The last time the Pokémon Video Game Championship season allowed Legendary Pokémon was in 2010, prior to the launch of Pokémon Black and Pokémon White. That means that for the 2016 season, six Pokémon will be allowed on teams for the very first time. Take a look at our analysis of these Pokémon as they enter battle for the first time.

Also, be sure to check out part 1 of our analysis covering the first nine restricted Pokémon, Pokémon that players can only have two of on their team, that will be playable in the 2016 Pokémon Video Game Championship season. We’ll be adding these Pokémon to that article, too, for easy reference throughout the year. In the key moves that we call out for each Pokémon, note that moves in blue are special attacks, moves in orange are physical attacks, and moves in gray are status moves. The key moves are generally listed in order of importance and most common usage.

Reshiram

Type: Dragon/Fire

Ability: Turboblaze: Moves can be used on the target regardless of its Abilities.

Strengths: Special Attack; Special Defense; Blue Flare or Fusion Flare move

Weaknesses: Many type weaknesses; Speed

Key Moves: Blue Flare, Dragon Pulse, Draco Meteor, Protect, Earth Power, Heat Wave, Fusion Flare, Focus Blast, Solar Beam, Tailwind

Reshiram is frequently paired with Primal Groudon and its Desolate Land Ability because of their shared Fire type, in a similar way to how Palkia is often paired with Primal Kyogre. Reshiram’s trademark Blue Flare and Fusion Flare moves further focus on the duo’s shared Fire type instead of diversifying with a Dragon-type attack, like Palkia’s Spacial Rend does, so the Fire-type pairing is a little less flexible despite both Pokémon being dual types.

Blue Flare is one of the most powerful attacks in the game. It features the same 130 attack power as Overheat without the Special Attack drop, while maintaining a respectable 85% accuracy. Reshiram also has the alternative of Fusion Flare, a special Fire-type attack with 100% accuracy and 100 attack power.

The biggest challenge for Trainers using Reshiram is avoiding the strongest attacks of most of the other restricted Pokémon. It is weak against both Primal Groudon’s Earthquake and the barrage of Dragon-type attacks in the format, which can make it tricky to use.

Trainers often give Reshiram Life Orb or Choice Scarf to help make the most of its limited opportunities to attack, but Assault Vest may be the item that improves Reshiram’s natural strengths the most. Assault Vest beefs up its already impressive Special Defense, typically enough for Reshiram to last through a Draco Meteor from another Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon and fire back with a more damaging Draco Meteor in response.

Reshiram’s Turboblaze Ability, which allows its moves to hit regardless of the target’s Ability, isn’t effective against many Pokémon, but beware of a Reshiram if you are using Heatran to help control the other Legendary Dragon-type Pokémon’s Fire-type attacks with Flash Fire. With Turboblaze, Reshiram’s Fire-type attacks won’t be nullified by Heatran’s Ability!

Zekrom

Type: Dragon/Electric

Ability: Teravolt: Moves can be used on the target regardless of its Abilities.

Strengths: Attack; Defense; one of the few restricted Pokémon with strong physical attacks

Weaknesses: Many type weaknesses; average Speed

Key Moves: Bolt Strike, Dragon Claw, Fusion Bolt, Protect, Draco Meteor, Volt Switch, Tailwind, Rock Slide, Stone Edge

Unlike most of the other restricted Dragon-type Pokémon, Zekrom is primarily a physical attacker. It has physical Electric-type versions of Reshiram’s trademark moves, which is especially valuable because there are otherwise few physical Electric-type attacks. Opposing Trainers are likely to train many of their Pokémon to withstand special attacks instead of physical attacks because of the focus on special attacks by other restricted Pokémon, making Zekrom’s attacks harder to defend against.

Bolt Strike and Fusion Bolt are physical attacks, so Zekrom is able to hit Kyogre’s much lower Defense instead of its Special Defense. This strategy is also useful for facing a Lugia that has boosted its Special Defense with Calm Mind. Additionally, Zekrom’s Teravolt Ability prevents Abilities like Lightningrod, Motor Drive, and Volt Absorb from stopping its damage.

Paralleling its offensive stats, Zekrom’s strength is in its Defense instead of its Special Defense, so it is much more likely to run a damage-increasing item instead of Assault Vest than its counterpart Reshiram. Life Orb, Choice Scarf, and Choice Band have been the items Trainers most commonly give Zekrom to hold, helping it deal as much damage as possible.

While Zekrom is very effective against Kyogre and Lugia, it struggles against the Ground-type Groudon and the Fairy-type Xerneas—two Pokémon that will define the metagame in the 2016 Pokémon VGC format. The key to using Zekrom is finding ways to defeat that devastating duo using other Pokémon so that Zekrom can focus on the Pokémon it fares better against.

Kyurem

Type: Dragon/Ice

Ability: Pressure (Kyurem): Raises opposing Pokémon’s PP usage.
Teravolt (Black Kyurem): Moves can be used on the target regardless of its Abilities.
Turboblaze (White Kyurem): Moves can be used on the target regardless of its Abilities.

Strengths: Attack; Special Attack; HP; quicker than Kyogre and Groudon

Weaknesses: Many type weaknesses; redundant offensive typing; Freeze Shock and Ice Burn not very useful

Key Moves: Protect, Fusion Flare, Ice Beam, Draco Meteor, Earth Power, Dragon Pulse, Focus Blast, Flash Cannon, Fusion Bolt, Dragon Claw, Iron Head, Rock Slide, Stone Edge

Kyurem isn’t a Pokémon of the same strength as the other restricted Pokémon in its original Forme, but Black Kyurem and White Kyurem are two of the strongest offensive Pokémon in the game. Kyurem is the only restricted Ice-type Pokémon, a type that is super effective against many of the other restricted Pokémon. Unfortunately, most of the restricted Pokémon weak to Kyurem’s Ice-type attacks are also weak to its Dragon-type attacks, so the added weaknesses from Kyurem being an Ice-type Pokémon aren’t always a great trade-off.

Kyurem’s trademark moves, Freeze Shock and Ice Burn, are both two-turn attacks. Since Kyurem can still be attacked during its charge turn and neither move has the Protect-penetrating power of Shadow Force, they aren’t worth using in competitive battles unless Kyurem holds a Power Herb. Spending an item slot on a move that can only be used once is tough to justify, so most Trainers forego using Kyurem’s signature moves and accelerate its offense with Choice Scarf, Choice Specs, or Life Orb instead.

Black Kyurem gains an extremely powerful Attack stat and access to Zekrom’s Fusion Bolt. Ice- and Electric-type attacks combine for great coverage, but Black Kyurem can’t take great advantage of this because it can’t learn any powerful physical Ice-type attacks. Fusion Bolt and Dragon Claw still work together well enough to do supereffective damage against most of the other restricted Pokémon, however.

White Kyurem gains Reshiram’s Fusion Flare and an amazing Special Attack stat. While there aren’t any restricted Pokémon weak to Fire-type attacks, it lets White Kyurem incinerate the Steel-type Pokémon players bring to stop restricted Pokémon, such as Ferrothorn, Aegislash, and Mega Mawile. White Kyurem also has a much easier time using Ice-type attacks than Black Kyurem thanks to Ice Beam and Blizzard.

Xerneas

Type: Fairy

Ability: Fairy Aura: Powers up each Pokémon’s Fairy-type moves.

Strengths: Geomancy; Fairy Aura; HP; Speed

Weaknesses: Inflexible; high risk, high reward

Key Moves: Geomancy, Dazzling Gleam, Moonblast, Protect, Thunderbolt, Focus Blast, Hidden Power, Grass Knot, Psychic

Xerneas is unique among the restricted Pokémon because its trademark move is a stat-increasing move. After one turn of charging, Geomancy increases Xerneas’ Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed by two levels, making Xerneas nearly impossible to stop. Trainers almost always give Xerneas Power Herb to hold, allowing Xerneas to get the massive stat boost from Geomancy in one turn. Due to Geomancy’s power and seven of the other restricted Pokémon having a weakness to Fairy-type attacks (eight with Mega Mewtwo X), every team in the 2016 Pokémon Video Game Championships will need a solid strategy against Xerneas and its Geomancy to be successful.

Fairy Aura boosts the damage of Fairy-type attacks from all Pokémon on the field. Between Fairy Aura, a Geomancy boost, and the extra damage Xerneas does with Fairy-type attacks as a Fairy-type Pokémon, Xerneas’s Fairy-type attacks are incredibly powerful. Fairy Aura can also help the Fairy-type damage of a teammate, such as Mega Mawile. Expect to see Mawile used both with and against Xerneas, as Steel-type physical attacks are the most reliable way to down Xerneas through Geomancy, and Fairy Aura, on the other hand, strengthens Mawile’s Play Rough.

Many Trainers don’t teach Xerneas damaging moves of a type other than Fairy. The most common move set for Xerneas is Moonblast for single targets, Dazzling Gleam to hit both foes, Geomancy to power up, and Protect for defense. Xerneas demonstrates extreme power with this move set, but this approach can be risky if it isn’t able to use Geomancy safely or if it faces a team full of Pokémon resistant to Fairy-type attacks. Even Steel-, Fire-, and Poison-type Pokémon must be careful, however, as Xerneas can still knock out most Pokémon resistant to Fairy-type attacks in two turns after a Geomancy boost.

Yveltal

Type: Dark/Flying

Ability: Dark Aura: Powers up each Pokémon’s Dark-type moves.

Strengths: Dark Aura; HP; Speed; immune to Ground-type attacks

Weaknesses: Defense; Special Defense; struggles against Xerneas; lacks an obvious purpose

Key Moves: Foul Play, Protect, Oblivion Wing, Snarl, Dark Pulse, Sucker Punch, Heat Wave, Tailwind, Focus Blast, Knock Off

Much like the supportive Yveltal in the Pokémon TCG, one of Yveltal’s strengths in the video game is being able to power up Dark-type Pokémon with its Dark Aura. Unlike in the Pokémon TCG, there aren’t many Dark-type Pokémon of the same caliber as Yveltal in the video game, making it tough to build a team around it. Yveltal has mediocre defenses and an Ability that’s tough to make the most of, but perhaps players will find a way to create a devastating combination with Yveltal and Mega Tyranitar, Mega Houndoom, or even other types of Pokémon with Dark-type attacks such as Mega Mawile. Yveltal’s Speed, Foul Play move, and Flying type make it effective against the popular Primal Groudon, but its Dark type makes battles against the equally popular Xerneas difficult.

Yveltal also offers awkward support to its team. It has Snarl to reduce the damage of opponents, Knock Off to remove enemies’ items, and Tailwind to increase its team’s Speed. In a format where restricted Pokémon form the identity of their teams, it isn’t clear what role Yveltal will play on its team. It doesn’t have great offensive typing or great stats. It doesn’t have a fantastic trademark move or a clear way to build a team around it. The star of Pokémon Y is something of an enigma, but some players might find ways to make it shine for themselves.

Zygarde

Type: Dragon/Ground

Ability: Aura Break: The effects of “Aura” Abilities are reversed.

Strengths: Your opponent probably hasn’t battled a Zygarde before; Speed; Defense

Weaknesses: Stats; moves; types

Key Moves: Land’s Wrath, Rock Slide, Glare, Extreme Speed, Outrage, Earthquake, Dragon Dance, Stone Edge, Crunch, Protect

Zygarde can be tough to incorporate on a team and plays very similarly to Garchomp, a Pokémon that does not spend a restricted slot on its team. The two Pokémon are evenly matched in stats, which is to say far below the other restricted Pokémon. Zygarde’s stats simply aren't on the same level as its restricted peers.

Aura Break could really mess with teams built around Xerneas by causing Fairy Aura to reduce the damage of Fairy-type attacks instead of increasing them. Unfortunately, since Zygarde is still weak to Fairy-type attacks and its stats are so much lower than those of other restricted Pokémon, it’s tough to make it worthwhile.

Land’s Wrath is sort of a better version of Earthquake—a 100% accurate move with 90 attack power that hits both opponents instead of every other Pokémon on the field. It’s a great move, but, Trainers probably won’t have to worry much about it.

You may have to check out Zygarde in Season 19 of the Pokémon animated series, because it might be sitting out for the 2016 Pokémon World Championships.

The 2016 Pokémon Video Game Championship season will be packed with creative teams and exciting battles. We’ve broken down much of what we expect to see going into the new format, but the strategy innovations on the road to the 2016 Pokémon World Championships will surely surprise even the experts. Follow Pokemon.co.uk/Strategy all season long to stay up to date on the latest in Pokémon video game analysis!