Pokemon Scarlet & Violet player shows perfect use of Espathra’s ability

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players are learning how to use Paldean Pokemon in battle, and Espathra’s ability “Opportunist” makes it a beast in competitive matches.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players have plenty of new Paldean companions to spend time with in the Gen 9 games. Unique types, abilities, and attacks give fans of the series fresh ways to create battle strategies and different approaches to take out species from previous generations.

Thanks to the new Tera Raid mechanics introduced in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, players have had to look at their Pokemon move sets and abilities differently than in previous titles. Instead of loading Pokemon down with hard-hitting moves, a balance of status-effect, stat-boosting, and heavy-hitting moves has become popular.

Now, these new strategies are beginning to pop up in the competitive scene, and the builds mixing with the new Paldea species are creating some interesting match-ups. This is especially true for trainers who have Espathra as part of their team.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet player perfects Espathra strategy

In a Twitter post by PKMaster41, the Pokemon Scarlet & Violet player shares a video of a competitive match against another trainer. The text above the video reads, “no way”.

In the video, PKMaster41’s Espathra is going up against a Shiny Falinks. The opponent uses the move “No Retreat”, which sharply increases the user’s Attack, Special Attack, Defense, Special Defense, and Speed, but prevents the Pokemon from fleeing the battle or being recalled by the trainer. Normally, this would be a terrifying wall to get through, but Espathra’s Ability “Opportunist” turns what would have been a potential win into a powerful advantage.

Opportunist, a new Ability added in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, is the signature move of Espathra. It allows the user to copy the stat raises of the opponent. Because Falinks is a Fighting-type, it is already at a disadvantage, and with the use of Opportunist, Espathra can now deliver a super-strong Psychic-type move to knock it out.

Fans in the comments are amazed, with one stating, “Opportunist is kinda an underrated ability. Might use it as a counterpick to Dondozo/Tatsugiri. Is this online?” and another adding, “Opportunist + Mirror herb giving you a x2 the foe’s bonuses is so bullying I love it”. The video is sure to encourage other Pokemon Scarlet & Violet fans to try the strategy out themselves in future battles.