I made a Chestnaught team with a friend that had some level of success, but I stopped using it when I 1. got bored and 2. started struggling against Pokemon like Clefable and the Latis. I got up +200 surprisingly, so it has potential, just not the right state in the current meta. Here's the team I used: https://pokepast.es/ae3c1601b93934c5
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Pet Mod Legends Z-A OU
- Thread starter dhelmise
- Start date
I like this but woudn't it just become worse Hydrapple but too much cost Sceptile's item slot and team mega slot is been sacrificed will it be worth it maybe people whose favorite is Sceptile would consider it but I am not sure if it is worth it
Ability: Regenerator
I like the idea of more offensive abilities for Mega Sceptile, but what if Mega Sceptile took a page out of Hydrapple and used Regenerator?
They both share the Grass/Dragon typing and Hydrapple saw a ton of success with it. Yeah, Hydrapple has multiple other advantages like bulk, nasty plot, an actual good movepool, etc.
However Sceptile can definitely take advantage of regenerator. Its typing provides a lot of resistances and since its forced out a lot with its STAB combo and Leaf Storm drops, might as well heal when you're switching out. This would give Sceptile a unique niche letting it be a fast special attacker with longevity.
We aren't changing the non ZA megas anymore.
i was doing a bunch of testing with grassy terrain post coming for that soon but i came across a stupid thing with it
Secret power is free and in grassy terrain gives u 30% sleeps and almost every mon gets it. There's no sleep clause so u can put 6 mons to sleep if u wanted to. Chesnaught learns secret power also and is super fat., No way your'e guessing its clicking secret power and u don't wanna go hard into a ghost a lot or you'll just eat a free knock. that's like a mola body slam lol and secret power doesn't even make contact. Heatran learns it also and can definitely spare a move to to pray for a 30% sleep which would give them a free switch at minimum. the main ghost type(gholdengo) cant switch into Heatran anyways. its not like on bulky mons raw secret power is horrible or anything like using the mola example again because its 30% para without terrain still.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9legendszaou-2515878716-6sijgnuqm55i2x7y355x0oic8vpb6mmpw
and im like 70% sure its not supposed to work with serene grace so either in my 5 games of testing im getting super lucky only with meloetta or its working
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9legendszaou-2515880021-nmig83lxjphmcu6pj6cga13kjbiyy5fpw (mind you its still 60% para too lol. yes of course thunder exist still but that can miss and has a way more common immunity in ground)
Hell nawwww... im not saying its like gonna fish and auto get 3 turn sleeps every game then win but i don't wanna face this shit lol. If i switch in clef or corv on my chesnaught and get put to sleep I'm tweaking out. i think this is one of those times we need to get rid of something(secret power) just off how stupid it is for the metagame and I'm calling it now before other people start to catch on. Every other mon is annoying with it yea of course no one would like to switch in chomp on Heatran and then get put to sleep but on chesnaught i cant see it not getting just incredibly stupid. spd chesnaught is way too fat and chesnaught is already too good of a mon by itself for it to also be able to fish for 30% sleeps with no sleep clause. i don't expect it to automatically get banned because of this post or anything. Like 30% spores on a fat bulky team just sounds cancerous lol even if ghost types are immune. I'm just putting the thought in peoples head for now since im usually way to early when it comes to bans and stuff
Edit:
gonna be posting some replays now granted all of them arent the highest of ladder since i nuked this account testing stuff but they arent too low for some and it still gets the point across
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9legendszaou-2515942926-d5i2kaayocqb3lo3tsbg1yxbwrcc829pw
Secret power is free and in grassy terrain gives u 30% sleeps and almost every mon gets it. There's no sleep clause so u can put 6 mons to sleep if u wanted to. Chesnaught learns secret power also and is super fat., No way your'e guessing its clicking secret power and u don't wanna go hard into a ghost a lot or you'll just eat a free knock. that's like a mola body slam lol and secret power doesn't even make contact. Heatran learns it also and can definitely spare a move to to pray for a 30% sleep which would give them a free switch at minimum. the main ghost type(gholdengo) cant switch into Heatran anyways. its not like on bulky mons raw secret power is horrible or anything like using the mola example again because its 30% para without terrain still.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9legendszaou-2515878716-6sijgnuqm55i2x7y355x0oic8vpb6mmpw
and im like 70% sure its not supposed to work with serene grace so either in my 5 games of testing im getting super lucky only with meloetta or its working
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9legendszaou-2515880021-nmig83lxjphmcu6pj6cga13kjbiyy5fpw (mind you its still 60% para too lol. yes of course thunder exist still but that can miss and has a way more common immunity in ground)
Hell nawwww... im not saying its like gonna fish and auto get 3 turn sleeps every game then win but i don't wanna face this shit lol. If i switch in clef or corv on my chesnaught and get put to sleep I'm tweaking out. i think this is one of those times we need to get rid of something(secret power) just off how stupid it is for the metagame and I'm calling it now before other people start to catch on. Every other mon is annoying with it yea of course no one would like to switch in chomp on Heatran and then get put to sleep but on chesnaught i cant see it not getting just incredibly stupid. spd chesnaught is way too fat and chesnaught is already too good of a mon by itself for it to also be able to fish for 30% sleeps with no sleep clause. i don't expect it to automatically get banned because of this post or anything. Like 30% spores on a fat bulky team just sounds cancerous lol even if ghost types are immune. I'm just putting the thought in peoples head for now since im usually way to early when it comes to bans and stuff
Edit:
gonna be posting some replays now granted all of them arent the highest of ladder since i nuked this account testing stuff but they arent too low for some and it still gets the point across
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9legendszaou-2515942926-d5i2kaayocqb3lo3tsbg1yxbwrcc829pw
Last edited:
Well that's just sad
hit top 500 w a team where i just threw a bunch of mons that made me go "that felt strong" and mega starmie because i wanted to try it. megearna is a demon why does Fleur Cannon do minimum 40 to everything. Also WAY too many people are saccing their chomps t1 vs it just to get rocks
https://pokepast.es/13eacc65e581842a
https://pokepast.es/13eacc65e581842a
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9legendszaou-2516260725
SCARFKRAI SWEEP (in terms of viability it didn't actually sweep) WOOOOOO
in all honesty i actually really like the changes i've made to my team, i know the metagame is a lot more bulk-focused but this has had some HUGE results. also i am aware magearna did nothing in this but i had five people in a row forefeit because of her can we please at least run a suspect test
SCARFKRAI SWEEP (in terms of viability it didn't actually sweep) WOOOOOO
in all honesty i actually really like the changes i've made to my team, i know the metagame is a lot more bulk-focused but this has had some HUGE results. also i am aware magearna did nothing in this but i had five people in a row forefeit because of her can we please at least run a suspect test
Subject: Suggestion: Sand Rush for Mega Garchomp
I wanted to suggest a possible ability change for Mega Garchomp in Legends ZA OU.
Since the format already includes custom abilities, I think Sand Rush could be a good fit for Mega Garchomp. Its design and stat spread clearly push it toward sand teams, but the Speed drop often makes it feel like a downgrade compared to base Garchomp despite costing the Mega slot.
Giving it Sand Rush would:
I wanted to suggest a possible ability change for Mega Garchomp in Legends ZA OU.
Since the format already includes custom abilities, I think Sand Rush could be a good fit for Mega Garchomp. Its design and stat spread clearly push it toward sand teams, but the Speed drop often makes it feel like a downgrade compared to base Garchomp despite costing the Mega slot.
Giving it Sand Rush would:
- Give Mega Garchomp a clear and distinct niche
- Reward dedicated sand team building
- Reinforce its thematic identity
- Preserve counterplay through weather control, priority, and its existing weaknesses
sand is already very good and mega drill has sand rush already. that also just sounds broken as hell lol Garchomp gets actual coverage unlike drill. pretty sure they aren't changing the old megas anymore but yea sand rush chomp is just op. way too fat, not checked by rotom wash or corv/skarm anymore, way too strong, and way too fast. mega chomp is just one of those mons that either broken or just worse chomp in most things
genuinely what's so detrimental about Mega Garchomp (aside from the Speed drop) is how... niche Sand Force actually is
in a world where most Mega Evolutions are self-sustaining with the Chairzards and their Tough Claws / Drought or Blastoise and Mega Launcher, Mega Garchomp demands sacrifice for either a moveslot and a free turn or a teamslot
if you're using Sandstorm as a move, it is strictly outclassed in almost every way by Swords Dance unless you wanna run Earth Power for some reason
and then Sand... not a really good archetype despite having setters and said setters become more passive should you want to extend the duration of sand
in a world where most Mega Evolutions are self-sustaining with the Chairzards and their Tough Claws / Drought or Blastoise and Mega Launcher, Mega Garchomp demands sacrifice for either a moveslot and a free turn or a teamslot
if you're using Sandstorm as a move, it is strictly outclassed in almost every way by Swords Dance unless you wanna run Earth Power for some reason
and then Sand... not a really good archetype despite having setters and said setters become more passive should you want to extend the duration of sand
no one uses sandstorm chomp and team slot isnt really much of a sacrifice at all tbh. we know megas that rely on teammates is good because swampert exist. I don't get what you mean at all when u say sand isnt really a good archetype. Sand is very good in za ou and consistently does well everywhere else. im not blaming you or anything but i dont know who started that whole sand isnt that good thing. if mega garchomp didn't get its speed dropped it would be used drastically more. it wouldnt only be used on sand but it would 100% be used on sand a lot too. drill and chomp dont even share any weaknesses so its not like ur getting 6-0d by ice beam or a water move by having both on the same team. 170 base attack stab earthquakes with a free life orb and them taking potential sand chip and hazards on an actual "not slow" mon is amazing.
+2 252 Atk Sand Force Garchomp-Mega Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Slowbro: 349-412 (88.5 - 104.5%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO (68.8% chance to OHKO after sandstorm damage)
+2 252 Atk Garchomp-Mega Fire Fang vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 242-286 (60.6 - 71.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
forget about sd lol try switching into its normal attacks consistently while fearing it clicking sd
Few things.
First, regular Mega Chomp already has a clear niche. Its purpose is meant to be a bulky balance breaker with good defensive utility. In theory anyways, and has skmw teams it can be used on and be good on. It’s very niche at the end of the day, but it exists. Regular tank chomp does plenty defensively without needing to give up a mega slot and other wall breaking mega exist so that’s why you don’t usually see regular mega chomp.
Second, there’s (I think) nearly a 100 Megas now. It’s completely unrealistic to expect every mega to have a niche, and no Pokémon deserves viability by default. We don’t need anything to “reward dedicate sand building”. No team style deserves to be “rewarded”.
And mostly, it’s not at all a balanced idea. Sand Rush would let it outpace just about all Pokémon even with an Adamant nature, with only scarf Darkrai as a relevant Pokémon able to outspend it. There’s almost no offensive counterplay to a sand rush mega chomp. Priority almost entirely bounces off because of its improved bulk, with only Adamant Baxcalibur ice shard (or mega bax) being able to revenge kill it. There is no notion of “weather control” as counterplay because weather is nowhere near a prominent aspect of the meta with no auto setters that are worth running and could even beat it.
Subject: Follow-up on Mega Garchomp Ability Discussion
After reading the replies and thinking it through more, I agree that Sand Rush on Mega Garchomp would be unhealthy in the current meta.
With sand already being easy to enable through non-Mega setters like Tyranitar and Mega Excadrill serving as a clear benchmark for Sand Rush, it’s pretty clear that giving the same ability to a Pokémon with Mega Garchomp’s bulk, mixed offenses, and coverage would push it far past a reasonable power level. Between the lack of meaningful weather counterplay and how few offensive checks it would have, Sand Rush Mega Chomp would be more broken than niche.
That said, if Mega Garchomp were ever revisited, I think a non-speed-boosting ability that leans into its intended role as a bulky breaker could make more sense. Options like Sheer Force, Sand Force, Tough Claws, or even Mold Breaker would improve its wallbreaking consistency without removing counterplay or turning it into an uncontrollable sweeper.
Either way, I appreciate the explanations. The discussion helped clarify why Mega Garchomp sits in such a narrow balance space.
After reading the replies and thinking it through more, I agree that Sand Rush on Mega Garchomp would be unhealthy in the current meta.
With sand already being easy to enable through non-Mega setters like Tyranitar and Mega Excadrill serving as a clear benchmark for Sand Rush, it’s pretty clear that giving the same ability to a Pokémon with Mega Garchomp’s bulk, mixed offenses, and coverage would push it far past a reasonable power level. Between the lack of meaningful weather counterplay and how few offensive checks it would have, Sand Rush Mega Chomp would be more broken than niche.
That said, if Mega Garchomp were ever revisited, I think a non-speed-boosting ability that leans into its intended role as a bulky breaker could make more sense. Options like Sheer Force, Sand Force, Tough Claws, or even Mold Breaker would improve its wallbreaking consistency without removing counterplay or turning it into an uncontrollable sweeper.
Either way, I appreciate the explanations. The discussion helped clarify why Mega Garchomp sits in such a narrow balance space.
I think sand is best weather only one having a auto setter without needs of mega slot
Out of the 100+ matches I played in 2 accounts I saw like 2 Mega Charizard Y for setting sun and very rarely Mega Grandpa(before the ability change) for setting rain.
Sand players are eating good with 2 free sandsetters
I really want to know why you think
"Give Mega Garchomp a clear and distinct niche
Reward dedicated sand team building
Reinforce its thematic identity
Preserve counterplay through weather control, priority, and its existing weaknesses"
Are good ideas
Senu frequent reminder we aren't changing non ZA megas anymore.
https://pokepast.es/f3e63036467ebc5c looking to retweak team, biggest weakness I feel is that I've no momentum or pivot moves to let Darkrai in to trap things, feeling about taking off Dondozo, maybe one of Garchomp or Excadrill, etc.
I think you should instead run bulky Gholdengo, but it works fine. Dondozo also doesn't look like it fits, but that's just me. One thing you should also do is give Clef life orb instead if you're running Magic Guard, so you have higher base damage too. The team looks fine to me honestly
I was honestly dissing ghold in this meta, but Ive totally changed my mind
The guys hella bulky, can run a million different sets and is a very goated wincon.
I mean, it should be expected from the coin ghoul but it was a bit overshadowed for a while
The guys hella bulky, can run a million different sets and is a very goated wincon.
I mean, it should be expected from the coin ghoul but it was a bit overshadowed for a while
Well, something's working out for me, and I'm here to share the team and process that helped make this possible.
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Taunt
- Brave Bird
Taking a page out of Finchinator's ole reliable Skarm suicide lead set. You already know what it does. Get up hazards, block defog by birding itself to death or using Taunt, and Custap Berry has extra utility now cuz it bypasses Psyterrain.
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Scale Shot
- Earthquake
- Dual Wingbeat
- Temper Flare/Iron Head
Alright, you're all probably wondering why Salamence, specifically? In this power creep? Isn't Dragonite the better dragon? What about Magearna, especially the Shuca Berry variants? Well...
(Mods please don't ban me for this one
)Screw the opposition, this mon has been my saving grace this entire time developing this team. Mega Luke? Blasted. Garchomp? Blasted. Magearna the moment she steps into a scale shot? Burnt to a crisp. Loaded dice scale shot is SO GOOD on a mon that outspeeds mega zera at +1. Iron head destroys unaware clef, and the only real danger I have to worry about is Dozo, but even Dozo hates jumping into scale shot since it forces a rest. I think this mon is massively underrated, underused, and should see more development.
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dragon Pulse
- Nasty Plot
- Earth Power
- Fire Blast
Ah, reliable Mega Chomp Z. Personally my favorite of the Z Megas, it's got everything you need. It's bulky, fast, it packs a punch, and it has great coverage options. You can swap it out for any other Z Mega if you want, I just think Chomp makes the most sense here.
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Water Shuriken/Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Wave
Is it just me, or is Battle Bond Gren just that much better thanks to the Z Megas and Mega Zera running around? With a single nasty plot, a rock and a spike, the only thing that can reliably stand up to Gren is AV mage. Incredibly good at it's job, fantastic mon.
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 116 HP / 136 Def / 172 SpA / 84 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk
- Iron Defense
- Draining Kiss
- Calm Mind
- Stored Power
This is the set players need to look out for, because in my opinion, iron defense makes it so much more of a threat than shift gear. A single iron defense makes it so Blaziken has no choice but to SD, and it's not living a stored power from 2 IDs. But y'all already know this set. Y'all already know this thing is unkillable once it gets going.
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Shadow Sneak
- Bitter Blade
- Swords Dance
- Poltergeist
I fear no man. But that thing...it scares me. Y'all already know the set. Y'all already know this thing breaks walls like tissue paper. Even when you take rocks, bitter blade helps reliably with longevity. Poltergeist is a stupid strong move. Weak armor is dumb in general.
Overall, this is the most reliable hyper offense team I've ever made before, and I look forward to when I can take this even higher. Pokepaste below
https://pokepast.es/30489595a408569c
I'm not feeling Dozo either, just not terribly sure where to go from here
Alright bro thank you for reminding us
What are the key sets you've been running? I've mostly just seen NP and Scarf on ghold, with the occasional Hex + T-Wave (that also isn't too good imo).
I have been running a Bootspam team and Ghold is surprisingly tough to pin down even if you have full layers. It can be played around via pivoting + luring it with Knock mons, but the best defensive check on these teams seems to be Hippowdon, which can struggle against +2 MIR. Darkrai is decent secondary check, but can struggle with Ghold's partners. And of course, Good as Gold blocking Magearna's Pain Split is a lame ass experience - though if I'm being honest, Pain Split has not felt as useful as I was expecting on Magearna in general.
When I'm using ghold tho there is a bit of a dichotomy. Spinblocking is a struggle (Exca EQ is too free of a click), I'm failing to revenge kill +1 Dragonite / Mega Chomp / etc. with Scarf, switching into Darkrai / Hoopa-U becomes a massive nightmare for my team (Ghold + Mag isn't bad combo, but I don't like worsening vulnerabilities to Excadrill / Ceruledge if I can help it) and unless I am running Trick Scarf, Ghold never feels like the right guy for handling Magearna. Maybe I gotta branch out in the sets I run, but I've been underwhelmed whenever I use it compared to other steels like Magearna and Exca.
I suggested it based on general design instincts like giving a Mega a clearer role and leaning into its sand theme. After seeing the meta context and comparisons laid out, I agree those assumptions don’t really hold for Mega Garchomp specifically, especially given sand’s low cost and how extreme the payoff would be. So I’m fine with dropping the idea.