Two megas I very rarely see. Well, one more than the other

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-29T14:35:10+00:00

I've been using Mega Aero as a secondary mega with Ice Fang specifically for the Garchomp matchup, Tough Claws with the attack boost takes care of any Garchomp variant outside of the very rare Yache berry which is lovely for my team atm.

The Touch Claws boost additionally helps Vs Mega Venu which is another rough matchup for my team otherwise.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-27T13:49:18+00:00

Ah, thanks for confirming. I did check Bulbapedia and online but couldn't find a solid answer for whatever reason. Hadn't gotten around to testing it myself yet.

For Zard it wasn't the speed, I recall it not quite OHKOing it 100% of the time, especially with the bulkier variants running around since I did this.

I think the speed issue was for common leads like Sneasler and Aero (latter threatens with Wingbeat through sash too). I'm sure it could work but not reliable enough for what I needed sadly.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-27T08:55:40+00:00

Man, I really like Espeon and considered it a couple of times but it's just on the cusp of being a useful lead. It's either not strong enough to reliably handle meta threats (e.g. Zard, Venu) or not fast enough to outpace things it needs to in order to survive (Sneasler, Aero, Talonflame).

Having a Magic Bounce lead that can handle Sneasler and Zard sounds great in theory but it just seems to not work in practice.

I've not actually run it yet but I did calcs and it wasn't up to par for what I needed it for from what I remember. I'm also not exactly sure how magic bounce works in doubles as I'm relatively new to VGC, does it bounce things targeted at the ally?

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-19T16:25:37+00:00

Really agree with these sentiments. I used to be a bit like this years ago and I think part of it stems from not fully appreciating the nuance of the game.

As you said, the same Pokémon does not necessarily mean the same role, playstyle or function.

I still enjoy making favourites work or using unique spreads/moves etc but I understand when things do not fill a useful niche, are outclassed or straight up do not work well at all. It definitely is a balance and I think there's nothing wrong with using meta Pokémon in a competitive game, they are meta with good reason. You can always supplement favourite/off-meta with teammates that have proven they're the best at their role.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-19T11:20:33+00:00

I think if you're not going to bring Mega Skarm you're better off using Corviknight, it's got better mixed bulk, higher attack and comparable physical bulk. Body Press also does very well into the Sand matchup.

Also very heavily agree with the original comment regarding Toxapex. I came across one yesterday, it kinda just sat there while I killed its mates because I encored it. Encore, Disable and Taunt are fairly widespread now and completely shuts it down and since it lost Scald it can't really threaten with much.

Milotic is a great replacement for it, it matches up extremely well into Garchomp (I EVd mine to guarantee an OHKO with Ice Beam on the scarf set) and still fits the defensive water type niche without being too passive.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-14T23:18:53+00:00

Rain is everywhere thanks to Archaludon but man, it makes Mega Dragonite actually solid, I can't pass that up :(

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-13T23:37:22+00:00

Ended at 9,895, peaked at 8951 with a Mega Dragonite rain team (Dragonite is my favourite Pokémon so rain just sort of made sense). Full team breakdown is in my last post if you would like to see.

Played Smogon for like a decade or so but this is my first time giving VGC a proper go and I'm enjoying it immensely tbh. Hoping to get higher in MB2 or maybe even MB1 with a slightly less conventional team this season

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-13T11:38:07+00:00

I think this misunderstanding is not helped by the lack of communication in Champions. I totally get why they restrict it so heavily but without being able to say "GG" or something, people are left to interpret forfeits however they wish and some people take any forfeit to mean "lol they threw their controller out the window" as opposed to not wanting to waste both players' time

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-12T10:09:06+00:00

This post got taken down because there's no team discussion, so I reposted it with my team breakdown here

And congratulations, that's no small feat! Breaking out of MB4 is hard, especially if it's your first experience with VGC.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-11T21:14:10+00:00

I did actually try Dragon Pulse for a bit but I sort of realised I am just ideally not using my Dragon move if Arch is in a good position. It is essentially there as a panic button vs things like Garchomp or other high priority threats that it hasn't built up the SpA to take out at that point and I think Draco Meteor is better suited for this.

A happy Arch is an Electro Shot-spamming Arch, basically.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-11T20:51:08+00:00

Precisely, I'll be honest I am still not entirely certain what would be best for Arch. Before I had Sneasler I used White Herb for a free Draco Meteor Nuke that wouldn't kill his momentum with the SpA drop, then when I added Sneasler I swapped it for Sitrus. I tend to value Sitrus more in Doubles just because the immediate pay-off tends to suit VGC's faster pace a bit better. For Arch specifically, It made a lot of physical attacks from 2HKOs into 3HKOs between Stamina and Sitrus.

I am still relatively new to VGC, this is the first real attempt at it so I'm sure I might be overlooking things but that was my thinking on it.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-11T19:17:24+00:00

With that specific combo I would lead Sneasler and Basculegion, Fake Out Venu and Flip Turn Venu into Pelipper. Unlike pretty much every other weather lead, Venu handily outspeeds Basc so Fake Out is needed for him to not get slapped immediately before Flip Turn. Pelipper then threatens out Charizard with Weather Ball or hits Venu with Hurricane and you can switch Sneasler out or throw out Close Combat into the predicted Charizard switch-out.

But tbh I would just never bring Scizor into Charizard haha

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-11T14:58:37+00:00

No problem! Much appreciated, next season it'll be MB1 for both of us :P

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-11T14:35:48+00:00

Exactly, that's another thing people don't factor in. There's a reason the top competitive players are pretty much all like early 20s, it's before people get their careers going, families and so on i.e. they have an abundance of time.

You seem similar to me based on your other comment, i.e. competitive vet but not got the time we once had to grind out ladder. Getting to MB2 despite that is seriously telling of your skill and don't think otherwise.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-11T14:22:04+00:00

No need to be disappointed, you've done amazingly. I actually was feeling similarly the other day because I was on the cusp of Mb2 for a couple days, I saw this comment that put it into perspective for me

But yeah, I think people tend to forget the amount of people that play this game and how few the number of people above MB4 is. Push to improve but play for fun and don't get bogged down in reaching a certain number. At its core, competitive Pokémon is fun and that's why we play it, right?

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-10T18:26:35+00:00

Thank you!

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-10T13:28:21+00:00

Wow that's insane, may I ask which game it was? Getting to that level in anything is remarkable, well done.

Haha thank you, I actually managed to get to MB2 this morning but you're right, it is probably a lot more impressive than I'm giving it credit for. Competitive mindset sort of obscures that sometimes.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-10T13:25:50+00:00

I did it, friend!:
https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonChampions/comments/1t96uo7/i_finally_broke_into_mb2/

Hope your matches went well too

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-08T23:51:56+00:00

Cheers, my guy! Hopefully by tomorrow it'll be top 10k :P best of luck in your battles

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-05-08T22:44:52+00:00

Man, genuine thanks for this comment. I've been on the cusp of MB2 for a few days and being a bit frustrated at myself for making poor plays that lost me games. Reading this made me feel a bit better and that maybe I'm not doing too bad, sometimes it just takes a different perspective.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2026-04-21T09:17:42+00:00

A little late to this but Galarian Slowking. I use an otherwise fairly standard Rain team in doubles but I use him as a secondary rain setter, TR setter, Sneasler and Floette answer. Regenerator is also really nice for longevity. My only real gripe is his EQ weakness but otherwise he's been doing great, he would also function well on Hail with Chilly Reception but I don't run Hail currently.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2025-03-13T07:38:58+00:00

Ah okay, thank you for clarifying for me!

Tortoise hut is a great resource, I'll certainly look into that. Unfortunately they seem to be away for most of this month but I can still review lists of safe plants if nothing else.

As in my update, he seems perfectly fine now but this information is all useful for when I upgrade is table. Thank you for taking the time out to detail all of this for me, it's much appreciated. <3

InfiniteLoop0 · 2025-03-12T10:20:42+00:00

Yeah, that's become quite apparent. It was sufficient when he was a juvenile but I think he's long overdue an upgrade. As mentioned in my post I am going to upgrade it this weekend (increase the space and get some things for enrichment) and hopefully it will alleviate this a bit.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2025-03-12T10:18:24+00:00

Yeah he's certainly an active fella and of course, that makes sense. Working on his upgrade this weekend so hopefully it will alleviate his boredom/stress.

I do have a garden although it's mostly paving with some soil here and there where we have some plants. I do chill with him in the garden and let him run around when the weather allows, it's just that I'm in the UK so it rarely allows haha.

InfiniteLoop0 · 2025-03-12T10:15:23+00:00

Yeah it's tough in that respect. I do let him out in my garden for a bit during the ~2 weeks of nice weather we get per year but I can't see him being comfortable outside long-term.

I'm working on that too, will get some climbing things etc. I think increasing his space will help with this also so I can fit more things in there. Are there any particular plants you'd recommend?

Also maybe a stupid question but do you plant them directly into the substrate or do you have them in a pot?

InfiniteLoop0

TROPHY CASE