The first member of Paldea’s Elite Four is making her debut in Pokémon Masters EX! Look forward to good ol’ Rika and her trusty Clodsire as they pair up to form a durable, tenacious sync pair that thrives at the center of battle. Rika & Clodsire are a Ground-type support sync pair that are not only adept at taking damage but also at sending plenty of punishment back their opponents’ way.

Case in point—after an opponent attacks Rika & Clodsire, their passive skill Take Hit: Opp 1 of 5 Stats ↓2 9 will lower at random that opponent’s Attack, Defense, Sp. Atk, Sp. Def, or Speed by two stat ranks. Additionally, their passive skill Team Triage Tank 9 will recover HP to all allied sync pairs each time Rika & Clodsire are hit by a damaging move, making them a strong choice against opponents with attack moves that hit all targets. They can also raise the Sp. Def of all allied sync pairs by two stat ranks with each use of X Sp. Def All, so be sure to bring them along against sync pairs that deal special attack damage.

In a battle of attrition, Rika & Clodsire are certainly in their element, but they have ways to accelerate victory, too. Their buddy move Rampant Mud Slap doesn’t deal a lot of damage, but it never misses, and it lowers the target’s accuracy by two stat ranks while also leaving them poisoned. It also creates a Ground Zone that increases the power of all Ground-type moves, making it a strong complement to offensive sync pairs packing those types of moves. And that’s not all—Rampant Mud Slap also increases the Physical Moves ↑ Next Effect and Special Moves ↑ Next Effect of all allied sync pairs by one rank. The opponent won’t even know what hit ‘em!

For more details on this sync pair’s passive skills and moves, check out Rika & Clodsire’s in-game sync pair scout screen. Rika & Clodsire are available to scout from April 25, 2024, at 11:00 p.m. PDT to May 15, 2024, at 10:59 p.m. PDT.

Cynthia & Garchomp

The Elite Four and Champions go hand in hand, and Rika & Clodsire and Cynthia & Garchomp are no different. Cynthia & Garchomp are a powerful Ground-type strike sync pair, but it takes a while to pump up their Attack and critical-hit rate. Rika & Clodsire can remedy that easily by raising their allies’ Attack with their Trainer move Think Fast and their allies’ critical-hit rate with their passive skill, Critical Squad 1. Cynthia & Garchomp also deal exclusively Ground-type damage with Slash (though only when Mega Evolved) and Earthquake, meaning they’ll deal additional damage when Rika & Clodsire create a Ground Zone with Rampant Mud Slap.

Cynthia & Garchomp are not currently available to scout, though they may return later!

Bertha & Hippowdon

Bertha and Rika are both known for favoring bulky Ground-type Pokémon, and their synergy as sync pairs in Pokémon Masters EX is sure to shake up your next battle. Neither sync pair is adept at dealing a lot of damage, but they’ll slowly whittle down the opponent through sandstorm damage, status conditions, and more.

Bertha & Hippowdon can take opponents down a notch with the passive damage from Sandstorm and inflicting the trapped condition via Sand Tomb. Rika & Clodsire can follow that up nicely by poisoning the opponent with Rampant Mud Slap and continually lowering the opponent’s stats with their passive skill Take Hit: Opp 1 of 5 Stats ↓2 9. Bertha & Hippowdon can also lower the opponent’s Attack by landing attack moves during a Sandstorm to trigger their passive skill Sand Slinger 9—which Rika & Clodsire appreciate since they can’t raise their own Defense with their Trainer moves!

Bertha & Hippowdon are available to scout from the general pool of 5★ sync pairs, as well as from the 5★-Guaranteed Ticket Scout and 5★-Guaranteed Sinnoh Ticket Scout.

Don’t muck about in the mud too much, Trainers!