Garchomp leads at 46% as Primarina blows past its historical ceiling to a 14-report high of 33%, and Meowscarada rises in answer

The 2000+ band (177 teams) concentrates harder on the proven core: Garchomp sits at 53% vs 46% overall, and Mimikyu's gap is the starkest skill skew at 24% vs 12% in the 1000-1999 band. Dragonite follows the same pattern at 15% vs 8%. High-ladder players are retaining the Fairy/Ghost and Dragon/Flying pivots that the mid-ladder is dropping, which suggests these picks reward tighter play — Mimikyu's Disguise in particular is a tool that scales with how well the pilot reads switches and end-game boards.

The mid-band (246 teams) leans heavily into Salamence at 33% vs just 19% at the top, the largest reverse skew in the data. Rillaboom (12% vs 5%) and Meowscarada (14% vs 8%) are also more popular below 2000. Salamence likely thrives where opponents punish it less cleanly with Ice or Fairy coverage, while the Grass-type counter-wave is spreading bottom-up: the mid-ladder has already picked up Meowscarada as an answer to Primarina, while the top band, which relies on Mimikyu and Dragonite to handle it from a different angle, is slower to adapt.

Primarina's explosion to 33% has forced the format to answer, and two clear responses have emerged. Meowscarada climbed from 12% to 23% in the second half of the week, its Flower Trick landing super-effective Grass STAB on Primarina before it can move — at 123 base Speed, Meowscarada is the fastest pick in the entire top 12, outrunning Garchomp (102) and Salamence (100) without needing a Choice Scarf. Toxapex rose from 3% to 9% over the same window, bringing Poison STAB via Toxic as a slower but far more durable angle against Primarina. Both picks function against balanced cores broadly, not just as one-dimensional Primarina snipers.

On the falling side, Mimikyu dropped from 21% last report to 16% this week and cratered to 9% in the second half. Dragonite followed a similar path, falling from 12% to 5% within the week, while Baxcalibur eased from 16% to 11%. The Fairy/Ghost and secondary Dragon/Ice slots are being squeezed as teams reallocate toward the Grass and Poison picks that Primarina's dominance demands — high-ladder players are still holding Mimikyu at 24% in the 2000+ band, but the mid-ladder, at 12%, has already moved on.

Among the smaller risers, Blaziken went from 5% to 11% in the second half (peaking at 2426 by ☀️), offering Fire STAB into the Steel types that crowd the top 12. Milotic surfaced from near-zero at 1% to 11% (peaking at 2010 by R), and Indeedee climbed from 10% to 16%, peaking at 2548 on かんた's stall build with Psychic Terrain support. These risers target different parts of the format — Meowscarada and Toxapex punish Primarina, Blaziken pressures Steels, Indeedee enables setup — and the mid-ladder is adopting them faster (Meowscarada 14% below 2000 vs 8% above) while the top band has not yet followed.

Water (84%) and Dragon (83%) dominate the type chart, driven by the Garchomp-Primarina axis and their supporting casts — Golisopod and Greninja on the Water side, Salamence and Archaludon for Dragon. Steel (76%) sits third through the Archaludon-Lucario-Gholdengo triad, providing the special-defense backbone teams need against Primarina's Moonblast and Sparkling Aria.

Flying (71%) reflects Salamence and Charizard, Ground (67%) is almost entirely Garchomp and Hippowdon, Fairy (65%) runs through Primarina, Mimikyu, and Gardevoir, and Ghost (59%) lives in Mimikyu and Gholdengo. Fire rounds out the top types at 52% via Charizard, Cinderace, and Blaziken. The spread is wide on paper but narrow in practice — each type is carried by two or three names, so a single pick's rise or fall can swing an entire type's presence.