Many Pokémon naysayers claim that the series is too family-friendly, too child-orientated. While it’s true that the franchise is full to the gills with bright, cartoonish visuals and lovable creatures, there’s a lot of hidden depth here. Competitive Pokémon battling is a surprisingly intricate concept.

One of the many wrinkles that adds more strategy to battles is the fact that each Pokémon has an Ability, a passive or active effect that gives them an advantage in battle. Some are powerful enough to make a Pokémon relevant on their own (Ninetales was completely overlooked before it was given Drought, which automatically sets up the sun). Speed Boost, which sees a Pokémon gain a +1 to its Speed stat at the end of every turn, is probably among the most effective (along with the likes of Intimidate). Let’s take a look at some of the best and worst Pokémon with access to this ability.

10 Yanma

Yanma is probably the most harmless-looking of all Pokémon that can use this ability. Sure, a 3’11” dragonfly-esque creature is going to give you a bit of a start if it comes flying in your window of an evening, but in the Pokémon world, Yanma is small fry.

It’s the pre-evolution of Yanmega, evolving from level 33 onwards when levelling up while it knows Ancient Power. It’s super frail, and really does want to evolve as soon as possible to gain a boast to its offenses.

9 Carvanha

Speaking of super frail, Carvanha absolutely takes the cake in that regard. Its base Defense and Special Defense stats stand at a feeble 20. For some context, Snorlax is faster (base 30 Speed) than Carvanha is defensive!

So, yes, we’re at the bottom of the barrel here. Carvanha does have an advantage over Yanma in the power department, however. Its base 90 Attack is definitely impressive for an unevolved Pokémon, While its Hidden Ability Speed Boost patches up its mediocre Speed. Don’t underestimate this tiny little threat in the Little Cup metagame.

8 Whirlipede

Whirlipede is one of the more unusual Speed Boost users. It’s the second form of Venipede, a Bug/Poison line that is actually pretty darn threatening for a Bug/Poison line. However, Whirlipede itself doesn’t seem quite sure what it wants to do.

As is the case with Metapod, Kakuna, Pupitar and the like, Whirlipede is the middle-stage transformation evolution. As a result, its stats are based around its defense (they’re still darn low, but its defences are less low). Speed isn’t much of a concern for it, so its Hidden Ability Speed Boost is kind of redundant. Just wait until it evolves, though!

7 Torchic

Little Cup is a fascinating and refreshing metagame in which players use level 5 Pokémon in absolutely adorable battles. You wouldn’t think that a level 5 Torchic could ever really be considered overpowered, but competitive community Smogon once banned the little chicken from the meta.

It’s no so much the ability itself, but the fact that Torchic also has access to Baton Pass (allowing it to passively give those boosts to a teammate). As a result, it’s probably the best base form Pokémon with Speed Boost.

6 Combusken

Coming in right in the middle of the list, we have Torchic’s first evolution, Combusken. As you’d expect, it has much the same role as its prior form, only… well, it can function in tiers other than Little Cup without being crushed into sad, soggy heaps of salty defeat.

On paper, Combusken isn’t anything particularly impressive, with usable-yet-lackluster stats across the board. However, its access to Speed Boost, Swords Dance and Baton Pass allow it to power through teams itself or switch to an ally and allow them to do so. All in all, we’re keeping Combusken right in the middle of the rankings, because it can do some amazing things but needs a lot of setup to do so.

5 Yanmega

Next up, we have Yanma’s evolved form, Yanmega. Presumably, the ‘mega’ in its name refers to the fact that it’s now a six-foot-long dragonfly-esque creature (6’03”, to be precise), which is reason enough to absolutely never ever open your windows. Ever.

The thing about Yanmega is, it’s an all-round decent offensive Pokémon. It can’t really tank hits (and its Bug/Flying typing doesn’t help either), but it has the Special Attack and movepool to get the job done relatively well. Speed Boost is a nice bonus for a decent lower-tier team pick, but there are better users of the Ability.

4 Ninjask

Ninjask may not be a Pokémon you see tearing up the competitive scene, but it’s quite underrated, with great utility and just the right amount of offence to really pull off some impressive things. A great Pokémon? Well, no. An outright bad one? Absolutely not.

Ninjask takes the fourth position, because it doesn’t get much use out of Speed Boost itself. With base 160 Speed, it’s already one of the fastest Pokémon in the entire franchise (Megas included). Nevertheless, it also boasts Speed Boost, Swords Dance and Baton Pass, so can perform all the devastating plays that Combusken and the like can.

3 Scolipede

As we’ve seen, Whirlipede is a Pokémon that just doesn’t suit Speed Boost. Regardless, though, all bets are off in that regard once it evolves into Scolipede.

As a Speed Boost user, Scolipede boasts a lot of the same traits as Ninjask. It can pass those boosts off to an ally if it finds itself in trouble, or it can continue to punch holes itself according to the situation. It (arguably) has a slight edge over Ninjask there, though. It has better defences and power, while its Speed is at just the right level (base 112) to take advantage of Speed Boost itself.

2 Sharpedo

Finally, we have two Pokémon that perfectly embody the ‘hit hard and snowball very quickly’ spirit of Speed Boost. The Water/Dark-type Sharpedo is the evolved form of Carvanha and ranks among the most iconic and frightening glass cannons in the series.

Speed Boost is a perfect fit for Sharpedo. The strategy is simple: use Protect to gain that first boost, then attack away with strong Water STAB/Dark STAB moves and solid coverage. Sharpedo also gains bonus points for being able to segue into a Mega Evolution after that initial boost (though Megas are effectively disappearing as of Pokémon Sword and Shield’s release), gaining the powerful offensive Ability Strong Jaw while retaining the boosted Speed. It’s simple and effective, though not quite as much so as with the Pokémon in our number one spot.

1 Blaziken/Mega Blaziken

Ah, yes. The very last word in powerful Speed Boost Pokémon, it’s Blaziken. Once a fairly run-of-the-mill Fire/Fighting starter Pokémon, this belligerent blazing battling bird has been troublesome since its Hidden Ability was released.

Speed Boost Blaziken (its Mega Evolution has the same Ability) has been a popular powerhouse in the meta in recent years (where it’s been permitted). Its stats themselves are nothing special, but its access to such strong STAB Moves as Flare Blitz and High Jump Kick means that it tends to hit much harder than you may expect. Couple this with the fact that it will soon outspeed everything on your team and you’ve got a real monster on your hands. With Talonflame’s infamous Gale Wings nerfed, there often isn’t a whole lot you can do to stop it.

NEXT: Pokémon: The 10 Best Fire Moves, Ranked