Nice post by
MANNAT , I figured this is one of the best opportunities for me to drop some of my favorite teams of the past year or two that I still consider to be viable in the current metagame, despite none of them being made in 2025.
It’s kind of a retirement post for me as well as I haven’t played tournaments in over 6 months and don’t plan on doing so in the future because I haven’t really cared about mons since the end of SPL last year.
I’ll write down some weaknesses for the teams that are a bit more matchup dependent than others so you know when to use them and when not to, and maybe it will motivate someone to patch the weakness up while taking inspiration from the structure.
Team 1: Medicham Victini bulky offense
This is one of the more recent ones I’ll be covering and it’s one I’ve enjoyed playing a lot. Medicham in the current metagame is only really dealt with via offensive pressure, Clefable, Slowbro and the niche Reuniclus. Aside from that, not many Pokemon can really deal with it, which makes scarf Victini a surprisingly strong partner. It has a fantastic offense matchup, as most threats on offense don’t want to switch into a V-Create, and you also outspeed the unboosted metagame, giving it strong revenge killing potential. Trick is one of the ways this team cripples Clefable, Slowbro, Reuni etc., making it impossible for them to check Medicham. Seismitoad is there for Rotom and Zapdos, which can be troublesome for Medi Torn and Victini at times and it’s a reliable rocker in the format. Torn has to be AV here for Zam and Serp as you can’t trust Victini alone to beat them, especially if you can’t keep hazards off. Sub Exca should enable you to at least keep off Toxic Spikes, which are otherwise quite dangerous for the Medi Vic core. Clefable is a neat wincon for the team which can catch a wisp or toxic (or thunder wave if you cant avoid it) and then set up on the aforementioned Medi answers. Ice Punch on Medicham is required here to have a better way of threatening Gliscor.
Threat List: Mega Metagross (duh)
Team 2: Stallbreaker Stall
This is a team I had made for ORAS Invitational but I don’t remember if I used it or not. It’s a simple concept of a stall team that also destroys the stall mirror with extreme ease, due to having Taunt Gliscor and Taunt Gengar, which can practically solo a large chunk of stall builds without the other four mons even being needed. Skill Swap and Toxic on Chansey is kind of mandatory to not get blown out by Rain Dance Manaphy, Calm Mind Clefable, Calm Mind Reuniclus and other comparable set up sweepers that aren’t really scared of this kind of structure. The biggest flaw of this team is a lack of hazard removal, which, while it only really affects Chansey, makes it susceptible to stuff like Band Tar + Special Sweeper, as you can’t hard your Chansey into a Volcarona after it took a Banded Pursuit and comes in on a full set of Spikes. However, you have double Taunt so you can prevent the layers from going up. I found the team to be very consistent and if I played the game more I’d probably have used it in tournaments.
Threat List: CB Tyranitar, Taunt Mega Gardevoir, Taunt, Spikes + Pursuit + Volcarona/Manaphy, Bisharp
Team 3: Alakazam Balance
This one is a team that came to life during last year’s SPL when ABR and I were trying out a good amount of Blissey structures. It didn’t get used but I’ve since tried it on several occasions and it works nicely. Naturally it is very similar to other Zam Spike structures so it’s unsurprising that this works, but Blissey gives you a much better time vs Tornadus-Therian and other Knock Off users, while being able to scout move choices of Pokemon like Weavile using Protect and reacting accordingly. It also makes it harder to click High Jump Kick vs you. Like most of these type of teams it has a somewhat hard time vs Bisharp and Rain Dance Manaphy, both of which are at least soft checked by Encore Alakazam which can use this as a set up opportunity as well.
Threat List: CB Tyranitar, Rain Dance Manaphy, Bisharp
Team 4: SD Garchomp + Lopunny BO
This team is a little older, it was made in 2023. However (!), I still think it holds up, and a Pokemon like SD Garchomp actually performs significantly better now than it did two years ago. Scarfed Rotom-Wash is also very well positioned currently and it hast he tools to deal with the threats of the current metagame. Its biggest weakness is Mega Alakazam, which can force you into awkward sequences but the double priority access from adamant Lopunny is no joke and should be your main way of breaking past Zam. SD Garchomp does a great job at forcing unplanned damage on Clefable and Slowbro, enabling Lopunny to clean the opposing team with ease. The best time to bring this would be in an offense matchup, but I’ve had success with it in pretty much any matchup.
Threat List: Mega Alakazam, Mega Metagross (duh, keep Rotom health and use Torn to chip with Helmet+U-Turn)
Team 5: Latias Gliscor Balance v.1-3
OR
This is more of a concept than a completed team, as it is in a similar position to the stallbreaker stall build from earlier. It lacks removal entirely, which is generally unproblematic, however it can make it impossible for you to deal with Banded Tar + Spikes + Volcarona, which this team unfortunately faced the one time I used it in tournament, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. I never settled on one version that I found to be the best, so I just linked all three. I believe this structure is very powerful, but the lack of removal makes you very vulnerable to Spikes + Suit, so if someone manages to solve that issue this is very potent.
Threat List: Pursuit+Spikes+Special Sweeper
Team 6: PuP Metagross HO
This is a team that was made by ABR and me for SPL, and I used it in week 6 where I executed a playable matchup quite poorly, however the team has since seen a bit of usage and success so it’s still worth posting. It’s also one of the earlier PuP Meta adaptations, which is now pretty much standard. Sub on this team gave it the unique ability to sub on Dia turn 1 and proceed to sweep entire teams with just Metagross. It also makes sucker mind games vs Bisharp irrelevant and takes advantage of all the switches it forces. Thunder Punch isnt needed here, as the goal is to toxic Slowbro with Toxic Spikes from Cloyster, at which point you’re no longer scared of it. Toxic Spikes also unlock crazy sweeping potential on this particular Volcarona set; Flamethrower + HP Ground is only really handled by Latias and Water types, like Slowbro or Manaphy, but once they are poisoned you can beat them easily. Rotom-Wash is an obvious exception, but you don’t really want to be giving up your Rotom HP when there’s a Metagross and a Cloyster in the back.
Threat List: Lopunny-Mega, Volcarona
Team 7: CM Keldeo Sand
Another team made for and used in SPL last year. This one probably would’ve won its game if I land Focus Blast turn 1 but instead that miss ended up costing me like three mons lol. It’s a more offensive sand build with the frequently mentioned banded Tyranitar, as well as strong offensive tools like CM Keldeo, Nasty Plot Thundurus and the nuke button Mega Latios. All three of these, as well as Clefable AND Tyranitar actively threaten Rotom-Wash and Zapdos, paving the way for Excadrill to come in and win the game after some chip damage.
Threat List: Focus Blast accuracy
Team 8: Zard X Sand
Yet again, a team made for and used in last year’s SPL, this one actually won its game haha. It has since been used in side tours and there have been some adjustments made, like a bulky SD Zard set over the DD one used here, and Zapdos has been replaced with Tornadus at times too. The idea is just Zard X breaking down all the walls for the sand core to win or vice versa, it’s unique in the sense that it features a scarf Tar in 2025 (2024), and also bluffing Zard Y sand can help you decimate things sent out to deal with a Zard Y, only for you to boost and/or straight up KO it. Scarf Tar lets you net unexpected KO’s in todays metagame as it’s almost never seen, and getting last ditch rocks with it is also way more feasible than it is for slow Tars. It is also one of the easiest ways for you to pick off unsuspecting Bisharp. Clefable is calm here to better take on Zam, Slowbro is Leftovers + Protect as opposed to Colbur to ease prediction vs Weavile in the long run, offset sand damage, and scout vs threats other than Weavile.
Threat List: Serperior
Other interesting sets and ideas:
Belt
Roserade @ Expert Belt
Timid Nature
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Sludge Bomb
- Leaf Storm
- Spikes
- Hidden Power Fire
I used this set in SPL week 5 two years ago and while it didn’t do exactly what I wanted it to, it still chipped the Tyranitar hard enough for Heatran to break the opposing team with ease. The idea here is that Roserade with Technician essentially has Flamethrower in its movepool, which not only 2hkos Amoonguss and Excadrill, you also outspeed both of them. Access to a fast Spiker that threatens Drill is appealing. The offensive coverage can be compared to Knock M-Venu, with the only exception being Heatran. In return, you have more speed, no mega stone, and Spikes with less durability.
Always! is a Roserade believer as well, he’s using Natural Cure and Sleep Powder over Hidden Power, which is another valid way to play this interesting and underexplored Pokemon (with 100% winrate in SPL!).
AV
Excadrill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 4 HP / 132 Atk / 120 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin
This set is one that was created during last years SPL, but it wasn’t used in the tournament. It has a surprising amount of bulk, allowing it to take hits from unboosted Volcarona even (as long as it’s not Modest Orb):
252 SpA Volcarona Fire Blast vs. 4 HP / 120 SpD Assault Vest Excadrill: 296-350 (81.7 - 96.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Mega Zam: 252 SpA Alakazam-Mega Focus Blast vs. 4 HP / 120 SpD Assault Vest Excadrill: 262-310 (72.3 - 85.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Even bad Thundurus sets: 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Focus Blast vs. 4 HP / 120 SpD Assault Vest Excadrill: 265-315 (73.2 - 87%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
You can take two Leaf Storms from MOST Serperior (as long as they aren’t too heavily invested, 200+ SpA EVs will still 2hko you most of the time)
+2 Life Orb Clefable: +2 72+ SpA Life Orb Clefable Flamethrower vs. 4 HP / 120 SpD Assault Vest Excadrill: 307-361 (84.8 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
And the strongest M-Gardevoir you can imagine: 252+ SpA Gardevoir-Mega Focus Blast vs. 4 HP / 120 SpD Assault Vest Excadrill: 276-326 (76.2 - 90%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Avoiding 2hkos from Heat Waves from Zapdos and Tornadus.
And several other applications. Easily the most common one for me in practice has been staying in on a Volcarona and just eating the hit (if they even go for it) and revenge killing it. Suprisingly underused set with a lot of potential in my opinion.
Quick shoutouts to my favorite people in ORAS
BluBirD Metallica126 devin Always! looking forward to seeing more from all of you in the future. Sorry for posting Mega Latias teams Metallica, forgive me.
Edit: Also don’t mind the 7/8 Clefable…actually, have some more:
