Pokémon Champions best teams for climbing the ranked ladder

After playing ranked in Pokémon Champions for a while, you start to notice that certain Pokémon pop up time and time again. While this will eventually change as the meta shifts and new creatures are added to the roster, for now Basculegion, Garchomp, Incineroar, and Kingambit are among a small mainstay group.

However, as potent as these Pokémon are, it's quite rare they'll be able to win a battle on their own. They need support to fulfil their potential or, in some cases, they are the support that allows their teammates to thrive. But deciding who to pair with who can be tricky, so I've made a list of some of the best teams in Pokémon Champions to save you some time. 

Of course, if you're just starting out, I'd recommend checking out my Pokémon Champions beginner's guide first. Having a little play in casual matches or a few ranked battles to get a feel for everything is a good way to start. Having a meta team means nothing if you don't know how to use it, so make sure you're familiar with the basic concepts first. 

A note on the 'best' Pokémon Champions teams

It's worth remembering that you don't have to use these teams verbatim. Part of finding success in competitive Pokémon is making small adjustments or swapping out team members to catch your opponent off guard. So while these teams will serve you well, feel free to experiment a little too. I've also opted for some variety. If I were to simply put every current meta team, you'd find a lot of familiar faces with one or two changes. And frankly, you'll find that even here. 

Right, that's enough preamble. Let's get into the first team. 

Tailwind

When it comes to making a Tailwind team, Whimsicott is one of the best. Thanks to its Prankster ability, it can move first most of the time when using Tailwind, making set-up incredibly easy. You just have to watch out for Fake Out users. Once up, you can call upon one of your premier sweepers to take out your opponent's Pokémon. Naturally, there is more nuance to it, like choosing the right attackers for the right situations, but that all comes with practise. 

Rain/Dual Screens

Much like Prankster helps Whimsicott set up Tailwind, Grimmsnarl benefits from it to help set up Reflect and Light Screen. Though they do no damage, they help reduce incoming attacks from your opponents. Normally, they'll only last five turns, but if you give Grimmsnarl Light Clay, they'll last for eight. From there, you can use Pelipper to set up Rain with its ability Drizzle. This triggers Mega Swampert's Swift Swim, making it faster, and allows Archaludon's powerful Electro Shot attack to strike in one turn rather than waiting two. Sinistcha is there to provide some healing and redirect attacks towards itself rather than your attackers. 

Sandstorm 

Excadrill and Tyranitar are something of a power couple. Tyranitar creates a Sandstorm, which means Excadrill moves faster thanks to its ability, Sand Rush. Given that they're both powerful attackers, it makes it tricky for your opponent to prioritise who to deal with first. However, you can't entirely rely on the duo, so Milotic is there to dissuade anyone from using Intimidate to lower your attack. Thanks to its ability Competitive, any stat reductions actually boost its power, and your opponent won't want that. Meanwhile, Staraptor has immunity to Ground and, when Mega Evolved, a resistance to Fighting, two of the biggest threats to Excadrill and Tyranitar. It also brings an extra Mega option, since Tyranitar doesn't need to Mega Evolve to be effective. 

Mega Aerodactyl/Charizard

As with Tyranitar, Aerodactyl is useful whether it Mega Evolves or not, giving you extra options. It can also set up Tailwind if the match calls for it, allowing your sweepers to move quicker. Alternatively, Farigiraf can set up Trick Room to allow your slower Pokémon like Sylveon and Kingambit to strike first. However, that’s a backup option, mostly. Farigiraf also has the ability Armor Tail, which prevents Priority moves, shutting down any Fake Out attempts that might disrupt your tactics. 

Mega Blastoise/Delphox

Mega Blastoise and Delphox are two fairly powerful Pokémon when used correctly, but they do need a little help. Here it comes from Incineroar and Sneasler. Both learn Fake Out, while Incineroar also has Intimidate as its ability and can lower Attack further and Special Attack with Parting Shot. If possible, constantly swapping it in and out can really debilitate your opponent, particularly if they're relying on physical damage. 

And those are the best teams in Pokémon Champions. Well, it's some good teams, anyway. There's no absolute best since everything has a counter, but you can't go too far wrong with these. It's simply a case of using them until you get a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. 

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Pokémon Champions