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Otake's cycle team wears the opponent down with chip damage while pushing an ace through, and pressures picks at team preview to bait bad selections. He built around low-weakness, high-bulk cores: leftovers Hisuian Goodra as the special wall, weak only to Ground and Fighting (types with few strong special moves), so it plays like a wall with no real weakness, and its 600-stat base lets it fight back physically against Calm Mind sweepers. Sitrus Hippowdon is the physical wall, laying Stealth Rock and pairing with Dragon Tail to break things. Mega Blastoise is the ace; it usually fears Primarina, but Goodra dominates Primarina, so he cycles with others to open a lane. Late-added Mega Meganium baits fire types and locks with Encore; Toxapex spreads Toxic Spikes on Primarina and Meowscarada. He admits Choice Scarf Gholdengo had poor synergy and the lowest usage, barely seeing play.Build article →

The author wanted to use new Mega Metagross and figured Charizard was its best Mega partner. Testing showed Mega Charizard X handles Archaludon while Y handles stall cycles, and since Archaludon is top-tier, he went with Y and cracked stall with other mons. Charizard fears Garchomp and Stealth Rock, both of which Primarina counters, so he ran a bulky Primarina to eat Garchomp's Earthquake, added Hippowdon as a strong partner, and Mimikyu for matchup coverage. Of these five, Metagross is fastest but still gets outsped by Greninja, Staraptor, Starmie, and Dragon Dance Mega Gyarados, so he added Choice Scarf Meowscarada as a stopper that also picks off fast frail mons. Hippowdon runs Protect over Stealth Rock to stop Yawn being broken by Quick Turn or U-turn; Metagross has wide coverage, using Bullet Punch priority and Thunder Punch on Corviknight. He finished 70th, making top 100 three seaBuild article →

Kagemiya wanted to run Mega Mawile but got stuck around 1800, so he went back to last season's team and rode it to 71st. It's almost unchanged: Gengar swapped to Will-O-Wisp plus Pain Split to better beat Alolan Ninetales and Sitrus Garchomp, and Rotom swapped to Umbreon to check Hydreigon-Metagross and Gyarados. Mega Lopunny's Fake Out plus Giga Impact forcing a numbers lead is unique, but with Metagross, Mawile, and Alolan Ninetales more common its usage dropped. Basculegion shines in a Hippowdon meta and hard-counters Blaziken (which both Lopunny and Gengar fear), so it went out constantly. Umbreon switched to Toxic plus Moonlight for instant recovery, pressuring Sazan-Cross plus Primarina; late-season Umbreon mirrors were survivable thanks to that instant heal. He rates the build as having too many hard counters, screens, Baton Pass, Fighting-move Metagross, the Greninja-Mimikyu-MawiBuild article →

Ksun built around his favorite Basculegion, borrowing a top-cut Archaludon plus Mimikyu plus Basculegion shell and adding the strong offensive Mega Blastoise as a fourth core. While laddering he found five gaps: a fast mon, a setup move that breaks walls, a way to cut Dark-type spam (mainly Hydreigon), a stopper for Mimikyu-resistant sweepers like Mega Gyarados, and something to beat a last Mimikyu. So he added Mega Delphox to break walls with Nasty Plot plus Substitute and check Gengar, Meganium, Metagross, Staraptor, and Alolan Ninetales, plus Focus Sash Metal Burst Kingambit to cover Mega Gyarados and random threats. Archaludon holds White Herb so Draco Meteor keeps its power even when resisted, and can punch through Hippowdon while keeping Sturdy; Mimikyu runs Life Orb offensively with its disguise as a stopper. He admits Bellibolt cycle and Umbreon are rough, and among Megas he fearBuild article →

The author wanted an electric-water high-power cycling team, starting from Life Orb Mega Raichu Y and Basculegion. Since Basculegion struggles against Mimikyu and Garchomp, they added a fully bulky Leftovers Hippowdon to lock down Garchomp, then Primarina to avoid getting blown up by a single Hydreigon Dark Pulse. Mega Charizard X handles bulky Garchomp, stall, and gimmick teams, while the last slot went from Corviknight to Orthworm on a friend's suggestion after Corviknight couldn't deal with heavy threats. The plan is Volt Switch off Metagross or Greninja to chip and reposition Raichu into Electro Cannon range, while lead Basculegion wrecks Mega Delphox or Mega Starmie cycle openers before they get read. The author admits the team leans heavily on prediction and matchup luck, and struggles hard against grass types plus Whirlwind Hippowdon, Garchomp, and Meowscarada.Build article →

The core is Leftovers Aegislash: last season the author's Hippowdon kept getting its plan wrecked by Doom Desire Aegislash, and they judged that easy-win potential without losing versatility was strong enough to build around. Hippowdon serves as the switch-in and even baits opposing Hippowdon swaps in the mirror via Yawn. Mega Dragonite was added for its 700 BST bulk, power, and mid-speed control, then Choice Scarf Meowscarada for speed and to check Garchomp and water types. To handle heavy Mega Lopunny and break Umbreon, Mega Blaziken with Earthquake came in, also punching through Skeledirge. As a last-day gamble, Iron Defense Mega Skarmory was added to cover ice-hitting Metagross and Gyarados. The author calls Aegislash the MVP, with Doom Desire hitting like a Blood Moon in this meta. Weaknesses are stall (especially Slowbro) and skilled Sylveon, and three Megas with no real fairy answBuild article →

The author built around Mega Sceptile, a long-loved favorite newly unlocked this season. Sceptile is frail and loses trades to Scarfers, so a switch-in was essential: Leftovers Protect Hippowdon tanks random threats, chips with Earthquake and sand, and opens paths via Yawn. Sitrus Berry bulky Archaludon was added to set Stealth Rock and check Meowscarada. Since Sceptile can't be brought against Corviknight, Scizor, or Meganium, the main Mega slot went to Will-O-Wisp/Encore Mega Delphox, which fits into almost any matchup. Rounding out: Chesto Berry Calm Mind Primarina to break Hippowdon, Umbreon, and Delphox, plus Black Glasses Swords Dance/Sucker Punch Kingambit as a sweeper. The author praises the support Delphox for its wide coverage and high usage, and calls Archaludon absurdly tanky, setting rocks while breaking foes head-on. Weak spots are Mega Raichu Y (Sceptile often can't be senBuild article →

Kashiwa hit rank 81 in singles with a classic Hippowdon plus Greninja-or-Gengar core, and the whole point was to dodge the endgame counter-teaming that buries popular squads by picking something strong but under-used. Mega Gengar traps with Shadow Tag alongside Mega Greninja, while Hippowdon is the near-100% pick that anchors everything. He added Knock Off just to beat Life Orb Mimikyu, which was breaking the old Hippowdon-Gengar shell. Archaludon and Meowscarada lead to set Stealth Rock and Spikes, and Mega Blaziken is basically a bluff piece. He rates Hippowdon as still under-prepared for and thus busted, with Hydreigon and Delphox as the tough new-format matchups.Build article →

Kameleon anchored around an Iron Defense plus Body Press Metagross to reach rank 84, briefly hitting 4th on the last day. The core is HB Iron Defense Metagross with High Speed to outspeed and pick off faster special Megas, paired with defensive Garchomp that lays Stealth Rock and Spikes so a +2 Body Press one-shots bulky Garchomp and 80%-rolls Delphox. Max-speed Choice Scarf Hisuian Samurott revenge-kills special Megas from above while also spreading Spikes for extra pressure. Sash Gengar, Primarina, and Corviknight round it out for offense, defensive cycling, and a Mega-Gengar bluff. He says opponents rarely play around the setup so it farms easy wins, but the members can feel undersized and he leans on smart lead choices; shaky-accuracy moves are the weak point.Build article →

Chabomatsu took a Scizor-based matchup team to rank 85 in the ladder division at 2478. His goal was reproducibility, winning with the same selection every game, so the core is a lead of Sash Garchomp plus an ace plus Life Orb Mimikyu, used in about 90% of games. He runs two Mega slots: Mega Scizor and a second Mega, with Greninja especially strong into type-walls like Hippowdon, letting him lock in the base selection. The rest is Mega Charizard Y for breaking stall and an Alolan Ninetales bluff, which paired next to Garchomp tricks opponents into reading a Sitrus set. He grades the build 95/100; the missing 5 is that he must throw shaky-accuracy moves every game and bad luck can spiral into loss. His worst matchups are Mega Lucario and Kingambit.Build article →

Yukurusu built an offense-meets-setup Metagross team to rank 87 in singles. The axis is Iron Defense Body Press Metagross, but uniquely also carrying Agility: Iron Defense breaks bulky walls like Umbreon and Hippowdon, while Agility flips speed on faster special threats like Hydreigon, Greninja, and Charizard and then removes them with Body Press. Its partner is Sash Whimsicott running Moonblast, Endeavor, Encore and Tailwind, strong into Hippowdon and Garchomp and turning the Choice poison/ice/steel moves aimed at it into free setup turns for Metagross. Mega Delphox packs Hypnosis to steal losing games, and Hisuian Samurott, Aegislash and Sturdy Archaludon cover leads and Spikes. He says Hydreigon-Metagross and standard teams are stable, but Dragonite-plus-Aegislash, Skeledirge, and Clefable are rough, and crits are a constant fear.Build article →

The author built a face-off team tuned for the mobile client, so matches finish fast instead of dragging into 20-minute stall cycles during a commute. The core is Mimikyu setting Trick Room with Basculegion as the huge-damage Trick Room sweeper, plus Mega Mawile as a second Trick Room attacker to cover what Basculegion struggles with. Garchomp with a Focus Sash leads to scout the opponent and drop Stealth Rock; Mega Meganium chews through bulky physical walls and covers Charizard, while a Taunt Hydreigon shuts down Vileplume-based stall. The author notes that as ranking climbs Mimikyu becomes common and Basculegion is harder to push as a sweeper, but it still works as a face-off and breaker, so the run hinges on whether Trick Room gets set up.Build article →

The author has run Hydreigon plus Metagross since Gen 7, so with Mega Metagross back this season they rebuilt the pair and finished KR #1 at rank 91 overall. The core is Metagross and Hydreigon covering each other in a cycle, backed by a fully bulky Primarina that eats physical hits and uses Flip Turn to fight momentum plays and Yawn loops. An Adaptability, Aqua Jet Basculegion puts out enormous raw damage, pressuring the opponent's cycle and wrecking slow teams, which the author calls the real MVP. The closer is Vanilluxe, which sweeps when Ice moves are running through everything and survives a Life Orb Mimikyu plus two boosts; Mega Lopunny cleans up after Swords Dance. The author admits the team has no Ground type so Bellibolt-style threats are rough, and being a recovery-less offensive cycle makes it fairly hard to pilot.Build article →

The author is a pure meta-team player who anchored on Mamoswine plus Starmie plus Scizor this season, finishing rank 92 for a second straight double-digit result. Mamoswine leads to set Stealth Rock and uses its Ground/Ice coverage to pressure lead Glimmora, Garchomp and Archaludon, while Endeavor plus priority lets it turn bad matchups around. Scizor is the physical and Fairy wall, strong against Mimikyu, Meowscarada and non-Body-Press Metagross, and uses U-turn and Knock Off to fight Umbreon and Hippowdon's Yawn loops. The real engine is Huge Power Mega Starmie, whose Liquidation hits harder than Garchomp's Outrage. A Choice Scarf Hydreigon exists to answer Bodypress Metagross and serve as a third U-turn pivot; Glimmora's Corrosion poisons Corviknight and Toxapex to break stall and also checks Dragonite and Mega Charizard Y; Gallade handles Umbreon, Archaludon and the Primarina that coBuild article →

The author is a die-hard Sceptile fan and anchored the team on it the moment it unlocked, finishing rank 93. To push Mega Sceptile through, they run a physically-and-specially-bulky Hippowdon for Stealth Rock and Yawn, plus a Flame Body Bulk-Up Ceruledge to cover Sceptile's problems like Floette, Mega Charizard Y, Corviknight and Scizor; Ceruledge also takes Sceptile's Baton Pass off Substitute and sweeps after boosting. The second Mega slot is Mega Scovillain, specifically to cover the Steel types and Mimikyu that Sceptile can't beat in a straight face-off. Scovillain plus Primarina pressures the Hydreigon-Metagross and Alolan Ninetales-Garchomp teams that were popular early to mid season. The last slot switched from a Curse Mimikyu to a Scope Lens Archaludon that answers Calm Mind Clefable, and is versatile enough to also handle slowed Mega Dragonite. The author notes Sceptile still loBuild article →