Hello everyone, I'm Unowndragon.Mainly RBY Player, It's a huge honor to be drafted by
As de Corazones,
luisin, and
Akaru Kokuyo for the first-ever Champl I. I originally signed up just hoping to get a chance to play at least once, but things turned out far beyond my expectations. Massive thanks to my managers for trusting me with such a big role, even though I was only a 3k pick.
Honestly, compared to the soul-crushing grind of real-life work, I'd much rather spend my time battling. After Pokemon Champions dropped, it was a shame there was no 6v6, but I really enjoyed it, so I jumped into Champions OU. To be honest, I was pretty rusty at first since I hadn't played the tier in a while, but I managed to get my groove back.
For team building, I have to give a huge shoutout to
As de Corazones,
Fogbound Lake, and
Zerotti. Even though I was the one who finalized most of the teams, I truly appreciate you guys helping me get back into shape and testing teams with me.
Now, here's a breakdown of my seven weeks.
week1 Raichu-Scarf Pult
vs
Mada
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9championsou-964159
The reason I built around Mega Raichu Y in Week 1 was simply because of its raw power. No Guard combined with Zap Cannon is a lethal combo, and Volt Switch lets it pivot out against basically anything. To deal with Ground-types and Garchomp, Surf, Grass Knot, and Alluring Voice are all incredibly strong options. I didn't think a 4-attack Mega Raichu Y needed Focus Blast.
The "Big 4" of this metagame—Hisuian Samurott, Corviknight, Garchomp, and Galarian Slowking—are all crucial pieces. To support Mega Raichu Y, I felt Garchomp needed a mixed set to go toe-to-toe with opposing Garchomps while also reliably setting Stealth Rock. I also felt the team needed some speed control, so I added Dragapult.
Week 1 ended surprisingly fast—the game was over in just 5 turns. I definitely got lucky there, though.
week2 Mega Meganium
vs
Lacks
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9championsou-965895
For Week 2, I chose Mega Meganium. It's actually a very strong Pokémon in OU and not as niche as people think. The reason is that it checks three members of the "Big 4" (Hisuian Samurott, Corviknight, and Garchomp), as well as Pokémon like Kingambit. Mega Sol is an incredibly broken ability: it lets Meganium fire off Solar Beam without charging, gives Weather Ball a fixed Fire typing, and always gives Synthesis its maximum healing output. Because of this, I felt I didn't strictly need to rely on Garchomp for my Ground-type slot. If I just needed Stealth Rock, Hippowdon could do the job just as well, and Hippowdon's natural bulk gave me plenty of opportunities to pivot into my other Pokémon.
The obvious weakness of this team, however, was its low speed tier. To compensate, I gave Galarian Slowking Thunder Wave, and having three Fairy-resistant Pokémon gave me a solid defensive backbone against Mega Floette.
The match against Lacks was where I really started to find my rhythm. My choice of Earth Power on Meganium was closely tied to the presence of Mega Dragalge and Galarian Slowking—Dazzling Gleam would only really help me deal with Dragonite. The key to this game came down to my predictions. On Turn 8, Weather Ball put Lacks's Slowking into KO range, so on Turn 9, I confidently clicked Earth Power. It hit his Ceruledge, instantly removing a huge threat to my team.
On Turn 13, I used a similar line of thinking. Facing Mega Floette on the field, I knew my opponent wouldn't attack directly given I still had Galarian Slowking, Aegislash, and Corviknight in the back. From my testing, I knew exactly how dangerous it was to let Hisuian Samurott set up Spikes. So I took a gamble and fired off Solar Beam, taking out his Samurott in one shot and giving my team a massive advantage.
In the mid-game, I kept dancing around Slowking's health range with repeated Earth Powers—it was a very high-risk play, constantly pushing the damage thresholds. On Turn 54, I finally managed to break through and kill the Slowking. And then... Thunder Wave saved my life. I'm telling you, Mega Floette is a monster; those multiple Calm Minds had me sweating bullets. My team simply wasn't fast enough, and without Galarian Slowking, I would have definitely lost that game.
week3 Mega Garchomp Web
vs
Oatishere
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9championsou-967371
After the first two weeks, I started to gain some confidence, so I decided to pilot a Hyper Offense (HO) team. I fell in love with the Araquanid + Mega Garchomp core. Even though Mega Garchomp loses some Speed upon Mega Evolving, its wallbreaking power skyrockets, making it a perfect fit on a Sticky Web team. Also, there's a ton of slander toward Mega Garchomp on the Chinese internet, so I wanted to prove them wrong.
I chose a special attacking set for Araquanid so it could set Sticky Web more reliably against Corviknight, and I gave it enough Speed to creep uninvested Corviknight. For Hisuian Samurott, I opted for Taunt over Encore to prevent Defog—Taunt just fits Sticky Web HO much better.
My opponent led with Hisuian Samurott. I got a bit lucky here—my Bug Buzz hit it hard, and I got my Sticky Web up. My opponent was already in a rough spot against Mega Garchomp, but their Garchomp was a physically defensive Sitrus Berry set. They managed to Dragon Tail my Garchomp out, but because of the Spikes on their side, their Garchomp could never safely switch back in for the rest of the game.
This was the closest I came to losing all season. I brought Volcarona but decided not to give Quaquaval Rapid Spin to maximize offense. This decision almost cost me the game—it was a mistake born from being too greedy. In the endgame, I was in a terrible position against their Mega Greninja and Ceruledge. I had to gamble. Thanks to the Spikes chipping it down, my Aegislash was at 48% HP. Then, a miracle happened—Mega Greninja's Dark Pulse hit me, but my Colbur Berry activated, leaving me at exactly 1% HP! 1%!!
This allowed me to counterattack. I killed Greninja with Close Combat, and then picked off Ceruledge and the 4% HP Corviknight with Shadow Sneak. The Sticky Web was absolutely crucial there, as it made Ceruledge slower than my Aegislash. If a casual player watched this replay, they'd probably laugh at Mega Greninja again. But I definitely need to be less reckless next time—that was way too stressful!
week4 Mega Greninja by Oatishere
vs
NoName6293
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogtours-gen9championsou-968071
For Week 4, my opponent was NoName, who brought a standard sample team featuring Mega Dragalge and Blaziken. I decided to use Mega Greninja this week. After all, the criticism toward Mega Greninja never stops in my circle—this is thanks to the Protean nerf, and the fact that even Mega Greninja still suffers from that same nerf. It's tragic! So I decided to be a bit of a wild horse and tame it—tame this Pokémon that once had its glory days.
However, I got stuck on team building. I looked at my Week 3 opponent Oatishere's team and actually liked it, so I just took it and modified the sets—especially Ceruledge. I felt the original Life Orb set was too aggressive, so I gave it a Shuca Berry instead, allowing it to safely set up Swords Dance against Earthquake while triggering Weak Armor for a sweep.
After 8 turns of back-and-forth, my Greninja successfully faced off against the opponent's Hippowdon. Hippowdon had no choice but to switch out—it had to, whether facing Protean-boosted Ice Beam or Hydro Pump. I didn't Mega Evolve at first and clicked Ice Beam. After the Protean nerf, it only applies to the first move used, which is awful; you could even call it a garbage ability now. I really miss the old Protean!
Fortunately, Ice Beam still hit Mega Dragalge for 45% despite its high Special Defense, putting it in KO range with the sandstorm up. The opponent had to switch out because of Dragalge's Regenerator, leaving it to deal with my other Pokémon. I predicted their incoming switch and figured Hisuian Samurott was the most likely candidate. So on that turn, I Mega Evolved, reverting Greninja's typing back to Water/Dark. I correctly predicted the Hisuian Samurott switch-in and used a STAB Low Kick to OHKO it. With that, the Spikes were no longer a threat to my team.
The next turn, the opponent sent out Aegislash, so I pivoted to Garchomp to absorb the Poltergeist, but it didn't trigger my Sitrus Berry. In the ensuing back-and-forth, on Turn 20, my Corviknight's Brave Bird dealt 26% to the opponent's Hippowdon, confirming it was a specially defensive set. After that, I brought in my Hisuian Samurott to set up Spikes with Ceaseless Edge.
I hadn't been running Water moves on my Hisuian Samurott for weeks, and the opponent's Blaziken tried to set up Swords Dance. I knew I absolutely could not give Blaziken a free boost—I would rather sacrifice my Hisuian Samurott than let it get out of hand, otherwise I would lose. Even without the crit, I would have finished off Blaziken with Sucker Punch or Ceruledge's Shadow Sneak. Finally, after my Shuca Berry Ceruledge set up Swords Dance against Hippowdon, it swept the rest of the game.
I used Mega Greninja here in a way very similar to how it's played in BSS, utilizing the Mega Evolution mechanic to work around the Protean nerf. Honestly, Game Freak really shouldn't have kept the nerf on Mega Greninja's Protean.
Week5 vs
xdRudi.exe(DG)
For Week 5, I originally planned to bring Mega Charizard Y. No one had used it for weeks, so I thought I might actually be the first one to make it work... but alas, life had other plans.
Unfortunately, I came down with a bad case of diarrhea that week—a side effect of the medication I was taking for the flu. It made me feel miserable the entire week. On top of that, my team was already down 0-6 before my match even started. My opponent reached out to me for a deadgame, and given how sick I was feeling, I agreed to it peacefully.
As it turned out, Mega Charizard Y ended up seeing 3 uses that week and started its comeback in the meta. So much for being the first one, haha.
Week6 Mega GarchompZ+Grass Terrain
vs
AgencyIsOwn
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsou-2683624334-llenc8ke7u4tp3aofdyyvcseqmtwv0hpw
For Week 6, the format shifted to M-C. OU had already banned Mega Salamence, Mega Lucario Z, Baxcalibur, Mega Baxcalibur, Mega Alakazam, Rillaboom, Grassy Seed Sneasler, and others. M-C brought Mega Golisopod and Mega Absol Z, which completely shook up the environment.
My eyes, however, were fixed on Mega Garchomp Z. Due to its strange stat distribution and loss of the Ground typing, its reputation across the internet is terrible. I'm one of the people who actually takes Mega Garchomp Z seriously. I believe it has real potential, and in terms of versatility, it's at least better than regular Mega Garchomp. In my VR (Viability Rankings) evaluation, I'd put it at B- to B.
I started building around a Rillaboom + Sneasler Grassy Terrain core. I originally wanted to run Leftovers Blaziken alongside Garchomp Z, but testing revealed that Stealth Rock + 3 Atk Mega Garchomp Z simply cannot break through Magic Guard Clefable—being immune to hazards is just too broken. However, gaining Levitate means Mega Garchomp Z doesn't care about Spikes, Toxic Spikes, or Sticky Web, making the timing of Mega Evolution crucial. Ultimately, on my manager's suggestion, I replaced Blaziken with Skeledirge, and that decision was absolutely correct.
The Match vs. AgencyIsOwn
This was a brutal game against a very strong opponent. If I could get Sneasler to set up, I would win, but I fell behind and couldn't find the opportunity. We led Garchomp vs. Garchomp. I gambled that my opponent wouldn't play safe, Mega Evolved, and clicked Draco Meteor—only to hit the Fairy-type Clefable and get blocked. But looking on the bright side, this freed me from having to worry about Hisuian Samurott.
My Skeledirge came in and got hit by Thunder Wave, which actually enabled me to burn the opponent's Galarian Slowking, then hit their Hisuian Samurott with Will-O-Wisp. In the ensuing Stealth Rock and Spikes war, my Corviknight took a Life Orb Mega Garchomp's Fire Blast, putting me in a terrible position. I was forced to click Earth Power softly with Mega Garchomp Z.
My Rillaboom was aggressive—I clicked Swords Dance and Knock Off to pressure and exhaust Corviknight. In the last two turns of Grassy Terrain, I double-switched my Hisuian Samurott into Sneasler, but the opponent clicked Future Sight without hesitation, ruining my plan. Sneasler couldn't clean up, so I sacrificed Corviknight, which meant Sneasler lost its speed advantage. With so many hazards on the field, Skeledirge took 1 Stealth Rock + 2 layers of Spikes every time it switched in.
After the opponent's Mega Raichu Y appeared, I chose to sacrifice my Hisuian Samurott, leaving it to Mega Garchomp Z and Skeledirge. When Clefable was at 53%, I kept clicking Earth Power hoping for a Special Defense drop or a crit, but missed. Later, against Clefable, my Skeledirge gambled with Hex to beat that Samurott. Realistically, I should have lost here. The fact that Draco Meteor missed my Sneasler was incredibly lucky—it gave me another chance.
The Final Gambit
Hazards were tearing both sides apart. My Skeledirge came in at 17% HP, but I managed to click Slack Off. The opponent's Life Orb mixed Garchomp was down to 20% from a layer of Spikes and Stealth Rock. Looking at my Mega Garchomp Z and Skeledirge, I decided to gamble—betting his Garchomp wouldn't click Earthquake right away. He clicked Draco Meteor, letting my Skeledirge switch out and heal. My Mega Garchomp Z came in, completely immune to Earthquake! Fortune truly favors the bold.
The opponent's only hazard-immune Pokémon was Clefable, which was crucial. Luckily, paralysis didn't trigger, allowing Skeledirge to keep healing (Slacking Off). It successfully tanked Mega Raichu Y's Zap Cannon and killed it. With only Clefable left, the opponent couldn't turn the game around.
Without Levitate, without the miss, without this high-risk gamble, I would have lost. This just shows that my understanding of Mega Garchomp Z still has room for optimization.
A Special Note on the Chinese Nickname: "Ye Long" (也龙)
Throughout this post, I really wanted to use the term "Ye Long." Since my English isn't great, I used AI to help translate this, but I want to explain the nickname "Ye Long" to the Smogon community.
In Chinese circles, Garchomp is commonly called "Di Long" (地龙), which means "Ground Dragon." Its typing and raw strength made it steal the title of "Ground Dragon" from Flygon (沙漠蜻蜓) in the early Chinese community. After Mega Evolution, Mega Garchomp Z loses its Ground typing. So people changed the name from "Di Long" (地龙) to "Ye Long" (也龙). The Chinese character "地" (ground) is made up of "土" (earth) and "也" (also). By removing the "土" (earth) radical, the character becomes "也" (also). So "Ground Dragon" ironically becomes "Also Dragon." I thought it was a pretty vivid and funny way to describe it!
week7 Mega CharizardY（my favourite）
vs
skype
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsou-2688716076-gggtc9jm02yspmghxu1fqvoybn8rwmlpw
For Week 7, our team was already out of playoff contention, but I had one lingering regret: my beloved Mega Charizard Y had never gotten a chance to play. I decided to let it have its moment. There are two common Charizard Y archetypes in this meta, but I decided to build my own version instead.
I don't think Timid is necessary on Charizard Y right now. There aren't many base 100 Speed Pokémon you need to Speed tie with in this environment. On the other hand, defensive Stealth Rock Garchomp are everywhere. A Modest Charizard Y can still outspeed Jolly Hisuian Samurott while hitting much harder. So I went with Modest—a very greedy choice. I dropped Weather Ball because I needed a way to hit Hippowdon. For my cleaner, I brought Choice Scarf Dragapult, also Modest. Since it still outspeeds Meowscarada anyway, I just went full greed.
My Week 7 opponent, skype, brought Dragonite, Garchomp, and Mega Floette. Usually, two Dragons could check Charizard Y, but I had Dragon Pulse. My main target was Garchomp, but it worked perfectly because Excadrill successfully set Stealth Rock, breaking Dragonite's Multiscale. My Modest Charizard Y's Dragon Pulse promptly took out Dragonite. My Rocky Helmet Hatterene also chipped the opponent's Samurott to the point where it couldn't switch in again. From there, my game plan revolved around sacrificing Hatterene to let Charizard Y take over the game. After Dragapult's Shadow Ball took out Mega Floette, the win was secured—Charizard Y cleaned up.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my long write-up. I'm really satisfied with my performance this time. Outside of RBY, I rarely manage to pull off a 6-0 record in other tiers. Usually, I just casually play Champions OU for fun, though I've hit a bit of a teambuilding bottleneck recently—I think I've become too reliant on the "Big 4."
In this tournament, I chose not to repeat any Mega Evolution, which is just my personal style. And interestingly—I run a Pokémon fanfiction story I wrote myself on SillyTavern (an AI roleplay platform), and the Mega Evolutions I used in this tournament are exactly the ones that showed up in my story! Except for Mega Garchomp Z, which I haven't found the Mega Stone for in the story yet, all the others have appeared. My starter in the story is Charmander, now a Charizard holding Charizardite Y. So in a way, this was fulfilling my own fantasy.
Maybe I'll try to develop further in this tier in the future. I'm a little excited to see if my draft price will skyrocket next season.
