Pokémon Legends: Z-A Team Discussion

[SadisticMystic]

Since Skarmory isn't available until late, that slot was used for rotating ad-hoc filler beforehand, often making up for things like Kirlia's thorough fragility or Litleo's having to stay unevolved all the way until 35.

Once everyone got going, Meganium and Gardevoir did most of the rogue mega fights, with their self-contained healing.

 

[SwampySwampert]

Just finished the game. I rotated out some team members, but my final team ended up being: (naming theme was just random people names)
I let myself use items for the Rogue Mega boss fights but not against trainers. Even with having six Pokemon that could all Mega Evolve, this still ended up being one of the hardest main-series games I've ever played.

Final Team

Bailey the Meganium w/ Meganiumite
- Energy Ball
- Rock Smash
- Leaf Blade
- Synthesis

The team tank. I never ended up making use of the secondary Fairy typing, but it was used for a lot of the Rogue Mega fights for having Synthesis for self-healing and being really bulky.

Charlie the Charizard w/ Charizardite Y
- Fire Blast
- Air Slash
- Dragon Rush
- Will-o-Wisp

Charizard was my main bludgeon for dealing with the Z-A Royale trainers, as it hit very hard and could churn through a lot of the challenge cards. It also ended up being a pretty solid Dragon-type counter with Dragon Rush.

Mary the Ampharos w/ Ampharosite
- Thunder
- Flash Cannon
- Power Gem
- Thunder Wave

I boxed Ampharos for a chunk of the run after the early game and then brought it back underleveled so it didn't get as much use as it should have, but it did come in clutch by paralyzing Grisham's terrifying Charizard to allow Tyranitar to finish it with Stone Edge.

Annabeth the Gengar w/ Gengarite
- Shadow Ball
- Dark Pulse
- Icy Wind
- Sludge Wave

Caught in that one Rust Syndicate sidequest, Gengar put in work throughout the last half of the run. It was nice to be able to use one since I normally don't have access to trading.

Gwendolyn the Tyranitar w/ Tyranitarite
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
- Crunch

The last member to join the team, it took Tyranitar a while to catch up with the rest of the squad in terms of levels but Gwendolyn proved herself in the final gauntlet.

Bois the Heracross w/ Heracronite
- Megahorn
- Aerial Ace
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance

The in-game trade Heracross can singlehandedly lay waste to a good chunk of the early game and ended up being my "ace" so to speak. This thing is absolutely incredible.

I also had a Krookodile for a chunk of the game and a Dragalge for a little bit.

 

[Count Bleck]

Searo the (Hero!) Emboar
Spooki-Onna the Froslass (play Cassette Beasts)
Jericho the Camerupt
Pudica the Victreebel
Ecclesia the Gardevoir
Senju the Barbaracle (wait i just realized I have 3 yugioh references...)

So my final team wasnt quite what I aimed for, but had similar types in the end. I was using Electric types like Ampharos and Manectric earlier on, but I ended up switching towards Froslass to handle the huge ground type weakness my team ended up having. Barbaracle came from an Alpha I encountered along the way, as did Camerupt. And honestly? Ground/Fire coverage carried me HARD in the game. Like no joke, Camerupt is very powerful, has pretty equal attacking stats, and its mega is found very early. Victreebel came around because it was taking too long to evolve my Budew, and turned out I couldnt find venusaurite till much later, so Pudica became my grass poison answer. Barbaracle has a very early Rock Blast and a good assortment of moves to help plug other holes in my team. Overall, happy how it turned out, though by time I got Froslass it turns out the game is very hostile to her. be wary of dragons with steel coverage in the late game!

 

[Mex]

For me, I played through this game functionally blind and picked out whatever felt appealing. Which ended with me using primarily old megas because I hadn't really used most of those before and why not

The Team

(Mega) Feraligatr
Couldn't just abandon the starter, figured they'd all get Megas considering the whole thing of the game we're playing, though XY proves that theory wrong I suppose. Pretty good all around mon with Liquidation, Earthquake, Ice Beam and Breaking Swipe as my final moveset for the story, switching Ice Beam for Aqua Jet for easier grinding postgame.

(Mega) Ampharos
I, surprisingly enough, haven't actually used an Ampharos since a random playthrough of HGSS many years ago, so I figured with it being available so early and having a Mega i've never gotten to use despite it being one of about 7 megas you can actually get during XY's story. The combination of Charge + Electric Move went hard the entire game, to my surprise, with me never dropping the move even after getting myself a stronger electric move than Thunder Shock. Final moveset for the story was Charge, Thunderbolt, Breaking Swipe and Power Gem, replacing Power Gem and Breaking Swipe for Focus Blast and Flash Cannon postgame

(Mega) Gardevoir
I knew this thing was probably gonna be a powerhouse. I was right. Normally when I use the Ralts line in games, it's because Gallade is among my favorite Pokemon and I want to use it, but I figured the Mystery Gift Ralts with the Gardevoirite was a good idea. The mon did not feel good until it evolved into Gardevoir, but once it did holy shit, it wrecked things. Final moveset was Moonblast, Psychic, Psyshock and Mystical Fire

Arbok
Seeing prerelease trailers was basically my sole source of info on this game prior to playing it, and I remembered Corbeau being shown alongside Arbok quite a bit in prerelease material, leading to me coming to the assumption that Mega Arbok would be a thing he used. I was wrong, but despite that, I quite enjoyed using it anyway. While not having a Mega, it held up surprisingly well. Final story moveset was Gunk Shot, Glare, Leech Life and Crunch, with Ice Fang replacing Crunch postgame after i got rid of Ice Beam on Feraligatr.

(Mega) Venusaur
Venusaur is the Kanto Starter I've probably used the least, with me using a Blastoise in the VC run of Red when it was released there, and Mega Charizard Y being a mainstay on my extremely fire heavy original playthrough team of Y. So I figured now was the perfect opportunity to utilise the one I'd ignored for the longest, especially since surely it's Mega Stone would be reasonably available during the main story and not locked behind the second to last set of Rogue Megas you could fight while both Charizards and Blastoise are just in the stone shop, right?

Right?

Man.
Despite this setback, Venusaur was key to a lot of boss battle wins due to the power of the Giga Drain TM the game gives you comically early in the reward structure, with it being the key to both the story final boss and the final final boss wins, though not alone in that second case. Final Moveset was Growth, Giga Drain, Power Whip and Sludge Wave, and while I feel like I could probably have used a coverage move on it, the raw power of Power Whip proves very nice at points, while Giga Drain is a must include realistically

(Mega) Absol
The Mega Lucario of this game, the tutorial mega given to teach you how the mechanic works properly, though you do get to use a Mega Lucario to fight it in the first place before it just never appears again. I wonder what happened to it...

Anyway, Absol was kinda a last second addition to the team in a slot i'd mostly been using for a Bunnelby that knew Rock Smash, with the XY Rival using one, I felt a little conflicted on it, but the mega never actually showed up until the infinite rematches you got in Kiloude City, and you don't often get a great opportunity to use an Absol in a game, with most of them showing up pretty late into the story. Anyway, I don't regret the choice, Absol is cool and it helped quite a bit in a few fights. Final moveset ended up being Night Slash, Rock Slide, Aerial Ace and Swords Dance

Planning a second team to actually utilise some of the new additions the game made, as well as just because I really enjoyed the story of the game and I want to go through it a second time honestly

Planned Second Team

Except for the starter, "I've never used this" is a theme among the mons i'm using here.

(Mega) Meganium
After Venusaur's success, I figure giving the other Grass Starter you get from someone a chance is probably a decent idea. I actually used this in my most recent HGSS playthrough due to getting a shiny, and it performed a lot better than i'd expected, so I wanna give it another chance

(Mega) Scolipede
This is my favorite new Mega. I love the lil guy.

(Mega) Aggron
I've wanted to use this in a playthrough for a long time, but have been repeatedly procrastinating playthroughs of ORAS to try to actually use it. It's available reasonably enough in this game and Mega Aggron is a mon i have some nostalgia for thanks to the TCG

(Mega) Chandelure
The Litwick phase being pretty miserable has put me off trying out Chandelure in the past. Hopefully that isn't as much of a turn off this time around

(Mega) Scrafty
Not having a fighting type proved something of an issue in my first playthrough, and while I love Falinks, I've used it in SV very recently so I'm gonna go with this guy.

(Mega) Dragalge
Honestly it just seems neat. Don't really have to say more than that.

 

[Noah3475]

I beat the game this past weekend.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A Campaign Team

Sylveon (F) LV.65
Ability: - Item: Leftovers
Moves: Light Screen, Reflect, Taunt, Moonblast

Falinks (-) LV.66
Ability: - Item: Falinksite
Moves: Swords Dance, Close Combat, Poison Jab, No Retreat

Chandelure (F) LV.69
Ability: - Item: Chandelurite
Moves: Fire Spin, Shadow Ball, Heat Wave, Will-O-Wisp

Meowstic (F) LV.69
Ability: - Item: Life Orb
Moves: Thunderbolt, Psychic, Calm Mind, Dark Pulse

Gogoat (M) LV.70
Ability: - Item: Big Root
Moves: Leech Seed, Earthquake, Bulk Up, Horn Leech

Feraligatr (M) LV.73
Ability: - Item: Feraligite
Moves: Screech, Outrage, Ice Fang, Liquidation

 

[RocketSurgery]

View attachment 779012

I've beaten the main story now, and went with my planned team, though I didn't end up trying to shiny hunt anything because there are no outbreaks, and by the time bench spamming was known my Banette was already pretty high level. The actual order went Emboar, Sylveon, Banette, Clawitzer, Falinks, and Drampa.

Sylveon was MVP of the team. Its +Moonblast singlehandedly dealt with several dragon rogues and also finished off the mega standing between me and rank A.

Mega Banette also got to shine in taking down the final boss. I used it thinking its gunk shot would be super effective, but I guess probably anything could have worked.

Mega Drampa unfortunately didn't get to do much, being such a late game spawn. Drampa itself got a few KOs, but there wasn't as much opportunity to mega evolve it. Hopefully it gets to do a bit more in the post-game royale grind to get eternal floette, which I plan to use on my DLC team.

 

[LHF]

So my two cents on my first team:

Team, semi plot spoilers, and gameplay notes

I went into the game knowing without a shadow of a doubt that I was going to use Victreebel and Starmie, which basically left Emboar as my default choice for a starter to round out a FWG core(I didn't mind - I rarely get to play with Tepig). Those three and Dragonite were the only ones I was deadset on, but I was disappointed to realize how late into the game Mega Starmie was. Dnite I didn't mind playing with as base form either, mainly because I actually really like the entire Dragonite line and think Dragonair is very cool. I'm disappointed to say that by the time I actually got the stones, I realized how much I disliked the idea of switching Starmie to physical based on the fact that you have to build up a mega meter in this game and that I would be working off a base 75 attack until I was ready to mega. However, I don't regret using Starmie at all, even if I came close to cutting it for Barbaracle. It's the second time I've used one in a play through and I enjoy it as much as I ever have.

You may be wondering what ended up happening with slots 5 and 6. I had originally intended on using Clefable and Dragalge, mainly because Dragalge was the main reason I picked Y over X in the start. However, I simply couldn't resist the chance to add Charizard to my team when we got pulled over for the sidequest, and since I had a Emboar Zard Y felt like a natural complement. When I wanted to get mega stones and do the quick Greninja megastone grind, I ended up seeing the option to revive an Old Amber and grabbed an Aerodactyl too.

I really didn't expect them both to become mainstays on my team, especially when you look at the crippling electric type weakness I have. I had a moment's doubt where I wanted to add Excadrill over Aero, but I simply couldn't abandon the Aero after it had contributed so much to my team. I really loved him. I think it's funny that two out of my six were the megas that you could obtain pre-credits in XY, but they were two of my most valuable members without a doubt.

I'm using a second team of Froslass, Dragalge, Skarm, Clef, Barbaracle and Scrafty to complete the remainder of the side quests that I didn't do during the main story for fear I'd be over leveled. I ended up finishing the game at 63-66 level wise.

Given how this game rewards mega usage, I might be trying my hand at a no megas play through sometime in the near distant future(I still want to go back to Pokemon Y after 100%ing ZA, see if my opinions change on it after having gotten the Kalos sequel). For that, I'm thinking of Arbok, Machamp, Furfrou, Krookodile, Vanilluxe and one of the elemental monkeys(probably Simipour, looking at my team and knowing I need a real fire answer).

 

[Mex]

Okay, i've officially finished my second playthrough of ZA, and so I figured a write up of my thoughts on the second team was in order

There will be spoilers for certain parts of the post-game involved here, I've marked those with Inline Spoilers so if you haven't completed that, you can avoid it. I also tried to be somewhat vague whenever possible to avoid having to do this

Team #2

all 6 of these guys Mega Evolved, so just take that into account, also I went through and nicknamed all of these. There is a theme, though I wouldn't be surprised if nobody got it

Banda the Meganium

I said before I wanted to give Meganium a second chance, in a game that doesn't front load itself with everything Chikorita struggles to handle, and it did quite well. Early game it was my strongest team member, to no real surprise, mid game it did well for itself with lv16 Giga Drain being something pretty insane to a mon, that's a move you keep all the way to endgame. In the endgame, it wasn't my most used mon, the middling offense stats certainly started to hurt when you get that late, but the Mega's fairy type is certainly huge and this thing full on soloed the true final boss. It's seriously the hard counter to that. Final Moveset was Leaf Blade, Giga Drain, Body Slam and Dazzling Gleam

Shadow the Scolipede

This guy was my mid-game carry. Lv30 to fully evolve is great, and the coverage spread is surprisingly solid with Rollout, Pin Missile and (eventually) Poison Jab all proving fairly useful through the mid game. The Venipede stage was a little rough, but it didn't last all that long and once it hit Whirlipede it was basically extremely good all the way to maybe Griselle's fight. It didn't see a ton of use in the absolute final battles but I tried to get it in against at least one mon for every endgame boss, though the final boss and true final boss it didn't see the battlefield for. Final Moveset was Megahorn, Rock Slide, Gunk Shot and Iron Tail

Rika the Scrafty
No, no association with the SV Elite Four member.

Anyway, Scrafty has a rough start. While you can catch it earlier than the sewers thanks to one being on the rooftops in the Bleu District, Scraggy suffers from this thing where, unless you find the Brick Break TM (which took me a bit because I forgot where it was and didn't realise it'd be this bad starting out), it's moveset kinda sucks starting off, with Headbutt and 10 cooldown Power-Up Punch being it's only real offensive moves because Rock Tomb is god awful in this game. It misses a stationary target about half the time. Once you get past that rough early phase and evolve it though, Scrafty is definitely solid, becoming a mon I used quite often in the endgame just for the fact that its moveset was so solid by then. Again, she didn't see use for the final or true final bosses, but as I did for Scolipede, I tried to use her for one mon in each major fight whenever I could. Final Moveset was Brick Break, Ice Punch, Head Smash and Crunch

Touko the Chandelure

First thing to get out of the way, these next 3 mons all come pretty late, with Litwick and the next member both not being available until you get to the sewers. It also still comes as a Litwick, which is a rough start given that Litwick's stats are uh, pretty atrocious to start out, as well as the fact that it was about 8 levels under where the rest of my team was. Thankfully, with the power of some of the exp candies I'd collected throughout the game as well as just having it on my team to passively gain exp through the rest of the sewers, it was a Lampent by the time i'd left. And then it was a Chandelure immediately after because the Dusk Stone is available from very early in the game on a random rooftop. And let me tell you, once you have a Chandelure, the game explodes. This thing feels incredible to use, especially once you mega evolve it, and it was my late-game carry as soon as it was evolved. It also did extremely well into two of the Rogue Mega simulated bosses, with Mega Victreebel being almost free as well as being my main Pokemon for the final boss. Turns out, when the enemy doesn't move much, Fire Spin is a very good move in this game. Final Moveset was Flamethrower, Shadow Ball, Psychic and Fire Spin. Pretty sure that was also pretty close to my starting moveset. Chandelure doesn't learn much when you're not going out of your way to collect TMs.

Someoka the Dragalge

Why does Skrelp not evolve until Level 48. This alone put a bit of a dampener on my using Dragalge, since it wasn't performing super well as a Skrelp, and I was waiting until the sewers to even catch one.

Outside of that, Dragalge was unfortunately somewhat underwhelming, with something of a lack of power on its moves even after evolving. Dragon and Poison both also being somewhat poor offensive types hurt it, since I was using its coverage moves more than its STAB moves as a result, which ended up feeling like they were further lacking power due to the lack of STAB from them. It wasn't a bad team member though, it was able to tank special hits well which you would expect from Dragalge, but it even took some big hits like multiple Earth Powers from opposing Pyroar and I think even a Psycho Cut from the Rogue Mega Gallade in the final segment, it was just almost never my go-to team member for any situation. Final Moveset was Dragon Pulse/Sludge Wave/Thunderbolt/Hydro Pump, though i feel like perhaps I should've given it back Toxic so it could more easily make progress in fights despite its seemingly underwhelming offensive capabilities

Fudou the Aggron

I complain about Skrelp, but Aron is even worse in this regard, coming even later than either Litwick or Skrelp, at a significantly lower level. Seriously, this thing doesn't even show up at level 30, and its EXP Group does nothing to help matters. It was very consistently 3-5 levels under the rest of my team despite my best efforts to catch it up after catching it.

With that said, Aggron also just never felt like the pokemon I wanted to use for a given situation. Having both Steel and Rock as coverage types on other Pokemon I was using probably wasn't helping matters, but even when I did use Aggron it never felt like it performed great, though it never felt like it was awful either. One of its main roles on the team ended up being as a Mega Power generator, being the lead Pokemon i used for Rogue Mega fights to build up Mega Power before i switched into the Mega of choice on the team. I did also often try using it for big, single mon fights such as Xerneas and Yveltal, due to its type advantage there as well as trying to use it a little for the final boss before just realising that Chandelure and Fire Spin in a spot where there was wreckage to block the projectiles it launched was the strategy that would work best. Unfortunately I came out of this feeling like Aggron was probably the weak link on the team, despite how excited I was to use it initially. Maybe in a different game with a standard battle system. Final Moveset was Iron Head, Rock Slide, Dig and Shadow Claw.

 

[Hugin]

So I hit rank F(when you rank up) with:
Feraligatr, Heracross, Gardevoir, Talonflame, Sableye, Ampharos

And I wasn't happy with how they were working. Talonflame was a glass cannon, of course, even if it didn't get hit it could faint, but also the synergy wasn't there. Status moves and boosting moves were fine, but everything wanted coverage of a type that someone else already had. So I fully rebuilt.
Starmie, Venusaur, Houndoom, Doublade, Dragonaire, Clefable.
This is working SIGNIFICANTLY better. Only one mega currently(Houndoom), I'm not evolving Doublade, Dragonaire is still a while from evolving, and I'm 5 levels lower. Still easier to make things work. Echoing what others have said, self-heal moves are brokenly good, and also it's just smooth. Dragonaire is a problem, that moveset needs levels and TMs that aren't available for me yet, but I'm willing to play the long game there when the rest of them are so much easier. And I still have a reasonably supply of status options for tough fights.

 

[leadintea]

So I've played through this game about 5 times already with many different teams and mons. Because I always keep my team in rotation to avoid going over the levels of the trainers I face (ever since SM with the accursed perma-EXP share), it means that I actually roll with about 2 full teams each run (give or take a couple of mons here and there according to their leveling rate), so I have used a lot of mons throughout my playthroughs. And even though this isn't necessarily the thread for it, I'll put them in a tier list format and go over my thoughts regarding the ones I used extensively.

Legends ZA Ranking

S:
Gyarados - Not a fan of using it because of how powerful it is, but you can't deny its strength. You can get an alpha Magikarp early enough, and it keeps up through the entire game.

Heracross - Yes, yes, we all know the exploits of Bois. You get it early, it starts powerful and remains so throughout the game. Flying moves destroy it, but it's not a particularly common type you see in this game.

Clawtizer - I'm surprised by how high I'm putting this up here, but Clawitzer is amazing. It's bulky, powerful, and has great coverage. Stack it with long-range moves and watch it snipe enemies from afar and tank hits for days. That said, I do use Alpha mons when I can, so the HP EVs probably contributed to its bulk. Still, I can only talk about my experience, and IME, it was my MVP in my 3rd playthrough.

Excadrill - Powerful and fast. Mega evolving, then Drill Running everything was my go-to in 2 of my games and was just sheer fun. Unfortunately, Fire and Ground coverage abound lategame, and can take it out if you're not careful.

Garchomp - Same as with Gyarados, I don't like OP mons, but you have to respect its power. Evolves a bit too late, though.

A:
Clefable - Surprisingly bulky with self-sustain in Draining Kiss and a wide movepool. As long as you're not fighting anything with Poison or Steel STAB, you can bring it out and have it just slowly chip them away.

Florges - Same as Clefable. It has bulk, self-sustain, including Giga Drain, and dual screens.

Aromatisse - Again, ditto Clefable. Bulk, self-sustain, dual screens.

Skarmory - Late mon, but it starts putting in work from the moment you get it. Its typing is great defensively, and its Mega allows it to function as a mini-Mega Excadrill.

Altaria - Bulky and has a great typing. Ice moves aren't common, so Altaria has longevity in most fights and can just slowly chip its way to victory.

Medicham - Mega Medicham is phenomenal. It's powerful, has great coverage, and melee windups are fast. Unfortunately, it evolves pretty late, it's frail, and it requires its Mega form, but its power more than makes up for these downsides.

B:
Meganium - Bulky, can self-sustain with Giga Drain, and has dual screens to reduce damage further. Unfortunately, it has a lot of common weaknesses, and its middling speed and long cooldown moves (especially if you have a support move equipped) mean that it doesn't attack as much as you would like.

Glaceon - Surprisingly good. It's powerful, Ice is a great offensive type, and it doesn't mind its lack of coverage too much since you can get lucky and lockdown enemies in constant Frozen states.

Krookodile - Strong and has great STABs, but is also a bit too frail. It often ended up in a 'kill or be killed' situation for me.

Aegislash - The unsheathing animation of the entire line kills it, but it's particularly egregious with Aegislash. It can fire off powerful moves, and Steel is a great typing, but I didn't really enjoy my time using it.

Frosslass/Chandelure - Similar mons, IME. Chandelure is more powerful, and Frosslass has lockdown potential, but their Ghost typing leaves them particularly susceptible to Crunch, which is very common late game.

Camerupt - A weird mon. It's not the most powerful, it falls to any Water move, and Earthquake is commonplace lategame, but once it gets up close to an enemy, Lava Plume and Bulldoze/Earthquake can make short work of them without the long windup of long-range moves.

Simisage/Simisear/Simipour - Fantastic early - mid game mons. Evolution stones are easy to come by, so you can have powerhouse mons from ~ level 14 to the mid 30s, especially since all 3 get 100+ BP moves at level 32. Sadly, they fall off hard around Rank D/C due to their frailty and lack of coverage.

Dragonite - Very good once you get it, but unfortunately, it comes too late at level 55. Til then, you're stuck with Dragonair, which is just mediocre, but is saved by how good Dragon is defensively.

Eelektross - Another weird mon like Camerupt. There were times when it felt powerful and bulky, but there were also times when it was weaker and frailer than I expected. I'm really not sure where to put it.

Aggron - Very similar to Medicham in that it needs its Mega to function well. It's too frail without it, but unlike Medicham, it doesn't get that much more powerful with it. Solid mon, but there are better.

Arbok - Great early - mid game mon. Can learn all the elemental fangs, and their low cooldown means that you can cycle through them quickly. It falls off once Earthquake becomes more common.

Vanilluxe - Similar to Glaceon, but evolves late and is less powerful. Still, Ice is always good, and locking down enemies happens more than you'd expect.

Heliolisk - Surprisingly not too bad. You get it a bit too late, and it's physically frail, but Thunder and Surf make it take down more mons than you'd expect.

Glalie - Ditto Vanilluxe, just weaker.

Malamar - A good mon when you need something with neutral typing. As long as the enemy doesn't have Bug or Fairy moves, you can bring Malamar out and have it chip its way to victory.

C:
Dragalge - Man. One of my most favorite mons finally got a Mega, with a sick design, but it evolves late, isn't too powerful, weak to Earthquake, and has middling physical bulk. It falls easily and doesn't take many things out. Shame.

Scolipede - I love its Mega design, but in the 2 games I've used it, it just doesn't do much of anything. It's not particularly strong or bulky, unless it's in its Mega form, but even then, Fire and Rock coverage are ubiquitous lategame, not to mention that Bug and Poison aren't really great offensive types. Alpha Scolipede is also pretty big, and long-range attacks can fly over targets' heads if you're not careful with your positioning.

Vaporeon - I expected it to be bulkier than it was, but most story enemies dogwalked it every time I brought it out. It also has terrible coverage.

D:
Aerodactyl - Was Aerodactyl always this frail? It was dying so easily to everything, and its damage wasn't anything groundbreaking to justify the frailty.

Aurorus - I love this mon down, but its typing leaves it susceptible to many attacks. I thought it'd fare better in this battle system, but no, it's as bad as usual.

 

[not a very W D:]

My team was mainly Mega Evolutions lol

Meganium @ Meganiumite (mainly special, leaf blade because I couldn't find anything else.)
- Giga Drain
- Leaf Blade
- Earth Power
- Dazzling Gleam

Charizard @ Charizardite X (mixed attacker cuz X changes it up a lot and mega meter nonsense)
- Flamethrower
- Air Slash
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite (you gotta admit this is good)
- Waterfall
- Bounce (yay it got it back)
- Crunch
- Iron Tail

Heracross @ Heracrossite (when you feel unmotivated but then you realize Bois never gave up for the team)
- Brick Break (close combat sounded not good)
- Megahorn (pretty cool)
- Rock Blast
- Aerial Ace

Altaria @ Altarianite (I haven't seen much of these, they're actually pretty good.)
- Brave Bird
- Moonblast
- Dragon Pulse
- Ice Beam

Meowstic-M @ Wise Glasses (What else was I supposed to put bro?)
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Reflect
- Light Screen

so yeah that's my team hope you enjoyed (make sure to like and subscribe)

 

[Omastar68]

My team was mainly Mega Evolutions lol

Meganium @ Meganiumite (mainly special, leaf blade because I couldn't find anything else.)
- Giga Drain
- Leaf Blade
- Earth Power
- Dazzling Gleam

Charizard @ Charizardite X (mixed attacker cuz X changes it up a lot and mega meter nonsense)
- Flamethrower
- Air Slash
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw

Gyarados @ Gyaradosite (you gotta admit this is good)
- Waterfall
- Bounce (yay it got it back)
- Crunch
- Iron Tail

Heracross @ Heracrossite (when you feel unmotivated but then you realize Bois never gave up for the team)
- Brick Break (close combat sounded not good)
- Megahorn (pretty cool)
- Rock Blast
- Aerial Ace

Altaria @ Altarianite (I haven't seen much of these, they're actually pretty good.)
- Brave Bird
- Moonblast
- Dragon Pulse
- Ice Beam

Meowstic-M @ Wise Glasses (What else was I supposed to put bro?)
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt
- Reflect
- Light Screen

so yeah that's my team hope you enjoyed (make sure to like and subscribe)

Yea I bet lots of people used many/all or close to all megas. I did, I think. IDK florges isn't able to, and was the main for me.

So meganium lacks moonblast? There wouldn't be any reason to use gleam otherwise, so I bet. Hm. Hope they fix that for champions and so on, meganium is cool mostly(worst obvious part is no useful pre mega ability for when those are back.)

Edit: this is just a game team ofc, but even so did I've beam on altaria help? You hit dragons with fairy or dragon, grass with flying, ground doesn't affect it, so it's mostly for flying types?

 

[not a very W D:]

Yea I bet lots of people used many/all or close to all megas. I did, I think. IDK florges isn't able to, and was the main for me.

So meganium lacks moonblast? There wouldn't be any reason to use gleam otherwise, so I bet. Hm. Hope they fix that for champions and so on, meganium is cool mostly(worst obvious part is no useful pre mega ability for when those are back.)

Edit: this is just a game team ofc, but even so did I've beam on altaria help? You hit dragons with fairy or dragon, grass with flying, ground doesn't affect it, so it's mostly for flying types?

its called 'anti-whatever nonsense that won't ever happen but I want to defend against it for no reason' for Ice Beam. It's also pretty fun sniping Dragonite and Salamence (I'm kind of getting into Ranked Battles.)
i think at least Meganium lacks Moonblast. Never checked (probably doesn't cuz I already beat the game)

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

Here are the details for the in-game teams I used in Legends: Z-A.

Before I started playing the game, I had decided on three Pokémon that I was going to use, but not more. I wasn’t sure if I should use just one team or two. I decided to wait until I had started on the game and see how I should do. After I had started playing, I quickly realized that I had to use two different teams in order to not get overleveled. So that’s what I did.

I didn’t look at the Pokédex before I started playing, so I didn’t know all the Pokémon that were in the game. I didn’t look at any new Megas outside of the ones that were shown in the pre-release material. On each team, I decided to not have any overlapping types, and to have a good balance between Special and Physical. I would also have a Fairy-type on each team because that has been my rule ever since X/Y. My team members are not Hyper Trained or properly EV-trained, but I Minted them so they would have useful Natures. As for their movesets, I went with four moves that felt like they worked well, but every Pokémon has a lot of other options, so my movesets might not be the most optimal.

During my playthrough, my two teams were not always set in stone. Before I got all 12 team members, I rotated the Pokémon a lot to keep them at even levels. Whenever I faced Rouge Megas, I always used the six Pokémon that had the biggest advantage against the Rogue Mega in question, which meant that I often used Pokémon from both teams.

I used four Megas on each team. The reason is that I did this on both my in-game and post-game teams in OR/AS in the past, so I thought it could be fun to do it here as well. And there were many Megas I wanted to use, both new and old.

My team members are nicknamed, their nicknames are based on the French names of the Pokémon species (not necessarily the final evolution). I got the idea from Pokémon Adventures (go read the X/Y Chapter if you haven’t already!). For the Pokémon that don’t have a different name in French, I went with some French words that are related to the Pokémon in some way (I don’t know French, so I just used Google Translate). And in a few rare cases, I just went with some fake French-sounding words. The teams themselves are named Team X and Team Y.

Teams at a glance:

Team X:

Team Y:

Below are the full details for them.

Team X

Emboar (M) @ Emboarite ** Roitiflammé
Nature: Sassy (Minted to Adamant)
- Heat Crash
- Close Combat
- Rollout
- Bulk Up

The first of the three Pokémon I had decided to use before I started playing. When the starters were first announced, my choice stood between Tepig and Totodile. I think both are fine Pokémon, but I decided to go with Tepig in the end. I like this line a lot. It isn’t my favorite Unova starter since Serperior exists, but it is still good. Since it is my starter, it was the very first Pokémon I obtained in the game.

Emboar has solid Attack and Special Attack, so it can go either Physical, Special or Mixed, but I decided to make it Physical since it has higher Attack. Heat Crash for Fire STAB, it usually hits hard since Emboar is pretty heavy. I had Flare Blitz for a while, but I found that the recoil was too heavy for my tastes, so it didn’t feel worth it. Close Combat for secondary STAB, it hits really hard at the cost of lowering defenses, which was usually not a problem since it would KO opponents most of the time. Rollout for coverage. I had both Rock Slide and then Head Smash for a while, but I prefer Rollout since it is very fast and recharges quickly. The recoil from Head Smash was also a bit too high, especially when combined with Flare Blitz. Bulk Up in the last slot to boost.

I minted it to Adamant in order to make it hit harder. It got to hold the Emboarite so it could Mega evolve. Mega Emboar is really cool, I like it a lot.

Overall, Emboar was great. It could hit really hard and it was quite bulky as well. Definitely a solid starter.

Greninja (M) @ Greninjite ** Croaporalé
Nature: Sassy (Minted to Timid)
- Water Shuriken
- Dark Pulse
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam

The second team member and the second Pokémon I had decided on before I started playing. Since I didn’t go with Totodile as my starter, I could use a different Pokémon as my Water-type, and I decided to go with Greninja. It is my favorite Kalos starter and it was the one I used when I played through X back in 2013. But how would I get one in the game? I was unsure, but I was hoping it would be available relatively early. Fortunately, that turned out to be the case! Early on in the game, I found a side mission which involved following a Froakie on some obstacle courses. After I had completed the mission, I received the Froakie as a gift Pokémon and made it a member of my team!

Like Emboar, Greninja can go either Physical, Special or Mixed. But most of the time, it is used as a Special attacker, so that’s what I decided to go with. Water Shuriken for Water STAB, it is fast and recharges quickly. I had Surf and then Hydro Pump for a while, but the speed of Water Shuriken felt superior. Dark Pulse for secondary STAB, though it took a while until I found the TM, so it had Night Slash for a long while. Psyshock for coverage, I was surprised to see that Greninja learns the move. Seems to be a new for Z-A. Ice Beam in the last slot for coverage, it is great against Grass- and Dragon-types.

I Minted it to Timid since it is a good Nature for Greninja, though Modest might actually have been better. It held various items as I played, but then I finally got the Greninjite from online play. It was during season 2, I considered getting it during season 1 but I decided not to. I think Mega Greninja is really cool.

Overall, Greninja was solid. It was fast and could hit hard with its moves.

Sylveon (M) @ Fairy Feather ** Nymphéon
Nature: Docile (Minted to Modest)
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Draining Kiss
- Calm Mind

The third and final Pokémon I had decided on before I started playing. I needed a Fairy-type. Sylveon is my favorite Eeveelution and one of my favorite Kalos Pokémon. I had previously used it on my in-game teams in X and Arceus. So I decided to use it here too, it felt like it could be a fun tradition.

But where would I get an Eevee? I wanted to get it as early as possible. In the Wild Zones, it can only be found in Zone 19, which is available very late. I searched on the internet a little and found a video which showed me that wild Eevee can be caught in a small grassy area in Vert Sector 9. I went there and found a… Spinarak? Not what I wanted. I left the area, waited a little and went back, and now I found an Eevee! I caught it. To my own surprise, it knew Disarming Voice upon capture. I started training it and raised its Friendship a bit by going to Cafés. A little later, it was friendly enough to evolve into Sylveon!

Moonblast for main STAB, it hits really hard. Psychic for coverage, I had Psyshock for a while but changed it, not sure which is better. In the third slot, I went with Draining Kiss to drain HP from opponents. I had Hyper Voice for a while, but removed it since it doesn’t offer any useful coverage. I have considered Shadow Ball, but it doesn’t really feel like I need it. Calm Mind in the last slot to boost.

I minted it to Modest to make it hit harder. I gave it a Fairy Feather to boost its STAB moves, which is never bad.

Overall, Sylveon was great. It could hit hard with its powerful Fairy-type moves and offered valuable coverage for the team. It is also the only Pokémon on the team that resists Fighting, which ended up being more useful than I thought.

Excadrill (F) @ Excadrite ** Minotaoupé
Nature: Jolly
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Blast
- Swords Dance

I like Excadrill a lot, and while I have used it on many teams throughout the years, it has mostly been during the post-game (notably on Battle Facility teams). I have only used it on in-game teams twice before. The first time was when I played through White in 2011, the second when I replayed Black 2 in 2022. Since it is available in Z-A, I decided to use it here as well. I caught one in Wild Zone 8 and added it to my teams. It ended up being a member of Team X in the end.

Earthquake and Iron Head for STAB, both hit really hard. Rock Blast for coverage. I had Rock Slide for a while, but Rock Blast is faster, which made me prefer it. Swords Dance in the last slot to boost.

It has a Jolly Nature and I decided to keep it that way since it is a good Nature for Excadrill. I was very surprised to see Excadrill get a Mega evolution, which I saw for the first time when I battled Tarragon in the game. I did not expect that all. Naturally, I gave my Excadrill the Excadrite so I could Mega evolve it. Mega Excadrill is really great.

Overall, Excadrill was solid. It was strong and could hit really had with its STABs, it also offered great coverage that the team needed.

Tyrantrum (M) @ Hard Stone ** Réxiliuzé
Nature: Naive (Minted to Adamant)
- Rock Blast
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Iron Head

When I played through X in 2013, I used Aurorus on my in-game team. It was great and I liked it. But I have never used Tyrantrum anywhere. Now that we’re back in Kalos, I decided to give it a try here. I bought a Jaw Fossil as soon as I could, and once I had unlocked the ability to restore fossils, I restored it into a Tyrunt. It became a member of Team X.

Rock Blast for Rock STAB, I had Rock Slide for a while but changed it. Dragon Claw for secondary STAB, Earthquake and Iron Head for coverage. I had Crunch for a while, but changed it to Iron Head in order to hit Fairy-types. Tyrantrum gets a lot of other cool moves, but I decided to stick with these.

I Minted it to Adamant since that is the best possible Nature for it. I gave it a Hard Rock to boost the power of its Rock-type moves, never changed it to anything else.

Overall, Tyrantrum was good. It could hit really hard and had good coverage with its moves.

Abomasnow (F) @ Abomasite ** Blizzaroé
Nature: Hasty (Minted to Modest)
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Growth

I was unsure about what to use as my last member on Team X. I was thinking about an Ice-type, such as Froslass. But I ended up using Abomasnow instead. One reason being that it was one of the few old Megas I had never used anywhere before, so I decided to give it a spin here. It was never a Snover, I caught it as the Alpha Abomasnow in Wild Zone 12.

It has equal offensive stats, so it can go either Physical, Special or Mixed, but I made it a Special attacker for team balance. Giga Drain for Grass STAB and to heal. I had Energy Ball for a while, but the healing from Giga Drain made it feel like the superior option. Ice Beam for Ice STAB, I had Blizzard for a while but Ice Beam is faster, so I went with it. Earth Power for coverage, it hits Fire-, Rock- and Steel-types for super effective damage, which is nice. Growth in the last slot to boost.

I Minted it to Modest to make it hit harder. It got to hold the Abomasite so it could Mega evolve. I will admit that I have never cared much for Mega Abomasnow, but it has really grown on me after I have used it here. One thing worth noting is that since Abilities aren’t in the game, Abomasnow doesn’t get to show off Snow Warning, which it is otherwise very famous for.

Overall, Abomasnow was solid. Despite having a ton of weaknesses, it usually pulled its weight in battles. It could hit hard with its STAB moves, which offered great coverage. It was also very useful when I battled Zygarde in the post-game. An Ice-type which resists Ground was a very useful combination.

So that’s the team members. Next, let’s take a look at their defensive synergy:

I have at least one resistance to every type, which is good. However, I have four Pokémon which are weak to Fighting, but only one which resists it. This was a pretty big issue which I noticed when I fought Ivor as I used this team against him. I also have three weaknesses to Ground but only one resistance, but this wasn’t that much of an issue. One other thing worth noting is that all team members either resist Steel, or are weak against it!

Overall, this was a really fun team to use. I got to use some Pokémon I hadn’t used in a while, and some others that I had never used before. Plus three new Megas, which was nice.

Here’s a photo of the team members:

Team Y

Chesnaught (F) @ Chesnaughtite ** Blindépicué
Nature: Impish
- Wood Hammer
- Close Combat
- Crunch
- Bulk Up

Early on in the game, I stumbled upon a side mission involving a Chespin. I had to battle the Chespin three times, and afterwards, it decided to join me on my adventure! I was surprised, but in a very good way. After this, I thought about adding it to my team. Back when I played through X/Y, I picked Froakie in X and Fennekin in Y, so I had never used Chespin on an in-game playthrough. Previously, I had thought about using Chespin if “Pokémon Z” should ever become reality. But now, we got Z-A instead. So, should I use Chespin here? After thinking about it for a few seconds, I decided that the answer was yes. I was going to use Chespin here. Since I already had Tepig, which would evolve into a Fighting-type Emboar later on, this was more or less the moment when I decided to use two teams. Since Emboar ended up on Team X in the end, Chesnaught had to be on Team Y.

Wood Hammer for Grass STAB, it hits hard but causes recoil. The only other options are Bullet Seed and Vine Whip, but both felt too weak. When playing, I found that the recoil from Wood Hammer was never that much of a problem. Close Combat for Fighting STAB, it hits really hard at the cost of lowering Defenses. Crunch for coverage, it is great against Ghost- and Psychic-types. Bulk Up in the last slot to boost. There are a bunch of other options, but I never considered any other moves.

It had an Impish Nature, and I decided to keep it since it is a great Nature for Chesnaught. It has high Defense, so boosting it even further is not a bad idea. Regarding the hold item, it was holding a Muscle Band for a very long time, but then I finally got the Chesnaughtite after some online battling in Season 3. Mega Chesnaught is really cool, but sadly, I haven’t used it that much yet.

Overall, Chesnaught was solid. It could hit hard and had solid bulk too. I’m glad I took the chance to use it here.

Delphox (F) @ Delphoxite ** Goupéline
Nature: Lonely (Minted to Modest)
- Flamethrower
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Calm Mind

After I had completed the side missions involving Chespin and Froakie and added those two Pokémon to my teams, I was wondering if I would find a third mission involving Fennekin. The answer turned out to be yes as I found a sick Fennekin that needed to be cured. I completed the mission and ended up obtaining the Fennekin afterwards. So, should I use it on my team? I thought about it and I felt that it would be really unfair if I used Chespin and Froakie on my teams, but not Fennekin. So I decided to use it as well. It ended up on Team Y in the end since I already had a Fire-type with Emboar on Team X.

Flamethrower for Fire STAB, I had Fire Blast for a while but got rid of it since it felt too slow. Psychic for Psychic STAB, I had Psyshock for a while but got rid of it, not sure which is better. Dazzling Gleam for coverage, I saw that Delphox learned it and decided to use it, then I never changed it. Dazzling Gleam could be very useful against Fighting-types. If the survived or Protected against Psychic, they would be destroyed by Dazzling Gleam instead! Calm Mind in the last slot to boost. Delphox has a few other offensive options such as Shadow Ball and Solar Beam, but I decided to not use them.

I Minted it to Modest to make it hit harder. It got to hold the Delphoxite after I obtained it from online battling in season 2. Mega Delphox is really cool. In terms of design, it is my favorite of the Kalos starter Megas.

Overall, Delphox was good. It offered solid coverage and could hit hard with its moves.

Ampharos (F) @ Ampharosite ** Lainérgy
Nature: Hasty (Minted to Modest)
- Thunderbolt
- Dragon Pulse
- Power Gem
- Dazzling Gleam

While this is the third member of Team Y, it was actually the second team member I caught overall. Early on in the game, I only had my Tepig, and it was starting to get overleveled since I wasn’t training anything else. I realized I had to add at least one more team member as soon as possible. I had caught a Mareep in Wild Zone 1 and decided to add it to my team. Having an Electric-type could be a good way to counter the Water-types that threatened Tepig. Plus, I like Ampharos, and Mega Ampharos too. Since Mega Ampharos is a Dragon-type, it ended up on Team Y as I used Tyrantrum on Team X.

Thunderbolt for Electric STAB, I had Thunder and then Zap Cannon for a while, but Thunderbolt felt better. Dragon Pulse for coverage and secondary STAB when Mega evolved. It took a while before I found the TM, though. Power Gem and Dazzling Gleam for coverage. I had Thunder Wave for a long while, but ended up getting rid of it in the end.

I Minted it to Modest to make it hit harder. It got to hold the Ampharosite so it could Mega Evolve. Mega Ampharos might not be one of my top favorite Megas, but I still like it a lot.

Overall, Ampharos was solid. It could hit hard, and Electric coverage was really useful.

Mawile (F) @ Mawilite ** Mysdiblué
Nature: Brave (Minted to Adamant)
- Iron Head
- Play Rough
- Crunch
- Swords Dance

I needed a Fairy-type on Team Y. And a fourth Mega. Which one should I go with? I thought it over and landed on Mawile since it fulfills both roles. I like Mawile a lot, and Mega Mawile is one of my favorite Megas introduced in X/Y. I caught it in Wild Zone 9, but it took a while. It was surprisingly hard to catch, many of the Mawile I attempted to catch just wouldn’t stay in the balls. But I finally caught one and added it to Team Y since I had Sylveon on Team X.

Iron Head and Play Rough for STAB, Crunch for coverage. Swords Dance to boost. Mawile learns many other moves and there were a few I considered, but I went with these in the end.

I minted it to Adamant to make it hit harder. It got to hold the Mawilite so it could Mega Evolve. As said, I am a huge fan of Mega Mawile.

Overall, Mawile was great, and it was even better after Mega evolving. It could hit really hard, Steel and Fairy also offered great coverage.

Clawitzer (M) @ Shell Bell ** Gamblasté
Nature: Naive (Minted to Modest)
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse

Clawitzer is one of my top favorite Pokémon from Kalos. But I had never used it on an in-game team before. I picked Greninja when I played X, so I didn’t use Clawitzer there to avoid overlapping types. Then I couldn’t use it in Y since it is version exclusive to X. So I used it here instead. It was never a Clauncher, I just caught it as the Alpha Clawitzer in Wild Zone 11. Since I already had a Water-type with Greninja on Team X, Clawitzer became a member of Team Y.

Surf for STAB, I had Hydro Pump for a while but changed it. The other moves are for coverage. It would have been nice if Abilities had been in the game, that would have allowed it to have Mega Launcher and boost the power of Aura Sphere and Dark Pulse. But the moves were still powerful enough.

I Minted it to Modest to make it hit harder. Regarding the hold item, I tried various items but settled for Shell Bell in the end. Restoring HP after dealing damage is really great in Z-A because of how the battle system works.

Overall, Clawitzer was sold. It had great coverage and good power.

Hippowdon (M) @ Assault Vest ** Hippodoquzé
Nature: Calm (Minted to Adamant)
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Heavy Slam

Despite being available early, this was the very last Pokémon that I added to my teams. I had all six members of Team X and needed a final Pokémon for Team Y. What I was looking for was a Physical attacker that didn’t have a Mega nor any overlapping types with the rest of the team. I looked through the Pokédex on Serebii and unfortunately, I didn’t see a lot of options. One of the very few options I could find was Hippowdon. I had never used it before, despite the fact that it was introduced way back in Gen 4. Plus, it has recently been available in both Arceus and ScaVio. Well, better late than never!

I went to Wild Zone 7, caught a Hippopotas and added it to my team. I settled for a Male since I like Male Hippowdon more in terms of coloration. After catching it, I trained it until it evolved, then I used Exp Candies to raise it to the same level as the rest of the teams since I didn’t want to grind for too long.

Earthquake for STAB, it hits really hard. The other moves are for coverage. Like Abomasnow, it doesn’t have its weather Ability in the form of Sand Stream here.

I Minted it to Adamant since I wanted it to hit harder. Regarding the hold item, I tried a few different ones. I had Leftovers for a while, but I found that it didn’t really work all that well in Z-A because of how the battle system works. In the end, I settled for an Assault Vest. Hippowdon has great Defense but not so great Sp.def, so it could do with a boost there.

Overall, Hippowdon was great. It had solid bulk, offered some good resistances, and could hit hard with its moves.

Those are the members of Team Y. Now, let’s take a look at the defensive synergy for this team:

It is pretty good. Like with Team X, I have one resistance or immunity to every type. I have three weaknesses to Ground but only one resistance, but I never found this to be an issue when playing with the team. On this team, all team members are either weak or resistant to both Grass and Ice!

Overall, this was also really fun team to use. Like with Team X, I used some Pokémon I hadn’t used in a while, and some I had never used before. Plus two new Megas!

Here’s a photo of the team members:

Those are all my main team members. In addition to them, I used a bunch of other Pokémon, but mostly for minor things. Some were used for side missions, others against Rogue Megas. Some very short details for them can be found below.

Reserve team members

First, a whole bunch of Megas. Mostly old, but one new.


Nachémoir the Absol. The Rouge Mega. Used during the Mega demonstration battle against Taunie.


Requinéau the Sharpedo. Used against Rouge Mega Camerupt and Banette.


Chamalloté the Camerupt. Used for a side mission.


Ténéphickzé the Sableye. Used for a side mission.


Charminé the Medicham. Used for a side mission.


Drataqué the Salamence. Used during a side mission.

Starossé the Starmie. Used during a side mission (sort of).


Brahnetté the Banette. Used during a side mission.

Then some non-Megas:


Dramaré the Aurorus. Used for a side mission.

Next up is a Pokémon that is actually properly trained:

Pikachu / Raichu (M) @ Mystic Water ** Juzémouzé
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Sp.att / 6 Sp.def
IVs: 31/31/31/x/x/x (will hopefully be Hyper Trained in the future)
Nature: Quiet (Minted to Modest)
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
- Nasty Plot
- Protect / Thunder Wave

It was used for two different side missions. The first as a Pikachu, the second as a Raichu. I decided to make it a Special attacker, but it doesn’t have a super great Special movepool in this game, so a Physical attacker might have been better. Either way, I will keep it like this. I plan to make it Mega Evolve once the Mega Dimension is out. It will be either Mega Raichu X or Y, whichever is more geared towards a Special attacker.

There’s also these six, which were members of the “team” I used in the side mission where I got to battle the “Elite Four” and “Champion”:


And lastly, a lone Pupitar which was used for a side mission.

That’s it for my in-game teams. I might make another post here with my post-game teams and DLC teams once I have played through the Mega Dimension.

 

[not a very W D:]

Started another save file (Sadly on an account without Nintendo Online. You'll learn why that matters in a second.)

Feraligatr @ Feraligatrite
- Liquidation
- Outrage
- Ice Fang
- Crunch
Feraligatr, as my starter, is a spot on the team. It's pretty strong (watch my overleveled crocodile destroy that alpha excadrill without breaking a sweat), and also its pretty cool. The downside? No Ice Punch. (to be fair, it is a jaw when it mega Evolves, so ice fang kinda makes sense.)

Beedrill @ Beedrillite
- Poison Jab
- X-Scissor
- Drill Run
- Swords Dance
Beedrill was a mega I WAS gonna use on my original first game team, but I kind of forgot about it. Pretty average Beedrill set, but come on, it's SICK!

Lucario @ Lucarionite
- Bullet Punch
- Bulk Up
- Brick Break
- Ice Punch
Lucario was a Pokemon I remembered existed in the game when exploring buildings and immediately caught. As a Riolu, duh, but still! I'm not usually a huge fan of using Pokemon even NPC trainers use as their aces, but come on, it's epic! (In the DLC, luckily, spreads for all accounts no matter who brought it, so possible Lucario Z if I keep procrastinating.) Plus, I can change to a special set anytime, since like, Lucario is a mixed attacker, and this team is kinda unbalanced in terms of attackers.

Leafeon @ Expert Belt
- Leaf Blade
- Swords Dance
- X-Scissor
- Leech Seed
Leafeon was another one. After realizing my team's types, I came to the conclusion to evolve the Eevee into Leafeon. Great speedy physical attacker! Also pretty fun to use (they fixed the level it gets Leaf Blade at, yay! Now you don't have to wait till 51!).

Delphox @ (sigh) Life Orb.
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
quest Fennekin go BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. Seriously though, it kinda slaps. It's like high risk high reward (have you ever SEEN a Delphox survive a dark move before?) but it kills nearly anything in its path. Similar to Charizard in terms of ZA Royale (if you're flare blitzing) except it doesn't kill itself.

Honorable mention: Random Shiny Pancham I found Wild Zone 3 (first ever Pancham I found in this save file btw)
I forgot his moves, but it's actually crazy bro. HOW is the FIRST Pancham I find in this save SHINY? Imagine if I never seen a Pancham before and I was like: oh cool pancham- wait do ALL pokemon have a weird shiny sound thing?

Dragonite @ Dragoniteite (It is NOT called Dragoninite and I will die on that hill.)
- Hurricane
- Outrage
- Ice Beam
- Extreme Speed
Caught it as a Dratini after doing the FABULOUS world of Story Progression to have a CHANCE at catching it. Croconaw clutched up by freezing it by using Ice Fang, so I caught it with I think a Dusk Ball? Anyway, it's a gamer. Lets go.

so yeah that's my second playthrough team (ampharos would be on the team except I thought it'd be silly to have 2 dragon megas but then I added Dragonite and by then it was too late so...)