Meowstic in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC Regulation H: Best build, strategies, and more

Meowstic in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC may be one of the more unexpected picks in the metagame at the moment. With its male and female variants offering drastically different stats, abilities, and movesets, deciding which form to take may be difficult for new players.

However, most trainers will find that the species' male variant can offer much more in a modern team composition compared to the female variant. As such, this guide focuses on male Meowstic and how it can be used in the VGC's Regulation H.

Note: Some aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's opinions

Why use Meowstic in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC

Male Meowstic is a valuable asset thanks to its Prankster ability (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The male version of Meowstic sees more play in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC, thanks to its hidden ability, Prankster. This ability gives priority to all of the creature's status moves, allowing it to move first in the turn order. The Pocket Monster also gains access to Fake Out, a priority-damaging move that flinches the target.

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Male Meowstic has access to enough status moves for both debuffing the opponent and enhancing its teammates. It is also the only Prankster user with access to Skill Swap, a status move that trades its ability with the target.

Best strategies for Meowstic in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC

Meowstic fits well into any team in need of status coverage. It works well at shutting down offensive carries with access to Charm, Thunder Wave, Reflect, and Quick Guard.

With access to both screens and the ability to give its overpowered Prankster ability to a teammate with Skill Swap, Meowstic is one of the most adaptable supports in the current metagame.

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However, the Pocket Monster tends to perform poorly in terms of offensive power. As such, it pairs well with a powerful teammate that can hit both opponents with spread moves.

For this reason, Meowstic pairs incredibly with Gholdengo, Primarina, and Tyranitar. Given the amount of ways it can be built, its optimal held item differs drastically between strategies as well.

Best build for Meowstic in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC

Meowstic is primarily used for support, so it is not uncommon for many builds to take no high-damage moves at all (Image via The Pokemon Company)

While there are many ways players can build their Meowstic in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC, here is a blueprint for a composition that provides an adequate balance of offensive and defensive support:

Nature: Calm (+Special Defense, - Attack)
Tera Type: Dark
Held Item: Eject Button, Light Clay
Effort Values: 252 HP, 68 Defense, 188 Special Defense
Moves: Reflect, Light Screen, Thunder Wave, Fake Out

This build allows Meowstic to make great use of its Prankster ability through both supporting allies and debuffing opponents. The Dark Tera Typing can help protect it from dehabilitating status moves from other Prankster users.

The Eject Button can be taken for safer switches, allowing for more uses of Fake Out. Meanwhile, the Light Clay item extends the duration of Meowstic's Light Screen and Reflect.

Counters to Meowstic in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC

The biggest counter to Meowstic is Farigiraf. Its Armor Tail ability downright prevents all priority moves from being used against it and its allies.

This is a huge problem since all of Meowstic's moves have priority. If Meowstic opens to Farigiraf in battle, it should be swapped out immediately.