Since getting really into Pokémon Champions, I’ve gained a new appreciation for a lot of monsters I didn’t pay much mind to in the RPGs, and now that the battle simulator has received its first major update, I have a new op: Mega Staraptor. After years of never worrying about it, the bird scares me, and every time I see the fighting/flying-type ‘mon I’m ready to send out my Mega Raichu X to bring a lightning storm down upon it and its Starly descendants like the god of thunder himself.
Staraptor got a Mega Evolution in Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Mega Dimension DLC, which means that, until this morning when it joined the Champions roster, the transformation didn’t have an Ability (a passive perk that adds more to a Pokémon’s playstyle than their elemental affinities and movesets), as this mechanic is omitted from the Legends games. Sometimes an ability can be a kind of nothing-burger footnote on a Pokémon’s resume, but in the case of others like Mega Staraptor, it can turn a good Pokémon into an absolute menace.
The new contrary bird genuinely scares me pic.twitter.com/AKxobcLPX8
— Yisuno ⚝ | SKARM BELIEVER (@TheYisusOne) June 17, 2026
Mega Staraptor gets Contrary, which reverses stat buffs and debuffs. This means that if Staraptor is on the receiving end of an attack that should lower its stats, it will instead be treated to a nice boost. This is good for reacting to some incoming attacks and abilities, but if you really lean into it, Contrary can turn some moves that are typically risky or come with a major drawback into the beginning of a loop of constant upgrades. Mega Staraptor drops its base form’s normal/flying typing in favor of fighting/flying, and that means that Close Combat, a high-powered, highly accurate fighting attack, does extra damage when Mega Staraptor uses it. The move had already been kind of a staple in the bird’s moveset, but the attack’s unbridled strength also comes with the cost of dropping the user’s defense and special defense. With Contrary, Mega Staraptor is free to drop these attacks and instead of becoming more frail, it becomes more resilient.
Mega Staraptor is absolutely broken. It can one-shot a Chople Berry Kingambit. 💀
This thing is diabolical. Easily top tier in this regulation. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/SqGTFtNgdF— Light (@Light_88_) June 17, 2026
That’s bad enough, but earlier today I was playing a round of doubles and my opponent was using Mega Staraptor and Incineroar, an infamous support monster capable of whittling away at its opponents’ attack stats through its Intimidate ability which activates when it enters the battle, and its Parting Shot attack that lets it withdraw from the fight while dampening its target’s attack and special attack stats. I was still figuring out how to deal with Mega Staraptor, as this was my first time battling one since Champions added it, when my opponent used Parting Shot. I rolled my eyes because one of my Pokémon was about to take a damage hit…only for the motherfucker to use it on their Mega Staraptor instead of one of my Pokémon, activating Contrary, and boosting its attack. By this point, it had already gotten off a couple of Close Combats and had become a wall, and now it was about to hit harder?
Mega Staraptor gaming is too tuff pic.twitter.com/NIvyfot1Hd
— K2Slayyy (@K2Slayyy_) June 17, 2026
Jail. Jail for the bird. I will not let these Mega Staraptors scare me away from ranked play. My Mega Raichu X will be waiting in the wings with a Rising Voltage the second I see so much as a brown feather.
