📈 Ladder Top Builds

The author expanded last season's Archaludon plus Banette core by adding Swampert, letting four mons form two complete cores. One is Banette plus Archaludon plus Pelipper: Banette trades one-for-one so Archaludon can handle various Megas, with Pelipper backing up Archaludon. The other is a Swampert rain core, where Swampert is a Ground rain sweeper that Archaludon can't easily wall. Both cores struggle against Alolan Ninetales, so the third Mega slot is Greninja as a safety valve, also pressuring Garchomp and Delphox. Finally, Kleavor fills the Focus Sash role, laying Stealth Rock to discourage Fire types and pressuring the opponent's own Sash lead. Archaludon runs a wide-coverage, Sitrus special-bulk build, and now often leads since Swampert joined. The author says selection and play are harder than last season: think it through and you win, but sloppy play tanks your rating fast.Build article →

The author hit Champion rank for the first time (final 151st, 2434) with a double-wall core: Mega Slowbro soaks physical hits, Hisui Goodra takes special ones, and four hard hitters clean up. Slowbro's Shell Armor blocks crits while White Herb Goodra uses Acid Spray to break walls, making the two a complementary backbone. Choice Scarf Staraptor is the fast sweeper, its Reckless one-shotting Charizard Y and Delphox; Primarina answers Hydreigon plus Metagross cores; Mamoswine sets Stealth Rock and hunts Dragonite; Mega Gengar patches the Fairy weakness. The author flags Charizard Y, Ceruledge, and especially non-Scarf item Basculegion as the hardest matchups.Build article →

The author built around the newly added Mega Mawile (final 152nd, 2434), an offense-leaning team. Huge Power Mawile spamming Play Rough is the star, backed by Mimikyu for Trick Room setup and matchup control, and Hippowdon as a cushion that sets Stealth Rock and clicks Yawn. Mega Delphox is the second Mega for wall breaking and games where Mawile can't be brought, its bulk letting it tank a hit and revenge Mega Blaziken, Mega Venusaur, and Metagross. Choice Scarf Hydreigon covers Mawile's typing and targets Mega Metagross; a Sash special Meowscarada spreads Toxic Spikes and baits Charizard or Archaludon leads for the kill. The author notes Primarina alone squeezes their team choices, and late Mega Gyarados plus Mega Meowstic are rough.Build article →

A Pokemon UNITE pro built around Palafin, their SV-era partner, and climbed 400 points in a day (final 155th, 2433). The core is Palafin plus Mega Dragonite, backed by Bellibolt as a special wall and pivot that uses Soak from above Hippowdon. Choice Scarf Palafin with Zero to Hero leads roughly 90% of the time, chipping with Wave Crash and Flip Turn before sweeping. Special Mega Dragonite runs both Flamethrower and Thunderbolt plus Hurricane to smash Mega Venusaur and Mega Staraptor. Vanilluxe brings snow and Taunt to counter Garchomp, Meowscarada, and stall; Hippowdon cushions with Stealth Rock and Yawn; Mega Sceptile targets Mega Starmie. The author calls Meowscarada, Mega Floette, and Baton Pass teams the toughest.Build article →

The author anchored on the veteran Glimmora + Umbreon pair and crammed four Megas in to reach 157th (2432). The idea: keep the core on two non-Megas so the game plan stays stable no matter which Mega you swap in, and four Mega options beat the opponent's usual two in the selection mind game. Sash Glimmora sets Stealth Rock and attacks, while Umbreon backstops with Wish plus Foul Play cycling. Each Mega has a job: Mega Gengar's Shadow Tag walls Primarina, Clefable, and Floette; Mega Gyarados uses Taunt to break stall and beat Delphox; Mega Meganium runs Substitute and Synthesis, going undefeated versus Mawile; Mega Metagross adds a Psychic answer. The author admits the biggest flaw is that three of four Megas lose to Delphox, and Starmie should have been added earlier to cover Blaziken.Build article →

A newcomer who started on the Champions platform reached 158th (2432) with an Espathra all-hands lineup. Roughly 80% of games ran Espathra, Mega Greninja, and Mimikyu: Espathra chips with Lumina Crash while dropping Special Defense, Greninja's wide coverage and Protean STAB extends the damage, and Mimikyu's Disguise sweeps the leftovers. Sash Espathra accelerates and crushes the Hydreigon + Metagross core; Greninja capitalizes on the Sp. Def drop from Lumina Crash, with timing the Mega and when to reset its type via Protean being the key skill; Life Orb Mimikyu leans on Disguise for matchup wins. Bench options include Mega Blaziken to deter Mega Gyarados and Kingambit, Vivillon for selection pressure, and Archaludon versus Kingambit. The author flags Mega Gyarados, Kingambit, and Volt Switch Bellibolt as the hardest to deal with.Build article →

The author climbed to a final 2432, rank 161 with a home-built single matchup team led by Mega Delphox, whose post-Mega Speed lets it check most of the new Mega threats. Will-O-Wisp is the key: since boosts add rather than multiply, burning off an opponent's big first boost lets Delphox tank comfortably, and Taunt shuts down setup. Annihilape walls physical attackers and can Bulk Up into a wincon against defensive teams, while Kingambit is the MVP, timing Sucker Punch and outspeeding even Clefable. Vanilluxe looks like support but hits hard enough that even resisted Blizzard-Ice Shard chunks foes, scaring off rain. Garchomp with Roseli Berry handles Fairies, and Gyarados serves as the backup Mega, using Dragon Dance to flip games. The author calls it his most polished from-scratch build, briefly touching single digits.Build article →

Built around wanting to use Mega Metagross, the author's snappy single matchup team reached final rank 163. Metagross is the clear core with Bullet Punch and Ice Punch locked, plus Psychic Fangs against screens teams and Thunder Punch for the surging Gyarados, balancing bulk and power. The other Mega slot is Pyroar, which nullifies Ghost moves and outspeeds Mega Staraptor and Mega Metagross; it's the go-to against Aegislash and uses Yawn to disrupt. Archaludon packs physical and special bulk plus power, running Foul Play for Meowscarada, Greninja and Scizor. Hydreigon breaks Umbreon defensive cores, tanking Yawn with Lum Berry then Nasty Plot plus Draco Meteor to blow them away, unread since most Hydreigon carry Scarf. Mystic Water Basculegion is a star that shreds Hippowdon (the author claims 300 kills), and Choice Sash Garchomp leads to set Stealth Rock. He admits a final-day collapse Build article →

The author reached final 2431, rank 164 and his first Champion tier with an Iron Defense BatonPass Scolipede plus matchup Gardevoir core. Max-Speed, max-HP Scolipede tanks Mega Metagross Psychic Fangs and Mega Starmie Psycho Cut after Iron Defense, giving near-startless passes; its last slot runs Earthquake to break Sashes and clean up. Ceruledge receives the pass and uses Flash Fire to switch into Mega Charizard Y and Delphox for free setup. Gholdengo is the main pass recipient, snowballing off Hippowdon, with Curse Amulet to chip Skeledirge. Mega Gyarados runs standard Dragon Dance with Ice Fang for Dragonite. Meganium was a long-debated slot, able to outspeed and remove opposing Meganium. Sash Gardevoir is the matchup piece with strong STAB Psychic plus Fairy coverage, and Trace lets it steal Speed Boost, Lightning Rod or Swift Swim to flip games — the author calls it his best fit forBuild article →

The author is a veteran weather-team player who locked in a Pelipper rain squad the moment Mega Swampert became legal in M-3, building around Pelipper setting rain and Swampert sweeping with rain-boosted Wave Crash plus Bulk Up. The support is tight: a bulky Garchomp lays Stealth Rock and spikes while soaking Electric moves; Aegislash walls the Alolan Ninetales, Vanilluxe and Floette that rain struggles with; Mega Staraptor flips its nature via Contrary to pressure Sharpedo, Blaziken and Meowscarada; and a Nasty Plot Alolan Ninetales closes games, punishing Hippowdon-style pivots with Freeze-Dry after chip. He admits Greninja and lead Dragonite are his worst matchups, and just seeing Clefable makes him wince since the line changes on whether it Megas.Build article →

The author kept the same core for three straight seasons, leaning on high familiarity with Mega Dragonite plus Kingambit to post steady results. Dragonite is the brain of the team: with Multiscale intact it tanks Greninja's Ice Beam and answers with a Draco Meteor OHKO, with top-tier power and bulk. Kingambit runs Leftovers to blend cycling and sweeping, healing as it Swords Dance and Sucker Punches. Hatterene is his personal favorite, bouncing Stealth Rock with Magic Bounce and 3-0ing with Calm Mind plus Trick Room. The rest are targeted: a Choice Scarf male Basculegion sweeps late and beats Delphox via Adaptability, Mega Venusaur mops up Primarina and Floette-style fairies, and Volcarona with Quiver Dance and Whirlwind counters Baton Pass and hazard-stacking teams. He credits the polished core, and admits the Scarf-less speed drop on Dragonite makes the mirror shaky.Build article →

The author built a pure offense team with no defensive pivots, running all attackers to avoid draws and sending Glalie through when a wall core is too tough to crack. The core is Mega Kangaskhan, picked for tanking Dragon Dance Gyarados and Trick Room Mawile then killing back, with Body Slam, Earthquake, Fake Out and Sucker Punch; Body Slam's paralysis rolls twice for a high chance and ignores Minimize. The support is direct: a Life Orb special Aegislash smashes the Hippowdon and Archaludon that trouble Kangaskhan, nearly OHKOing Hippowdon with Iron Head; a Sitrus Primarina wins matchups and walls Blaziken; a Scarf Garchomp lays rocks and surprises Lopunny; a Sash Gengar handles Toxic Spikes, paralysis and Icy Wind speed control to set up Glalie. Glalie closes with Moody, Substitute and Sheer Cold to grind walls, and with Toxic Spikes can KO Blaziken on Protect-Sub alone. He names ScizorBuild article →

The author runs a Trick Room team where Mega Audino supports the slowest possible Basculegion via Trick Room and Healing Wish, reviving the ace over and over to keep smashing. Audino's Regenerator and solid typing let it set Trick Room against all kinds of foes, and Encore locks opponents down; he stresses only the Audino line can juggle Trick Room, Healing Wish and Encore while cutting off Ghost moves. The ace Basculegion runs a Spell Tag with max Attack for terrifying Grave Rush damage: it comes in on a faint, wrecks the field, then gets revived by Audino to rampage again, muscling through its own counters. Support-wise: a Sash Empoleon lays Stealth Rock and chips Dark-types with Vacuum Wave to open lanes, exploding via Competitive; a Leftovers Hydreigon uses Umbreon and Mega Scovillain (Basculegion's banes) as setup fodder; and Mega Mawile is a second Trick Room sweeper for Venusaur aBuild article →

The author thinks Hippowdon is the strongest mon and built around a Gen 7 Hippowdon-Salamence-Aegislash style, with newly unbanned Mega Staraptor as the ace. Hippowdon handles terrain with Stealth Rock, Yawn and Slack Off, has by far the highest usage, and can fight everything when piloted well. Mega Staraptor flips matchups with Contrary Close Combat and Brave Bird, and Whirlwind pushes back Stealth Rock Garchomp and resets setup, though the author flat-out calls it a fraud since a foe swapping to a Ghost anytime makes Close Combat a coin flip. The Steel slot is a Leftovers Gholdengo with Golden Body for recovery, chipping Primarina and Delphox. The rest fills gaps: a Scarf Meowscarada stops Basculegion and Mega Starmie, a Mystic Water Primarina beats Delphox and forces 50/50s on Hydreigon, and a Mega Delphox fakes out Charizard Y cores by dropping SpA with Mystical Fire. He admits the Build article →

The author set out to build the strongest possible Mega Staraptor, which has great coverage and power plus Cosmic Power, but can't boost its own Attack and Speed, so the whole team feeds it via Baton Pass. Hatterene is the passer: absurdly slow, so even after Agility it passes from underneath, and Magic Bounce blocks Dragon Tail, Whirlwind, Taunt and other annoying status and pivot moves. Dragapult sets dual screens and doubles as a Dragon Dance passer, linking flexibly with Hatterene. Gyarados is the sub-ace with Taunt to punish the Skeledirge, Clefable and Metagross that Staraptor lures, and it ended up the most-picked. Swords Dance Archaludon was the MVP, tanking hits with Solid Rock and using Earthquake to smash steels that underestimate it. The author admits it's a first-encounter surprise team that folds once opponents learn it, or the instant a perfect play is made against it.Build article →

The whole plan is one line: use Orthworm's Shed Tail plus Blastoise to blow the opposing team apart. The author got crushed last season by an opponent's Shed Tail into a full-HP Water Spout Blastoise, decided the core was solid, and when Hydreigon, Metagross, Delphox and Mawile spiked late in M-3, judged Blastoise would thrive and jumped in. Orthworm stacks Iron Defense then Shed Tails a full-HP Blastoise in; at full HP Water Spout is monstrous, punching through Mega Charizard Y, Floette and Primarina in one hit, and even unboosted it one-shots Hippowdon and Mawile. Glimmora is the second core, Rock Polishing to sweep Delphox and Greninja from above when Blastoise stalls. Hippowdon supports the pass with Whirlwind, Protean Sash Meowscarada handles Gengar/Primarina cores, and Curse Mimikyu covers Minimize, Glalie and Baton teams. The author flatly can't beat Bellibolt, and finds Lucario aBuild article →