competitive_discussion

[molten oasis]

Zard felt bad, it didn’t click, and the target it has on its back is so big

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah zard is powerful but because it's so well known you gotta play incredibly well.

High risk but higher reward.

[molten oasis]

Even tho in theory it should be the same and easier to use yea

Will say gambit mindgames have been so rough

[cerulean nacelle]

Yup. What's the team atm? I'm bored I wanna spitball some ideas.

[molten oasis]

https://pokepast.es/e0098a7030a977f9

A9 stays, it’s giving Phox a rain mu

So funny to watch Pelipper go from killing phox to doing 12%

The a9 is filling a niche I feel like phox likes so

[cerulean nacelle]

I think rock slide on the chomp with hard rock is a shout. I've been using it and it makes differences.

I would also say wide guard over protect on mega aero is asking for 50/50s which you may or may not win.

Have you also maybe considered coaching on the sneasler? Can work past protect for mega aerodactyl to make him even more threatening and can boost ur gambit.

[molten oasis]

Yea but then I lose tect

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah it's a choice for sure.

[molten oasis]

Also really not sure if I wanna go aero

It’s smth I’d like to test for sure, but I think a two mega thing should be the route I go from here

[cerulean nacelle]

I think aero would be better on this team not mega.

[molten oasis]

That’s my thought

I’ve been super interested in double megas teams then I look at the opponent and go “the only issues is gambit, otherwise phox is good here”

[cerulean nacelle]

Maybe switch around items. Is there certain calcs you can reach with ninetales and a resist berry rather than using sash on a9

[molten oasis]

Sash gives her the survivability to push through rain

Arch is still pretty scary just on its own, and idt it can take flash cannon

[cerulean nacelle]

I feel like weather setters are just bad into rain anyway due to sableye.

[molten oasis]

Maybe occa berry?

[molten oasis]

I leave it in the back

It comes out after sableye dies

If they don’t lead it (which is rare) I just have encore ig

[cerulean nacelle]

You could probably forego the special attack investment and go HP with occa or babiri berry on a9.

[molten oasis]

I do think scarf a9 is kinda funny

And would help with speed control

[cerulean nacelle]

What, scarf + icy wind?

[molten oasis]

Yuh

[cerulean nacelle]

It's scarf rotom larping but yeah it's an option.

[molten oasis]

Helps with scarf chomp too which has been rough

Scarf chomp is great into my team so

Maybe I’ll try that

[cerulean nacelle]

Give it a shot. Could be worth.

[molten oasis]

And then sash aero, or figuring out another mega for shit I’m struggling with

[cerulean nacelle]

Well if you're gonna run scarf a9, your list of moves is probably gonna be blizzard, icy wind, freeze dry, d gleam?

[molten oasis]

Rn it’s like, gambit and basc is usually rough cuz they’re strong, whimsi zard sneasler is rough

[molten oasis]

Moonblast over dgleam

[cerulean nacelle]

Fair

[molten oasis]

Rain is hard but doable

Trick room

And Primarina

That’s been rough

[cerulean nacelle]

Switch garchomp to hard rock and run rock slide over stomping tantrum. Chomp + sneasler is a very good pair to deal into zard whims

[cerulean nacelle]

Bulky waters are just hard to deal with. You ever thought about using tsareena?

[molten oasis]

Nope

I’ve looked at meowscarada Meganium and venu tho

Meow was fine, idk about venu

[cerulean nacelle]

I'd say tsareena works better than those. Meow is a one trick pony and protean can be very midling atm.

Tsareena has low kick for gambit, triple axel for things like garchomp, power whip or the safer trop kick to hit milotic or primarina hard etc.

And queen's majesty is just armour tail.

[molten oasis]

Hm

[molten oasis]

How is it built?

[chrome knot]

tsareena is so ass save urself

[cerulean nacelle]

Typically max speed max attack jolly. A lotta people run scarf but I don't think scarf tsareena is it atm.

[dense latch]

woaah i got 160 CP ill take that

[cerulean nacelle]

Because most if not all basc are running scarf jolly they outspeed scarf tsareena anyway.

[molten oasis]

Hm

I see, the pain of no good offensive grass types man

[real prairie]

Welcome to a shiny XL one if you want one, I have 2

[chrome knot]

what are u trying to kill

[real prairie]

Loves to miss when it matters

[cerulean nacelle]

That's any move without perfect accuracy not tsareena...

Or bright powder... fuck bright powder.

[real prairie]

Tsareena is the queen of it

[wet light]

Thanks but I’m good
I got mine and I prefer the normal colors anyway

[gentle crag]

fideolinguini has given 1 Gen Rep to averagejack_yt

[molten oasis]

A 6th to help with water types, that aren’t basc, Rotom and Milo

[cerulean nacelle]

Washtom hydro pump would like to argue

[molten oasis]

And Prima, in tr, cuz that’s kicking my ass rn tho idk how much that’s gonna really pick up

Maybe mega venu? Idk

[cerulean nacelle]

Mega venu is strong but it's still gonna struggle against constant threats like fire types, aero/mega aero, etc.

Mega venu is also pretty easy to predict. If you see a venu without a sun setter like whims or charizard, it's probably mega venu.

[molten oasis]

Fair point

Predictable =/=bad tho

Are you fr rn discord

There we go

[cerulean nacelle]

It doesn't always equal bad. But for what you're specifically struggling with I don't think venu is the most amazing play.

Though ill say like... prim is not that common so that's more of a niche thing.

[molten oasis]

That was my thought however uh

Milo and Rotom I think are common enough

Hm, maybe an electric type or electric mega

[cerulean nacelle]

Good luck with that.

There's what... 2 currently in the game? And both are bad or severely outclassed.

[molten oasis]

I looked and went “damn” lol

[cerulean nacelle]

I've tried both.

Manectrics one claim to fame is a pretty unique speed tier but nothing else.

And ampharos is maybe the worst trick room mega I've ever used.

[bold geode]

Ok so it should not hit my builder cuz I hate myself

[cerulean nacelle]

Tsareena ain't bad. It's just picking your poison of trop kick vs power whip typically.

The rest is pretty standard stuff.

[fluid wind]

Finally got to champion tier

[timber falcon]

congrats

[fluid wind]

Thxs

[gentle crag]

darkknightyt has given 1 Gen Rep to otot8953

[molten oasis]

Support mega in a format that doesn’t necessarily want it and Raging Bolt from wish

[stuck perch]

queenly majesty is so good even against sucker punch?

[fluid wind]

Also this was the team I made

[supple citrus]

Hey, I've had a team I've been workshopping to some success. But, I struggle against teams that close with Kingambit or Basculegion. I'm not getting much use out of Volcarona (who replaced Incin who I also wasn't using), so I'm thinking of dropping them for a counter. I'll send the team in a moment as well as the ideas I've had to fill that slot, I'm just curious if any of them cover both weaknesses

The pokemon I'm thinking of are:
Scarf Hydreigon (shiny)
Mega Scovillain
Tsareena with Low Kick
Meowscarada with fighting coverage
Would any of them work, or should I look elsewhere?

[sharp trail]

What does your full team look like

Can I get an image?

[supple citrus]

Oh did the image not send?

[sharp trail]

Ur best would be mega scovillian to cripple their attack stat

[supple citrus]

Hold on

My concern with Scovillain is that it would be acting as a secondary Mega (in theory). BTW Volcarona was meant as a Kingambit counter, and it works...fine I guess? But I'm still getting killed by Basc

[sharp trail]

Yeah cause volc is best sp def wall

[cyan smelt]

Put the water resist berry on volc

[sharp trail]

The problem I faced with volc was mostly rock type pokemon

Cause 4 times damage

[supple citrus]

I feel like rock types are usually leads. Besides, most use Rock Slide and Wide Guard blocks that

[molten oasis]

Volc needs way too much help to work right now

[supple citrus]

Eh that's a lie, TTar exists. But Wide Guard still def applies

[sharp trail]

For fire I would consider rotom heat or paldean Taurus

[cyan smelt]

Replace volc with mega scovillain

[supple citrus]

I'm assuming Scovillain doesn't really have use if not Mega'd? I know it doesn't burn lol

But yeah I was thinking Scovillain. Then I got a shiny Hydreigon and that's when I started thinking of alts

[sharp trail]

Heat stats

Gives u coverage against the two u were worried about

[supple citrus]

Hmm, true. I do have a Rotom Heat on one of my Showdown teams and it gets results

[sudden remnant]

🫩

[cyan smelt]

Use simisear

[sudden remnant]

true

heya kalos

[cyan smelt]

Hi

[fluid wind]

148th in the world rn

[fluid wind]

Now I am 72th in the world

[clever prawn]

Woah congrats!

[fluid wind]

Actually 54th lol

[fluid wind]

Thxs

[gentle crag]

darkknightyt has given 1 Gen Rep to pixe1trick

[supple citrus]

Man I wish there was a way to see the team you faced after you win/lose, even if it's just the roster with no other info. I just played against an endgame of Bellibolt and Steelix and like...it worked

[finite vine]

Who’s the best Legendary Pokémon in competitive out of these? Heatran, Regigigas, Cresselia, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina (So pretty much almost all gen 4 legendary Pokemon lol)

[sudden remnant]

okay so heatran and cresselia are in a seperate category called UNRESTRICTED legends

comparing heatran and cresselia to… the only one worth speaking of as far as i know is dialga

is like

insane 😭

[finite vine]

So it’s between Cresselia and Heatran then

[sudden remnant]

cresselia is good but not every team wants her

and heatran is ummmmmmmm meh

[finite vine]

I just got a 3Ds with Pokemon Bank so I wanted to get a shiny legendary with all ribbons starting from XY to SV so I was thinking who to do it with

[sudden remnant]

😨

glhf

[finite vine]

Thanks :p

[molten oasis]

Unrestricted heatran restricted dialga

[finite vine]

Got it, thank you! ^^

[gentle crag]

kumotzu has given 1 Gen Rep to drayagedrago

[next dust]

I am a bad person I think

[strong anchor]

Is that the sandaconda stall team?

[next dust]

Stall? I mean if it takes a bit to get moving

No it's sandaconda minimize +iron def+body press

I have to hit at least 2 minimizes in sand then a couple iron def and it's like a 20 something percent chance to even hit him with a 100 acc move then body press sweep in sand

[wild knot]

Can you guys actually grab this? https://vxtwitter.com/pokerapidinfo/status/2058462739597799529

ポケモン速報 (@pokerapidinfo)

【チャンピオンズ情報】

✅プレシャスボール入りギャラドス配布開始

合言葉:DRAG0NDANCEPTC26

サブメニュー→ふしぎなおくりものから合言葉を入力

vxTwitter / fixvx · May 24, 2026, 8:18 AM

[timber falcon]

certainly not a good person

[next dust]

I know 🙁

[timber falcon]

minimize? enuff said

[next dust]

In my defense I only pulled out of the vault because of that damn YouTube Blastoise team

Like five games in a row I face it

[timber falcon]

which one?

ive seen so many blastoise teams now

[next dust]

The vivillion orthworm one

Shed tail blast next to Viv. So annoying

[timber falcon]

orthworm is new for me, usuallt smth like blastoise, farig, scarf viv, torkaol ect i thought

then again innovation is always key

[next dust]

Is only really there to give shed tail from what I've seen

Was #55 champ rank that team

[timber falcon]

dang

[next dust]

Gives you shell smash garunteed then friend guard pollen puff+compound eyes sleep powder

Ugh I hate it so much. So I just sand team sandaconda minimize. Don't have to worry if I cannot be hit

I play it until I encounter a team that isn't annoying then I go back to Gengar haha

[pearl wind]

yep

[cerulean nacelle]

I tried orthworm alongside nasty plot mega froslass but I didn't like it and ended up sticking to maushold for follow me.

But I also still used mega blastoise on both teams.

[leaden fox]

Just got it a few moments ago too 😅

[timber falcon]

"ill play some random battles to clear my head"

[leaden fox]

yikes 😬

I just thought; Mega Froslass has another 'viable' partner in dex; but it isn't in Champions ironically

Alolan Sandslash

[cerulean nacelle]

Tbh, I just don't think slush rush is a good way to run snow unless we get arctozolt back.

[leaden fox]

True, but hopefully may improve the odds somewhat; it just surprises me that we have Sand Rush, Chlorophyll and Swift Swim in atm, but not Slush Rush 😅

[cerulean nacelle]

Even on rain, swift swim isn't used because scarf + adaptability basculegion is just stronger overall.

Rain isn't even really abusing water types as much as it usually does. It's utilising two dragons that synergize well with it and sometimes meganium.

[leaden fox]

Yeah, I just mean the "possible options" is all 😅

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeahhh I get you but possible options doesn't always mean worth options.

Which is really sad because I'd love to see alolan sandslash get used more.

[leaden fox]

Though, I suspect that maybe once Mega Swampert is added, we may see a slight change for rain teams

After all, a rain mon that doubles speed and is immune to electric types is quite solid

[cerulean nacelle]

Oh yeah mega swampert would probably give a realistically good alternative to basculegion and probably be a good dual mega.

Not to mention mega swampert has decent coverage in ice punch for chomps and dnites and has the ever good stab EQ at its disposal meaning its actually a fairly decent mon into opposing archaludons.

That would probably be the only real swift swimmer to use rn.

Apart from maybe... maybe barraskewda.

Because that mon is just so ridiculously fast and strong that banded rain boosted liquidations guarantee most things die.

[leaden fox]

Yeah, once more mons get added to the roster of choices; a lot of situations will end up changing

[cerulean nacelle]

True.

Also I'm like 6 matches away from doing my 100 matches with froslass.

Hell yeah

[leaden fox]

Hoping M-B will add a good roster of conventional mons and Megas at least

[leaden fox]

Nice 🙂

[cerulean nacelle]

I'd assume it'd probably add some of the missing megas and then add the rest of the new megas. And it better do I wanna try mega golisopod so bad.

But yeah I've been enjoying my team:

Mega froslass
Mega blastoise
Sneasler
Tsareena
Aerodactyl
Maushold

It's been really fun.

[leaden fox]

I suspect they'll add in half the remaining new Megas and some more of the older Megas, hopefully including the Hoenn starters

[cerulean nacelle]

Only time shall tell

[leaden fox]

definitely a viable team

[cerulean nacelle]

yeah nasty plot mega froslass with max speed, high HP and enough defense to reach 100 defense so in snow it reaches 150 defense makes it pretty strong, specially with friend guard maushold generally reducing damage recieved.

[leaden fox]

I've at least finally got a good lead for majority of "Sableye + Arch" leads now 😅

H-Samurott + Sylveon

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah ima admit sableye + arch is just hella hard to deal with. I honestly still dk what my plan is for it in all honesty. It's probably something like sneasler + tsareena and use a combo of CC + low kick to do enough damage to where it's gonna die.

[leaden fox]

Yeah, having sharpness boosted Sacred Sword on H-Samurott helps; then Sylveon fairy feather boosted Hyper Voice helps

Though, it all depends if I don't face any Fake Out Sableyes

Some have it, some don't

[cerulean nacelle]

On rain I've not seen a single fake out sableye. They're usually too busy setting up rain to get archaludon moving first then potentially doing screens

Also I just realised I'm still running jolly sneasler

I might change that to adamant...

[leaden fox]

Yeah, I barely see Fake Out Sableye on rain teams, but happens in a rare occasion

Yeah, I run Adamant Sneasler since double speed after White Herb fixes the speed issue

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah I was running jolly to actually ironically beat the opposing sneasler lead speed tie which can really throw people off but I think I just want more damage.

[leaden fox]

Yeah, the extra damage helps overall honestly

I learned that the hard way xP

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeahhhhh I think that's gonna be my thing. I'm not particularly fussed about the bulkier sneaslers that are about, I still prefer max max but it's probably better to be adamant atm.

[winter fox]

Reg M-B but it's just 6 new megas and we're still stuck with Basc Gambit meta for the third month in a row.

[chrome knot]

this is prob awesome if you’re behind in what the format problem is rn

[finite vine]

Are any of the Kalos starters looking promising for competitive in the future? Or they aren’t that great?

[next stump]

mega delphox is okay, it’s fallen off from its initial hype but usable

mega chesnaught is absolutely terrible

[winter fox]

I wouldn't mind new megas as long as they're counters to Basc,Gambit,and Bridge. We don't need new items right now with how small the roster is.

[chrome knot]

new regulation completely changes formats so

whatever ur trying for this reg to be it just wont😭

[finite vine]

Damn, how about Greninja? 😅

[indigo coral]

Says who? Champions hasn't changed regulations at all yet since release, and they've already completely deviated from the standard formula in almost every other way. There also were new regulations in ScVi with minimal changes. Regulation B and C both added a handful of pokemon each (one literally only added 4 pokemon total), and Regulation J also only added a small handful of Pokemon.

[chrome knot]

reg j wasn’t a real format😭

reg b & c made the rest of the dex legal which before home compatibility was the only format left before restricted mons

[indigo coral]

It was a ladder format, and this game is primarily played on ladder. It's applicable. Also again, Reg C literally just added 4 Pokemon

[chrome knot]

again

[austere pilot]

omg sableye arch is evil

[leaden fox]

Yes, yes it is xD

[leaden fox]

I think Delphox Mega would do better if we had a few more conventional mons that benefit it, but will have to see when M-B happens

[mighty stump]

Finally hit Champion Rank with my own anti-meta team

[timber falcon]

Spill the beans

[mighty stump]

Not the highest but it’s what I made

and that’s all I care about

Yes Quick Claw Incin is a huge meme

[timber falcon]

Snorlax what a surprise, very nice though I like the scovillain Kommo-o combo

Is it without tw or tr ?

[mighty stump]

Snorlax has clutched out a lot of 1v3s

[mighty stump]

Full bulky offense

No Speed Control

[timber falcon]

I’ve been trying to create a team just like it

Similar to yours but I opted for Kang cause I like the way it looks

[mighty stump]

Scovillain is quite Mega-limiting if I was adamant about keeping Snorlax

[chrome knot]

vgc players when you build full balance:

[timber falcon]

I’m hard wired atp

[mighty stump]

I can’t even call it Balance cause I have like 0 good switch ins sometimes lmao

[chrome knot]

lol

[mighty stump]

I literally brute force my way through

Bonus is I never lose against Vivillon Blastoise

I have a 100% WR against Blastoise + Fari or Blastoise + Vivillon

[timber falcon]

That’s the playstyle I love but I can’t find a team to practice it with

[mighty stump]

This is not one to practice with this is literally a Tofu team through and through

[timber falcon]

I can tell

[chrome knot]

how most times u run into scov they die to hurricane😭

granted im not on scarf viv blastoise team

[mighty stump]

Mine lived Helping Hand Hurricane

so

and I have never died to a Hurricane from any Vivillon

[chrome knot]

hi im 32hp 32spdef

[mighty stump]

I’m 32 HP 24 SpDef Calm

[timber falcon]

😭

[nocturne holly]

Who is good with mega Scov rn
Also is he a good mega to build a team off of or should you center around smth else

[mighty stump]

I live Hurricane from Peli, Sludge Bomb from Modest Glimm, Weather Ball from Zard Y

[mighty stump]

I think Scov is goated I am a true convert

[chrome knot]

yeah not surprising💀

[mighty stump]

It’s definitely a set-up playstyle

[mighty stump]

I have to just bank the 50:50 of Sneasler Adamant vs Jolly

[timber falcon]

How do you play into floette?

[mighty stump]

Thoughts and prayers

[chrome knot]

however living hh hurricane isn’t in ur cards idk how that happened

[mighty stump]

Probably some no investment shit

[chrome knot]

i imagine the dogshit scarf viv isn’t spatk invest lmao

but if theyre even max max timid hh does 109 min

[mighty stump]

But anyways, Scov/Incin/Snorlax would be muscling through Floette and Sneasler in the back for insurance

I just basically fire off a bunch of neutrals and go from there

Team is far from perfect but hell I made it and now I can just adjust for fun

Initially I had BDrum Azumarill

over Sneasler

and just soammed Aqua Jet to win

but Sneasler is more consistent

Lax actually answers basic Whimsi/Glimm/Zard/Basc

or Chomp over Basc

[timber falcon]

I see

Special defence tank overall

[mighty stump]

Oh I should probably show the moves

[timber falcon]

Which would be most fairies

Coaching I didn’t expect

[timber falcon]

Wait I didn’t even notice quick claw

[mighty stump]

Honestly I’d rank Snorlax to have the most KOs, then Kommo-O, then Scovillain

I used Kingambit like

The least

It’s there to just scare TR and Basc

I got Snorlax Professor, Scovillain Professor off of this team lmao

[nocturne holly]

What’s r some tr mons that are good with the char y and basc core

I want a tr mode with the team I was thinking sini but that makes me feel weak to gambit but drago recommended dark resist berry fari which im not opposed to

Also what speed control does char y usually have I don’t want whims is aero good?

[foggy lodge]

Tofu how do i beat scarf viv

[mighty stump]

Lead Kommo/Scovillain - always Protect Kommo and Giga Drain the Blastoise slot

Doesn’t matter if they Hurricane

[foggy lodge]

Im not giga drain💔

[mighty stump]

The only way you lose is if they for any reason Fake Out Hurricane or Water Spout Hurricane which would be weird as fuck to make that play in front of Scov

[mighty stump]

I tried Leech Seed versions before and it was fine, but Giga Drain is so much better

If they Shell Smash they get OHKO’d

If they don’t, they just don’t do damage with Water Spout

If Vivillon clicked Sleep Powder you win from Turn 1

if it’s Hurricane you just reposition around it cuz Blastoise has no pressure or is dead

[foggy lodge]

https://pokepast.es/4fb6820da50ed2d3

This is my team i got top 120 i think on bo1 ladder this morning

[mighty stump]

Slay

I’m ngl I made life harder for myself but hey we made it - there is 100% a better way to probably fix my shit

Dude I tried the Kingambit + Scov set up stuff

I literally never found a way to set up comfortably

[foggy lodge]

Ngl Scov isn't really the guy that helps Gambit set up most of the time its usually Sneasler/A9

[mighty stump]

Fair

[foggy lodge]

I almost never really go for something like rage powder swords dance i usually have gambit enter mid game to be the win con till the endgame or pick up kos left

[mighty stump]

Do you click Leech Seed a lot

[foggy lodge]

Uhh

[mighty stump]

I just found it rough to not be able to press a Grass move

[foggy lodge]

Into TR and rain yeah

[round abyss]

https://pokepast.es/a6c83f1309653b60
what could i add for the alst two slots im thinking garch and some speed control but dk whats best

[foggy lodge]

Leech seed helps a lot into the arch on rain but people are also switching to Mega Venu so

Idk

[mighty stump]

Literally just Whimsicott Glimmora

[mighty stump]

a lot of Dnite rain too

[foggy lodge]

Yeah that too

And scov doesn't live a hurricane💔

[mighty stump]

Don’t you just beat rain with A9 though

[round abyss]

what does glimmora do

[mighty stump]

Sash + Toxic Debris for chip and scares mirror Zard Y

[dense latch]

hits floette and zard + debris chip

[foggy lodge]

Tbh I share the same opinion as Davide Fazio Scov is a mid mega but it has a huge impact on bascu/sneasler/gambit mirrors and hard TR/rain

[foggy lodge]

Kinda yeah but i still struggle into mega venu variants

[mighty stump]

I think as power levels go up Scov will become more mid but the Spicy Spray shit is hella

[foggy lodge]

I have to get a shiny scov

[mighty stump]

I think you need a position where Venu is in front of Mega Aero somehow

[foggy lodge]

Yeah

[mighty stump]

They bring like what, Basc/Peli/Archa/Venu

[foggy lodge]

Sableye sometimes

[mighty stump]

I think you gotta just remove Peli from the equation first and foremost

[foggy lodge]

Like Sableye Venu Arch and Peli/Basc

[mighty stump]

Then probably sth like A9 + Kingambit, click Encore on Sableye turn 1 and switch Gambit to Aero and turn ur attention to Venu

[foggy lodge]

True

Or Gambit Mega Aero maybe

[mighty stump]

Unless they have like

Wisp Sableye

[foggy lodge]

Wait nah they are wow sableye

[mighty stump]

Scovillain Aero lmao

I mean can’t you Rage Powder + set up Kingambit

then just not mega Scovillain

Sack it then run Aero

Oh but you kinda want the redirect for Basc/Archa

:/

[round abyss]

mega glim or nah?

[mighty stump]

I mean you have your own Sash Basc for mirror

[foggy lodge]

The thing is that Scov is useless in the mega venu sableye positions cuz

[mighty stump]

Sash since you’re just gg spam Zard Y anyways

[foggy lodge]

You can't rage powder maybe you can leech seed sableye

[mighty stump]

Oh right i’m stupid its 2:30 am

[foggy lodge]

I think if i pick aero i pick sneasler to have something into arch

[mighty stump]

i can only think of Encore locking your way to a win tbh

[foggy lodge]

When ive played against it i have to kill sableye quickly to then not have to deal with rain dance

[round abyss]

what do i run on whims other than sash

[dense latch]

fairy feather

[foggy lodge]

ive seen sitrus/coba/occa berries but fairy feather has been the standard for sash glimm whims teams

[round abyss]

fairy feather is on sylv

sylv is actually so nice bro icl

[foggy lodge]

@mighty stump https://x.com/vgcvictoryroad/status/2058605036016386382?s=12

Victory Road VGC (@VGCVictoryRoad)

Congratulations to 🇺🇸 Kyle Livinghouse (@AnimusVGC), winner of the VR May Challenge #4! 🏆

Kyle takes home $730 and an invite to Phase 2 of the VRtSF! 💸

Thank you to all players for joining us this weekend! 🚀

📖 All info: https://t.co/DhirOf2Jxu

X · May 24, 2026, 5:44 PM

[mighty stump]

I have had my eye on Kleavor

[round abyss]

https://pokepast.es/46d3f5265d5a3b80
what could i replace glimm with im not really feeling it

everything else feels good tho

[foggy lodge]

Why are you bulky glimm with sash

[dense latch]

<@&663761167176433665>

[cobalt tapir]

[next stump]

major wins for each pokemon in scarlet violet

[foggy lodge]

Drifblim has a major?

Top 100 lets go

[solid frigate]

I got flashbanged by the list

[chrome knot]

where is terapagos!

i found it

[nocturne holly]

Mb wrong set
This is my alt for that btw

Can they just add amoonguss to the game already bruh

[molten oasis]

Wow

Wellspring outdid Hearthflame

[dense latch]

damn pagos really farmed us latam players to get 5 rings 😭

[solid frigate]

Pagos really want to get away from Galapagos Island huh

[foggy lodge]

@mighty stump https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regmabo3-2617277248-arpq3d32836e97qx4jlc21wyb5gx9vtpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regmabo3-2617278761-fktrnahtus6vpnb24d2k1l6lfcy96mwpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regmabo3-2617280269-f9yxb0mjhl10jmn9uqcdl6jl1mvjl7wpw

help bro this mu is so trash

[stuck perch]

https://x.com/Dexerto/status/2058579432793612486?s=20

Dexerto (@Dexerto)

Former competitive Pokemon TCG player and bodybuilder Gabriel Ganley has died aged 22

He competed at the Pokemon World Championships, was ranked among Latin America’s top players, and had 2.1 million Instagram followers

X · May 24, 2026, 4:02 PM

Damn RIP he was young af

[foggy lodge]

RIP🙏

[solid frigate]

That was unexpected

Rest in peace

[foggy lodge]

Ayo mega chomp got top 8 at the VR https://www.vrpastes.com/ESBORm8W

[round abyss]

https://pokepast.es/5e251765690f8b11 thoughts? im not really feeling glimm on this but i really like the other 5, need fighting coverage i feel so sneasler?

[cyan smelt]

Garchomp

[timber falcon]

could teach gambit low kick

[round abyss]

yea i wanted that but dk over what everything on it seems so good

might do over protect

[cyan smelt]

Gambit needs protect for fake out

[dense latch]

eh it depends

chople berry gambit for example sometimes goes 4 attacks no tect

[cyan smelt]

Then he'll need to switch the item because it's currently black glasses

[dense latch]

yea i would do that if he goes low kick over tect

[cyan smelt]

what evs should i have on gambit incidentally? max hp and enough def to survive an adamant cc from sneasler?

also araquanid as a check to mega scovillain is interesting

[sudden remnant]

poni mentioned

[sudden remnant]

water bubble=burn immunity

water bubble also =big pp water type damage

[cyan smelt]

yeah i thought it was cool tech

[sudden remnant]

and despite being a grass type scovillain isn’t particularly fond of getting smacked by an araquanid liquidation

[cyan smelt]

and since it only runs fire moves it can't do shit to araquanid

[sudden remnant]

exactly

[cyan smelt]

time to test a9, skeledirge, gambit, sneasler, kang and farig

[foggy lodge]

https://tenor.com/view/scovillain-twerk-tail-gif-1412018886947137168

[sudden remnant]

https://tenor.com/view/araquanid-totem-totem-araquanid-pokemon-ultra-sun-gif-16382486017029566641

[cyan smelt]

totem ribombee was the worst

[sudden remnant]

totem ribombee was goated

although lets all be honest we all lost to totem mimikyu at least once

[cyan smelt]

i'm pretty sure i lost to totem tsareena

[sudden remnant]

i lost to totem lurantis more than once

[cyan smelt]

wait not tsareena, lurantis

that shit was haaaarddddd

[sudden remnant]

i knew what you meant

[sudden remnant]

it having contrary doesnt help 🫩

[cyan smelt]

plus we didn't have access to malamar yet so no topsy turvy

i can't remember if we had any unaware mons at that stage yet either

[sudden remnant]

i dont think so

🫩

bro why am i watching this anime ts is so mid

😭

[cyan smelt]

vex if i'm going back to running a9 what moves should i have on the never melt ice set

i've got blizzard freeze dry encore and protect

[sudden remnant]

could i suggest dropping protect for ice shard

[cyan smelt]

ice shard? bro is not mamo

[sudden remnant]

its not there to one shot with that

its there to pick off kos you missed

[cyan smelt]

polish off sash?

[sudden remnant]

and finish sash mons too

[cyan smelt]

i'm going to run the protect set first, then if i'm not picking up crucial kos i'll switch to ice shard

[sudden remnant]

yeah it will probably do less damage cuz of nature but i think the nevermelt ice should counteract that a bit

[cyan smelt]

welp time to test this ig

Farig does not die lmao

kang + farig is too goated i can't even

[foggy lodge]

FINALLY BRO LFG

1500 in bo3 and top 300

[cyan smelt]

yo congrats

[cyan smelt]

someone smack me around the head, i set up tr when they had torkoal

then i lost to gardevoir ttar

[cyan smelt]

wtf is will o wisp mega zard y

these teams are too unpredictable, mega chandelure AND torkoal?

[shadow wind]

What team?

[cyan smelt]

is mega glimm and sneasler new?

[timber falcon]

Is that even a duo?

[cyan smelt]

I've seen it a couple of times

[timber falcon]

https://pokepast.es/059067c403227a47 making a team that started with corv

any thoughts? Im not sure what to run last on ttar

[supple citrus]

Man, you know what's worse than facing a Perish Trap team at 5am?

Facing a Perish Trap team that doesn't know what the hell it is doing

Like you really gotta waste 20min of my time because you can't work around two pivots and a Dark Type you can't Prankster. How do you time out of a match without knocking out a single pokemon?

Never have I been so thankful for that 7min timer. Like yeah I would have cleared through the rest of his team in 3-5 more turns but I genuinely do not care. That dude deserved to run out of time

[supple citrus]

I like running Low Sweep on TTar. It helps your matchup against Kingambit and other TTars. I'm also wondering if maybe Unnerve might be good on Corv instead of Pressure in this metagame

[cyan smelt]

surely mirror armour?

low kick on ttar is good as is ice punch

[timber falcon]

incin has been a major issue so ill try mirror arrmour, and yeah lowsweep is better than what i have rn

yk what i dont think i can make corv work

[cyan smelt]

i don't know when i should start forgetting about losses because it's lower ladder stuff and when to change things

[timber falcon]

wdym?

[cyan smelt]

feel like i've been losing to a lot of jank on showdown today

[timber falcon]

unless its so arbritray that there was 0 way to ever account for it in CTS id count it

when climbing ladder or playing on champions your bound to run into a janky set/team even on the high end

[cyan smelt]

i've been putting it on the pasrs but overheat charizard and will-o-wisp charizard is just weird

[timber falcon]

bro ive been through ancient power zard

its a cruel world

[cyan smelt]

at least i've been using a9 more and it's been clutch every time i've used it

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah in the first season I ran into someone with mudsdale and araquanid TR. That was weird.

[cyan smelt]

araquanid is really good into scovillain

[cerulean nacelle]

It is but I ran into that same thing thrice and this was before scovillain drastically picked up in usage.

They were doing it for the love of the game man

[cyan smelt]

before it was cool

this snorlax mega hawlucha stuff looks annoying

[austere pilot]

hm would you guys run will o wisp or taunt on incin in a rain team? its a peli/mega meganium/arch/basc/mega dragonite team

I am thinking will o wisp for sneaslers? and taunt for the weird mega hawlucha shenanigans

and trickroom stuff

[cyan smelt]

taunt incin is solid

[austere pilot]

im crine they forfeit

[leaden fox]

No clue why they didn't Mega with Char; it was going to be a one shot from Adapt Basc 🤣

Even I know that so much from when I played Char Y during X/Y 😅

[austere pilot]

I am guessing they wanted me to switch to peli first? but not protecting there was throw

[leaden fox]

(Yes, Basc wasn't in Gen6, but I know the water type damage aspect xP)

[leaden fox]

Probably their first thought yeah, but if they weren't gonna protect with Char, they had to Mega to live 😅

[timber falcon]

What even was the plan

[leaden fox]

Knowing them, they were expecting a double into Aero; but that is too predictable

I just know if I was against that lead, I'd double protect

[earnest rapids]

Is anyone using the quantum-fainting-loop strat in comp?

[leaden fox]

Not that I know what that is xD

[austere pilot]

yeah double protect is probably the only correct play there

[cyan smelt]

getting a call right is so gratifying, they led talon garchomp and i led farig kang and the chomp used sd and i used tr and ice punch on the chomp

i feel like i'm never bringing sneasler though, maybe that needs to change

[timber falcon]

even if this was the case, what was non mega zard gonna do?

except a pitiful heatwave

[cyan smelt]

i lost against a solar power base zard on showdown earlier, wtf lol

i feel like i might get less wacky stuff on champions

[timber falcon]

perchance they just didnt mega?

[cyan smelt]

yeah they didn't

[timber falcon]

i mean what item?

[cyan smelt]

i forget

[timber falcon]

had to at least have the mega stone

[cyan smelt]

lost to so many zards today, maybe my team has a problem against zard

[timber falcon]

same thing on my end

zard is just so strong rn

[cyan smelt]

zard is ridiculous and it doesn't even need chomp or aero

[leaden fox]

Yeah, though would've lived Adapt Basc 😅

even with no bulk Char Y, the Drought would've helped

I still need to get into Master Rank; but been a little lazy 😅

[real prairie]

Just realised phantom force doesn't just hit through protect it breaks it

Trying to work out why mega alakzam outsped my 124 speed swift swim basculigon in rain

[pearl wind]

did it trace swift swim?

[real prairie]

Fuck maybe

Forgot it gets trace

[timber falcon]

That’s a pretty cool interaction

[leaden fox]

I was about to say that Mega Alakazam only gets Trace 😅

[cyan smelt]

i kinda want to ladder more on showdown

[leaden fox]

I'm testing a team of mine for the Online Comp in Champions via Showdown, it is doing extremely well

Over 10 games, only 1 loss

[modern vector]

can someone help me out w my team?

[cyan smelt]

i feel like my team is decent, i just make stupid plays or lead wrong and lose and this format is not forgiving if you lead wrong

[modern vector]

i hit mb3 with it, but need to some help to take it further

[cyan smelt]

i still dunno how that gallade was faster than mega kang

[leaden fox]

From what I see, the team is solid; but which mons isn't pulling their weight currently?

[modern vector]

everyone’s pulling their weight tbh. ttar was something i added to counter zard teams and it does it well. but wondering if im not optimizing

i feel like i don’t bring kingambit that often. it is rly good against basc and trick room

[leaden fox]

Let me check for ya (had to open in web browser to zoom it in better while able to respond)

[leaden fox]

Looking at the options here; I could consider taking off body press from corv for protect, while pushing some of it's physical bulk into it's spdef to survive some hits better (maybe 2 def and 32 spdef), then make it likely adamant.

Delphox, Ttar and Kingambit are good where they are currently

Maybe consider changing Rotom-wash into a choice scarf with it's moves as Electroweb, Hydro Pump, Volt Switch and will-o-wisp to have speedy methods of countering and speed control (especially if against Mega Aero)

Then Garchomp could run EQ, Rock Slide, Dragon Claw with Protect; or you could run it with Scale Shot, instead of Dragon Claw; then slap a Haban Berry (reduces Dragon type damage) onto it

Just a few valid thoughts that could work out for ya

[modern vector]

thanks i’ll look into this

i feel like i don’t rly get to click bulk up on corv

[cyan smelt]

gallade is actually really good, if you're not prepared for it it can run through teams

[real prairie]

Sharpness is simply better than it's mega though

[cyan smelt]

is this what flow feels like? i am playing randbats and beating everyone

yeah i agree sharpness is strictly better than mega gallade

i'm bout to hop back on reg m-a on showdown because i'm beating everyone in randbats

[pearl wind]

imagine missing into your own pokémon, couldnt be me

[cyan smelt]

bright powder chandelure?

[pearl wind]

nope, i got a muddy water accuracy drop on audino earlier

[cyan smelt]

oh it's mega chandelure

[real prairie]

On win streak with this team if anyone else fancies trying it.

[earnest rapids]

Did this person just publicly admit to hacking without thinking?

[foggy lodge]

what does that even mean

[austere pilot]

guys how gimmicky is decorate alcremie + calm mind baton pass espathra lmao

[real prairie]

Espathra not that gimmicky, alcreamie is

[austere pilot]

yeahhh lmfao

dire claw ggs

[real prairie]

That's coaching lol

[austere pilot]

oh i thought you used that as in that sneasler is a counter to alcremie

[nocturne holly]

https://pokepast.es/4c2af4d889a00563 this team feels good except I don’t feel like I have any good switch ins everything is pretty frail any thoughts on what to do for it

[earnest rapids]

Guys, how do we feel about the bidirection displacement technique used to win the big leagues

It feels too OP tbh

GF, ILCA, Niantic, and DeNa should nerf the strat

Mega incineroar is using too many z-max moves occasionally always never for my liking

A counter I usually use for this common occurrence is to infuse the omni ring with my soul and the power of friendship

[austere pilot]

please dont manifest that into existence

[indigo coral]

Why are we shitposting in the competitive discussion channel?

[cyan smelt]

just lost to mega zard y and a9 for some reason and they got a freeze

[earnest rapids]

You lost to "aaaaaaaaa"?

[mighty stump]

Please do not shitpost during discussion.

This is your one warning.

[cyan smelt]

this team is decent but i'm just misplaying i think

[nocturne holly]

Thoughts?

[mighty stump]

Because youre playing HO

It’s standard stuff

[cyan smelt]

this team is kinda feeling good now and i'm more comfortable leading sneasler farig

sometimes i bring a9 in the back for opposing weather

[mighty stump]

EVs are probably also sub-optimal - bulk Zard is common to be less threatened by Rock Slides, Chomps generally are bulkier or need a damage boosting item if running fast Chokp

[mighty stump]

Where is the Destiny Bond Bannette

Japanese tech

[foggy lodge]

tofu tofu tofu

i got top 300 in bo3!!!

[real prairie]

Dropped it for Wilowisp

[foggy lodge]

https://youtu.be/-iACIiOfkyk?si=9RdPHNOVWsHhrMCy

[nocturne holly]

is there a way to use zard y effectively and not play HO and more balance like

[nocturne holly]

do you have any bulk zard or chomp spreads?

[austere pilot]

https://pokepast.es/64735a54c29be161 should I never cook again

[nocturne holly]

What megas are best for balance teams rn?

[foggy lodge]

Floette

Charizard Y

Aerodactyl

Some people have used Zard X I think its cool

[real prairie]

Mega venosaur is picking up too

[nocturne holly]

Isn’t chard y very HO tho

How do you run balance with it

[leaden fox]

You ain't wrong 😅

[hasty night]

Mega gyrados

[real prairie]

Run a bulkier set on a balance team

[nocturne holly]

https://pokepast.es/4c2af4d889a00563
I like the first 4 I’m not sure about chomp and whims tho, would sini or fari be good?

[leaden fox]

If you wanted to, you can run Tsareena with sash; offensive version of Farig 🙂

[leaden fox]

And if you don't want Chomp; you could run Sneasler too

[cyan smelt]

my team ain't working, zard is a really hard mu

[leaden fox]

What is your current team comp?

[cyan smelt]

farig, mega kang, sneasler, a9, skeledirge, gambit

[leaden fox]

which version of a9?

Kantonian or Hisuian?

[nocturne holly]

Hmmm that doesn’t sound bad would it be over whims?

I like whims for the speed control and encore shit

honestly the goats of the team are char sylv gambit and basc

The last 2 slots are what I’m having trouble with

[split stone]

Getting to champion rank is gonna be fucking impossible I looked it up and you have to get in the top 300. I'm not that good at the game to get that high. When a challenge says I have to get to champion rank 10 time. Fat chance that I will even get to it once

[cyan smelt]

it's alolan ninetales

[leaden fox]

oh ok, wasn't sure xP

[leaden fox]

Yeah, never fun when team building 😅

@nocturne holly Maybe instead of Chomp; you could go physical Dragonite; it gets tailwind as well; along with multiscale

even has extreme speed and various other choices of moves

[cyan smelt]

a9 is really good, maybe i need an item change

[leaden fox]

what you running currently?

[austere pilot]

does sash glimmora always get toxic debris off? is there no way to deal with that?

[next stump]

poison types switching in clears it, special attacks dont trigger the ability

but it usually does get spikes up yes

[cyan smelt]

blizzard, freeze dry, encore, protect

[leaden fox]

mean item wise 😅

[cyan smelt]

never melt ice

[winter fox]

It's hypothetical in doubles because you have to play around a lot if you want Sneasler or Venu to get rid of them.

Better to just let them be set than trying to get rid of them

[cerulean nacelle]

People are not putting respect on my girl froslass haha.

She's running them hands.

[cerulean nacelle]

I love that a9 just doesn't run aurora veil now. I don't think I've seen it once.

[pearl wind]

hit mb2 with my fellas

[cyan smelt]

Yeah my team is too inconsistent

[cerulean nacelle]

ALL MY FELLAS

Also rain sableye + BascF is so fun. Grats.

[cerulean nacelle]

What's ur team currently?

[leaden fox]

nice 🙂

[leaden fox]

Probably too many focused on Char Y and Mega Floette counters 😅

[cerulean nacelle]

Not even that. Just nasty plot froslass with redirection is going hella hard

Like for reference because of my high HP investment, froslass lives archaludons flash cannon which gives you lots of ability to take a hit and get into an advantageous spot.

Add in tsareena who can murk bascs and has priority protection and aero for tailwind and you got a stew cooking.

Works really well for mega blastoise as well.

Only thing I kinda miss sometimes is like... helping hand on maushold

But I'm ngl taunt has been much more important overall.

[leaden fox]

Yeah, sounds like a very strong team overall

[cerulean nacelle]

It's pretty linear, but it's fun and decently strong.

Still has it's issues like every team but it's not bad.

[leaden fox]

Well, even when you come across your team's counters, as long as you play it differently, it can let you come out on top

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah it's not all bad. Good playing can still net you good results.

I'm also ngl I wanna use mega houndoom

I tried to before but it did not work out unfortunately. But I do think he has potential.

[leaden fox]

I've started seeing more Mega Houndooms as of late 😅

[pearl wind]

that was scary for like 1 second expected more damage

i love starmie

[leaden fox]

tbf, I think Mega Starmie gets bulky 😅

Yeah, gets 20 more base def

[cerulean nacelle]

It's prolly because pokeaim has done a mega houndoom video.

People are quick to hop on trends lol.

[cerulean nacelle]

That one moment where you shit yourself because mirror armour nearly fucked you on a 10% chance lol

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah mega starmie got quite a bit of bulk but it's HP is still quite atrocious. It's basically just to live one hit. Which is great don't get me wrong.

[nocturne holly]

What megas are used on balance archetype teams?

[cerulean nacelle]

Ngl... balance don't really exist rn

[winter fox]

Bro what happened why is my Whims Glimmora team getting hard countered every battle.

[cerulean nacelle]

What's the team?

[next stump]

that’s the #1 team right now

[cerulean nacelle]

Oh its THAT team

[winter fox]

https://pokepast.es/770341be6508c207

I'm thinking of going back to scarf Basc tho because I keep getting outsped.

[cerulean nacelle]

Deffo should be scarf basc.

But otherwise these are some of the most commonly used mons. People have prep for them.

Gotta play better if you're gonna use some of the most common mons.

[winter fox]

There should be no way I'm getting outsped when I'm Jolly natured with max speed. 💀

[cerulean nacelle]

Basc is only 78 speed. Even with tailwind there's a lot that outspeeds it with tailwind up too.

Also most bascs be jolly + max speed + scarf

[winter fox]

Yeah I see why now

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah bascs speed is kinda midling because it's meant to be a swift swim abuser. But atm scarf + adaptability outspeed a lot and hits harder.

[dark sorrel]

focus sash and kasib berry variants do seem to be on the rise

[winter fox]

I hate Basc. I want it to die. I want it to be banned in every format.

I hope it falls to 0.012% usage. I hope it loses Last Respects and Wave Crash and it's stuck with Liquidation, better yet I hope it loses Liquidation and gets stuck with Aqua Tail.

I hope Barraskewda becomes the next big threat instead of that fat ass fish

[solid frigate]

You probably like restricted formats then

[winter fox]

If it means not seeing that fish I probably will.

[polar canyon]

Archaludon is something I hate having to plan against

Like it's not impossible to beat and technically not unfair

But there's so few options that actually check it next to its common partners

That it feels limiting to have to factor it in with how commonly you see it

No simple easy answer for "I'm missing something to deal with archaludon" other than maybe garchomp and a sneasler getting ohkod by hurricane

[nocturne holly]

Sylv is actually the goat bro

[nocturne holly]

Hyper voice spam goes crazy and then occasional hyper beam

[nocturne holly]

Anyone have bulky zard y or bulky chomp spread?

[timber falcon]

https://pokepast.es/a0afaf0ccb528068 thoughts?

[wild knot]

https://vxtwitter.com/raiotwo/status/2059040333871145199

RAi O (@raiotwo)

???????

▶ Play video

vxTwitter / fixvx · May 25, 2026, 10:34 PM

[timber falcon]

Did they skip it hitting itself?

[chrome knot]

this reg is so garbage

happy im not going to indy or naic lmao would be such a waste of money

[indigo coral]

Rough night on ladder?

[dense latch]

after playing the lima special event i realized reg i was actually pretty fun and im kinda gonna miss it

[chrome knot]

its such a boring metagame

its a puzzle idt i could solve in a week

and ive been trying bc i have friends going who prep w me

i know the answer just handful of missing pieces and this stupid fucking zard team that keeps slightly changing keeps changing the answer

[dense latch]

from what i’ve seen from the sidelines it’s just zard y teams adapting to beat other zard y teams

just an endless cycle of that

[chrome knot]

the key is

viv sash or scarf on floette balance, sneasler keeps the mirror checked, nature on ots tells you if viv is brought into chomp/zard, tw or an immediate answer to aero whether its match tw or flatout deny it is up for grabs

that is the answer to indy

getting to a perfect solution however

[dense latch]

vivillon always felt like such a crazy mon to me on paper

[chrome knot]

but then zard turned into whims/glimmora which then makes floette trivial and the speed control game near impossible without torn in format to not fucking die to zard

[dense latch]

super fast 97 ish percent sleep powders is just nuts

[chrome knot]

and trick room flat out sucks

palafin in this format is broken and under explored

floette needs to go timid calm mind at 159-160speed rest bulky

[rustic mountain]

palafin had that like 1 good showing early meta on perish and then has proceeded to just be on like 0 teams. def wouldve expected atleast a bit of an upward trend

[chrome knot]

because its only used on showdown

[rustic mountain]

wat comps have u been seein it w/?

[bold geode]

What's the sauce

[cerulean nacelle]

Maybe a bulk up set? Idk. I honestly haven't seen much of palafin except for "mystic water and 3 water moves + ice move".

[timber falcon]

The pivot part is an issue though, can’t your opponent just hard focus the slot it’s in?

[cyan smelt]

my pasrs says that zard y is the biggest problem for my team, i wonder if adding lycanroc dusk might help

i mean i have 62.5% gxe with this team, so like, it's not bad, but I need to patch the zard y MU to take it to the next level

zard y, rotom, sylveon, gambit and sinistcha are what I struggle with

at least i have improved from when I was getting below 60%

I lead with Kang Farig too much and it's not my best lead

i dunno how I'm struggling against sylveon and gambit when I have sneasler

[pearl wind]

lost 2 games cuz of 10% rng first earth power spdef into gambit -> KO venu and now tbolt para into starmie -> slower than sylveon

[pearl wind]

icy wind miss gave me a heart attack 😭

[cerulean nacelle]

Palafin is decently fast and you can support it with fake out, tailwind etc.

[cerulean nacelle]

Man said "nah, I'd tank"

[cyan smelt]

so my team is good against sand but bad against sun

thinking about replacing sneasler honestly because it's not doing much

oh actually farig + sneasler is a decent lead for me

but farig kang is not so good and I'm overly reliant on it i think

[forest acorn]

I feel like my teams main weakness is trickroom, what mon is a good oranguru counter?

[cerulean nacelle]

Probably imprison trick room. So things like sinistcha or farigiraf.

Most oranguru are bulky enough that they can run mental herb. So taunt is risky against it.

But if you wanna run taunt, go at it.

[forest acorn]

yeah I was thinking of running taunt until I learned it had that ability so imprison is probably the best answer

[cerulean nacelle]

It's not necessarily that taunt is bad. I run taunt because colbur berry or sitrus berry farigiraf is a lot more common.

But you can't fake out oranguru and it's probably running mental herb as its item.

[cyan smelt]

You can fake out oranguru with tinkaton

[forest acorn]

cause of mold breaker?

[cyan smelt]

Yes

[forest acorn]

i'll give that a try then

[cyan smelt]

Tinkaton can also fake out farig

[split stone]

Getting to the top 300 is fucking impossible

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah I'm ngl I just aim for masters and then fuck about.

[cyan smelt]

So is there a mon that can fix my mu with zard, gambit, rotom and sinistcha

Gonna have to look at the dex

[cerulean nacelle]

Not a single mon.

[split stone]

Then there is a achievement where you need to get to champion tier 10 times which will never be completed by casuals

[cyan smelt]

I had the thought of aurorus, it might be decent in tr but idk what it gets for gambit and rotom

But the thought of refrigerate body slams is appealing

[cerulean nacelle]

Im not a casual and even then I ain't gonna try and get that lol.

[cerulean nacelle]

Freeze dry for rotom, earth power for kingambit. But it's also terrible into kingambit. A single kingambit iron head will murk aurorus.

And rotom hydro pump will still pack a wollop.

[cyan smelt]

I don't know how i'm struggling with gambit when i have sneasler and kang

It's probably the partners

Ykw, hisuian samurott is great into zard, gambit, sinistcha

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah Hamurott is a good mon atm.

I tried aurorus and when it worked it worked. But being weak to the big 3 really hurts it.

[cyan smelt]

Hisuian decidueye is good into sinistcha, gambit and rotom

And the bonus is that hamurott is good into basc

So it's between hisuian decidueye or hamurott

[cerulean nacelle]

Both are weak to floette but one is extremely weak to aerodactyl.

I'd probably say hamurott.

[cyan smelt]

Floette ain't giving me trouble, zard y is

But then idk who to get rid of because gambit is good in tr but then i have 4 mons weak to sneasler

[cerulean nacelle]

I mean I don't have a reference to the rest of ur team.

And it's still good to think about other common meta staples.

[cyan smelt]

Currently a9, farig, skeledirge, kang, gambit, sneasler

[cerulean nacelle]

Have you bought about doing dual speed control? Aero is just very good into zard and kang can work in either speed.

[cyan smelt]

I have thought about tailroom

[cerulean nacelle]

Aero + sneasler is usually a successful lead into zard + venu.

Kang can do similarly.

And aero also hits sneasler.

[cyan smelt]

Well zard y is my biggest problem, then i still need something for sinistcha and rotom, but hamurott would also be good into farig so

[cerulean nacelle]

Might need to think about replacing dirge?

[cyan smelt]

Yeah was thinking bout that, despite resisting zard it's been really bad into it, but then I struggle against corv so idk

[cerulean nacelle]

Maybe replace both a9 and dirge then.

Kang, gambit, sneasler and farig are a good base. Aero + something else for things like that could help you. Maybe a secondary mega? If you are worried about zard Y and wanna fuck up gambit, could always run mega camerupt.

That way you've got an option which isn't kang + farig for tr.

[cyan smelt]

Now i like that

Still a bit concerned about blastoise though

[cerulean nacelle]

Well I will say, you can't physically cover for everything. There will always be cracks in the armour.

[cyan smelt]

Hamurott can at least hit it hard with ceaseless edge

Kang, gambit, farig, sneasler, aero, hamurott

[cerulean nacelle]

Gotta be careful rn though because a lot of blastoises are just running 3 attacks + protect. Which also includes aura sphere.

[cyan smelt]

Yeah water spout, dark pulse, aura sphere

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah.

I'm ngl, at this point I feel like just remove farig 🤣

[cyan smelt]

What if tsareena

[cerulean nacelle]

Tsareena is fun, I'm using her currently.

[cyan smelt]

I don't know what item on tsareena or hamurott

Both want scarf don't they

[cerulean nacelle]

Uh... might have to see some calcs but if you're running mega aerodactyl then you could do sash or chople on hamurott.

I went for miracle seed on tsareena for extra power. I typically rely on tailwind to help boost tsareena further.

[cyan smelt]

Miracle seed on tsareena, sash aero and scarf hamurott

[cerulean nacelle]

Those are indeed options.

[cyan smelt]

This feels a bit less passive than what i'm currently running

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah I think a big issue was skeledirge and a9 don't do enough.

So what's ur team recap rn.

[cyan smelt]

Farig was also very passive in tr

Aero, sneasler, gambit, kang, tsareena, hamurott

[cerulean nacelle]

Might wanna swap something to be special for corv though lol.

[cyan smelt]

Not good, all physical attackers

I could probably fit a rotom wash in there

[cerulean nacelle]

What about a rotom of your own?

Yeah you beat me to it.

[cyan smelt]

Maybe washtom instead of hamurott

[cerulean nacelle]

You have 3 fighting weaknesses. Maybe consider changing gambit or replacing kang with a new mega now that you've dropped farig.

[cyan smelt]

I'll look at the megas

[cerulean nacelle]

Mega froslass is a fun one and can add support with aurora veil + has a fighting immunity.

Also a weather changer which can be neat.

[cyan smelt]

Mega froslass, tsareena, aero, gambit, rotom, kang?

That seems balanced

[cerulean nacelle]

Give it a try and see.

[cyan smelt]

The only thing i'd be worried about is rain

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah ur rain MU is a bit rocky. I honestly don't see kang as a good mon here.

[cyan smelt]

Replace kang with uh idk

[cerulean nacelle]

You still need fake out, that's the thing.

[cyan smelt]

Sneasler!

[cerulean nacelle]

Your rain MU is a bit rocky but I think it's also just dependant on how quickly you can get rid of sableye in that MU. If they don't run sableye or a rain dance user and are using peli, froslass can set aurora veil and make all of your team harder to kill.

[cyan smelt]

They always have sableye

Idk 62.5% gxe i don't think the team needs radical changes

What if i replaced kang with mega lopunny

[cerulean nacelle]

Well I'd still say a trickroom mode is pointless. If you're gonna keep farig, it's probably just gonna be an imprison trick room mon.

[cyan smelt]

Yeah that's what i'm mainly using it for, as an imprison bot

[cerulean nacelle]

Fair enough. It's still rather passive otherwise.

Idk, I'm tryna give you suggestions for what you're struggling with but you cannot fix every bad MU.

[cyan smelt]

I would rather just solve zard y because it's everywhere

Replace skele with washtom?

[cerulean nacelle]

Washtom isn't a clear zard Y answer because solar beam and venu as a partner.

[cyan smelt]

I mainly see chomp

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah chomp is also a good partner but can't not worry about venu or just solar beam coverage either.

[cyan smelt]

I'm gonna look at the dex again

[cerulean nacelle]

This is why aero is so good rn.

Because it's great tailwind support and good into zard Y, sneasler, and the very few grass types.

[cyan smelt]

Yeah i should replace a9 with aero

A9 feels too passive and it really struggles into a lot

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah a9 being fairy ice is a really bad typing lol

For rn anyway.

[cyan smelt]

And i'm thinking of putting psychic onto farig instead of hyper voice

[cerulean nacelle]

Twin beam

Because then you can guarantee you can break sashes

But imprison hyper voice could come up for sylveons etc.

[cyan smelt]

Twin beam is good and honestly haven't found much use for imprisoning hyper voices especially since sylveons are also running nuclear options like hyper beam

[cerulean nacelle]

Then twin that beam

[cyan smelt]

Twin beam is also good for glimmora which can also be a pain

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah it's good for the poisons in general

[cyan smelt]

Hopefully dual wingbeat means i won't struggle with sinistcha as much

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah dual wingbeat is pretty darn good!

[cyan smelt]

I was running it on gliscor but gliscor is no aero

[cerulean nacelle]

Gliscor is no aero indeed

[cyan smelt]

Need a special attacker because i have mostly physical, might replace skele with rotom

That seems pretty balanced now

[timber falcon]

i feel like

im not getting any better at this

is there another method other than playing games to actually get better/

[next stump]

#1 way to improve in any competitive game IMO is to have yourself or someone else (ideally both) analyze your replays

[timber falcon]

I keep hearing I should do this and never doing it or forgetting

I’ll be sure to remember this time

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah just look at what plays you could've made that would've been better.

Certain games are lost to rng, others are lost to the wrong choices.

[cerulean nacelle]

Ah yes. My favourite mega. Mega gamora

Gotta love ai

[chrome knot]

just not why glimmora is popular either lmfao

[cerulean nacelle]

Ai is just dumb sometimes

[chrome knot]

its dumb always

there is 0 reason to use it

[next stump]

the pokémon tournament graphics using AI always kill me

it takes probably 5 minutes to get their sprites from the internet

[dense latch]

https://fixupx.com/yoshiandlugia/status/2058973349624078434?s=46 this one is hilarious

Fiona Szymkiewicz 🏳️‍🌈 (@Yoshiandlugia)

Might be the worst AI graphic I've ever seen, this rotom is giving me nightmares

Quoting Pierre Castro 🇪🇨 (@ad_petersvgc)
︀
Segunda semana de la Liga Pokémon VGC de Ecuador!
︀︀
︀︀Logramos ganar con Eu Confío 4-2 contra los amigos de Despertar!
︀︀
︀︀Disclaimer: Antes que los alarmistas anti AI comenten, entiendan que esta es una liga “for fun” para reactivar a la comunidad ecuatoriana de VGC.
︀︀
︀︀La liga es básicamente organizada y coordinada por una persona que es Yamid @DrVGC , y el se encarga de TODO solito.
︀︀
︀︀Asi que antes de venir con moralismos baratos, mejor disfruten de las abominaciones que hizo la AI con los Pokémon. Es parte de la diversión, comenten aquí abajo cual es su aberración favorita 👇🏻

**💬 10 🔁 6 ❤️ 310 👁️ 17.4K **

FixupX · May 25, 2026, 6:07 PM

[chrome knot]

holy fuck i was cryinnnggggg

[foggy lodge]

We just be playing with digimons in champions now

[timber falcon]

does the 95 power mean anything on foul play? im forgetting how this works

does it use he targets base attack stat when calcing and the power stays the same?

[bold geode]

Thats not Pokemon, that's Pocket Demons

[dense latch]

yes

you’re using a 95bp dark type move and just stealing the target’s attack stat for it

[timber falcon]

ty

[gentle crag]

otot8953 has given 1 Gen Rep to eriksp

[timber falcon]

https://pokepast.es/6a24f98e69e257de rough idea for a team here, built around primarina, any obvious flaws im missing?

[autumn badge]

3 weak to poison doesn’t feel great

esp w glimmora running around and it always has a sash

[timber falcon]

that is true, i think ill swap meowscarada for a different dark type

[autumn badge]

i’m assuming ur main strat is rage powder calm mind

[timber falcon]

yes

[autumn badge]

prob need something to handle zard + something to kill scovillain turn 1

[timber falcon]

i added the little rain mode for zard MUs

why would i need to OHKO scovillain?

[autumn badge]

no i mean like your opponent

like if they lead charizard and glim and just sludge bomb heat wave

[timber falcon]

im thinking high spdef, very high, as thats the best way to get around scovillain

[timber falcon]

against zard teams i dont plan on leading prim and scovillain of course, i think thats much too passive and wont slow them down

tbh i added peli and arch as an counter, but thinking abt it im not sure how id actually play it there

[autumn badge]

i play zard and peli arch doesn’t feel like a negative matchup tbh, arch still takes like 70% from weather ball in sun so as long as u can play around peli it’s fine

maybe garchomp over meowscarada

helps beat the poison types and rock slide for zard aero, although most zard can live one

[timber falcon]

garchomp does look tempting

i need the physical attac

[autumn badge]

4 attacks poison jab is pretty common rn

u prob want stomping over eq tho

[timber falcon]

or

i could add a flying type for such a mode

so id be able to land powerful EQs and perhaps get up a nice tw

https://pokepast.es/6a24f98e69e257de landed with this

[autumn badge]

same team as before i think

[timber falcon]

oops

https://pokepast.es/e783aa54775fc1d9

tried get 2 modes going, Kang would help enable tr mode while basc and chomp are there to support prim secure KOs/apply pressur

[autumn badge]

yeah this seems better

i hate playing against kang so much lol

[timber falcon]

i havent used a team without kang yet lol

fell in love with hammer arm in tr

[autumn badge]

it’s so brutal

highkey skill issue but i feel like a lot of my kang games devolve into seeing where fake out goes turn 1

[timber falcon]

especially as its hitting ghosts anyways

with farig on field, theres not much to prevent the FO

[autumn badge]

my normal gameplan is leading charizard basc into it then switch basc to kingambit and weather ball or heat wave

[timber falcon]

Usually what my opponents do 😭

Sure I get off tr but occa berry gambit always a struggle when farig is still active

[autumn badge]

i might try kang, i’m kinda stalling out with this charizard glimmora team

stuck in elo hell 😭😭

[cerulean nacelle]

I want to make a new team to mess about with in casuals, maybe eventually use in ranked. But I have no ideas.

Someone give me an idea.

[timber falcon]

mega chimeco

[cerulean nacelle]

Tried it before, not a big fan.

[timber falcon]

mega altaria

or just altaria

[cerulean nacelle]

I haven't tried that. That's a maybe.

[timber falcon]

https://pokepast.es/18183e5eda4661a0 got some EVs down that ive done myself, any mistakes?

[cerulean nacelle]

EVs look fine. You may want overheat instead of flamethrower for more power, especially because scovillain is more stally anyway so you can get away with 1 big blast.

[timber falcon]

found out the hard way that im also running swift swim over adaptation

[timber falcon]

ill try it out, i just chose flamethrower cause it looked more consistent

not like ill be attacking much anyways

[cerulean nacelle]

Exactly

[cerulean nacelle]

Oh yeah deffo want adaptability.

And to make sure that kang has scrappy before it mega's.

Because just putting in the mega doesn't always give you the right starting ability.

[timber falcon]

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regma-2618531363 already enjoying these bulky spreads

[timber falcon]

always forget this

[cerulean nacelle]

Living through solar beam on zard Y is nice.

I still feel like any time I see mega kang I'm disappointed in the damage output.

[timber falcon]

yeah with max attack ive been real dissapointed in the past, which is why ive got more bulky

should live a 32 jolly sneasler CC

atp its better a support than a key offensive threat, as i believe it once was

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah that's fair. You may wanna be brave on kang?

Underspeed other base 100s such as mega garde who can also be a trickroom threat or at least speed tie?

I say this only because you don't have another form of speed control other than trickroom.

[timber falcon]

yes my speed tiers are messed up tbf

incin was able to outspeed prim in that game above, i think ill settle my TR mode mons for min speed for now

else things may get dicey

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeahhhh you kinda gotta min speed

[leaden fox]

Hm 🤔 Been hearing Staraptor will be in M-B

[chrome knot]

literally no info rn

[leaden fox]

Yeah, though wouldn't complain if Staraptor drops in M-B

Though will depend what ability it gets (hoping Defiant)

[cerulean nacelle]

Defiant would be neat. I have a feeling it'll either be defiant or it'll keep reckless and lose out on half its new typing.

Though like... best case scenario would be contrary.

[leaden fox]

Yeah, Definat or Contrary would be the best options for it; especially with Close Combat

[cerulean nacelle]

Contrary CC would be lovely.

[leaden fox]

But that is why I am afraid it won't get Contrary because they'll see that

[cerulean nacelle]

Yeah but as far as it's stats go, it's not like... insane. It also lost the ability to roost so you don't have to actually worry about it becoming mega unkillable in doubles at least.

[molten oasis]

Lovely, but unlikely

And staraptor gets to deal with floette, and if metagross is coming back that too

[cerulean nacelle]

It's not likely to be contrary but it would be it's best scenario.

[molten oasis]

Fuh nah it speed ties with metagross

[cerulean nacelle]

Staraptor did get blaze kick. So it has a super effective attack bare minimum.

[timber falcon]

surprisingly bulky?

[leaden fox]

Yeah, I know it gets a decent stat boost; that is why I suspect Contrary won't happen; would end up the new Floette 🤣

[molten oasis]

It hates Mence

Tho, it gets intim on it at last

[leaden fox]

Imagine if we get Staraptor, but not Salamence 😅

[cerulean nacelle]

I wouldn't say decent. Ima be honest 110 for whats gonna be a mon tryna get KOs was kinda Meh. And even it's attack isn't insane by mega standards.

[molten oasis]

See that could be okay but it’s still dealing with this formats fairies, and arch

Zard and phox aren’t like great for it either

[leaden fox]

Yeah, though I think it accesses Tailwind; could be wrong

[cerulean nacelle]

now watch us talk about it like this and it gets the emboar treatment

[molten oasis]

Or just, 99% of the megas treatment

[cerulean nacelle]

Tbh, ironically I could see scrappy for mega raptor.

[timber falcon]

cant have enough mold breaker and trace

[molten oasis]

So many got shafted, that was so lame

[leaden fox]

Watch it get Guts 🫠

[molten oasis]

Oh, wait no flame orb we’re fine

[timber falcon]

mega....

[cerulean nacelle]

We bout to have sableye + staraptor pairs if that happens lol.

[leaden fox]

I know there is a Mega with Guts; so yeah 😅

[timber falcon]

not in this format

[cerulean nacelle]

Could be worse.

could be flareon

[molten oasis]

Also Ursa would still outclass it if we get it and flame orb back

Ursa’s damage is fckn stupid

Though, hm

No, cuz the item is too much of an issue

[leaden fox]

You watch, we get more Megas both old and new ones; then Ursaluna is one of the choices and we ignore the Megas xD

[cerulean nacelle]

If ursaluna came back then no ones running mega golurk. I feel like ursa is gonna be gone for a while.

[molten oasis]

It does more damage that most of the megas

[molten oasis]

Nobody does anyway?

The tr guy rn is the crab

[timber falcon]

i can see ursa loving mega crab as a team mate tho

[molten oasis]

And torkoal ig

[molten oasis]

Eh not really, tr teams don’t operate like that super well

[cerulean nacelle]

You still see the odd chap tryna make it work. And even mega crab ain't that amazing.

[leaden fox]

I don't know why; but why do I suspect we'll see terrain setters next reg

[molten oasis]

Ursa wants to be supported pretty heavily