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After cycling through many teams, the author returned to his best face-to-face build and rode a 12-win streak on the last day into Champion rank (218th). The core is the ultimate one-on-one pair, Kangaskhan and Garchomp: Mega Kangaskhan trades with Mega and regular mons alike using Body Slam, Earthquake and Ice Punch, and swapped in Facade to punish Delphox, Rotom and Scovillain that try to burn it. Garchomp runs Choice Scarf with an Adamant nature, locking in Outrage and Earthquake plus Rock Slide for Charizard and Stealth Rock to stop re-setup. He usually leads a Mega to grab tempo, with Mega Blastoise handling the Hippowdon and Skeledirge walls that Kangaskhan baits; its Water/Dark/Fighting/priority coverage is wide, but the team has no water answer so Primarina is rough. Volcarona beats physical Steels, sweeps after Quiver Dance and spreads Will-O-Wisp. Aegislash pivots into Mega StaBuild article →

Following the 5th-place finisher's ideas from last season, the author started from a Sitrus Hippowdon plus Leftovers Gyarados core and reached his first-ever Champion rank (219th). Hippowdon is the best support mon, with Earthquake, Yawn and Slack Off shutting down all kinds of one-way teams; wrecking the board with it, then closing with Gyarados and Archaludon, was the main win path, and Gyarados swapped to Dragon Dance because opponents kept playing its Leftovers like a Taunt. Archaludon was meant as a backup for when Dragonite couldn't come out, but as Dragonite's matchups worsened it became the main lead, and the author calls it a co-MVP alongside the Hippo core for landing near-lethal opening hits off the opponent's misreads. Dragonite has high stats and wide coverage, and its switch-reading Roost is oppressive; it leads to open lanes for Gyarados and Archaludon. Mega Floette is theBuild article →

The author started from Mawile simply because it is cute and built the Mega around it. To beat Mawile's nemeses Charizard and Archaludon, they added Focus Sash Garchomp; fearing Hydreigon-Metagross and Gyarados, Choice Scarf Meowscarada outspeeds them, and Primarina handles Blaziken and Greninja. Mega Mawile runs max Attack/Speed for brawling and using the opponent's Meowscarada as setup fodder, with Ice Punch even muscling through defense-lowered Hippowdon. Armarouge with Shuca Berry counters the surging grass-Mega squad and Meganium, and crucially fits on the field alongside Mawile. Mimikyu is the flex pick with Swords Dance. The author admits Meowscarada constantly baits Archaludon, clashing with the single-Mega core and dragging down win rate, while Corviknight and set-up Gholdengo stay tough.Build article →

This singles team wants Mega Metagross to play like a pseudo-Zamazenta steel wall, stacking Iron Defense and Substitute to sweep. After Mega evolving, one Iron Defense lets a Substitute survive Hippowdon's super-effective Earthquake, and its Speed clears adjusted Garchomp, max-speed Vivillon, and Archaludon. Dragalge spreads Draco Meteor plus Toxic and Toxic Spikes while tanking Jolly Garchomp's Earthquake. Maushold's signature move shreds even an unboosted Hippowdon for over 60%, and Encore stops it from becoming setup fodder. Sash Primarina and Hippowdon answer the troublesome Skeledirge, with Hippowdon's Whirlwind ignoring Protect to block boosting switches. Mimikyu covers Delphox. The author stresses staying flexible rather than always leading a Mega. The main holes are Skeledirge once Primarina falls or it can't be poisoned, plus set-up Gholdengo, which resists Whirlwind and Encore.Build article →

A veteran Mawile player rebuilt this core now that Mega Mawile is back after seven generations. Instead of a hyper-offense face, they run light cycling while winning the damage race, pairing Mawile with type-complementary Choice Scarf Hydreigon that can sweep once threats are chipped. Gyarados and Hippowdon act as buffers against rain, Blaziken, and Charizard. To break bulky cores, Life Orb Gholdengo uses the Corviknight that Mawile lures as setup fodder, with Gold Rush rolling to OHKO stallers like Garchomp and Hydreigon. Mega Glimmora is the back Mega for Meganium, Dragonite, Scovillain, and Floette. Mawile leans max Attack/HP with Knock Off applying constant pressure. The author notes Hippowdon is a closer but often gets broken by Swords Dance or Iron Defense sets, so don't overrely on it. Toughest are opposing Mawile, Mega Scizor, SD Blaziken, Garchomp, and Archaludon.Build article →

This team is built to read the opponent's leads and steamroll with high-value one-on-one pieces. In build order came Mega Delphox to menace the new Megas, then Kingambit for the Mega Starmie and Basculegion that Delphox hates, plus the Focus Sash Swords Dance three-attack Garchomp used since M-1. With leads too weak to Primarina and mirror Garchomp being silly, HB Leftovers Gyarados went in, followed by Life Orb Mimikyu as a flex piece and finally Mega Floette. In practice they almost never lead a Mega, picking three non-Megas with Gyarados usually leading and Garchomp sometimes. Gyarados uses Thunder Wave for Speed control, paralyzing enemy Dragon Dance Gyarados on the switch then pivoting to Garchomp to handle Mega Gyarados reliably. Mimikyu swaps Shadow Sneak for Wood Hammer to crush Hippowdon, a boosted hit KOing over half the time. The author says leads read easily here, but Mega FlBuild article →

The author has always preferred cycle teams, and as offensive and limited-cycle builds spread, they leaned into a tanky cycle around Umbreon, the most reliable wall this format. The plan is to use Umbreon as a cushion while two Megas, Mega Metagross and Mega Meganium, run the cycle. Umbreon stalls with Yawn plus Wish and holds firm against Hydreigon, Metagross and Garchomp; Mega Metagross is the fast heavy-hitting core and screen-breaker; Mega Meganium handles the Hippowdon and Garchomp that both Megas struggle with, punching through while keeping a Substitute. A Scarf Ceruledge covers the pair's fire weakness and pivots in on Delphox for tempo, while a Focus Sash Garchomp leads with Stealth Rock and sets up. The author says the team looks defensive but wins harder by pressing with its two attackers, and names Earthquake Blaziken, Hisuian Samurott and Archaludon as the toughest matchups.Build article →

A veteran sand player returning after ten years, the author started from the sixth-gen staples Tyranitar and Excadrill, then added Houndstone as a sand sweeper they had never used. Feeling no single Mega can answer everything, they committed to a sand-only triple-Mega team. Special Tyranitar sets the sand and chips foes into range; Excadrill is built bulky enough to survive Mega Metagross's Earthquake plus Bullet Punch at high odds; Houndstone runs heavy bulk with Will-O-Wisp to flip losing matchups like Blaziken and Mimikyu. The three Megas each have a job: Mega Staraptor's Intimidate cuts the Ground spam and applies lead pressure, Mega Scovillain burns physical attackers and hits the Water/Steel/Hippowdon the team hates, and Mega Gengar uses Perish Song to break stall and Baton Pass teams. The author says Staraptor opened up late once it thinned out, and the main weakness is opponents Build article →

Thrilled to run Mega Mawile again for the first time since gen seven, the author built straight around it, adding the well-typed, complementary Primarina and a U-turn pivot in Hydreigon. The core plan is a Mega plus Primarina plus Hydreigon, cycling into favorable matchups and then forcing damage with Mawile's power. Mawile went bulky-plus-speed this time: since opposing Bulk Up Corviknight oddly started investing in Speed, the author kept raising Speed until it outsped, then dumped the rest into HP, letting it survive Mega Gyarados Earthquake and an Intimidated Garchomp Earthquake. Primarina is the team's most-selected cushion, using a slow Flip Turn to bring Mawile in safely. Metagross is a mixed set carrying Grass Knot to deny Hippowdon; Mamoswine sets Stealth Rock against fat teams, Charizard and Volcarona; Skeledirge is a last-minute bulky spread aimed at Primarina. The author says Build article →

The author had been running a Gengar slow-pivot cycle but stalled against screens and setup, so they trained the setup archetype they were weak at to understand it. The starting point was Taunt Mega Gyarados plus screens plus hazards: a Spikes Klefki that pairs screens and hazards in one slot and reliably sets for three-plus turns is the anchor. The core structure is hazards plus Yawn plus a setup sweeper. Mega Gyarados uses Mold Breaker Taunt to shut down pivoting and defensive setup, forcing two Dragon Dances for power, and closed out most games. A Focus Sash Garchomp on a Swords Dance plus Dragon Tail set keeps its matchup value while interrupting Bulk Up Corviknight and Baton Pass, the single most important piece. Sylveon is the overworked bulky Yawn/Wish pivot, checking screen teams, Staraptor, Meowscarada and assorted dragons. Mega Glimmora is the back Mega for Fairies, Mega DragonBuild article →

This is a poison-based stall team; the author started from last season's core and rebuilt it around the new format's threats, aiming to give minimal answers to every popular mon. Toxapex is the dual-defensive core, spreading poison to the back with Toxic Spikes and pairing beautifully with Meganium, shifted to an HB spread to wall Life Orb Mimikyu. Slowbro is the main physical wall, locking down crit-fishing opponents with Iron Defense plus Shell Armor and eating a huge range of physical attackers like Blaziken, Metagross and Mamoswine. Meganium ignores weather on its recovery thanks to Mega ability, one-shots Mawile with Weather Ball, and pairs Substitute with the Toxic Spikes to freeload against Stealth Rock Garchomp. Snorlax is the special wall and anti-draw insurance, using Smack Down plus Fissure on floating, hard-to-break mons, and the author calls it MVP. Choice Scarf Hisuian SamuBuild article →

It took the author three months to stick at Champion rank, with the team built around an Iron Defense-Body Press Mega Metagross that muscles into bad matchups, hard-counters Archaludon, and creates win conditions the opponent cannot see. It runs a Choice Scarf Hydreigon and an HB Sitrus Primarina as the glue that handles Garchomp, Mega Blaziken and Hippowdon that both Metagross and Hydreigon fear. The fourth slot is an HD Leftovers Heat Rotom to answer high-power special Fire mons like Mega Charizard Y and Mega Meganium, and it also switches into Mega Raichu Y. The second Mega is an Ice Spinner Mega Starmie, covering Fire Megas and Mega Dragonite for the games where Metagross is hard to bring. Last is a Lum Berry Swords Dance Poison Jab Garchomp to check Hippowdon, Charizard and Mega Raichu Y. The author says Metagross tanks even max-roll Flare Blitz from Mega Blaziken and is absurdly buBuild article →