Hello and welcome, I’m Yamasho and this will be an article about the Maushold + Mega Gardevoir team I used in the first ranked season of Pokémon Champions and finished 144th in the Global Challenge with. Sadly, I wasn’t able to make it through the PJCS qualifiers, but I hope you will still find this team interesting.
Achievements
Global Challenge 144th (1775.479, 32-11 record)
PJCS Qualifiers 186th (1538.149, 11-9 record)
Rank Battle Season M-1 103rd (2513.421)
Video (Stream VOD)
I often stream on YouTube. Please come by and say hi!
With neither a lot of experience in a Mega format nor a lot of time to prepare, my first thought was to build around a Mega that could use strong spread moves. Most of the strongest non-Mega Pokémon are physical attackers, so it should also be a special attacker.
With these criteria I felt that Shangrira (@pokeShangrira) and Misasagi (@macky_misasagi) who I was teambuilding with, were onto something: the combination of Maushold + Mega Gardevoir with the simple yet strong gameplan of “Wear them down with a supporter + spread move (Hyper Voice) in the lead, then sweep from there.” I especially liked that this team could easily slot in a Trick Room mode, which wasn’t very common in the early meta, so I decided to investigate it further.
For the remaining slots, I chose Kingambit, which could move well under Trick Room but also had access to priority, a bulky Basculegion, Garchomp to hit fire types (Charizard) that Gardevoir struggled with, and Talonflame that could both work as speed control in the lead or a sweeper in the back. I felt that this combination was strong and worked extremely well, so I only refined it slightly before bringing it to the Global Challenge, where it successfully carried me to the PJCS Qualifier.
After the Global Challenge, I decided to reconsider the Talonflame slot, since I had barely brought it to any games. In the end, I replaced it with Incineroar because it helped against the Aerodactyl + Sylveon leads that were becoming common. With Fake Out, I could get Trick Room up safely, then Throat Chop to stop their Hyper Voice. (Previously, I had to Follow Me + Trick Room which always ran the risk of getting flinched by Rock Slide.)
At the same time, usage of Archaludon increased, so I also wanted to improve that matchup. Aside from Gardevoir, my whole team consisted of physical attackers, so if Gardevoir couldn’t damage it enough, I could get walled completely. I therefore changed Kingambit to Samurott-Hisui with Sharpness-boosted Sacred Sword, and prepared for the Qualifier.
Maushold’s job is to protect the attacker next to it and help remove annoying opponents with Super Fang. Despite the Focus Sash, it has some bulk to better live spread moves. Chople Berry can also be good. The speed allows it to move before Garchomp with Super Fang.
Feint limits the opponent’s strategic options by breaking Protect but it also often came in useful as a priority attack to finish off opponents that were very low.
Both Maushold going down too early or Maushold sitting on the field for too long can be detrimental to your boardstate, so the right timing to use Follow Me is very important.
Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Trace / Pixilate
32/0-/9/25+/0/0
Protect
Trick Room
Psychic
Hyper Voice
It gains +50 SpAtk, +20 SpDef and +20 Speed when you Mega evolve.
The star of the team with a close to 100% usage rate. Generally you want to lead it and chip away at your opponents with Hyper Voice, but it’s important to remember that single target Psychic does slightly more damage when you need it (about 1.1x).
Even with Friend Guard, the dainty little princess lacks physical bulk, so please take good care to protect her from harm.
Basculegion (M) @ Kasib Berry (vs Ghost)
Adaptability
12/19+/30/0-/0/5
Wave Crash
Last Respects
Substitute
Aqua Jet
Boasting both incredibly high damage output and a priority move, Basculegion is the format’s premier sweeper. This one has high physical bulk to account for opposing fish and Kingambit. With Kasib Berry, it lives a 150 BP Adaptability-boosted Last Respects unless it’s a max roll. Its Speed stat is right in the middle so it can work in both Tailwind and Trick Room, but I generally envisioned it to act in Trick Room.
Substitute actually isn’t just a Sucker Punch counter but also a strong tool to use dead turns, for example when the opponent Double Protects to stall Trick Room or a spread move threatens a KO on both opposing Pokémon. Of course another move like Protect could also be good in this slot, but since Basculegion is naturally bulky there are more situations where you can click Substitute than you would initially expect. Thank you to Misasagi for the suggestion!
Kingambit @ Chople Berry (vs Fighting)
Defiant
32/32+/2/0/0/0-
Protect
Kowtow Cleave
Low Kick
Sucker Punch
The second powerhouse with priority. There is not much of note to be said about this set except that it’s Brave to act optimally under Trick Room. I came to the conclusion that Low Kick is of the utmost importance against opposing Kingambit that are likely to be brought to the battle because of their favorable matchup into Basculegion. If you were to add Iron Head, I would replace Protect or Sucker Punch instead.
Since it usually comes in the back, I tried out Supreme Overlord as well. However, it is a good lead against Incineroar + Gengar and the like, so in the end I gave up and went back to Defiant.
Garchomp @ Roseli Berry (vs Fairy)
Rough Skin
24/30+/0/0-/0/12
(Global Challenge / PJCS Qualifier)
Protect
Earthquake / Rock Tomb
Rock Slide / Poison Jab
Stomping Tantrum
Garchomp helps against threats like Charizard and Glimmora. I often lead it together with Maushold, so the bulk helps it live almost everything with Friend Guard. It outspeeds Adamant Basculegion and Charizards with little speed investment.
Rock Slide felt insufficient as a counter to Mega Charizard Y in the Global Challenge, so I changed to Rock Tomb for the Qualifier. It also allows for some speed control to enable Mega Gardevoir, which felt very strong.
I also added Poison Jab as a counter to Fairy types for the Qualifier. This allowed Garchomp to take out a number of Whimsicotts and smoothly deal with Sylveon, Floette or Primarina after a Super Fang.
Since Mega Gardevoir deals with opposing Dragon types on its own, I never considered Dragon Claw to be necessary.
Talonflame @ No Item
Gale Wings
32/29+/6/0-/0/0
Protect
Tailwind
Acrobatics
Flare Blitz
Thanks to Gale Wings, Talonflame shines both as a Tailwind setter in the lead or a priority sweeper in the back. I never felt like my Flying damage was lacking, so Acrobatics with no item is good enough. Opponents tend to want to bring their Steel types against Gardevoir, so Flare Blitz is a must. It does about 70-80% to Kingambit, for reference.
I didn’t see the value in investing in Speed and went for bulk instead, but it might have been worth to at least invest a little outspeed Adamant Garchomp (154 stat) after Gale Wings was gone.
Incineroar @ Sitrus Berry
Intimidate
32/25+/0/0/9/0-
Flare Blitz
Throat Chop
Fake Out
Parting Shot
This all-rounder needs no introduction. The Titan mark is fitting for this titan of VGC.
Its main role is to support its partners (mainly Gardevoir) with Intimidate and Fake Out, but I invested in its attack so it can also take a more active part in dishing out damage.
As the Dark type move, I went with Throat Chop becuase it helps to disable Sylveon’s Hyper Voice which can otherwise be a big issue for the Trick Room mode … but as it turns out, Flare Blitz does about 60-70%, so it’s better to just go for the KO if you can. The Brave nature also helps to ensure that you will (most likely) move before Sylveon in Trick Room.
Samurott-Hisui @ Scope Lens
Sharpness
20/32+/0/0-/0/14
Detect
Sacred Sword
Sucker Punch
Night Slash
Samurott is basically Urshifu Single Strike at home.
Sharpness boosts Sacred Sword and Night Slash by 1.5x, so it deals more damage than you would initially expect. Since it usually comes in later to sweep, I decided to forego its signature move Ceaseless Edge (while setting Spikes is nice, Night Slash has higher base power and crit rate).
This Pokémon’s greatest strength is its great matchup into opposing sweepers like Basculegion and Kingambit. It really is surprisingly good, so please give it a try.
To help its initially intended role as an Archaludon counter, I gave it some speed to be faster than most Archaludons.
Scope Lens raises the chance for a crit on Night Slash to 50%. However, Black Glasses to increase the power of both Night Slash and Sucker Punch or Chople Berry to increase its longevity could also be good options.
Gameplans
There are a lot of ways to play this team, so I will introduce only a few representative examples.
MegaMaus mode
Lead: Gardevoir + Maushold
Back: Basculegion + Kingambit / Samurott
The most basic gameplan. Mega Gardevoir brings the opponents in range for the sweepers in the back to clean up. Basculegion and Kingambit/Samurott are best suited for this role, but adjust based on your opponent’s team composition if necessary.
MausChomp mode
Lead: Maushold + Garchomp
Back: Gardevoir + 1
Mainly against Charizard Y teams. Even if you can’t take out Charizard immediately, Friend Guard and Roseli Berry give Garchomp staying power on the field. Put on the pressure in combination with Feint and Super Fang to gain a numbers advantage.
Tailroom mode (Global Challenge)
Lead: Talonflame + Garchomp
Back: Gardevoir + 1
Start of with Tailwind + spread move spam, then move onto Trick Room to close out the game.
HTR mode (PJCS Qualifier)
Lead: Gardevoir + Incineroar
Back: any
Intimidate and Fake Out to ensure Trick Room goes up. Sylveons get Throat Chopped.
Closing Words
This is the second year in a row where I was able to make it to the Qualifier but not all the way. It’s a painful realisation that I’m still far away from the top. At the same time, I feel like I have grown as a player, so I will do my best to finally make it to PJCS next year!
Also, I noticed it has been almost two years since I wrote my last article. I want to try and write more regularly from here on out.
というわけで、この2匹をメインギミックとした構築に決定しました。初見の相手にはマホイップの特性(スイートベール：催眠封じ or アロマベール：挑発封じ)でトリックルームを通しにきたように見せつつ(見えるかな？)、実際は初手ダイマックス+デコレーションという最もオフェンシブな選択肢を持った並びになっています。
- ランクバトル シーズンM-2 最終レート2268(80位)
後発：
or
or
から2匹
+
＋
からスタート。この2匹の特徴としては
)を引きずり出します。この事実とトリックルーム成功率の高さを合わせて考えると、こちらの控えには①悪、鋼、エスパー等に有効打を持ち、②トリックルーム下で活躍が見込める ポケモンを採用するのが自然です。そこで採用したのが
：悪タイプに有利。眼鏡ハイパーボイスの安定感と火力が異常。
：悪鋼タイプに有利。初手に出して猫騙しでトリル展開をサポートしつつ、火炎玉で根性発動→次ターンから高火力で押す展開も可能。
への対抗策として「くろいきり」「あくび」を備えたシャワーズ
を合わせた6匹でひとまず構築が完成。
に変更。
のスカーフ「いのちがけ」+「ネズミざん」によるトリル阻止を防ぐことができます。
：地震を撃ちに出てくる 
：アイススピナーでフィールドを壊しにくる)に対しても打点を持つ点があまりにも優秀。
と対面する機会が多いので持ち物はぼうじんゴーグル。有効に働く試合は多かったです。
の下を取ってもいいかもしれません。
に対してアドバンテージが取れると判断。具体的には、
から検討を始めたのですが、
(特に一撃の型)に対してマホイップ
と戦う役割も担います。
相手に活躍するポケモンでもあります。
等を意識した物理耐久に厚い配分ですが、同時にアタッカーとしての役割も持たせるためのA補正＆弱点保険。
を除けば広く戦っていけるポケモンで使いやすかったです。
に対しても五分以上の戦いができると思います。
よりも
や
と組むケースが多いようですが、サポート不要で超火力を初ターンから叩き込める
を含め環境に多い炎タイプ
