Garchomp holds at 37% as five counter picks surge mid-week — Mimikyu collapses from 28% to 10% while Tyranitar, Rillaboom, and Dragonite take aim at the top three

The 2000+ bracket and mid-ladder play fundamentally different games. High-rated teams lean into Mimikyu (37% vs 20%), Primarina (32% vs 14%), and Baxcalibur (24% vs 8%) — picks that demand precise positioning and careful sequencing. Dragonite also shows 24% at the top versus minimal presence below, confirming that the Multiscale pivot has a high skill floor. Gholdengo at 18% is nearly exclusive to the top band, serving as the Ghost-Steel glue that ties Dragon-Fairy-Steel cores together.

Mid-ladder rewards a different approach. Meowscarada appears at 12% below 2000 but only 3% above, suggesting its raw speed and guaranteed-crit pressure punish unprepared teams but falter against optimized defensive structure. Gengar follows the same pattern at 12% vs 3%, as does Feraligatr at 11% vs 3% — all straightforward breakers that exploit loose teambuilding. The format has a clear skill gate: the picks that dominate below 2000 are exactly the picks that vanish above it.

Every riser this week brought a loaded gun to a specific matchup. Tyranitar climbed from 3% to 16% with Stone Edge threatening Salamence on the switch; Rillaboom went from 7% to 20%, using Grassy Glide's priority to bypass Primarina's dismal base 60 Speed; and Meowscarada shadowed that role at 7% to 18%, with Flower Trick's guaranteed crit cutting through Primarina before it can move. At base 123, Meowscarada outspeeds every other pick in the top twelve and it is not close. Cinderace (5% to 12%) brings the same speed-class pressure at base 119, giving the meta two premier fast attackers it did not have a week ago.

Dragonite's rise from 6% to 16% is the most structurally important of the five because it targets the number-one pick directly — Dragon Pulse hits Garchomp super-effectively, and Multiscale absorbs Garchomp's own Dragon STAB on the switch. Garchomp's quad Ice weakness remains the biggest exploit in the format, and with Baxcalibur sliding from 13% to 8%, the Ice-type slot is wide open. Rotom (Frost) hits seven of the top twelve with its Ice and Electric STAB but still sees almost no play — a gap that will not stay empty forever.

Mimikyu's intra-week crash from 28% to 10% is the sharpest within-week drop this cycle. Its overall number (21%) is actually up from last report's 18%, but that is entirely front-loaded — by the second half, teams had moved on. Garchomp itself softened from 39% to 33% within the week, and Baxcalibur from 13% to 8%, suggesting the counter-pick wave is pulling the whole established core downward, not just sniping one slot.

Dragon at 79% continues to lead, carried by Garchomp, Salamence, and Archaludon, but the more interesting story is Fire at 59%. Charizard at a 13-report high of 19% and Cinderace's second-half surge to 12% are both driving it. Steel at 74% holds through Lucario, Metagross, and Archaludon, providing the Fairy resistance that Dragon-heavy teams need, while Fairy at 56% rests on Primarina, Mimikyu, and Gardevoir — two of those three are under direct pressure from this week's Grass-type risers, and if that wave holds, Fairy's share could contract as Primarina gets priced out of teamsheets.