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The build starts from Mega Lucario, the author's favorite Pokemon. He treated six top-tier Megas of the meta (Metagross, Lopunny, Floette, Starmie, Mega Charizard Y, Mega Dragonite) plus five strong non-Mega threats (Mimikyu, Garchomp, Primarina, Sylveon, Hippowdon) as the enemies to beat, then built the whole team around that. A bulky HP/Def Mega Charizard Y trades directly with the top meta, Mimikyu handles the Garchomp matchup that both Lucario and Charizard struggle with, Primarina patches the Hippowdon problem, Scarf Garchomp sets Stealth Rock while still attacking, and Scizor - originally running Defog, later switched to Swords Dance - was added specifically to tank Thunder Punch from Meowscarada. The author says the team has many Pokemon that shrug off priority moves, making it flexible and fun to play, but admits he lost his nerve to keep climbing in the final stretch, bet on theBuild article →

The team is built around Vanilluxe: its offense and Taunt make it hard to switch into and let it cleanly beat meta staples like Garchomp, Primarina, Meowscarada and Hippowdon, so team-building around it is easy. Choice Scarf Garchomp covers the Steel, Fire and Rock types that trouble Vanilluxe, cashes in the numbers advantage it creates with Earthquake, and Stealth Rock forces Fire Megas into a lose-lose choice. Mega Charizard Y turns Weather Ball into an Ice move under the hail Vanilluxe sets, blasting Garchomp and Dragonite, so the two patch each other's weak spots. Mega Starmie handles what beats the first two, like Glimmora and Delphox, and since nothing walls it opponents must lead into it, letting Vanilluxe win the exchange; Hippowdon then Yawns down late threats like Scarf Garchomp and Hydreigon, or stalls to a draw when a game looks unwinnable. Life Orb Sylveon closes it out withBuild article →

This is a Curse Scizor cycle team that finished 13th in Champions M-5 at a 2570 rating. With Mega Floette dominating the meta, the author wanted at minimum a Steel-type that resists Fairy moves, so Mega Scizor became the core, using Curse plus Roost to stall physical attackers, Bullet Punch to close games, and U-turn to keep momentum. Leftovers Rotom-Wash leads and cycles, covering Corviknight and Aegislash that give Scizor trouble. Scarf Gholdengo and Life Orb Mimikyu split closing duty against Delphox and Iron Defense Metagross, Stealth Rock Garchomp pressures Charizard, and Lum Berry Nasty Plot Hydreigon breaks through as the surprise wallbreaker. The author felt the team rarely lost at team preview, though Mimikyu being the only reliable Blaziken answer forced it into every selection, a hidden weak point.Build article →

After catching a Dragonite in Legends Z-A, the author built around Mega Dragonite, pairing it with Mega Scizor for defensive synergy, then added a physically bulky Leftovers Avalanche Gyarados since both Megas feared Garchomp, a Swords Dance Aegislash for damage, a Sylveon to check Dragon-types, and a Scarf Garchomp for hazards and picking off Lucario. Dragonite kept missing moves and never felt right, so it was cut for an Adamant Mega Tyranitar, whose huge stats and Taunt let it break stall teams and made it the squad's best piece, while Mega Scizor became a near-unkillable mixed wall outside of Fire moves. Struggling against Bulk Up Corviknight, Iron Defense Mega Metagross, Mega Staraptor, and Mega Meganium, the author swapped in a Fan Rotom to check all four, cutting the least-used Aegislash. Iron Defense Mega Metagross, hazard-setting Archaludon, and Dragon Dance Mega Charizard X remBuild article →

The core is still the author's long-running Hydreigon plus Metagross duo. Choice Scarf Hydreigon waits to see whether Garchomp has hazards down or Fairy/Dark-types worn out before deciding to clean up or just chip and pass, while Mega Lopunny is the Fighting-type main attacker, propped up by Clefable's Thunder Wave and Wish, hitting almost everything except Rotom. Araquanid is a Rest-Sleep Talk pick built to handle Hippowdon, its Fire/Ground/Steel resistances covering Metagross's weak spots, with Water Bubble Surf strong enough to one-shot Mega Lucario. Garchomp sets Stealth Rock and Spikes while riding Clefable's Wish, grinding down even stall teams the author hadn't prepared for. Metagross was mostly a preview-phase decoy, and the author says never fully polishing that slot is the main reason the season fell short of a top-ten finish.Build article →

This team keeps last season's Mega Metagross + Mega Gengar core, reaching a 2500 rating with a better rank and 12th in August's Monthly Challenge. Mega Metagross is the ace: top power, speed and coverage for head-on fights, tanky enough to shrug off most super-effective hits. Mega Gengar is the real engine, using Shadow Tag to trap troublesome Pokemon for a Perish Song kill, which frees Hydreigon and Hippowdon to play more aggressively. Hydreigon is underpowered alone and weak to Fairies but pivots on its resistances; Hippowdon tanks physical hits while chipping with sand and Yawn; Primarina handles Hippowdon; Focus Sash Garchomp covers the team's one gap against setup sweepers and Archaludon. The team handles head-on, cycle and setup play alike, with flinch and poison effects giving it natural comeback potential.Build article →

With the meta leaning physical, the author built around Gyarados and Archaludon for their strong synergy: Gyarados runs Dragon Dance to check Hippowdon, while Archaludon leads with Stealth Rock or pivots in to disrupt the board. Too many Steel-types pushed Mega Meganium into the first Mega slot, and Choice Scarf Garchomp was added as a proactive attacker -- Meganium cleans up generic threats while Garchomp handles enemy Megas. To break Floette and Venusaur-Umbreon stall cores, Delphox became a Nasty Plot Mega for the second slot, and Toxapex was added late for Mimikyu and Glimmora match-ups. The author felt Meganium's plays get read too easily from team preview, that Scarf Garchomp often becomes the opponent's setup fodder even after winning face-offs, and that their real weakness is being unable to bluff through tough teams -- team-building itself is their biggest challenge.Build article →