Hello guys, gamer here. This is my take on a meta breakdown thread. Main focus would be to provide sample pastes and explain all the core structures and meta trends rising in the upcoming regulations, as well as have resources from players starting from beginner up to I guess champion rank, since everyone has more to learn. From tips and tricks to face certain teams or use them, up to teambuilding choices and tips, I'll try to have it all here, broken down to basic information, as much as I can. I'll try to always have pinned the title of the team I will explain each time so you can easily go back. Hopefully this will become an enjoyable journey of knowledge from which all of us will have something to derive.

Basically been looking into barbaracle as my next mega team to tackle and was scrolling around online and found this face book post of a team. I do kinda like what it’s going for here. I like the options that it has and it supports Barbara or well without having the whole team be dedicated to it. But I feel there could be better options to go off with it as well. Thoughts? (Also it doesn’t have stat invest but Ithink I can roughly figure that out.)

What changes can I apply to my team?

Which Pokemon can I exchange Aerodactyl with?

https://pokepast.es/17d1f9e4504798bc

Testing this silly silly setup team on Showdown.

Probably should replace one of the megas for Scovillain. Still looking for a core as consistent as Espathra/Scovillain/Politoed/Archaludon, but this has been fun so far. Open for any suggestions - haven't really made any calcs and EV adjustments nor anything like that yet

A few matches:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regmb-2637096803-1sxio2g0o0o7kgnmdx8serbos1519c1pw

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regmb-2636962164-gsrqdyv3ejopywv9r4y8aeu52vt2fvdpw

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9championsvgc2026regmb-2636784308-mrru0bvyq2fl7lx6ay2cthskhp4a7a6pw

This is the Pokémon i have I also can transfer From Legends Za Sword and Brilliant diamond

I love mega dragalge.

I hit master ball in the first season with scovillain bulky archaludon pelliper basculegion. I made a team for dragalge built around toxic and bulk (team 3 in the photo) but it flopped HARD. I threw dragalge into my old team (team 1) and replaced scovillain's role with him. It worked but that's because the other three carried all the weight.

How can I make a great toxic team around mega dragalge for doubles?

Here i will be hosting a weekly vc lesson for people who want to learn from the ground up. after all lessons i will post the summaries in this thread. first lesson will be this weekend. ill be sure to keep everyone in the loop. lesson curriculum is on Team Building and the various tools we use to craft a master and up ranked team for both ladder and tournaments.

Before anything, i want to clarify that i already hit master ball with a slightly different version of this team, but now i want to perfect it for the path going forward to champions tier and to use it in a future tournament I'm planning to participate in.

I wanted to invest some speed on M-Mawille so she can outspeed max speed garchomp under tailwind, of course at the cost of losing some attack and hp points, but since she gets a boost with her ability when mege i didn't see a problem. Also, i changed her ability from Hyper cutter to intimidate. Reason being is so she can survive an earthquake from garchomp and provide a counter to physical attackers in general, Hyper cutter was to prevent her being intimidated but i think she will still hit hard when mega. (Haven't tested so i cant know for sure)
Finally the last change i did was to replace sinistcha with volcarona. Because i didn't bring sinistcha to matches that much cause of general bad matchup for him and sometimes he didn't offer much to the game besides the healing and the redirection plus being a grass offer some coverage for switching. Not saying it was bad, but most times i didn't want to open with it because i lost the healing and it's not that good offensive. So I chose Volcarona for his good defensive stats, it also offers redirection and is a second tailwind settler with a good offensive power, given me a fire coverage to deal with annoying mons like kingambit. That way i can open with him plus Mawille, with flame body and rage powder it can deal with physical attackers that treat Mawille and can set tailwind, so i don't need to depend on peli for it.

I would like to hear some feedback, if there are changes i could or should do on the moves, stats, ability or even another mons to use to make the team more solid. Also i want to know any treat i didn't see that can counter the team and overall opinion on the team.

Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Farigiraf @ Leftovers
Ability: Armor Tail
Bold Nature
- Twin Beam
- Imprison
- Trick Room
- Protect

Raichu @ Raichunite Y
Ability: Lightning Rod
Timid Nature
- Fake Out
- Zap Cannon
- Volt Switch
- Focus Blast

Pelipper @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Drizzle
Modest Nature
- Weather Ball
- Hurricane
- Ice Beam
- Wide Guard

Aerodactyl @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unnerve
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Dual Wingbeat
- Tailwind
- Protect

Basculegion @ Mystic Water
Ability: Adaptability
Adamant Nature
- Wave Crash
- Last Respects
- Aqua Jet
- Protect

Team Building Thread Rules

Use this forum for VGC team building only.

Please keep posts clear, detailed, and useful so other players can properly help with your team.

⸻

Post Titles

Use a clear title that explains what your team is or what help you need.

Avoid vague titles like:

• help
• team
• rate this
• is this good
• what do I do

⸻

One Thread Per Team

Please make one thread per team.

Do not make a new thread every time you change one Pokémon, move, item, nature, EV spread, or Tera type.

If you update your team, post the update inside your existing thread so people can follow the full team-building process.

Allowed:

• One thread for one specific team
• Team updates inside the same thread
• Follow-up questions about the same team
• Revised team pastes posted in the same thread

Not allowed:

• Reposting the same team as a new thread
• Making a new thread for every small edit
• Duplicate threads because the first one did not get replies yet

⸻

What Your Thread Must Include

Every team building post should include as much relevant team information as possible.

Please include:

• Team paste, rental code, screenshot, or complete written team list
• Pokémon names
• Movesets
• Held items
• Abilities
• Natures
• EV spreads
• Tera types, if relevant
• Any important speed benchmarks
• Any relevant EV tweaks
• What the team is trying to do
• What matchups or Pokémon you are struggling with
• What kind of feedback you want

⸻

EV Tweaks / Team Notes

If your EV spreads are not simple 252 / 252 spreads, please explain any important reasoning.

You do not need to write a full essay, but relevant context helps people give better advice.

⸻

VGC Only

This forum is for VGC team building only.

Allowed:

• VGC team feedback
• Ranked doubles team help
• Regulation format team building
• Rental team feedback
• Moveset advice
• Item advice
• Nature advice
• EV spread advice
• Tera type advice
• Lead options
• Matchup planning

Not allowed:

• Singles team building
• Casual in-game teams
• Trade requests
• Off-topic posts
• Low-effort posts with no paste, no movesets, or no clear question

⸻

Feedback Rules

When giving feedback, be constructive.

Good feedback explains why something should change.

Do not post replies that are just insults, spam, or useless one-line comments.

This is the Pokemon Showdown paste:

Charizard-Mega-X @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 2 HP / 32 Atk / 32 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Claw
- Flare Blitz
- Protect

Ninetales-Alola @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 2 HP / 32 SpA / 32 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aurora Veil
- Blizzard
- Moonblast
- Protect

Gholdengo @ Life Orb
Ability: Good as Gold
EVs: 2 HP / 32 SpA / 32 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Make It Rain
- Nasty Plot
- Protect

Aerodactyl-Mega @ Aerodactylite
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 2 HP / 32 Atk / 32 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Dual Wingbeat
- Tailwind
- Protect

Sinistcha @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Hospitality
EVs: 32 HP / 15 Def / 19 SpD
Calm Nature
- Rage Powder
- Matcha Gotcha
- Life Dew
- Protect

Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 32 HP / 32 Def / 2 SpD
Bold Nature
- Recover
- Icy Wind
- Scald
- Protect

The main things I'm looking for are alternative fourth move options for Sinistcha and Milotic, but all feedback is welcome! 🙂
(Pls don't flame me too hard I suck at teambuilding ;-;)

https://pokepast.es/28be0e0b6beee1fa

A gravity team built around Mega Scol. However I find myself only really bringing scol to specific matchups. Anything anyone would tweak? It doesn’t feel inconsistent just missing something that would make it click.

idk what to add for the 5th and 6th pokemon.

Want to try mega mawile for a change, came up with this haven’t played matches yet.

Team: https://pokepast.es/cef9d5b78b12811e

https://pokepast.es/a91b555ca1e85e0e

Any questions ask

Which team is better for master ball tier and below of course fun comes from winning so please ping me if you can
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1518162179650621490/1518171762356129853/Screenshot_2026-06-21-10-32-21-708_com.android.chrome.jpg?ex=6a3a44a2&is=6a38f322&hm=a7a6fbe45c0abbf0e22158f42caebd7439f7edcf9b7f7ce8df58175b614e9be9&
OR

https://pokepast.es/09262c7c1bc0912d

Basicaly I am new to Pokemon Champions
and require help in setting up team

I am running a dual sun and sand team but i don't know any matchups like when should I use sand team I am good with sun team but can anyone tell me when to use sand team?

Or if there is any better team than my current one
I have only played DS and gameboy games before no switch games so i don't have access to pokemon home

Currently run Yaichu (Fake/GKnot/FBlast/Zap) with just like what core mons are meta (Gambit/Sneas/Chomp/Whims/Incin). However I've realized that I struggle offensively against trick room because I havent set up leads that can take out TR setters like farig/tomb. THis is partially because of moveset mistakes (i have been running low kick on gambit and spunch is my only dark time move, which means it struggles to kill farig/tomb for example, which means I cant get enough offensive pressure to prevent TR from going off.

Sneas runs standard fake/dire/combat/tect white herb unburden
chomp runs stomp/iron head/breaking swipe/rock slide life orb rough skin (i keep forgetitng to change sand veil to rough skin because I was running him with ttar but ill do it on next login)
whims runs blast/tailwind/tect/encore sash
gambit runs low kick (considering a change to kowtow cleave since Ive used low kick a total of one time), spunch, iron head, swords dance
incin runs blitz/parting/fake/wisp

so any advice regarding moves, EV's (same old EV's on these mons as the ones you commonly find on ladder right now), or pokemon swaps or how to lead into TR would be appreciated

So im trying to make the 2 best Hoenn megas work but I feel like something is missing.
I wanna try and keep both megas and with rain it feels good to being Overquill. He might be overkill though i might chamge him to a poison greif set instead with barb barrage and spikes 😁

Im thinking about dropping Arch but hes useful for Staraptor match ups.

Any ideas yall?

1. Torkoal starts with the sun and tanks hit to setup stealth rock or will-o-wisp the phsyical attackers.(leftovers)

2.Scovillian Starts with speed boosted by chlorophy , hitting insane damaged fire moves and leaf storms to ko the other mons.(white herb)

3.Talonflames comes full support with tailwind and feather dance using gale wings , flare blitz and u turn for chip damage.(focus sash)

4.Staraptor comes to sweep the opponents with contrary of mega staraptor boosting attacking by two stages by feather dance of talonflame ( mega stone)

im winning 95 percent of my matches with this in my doubles , someone rate my team and give some improvements.

Ask for help

Can yall suggest some good teams(staraptor or delphox of example)
I'm kinda overwheled by all the mons I have

(Also have sinistcha if it's useful in any teams)
(No move sets and other details for now just need some team suggestions)

A friend of mine has told me that M Dragalge has potential so i tried making a team around it.

For now i have this concept, i haven't definedall of the SPs, but the whole idea is that Dragalge tries to use Draco Meteor, and then Flip turn, using its 132 Special attack while also using regenerator by flip turn, which also resets its stat drops.

I added Rotom-W bc typewise it has amazing synergy with Dragalge, mainly that Rotom-W is good into Ice and Ground types, while dragalge is GOATED into grass types.

I then added Scizor + Kingambit for revenge killers that can follow up after Dragalge uses DM + Flip turn.

Sinistcha is here because i needed speed control but also because the team is that tanky. I have Shadow Ball for now so that sinistcha can be more active inside trick room.

Gyarados is here because of intimidate support, and also because i wanted something that can be a little bit faster and sweep, hence the DD

Its probably not the best team but for now it may work, i am looking for recomendations, what are some great Dragalge partners, and is my team too passive?

Hi

I need to change something in this team because I feel like it is not enough to climb up the ranks.

Are there any recommendations for my current team? Any changes that you can suggest?

Thank you

PS: Below are the pics of my team and the available pokemon that I have. I can still do some recruitment but my tickets are running low.

there!

these are my current pokemon, what can i use to make a good team with mega froslass? Im mainly gonna use it for singles but idm using it for double battles too. If you can help, id be really grateful

I want to build a team that functions well in and out of trick room and also is not obviously a trick room team at team preview. Obvious trick room would be something like farigaraf, crabominable, and kingambit, so shouldn’t be obvious picks. I already have most of the team picked out, I just need help figuring out how to build each member and who specifically to make the trick room setter.

Team currently consists of:
Hatterene
Armarouge
Metagross
Kingambit

The pokemon I’m considering adding are kangaskhan, tyranitar, grimmsnarl, whimsicott, hydrapple, and dragapult.

Of course I know not all of these are exactly good picks but they’re what I have available right now, plus are kind of what I’m looking for because the lack of usage may throw opponents off.

And when I say “semi-trick room” I mean that no matter the team comp in each battle, it can function well both in and out trick room.

So which two(of the listed pokemon I’m considering) would be the best additions to the team and what are some good builds/build plans(or roles, tank, damage, support, etc) for a few of the pokemon on the team.

And of course I’m not asking to have the whole team built for me, if I was going to do that I’d just ask chatgpt or something.

I’ve been using this team for a bit and I’ve not sure what to change. Please don’t recommend kingambit, gholdengo, incin, or sneasler

I'm woring on a mega staraptor based team with the second mega being raichu y, I have run it through simulations and found out the only mon that poses a threat is another raichu y to the straptor as with whimsi using fake tears on star it still doesn't survive a base zap cannon, I've been looking for better mons for this team and this is the final result, any pointers on how i can tweak this?

https://pokepast.es/18174e920f766c2f

Im trying to make a bo3 team. I might swap high horsepower i just need to test it

I'm new to the Pokémon franchise, I've never played before. I saved some Pokémon that I see are meta. I'm using the team on the left; I haven't adapted to Raichu and I don't know how to use Sinistcha. I like playing 2v2. Can someone help me put together a team? I'm open to the possibility of looking for other Pokémon, but I'd like something with what I already have.

PROBLEMS

1. I struggle alot if my opponent have bascu especially on late game

2. I have 2 psychic, 2 water and 2 fairy

3. Milotic is gone if opponent have max spa modest rotom wash thundebolt

WHAT HAVE BEEN GOOD FOR ME

Gardevoir can survive a non boosted flash cannon from archa

Can 2 shot an opposing metagross with my stomping truntum metagross

Can deal with rain teams on early game

Can deal with staraptor teams with the lead gardevoir and milotic

hi guys i am new to vgc and i really like sweeping with torkoal eruption but vileplume is so slow im getting outsped by tailwind teams or just lose my weather to rain team, this is the team ive been running so far with garchomp to beat zard and kingambit for basc but i still get swept by swamperts and that bridge. any help is appriciated thx.
(note i would just play trickroom but i cant seem to get farigiraf or mawile)

I wanted to try building a team with these two, and I'm finding some success, but I'm also missing ground type coverage and meaningful speed control, how do y'all think we could tweak this

Howdy! I'm looking for help describing the weaknesses of my Raichu team. If possible, what do I have covered and especially what don't I? You're absolutely allowed to roast my team, choices, and set ups! I believe any insight might be beneficial, especially if it can help me get out of Great Ball Rank 1.

My team isn't BiS (Best in Slot) with abilities nor moves, but I'm low on VP because I can hardly get a win. I, unfortunately, am dedicated to this roster, but I'll still take note of the reason behind the suggestions.

Basculegion and Whimsicott are the two most recent grabs, followed by Farigiraf. Basculegion might have STAB Wave Crash, Head Smash for Fire types and maybe Flying, STAB Last Respects, and STAB Flip Turn or Surf. Whimsicott will have Tail Wind, either Protect or Helping Hands, STAB moves. Sinistcha will have Life Dew, STAB Hex, STAB Matcha Gatcha, and either Calm Mind or Protect. I need to give my Raichu Protect again and/or Dazzling Gleam.

I've built around Rain Team + Mega Swampert counters, including Trick Room, double Grass, and maybe base Lighting Bolt Raichu vs Rain Archie.

I have my Raichu speed to be exactly 1 higher than max speed Mega Staraptor, who is still a massive thorn in my side. Trick Room could be used here too, but I prefer Tailwind.

Basculegion and maybe Sinistcha for my Trick Room Eruption encounters.

One of my biggest problems is that none of my pokemon can Fake Out ghost types.

Basculegion and Mega Raichu Y in Trick Room vs Mega Aerodactl.

Quite a few scenarios theoretically covered! I'm just not that great, tho. Ghost types, bulky mons, and Mega Malamar counter me quite easily. Are there any ideas on what I could change (besides the mons) to fix some of these issues? 🙂

Suggest some good teams
(Orrr should I just follow that GamerNotFound's master team?)
My ocd hasnt let me invest anything in any mons till now
So it's like a completely new team

This is the team i threw together and its been performing pretty good. But im sure the moves items and evs can be more optimized and would like the feedback of more experienced players. And i of course will test it more to tweak but i wont catch a lot of things especially the evs. Maybe if something dies too early ill add in some hp lmao
Considerstions:
1. coaching on sneasler but idk which move to drop
2. Thunder or ice punch on metagross
3. I switched eq to stomping tantrum but idk if thats the move. I maybe need a protect on whimsicott to make eq better.

Thx 4 any feedback

Need help making a team around mega pyroar

This has been sitting for two days while I was playing with Sceptile/Mawile, but finally started testing and it's strong so far.

I tried rain with regular Stamina Archie last season and found it really boring to play, too slow, very not my style - but Archie is still super good under rain, so I'm trying this Scarf set and it's doing well so far

Sash Poison Touch Sneasler sounded very fun to me so I'm giving it a try. Another good Grass counter besides Pelipper to protect Swampert is nice to have and love how he provides Fake Out and poison support besides strong fighting type coverage. I forgot to change Dire Claw to Poison Jab, but guess I'm doing it to reinforce the poison chance.

Had Taunt over Foul Play but 1. I hate not having at least 1 attack move and 2. Prankster Taunt is useless against Farig, which is the main mon I feel like Taunting. So I still feel weak against TR teams - open to ideas regarding that and anything in general

Need help figuring out the best strats for mega elektross in doubles

I'm new to the Pokémon franchise, I've never played before. I saved some Pokémon that I see are meta. I'm using the team on the left; I haven't adapted to Raichu and I don't know how to use Sinistcha. I like playing 2v2. Can someone help me put together a team? I'm open to the possibility of looking for other Pokémon, but I'd like something with what I already have.

I'm new to the Pokémon franchise, I've never played before. I saved some Pokémon that I see are meta. I'm using the team on the left; I haven't adapted to Raichu and I don't know how to use Sinistcha. I like playing 2v2. Can someone help me put together a team? I'm open to the possibility of looking for other Pokémon, but I'd like something with what I already have.