Best Ground Type Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet

Ground-type Pokémon are one of the staples in the Pokémon gaming series, housing some iconic Pokémon such as Groudon, Flygon, and Swampert. However, you cannot find these Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet. We gathered some of the best Ground-type Pokémon present in Scarlet and Violet, so you have a strong partner that counters Electric, Fire, Poison, Rock, and Steel.

A List of the Best Ground Types in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Garchomp

Garchomp is an iconic Dragon/Ground-type Pokémon and one of the very strongest Pokémon in game. Garchomp evolves from Gabite from level 48 and is the final form of Gible. It’s rare but not too difficult to find in the wild for moderately leveled players. Its diverse move set, including strong Dragon, Rock, Ground, Normal, Flying, Dark, Steel, Ghost, Water, Electric, and Fire-type moves, allows it to learn different attacks that will surely catch your opponent off guard. So many builds are possible with Garchomp, covering all possible opponent types. It has excellent stats, mainly its HP, and decent Attack, Defense, and Speed to match. Its ability Rough Skin damages enemies that make contact, proving a fantastic counter for those pesky multi-hit attacks.

Not only that, but Garchomp is also one of the coolest-looking Pokémon. It’s a claw-winged hammerhead shark, which just screams power and dominance.

Great Tusk

Great Tusk is a Ground/Fighting Paradox Pokémon and the Scarlet counterpart of Iron Treads from Violet, both based on the Pokémon Donphan. Only found in the endgame Area Zero, players will have to wait a while before obtaining one. One of the most powerful Gen 9 Pokémon, it shows its strength by having a balanced Attack and Defense stat. It can easily outpower any non-tanky opponents, taking a few hits along the way.

Having Great Tusk in your team allows you to widen your arsenal with a Pokémon that can tank hits and attack right back with brute force. Using its strong offensive typings and same-type attack bonuses (STAB), Great Tusk is able to bulldoze its way through with high-powered moves like Earthquake and Close Combat.

Iron Treads

Iron Treads, like Great Tusk, is a Paradox Pokémon and distant relative of Donphan, catchable in Area Zero. Compared to Great Tusk, Iron Treads relies heavily on Defense and Speed rather than brute attacks. These stats, and its Ground/Steel typing, allow it to be great as a staller for your team, taking hits and rendering them not very effective.

Iron Treads adds some great Electric attacks into its arsenal and even the Bug-type Megahorn and Psychic-type Zen Headbutt for greater offensive coverage. Iron Treads is only found in Pokémon Violet, so those with Scarlet will have to trade for it — perhaps for a Great Tusk.

Sandy Shocks

Sandy Shocks looks like a Magneton with sand on it. Don’t let its form fool you though — Sandy Shocks has the highest Special Attack in the Ground Pokémon family. This is offset by its slightly low defenses, making it one of the more fragile Paradox Pokémon. Its move pool is also a little shallow, since Ground-type moves are typically physical instead of Special, but Earth Power still STABs hard. Luckily, Sandy Shocks is dual-type Electric/Ground, giving it access to powerful Special Electric moves like Zap Cannon and Thunder, letting you keep up the pressure. Its Speed makes up for its lack of defense, which will help you in tight situations. Sandy Shocks is a situational Ground-type Pokémon that covers a Special niche with its Electric Attacks.

Sandy Shocks is another Paradox Pokémon that is Scarlet-exclusive, meaning those with Violet will need to trade to get it, and it is unavailable before the endgame dungeon (unless you are lucky enough to trade for it before then).

Ting-Lu

Ting-Lu is a Dark/Ground Legendary Pokémon that is difficult to get but well worth the effort to capture. One of the four Treasures of Ruin, you must find all eight Green Ominous Stakes in the northwest of Paldea to reveal its shrine. From there, you can battle with the Legendary Pokémon and have a chance of capturing it.

We highly recommend capturing this Pokémon as this is one of the sturdiest Ground Pokémon in game, boasting high HP and Defense. It is relatively slow compared to other Pokémon but makes up for it with bulk and attack power. Its unique ability Vessel of Ruin reduces the Special Attack of all Pokémon in battle by 25%. Its signature move, Ruination, reduces the opposing Pokémon’s HP by half, making it very useful for stopping walls and tanks. With the proper move set, you’ll be able to make Ting-Lu a great staller for your team.

Hippowdon

Hippowdon is another great staller Pokémon that hits like a truck. Hippowdon is a pure Ground-type that evolves from Hippopotas at level 34. Hippowdon’s stats are similar to those of Ting-Lu, albeit slightly toned down. If you’re too early in game to grind for Legendary Pokémon, we highly recommend hunting and capturing Hippopotas and then evolving it into Hippowdon.

Hippowdon comes with the standard array of hard-hitting Ground moves like Earthquake and Dig, but it can also learn Thunder / Ice / Fire Fang for effective coverage. Its hidden ability Sand Force is great for boosting its Ground, Rock, or Steel moves by 30% in a Sandstorm, and its regular ability Sand Stream is good for setting up chip damage.

Krookodile

Krookodile would be a great alternative if you didn’t get the Fuecoco as your starter Pokémon. Although they are utterly different Pokémon, at least you have a Pokémon that belongs in the crocodile family. Krookodile is a Ground/Dark-type Pokémon, like Ting-Lu, making it extremely powerful against Poison and Psychic types. Its ability, Moxie, increases its attack whenever it knocks out an opponent, making it suitable for trainer battles, especially the Poison-type Team Star Leader Atticus.

Krookodile has great Attack and decent HP and Speed to boot. It has powerful Ground attacks like perennial favorite Earthquake, and Dark attacks like Crunch and Foul Play. It can also learn some strong coverage moves like Close Combat, Gunk Shot, Shadow Claw, Thunder Fang, and Outrage.

These are the best Ground-type Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. There are many Pokémon out there in Scarlet and Violet, but if you want to get down and dirty, Ground-types are the way to go. For more information and guides on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, check out this article on the game’s breeding and our comprehensive beginner’s guide to competitive Pokémon battles.

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