So I wanted to build around a core of Mienshao + Gligar, which are fantastic pivots at the moment. The rough plan was to use the pair to form a u-turn core, between them blanket checking a lot of the metagame and giving me free u-turns into powerful breakers. As for the EV sets, Mienshao outspeeds Nihilego while taking Z/Specs Draco from Hydrei. Gligar’s is more complicated but the EVs are designed to beat Aero, NP Lucario, all Terrak variants, Coba, Bisharp and Kommo-o as consistently as possible.
I added Mega Aerodactyl as one such hard hitter, a form of speed control and some counterplay versus Latias, which threatened the core offensively. Aero pursuit traps Lati pretty consistently and revenge kills a huge host of threats which set up all over Gligar + Mienshao. Aqua Tail was chosen as a way of pressuring Hippowdon and picking off Krook while EQ gave me a way of pressuring Coba, Empoleon and Aggron.
Next I added Tentacruel as an answer to Scizor, tspikes setter, spinner and just general annoyance. I decided to prioritize spin here and thus go for Tenta over something like Rotom-Heat as it allowed me to more effectively utilize the u-turn core of Shao + Gligar, keeping rocks up so I could keep chipping stuff into range of Aero and whatever other breaker I decided to add later. Tenta outspeeds adamant Bisharp while being as bulky as possible to stop a Sciz clean.
I wanted a stall matchup outside of just tspikes + u turn spam, as well as another soft answer to Scizor. I chose Salazzle here over strong competition from mons like Infernape for it’s better matchup versus Lati, Altaria, Slowbro, NP Infernape and other threats. It also gave me an effective revenge killer for Toge if I let Aero go down. Protect is utilised in the fourth slot as a means of scouting Krook and Hydrei, but Taunt or HP Grass could both be used for a better matchup versus stall/fat in general. It’s the first Salazzle we’ve had in this comp since like week 3 so there’s that too, I guess.
Scizor slotted into the final slot as another wincon and a solid Latias/Celebi check, which the squad lacked at this stage. An extra u-turner was also appreciated, and allowed me to go Toxic on Gligar so it could better answer Aerodactyl, Hippowdon and others. Sciz also sured up the matchup versus Toge and Terrak, providing another consistent revenge killer as well as a way of finishing off stuff like Kommo-o after a little chip. The set creeps Klefki while living an EQ from adamant LO Mamo after rocks. EVs are pretty flexible here, depending on whether you’re more worried about stuff like Aero/Mamo/Lati or spikes offense/other Scizor, it’s really personal preference.