Ex-Pokémon champion believes this powerful mole could dominate the metagame once it escapes Legends: Z-A’s ability restrictions.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A has introduced a host of formidable Mega Evolutions, and one former world champion believes that a particular Pokémon could take the competitive scene by storm in the upcoming game, Pokemon Champions.

The Pokémon in the spotlight is Mega Excadrill, which enhances an already formidable Ground/Steel type with boosts to its attack, speed, and defense. In a recent video, 2016 Pokémon World Championships winner Wolfe “Wolfey” Glick highlighted that this powered-up mole could become a key player for competitive gamers in Pokemon Champions. This new title is a battle-centric experience that serves as a spiritual successor to Pokemon Stadium and will be the new venue for official VGC tournaments, marking a significant shift from the traditional mainline games like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Wolfey points out that regular Excadrill is “one of the best Pokémon of all time” and has a strong track record in competitive play. Its Mega Evolution amplifies its threat level even further, providing a hefty 30-point increase to its base attack (now at 165) and a 15-point boost to its speed, bringing it to 103, which surpasses Garchomp. Anyone familiar with Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, or the Gen 4 remakes knows just how daunting that can be (looking at you, Cynthia).

Additionally, Mega Excadrill gains 40 extra points in defense, making it surprisingly resilient, and it also receives a 15-point increase in special attack, though that’s not particularly beneficial for Excadrill, so no need to stress about that.

However, Mega Excadrill is currently exclusive to Pokemon Legends: Z-A, the first mainline Pokémon game featuring a real-time combat system. This game has made significant changes to the traditional Pokémon formula to accommodate real-time battles, including the removal of standard Pokémon abilities, with a few exceptions like Aegislash’s Stance Change.

In the familiar turn-based battles of the past, abilities have played a crucial role in determining a Pokémon’s viability in competitive play. For instance, Excadrill’s traditional ability, Sand Rush, pairs well with Tyranitar in double battles, as Tyranitar can create a Sandstorm that doubles Excadrill’s speed.

Pokemon Champions will revert to the series’ classic turn-based combat and reintroduce familiar battle mechanics like Mega Evolution, Terastalization, and Z-Moves. This is likely where we’ll discover the abilities of the new Mega Evolutions from Z-A. Wolfey speculates that Mega Excadrill’s competitive success will largely depend on its ability—whether it retains Sand Rush, receives a less favorable ability, or perhaps something even more advantageous. He believes that Mega Excadrill could dominate the metagame in Pokemon Champions.

For now, we’ll have to wait and see—Pokemon Champions is still without a specific release date, only hinted at for 2026. However, its development is exciting not just for competitive players. As Wolfey has suggested, by providing a dedicated space for the competitive scene separate from the main series, Game Freak may have more freedom to enhance the single-player experience in its other titles, which requires different balancing than what’s needed for a thriving competitive environment. As he noted, Champions could “change the way that Pokémon operates forever.”