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Guide · Team Preview · Piloting
Six Pokémon. Ninety Seconds. One Read.
Open team lists mean you see their whole six. That's a gift — most players waste it. Here's the read-before-you-lead checklist that separates top-cut from ladder plateau.
▸ What Team Preview Shows
- All six species on the opposing team.
- Items visible for every Pokémon — including whether someone has a Mega Stone, which confirms their Mega slot.
- No abilities, no movesets, no stat spreads. You have to infer those from what makes sense competitively.
- You have 90 secondsto pick four from your six. Don't waste it double-checking your own team — you brought it, you know it.
Step 1 · Name Their Archetype
Before you pick a single Pokémon, look at the whole six and answer one question: what is this team trying to do?
Weather tell: Tyranitar, Pelipper, Torkoal, Abomasnow, Ninetales — if any of them are on the preview, the team is usually built around the weather they set. Cross-reference with their partners — Swift Swim on a rain team, Chlorophyll on sun.
Trick Room tell: slow bulky attackers with no Choice items, paired with a known setter (Indeedee, Hatterene, Porygon2). If their team looks too slow, assume TR.
Tailwind tell: at least one Prankster user (Whimsicott, Tornadus) plus fast attackers with max Speed. They want four turns of doubled speed.
Hyper Offense tell: Fake Out leads, priority movers, no obvious support.
Balance:you can't tell. That's the diagnosis. Expect a flexible lead and a back-row answer to whatever you bring.
Not sure what an archetype is? Read the archetypes breakdown — all the weather/TR/Tailwind patterns in one place.
Step 2 · Predict Their Lead
Given their archetype, narrow the six to the two most likely leads. Most teams run tight 4+2 splits — four mainstays that almost always come out, two situational backup picks.
Weather teams lead the setter. The whole engine depends on it. If they have Pelipper + Sitrus, Pelipper is leading Slot 1 nine games out of ten.
Trick Room needs protection. They'll lead the setter plus a Fake Out user or a Rage Powder redirector to buy the TR turn.
Fake Out is always in the lead.If they have Incineroar or Rillaboom, assume it's leading. Fake Out only works turn 1.
The Mega usually leads. Megas are the damage core — bringing them late wastes turns. Exception: Mega setup sweepers that need a free turn (they lead in the back row behind a Fake Out).
Step 3 · Pick Your Four
You're not picking your four best Pokémon — you're picking the four that handle their six. Two different frames:
Lead for the matchup you expect.If they have sun + Chlorophyll Venusaur, bring your Fire resist and your Water attacker. Don't bring your sixth-pick off-meta flex unless it has a job.
Have an answer to their late-game threat. Look at their back two. If their endgame is a Dragon Dance Mega Gyarados, you need priority or a Fairy to stop it — both slots matter, not just the leads.
Leave a Pokémon in the box on purpose.The two you don't bring are the two you're willing to lose the game over. If you can't afford to lose any, your team is too narrow — that's a teambuilding problem, not a preview problem.
× Mistakes That Lose Games
Bringing your auto-pilot four. You have six for a reason. If they counter your four, stop clicking the same picks.
Ignoring items.A Choice Scarf gives away a speed story. Leftovers confirms a pivot. Focus Sash tells you who's surviving one hit. Look.
Burning all 90 seconds. Play the first 30 on archetype + lead read, the next 30 on your own pick, the last 30 on double-checking. Running out of time means panic picks.
Forgetting you have open team lists too. They see your six. Your surprise factor is zero. The edge is piloting, not picks.