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Player 'Doragoon' reached rank 904 at rating 2454 in M-1 singles, building around the six-generation legend Mega Kangaskhan alongside Aegislash and Garchomp. The pairing logic is mutual coverage: Kangaskhan's Fake Out-into-Double-Edge clears most things, with Aegislash catching the Stamina Archaludon that Kangaskhan draws out — and the two cover each other's Fighting and Ghost weaknesses respectively. Garchomp adds Fake Out chip damage then circles back as a late sweeper, with Rough Skin providing passive attrition in cycles. Ram Berry Primarina handles Yawn-loop strategies and uses Encore to lock opposing setup aces. Mega Greninja targets Hippowdon-heavy cycle teams and Starmie-heavy matchups. Volcarona covers Lucario and Lopunny. The author notes Kangaskhan was used in roughly 95% of games; weaknesses include Mega Venusaur as a lead being a near-guaranteed loss, Dragonite mirror matchups, and an unoptimized Volcarona Speed stat.Build article →

This is a Sticky Web plus Bulk Up Staraptor cheese team. The Mega Staraptor core runs Contrary, so Close Combat hits hard while making it bulkier, baiting Ghosts and switch-ins that it then uses as Bulk Up setup fodder against Mimikyu, Ceruledge, Basculegion and Aegislash, and it can even stack boosts un-evolved into Metagross and Mawile. The back MVP is Slurpuff: Sticky Web plus Yawn plus Endeavor, using Unburden to spam Yawn from above, cripple walls with Endeavor, and it is nearly unstoppable without Taunt. Archaludon is the second sweeper under Web with wide coverage and bulk, using Shuca Berry to check Metagross and Gyarados, while Nasty Plot Substitute Hydreigon beats the Gholdengo, Skeledirge and stall that Staraptor cannot, and Mega Lopunny covers Gholdengo, Dragonite and fast megas. The standard lead is Slurpuff plus Staraptor plus Archaludon. The author says the build comfortabBuild article →

Shin climbed from 320,000th in M-1 to a brief Champion rank and 908th, built around a Choice Scarf Staraptor axis, paired with a fast Mega Greninja for speed control and two pivots, Heat Rotom and Primarina, to cycle and chip. Staraptor uses Reckless Brave Bird and Double-Edge, pressing forward when ahead and using U-turn to make favorable matchups when behind. Mega Mawile is its type partner, one-shotting things with Huge Power, while a special-attack Garchomp ambushes Corviknight and Archaludon that switch in expecting a physical attacker. Heat Rotom is a physical wall and Volt Switch pivot, and Primarina uses Alluring Voice and Flip Turn to pressure Umbreon and walls, while the disguised Mega Greninja ambushes the Hydreigon plus Metagross cores. He stresses he never overhauled the team, only tweaked it, grinding a huge number of games; the weakness is a lack of setup or phazing, so buBuild article →

This is a borrowed Hippowdon plus Gyarados sand cycle, based on a 5th-place M-A Season 2 team. The core idea is that Hippowdon beats the new-gen threats across the board, wall Ninetales, rain, Mimikyu-Mawile, Blaziken and Metagross, and paired with Gyarados it holds the whole cycle together. Hippowdon runs the standard Stealth Rock plus Yawn plus Slack Off set, while Leftovers Intimidate Gyarados covers the Primarina and Meowscarada that Hippowdon fears, disrupts setup with Taunt, and has wide, hard-to-waste coverage. Mega Glimmora is the best partner for Hippowdon with its sand Special Defense boost and high power, Mega Lopunny forces coverage with speed and No Guard, and the author calls Blade-form Aegislash the most underrated mon whose damage explodes when it wins a prediction. Choice Scarf Staraptor is the breaker whose Reckless Brave Bird one-shots Mega Delphox and Mega Venusaur. TBuild article →

The team was built around surprise moves to secure easy wins. Meowscarada with Choice Scarf uses Power Gem to pick off Talonflame and Volcarona leads, Triple Axel for Garchomp and Dragonite, and Dark Pulse in the last slot to threaten Aegislash. Mega Garchomp snowballs with Scale Shot boosting Speed, then sweeps with Swords Dance. Gengar with Focus Sash opens games or checks from the back using Shadow Sneak. Defensive Volcarona handles physical attackers and can sweep with Will-O-Wisp plus Quiver Dance. The main weakness is Mega Charizard X, which breaks through the core. Orthworm is the oddball: Metal Burst punishes Mega Dragonite and Mega Lopunny, and its bulk is tuned to survive Fighting moves. The author admits Mega Florges barely saw play and functioned mainly as a decoy.Build article →

The author is a four-month competitive newcomer who stayed in the top 999 for the first time, built around an offensive Snorlax. Snorlax breaks first and Greninja and Azumarill clean up, a plan he says won roughly 80 percent of games. Snorlax runs Earthquake plus Ice Punch with a fighting-resist berry, hitting the meta hard and freely phazing through teams, while Mega Raichu Y is the main attacker tuned to survive Life Orb Mimikyu's Swords Dance Shadow Sneak and Mega Mawile's Sucker Punch, and Lightning Rod lets it eat Electric moves. Mega Greninja switched from Focus Sash Torrent to Protean, using Water Shuriken to pick off sped-up threats after Snorlax breaks, while Corviknight is the top physical wall and a team-preview pressure piece. Skeledirge handles Baton Pass setup teams like Clefable, and Azumarill even fights Gholdengo thanks to Knock Off. He admits Bellibolt, Vivillon and MeoBuild article →

Excadrill is the author's favourite, so he built a sand team from it, skipping the new Mega to keep Sand Rush and outspeed fast threats under sand. Hippowdon sets the weather with heavy Special Defense so it can stand its ground against both physical and special hits while laying Stealth Rock for Excadrill. Mega Charizard Y is the core idea: rewriting the weather resets the sand counter, so re-sending Hippowdon gives five fresh sand turns, and with Roost it cycles alongside Hippowdon to grind opponents down before Excadrill cleans up, while also handling Water, Grass, and Corviknight. For coverage, Leftovers Archaludon with Metal Sound and Substitute answers Mega Starmie, Skarmory, and Bellibolt stall cores; Lum Berry Mimikyu deals with Mega Lopunny and Mega Delphox; Mega Gyarados uses Dragon Dance to overrun Mega Dragonite and Garchomp that the core struggles with, plus Power Whip for WBuild article →

The team centers on luring opponents with a Garchomp-Dragonite-Dragapult core, then breaking them with a Mega Charizard Y, Corviknight, and Choice Scarf Meowscarada cycle. After finding Mega Florges plus Archaludon worked well initially, the author switched focus to Mega Charizard Y as the main win condition since Florges was consistently shut down by Archaludon, Aegislash, and Scizor. Corviknight handles entry hazard removal and pivot play, which is essential to getting Charizard Y onto the field safely. Mega Florges shifted to a decoy-and-lure role with Psychic to threaten Glimmora and Toxapex. Basculegion serves as a disruptive lead against setup teams. The team's biggest weakness is Mega Lucario: a single Swords Dance can sweep the entire squad.Build article →

This team is headlined by Vivillon, with the idea of simply out-slugging with high-matchup mons, warping the opponent's selection with team preview, and keeping Trick Room and setup as comeback insurance. Vivillon runs Leftovers Compound Eyes with Hurricane, Substitute, Quiver Dance and Sleep Powder, feasting on grinders like Umbreon, Corviknight, Dragalge and Victreebel, and punishing Hippowdon and Archaludon without a phazing move. Mega Lopunny is the Adamant attacker, Focus Sash Espathra hard-checks Metagross and the hidden Hydreigon plus Metagross core, Mimikyu runs Curse plus Trick Room, and Mystic Water Basculegion is the Trick Room ace and slow-cycle killer that can now be brought alongside Lopunny, with an Oran Berry Steel Beam Archaludon as glue. The lead is chosen from these depending on the opponent. He says it handles offense and cycle teams but fears Meowscarada plus HippowdBuild article →

The team was built around the author's partner Glaceon, paired with Mega Dragonite and Mega Florges as the three-way core. Glaceon with Never-Melt Ice upgrades Blizzard range so it one-shots key threats like Mega Starmie and Basculegion; Charm and Yawn round out its toolkit in a way the author considers unique. Glimmora leads to lay Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock, using Mud Shot to slow threats and chip away for the sweepers. Mega Dragonite covers wide ground with Dragon Pulse, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, and Roost, and doubles as a Baton Pass receiver from Espathra. Mega Florges can push through unfavorable matchups on raw power; Moonblast, Draining Kiss, and Psychic make it a solid batonpass destination, though the author feels the bulk tuning still came up short. Samurott fills the last slot with Black Glasses-boosted Shadow Sneak, also covering Archaludon. Espathra acts as the speed booster and Baton Pass link, enabling both Mega sweepers to snowball.Build article →