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The author admits the team's completion isn't high but each slot packs a specific counter, winning on individual power. The centerpiece is an HA Starmie running a Bulk Up set; once it stacks even one boost the payoff is huge, and the unexpected set creates favorable reads only the pilot sees, like Bulking up into an Aegislash King's Shield or straight into a physically defensive Gyarados. AS Lopunny is dedicated to beating Archaludon, Greninja, Hydreigon and Meowscarada. A bulky Sylveon uses Yawn loops for board control and is nearly impossible to OHKO. Archaludon is the check to Mimikyu, Metagross, Gyarados, Starmie and Mawile. A Nasty Plot Substitute Hydreigon counters Skeledirge, Hippowdon, Aegislash and Umbreon, dodging Yawn in front of Hippowdon while keeping its Sub. Garchomp fills the last slot to handle Scovillain, Venusaur, Victreebel and Samurott. The author says the three hardBuild article →

The team is anchored by Mega Starmie, conceived specifically to avoid ever using Hippowdon or Charizard. The author wanted Charizard-level neutral pressure and found physical Mega Starmie delivered that while adding pivot and priority options. Archaludon with Thunder Wave and Stealth Rock supports Starmie and exploits type versatility to force Gengar and Greninja to overcommit. Garchomp uses a Haban Berry with Swords Dance and Rock Tomb for pivot play and damage control against leading Charizard. Mega Heracross was added the day before the last ladder session to crush Mega Lopunny teams, with the option to stay un-Mega-Evolved and activate Guts against Scovillain. Primarina with a Lum Berry and Sleep Talk handles Toxic Spikes and Umbreon poison loops in conjunction with Archaludon paralysis. Snorlax with Leftovers and Thick Fat plus Yawn-Protect cuts Ghost and Ice coverage for the team and funnels Basculegion. The author rates Starmie as one of the best Megas in the format and identifies persistent Mega Lopunny matchups and Stamina Archaludon as the team's two worst matchups.Build article →

After two months in this Mega-on, Tera-off format the author still couldn't make cycle teams click — win rate stuck around 50% — so he committed to a matchup-based offense built around a strong lead. Mega Victreebel trades at least 1-for-1 against most of the popular leads (Lopunny, Charizard, Floette, Garchomp, Gyarados, Meowscarada, Gengar), making it the anchor. Thick Fat Self-Destruct Snorlax follows up to either KO the second mon or blow it up, while Focus Sash Basculegion with Agility cleans up. The last three slots all exist to handle Archaludon: Flapple with G-Max Steelsurge stops Mimikyu and Clefable cold, Sitrus Primarina baits in Hisuian Samurott and Hydreigon when Basculegion is shown, and Mega Delphox dismantles stall. Confessed weak spots: Archaludon itself, Wish Delphox, Baton Pass Floette, Minimize Starmie, and any fast flinch user.Build article →

The team centers on the classic pivot chain of physical Mega Scizor using U-turn into high special attack Wash Rotom, a tactic the author traces back to generation five Latios-Scizor teams. Hippowdon and Garchomp form the base. Mega Scizor runs max Attack and U-turn is non-negotiable; the author regards dropping U-turn from Scizor as fundamentally wrong despite its low recorded usage rate in the format. Wash Rotom with an Oran Berry fires off Volt Switch at near-maximum special attack, uses Will-O-Wisp to neuter Garchomp and Umbreon, and also handles leading Araquanid. Florges provides meditation plus Moonblast plus Synthesis as the complementary Mega when Salandit is not threatened. Choice Scarf Hydreigon slots in last, and the rear U-turn into Choice Specs Draco Meteor landing combination against full-health targets is extremely powerful. The author notes Garchomp's actual team selection rate was surprisingly low and Volcarona remains the biggest structural problem.Build article →

作者M-3赛季就发现皮可西对战面覆盖很广，于是这一期以皮可西为轴搭队。皮可西天然特性+宇宙力量堆起来后几乎无解，怕的花叶蒂、甲贺忍蛙、晶光花、雷丘交给妙蛙花处理，妙蛙花还兼顾撒毒菱和用剧毒逼退月亮伊布、骨纹巨声鳄这类同样天然的对手。皮可西和妙蛙花共同的短板——巨金怪、宝石海星、赛富豪则由甲贺忍蛙补上，水波留着打晶光花。烈咬陆鲨带气势披带+剑舞，专门处理仆刀将军、赛富豪、耿鬼、雷丘这些钢毒电，岩崩兼防火神蛾。铝钢桥龙是队伍的强化跳板，铺隐形岩+龙尾驱赶，还靠魔法反射一炮秒掉首发的妙蛙花、喷火龙、妖火红狐。暴鲤龙专门克雨队，威吓下龙舞压巨沼怪，破罐破摔还能捶巨钳螳螂、钢铠鸦。出场基本是铝钢桥龙+皮可西+第三只，皮可西常常不进化，队里可以打两个Mega。作者自认短板是Mega暴鲤龙（皮可西打不动）、超能艳鸵的光子对撞、大狃拉在不利面前剑舞。Build article →

This is a brief post recording a final rank 128 result. The team combines Garchomp, Basculegion, Volcarona, Clefable, Mega Gengar, and Mega Kangaskhan. The starting problem was unstable win rates against teams featuring Garchomp paired with Umbreon or Corviknight plus Gengar or Florges, which led to trying the SaKKu-style Clefable-Garchomp-Volcarona core. However, as Focus Sash Garchomp became more common, Clefable's move choices became unpredictable. The author switched to a Mystic Water Basculegion leading against Mega opponents and using Wave Crash to knock out at least one threat, opening the field for Garchomp or Volcarona to sweep. The author admits this tactic relies too heavily on luck but noted over a 90% win rate during a stretch, then dropped it afterward. Stamina Archaludon with Mirror Coat, Dragon Pulse, Stealth Rock, and Thunderbolt was consistently the hardest opponent to handle.Build article →

The build starts from a physically defensive Umbreon that the author has drilled endlessly and trusts in any matchup. The biggest headaches in the MB meta are Life Orb Mimikyu and Primarina, which show up on nearly every team, so Toxapex was locked in as the backline pivot that can absorb both, making Umbreon + Toxapex + one of the rest the default lead pattern. Mega Delphox handles hard steels and poisons, uses Protect + Encore early to identify sets, and closes games once things are chipped. Choice Scarf Mimikyu is the MVP, using Trick to shut down walls Umbreon can't break and pin down infinite pokemon. Focus Sash Glimmora stays as a spike/Stealth Rock lead specifically for Hippowdon, Gyarados and Dragonite cores, plus Toxic for Bellibolt. Mega Chesnaught was slotted in last to shore up physical answers to Archaludon, Blastoise and Raichu. The author openly loses to Mega Gengar + Primarina, and struggles vs SD Mega Charizard X, Sub Mega Blastoise and Vivillon.Build article →

This is an upgraded version of last season's Mawile team: he kept the reliable Mawile, Hippowdon, Garchomp, and a Heat Rotom that had felt good to use, then added Meganium to finally handle Water-types and the Garchomp/Corviknight matchup, plus a Focus Sash Aegislash to fill a spare slot and answer Delphox one-on-one. Garchomp swapped an unused Sleep Talk for Poison Jab to break through Grass walls like Meganium while still aiming to outspeed Charizard, Lucario, and Lopunny; Heat Rotom upgraded to Thunderbolt for more power and could treat Umbreon as a free setup chance; Meganium picked up Ancient Power to snipe switch-ins like Charizard and Delphox. He calls Focus Sash Aegislash strong in one-on-one fights and a flexible second Steel-type when Mawile can't come in, but says Focus Sash Basculegion was simply unbeatable and rain Swampert plus Archaludon were still rough, even though this Build article →

The author felt Mega Raichu Y played great among the new M-3 mons, loving how No Guard removes accuracy worries and Zap Cannon lets you push luck, so it became the core. Raichu is shockingly frail after Mega, so it got a Corviknight to absorb physical threats like Garchomp and Meowscarada, and a Snorlax cushion for special ones like Archaludon and Hydreigon. On offense, Garchomp handles matchup pressure and Stealth Rock, Starmie punishes bulky rock-setting Garchomp and is favored into Fire types, and Archaludon rounds it out as a heavy special breaker. Raichu runs Zap Cannon, Focus Blast, Grass Knot for Hippowdon, and Substitute, while Corviknight sweeps late off Bulk Up. The author was thrilled to reach final Champion tier for the first time, though bulky Iron Defense Metagross kept feeding on the team down the stretch.Build article →