Pokémon Scarlet and Violet VGC enter their first limited metagame with Regulation G, and an unexpected Legendary Dog is already on the rise.

Starting on May 1st, the Reg G ruleset will apply to Scarlet and Violet, allowing VGC players to include one limited Pokémon in their team. In other words, expect to see a lot of powerful Legendary Pokémon shaking up the metagame. Back at the Europe International Championships (EUIC) earlier this month, we asked pros for their predictions on which Pokémon would be good in Reg G. Most agreed that Calyrex Shadow Rider would be on everyone’s radar, while Terapagos and Kyogre were also mentioned.

Back then, Zamazenta seemed like nobody was talking about. Now, the Gen VIII Legendary dog seems to want to play a major role in the ruleset. It’s a pleasant surprise, especially since fellow Gen VIII mascot Zacian was much more popular in the Sword and Shield era. In an April 27 Reddit thread, players explained why Zamazenta is taking over Scarlet and Violet instead of Zacian, and it all comes down to their highest stats.

As the mascots of Sword and Shield, Zacian represents offense and Zamazenta represents defense. With high Attack and Speed, Zacian is a huge physical threat. However, his offense suffers more from popular Intimidate users like Incineroar than Zamazenta. This is because Zamazenta's main means of attack does not rely on his Attack, but is instead a combination of Iron Defense, Body Press, and his huge Defense. So while all of Zacian's attacks are weakened by Intimidate, Zamazenta's Body Presses remain strong after receiving stat drops from Intimidates or even Parting Shots. At the same time, he will be super tanky on the field with Iron Defense boosts and an ally Incineroar to lower the opponent's offensive stats.