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The rain team rests on Pelipper, Mega Swampert and Archaludon. Pelipper ran a bulky set for most of the season, but with only Pelipper and Archaludon on the field the Speed tiers were too slow to handle Garchomp and Metagross, so it moved to Choice Scarf and started switching in on the Earthquake turn to move first and remove threats. Mega Swampert uses recoil-free Waterfall rather than Wave Crash because its bulk is the real selling point, and pairs it with Flip Turn to keep pressuring whatever comes in. Archaludon runs specially defensive Sitrus with Stamina to beat neutral special hits from Primarina, Greninja and Hydreigon, and its Dragon move was changed from Draco Meteor to Dragon Pulse for the blunt reason that Draco Meteor never won a game. Garchomp holds a Dragon-resist berry, surviving Primarina's Moonblast plus Aqua Jet and outspeeding most Archaludon; the author's main regretBuild article →

Mega Froslass forms the core, inspired by a build seen in a prominent player's video that paired Froslass with Emolga and Azumarill. The author kept that trio and rebuilt the remaining three slots. Froslass is a dual-role attacker and screen-setter that can use Blizzard offensively or set up Light Screen and Reflect. Garchomp (Focus Sash) lays Stealth Rock and uses Rock Tomb to limit opponent speed, covering matchups where Meganium struggles to come in. Mega Meganium (HB) walls Fighting and physical attackers and uses Giga Impact as a surprise pressure tool. Hisui Samurott patches the Psychic vulnerability and resists Bullet Punch and Sucker Punch while countering Basculegion-F. Three-move Volcarona (Fiery Dance, Bug Buzz, Psybeam plus Quiver Dance) can OHKO Mega Starmie, Mega Empoleon, and Mimikyu after one Quiver Dance, and Psybeam allows it to hit Meganium and Toxapex. Azumarill (Belly Drum) invests heavily in Speed EV to outspeed Corviknight, Skeledirge, and similar mid-Speed targets. The result met the author's expectations.Build article →

The primary game plan centers on Garchomp (Stealth Rock lead), Mega Florges (Grass Oath for Speed boosting), and Choice Scarf Basculegion as a straightforward offensive trio. Against teams that hold Basculegion for last, a secondary plan runs Basculegion plus pivot Corviknight. Facing a proliferation of anti-Florges techs late in the season, Mega Lucario was added as the second Mega: its All-Out Pummeling has a similar damage profile to Florges's Ruination and handles Scizor and similar threats that Florges loses to. The fifth slot went to a bulky Leech Seed plus Substitute Meowscarada, extremely effective against Starmie-Umbreon-style cores and Mega Gengar teams. The author's most painful weakness is Sash Ceruledge—nothing on the team deals with it cleanly and the only answer is to get Stealth Rock up first.

Frustrated by Archaludon's constant pressure, the author built around Mega Charizard Y as a special attacker that dominates Steel types in general and handles both Archaludon and Corviknight. The Will-O-Wisp set lets it deal with a large number of physical attackers like Lopunny, Lucario, and Meowscarada. Corviknight (Leftovers) is paired specifically to use Defog to remove Stealth Rocks, enabling Charizard to use its defensive investment fully. Meowscarada (Choice Scarf) outspeeds Basculegion-F and naturally draws out Steel types for Charizard. Mega Dragonite backs up against Fire matchups and uses Aqua Jet to pin Ceruledge. Garchomp (Focus Sash) was added for Mega Charizard X and Volcarona. Primarina (Kee Berry) was meant as the Houndoom and Hippowdon counter but almost never saw play — the author acknowledges this slot needs replacement. The team's consistent weaknesses are hit-rate-dependent moves and stall-style Umbreon plus Hippowdon combinations.Build article →

Built to counter the common Archaludon and Corviknight pressure through a Mega Charizard Y plus Corviknight hazard-clearing cycle, the team reached 503rd place and 2512 rating in Champions S1. Mega Charizard Y runs Will-o-Wisp and Roost with a physically-defensive stat spread, delivering enough fire damage without special investment in sun and making it very easy to burn Garchomp switch-ins. Corviknight (Leftovers) clears Stealth Rock for Charizard and uses Mirror Armor to absorb stat-drop moves like Moon Force and Mystical Fire; it appeared in virtually every game. Scarf Meowscarada out-speeds Scarf Basculegion, cleans up Delphox and Dragonite that threaten Charizard, and uses Flip Turn to maintain momentum. Mega Dragonite handles Incineroar and specially-focused Mega matchups where Charizard struggles. Sash Garchomp lays Stealth Rock and hits hard with Rock Slide. Primarina (Sitrus Berry, Misty Terrain) was intended to handle Umbreon and sleep cycles but was rarely selected; the author acknowledges this slot should become a more naturally integrated wallbreaker.Build article →

Using Mega Florges and Mega Kangaskhan as the double-Mega pair, the author reached 504th place and 2512 rating in Champions S1. Mega Florges anchors the team, with Mega Kangaskhan plus Sash Garchomp as the backbone after accounting for Florges's four weakness categories: Steel, Fire, Poison walls, and fast physical threats from above. Kangaskhan's moves are entirely targeted at anti-Florges lines: Earthquake and Fire Punch handle Corviknight and Aegislash, Ice Punch beats Garchomp and Dragonite, while Double-Edge punishes frail Mega Charizard and Florges mirrors. The author avoids Fake Out plus Sucker Punch mind games as a stylistic preference. Archaludon was the strongest team member, running Specs plus Focus Energy to fake out opponents with a two-stage drop, then land guaranteed crits to bypass Poison immunity and Stockpile stacking — a threat the author almost never lost to even against stall teams. Scarf Basculegion and Mega Skarmory (Brave Bird, Swords Dance, Roost, Taunt) were finalized after extensive testing. The author identifies insufficient late-season reps as the main shortcoming.Build article →

The team starts from wanting fast, high-power Electric Mega Raichu Y as the ace. Its three banes are Garchomp, bulky mons, and fast attackers, and it also struggles to move twice in front of the same Pokemon, so the author built around two axes: finite-cycle counterplay and setups that guarantee action turns. To that end: Orthworm tanks Garchomp and hands Raichu safety via Shed Tail; Mega Starmie breaks the bulky mons Raichu can't crack, using Bulk Up to plow through walls off an Orthworm handoff; Araquanid checks fast attackers, holding a Chople Berry to lay Sticky Web first so Raichu moves before threats. Whimsicott plays counter and closer with Leech Seed plus Sub/Protect, punishing every Garchomp variant, while Meowscarada patches gaps and opens a Toxic Spikes win route. The author says the team isn't fully polished, loads heavily on speed control, but is tight on both firepower and Build article →

Driven by a love of Pelipper's Electro Beam animation, the author built a rain-core team around Pelipper and Archaludon that reached a peak 2556 and a final 2511 rating in Champions S1. Both Pelipper (Sash) and Archaludon (Scarf) appeared in 100% of games; Archaludon's Draco Meteor threatens nearly every target when boosted by rain, while Pelipper's Hurricane hits reliably and delivers near-Specs damage under rain with a Choice Specs-like boost. Mega Starmie leverages rain speed to clear Archaludon mirror matchups and creates Flip Turn momentum. Mega Lucario was added to counter the proliferation of HD Archaludon, with its special Wave Crash (dubbed the author's personal nickname) one-shotting even specially-invested Archaludon, and its Iron Head Cannon also handles Hippowdon and Primarina. Mega Glimmora spreads Toxic Spikes before Mega evolving, then uses Adaptability to burst through Primarina and Sturdy-Archaludon. Hydreigon was slotted last to deter opposing lead Gengar but achieved a 0% usage rate; the author admits Gengar still won those games regularly. The team's strategy is blunt: run the three-piece core, break the Ground types, and win — except Bellibolt, which the author identifies as a completely unworkable matchup.Build article →

A mono-Poison team built as tribute to another player's "5 Poison" squad, but bumped up to six Poison-types. The core idea is stacking probability moves (Sleep Powder, Hypnosis, Minimize) so that landing even one wins the game, turning mind games into arithmetic odds. Bulky HB Mega Victreebel anchors the team, putting foes to sleep for the sweepers and using Explosion to remove blockers. Overqwil with Leftovers + Minimize + Substitute + Poison Jab beats slower teams, while HB Sitrus Scolipede sets up Swords Dance on virtually any Garchomp (barring hazard-setters and Mega) and sweeps. Lead choice depends on the opponent's Speed: fast teams get Scolipede, slower ones get Overqwil. Sash Gengar leads to trade one-for-one, chipping Garchomp with Icy Wind and using Hypnosis on switches. Arbok spreads Toxic Spikes and Glare against Glalie/Scovillain trap teams, and Slowking is a dedicated Mega Dragonite check. The author admits Slowking is stat-starved, Haze Mega Dragonite is nearly unwinnable, and Mega Toucannon, Kleavor, and Sacred Sword users all strain the build.Build article →

This team is built around Mega Scizor as the primary Mega evolution, supported by rain elements, finishing Season 1 at rank 510. The author assessed the new environment and concluded that Mega Florges and Mega Gengar dominate the Tier S Mega slots, that stacking moves are the most efficient way to break through bulky Pokemon without Choice items in the pool, and that cycle-based teams hold a structural advantage. Mega Scizor fits naturally into a cycling strategy through Roost, remains non-disadvantaged against Florges and Gengar, and covers the top non-Mega threats well, making it the ideal core. Pelipper and Archaludon were added for rain setup and Stealth Rock, Mega Starmie was brought in as the second Mega slot to handle dragons and Charizard-Y that trouble Scizor, Umbreon provides full-team sustainability via Toxic and Wish, and Glimmora with Corrosion handles Archaludon and the Corviknight matchup. The team's major self-assessed weakness is Mega Blastoise, which nobody on the team can reliably stop.Build article →

Umbreon is the author's permanent partner, and the star here is a Will-O-Wisp plus Pain Split Mega Gengar — the whole build is about making that set strong and giving the supporting cast synergy with it. That Gengar is an excellent lead, managing its own HP while wearing down the Hippowdon and Archaludon that show up first, but Pain Split scales off the opponent's HP, so chipping them down means chipping itself, and it often lacks the HP to switch into the Primarina it exists to beat. His answer was fast Encore users to lock the opponent down so Gengar can Pain Split back up, and Encore also blanks Substitutes and setup, which suits Umbreon too. Max Attack, max Speed Palafin is fast enough to Substitute over Hydreigon and Archaludon and can bait a Moonblast from Primarina then Encore it, resurrecting Gengar; Protect plus Prankster Encore Whimsicott cushions games where Umbreon can't comeBuild article →

This team finished Season M-1 at rank 512 (R2511), built around Flareon as a personal staple. The central strategy is exploiting set prediction to gain early numerical advantage, with the key innovation being a Choice Scarf Archaludon spotted on social media — this single addition carried the author from R2300 to R2500. Opponents consistently misjudged Archaludon's set, allowing it to outspeed and KO Mega Lucario, Mega Gengar, Mega Gardevoir, Mega Florges, and other fast threats that would normally have a speed advantage. Supporting cast: Mega Venusaur for mixed bulk and to cover Flareon's Grass weakness, Tyranitar for special tanking against Mega Delphox and Mega Dragonite, Corviknight with Mirror Armor to block stat drops, and Garchomp with Lum Berry and Swords Dance for sweeping. Weakness: Archaludon's recoil makes it setup bait after attacking, and Mega Chesnaught has no reliable check in the team.Build article →

Hippowdon was the hardest thing to face this format, so the author insisted his default three include real damage against it. He borrowed the Focus Sash Glimmora plus Mega Lopunny core straight from a previous season's article, changing only Mimikyu to Perish Song Primarina — that Mimikyu spread was tuned to hard-counter specific teams and he could never read when to bring it, while Primarina answers setup and Moody sweepers and thickens his answers to the Mega Lopunny mirror and Hippowdon. Glimmora leads to lay Toxic Spikes while still chipping, Mega Lopunny cleans up from above once Toxic Spikes and Fake Out have stacked damage, and Mystic Water Basculegion is powerful enough that Umbreon, Greninja and Meowscarada can no longer switch in freely, with Stamina Archaludon coming in on physical attacks and carrying a Steel beam for Sylveon and Floette. He admits Glimmora is in trouble agaiBuild article →

This Mega Scizor-centered cycle team reached a peak of R2587 and finished at R2511. The author returned to competitive play after roughly two years away and sees the team's result as proof that even lapsed players can compete at the 2500 level. The team philosophy is cycle-based attrition rather than one-shot power: wear down the opponent through repeated switches and pressure until their defensive structure collapses. Mega Scizor runs Curse to extend its physical coverage and hold its own against Aegislash and Meowscarada. Rotom-Heat on Choice Scarf handles fast threats like Kommo-o and Mega Gyarados from above while Volt Switch enables Florges cycling. Kingambit with Leftovers uses Encore to trap and grind down defensive Pokemon. Basculegion-M with Cursed Body threatens sweep loops forcing opponents into bad selection choices. Mega Florges and HB Ooze Berry Garchomp cover fast dragons like Dragonite and Hydreigon. The hardest matchup is Hippowdon, especially paired with Mega Gyarados, as Whirlwind and Stealth Rock quickly neutralize Rotom-Heat.Build article →

This is a bulky stall team, and the author left notes on each member. Mega Slowbro walls special attackers first, then comes back in to grind down physical threats; sometimes he even ran Trick Room over Iron Defense. Umbreon is prized for beating the Hydreigon plus Metagross pair, and a Substitute-Taunt Hydreigon opponent is basically a free surrender. Scizor was slotted in for the annoying Kingambit and Mimikyu but rarely saw play. Glimmora is an attacker that also drops Toxic Spikes on the side, often leading against Delphox teams to chip with a Gem before pivoting out and copying it with Ditto. The author calls Ditto the team MVP, saying a stall team without it really struggles.Build article →