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Top ranked-ladder builds published at season end — most include full sets and the original build 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 →
Source: バトルデータベース チャンピオンズ · GameWith
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 →
The author tried the new Pokemon but none clicked, so he brought back last season's face-to-face team almost unchanged, only tweaking items and EVs, and made Champion rank again (207th, plus 231st on an alt). The core is Vivillon, which sets up on slower foes and sweeps, and even when benched it baits out Gholdengo so Mega Lopunny or Greninja can punish. Mega Lopunny sweeps after Swords Dance and handles Vivillon's headaches like Hippowdon, Meowscarada and Mimikyu, while a Life Orb Mimikyu tanks priority and hits back. Espathra leads with a boosting beam to clear the way, Greninja's switch-reading Water Shuriken shreds Steel/Fairy pivots, and Archaludon patches Espathra's weak spots. He says the team plays fine any way you send it out, but struggles against Mega Venusaur plus Umbreon plus Skeledirge, and against Mega Scovillain plus Tyranitar.Build article →
This ladder snapshot only includes the roster; see the author’s original post for the full set.
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 ladder snapshot only includes the roster; see the author’s original post for the full set.
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 →
This is a hyper-offense matchup team built around Mega Mawile as the ace, with Sinistcha and Mimikyu each carrying Trick Room to power it up. Sinistcha is the perfect complement: it pivots in against Garchomp, Mega Gyarados and Mega Metagross that try to kill Mawile and turns games around under Trick Room, while also hitting Mawile's checks like Hippowdon, Water Rotom and Skeledirge, with one-shotting Hippowdon feeling amazing. Mimikyu has poor synergy with Mawile but earns its spot purely on Disguise, mostly forcing itself in to set Trick Room and then Curse. Against wall teams and slow cycle builds that Trick Room can't break, the author uses a Focus Sash Dragapult that has answers to Skeledirge and Corviknight. Annihilape adds Rock Tomb, Stealth Rock and Taunt to punish slow cycles and pop Sashes. The last slot, a Swords Dance Mega Charizard X, mainly spreads out the opponent's counteBuild article →
Uhhyo built this around pairing raw power with a pivot cycle, squeezing the most out of the new Megas while still letting a cycle team win one-on-one matchups. Garchomp, Altaria and Mega Charizard Y are the fixed core: a Jolly Scarf Garchomp balances speed and power, 20 EVs in Defense sharply raise its win rate against physical attackers, and Rock Tomb answers Ceruledge's Weak Armor. The newly explored Mega Raichu Y is the breakout piece, using Volt Switch to pivot and Encore to punish setup, while Mega Charizard Y sets sun and cycles weather with Corviknight, the switch-in that holds the whole engine together. The author admits trouble against foes that raise both Speed and Attack, plus Glimmora spikes into Mega Delphox and a Defog-blocking Gholdengo.Build article →
Sea-bell's team is a face-and-setup baton core built around Gyarados as the ace: its Intimidate makes an easy setup opening, it can sweep solo off Dragon Dance, and it also receives batons from Polteageist or Blaziken. With Primarina flooding the ladder and physical attackers like Starmie, Blastoise, Swampert and Basculegion tanking a +1 Earthquake, he swapped Waterfall for Power Whip, same power but far wider coverage, trading away flinches and eating miss risk, yet even the Gyarados mirror becomes winnable. The other pillar is Polteageist, self-sufficient with Strength Sap and Cursed Body to make its own openings as both setup and baton user, though it does nothing into hard walls. Clefable, plagued by constant crits taken, he calls the team's biggest liability. Standard lead is Glimmora or Blaziken plus Polteageist plus Gyarados.Build article →
Futon always wanted a rain team with raw, obvious power, and this season Mega Swampert got unbanned, so he built around a Pelipper + Mega Swampert core that muscles through games while denying weather setters like Hippowdon, Alolan Ninetales and Charizard Y any tempo. Archaludon runs Leftovers + Solid Rock so it can split Electro Beam to punish Meowscarada and Corviknight U-turns; the Choice Scarf went not on Archaludon but on Pelipper, an invisible fast sweeper opponents never account for and the team's key idea. Mega Swampert carries Protect to lock down Charizard Y alongside Scarf Pelipper and Garchomp's Stealth Rock; Iron Defense + Body Press Mega Metagross walls tons of physical attackers and was the season's winning pick. Bulky Focus Sash Garchomp guarantees at least even games versus Mega Raichu Y and lead Archaludon, and Meowscarada mops up Wash Rotom and Hippowdon + Dragonite coBuild article →
Roli's team is a stall build, Mega Slowbro for physical walling, Snorlax for special, Toxapex as the soft cushion, with partner Garchomp locked in. Pure stall felt too passive, so Mega Scovillain joined as a special attacker that also eases the walls' load with burns, using Endeavor to punish the Hippowdon that rush in to set Stealth Rock, while Insomnia breaks Yawn loops. Scarf Hisuian Samurott rounds it out against wall-breakers like Gholdengo, Mega Delphox and Mega Gengar. The Endeavor-plus-Leech-Seed Scovillain is a fun trick, and a Fire Mega slots well into the meta. Toxapex is the best cushion, tanking even Metagross's Psychic Fangs once Scovillain burns the target. Snorlax runs Thick Fat for special bulk with Earthquake and Fissure as mind-game options. The author lists Annihilape, Gholdengo, Blastoise, Sub-Roost Dragonite and sudden Substitute setup sweepers as trouble.Build article →
Helpinass leads with Hippowdon: a high-Special-Defense Hippowdon that almost never gets one-shot on turn one reliably sets Stealth Rock and Yawn, and it was chosen in over 90% of games. Its partner is a Taunt Mega Gyarados, a physical setup sweeper that still cracks the now-common bulky Hippowdons. Scope Lens Archaludon completes the split, Gyarados breaks physically while Archaludon breaks specially, giving easy wins over slow Bellibolt stall and screens Clefable. Life Orb Mimikyu comes in for the Blaziken and Garchomp that Gyarados struggles with, staying alive in slugfests where Archaludon can't. The author admits the last two slots drifted all game, so Blaziken and Alolan Ninetales barely saw play and most games ran the top four. He simply concedes to Mega Raichu Y, Mega Scovillain, Iron Defense Metagross, Glimmora-plus-Staraptor, and Meganium faster than Archaludon; Primarina-MetagrBuild article →
Shake ran a rare Mega Staraptor plus Mega Pyroar pairing, the idea being to chip hard and then push Pyroar or Garchomp through. The opening Mega Staraptor carries Final Gambit to forcibly whittle slow mons like Hippowdon, Primarina and Corviknight and open the way for the backline, plus U-turn to strip Mimikyu's disguise and punish pivots; just showing it at team preview baits out Mimikyu and Mega Delphox. Mega Pyroar was the Mega used in about 70% of games, brutal against the ubiquitous Mimikyu, one Overheat nukes Hippowdon, and it beats Gholdengo, Corviknight, Skarmory and Aegislash. Mimikyu is the super MVP, brought nearly every game, and once its Swords Dance plus Wood Hammer drops Hippowdon the game is basically won. Scarf Garchomp closes as the third pick with many removal routes alongside Mimikyu, and Archaludon adds Stealth Rock and answers Starmie and Greninja. The author lists Build article →
Aratama built this around making Orthworm the star, with every member catchable in a Friend Ball. Core Orthworm carries a U-turn-style Shed Tail plus Snake trap moves, and since Mega Raichu Y's selection pressure draws in ground types like Garchomp, it was chosen in nearly 100% of games; the trap move lands finishers on the Mimikyu that would otherwise steal Raichu with a Life Orb Play Rough and on the Floette it can't beat head-on, while naturally answering the popular Overqwil teams. Mega Raichu Y is the intimidation build, No Guard with Zap Cannon, Focus Blast, Grass Knot and Fake Out to break the lead-sash plans many opponents run. Life Orb Mimikyu has strong one-on-one presence, especially into Dragapult-plus-Garchomp, pivoting via Orthworm then setting up with its disguise intact. Focus Sash Primarina is the special matchup piece against slow Mega Dragonite games. Scrafty was addedBuild article →
The team was built around the newly-released Mega Metagross, paired from day one with Hydreigon, Mega Delphox, and Primarina. Sneasler was added over Hippowdon to set Toxic Spikes and improve the matchup against stall cycles. Choice Scarf max-speed Hydreigon handles mirror matchups and fast threats; Mega Metagross runs Psycho Fang to break screens and Earthquake for mirrors; Primarina with the Expert Belt is the most-selected member, securing key KOs on common threats and winning mirror matchups. Sneasler on Focus Sash stops setup sweepers and spreads poison, while Mega Delphox uses Will-O-Wisp and Encore to shut down physical setup aces. Archaludon with Chesto Berry and Rest absorbs Mega Gyarados and Mimikyu. The author rates the team as strong in mirror matchups and effective at hiding set details, but weak to Mega Raichu (no reliable ground coverage) and physical setup sweepers like MBuild article →