Levitating Artillery

Team: Mega Garchomp Z Hyper Offense ("Levitating Artillery")

Constraint: build around Mega Garchomp Z, aiming for the strongest tournament team I can make. Regulation: M-C (Pokémon Champions, VGC 2026) Core idea: Mega Garchomp Z is a 223-Speed special Dragon with Levitate. Its partners do three things: remove the Fairies that check it, keep it moving first, and stop anything that jumps it in the turn order.

Game plan

• Win condition: Mega Garchomp Z attacks from the top of the speed order with Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse and Earth Power. Tinkaton and Scizor delete the Fairies that wall it, and Talonflame's priority Tailwind plus Quick Guard keep it moving first.
• What beats it:

1. Opposing Tailwind and Choice Scarf users. Scarf Garchomp's Dragon Claw OHKOs it in 11 of 16 rolls. 2. Trick Room from Indeedee-F or Farigiraf. 3. Priority: Kingambit's Sucker Punch, Fake Out, Grassy Glide. 4. Fairy attackers. Fairy Feather Sylveon's Hyper Voice is a guaranteed OHKO on Garchomp. 5. Steel-types that soak Dragon STAB.

• What answers those:

1. Talonflame's Gale Wings Tailwind goes first even on the turn the opponent sets theirs. 2. Krookodile's Taunt has no priority, so Armor Tail and Psychic Terrain can't block it. Tinkaton adds Mold Breaker Fake Out and Encore. 3. Talonflame's Quick Guard blocks priority aimed at Garchomp. 4. Tinkaton's Gigaton Hammer and Scizor's Life Orb Bullet Punch OHKO the Fairies. Both resist Garchomp's Fairy and Ice weaknesses, and Tinkaton is immune to Dragon. 5. Earth Power handles the Steels (Kingambit, Gholdengo, Archaludon).

• Plan B: if Garchomp is answered or gone, win the midgame with Tailwind and Intimidate. Krookodile's spread Earthquake hits freely because Garchomp, Rotom-Wash (both Levitate) and Talonflame (Flying) are all immune to it. Scizor's Bullet Punch and Rotom-Wash's Will-O-Wisp grind out the rest. Under enemy Trick Room, the slow pair (Scizor at 0 Speed SPs, Rotom-Wash at 106 Speed) become the attackers.

The six

1. Garchomp @ Garchompite Z: win condition

• Type: Dragon/Ground, becoming pure Dragon after Mega Evolution. Ability: Rough Skin until it Mega-Evolves, then Levitate. Item: Garchompite Z.
• Mega Garchomp Z stats: 185 HP / 135 Atk / 105 Def / 193 SpA / 105 SpD / 223 Spe.
• Why it's here: it's the anchor. Levitate makes it immune to Ground and to terrain, so Grassy Terrain's halving and Psychic Terrain's boost both ignore it.
• Moves:
• Draco Meteor (130 BP, 90% accuracy) is the nuke. Into Mega Salamence it does 150–177.9%, a guaranteed OHKO.
• Dragon Pulse (85 BP, 100% accuracy) is the spam move with no Special Attack drop. Into opposing Garchomp it does 95.1–113.5%, an OHKO in 12 of 16 rolls.
• Earth Power (90 BP) handles the Steels. It's a guaranteed 2HKO on all three common ones: Kingambit 59.9–70.5%, Archaludon 59.5–70.8%, Gholdengo 72–85.4%. Good as Gold blocks status moves only, so it doesn't change this damage. Into Sitrus Incineroar it does 53–63%, but after the berry that's only a 2HKO in 1 of 16 rolls, otherwise a 3HKO.
• Protect.
• Spread: 2 HP / 32 SpA / 32 Spe, Timid.
• Outrunning Mega Greninja (213) takes 24 Speed SPs. The last 8 buy the 223 Speed tie against the opposing Mega Garchomp Z.
• Surviving Fairy Feather Sylveon would cost 21 SpD SPs. That isn't worth it: Garchomp should never be left in front of Sylveon, because that's Tinkaton's job.
• Answering the set-check flags: it skips Rock Slide, Dragon Claw, Earthquake and Stomping Tantrum, and puts its SPs in SpA instead of Atk. That's on purpose. The Mega Z forme's 141 base SpA is the reason to run it at all. Its physical moves would come off an uninvested 135 Atk, and Earthquake would also hit my own Tinkaton and Scizor.
• Incoming damage to know:
• Mega Salamence's Aerilate Double-Edge does 62.2–73.5%, so Garchomp survives one.
• Kingambit's Sucker Punch does 42.2–50.3% with no item. That number doesn't include the Life Orb or Black Glasses on about 38% of Kingambit, so Quick Guard matters.

2. Tinkaton @ Occa Berry: Fairy removal and anti-Trick Room

• Type: Fairy/Steel. Ability: Mold Breaker. Spread: 2 HP / 32 Atk / 32 Spe, Adamant (146 Speed).
• Why it's here: it covers all three of Garchomp's weaknesses (immune to Dragon, resists Fairy and Ice) and one-shots the Fairies that wall Garchomp.
• Moves:
• Gigaton Hammer (160 BP) OHKOs Sylveon (142.6–169.3%) and Whimsicott (175–207%). A Babiri Berry Whimsicott drops that to an OHKO in only 4 of 16 rolls.
• Fake Out has an extra job here: Mold Breaker ignores Farigiraf's Armor Tail, so the flinch lands on a Trick Room setter.
• Encore locks a setter into Trick Room again. Encore also forces the move's -7 priority, and a second Trick Room cancels the first. It also punishes Protect and setup.
• Play Rough covers the turns when Gigaton Hammer is locked out (it can't be used twice in a row), and hits Dragons.
• Occa Berry (most Tinkaton hold Metal Coat): Mega Charizard Y's sun-boosted Heat Wave does 68.5–81.5% through the berry, so Tinkaton lives a hit it otherwise wouldn't.
• Set-check flag (no Protect): Fake Out, Encore and the hammer rotation fill all four slots. Occa covers its most common way to get OHKO'd instead.

3. Talonflame @ Focus Sash: priority Tailwind and Quick Guard

• Type: Fire/Flying. Ability: Gale Wings. Spread: 2 HP / 32 Atk / 32 Spe, Jolly (195 Speed).
• Why it's here: Tailwind with +1 priority answers opposing Tailwind on the same turn they set it. Garchomp at 223 never loses a Tailwind mirror.
• Moves:
• Brave Bird OHKOs Sneasler (142.7–169.4%).
• Flare Blitz hits Steels and Grasses.
• Tailwind.
• Quick Guard.
• Focus Sash: it covers the 4× Rock weakness, so one Rock Slide can't remove the Tailwind setter. Gale Wings only works at full HP, though, so once the Sash has taken a hit, Tailwind and Brave Bird lose their priority.
• Set-check flag (Quick Guard instead of Protect): the Sash already covers the turn Talonflame gets targeted. Quick Guard protects the win condition instead, blocking Sucker Punch, Fake Out, Grassy Glide and Bullet Punch aimed at Garchomp.

4. Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry: rain and sun answer, Will-O-Wisp, slow mode

• Type: Electric/Water. Ability: Levitate. Spread: 32 HP / 32 SpA / 2 SpD, Modest (157 HP / 172 SpA / 106 Spe).
• Moves:
• Thunderbolt OHKOs Pelipper (283–336%). Into Mega Charizard Y in sun it does 85.2–100.6% (OHKO in 1 of 16), and any chip finishes it.
• Hydro Pump hits Incineroar.
• Will-O-Wisp cripples physical attackers.
• Protect.
• Set-check flag (no Speed investment, unlike the common 2/0/0/32/0/32): Speed is deliberately left at the 106 floor so Rotom-Wash is a working attacker under enemy Trick Room. The 32 HP SPs go to the Sitrus bulk.
• Danger: Grassy Terrain Wood Hammer from Rillaboom does 203.8–242%. Never leave it in front of Rillaboom.

5. Scizor @ Life Orb: priority Fairy check and Trick Room-side attacker

• Type: Bug/Steel. Ability: Technician. Spread: 32 HP / 32 Atk / 2 SpD, Adamant.
• Why it's here: a second Steel that resists Fairy, Ice and Dragon, with priority.
• Moves:
• Bullet Punch (Technician, Life Orb) OHKOs Whimsicott (125.5–148.2%). Babiri drops it to a 2HKO.
• Bug Bite hits Rillaboom and Indeedee-F.
• Close Combat hits Kingambit and Incineroar.
• Protect.
• It matches the standard set exactly, so there are no flags to answer.

6. Krookodile @ Chople Berry: Intimidate, Taunt, spread Earthquake

• Type: Ground/Dark. Ability: Intimidate. Spread: 2 HP / 32 Atk / 32 Spe, Adamant (185 Atk / 144 Spe).
• Moves:
• Earthquake in spread mode does 55.1–64.7% to Kingambit. Three of its five teammates are immune, but it OHKOs our own Tinkaton (100–118.5%), so never click it with Tinkaton beside it.
• Knock Off does 61–72.3% to Indeedee-F and strips its Psychic Seed or Rocky Helmet. Colbur Berry drops that to a 2HKO in 5 of 16 rolls; Sitrus to 12 of 16.
• Rock Slide is 4× on Mega Charizard Y.
• Taunt.
• Chople Berry: a Sneasler Close Combat still does 78.5–93% through it before Intimidate is factored in, so lead Krookodile to drop Sneasler's Attack first.
• Set-check flags:
• Taunt (almost never run): at 144 Speed it moves before both slow Trick Room setters. Because it has no priority, Armor Tail and Psychic Terrain can't stop it, which is exactly where Prankster Taunt fails.
• High Horsepower: dropped for spread Earthquake, which costs nothing beside Garchomp, Rotom-Wash or Talonflame.
• Protect: dropped because Krookodile's job is to switch out and come back in to reuse Intimidate.

Synergy map

• Speed control:
• Garchomp's raw 223 plus Talonflame's priority Tailwind against fast teams.
• Against Trick Room: Krookodile's Taunt, Tinkaton's Encore and Mold Breaker Fake Out, and a slow Scizor/Rotom-Wash pair if the room goes up anyway.
• Defensive web:
• Tinkaton and Scizor cover Garchomp's Dragon, Fairy and Ice weaknesses.
• Rotom-Wash covers Fire for both Steels.
• Krookodile covers Talonflame's Rock and Electric weaknesses.
• Shared liabilities: Rock (Talonflame) and Fire (Tinkaton, Scizor 4×). There's no shared 4× weakness.
• Offense: Dragon, Ground, Steel, Fairy, Fire, Flying, Electric, Water, Bug, Fighting, Dark and Rock between them. Every common defensive type takes super-effective damage from something.
• What protects the plan: Quick Guard against priority, Fake Out for free turns, Intimidate against physical hits, and two Steel switch-ins for Garchomp's weaknesses.

Final checklist

• [x] Win condition: stated in the game plan.
• [x] What beats it: Tailwind and Scarf users, Trick Room, priority, Fairies, Steels.
• [x] Answers: Talonflame, Krookodile/Tinkaton, Talonflame's Quick Guard, Tinkaton/Scizor, Earth Power.
• [x] Plan B: Tailwind plus Intimidate midgame, with the slow pair for Trick Room games.
• [x] Speed control, plus answers to enemy Trick Room and Tailwind.
• [~] Win-condition protection: Quick Guard and Fake Out, but no Follow Me or Rage Powder. That was a deliberate trade for Fairy removal.
• [x] No shared 4× weakness.
• [x] Full offensive coverage.

Matchup spread & gameplans

Structural edges: Garchomp and Rotom-Wash ignore terrain and Earthquake. Talonflame's Tailwind goes first. The two Steels make Fairy- and Dragon-based checks to Garchomp unreliable.

Archetype	How it threatens us	Plan	Difficulty
Rillaboom / Sneasler / Mega Salamence (with Kingambit or Incineroar), the dominant structure	Fake Out plus Grassy Glide, Sneasler speed, Salamence's Aerilate hits, Sucker Punch	Lead Talonflame + Garchomp. Quick Guard turn 1 if Fake Out or Sucker Punch is coming; otherwise Brave Bird OHKOs Sneasler and Draco Meteor OHKOs Salamence. Bug Bite or Flare Blitz for Rillaboom. Bring Krookodile, not Tinkaton, into Kingambit games (see below).	Even
Incineroar / Rillaboom / Sneasler (± Mega Floette)	Intimidate cycling, Fake Out, Fairy Aura Floette hitting Garchomp	Lead Tinkaton + Garchomp. Fake Out the bigger threat while Earth Power goes into Incineroar. Steel hits answer Floette: Gigaton Hammer, or Bullet Punch for priority. Garchomp protects or switches the turn Floette can target it.	Even
Gholdengo / Mega Raichu Y / Rillaboom (± Hisuian Arcanine)	Raichu's Electric hits Talonflame; Gholdengo walls Dragon and is immune to status	Lead Garchomp + Krookodile. Earth Power into Gholdengo (2HKO); Earth Power or Earthquake into Raichu, which Garchomp outspeeds (200 vs 223). Keep Talonflame in the back. Don't spend Tinkaton's Encore on Gholdengo: Good as Gold blocks it. For Arcanine, Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp blunt it; don't spend Garchomp turns on it.	Favorable
Sun (Mega Charizard Y)	Sun-boosted Heat Wave into the Steels	Lead Rotom-Wash + Krookodile. Thunderbolt (85.2–100.6% in sun) or Rock Slide (4×) into Charizard. Garchomp follows. Tinkaton's Occa covers one Heat Wave.	Favorable
Rain (Pelipper / Archaludon / Basculegion)	Rain-boosted Water hits on Talonflame	Lead Rotom-Wash + Garchomp. Thunderbolt OHKOs Pelipper; Earth Power 2HKOs Archaludon. Garchomp resists Water. Talonflame stays in the back.	Favorable
Trick Room (Indeedee-F / Farigiraf)	The room flips Garchomp's speed; Psychic Terrain blocks our Fake Out and Bullet Punch into grounded targets	Lead Krookodile + Garchomp. Taunt the setter (it gets through both Armor Tail and Psychic Terrain); Knock Off Indeedee-F; Draco Meteor into Farigiraf (2HKO, 10 of 16 after Sitrus). If the room goes up, Tinkaton's Encore makes them set it again, or Protect through it with Scizor and Rotom-Wash attacking.	Even

Default lead: Talonflame + Garchomp. Swaps: Krookodile + Garchomp into Trick Room or Raichu teams; Rotom-Wash + Krookodile into weather.

Top threats not covered in the table:

• Garchomp (other sets): against Mega Z, mine ties at 223, so lead Talonflame for Tailwind; Dragon Pulse and Play Rough are super-effective. Against Scarf physical Garchomp (OHKOs mine in 11 of 16), Tinkaton is immune to its Dragon moves and Dragon Pulse OHKOs it in 12 of 16. Its Rock Slide also hits Talonflame, so keep the Sash intact.
• Kingambit: Intimidate triggers Defiant, so lead Krookodile only when Kingambit can be hit the same turn. Earth Power plus a spread Earthquake (59.9% and 55.1% at their lowest) clear its HP between them. Otherwise Flare Blitz or Close Combat.
• The other Defiant attackers in my notes (Annihilape, Mega Falinks, Passimian): keep Krookodile in the back. Brave Bird hits all three super-effectively; Play Rough also hits Annihilape.
• Other flagged threats:
• Rock Slide users: Excadrill (Fire, Fighting, Ground, Water), Mamoswine (Fire, Fighting, Steel, Water), Mega Mawile and Mega Aggron (Fire, Ground), Krookodile mirrors (Water, Fairy, Fighting).
• Mega Blaziken and Paldean Tauros (Flying, Ground, Water).
• Mega Dragonite and Noivern (Dragon, Fairy, Rock).
• Mega Greninja: outsped at 223 vs 213; Electric, Fairy or Fighting.
• Mega Pidgeot and Mega Skarmory: Electric.
• Snorlax, Normal-type Tauros and Conkeldurr: Close Combat or Brave Bird. Mega Drampa: Play Rough.
• Mega Golurk, Mudsdale and Sandaconda: Hydro Pump.
• Grass-types (Torterra, Simisage, Gourgeist): Flare Blitz.
• Mega Scolipede: Brave Bird or Flare Blitz.
• Mega Steelix: Earth Power or Flare Blitz.
• Mega Medicham and Pangoro: Play Rough or Brave Bird.
• Beartic: Gigaton Hammer or Flare Blitz.
• Diggersby: Hydro Pump or Close Combat.
• Every one of these has at least one super-effective answer on the team; none goes unanswered.

Known weaknesses

• Fairy Feather Sylveon OHKOs Garchomp: 100.5–117.8% from its spread Hyper Voice. Never leave Garchomp in front of it without Tinkaton (Gigaton Hammer OHKO) or Scizor beside it.
• No redirection: a coordinated double-target on Garchomp can only be met with Protect or Quick Guard. Under Psychic Terrain, our Fake Out and Bullet Punch into grounded targets also fail, so Trick Room games lean on Krookodile's Taunt.
• Rillaboom against Rotom-Wash: a 203.8–242% OHKO. Rotom-Wash only comes in once Rillaboom is gone or Will-O-Wisped.
• Fire into the Steels: Scizor is 4× weak. Pair Steels with Rotom-Wash or Talonflame against Incineroar and Charizard teams.

The plan in short: Tailwind or Quick Guard on turn 1, Garchomp fires from the top, the Steels clear its checks, and Intimidate plus the slow pair finish the game if it falls.

Garchomp @ Garchompite Z
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 2 HP / 32 SpA / 32 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dragon Pulse
- Earth Power
- Protect

Tinkaton @ Occa Berry
Ability: Mold Breaker
Level: 50
EVs: 2 HP / 32 Atk / 32 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Gigaton Hammer
- Play Rough
- Encore

Talonflame @ Focus Sash
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 2 HP / 32 Atk / 32 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Tailwind
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Quick Guard

Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 32 HP / 32 SpA / 2 SpD
Modest Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Thunderbolt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

Scizor @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 32 HP / 32 Atk / 2 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Bug Bite
- Close Combat
- Protect

Krookodile @ Chople Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 2 HP / 32 Atk / 32 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Knock Off
- Rock Slide
- Taunt