The Paldea region is filled with challenging battles and interesting new Pokemon. When getting through the early game of Pokémon Violet and Scarlet, you’re going to run into some figurative and literal walls in Gym battles. One such wall is the trap battle with Kofu. I call it a trap because new players might not be prepared to face a combo and moveset like the one that Kofu uses. The way to beat Kofu is to bring strong counters in your team, allowing their Type advantages to shine.
Veluza in Pokémon Violet and Scarlet is a Water/Psychic type, so you need to bring a team that offers good counters to that. Most players would assume that Electric or Grass are good options for the Water weakness, which is normally not bad. The one issue with this approach is that there are some rather potent and dangerous moves that Veluza can bring out. Here are the types that Veluza in Pokémon Violet and Scarlet is weak to.
- Electric – 2x Weakness
- Grass – 2x Weakness
- Bug – 2x Weakness
- Ghost – 2x Weakness
- Dark – 2x Weakness
The monster normally has a move setup of Slash, Psycho Cut, Aqua Cutter, and Dark Slash.
Depending on the ability that you’re going against, this combo can be even more potent. Kofu, the third Gym Leader, has a Veluza in Pokémon Violet and Scarlet with Mold Breaker, allowing them to bypass several other defensive options brought against it. Mold Breaker is a Pokemon Ability that eliminates the effects of many other Abilities which negate damage or side effects of moves. For example, if one Pokemon has Levitate and another has Mold Breaker, the Pokemon with Mold Breaker can use a Ground-type attack to hit the Pokemon with Levitate.
Early in the game, there are a few options to take down Kofu. I personally used a Jumpluff and Ampharos combo by using Bullet Seed and Sleep Powder to set up the switch to Amphoros, then finishing each battle with Ampharos. You could use any combo that allows you to Paralyze or Sleep Kofu’s Pokemon, then finish them off.
A strong Dark-type Pokémon that also isn’t weak to Water is a good option, probably the best if you want to be able to tank their moves. A good Grass type can do well if you’re going up against Kofu, which is the first Gym Leader who has this Pokémon.
