body Press, which calculates damage based on the user’s Defense stat rather than their Attack, giving bulky Pokemon an almighty move to thrash their opponents with. As a Defense-focused Fighting type, Zamazenta seemed like a perfect fit for the move, especially when transformed into the even greater fortified Fighting/Steel-type Crowned Shield form, but alas, it wasn’t to be.

With a lackluster move pool, Zamazenta never took off in popularity like the powerful Zacian, but its luck began to turn around in Scarlet and Violet when it was finally awarded the sought-after move it always deserved. Combined with the use of the status move Iron Defense to raise its Defense even further, and not forgetting the fact that its Ability, Dauntless Shield, boosts its Defense when sent out into battle, Scarlet and Violet’s Zamazenta is an unstoppable force, which can and will use Body Press on anything that gets in its way.

Although it’s been almost a year since players were able to transfer Zamazenta over into Scarlet and Violet from Sword and Shield, it’s only now become possible for it to test out its strength in the official Video Game Championship (VGC) thanks to a new ruleset. Right now in Scarlet and Violet, the VGC is following the ‘Regulation Set G’ ruleset, which began at the end of April and is set to run until the end of August. Thanks to these new rules, a large number of previously banned Pokemon, including Legendaries like Zacian and Zamazenta, are now classified as ‘Restricted Special Pokemon.’ This allows trainers to choose just one of these powerful Pokemon for their teams, which is certainly better than none at all.

So, will Zamazenta’s big comeback continue? For now, it definitely seems as though that’ll be the case for the foreseeable future, although further changes to the VGC rules may see the old dog sat on the bench again. Almost five years on from its debut though, it’s just nice to see the Shield mascot get thrown a bone.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Be sure to check out our ranking of thebest Pokemon gamesto find your next adventure.

I’m one of GamesRadar+’s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield’s student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming’s news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you’re sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

Pokemon and Wallace and Gromit animation studio Aardman are collaborating on a new “special project,” but it’s a full 3 years away

18 years after Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, everyone is still adding Lucario and Garchomp to their parties as Scarlet and Violet player stats reveal the most popular team members

Untitled Goose Game publisher is back and weirder than ever with a bizarre FMV game called Blippo+, and no one’s even quite sure what exactly it is: “video is no game™”