Since Gen 6 of Pokemon, Steel-type have become rather useful when battling against Fairy-type Pokemon. Sword/Shield introduced two new Steel-type Pokemon: Cufant and Copperajah. Although the elephant Pokemon make their return in Gen 9's Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet, but trainers may be wondering if they're worth having in their main team.
Unlike its predecessor, Scarlet & Violet do not have Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing, meaning Copperajah loses some of the uniqueness it had in Sword/Shield. Despite this, it seems the Cufant-line has yet to receive any changes to its base stats. Meaning that Sword/Shield players that made room for it on their Galar Team, won't have to worry about potential nerfs for these Steel-type Pokemon in Paldea.
Cufant's Habitat
As a Steel-type, Cufant can be found in mining areas such as East Province (Area 3), north of Levincia City. However, Cufant can also be found with Copperajah in some of the North Province areas as well, albeit at a higher level. The Cufants in East Province (Area 3) should be around level 24. They usually travel in hordes, so players should have no trouble catching them.
While it's easy to spot Cufant as soon as players step into the mines of East Province (Area 3), they can try getting to Zapapico (where players can get the armor for evolving Charcadet). To the east of Zapapico, there's a giant crater. Trainers are bound to find a group of Cufant around this crater regardless of the time of day.
Alternatively, Cufant will appear in 2-Star Tera Raids at level 20. Unlike wild Cufant, a Raid Cufant will have its typing based on its Tera Typing. Meaning players could potentially face off against a Cufant that's a Psychic, Fire, etc Type instead of Steel-type. 2-Star Raids are nowhere near as challenging as 5-Star Raids, so players shouldn't have to worry about having a good Tera Raid Build. Just bring a Pokemon to counter Cufant's Tera Typing.
Evolving Cufant & Catching Copperajah
Cufant will evolve into Copperajah at level 34. If Scarlet/Violet players are worried about disobedience, they can make sure they have 3-4 gym badges before elevating Cufant's level via battling or Exp. Candies. Once Cufant evolves, it will learn the Steel-type move Heavy Slam. This is a Physical move that calculates damage based on Copperajah's weight and the opponent's. The more Copperajah outweighs the opponent, the more damage Heavy Slam will inflict.
If players want to catch Copperajah, they can find it in the following areas:
- Glaseado Mountain
- Dalizapa Passage
- North Province (Area 1, 2, 3))
- Casseroya Lake
With a base stat total of 500, Copperajah has great HP and Attack, but poor stats in just about everything else:
Stat | Base no. | Total |
|---|---|---|
HP | 122 | 500 |
Attack | 130 | |
Special Attack | 80 | |
Defense | 69 | |
Special Defense | 69 | |
Speed | 30 |
Copperajah's Steel-typing makes it useful against (most) Fairy, Rock, and Ice-type Pokemon. Unfortunately, thanks to its poor Defense, Special Defense, and Speed, Copperajah doesn't make a good wall. It can easily be taken out when pitted against a Pokemon that has the Type advantage. However, Copperajah can learn moves such as Play Rough and High Horsepower, which means it can combat Dragon-type and its own Type weaknesses, Fire, Fighting, and Ground-type.
Trainers intent on using Copperajah should make sure it has an Adamant Nature (+Attk, -Sp. Attk). Copperajah's Special Attack is overall useless and its learnset is composed of Physical Moves.
Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet are available for Nintendo Switch.