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CHORI finished 535th in the Global Challenge (20 wins, 1 loss) and 144th in Champions M-1 at rating 2502, using a tailwind-based Mega Blastoise team. The plan is simply to set tailwind, then blast everything with rain-boosted Surf. Talonflame sets tailwind first turn; Mega Blastoise's Fake Out — uncommon for this combination — catches opponents off-guard and stops Garchomp and Aerodactyl from using Rock Slide. Mega Florges handles rain teams and Meganium, both threats to Dragonite. Sneasler with White Herb and the Unburden ability maintains sustained offensive pressure and is particularly effective disrupting Trick Room with Taunt. Kingambit sweeps with its Commander ability snowballing late in games. Basculegion holds Focus Sash, using Requiem and Aqua Jet to clean up after tailwind expires. The team struggles against Baton Berry Whimsicott with a Garchomp partner, and Feint users that bypass protect.Build article →

The author finished 148th in Champions M-1 doubles at rating 2501, running a Baton Pass Espathra strategy almost unheard of in doubles. Espathra's Speed Boost raises its speed every turn up to six stages; stacked with Calm Mind, it then passes all of Speed, Special Attack, and Special Defense to a back sweeper, creating a nearly unstoppable late-game threat. Double battles rarely have room for Roar, Dragon Tail, or Encore — the counters to Baton Pass in singles — giving this strategy natural protection. Sneasler holds Focus Sash to Fake Out-protect turn one and Coach the Espathra, activating Unburden for faster Baton Pass sequences. Mega Charizard Y is the primary receiver, with HP and Defense investment plus Roost for durability; post-pass it hits everything with high-powered Heat Wave. Archaludon holds Leftovers and runs Thunderbolt and Protect, becoming an unkillable wall after the Baton Pass. Sylveon with Choice Specs handles Kingambit and dragon-types. Incineroar provides Intimidate and Fake Out support for non-pass lineups. Weaknesses are Mega Gengar Perish Song and inconsistency against direct attacking teams.Build article →

The author finished 149th in M-A Season 1 doubles at 2501 rating with an offbeat Mega Pinsir and Anger Point Tauros (Paldea Water) combination. The key mechanism: Mega Pinsir uses Rototiller — a guaranteed critical hit move — on teammate Tauros to activate the Anger Point ability, maxing Tauros's Attack, followed by an Earthquake that sweeps the whole field. Mega Pinsir's evolution adds a Flying type, making it immune to partner's Earthquake, and Feint on Pinsir breaks opponent Protect or Wide Guard to ensure the Earthquake lands cleanly. Talonflame sets tailwind first and then intentionally gets knocked out — weakened by Brave Bird's recoil lowering its own Defense so Vanilluxe's Self-Destruct finishes it, clearing the field. Vanilluxe holds Silk Scarf and uses Self-Destruct to blast away leads, plus Icicle Spear to pierce Focus Sashes across three hits. Farigiraf and Mega Blastoise are brought against tailwind and trick room teams, with Farigiraf using Imprison to seal the opponent's Trick Room. Main weaknesses are the opening rock-paper-scissors against tailwind teams, and Mega Gengar Perish Song requiring the Blastoise line.Build article →

Built around the simple but devastating Shell Smash + Hydro Pump combo of Mega Blastoise, the team pairs it with Choice Scarf Vivillon: Sleep Powder plus Fake Out puts both opponents to sleep before Shell Smash is used, and a +2 full-HP Hydro Pump from Mega Blastoise typically wins the game from there. Vanilluxe covers the Grass/Water/Dragon weaknesses and neutralizes the sun weather that would weaken Hydro Pump; Tsareena provides priority protection and uses Fling with the King's Rock to guarantee two Hydro Pump hits against Trick Room setters and Grass-types. The last two slots go to Mega Garchomp for power and Orthworm for Fairy matchups and tail support. The author acknowledges that the Sleep Powder strategy is predictable and high-bulk special Fairy-types remain a structural weakness.Build article →

The author originally planned a Sylveon plus Mega Venusaur plus Basculegion team but was repeatedly crushed by Avalanche users and Mega Charizard's Weather Ball, mistakenly treated May 11 as the final day, and withdrew early. After recognizing the core strength of Mystic Water Basculegion, the author borrowed Naaku's qualifier-winning team for practice. Archaludon is identified as a bug-level threat and the team's primary backbone; Basculegion provides the sharpest offensive edge. Skarmory beats Talonflame-class threats faster than Dragonite can while still one-shotting them. Sylveon tanks nearly any hit through the Oran Berry and uses Hyper Voice plus Yawn to force switches. Sableye is versatile in both lead and revenge roles. Mega Venusaur handles rain and Trick Room. A proposed improvement is giving Basculegion Adaptability with a rain-calling move for dual Charizard matchups. The author rates Archaludon and Basculegion as tier-S and tier-A respectively.Build article →

The author reached rank 212 in Doubles Season M-1 by combining harsh-sunlight and Trick Room into a single team, reasoning that as a less-experienced player they needed a lineup they could pilot mechanically. The core lead is Torkoal + Venusaur, with Aerodactyl and Incineroar in the back, targeting the prevalent Charizard-Y / Florges standard archetype at roughly an 80% win rate. Torkoal's Heat Wave is the engine; Venusaur's Sleep Powder buys extra turns, Mega Aerodactyl flinches with Rock Slide at 46.7%, and Incineroar manages Intimidate and weather turns. The Trick Room route features Farigiraf and Mega Crabominable. The author's philosophy is that over enough ladder games probabilities converge, so accuracy-reliant moves like Sleep Powder and Heat Wave are always worth pressing. Weaknesses include rain teams and opponents skilled at wasting weather turns.Build article →

The author built around using the officially distributed Ash's Charizard, reaching rank 213 in Doubles Season M-1. The main lead is Lopunny + Sylveon, with Scarfless-Basculegion holding a Choice Band and Clawitzer in the back as sweepers. Sylveon's Hyper Voice spreads damage to soften up targets for Basculegion's Aqua Step or the priority Last Respects. Charizard is tuned for Trick Room, and Farigiraf provides Trick Room support. The author notes that Archaludon's guaranteed follow-up action paired with Basculegion gave a sense of reliability similar to a Gyarados-plus-Rotom core. Weaknesses included misidentifying which move to lock Archaludon into and unstable matchups against Florges and Vivillon teams.Build article →

The author compiled three Doubles team iterations covering the Global Challenge, PJCS Qualifier, and Season M-1 Ranked in one post, eventually reaching rank 230 in the ladder. The Global Challenge core was Mega Froslass + Sneasler + Basculegion + Kingambit, where Blizzard freeze chances and Taunt were key tools; after a 28-8 run and PJCS qualification, the author reflected that Sneasler was vulnerable to Psychic moves and Mega Aerodactyl was too fast to handle, leading to adding Mega Dragonite for the Qualifier to cover Blastoise, high-bulk Steel types, and Trick Room. The Qualifier ended 12-8 and the author narrowly missed through. For the final Ranked push, the lineup became Mega Froslass + Sneasler + Mega Dragonite + Basculegion + Kingambit + Choice Scarf Hydreigon, with core leads of Sneasler + Mega Dragonite backed by Basculegion + Kingambit. Dragonite's Multiscale and coverage handled Blastoise, steel tanks, and Trick Room threats; three priority moves across the back row created wide tactical options. The author went 18-3 from the 2200s straight to Champion rank.Build article →

The team is built around Mega Froslass paired with Garchomp, Weavile, Basculegion, Kingambit, and Snorlax. The author rebuilt a known team from a fellow player, adding a Leftovers+Yawn Snorlax that most tier lists ignore or rank bottom — personally rated B-tier for its ability to sponge non-Fighting moves, deflect threats with Yawn, and set the pace behind screens. Mega Froslass sets dual screens and pressures with its Levitate form; Scarf Garchomp opens with Rock Blast to slow targets for sweepers; Weavile runs max speed for mirror priority; Basculegion is the unconditional faith pick for Tomb attack; Kingambit is tuned to survive Fighting hits from Snorlax. The main weakness acknowledged: noticing Incineroar and Venusaur were trouble but leaving them unaddressed, which ultimately cost the author a qualification run.Build article →

Tetspond ran a Doubles tailwind-and-explosion Anger Point team, finishing 261st at 2475 in Season M-1. The core sequence is: Whimsicott sets Tailwind while Garganacl uses Self-Destruct, then Mega Pinsir and Water Tera Tauros come in. Mega Pinsir's Rototiller (100 accuracy, low power, guaranteed critical) triggers Tauros's Anger Point, boosting Attack to +6, after which Tauros sweeps with Earthquake and Rock Slide. Mega Pinsir's Flying type gives Earthquake immunity, and its Feint breaks through Protect while its Aerilate ability makes Feint hit Ghost types. After Tailwind expires, Pinsir cleans with Giga Impact and Tauros with Aqua Jet. Whimsicott holds Mental Herb against Taunt; Clear Body Garganacl ignores Intimidate and has enough Attack to OHKO Whimsicott at full power. Farigiraf and Camerupt occupy the top two preview slots to project a Trick Room appearance. The author identifies Rock Slide accuracy as the team's main weakness, attributing roughly 40% of late-season losses to misses.Build article →

Tatsubei's first team report covers a Doubles Reflect/Light Screen + Archaludon + Basculegion build that reached 265th at Champion rank. Inspired by Cybertron's Sableye + Archaludon screens video mid-season, the team evolved by replacing Mega Dragonite with Mega Florges, which handled Mega Blastoise and mirror matchups more reliably. The final version features: Mega Florges with Drain Kiss and Ruinous Light under screens for sustained healing; Mega Charizard Y as a weather-flipping answer to Rain teams, also threatening Basculegion with Solar Beam; Archaludon with Leftovers using Electro Beam freely once screens are up, its Stamina ability punishing Rock Slides; rain-sweeper Basculegion (Swift Swim, Mystic Water) capable of punching through walls with Wave Crash; Pelipper with Rain Dance to counter back-line Charizard Y's sunlight; and Sableye holding Oran Berry for HP miscalculations, eventually switching from Encore to Fake Out. The author noted that without Sinistcha as backup, Archaludon is a finite resource that must be managed carefully, and experienced opponents were increasingly adept at playing around the screens.Build article →

The team is built around Mega Dragonite as a rain-dance-plus-tailwind setter, using the argument that mid-speed threats dominate the meta and Mega Dragonite's bulk plus Roost lets it set tailwind multiple times rather than just once. The core game plan is farming Charizard matchups (estimated 80%+ win rate below 2300) while aiming for 50% against everything else. Pelipper and Archaludon provide rain-amplified damage (Weather Ball and Electro Beam); Sneasler uses Sash plus Poison Touch to pressure Fairy-types; Aegislash drops Shadow Sneak for Iron Head specifically to pressure Florges; Heliolisk handles special-heavy and Blastoise matchups via Glare to neutralize opposing special attackers. Weak points include Froslass teams (30-40% win rate), and Medicham-backed Snorlax is acknowledged as near unwinnable.Build article →

The team is built around Mega Gengar plus Gravity, motivated by the discovery that a Modest full-Special-Attack Gengar's Focus Blast OHKOs HP-invested Kingambit. Sableye sets Gravity using its own Prankster to cancel opposing Prankster, then uses Encore or Bind to immobilize a target while Mega Gengar locks it down with Shadow Tag. Maushold's Population Bomb becomes a guaranteed hit under Gravity and specifically handles Florges and Sylveon lines. Archaludon was added to counter Mega Blastoise; Pelipper supports Archaludon in rain; Basculegion cleans up in the mid-to-late game, made safer by Hypnosis or Bind support. The author identifies clear weaknesses: Farigiraf shuts down Sableye, Choice Scarf Hydreigon one-shots Gengar, Garchomp's Rough Skin punishes Maushold's Population Bomb, and Life Orb Basculegion used from turn one is essentially unkillable.Build article →

A doubles team built around tailwind offense that can operate from above rather than being buried by Rock Slide flinches. The author initially ran Mega Aerodactyl, but mirror matches and counters like Sneasler fake-out, Scarf Garchomp's Rock Tomb, and Whimsicott Encore forced a change to Whimsicott as the primary tailwind setter. The final core of Whimsicott, Glimmora, Mega Charizard Y, Garchomp, Kingambit, and Mega Florges reached 394th place at Rating 2414. Whimsicott survives and resets tailwind turns with Protect; Glimmora runs Focus Sash max Speed to threaten Fire/Fairy types; Garchomp uses White Herb to power up Scale Shot without lasting stat loss. The author's main self-criticism is that Scale Shot's poor accuracy made Garchomp unreliable — Dragon Claw would be the cleaner fix.Build article →

A doubles team built around an Sneasler + Mega Dragonite lead executing Fake Out + Tailwind to deny Aerodactyl's Rock Slide leads. Sneasler runs max Speed with Focus Sash (not White Herb), with Feint added to prevent opponent Protect from wasting Tailwind turns. Mega Dragonite is specially invested with Modest nature — it changes type on Mega Evolution — and uses ExtremeSpeed to finish off chip-damaged opponents after Feint. Hisuian Samurott with Lum Berry uses its signature hazard-spreading move freely since priority cuts can't negate it. Kingambit runs min Speed for Trick Room opposition. Scarf Garchomp covers Mega Florges. Mega Charizard Y provides a second Mega presence in team preview. Final result was 416th at Rating 2408; the author acknowledges building what amounts to 'doubles-flavored singles' and wants to study actual doubles fundamentals.Build article →