Sun teams are sitting at the top of the Doubles meta in Pokemon Champions right now, and the reason is simple: Mega Charizard Y does everything a weather setter needs to do and then attacks immediately. No slow support Pokemon required. The moment Charizard Mega Evolves, Drought activates, Fire-type moves get a 50% damage boost, Water-type moves drop by 50%, Solar Beam fires without charging, and any Chlorophyll Pokemon on your side doubles its Speed. That combination of offensive pressure and passive utility is why sun is genuinely the most consistent weather archetype in Season M-1, Regulation M-A.
What does harsh sunlight actually do?
Before building your sun team, you need to understand every effect harsh sunlight produces. According to Game8's documentation for Pokemon Champions, the full list is:
The Weather Ball interaction is particularly worth noting. On Mega Charizard Y's recommended build (documented by Game8 for Aaron Zheng's team), Weather Ball becomes a 200-base-power Fire-type special move under sun. That is not a typo.
info
When two weather setters hit the field simultaneously, the slower Pokemon's weather overwrites the faster one's. If you're in a weather war, sometimes delaying Mega Evolution by a turn lets you bait the opponent's setter and then overwrite with Drought.
Drought activates on turn one
The three best sun team compositions
Hyper offense sun team
This is the standard and most beginner-accessible composition. According to both bo3.gg and thephrasemaker.com, the core six are Mega Charizard Y, Venusaur, Incineroar, Garchomp, Gardevoir, and Rotom-Wash.
The opening play is almost always Mega Charizard Y paired with either Venusaur or Incineroar. Evolve Charizard immediately, start spamming Heat Wave, and let Venusaur's Chlorophyll-boosted Speed threaten Sleep Powder on anything that tries to set up.
Garchomp is the team's physical backbone. Its Flying-type partner in Charizard means Earthquake hits both opposing Pokemon without touching your own side. Bulldoze is on the set specifically for Speed control, letting you manipulate the speed order even further after sun is established. According to Game8's documentation of Aaron Zheng's team build, Garchomp runs a Choice Scarf with Adamant nature, reaching 154 Speed and 200 Attack.
Rotom-Wash handles the Rain matchup. It can outspeed both Pelipper and Tyranitar to clear the path for Charizard's re-entry, and its Levitate ability means Garchomp's Earthquake never accidentally clips it.
Speed control sun team
This variant swaps Rotom-Wash for Whimsicott and adds Sneasler, focusing on stacking speed advantages through both Chlorophyll and Tailwind simultaneously. As documented by thephrasemaker.com:
The key addition here is Whimsicott's Prankster ability, which gives Tailwind and Sunny Day priority status. If the opponent knocks out Charizard and takes over the weather, Whimsicott can reset sun after the enemy weather setter has already entered, overwriting their weather on the same turn. Encore also locks opponents into unfavorable moves, buying extra turns for your sweepers.
Sneasler runs White Herb with Unburden, according to Game8's documentation. After using Close Combat or getting hit by Intimidate, the White Herb triggers, restoring stats and activating Unburden to double Speed. The result is a Pokemon that suddenly becomes one of the fastest threats on the field mid-battle.
warning
This team is more susceptible to losing momentum if Whimsicott gets knocked out early. Protect turns and careful switching are mandatory to keep the speed advantage intact.
Dual fire sun team
The most aggressive of the three. Instead of leaning on Chlorophyll sweepers for speed, this composition pairs Mega Charizard Y with Hisuian Typhlosion for double Fire-type spread damage. As noted by both bo3.gg and thephrasemaker.com:
Hisuian Typhlosion's Eruption is the centerpiece. At full HP under sun, Eruption is a 150-base-power Fire-type move that hits both opposing Pokemon. Combine that with Charizard's Heat Wave on the same turn and you're looking at two spread Fire attacks per turn from the moment the sun is up. According to bo3.gg, this combination can eliminate teams faster than standard Chlorophyll variants in direct confrontations. Shadow Ball also gives Typhlosion Ghost-type coverage that Charizard can't provide.
The tradeoff is durability. This team has less defensive utility than the hyper offense build and is more vulnerable to Rock-type moves that threaten both Fire-types simultaneously. Garchomp's Rock Slide coverage and Incineroar's Fake Out support are non-negotiable for keeping the Fire attackers alive long enough to do their work.
How to play sun teams
The opening is nearly always the same: lead Mega Charizard Y alongside either Venusaur, Incineroar, or Garchomp depending on the matchup. Mega Evolve Charizard immediately in most scenarios. The only exception is when the opponent is also running a weather team. In that case, consider holding the Mega Evolution for a turn to bait out their setter and then overwrite the weather.
From turn two onward, your priority order is:
- Use Protect on Charizard if you need to scout or preserve it against a predicted threat
- Use Fake Out from Incineroar or Sneasler to flinch a target and buy a free turn
- Use Parting Shot to pivot Incineroar out safely and bring in a sweeper
- Use Sleep Powder from Venusaur to neutralize a key threat
- Use Earthquake from Garchomp freely since Charizard's Flying typing makes it immune
According to Game8, you should always analyze the opponent's team before selecting your lead. If they're running Rain with Pelipper, bring Rotom-Wash to clear the weather setter. If they're running Sand with Tyranitar, Sneasler's Close Combat handles it directly.
Incineroar controls the board state
How do you counter sun teams?
The most reliable counter is a weather war. According to Game8, the best options for overwriting sun are Pelipper (Drizzle for Rain), Tyranitar or Mega Tyranitar (Sand Stream for Sandstorm), and Mega Froslass (Snow Warning for Snow). Once sun is gone, Venusaur loses its Chlorophyll Speed boost, Charizard's Fire moves drop back to normal power, and the team's offensive pressure collapses significantly.
Aerodactyl is also noted by Game8 as a strong option specifically against sun teams. Its fast Rock Slide threatens Mega Charizard Y directly, and Dual Wingbeat can knock out Venusaur while bypassing Focus Sash.
If you're playing sun and you see a weather counter in team preview, consider delaying Mega Evolution and using Whimsicott's Prankster Sunny Day as a backup to reset the weather after theirs has been established.
info
In a Speed tie between two weather setters, the Pokemon that loses the coin flip moves second and keeps its weather effect. This means the slower Pokemon wins weather wars, not the faster one.
Getting Mega Stones for your sun team
Charizardite Y is the most important item on this entire team. According to bo3.gg, Mega Stones in Pokemon Champions can be obtained through several routes: the Frontier Shop using Victory Points (most stones cost between 2,000 and 3,000 VP), the Battle Pass (both free and paid tiers include Mega Stones as progression rewards), and battle tutorials which reward Mega Stones alongside teaching game mechanics.
Connecting Pokemon Champions to Pokemon HOME and transferring Pokemon from Pokemon Legends: Z-A also grants certain Mega Stones to your in-game mailbox for free. Bo3.gg specifically lists Greninja, Chesnaught, Delphox, and Eternal Flower Floette as Pokemon that trigger Mega Stone rewards through HOME transfers.
Once you have Charizardite Y, equip it through the team editing menu before battle. Select the Pokemon, choose to change its held item, and navigate to the Mega Stones category using R. After equipping, the Mega Evolution option appears in battle on your turn menu, activated with R when the Omni Ring is lit.
For more team-building strategies across every archetype in Pokemon Champions, browse more guides to find matchup-specific breakdowns and updated tier lists as the meta develops.