ZA's biggest threat is a Long Lost Gen 1 Pokemon

Pokemon Legends: ZA is receiving a new trailer for its Mega Dimension DLC shortly, and it's already revealed five new Mega Evolutions as well as the expansion's main gameplay loop. Even before the release of the hyped DLC, however, you may have more content to tackle in-game if you haven't completed all the side missions or 15 challenger ticket battles for Infinite ZA Royale (or even 20 for an extra, special side mission). Critters like Pokemon Legends: ZA's Zygarde, Xerneas, and Yveltal are all available after the main story ends, but now they can also be used in ranked battles as of Season 3. As powerful as they are, a new threat washes them all away.

Fighting in Pokemon Legends: ZA is very different from what the series has offered so far, as the turn-based combat always revolved around speed levels, strategies to get slow Pokemon to go first, or moves like Tailwind to make fast mons even faster. But the speed is not that important Pokemon Legends: ZAunless you specifically want an animal to have faster cooldowns. This is a marginal advantage in the current meta, so naturally bulky Pokemon can be much better than the competition, which is why Vaporeon is such a powerful tidal wave now.

pokemon-legends-za-za-new-mega-evolutions-zeraora-heatran-darkrai-datamining-leak-rooms-confirmed-official-mega-stones-dlc-base-game-types-appearance-design

Family

It's official: Say hello to Pokemon Legends: ZA's new Mega Darkrai and Heatran

Pokemon Legends: ZA has 26 confirmed new Mega Evolutions, but dataminers have already found a new Mega for both Darkrai and Heatran.

Vaporeon is practically unbeatable in Pokemon Legends: ZA

With that in mind Pokemon Legends: ZA makes Pikachu OP and competitive, it's no wonder an underdog like Vaporeon can shine. However, you may have underestimated how much it can really carry in your ranked battles. There are a few reasons why Vaporeon is OP in Pokemon Legends: ZAand they are as follows:

Vaporeon has access to Calm Mind, which improves Special Attack and Special Defense stats. Personally, I run a 252 HP, 100 Defense, 156 Sp. Attack, modest nature Vaporeon with expert belt to be bulky against physical attackers, and it works wonders with Surf, Hydro Pump and Ice Beam as offensive moves.
Pokemon Legends: ZAThe best Dragon types are over ranked battles, and Garchomp or Zygarde are basically guaranteed to show up in at least one team per match. Unless they're running bulky sets or items like Focus Sash, a boosted Vaporeon will hit them with Ice Beam even without STAB.
The format is filled to the width with Pokemon Legends: ZA's Charizard, Excadrill, Yveltal, Delphox, Chandelure, Dragonite, Stunfish and Hippowdon. These are all very powerful, but they will mostly be one shot of Vaporeon with Surf, Hydro Pump, or Ice Beam if Calm Mind is up.
- Most players use a standard 252 HP, 252 Attack, or Special Attack set for their Pokemon, which means they often lack bulk. This allows Calm Mind-buffed Plus Moves in Pokemon Legends: ZA to one-shot almost anything.
Vaporeon is only weak to grass and electric, while resisting steel, fire, water, and ice.
The biggest threats to Vaporeon are:
- Ampharos – It's a bulky Pokémon with access to Light Screen, and many players use Magnet with Thunderbolt on it, which can one-shot Vaporeon or take it down to low HP.
- Glaceon – It has access to Freeze-Dry, which can deal massive damage to Vaporeon if buffed by Calm Mind and items like Life Orb or Never-Melt Ice, if not one-shot it.
- Metagross – It resists Ice, it's quite fast and bulky, it has very high attack, and it has access to Thunder Punch, which means Vaporeon can be in trouble against Metagross. A properly timed Heavy Slam will also avoid all of Vaporeon's attacks.
- Pikachu – While it will one-shot a power-up Vaporeon due to its low stats, it can also one-shot in return with a Charge up while holding Light Ball and using Volt Tackle.
- Xerneas – If boosted by Geomancy, and it uses Thunderbolt/Thunder, Xerneas can one-shot Vaporeon, depending on its item, or take it down to low HP.

Grass types in Pokemon Legends: ZA's ranked battles aren't very common, and even then they're weak to Ice Beam. For example, the new Mega Chesnaught is quite bulky, but it will still be one shot from a Calm Mind boosted Vaporeon using Ice Beam.

Why Vaporeon can win you any match in Pokemon Legends: ZA

pokemon-fan-art-designs-shellder-eeveelution

All of these reasons make Vaporeon one of the very best Pokémon to use in Pokemon Legends: ZAas it can counter most of the meta. On top of that, Pokemon like Skarmory, Gyarados, and Mega Feraligatr, which are very powerful physical attackers and quite common, can still have a tough match-up against Vaporeon if it's buffed with Calm Mind and attacks first. I have a size S shiny Vaporeon that I use all the time, and whether it's the size or the fact that not many players know how powerful it is, I can easily snip opponents across the map.