It’s the start of a new regulation in Pokémon Champions, and we’ll be playing with the Regulation M-C Pokémon until December 9. As with every regulation change, we’re excited to try out the latest Mega Evolutions and see how strong they are in battle. Read on to see the different ways you might want to play with the latest additions to Pokémon Champions.

Mega Salamence 

Mega Salamence was available long before Pokémon Legends: Z-A and has been a powerhouse since it was introduced. With Intimidate as an ability before it Mega Evolves it can help protect its teammates, even without its Mega Stone. However, after it Mega Evolves it is a huge offensive threat with Aerilate as all of its Normal-type moves are powered up. This means you can run it as a special attacker with Hyper Voice for spread damage, or as a physical attacker with Double-Edge for OHKOs.

Salamence is very flexible, and I think it will be splashed on a large number of teams, much like how Garchomp was used in previous regulations. Salamence is particularly strong on balance teams, and with Rillaboom, Incineroar, or Sneasler by its side for Fake Out support, it can set up Dragon Dance and sweep the opposition. On the other hand, Salamence is extremely weak to Ice-type attacks, and many Pokémon have already started putting Ice-type moves on their movesets to counter Pokémon like Garchomp, so you have to be wary of a surprise attack.

Read More: Pokémon Champions Regulation M-C – All new Pokémon, items and Megas

Mega Golisopod

Golisopod has always been an excellent Pokémon that was held back by its terrible ability Emergency Exit. Its new ability Tough Claws is very strong, and will allow Mega Golisopod to not only be very bulky but hit hard too. It now has access to U-Turn for pivoting, and its new Steel-/Bug-typing only has one weakness in Fire-type attacks. This means that when placed on a rain team, it will be very difficult to take down, particularly if it’s using Leech Life for recovery.

We expect to see Mega Golisopod used on Trick Room and rain teams, possibly with Indeedee to offer redirection, twist the dimensions and block priority. Golisopod can also be used on a team with a fast Mega Evolution like Raichu so you have two options for controlling the pace of the battle. In fact, Golisopod is so tanky that it doesn’t always need Trick Room to be set in order to be strong. Golisopod can take attacks, survive handily and have enough in the tank to deal large amounts of damage back. When used with Swords Dance it can easily pick up OHKOs.

Mega Baxcalibur

Baxcalibur is another one to watch particularly given the popularity of Mega Charizard. Thermal Exchange is a signature ability, and while it doesn’t nullify the Fire-type damage, the boosted attack might make Charizard think twice about clicking Heat Wave. If paired with Fake Out and Coaching Sneasler, then Baxcalibur can use Dragon Dance and quickly run away with the game.

Mega Baxcalibur’s main weakness is its speed. At 87 it’s too slow for fast-paced gameplay, but too fast for Trick Room. Also given the monstrous speed stat of the new Z Mega Evolutions, Baxcalibur is unable to outspeed them in Tailwind without some investment. This means that you’ll need at least one turn to set up, meaning it can be vulnerable. However, it has one of the best attack stats in the game, and an excellent typing in Dragon/Ice, which hits many things in the format for super effective damage.

Mega Garchomp Z

Garchomp Z has a few things holding it back. As it changes from a physical to a special attacker, it excels in neither stat. It also suffers from being Garchomp, meaning that most players will want to use it in its base form over either of its Mega Evolutions. Also while Levitate is a strong ability, Garchomp’s lack of weakness to Ground-type attacks means it’s not the best user of it. Mega Garchomp Z loses its Ground-typing which is a double-edged sword. It’s less weak to Ice-type attacks, but it no longer gets the same type attack bonus from its Ground-type moves.

Despite this it’s still Garchomp, which means that it’s still strong. Moves like Draco Meteor can one-shot many things in the format, and as Z Megas all have a monstrous 151 speed stat, it will be able to get the move off before the opponent can move. With other strong moves like Earth Power and Power Gem there will definitely be a niche for it, but it will likely be used less than some of the other new Mega Evolutions.

Mega Lucario Z

Possibly the strongest of the Z Megas, Lucario isn’t as frail as the other two counterparts meaning that it can trade positively in matches. Aura Guard halves the damage of contact moves meaning it can survive popular moves like Flare Blitz and Close Combat that might usually threaten it. Calm Mind then supports Lucario on the special side while also boosting its special attack allowing it to get key knock outs with moves like Aura Sphere and Flash Cannon, and use a strong priority move in Vacuum Wave.

Lucario suffers from success and it’s difficult to know whether it should be a supportive Mega or an offensive one. It has a very high special attack stat, but its speed lends to supportive moves like Quick Guard and Coaching. This means that it’s particularly difficult to play around in closed team sheet, and will be great as an end game clean up ‘mon.

Mega Absol Z

Mega Absol Z gives Absol a much needed buff in Sharpness, which powers up some of its favorite moves like Night Slash and Shadow Claw, both of which have a same type attack bonus given Mega Absol Z’s additional Ghost-typing, and have an increased critical hit rate. The new Ghost-typing is also very helpful into things like Shadow Tag and makes it immune to Fake Out. Absol Z has very underwhelming stats for a Mega Evolution, but they’ve been entirely distributed where they need to be, into its attack and speed. 

Its main weakness is just how squishy it is, and it will likely be knocked out by even neutral attacks. This means that you need to target correctly to get the most out of it as a Mega Evolution. In particular Absol doesn’t have access to a lot of strong spread damage, so launching an attack into Protect can be particularly devastating. Definitely a Pokémon that is difficult to use if you’re starting out on your VGC journey, but could be strong in experienced hands.