What is the current Pokemon Champions meta?
The list above covers the 50 most used Pokemon on teams rated 1760 and above in VGC 2026 Regulation M-C, out of 1,649,648 counted battles. Sneasler leads at 49.9% of teams, followed by Kingambit (42.2%) and Basculegion (34.4%). Open any entry to see its moves, items, abilities, Stat Point spreads and the Pokemon it is paired with.
Meta teams: common cores and partners
Pairs that show up together most often among the top Pokemon. Each is the leading partner of the first Pokemon in the pair.
- Sneasler with Kingambit
- Basculegion with Kingambit
- Charizard-Mega-Y with Kingambit
- Rillaboom with Incineroar
- Garchomp with Charizard-Mega-Y
- Farigiraf with Charizard-Mega-Y
- Archaludon with Pelipper
- Indeedee-F with Sneasler
- Floette-Mega with Basculegion
- Dragonite-Mega with Sneasler
- Gardevoir-Mega with Sneasler
- Sylveon with Charizard-Mega-Y
Most common types in the meta
How many of the top 50 Pokemon carry each type. A type that is common in the meta is a type your team needs to resist or punish.
| Type | Pokemon in top 50 |
|---|---|
| Dragon | 8 |
| Water | 8 |
| Fairy | 7 |
| Fire | 7 |
| Ghost | 7 |
| Psychic | 7 |
| Flying | 6 |
| Steel | 6 |
| Dark | 5 |
| Fighting | 4 |
| Grass | 4 |
| Ground | 4 |
| Poison | 4 |
| Rock | 4 |
| Normal | 3 |
| Bug | 2 |
| Electric | 2 |
| Ice | 2 |
Building against the top threats
Start from the threats, not the favourites. Pick the top ten or so from this page and, for each one, write down which of your Pokemon beats it and how. If the answer for two or three of them is the same single Pokemon, that Pokemon will be targeted or banned in team preview, so add a second answer. The team builder loads the most common set for any Pokemon you pick, so you can test against these exact builds, and the damage calculator opens any set from the Calc this set button.
Spreads tell you what to outspeed or survive. If the top spread of a fast threat puts 32 Stat Points into Speed with a positive nature, you need that speed plus one to move first, or speed control to flip it. The speed tiers list the exact numbers.
When the meta changes
The meta page is rebuilt every month from new Smogon statistics. When a new regulation starts, the data switches to the new format with its first full month, and the tier list and usage stats move with it. The Battle Stadium Singles meta, built from its own statistics, is on the singles meta page.
Meta data questions
Where does the meta data come from?
From Smogon's monthly statistics for the VGC 2026 Regulation M-C format on Pokemon Showdown, using teams rated 1760 and above. Items, abilities, moves and spreads are the share of that Pokemon's sets that use them. The data covers October 2026.
What does the spread notation mean?
Spreads are written as Stat Points in the order HP / Atk / Def / SpA / SpD / Spe, with the nature first. "Adamant: 32 HP / 14 Atk / 10 Def / 10 SpD" puts 32 points in HP, 14 in Attack and so on, for 66 in total.
What are checks and counters?
Pokemon that most often knock out or force out this Pokemon when they face it on the ladder, measured by Smogon across all battles in the sample. They are a starting point for your own answers, not a guarantee.