Water Pokemon are among the most ubiquitous types in all of Pokemon. Mostly because every region has some kind of body of water and Game Freak needs to keep putting new Pokemon in them. In this guide we’re going to go over our picks for the best Water Pokemon in Pokemon Sword and Shield.
8: Cloyster – Best Water Pokemon in Sword and Shield
Cloyster is kind of a one-trick pony, but it’s a pretty good trick to be fair.
Find one with the ability Skill Link (which ensures that all attack chaining moves always hit the maximum amount), use Focus Slash to make sure you definitely don’t die after the first attack from your opponent, set up Shell Smash (an extremely powerful stat boosting move that Cloyster can use) and then go to town with extremely powerful and hard-hitting Icicle Smash attacks
While Ice is one of the worst types defensively, it’s one of the strongest ones offensively, and not many Pokemon want to be smacked in the face with icicles over and over again from Cloyster.
7: Pelipper – Best Water Pokemon in Sword and Shield
Listen, we’re going to keep this one real simple. Pelipper is the definition of an average, forgettable Pokemon. However, it brings one really useful thing to the table: its hidden ability Drizzle which allows it to bring rain in whenever it switches in.
That’s the main reason to use Pelipper. Have it around to help out another teammate, like Barraskewda for example, to wreck havoc on the opposing team.
6: Drednaw – Best Water Pokemon in Sword and Shield
Drednaw has powerful Attack and only so-so Speed, but under the effect of rain and with the ability Swift Swim, its Speed is far more respectable and it can then abuse some really powerful moves.
A STAB boosted 150 STAB base power Head Smash coming from Drednaw is nothing to sneeze at and it will hurt anything that doesn’t outright resist it, real bad.
Drednaw also has access to Jaw Lock and you can either try to lock non-threatening Pokemon in with Drednaw, or scare anyone away that thinks a Jaw Lock could be coming and possibly even set up some Sword Dances. Just be careful not to lock yourself into something that can knock you out as Drednaw can’t escape either.
5: Quagsire – Best Water Pokemon in Sword and Shield
Quagsire is effectively the same as its always been and retains all the things that have made it useful over the years.
Despite its modest move pool, it has a very strong typing in Water/Ground which is useful both from an offensive and defensive point.
It also has access to one of the best abilities in the game, Unaware, which allows it to ignore all current stat boosts.
It can learn Recover, Scald, and Earthquake and that right there is a solid moveset that can handle a whole lot.
Find one with a hidden ability, get those three moves, fill out the fourth with whatever you want and you have a very easy to obtain and use Water Pokemon.
4: Seismitoad – Best Water Pokemon in Sword and Shield
Seismitoad is a more offensive-minded version of Quagsire. Both are helpful with their excellent Water/Ground typing, but while Quagsire has more defensive tools to be a pain in the butt, Seismitoad is more about ripping off powerful Water and Ground attacks under the effect of Rain.
Seismitoad has access to Swift Swim which gives it an opportunity to sweep under rainy conditions as it boosts its very mediocre speed to more respectable levels and powers up its water attacks.
It has access to Hydro Pump, Earthquake, Earth Power, Stealth Rocks, Scald and other helpful moves. Take your pick and if you’re running a rain team, consider throwing this big frog on your squad.
3: Toxapex – Best Water Pokemon in Sword and Shield
Introduced in Sun and Moon, Toxapex is back in Gen 8 and remains one of the most annoying and powerful defensive Pokemon in the game.
It has its signature move, Baneful Bunker, which protects it from attacks while also poisoning those that make contact with it. You could exploit that with the ability Merciless if you wanted to and turn all your attacks into critical hits. But lots of people tend to prefer Regenerator which restores 1/3 of Toxapex’s health on a switch out.
It also has access to the incredibly helpful Toxic Spikes which will poison anyone switches in.
On top of this, it has excellent defensive stats across the board, learns recovery on level-up, Rest/Sleep Talk via TM, and so many other just annoying moves.
If you’re looking for a defensive anchor to your team and or just want to make everyone rage when they play you, get a Toxapex.
2: Barraskewda – Best Water Pokemon in Sword and Shield
Barraskewda is not only one of the best Water Pokemon added in Pokemon Sword and Shield, it’s arguably one of the best new Pokemon added period.
Its base speed is just obscene, at 136, and that is complemented by a monstrous 126 attack stat. I mean I could just stop right there, that’s enough to make Barraskewda relevant, but it gets better.
Barraskewda comes built in with Swift Swim, which DOUBLES the already gross 136 speed to comical levels that will out speed anything while under the effect of rain.
Considering how easy it is with Dynamax to set up rain now (and you still have ol’ reliable Pelipper if you want), it’s not hard to get Barraskewda rolling.
To make matters even better, Barraskewda’s move pool isn’t half bad for a mono-Water type. It can gain access to Night Slash, Psychic Fangs, Throat Chop, Drill Run etc. While they aren’t powerhouse moves, it does balance out its move set a little bit at least.
1: Gyarados – Best Water Pokemon in Sword and Shield
Some things never change, and Gyarados being relevant is about as sure a thing as you can get in a Pokemon game.
It’s just as mean as always with its 125 Attack, and decently balanced stats across the board. It has a fantastic move pool which includes hard hitting attacks like: Earthquake, Power Whip, Stone Edge, Thrash, Waterfall etc.
When it goes Dynamax, it can use transform those attacks into a beastly diverse set of moves that can handle just about any Pokemon that tries to bring it down.
A fast and hard hitting Electric Pokemon to exploit its 4x weakness is one of the few ways to reliable bring Gyarados down.
That does it for our choices of the best Water Pokemon in Pokemon Sword & Shield. What are your favorites? Let us know in the comments below.
For more tips and tricks, be sure to check out our Pokemon Sword and Shield wiki guide.
