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The team pairs Mega Lucario and Meowscarada as a dual high-pressure lead duo, both capable of revenge killing thanks to priority moves. Primarina fills the cushion role with leftovers, handling physical threats like Garchomp and completely walling Corviknight while providing Aqua Step to establish tempo. Garchomp itself runs Stealth Rock plus Dragon Tail for hazard stacking against stall. Scarf Basculegion handles teams without Normal or Dark types. Mega Charizard Y was added to beat Mega Scovillain and Aegislash. The author describes Primarina as the MVP and stresses that Lucario must switch out of unfavorable matchups immediately. Key weaknesses include max-speed Sneasler, max-speed Mega Starmie, Espathra plus Clefable, Dragon Dance Mega Gyarados with Power Whip and Ice Fang, and Toucannon.Build article →

The team is themed around stacking setups: four of the six members carry setup moves for a sweep-relay strategy. Archaludon leads with leftovers and wins a wide range of first-turn matchups. Mega Lopunny runs Sword Dance plus Mach Punch to outpace and lock down scarf Dark-types. Basculegion uses the Cursed Body item instead of scarf, pairing Agility so one boost beats max-speed scarf Garchomp. Mega Corviknight is the sticky-web countermeasure and can accumulate Sword Dance above faster opponents. Gengar with Focus Sash and Hypnosis provides a wildcard for tough Florges matchups. The author identifies Mega Starmie as the team's hardest matchup with almost no answer, while Archaludon's lead performance exceeded expectations.Build article →

The author loves Charizard and built around Mega Charizard X winning the damage race in one-on-one matchups. They chose X over Y because X's higher Defense lets it combine the Speed to move first with the bulk to eat priority moves without compromise. The moveset is Flare Blitz, Outrage, Flame Charge and Swords Dance: Flame Charge sweeps offense teams with minimal chip, while high power plus Swords Dance forces through physical walls against cycle teams. Mega Gyarados is the complement, its point being to make opponents misread Charizard as the Y form, baiting them to swap a physical wall for a special wall and opening a free turn for a game-ending Swords Dance. The core lead is Sash Garchomp or Primarina for guaranteed action to grab a numbers lead, then Charizard X sweeps. Archaludon plus Primarina forms a defensive type-cycle, and bulky Life Orb Mimikyu covers the Garchomp that CharizBuild article →

Built around Espathra's ability to use Calm Mind then Baton Pass, the team aims to relay boosted stats to either Mega Clefable or Archaludon for a clean sweep. Espathra is tuned to reach +1 Speed and survive two hits with Sitrus Berry. Mega Clefable accepts the pass and sweeps with Moonblast, Psyshock and Moonlight recovery, while Archaludon is an alternative pass target with high special attack. Mega Gyarados covers the steel and fire types Clefable dislikes. Garchomp with Sash sets Stealth Rocks and Sword Dances as a side sweeper. Volcarona with Lum Berry handles Umbreon. The author notes that the biggest unresolved weakness is Aegislash and Scizor with setup moves, which completely shut down Espathra and reduce selectability.Build article →

With Light Clay unbanned, screen-based setup teams spiked, so the author figured Perish Song Gengar—which wins without attacking—had legs and picked it first. Gengar hates Mimikyu, so Leftovers Unaware Clefable comes in behind it; fearing Mega Charizard Y and Volcarona, they added Garchomp. The second Mega needed high stats and raw slugging power, so newly-unbanned Metagross got the nod—but not the usual all-out build. Instead it invests in Defense with Iron Defense plus Substitute so the sub tanks Hippowdon's Earthquake; trial runs showed Iron Defense Metagross was so often the win condition that it became the core. Support is bulky Foul Play Heat Rotom, which trades with Charizard Y and Gengar and absorbs physical threats like Garchomp, Mimikyu and Metagross. Mystic Water Torrent Greninja handles the Aegislash and Gholdengo that Metagross can't hit. The author says the off-meta builds Build article →

The team was developed in collaboration with friends, with the goal of minimizing mid-battle switching by systematizing lead choices and game patterns. Archaludon leads and either attacks or sets rocks, Mega Lopunny with Sword Dance and Mach Punch binds Dark-type scarf users, Basculegion cleans up, and Ceruledge uses Breaking Swipe and Armor Crash to break through. Mimikyu with Lum Berry and Disguise provides an emergency pivot. Mega Florges handles bulky and stall-oriented builds. Garchomp with Lum Berry and Sword Dance counters Corviknight and Toxapex teams. The author reflects that the early-season environment was favorable, but a losing streak after the 13th of the final month prevented a better placement.Build article →

The author built around Mega Charizard X. Sash Hisuian Samurott leads to set Spikes and check Garchomp—once Charizard X gets a Dragon Dance off, Dragon Claw plus Spikes traps every Garchomp variant. Leftovers Sylveon covers matchups Samurott loses, like Lopunny. From there the author searched for fillers to beat "Hippowdon teams Charizard X can't crack" and "matchups where Sylveon can't pivot": Galarian Slowking switches into fairies, Mega Lopunny SD-breaks Hippowdon + Archaludon cores, and Lum Mimikyu SD-Wood Hammer crushes Hippowdon and pressures Mega Gengar/Delphox builds. The plan is Samurott Spikes plus Sylveon Yawn to fish setup turns, then sweep with Charizard X. The author admits the team leans on 90% accuracy and 60% wake rolls, so it rarely steamrolls but is highly repeatable. Archaludon and Skeledirge are flagged as the worst matchups.Build article →

The strategy is straightforward: lead Garchomp every game to set Stealth Rock and wear down the opponent, then sweep with Mega Blastoise using Shell Smash, and use scarf Volcarona or Mimikyu as alternate sweepers. Mega Blastoise is tuned so one Shell Smash puts it above max-speed scarf Basculegion. Scarf Volcarona uses Fire Oath and can power through resisted matchups after a Blaze boost. Mimikyu with Lum Berry substitutes when Volcarona is blocked. Kangaskhan and Skarmory exist purely to manipulate opponent selection and were almost never fielded. The author considers the consistent game pace and zero draws as the team's main strength, and Bastiodon and Arbok as unaddressed weak points.Build article →

The team is built around the author's ten-year partner Umbreon as a fixed cornerstone. Umbreon runs Wish, Foul Play, Protect and Yawn, and was selected in roughly 95 percent of all matches. Mega Gengar handles the fighting and fairy types Umbreon cannot deal with, using Will-O-Wisp, Hex and Shadow Tag to trap and eliminate key threats. Garchomp leads with Sash to win first-turn matchups and generate a numerical advantage feeding into Umbreon's attrition cycle. Trevenant counters fast physical sweepers like Mega Lucario and Mega Lopunny. Mega Florges and Araquanid round out the team as alternate win conditions. The main weakness the author cites is the unavoidable draw rate of around five to ten percent due to Umbreon's passive playstyle.Build article →

The author is a die-hard rain team fan and reused last season's 2500-rated rain skeleton, tweaking it for two pain points. First, Pelipper's bulk was rebalanced so it can survive two Jolly Choice Scarf Garchomp Outrages with a Sitrus Berry. Second, to break the Lopunny + Hippowdon + Archaludon/Dragonite cores that crushed him, he benched Scizor and after trying many "solo sweepers" settled on Wacan Berry Basculegion: Flip Turn pressure plus a one-shot on physically defensive Hippowdon, while baiting opponents into reading his Archaludon as the standard Adaptability Scarf set. The Lopunny + Ceruledge + Basculegion trio is his face-to-face sweep package; against Hippowdon teams he swaps Ceruledge for Archaludon, and against Meowscarada or Hisuian Samurott he keeps Ceruledge instead. He says the strength is "what Basculegion lures in, Archaludon beats," while the weakness is that SD Lopunny is now universally prepped for, so the rain team's sub-Mega slot needs rethinking.Build article →

The team is a water monotype built around Toxapex as the anchor, stalling most special attackers without Substitute or setup moves using Toxic, Recover and Wrap. Mega Slowbro walls physical threats like Garchomp and Gyarados with Iron Defense, Body Press, Scald and Slack Off. Greninja with Sash uses Sludge Wave to hit Fairy types and Mud Shot to cut Archaludon's speed, compensating for Toxapex's coverage gaps. Mega Sharpedo uses Destiny Bond and Protect to force 1-for-1 trades. Mega Gyarados runs Dragon Dance with Mold Breaker for clean sweeps against Multiscale and Levitate users. Hisuian Samurott covers the team's Gengar-Umbreon matchup with Encore and Sacred Sword. The author considers Florges and any Substitute user as near-unbeatable opponents, while Toxapex completely dominates special attackers without setup.Build article →

The author kept last season's lead-matchup core of Glimmora + Lopunny + Basculegion since it was already performing well, and built the rest of the team around supporting that opening trio. Sash Glimmora leads almost every game to set Stealth Rock and Toxic Spikes, chip the opponent, or drop their Speed before handing off to Mega Lopunny and Basculegion. Lopunny moved to a Jolly neutral-speed spread to mirror the rising Lopunny count, running Close Combat, Mach Punch, Fake Out, and Giga Impact. Basculegion holds Mystic Water — even fully physically defensive Hippowdon gets rolled by Wave Crash — and can bluff Scarf to force switches. Scarf Alolan Ninetales covers Dragonite, Vivillon, rain, and Archaludon, and survives Jolly Basculegion's Curse. Mimikyu uses Toxic Spikes + Protect to grind games out, with max Attack for rolls on Lopunny and Garchomp. Mega Charizard Y is the secondary Mega, slotted in specifically against Iron Defense Corviknight, Ceruledge, and bulky Archaludon. The author admits Toxapex cycle teams and Archaludon that gets a free defense boost are nearly unwinnable matchups.Build article →

The author built this team around two concepts: maximizing lead pressure and hard-countering Garchomp. Mega Charizard Y was picked as the centerpiece for its insane selection pressure, with Overheat in the slot so that Archaludon and Hippowdon — two common Stealth Rock setters — actually get blown up trying to lead, leaving only Garchomp and Glimmora as real rock threats. Hippowdon is the team's only true switch-in, laying Rocks and spamming Yawn, which synergizes nicely with SD Mimikyu and SD Mega Scizor. Focus Sash Gengar with Icy Wind is the dedicated answer to lead Garchomp, while Scarf Greninja covers a huge range and importantly hits Archaludon with special moves, which the author prefers over Meowscarada. Mega Scizor is the backup ace, handling Garchomp and Glimmora. The author admits the team is almost pure matchup-pressure with no real defensive cycle outside Hippowdon, and that their own piloting still needs work.Build article →