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The original concept was specially defensive Archaludon setting Stealth Rock and chipping with Dragon Tail, Hippowdon grinding with Yawn, and Mega Blaziken breaking everything at the end. As his rating climbed Hippowdon got teched against and became hard to bring, and after a lot of trial and error he arrived at Vileplume: it pairs well with Archaludon, matches up strongly into the Primarina the team found heavy, and Leech Seed reliably chips anything that isn't Grass. The key change was giving it a Lum Berry — Big Root over-healed and Focus Sash was ruined by Stealth Rock and sand — which lets it exploit the gap while Hippowdon sets up and Leech Seed both Hippowdon and whatever comes in behind it, helped by Vileplume being exactly three base Speed points faster. Stone Edge is Mega Blaziken's surprise factor, blowing away Delphox and Dragonite with rocks up, while Mega Gyarados covers thBuild article →

The author started from longtime partner Glaceon, valuing its edge against screen teams, rain, and Mega Staraptor, and built around the returning Mega Mawile. Glaceon runs Chople Berry and always-crit Icy Wind to punch through screens, tanking Mega Staraptor's Close Combat behind the berry then finishing with Icy Wind. Mega Mawile is a Huge Power attacker; rather than always going for Trick Room, the author found reading the opponent's speed to decide whether to set it was stronger, so it's tuned to match Sinistcha's speed. Sinistcha handles Trick Room and pivoting, with absurd physical bulk that even eats Mega Blaziken's Flare Blitz. Greninja uses Protean and Life Orb to outspeed and OHKO top threats and pressures Hydreigon + Metagross builds. Sash Aegislash forces 1-for-1 trades against tough matchups, and Mega Gyarados serves as a second Mega, setting up on grounded Fire/Ground answerBuild article →

The author was stuck around 1900 with a Glaceon-based team, then found a Ceruledge-lead build that happened to feature his favorite Ceruledge, a familiar Skarmory and a fated Mimikyu, and took it as the base. Sash Swords Dance Ceruledge leads, sweeping off Weak Armor plus Swords Dance, with the Ghost/Fighting coverage of Poltergeist and Close Combat proving great and handy for blocking Lucario and Lopunny sweeps. Cursed-charm Mimikyu likewise wears teams down behind Sash and Swords Dance, with Shadow Claw stealing the odd game on a crit. Mega Blastoise is the Shell Smash sweeper and just mindlessly sets up against Archaludon, while Shuca Berry Empoleon packs Vacuum Wave specifically for Clefable and Glimmora. Garchomp lays Stealth Rock and Spikes plus Dragon Tail to grind down stall cores like Venusaur, Umbreon and Skeledirge with chip, and Mega Skarmory is the backup ace with Swords DanBuild article →

A veteran Whimsicott player wanted to run the newly added Mega Pyroar, valuing its Fairy/Fire resistances, Ghost immunity, and huge power boosted by its fire mane, which finally fills the Fire slot Whimsicott teams always lacked. Pyroar runs a Yawn + Protect set, using Yawn to dodge Kingambit and Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch, bait Choice locks, stall rain and screen teams, and even put Primarina or Mega Dragonite to sleep before blasting them with resisted fire. Whimsicott runs Leftovers with Cotton Guard as a physical wall to shut down the top-usage Garchomp and Mimikyu. Dragalge with Dragon Fang crushes rain: against Pelipper, one Dragon Fang Draco Meteor OHKOs the Swampert or Archaludon behind it. Tyranitar holds Shuca Berry to check Mega Dragonite, Azumarill runs Sitrus as a Blaziken check with Perish Song against baton teams, and Chimecho is the Tanabata mascot and stabilizer. The autBuild article →

The author started from a strong Mega slot, valuing Mega Gyarados for its post-Dragon-Dance sweeping power, wide coverage, and ability to break Mimikyu's disguise. Noticing that Spikes plus one Dragon Dance Aqua Tail nearly KOs bulky Hippowdon, they paired it with Hisuian Samurott, which sets Spikes while attacking (though Aqua Tail eventually got cut). Since opposing Ninetales was heavy, Scarf Archaludon was added to OHKO it out of nowhere. Staraptor was a problem, so Air Slash Mega Dragonite came in as a second Mega. The last two slots went to Aegislash and Hippowdon, a stable Ground with Stealth Rock. Gyarados switched to Ice Fang, using Mold Breaker Steel/Ground coverage plus Crunch to hit a huge swath of foes, racking up 2- and 3-kills when it connects. Samurott hits above its stats with Sharpness and lays Spikes while attacking, the team's near-MVP. Dragonite runs Thunderbolt for tBuild article →

A self-described battle beginner who couldn't handle cycle or setup teams, so he copied someone's Espathra face-off build and finished 723rd at 2314. The core is a Focus Sash Espathra lead using Lumina Crash to drop the foe's Sp. Def, forcing a switch or a kill, then handing off to Mega Greninja that can KO even without mega-evolving, with Mimikyu or Dragonite to close. To cover the Dark-types that wall Espathra (Umbreon, Kingambit, Tyranitar) he ran a special Focus Blast Mega Lucario; Garchomp set Stealth Rock and Spikes to chip and check Bellibolt; Dragonite with Expert Belt could Earthquake down Bellibolt or Low Kick a Kingambit. Mimikyu was bulked up with Scope Lens to survive Mega Gyarados and crit through Corviknight and Archaludon. He admits the whole team is paper-thin, and Dark-types, Archaludon and priority hitters give it real trouble.Build article →

A Palafin devotee built the whole team around it and hit 2313 at 725th. It started from thinking the new Mega Dragalge pairs well as Palafin's pivot. The star is a Leftovers Bulk Up Palafin (over 90% pick rate) that comes in off Grimmsnarl's dual screens and Parting Shot, then piles on Bulk Up in front of a weakened foe to become a triple-KO muscle dolphin; instead of Substitute it runs Taunt to turn Corviknight and Hippowdon into setup fodder. Dragalge is the glue, endlessly pivoting into Primarina with huge special bulk and Regenerator, wearing teams down alongside Grimmsnarl's Parting Shot; Shadow Ball covers Aegislash and Gholdengo, and Toxic is mandatory for Staraptor. Grimmsnarl is a standard Light Clay dual-screener that sets one screen then pivots with Parting Shot. Mega Metagross runs Iron Defense/Agility/Body Press to farm Umbreon+Venusaur cores, while Scarf Hydreigon and Mega Build article →

The team is built around the Heal Wish strategy: Clefable uses Heal Wish to fully restore a Mega-evolved ace mid-game, effectively letting the player use the same Mega twice. The other five members are Mega Kangaskhan (primary physical attacker), Basculegion with Choice Scarf (speed control plus Shadow Rider Calyrex suppression via Mourning), Mega Blastoise (Wave-Launcher boosted moves plus Aqua Jet for finishes), Armarouge as a Focus Sash anti-Corviknight lead, and Aegislash added in the final stretch to deal with rising Florges usage. Clefable's Unaware ability also stopped several setup sweepers. Key weaknesses: electric and Ground coverage runs freely through the whole team; Umbreon-based balance squads are hard to crack, especially when paired with Mega Gengar to trap Clefable. Final result: 725th.Build article →

The author started on a Rain Swampert team but got wrecked by the Hydreigon+Metagross core in the last two days, dropping nearly 150 points in a day, so he dumped all three rain pieces. The reworked core is a Twitter-sourced Greninja + Mimikyu + Mega Mawile: Greninja chips in one-on-one, Mimikyu sets Trick Room then self-KOs, and Mega Mawile cleans with high power and wide coverage, running four attacks over Swords Dance this time, with Iron Head flinches bailing him out repeatedly. To patch the Hydreigon hole he added Mega Delphox + Vaporeon: Delphox sets up Nasty Plot off its speed, hitting Hydreigon with Dazzling Gleam and Metagross with Flamethrower to break whole teams alone. Water Absorb Vaporeon is the hidden MVP, with Wish+Protect+Leftovers longevity plus Flip Turn for pivoting and healing the backline, and Scald for burns. Grimmsnarl sets Reflect/Light Screen so Delphox can NastBuild article →

The team pairs Mega Froslass and Focus Sash Volcarona as two complementary lead attackers. Mega Froslass opens Hail for perfect-accuracy Blizzard, uses Taunt to shut down setup and cycle plays, and hard-counters the ever-present Garchomp. Volcarona with Sash can be brought in safely because Froslass suppresses Stealth Rock setters; after a Quiver Dance, it tears through balance teams. Kingambit with Black Glasses handles Ghost-types and Aegislash, protecting Froslass from behind. Choice Scarf Garchomp closes out games from the back. Mega Greninja is the second Mega, covering Froslass's bad matchups such as Lucario, Delphox, and Gengar. Primarina handles Lopunny and Delphox with Perish Song as a draw option. Author notes the team's anti-cycle power is a strength, but the wide Mega pool meant individual matchup knowledge was shallow. Final: 727th / 2474.Build article →

The skeleton the author found at the end of last season carried over intact: Mega Pyroar, Glaceon, Slowking and Garchomp all stayed. Slowking is the heart of the team with a near-100 percent selection rate, using Regenerator and a slow Chilly Reception to keep generating favourable matchups and force the opponent to move second, and neither Hippowdon nor Garchomp can do anything to it. Mega Pyroar is the ace, taking the position Slowking builds and dismantling teams with high-powered Fire moves; it beats Charizard Y, Mimikyu, Aegislash and Archaludon and single-handedly answered the very common Metagross plus Primarina pairing. Glaceon leans on Snow Cloak and the snow Defense boost, surviving Close Combat from Mega Lopunny and Staraptor, though it saw less play once the team leaned Steel. Focus Sash Garchomp is tuned specifically to survive Hisuian Samurott and outspeed Archaludon, whileBuild article →

The author viewed the meta as dominated by four pillars—Garchomp, Archaludon, Corviknight, and Basculegion—and built a good-stuff team to handle all four. Garchomp runs a Stealth Rock-spreader role to synergize with Florges. Corviknight takes an Iron Defense setup set rather than U-turn. Basculegion uses Choice Scarf for speed control against fast Megas. Mega Florges is the core, covering Garchomp's weaknesses; it was held back on the final day due to heavy Corviknight usage. Mega Charizard Y handles Corviknight and Archaludon, complementing Florges. Umbreon covers Aegislash, Mega Dragonite, and Mega Gengar, giving Corviknight a stable support partner. Key trouble spots: Mega Lopunny/Starmie/Gengar paired with cycle, Perisong loops, and Corviknight+Garchomp mirror matchups coming down to luck. Final: 728th.Build article →

The plan is to lean on fast Mega mons plus priority moves so the team can scrap with anything. Mega Blaziken is the star: Speed Boost lets it hit hard from above, either raging from the lead slot or cleaning up after chip. It runs Flare Blitz, Close Combat, Thunder Punch (to pressure Azumarill and Primarina) and Protect. Mega Greninja's coverage fits the meta and never feels dead, though it's a touch short on power, so teammates set up its lanes first. Azumarill and Aegislash form the wallbreaking core, with Azumarill ending games out of nowhere via Belly Drum, and Aegislash built very fast to outspeed the Speed-invested crowd. Hippowdon soaks every physical attacker, and Archaludon is a throwaway lead for Stealth Rock or a Draco Meteor before clocking out.Build article →