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The author loves Trick Room and built around Malamar as the setter. Its Contrary plus Superpower punishes Kingambit, Prankster tricks miss it, and with no Bug users around its only real weakness is Fairy. The core has Maushold using its multi-hit signature move and Follow Me to sneak surprise KOs, then Mega Mawile and Malamar sweep under Trick Room with a Focus Sash Basculegion as closer. To patch weaknesses to rain, Staraptor, and Pyroar-Torkoal, the author added Mr. Rime: Freeze-Dry OHKOs Pelipper and Mega Swampert, Ice Spinner ignores screens to drop Staraptor, and it can Charm to pump Malamar. Life Orb Kommo-o rounds it out against Pyroar and rain. The author admits stray Bug moves from Annihilape or Vivillon can catch them off guard.Build article →

The author built this doubles team around Overqwil as an evasion sweeper, since it is the only mon that learns Minimize, does not fear Kingambit, and can pile on evasion with Toxic Spikes. Audino sets Trick Room and uses Simple Beam so Overqwil only needs three Stockpiles to max its defenses, while Whimsicott (Memento/Taunt/Will-O-Wisp) and Zoroark cover leads like Vivillon and Follow Me users. Once Overqwil stacks Minimize and Swords Dance under Trick Room, Malamar copies it with Psycho Shift-style Topsy-Turvy to spread crit risk and shut down Intimidate. The author says the worst matchup is Shell Smash Blastoise plus Sneasler, so Chandelure runs a Life Orb Grass Knot set as insurance; Sacred Sword users like Basculegion and Aegislash are nearly unwinnable, but the team beats top builds like BIG6 and Aerodactyl-Kingambit at a high rate.Build article →

The author's main team was a 2280-rated Maushold-Floette build, but when it stalled out he swapped to this Pelipper-Grimmsnarl squad on the last day and went roughly 10-3 to reach Champion rank. Floette stayed because it holds its own on bulk and speed and pressures selection just by existing. Metagross pairs great with Pelipper and Grimmsnarl, cleaning up when opponents skew toward Floette, and its Poison typing was well valued. Grimmsnarl inherited the roles of Kingambit and Maushold, snagging kills with Sucker Punch off Whimsicott and Basculegion, and the screens make opponents overextend. The author calls Basculegion the strongest, with a monstrous Aqua Jet, and ran it every game. Pelipper is HS-based to answer Kingambit, and Helping Hand is a godsend among all the priority. He notes Aerodactyl was actually weak, while Hippowdon surprised him, and wants to compete higher next time.Build article →

Mikankan built this VGC team for beginners around an offensive Mega Staraptor, aiming to swap as little as possible and grab easy wins into certain archetypes. Whimsicott partners it with Charm to boost its Attack, Tailwind for speed, and Encore to disrupt, while Staraptor uses Contrary Close Combat to gain bulk as it attacks. The general slots are Life Orb Garchomp for Earthquake coverage and Scarf Basculegion as the closer, the four making up the standard team. The last two cover weaknesses: a Weak Armor Mega Skarmory with Rock Tomb crushes Whimsicott-plus-Charizard cores, and a Prankster Charm Meowstic (swapped in over the Roar Sylveon) shuts down Trick Room and status gimmicks. The author cites Trick Room, Follow Me, incoming Will-O-Wisp or Spore, and faster special attackers as the team's headaches. Basculegion's Grave Rush closes games, Normal and Ghost typing covering each other nBuild article →

The author is a dedicated Absol fan who brings it to every doubles match, finishing season M-B M-3 at rank 312 (rating 2353) with a 70% win rate and a 16-game win streak on the final day. The core gameplan is to set Trick Room via Farigiraf or Mimikyu, then use Sack Punch to boost Absol to Attack+4, sweeping with Rock Slide, Sucker Punch, and Close Combat. Mega Camerupt serves as a powerful secondary attacker under Trick Room, while Basculegion (Focus Sash, 100% usage) cleans up with Aqua Jet. The lead order of Absol, Mega Camerupt, and Mega Kangaskhan is designed to make opponents misread which Pokemon hold the Mega Stones. Main weaknesses are Grimmsnarl's screens stalling out Absol, and Yache Berry Kingambit being difficult to reliably remove.Build article →

The team was built around Mega Kangaskhan in doubles, aiming to win through raw damage-race strength rather than passive play. Annihilape with Choice Scarf covers the widest range of matchups and shuts down Incineroar's Intimidate via Defiant; Ceruledge uses Flash Fire to absorb fire moves from Mega Charizard Y and similar threats, then explodes with Poltergeist and Shadow Sneak behind a Focus Sash — the author calls it the team's first MVP. Aegislash was added late to replace Maushold, intentionally overlapping roles with multiple teammates to reduce losses from focused KOs, and became the second MVP. The author's self-assessed weaknesses are that Choice Scarf Annihilape was harder to pilot than expected due to lock-in, Froslass felt lacking in both firepower and bulk, and the peak rating of 2340 slipped before the final finish at 351st.Build article →