Loading...
Loading...
Top ranked-ladder builds published at season end — most include full sets and the original build article.
This is a Hydreigon + Mega Metagross + Hippowdon cycle team built around clean type synergy, grinding out pivot-heavy attrition games. Hydreigon runs a Choice Scarf as the scout lead, but against Meowscarada teams Metagross leads instead to chip hard. Hippowdon is the key cushion: it soaks physical setup sweepers like Blaziken, scouts Garchomp and Archaludon sets, and disrupts Alolan Ninetales' Aurora Veil. Primarina handles Hippowdon-Hydreigon cores, Blastoise, and Delphox pairings, though sloppy pivoting drains its HP and breaks the cycle. Mega Delphox is the second Mega for grass Megas, Gengar-Umbreon, and stall, with Hydreigon and Hippowdon setting up its sweep. Overqwil was slotted purely to answer Meowscarada. The author found Mega Greninja, Mega Starmie (with Bellibolt behind it), and Gyarados the toughest matchups.Build article →
Source: バトルデータベース チャンピオンズ · GameWith
The team runs a setup-cycle strategy anchored by Glimmora with Focus Sash as the entry hazard setter, Mega Gyarados as the primary setup sweeper, and four other setup attackers to supplement it. Glimmora's Toxic Debris produces poison spikes passively and delays opponents before the Focus Sash kicks in. Mega Gyarados drops Ice Fang in favor of Power Whip to hit Water-types, sweeping after Dragon Dance. Volcarona uses Sitrus Berry and physically bulky investment to set up Quiver Dance while probing for Flame Body burns. Aegislash with Cursed Body item combines Stealth Rock damage with Sword Dance plus Shadow Sneak to crack sturdy targets. Garchomp uses Haban Berry to bait and set up against Dragon callers, with Scale Shot providing both damage and Speed boosts. Mega Clefable closes the team as a Calm Mind backup answer to defensive foes. The author notes the concept was easy to pilot but personal play skill was the limiting factor. Final: 733rd.Build article →
The team started with Focus Sash Volcarona, which the author found could punish Blaziken by simply using Psychic against those trying to set up Swords Dance — this became the catalyst for the team. Mega Gyarados has been the author's physical ace since launch; the combination of Intimidate, Dragon Dance, and Waterfall flinch chance accounts for roughly 20% of wins by the author's estimate. Garchomp with Sitrus Berry sets Stealth Rock and phazes with Dragon Tail. Grimmsnarl sets dual screens to support Gyarados sweeps. Mega Froslass serves as the second special attacker with blizzard's freeze chance adding further variance. Scizor with Life Orb was the solution to Clefable teams and the problematic Meowscarada. The author's main weaknesses are Primarina and bulky Gyarados.Build article →
This team is built around Whimsicott's Leech Seed plus Substitute stall loop, using Bellibolt and two Mega-evolution slots to control matchups and funnel opponents into positions where Whimsicott can activate. Cotton Guard allows Whimsicott to handle normally unfavorable matchups like Scarf Meowscarada and Mega Metagross. Mega Gengar's Shadow Tag plus Protect synergizes with Leech Seed to trap and drain, while also clearing Baton Pass chains. Meowscarada provides Toxic Spikes and copies opponent's Stealth Rock via Copycat. The author self-critiques the season's short length leaving the team unrefined, points to Aegislash and Gholdengo as clear structural weaknesses, notes the irony of a Toxic Spikes team being weak to Toxic Spikes, and admits all six Toxapex matchups ended in draws.Build article →
Public ladder roster; no detailed set is available for this team.
The team builds around a three-member cycle of Mega Delphox, Archaludon, and Primarina, with Kingambit as the Swords Dance sweeper set up via Delphox's Will-O-Wisp. Delphox outspeed Mega Gengar, using Fire Blast and Psycho Shock as primary coverage and Will-O-Wisp to cripple physical attackers for Kingambit. Archaludon absorbs physical hits and runs Dragon Pulse, Flash Cannon, Thunderbolt, and Foul Play to handle various threats. Primarina cuts Dragon and Dark coverage with Encore to disrupt setup Pokémon like Aegislash. Garchomp provides general high-stat coverage against Volcarona and Glimmora. Kingambit is the endgame sweeper capitalizing on burnt opponents; Iron Head was kept over Low Kick for Primarina matchups. Mega Florges is an invitation-bait for opponents' Scizor, enabling Mega Delphox to function more freely. The author regrets missing Champion-rank opportunities due to mental fatigue. Final: 2472.Build article →
The author adopted Trick Room + Vivillon mid-season after identifying that it solved both the problem of being walled by defensive teams and the issue of getting no fast-Pokemon selection from opponents. Vivillon stacks Quiver Dance under Trick Room, benefits from sleep immunity to Toxic Spikes, and runs Leftovers for longevity. Archaludon with Sturdy hits the lead slot hard and uses Rock Tomb to cut Speed. Mega Greninja's type-changing ability twice over forces opponents into tricky decisions and helps draw out fast, frail targets for the Trick Room gameplan. Mimikyu sets Trick Room and uses Curse to exit while dealing chip; Kingambit is the Trick Room sweeper, boosted by Supreme Overlord and using Low Kick for coverage. The author notes that bulky Fire-types, burn Rotom, and priority-heavy teams are the main weaknesses.Build article →
He couldn't find an axis all season until he tried specially defensive Taunt Bulk Up Corviknight and found it strong into Hippowdon plus Primarina, into stall, and into ordinary physical attackers, so he built outward from there. Fire-type Megas like Delphox and Charizard burned it down, so he added Mega Starmie, which beats them and can pivot; Archaludon was absurd, so Mega Lopunny came in as the Fighting-type; he wanted pressure on Fire Megas even in games where Starmie can't be brought, hence Choice Scarf Garchomp; Archaludon was still a problem, so he threw in a Spell Tag special Aegislash; and Stealth Rock came from his usual White Herb Archaludon. The concept is to let the physical Megas rampage and turn whatever stops them into setup fodder for Corviknight. Corviknight carries the team and did the work in roughly 80 percent of his games, switching into Primarina and Hippowdon, TauBuild article →
The team's foundation is Mega Greninja with Sunny Day Weather Ball, a concept the author developed since Scarlet/Violet that finally came together with the new Heat Rock item and Greninja's new Mega form this season. Torkoal sets Stealth Rock and sun while Mega Greninja fires off sun-boosted Weather Ball from a speed tier of 142 — just below Mega Charizard Y's Flamethrower — catching opponents off-guard. Scarf Staraptor provides Brave Bird coverage and Intimidate support while luring in Gholdengo, Mega Metagross, and Skeledirge. Floette handles Glimmora and Archaludon matchups with its Sash while drawing out Mega Metagross. Mega Scizor fills a hidden-Mega slot against defensive teams. The author admits Gholdengo plus Umbreon/Skeledirge stall is unwinnable, Scarf users threaten Mega Greninja's speed advantage, and the team is fun but unstable.Build article →
This ladder snapshot only includes the roster; see the author’s original post for the full set.
The team centers on the Hippowdon and Toxapex dual-wall core, winning through poison and sandstorm chip combined with Stealth Rock and Earthquake in one of three ways: grinding the opponent down with passive damage, sending in the third member behind the cycle to clean up, or stalling to a draw via recovery and Baneful Bunker. The third member slot required high Speed above Mega Gengar, the ability to KO Corviknight and Scizor, resistance to Delphox's offense, and coverage to cut off Mourning's immunity. This led to Choice Scarf Hydreigon and a Protect-using Mega Delphox filling those slots. Aegislash with Swords Dance handles opponents the dual wall cannot break. Mega Gyarados was added as a side squad to specifically handle setups that hard-counter the main core. Author notes the core felt strong but genuine answers to Mega Lucario, Mega Gyarados, and Mega Gengar were never found. Final: 742nd / 2476.Build article →
Public ladder roster; no detailed set is available for this team.
The concept is cushion-based pivoting into high-powered special attacks. With no Choice Specs or Choice Scarf in the current item pool, and physical moves being constantly hampered by Intimidate and Rough Skin, the author chose to center on Mega Pyroar and Mega Floette as near-unresistable special attackers. Corviknight and Basculegion serve as the pivot duo to create favorable matchups for the aces; Garchomp with Focus Sash leads to set Stealth Rock; Mega Floette uses Calm Mind into Moonblast to sweep; and Primarina with Leftovers fills in as a flexible option with Perish Song against gimmick teams. The author's main weakness is having very little recoverability when the initial matchup goes wrong, since almost every member besides Corviknight is finite.Build article →
After spending last season sampling new Megas and never building enough practice to close out the final day, the author committed to running one team all month and picked Mega Scizor as the best fit for their style, adapting an existing article that used a Roost set. The Hippowdon plus Scizor plus Mimikyu pivot cycle is described as endless and is the default selection; since the format's Fire types are almost all special, Hippowdon goes specially defensive and uses Whirlwind so it never becomes setup fodder in a direct matchup. Scizor survives one hit from basically anything but Fire, doubling as a cycle piece and a Swords Dance win condition, though its power and bulk both sit at awkward numbers and it becomes useless if misplayed. Life Orb Mimikyu is far stronger now that the Orb exists, Lum Berry Garchomp lets the author select confidently into Scovillain and Yawn teams, and a delibeBuild article →
Public ladder roster; no detailed set is available for this team.
The team is structured around single-Mega Florges as a selective pressure tool—the author reasons that opponent team selection will always over-rotate to counter Florges, opening up favorable answers. Garchomp and Basculegion (male) complement Florges's coverage, the latter with Choice Scarf for speed control. Hisuian Samurott is called the team's best performer: Ceaseless Edge lays Iron Barbs damage, and Sucker Punch provides a wide trapping range, seeing use in nearly every game. Toucannon cuts coverage runs and rotates with U-turn plus Encore to trap setup attempts. Aegislash with Leftovers is primarily deployed for Florges mirror matchups and Mega Clefable. Key weaknesses: Primarina checks are limited to Florges or Aegislash, forcing luck; Corviknight is handled by brute-forcing with Florges plus Basculegion; Espathra-Clefable baton-pass sequences are manageable but unreliable. Final: 751st.Build article →
The author returned from Sword and Shield wanting a straightforward offensive team, and built around Archaludon out of fondness from the card game — finding an existing M-1 team article pairing it with Mega Lucario and using it directly. Archaludon sets Stealth Rock and chips with Electro Shot, then Mega Lucario cleans up weakened targets; the combination handles Pokémon that neither can finish alone. Mega Gyarados covers Lucario's bad matchups against Basculegion, Starmie, and Aegislash, and also gained Iron Head mid-season to handle Alolan Ninetales. Basculegion on a Sash blasts through with Water and Ghost attacks as a pressure pivot. Clefable self-sets up with Cosmic Power and Flamethrower to handle Meowscarada, Hisuian Samurott, and Mimikyu — the team's key threats. The author notes the team is beginner-friendly by design, but Meowscarada remains the hardest matchup and Gengar consiBuild article →
The author originally built around a bulky Mega Gengar abusing Will-O-Wisp + Hex with Shadow Tag, paired with Hippowdon and Umbreon for a status-based semi-stall cycle. Mega Florges covered water/special threats Umbreon hates, Skeledirge filled in vs Volcarona and Mega Mimikyu, and male Basculegion was added last specifically to handle Delphox. In practice the ghost-type overlap, Meowscarada matchup, and the awkwardness of leading Mega Gengar into Garchomp pushed him to swap Mega Gengar for Mega Venusaur, whose Leech Seed cycle felt so stable he abandoned the original concept. Umbreon runs Toxic to break opposing walls and pairs with Skeledirge against Aegislash. Mega Florges and Basculegion are selection-pressure pieces that bait steels and grass/water/dark mons into Umbreon's poison and Venusaur's seed. He admits both Megas lean special, so Umbreon could shift bulk to Defense, and the team's weakness is losing Gengar's hard win condition.Build article →