Team Composition Guide: BV Physical 3v9 Core - Battle Villa Team

Glalie may be this core’s backup tank (usually the least important member of a team), but its truly incredible healing, buffs, and debuffs make this comp what it is. Before I go off on what this pair does for the team and how it does it, let me just note that for Glalie to really shine it needs the Defense Crush Lucky Skill (obtainable from 1* and 2* Crunchy Cookies). With that out of the way, let’s get right into it. First off, Powder Snow is a highly spammable one bar Aoe move that allows Glalie to quickly pile up buffs and debuffs through its Passives, complimenting  Physical Strikers nicely with Defense Crush and shoring up the pair’s own mediocre bulk. Its liberal use in the early game is a huge part of what makes this team so devastating later on. Additionally, X Regen All is a powerhouse of a Healing move which allows Glalie and Swanna to make it to your Striker’s Sync Move with nearly all their health intact and then stay topped off throughout the match by spamming one bars. As to using it in game, all Galie needs to do is pop an X Regen All at the start of the match and then get spamming with Powder Snow to build up the buffs it needs to be an iron curtain in the lategame. Once your Striker has buffed up and reached its Sync Move, it should take priority in terms of your Move Gauge, but always remember to keep throwing in a Powder Snow every other move for the debuffs. Finally, if Aoe ever starts to weigh on your Striker and you’d rather not use up one of Swanna’s potions, that means it’s time to pop your second X Regen All.

Swanna is one of the game’s most potent Healer tanks, and that status is used to incredible effect to make this core nigh-unkillable. “Take Flight!”’s powerful team wide buff to Speed and Defense goes a long way towards making the team both harder to knock out and better at knocking out, and its Mp Refresh Master Healer Potions give it great staying power. Another key reason Swanna is so effective with this core is Gust, a seemingly innocuous one-bar move that when combined with X Regen All affords Swanna powerful healing while it saves its Potions for the late game. Together, Gust and Potion give Swanna the means to consistently stay topped off throughout the match without losing the potential to save an injured Striker from dying to Aoe or heal off Recoil from pairs like Emboar and Sharpedo. In game, this overview of Swanna’s strengths should give you a good idea of what to do with it; buff with “Take Flight!” and spam Gust early on to stay topped off on both Gauge and Hp before taking on a more passive, Potion-centric role later on. 

An example Sync Grid for a Swanna used on this team can be found here: 

https://gamepress.gg/pokemonmasters/tool/sync-grid-planner-tool#,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,0,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1###Skyla%20&%20Swanna###2

This grid shows only the essential skills that can be accessed at the currently-available Sync Level 2. If a level 3 Skyla ever becomes available, you'll want to pick up Gust Mp Refresh and the second Potion Mp Refresh in addition to this Grid. 

This team’s final pair is mostly player preference since the defensive core of Glalie-Swanna is so powerful with any offensively self-sufficient Physical Striker, but there are a few pairs who work particularly well here. Firstly, and this is my personal favorite, Sygna Suit Grimsley and Sharpedo’s kit appears to have been built specifically for this core. A late game Striker who can max all three of its own offensive stats while lowering opposing pair’s Defense and accelerating the Sync Counter synergises perfectly with this team’s strengths. On top of that, Sharpedo’s big drawback being a one-time recoil effect is something this team is well-equipped to deal with between Master Healer Potions and X Regen All. In terms of other options, Haxorus, Garchomp, or really any other Physical Striker who can max out its own Attack and Critical Chance makes for a great option. Finally, powerful Special Strikers like Sceptile and Charizard can still make use of this core to great effect, but will miss out on the huge boost to damage provided by Defense Crush.