📈 Ladder Top Builds

The author started out building a rain team that closed games with Politoed Perish Song, then realised he could just force two knockouts with a surprise line and Perish from there, which led him to Mega Banette — Prankster, 165 Attack, and Destiny Bond in one package. The core play is a priority Swagger on his own Sneasler: with Attack doubled, Close Combat one-shots Life Orb Garchomp and Mega Swampert, Rock Slide kills Mega Charizard, and Throat Chop takes out Basculegion and Gholdengo, with Destiny Bond forcing extra trades until Politoed can Perish the last two. He insists the team is not one-dimensional — Frisk reveals opposing items so his reads get far more accurate, Banette can set Trick Room for Sylveon and Archaludon, and Corviknight simply Iron Defense-stalls out teams once its checks are gone. Swagger missing is both the team's greatest strength and its greatest weakness, and Build article →

Kiyomaro's doubles team starts from the premise that Mega Charizard Y's Heat Wave is the strongest move in the format. Against matchups where sun does nothing (Flash Fire, Drampa, etc.), Mega Florges fills in as sub-ace with Moonblast at equivalent power. Prankster Whimsicott almost guarantees Tailwind so both Mega aces can outspeed and spam strong moves. Scarf Garchomp uses Rock Tomb as the primary answer to Aerodactyl and leads alongside Charizard Y when Whimsicott cannot safely be placed. Basculegion acts as a late-game sweeper, and Kingambit beats opposing Basculegion on the final board. Key EV spreads were calculated precisely around benchmark hits from Orichalcum-boosted Aerodactyl, Mega Starmie's Aqua Break, and Mega Florges' own Moonblast. Against Aerodactyl, the author uses two patterns: if Whimsicott can lead, Charizard Y Protects while Whimsicott sets Tailwind; if not, Charizard Y + Garchomp leads with back-to-back Rock Tombs to slow it down.Build article →

This is a doubles team whose core idea is using Grimmsnarl's Fake Tears to buff both Mega Staraptor and a special attacker at once. Mega Staraptor's Contrary turns stat drops into boosts, so hitting it with Fake Tears actually powers it up, ideal for doubles. Grimmsnarl runs Fake Out, Fake Tears, Parting Shot, and Foul Play: since moves are hidden in ladder, opponents fear screens and hesitate to Protect, letting Fake Out plus Close Combat gain free tempo. Sinistcha heals Staraptor via Parting Shot and carries Trick Room as a counter to Tailwind. Choice Scarf Gholdengo pairs with Fake Tears for fast big hits and covers the Fairy and Basculegion that Staraptor fears. The second Mega is Mega Pyroar, handling Mega Floette, Mega Charizard Y, and Mega Froslass, with Torkoal setting sun for power. He says Fake Out plus Trick Room farmed easy early wins; the biggest weakness is defensive Mega DBuild article →

The author built a doubles tailwind aggro team centered on Mega Florges for Season M-1, finishing 607th (rating 2357). Whimsicott was chosen over Aerodactyl as the tailwind setter because Encore hard-locks opponents who play passively, and Fairy Aura boosts Moonblast on both Whimsicott and Florges. Garchomp rounds out the core to cover the shared Poison/Steel weaknesses, while Basculegion-F handles Ghost-type disruption and Hisuian Arcanine plus Kingambit fill the fire coverage and sweep roles. The author identifies perfect Encore timing as the key skill expression point, and notes that Mega Venusaur remains an unsolved matchup.Build article →

Kiyomaro's doubles team starts from the premise that Mega Charizard Y's Heat Wave is the strongest move in the format. Against matchups where sun does nothing (Flash Fire, Drampa, etc.), Mega Florges fills in as sub-ace with Moonblast at equivalent power. Prankster Whimsicott almost guarantees Tailwind so both Mega aces can outspeed and spam strong moves. Scarf Garchomp uses Rock Tomb as the primary answer to Aerodactyl and leads alongside Charizard Y when Whimsicott cannot safely be placed. Basculegion acts as a late-game sweeper, and Kingambit beats opposing Basculegion on the final board. Key EV spreads were calculated precisely around benchmark hits from Orichalcum-boosted Aerodactyl, Mega Starmie's Aqua Break, and Mega Florges' own Moonblast. Against Aerodactyl, the author uses two patterns: if Whimsicott can lead, Charizard Y Protects while Whimsicott sets Tailwind; if not, Charizard Y + Garchomp leads with back-to-back Rock Tombs to slow it down.Build article →

The author wanted the huge payoff of setup moves without it becoming a coin-flip against the opponent, so he settled on a survival Overqwil running Minimize plus Stockpile, and packed three-plus Prankster mons around it. Lead Meowstic uses Skill Swap to hand Prankster to Overqwil so it sets up first, and the Intimidate that comes back drops the foe's Attack two stages. Backup Prankster Klefki and Sableye then copy the built-up boosts with Me First-style replication to spread out crit-death risk; Sableye Mega-evolves and copies via Foul Play. Klefki closes with Calm Mind plus Stored Power. Life Orb Grimmsnarl answers single threats like Kingambit and Basculegion, and Mega Blastoise is a self-contained Shell Smash backup. He admits the four core mons are too specialized, so matchups that counter them just lose, and he never found a satisfying answer for the last two slots.Build article →

A doubles team centered on Mega Alakazam, built around three ideas: Wide Force under Psychic Terrain for devastating spread damage; maintaining speed control with naturally fast members and Tailwind; and Encore to punish opponents who try to stall out field turns with Protect. Alakazam's low bulk means Armarouge must set Psychic Terrain first while Alakazam comes in on a fainting ally. Armarouge's Focus Sash plus Weak Armor ensures it can act reliably, then immediately contribute offense. Sneasler handles the troublesome Fairy trio, Whimsicott is the only Pokémon in this meta capable of priority Encore and Tailwind-countering Tailwind. Identified weaknesses: no reliable answer to Trick Room or Perish Song. Final result: 690th / 2337.Build article →

A doubles newcomer's fortress team that finished 725th at 2215. The plan: use Mega Audino's Simple Beam to flip Overqwil to the Simple ability, then stack Minimize (four evasion steps) and Stockpile (two Def/Sp. Def each) to build an unbreakable fortress in four turns, after which Mimikyu copies the whole boost pile with Me First-style Copycat and adds Bright Powder evasion to seal the win. Audino also sets Trick Room; Mimikyu (100% pick) copies safely thanks to Disguise and heals with Drain Punch, while Overqwil brings Leftovers, Intimidate and Prankster immunity plus few weaknesses. Leads split by weather: sunny runs Hisuian Zoroark disguised as Overqwil to fake out and disrupt with Rain Dance/Taunt/Will-O-Wisp; rain uses Whimsicott to snap the weather to sun first; sand uses Incineroar for Intimidate and burns. The author says non-Prankster Taunt, Dragon Tail/Whirlwind, teams pairing Build article →

The team centers on the established rain + Archaludon core in doubles, chosen for the Stamina + Electric Terrain Ball combination's proven stability. Sinistcha was added to handle the surge of Mega Staraptor and Mega Swampert while also setting Trick Room when needed; Mega Mawile provides aggressive disruption with Mold Breaker-boosted Sucker Punch and Rock Slide; Aerodactyl counters the Charizard-heavy meta with Tailwind and keeps the rain up. Hisuian Samurott was selected over Gallade for Sacred Sword as the mirror-match answer and synergizes well with rain. The author's weakness assessment: support-oriented teams with Floette and Blastoise are a difficult matchup, and the team carries too many accuracy-reliant moves.Build article →

A doubles team built by a newcomer to the format who finished in the top 775. The strategy is simply to field the strongest Pokémon available: Mega Florges for spread special damage and team selection pressure; Mega Aerodactyl at max speed for Avalanche as a flexible second Mega; Scarf Garchomp for fast coverage; Kingambit and Basculegion in the back as power closers; and Whimsicott for Stealth Rock support and bulk. The author acknowledges EV spreads need refinement, that Whimsicott's matchup decisions were difficult, and that the team ran into trouble against unusual back-row throwing strategies and Mega Garchomp. The plan for next season is to find better counters to niche team archetypes.Build article →

A doubles team built around the Shadow Tag + Perish Song and Rain combination. Mega Gengar uses Shadow Tag to trap opponents and set up the Perish Song countdown with Incineroar's Fake Out support; Politoed extends with a second Perish Song. Archaludon backs up against physical-heavy teams and Steel threats. Vivillon contributes Follow Me to shield allies during the countdown and redirect attacks away from Gengar. The author explains situational deviations needed against lead Kingambit plus Scarf Basculegion. The key strength is forcing Shadow Tag to prevent opponents from changing weather; weaknesses include Aegislash's unexpected presence late in the tournament and the risk of double Protect breaking the Perish Song timing.Build article →