📈 Ladder Top Builds

The author starts from the observation that Champions' shallow item pool makes Garchomp extremely common, so a Focus Sash Garchomp serves as both the Stealth Rock setter and the Garchomp answer, with Dragon Tail giving an edge in the mirror. Since the format now ends in draws instead of the old timer rules, Mega Gengar becomes the main Mega — Shadow Tag closes games once it lands safely. Kingambit with Black Glasses handles ghost/psychic spam like Mimikyu, Skeledirge and Aegislash via Sucker Punch. To bring Gengar in cleanly, Primarina absorbs grass/electric hits and uses Sparkling Aria + Aqua Jet to chip Barbaracle, while Corviknight blanks ground-types and stalls losing games into draws with Roost. A second Mega slot goes to Delphox, whose Magical Flame + Nasty Plot punishes opposing steel Megas and Kangaskhan cores. The author's main weakness is Mega Mawile's Swords Dance Megaton Kick and a general lack of electric coverage.Build article →

The team builds on the author's previous Bellibolt + Mega Starmie + Hydreigon core, but needed answers to Archaludon and Scarf Meowscarada, which led to Gardevoir. With Gengar and Mega Lopunny popular, Mega Aerodactyl was chosen as a fresh Mega sweeper. Gardevoir runs Pixie Plate + Trace, copying Archaludon's Sturdy to survive Flash Cannon, then KOing with Moonblast + Vacuum Wave; Substitute baits Hippowdon's Yawn and Stealth Rock and even cracks stall cores. Mega Aerodactyl (Tough Claws, Adamant) cleans with Dual Wingbeat / Earthquake / Ice Fang / Dragon Dance after Hippowdon and Bellibolt set up favorable matchups. Bellibolt is the physically bulky cushion linking everything via Volt Switch. Weaknesses: Gardevoir has no answer to Mega Gengar, Mega Blastoise, Mega Charizard, Aegislash, Glimmora, Ceruledge, and Sylveon-type Fairy spam, with Floette being especially annoying.Build article →

The author rebuilt the Gen 7 Hippowdon/Garchomp/Aegislash/Greninja core for this format, with a rule of avoiding any inaccurate moves—only Dragonite's Air Slash slips through. Mega Greninja is the MVP: outspeeds Mega Lopunny, picks a move pre-Mega via Protean, then evolves on the predicted switch to fire the right STAB. Because Floette and Dragonite are also on the team, opponents rarely read Greninja as the Mega, giving it huge deception. Hippowdon handles physical attackers and often sweeps games alone after Greninja or Meowscarada flop. Mega Dragonite is the team's only Fire move, mandatory vs. Scizor, and at max Speed creeps Vivillon and Adamant Garchomp. Aegislash tanks special hits, though Close Combat loses to Calm Mind fairies and Iron Head got destroyed by Torrent Greninja in tests. Scarf Adamant Meowscarada keeps offensive pressure, and Mega Floette runs Psychic over Draining Kiss after drawing three straight games against Umbreon and Gengar.Build article →

The author wanted a cycle-style team and settled on Hippowdon + Gholdengo + Mega Dragonite as the core — clean type synergy and the kind of pivot game they're comfortable with. Since that trio gets bullied by Basculegion and Starmie, Scarf Meowscarada was added as the answer, then Primarina to break Hippowdon/Umbreon walls, and finally Mega Lopunny for the last slot because they wanted a fast, lead-pressure breaker. Hippowdon is the physically defensive Stealth Rock setter the author calls one of the strongest regular mons, fitting into almost every matchup. Gholdengo runs an HD spread with Leftovers + King's Shield to cycle against Primarina and Floette under sand. Mega Dragonite swapped Flamethrower for Thunderbolt to handle Primarina and non-Mega Gyarados, and is the team's only Mega Charizard Y check. Meowscarada is max Speed specifically to bully Jolly Meowscarada mirrors with U-turn, and the author calls it the MVP. Tough matchups listed: Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Clefable, paralysis/Taunt bulky Goodra, Mega Delphox, and DD+SD Garchomp.Build article →

The author refined Harachan's Scovillain/Quirky-ability core: Scovillain sweeps off paralyzed foes while Mega Gyarados and Mega Clefable serve as two Mega aces, and Glimmora sets Stealth Rock as a starting platform. Heading into M2 he swapped Dragapult for a Light Ball Fling Meowscarada, giving him a reliable opening lead that paralyzes and spreads Toxic Spikes while also handling opposing Archaludon. Clefable wins games off one free Cosmic Power but must time its Mega carefully since it loses Unaware. Gyarados runs Jolly Waterfall/Earthquake/Dragon Dance with Power Whip for Primarina, Blastoise, opposing Gyarados and Basculegion. The author admits the team is effectively only five Pokémon—the sixth slot, a shiny Simipour, is purely decorative. Scovillain has racked up 100+ sweeps and feels surprisingly stable, but ties stealing wins are the biggest pain point.Build article →

The build starts from a Modest Mega Dragonite with Extreme Speed, paired with a Jolly Choice Scarf Garchomp so both hard hitters can outspeed the field. A bulky Archaludon (final version is Bold HB) holds Light Clay-style duties with Stealth Rock, Roar and Mirror Coat to absorb Meowscarada and Mega Starmie. Mimikyu with Pixie Plate and Curse covers opposing Garchomp, Baton Pass teams and Clefable. The core selection is Mega Dragonite + Scarf Garchomp + Mimikyu just overpowering opponents face-to-face, while Mystic Water Adaptability Basculegion one-shots Hippowdon teams. On the final day the author swapped Mega Lopunny for a Sub + Nasty Plot + Overheat + Psyshock Mega Delphox, which patched up matchups against Florges, Umbreon, Gengar and Hippowdon + Archaludon. The author admits the team isn't clean: Scarf Meowscarada and Triple Axel Lopunny are still rough and often had to be muscled through.Build article →

The author wanted a team whose game plan isn't obvious at team preview and that doesn't lean too hard on the easily-countered Mega slot, so he built around two axes the opponent can't immediately read: Moody Scovillain and a Trick Room sweep from Basculegion. Scovillain pairs with a bulky Sash Zoroark that scouts with Icy Wind and uses Illusion to fake Mega pressure, setting up Substitute+Protect Moody turns. Basculegion teams with Mimikyu, who uses Disguise to guarantee Trick Room, then the Mystic Water Adaptability Last Respects breaks everything. Megas Lopunny and Floette are the lead matchup pieces, mainly to chip one Pokémon and pressure the Dark-types that threaten Basculegion. He rates the unpredictability of his lead combinations as the team's biggest strength, with Sub+Protect even stealing draws from lost games. Weak points: Delphox crushes both Megas and locks Scovillain with Encore, Toxapex spreads Toxic Spikes and erases Moody boosts with Haze, and Quick Claw Tyranitar is just an unlucky loss.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 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 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 →

The author's previous ladder team stopped working late in the season, so he borrowed Tamingyas's skeleton and filled in the spreads himself. The concept is a setup-relay built around two high-power cores: Garchomp and Mega Gyarados, using Meowscarada (the matchup the cores hate most) as fuel for the back line. Garchomp runs Adamant Focus Sash and goes first almost every game—Adamant lets two Earthquakes punch through Sitrus Stamina Archaludon, and Thunder Fang replaces Fire Fang specifically to handle Gyarados, the team's biggest weakness. Mega Gyarados then Dragon Dances over whatever Garchomp traded with; its Water/Dark typing lets it eat a priority hit after setting up. Mimikyu carries Fairy Feather with Swords Dance + Curse to muscle through walls and RNG abusers, while Scizor and Volcarona patch coverage holes and Mega Floette is pure selection pressure (0% pick rate). Hardest matchups: Meowscarada, Power Whip Gyarados, lead Hippowdon and Thunder Punch Lopunny.Build article →

The author copied a HB Palafin team he saw on YouTube and just slotted in his beloved Hisuian Goodra. The core trio of Palafin + Goodra + Mega Clefable carried almost every game. Palafin (Leftovers) leads, forces a switch, then comes back to stack Bulk Up; against Hippowdon it Substitutes through Yawn and pressures concessions. Choice Scarf Hisuian Goodra (max Speed) outpaces things like Mega Gengar and Mega Alakazam, fires off Draco Meteor as a general STAB, Thunderbolt for Primarina and Archaludon, and Fire Blast for Lucario and Scizor. Mega Clefable sponges physical attackers Goodra can't, runs enough Speed to outpace Mega Lopunny, and uses Thunder Wave plus Encore to enable Palafin's setup. Gengar's role is to suicide-trade against Palafin's hard counters like Primarina, Venusaur and Meganium, and its mere presence warps the opponent's lead. Garchomp and Kingambit were mostly bait to lure Hippowdon; the author admits the back two slots were under-tuned and Fairies remain a weak point.Build article →

作者上期玩受队成绩不理想，这期决定继续打磨受队，重点是先解决耿鬼、钢铠鸦、河马兽、铝钢桥龙这几个一直让他被迫和棋或认输的对手。思路从"怎么针对Mega耿鬼"出发：先用讲究围巾的洗翠大剑鬼克耿鬼，再配上带替身的Mega大竺葵承接回转，大竺葵能给耿鬼背后的钢铠鸦、烈咬陆鲨、河马兽、西狮海壬、月亮伊布全部施压，还能留着替身。班基拉斯专门接对手脑抽用Mega耿鬼超特攻大剑鬼的情况，顺便靠隐形岩对喷火龙、妖火红狐打循环。物理面和特殊面不够则补盔甲鸟（铁壁+挑发+健美鸟身+鸟栖）和超坏星（毒毒+毒菱+黑雾+自我再生），最后加伽勒尔呆呆王收尾。作者自评核心打法是大剑鬼回转接大竺葵，对耿鬼队胜率很高；盔甲鸟靠挑发可以完全废掉霸王花、河马兽、月亮伊布，但对幽灵无力。班基拉斯属于赌博位，怕役割破坏技、还得赌岩石爆破命中，但不能拿掉。整体对铝钢桥龙依旧没办法，作者直接放弃这条线。Build article →