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Kagemiya wanted to run Mega Mawile but got stuck around 1800, so he went back to last season's team and rode it to 71st. It's almost unchanged: Gengar swapped to Will-O-Wisp plus Pain Split to better beat Alolan Ninetales and Sitrus Garchomp, and Rotom swapped to Umbreon to check Hydreigon-Metagross and Gyarados. Mega Lopunny's Fake Out plus Giga Impact forcing a numbers lead is unique, but with Metagross, Mawile, and Alolan Ninetales more common its usage dropped. Basculegion shines in a Hippowdon meta and hard-counters Blaziken (which both Lopunny and Gengar fear), so it went out constantly. Umbreon switched to Toxic plus Moonlight for instant recovery, pressuring Sazan-Cross plus Primarina; late-season Umbreon mirrors were survivable thanks to that instant heal. He rates the build as having too many hard counters, screens, Baton Pass, Fighting-move Metagross, the Greninja-Mimikyu-MawiBuild article →

The team was built to maximize a single Mega Starmie with heavy physical investment, which the author had been developing since early April and found dominant in head-to-head matchups. Hisuian Zoroark disguises as Starmie to force opponents into unfavorable exchanges while the real Starmie secures numerical advantage. Since Starmie loses to Archaludon, the other five members are all structured to deal with it: Choice Scarf Garchomp and fast Archaludon handle it directly, while Hisuian Zoroark's Focus Blast and Icy Wind also contribute. Volcarona handles Umbreon-based stall, and Conkeldurr was brought in late specifically for Gyarados via Thunder Punch. The author considers the team's speed control and adaptability to meta shifts its key strengths.Build article →

The team is built around Mega Delphox, which pairs naturally with Heliolisk that absorbs all the Water and Ghost moves that threaten Delphox. The core play is using Will-O-Wisp and Mystical Fire to chip through the field while Heliolisk's Glare slows opponents down. Garchomp with Lum Berry and Swords Dance, Primarina with Calm Mind, and Corviknight with Build Up fill the offensive and defensive slots. The final member, Alolan Ninetales, uses Calm Mind plus Baton Pass to boost both Delphox's Special Attack and Special Defense, enabling it to break through Florges-style walls. The author considers Ceruledge, Milotic, and Swords Dance Aegislash the three matches that were never fully resolved.Build article →

The team is Florges-based, with the author choosing the offensive side of the Florges mirror meta. The key addition is Calm Mind Baton Pass Archaludon: when Florges forces opponents to send in their Florges checks, Archaludon receives the Sp.Atk and Sp.Def boosts and sweeps through walls like HD Corviknight, Aegislash, and Slowking. Archaludon is also strong enough to run standalone in regular cycles. Sash Garchomp pairs naturally with Florges, Choice Scarf Basculegion handles cycle disruption, Mega Scizor is the anti-mirror and anti-Clefable option, and Volcarona deters Lopunny and Kangaskhan. The author notes Basculegion's 70% loss rate stems from only bringing it to already unfavorable matchups.Build article →

Ksun built around his favorite Basculegion, borrowing a top-cut Archaludon plus Mimikyu plus Basculegion shell and adding the strong offensive Mega Blastoise as a fourth core. While laddering he found five gaps: a fast mon, a setup move that breaks walls, a way to cut Dark-type spam (mainly Hydreigon), a stopper for Mimikyu-resistant sweepers like Mega Gyarados, and something to beat a last Mimikyu. So he added Mega Delphox to break walls with Nasty Plot plus Substitute and check Gengar, Meganium, Metagross, Staraptor, and Alolan Ninetales, plus Focus Sash Metal Burst Kingambit to cover Mega Gyarados and random threats. Archaludon holds White Herb so Draco Meteor keeps its power even when resisted, and can punch through Hippowdon while keeping Sturdy; Mimikyu runs Life Orb offensively with its disguise as a stopper. He admits Bellibolt cycle and Umbreon are rough, and among Megas he fearBuild article →

The author wanted an electric-water high-power cycling team, starting from Life Orb Mega Raichu Y and Basculegion. Since Basculegion struggles against Mimikyu and Garchomp, they added a fully bulky Leftovers Hippowdon to lock down Garchomp, then Primarina to avoid getting blown up by a single Hydreigon Dark Pulse. Mega Charizard X handles bulky Garchomp, stall, and gimmick teams, while the last slot went from Corviknight to Orthworm on a friend's suggestion after Corviknight couldn't deal with heavy threats. The plan is Volt Switch off Metagross or Greninja to chip and reposition Raichu into Electro Cannon range, while lead Basculegion wrecks Mega Delphox or Mega Starmie cycle openers before they get read. The author admits the team leans heavily on prediction and matchup luck, and struggles hard against grass types plus Whirlwind Hippowdon, Garchomp, and Meowscarada.Build article →

The core is Leftovers Aegislash: last season the author's Hippowdon kept getting its plan wrecked by Doom Desire Aegislash, and they judged that easy-win potential without losing versatility was strong enough to build around. Hippowdon serves as the switch-in and even baits opposing Hippowdon swaps in the mirror via Yawn. Mega Dragonite was added for its 700 BST bulk, power, and mid-speed control, then Choice Scarf Meowscarada for speed and to check Garchomp and water types. To handle heavy Mega Lopunny and break Umbreon, Mega Blaziken with Earthquake came in, also punching through Skeledirge. As a last-day gamble, Iron Defense Mega Skarmory was added to cover ice-hitting Metagross and Gyarados. The author calls Aegislash the MVP, with Doom Desire hitting like a Blood Moon in this meta. Weaknesses are stall (especially Slowbro) and skilled Sylveon, and three Megas with no real fairy answBuild article →

The team runs Mega Dragonite and Mega Gengar as its two Mega slots. Dragonite handles the bulk of matchups through Multiscale durability and Extreme Speed cleanup, while Gengar is reserved for Florges-based teams, trading one-for-one with Shadow Trapping Destiny Bond. Mimikyu with Lum Berry and Swords Dance finds setup opportunities off opponents' locked moves or Hippowdon's Yawn. Hippowdon with Leftovers and Slack Off stalls opponents out and creates favorable positioning for Dragonite and Mimikyu. Choice Scarf Meowscarada locks out Gyarados and Florges with enough physical bulk to take at least one Basculegion hit. HD Iron Defense Corviknight was added last to manage Ceruledge and limit Archaludon's action economy. The main unresolved weakness is Dragon Dance Gyarados, against which the team has limited offensive coverage.Build article →

The team centers on Mega Kangaskhan with Scrappy, whose Double-Edge paralysis and freeze fishing is the primary win condition, backed by Sucker Punch for finishing. Mega Gengar is the secondary Mega, reserved for matchups like Primarina and Delphox that bother Kangaskhan, using Destiny Bond for forced one-for-one trades. Primarina covers physical threats and provides Encore disruption at lower speed. Choice Scarf Garchomp handles speed control, Corviknight with Iron Defense and Body Press anchors physical cycling, and Mega Charizard Y was added purely for the select screen pressure against Archaludon — the author acknowledges it was rarely brought and often lost when it was. The persistent weak points all season were Mirror Coat Archaludon, Kingambit, and Meowscarada.Build article →

The author built around Mega Sceptile, a long-loved favorite newly unlocked this season. Sceptile is frail and loses trades to Scarfers, so a switch-in was essential: Leftovers Protect Hippowdon tanks random threats, chips with Earthquake and sand, and opens paths via Yawn. Sitrus Berry bulky Archaludon was added to set Stealth Rock and check Meowscarada. Since Sceptile can't be brought against Corviknight, Scizor, or Meganium, the main Mega slot went to Will-O-Wisp/Encore Mega Delphox, which fits into almost any matchup. Rounding out: Chesto Berry Calm Mind Primarina to break Hippowdon, Umbreon, and Delphox, plus Black Glasses Swords Dance/Sucker Punch Kingambit as a sweeper. The author praises the support Delphox for its wide coverage and high usage, and calls Archaludon absurdly tanky, setting rocks while breaking foes head-on. Weak spots are Mega Raichu Y (Sceptile often can't be senBuild article →

The team is built around Mega Lopunny as the high-pressure lead, valued for its Fake Out plus Mega Kick burst and type resistances. Hippowdon handles physical threats and sets Stealth Rock; Aegislash was retooled from a defensive Leftovers set to a Swords Dance attacker, since passive play proved ineffective. Basculegion provides hitting coverage complementary to Lopunny, with its Mystic Water Wave Crash hitting surprisingly hard, and Avalugg uses Snow-boosted bulk to handle Gyarados. The last slot went to Mega Charizard Y, which the author admits was mostly dead weight and should be replaced. The main weaknesses were Dragonite and a lack of reliable options against Charizard-Y's checks.Build article →

Kashiwa hit rank 81 in singles with a classic Hippowdon plus Greninja-or-Gengar core, and the whole point was to dodge the endgame counter-teaming that buries popular squads by picking something strong but under-used. Mega Gengar traps with Shadow Tag alongside Mega Greninja, while Hippowdon is the near-100% pick that anchors everything. He added Knock Off just to beat Life Orb Mimikyu, which was breaking the old Hippowdon-Gengar shell. Archaludon and Meowscarada lead to set Stealth Rock and Spikes, and Mega Blaziken is basically a bluff piece. He rates Hippowdon as still under-prepared for and thus busted, with Hydreigon and Delphox as the tough new-format matchups.Build article →

The author built around Mega Scizor, valuing Swords Dance + Bullet Punch's revenge-kill potential and U-turn pivoting. Hippowdon provides Stealth Rock support to wear down Fire-types so Bullet Punch can sweep. Scarf Hydreigon is the fast cleaner that comes in on favorable matchups, and Calm Mind Primarina handles bulky walls like Corviknight and Hippowdon that the core struggles with. To break Corviknight cycles specifically, a secondary Mega Dragonite with Sub + Roost + Toxic Spikes pressure was added, supported by Sash Greninja as the Toxic Spikes setter who also threatens Clefable. Scizor's bulky spread lets both Megas scout in non-Mega form before committing. The author notes Rocks + U-turn chip massively limits Fire switch-ins; Primarina saw little use outside Blastoise matchups and has room to improve; admitted hard losses are Galarian Slowking and Toxapex.Build article →

The team is built around Florges and Ceruledge as a complementary pair: Florges handles the common counters to Ceruledge such as Skarmory and Galarian Slowking, while Ceruledge handles Garchomp and Hippowdon that trouble Florges. Scarf Garchomp stops fast Mega threats, Leftovers Archaludon walls physical attackers, Mega Delphox breaks defensive cores that the main pair cannot, and Mystic Water Primarina provides a second win condition against Gengar-centric cycles. The author structures the six as three mirrored pairs to create unpredictable team selection patterns. Chief weakness: a Cursed Body-Spell Tag Basculegion hard-counters most of the team, and certain Archaludon leads remain unsolved.Build article →