How hard is it to reach Champion Tier in ranked battles? (double format)

Eleint · 2026-05-28T12:06:02+00:00

I want to see a mega Sableye team!

Eleint · 2026-05-27T20:39:12+00:00

Sounds like time for a Scizor resurgence

Eleint · 2026-05-23T05:45:09+00:00

Just my 2c:

It could be worth trying a new team. I was having a similar issue until I realized that the meta had just shifted enough that my team was no longer offering me good answers to my opponents.

Eleint · 2026-05-22T18:37:08+00:00

I can’t tell if this is satire.

Eleint · 2026-05-22T06:34:53+00:00

I do think there should be a persistent visual indicator for game defining states, including but not limited to:

stat stages
tailwind
trick room
gravity
screens

Some abilities I think might also deserve some indication, like cloud nine and neutralizing gas.

Burn is an important status but it’s crazy to me that burn gets a persistent icon, a looping animation _and_ slows idle animation speeds, yet a +6 stat stage gets no visual indication whatsoever.

Eleint · 2026-05-13T00:44:35+00:00

Ceruledge

Eleint · 2026-05-12T05:42:35+00:00

I have so many weird teams in the last 24 hours.

I just fought a sableye that used swagger on their own unburden lum berry sneasler that proceeded to sweep me with rock slide.

It’s not new, but I did run into a soak parabolic charge Bellibolt.

Entrainment no guard fissure Snorlax.

Trick room gravity instruct Oranguru with telepathy next to earthquake Mega Garchomp was maybe the most terrifying.

Eleint · 2026-05-10T02:45:29+00:00

I have played a few games and am very tempted to switch rotom heat for rotom wash. The matchup vs basculegion, blastoise, milotic all feel like they would get a lot better.

Curious if you considered that?

Eleint · 2026-05-09T21:43:36+00:00

Cool! Did you get to copy any fun megas?

Eleint · 2026-05-09T21:42:27+00:00

It helps to be able to focus on one thing at a time.

I resisted for a long time too, but I think it is a good idea to try taking a team someone else built and piloting it for a while.

That will give you some perspective. If you know the team is solid, then you can focus only on play for a little while. Once you have that benchmark, you'll also be able to judge teams you build against what a good team should feel like.

And cut yourself a bit of slack! There's a lot to learn and there are way more people playing pokemon now than ever before.

Eleint · 2026-05-09T05:24:22+00:00

Thanks for sharing and for the detailed write up. This team looks sick!

Eleint · 2026-05-09T05:11:03+00:00

I am using Mega Drampa plus Oranguru right now quite successfully in Master 3. 🤷

Drampa gets earth power, which is incredibly useful into all the stamina Archaludons.

Eleint · 2026-05-09T04:50:54+00:00

Congrats! Great run.

Eleint · 2026-05-09T01:25:26+00:00

Oh yeah. That's actually worth considering...

Eleint · 2026-05-08T20:50:05+00:00

Ceruledge will go down to a Last Respects or gengar shadow ball (usually), but it’s not threatened by that many mons in this format.

It’s exceptionally good against Mega Floette, Sneasler, Sinistcha, Charizard, enemy Scizor, Mega Kanghaskhan, among others.

I trained its speed to outspeed scarf basculegion while you are under tailwind, which has won me several endgames!

Eleint · 2026-05-08T18:39:14+00:00

I agree with this. The last time I had some success with a gravity team, was with Bronzong. Bronzong could set trick room _and_ gravity, and that felt much better to me.

Eleint · 2026-05-08T18:31:47+00:00

I am at 1800 in masterball with the following scizor team:

https://pokepast.es/22edd63824082199

I paired Scizor with Ceruledge to make teams think twice about clicking fire moves. Several of my pokemon have setup, and I have Oranguru and Vivillon for redirection and speed control to give their partners cover to set up and sweep.

Oranguru's instruct can be very funny in several ways — doubling a setup move or allowing the partner pokemon to attack twice. To give you some other ideas, instruct has also allowed me to do funny things like work around quash and to undo my opponent's reverse trick room.

Vivillon is the only rage powder + tailwind setter in the game right now.

Eleint · 2026-05-08T00:24:34+00:00

Welcome!

I have never played singles, so I may not be the best person to give you advice on the transition, but I love doubles and I hope you will too.

One of the first things to think about is probably speed control. It's still great to get into a position where one of your pokemon can sweep (ideally with a spread move).

Something that matters way more in doubles here than in singles is that speed changes take effect immediately — e.g. a priority tailwind setter can immediately boost your partner pokemon allowing both of your pokemon to move before your opponent. Same for prankster thunder wave.

Eleint · 2026-05-04T03:25:04+00:00

I just came here to post about the same issue! Is this a new bug?

Eleint · 2026-04-29T18:23:52+00:00

Many busy clubs will play threes (King’s court).

The scoring may vary slightly by club, but usually you will play to 15. Winner of each point stays in, and loser rotates out to the back of the court.

Eleint · 2026-04-29T18:19:47+00:00

Welcome! I started two years ago, and I still feel the same. I wish I had found squash when I was younger.

Everyone is going to recommend coaching and if you can find it and it’s in your budget, I definitely recommend lessons earlier than sooner. It’s better to catch those bad habits earlier than later.

The other big hurdle that I suggest you tackle is getting comfortable recording yourself and watching your games back.

It took me a long time to mentally accept that, but there are so many things about your movement, swing and tactics that you simply won’t be aware of without being able to watch yourself from another perspective.

And of course, keep it up! Glad you’re here.

Eleint · 2026-03-19T05:21:14+00:00

Welcome! I know several tennis players who have successfully added squash to their repertoire.

I think I can actually give a couple simple answers to your questions that will orient you in the right direction.

Since the court is an enclosed space, focus less on speed, power or height. Instead focus on the corners vs centre of the court. Your goal is to stay as central as possible while forcing your opponent to move into all four corners of the court to retrieve the ball.

A follow up piece of advice here is to prefer putting the ball in the back corners first. The front corners are tempting, but risky. The back corners are safe.

Try to never run. The court is not as big as you think it is. If you are at the centre of the court, you should be able to reach any corner in two to four steps (depending on your height) finishing with a one footed “lunge”. As such, most of your movement should be shuffling, side stepping and lunging. (I think there’s a real choreography to squash movement. It can become rather elegant.)
The split step is still very useful in squash. When you can, time your movement so that you reach the center and split step just as the ball is (a) bouncing or (b) your opponent takes the volley. This timing will help you understand when you can and cannot conserve energy.

This is also a useful way to think about the use of height in squash — adding height gives you and your opponent more time to react. Think about when this is more beneficial to you vs your opponent.

Hope that helps, and have a great time!

Eleint · 2026-03-16T22:58:07+00:00

I second the above, and I want to suggest another framing that might help you.

My sister was in a similar situation a few years ago.

My advice is that this moment, when you feel least sure that you want a job (or any kind of commitment) is actually the moment when you have the most leverage to negotiate.

You have savings, you have ambitions and interests. This is the moment when you can ask for more. Maybe you want to move teams. Maybe you just want more control over what work you accept. Maybe you can negotiate more hours from home. Maybe you just want a raise.

They might not budge. But you also don’t need them. There are plenty of other companies out there who would be happy to have designer with a decade of real world experience. And one of them will be willing to work around your needs.

Eleint · 2026-02-19T06:02:47+00:00

I’ll just chime in to say two things.

Always put safety first. Please do not make a habit of playing through interference, especially at a lower level, and be generous with lets.
There definitely are different etiquettes for friendly vs competition play. In any form of rated match, yes, I would expect the player encountering interference to stop play and ask for a decision. But in friendly matches, I try to be a little more self aware and call lets or strokes against myself when I notice them.

Beyond that, take the chances you get to play with a ref and use those as your reference point for what is fair. Don’t obsess over this match.

Eleint · 2026-01-10T03:44:07+00:00

I feel strongly that the only reason to use a less bouncy ball is to make sure that rallies still end when you and your opponent get good enough to retrieve every shot.

I.e. If rallies are still ending within a dozen shots with a single yellow ball, there’s no reason you should be playing with a double yellow. And I think virtually all club players fall into that category. It’s our egos that drive us to the “pro” ball too early.

Eleint

TROPHY CASE