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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 →

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 →

The author started the final day at 2100 and climbed to 2421 in seven hours using a pure offense-oriented team, earning Champion rank. The core idea was simple: with limited time and a tired brain on the final day, stall and cycle teams were out — fast-paced head-to-head matchups were the way to go. Archaludon with White Herb leads the team, using its wide coverage to trade favorably against most opponents without risk of being punished after Draco Meteor. Mega Lucario is the season MVP, usually sent in second to take out two Pokemon with Close Combat. Greninja on a Focus Sash covers Hippowdon, which both Archaludon and Mimikyu struggle against. Mega Gengar runs a Perish Song plus Mean Look plus Destiny Bond set to dismantle stall teams, while Mimikyu patches holes with its disguise. Basculegion with Choice Scarf is mainly a team preview threat — forcing the opponent to bring counters thBuild article →

Built around status conditions and chip damage cycling into a late-game sweep, this team originated from a friend's remark that Scovillain plays like Celesteela, prompting the author to rework an old cycle-team concept. The dual-Mega core of Mega Dragalge and Mega Scovillain is the backbone: Dragalge's unique typing handles Mega Gengar and Mega Blaziken, while Scovillain's Leech Seed pairs with Clefable's Wish to check Steel Mega and high-BST Dragon cycles broadly. Hisuian Samurott's Sacred Sword chunks Archaludon, patching a key gap in the slow, Clefable-dependent cycle, and the Focus Sash ended up more reliable than the Expert Belt. Clefable carries the team as the overworked workhorse — wide switch-in range boosted by Leech Seed and burn chip, a late-game win condition, and a counter-play option against Mimikyu. The author flags over-reliance on Clefable, Scarfed Garchomp underperformBuild article →

The team is built around Mega Victreebel as the undisputed ace, designed to achieve reliable 1-for-1 trades in head-on matchups against the metagame staples Delphox, Greninja, and Charizard. Rather than the standard Chlorophyll or trapping-support set, Mega Victreebel runs a pure attacker spread — Knock Off, Giga Drain, Poison Jab, and Sucker Punch — exploiting the fact that Ingrain prevents opponents from switching out, forcing them to attack and walk into Sucker Punch. Whimsicott was the season MVP: a Cotton Guard + Leech Seed + Substitute loop that hard-walls Garchomp without Poison moves and Mimikyu without Curse. Gholdengo used Archaludon and Hippowdon as setup fodder for sweeps, and Dragonite leveraged Multiscale to set up Dragon Dance. The author admits the team has low overall polish — many wins came down to favorable matchup coin-flips — and highlights Mega Dragonite teams, PrimBuild article →

The team was built around Toxapex after noticing that the prevalence of Fire-type Mega evolutions had reduced Steel-type usage, making Toxic easier to land. The core of Mega Scovillain and Toxapex handles physical threats together: Scovillain chips with Flamethrower and Leech Seed while Toxapex stalls with Toxic and Recover, and burns or sandstorm chip covers Poison- and Steel-types immune to Toxic. Mega Delphox serves as the second Mega to deal with threats the core struggles against, using Magical Flame and Encore to disrupt setup and Wish to heal teammates. Choice Scarf Meowscarada acts as a stopper against Swords Dance Garchomp and Basculegion that threaten to break the core, with Foul Play punishing high-Attack foes and Trick removing Aegislash's shield. Aegislash breaks stall teams built around Venusaur and Dragalge — including landing Fighting coverage to KO Umbreon after a SwordsBuild article →

With rain teams and Alolan Ninetales snow squads dominating Season M-3, the author built a sun team around regular Ninetales, whose core strategy is to open with Nasty Plot then Baton Pass the +2 Special Attack boost to teammates. The main receivers are Whimsicott with a Life Orb and Mega Pyroar — Whimsicott can one-shot uninvested Garchomp and even Mega Blaziken after the boost, while Mega Pyroar's Infernal Parade ability stacked on top of Nasty Plot and sun lets it one-shot Toxapex and Mega Charizard X. Mega Greninja runs Protean and hits with Weather Ball under sun for simultaneous Fire- and Ice-type coverage, threatening Mimikyu and Aegislash, while Mega Slowbro and Garchomp mostly function as lead-bait to draw out unfavorable matchups. The author notes the team excels against Mimikyu and Aegislash and becomes overwhelming once the Baton Pass lands, but falls short when Ninetales faiBuild article →