sinistcha is a top mon yesyes
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★ Reg M-A Metagame Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Radio Free C-Side
- Start date
Tierlist for current megas in the game:
S: Floette has higher special output than Xerneas and the ability to nuke anything with Light of Ruin. Gengar is able to trap it and get rid of it.
A: Zard X is probably in b rather than A, still solid. Starmie is a strict upgrade over Medicham statwise and gets pretty powerful Flip Turns. Aveil Froslass can power entire archetypes, Lucario is solid into the S tiers and Kanga is Kanga.
Very rushed attempt at tiering and we'll have to see how the metagame unfolds.
Current legal megas:
,
,
,
,
,
,
X,
, :Victreebell:,
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,
,
,
, Gyarados-Mega:,
,
Mega,
Mega,
Mega,
,
,
,
,
Mega,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
Mega,
Mega,
Mega,
Mega,
Mega,
Mega,
Mega,
Mega,
Mega,
Mega,
Mega.
is in Champions? If yes then we are going to have fun with 
Nope not yet. No Indeedee and no Psychic Terrain setters in general, so we won’t have to tolerate psyspam yet.
Anyone brewing Starmie yet? I'm thinking about shoving it into a Pelipper / Arch rain shell and going from there.
Manual rain setters seem important if Zard / Lass spam is popular
Threw together a tierlist for the general populus, excluded megas except the ones that are amazing both with and without mega (Eg Ttar). Once again put together in a bit of a rush.
S: Sneasler and Incineroar are pretty stupid as always, Sash Sneasler will start off as the main and then it'll probably pivot to a bulky White Herb to one shot Incineroar. I'm tempted to put Basc into S as it stands above p much every other water type.
A: The big steel trio, chomp and tyranitar deserve no explanation, Whims will most likely be carrying every offensive team. This template didn't feature Sinistcha but Sinistcha would also be A if it was here. Pult is a good special attacker with a ton of coverage, alternatively can use a physical set to take advantage of Dragon Darts. Support is even possible. Sylveon's damage is significant in the lower power level right now, and Volcarona/Garganacl have time to set up their board states pretty well at the moment. Arch Peli is because rain is dumb.
Here we go
I was thinking about going with Mega Delphox, Tsareena, Azumarill, Garchomp, Conkeldurr, Corviknight but I'm having a block at the builds
I was thinking about going with Mega Delphox, Tsareena, Azumarill, Garchomp, Conkeldurr, Corviknight but I'm having a block at the builds
Corv wants Tailwind to support the team Brave Bird to deal damage, and roost to potentially get multiple Tailwinds, Garchomp is spamming Earthquake and has stomping Tantrum/Dragon Claw for the reliable stabs. Mega Delphox probably goes for Psychic Heat Wave Overheat Protect, which gives you a lot of flexibility when it comes to targeting next to Garchomp. Azu and Conk are on the slower end, so they can do some prio spamming, most likely prio + stabs, and in conk's case, you go Mach Punch Drain Punch Ice Punch protect. Tsareena not sure what to do so just slap on a set and probably Taunt to get before opposing Taunt.
https://pokepast.es/94931df5a4c21fd7
Something like this? Train everything but corv in power and speed, and for corv just make the thing never die.
couple initial thoughts:
M-Gengar + Whimsicott is def going to be very good, especially at the beginning of the format. Fake Tears + M-Gar is something we already know is insanely strong from past formats, and in a format where the power level is so low, its only gonna be better.
The lack of items is something that makes me both a little sad and very excited. While the lack of diversity in what items you can run on Pokemon sucks, and may hurt general set diversity, I think taking away the ability to overly boost your attacking stats is awesome. I think it works very well with the low-power nature of the format, hopefully enabling more mons that didn't have good enough defensive spreads to potentially be viable (Looking at you M-Scovillain).
Many of the things that I personally really disliked in SV and before have been worked on. Prankster tailwind received a big nerf through the lack of Covert Cloak, Unseen Fist is probably balanced now, Dire Claw (while still being a diceroll) is less so, and Sun + Sleep powder is no longer usable. It seems to me that a lot of the more overbearing offensive pressures that certain archetypes could exert have been toned down quite a bit, and that I like.
While there are def a lot of problems with this release, overall, I'm cautiously looking forward to this hopefully more defensive, less RNG influenced meta.
M-Gengar + Whimsicott is def going to be very good, especially at the beginning of the format. Fake Tears + M-Gar is something we already know is insanely strong from past formats, and in a format where the power level is so low, its only gonna be better.
The lack of items is something that makes me both a little sad and very excited. While the lack of diversity in what items you can run on Pokemon sucks, and may hurt general set diversity, I think taking away the ability to overly boost your attacking stats is awesome. I think it works very well with the low-power nature of the format, hopefully enabling more mons that didn't have good enough defensive spreads to potentially be viable (Looking at you M-Scovillain).
Many of the things that I personally really disliked in SV and before have been worked on. Prankster tailwind received a big nerf through the lack of Covert Cloak, Unseen Fist is probably balanced now, Dire Claw (while still being a diceroll) is less so, and Sun + Sleep powder is no longer usable. It seems to me that a lot of the more overbearing offensive pressures that certain archetypes could exert have been toned down quite a bit, and that I like.
While there are def a lot of problems with this release, overall, I'm cautiously looking forward to this hopefully more defensive, less RNG influenced meta.
So sleep
Alright I just finished looking through the legal mons, here's my first instincts without looking at what anyone else is saying.
Incineroar, Sinistcha, and Palafin are going to be a really good core. Regulation B was a similar power level to this format and Arcanine, Amoonguss, and Palafin was a really strong core in that format. Sinistcha fulfills similar roles as Amoonguss and Incineroar is just a strict upgrade to Arcanine.
The best mega is Gengar (imo), but it might be tricky to work onto a lot of teams. The most popular mega might end up being Zard Y since Sun is a generally easier strategy to make work on a team.
Incineroar, Sinistcha, and Palafin are going to be a really good core. Regulation B was a similar power level to this format and Arcanine, Amoonguss, and Palafin was a really strong core in that format. Sinistcha fulfills similar roles as Amoonguss and Incineroar is just a strict upgrade to Arcanine.
The best mega is Gengar (imo), but it might be tricky to work onto a lot of teams. The most popular mega might end up being Zard Y since Sun is a generally easier strategy to make work on a team.
THANK YOU! I'll try it out and get back at you.
Oh so Mega Eternal Floette is legal.
Oh and it's not obtainable outside ZA.
Oh and it's extremely likely it's going to be a Top 3 Mega at minimum prior to the return of Metagross / Salamence etc. And I'd hazard a guess it's going to be the #1 Mega in the meta right now given how absurdly strong it is and how relatively easy it is to add mons on a team that check Mega Gengar.
We're really not waiting a single day to begin the pay to win metagame.
A bit less purely whining, Mega Floette seems to be balanced almost entirely externally to itself. The premier supports of this format right now mostly overlap with it in some poor ways; there are lots of Fairy type supports like Whimsicott, Ninetales-A, Klefki, and Tinkaton which invite troubling offensive and defensive weaknesses as a duo, as well as Fire type supports like Volcarona, Talonflame, Kanto Arcanine, and to a lesser extent Incineroar which do help a lot into opposing Steel types but really do not work as a duo into scary offensive Fire types like both Mega Charizards, Hisui Arcanine, or opposing Volcarona. It's also got a pretty nasty issue of being mostly redundant with a non-mega option in Sylveon, made worse by the fact it buffs Sylveon's damage thanks to Floette's own Fairy Aura.
But ohhhhhh my lanta it's hard to overstate how hard good this mon is as a standalone actor. 155 SpAtk with Fairy Aura to boost Dazzling Gleam or Moonblast with numbers that pop frail neutral targets and muscle through frail resists with reliable 2HKOs. 78/144 Special bulk which lets it take eat a Timid 252 SpAtk Mega Gengar Sludge Bomb on the chin 75% of the time with 0 defensive investment. A 102 Speed Tier to explicitly troll me, specifically, who wanted to try the new Fake Out Simis. (also base 100s or whatever) Calm Mind to ratchet up power with support, and Draining Kiss to keep it trucking as a win con. Mega Floette is probably going to take a little bit to get going but my callout is that it's going to be the #1 Mega for this regulation once a strong core is found to support it.
Oh and it's not obtainable outside ZA.
Oh and it's extremely likely it's going to be a Top 3 Mega at minimum prior to the return of Metagross / Salamence etc. And I'd hazard a guess it's going to be the #1 Mega in the meta right now given how absurdly strong it is and how relatively easy it is to add mons on a team that check Mega Gengar.
We're really not waiting a single day to begin the pay to win metagame.
A bit less purely whining, Mega Floette seems to be balanced almost entirely externally to itself. The premier supports of this format right now mostly overlap with it in some poor ways; there are lots of Fairy type supports like Whimsicott, Ninetales-A, Klefki, and Tinkaton which invite troubling offensive and defensive weaknesses as a duo, as well as Fire type supports like Volcarona, Talonflame, Kanto Arcanine, and to a lesser extent Incineroar which do help a lot into opposing Steel types but really do not work as a duo into scary offensive Fire types like both Mega Charizards, Hisui Arcanine, or opposing Volcarona. It's also got a pretty nasty issue of being mostly redundant with a non-mega option in Sylveon, made worse by the fact it buffs Sylveon's damage thanks to Floette's own Fairy Aura.
But ohhhhhh my lanta it's hard to overstate how hard good this mon is as a standalone actor. 155 SpAtk with Fairy Aura to boost Dazzling Gleam or Moonblast with numbers that pop frail neutral targets and muscle through frail resists with reliable 2HKOs. 78/144 Special bulk which lets it take eat a Timid 252 SpAtk Mega Gengar Sludge Bomb on the chin 75% of the time with 0 defensive investment. A 102 Speed Tier to explicitly troll me, specifically, who wanted to try the new Fake Out Simis. (also base 100s or whatever) Calm Mind to ratchet up power with support, and Draining Kiss to keep it trucking as a win con. Mega Floette is probably going to take a little bit to get going but my callout is that it's going to be the #1 Mega for this regulation once a strong core is found to support it.
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A set for Mega Floette
Floette-Eternal @ Floettite
Ability: Flower Veil (Fairy Aura)
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid nature
- Light of Ruin
- Dazzling Gleam
- Draining Kiss
- Protect
Who needs coverage, am I right? This thing basically obliterates everything that doesn’t resist Fairy. Frail on the physical side, but ooh gees if only we had an Intimidate user that also had a STAB to hit Steel types hard… oh well.
This thing is nuts, i’ve been laddering in game with mega Meganium balance and it’s OK but the damage of Floette is just insane.
Floette-Eternal @ Floettite
Ability: Flower Veil (Fairy Aura)
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest / Timid nature
- Light of Ruin
- Dazzling Gleam
- Draining Kiss
- Protect
Who needs coverage, am I right? This thing basically obliterates everything that doesn’t resist Fairy. Frail on the physical side, but ooh gees if only we had an Intimidate user that also had a STAB to hit Steel types hard… oh well.
This thing is nuts, i’ve been laddering in game with mega Meganium balance and it’s OK but the damage of Floette is just insane.
Oranguru in a world without covert cloak is an amazing Trick Room setter. Inner Focus making them immune to flinch is just such a huge boon in a format like this. Instruct is strong, but hardly the way you need to play them to make it work.
My eyes are on Mega Clefable atm, it's not going to be the strongest Mega but it's super flexible, two useful immunities, fairy stab, Gen 1 move pool. Even can run it supporty with follow me and Magic Bounce support moves. It feels like it was made for the second Mega slot for it's flexibility. I've been playing it in trick room and it doesn't feel bad. If you are not running Floette, and want the utility, it's not bad... but yeah, if you want a fairy attacker Floette is sorta nuts.
Hydrapple being a tanky pivot also isn't feeling too bad but I'm just playing on the live Champions ladder atm and there is... a fairly large discrepancy in skill level between players ofc
My eyes are on Mega Clefable atm, it's not going to be the strongest Mega but it's super flexible, two useful immunities, fairy stab, Gen 1 move pool. Even can run it supporty with follow me and Magic Bounce support moves. It feels like it was made for the second Mega slot for it's flexibility. I've been playing it in trick room and it doesn't feel bad. If you are not running Floette, and want the utility, it's not bad... but yeah, if you want a fairy attacker Floette is sorta nuts.
Hydrapple being a tanky pivot also isn't feeling too bad but I'm just playing on the live Champions ladder atm and there is... a fairly large discrepancy in skill level between players ofc
I looked at floette earlier. This thing has 148 base special defense? What the hell?
I don't actually think light of ruin is going to be too great for floette because of the ridiculous amount of recoil though. It just seems like you kill yourself way too quickly that way. I think calm mind could be interesting to just make yourself completely shrug off special attacks, and stack some more modifiers (because why not?)
Anybody else eyeing off setup corviknight? we already knew that slotting it onto sand balance improved its zard y mu greatly, and archaludons usage is likely to drop considerably with the loss of body press and its two best items, meaning corviknight is GREAT matchup wise into most of the metagame, which seems to be lots sneasler and sinistcha, Floette looks like its going to be a gigathreat esp when paired with incineroar support, luckily corv also has mirror armour which means it shouldnt be nearly as threatened as other steel types (incin stuck at -1 flare blitz), kangaskhan also struggles greatly assuming that aforementioned bodyslam drain punch set is to be the norm though para still stucks
https://pokepast.es/91c22db6c7bab237
this stuff feels pretty good [Citation Needed] if i do say so myself. teambuilding is pretty easy in this format besides items. like the
/
+ 
+ 
+ 
core feels super strong and you can pretty much slot on any mega + any supporting guy you want. i just think this structure likes mgengar the most. The game isn't that good, but the format is. I can't complain.
this stuff feels pretty good [Citation Needed] if i do say so myself. teambuilding is pretty easy in this format besides items. like the
/ + + + core feels super strong and you can pretty much slot on any mega + any supporting guy you want. i just think this structure likes mgengar the most. The game isn't that good, but the format is. I can't complain.setup corv is neat i guess but theres stronger sweepers i dont know. corv suffers from no spread syndrome
I've played quite a bit of this format so I'd like to share some thoughts.
+ 
This core is super strong right now, likely the best way to run Sun. Charizard-Y is one of the top 3 mega Pokemon imo right now in Champions, alongside Gengar and Floette. Venusaur is absolutely broken because there's only two Grass-types that're viable besides Venusaur itself, being Sinistcha and Whimsicott, that can switch into Sleep Powder (Safety Goggles were cut for some reason!?!?!?!), but they explodes to Charizard-Y. Whimsicott can run Focus Sash though, and maybe Taunt the Venusaur? I've seen some people run Lum Berry Incineroar just for Sleep Powder counter. Also, Venusaur almost always run Sash, meaning its impossible to take it out in one hit (maybe Dual Wingbeat Talonflame?).
This core does of course have answers. Sand is the most common, since Tyranitar demolishes Charizard-Y, meanwhile Sand prevents Venusaur's Focus Sash from working, although what OHKOs Venusaur exactly? It must outspeed it as well, which is a surprising challenge. Basculegion with boosted Last Respects? Excadrill, though does it KO Venusaur?
Another check to this Sun core I personally plan to explore more is Kommo-o. With Overcoat, you basically ignore Venusaur and, thanks to the Dragon-type + no Air Slash Charizard-Y, Kommo-o can freely set up in front of both of them. The only issue I see here is the Trick Room modes these Sun teams typically carry with Torkoal and Farigiraf, and also Whimsicott, which threatens Kommo-o severely and can lock it into a setup move with Encore or Taunt.
+ 
+ 
+ 
+ 
/ 
+ 
/ 
This is a common Rain structure that I've seen far too often LMAO. It's pretty simple, though I do expect Rain to die down a bit later on because of the nerfs that Archaludon had. Basculegion feels like one of the strongest Pokemon in the format, and on these teams I've run into the typical Swift Swim with Mystic Water or Lum Berry or whatever (Dark-resist berry pop off?), but tbh more often than not Adaptability Scarf Basculegion IN THE RAIN!? Anyways, Sinistcha + Incineroar round out a FWG core with Basculegion, though I've seen some structures drop Incineroar for Kingambit for a stronger Trick Room option.
The last slot on these teams is typically the Mega. I've most commonly seen Dragonite and Meganium. Dragonite is pretty obvious; it becomes a Special Attacker upon Mega evolution, and it's only powerful special Flying-type STAB is Hurricane, which becomes 100% accurate in Rain. They also run Thunder to snipe Basculegion and Corviknight, though Basculegion may drop to Draco Meteor already? Speaking of Dragon STAB, I personally like Draco Meteor but most use Dragon Pulse. Thunder can also be dropped for Tailwind, at least, from what I've seen. Meganium appreciates the shielding from Charizard-Y and Incineroar in the Rain and can fire off Solar Beam into Tyranitar, though I don't personally think it's very good. Every time I fought it, it just is never brought LMAObecause I'm using Mega Gengar.
One Mega I've seen that I'd personally like to see more of is Mega Starmie. It feels kind of slept on right now for these Rain comps? I think in Rain a 3 attacks set with Liquidation, Zen Headbutt, and Aqua Jet with Protect could be solid? This thing just does ridiculous damage, and I'm really shocked with how few I've seen. Another Mega I see fit on Rain is the usual suspect, Mega Gengar. Really strong, removes problematic mons like Floette Eternal and Mega Froslass as well as Ninetales-Alola. My only issue is that the structure, especially with Incineroar, becomes really Kingambit weak? I think in this case you are forced to run Aura Sphere on Archaludon or faster Low Kick Kingambit.
+ 
Sand is probably the most popular weather I've seen, right behind Rain. It also feels the most honest? Tyranitar has been really scary for me since I'm scarred after facing a Choice Scarf Ice Punch set that removed my Garchomp instantly. Choice Scarf could honestly be a great item choice for Tyranitar if you aren't running Basculegion. Other common items I've seen include Sitrus Berry and Chople Berry, though I have seen Quick Claw as well. Excadrill has, at least to me, been kinda just alright; not too scary but can be. These builds typically have HHP, Iron Head, and then EQ / Rock Slide and Protect. Rock Slide I'm a bit skeptical about since you already have Rock Coverage on Tyranitar but it works.
These teams literally only run Mega Tyranitar. Aside from that, they usually have an Earthquake immune Pokemon like Rotom-Heat / Wash or Corviknight to let Excadrill or ally Sand Veil Garchomp to mash Earthquake freely. They also usually round out the team with a mix of Sinistcha, Incineroar, Basculegion, Sneasler, Meowscarada, or support Volcarona
Snow is the last weather I'm going to cover, and honestly it feels kind of lackluster. Froslass was hyped up a lot in the Pre-Champions format and for good reason; Blizzard off 140 Special Attack is crazy, and so is 120 Speed. It's probably just the team I'm using but Froslass that I've fought typically don't do much. A lot of players seem to be addicted to getting up Veil in the worst scenarios too...
These teams typically take a more balancey approach; think Incineroar / Arcanine-Hisui, Basculegion, Kingambit, Sinistcha, Sneasler, Primarina, the list goes on and on. This is likely the weather I've seen the least of and I do plan to build this on cart because I feel it can be really strong, it just needs the right build.
If you couldn't tell already, Regulation M-A is heavily centered around weather and which team gets weather control. I anticipate this to be the whole format, with each weather certainly achieving success. I also decided to make my own Personal VR (separate by Megas and Regular Pokemon) for guidance for players who want to see what is good. I also suggest checking out the Battle Data on cartridge (seen by clicking battle --> battle data --> ranked battles --> set it to doubles battles). Pokemon are not ordered within tiers.
+ This core is super strong right now, likely the best way to run Sun. Charizard-Y is one of the top 3 mega Pokemon imo right now in Champions, alongside Gengar and Floette. Venusaur is absolutely broken because there's only two Grass-types that're viable besides Venusaur itself, being Sinistcha and Whimsicott, that can switch into Sleep Powder (Safety Goggles were cut for some reason!?!?!?!), but they explodes to Charizard-Y. Whimsicott can run Focus Sash though, and maybe Taunt the Venusaur? I've seen some people run Lum Berry Incineroar just for Sleep Powder counter. Also, Venusaur almost always run Sash, meaning its impossible to take it out in one hit (maybe Dual Wingbeat Talonflame?).
This core does of course have answers. Sand is the most common, since Tyranitar demolishes Charizard-Y, meanwhile Sand prevents Venusaur's Focus Sash from working, although what OHKOs Venusaur exactly? It must outspeed it as well, which is a surprising challenge. Basculegion with boosted Last Respects? Excadrill, though does it KO Venusaur?
Another check to this Sun core I personally plan to explore more is Kommo-o. With Overcoat, you basically ignore Venusaur and, thanks to the Dragon-type + no Air Slash Charizard-Y, Kommo-o can freely set up in front of both of them. The only issue I see here is the Trick Room modes these Sun teams typically carry with Torkoal and Farigiraf, and also Whimsicott, which threatens Kommo-o severely and can lock it into a setup move with Encore or Taunt.
+ + + + / + / This is a common Rain structure that I've seen far too often LMAO. It's pretty simple, though I do expect Rain to die down a bit later on because of the nerfs that Archaludon had. Basculegion feels like one of the strongest Pokemon in the format, and on these teams I've run into the typical Swift Swim with Mystic Water or Lum Berry or whatever (Dark-resist berry pop off?), but tbh more often than not Adaptability Scarf Basculegion IN THE RAIN!? Anyways, Sinistcha + Incineroar round out a FWG core with Basculegion, though I've seen some structures drop Incineroar for Kingambit for a stronger Trick Room option.
The last slot on these teams is typically the Mega. I've most commonly seen Dragonite and Meganium. Dragonite is pretty obvious; it becomes a Special Attacker upon Mega evolution, and it's only powerful special Flying-type STAB is Hurricane, which becomes 100% accurate in Rain. They also run Thunder to snipe Basculegion and Corviknight, though Basculegion may drop to Draco Meteor already? Speaking of Dragon STAB, I personally like Draco Meteor but most use Dragon Pulse. Thunder can also be dropped for Tailwind, at least, from what I've seen. Meganium appreciates the shielding from Charizard-Y and Incineroar in the Rain and can fire off Solar Beam into Tyranitar, though I don't personally think it's very good. Every time I fought it, it just is never brought LMAO
One Mega I've seen that I'd personally like to see more of is Mega Starmie. It feels kind of slept on right now for these Rain comps? I think in Rain a 3 attacks set with Liquidation, Zen Headbutt, and Aqua Jet with Protect could be solid? This thing just does ridiculous damage, and I'm really shocked with how few I've seen. Another Mega I see fit on Rain is the usual suspect, Mega Gengar. Really strong, removes problematic mons like Floette Eternal and Mega Froslass as well as Ninetales-Alola. My only issue is that the structure, especially with Incineroar, becomes really Kingambit weak? I think in this case you are forced to run Aura Sphere on Archaludon or faster Low Kick Kingambit.
+ Sand is probably the most popular weather I've seen, right behind Rain. It also feels the most honest? Tyranitar has been really scary for me since I'm scarred after facing a Choice Scarf Ice Punch set that removed my Garchomp instantly. Choice Scarf could honestly be a great item choice for Tyranitar if you aren't running Basculegion. Other common items I've seen include Sitrus Berry and Chople Berry, though I have seen Quick Claw as well. Excadrill has, at least to me, been kinda just alright; not too scary but can be. These builds typically have HHP, Iron Head, and then EQ / Rock Slide and Protect. Rock Slide I'm a bit skeptical about since you already have Rock Coverage on Tyranitar but it works.
These teams literally only run Mega Tyranitar. Aside from that, they usually have an Earthquake immune Pokemon like Rotom-Heat / Wash or Corviknight to let Excadrill or ally Sand Veil Garchomp to mash Earthquake freely. They also usually round out the team with a mix of Sinistcha, Incineroar, Basculegion, Sneasler, Meowscarada, or support Volcarona
Snow is the last weather I'm going to cover, and honestly it feels kind of lackluster. Froslass was hyped up a lot in the Pre-Champions format and for good reason; Blizzard off 140 Special Attack is crazy, and so is 120 Speed. It's probably just the team I'm using but Froslass that I've fought typically don't do much. A lot of players seem to be addicted to getting up Veil in the worst scenarios too...
These teams typically take a more balancey approach; think Incineroar / Arcanine-Hisui, Basculegion, Kingambit, Sinistcha, Sneasler, Primarina, the list goes on and on. This is likely the weather I've seen the least of and I do plan to build this on cart because I feel it can be really strong, it just needs the right build.
If you couldn't tell already, Regulation M-A is heavily centered around weather and which team gets weather control. I anticipate this to be the whole format, with each weather certainly achieving success. I also decided to make my own Personal VR (separate by Megas and Regular Pokemon) for guidance for players who want to see what is good. I also suggest checking out the Battle Data on cartridge (seen by clicking battle --> battle data --> ranked battles --> set it to doubles battles). Pokemon are not ordered within tiers.
Try for yourself here!
S Tier:
- This is a hot take but I think Basculegion is one of if not the best Pokemon in the entire format. It has decent bulk; 120 HP is really solid, even if its defenses are lacking. There are also literally next to zero Last Respects resists (Normals besides MKang and Farigiraf are kinda fake) and two of the greatest Last Respects resists, Incineroar and Tyranitar, lose to Wave Crash. Kingambit is like the only way to keep this guy down (and advantageous speed control).
& - No brainer tbh, Fake Out is super good, Incineroar is premier support and Sneasler deals so much damage to much of the format while providing Coaching support for ally MTTar and even MStarmie.
A+ Tier
- Obviously, super strong and Ground coverage is scarce outside of this + drill
- obviously part two, naturally amazing
- Kinda glaze bc I love this Pokemon but Hyper Voice hits so much of this format really hard + it stone walls Incineroar and can beat Tyranitar and OHKO Garchomp with ease.
& 
- where else would they go lol
A Tier
don't have much to say...
- Could be A-, underexplored and Ghost-Steel is a great typing (hard wall sneasler), just worried about Incineroar + Sand and Sun
:masuhold: - The goat at support, Population Bomb looks really strong here
- Even without mega this thing can get work done likely, I'm not sure how this holds up in practice though lol
nothing else im too tired its 3:25 am lmaooooo
S Tier:
- This is a hot take but I think Basculegion is one of if not the best Pokemon in the entire format. It has decent bulk; 120 HP is really solid, even if its defenses are lacking. There are also literally next to zero Last Respects resists (Normals besides MKang and Farigiraf are kinda fake) and two of the greatest Last Respects resists, Incineroar and Tyranitar, lose to Wave Crash. Kingambit is like the only way to keep this guy down (and advantageous speed control). & - No brainer tbh, Fake Out is super good, Incineroar is premier support and Sneasler deals so much damage to much of the format while providing Coaching support for ally MTTar and even MStarmie.A+ Tier
- Obviously, super strong and Ground coverage is scarce outside of this + drill - obviously part two, naturally amazing - Kinda glaze bc I love this Pokemon but Hyper Voice hits so much of this format really hard + it stone walls Incineroar and can beat Tyranitar and OHKO Garchomp with ease. & - where else would they go lolA Tier
don't have much to say...
- Could be A-, underexplored and Ghost-Steel is a great typing (hard wall sneasler), just worried about Incineroar + Sand and Sun:masuhold: - The goat at support, Population Bomb looks really strong here
- Even without mega this thing can get work done likely, I'm not sure how this holds up in practice though lolnothing else im too tired its 3:25 am lmaooooo
This is a common Rain structure that I've seen far too often LMAO. It's pretty simple, though I do expect Rain to die down a bit later on because of the nerfs that Archaludon had. Basculegion feels like one of the strongest Pokemon in the format, and on these teams I've run into the typical Swift Swim with Mystic Water or Lum Berry or whatever (Dark-resist berry pop off?), but tbh more often than not Adaptability Scarf Basculegion IN THE RAIN!? Anyways, Sinistcha + Incineroar round out a FWG core with Basculegion, though I've seen some structures drop Incineroar for Kingambit for a stronger Trick Room option.
The last slot on these teams is typically the Mega. I've most commonly seen Dragonite and Meganium. Dragonite is pretty obvious; it becomes a Special Attacker upon Mega evolution, and it's only powerful special Flying-type STAB is Hurricane, which becomes 100% accurate in Rain. They also run Thunder to snipe Basculegion and Corviknight, though Basculegion may drop to Draco Meteor already? Speaking of Dragon STAB, I personally like Draco Meteor but most use Dragon Pulse. Thunder can also be dropped for Tailwind, at least, from what I've seen. Meganium appreciates the shielding from Charizard-Y and Incineroar in the Rain and can fire off Solar Beam into Tyranitar, though I don't personally think it's very good. Every time I fought it, it just is never brought LMAObecause I'm using Mega Gengar.
One Mega I've seen that I'd personally like to see more of is Mega Starmie. It feels kind of slept on right now for these Rain comps? I think in Rain a 3 attacks set with Liquidation, Zen Headbutt, and Aqua Jet with Protect could be solid? This thing just does ridiculous damage, and I'm really shocked with how few I've seen. Another Mega I see fit on Rain is the usual suspect, Mega Gengar. Really strong, removes problematic mons like Floette Eternal and Mega Froslass as well as Ninetales-Alola. My only issue is that the structure, especially with Incineroar, becomes really Kingambit weak? I think in this case you are forced to run Aura Sphere on Archaludon or faster Low Kick Kingambit.
How crazy is it to double up on Basculegion + Starmie on the same rain core? My gut says it's too much of the same type (physical water moves), but maybe it just shreds everything idk.
defending tera and urshifu in same sentence, I have truly seen it all
I fully agree with your opinion btw the reasoning is just mad funny
I have a lotta hours in champs but I refuse to touch sun, wdym that sun+powder doesnt work?
this isn’t for singles. this thread is for VGC talk only, though you can probably find help in the battle stadium part of the forum