Metagame Pokemon Champions BSS Discussion Thread

[DerpySuX]

This thread is for anything related to BSS!
Here we are going to discuss about the BSS metagame for the next few years, strategies, teams, sets, etc!

THIS THREAD IS FOR METAGAME DISCUSSION/OBSERVATIONS and METAGAME SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.


What is Battle Stadium?

• Battle Stadium is the collection of online ranked modes on the Switch games themselves. The modes are 3v3 Singles (BSS) and 4v4 Doubles aka The Official VGC Ladder (discuss that in the proper forum). In all modes - barring some special formats - you bring 6 Pokemon and choose the required amount at team preview.
  
  
• Standard Rules
  • Matches will be played in the Singles format.
  • All Pokémon will be set to Level 50 automatically.
  • Players pick 3 of their 6 Pokemon at team preview.
  • Species Clause: No two Pokemon in the same team can have the same National Pokedex number.
  • Item Clause: No two Pokemon in the same team can hold the same item.

• Thread Rules
  • Post intelligently: please refrain from low quality posts. Questions are fine, but this is not the thread for just showing off your ranking.
  • Only answer questions if you know the answer. If you aren't sure, we would rather you wait for someone experienced with the topic at hand to give an accurate answer.
  • Be respectful of other players

Failure to follow these rules will result in punishment up to and including a forum infraction and threadban.

 

[StarkGod]

I think type boost items have a lot of untapped potential. We saw mystic water and fairy feather use in MA. But there are still some powerful combos that probably don't get enough attention. Like metal coat Scizors bullet punch hits slightly harder than mega scizors. And actually has a 25% to OHKO Hydreigon at +2 from full. Whereas mega scizor simply cannot.

There's value on stuff like Mimikyu too. Having either spell tag or feather in place of life orb probably keeps a lot of the same KO's but without the downside. I'm gonna lab with some stuff and see what's up.

 

[zapper22001]

Not sure how much of this is playing good stuff and how much of it is people just trying out last season's replica teams/experimenting (I'm in the latter camp), but seeing a lot of teams with a core four of Hippowdon / Aegislash / Meowscarada / Glimmora and two interchangeable Mega slots. These are usually Dragonite + Floette / Lucario / Lopunny but I've faced other options like Starmie and Greninja.

I'm a little wary of mirrors since I'm using a similar team so I've thought about speedcreep on Dragonite and Aegislash. Mega Gyarados is generally pretty good into these teams from my experience so I might switch to that as well. Main thing you have to be wary of is Meowscarada and getting some chip damage on Floette since they usually EV to survive +1 Waterfall if you run it. I think most Mega Gyarados are on Crunch / Earthquake / Power Whip at the moment.

 

[LuckOverSkill]

In the beginning I started with an extremely homebrew team, with 0 resources and before masterball it's more than enough: it was 2 steels 2 fairies 2 dragons. Mega dnite, mega metagross, primarina, scarf whimsicott (with support moves, best I could afford), hydreigon, archaludon.

Eventually it evolved into my current main team, whose synergies I really like, I sit at masterball 3 comfortably with it:
- scarf meowscarada, spdef archaludon, sash garchomp, bold volcarona, taunt mega gyara

I understand a lot of my gameplay problems, most of them coming from my ignorance of mons past gen 5: I have to fire up PS often to look at speeds and defenses. But hey, we learn things, and I hardly lose to the same thing twice. Sometimes I also just pick the worst possible lead, but that's the price of going from BWOU to BSS.

Still, it's solid team overall I found, some sequences rely on opponent not knowing my sets. The Gyara especially, I do NOT have power whip, but between the fake outs and the wfall flinches...I'm wary of changing it, but recently I haven't clicked taunt once, so maybe pwhip over it will work. I've also had to aggressively gacha roll for some mons, and having only 50 slots in a box is severely limiting, but we persevere.

I stole another team from top 50 last reg (same as current reg really so it's fine) and enjoying the different gameplay.

Overall, I think this metagame is very fun — I don't really like VGC, so going to focus on BSS. The 50 slots limit sucks but I can manage.

 

[Omastar68]

Chomp has stayed #1 the whole time, but one that popped up way more, though iirc it was never absent, is mimikyu.

I'm wondering if people think a mon that, essentially, shuts down both REGARDLESS of if they set up on switch in is viable even if it has low SpD, bordering on paltry with 32/0.

The sets that win some with it from these two are really nothing off chomp(lol flamethrower would, maybe boosted fire fang but not a real thing either, mostly,) and I guess curse or drain phnch mim. Maybe, again. If these two attributes, as well as some other choice mus, aren't enough, I'd simply ask why. I mean I've used orthworm long enough I will stick to it unless it gets about twice as bad(has done great, itself,) but I wouldn't be here much/at all if I gave no crap what other people think xd. Last I checked, a while ago, I believe it was 60th place fwiw.

 

[Raging Alien]

Chomp has stayed #1 the whole time, but one that popped up way more, though iirc it was never absent, is mimikyu.

I'm wondering if people think a mon that, essentially, shuts down both REGARDLESS of if they set up on switch in is viable even if it has low SpD, bordering on paltry with 32/0.

The sets that win some with it from these two are really nothing off chomp(lol flamethrower would, maybe boosted fire fang but not a real thing either, mostly,) and I guess curse or drain phnch mim. Maybe, again. If these two attributes, as well as some other choice mus, aren't enough, I'd simply ask why. I mean I've used orthworm long enough I will stick to it unless it gets about twice as bad(has done great, itself,) but I wouldn't be here much/at all if I gave no crap what other people think xd. Last I checked, a while ago, I believe it was 60th place fwiw.

Click to collapse...

What benefit exactly would Orthworm bring over Corviknight for most teams? It doesn't exactly check Garchomp, Mimikyu or Megagross better than Corviknight already does, it suffers even more against the things that already check Corviknight, and it's much more predictable.

(also, why do you only mention what mon you're actually tlaking about in the middle of your paragraph)

 

[DerpySuX]

Corviknight, Umbreon, skeledirge, and Hippowdon all do what you’re suggesting Orthworm for but with more consistency and are able to diversify away from their main set to accomplish other things a team may need. If you see Orthworm it is almost always a shed tail bot and that is very exploitable. Why would you not use any of the other pokes and simply invest them in physical defense? If your answer is shed tail then sure, go for it. For my money though, I’ll take something that can actually do the job I’ve picked it for.

 

[Raging Alien]

As someone who was used to playing Smogon (mostly UU and monotype tbf), the BSS format where you only really bring in 3 pokemon is being really odd to play for me.

The first big adaptation has been on teambuilding - in particular getting used to teams with two Megas, and then on how to decide on a second Mega, though of course in Smogon you'll typically build around 2 or 3-mon cores, which become entire teams in this format.

There's a certain level of mindgames involved in the selection of the actual 3 (which I took advantage of for some time by making a team of mons typically played in Rain, but with other sets, and throwing in a Pelipper on the team that I never actually used), but it also leads to some extremely lopsided matches, where specific mons or unexpected sets can effectively clear the entire match with little to no effort.

The fact that matches are also 3v3 also means that losing a pokemon due to a bad switch or unexpected coverage can immediately decide a match, in a way that wouldn't happen in 6v6 for a properly-built team.

At the same time, it means that certain mons or sets that would feel okay and viable to play in Smogon feel really terrible in BSS. I have Stealth Rock + Roar Archaludon, but honestly Roar has felt mostly worthless so far, and Stealth Rock has value, obviously, but it's limited by the significantly lower amount of switches happening in this format.

All this mostly to ask, do you guys have any particular ways to decide which pokemon you bring into the actual matches? And are there any tips on teambuilding taking in mind the 3-mon selection for matches?

 

[Omastar68]

What benefit exactly would Orthworm bring over Corviknight for most teams? It doesn't exactly check Garchomp, Mimikyu or Megagross better than Corviknight already does, it suffers even more against the things that already check Corviknight, and it's much more predictable.

(also, why do you only mention what mon you're actually tlaking about in the middle of your paragraph)

Click to collapse...

I wasn't gonna say at all but then changed mind um. Right...I can probably just do that. I mean it'd HAVE to be iron head corv but should get them all. Orth would need a small buff to get an edge, it's close. These responses help me see it's possible to trade up. It is a cool mon so it's a little wretched, but I try corv for now thanks.

 

[LuckOverSkill]

As someone who was used to playing Smogon (mostly UU and monotype tbf), the BSS format where you only really bring in 3 pokemon is being really odd to play for me.

The first big adaptation has been on teambuilding - in particular getting used to teams with two Megas, and then on how to decide on a second Mega, though of course in Smogon you'll typically build around 2 or 3-mon cores, which become entire teams in this format.

There's a certain level of mindgames involved in the selection of the actual 3 (which I took advantage of for some time by making a team of mons typically played in Rain, but with other sets, and throwing in a Pelipper on the team that I never actually used), but it also leads to some extremely lopsided matches, where specific mons or unexpected sets can effectively clear the entire match with little to no effort.

The fact that matches are also 3v3 also means that losing a pokemon due to a bad switch or unexpected coverage can immediately decide a match, in a way that wouldn't happen in 6v6 for a properly-built team.

At the same time, it means that certain mons or sets that would feel okay and viable to play in Smogon feel really terrible in BSS. I have Stealth Rock + Roar Archaludon, but honestly Roar has felt mostly worthless so far, and Stealth Rock has value, obviously, but it's limited by the significantly lower amount of switches happening in this format.

All this mostly to ask, do you guys have any particular ways to decide which pokemon you bring into the actual matches? And are there any tips on teambuilding taking in mind the 3-mon selection for matches?

Click to collapse...

I'm also a long-time Smogon singles-only player (pretty much BW OU-only at that) and I find that, in most losses, the issue stems from my misread of my opponent's gameplan. Granted, I have a couple of instant-death matchups, but that's the game.

I feel like most teams can be seen as two distinct units: main brings and counterpicks — not unlike in card games, where you bring a side deck. A couple of mons you will bring in most games. Usually these are the top meta picks: your Garchomps, Archaludons, Primarina or whatever you have on your team; a similar dynamic happens with the team's mega, at least in my experience, though it's a bit closer to 60-40 in bringing your mega A vs your mega B.

For example, on the team I played the most, I find myself bringing Volcarona, Meowscarada, and Mega Gyarados in most games. Milotic is my 2nd most brought mon, usually in Meowscarada's place when I want extra coverage vs some boosting mons. Archaludon is a nice bring into certain stuff (opposing Meowscarada and Rotom-Wash especially), and so is Garchomp (my Bellibolt and Raichu insurance). The same happens with the other team I stole from someone in top 50: the A-team is Char Y Primarina and Scizor, Samurott and Mega Gengar help in specific matchups e.g. when I really need Spikes to break some stuff and I need to kill opposing Primarinas, Garchomp is my main weapon in the case of a Chomp mirror (mine is Adamant Sash Scale Shot).

I haven't figured out the precise mechanisms behind Pokémon selection yet. I recommend looking at top teams here, some come with full RMTs: people will explain how they built the team and how they approach members selection in many matchups.

 

[sm1awsm]

I've been having trouble dealing with a M-starmie + Bellibolt +Hippo/Corv core that popped up like a week ago. I managed to somewhat deal with this core with my own corv and Yaichu but even if counterpicked right, it's a dangerous game with Starmie aqua jet and rocks/sand chip damage. Just wanted to see if anyone has a safer solution to this core, preferably not involving a mega slot.

 

[Raging Alien]

I've been having trouble dealing with a M-starmie + Bellibolt +Hippo/Corv core that popped up like a week ago. I managed to somewhat deal with this core with my own corv and Yaichu but even if counterpicked right, it's a dangerous game with Starmie aqua jet and rocks/sand chip damage. Just wanted to see if anyone has a safer solution to this core, preferably not involving a mega slot.

Click to collapse...

Admittedly I don't really know what sets mega starmie runs since I've never faced one, but Hydreigon seems like it would have a good shot at hitting most of this. You'd have to run Choice Scarf on Hydreigon to outspeed the M-Starmie and avoid the OHKO from Ice Spinner, but you're effectively guaranteed a OHKO with Dark Pulse unless it's running significant bulk (>16 points in Health considering Sandstorm damage), and it'll also seriously chunk either other part of the core.

Your other moves are limited since you'll really want Draco Meteor for general damage, and then you've got two slots for one of Fire Blast/Flamethrower (corv), Earth Power (belli) or Surf (Hippo). I'd prioritize Fire Blast since Corv is the only non-Starmie part of the core that's threatening to Hydreigon, and then likely Earth Power since I think it'll prove more useful on other matchups than Surf likely would.

You'll be dependent on predictions due to the Scarf, possibly, but Dark Pulse does generally hit everything on this core for 40%+, at least for the typical builds.

 

[DerpySuX]

I've been having trouble dealing with a M-starmie + Bellibolt +Hippo/Corv core that popped up like a week ago. I managed to somewhat deal with this core with my own corv and Yaichu but even if counterpicked right, it's a dangerous game with Starmie aqua jet and rocks/sand chip damage. Just wanted to see if anyone has a safer solution to this core, preferably not involving a mega slot

Click to collapse...

Umbreon can be really annoying for these cores, especially when paired with something like scarf Garchomp. Having something that can set rocks up to punish the pivot core can be really useful as well.

 

[greilmercenary9]

I've been having trouble dealing with a M-starmie + Bellibolt +Hippo/Corv core that popped up like a week ago. I managed to somewhat deal with this core with my own corv and Yaichu but even if counterpicked right, it's a dangerous game with Starmie aqua jet and rocks/sand chip damage. Just wanted to see if anyone has a safer solution to this core, preferably not involving a mega slot.

Click to collapse...

This core has been highly popular since late Season 1, and I also piloted said core to a solid finish in Season 2, so I have a significant amount of experience playing both with and against it. (Learning how to beat it should also be pretty helpful, because I still see the exact core pop up usually once or twice a session or so even on the "I haven't played enough this season" mid-ladder). I think this core tends to be very difficult for people without BSS experience to play against, since it's very tough to break with any one mon given how solid the Corvibolt defensive core is. In addition, the Bring 6, Pick 3 nature of the format can sometimes kind of mess with how players who mainly play 6v6 go about breaking down opposing cores.

I will note that re: above: Hydreigon is a very good Pokemon against this core given how well it does against Starmie and Corviknight, but Scarf Hydra needs a lot of flinches to break a healthy Bellibolt. As such, it only really works if you have a strong Bellibolt answer, preferably one that also blocks Volt Switch. Earth Power can potentially 2HKO on Bellibolt, but relying on it as a main way to eliminate Bellibolt can be challenging since even Modest Scarf isn't guaranteed a 2HKO against SpDef Leftoves Bellibolt (and definitely misses against Sitrus), and if you try to nail it on a switch (probably the best way to make sure you get the damage), then prediction mind games become a potential problem against the others once revealed.

Rotom-Wash is also similar in that is is extremely strong against the non-Bellibolt members of the core, but needs help to eliminate Bellibolt. Archaludon is also extremely solid here and while it struggles to damage Bellibolt, Bellibolt also doesn't do much back. As such, Rocks + Roar + TBolt Arch can be a huge problem and get so much chip on the team that a good sweeper can come in and clean up. Swords Dance + Fire Fang Garchomp is also a significant problem for this core if it gets in on Bellibolt, although ID Corvi can usually survive just long enough to stop it without prior damage. The nice thing Garchomp though it that it is so ubiqutous and versatile that it can be very hard for the Starmie core player to diagnose the set before it accomplishes its objectives. Derpy specifically mentioned hazards + Umbreon, which is very strong since unlike Hippo, Umbreon doesn't fear Flip Turn on Mega Starmie, and while it struggles to damage Corvi, it can help chip down the others effectively.There are also more niche answers out there (SubSeed Mega Scovillain comes to mind as just one possible example), although I woudln't compromise a team against the rest of the meta just to check this core.

More generally, though, breaking this core is usually accomplished through solid combination play (similarly to the Hydreigon + Bellibolt answer above). Hazards are very useful to punish the pivoting moves that each of them almost invariably run, and TankChomp in particular gets to set up lots of hazards on Bellibolt while also phazing ID Corviknight with Dragon Tail. Mega Starmie is also quite easy to get chip on, especially once hazards are up, so a strong gameplan against this core is to prioritize getting damage on Mega Starmie and then once it is down go to whatever your anti-bulk answer is. And of course a standard anti-defensive core plan of focusing on getting damage onto the main defensive problem (usually Bellibolt with this core) works well too, especially since plenty of stuff takes care of just Starmie + Corvi in isolation.

Anyway, hope this helps. Happy hunting on the ladder!

 

[sm1awsm]

Admittedly I don't really know what sets mega starmie runs since I've never faced one, but Hydreigon seems like it would have a good shot at hitting most of this. You'd have to run Choice Scarf on Hydreigon to outspeed the M-Starmie and avoid the OHKO from Ice Spinner, but you're effectively guaranteed a OHKO with Dark Pulse unless it's running significant bulk (>16 points in Health considering Sandstorm damage), and it'll also seriously chunk either other part of the core.

Your other moves are limited since you'll really want Draco Meteor for general damage, and then you've got two slots for one of Fire Blast/Flamethrower (corv), Earth Power (belli) or Surf (Hippo). I'd prioritize Fire Blast since Corv is the only non-Starmie part of the core that's threatening to Hydreigon, and then likely Earth Power since I think it'll prove more useful on other matchups than Surf likely would.

You'll be dependent on predictions due to the Scarf, possibly, but Dark Pulse does generally hit everything on this core for 40%+, at least for the typical builds.

Click to collapse...

Umbreon can be really annoying for these cores, especially when paired with something like scarf Garchomp. Having something that can set rocks up to punish the pivot core can be really useful as well.

Click to collapse...

Thanks for the suggestions. Does fire blast vs flamethrower matter a lot outside of this scenario? Because fireblast only OHKO regular corv on a crit while flamethrower only fail to 2HKO SpDef invested corv (which has a fairly low chance to 2HKO back with body press) and i do prefer the more reliable option.

I haven't try rocks vs this core much since my main rocker is Tankchomp which gets threaten out by Starmie and usually has better moves to click vs the rest of the core like EQ(belli), Dragon tail( stops corv from setting up/u-turn to starmie). Trading rocks vs hippo usually hurts me more than it hurts them but a wish passer does seem to solve the problem.

I'll try scarf hydreigon first since i have a shiny one just rotting in my box and see how it goes.

 

[Raging Alien]

Thanks for the suggestions. Does fire blast vs flamethrower matter a lot outside of this scenario? Because fireblast only OHKO regular corv on a crit while flamethrower only fail to 2HKO SpDef invested corv (which has a fairly low chance to 2HKO back with body press) and i do prefer the more reliable option.

I haven't try rocks vs this core much since my main rocker is Tankchomp which gets threaten out by Starmie and usually has better moves to click vs the rest of the core like EQ(belli), Dragon tail( stops corv from setting up/u-turn to starmie). Trading rocks vs hippo usually hurts me more than it hurts them but a wish passer does seem to solve the problem.

I'll try scarf hydreigon first since i have a shiny one just rotting in my box and see how it goes.

Click to collapse...

For Fire Blast vs Flamethrower, the difference often comes in edge cases. If you're running Earth Power, you don't have to worry about the difference vs Archaludon for example (where Fire Blast has a chance, though low, to 2HKO even against leftovers), but in specific cases it can give you a chance - for example, Fire Blast has a 43% chance to OHKO no-bulk A-Ninetales, where Flamethrower has no chance.

 

[Omastar68]

I think this goes better here, not necessarily a simple question.

For starters, is pelipper ever run(and not just that, but is it reasonable,) outside rain teams? I don't mean semi, or even I badly need fire weak-peli itself would be the rain abuser:( sounds fishy I know, but it seems to cover everything I need ATM. That is....

Kingambit, basc, raptor, char x, gross to a limited extent(peli should get gross quite well, but think I'm ok here,) sorta phox, and scizor. Idk any of those like peli, phox can hurt it but not take water well duh. Um, I COULD make it a rainy arch with e shot. But is no mega to use rain ok?

Other than peli, I feel nothing on vr thread cleanly gets the majority/ all these threats at once. I'm mb 3 so above average for me but quite a bit. Really looking to stay that way. Have tried lf a 2nd mega to take them, unsure any do and may also just go trade them with banette often. Maybe a non mega swanpert, no free slot really for mega with peli, though I could swap stuff.

 

[PSLY PRK]

I think this goes better here, not necessarily a simple question.

For starters, is pelipper ever run(and not just that, but is it reasonable,) outside rain teams? I don't mean semi, or even I badly need fire weak-peli itself would be the rain abuser:( sounds fishy I know, but it seems to cover everything I need ATM. That is....

Kingambit, basc, raptor, char x, gross to a limited extent(peli should get gross quite well, but think I'm ok here,) sorta phox, and scizor. Idk any of those like peli, phox can hurt it but not take water well duh. Um, I COULD make it a rainy arch with e shot. But is no mega to use rain ok?

Other than peli, I feel nothing on vr thread cleanly gets the majority/ all these threats at once. I'm mb 3 so above average for me but quite a bit. Really looking to stay that way. Have tried lf a 2nd mega to take them, unsure any do and may also just go trade them with banette often. Maybe a non mega swanpert, no free slot really for mega with peli, though I could swap stuff.

Click to collapse...

You theoretically could, there are definitely teams that just run Pelly+Arch, but Pelly doesn't really have a great defensive profile even with maxed HP/Def so I'm not sure if it'll be able to switch in on the mons you mentioned comfortably, especially if they've been able to set up.
The 10th ranked player last season used Leftovers Gyarados, that might be a better option since it provides utility with Intimidate and gives you a bit of role compression since it can act as a sweeper too.

 

[Raging Alien]

Just a quick aside, PSLY PRK, thank you for the analysis on Skeledirge. I hadn't played any pokemon since gen 7, and so underestimated how good it would work a physical tank and general nuisance. Switched Ceruledge for it in my team shortly after you posted the analysis for QC and instantly (well, after a couple of games getting used to how it actually performs) saw massive improvement, climbing to Masterball in a single winstreak from UB4.

 

[Omastar68]

You theoretically could, there are definitely teams that just run Pelly+Arch, but Pelly doesn't really have a great defensive profile even with maxed HP/Def so I'm not sure if it'll be able to switch in on the mons you mentioned comfortably, especially if they've been able to set up.
The 10th ranked player last season used Leftovers Gyarados, that might be a better option since it provides utility with Imtimidate and gives you a bit of role compression since it can act as a sweeper too.

Click to collapse...

Intimidate into megad raptor is maybe my only reason not to, besides lefties taken, but I might try a non mega gyara thanks!

At any rate, peli flunked. Trying a really weird set on a rare mon that might get what I need, but if not I doubt I can tweak it and just try non m gya with...some item idk what.

 

[TTK]

I find it sad that this thread has not seen use since July and while the discord is a lot more active, I still like and appreciate forum discussion, maybe because I've seen on this site for 10 years and thats what I've grown accustomed to. But I acknowledge that this metagame despite increased activity, is relatively niche on Smogon and the good chunk of the playerbase are JP players not involved here. Either way, hopefully we can see more discussion here moving forward but we'll see.

So for season M-6 and M-7 for Reg M-C, obviously I've been using Mega Salamence, which most would agree that it's the best mega in the format right now. Its usage has slightly gone down from M-6 but I'm chalking that down to everyone respecting it and having responses to it at all time, whether that's running Ice Shard Baxcalibur or bulkier one-time switchins like Primarina, or even utilising some nicher picks like Mega Ttar, Empoleon, or my favourite one, Hisui Goodra.

As of writing this post, Goodra H is sitting at number 53 in usage which is pretty solid imo when Arch is occupying similar space due to their identical typing. But you aren't using Goodra H as an Archaludon, you're using Goodra H for its superior coverage options compared to Archaludon + its significantly superior spdef to actually 1v1 threats like Primarina and Gholdengo. My item of choice will always be Shuca Berry. Ground is the main weakness you certainly want to cover over Fighting since a lot of the setup Dragon sweepers, primarily Mence and Baxcalibur, run Earthquake to dispatch steels. A max HP Goodra won't get fried by these Earthquakes, and simply will OHKO mence with Ice Beam and Bax with Draco Meteor. Fire Blast is also very useful for deleting Mega Golisopod and even 1v1ing Corviknight (which I tech Speed for) and Thunderbolt handles Primarina. My aim is to try and get my Goodra H team to 2K elo consistently by the end of the season because I saw this mon had a lot of potential by being handle to bait in the top threats.

If anyone has some underrated Pokemon to share that they've had some success with, I would like to know so I can give it a shot

 

[PSLY PRK]

It's been fringe since M-A, but I've had a lot of success with :choice scarf::floette-eternal: in this format. In such a Dragon centric meta having a fast mon that can spam Fairy moves is so nice, and locking into Moonblast or Light of Ruin is much less of a commitment than locking into Draco on Scarfed Hydreigon or Arch is to deal with the same mons.
It unfortunately does have to run Timid to outspeed the Z megas, but it does really well into all three (as if doing well into Absol matters lol). Because it always survives an Earthquake from it (barring a crit) and is completely unthreatened by its mega, Floette has a great face-to-face matchup into Garchomp - and doing well into Lucario Z sets it apart from Scarf Meow.
I've only clicked it like twice but Trick is also nice utility on a Scarfer, especially because Floette's shallow movepool baits in defensive Steels like Corv and Empoleon.