As the first edition of 1v1 CL has concluded, feel free to show off the teams and sets that you used or have worked on for any tier. Some have already posted their team dumps in other threads, but for those late to the party like myself, let this thread serve as a record of what metas were at this time. We love metagame development!
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Tournament 1v1 Champions League I - Set/Team Dump
- Thread starter crucify
- Start date
As the first edition of 1v1 CL has concluded, feel free to show off the teams and sets that you used or have worked on for any tier. Some have already posted their team dumps in other threads, but for those late to the party like myself, let this thread serve as a record of what metas were at this time. We love metagame development!
i alr posted in metagame discussion but ill also post here since i also wannna post oldgen teams
sv: https://pokepast.es/54564deb593045c9
oras: https://pokepast.es/16d1fb6661a864cb
dpp: https://pokepast.es/f884546306fb9300
sv was a combined effort of me + ollierob
oras was a combined effort of me + whoever felt like helping me
dpp was a combined effort of me + jabiru if you see a team and you think wtf are those sets its likely jabs fault
these are the 3 main gens i built i also have a few teams scattered from all the other formats but thats like not alot so not worth posting those
btw some of these teams are just shamelessly stolen from other people
sv: https://pokepast.es/54564deb593045c9
oras: https://pokepast.es/16d1fb6661a864cb
dpp: https://pokepast.es/f884546306fb9300
sv was a combined effort of me + ollierob
oras was a combined effort of me + whoever felt like helping me
dpp was a combined effort of me + jabiru if you see a team and you think wtf are those sets its likely jabs fault
these are the 3 main gens i built i also have a few teams scattered from all the other formats but thats like not alot so not worth posting those
btw some of these teams are just shamelessly stolen from other people
I put an above-average amount of effort into every tier this tour so I'm gonna speak on all of them besides BW across 4 posts
SV
SV was in a weird spot this tour. Only 1 slot + the odd MG series made the metagame very warped to what ~6 people thought were good. From an experience as a spectator + player who went 1-1, whether SV is a good tier depends on what you like in a 1v1 gen. If you like gens that are not very centralized and where the top tiers can run a lot of different sets, SV is for you. I'm personally ambivalent at the moment and this no-custap meta needs more exploration before making a judgement.
This isn't the most proper place to write about Snorlax, but here is as good as any until another official discussion starts. Just as an exercise, look at the high usage mons from this tournament and compare Snorlax to Ursaluna matchups. My conclusion: I think the meta can handle Snorlax, but Snorlax will certainly be a very good mon, even if it doesn't have access to Custap.
Speaking of Custap, I subjectively think the Custap ban was a success. I felt there was a lot more freedom in the teambuilder to check the top tiers, and certain anti-Custap sets did not need to make an appearance (bye quick attack wellspring).
Here is a VR I made, take with a grain of salt - this is primarily as a spectator since I only built / played two series
Not ordered within tiers, Urshifus ranked together, and I didn't try very hard on B and below. All the mons A+ and above are just very good. Some things I'd like to comment on:
- Just really OP right now. Fancy and Myself used a lot of Spdef Booster, while DEG effectively used Def booster metal burst in finals. This mon is relatively low on usage compared to where it should be imo, I people might have just used less-good sets so they've not gotten as much use out of this mon as they should have.
- these mons are just preview and teambuilder demons, all three are quite hard to cover reliably and feel quite good to bring; Hoopa often times feels like the worst of the three to bring honestly, but is still a Scary mon and a massive gatekeepr in the builder.
- This mon gets hated on a lot since it's not the best fighting nor is it the best fairy. But it is still a good mon to Bring. Unless you are a Val spammer, your opponent is not going to have every mon teching Val in the teambuilder, even if a lot of mons can.
- Not doing a deep dive into usages, but these mons are quite trendy right now, so much so we saw a Sneasler click Fire Punch. We'll see how the meta adjusts to them, maybe we see more punches of fire. Florges being rough vs Val is unfortunate for it and good for Val.
- think these mons are pretty clearly trending down. I think Meta just struggles vs. too wide a range of threats right now -- darks, ghosts (though it can beat non-wisp spect/pult), fires, grounds. It can obviously do well vs some of these with like Scarf to catch some guys, or balloon for grounds but eh. Just wasn't putting up a very good performance. Sylveon has just had all its tools taken away -- no yawn, no custap WHAT CAN SHE DO!!!!! Kind of worse florges, but at least we can still run some CM Clear Amulet and be strong with Hyper Voice, which Florges can't. Sylveon can also run some Kebia Berry sets better idk.
Here is a set so I fulfill the Set and Team dump part of this. not gonna dump my full teams because of other's sets:
Good vs Urshifu!
SS
Before this tournament I hadn't played SS in tour for four whole years. Wild! I built the tier after that obviously, but it felt good to play again. Not gonna cap I mainly used Sets Comp sets with some different EVs and also shamelessly brought the Luser sample. I wouldn't ban Drago or GDarm or any other mon, nor would I unban anything. I think the tier is fine as is. but TBH I still think Custap should be banned in this tier, however, banning Custap is also a massive change for such an established metagame that so many people have investment in.
Not gonna do a VR (if anyone is really interested you can tag or DM me), but some comments on current meta:
- think you're doing something wrong if you're not using a ground or fairy on almost every team. just too strong OP. DFS reigns supreme even if there are Some punishes, though not many. (I didn't actually load any teams without one -- though I was planning on to I decided against it on the day)
- one such punish for DFS. just an OP mon and honestly might be my pick for best mon in the tier in 2026. I used to bring scarf more than other sets but I'm stall-pilled right now. Icy Wind and Reflect are both very effective and annoying on preview
- I believe this mon was being hyped up last PL, and for good reason tbh, it's quite nice.
- this mon is also just really good and really effective to bring
- surprised this mon is in B+ on the VR, I think it's a quite good Steel type right now, similarly to Ferrothorn.
- honestly wasn't very impressed with these mons this tournament. still obviously very strong but meh I didn't really find value / feel I had to bring them.
- bird used this mon very effectively. the kyurem I used was this:
- The sets comp set is like fast or something, I didn't care about that and cared about being good vs LandoT / Chomp (can get rolled by band chomp and loses to Ada, can go bulkier but I didn't care). this does lose to regieleki funnily enough.
- Gyarados can very specifically find good mus vs water fairy / ferro / dragon type teams. It's slightly fraudulent vs water fairies but we ball. I forgot what EQ is for, can run a water move idk. I had a lot of shit mons I was gonna bring vs Mishlef ngl but then the series mattered. O well.
Stay tuned for other gens / other tiers posts.
SV
SV was in a weird spot this tour. Only 1 slot + the odd MG series made the metagame very warped to what ~6 people thought were good. From an experience as a spectator + player who went 1-1, whether SV is a good tier depends on what you like in a 1v1 gen. If you like gens that are not very centralized and where the top tiers can run a lot of different sets, SV is for you. I'm personally ambivalent at the moment and this no-custap meta needs more exploration before making a judgement.
This isn't the most proper place to write about Snorlax, but here is as good as any until another official discussion starts. Just as an exercise, look at the high usage mons from this tournament and compare Snorlax to Ursaluna matchups. My conclusion: I think the meta can handle Snorlax, but Snorlax will certainly be a very good mon, even if it doesn't have access to Custap.
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon | Use | Usage % | Win % |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1 | Urshifu | 33 | 13.20% | 51.52% |
| 1 | Iron Valiant | 33 | 13.20% | 45.45% |
| 3 | Zapdos | 30 | 12.00% | 60.00% |
| 4 | Ursaluna | 23 | 9.20% | 52.17% |
| 5 | Spectrier | 22 | 8.80% | 63.64% |
| 5 | Hoopa-Unbound | 22 | 8.80% | 50.00% |
| 7 | Scizor | 20 | 8.00% | 50.00% |
| 8 | Roaring Moon | 19 | 7.60% | 42.11% |
| 9 | Goodra-Hisui | 18 | 7.20% | 55.56% |
| 9 | Garchomp | 18 | 7.20% | 33.33% |
| 11 | Great Tusk | 17 | 6.80% | 47.06% |
| 11 | Sylveon | 17 | 6.80% | 35.29% |
| 13 | Iron Crown | 16 | 6.40% | 62.50% |
| 13 | Dragapult | 16 | 6.40% | 31.25% |
| 13 | Metagross | 16 | 6.40% | 31.25% |
| 16 | Meowscarada | 15 | 6.00% | 66.67% |
| 16 | Basculegion | 15 | 6.00% | 46.67% |
| 18 | Donphan | 14 | 5.60% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Moltres-Galar | 14 | 5.60% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Iron Hands | 14 | 5.60% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Volcanion | 14 | 5.60% | 35.71% |
| 22 | Primarina | 13 | 5.20% | 61.54% |
| 22 | Iron Moth | 13 | 5.20% | 61.54% |
| 22 | Haxorus | 13 | 5.20% | 61.54% |
| 22 | Ogerpon-Wellspring | 13 | 5.20% | 38.46% |
| Rank | Pokemon | Use | Usage % | Win % |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1 | Urshifu | 33 | 13.20% | 51.52% |
| 1 | Iron Valiant | 33 | 13.20% | 45.45% |
| 3 | Zapdos | 30 | 12.00% | 60.00% |
| 4 | Ursaluna | 23 | 9.20% | 52.17% |
| 5 | Spectrier | 22 | 8.80% | 63.64% |
| 5 | Hoopa-Unbound | 22 | 8.80% | 50.00% |
| 7 | Scizor | 20 | 8.00% | 50.00% |
| 8 | Roaring Moon | 19 | 7.60% | 42.11% |
| 9 | Goodra-Hisui | 18 | 7.20% | 55.56% |
| 9 | Garchomp | 18 | 7.20% | 33.33% |
| 11 | Great Tusk | 17 | 6.80% | 47.06% |
| 11 | Sylveon | 17 | 6.80% | 35.29% |
| 13 | Iron Crown | 16 | 6.40% | 62.50% |
| 13 | Dragapult | 16 | 6.40% | 31.25% |
| 13 | Metagross | 16 | 6.40% | 31.25% |
| 16 | Meowscarada | 15 | 6.00% | 66.67% |
| 16 | Basculegion | 15 | 6.00% | 46.67% |
| 18 | Donphan | 14 | 5.60% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Moltres-Galar | 14 | 5.60% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Iron Hands | 14 | 5.60% | 50.00% |
| 18 | Volcanion | 14 | 5.60% | 35.71% |
| 22 | Primarina | 13 | 5.20% | 61.54% |
| 22 | Iron Moth | 13 | 5.20% | 61.54% |
| 22 | Haxorus | 13 | 5.20% | 61.54% |
| 22 | Ogerpon-Wellspring | 13 | 5.20% | 38.46% |
Here is a VR I made, take with a grain of salt - this is primarily as a spectator since I only built / played two series
- Just really OP right now. Fancy and Myself used a lot of Spdef Booster, while DEG effectively used Def booster metal burst in finals. This mon is relatively low on usage compared to where it should be imo, I people might have just used less-good sets so they've not gotten as much use out of this mon as they should have. - these mons are just preview and teambuilder demons, all three are quite hard to cover reliably and feel quite good to bring; Hoopa often times feels like the worst of the three to bring honestly, but is still a Scary mon and a massive gatekeepr in the builder. - This mon gets hated on a lot since it's not the best fighting nor is it the best fairy. But it is still a good mon to Bring. Unless you are a Val spammer, your opponent is not going to have every mon teching Val in the teambuilder, even if a lot of mons can. - Not doing a deep dive into usages, but these mons are quite trendy right now, so much so we saw a Sneasler click Fire Punch. We'll see how the meta adjusts to them, maybe we see more punches of fire. Florges being rough vs Val is unfortunate for it and good for Val. - think these mons are pretty clearly trending down. I think Meta just struggles vs. too wide a range of threats right now -- darks, ghosts (though it can beat non-wisp spect/pult), fires, grounds. It can obviously do well vs some of these with like Scarf to catch some guys, or balloon for grounds but eh. Just wasn't putting up a very good performance. Sylveon has just had all its tools taken away -- no yawn, no custap WHAT CAN SHE DO!!!!! Kind of worse florges, but at least we can still run some CM Clear Amulet and be strong with Hyper Voice, which Florges can't. Sylveon can also run some Kebia Berry sets better idk.Here is a set so I fulfill the Set and Team dump part of this. not gonna dump my full teams because of other's sets:
Good vs Urshifu!Manaphy @ Life Orb
Ability: Hydration
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 60 HP / 68 Def / 128 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Alluring Voice
- Tail Glow
- Charm
Ability: Hydration
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 60 HP / 68 Def / 128 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Alluring Voice
- Tail Glow
- Charm
SS
Before this tournament I hadn't played SS in tour for four whole years. Wild! I built the tier after that obviously, but it felt good to play again. Not gonna cap I mainly used Sets Comp sets with some different EVs and also shamelessly brought the Luser sample. I wouldn't ban Drago or GDarm or any other mon, nor would I unban anything. I think the tier is fine as is. but TBH I still think Custap should be banned in this tier, however, banning Custap is also a massive change for such an established metagame that so many people have investment in.
Not gonna do a VR (if anyone is really interested you can tag or DM me), but some comments on current meta:
- think you're doing something wrong if you're not using a ground or fairy on almost every team. just too strong OP. DFS reigns supreme even if there are Some punishes, though not many. (I didn't actually load any teams without one -- though I was planning on to I decided against it on the day) - one such punish for DFS. just an OP mon and honestly might be my pick for best mon in the tier in 2026. I used to bring scarf more than other sets but I'm stall-pilled right now. Icy Wind and Reflect are both very effective and annoying on preview - I believe this mon was being hyped up last PL, and for good reason tbh, it's quite nice. - this mon is also just really good and really effective to bring - surprised this mon is in B+ on the VR, I think it's a quite good Steel type right now, similarly to Ferrothorn. - honestly wasn't very impressed with these mons this tournament. still obviously very strong but meh I didn't really find value / feel I had to bring them. - bird used this mon very effectively. the kyurem I used was this:Kyurem @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 56 HP / 48 Atk / 164 Def / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Dragon Dance
- Substitute
- Protect
I got victimized because I wasn't max speed since I wanted better Zera odds so I lost to specs fini when I could have won! Anyway this is my version of a set tears used in the past. PP stalls stuff
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 56 HP / 48 Atk / 164 Def / 240 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Icicle Spear
- Dragon Dance
- Substitute
- Protect
I got victimized because I wasn't max speed since I wanted better Zera odds so I lost to specs fini when I could have won! Anyway this is my version of a set tears used in the past. PP stalls stuff
- The sets comp set is like fast or something, I didn't care about that and cared about being good vs LandoT / Chomp (can get rolled by band chomp and loses to Ada, can go bulkier but I didn't care). this does lose to regieleki funnily enough.Blissey (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Uproar
- Flamethrower
- Charge Beam
- Ice Beam
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Uproar
- Flamethrower
- Charge Beam
- Ice Beam
- Gyarados can very specifically find good mus vs water fairy / ferro / dragon type teams. It's slightly fraudulent vs water fairies but we ball. I forgot what EQ is for, can run a water move idk. I had a lot of shit mons I was gonna bring vs Mishlef ngl but then the series mattered. O well.Gyarados @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 80 SpD / 8 Spe
Brave Nature
- Avalanche
- Power Whip
- Earthquake
- Flamethrower
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 80 SpD / 8 Spe
Brave Nature
- Avalanche
- Power Whip
- Earthquake
- Flamethrower
https://pokepast.es/474e55d805bdbb6c
sm is fun but a lot of these teams suck
sm is fun but a lot of these teams suck
Ok, here are all the teams I built in SM/SS. I can make a lot more teams in a short time, so no gatekeeping needed. Some SS teams are taken from the Rhyps, but most of the teams are mine.
SM- https://pokepast.es/76cebfae6382cf6e
SS- https://pokepast.es/b53e692636f97cab
All the new SM sets I have EVs for will be in the Setscomp.
SM- https://pokepast.es/76cebfae6382cf6e
SS- https://pokepast.es/b53e692636f97cab
All the new SM sets I have EVs for will be in the Setscomp.
I will post here my favorite sets that I brought this 1v1CL. Most sets were kind of standard.
I had other Pokemon that had Ice coverage, so I preferred to run Payback sometimes.
Conkeldurr @ Fighting Gem
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 188 HP / 84 Atk / 236 SpD
Careful Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Mach Punch
- Rock Slide
- Payback
Attack EVs to kill Charti-less Volcarona. If I had to change something, I'd put more EVs in Attack.
Abomasnow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 56 Atk / 224 SpA / 228 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Blizzard
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
I like Machamp.
Machamp @ Custap Berry
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Stone Edge
- Endure
- Ice Punch
HP Rock to hit Volcarona. Alternatively I like HyperBeam too.
Magnezone @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Endure
Some sets I didn't bring:
Slowbro @ Mail
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Iron Defense
- Slack Off
- Psyshock
Sawk @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Bulldoze
Manaphy @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Return
- Natural Gift
- Substitute
I had other Pokemon that had Ice coverage, so I preferred to run Payback sometimes.
Conkeldurr @ Fighting Gem
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 188 HP / 84 Atk / 236 SpD
Careful Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Mach Punch
- Rock Slide
- Payback
Attack EVs to kill Charti-less Volcarona. If I had to change something, I'd put more EVs in Attack.
Abomasnow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 56 Atk / 224 SpA / 228 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Blizzard
- Wood Hammer
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
I like Machamp.
Machamp @ Custap Berry
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Dynamic Punch
- Stone Edge
- Endure
- Ice Punch
HP Rock to hit Volcarona. Alternatively I like HyperBeam too.
Magnezone @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power [Rock]
- Endure
Some sets I didn't bring:
Slowbro @ Mail
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 248 HP / 168 Def / 92 SpD
Bold Nature
- Calm Mind
- Iron Defense
- Slack Off
- Psyshock
Sawk @ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Fire Punch
- Ice Punch
- Bulldoze
Manaphy @ Liechi Berry
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Waterfall
- Return
- Natural Gift
- Substitute
ND
This is a video of me yapping about ND for 1h40! I forgot to mention Custap Berry in ND in the video, but I would support it being suspected just off principle -- the tier has enough abusers to where Custap can cause unhealthy dynamics within the tier.
Final VR + Link: https://tiermaker.com/create/nationaldex1v1-march26-17218214
Team Dump: https://pokepast.es/6882624bed248c18
UU
For UU my team went 6-0 vs TGK but otherwise struggled, so for this I'm gonna post some funny sets as opposed to my usual full VR. I think an issue with VRs for this tier is it actually just didn't have a lot of games played. But I do think UU was a fun and good tier and hope to see it in future tournaments. EDIT: Let's leave custap unbanned so funny sets can still exist!
- one of the elephants of the room which wasn't on the VR at the start of the tournament. Probably S tier tbh.
- This is the set I was using, good vs Zapg / Kyurem / Rilla / Harc / Dozo etc (my player misplayed the dozo mu but maybe it's still a L idk). Tect -> Lumina is the line most of the time, with the idea of living a hit then dropping their spdef, then sub tecting + proccing petaya to get stored power BP up.
- Click encore t1 vs ZapG! Both have to setguess kyurem (encore on WP reflect, attack on specs) but all good. Other sets are low key better but these are funny which is more important.
- Where is power whip indeed. Low Kick low key does Nothing. Good vs non BU WP Zapg and Kyurem and other type advantages aIDK
- as with many UU tiers (and tiers with PZ in them), random AV mons find value.
- My version of sub tox glisc. We brought it a few times but it never got picked. Speed for modest kyurem. Attempts to PP stall things or Toxic stall things. Bulldoze helps vs various mons like Raik and Entei.
- Pretty standard set, EV'd for specs zone. EQ for mirror coat zone.
- Random electrics are nice. I saw some people using charge Regieleki which is cool. ThundT is also strong.
This is a video of me yapping about ND for 1h40! I forgot to mention Custap Berry in ND in the video, but I would support it being suspected just off principle -- the tier has enough abusers to where Custap can cause unhealthy dynamics within the tier.
Team Dump: https://pokepast.es/6882624bed248c18
UU
For UU my team went 6-0 vs TGK but otherwise struggled, so for this I'm gonna post some funny sets as opposed to my usual full VR. I think an issue with VRs for this tier is it actually just didn't have a lot of games played. But I do think UU was a fun and good tier and hope to see it in future tournaments. EDIT: Let's leave custap unbanned so funny sets can still exist!
- one of the elephants of the room which wasn't on the VR at the start of the tournament. Probably S tier tbh.Iron Treads @ Booster Energy
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Substitute
Def booster is nice for the mirror and stuff. Generally good vs physical attackers. Probably can be optimized for a special benchmark
Iron Treads @ Choice Band
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head / Heavy Slam
- Ice Spinner
- Megahorn / Supercell Slam
Just Max Max band. I was running Iron Head for flinch odds + Heavy Slam does not very much to kyurem. Has a lot of options for moves.
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Substitute
Def booster is nice for the mirror and stuff. Generally good vs physical attackers. Probably can be optimized for a special benchmark
Iron Treads @ Choice Band
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head / Heavy Slam
- Ice Spinner
- Megahorn / Supercell Slam
Just Max Max band. I was running Iron Head for flinch odds + Heavy Slam does not very much to kyurem. Has a lot of options for moves.
- This is the set I was using, good vs Zapg / Kyurem / Rilla / Harc / Dozo etc (my player misplayed the dozo mu but maybe it's still a L idk). Tect -> Lumina is the line most of the time, with the idea of living a hit then dropping their spdef, then sub tecting + proccing petaya to get stored power BP up.Espathra @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Speed Boost
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 36 SpA / 40 SpD / 40 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lumina Crash
- Stored Power
- Substitute
- Protect
Ability: Speed Boost
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 36 SpA / 40 SpD / 40 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lumina Crash
- Stored Power
- Substitute
- Protect
- Click encore t1 vs ZapG! Both have to setguess kyurem (encore on WP reflect, attack on specs) but all good. Other sets are low key better but these are funny which is more important.Azumarill @ Custap Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Atk / 4 Def
Impish Nature
- Play Rough
- Liquidation
- Encore
- Endure
Tinkaton (F) @ Custap Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 224 HP / 160 Atk / 108 Def / 16 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Play Rough
- Gigaton Hammer
- Encore / Swords Dance / Bulldoze
- Endure
Ability: Huge Power
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Atk / 4 Def
Impish Nature
- Play Rough
- Liquidation
- Encore
- Endure
Tinkaton (F) @ Custap Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 224 HP / 160 Atk / 108 Def / 16 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Play Rough
- Gigaton Hammer
- Encore / Swords Dance / Bulldoze
- Endure
- Where is power whip indeed. Low Kick low key does Nothing. Good vs non BU WP Zapg and Kyurem and other type advantages aIDKGrimmsnarl (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 224 Def / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Crunch
- Low Kick
- Trick
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 HP / 16 Atk / 224 Def / 16 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Play Rough
- Crunch
- Low Kick
- Trick
- as with many UU tiers (and tiers with PZ in them), random AV mons find value.Ogerpon (F) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ivy Cudgel
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Doesn't really need different EV's. Good vs Specs Kyurem but loses to other sets. U Turn is helpful for Zarude.
Slither Wing @ Assault Vest
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Atk / 120 SpD
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Leech Life
- Close Combat
- Flame Charge
I actually don't remember what the Spdef is for. But it's kinda good vs Grasses and Special Attackers in General.
Basculegion @ Assault Vest
Ability: Adaptability
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Wave Crash
- Phantom Force
- Aqua Jet
- Night Shade
I think the Def is for CB treads supercell slam, but SV Basc is also decent in this tier. EVs are probably suboptimal (no, I do not use the optimizer).
Tauros-Paldea-Aqua (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Wave Crash
- Aqua Jet
- Trailblaze
Low key fire. Hits surprisingly hard.
Zapdos-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 200 Atk / 56 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Thunderous Kick
- Brave Bird
- Knock Off
If a sample set is needed for AV Zapg, this is what I was using -- think it's for non blizzard Kyurem with max speed for the mirror.
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ivy Cudgel
- Superpower
- Knock Off
- U-turn
Doesn't really need different EV's. Good vs Specs Kyurem but loses to other sets. U Turn is helpful for Zarude.
Slither Wing @ Assault Vest
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Atk / 120 SpD
Adamant Nature
- First Impression
- Leech Life
- Close Combat
- Flame Charge
I actually don't remember what the Spdef is for. But it's kinda good vs Grasses and Special Attackers in General.
Basculegion @ Assault Vest
Ability: Adaptability
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 Atk / 200 Def / 56 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Wave Crash
- Phantom Force
- Aqua Jet
- Night Shade
I think the Def is for CB treads supercell slam, but SV Basc is also decent in this tier. EVs are probably suboptimal (no, I do not use the optimizer).
Tauros-Paldea-Aqua (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 236 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Wave Crash
- Aqua Jet
- Trailblaze
Low key fire. Hits surprisingly hard.
Zapdos-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 200 Atk / 56 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Thunderous Kick
- Brave Bird
- Knock Off
If a sample set is needed for AV Zapg, this is what I was using -- think it's for non blizzard Kyurem with max speed for the mirror.
- My version of sub tox glisc. We brought it a few times but it never got picked. Speed for modest kyurem. Attempts to PP stall things or Toxic stall things. Bulldoze helps vs various mons like Raik and Entei.Gliscor @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 76 SpD / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bulldoze
- Toxic
- Protect
- Substitute
Ability: Poison Heal
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 76 SpD / 152 Spe
Timid Nature
- Bulldoze
- Toxic
- Protect
- Substitute
- Pretty standard set, EV'd for specs zone. EQ for mirror coat zone.Venusaur @ Custap Berry
Ability: Overgrow
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 224 HP / 188 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Frenzy Plant
- Sludge Bomb
- Earthquake
- Endure
Ability: Overgrow
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 224 HP / 188 SpA / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
- Frenzy Plant
- Sludge Bomb
- Earthquake
- Endure
- Random electrics are nice. I saw some people using charge Regieleki which is cool. ThundT is also strong.Sandy Shocks @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Thunderbolt / Thunder
- Charge
- Protect
Brought this Week 1. Shocks has a pretty nice typing. Charge secures MoltG and protect secures manaphy.
Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 192 HP / 64 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Protect
Does raikou things with optimal HP for subs.
Thundurus (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
Good speed tier + move pool. Worth experimenting with further, physical sets also have potential.
Vikavolt @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 HP / 24 Def / 232 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Bug Buzz
- Flash Cannon
- Energy Ball
Funny typing!
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Earth Power
- Thunderbolt / Thunder
- Charge
- Protect
Brought this Week 1. Shocks has a pretty nice typing. Charge secures MoltG and protect secures manaphy.
Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 192 HP / 64 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Calm Mind
- Substitute
- Protect
Does raikou things with optimal HP for subs.
Thundurus (M) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
Good speed tier + move pool. Worth experimenting with further, physical sets also have potential.
Vikavolt @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 252 HP / 24 Def / 232 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Bug Buzz
- Flash Cannon
- Energy Ball
Funny typing!
all of the teams below are ones that I built for me/kala
if there is a team you see in a replay that isn't here I didn't build it
https://pokepast.es/a701ad523f211f2e sm teams
I tried to make them anti metagross vs the #1 metagross glazer somewhat happy with the teams especially as a sm noob but I'm definitely still in the first part of the dunning kruger effect.
https://pokepast.es/89594e50862173cb ss teams
building was semi fun for like 2 weeks and was actually somewhat doable compared to my earlier teams. I think these teams are fine barring the ones where I had to use a unviable fire type for lists. Im just glad I didn't have to do 3 weeks of ss because I was lowkey getting burnt out...
https://pokepast.es/628c0e6b608df9fc sv teams
I build teams. I wasn't very invested in sv. As a result these teams kinda suck but s/o mold for helping me build for 2 bo7 slots on the last week
https://pokepast.es/de62329a35579698 Ideas I had
these are just kinda funny I feel like banded skarm might be better than banded corv idk the cuno set is old and run agility on your iron crowns or something
I was going through my edgy rillaboom phase this tour and it really shows. That mon is good and beats everything but gets terrible lists when you actually try and put it on a team in sv somehow. in terms of building fun it went ss week 1 > sm > ss week 2 > sv probably a result of building for a fresh meta. might make a vr post for sv
if there is a team you see in a replay that isn't here I didn't build it
https://pokepast.es/a701ad523f211f2e sm teams
I tried to make them anti metagross vs the #1 metagross glazer somewhat happy with the teams especially as a sm noob but I'm definitely still in the first part of the dunning kruger effect.
https://pokepast.es/89594e50862173cb ss teams
building was semi fun for like 2 weeks and was actually somewhat doable compared to my earlier teams. I think these teams are fine barring the ones where I had to use a unviable fire type for lists. Im just glad I didn't have to do 3 weeks of ss because I was lowkey getting burnt out...
https://pokepast.es/628c0e6b608df9fc sv teams
I build teams. I wasn't very invested in sv. As a result these teams kinda suck but s/o mold for helping me build for 2 bo7 slots on the last week
https://pokepast.es/de62329a35579698 Ideas I had
these are just kinda funny I feel like banded skarm might be better than banded corv idk the cuno set is old and run agility on your iron crowns or something
I was going through my edgy rillaboom phase this tour and it really shows. That mon is good and beats everything but gets terrible lists when you actually try and put it on a team in sv somehow. in terms of building fun it went ss week 1 > sm > ss week 2 > sv probably a result of building for a fresh meta. might make a vr post for sv
Reposting the teams i built for natdex here
https://pokepast.es/646df4964d13d1df
nothing much to add since my last post except to reflect on my prematurely made assertion that i had a better record than logice before the tour even ended LOL
https://pokepast.es/646df4964d13d1df
nothing much to add since my last post except to reflect on my prematurely made assertion that i had a better record than logice before the tour even ended LOL
https://pokepast.es/685d3f3f87d70f8c
not too much interesting but figured might as well post. this is everything i built for cl, anything else i loaded was either reused or passed midseries. vr post soontm where i'll explain some stuff and drop thoughts
not too much interesting but figured might as well post. this is everything i built for cl, anything else i loaded was either reused or passed midseries. vr post soontm where i'll explain some stuff and drop thoughts
https://pokepast.es/4c9106691133dd92
uu dump ignore the bottom half those r just ideas i had but never got them into teams there are a few good ones and a few mid ones wisp blazi is prolly my fav hf using these ^-^
o also
s/o Felucia for daily dump of ideas and making sure i didnt go insane
happysh for being my best mate throughout tours as usual
Kochu_shak for those tests goat
and Valteyek and Concept for yapping with me about sets nd mons nd actively participating with both building nd playin it was super fun
also all the others gogoats was a gud run
uu dump ignore the bottom half those r just ideas i had but never got them into teams there are a few good ones and a few mid ones wisp blazi is prolly my fav hf using these ^-^
o also
s/o Felucia for daily dump of ideas and making sure i didnt go insane
happysh for being my best mate throughout tours as usual
Kochu_shak for those tests goat
and Valteyek and Concept for yapping with me about sets nd mons nd actively participating with both building nd playin it was super fun
also all the others gogoats was a gud run
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As a 1v1 player, i've been itching do one of these ever since i first saw the tour scene, it's pretty much a big thing for me (I know I sound like a child lol). Well, here's my CL BW Team Dump, some of these teams have been unused in sets either due to me loading other teams instead of the ones i prepped or the set ending before the 5th game, since I usually prepare in full for a set each week.
Team Dump: https://pokepast.es/cfc7da75da3f1155
Shoutouts to:
Felucia for drafting me this tournament, (bear with me it's a long list of things) trusting my skillset in BW this entire tour, being a shiny beacon of joy and inspiration for me the entire span of CL, assisting me in building teams, suggesting core ideas, providing me mentorship and guidance after each game, and especially after some of my losses, and giving invaluable advice at my lowest points. I cannot express in words on how much I appreciate your presence this CL and I doubt I would have enjoyed this tour as much as I did without you. You will always be the greatest manager in my heart.
Ever since I met them while assisting the Horrors back in PL 9, they are an amazing role model to me and a great person, and the person with the most positive vibes day in and day out.
Kochu_shak and A Hero's Destiny for their support and the test games they provided, those games were crucial in helping me understand the various matchups of each team i built, so I could do my best with them in the real games.
torterraxx for their support during building my teams, helping me understand how each core works and helping me understand how the teambuilding process works in detail.
ZackPalace for their building support and assistance in the semis stages of the CL.
and shoutouts to the rest of the Gogoats as well, the journey this CL with y'all was an amazing one and hoping to see y'all again in future tours!
Team Dump: https://pokepast.es/cfc7da75da3f1155
Shoutouts to:
Felucia for drafting me this tournament, (bear with me it's a long list of things) trusting my skillset in BW this entire tour, being a shiny beacon of joy and inspiration for me the entire span of CL, assisting me in building teams, suggesting core ideas, providing me mentorship and guidance after each game, and especially after some of my losses, and giving invaluable advice at my lowest points. I cannot express in words on how much I appreciate your presence this CL and I doubt I would have enjoyed this tour as much as I did without you. You will always be the greatest manager in my heart.
Ever since I met them while assisting the Horrors back in PL 9, they are an amazing role model to me and a great person, and the person with the most positive vibes day in and day out.Kochu_shak and A Hero's Destiny for their support and the test games they provided, those games were crucial in helping me understand the various matchups of each team i built, so I could do my best with them in the real games.
torterraxx for their support during building my teams, helping me understand how each core works and helping me understand how the teambuilding process works in detail.
ZackPalace for their building support and assistance in the semis stages of the CL.
and shoutouts to the rest of the Gogoats as well, the journey this CL with y'all was an amazing one and hoping to see y'all again in future tours!
SM
I didn't set build in this tier so I'm just gonna talk about VR and Venusaur / Sleep Powder. VR not ordered in tiers
ORAS
My team struggled in ORAS this tour but we went 2-0 in playoffs! I lost though, and went 0-3 in ORAS WTF (I got outpicked like every game. happens). I don't think my VR is significantly different from what I posted in 1v1 old gens post USA vs World, so I will post some sets.
BW
Not gonna spend a ton of time on BW. bello figo did do very well with my advice but I didn't build any teams for him, just made suggestions and edits (tbf sometimes heavy edits, there was some crazy stuff he posted ngl). shoutout to bello figo for the incredible tournament.
in my series I packwatched my opponent then got packwatched! happens. I will say I wish I brought Spdef Haxorus again when I saw my opponent was bringing Meloetta every game lol. I had it on my Game 1 team Hax / Gene / Mana, Spdef is notable for hyper beam Zapdos since I wasn't scarf Gene. Instead of Scarf, I was this set which is in no way new, but is funny:
DPP
I actually liked DPP quite a bit in this tournament, even if the mechanics are terrible and Cress is oppressive. Manageable, yes, but oppressive. I would like to see a suspect on it but idk who cares about DPP 1v1 in 2026 (#RIP Euphonos) outside of playing it in this tournament / classic. I did build some DPP teams, but similarly to bello figo, Danny built the vast majority of his teams and just took my edits / suggestions. Shoutout to him. Here's my VR though:
ADV
The same as in BW and DPP, after like week 2 pengu was basically building all his own stuff and I was just editing / making suggestions. shoutout to him for having a good showing in his first team tour and becoming pretty self sufficient! here's my VR since the ADV VR is extremely outdated like wtf? not sure how hot my takes are but my VR is pretty diff from the current official one. If a mon currently on the VR is not on here, that is 100% intentional and the mon should be unranked:
-fin
I didn't set build in this tier so I'm just gonna talk about VR and Venusaur / Sleep Powder. VR not ordered in tiers
S 
- undeniably the best mons in the tier. All very, very OP right now. Interestingly, I saw more Charizard-Mega-Xs sub in this tour than I ever have in the past -- undeniably Venusaur influence, first sub is good vs Venu, second sub is good vs other Zard. I think Sleep Venu kind of forced Zard and/or Meta structures so it's understandable these developments occurred. I think Dragonite was less comfortable in this tour than in other tours because of the Metagross / Venusaur usage but is still an extremely strong and valuable mon to bring. If I had to rank the mons, I'd say ZardX > Metagross > Dragonite > ZardY. Metagross was too OP this tour and could run anything.
S-
is just really strong and techable mon. WP, Fairium, and Balloon all found value for me in the builder. It's uncomfortable vs a lot of the Venu structures running around though.
was a mon my team (Giddeyghouls) got a lot of value out of. The sets we used, whether they were revealed or not: +Speed Z-Celebrate, Band, Scarf (with psychic for Charm Venu -- we used this in ORAS as well), Psychium Z (Zen Headbutt and Light Screen can both be clicked. Good vs water fairies (besides ID Fini) and Venusaur (run speed for it then nuke with Z-Zen Headbutt). Loved the mon this tournament, great alternative to Charizard.
I am addressing in a post in 1v1 old gens thread.
A+
is undeniably a really good mon but tbh I was just preferring other stuff. I never tried out the iapapa ID set. Maybe I would think higher of this mon if I used it.
I think is low key borderline A rank, I really did not enjoy it this tour even if it's undeniably really good. I think the structures Venu forced this tour just made Garde way more uncomfortable than it ever has been.
I was using a lot of the set Mishlef posted, super bulky with ice beam. Good set.
the mixup between offensive and stall is nice. Stall I think is the superior set and can be very effective.
scarf is chodes but torrent is really good atm and it can always be band or specs.
not really a hot take anymore but Z-screens serp is incredibly strong and feels really good to use, even in the fire / venu infested meta we currently have. Z-screens losing to laser focus meta is kind of annoying but we can always just be sub seed!
has an interesting place in the meta right now. valuable vs Venu / fire / steel type stuff, but is still vulnerable to a lot of the fast special attackers running around. though we can always run spdef groundium with confide for those guys
A - From here on I'm not gonna comment on every mon.
enjoyed running leech seed quite a bit. Metagross running tpunch a bit less is good for it, and even tpunch can lose. having an advantage vs dnite / meta teams is valuable.
I was just not very impressed by this mon in this tier this tournament. recent meta changes have just not favored meloetta. I think specs might be the most valuable set to bring because you can uproar vs sub zard and stuff.
I used to have this mon in like S- but this is again a mon where meta trends have hurt it. Like yeah man lemme bring Bulky PZ and brick into meta / venu / zardy / dnite / other steels. We can run fun sets like Spdef and Z Conversion to Ice though.
is definitely the best mon in this tier, but it's just not a mon I use very much, I don't like the structures it finds itself on and I struggle to beat semi stall guys / venu when I use it.
A-
another alternative fire type I really liked. Grassium is a cool innovation, having a good mu vs zera / steels / fairies (including water fairies) is quite nice.
rockium is just too good, but other sets like groundium, normalium, and even stall deserve some time in the spotlight. I used stall crustle to give myself a Venu counter so I could run bulky CB vict (on the Vict / Crustle / Prim team I brought vs Mishlef W5).
growl is fun.
I think the SM togekiss users just died but this mon is still good, even if it loses to venu.
B+
man why would I use this when we are living in meta / venu / fire type meta. it can have an advantage vs gear teams, but so can
, which are nice right now because of the advantage they have vs meta / dnite / other steels. registeel also notably is good vs Venu.
is borderline A-/A rank. I think when I was building with Kyurem I was overthinking things, but there was some heat (Blaziken / Magearna / Kyurem was one of my fav teams I built this tournament). Maybe in another timeline I found more success building and using Kyurem and I rank it higher. Icium and Scarf do good things.
I'm his #1 defender. It sucks that all Zards are fast sub right now, but being a 100% venu counter and being good vs a lot of random guys is nice.
man this mon losing to Venu is so troll but it still always shows up at the wrong time and wins SM series vs me.
I just am not a slowbro user but it's good, especially with no BDrum zards these days.
B - the water types and Nihilego are my favorite mons in this tier.
I much prefer over bringing a slowbro or swampert.
is just a mon i've always had a lot of success with. I still like running Rockium Z even if the Venu mu is not the best anymore.
@ specs hp ice for zygarde does good things. Pretty good at getting 2-1s.
I don't feel like talking about any lower rank mons, they are varying degrees of bad. Gigalith, Blacephalon, Raikou, Sawk (fightinium z, anti magearna), type null, shaymin, weavile are the most usable. I also considered bringing Camerupt but decided against it. Beating fires + steels can't be bad!
- undeniably the best mons in the tier. All very, very OP right now. Interestingly, I saw more Charizard-Mega-Xs sub in this tour than I ever have in the past -- undeniably Venusaur influence, first sub is good vs Venu, second sub is good vs other Zard. I think Sleep Venu kind of forced Zard and/or Meta structures so it's understandable these developments occurred. I think Dragonite was less comfortable in this tour than in other tours because of the Metagross / Venusaur usage but is still an extremely strong and valuable mon to bring. If I had to rank the mons, I'd say ZardX > Metagross > Dragonite > ZardY. Metagross was too OP this tour and could run anything.S-
is just really strong and techable mon. WP, Fairium, and Balloon all found value for me in the builder. It's uncomfortable vs a lot of the Venu structures running around though.was a mon my team (Giddeyghouls) got a lot of value out of. The sets we used, whether they were revealed or not: +Speed Z-Celebrate, Band, Scarf (with psychic for Charm Venu -- we used this in ORAS as well), Psychium Z (Zen Headbutt and Light Screen can both be clicked. Good vs water fairies (besides ID Fini) and Venusaur (run speed for it then nuke with Z-Zen Headbutt). Loved the mon this tournament, great alternative to Charizard. I am addressing in a post in 1v1 old gens thread.A+
is undeniably a really good mon but tbh I was just preferring other stuff. I never tried out the iapapa ID set. Maybe I would think higher of this mon if I used it.I think is low key borderline A rank, I really did not enjoy it this tour even if it's undeniably really good. I think the structures Venu forced this tour just made Garde way more uncomfortable than it ever has been.I was using a lot of the set Mishlef posted, super bulky with ice beam. Good set.the mixup between offensive and stall is nice. Stall I think is the superior set and can be very effective.scarf is chodes but torrent is really good atm and it can always be band or specs.not really a hot take anymore but Z-screens serp is incredibly strong and feels really good to use, even in the fire / venu infested meta we currently have. Z-screens losing to laser focus meta is kind of annoying but we can always just be sub seed!has an interesting place in the meta right now. valuable vs Venu / fire / steel type stuff, but is still vulnerable to a lot of the fast special attackers running around. though we can always run spdef groundium with confide for those guysA - From here on I'm not gonna comment on every mon.
enjoyed running leech seed quite a bit. Metagross running tpunch a bit less is good for it, and even tpunch can lose. having an advantage vs dnite / meta teams is valuable.I was just not very impressed by this mon in this tier this tournament. recent meta changes have just not favored meloetta. I think specs might be the most valuable set to bring because you can uproar vs sub zard and stuff.I used to have this mon in like S- but this is again a mon where meta trends have hurt it. Like yeah man lemme bring Bulky PZ and brick into meta / venu / zardy / dnite / other steels. We can run fun sets like Spdef and Z Conversion to Ice though.is definitely the best mon in this tier, but it's just not a mon I use very much, I don't like the structures it finds itself on and I struggle to beat semi stall guys / venu when I use it.A-
another alternative fire type I really liked. Grassium is a cool innovation, having a good mu vs zera / steels / fairies (including water fairies) is quite nice.rockium is just too good, but other sets like groundium, normalium, and even stall deserve some time in the spotlight. I used stall crustle to give myself a Venu counter so I could run bulky CB vict (on the Vict / Crustle / Prim team I brought vs Mishlef W5).growl is fun.I think the SM togekiss users just died but this mon is still good, even if it loses to venu.B+
man why would I use this when we are living in meta / venu / fire type meta. it can have an advantage vs gear teams, but so can, which are nice right now because of the advantage they have vs meta / dnite / other steels. registeel also notably is good vs Venu.is borderline A-/A rank. I think when I was building with Kyurem I was overthinking things, but there was some heat (Blaziken / Magearna / Kyurem was one of my fav teams I built this tournament). Maybe in another timeline I found more success building and using Kyurem and I rank it higher. Icium and Scarf do good things.I'm his #1 defender. It sucks that all Zards are fast sub right now, but being a 100% venu counter and being good vs a lot of random guys is nice.man this mon losing to Venu is so troll but it still always shows up at the wrong time and wins SM series vs me.I just am not a slowbro user but it's good, especially with no BDrum zards these days.B - the water types and Nihilego are my favorite mons in this tier.
I much prefer over bringing a slowbro or swampert.is just a mon i've always had a lot of success with. I still like running Rockium Z even if the Venu mu is not the best anymore. @ specs hp ice for zygarde does good things. Pretty good at getting 2-1s.I don't feel like talking about any lower rank mons, they are varying degrees of bad. Gigalith, Blacephalon, Raikou, Sawk (fightinium z, anti magearna), type null, shaymin, weavile are the most usable. I also considered bringing Camerupt but decided against it. Beating fires + steels can't be bad!
ORAS
My team struggled in ORAS this tour but we went 2-0 in playoffs! I lost though, and went 0-3 in ORAS WTF (I got outpicked like every game. happens). I don't think my VR is significantly different from what I posted in 1v1 old gens post USA vs World, so I will post some sets.
Altaria-Mega @ Altarianite
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 248 HP / 68 Def / 28 SpA / 68 SpD / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Uproar
- Toxic
- Cotton Guard
- Roost
So a problem my independent building style has is I genuinely forget what my sets are for because I don't post calcs places. But for this set the Spa secures the Manaphy mu or something. 220 speed has to be useless. The Pdef and Spdef I'm clueless on.
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 248 HP / 68 Def / 28 SpA / 68 SpD / 96 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Uproar
- Toxic
- Cotton Guard
- Roost
So a problem my independent building style has is I genuinely forget what my sets are for because I don't post calcs places. But for this set the Spa secures the Manaphy mu or something. 220 speed has to be useless. The Pdef and Spdef I'm clueless on.
Volcarona @ Petaya Berry
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 40 HP / 180 SpA / 140 SpD / 148 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Bug Buzz
- Substitute
- Quiver Dance
Idk if this is good but I imported the BW anti-Mana set into ORAS. Not sure if this loses anything compared to a max max petaya set
Ability: Swarm
EVs: 40 HP / 180 SpA / 140 SpD / 148 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Overheat
- Bug Buzz
- Substitute
- Quiver Dance
Idk if this is good but I imported the BW anti-Mana set into ORAS. Not sure if this loses anything compared to a max max petaya set
Victini @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- Psychic
- U-turn
Victini @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 140 Def / 164 SpA / 8 SpD / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blue Flare
- Glaciate
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Will-O-Wisp
Two sets here. First: scarf with psychic for Venu is nice. You can also randomly setguess counter gar, and click it vs Blaziken if u want. I also put U turn on this for Hoopa since I thought trick isn't very useful; u-turn does slightly more just in case hoopa is ev'd for 252+ v-create!
Second: to show mega camerupt bringers who is in charge. mwahaha. also beats dnite (ignoring WP, which you can technically wisp), which was a commonly used mon this tournament (8 spdef for 252+ specs Draco). if u face scarf chomp just FF man.
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Lonely Nature
- V-create
- Bolt Strike
- Psychic
- U-turn
Victini @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 140 Def / 164 SpA / 8 SpD / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Blue Flare
- Glaciate
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Will-O-Wisp
Two sets here. First: scarf with psychic for Venu is nice. You can also randomly setguess counter gar, and click it vs Blaziken if u want. I also put U turn on this for Hoopa since I thought trick isn't very useful; u-turn does slightly more just in case hoopa is ev'd for 252+ v-create!
Second: to show mega camerupt bringers who is in charge. mwahaha. also beats dnite (ignoring WP, which you can technically wisp), which was a commonly used mon this tournament (8 spdef for 252+ specs Draco). if u face scarf chomp just FF man.
Entei @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 136 HP / 120 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Calm Mind
- Protect
- Substitute
does things I swear!
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 136 HP / 120 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Lava Plume
- Calm Mind
- Protect
- Substitute
does things I swear!
BW
Not gonna spend a ton of time on BW. bello figo did do very well with my advice but I didn't build any teams for him, just made suggestions and edits (tbf sometimes heavy edits, there was some crazy stuff he posted ngl). shoutout to bello figo for the incredible tournament.
in my series I packwatched my opponent then got packwatched! happens. I will say I wish I brought Spdef Haxorus again when I saw my opponent was bringing Meloetta every game lol. I had it on my Game 1 team Hax / Gene / Mana, Spdef is notable for hyper beam Zapdos since I wasn't scarf Gene. Instead of Scarf, I was this set which is in no way new, but is funny:
Genesect @ Occa Berry
Ability: Download
EVs: 56 HP / 132 Atk / 136 SpD / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Giga Impact
- X-Scissor
- Flame Charge
- Screech
Loses a bunch of mus (most notably Haxorus lol) but it's good vs Lax -- if they drum in your face it just is what it is. It's also good vs PZ (which is what the speed is for, modest scarf HP fire PZ) and beats Raikou / ThundT. It can technically beat Tornadus because it lives (non-specs) Heat Wave -- you can giga impact T1 on their tect, then Flame Charge on their Sub, then win some 50/50s from there. Very much not in your favor though.
Ability: Download
EVs: 56 HP / 132 Atk / 136 SpD / 184 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Giga Impact
- X-Scissor
- Flame Charge
- Screech
Loses a bunch of mus (most notably Haxorus lol) but it's good vs Lax -- if they drum in your face it just is what it is. It's also good vs PZ (which is what the speed is for, modest scarf HP fire PZ) and beats Raikou / ThundT. It can technically beat Tornadus because it lives (non-specs) Heat Wave -- you can giga impact T1 on their tect, then Flame Charge on their Sub, then win some 50/50s from there. Very much not in your favor though.
DPP
I actually liked DPP quite a bit in this tournament, even if the mechanics are terrible and Cress is oppressive. Manageable, yes, but oppressive. I would like to see a suspect on it but idk who cares about DPP 1v1 in 2026 (#RIP Euphonos) outside of playing it in this tournament / classic. I did build some DPP teams, but similarly to bello figo, Danny built the vast majority of his teams and just took my edits / suggestions. Shoutout to him. Here's my VR though:
S / S- - These are the best mons in the tier, not in order. I go back and forth on whether Cress or TTar is the best mon in the tier. Cress is a tad one dimensional because Scarf / Stall are underwhelming, but Specs with unpredictable coverage moves is a pain. For TTar we used a lot of Custap and I think it is it's best set right now. Raikou vs. Zapdos is an interesting debate but I think they are about even power lever. Sub Tect sets are really good on both of them, recommend. For Suicune, mirror coat is super annoying, whether it is on Wacan, Sub Tect, or as a random move on specs
A+
- If disable had 100% accuracy I think this mon would be S or at least S-. Can be very hard to reliably deal with, but can struggle with not ko'ing what it wants to. Dragon Fang is a decent option on DD (helps vs everything), but Sitrust Disable is probably best. Haban Rain Dance is really good because it helps vs. a lot of the random Dragon Pulses that try and beat Kingdra (from arc, heatran, etc).
- I'm a believer in this mon after this tournament. The combination of speed tier + being just bulky enough is really good, although Taunt TTar can harass it. Coba Berry is a solid option for Zapdos.
- set diversity is the name of the game for celebi; scarf, colbur, occa. random nasty plot, psychic vs grass knot. very customizable, and hp bug isn't a thing in this tier like it is in ADV
A
- I think in practice this has one good set, which is Yache DD, but Yache DD is just really good.
- I liked this mon less in this tour than I have in the past. Scarf EQ losing to Raikou was a pretty cursed game. I think Resist Berry (occa) or CB sets are best, but Mash accuracy is painful in the Cress mu.
- we must beat the electric types somehow and if you don't want to use ttar then rhyp is an option. Rindo / Custap / Band are all reasonable.
- insert heracross vs clefable gif here
- I think of this mon like I think of Greninja in SM. It can only really beat like 3-4 pokemon at a time and even then it can get teched by random Occa or Chople. However, it can theoretically beat any mon in the tier. The two apes my team considered using were Anti-Cune (passho NP Grass Knot encore etc) and Choice Band. Anti Cress (Payapa NP encore etc) might be the most Solid set though
- typing is too valuable. I made this Custap set because I didn't like the Comp set / Set in the Euphonos doc. EQ for Raik, think the Def is for CB ttar.
A- - not talking about every mon from here on
- I think heatran is slightly better than the other fire types basically because HP Ground Cress is rare (unless you spam heatran, then you will face it for sure) and chople better is effective. you can run specs with Dragon Pulse / HP Electric but then you will guaranteed fight Haban Kingdra / Wacan Gyara
- similar line to heatran -- no Cress MU but it's better vs Dragonite / Gyara (can EV for waterfall and run HP elec), and doesn't require chople to beat some fighting guys.
- man this is a victim mon in this tier and I've always thought so, but it's undeniably pretty good and it helps that it's one of the best ttar answers. I would definitely not rank it higher because a lot of meta trends hurt it, such as the uptick of grass types like scept.
- another very customizable mon with berries -- chople, custap, even wacan agility is possible in theory (thought about it but didn't make a set). recommend experimenting with it
- with Wacan DD it's actually pretty hard to answer without running an electric type. But it wishes it was better vs TTar and has some 4mss
B+
- just wouldn't run this over the other fires tbh. it could honestly be the same rank as Arc / Heatran but that tier kinda bloated rn
- zong is pretty cringe but like a bringable type of cringe, like Sableye-Mega in ORAS. I recommend Heatproof staff, but increased Sceptile @ Seismic Toss usage hurts it
- Rotom Cut is best and you hope u don't face cune that lives or rindo gastro / pert
- this mon could honestly be higher, I just think it relies a bit too much on Custap / unclear lines
B
- i think i've genuinely never considered this mon
- after seeing youan bring it I looked into it and it has pretty passable mus in the current meta. would rather use this than most of the rest of the B rank.
- think this mon is underutilized right now, perhaps because of fear of custap berry, especially on TTar. but theoretically this mon should be used more because it generally beats zap, beats grasses, kingdra, hera (run pluck for custap. ngl i haven't tested that interaction but I'm pretty sure it works).
- so far below venu because custap frenzy is kind of a big deal for Venu. rose is a reasonable mon to load though
B- - loadable shitmon tier
- I mean it's kind of similar to Staraptor but it doesn't beat grasses so it sucks
- custap kapow
- band aqua tail kapow. i was also theorizing a belly drum custap set for cress. it's not super good though it does get encore in this gen.
- based poliwrath
- let's shock wave gyarados and hidden power ice dragonite! it is nice that it wins vs those regardless of their resist berry, this could honestly be B rank
- a grass type but it's chungus
- basically no reason to use this, idk what its niche is over other fightings but u can bring it for fun
- let's click fake tears then proc petaya and hit thunder!
- I like this mon. let's click sub endeavor!
C+ - semi-unloadable shitmon tier, while C is unloadable shitmon tier
- custap kapow
- saw some unholy yanmega sets get posted
- let's beat cress!
- im out on this mon after the semis game with cune vs gastro. pretty tragic for gastro
A+
- If disable had 100% accuracy I think this mon would be S or at least S-. Can be very hard to reliably deal with, but can struggle with not ko'ing what it wants to. Dragon Fang is a decent option on DD (helps vs everything), but Sitrust Disable is probably best. Haban Rain Dance is really good because it helps vs. a lot of the random Dragon Pulses that try and beat Kingdra (from arc, heatran, etc). - I'm a believer in this mon after this tournament. The combination of speed tier + being just bulky enough is really good, although Taunt TTar can harass it. Coba Berry is a solid option for Zapdos. - set diversity is the name of the game for celebi; scarf, colbur, occa. random nasty plot, psychic vs grass knot. very customizable, and hp bug isn't a thing in this tier like it is in ADVA
- I think in practice this has one good set, which is Yache DD, but Yache DD is just really good. - I liked this mon less in this tour than I have in the past. Scarf EQ losing to Raikou was a pretty cursed game. I think Resist Berry (occa) or CB sets are best, but Mash accuracy is painful in the Cress mu. - we must beat the electric types somehow and if you don't want to use ttar then rhyp is an option. Rindo / Custap / Band are all reasonable. - insert heracross vs clefable gif here - I think of this mon like I think of Greninja in SM. It can only really beat like 3-4 pokemon at a time and even then it can get teched by random Occa or Chople. However, it can theoretically beat any mon in the tier. The two apes my team considered using were Anti-Cune (passho NP Grass Knot encore etc) and Choice Band. Anti Cress (Payapa NP encore etc) might be the most Solid set though - typing is too valuable. I made this Custap set because I didn't like the Comp set / Set in the Euphonos doc. EQ for Raik, think the Def is for CB ttar.Venusaur @ Custap Berry
Ability: Overgrow
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 212 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Frenzy Plant
- Sludge Bomb
- Earthquake / Grass Knot
- Endure
Ability: Overgrow
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 212 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Frenzy Plant
- Sludge Bomb
- Earthquake / Grass Knot
- Endure
- I think heatran is slightly better than the other fire types basically because HP Ground Cress is rare (unless you spam heatran, then you will face it for sure) and chople better is effective. you can run specs with Dragon Pulse / HP Electric but then you will guaranteed fight Haban Kingdra / Wacan Gyara - similar line to heatran -- no Cress MU but it's better vs Dragonite / Gyara (can EV for waterfall and run HP elec), and doesn't require chople to beat some fighting guys. - man this is a victim mon in this tier and I've always thought so, but it's undeniably pretty good and it helps that it's one of the best ttar answers. I would definitely not rank it higher because a lot of meta trends hurt it, such as the uptick of grass types like scept. - another very customizable mon with berries -- chople, custap, even wacan agility is possible in theory (thought about it but didn't make a set). recommend experimenting with it - with Wacan DD it's actually pretty hard to answer without running an electric type. But it wishes it was better vs TTar and has some 4mssB+
- just wouldn't run this over the other fires tbh. it could honestly be the same rank as Arc / Heatran but that tier kinda bloated rn - zong is pretty cringe but like a bringable type of cringe, like Sableye-Mega in ORAS. I recommend Heatproof staff, but increased Sceptile @ Seismic Toss usage hurts it - Rotom Cut is best and you hope u don't face cune that lives or rindo gastro / pert - this mon could honestly be higher, I just think it relies a bit too much on Custap / unclear linesB
- i think i've genuinely never considered this mon - after seeing youan bring it I looked into it and it has pretty passable mus in the current meta. would rather use this than most of the rest of the B rank. - think this mon is underutilized right now, perhaps because of fear of custap berry, especially on TTar. but theoretically this mon should be used more because it generally beats zap, beats grasses, kingdra, hera (run pluck for custap. ngl i haven't tested that interaction but I'm pretty sure it works). - so far below venu because custap frenzy is kind of a big deal for Venu. rose is a reasonable mon to load thoughB- - loadable shitmon tier
- I mean it's kind of similar to Staraptor but it doesn't beat grasses so it sucks - custap kapow - band aqua tail kapow. i was also theorizing a belly drum custap set for cress. it's not super good though it does get encore in this gen. - based poliwrath - let's shock wave gyarados and hidden power ice dragonite! it is nice that it wins vs those regardless of their resist berry, this could honestly be B rank - a grass type but it's chungus - basically no reason to use this, idk what its niche is over other fightings but u can bring it for fun - let's click fake tears then proc petaya and hit thunder! - I like this mon. let's click sub endeavor!C+ - semi-unloadable shitmon tier, while C is unloadable shitmon tier
- custap kapow - saw some unholy yanmega sets get posted - let's beat cress! - im out on this mon after the semis game with cune vs gastro. pretty tragic for gastroADV
The same as in BW and DPP, after like week 2 pengu was basically building all his own stuff and I was just editing / making suggestions. shoutout to him for having a good showing in his first team tour and becoming pretty self sufficient! here's my VR since the ADV VR is extremely outdated like wtf? not sure how hot my takes are but my VR is pretty diff from the current official one. If a mon currently on the VR is not on here, that is 100% intentional and the mon should be unranked:
S - obviously the best two mons in the tier.
- we were running Thunder a lot, embracing the RNG of the tier. Thunder helps for rolls vs a bunch of stuff on both Petaya and Scope Lens, and Para chance is also fun.
- I'll briefly post in 1v1 old gens thread about this mon, but it's really good. Here's a set variation:
S- - Vaporeon is only a step below Raikou / Tauros and is better than what is below it. Really good mon that is a 2-1 machine, even if it can be crit bait. Has subtle set variety too, can justify running high special attack on it (to ohko Tangela).
A+ - this is a Lot of A+ mons but I actually think all of these are similar in power level to each other but bring different things to the table
- good vs Raikou, CB tauros, fightings, sceptile (petaya is dead), etc. feels quite good to click with. i like liechi berry
- you just kind of bring choice band and beat stuff with coverage moves (sludge bomb, dynamic punch, eq). I used endure salac rock slide a few times and liked it, nice vs raik and better odds vs tauros than band. borderline A rank mon though
- i can see the argument for S- arcanine but I don't think it's vaporeon tier. the standard hp ice agility set is really good -- positive mus vs steels, dragons (minus kingdra), grasses, fightings, and a playable mu vs raik / tauros. i also liked Howl HP Fighting (for bliss)
- just really annoying, I think this mon is borderline S-. In fact it was S- a few metas ago? the prevalence of fire types hurt scep, but the prevelance of raik / tauros and mons that beat both (e.g. regirock) help it.
- it's just blissey man, people in CL weren't respecting it as much as they should.
- best raik counter. i think of it as a customizable no-nonsense mon -- good vs random substitutes, good coverage with hidden power, has counter, can boost with SD.
- this is kind of an old deddd take, but spdef sd salac just wipes out a lot of lower ranked mons. borderline A rank though like metagross
A - not gonna talk about every mon from here
- liked this mon a lot, but sometimes just wasn't as strong as I would have liked since it requires a decent amount of spdef to have a decent raik mu
- feel like there's less mons packing random hp grass right now. I think band is best, but curse rest is okay to try and beat raik + tauros
- had a huge uptick in usage for good reason -- being good vs mence meta fires raik tauros is good. I found it has 4mss though. in finals I dropped rest because I said they won't bring toxic tauros XD.
- not entirely sure why this is B- on the VR right now. It has a lot of similar mus to Salamence and it is more effective at running a mixed / special set.
A-
- think this mon was underutilized this tournament. Struggles vs some top tiers Encore + high Spa + coverage is valuable vs the rest of the meta.:
- man I get that charcoal agility beats Tauros but this mon is not all that. it's a good fire but that's all, charizard does sub petaya better
- speaking of charizard, I'm still using the anti-raik set from 4 years ago and it wins games!
- I like bulky CB, an alternative salamence that has a good mu vs salamence because you can run ice beam, and u beat arcanine unless they are random hp electric because you spam gyarados
- just not as good as sceptile even though you can tech some stuff. it has a few notable mus like beating metagross and being good vs opposing sceptile, and you can also run some CM set and do stuff idk
- I think it has good tech potential with mixed sets, stuff like magnet (XD). i think mixed sets are the best for sure though. not having the spdef boost makes this mon limited. borderline B+.
- ignoring what people have been saying about the champ vs tauros mu, i think encore is just really valuable
B+
- man this mon just is too weak and loses every crit war but it has some decent mus
- I like counter. This is the set we were using idk how optimal it is
- water good vs waters is good
- let's run splash!
- let's counter vs metagross!
B - these mons are all chodes. Registeel is only viable with ID + Counter unironically. Cradily is a better stall option unironically.
B- - these mons are also all chodes. Ursaring has had a significant fall from grace from when it first started being explored. it's like an alternative Tauros with SD but it's just not super good
C - I mean ngl idt dusclops is C tier, but as soon as you try to beat more than you can, you start losing all mus. kind of similar to registeel in that sense. Steelix beats raikou and tauros poggers! Scyther is a like objectively worse than other flyings but you can still bring it for the funny
- we were running Thunder a lot, embracing the RNG of the tier. Thunder helps for rolls vs a bunch of stuff on both Petaya and Scope Lens, and Para chance is also fun. - I'll briefly post in 1v1 old gens thread about this mon, but it's really good. Here's a set variation:Tauros @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 208 HP / 244 Atk / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hyper Beam
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Flamethrower / Hidden Power [Ghost]
Says screw spdef benchmarks and return for sub tect mons in favor of bonking stuff with Double-Edge. notable for frail vaporeons in particular. near max attack hyper beam also rolls a lot that would otherwise live a weaker CB tauros. retains the HP for the Metagross MU.
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 208 HP / 244 Atk / 56 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Hyper Beam
- Double-Edge
- Earthquake
- Flamethrower / Hidden Power [Ghost]
Says screw spdef benchmarks and return for sub tect mons in favor of bonking stuff with Double-Edge. notable for frail vaporeons in particular. near max attack hyper beam also rolls a lot that would otherwise live a weaker CB tauros. retains the HP for the Metagross MU.
S- - Vaporeon is only a step below Raikou / Tauros and is better than what is below it. Really good mon that is a 2-1 machine, even if it can be crit bait. Has subtle set variety too, can justify running high special attack on it (to ohko Tangela).
A+ - this is a Lot of A+ mons but I actually think all of these are similar in power level to each other but bring different things to the table
- good vs Raikou, CB tauros, fightings, sceptile (petaya is dead), etc. feels quite good to click with. i like liechi berry - you just kind of bring choice band and beat stuff with coverage moves (sludge bomb, dynamic punch, eq). I used endure salac rock slide a few times and liked it, nice vs raik and better odds vs tauros than band. borderline A rank mon though - i can see the argument for S- arcanine but I don't think it's vaporeon tier. the standard hp ice agility set is really good -- positive mus vs steels, dragons (minus kingdra), grasses, fightings, and a playable mu vs raik / tauros. i also liked Howl HP Fighting (for bliss) - just really annoying, I think this mon is borderline S-. In fact it was S- a few metas ago? the prevalence of fire types hurt scep, but the prevelance of raik / tauros and mons that beat both (e.g. regirock) help it. - it's just blissey man, people in CL weren't respecting it as much as they should. - best raik counter. i think of it as a customizable no-nonsense mon -- good vs random substitutes, good coverage with hidden power, has counter, can boost with SD. - this is kind of an old deddd take, but spdef sd salac just wipes out a lot of lower ranked mons. borderline A rank though like metagrossA - not gonna talk about every mon from here
- liked this mon a lot, but sometimes just wasn't as strong as I would have liked since it requires a decent amount of spdef to have a decent raik mu - feel like there's less mons packing random hp grass right now. I think band is best, but curse rest is okay to try and beat raik + tauros - had a huge uptick in usage for good reason -- being good vs mence meta fires raik tauros is good. I found it has 4mss though. in finals I dropped rest because I said they won't bring toxic tauros XD. - not entirely sure why this is B- on the VR right now. It has a lot of similar mus to Salamence and it is more effective at running a mixed / special set.A-
- think this mon was underutilized this tournament. Struggles vs some top tiers Encore + high Spa + coverage is valuable vs the rest of the meta.: - man I get that charcoal agility beats Tauros but this mon is not all that. it's a good fire but that's all, charizard does sub petaya better - speaking of charizard, I'm still using the anti-raik set from 4 years ago and it wins games! - I like bulky CB, an alternative salamence that has a good mu vs salamence because you can run ice beam, and u beat arcanine unless they are random hp electric because you spam gyarados - just not as good as sceptile even though you can tech some stuff. it has a few notable mus like beating metagross and being good vs opposing sceptile, and you can also run some CM set and do stuff idk - I think it has good tech potential with mixed sets, stuff like magnet (XD). i think mixed sets are the best for sure though. not having the spdef boost makes this mon limited. borderline B+. - ignoring what people have been saying about the champ vs tauros mu, i think encore is just really valuableB+
- man this mon just is too weak and loses every crit war but it has some decent mus - I like counter. This is the set we were using idk how optimal it isGengar @ Magnet
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 88 HP / 248 Def / 164 SpA / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Ice Punch
- Thunderbolt
- Counter
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 88 HP / 248 Def / 164 SpA / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Giga Drain
- Ice Punch
- Thunderbolt
- Counter
- water good vs waters is good - let's run splash! - let's counter vs metagross!B - these mons are all chodes. Registeel is only viable with ID + Counter unironically. Cradily is a better stall option unironically.
B- - these mons are also all chodes. Ursaring has had a significant fall from grace from when it first started being explored. it's like an alternative Tauros with SD but it's just not super good
C - I mean ngl idt dusclops is C tier, but as soon as you try to beat more than you can, you start losing all mus. kind of similar to registeel in that sense. Steelix beats raikou and tauros poggers! Scyther is a like objectively worse than other flyings but you can still bring it for the funny
-fin