competitive_discussion

[torn parrot]

I mean it hits veryyy hard

That’s worth something for sure

[cyan smelt]

How about we try and make mega sharpedo work

[red willow]

He bites their ear off

In a fisticuffs battle

[noble hatch]

thats genuinely my alt mega on the medicham team

XD

[sudden remnant]

mawile mogs its entire existence

better typing better base ability etc

[red willow]

Does mawile exist

[torn parrot]

Probably the fatest non koraidon close combat to ever exist

[red willow]

I havent seen one yet

[sudden remnant]

its not in the game they were too scared of its power

[red willow]

Oh right on lol

[sudden remnant]

shall i say its huge power

[cyan smelt]

Isn't mawile really mid

[sudden remnant]

mawile was one of the top megas back in the day

intimidate becoming huge power is HUGE for it

[torn parrot]

But mawile can’t click close combat ❤️

I do love mawile tho

[red willow]

Im just ready for mega metagross mirrors all day

[cyan smelt]

Why did they include sableye but not mawile

[sudden remnant]

why click close combat when i can delete you with neutral play rough iron head and crunch/fire fang/thunder fang (ice fang isnt needed)

or sucker punch

https://tenor.com/view/megumin-konosuba-explosion-meledak-ledakan-gif-12327270

[cyan smelt]

U will use mega blastoise and u will like it

[sudden remnant]

i dont know but i will execute whoever did that when i find them

[torn parrot]

Medicham also faster that’s something

[sudden remnant]

does not save it 😭

isnt mega medicham in that awkward 85 speed tier

[red willow]

We off that train now

[torn parrot]

I dunno i feel like if you wanted to run mega medicham you would be just fine

[sudden remnant]

100

[torn parrot]

In a format like this anyways

[cyan smelt]

Functionally 200 isn't it

[sudden remnant]

im talking about its speed and no its attack would functionally be 220 i think

[dense latch]

it's higher than 200

[torn parrot]

That’s a fat close combat sir

[dense latch]

what is doubled isn't the base stat but the actual attack stat

[red willow]

Yeah it hits like a truck but like

[sudden remnant]

with 0 investment 31 ivs at level 50 isnt it your base stat+20

120x2 would be 240

[dense latch]

with +atk and max evs in atk it's effectively base 252 atk if the damage calc is right

[torn parrot]

252+ Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 4 Def Garchomp: 373-439 (104.1 - 122.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Holy mama

[sudden remnant]

it just barely kills what the fuck is this

[dense latch]

medicham gets to 334 attack

[torn parrot]

What is it not

[sudden remnant]

104 minimum on a pure power is crazy

should be higher tbh

[cyan smelt]

Can it bullet punch an aerodactyl

[sudden remnant]

medicham doesnt get bullet punch i dont think

[red willow]

Does it get priority?

[rustic mountain]

chomps bulky its a neutral hit

also, its medicham

[cyan smelt]

It does

[dense latch]

you cant expect it to do like 125% on a neutral hit

[sudden remnant]

booooooo

[rustic mountain]

facts

[torn parrot]

Whoah it has fake out???

Yes please

[red willow]

That fake out is gonna do like 40 percent lmfaooo

[dense latch]

it's actually stronger than i thought

24-28% to a garchomp

[red willow]

The only thing that sketches me out is flying types being around every nook and cranny

[rustic mountain]

still super early, lot of mons that i think are underexplored atm. scizor has done a lot more then i think ppl initially anticipated

[torn parrot]

Guys mega medicham one shots incin after being intimidated twice

[red willow]

Thats actually hillarious

[noble hatch]

pure power go brrr

[red willow]

"Bro hes -2 Im staying in and blitzing to ko"

[torn parrot]

-2 252+ Atk Pure Power Medicham-Mega Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Incineroar: 204-242 (100.9 - 119.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

[rustic mountain]

u thinkin kommo gengar?

[dense latch]

what are you cooking drago

o

[molten oasis]

Yessir

[sudden remnant]

cc is 120 bp iron head is 80
252+ Atk Huge Power Mawile-Mega Iron Head vs. 4 HP / 4 Def Garchomp: 135-159 (73.3 - 86.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
and i wont even tell you how much play rough does just know the dragon dies

[dense latch]

that's been popping up recently right

[rustic mountain]

yep

[molten oasis]

Dammit I got beat to the punch

[sudden remnant]

nonstab 40 lower base power

[dense latch]

my friend's been trying it out

[molten oasis]

But I also think that could cook so I shall continue anyway

Mini mini CSR Zama

[rustic mountain]

lmao

seems good

[molten oasis]

Well cuz I was like

Gengar hasn’t popped off much

[dense latch]

perish trap has nicer lines with gengar now too

[molten oasis]

So what could work and I saw kommo and was like “I see a vision”

[stuck perch]

https://x.com/duskullbf/status/2046274846238368229/video/1?s=46

tbae ❄️ (@duskullbf)

this was turn 1

▶ Play video

X · Apr 20, 2026, 5:08 PM

[rustic mountain]

they cover eachother decently

[molten oasis]

Not nearly as well as like

[stuck perch]

Lmaoo he shudve just swapped

[sudden remnant]

this guy is so goated i watch his videos

[molten oasis]

Other shit but in a power level this low it should be good

[rustic mountain]

its had success

[stuck perch]

I bet lol that was a hilarious move

[molten oasis]

Still need to find stuff to deal with psychic types

Thinking aegislash and incin atm

[stuck perch]

Dark?

[molten oasis]

MOSTLY Delphox

[dense latch]

the original japanese gengar kommo-o team had gambit incin i think

yea

[molten oasis]

That makes sense

[sudden remnant]

ghost

[dense latch]

gengar kommo sini aero incin gambit

[molten oasis]

I was like 2 mons away from that and went “yk wide guard would be nice into lass”

And aegi’s a bit better into aero floette sneasler stuff

Hm

[dense latch]

i wonder what we'll see in the meta post vr tour

[molten oasis]

I’m curious too

[dense latch]

scizor and zard x kinda popped off

including a team with both lol

very fun team but i would always force zard into bad mus bc ddance coaching is way too fun to not use every game

[stuck perch]

https://x.com/pokemon_daily/status/2045998132266246157/video/1?s=46

Pokémon Daily (@pokemon_daily)

me after releasing a pokemon for having bad IVs and nature

▶ Play video

X · Apr 19, 2026, 10:49 PM

Lmaooo

[sudden remnant]

my bad yall my instagram feed is giving me peak dad rock reels

https://tenor.com/view/jared-leto-30secondstomars-thekill-jared-leto-gif-5354752

[molten oasis]

Hmm, milotic, Primarina maybe

[sudden remnant]

so ive been told milotic is pretty good anti incin

wheres grasspon when i need it

[red willow]

WAIT so people are more likely to think Im perish trap if Im on komoo and gengar

When in actuality Im just basically hittin em till they are dead lol that explains some of the weird stuff Ive seen into me td

Yeah buddy go on and taunt gengar

[foggy lodge]

Me in Pokémon Go

[red willow]

I was sludge bombing your dome piece anyway

[sudden remnant]

REAL LMAO

[red willow]

Thats actually a hillarious strat

Make myself look like a perish trap geng team but not be lmao

Idk what else I could implement to use that to advantage tho

[sudden remnant]

"let me pretend that i hate people while in fact hating their existence"

[red willow]

Fr Ive eaten 3 taunts on gengar so far after Id clicked sludge bomb/wave

Funny stuff

[sudden remnant]

maybe they just think you're reading their taunts

[red willow]

Gigachadbrain.exe

[sudden remnant]

speaking of gigachad

why is someone selling a copy of heartgold for 35 dollars

whos haunting that cartridge that they wanna get rid of it that badly

[red willow]

Prolly bootlegged copy Id guess

Unless

They didnt price check shite lmao

[sudden remnant]

uh no its for sure bootlegged cuz there is also a platinum and a soulsilver and all 3 for 115

for sure bootlegged

or theyre incredibly stupid and dont know what they have

which is quite unlikely but not impossible

[molten oasis]

3 rain teams in a row wtf man

[mighty stump]

Rain is good

Imo more consistent than Sun

[sudden remnant]

gameboy color games work on gba right

[mighty stump]

Just gotta play well

[bold geode]

How?

[molten oasis]

I’m playing kommo-o, I got rolled

[bold geode]

Imagine

[mighty stump]

Cause you don’t have to miss bro

[molten oasis]

Shush monke

[mighty stump]

Everything except Draco is like 100% accurate

[bold geode]

Oh LOL

[sudden remnant]

might seem troll but does kommo-o learn weather ball

[mighty stump]

Lmao

[bold geode]

Idk I feel like
Actually my hot take is that Rain is the weakest

[mighty stump]

Tell that to my rank chump

[bold geode]

Well like
I think it's still pretty strong but like

I'm sure you probably know that there's some missing pieces to the puzzle

[sudden remnant]

chat should i buy this gameboy color copy of silver for 150 dollars (yes i have a gameboy to play it on)

[cyan smelt]

No

[mighty stump]

Honestly? Not really

[bold geode]

That and no rain mega feels bad

[mighty stump]

I think my team barring some EV alterations is practically perfect for me

[sudden remnant]

why not

[molten oasis]

I give up

[mighty stump]

I have never felt like I had no answers

[molten oasis]

Back to phox!

[bold geode]

I mean fair

Like I'm not saying it's ass but like

[mighty stump]

No i know

[bold geode]

For example you got Archaludon missing two of its best items
Probably some other stuff that's missing
No Rain mega

[mighty stump]

I think the reason it feels shit is because you have to rely on traditional weather control and no mega

[bold geode]

Yeah for sure

It's harder to consistently keep the Rain up

[mighty stump]

Yeah but like that makes mirrors even more easy to handle too - i think my current set beats out certain Zards cause I found a few that were slower than me

[bold geode]

Right

Imo the order was like

[mighty stump]

Positional

[bold geode]

Sun best
Then Sand
Then Snow
Then Rain
Though if you wanted to argue Snow is the worst I won't give ya too much there

[mighty stump]

I think people just fail to adapt to the new conditions and need to realise other aspects of the mechanics to really push the team through

I’d probably put it like

Sun = Rain > Sand > Snow

[bold geode]

I guess that works too

I think Snow is better than Rain personally but I see the argument for vice versa cuz like

Snow is really just Mega Froslass

Meanwhile Rain actually has abusers

[dull ibex]

I GOT THE FUNNY META BIRD

[mighty stump]

The what

[dull ibex]

aerodactyl

[bold geode]

Red you are a special fellow aren't ya

[dull ibex]

I've been rolling recruit ranch for a while for one

I can stop using talonflame instead of it

[mighty stump]

Did you use tickets?

Like

the Type tickets?

[bold geode]

Oh Tofu what you think of Meganium

[dull ibex]

I just learned how to do that I did for a few

[mighty stump]

Still meh

Hear me out

[bold geode]

I been playing it
I think Meganium is actually really good

Might be a bit underrated

[dull ibex]

I also didnt know you could return temporary mons so i burned through all my friend tickets

[sudden remnant]

bruh

[mighty stump]

The issue is that yes, we have a unique ability and associated mechanics that likely give it a niche to be able to shine.

The thing is, I don’t think the current meta is appreciative of it and that it needs it. Like Fire Weatherball and you can beat Ttar, great

I can do those things without Meganium or even committing my Mega

[bold geode]

True

[dull ibex]

I think it will be pretty pog eventually

[mighty stump]

Middling speed tier and despite good bulk has a meh typing

I think in a situation where we have more options and more growth, it will find it’s place

[bold geode]

But also like
Honestly I think it's good rn just for the fact that it does ignore weather effects in a meta that is pretty dominated by weather

[mighty stump]

But as of now I don’t see it as particularly impressive

I don’t disagree

[bold geode]

I think it has a good spot rn but also yeah I agree with you too where I think it could be better as time goes on maybe

Hell it beats both Urshifu

[mighty stump]

True

[dull ibex]

I was going to say it ll be pretty pog in restricted format

but i may just talking out of my ass

[bold geode]

Only thing that sucks is the typing but like
Y'know honestly I think it's good for Pokemon to have a good weakness like that imma be real

[mighty stump]

I think I just don’t want to run it for the sake of running it, plus minimal experience running it

[mighty stump]

Also agree

Typing isn’t the only inherent reason

[dull ibex]

Im not looking foward to them adding the other gimmicks tbh

[mighty stump]

Are u telling me urnot looking forward to Tera Fire Mega Meganium

[dull ibex]

im assuming the reg will be one gimmick at a time

[mighty stump]

Jk idt they would allow stacking of mechanics

[bold geode]

Yeah but like
Honestly I think the typing is the main concern cuz like
You can have speed control but how are you dealing with the Dire Claw awaiting

Also Tofu have you seen the trend of bulky Sneasler

[mighty stump]

Yes

[bold geode]

Good

Gotta make sure we seeing the shit

Also is it just me
Or does Floette kinda feel ass to play in BO1 sometimes

[mighty stump]

You jst suck with it

I have had like no issue

[bold geode]

Honestly real

[mighty stump]

Ok

If you can’t play slow bulky which arguably is harder

play fast CM

[bold geode]

I think the issue is like
Actually I think the 3 attack might be better at least for BO1

Cuz CM sets are just slower than hell and ask for a lot

[mighty stump]

which is why play Fast CM

[bold geode]

Yeah that is true

[mighty stump]

You reduce offensive investment cause youre boosting anyways

[bold geode]

Or D Kiss CM

[mighty stump]

yeah

[bold geode]

Just wanna put it out there
I thought about D Kiss before but someone told me not to do it

And I see others do it and I'm like bro c'mon

[foggy lodge]

im not your boss

[bold geode]

BUT YOU'RE MY LIBRARY BITCH OK LOCK THE FUCK IN

[dull ibex]

alright what kinda team does aero fit onto

[forest arrow]

Lmao

[bold geode]

What type doesn't it fit onto

[mighty stump]

top 6 sun team kekw

[dull ibex]

I want to use it

[mighty stump]

aero just goes

lol

[bold geode]

Aero is just that guy

Oh Aegislash good rn too

[dull ibex]

max max 2hp jolly focus sash yeah?

[foggy lodge]

ngl i need the cloak aerodactyl and sneasler are the bullshit brothers😭

[mighty stump]

HAHAHA

[bold geode]

I do miss Cloak sometimes

Covert Cloak Incineroar was gas

[mighty stump]

ClearAm and Cloak are gonna be adjustments to look out for

[dull ibex]

top 6 sun team?

[mighty stump]

Wrong it’s Charcoal Max Jolly Incinp

[bold geode]

Oh Tofu did you know that Power Herb Glimmora only hits 1% harder than Mega Glimmora

[dense latch]

yea i’ve heard it before from others and i was struggling a bit with it

[bold geode]

I fought that on an Oranguru team I believe

[dense latch]

the meta is so anti floette i think u kinda need or really want a second mega to help against those

[mighty stump]

Neat

Adapt

[bold geode]

Honestly love that for Glimmora

[mighty stump]

I think Floette is a powerful opener or closer when you have clear board states

I prefer it as an opener

[dull ibex]

guys im going to run charizard X kekw

[mighty stump]

Just click buttons and chip then play your midgame and close

[bold geode]

I was really questioning Mega Glimmora for a minute cuz like
Sure Adaptability is good but it's Rock and Poison getting the boosts

But MAN does Glimm hit like 2 semis

[mighty stump]

Yk what I found out

Mega Chesnaught walls standard Mega Glimm

lmfao

[bold geode]

Man LMAO

[mighty stump]

No Sludge Bomb, resists PGem

[bold geode]

Tofu digging the most random bullshit out to make Mega Chesnaught viable

[sudden remnant]

i have a gameboy but i cant buy any cartridges to play on the damn thing. emerald is 300+ usd crystal is about 200 and ruby/sapphire is about 200 and slightly unrelated but why is black 2 for 400 dollars

[mighty stump]

Bro I ran random nonsense on ladder for no reason just for the memes

[bold geode]

Honestly real I am in no place to judge

You rubbed off on me bro

YOU GAVE ME THE UGLY

[mighty stump]

You were ugly in the first place

[bold geode]

https://tenor.com/view/green-alien-cat-green-alien-cat-meme-cat-rage-meme-angry-alien-cat-gif-16978295465898295971

Oh Tofu speaking of looks

Did I ever tell you I was growing out my hair

[mighty stump]

omg show

[dull ibex]

so zard y aero venu?

[foggy lodge]

he is going bald before that happens

[mighty stump]

Zard Y/Aero/Venu/Kingambit/Sneasler/ +1

like Basculegion

Gg free team

[dull ibex]

what item on venu?

[mighty stump]

No cap I made a whole ass sun team on an alt account for Champions cuz I wanted to see how hard is it as a f2p

[mighty stump]

Venusaurite or damage item personally

[bold geode]

So it's low-key a mess rn

[dull ibex]

oh im running bulky zard y btw

[mighty stump]

did not expect you to send this in chat but nice hair

[bold geode]

Thx

Also like
I've sent pics of me in here before I believe

I also covered my face with my phone enough so

[mighty stump]

egh

ok

[bold geode]

Tofu do we fuck with a man bun or

[dull ibex]

its bulk to live chomp rock slide?

[foggy lodge]

Im growing my hair out too until like mid may

[mighty stump]

my girlfriend saw th ephoto and told you to shower

[bold geode]

I haven't showered yet

I was going to in a minute

[mighty stump]

define a shower monke

[bold geode]

UHHHHHHHHHH

https://tenor.com/view/monkey-thinking-monkey-thinking-think-money-gif-9734025314392564509

[mighty stump]

Just dodge it

[dull ibex]

I forgot I have to yell JUMP at my switch 2

[mighty stump]

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

I FORGOT ABOUT THAT

KEKW

[dull ibex]

good times

[mighty stump]

should we vc

[dull ibex]

we could

[mighty stump]

ok ping me when u make one

[dull ibex]

@mighty stumpdone

[ripe grail]

Umm guys so I've set the wrong DOB in champions

I have 100K VP
Fully maxed 2 teams
And a placing of 5K rn in master ball

Do I start again?

Delete my account

And start again?

[spiral ridge]

Bros wearing a monkey shirt

[waxen dock]

Dob?

[ripe grail]

Date of birth

[waxen dock]

Are ypu 18 +

[ripe grail]

Yes

[waxen dock]

Did you set it tp be 2009 or after

[ripe grail]

My lil brother put his age when he started with my account

I didn't realise till later this had occured

[ripe grail]

Idk what he even set it as honestly

I just know it isn't right cause the friends tab isn't there

[waxen dock]

Well

Do you care about offocial competitions

Like gcs

[ripe grail]

Yeahhh

I do

That's the whole issue

Won't the champions support team help out?

[waxen dock]

Probably

Ask them

[bold geode]

Real

[waxen dock]

What?!

[jade dust]

How much elo do I need to reach champions damn

I’m 11-1 from Masters 2

And still not even Masters 1

[rustic mountain]

i think champions is like 2200+ rn

[wheat rapids]

rate it?

[jade dust]

The main issue here is you don’t have a levitate/flying type to pair with Garchomp

[shadow wind]

Do you know if the Masterball ranks change or if it’s just champion rank that does

[timber falcon]

Ive been doing some research on team building, and am a bit stumped on cores

So far I’ve learned of FWG as well as ‘fantasy’ core (fairy, steel and dragon)

But I’ve come to notice some teams do not have such typings, for example this team that won not too long ago

[solid frigate]

Depends on what you need

Some teams are optional on FWG

But stuff like Balance or slower teams prefer cores like FWG or Fantasy

[timber falcon]

What kind of team would this be then? I know its hyper offence

[solid frigate]

Lean towards Hyper Offensive on the scale

What are you thinking on in terms of champions btw

[cerulean nacelle]

Sometimes cores aren't what you need and you need to pick a pokemon you wanna focus around, then build to accommodate for It's weaknesses.

There's also pokemon that are just very good high utility such as aerodactyl and whimsicott etc.

[pearl wind]

i think its
champ=top300
mb 1= top 1k
mb 2= top 10k
mb 3= top 50k (?)

[timber falcon]

Kangaskhan

Mega, that is

[timber falcon]

Alr thanks that’s good to know.

[solid frigate]

isn''t that slightly worse without power up punch

[timber falcon]

Yep, but I’ve had fun with it on a rental I found not too long ago

So I wanna try making my own, I think it’d have synergy with Gengar

[cerulean nacelle]

Low kick still does beat up a lot of mons well like archaludon and mega ttar. Kang is typically used as a secondary mega.

I'm also really struggling to think of a team I vibe with.

My froslass team gets mauled by the zard milotic combo. So I need to make something new. I honestly dk what though. I've tried mega aero but didn't end up vibing with it too well. Might try base aero.

Just dk what to slot in.

[lost sun]

drain punch would be better against arch

might still finish off ttar in 1 move too but I'll have to check

it doesn't

[timber falcon]

With so many fast and hard hitting mons in the meta rn, how come trick room isn’t seeing much play?

[shadow wind]

Coolio

[timber falcon]

I mean hard tr

[cyan smelt]

I mean you've got blastoise + farig tr

With sinistcha and gambit

[cerulean nacelle]

TR is still used but hard TR can have issues with people just rotating their pokemon and doing double protects to stall turns.

[timber falcon]

Oh I haven’t heard of this one

[cerulean nacelle]

I've ran into it. It's pretty strong.

[timber falcon]

I see, I was just wondering if it’s worth considering a good answer to a tr team

Looks like I might

[timber falcon]

I heard normal/ghost is a pretty good core defensively, but what’s the third typing to pair with it? Unless a core doesn’t necessarily need 3-4 mons as I’ve heard

The 2 mons are golurk and Kangaskhan, I plan on going down the tr route

[cyan smelt]

Do not use golurk, it's horrible

[timber falcon]

How come?

[cyan smelt]

Underwhelming defences in a meta full of hard hitting and bulky pokemon

Try glowking + crab

[timber falcon]

89/105/105 is considered underwhelming?

I do see crab appeal nevertheless

[cyan smelt]

Gambit shreds it and there are plenty of strong dark, ghost and water types in the meta

[timber falcon]

True

[cyan smelt]

And it doesn't like sinistcha

[timber falcon]

But I’m not that big of crabs typing with kangaskhan

[timber falcon]

In TR it OHKOs no?

[cyan smelt]

Probably but sinistcha can still hit it with the matcha gotcha

[timber falcon]

Goes for Charizard and venasaur too ugh

I’ll drop the idea for now

Gengar it is

[cerulean nacelle]

Its more about the type. Weak to water and weak to dark is a bad combo to be.

Also I just ran into the blastoise team but with a mega scovillain on it. God damn that's hard to deal with.

[cyan smelt]

What did you do

[cerulean nacelle]

Lose lmao

But yeah mega scovillain just made my kingambit irrelevant because it could always redirect and force a burn onto it.

[cyan smelt]

I feel like i'd struggle against it too

[cerulean nacelle]

I think my team is just a bit washed now. This new meta of fari + toise is just too hard for my team to deal with. Even under veil, mega blastoise water spouts are gonna do ludicrous amounts of damage.

[cyan smelt]

I need to figure out how i'm gonna handle it

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah. I'm at 1940 ELO which honestly ain't awful. But damn... this is rough.

It's not like you can even use priority to get past the blastoise lol.

[cyan smelt]

Just gotta brute force it i guess

[cerulean nacelle]

Yep. I'm considering maybe gardevoir. Just pixilate hyper voice spread damage.

[cyan smelt]

It's deceptively tanky

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah, especially if I forego speed investment to invest into he.

Health*

I'm also considering maybe taunt on sash aerodactyl over dual wingbeat

Can still keep rock slide to beat zard Y and then I can taunt farigiraf to put it in a bad situation.

Only thing is then that aero can't then deal with zard + venu.

It's kinda a rough one ngl.

[cyan smelt]

So with mega scovillain every move burns right

[leaden fox]

If you get attacked by it or attack it; Burn happens

[cyan smelt]

Ok when it takes damage from a move, that's a huge pain

[leaden fox]

Ah nvm, I should realise it was when you attack it xD

But yeah, I have seen people run "Rage Powder" on it to make sure xP

[cyan smelt]

You're forced to attack it with rage powder

[leaden fox]

Unless you are a Grass type

Or if they add Safety Goggles 😅

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah that's why kingambit was just purely shut down.

[cyan smelt]

I can only think of sinistcha and meganium in terms of relevant grass types

[leaden fox]

Venusaur

[cyan smelt]

If only we had ursaluna back, he don't mind being burned

[leaden fox]

There is mainly 4 grass types used; but none are Physical attackers

[cyan smelt]

But he does mind a full power water spout

[cerulean nacelle]

This is why I think taunt needs to become more commonplace on teams.

[leaden fox]

I doubt Mega Scovillain will be "long term" once certain mons and items get added

[cyan smelt]

How long will that take though

Who knows when they add safety goggles

[leaden fox]

No clue yet

Hard to say if they will add more mons and items in Season 2 of ranked or wait until Season 3

[dry nexus]

taunting enemy whimsicott because more oftentimes than not they don't carry mental herb

[leaden fox]

Yeah, many run Focus Sash, but have seen some use other items, but not as common as sash

[cerulean nacelle]

That depends what mon you're using though. If it's whims v whims it's depending on a speed tie.

The main appeal of taunt atm is that no one is really running mental herb fari from my experience. It's been sitrus or colbur

[dry nexus]

yep that's the issue, I always have my whimsicott on timid nature

at least to ensure a 50/50

there's also an option to fake out

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah. I don't think taunt on whims is as worth, because fari blocks it with armor tail since taunt becomes priority and I think taunt whims only main use case would be to taunt a venu + zard lead maybe.

Also @cyan smelt I'd actually like to ask ur advice on the team I'm making.

I currently have aero, sneasler, typhlosion-H and mega garde.

Who else would fit well into this/what other bases may I need to cover?

[cyan smelt]

sunny day whims or zard?

you need something for rain

and also milotic

[dry nexus]

there are aerodactyls who run taunt for that pesky giraffe

[cerulean nacelle]

I'm currently foregoing protect on aero to try taunt.

[cerulean nacelle]

That's fair. I could run zard Y and make it a double mega team.

[violet parcel]

lol mega scov is a menace against kingambit teams lol

[dry nexus]

I wanna run more glass cannon teams because my luck is the absolute worse

everytime I run a stall tactic I always get invalidated by a crit

[cerulean nacelle]

For singles or doubles?

[dry nexus]

both formats

they actually killed stall in gen 9 and that's sad

[cerulean nacelle]

For singles, perfectly possible. For doubles, I'd say bulky offense is more your speed.

[cerulean nacelle]

As for milotic, honestly nothing kinda kills it so it's a hard one to counter.

[dry nexus]

I copied the enemy milotic I encountered bc it feels like it'll infuriate people

Muddy Water, Hypnosis, Coil, Recover

[cerulean nacelle]

It's the set that won a championship. And it is incredibly annoying.

[dry nexus]

once it gets started there's just no counter against it with the available resources right now I feel

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah it's another case of "deal with it now or get overwhelmed". There is also just the risk that they don't even set up any coils and just get lucky hitting hypnosis off the bat.

[dry nexus]

that's me my 1st time trying it, I seriously got flinched 3-4 times in a row

[cerulean nacelle]

Yup. Milotic is a nuisance.

[violet parcel]

what held item? sitrus?

[cerulean nacelle]

For milotic? I'm not sure. I'd assume something like sitrus.

[dry nexus]

leftovers for me

altaria really becoming a staple in my team is not on my bingo card, cloud nine is everything with all these weather setters up and about

[leaden fox]

I feel mad for saying this; but would be nice if they add the "Gym Battle" and "Elite Four" music into the game's playlists 🤣

[dry nexus]

Gen 8 gym theme

[leaden fox]

Without a doubt 😛

[dry nexus]

I would cry if they put it in the membership

[near crag]

Just built these two teams here: https://pokepast.es/0c97b73dba7d7d1a and https://pokepast.es/9e74fd3dba038e6b. It's mega crab rain htr, and dual mega delphox and clefable. Which do y'all think is better and why?

[cyan smelt]

volo's theme please

[cerulean nacelle]

Ok well I had a go with the newer team against a TR team in casual

Seemed to work quite well actually.

[dry nexus]

we have to suffer 2 months until they add new mons I take it?

[cyan smelt]

what's your newer team jack

[cerulean nacelle]

I've done

Sash aero
White herb sneasler
Zard Y
Mega garde (max HP max special attack)
Scarf typhlosion
Lum berry garchomp.

[cyan smelt]

i should really ladder some more on showdown

[cerulean nacelle]

Showdown ladder is so skewed unless ur in the higher ELO lol

[dry nexus]

man milotic is so unfair

[cerulean nacelle]

But this team doesn't seem to be too bad. Leading aero + garde makes most assume that the gardevoir has TR itself so they go for the fake out with incin or such into garde. Then aero gets the free taunt on farigiraf.

[dry nexus]

is there any mons that makes people feel they should deal with it asap? I wanna use it as cannon fodder for milotic

while having some sort of utility, whimsicott is the only one that comes to mind

[violet parcel]

welp game is telling me to stop playing

wth is 2 flinches in a row with a kings rock. damn it

[dry nexus]

really feels like some chances are way higher than advertised

[violet parcel]

just rng luck

first was with a rock slide

what i cant accept is that fire blast flinch

and its a garchomp

wth

[dry nexus]

getting flinched 4 times in a row then getting crit will live in my head rent free for a while

[cerulean nacelle]

I actually just ran into someone running mental herb sinistcha

Lmao immediately invalidates me running taunt aero

Part of me does wanna run imprison TR on garde lol

But it's a lot of moveslots.

[cyan smelt]

i feel like i don't have enough moveslots on my team where i can fit taunt

[dry nexus]

this guy thought he outplayed me not knowing encore actually just ends when pp is depleted

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah taunt on aero is nice but 4 moveslot syndrome is real. I miss protect.

I also got my ass handed to me by an encore mega delphox.

That's an interesting one for sure.

I really can't seem to find a team I vibe with.

Bulky mega gardevoir is pretty good but opposing weather controllers really do hinder it's effectiveness.

[stuck perch]

https://x.com/cecililytweets/status/2045501731925025244?s=46&t=KB4CVv355gDMDGNjhuVNuA

cecilily (@cecililytweets)

NEW VIDEO

Pokémon is loved by all types of people, but it's a bit rare to see women and gender non-conforming people competing in VGC events.

To investigate why, I talked to caster @GabbySnyder, Worlds-Level player @aboxoftimbits and International Champion @illoustrationsz.

X · Apr 18, 2026, 1:56 PM

[real prairie]

THIS! Ive shifted through 7 teams in 7 days lol

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah, I really can't seem to find my kinda vibe. It's just not vibing.

Doesnt feel like I can cover every angle I wanna ngl

[cyan smelt]

Which mons learn non prankster taunt

[real prairie]

lots, you'll need to be more specific

[cyan smelt]

Ok which mons that are legal in champions currently

[bronze quarry]

When is the next regulation coming out?

[real prairie]

big ones atm are Aerodactyl, Maus, Gyarados, Talonflame

[cyan smelt]

Aerodactyl and talonflame are horribly weak to water spout

[red willow]

Outside of the rare blastoise spout cheese team how often are you realistically seeing spout lol

[cyan smelt]

I haven't been playing, been too anxious honestly

[red willow]

I keep leading the Kommo o Gengar, they keep thinking I am perish trap and misplaying episode 4.5

[cerulean nacelle]

I was using taunt on aerodactyl

[cyan smelt]

And then you clangorous soul cheese em

[red willow]

Sometimes

[cerulean nacelle]

I do love some clangorous soul shenanigans. Its the main thing I try to do with my froslass veil team.

[red willow]

Sometimes clicking sludge bomb and clanging scales kos a non bulky mon tho and thats p much always worth

Especially if they are spending turn one switching out a mon/trying to taunt geng or something ridiculous lol

[cyan smelt]

Just remember that encore goes through substitute if you ever set up a sub

[cerulean nacelle]

Yup. Sound based moves do move through subs.

I'm ngl idk where I wanna go with a team now lmao.

[red willow]

I think @real prairie has the right idea honestly instead of fighting the weather wars rn just kill em bruv

[austere pilot]

wait really? even something like hyper voice?

[cyan smelt]

Maybe after i sleep i'll have less ladder anxiety and i can test my team more

[red willow]

Was bashing my head against a wall trying to out meta the meta

Kinda wanna try out weavile tho anybody had any games with/against it

Fast knock off/triple axel sounds kinda lit

[cyan smelt]

Weavile seems interesting

Still slower than aero though

[red willow]

For sure its not good into alot of the top threats rn

But it also just murders frail ghosts like basc and geng in theory

[cyan smelt]

True

[red willow]

And some dragos

[cyan smelt]

And steals their items

[timber falcon]

Is incin not just an annoying wall for weavile

[real prairie]

is there anything in the format that can survive a huge power sucker punch from kingambit?

turns out yes, so that idea out the window

[cerulean nacelle]

Man are we all just stumped? Lmao

[mighty stump]

Wow Water Spout spam lowkey pissing me off lmao

[indigo coral]

I like Gyarados as a Taunt user best personally

[cerulean nacelle]

That and fari + scovillain are pissing a lotta people off lol

[bronze quarry]

Omg I’m gonna be in ultra ball forever if I keep going against these ttar teams

😭

[dark sorrel]

I wish I only got ttar teams

they're my least problematic

it's everyone else

[real prairie]

wtf is round?!

[solid frigate]

I literally fought that yesterday lmfao

Corv bailed me out

[real prairie]

it just murdered my bulky farig lol

and gambit

wtf

[solid frigate]

Mega Garde?

Like the one using it right

[real prairie]

yeah but with scarf zoroak

[solid frigate]

And what investment does Gambit have?

Cuz if it’s not resist it’s rarely survivable without that much bulk

Especially gambit is so specially frail for a bulky mon

[cerulean nacelle]

Fr. I feel like I lose 1 out of every... 50 sand match ups? Ngl.

I was using bulky mega garde but with aerodactyl and such. I don't think that's the way to go with garde.

[real prairie]

32.32.2

[cerulean nacelle]

32 HP and attack? 32 attack and speed?

[real prairie]

HP

[cerulean nacelle]

I will also say that round is a stupidly powerful move. If it's used a 2nd time it's power is doubled and that with pixilate on mega gardevoir makes it a nuke under the right circumstances.

[real prairie]

yeah it blows shit up

[cerulean nacelle]

I just wanna find a team I vibe with ngl.

And so I don't just die to blastoise + farigiraf.

[red willow]

Is blastoise up in popularity rn or something?

I switched off it a couple days ago

[cerulean nacelle]

Trick room seems to be at an all time high. Fari + scovillain and fari + blastoise is going ham.

[red willow]

Oh I had tr mode with sinistcha but I wasnt that all in on it lol

isnt that susceptible to blast just taking a couple hits first turn or 2 tho?

[cerulean nacelle]

Blastoise has access to fake out, can also just protect.

And not much is OHKOinh farigiraf atm.

It's why I'm tryna look at taunt aerodactyl.

But even then taunt isn't foolproof.

[red willow]

Oh yeah no thats not what I was doing at all lol

I was just using shell smash plus redirection from sinitcha or clefable to cheese lol

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah, people aren't doing that from what I've seen.

TR with farigiraf to protect from priority is the main thing atm.

[red willow]

never been a big tr guy

everytime I try a strat with it they always stall it out lol

[cerulean nacelle]

I had it as a small mode on my bulky mega froslass team but it wasn't the main thing. Ima be honest I'm struggling to find anything I enjoy the feel of.

[red willow]

I just need to finish grinding for mega flo lol

ONLY 8 MORE BATTLE ROYALES YEAHHH

[solid frigate]

Yeah that’s probably why

It’s not enough to tank

[wheat rapids]

Very true. I had telepathy and talonflame before but no longer :( lowkey considering just going headlong

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regma-2590111986-40r58bqrpejudhgpiqgw5h4fbrp7opupw team is evil tho lol

[stuck perch]

I remember wen Skarmary used to haunt ppl in VGC 😂

[spark siren]

Does our tier rank reset during each new season?

[near crag]

Does anyone know what regulation will be played on locals from now until june?

I got no clue if I should grind reg i or m-a for it, or even something else, at that

[waxen dock]

i

[near crag]

For all of them?

[waxen dock]

for the one with points i think

[near crag]

Are there locals that don't award points?

[waxen dock]

ofc

only cup and challenges give points

[near crag]

Ah, yeah, I'm only attending those

Btw, any idea on how long would it take for one to wrap up? I'm asking bc I don't know how viable it would be for me to participate in multiple a day (got 5 of those next saturday)

[waxen dock]

5? i think you can maybe go to 2 at best

but idk

[leaden fox]

Hm, just thought of a couple mons that could go into Champions and actually be decent: Kilowattrel and Sandslash (both variants)

Though I feel like Dozogiri would be an alright pair too (since there is some good counters to it now thanks to access to Megas)

[cerulean nacelle]

I would still hate to go against dozogiri

[leaden fox]

Yeah, though with access to Mega Scovillian, won't be much a threat

Especially without Tera now

cause tbf, Tera is what made Dozogiri more a threat overall

[cerulean nacelle]

It's still an omni boosted bulky water type with access to oblivious so it can't be taunted. Plus if scovillain stonks stay the same, rest talk would just become common place.

[leaden fox]

Mega Gengar gets Haze luckily

[cerulean nacelle]

If you're wasting a slot on haze that means you're not running dual stabs + perish trap or running icy wind for speed support or sub.

That's not a good thing.

Also, if people see a mon like milotic or gengar. They just probably don't bring dozogiri or save it for the back?

[leaden fox]

There is a lot of means to counter it; though we'll see more options once more mons get added

And if Safety Goggles doesn't get added at the same time, we'll be good

[cerulean nacelle]

I'm hoping for AV at least.

Gimme dat AV archaludon and I'll finally run rain lmao.

[leaden fox]

I suspect if they are smart; they'll add 5 - 6 more items in Season 2, and I'd say maybe 30 - 40 more mons

Even 20 - 25 more mons would be fine too

But saying 30 average since they'll add in existing older Megas

Plus I want my Metagross 😅

[cerulean nacelle]

Mega metagross would be fun and mega scovillain certainly would keep that man in check

But in tandem, mega metagross would check mega floette so it's pretty even ngl.

[leaden fox]

Yeah, exactly; and if they add Weakness Policy; then it'll be an interesting choice of Mega or no Mega 🙂

That'll keep people guessing

[cerulean nacelle]

That's also true.

[leaden fox]

Well; outside of OTS of course 😅

[cerulean nacelle]

I just wanna see if mega golisopod does indeed get tough claws

Because if it does, then oh baby we got a monster

[leaden fox]

Hard to say if it gets Tough Claws "yet", since those listed abilities claimed Mega Drampa would get Drizzle and got my hopes up 💀

[polar canyon]

Hooly shit, they actually have balance patches in this game, this might be peak

[cerulean nacelle]

They were also right about some abilities however such as piercing drill, so its a bit of a mixed bag.

[polar canyon]

Wait no

Never mind the thing they posted isn't new it's just launch nerfs and buffs

[leaden fox]

Yeah, but not going "yeah it'll get that" for the moment 😅

[pearl wind]

yeah its the same message every day

[bold geode]

Yeah
There's also like
I think there's maintenance Thursday but it's probably to fix bugs

[indigo coral]

I would assume it's a bugfix yeah, given their known issues post in the news tab

[polar canyon]

I didn't know iron head was nerfed tho

[indigo coral]

Iron Head was nerfed?

[bold geode]

Yeah flinch chance was lowered

[polar canyon]

It's a 20% flinch chance apparently

[leaden fox]

Yeah, Base Power and Accuracy aren't nerfed luckily

[polar canyon]

And moonblast is a 10% drop chance so you're more in the right to be mad if you lose to a spatk drop

I didn't know that either

[bold geode]

If you think about it that's the same chance to get put to sleep by Dire Claw

[indigo coral]

Huh, that's an odd one. Was there a prominent Iron Head user in ScVi that abused flinch chances? Only Serene Grace users I can think of that would use Iron Head are Jirachi and maybe Dudunsparce

[polar canyon]

I think it's just because rng is annoying

[bold geode]

Nah there wasn't anything with Iron Head

[leaden fox]

https://www.serebii.net/pokemonchampions/updatedattacks.shtml
All updates to moves are here

[cerulean nacelle]

oh yeah, dw im still keeping my hopes generally low lmao. But itd be cool if it did get tough claws.

[polar canyon]

Sand rush exca is what I can think of

[bold geode]

But yeah technically getting sleep from Dire Claw is also 10% now

[polar canyon]

I only say rock slide staying 30% is fine because flinch is half of the reason to even use rock slide

[leaden fox]

Better than Emergency Exit xD

[cerulean nacelle]

exactly XD

[leaden fox]

Watch it be ruined and get "Filter" 💀

[cerulean nacelle]

you also got the chance to miss, which for some reason, rock slides miss way more than heat waves do imo, despite being the same accuracy.

[polar canyon]

First impression is 100 bp now btw

[cerulean nacelle]

ik lol

base 130 power first impression bout to go hard.

well... if we are lucky

[polar canyon]

Base 100 power is still gonna go hard regardless

[cerulean nacelle]

yeah very true

[indigo coral]

I vaguely remember seeing a Youtube video about Paraflinch Jirachi being a menace in an older generation, maybe Jirachi will be added eventually? Otherwise it's pretty much exactly Sand Rush Excadrill like someone mentioned, but I don't think that'd be a big issue when Excadrill can click Rock Slide anyways

[polar canyon]

With a first impression that strong maybe mega golisopod wouldn't even be that unusable

[cerulean nacelle]

still if that man has "tactical retreat" (those who know, kudos), its just not worth a mega slot.

[polar canyon]

It'll definitely be eventually but it's gonna take a long long time for mythicals, I'd be more worried about air slash togekiss

[leaden fox]

Also Mega Golisopod has base 150 atk 😅

[polar canyon]

And mythicals usually are part of the 2 restricted slots in restricted formats, so jirachi won't even be worth it

Restricted formats with mythicals is just regular restricted format but add arceus and magearna

That's how it was for sv at least

Idk if mythicals that aren't in sv are good

[leaden fox]

I feel like once Mega Golisopod comes out; we'll see some Trick Room with it too (since it's Speed is 40)

[polar canyon]

For sure

I mean

We don't see much mega scizor trick room so I wouldn't count on it too much

[cerulean nacelle]

100% im just saying if it doesnt have at least a serviceable ability its definitely wasted potential.

[indigo coral]

Oh yeah, Air Slash and Headbutt exist too and also weren't nerfed. Huh, is this a BSS focused change? I can't see this mattering much for VGC. I can see Paraflinch Jirachi mattering in a hypothetical format down the road with no legendaries but yes mythicals. Either way, interesting change I hadn't noticed

[leaden fox]

Yeah, it it does get Tough Claws; it can OHKO Incineroar with First Impression, even with -1 attack

[polar canyon]

It's just a bit less unnecessary rng in vgc too which I'll take

It only matters for sand rush exca tho

[cerulean nacelle]

air slash is very pitiful damage comparatively and besides togekiss, isn't that much of a concern when it comes to para flinch. Paraflinch also is just not as strong due to para nerfs.

[polar canyon]

Scarf togekiss will be a bss thing I'm guessing with my very limited bss knowledge

[chrome knot]

@bold geode monke

[cerulean nacelle]

the stuff i used to see before in BSS at least in SwSh was t wave + air slash to just get unlimited flinch. I don't think relying on a scarfed 60% flinch chance is all that worth if you can't kill really.

[indigo coral]

True, but I feel like Excadrill would usually rather click Earthquake, Stomping Tantrum, or Rock Slide in VGC than Iron Head. I'd be curious if they put out their logic behind the nerfs down the road, would make for an interesting read

[chrome knot]

https://pokepast.es/241a1e4b266169fb

[polar canyon]

If there's nerfs down the road

Hey emma

[chrome knot]

good morning

[polar canyon]

I started using gardevoir because you brought it up and it's cool

[indigo coral]

No I mean, their logic for these nerfs but they tell us later/eventually/someday

[polar canyon]

I like mega garde

[chrome knot]

awe yay

[polar canyon]

Basically mega sylveon and I like sylveon

[chrome knot]

shes awesome

ive seen people use hyper beam > moonblast on her

[polar canyon]

I was just going double stab protect tr

But id be using hyper beam for sure

[leaden fox]

If only 🤣

[polar canyon]

Sylveon is definitely my favorite competitive eeveelution

[chrome knot]

thats what iu sed for a bit until I realized i had 0 practical use for tr

[polar canyon]

I have use for tr in tailroom

By tailroom I mean prankster twave room

[leaden fox]

I remember when my Jolteon outsped and OHKO'd Dragapult 🤣

[indigo coral]

People are running Moonblast on either Mega Gardevoir or Sylveon? I feel like Gardevoir doesn't have the move slots to spare for that, and Sylveon has better utility moves it would rather run.

[cerulean nacelle]

I just did double stab aura sphere protect.

[chrome knot]

she does if ur team is aerodactyl lmao

[bold geode]

Yes?

[chrome knot]

I just dont need trick roon and suprise I have a move slot available

[polar canyon]

Sylveon relies on pixilate more for the damage so it's usually either just hyper voice, hyper voice + coverage or hyper voice + beam

[cerulean nacelle]

I still wanna figure out how i wanna build mega garde. I have her max HP max special attack and she was paired with tailwind mega aerodactly but she was still slow by comparison.

[chrome knot]

look at the paste I sent monke I found primarina team !

[polar canyon]

Mega aero is neat

Ballsy team

[bold geode]

Oh no we're Scovillain pilled

[chrome knot]

no im primarina pilled

scovillain is just here, hes the dog guy lmao

[polar canyon]

I like your mega sinistcha there

What's 1 speed for

[bold geode]

The femtanyl got you trippin

Team don't look bad though

[cerulean nacelle]

I do need ideas for a team. I would like to use mega gardevoir, I think the partnering of mega garde, aero, sneasler wasn't bad.

[polar canyon]

I wouldn't dare using 2 unconventional megas on the same team

I'd rather have a funky fun fella and a fallback

[indigo coral]

There was a Mega Gardevoir Mega Tyranitar team that did well early on, Cybertron covered it in a video alongside some other well performing teams

[bold geode]

Emma did I tell you about the flower dino

[polar canyon]

I kinda wanna try screens mega floette and scov

Just because I want an obvious fallback for when scovillain is obviously a bad idea to bring

[cerulean nacelle]

thats true but the meta has kinda shifted all over the place atm. Idk how id feel about utilising something like that.

[bold geode]

You know it's low power when Scovillain can attend the function

[chrome knot]

scov at the function who up

[leaden fox]

tbf, Scovillain also counters Golisopod too

[cerulean nacelle]

scovillain saw how much use kingambit got and said "Your honour, shut the fuck up, spicy spray"

[indigo coral]

I feel like Scovillain gets better as the format powers up no? Getting a guaranteed redirect plus guaranteed burn on a physical attacking restricted legendary can be game winning

[leaden fox]

Unless they add Safety Goggles

[polar canyon]

It would be sorta funny to run stealth rock on aerodactyl just in case a zard user switches it out or doesn't lead with it

[indigo coral]

I mean, Scovillain existing requiring every physical attacking restricted legendary to run Safety Goggles is still massive pressure on the team builder.

[polar canyon]

Mega scovillain when it gets ohkod by astral barrage

[leaden fox]

Well Restricted mons won't be for a good while yet

Plus we'll have Restricted mons to manage it (including returning Restricted Megas + Primal reversions)

[stuck perch]

https://x.com/pokemon_champs/status/2046650172759769268?s=46&t=KB4CVv355gDMDGNjhuVNuA

Pokémon Champions (@Pokemon_Champs)

Ariados, Tsareena, and Wyrdeer stocks are UP 🗣️

Here's just a few of the new changes to consider for your movesets in #PokemonChampions!

X · Apr 21, 2026, 6:00 PM

[leaden fox]

And without Tera, I feel like Calyrex SR won't be as "hard to deal with"

[foggy lodge]

Tornadus destroy Mega Scovillain please

[stuck perch]

Sneasler nerf

Sharpness gets a buff with shadow claw and dragon claw now

[indigo coral]

Do any Sharpness users even learn Dragon Claw?

[stuck perch]

I don't think so or else that wudve been clutch for my Gallade

[foggy lodge]

idk any sharpness user other than Gallade lol

[indigo coral]

The only Sharpness users are Gallade, Samurott, Kleavor, and Veluza

[foggy lodge]

oh samurott yeah

[polar canyon]

Still can't believe they didn't give mega gallade sharpness

[cerulean nacelle]

makes me assume that mega absol z will probably be sharpness. Since itll have both shadow claw and night slash as stabs.

[wheat rapids]

im considering replacing whimsicott with corviknight: only downside is i lose out on prankster tailwind (solvable by just clicking protect with the likes of gengar), but I gain a steel/flying partner for chomp and gengar, while also getting fighting coverage from body press and i get to wall steel types. Thoughts?

[foggy lodge]

Yeah it looks like they are preparing the terrain for a sharpness mega

[cerulean nacelle]

you have no earthquake partners here, how effective is EQ on chomp with that?

[polar canyon]

Is encore trick room really the best way to use your mega

[foggy lodge]

i still don't get sludge wave

[foggy lodge]

You have 2 fairies with a sludge wave mon

[indigo coral]

Yeah, no Sharpness users even learn Dragon Claw. Serebii also says that Crush Claw is now boosted by Sharpness, so I think this is just a consistency thing that only matters for Shadow Claw

[leaden fox]

It would give you a Ground immunity, so you can spam EQ better

[stuck perch]

Wth lol

[polar canyon]

At least telepathy on pre mega gardevoir would be useful on that team

[cerulean nacelle]

Idk if its just me, but wouldn't aero just be a much better tailwind user here? EQ partner, access to rock slide spam and such?

[cerulean nacelle]

how many times are you gonna keep your mega gardevoir a non mega though?

[wheat rapids]

it auto wins me trick room and opposing tailwind matchups 😅 can post replays if yall want

[polar canyon]

I guess when you have a mega gengar out

[cerulean nacelle]

Especially if youre going bulky with HP

[stuck perch]

Metal Claw don't do enough damage but it's a guaranteed attack+1?

[cerulean nacelle]

metal claw isn't guaranteed

[wheat rapids]

never bringing gard with gengar, and whims + gengar was copy pasted from a tourney winning set. I assume I either click protect or just murder whims for tempo

[wheat rapids]

0 times

[stuck perch]

Wats the chance on it?

[cerulean nacelle]

10% lol, its pitiful

[wheat rapids]

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regma-2590251436-tuhgsxe7tyudhb2xkfbn1tubbusts2rpw funny replay vs trick room

[stuck perch]

Lmaooo oh hell no 🤣

[wheat rapids]

If someone could help me decide whether or not to replace whims with corv thatd be very great 🙏

[indigo coral]

I personally believe it's worth revisiting the sets you have on several of your Pokemon and going for more standard movesets. A lot of the tech options you have on your Pokemon are very niche and unlikely to help you (and in some cases, are actively harmful for your team).

If you would like resources for standard movesets for 5/6 of your existing team, I recommend looking into Jamie Boyt's guides on YouTube. Jamie also has a guide for Aerodactyl, which I believe would fit your team better than Whimsicott.

[cerulean nacelle]

you can but then you lose your only speed control.

[cerulean nacelle]

i did say aero looks better than whims

[wheat rapids]

id run non prio tailwind on corv, and trick room is speed control (i use it vs aero teams to auto win that matchup)

I've tried aero, I have enough rock slide going on in my team as is tho haha

and if i need fast tailwind, prio clears 200 speed

[wheat rapids]

Please expand on which tech options are niche, unlikely to help and actively harmful 🙏 trying to optimize my team a bit. thanks

[gentle crag]

tomb99 has given 1 Gen Rep to aereon767455

[cerulean nacelle]

idk if tailwind is the best use of a moveslot on corv.

[wheat rapids]

valid

altho majority of corv users run it

[cerulean nacelle]

currently, sludge wave hurts all your team. sludge bomb would be better. We've already mentioned the EQ issue on garchomp. encore on garde seems kinda awkward. i think having a psychic stab there could be a useful thing.

[cerulean nacelle]

Imo, corv is best with its bulk up + dual stabs and roost.

if you really want tailwind, theres better options.

or like, stab move + BP

[wheat rapids]

i think the role compression of corv being steel/flying (solves sludge wave and eq problem) while also bringing speed control if needed could be solid

[leaden fox]

@wheat rapids If you want a fast Tailwind setter; try Gale Wings Talonflame

[cerulean nacelle]

With the aforementioned moves

[wheat rapids]

talonflame is another good option to give me flying, yeah

i used to run it actually but opted for whims over it

[indigo coral]

Sludge Wave and Focus Blast on Gengar, Sand Veil and Bright Powder on Garchomp, no Knock Off on Tyranitar and Shuca Berry over Chople Berry, Mystical Fire and Encore on Gardevoir, that entire Milotic set, no Encore or Focus Sash on Whimsicott.

Again, I highly recommend checking out Jamie Boyt's video guides on YouTube to copy generic and generally good sets from, instead of picking one or two pokemon each from other teams. They go into a lot of detail and are extremely helpful for newer players.

[leaden fox]

It also accesses Taunt too

[cerulean nacelle]

in his defense, the milotic set was from the tourney winning team. So many people are on that set lol.

[leaden fox]

Honestly would suggest for Talonflame: Protect, Tailwind, Taunt/Will-o-Wisp & Dual Wingbeat

You could also run the tech of Upper Hand to counter Fake Out Incineroars

[wheat rapids]

1. yeah the gengar set is weird. I copied it off of someone who won a tourney, see pic 1. Same with chomp and ttar actually; bright powder sand veil is actually optimal for chomp lol, as long as sand is up. If clear amulet was in the game, id do that + rough skin
2. chople berry unfortunately doesnt let ttar live anything significant, he's still dying to close combats and low kicks (ive tried)
3. watch my replay to see trick room encore gard in action :) Mystical fire is there just in case they have steels that hyper voice isnt hitting. I'm open to replacing it but its worked so far; again, happy to post more replays
4. milotic set actually just won a tourney, and its also featured in that replay I posted 😅 its honestly a busted set

[indigo coral]

Iron Treads also won Worlds in the ScVi era. You need to pick Pokemon and movesets that complement the rest of your team specifically, not just copying sets and tech options that work with other completely different teams. This team as-is has almost no synergy and so many things that can go horribly wrong.

[wheat rapids]

I think just because a set isn't the cookie cutter pikalytics top % usage set is ok; but again, I'd like to improve my team where there are glaring weaknesses. I don't think running non-standard sets is a weakness though, unless the sets are just bad

[foggy lodge]

bright powder sand veil chomp is kind of terrible ngl

[cerulean nacelle]

yeah ik, but its a pitfall that a lot of people fall into.

[wheat rapids]

i think milotic actually serves my team well as a bulky water but I'm open to suggestions 😅

[cerulean nacelle]

the milotic can work, we are just saying the coil hypno set may not be it

[foggy lodge]

At most i would run sand veil if you like dodging but bright powder is really unnecesary when you could have an item like the white herh for intimidate, soft sand for damage or a berry to always live a hit

[wheat rapids]

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regma-2590251436-tuhgsxe7tyudhb2xkfbn1tubbusts2rpw

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regma-2590111986-40r58bqrpejudhgpiqgw5h4fbrp7opupw

both replays are of gardevoir + milo

[foggy lodge]

Instead of gambling on the dodge because then most of the time its like you have no item nor ability because even with all the evasiveness multipliers its still more likely to get hit than to not

[cerulean nacelle]

that team is already using white herb on sneasler and ima be real soft sand is situational especially on the original team he posted that only has 1 EQ partner.

[indigo coral]

Chople Berry actually lets Tyranitar live a Sneasler Close Combat and most other Fighting moves if you properly EV for it. Again, I recommend looking into those Jamie Boyt guides if you want resources, they are way more helpful than cherry picking sets from different tournament winning teams.

[foggy lodge]

I don't see a sneasler on his team

[cerulean nacelle]

not his, the other he posted where i think he got the inspiration

[wheat rapids]

is anyone interested in answering my original question of whims vs corv 🙏 im aware my sets are non standard, pointing that out isnt as useful as one might presume

like yes if I wanted to play chatgpt doubles id just go on pikalytics and build an incin sneasler gambit sun team lol

[cerulean nacelle]

this

[wheat rapids]

ill check out jamie boyt tho since u mentioned him 3 times ty

idk building sets is fun and I was able to cook my own team to top 10 of showdown ladder in the past, Im moreso interested in youtubers that show how to pick leads and play around threats properly

[indigo coral]

Is Pikalytics even up to date on Champions sets? Why not just use the Battle Data feature built in to Champions instead if you would like inspiration on some lesser used movesets and other strategies? It goes into extreme detail and is updated live, definitely a better tool than Pikalytics for Champions specifically

[wheat rapids]

any chance you know those EVs off the top of your head? I'm EV'd rn for 101 * 2 in tailwind to outspeed aero dactyls (and the likes of mega gengar), not sure if thats good or not tho. like, its been working, but its hard for me to tell if it could be better

[indigo coral]

But to repeat answers others have given multiple times, definitely go Corviknight over Whimsicott, though people also suggested Talonflame and Aerodactyl if Corviknight doesn't work out

[cerulean nacelle]

im considering maybe running a redirection for mega garde to let it potentially live more hits and maybe set up a calm mind.

[wheat rapids]

i think its pretty up to date, i like that it shows tourney sets. Also i do most of my planning away from my switch lol

[wheat rapids]

definitely? 👀 damn bet

with or without tailwind. there's a world where I just use gengar's natural speed to outspeed anything, and if they have a tailwind lead I just send in trick room gard

[indigo coral]

I have Champions pulled up, let me check for you.

32 HP / 8 Atk / 10 Def / 2 SpD / 14 Speed / Adamant

Lives Sneasler Close Combat 100% of the time, and outspeeds Mega Froslass and Mega Gengar in Tailwind

I believe the 8 attack was important too? I don't remember what it was for specifically though

[wheat rapids]

Thank you 🙏 after I live the cc, am I killing Sneasler with anything lol prob not right

[cerulean nacelle]

that... is a very useful stat spread to know actually.

[wheat rapids]

Right lol

@indigo coral do you have a good chomp spread on hand

[indigo coral]

I just run Max Attack Max Speed 2 HP Jolly on mine, but I run Scarf Garchomp so running Max Max is a lot better there. I've been seeing a Haban Berry spread floating around though that I want to say lives either a Moonblast or Gleam from Floette, but I don't have it on hand

[sudden remnant]

im watching this guy do a deathless Black run and someone in chat said gothitelle is an upgrade to alakazam 😭 the only reason i agree is cuz i have no friends to get an alakazam
with otherwise its an insane hot take

[wheat rapids]

Hm ok. I’d def wanna go bulkier

[cerulean nacelle]

They fulfil entirely different roles anyway lmao.

[foggy lodge]

i like that shadow tag is useless on the game main story because NPCs don't switch

[sudden remnant]

i mean you could run offensive gothitelle but why would you

[foggy lodge]

other than like 5 NPCs

[indigo coral]

Can you even get Shadow Tag in the main story of Black? It's a hidden ability, so that's locked to Dream World which doesn't exist anymore

[foggy lodge]

it is?

[cerulean nacelle]

part of me wants to say fuck it and run compound eyes tailwind vivillon with sleep powder lol

[foggy lodge]

wait yeah

[sudden remnant]

cant you get hidden abilities in rustling grass ik theres a really stupid way to get them

[indigo coral]

I mean, it did well once in Regulation H of ScVi. It's not awful by any means

[foggy lodge]

Vivillon has potential

it also has friend guard but idt its a very good user of it

[indigo coral]

Not in Rustling Grass no, the only way to get Hidden Abilities in BW was Dream World and some specific static encounters like the Darmanitan statues.

B2W2 had the Hidden Grottos though, that may be what you're thinking of

[sudden remnant]

it is im thinking of bw2

[cerulean nacelle]

89 speed is just pitiful lmao.

i am thinking of doing friend guard maushold + calm mind gardevoir

[sudden remnant]

89 speed isnt bad its just not good

[indigo coral]

I should replay B2W2 soon to try to bring up some of N's Pokemon to Champions and see if the special effect is finally back

[sudden remnant]

i would do that if i had a ds with pokemon bank

and i dont feel like getting it through illegal means

[cerulean nacelle]

we got a mouse for that lol

I am considering using friend guard maushold and calm mind mega gardevoir like how people use floette.

[sudden remnant]

if i had a ds with bank i could trade in my xy oras and usum pokemon in but unfortunately they’re all stuck in their respective games

[indigo coral]

My 2DS XL has Pokemon Bank, I bought it before the eshop shut down so I'm set. That reminds me, I should probably set aside a day to get a couple more Battle Bond Greninja and Ash Hat Pikachu from Gen 7

[sudden remnant]

yo could i trade you for an ash hat pikachu if you get a couple of them

[wheat rapids]

mega gengar has 200 speed right? wouldnt you need 20 speed EVs on ttar to hit 101..?

[indigo coral]

I'm not looking to trade them atm, I'll keep you in mind if I ever decide to though

[sudden remnant]

id appreciate it cuz i use pikachu and raichu religiously

why is this guy using a speed up fir gen 5 the pacing isnt that bad in gen 5

significantly better than gen 4🫩

[indigo coral]

Mega Gengar has 130 base Speed, mega Froslass has 120 base Speed

[leaden fox]

Oh dear lord; I just realised that Mega Garchomp Z could be better than I thought 💀 It gets Nasty Plot

[cerulean nacelle]

Chomp lost nasty plot in champions.

[wheat rapids]

right, which gengar translates to 200 speed, like aerodactyl at max

[cerulean nacelle]

Gren also lost NP

[leaden fox]

Ah, unfortunate 🙁

[sudden remnant]

that would explain why i have yet to see a mega greninja

[indigo coral]

My mistake, it's just Mega Froslass it outspeeds

[wheat rapids]

gotcha. well easy enough to change the spread to 32 HP 20 speed, 10 def 4 attack

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regma-2590334421-b12lilgr6qc2dtgbhxgx9127e4ex8rypw replay of my "bad" gardevoir set beating that copy pasted tourney winning team btw :p granted low elo, im sure things couldve been played better. But god knows encore helps deal with annoying mons x)

[sudden remnant]

okay it does get leech seed in gen 5 this guy just isnt familiar with snivy’s game

[cerulean nacelle]

Man I really can't seem to find a new team that clicks.

I'm just struggling.

[wheat rapids]

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regma-2590350492-v11y4nvwdh77p77d3r46tu2u0w6tlg6pw yeah mega gard is dirty

[sudden remnant]

me neither 🫩

[cerulean nacelle]

I've got a bulky mega froslass veil team that I like but atm with the big man blastoise going on and things, I'm struggling to find footing forward ngl.

[sudden remnant]

im running manectric

manectric isnt my problem though just the other mons i have with it arent pulling weight

my manectric is absolutely cooking though

[indigo coral]

Good timing, Jamie Boyt just put out a Garchomp guide and it includes a bulky spread. This spread always lives Modest max Mega Floette Dazzling Gleam in Fairy Aura, and outspeeds up to Mega Delphox and Mega Lopunny at -1 (assuming you have Icy Wind or Electroweb support)

[dull ibex]

https://pokepast.es/81c362581106e372 thoughts?

[sudden remnant]

bro got the new big 6 over here

[sudden remnant]

chat do i add araquanid to my team. resist fire ice and ground AND gets wide guard

[chrome knot]

neutral to fire

[sudden remnant]

resists

water bubble

[sudden remnant]

it takes half damage from fire moves

[winter fox]

I'm just going to start using gimmick teams

[wheat rapids]

pog

[winter fox]

Why waste all that time training for EVs and finding perfect movesets when I can get outsped and swept by Alolan Raichu and Primarina.

[sudden remnant]

Lmao

AloChu is goated though

[winter fox]

https://tenor.com/view/alolanraichu-pokemon-pokémon-gifs-raichu-raichu-alola-gif-20784971

The face of destruction with a +1 Nasty Plot and Surge Surfer

[cerulean nacelle]

Man... I hate blastoise

[sudden remnant]

true

[winter fox]

I faced a Blastoise once and the guy kept switching out and using Fake Out every chance he got. I couldn't take out his Trick Room setter either because he kept switching that out too.

[sudden remnant]

i wonder if i should unironically use an alolan raichu just to show how fucking goated it is

[sudden remnant]

this guys snorlax is annoying

I won oh my god i love manectric

[knotty briar]

I just learned that I can't send battle bond Greninja to champions...
I really wanted an omni boosted mega frog

[jade dust]

I like this team but I don’t feel right about Rotom. I mostly just bring it against Corviknight and rain teams

I wanna use Rotom more but I really HATE hydro pump

Please rework hydro pump to be 85 BP and 100 accuracy or give Rotom wash scald

[cerulean nacelle]

85BP and 100 accuracy would just mean it's a worse special version of liquidation.

Its a higher power move. It's fine where it's at. Infuriating when it misses yes, but I've missed more dual wingbeats than I have hydros lol

I have always thought that since it has no secondary effects, the accuracy could be bumped to 85%. That's a reasonable change I feel.

[jade dust]

And there is no problem with that

Flash cannon is a slightly worse special version of iron head

Special water types need a consistent stab option

All other types besides flying have a 100% accurate, 80-90 special move even with a secondary effect

[sudden remnant]

my manectric won me a game i had 0 business winning

[real prairie]

Interesting

Coil Milotic might just be the most broken Mon in the game atm

[torn parrot]

Dang

Was so close to lopunny champion rank

Rank 450

But then went on a losing streak unfortunate
I think my mind is just spent cus I played too much

[sudden remnant]

YOOOOOOOO TSAREENA BUFF

also hello jack

i just had a crazy game and my manectric clutched so hard

[torn parrot]

No wonder trip kick has been hitting like a planet

[chrome knot]

i tried a lop team and then paired vs mega aggron lmao

[torn parrot]

Ooo that sounds creative

How did it go?

[chrome knot]

died

aggron is a brick wall on all phys team

[sudden remnant]

my team is so weird i swear

but it works and thats what matters

[real prairie]

Mega aggron + Milotic is phys team worst nightmare

[sudden remnant]

jack i named my lombre in oras after you

im looking for a water stone rn

[winter fox]

Currently

[chrome knot]

https://x.com/animalsbabyy/status/2046429575471833475?s=46&t=FIWgOpf0yRQcHBdRCEbKnw

popular cat post (@animalsbabyy)

X · Apr 21, 2026, 3:23 AM

[sudden remnant]

hm?

how do i get it

i must have it

[chrome knot]

not in the game

[winter fox]

To lead with Incineroar and Sneasler or lead with Delphox Aerodactyl

[sudden remnant]

google you fucking liar

why would you lie to me about peak google

[sudden remnant]

why not sneasler aero and double rock slide

i usually lead aggressively with zoroark disguised as meow and manectric

[winter fox]

Primarina

[sudden remnant]

which is weak to poison

and sneasler should always be faster than prim

and aerodactyl also should always outspeed prim

[winter fox]

It had protect

[sudden remnant]

yes a lot of pokemon do

[winter fox]

So even if I did hit it, it would hit Chandelure and kill it

[sudden remnant]

its quite a strong move in competitive pokemon

what does chandelure have to do with sneasler aerodactyl

[winter fox]

And then Primarina would get off a Hyper Voice killing my Sneasler and bringing my Aero down to sash which would bring me in an awkward position of setting up Tailwind and letting Aero die or double protecting incase Primarina wants to protect again or switch out.

[sudden remnant]

broski

tailwind turn 1 and fake out the prim just in case it doesnt protect

then dire claw rock slide

and then begin the double rock slide agenda

[winter fox]

That Primarina needed to die immediately