Pokemon Champions Starting Builds Guide
Hello all! Unless you've been living under a rock, then you know that the newest Pokemon game on the block is the battle-focused release, Pokemon Champions! I LOVE Pokemon battling, both singles and VGC, and since a lot of newer players will be trying this out for the first time, I figured why not write up this guide on all the starting Pokemon available to you when you boot up the game for the first time! To clarify, this will not be covering every available Pokemon, this will be covering the set of Pokemon given to you after completing the tutorial. We'll cover their base game builds, what works and what doesn't, what the Pokemon is best used for, and the best and cheapest builds for you to try for both singles and doubles while spending your precious VP in the most cost effective way!
Credit!
Pokedex and Moveset information curtesy of both my own gameplay and Serebii.net
Starter Pokemon
Champions is not like your standard Pokemon journey, you don't get to pick a starter in the traditional sese, no Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle here. Instead, all Pokemon are fully evolved and mooooostly battle ready. As such, the list of "starters" is much different. On top of the starters, you will get a team to go with the Pokemon you first choose. Let's go over all the starter Pokemon and their teams.
Off the bat, you will notice some overlap in what the teams offer you, and maybe some Pokemon instantly jump out to you if you're a little familiar with Competitive battling already. So I will go over what is considered to objectively be "the best" for these teams, but I want to stress that you should not feel pressured to just try and learn the best strategies right away. Pick what you like and work with it, that's how a lot of us started and it's a great way to familiarize yourself.
Still, if you want to perform well, there will come a time when you need to consider better Pokemon not just for yourself but to answer whatever becomes common and dominates the meta. Let's help you prepare for that by going over what these Pokemon actually offer and why you might want to consider using or skipping them.
Battles are determined by a number of factors, but generally you will have a team working towards what is called a "win condition", which is essentially the goal of your team to try and exploit or set up the, well, conditions necessary to secure a win. For example, the goal of a team with Tyranitar, who has the ability Sand Stream, is to get Sandstorm active to chip and weaken opponents while powering up your strongest Pokemon to finish them off, all thanks to the early steps set up by Tyranitar.
There are numerous strategies to try and they too vary depending on your format, either Singles or Doubles in Champions. There's a lot of Pokemon to choose from here too, so I want to narrow it down to four, two starting Pokemon teams that work in each format, depending on what you'll be focusing on the most.
Singles Team Recommendation
A Single battle team is mostly focused on raw damage and minimal setup unless there are very specific conditions to allow you to do so. The team off the bat in Champions are very basic, so we won't see any advanced strategies and mostly be suggesting two teams based on this. The goal is minimal work needed for a good result on one team, and another that requires some extra steps but is brutally efficient.
We're not actually picking this team for Gardevoir itself, but instead for one of the surprising breakout stars of the game who has seen a jump in use thanks to it recieving a Mega Evolution in Legends: Z-A, Drampa! Weather, as always with the start of a new meta, is incredibly common in this game, comparable to its use during Black & White's VGC Weather Wars from back in the day. Having a way to deal with weather, either clearing, changing, or ignoring it entirely, may be crucial for your playstyle, and right now I believe that Drampa is one of the best to do so, but let's actually get into the why.
Drampa is a special attacking Dragon type Pokemon who has the kind of movepool you would expect to see on the likes of a classic Dragon type like Dragonite. Drampa is relevant in this game in particular because of its Ability, Cloud Nine. With many Pokemon currently in cycle who have the ability to alter Weather like Tyranitar with Sand Stream, and Pelipper with Drizzle, a Pokemon who can counter it is essential. You could use your own weather setter, but you must keep the following in mind;
Weather, along with Item use and other Ability activations, is set based on the Speed stat of each Pokemon on the field. Let's have a look at this example.
Pelipper and Torkoal have Drizzle and Drought respectively. Pelipper, with its base Speed stat of 65, will outspeed Torkoal who has 20 in the same stat. Because it outspeeds Torkoal, Drizzle will trigger first, and then Torkoal's Drought will trigger afterwards due to it going second. Speed tiers are an important part of the Weather metagame and is often a part of the decision making when building a Weather based team. It's also part of why Torkoal is so good in that particular meta.
So Cloud Nine is a type of Ability whose effect is active so long as the user remains on field. This means that Drampa doesn't need to worry about being slower than any Weather setting Pokemon, Cloud Nine will remain active until Drampa is knocked out, switched out, or has its Ability altered by Neutralizing Gas, Gastro Acid, or other such moves or Abiities.
When Drampa Mega Evolves, its type remains the same but its Ability changes to Berserk, so you can effectively use the Pokemon either as a Weather disruptor in its base form or as a sweeper in its Mega Evolved state, provided Mega Drampa can survive a hit to trigger the Ability safely. Luckily, the rest of the team can help with this, but let's cover the movesets. Assuming you choose Gardevoir as your starting Pokemon, I'll recommend the three I think are most useful Pokemon of that team for you to use to get started.
On any team that has Whimsicott, you will usually run the aforementioned cotton spore first, it has the Ability of Prankster which increases priority for Status moves, in other words you will be able to use those attacks first almost all the time. The only exceptions are in Psychic Terrain, if an opposing Pokemon has a higher priority move, or if the target of your attack is a Dark type. You will lead with Whimsicott to use Tailwind, doubling the speed of your team for 3-5 turns, then you will use Light Screen to help give Drampa some bulk if it needs to come in. Taunt is to shut down the use of hazards like Stealth Rock, Spikes, or Toxic Spikes, as well as other status moves, and then Memento is your trump card attack, use it to disrupt an attacker to give Drampa the room to set up.
If hazards end up on your side because of misplay or you just weren't expect it, Corviknight's job is to come in to clear it. Of the Pokemon available on the Gardevoir starting team, Corviknight is the best suited to this with its move Defog, which will clear all hazards on the field. Pressure, its Ability, will double the PP used by opposing Pokemon when it is on the field, and in this game especially that is a bigger deal than ever as several key moves have had adjustments, notably nerfs, to the amount of Max PP they have. U-Turn is for pivoting into Drampa, and Roost is to recover some HP if you need it.
Now with your setup done, you can switch into Drampa. If your opponent is attempting to use Weather to their advantage, you can stay as regular Drampa to let Cloud Nine keep up its affect. You won't be chipped by Hail or Sand, the bonus properties of Snow, Rain, and Sun will not bother you, and if you're lucky the use of Cloud Nine may even force them to switch. In any case, Drampa has enough bulk to get away with a turn of setup by use of Calm Mind, and then you Mega Evolve and start to sweep with your strong coverage moves. If Drampa has sustained enough damage to drop to 50% or lower, Berserk will give you another boost to your Special Attack stat, and with Tailwind active you can expect to be outspeeding plenty of relevant threats.
Speaking of, here's the relevant threats that a Drampa will need to deal with, in the form of damage calculations.
Opponents hitting Drampa
- 252+ Atk Dragonite Ice Spinner vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Drampa-Mega: 180-214 (50.1 - 59.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 Atk Garchomp Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Drampa-Mega: 312-368 (86.9 - 102.5%) -- approx. 0.8% chance to OHKO
- 252+ SpA Froslass Blizzard vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Drampa-Mega: 366-432 (101.9 - 120.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ SpA Froslass Blizzard vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Drampa-Mega through Light Screen: 183-216 (50.9 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ SpA Dragonite Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Drampa-Mega: 440-522 (122.5 - 145.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ SpA Dragonite Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Drampa-Mega through Light Screen: 220-261 (61.2 - 72.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Hitting Opponents with Drampa (absolute extreme stat spreads)
- 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Dragonite: 432-510 (111.9 - 132.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Dragonite can run bulk safely, but even at the best HP and Sp. Def, it will still go down)
- 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 624-734 (148.5 - 174.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO (You will probably never see Garchomp run its tanky set in this game)
- 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Tyranitar: 224-264 (55.4 - 65.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Tyranitar: 488-576 (120.7 - 142.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Thunder vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Palafin: 296-350 (73.4 - 86.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Froslass-Mega with an ally's Aurora Veil: 154-182 (44.7 - 52.9%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO
- +2 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Froslass-Mega with an ally's Aurora Veil: 307-362 (89.2 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO (With one Calm Mind + Berserk)
Misc.
The other Pokemon on this team are still good to use, but the pressure of what is already shaping up to be Weather Wars V3, Drampa's unique use of Cloud Nine makes it a great pick for a beginner. Heracross is a strong sweeping Pokemon who you will pump to max Attack and Speed to fire off super-effective Megahorns on threats like Tyranitar and Raichu-Alola, and counter other Drampas with Close Combat, while also using its coverage of Rock Slide to hit Dragonite super-effectively.
Gardevoir can be a good alternate Special Attack based sweeper if you find yourself fighting a team that can give Drampa some trouble, like Incineroar, Primarina, Decidueye-Hisui, and any other Pokemon that doesn't need to worry about Weather to work. Gardevoir also has phenomonal coverage making it a solid pick in plenty of situations. You will use your Mega slot for Gardevoir if you need it to replace Drampa.
Azumarill is a niche Belly Drum sweeper who plays high risk high reward, cutting its HP in half to maximize its Attack stat. Use this if you find yourself needing to fight Pokemon who Drampa can't cover.
All in all, the Gardevoir starter choice is perfect if you want to grab Drampa right away and start fighting through Weather with relative ease. Your win condition with the team I suggested is simple, use Whimsicott to disrupt the opening Pokemon and get Drampa into the best position possible as soon as the opportunity arises. You typically don't want to wait for a "late-game" scenario, you will want to force it yourself.
If you know anything about the Scarlet & Violet meta, it may be the introduction of a particularly dangerous Pokemon who had the potential to be one of the meta's best... if it weren't for literally every other Pokemon in that same meta. In a more limited format, in this case one which has 185 Pokemon to choose between, that one in particular gets it time in the spotlight and in a pretty simple way. Of course, I don't mean Pikachu, we're picking that one for the unique combination that also gets us the star of the show, Kingambit.
Kingambit boasts an incredible defensive typing that gives it an enormous pool of resistances and only a couple of weaknesses. The downside to that is that its weaknesses are not particularly uncommon. But by the time Kingambit comes in, it should be primed enough that it won't even need to worry about those weaknesses anyway. Kingambit is explicitly designed to be a late game sweeper. In other words, its job is to clean up after your other Pokemon have done all the work.
Kingambit's Abiity of choice will be Supreme Overlord, and the game plan is extaordinarily simple. Come in after two of your allies are down and get a free 20% boost to any attack you click. Unfortunately, in Champions we cannot pair this with the move Retaliate like we could in Scarlet & Violet, but we can still throw out some impressive numbers, an extra 20% is nothing to sneeze at after all, and luckily the team you get with Pikachu as your starter allows us to make Kingambit's job even easier. Here's the three I'll recommend using to get started.
Kind of a weird looking team, right? Well I'd argue not. Sure, maybe it's weird to see Garchomp being used for utility only, but Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon are named as such for a good reason. They can do a lot of work other than just hitting hard, no better example exists than the jack of all trades that is Tyranitar. Garchomp's goal is of course to get hazards down for Kingambit. Just because Supreme Overlord will give you a lot of extra damage, you shouldn't expect that to just give you free wins, there's plenty of instances where that will not happen. A Yache Berry will allow you to take an Ice type move with no issue, but you might find the use of a Focus Sash to be more beneficial to you. Get Stealth Rock up first, then at least one layer of Spikes, then Sandstorm if you can afford to before being knocked out. You want to power up Kingambit, but you don't want to just let your team go down willy nilly.
With Garchomp's job done, we go to the next oddball of the team, Mega Gengar. You WILL Mega Evolve it right away because Gengar's Mega has the more favorable Ability, Shadow Tag prevents the oppoent from switching out without the use of a move like U-Turn or Volt Switch. Paired with Destiny Bond, you might think that Gengar's role is to be a sacrifice for the king. Not quite, you also have access to Toxic Spikes which will Poison any opponent who switches in that isn't a Steel or Posion type, and Badly Poisons them if two layers of Toxic Spikes are set. After setting that, THEN you can Destiny Bond if you feel it appropriate. Dazzling Gleam is there to threaten or even take out any Fighting types who can threaten Kingambit. I recommend Trick Room before Gengar is knocked out as Kingambit sits at 50 base speed, making it very slow compared to a lot of its relevant threats, thus faster than them inside of Trick Room.
Kingambit's job is, as I said earlier, extraordinarily simple. All you need to do is come in and get your free 20% move boost and start swinging. I recommend a Chople Berry in case a straggler Machamp is still active with a No Guard DynamicPunch, or Decidueye-Hisui with Triple Arrows --- although in that situation, Kingambit will NOT live, sorry to say XD. Its moves are self-explanatory, they are the strongest of its coverage moves that will cover most relevant threats. A Brave Nature will drop your Speed stat as low as possible to assist with being faster in Trick Room if you get the chance to set it beforehand.
Kingambit's biggest downside is its Special Defense stat. It sits at a lackluster 85, which isn't horrible on the surface but I can assure most meta relevant threats are going to take out Kingambit if you let them. Let's dive into that a bit further and move onto Kingambit's damage calculations.
Opponents hitting Kingambit
- 252+ SpA Dragonite Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Kingambit: 326-384 (80.6 - 95%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 SpA Garchomp-Mega Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Kingambit: 260-306 (64.3 - 75.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 Atk Arcanine-Hisui Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Kingambit: 308-366 (76.2 - 90.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Kingambit in Sun: 650-768 (160.8 - 190%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Use Focus Sash to survive.)
- 0 SpA Torkoal Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Kingambit in Sun: 482-570 (119.3 - 141%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Use Focus Sash to survive.)
- 252+ Atk Black Belt Machamp Dynamic Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Chople Berry Kingambit: 368-434 (91 - 107.4%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
Hitting Opponents with Kingambit
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Zen Headbutt vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Machamp: 284-336 (88.4 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 153-181 (47.3 - 56%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Reuniclus: 476-564 (112.2 - 133%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 476-564 (150.1 - 177.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gengar: 566-668 (216.8 - 255.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 312-368 (79.1 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Iron Head vs. 156 HP / 0 Def Froslass: 474-560 (148.1 - 175%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Misc.
Kingambit is really good, but sometimes it might need an extra boost to do a little better. The above damage calculations do not account for the possibility of you having successfully laid layers of traps before the king has had the chance to come out, there may be plenty of times where this doesn't happen. For a situation like this, you might need to have Swords Dance over Zen Headbutt, which is already only there for coverage anyway. If you're trying to bank Iron Head potentially flinching, don't. Iron Head's chance to inflict Flinch has been nerfed from 30% to 20%.
Incineroar, Decidueye-Hisui, fellow Supreme Overlord Kingambits, Mega Kangaskhan, and Mega Charizard Y are the largest threats to Kingambit unless it is under Trick Room. If you see these Pokemon on the opposing team, your win condition is to make sure Trick Room goes up in time for Kingambit. As for alternate Pokemon, the only other good Pokemon on this team is Gyarados. Incredibly versatile and bulky, it comes with Intimidate to lower the opponent's Attack stat making it useful for Kingambit in utility and may be preferabe to Mega Gengar in some situations, it can also deal with the likes of Arcanine-Hisui and Mega Charizard Y.
Doubles Team Recommendation
Double battles have a lot more to think about at any given time, both on your side and the opponents. In my opinion, it is where competitive Pokemon shines its absolute brightest as it showcases an incredible amount of on the spot decision making and player expression that goes beyond what the Singles format can offer. But, it can be daunting to think about such a large step in skill progression as a new or less experienced player. Luckily for you, Champions' default starter teams have some great options for you to learn with, let's take a look at the two I recommend trying out.
Don't worry, I see him too. Drampa's not the spotlight for this team though, we are shaking it up a bit thankfully lol. So. We've been talking about Weather being the dominant meta currently, and as far as I can see, that's not stopping anytime soon. Between half of a full Sandstorm core with Tyranitar as well as some new discoveries with Snow using Mega Froslass, Weather is going to be an important part of the game to learn to navigate, and an easy one to adapt with is Sun, thanks to Mega Charizard Y.
Mega Charizard Y has always been a great Pokemon, it has a good enough defensive typing though its weaknesses leave much to be desired, but where it shines is its offensive capabilities. Mega Charizard Y doesn't need to rely on another Pokemon to set up the Sun via Sunny Day, it can do so itself without a move slot being wasted. In a meta game revolving around controlling Weather, it's a massive boon to have the abilty to do that without sacrificng an attack for your desired Weather change. On top of this, Drought being an Ability that Mega Charizard Y has by default means if another Weather setter gets to change the Weather before you, you have a way to change it in a way that is mostly irrelevant to Speed.
Charizard's movepool isn't the absolute best of the best, but under Sun and once Mega Evolved, even matchups you think might be disadvantageous for you can often turn out in your favor just because of the raw strength of this Pokemon under the right conditions. You'll be using Mega Charizard Y as a glass cannon special attacker only who will motly be a late game sweeper, but you may find yourself wanting to lead with it instead in some cases. Double Battles require a minimum of four elligible Pokemon, so let's go ahead and suggest the best team for Mega Charizard Y.
You already know how useful Whimsicott is in a Singles format, and the same is true for Doubles. You will probably see Whimsicott on most serious Doubles teams because of its utility as one of the best Pokemon with access to Prankster. For Doubles, while Tailwiind is still a go-to for most teams, you will also see Whimsicott running Taunt. This will shut down trap setters and opposing Whimsicott, On top of this, it has one of the most important mechanics available to it which is attack redirection via the move Follow Me. Use this move to keep your trap setter or sweeper safe, on the turn it is used, all attacks from the opposing side will hit the user regardless of who they originally targeted. Protect is just a good utility move to have, but you can swap that for Helping Hand or Memento.
Steelix is a weird Pokemon to use, but it is here on the team you get so let's make the most of it. Steelix is going to be your trap setter and wallbreaker, you will always lead with this Pokemon and Whimsicott, the idea being that Whimsicott can disrupt opponents while Steelix lays down Stealth Rock. Body Press is entirely optional, and you could run Protect in its place or even Toxic if the oppoing team is susceptible to being Poisoned. Roar is a great alternative way to pressure the opponents leads, but the main draw is of course Explosion. Use this move after your setup turns are down to deal a good chunk of damage to the opponents and maybe even knock them out. Make sure to Protect with Whimsicott on that turn if you put the move on it, it can still be useful to Mega Charizard Y.
Azumarill is your backup support to Mega Charizard Y if and when Whimsicott falls. It has a standard moveset overall, but the important part is Helping Hand. It usually always goes first and will give your ally a 1.5x damage multiplier to any atttack it uses that turn. Not that Mega Charizard Y really needs it most of the time, but the extra damage is always appreciated and you should never be too sure about what you hit your opponent with. Ice Spinner is a fantastic piece of utility for Azumarill that will clear away hazards that threaten Mega Charizard Y, in particular Stealth Rock which will deal Rock type based damage, a 4x damage multiplier against Charizard.
Mega Charizard Y's job is to click buttons and win. It's a glass cannon build that prioritizes raw Special Attack damage over anything else. If Whimsicott is on field with you, draw attention away with Follow Me. If its Azumarill, boost Mega Charizard Y with Helping Hand. Under the Sun, Mega Charizard Y's Weather Ball becomes a 100 Base Power Fire type move, but outside of it you're left with it being a 50 Base Power Normal type move, so why pick it over a traditional Fire type move so you always have access to STAB? Well the simple factor is consistency. Mega Charizard Y's only comparable moves are Fire Blast, Overheat, and Inferno. Two of those moves do not have 100% Accuracy and Overheat will drop Mega Charizard Y's Special Attack by two stages. In a game like this, you want clean consistent results. If the Weather gets changed on you, still have a strong set of other attacks to back you up.
Mega Charizard Y will likely outspeed a lot of revelant threats, especially under Tailwind, but its a glass cannon for a reason. Just because you can hit hard doesn't mean you're invincible. You boast good Special Defense, but your not as good Physical Defense which is where you will have to be careful. Here's some relevant damage calculations.
Opponents hitting Mega Charizard Y
- 80 Atk Tyranitar Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 544-648 (183.1 - 218.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252 Atk Arcanine-Hisui Head Smash vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 1104-1300 (371.7 - 437.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252 Atk Huge Power Starmie-Mega Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y in Sun: 266-314 (89.5 - 105.7%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
- 252+ Atk Gyarados Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y in Sun: 170-204 (57.2 - 68.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- +1 252+ Atk Gyarados Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y in Sun: 254-302 (85.5 - 101.6%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
- 4 Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 156-186 (52.5 - 62.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 192-228 (64.6 - 76.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Hitting Opponents with Mega Charizard Y
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Solar Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gyarados: 152-179 (45.9 - 54%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Dragon Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Dragonite: 216-256 (66.8 - 79.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Helping Hand Dragon Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Dragonite: 322-380 (99.6 - 117.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Meganium-Mega in Sun: 374-444 (102.7 - 121.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Filter Aggron-Mega: 190-225 (55.2 - 65.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Solar Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 250-296 (63.4 - 75.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Helping Hand Solar Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 376-444 (95.4 - 112.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Helping Hand Dragon Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Garchomp: 366-432 (102.5 - 121%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Sneasler in Sun: 343-405 (113.5 - 134.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Misc.
It is imperative that Mega Charizard Y has access to Tailwind on its side with Whimsicott. An important matchup for Mega Charizard Y is Starmie. In both its base and Mega Evolved form, Starmie's 120 base Speed stat translates to 371 with maximum EVs and a beneficial Nature for speed. Mega Charizard Y falls short at 328 and needs Tailwind to ensure it will outspeed almost anything that threatens it. If you do outspeed, you will find that Mega Charizard Y is nigh unstoppable and a great first step into abusing the Weather system.
The other major thing to keep in mind is that Charizard struggles with hitting multiple targets with this moveset, Heat Wave can help circumvent that but that's it. You could put Protect or Hurricane over Dragon Pulse, but for a glass cannon build, this about covers most of what you will be fighting. You might consider Gengar for Mean Look, Toxic Spikes, Destiny Bond, or even Perish Song to pressure opponents, and while I boasted Drampa's impressive niche usage earlier, on this team it will not provide a lot of utility. There's not a lot to say here that isn't going to be obvious as you're playing, this team is meant to be very very simple.
These teams honestly kind of tested my patience, I'm going to be honst with you. Some of these default sets give Pokemon Stadium a run for their money with how BAD they are, but luckily we also need to keep in mind that most opposing new players will also be dealing with the default sets too right away. Thankfully, Pokemon is a very flexible game and we can make things work even in dire situations. Case in point is the core of our final team, Palafin.
Palafin was a long-awaited addition the franchise as it was the first ever dolphin Pokemon, and in my opinion it did not disappoint. It has a cool design and a really interest mechanic that revolves around smart gameplay as it gets access to its stronger form only when you switch it out of battle. And how much stronger is its Hero Form, you might ask? Well take a look for yourself;
Palafin essentially undegoes a Mega Evolution by switching out, but due to how that transformation happens, you need to play it much smarter. Palafin has a Speed stat of 100, so it is not the fastest thing on the field usually. It's up to you to decide how you go about switching Palafin out, will you try get chip damage with Flip Turn or do you just manually switch? Palafin can be phenomonal but you need to know what you're doing. Unfortunately, the team that comes with it is not going to make that easy.
Unfortunately, we don't get the luxury of a free Whimsicott on this team unlike most of the other starting teams, but we can make do. Beedrill is a terrible offensive Pokemon without its Mega Evolution, but it can still provide some utility. The risk is that Beedrill is very frail, and in Doubles you will likely go down rather quickly, but that mostly is not an issue as your goal is to get Tailwind up for Palafin. However, if you don't faint and you successfully get Palafin back to party, you can try to throw out a Swords Dance to boost Beedrill's Attack stat by two stages, and then Baton Pass on your next turn to safely switch in Palafin while giving it the boost from Swords Dance. Do NOT expect this to work all the time and do not rely on this, but if you see an opportunity to, then use it.
Aggron is your trap setter, if you can even call it that. It's honestly a kind of worse Steelix, but it's still usable. Taunt and Thunder Wave are great utility to have, and Rock Slide will provide spread coverage to both targets in situations where Palafin might not have quite enough damage to finish off the opponent. Aggron could be your Mega Evolution slot for this team, it boasts phenonomal defenses and there's really no upside to using Mega Beedrill over letting it run Focus Sash. This frees up the Leftovers item for Sylveon instead, and you could give Sitrus Berry to Palafin over Mystic Water.
Sylveon is your Screen setter, it will use Reflect and Light Screen to boost your side's Defense and Special Defense stats, and use its utility healing of Wish to keep itself or an ally alive. Sylveon also has Magic Coat, which will counter non damaging moves and send them back to the oppoent. This is particularly useful to block Spikes and Stealth Rock. But, you might find yourself wanting to give Sylveon Helping Hand instead for the same reason Azumarill runs it on the Mega Charizard Y team.
Palafin's job is to get out turn one and get back in right away. An ideal turn would have you lead Beedrill and Palafin, and while you swap Palafin out for Aggron or Sylveon, you Tailwind with Beedrill. You then either Swords Dance with Beedrill if its safe and then Baton Pass the next turn while setting up Screen, or just switch out manually. Either way, you want to get Hero Form Palafin out into the batle as soon as you can, ideally turn three or four if you're not trying to use Baton Pass to enhance Palafin further.
Let's take a look at Palafin's most relevant threats in its damage calculations.
Opponents hitting Palafin
- 252 SpA Manectric-Mega Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero: 338-402 (99.1 - 117.8%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
- 252 SpA Magnet Raichu-Alola Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero: 320-378 (93.8 - 110.8%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
- 252 SpA Magnet Raichu-Alola Rising Voltage (140 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero in Electric Terrain: 642-756 (188.2 - 221.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ SpA Meganium-Mega Solar Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero: 518-612 (151.9 - 179.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ SpA Meganium-Mega Solar Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero through Light Screen: 259-306 (75.9 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 SpA Dragonite-Mega Thunder vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero: 292-344 (85.6 - 100.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
- 252+ SpA Glaceon Freeze-Dry vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero: 282-332 (82.6 - 97.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Hitting Opponents with Palafin
- 252+ Atk Palafin-Hero Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Dragonite-Mega: 372-440 (96.3 - 113.9%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
- 252+ Atk Palafin-Hero Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 620-732 (153.4 - 181.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ Atk Mystic Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Charizard-Mega-Y in Sun: 186-218 (62.6 - 73.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ Atk Palafin-Hero Ice Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Decidueye-Hisui: 252-298 (79.4 - 94%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ Atk Mystic Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mimikyu: 181-214 (72.1 - 85.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Misc.
Palafin's offensive damage calculations do not account for Helping Hand, so keep this in mind and do not be underwhelmed. You will also likely be dealing with opponents already worn down by Stealth Rock if you had Aggron replace Palafin turn one, so you actually have no need to worry about what appears to be lackluster damage to the bigger threats.
Defog is an option for Beedrill over Substitute if your opponents get a sneaky Stealth Rock up while you're switching Palafin. As mentioned on the Mega Charizard Y team, Gengar can be a good disruptor with Taunt and Toxic Spikes, but you might also be able to use its Mega Evolution and replace Aggron entirely if your opponents have specific weaknesses that Gengar can exploit.
The biggest threat to Palafin is Mega Chesnaught, who has a staggering 172 Base Defense stat. With a Base stat that high, Chesnaught won't need much investment, if any at all, to shrug off moves from Palafin while also hitting hard with Seed Bomb backed by a 137 Base Attack stat. You will want Gengar with Sludge Bomb in your team to handle Chesnaught... is what I WOULD say if Mega Chesnaught did not retain the Ability Bulletproof which makes it immune to ball or bomb moves. Your other option on this team to handle it is Hydreigon with Fire Blast. Keep an eye out for Mega Chesnaught if you want to run Palafin.
Conclusion
It's been a while since my last Competitive Pokemon guide, and I know some people still drop by the forum. If anyone is checking out Pokemon Champions and doesn't know where to start, you can use this starter guide to help ease you into the game. I plan to make more guides for whoever is dropping in, Competitive Pokemon is about to change forever and I for one cannot wait to see how this meta evolves. Feel free to say hi, offer your own tips in the replies, and enjoy Pokemon as always! Until next time, Kris out.
Credit!
Pokedex and Moveset information curtesy of both my own gameplay and Serebii.net
Starter Pokemon
Champions is not like your standard Pokemon journey, you don't get to pick a starter in the traditional sese, no Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle here. Instead, all Pokemon are fully evolved and mooooostly battle ready. As such, the list of "starters" is much different. On top of the starters, you will get a team to go with the Pokemon you first choose. Let's go over all the starter Pokemon and their teams.
Charizard
Pikachu
Snorlax
Tyranitar
Altaria
Gardevoir
Absol
Lucario
Armarouge
Palafin
Off the bat, you will notice some overlap in what the teams offer you, and maybe some Pokemon instantly jump out to you if you're a little familiar with Competitive battling already. So I will go over what is considered to objectively be "the best" for these teams, but I want to stress that you should not feel pressured to just try and learn the best strategies right away. Pick what you like and work with it, that's how a lot of us started and it's a great way to familiarize yourself.
Still, if you want to perform well, there will come a time when you need to consider better Pokemon not just for yourself but to answer whatever becomes common and dominates the meta. Let's help you prepare for that by going over what these Pokemon actually offer and why you might want to consider using or skipping them.
Battles are determined by a number of factors, but generally you will have a team working towards what is called a "win condition", which is essentially the goal of your team to try and exploit or set up the, well, conditions necessary to secure a win. For example, the goal of a team with Tyranitar, who has the ability Sand Stream, is to get Sandstorm active to chip and weaken opponents while powering up your strongest Pokemon to finish them off, all thanks to the early steps set up by Tyranitar.
There are numerous strategies to try and they too vary depending on your format, either Singles or Doubles in Champions. There's a lot of Pokemon to choose from here too, so I want to narrow it down to four, two starting Pokemon teams that work in each format, depending on what you'll be focusing on the most.
Singles Team Recommendation
A Single battle team is mostly focused on raw damage and minimal setup unless there are very specific conditions to allow you to do so. The team off the bat in Champions are very basic, so we won't see any advanced strategies and mostly be suggesting two teams based on this. The goal is minimal work needed for a good result on one team, and another that requires some extra steps but is brutally efficient.
Team 1
Cloud Nine (Pick Gardevoir as your Starter)
Whimicott
Gardevoir
Drampa
Heracross
Azumarill
Corviknight
Cloud Nine (Pick Gardevoir as your Starter)
Whimicott
Gardevoir
Drampa
Heracross
Azumarill
Corviknight
We're not actually picking this team for Gardevoir itself, but instead for one of the surprising breakout stars of the game who has seen a jump in use thanks to it recieving a Mega Evolution in Legends: Z-A, Drampa! Weather, as always with the start of a new meta, is incredibly common in this game, comparable to its use during Black & White's VGC Weather Wars from back in the day. Having a way to deal with weather, either clearing, changing, or ignoring it entirely, may be crucial for your playstyle, and right now I believe that Drampa is one of the best to do so, but let's actually get into the why.
Drampa
![[Image: 780.png]](https://www.serebii.net/pokemonhome/pokemon/780.png)
Type:
Weakness:
,
,,
Resistance:
,
,
,
Immunity:
Ability: Beserk (Raises the Pokemon's Sp. Atk stat by one stage when its HP falls below 50%)
Sap Sipper (Raises the Pokemon's Attack stat by one stage when struck by a Grass type move, and also grants immunity to Grass type moves.)
Cloud Nine (When the Pokemon enters the battle, all effects of Weather are negated until it switches out or faints.)
Type:
Weakness:
,,,Resistance:
,,,Immunity:
Ability: Beserk (Raises the Pokemon's Sp. Atk stat by one stage when its HP falls below 50%)
Sap Sipper (Raises the Pokemon's Attack stat by one stage when struck by a Grass type move, and also grants immunity to Grass type moves.)
Cloud Nine (When the Pokemon enters the battle, all effects of Weather are negated until it switches out or faints.)
Drampa is a special attacking Dragon type Pokemon who has the kind of movepool you would expect to see on the likes of a classic Dragon type like Dragonite. Drampa is relevant in this game in particular because of its Ability, Cloud Nine. With many Pokemon currently in cycle who have the ability to alter Weather like Tyranitar with Sand Stream, and Pelipper with Drizzle, a Pokemon who can counter it is essential. You could use your own weather setter, but you must keep the following in mind;
Weather, along with Item use and other Ability activations, is set based on the Speed stat of each Pokemon on the field. Let's have a look at this example.
Pelipper and Torkoal have Drizzle and Drought respectively. Pelipper, with its base Speed stat of 65, will outspeed Torkoal who has 20 in the same stat. Because it outspeeds Torkoal, Drizzle will trigger first, and then Torkoal's Drought will trigger afterwards due to it going second. Speed tiers are an important part of the Weather metagame and is often a part of the decision making when building a Weather based team. It's also part of why Torkoal is so good in that particular meta.
So Cloud Nine is a type of Ability whose effect is active so long as the user remains on field. This means that Drampa doesn't need to worry about being slower than any Weather setting Pokemon, Cloud Nine will remain active until Drampa is knocked out, switched out, or has its Ability altered by Neutralizing Gas, Gastro Acid, or other such moves or Abiities.
When Drampa Mega Evolves, its type remains the same but its Ability changes to Berserk, so you can effectively use the Pokemon either as a Weather disruptor in its base form or as a sweeper in its Mega Evolved state, provided Mega Drampa can survive a hit to trigger the Ability safely. Luckily, the rest of the team can help with this, but let's cover the movesets. Assuming you choose Gardevoir as your starting Pokemon, I'll recommend the three I think are most useful Pokemon of that team for you to use to get started.
Whimsicott
Whimsicott @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Light Screen
- Taunt
- Memento
Drampa
Drampa @ Drampanite
Ability: Cloud Nine (Becomes Berserk upon Mega Evolution)
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Draco Meteor
- Hyper Voice
- Thunder/Heat Wave/Ice Beam/Grass Knot
Corviknight
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 124 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog
Whimsicott @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Light Screen
- Taunt
- Memento
Drampa
Drampa @ Drampanite
Ability: Cloud Nine (Becomes Berserk upon Mega Evolution)
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Modest Nature
- Calm Mind
- Draco Meteor
- Hyper Voice
- Thunder/Heat Wave/Ice Beam/Grass Knot
Corviknight
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 136 Def / 124 SpD
Impish Nature
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost
- Defog
On any team that has Whimsicott, you will usually run the aforementioned cotton spore first, it has the Ability of Prankster which increases priority for Status moves, in other words you will be able to use those attacks first almost all the time. The only exceptions are in Psychic Terrain, if an opposing Pokemon has a higher priority move, or if the target of your attack is a Dark type. You will lead with Whimsicott to use Tailwind, doubling the speed of your team for 3-5 turns, then you will use Light Screen to help give Drampa some bulk if it needs to come in. Taunt is to shut down the use of hazards like Stealth Rock, Spikes, or Toxic Spikes, as well as other status moves, and then Memento is your trump card attack, use it to disrupt an attacker to give Drampa the room to set up.
If hazards end up on your side because of misplay or you just weren't expect it, Corviknight's job is to come in to clear it. Of the Pokemon available on the Gardevoir starting team, Corviknight is the best suited to this with its move Defog, which will clear all hazards on the field. Pressure, its Ability, will double the PP used by opposing Pokemon when it is on the field, and in this game especially that is a bigger deal than ever as several key moves have had adjustments, notably nerfs, to the amount of Max PP they have. U-Turn is for pivoting into Drampa, and Roost is to recover some HP if you need it.
Now with your setup done, you can switch into Drampa. If your opponent is attempting to use Weather to their advantage, you can stay as regular Drampa to let Cloud Nine keep up its affect. You won't be chipped by Hail or Sand, the bonus properties of Snow, Rain, and Sun will not bother you, and if you're lucky the use of Cloud Nine may even force them to switch. In any case, Drampa has enough bulk to get away with a turn of setup by use of Calm Mind, and then you Mega Evolve and start to sweep with your strong coverage moves. If Drampa has sustained enough damage to drop to 50% or lower, Berserk will give you another boost to your Special Attack stat, and with Tailwind active you can expect to be outspeeding plenty of relevant threats.
Speaking of, here's the relevant threats that a Drampa will need to deal with, in the form of damage calculations.
Opponents hitting Drampa
- 252+ Atk Dragonite Ice Spinner vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Drampa-Mega: 180-214 (50.1 - 59.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 Atk Garchomp Scale Shot (4 hits) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Drampa-Mega: 312-368 (86.9 - 102.5%) -- approx. 0.8% chance to OHKO
- 252+ SpA Froslass Blizzard vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Drampa-Mega: 366-432 (101.9 - 120.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ SpA Froslass Blizzard vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Drampa-Mega through Light Screen: 183-216 (50.9 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ SpA Dragonite Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Drampa-Mega: 440-522 (122.5 - 145.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ SpA Dragonite Draco Meteor vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Drampa-Mega through Light Screen: 220-261 (61.2 - 72.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Hitting Opponents with Drampa (absolute extreme stat spreads)
- 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Dragonite: 432-510 (111.9 - 132.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Dragonite can run bulk safely, but even at the best HP and Sp. Def, it will still go down)
- 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 624-734 (148.5 - 174.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO (You will probably never see Garchomp run its tanky set in this game)
- 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Hydro Pump vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Tyranitar: 224-264 (55.4 - 65.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 240+ SpD Tyranitar: 488-576 (120.7 - 142.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Thunder vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Palafin: 296-350 (73.4 - 86.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Froslass-Mega with an ally's Aurora Veil: 154-182 (44.7 - 52.9%) -- 25.8% chance to 2HKO
- +2 252+ SpA Drampa-Mega Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Froslass-Mega with an ally's Aurora Veil: 307-362 (89.2 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO (With one Calm Mind + Berserk)
Misc.
The other Pokemon on this team are still good to use, but the pressure of what is already shaping up to be Weather Wars V3, Drampa's unique use of Cloud Nine makes it a great pick for a beginner. Heracross is a strong sweeping Pokemon who you will pump to max Attack and Speed to fire off super-effective Megahorns on threats like Tyranitar and Raichu-Alola, and counter other Drampas with Close Combat, while also using its coverage of Rock Slide to hit Dragonite super-effectively.
Gardevoir can be a good alternate Special Attack based sweeper if you find yourself fighting a team that can give Drampa some trouble, like Incineroar, Primarina, Decidueye-Hisui, and any other Pokemon that doesn't need to worry about Weather to work. Gardevoir also has phenomonal coverage making it a solid pick in plenty of situations. You will use your Mega slot for Gardevoir if you need it to replace Drampa.
Azumarill is a niche Belly Drum sweeper who plays high risk high reward, cutting its HP in half to maximize its Attack stat. Use this if you find yourself needing to fight Pokemon who Drampa can't cover.
All in all, the Gardevoir starter choice is perfect if you want to grab Drampa right away and start fighting through Weather with relative ease. Your win condition with the team I suggested is simple, use Whimsicott to disrupt the opening Pokemon and get Drampa into the best position possible as soon as the opportunity arises. You typically don't want to wait for a "late-game" scenario, you will want to force it yourself.
Team 2
Revenge Killer (Pick Pikachu as your Starter)
Gengar
Pikachu
Kingambit
Garchomp
Gyarados
Azumarill
Revenge Killer (Pick Pikachu as your Starter)
Gengar
Pikachu
Kingambit
Garchomp
Gyarados
Azumarill
If you know anything about the Scarlet & Violet meta, it may be the introduction of a particularly dangerous Pokemon who had the potential to be one of the meta's best... if it weren't for literally every other Pokemon in that same meta. In a more limited format, in this case one which has 185 Pokemon to choose between, that one in particular gets it time in the spotlight and in a pretty simple way. Of course, I don't mean Pikachu, we're picking that one for the unique combination that also gets us the star of the show, Kingambit.
Kingambit
![[Image: 983.png]](https://www.serebii.net/pokemonhome/pokemon/983.png)
Type:
Weakness:,
,
Resistance:,,,
,,,,,
Immunity:
,
Ability: Defiant (When the user has any of its stats lowered by an opponet, its Attack stat raises by two.)
Supreme Overlord (The user's moves base power are increased by 10% for each ally in the party that has fainted.)
Pressure (The opponent uses 2 PP for each move used against the user instead of 1.)
Type:
Weakness:
,,Resistance:
,,,,,,,,Immunity:
,Ability: Defiant (When the user has any of its stats lowered by an opponet, its Attack stat raises by two.)
Supreme Overlord (The user's moves base power are increased by 10% for each ally in the party that has fainted.)
Pressure (The opponent uses 2 PP for each move used against the user instead of 1.)
Kingambit boasts an incredible defensive typing that gives it an enormous pool of resistances and only a couple of weaknesses. The downside to that is that its weaknesses are not particularly uncommon. But by the time Kingambit comes in, it should be primed enough that it won't even need to worry about those weaknesses anyway. Kingambit is explicitly designed to be a late game sweeper. In other words, its job is to clean up after your other Pokemon have done all the work.
Kingambit's Abiity of choice will be Supreme Overlord, and the game plan is extaordinarily simple. Come in after two of your allies are down and get a free 20% boost to any attack you click. Unfortunately, in Champions we cannot pair this with the move Retaliate like we could in Scarlet & Violet, but we can still throw out some impressive numbers, an extra 20% is nothing to sneeze at after all, and luckily the team you get with Pikachu as your starter allows us to make Kingambit's job even easier. Here's the three I'll recommend using to get started.
Garchomp
Garchomp @ Yache Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Sandstorm/Earth Power
- Draco Meteor
Gengar
Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Cursed Body (Becomes Shadow Tag upon Mega Evolution)
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Will-O-Wisp/Trick Room
- Toxic Spikes
- Dazzling Gleam
Kingambit
Kingambit @ Chople Berry/Focus Sash
Ability: Supreme Overlord
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
- Kowtow Cleave
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge
- Zen Headbutt
Garchomp @ Yache Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Sandstorm/Earth Power
- Draco Meteor
Gengar
Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Cursed Body (Becomes Shadow Tag upon Mega Evolution)
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Destiny Bond
- Will-O-Wisp/Trick Room
- Toxic Spikes
- Dazzling Gleam
Kingambit
Kingambit @ Chople Berry/Focus Sash
Ability: Supreme Overlord
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
- Kowtow Cleave
- Iron Head
- Stone Edge
- Zen Headbutt
Kind of a weird looking team, right? Well I'd argue not. Sure, maybe it's weird to see Garchomp being used for utility only, but Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon are named as such for a good reason. They can do a lot of work other than just hitting hard, no better example exists than the jack of all trades that is Tyranitar. Garchomp's goal is of course to get hazards down for Kingambit. Just because Supreme Overlord will give you a lot of extra damage, you shouldn't expect that to just give you free wins, there's plenty of instances where that will not happen. A Yache Berry will allow you to take an Ice type move with no issue, but you might find the use of a Focus Sash to be more beneficial to you. Get Stealth Rock up first, then at least one layer of Spikes, then Sandstorm if you can afford to before being knocked out. You want to power up Kingambit, but you don't want to just let your team go down willy nilly.
With Garchomp's job done, we go to the next oddball of the team, Mega Gengar. You WILL Mega Evolve it right away because Gengar's Mega has the more favorable Ability, Shadow Tag prevents the oppoent from switching out without the use of a move like U-Turn or Volt Switch. Paired with Destiny Bond, you might think that Gengar's role is to be a sacrifice for the king. Not quite, you also have access to Toxic Spikes which will Poison any opponent who switches in that isn't a Steel or Posion type, and Badly Poisons them if two layers of Toxic Spikes are set. After setting that, THEN you can Destiny Bond if you feel it appropriate. Dazzling Gleam is there to threaten or even take out any Fighting types who can threaten Kingambit. I recommend Trick Room before Gengar is knocked out as Kingambit sits at 50 base speed, making it very slow compared to a lot of its relevant threats, thus faster than them inside of Trick Room.
Kingambit's job is, as I said earlier, extraordinarily simple. All you need to do is come in and get your free 20% move boost and start swinging. I recommend a Chople Berry in case a straggler Machamp is still active with a No Guard DynamicPunch, or Decidueye-Hisui with Triple Arrows --- although in that situation, Kingambit will NOT live, sorry to say XD. Its moves are self-explanatory, they are the strongest of its coverage moves that will cover most relevant threats. A Brave Nature will drop your Speed stat as low as possible to assist with being faster in Trick Room if you get the chance to set it beforehand.
Kingambit's biggest downside is its Special Defense stat. It sits at a lackluster 85, which isn't horrible on the surface but I can assure most meta relevant threats are going to take out Kingambit if you let them. Let's dive into that a bit further and move onto Kingambit's damage calculations.
Opponents hitting Kingambit
- 252+ SpA Dragonite Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Kingambit: 326-384 (80.6 - 95%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 SpA Garchomp-Mega Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Kingambit: 260-306 (64.3 - 75.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 Atk Arcanine-Hisui Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Kingambit: 308-366 (76.2 - 90.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Kingambit in Sun: 650-768 (160.8 - 190%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Use Focus Sash to survive.)
- 0 SpA Torkoal Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Kingambit in Sun: 482-570 (119.3 - 141%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Use Focus Sash to survive.)
- 252+ Atk Black Belt Machamp Dynamic Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Chople Berry Kingambit: 368-434 (91 - 107.4%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO
Hitting Opponents with Kingambit
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Zen Headbutt vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Machamp: 284-336 (88.4 - 104.6%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Stone Edge vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Multiscale Dragonite: 153-181 (47.3 - 56%) -- 82.4% chance to 2HKO
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Reuniclus: 476-564 (112.2 - 133%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 476-564 (150.1 - 177.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gengar: 566-668 (216.8 - 255.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 312-368 (79.1 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- 252+ Atk Supreme Overlord 2 allies fainted Kingambit Iron Head vs. 156 HP / 0 Def Froslass: 474-560 (148.1 - 175%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Misc.
Kingambit is really good, but sometimes it might need an extra boost to do a little better. The above damage calculations do not account for the possibility of you having successfully laid layers of traps before the king has had the chance to come out, there may be plenty of times where this doesn't happen. For a situation like this, you might need to have Swords Dance over Zen Headbutt, which is already only there for coverage anyway. If you're trying to bank Iron Head potentially flinching, don't. Iron Head's chance to inflict Flinch has been nerfed from 30% to 20%.
Incineroar, Decidueye-Hisui, fellow Supreme Overlord Kingambits, Mega Kangaskhan, and Mega Charizard Y are the largest threats to Kingambit unless it is under Trick Room. If you see these Pokemon on the opposing team, your win condition is to make sure Trick Room goes up in time for Kingambit. As for alternate Pokemon, the only other good Pokemon on this team is Gyarados. Incredibly versatile and bulky, it comes with Intimidate to lower the opponent's Attack stat making it useful for Kingambit in utility and may be preferabe to Mega Gengar in some situations, it can also deal with the likes of Arcanine-Hisui and Mega Charizard Y.
Doubles Team Recommendation
Double battles have a lot more to think about at any given time, both on your side and the opponents. In my opinion, it is where competitive Pokemon shines its absolute brightest as it showcases an incredible amount of on the spot decision making and player expression that goes beyond what the Singles format can offer. But, it can be daunting to think about such a large step in skill progression as a new or less experienced player. Luckily for you, Champions' default starter teams have some great options for you to learn with, let's take a look at the two I recommend trying out.
Team 1
Sun Team (Pick Charizard as your Starter)
Whimsicott
Charizard
Steelix
Gengar
Azumarill
Drampa
Sun Team (Pick Charizard as your Starter)
Whimsicott
Charizard
Steelix
Gengar
Azumarill
Drampa
Don't worry, I see him too. Drampa's not the spotlight for this team though, we are shaking it up a bit thankfully lol. So. We've been talking about Weather being the dominant meta currently, and as far as I can see, that's not stopping anytime soon. Between half of a full Sandstorm core with Tyranitar as well as some new discoveries with Snow using Mega Froslass, Weather is going to be an important part of the game to learn to navigate, and an easy one to adapt with is Sun, thanks to Mega Charizard Y.
Mega Charizard Y
![[Image: 006-my.png]](https://www.serebii.net/legendsz-a/pokemon/006-my.png)
Type:
Weakness:,,
Resistance:,,
,,,
Immunity:
Ability: Blaze (The user's Fire type moves become stronger when its HP is at 25% or less)
Drought (Upon the user being switched in, the Weather change to Sunny) (Mega Charizard Y retains Drought when it Mega Evolves)
Type:
Weakness:
,,Resistance:
,,,,,Immunity:
Ability: Blaze (The user's Fire type moves become stronger when its HP is at 25% or less)
Drought (Upon the user being switched in, the Weather change to Sunny) (Mega Charizard Y retains Drought when it Mega Evolves)
Mega Charizard Y has always been a great Pokemon, it has a good enough defensive typing though its weaknesses leave much to be desired, but where it shines is its offensive capabilities. Mega Charizard Y doesn't need to rely on another Pokemon to set up the Sun via Sunny Day, it can do so itself without a move slot being wasted. In a meta game revolving around controlling Weather, it's a massive boon to have the abilty to do that without sacrificng an attack for your desired Weather change. On top of this, Drought being an Ability that Mega Charizard Y has by default means if another Weather setter gets to change the Weather before you, you have a way to change it in a way that is mostly irrelevant to Speed.
Charizard's movepool isn't the absolute best of the best, but under Sun and once Mega Evolved, even matchups you think might be disadvantageous for you can often turn out in your favor just because of the raw strength of this Pokemon under the right conditions. You'll be using Mega Charizard Y as a glass cannon special attacker only who will motly be a late game sweeper, but you may find yourself wanting to lead with it instead in some cases. Double Battles require a minimum of four elligible Pokemon, so let's go ahead and suggest the best team for Mega Charizard Y.
Whimsicott
Whimsicott @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Protect
- Follow Me
- Taunt
Steelix
Steelix @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Body Press
- Explosion
- Roar
Azumarill
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Helping Hand
- Aqua Jet
- Protect
- Ice Spinner
Mega Charizard Y
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Weather Ball/Overheat/Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast
Whimsicott @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Tailwind
- Protect
- Follow Me
- Taunt
Steelix
Steelix @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Body Press
- Explosion
- Roar
Azumarill
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Helping Hand
- Aqua Jet
- Protect
- Ice Spinner
Mega Charizard Y
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Solar Power
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Weather Ball/Overheat/Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast
You already know how useful Whimsicott is in a Singles format, and the same is true for Doubles. You will probably see Whimsicott on most serious Doubles teams because of its utility as one of the best Pokemon with access to Prankster. For Doubles, while Tailwiind is still a go-to for most teams, you will also see Whimsicott running Taunt. This will shut down trap setters and opposing Whimsicott, On top of this, it has one of the most important mechanics available to it which is attack redirection via the move Follow Me. Use this move to keep your trap setter or sweeper safe, on the turn it is used, all attacks from the opposing side will hit the user regardless of who they originally targeted. Protect is just a good utility move to have, but you can swap that for Helping Hand or Memento.
Steelix is a weird Pokemon to use, but it is here on the team you get so let's make the most of it. Steelix is going to be your trap setter and wallbreaker, you will always lead with this Pokemon and Whimsicott, the idea being that Whimsicott can disrupt opponents while Steelix lays down Stealth Rock. Body Press is entirely optional, and you could run Protect in its place or even Toxic if the oppoing team is susceptible to being Poisoned. Roar is a great alternative way to pressure the opponents leads, but the main draw is of course Explosion. Use this move after your setup turns are down to deal a good chunk of damage to the opponents and maybe even knock them out. Make sure to Protect with Whimsicott on that turn if you put the move on it, it can still be useful to Mega Charizard Y.
Azumarill is your backup support to Mega Charizard Y if and when Whimsicott falls. It has a standard moveset overall, but the important part is Helping Hand. It usually always goes first and will give your ally a 1.5x damage multiplier to any atttack it uses that turn. Not that Mega Charizard Y really needs it most of the time, but the extra damage is always appreciated and you should never be too sure about what you hit your opponent with. Ice Spinner is a fantastic piece of utility for Azumarill that will clear away hazards that threaten Mega Charizard Y, in particular Stealth Rock which will deal Rock type based damage, a 4x damage multiplier against Charizard.
Mega Charizard Y's job is to click buttons and win. It's a glass cannon build that prioritizes raw Special Attack damage over anything else. If Whimsicott is on field with you, draw attention away with Follow Me. If its Azumarill, boost Mega Charizard Y with Helping Hand. Under the Sun, Mega Charizard Y's Weather Ball becomes a 100 Base Power Fire type move, but outside of it you're left with it being a 50 Base Power Normal type move, so why pick it over a traditional Fire type move so you always have access to STAB? Well the simple factor is consistency. Mega Charizard Y's only comparable moves are Fire Blast, Overheat, and Inferno. Two of those moves do not have 100% Accuracy and Overheat will drop Mega Charizard Y's Special Attack by two stages. In a game like this, you want clean consistent results. If the Weather gets changed on you, still have a strong set of other attacks to back you up.
Mega Charizard Y will likely outspeed a lot of revelant threats, especially under Tailwind, but its a glass cannon for a reason. Just because you can hit hard doesn't mean you're invincible. You boast good Special Defense, but your not as good Physical Defense which is where you will have to be careful. Here's some relevant damage calculations.
Opponents hitting Mega Charizard Y
- 80 Atk Tyranitar Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 544-648 (183.1 - 218.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252 Atk Arcanine-Hisui Head Smash vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 1104-1300 (371.7 - 437.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252 Atk Huge Power Starmie-Mega Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y in Sun: 266-314 (89.5 - 105.7%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
- 252+ Atk Gyarados Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y in Sun: 170-204 (57.2 - 68.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- +1 252+ Atk Gyarados Waterfall vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y in Sun: 254-302 (85.5 - 101.6%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
- 4 Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 156-186 (52.5 - 62.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 Atk Dragapult Dragon Darts (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Charizard-Mega-Y: 192-228 (64.6 - 76.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Hitting Opponents with Mega Charizard Y
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Solar Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Gyarados: 152-179 (45.9 - 54%) -- 3.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Dragon Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Dragonite: 216-256 (66.8 - 79.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Helping Hand Dragon Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Dragonite: 322-380 (99.6 - 117.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Meganium-Mega in Sun: 374-444 (102.7 - 121.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Filter Aggron-Mega: 190-225 (55.2 - 65.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Solar Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 250-296 (63.4 - 75.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Helping Hand Solar Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Milotic: 376-444 (95.4 - 112.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Helping Hand Dragon Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Garchomp: 366-432 (102.5 - 121%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252 SpA Charizard-Mega-Y Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Sneasler in Sun: 343-405 (113.5 - 134.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Misc.
It is imperative that Mega Charizard Y has access to Tailwind on its side with Whimsicott. An important matchup for Mega Charizard Y is Starmie. In both its base and Mega Evolved form, Starmie's 120 base Speed stat translates to 371 with maximum EVs and a beneficial Nature for speed. Mega Charizard Y falls short at 328 and needs Tailwind to ensure it will outspeed almost anything that threatens it. If you do outspeed, you will find that Mega Charizard Y is nigh unstoppable and a great first step into abusing the Weather system.
The other major thing to keep in mind is that Charizard struggles with hitting multiple targets with this moveset, Heat Wave can help circumvent that but that's it. You could put Protect or Hurricane over Dragon Pulse, but for a glass cannon build, this about covers most of what you will be fighting. You might consider Gengar for Mean Look, Toxic Spikes, Destiny Bond, or even Perish Song to pressure opponents, and while I boasted Drampa's impressive niche usage earlier, on this team it will not provide a lot of utility. There's not a lot to say here that isn't going to be obvious as you're playing, this team is meant to be very very simple.
Team 2
Zero to Hero (Pick Palafin as your Starter)
Beedrill
Palafin
Gengar
Aggron
Sylveon
Hydreigon
Zero to Hero (Pick Palafin as your Starter)
Beedrill
Palafin
Gengar
Aggron
Sylveon
Hydreigon
These teams honestly kind of tested my patience, I'm going to be honst with you. Some of these default sets give Pokemon Stadium a run for their money with how BAD they are, but luckily we also need to keep in mind that most opposing new players will also be dealing with the default sets too right away. Thankfully, Pokemon is a very flexible game and we can make things work even in dire situations. Case in point is the core of our final team, Palafin.
Palafin
![[Image: 964-h.png]](https://www.serebii.net/pokemonhome/pokemon/964-h.png)
Type:
Weakness:,
Resistance:,,
Ability: Zero to Hero (When switched out by either manual input or from attacks, the next time Palafin enters the battle, it will be in Hero Form)
Type:
Weakness:
,Resistance:
,,Ability: Zero to Hero (When switched out by either manual input or from attacks, the next time Palafin enters the battle, it will be in Hero Form)
Palafin was a long-awaited addition the franchise as it was the first ever dolphin Pokemon, and in my opinion it did not disappoint. It has a cool design and a really interest mechanic that revolves around smart gameplay as it gets access to its stronger form only when you switch it out of battle. And how much stronger is its Hero Form, you might ask? Well take a look for yourself;
Palafin essentially undegoes a Mega Evolution by switching out, but due to how that transformation happens, you need to play it much smarter. Palafin has a Speed stat of 100, so it is not the fastest thing on the field usually. It's up to you to decide how you go about switching Palafin out, will you try get chip damage with Flip Turn or do you just manually switch? Palafin can be phenomonal but you need to know what you're doing. Unfortunately, the team that comes with it is not going to make that easy.
Beedrill
Beedrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Baton Pass
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Tailwind
Palafin
Palafin-Hero @ Mystic Water
Ability: Zero to Hero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flip Turn
- Jet Punch
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
Aggron
Aggron @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Rock Slide
Sylveon
Sylveon @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Cute Charm
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Magic Coat
Beedrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sniper
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Baton Pass
- Substitute
- Swords Dance
- Tailwind
Palafin
Palafin-Hero @ Mystic Water
Ability: Zero to Hero
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flip Turn
- Jet Punch
- Close Combat
- Ice Punch
Aggron
Aggron @ Leftovers
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Rock Slide
Sylveon
Sylveon @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Cute Charm
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Wish
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Magic Coat
Unfortunately, we don't get the luxury of a free Whimsicott on this team unlike most of the other starting teams, but we can make do. Beedrill is a terrible offensive Pokemon without its Mega Evolution, but it can still provide some utility. The risk is that Beedrill is very frail, and in Doubles you will likely go down rather quickly, but that mostly is not an issue as your goal is to get Tailwind up for Palafin. However, if you don't faint and you successfully get Palafin back to party, you can try to throw out a Swords Dance to boost Beedrill's Attack stat by two stages, and then Baton Pass on your next turn to safely switch in Palafin while giving it the boost from Swords Dance. Do NOT expect this to work all the time and do not rely on this, but if you see an opportunity to, then use it.
Aggron is your trap setter, if you can even call it that. It's honestly a kind of worse Steelix, but it's still usable. Taunt and Thunder Wave are great utility to have, and Rock Slide will provide spread coverage to both targets in situations where Palafin might not have quite enough damage to finish off the opponent. Aggron could be your Mega Evolution slot for this team, it boasts phenonomal defenses and there's really no upside to using Mega Beedrill over letting it run Focus Sash. This frees up the Leftovers item for Sylveon instead, and you could give Sitrus Berry to Palafin over Mystic Water.
Sylveon is your Screen setter, it will use Reflect and Light Screen to boost your side's Defense and Special Defense stats, and use its utility healing of Wish to keep itself or an ally alive. Sylveon also has Magic Coat, which will counter non damaging moves and send them back to the oppoent. This is particularly useful to block Spikes and Stealth Rock. But, you might find yourself wanting to give Sylveon Helping Hand instead for the same reason Azumarill runs it on the Mega Charizard Y team.
Palafin's job is to get out turn one and get back in right away. An ideal turn would have you lead Beedrill and Palafin, and while you swap Palafin out for Aggron or Sylveon, you Tailwind with Beedrill. You then either Swords Dance with Beedrill if its safe and then Baton Pass the next turn while setting up Screen, or just switch out manually. Either way, you want to get Hero Form Palafin out into the batle as soon as you can, ideally turn three or four if you're not trying to use Baton Pass to enhance Palafin further.
Let's take a look at Palafin's most relevant threats in its damage calculations.
Opponents hitting Palafin
- 252 SpA Manectric-Mega Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero: 338-402 (99.1 - 117.8%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
- 252 SpA Magnet Raichu-Alola Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero: 320-378 (93.8 - 110.8%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
- 252 SpA Magnet Raichu-Alola Rising Voltage (140 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero in Electric Terrain: 642-756 (188.2 - 221.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ SpA Meganium-Mega Solar Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero: 518-612 (151.9 - 179.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ SpA Meganium-Mega Solar Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero through Light Screen: 259-306 (75.9 - 89.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252 SpA Dragonite-Mega Thunder vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero: 292-344 (85.6 - 100.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
- 252+ SpA Glaceon Freeze-Dry vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Palafin-Hero: 282-332 (82.6 - 97.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Hitting Opponents with Palafin
- 252+ Atk Palafin-Hero Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Dragonite-Mega: 372-440 (96.3 - 113.9%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
- 252+ Atk Palafin-Hero Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tyranitar: 620-732 (153.4 - 181.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252+ Atk Mystic Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Charizard-Mega-Y in Sun: 186-218 (62.6 - 73.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ Atk Palafin-Hero Ice Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Decidueye-Hisui: 252-298 (79.4 - 94%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ Atk Mystic Water Palafin-Hero Jet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mimikyu: 181-214 (72.1 - 85.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Misc.
Palafin's offensive damage calculations do not account for Helping Hand, so keep this in mind and do not be underwhelmed. You will also likely be dealing with opponents already worn down by Stealth Rock if you had Aggron replace Palafin turn one, so you actually have no need to worry about what appears to be lackluster damage to the bigger threats.
Defog is an option for Beedrill over Substitute if your opponents get a sneaky Stealth Rock up while you're switching Palafin. As mentioned on the Mega Charizard Y team, Gengar can be a good disruptor with Taunt and Toxic Spikes, but you might also be able to use its Mega Evolution and replace Aggron entirely if your opponents have specific weaknesses that Gengar can exploit.
The biggest threat to Palafin is Mega Chesnaught, who has a staggering 172 Base Defense stat. With a Base stat that high, Chesnaught won't need much investment, if any at all, to shrug off moves from Palafin while also hitting hard with Seed Bomb backed by a 137 Base Attack stat. You will want Gengar with Sludge Bomb in your team to handle Chesnaught... is what I WOULD say if Mega Chesnaught did not retain the Ability Bulletproof which makes it immune to ball or bomb moves. Your other option on this team to handle it is Hydreigon with Fire Blast. Keep an eye out for Mega Chesnaught if you want to run Palafin.
Conclusion
It's been a while since my last Competitive Pokemon guide, and I know some people still drop by the forum. If anyone is checking out Pokemon Champions and doesn't know where to start, you can use this starter guide to help ease you into the game. I plan to make more guides for whoever is dropping in, Competitive Pokemon is about to change forever and I for one cannot wait to see how this meta evolves. Feel free to say hi, offer your own tips in the replies, and enjoy Pokemon as always! Until next time, Kris out.
Thanks for all the good times~
