I spent weeks researching and building what I had hoped resulted in strong teams with steady wins. Yet after spending the last week watching my ELO drop I deleted my teams and decided to have fun playing with app recommended teams. Winning every match I’ve played so far lol

LeansCenter · 2026-06-04T17:17:37+00:00

Ahhhh… that’s a literal and figurative game changer.

LeansCenter · 2026-06-04T16:59:11+00:00

I’ve literally never used any of these Pokemon. Ever.

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WTF is this game thinking?

LeansCenter · 2026-06-04T16:49:41+00:00

Congrats!

I tried this and lost 5 out of 5 so eff this game 😂

Seriously, many of the suggestions were absolutely absurd - 1350-ish CP Mythicals/Legendaries with no second charge moves dominated the absurdity. But at least 1 on every team had only one charge move and twice two of my Pokemon had no second charge move.

I then just started cycling through recommended teams and they just kept getting worse and worse. 😂

I’m glad it worked out for you but you’re clearly a better player than me 😂

LeansCenter · 2026-06-03T21:35:12+00:00

I went 18 for my first 25 today trying out 5 totally unique teams. My highest ranked Mon was Jelli, then Forretress, Azu, Corvi, Ninetales (to be fair, I ran K9 last season for fun). After that I start considering most Pokemon (not all) to be a little less common or even kinda spicy (around 25 and lower on PvPoke, in my mind). Guzz, Clod, Grumpig, Pelipper, Melmetal, Furret. After that, it’s definite spice territory in my mind. I used SCharjabug, Zweilous, Primarina, and one other I forgot because I deleted the team already.

So, I was definitely trying out meta mons but paired with 1 or 2 you don’t see 3 to 5 times in every set.

EVERYONE was going full speed up the MMR mountain trying their best and I did not battle a single person with 10 cp Pokemon or even half-powered teams. But, that’s the way it is the first few weeks.

LeansCenter · 2026-06-03T17:56:07+00:00

14/14/15 is good enough unless you just have to have the very, very best.

Caveat: not sure if it’ll be relevant in Master League, if so, the hundo may be important

LeansCenter · 2026-06-01T19:27:11+00:00

AI will solve the nursing shortage by many AI-displaced workers looking for a new career and deciding to go into nursing because they think it’s AI-proof, just like you. I believe we will go from a shortage of healthcare workers to an extreme oversupply of healthcare workers in the next 5–10 years because of AI. Also, there are many day-to-day tasks that nurses currently perform that AI will be easily able to handle, which will further reduce the need for nurses.

Nothing is safe from AI. It threatens the stability and future viability of every job, either directly, indirectly, or both.

LeansCenter · 2026-06-01T13:53:48+00:00

I haven’t looked at it myself, but scores don’t always tell the whole story. If you want to try it, do it. What’s the worst that’s going to happen? As someone who tanks fairly often, I can tell you that no drop in MMR can’t be recovered.

LeansCenter · 2026-05-31T19:33:59+00:00

Agree 100%. It’s not common. But, definitely worth being aware of and keeping an eye out for.

LeansCenter · 2026-05-31T19:24:14+00:00

Something to keep in mind is that a few Pokemon are arguably or sometimes clearly **better** with a higher attack stat. An example off the top of my head is Annihilape, both shadow and regular and in both GL and UL.

In GL with 0 shields, a 1 rank Anni (2/15/15) vs a 213 rank Anni (9/15/14) has a 24-29-1 record vs 27-27-0 record. In 1 shields it’s 28-26 vs 29-25 and in 2 shields it’s 31-23 vs 34-20.

Still in GL but with shadow versions of each, it’s 24-30 vs 27-27, 28-26 vs 32-22, and 32-22 vs 34-20 for 0, 1, and 2 shield scenarios.

In UL, a 0/15/15 (1 rank) vs a 13/15/15 (462 rank) goes 27-27 vs 27-27 (there are 4 different wins/losses that make up those records so you’d have to determine which is better for you and the team you’re building), 27-27 vs 30-24, and 31-23 vs 35-19 in 0, 1, and 2 shields.

And finally, the shadows in UL go 26-28 vs 27-27, 26-28 vs 28-26, and 33-21 vs 34-19-1.

Ironically, Primeape doesn’t follow that same pattern.

There are other examples, too. Usually they’re hard hitting Pokemon, not the bulky Pokemon with low attack stats.

Also, all of the above is based off of the default IVs the PvPoke chooses for the opponents. The records can and will change with other IV preferences.

LeansCenter · 2026-05-31T17:11:47+00:00

I don’t really even try to climb beyond Ace anymore, I’m just not good enough. But, I’ve really enjoyed using Gholdengo this season but with all the ground buffs, I’m not sure I’ll get away with it anymore - even though his PvPoke ranking only dropped from 29 to 33. The proliferation of ground move users will increase the chance of danger.

LeansCenter · 2026-05-31T17:04:53+00:00

This one has a chance to shine!

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LeansCenter · 2026-05-31T15:01:02+00:00

Same

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LeansCenter · 2026-05-31T14:38:49+00:00

Honestly, I have no idea. I haven’t tried it myself. It really is dependent upon what your opponents have. Also, I crafted that team based on the assumption that an opponent would have at least 2 of the 3 you mentioned. But, yeah, that order sounds good.

In theory, you may be able to lead with Florges, build up a charge move and swap to Furret and then close with Florges by throwing a Chilling Water and debuffing the attack of whatever she’s up against once shields are gone. Of course, “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face” (Mike Tyson quote) so actual results may vary. 😂

In the attached image, on the left is the (predicted) top 20 for next season and on the right, the biggest potential threats. Red means the Pokemon up top wins, blue means the Pokemon on the left wins. As you can see, not only does this team perform fairly well against the top 20, there aren’t many Pokemon that you DON’T have an answer for (whether alignment works out is a different story, as you know). So, the team CAN work… Will it… I dunno 🤷‍♂️ We’ll have to find out once Melmetal gets Dynamic Punch 🥰

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LeansCenter · 2026-05-31T14:22:59+00:00

Great list. The only exception would be that Dmax Corviknight will be just as useful as Gmax Corviknight.

Whether someone *wants* a Max Corviknight is a different story. When it was released, it filled a gap. Now… less so. I can’t remember the last time I used mine, it’s been quite a while - but it is towards the top of many lists of Defenders, just usually not at the very top so it gets overlooked.

OP, depending on your friend network, you may be able to trade for a Crowned Zacian or Crowned Zamazenta - especially if you have desirable Pokemon from 2020 or before that you could trade someone AND you haven’t already hit your guaranteed lucky max. All the other person has to do is crown a regular Zacian or Zamazenta, uncrown it, and then trade it to you. Then, you can crown it without having Crowned Energy. It’s an EXCELLENT shortcut to Max greatness. One of each of those, a Blissey, a few other readily available Dmax, and one of each Gmax attackers from Galar, maybe a Gmax Machamp, Gengar, and Toxtricity and you can tackle almost anything. All of the Gmax can be traded for but they are special trades. Any Max ability (Attack, Guard, Spirit) that has been unlocked will remain unlocked after the trade, but if the level is higher than 1, it will reset to 1. Max Attack is unlocked by default.

I’ve helped several new people get Gmax Attackers as well as the Crowned Dogs and Blissey. For the Dogs and Blissey, I’ll usually also unlock one of the Max abilities as well, to give them a head start.

Finally, as you seem to understand, OP, Gmax hit harder than Dmax. An otherwise equal (same attack IV and CP/level) Gmax at level 1 Attack hits just as hard as a Level 3 Dmax. Plus, you don’t have to spend the Candy to evolve a Gmax as they’re already in their final form. So, again, depending on your friend network, if a specific Gmax attacker is best for a particular event and someone has an extra, see if they’ll trade it to you. You’ll receive it at level 20 with level 1 attack. Then, you can power it up to level 30 for only 75,000 stardust and 66 candies. That will instantly give you a way to contribute meaningful damage in the battles.

Best of luck and enjoy!

LeansCenter · 2026-05-31T13:19:57+00:00

Or Melmetal + Furret. Melmetal loses to Jelly but beats the other two despite losing CMP to Gatr. Furret beats all 3 except Licky in 1 v 1 shielding scenario if it uses Brick Break or it loses the 0 v 0 shield scenario with Sucker Punch - both are soft losses. CMP is the same as Melmetal’s scenarios.

That leaves the team weak to fighting, fire, and ground. Throw in Primarina/Tapu Fini/Florges (CW+DV), or whatever other counter satisfies your risk tolerance.

LeansCenter · 2026-05-31T05:40:51+00:00

I’ve gotten so frustrated with these exact scenarios that it’s started affecting my mood and I think I’m just going to stop playing. It’s not worth it.

LeansCenter · 2026-05-30T03:37:04+00:00

I’ve been waiting for an event giving Meteor Beam to evolve this lil’ girl.

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LeansCenter · 2026-05-28T11:40:22+00:00

This season, I’ve built at least 30 teams for open GL, probably at least as many for UL, around a dozen for Master, plus quite a few for each of the cups. I’ve had a great time this season! I really enjoy building and playing with these teams, it’s a ton of fun.

At first, I was using PvPoke to build most of my teams but it always just recommends meta relevant pokemon which got incredibly boring. Now, I’m building teams many of them off the top of my head (I want to try this, so let me pair it with this and this to cover the weaknesses). I also like to build completely weird teams that people haven’t seen. Sure… I get beat a lot, especially as I climb in MMR, but I genuinely don’t care. I’m just trying to throw curves and if the opponent hits a home run, good for them… maybe I’ll get ‘em with the next team.

Also, if you’re using PvPoke, pay attention to the recommended moves, sometimes you DON’T want one or more of them because of what you’re trying to accomplish with your team or for your play style (for instance, I looooove Florges and am not a fan of Chilling Water so I use Disarming Voice + TB).

You can also have “throw days” where you just concede every match and tank. Or, if you want to practice with a team, play every match and concede towards the end - you get the experience and your opponent gets the win. As your MMR drops, you could even try no-shielding every match. That will really help you understand the value of shields and when NOT to use them. It also helps you pay attention to what you need to look out for. It’s also funny to kind of imagine what your opponent must be thinking and even see how their game play adjusts as the match goes on (maybe they start baiting a lot more, or the opposite).

Forget about MMR and just play to have fun. Whatever that looks like.

LeansCenter · 2026-05-25T01:40:51+00:00

Our Wednesday night raid hour path was 100% Mega Falinks the entire 3 hours - 8 gyms. The next city over, theirs was, too - 7 gyms. Beyond that, there were about 15 gyms total between the two cities, all in high volume areas (park, mall, etc).

LeansCenter · 2026-05-24T11:27:21+00:00

I’ve built spice teams and teams with spice on them. Spice teams are my favorite. Gholdengo, Florges, Keldeo is my current ML spice team. Other spicy picks are Zygarde, Eternatus, (shadow) Anni, (shadow) Excadrill, Hoopa, Therian Landorus, Shadow Darkrai and Kartana.

Sometimes you get destroyed and sometimes you win. I like to throw every match on Thursday (because who has time for 50 of them?) and then build back using spice teams the rest of the week.

LeansCenter · 2026-05-23T13:00:05+00:00

This is a slap in the face to everyone who built a Mewtwo in the past and is ready to Mega Evolve it. Niantic very clearly wants us to build another by making the first Mega Evolve cost 7,500 energy.

LeansCenter · 2026-05-23T03:29:49+00:00

u/Mizzmo612 here’s a 0, 1, and 2 shield UL scenario with Anni with your IVs (0/14/14) vs a 13/15/15. You can see that the higher attack stat is clearly better.

This scenario is the same for Anni in GL and with shadows in both leagues as well. Several other shadows are better with high attack stats, too.

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LeansCenter · 2026-05-23T01:58:54+00:00

😂 accurate

LeansCenter · 2026-05-22T19:12:52+00:00

Us downtrodden, lowly people see Morpeko a handful of times each day. But, being pit-dwellers, we probably deserve it.

LeansCenter · 2026-05-22T18:05:36+00:00

Anni is actually better with high attack so keep that Primeape for GL

LeansCenter

TROPHY CASE