Gallade

Fighting

Mega Gallade is a staple on Fighting teams by virtue of its amazing Attack stat, great typing, and setup capabilities making it a great wallbreaker. Its Psychic typing helps Mega Gallade serve as a solid check to Toxapex and Mega Venusaur, which are otherwise big threats to Fighting. After using a Swords Dance, the list of Pokemon that can switch into Mega Gallade becomes very small, as even Skarmory has a chance to be OHKOed after Stealth Rock. Mega Gallade also sits at a very solid base 110 Speed tier, allowing it to outspeed the likes of Garchomp, Keldeo, and Nihilego unless they're using a Choice Scarf. It has great coverage options, including Knock Off and Ice Punch, helping it hit threats like Slowbro and Landorus-T. Additionally, Mega Gallade is one of Fighting's only users of Knock Off, giving the team a great utility option by removing the foe's item. It can be useful against users of Choice Scarf and Leftovers. Knock Off is also a great option to use against Ghost-type Pokemon such as Jellicent and Alolan Marowak. Mega Gallade’s good special bulk allows it to survive hits from the likes of Latios and Gengar, allowing it to check these Pokemon if it hasn’t taken prior damage. However, while base 110 Speed is above average, Mega Gallade can be taken advantage of by faster revenge killers holding a Choice Scarf and is forced to Speed tie with important Pokemon such as Mega Latias and Mega Diancie. Mega Gallade has bad physical bulk as well, which means it cannot afford to switch into most powerful physical attackers such as Excadrill. Mega Gallade’s somewhat average overall bulk can limit the amount of times it can set up with Swords Dance. Lastly, it is susceptible to strong priority moves such as Scizor’s Bullet Punch and Dragonite’s Extreme Speed.

Psychic

Mega Gallade's Fighting typing allows it to heavily pressure the Steel- and Dark-type Pokemon that threaten its teammates. It has an exceptional Attack stat that is only amplified by its access to Swords Dance, which allows it to function as a dominant wallbreaker. In addition to this, Mega Gallade has a good Speed tier that permits it to function as an imposing sweeper. It has access to two strong and reliable STAB attacks that provide coverage only resisted by Psychic and completely walled by Sableye: Zen Headbutt and Close Combat. Furthermore, it is able to cripple the opposing team by removing important items, like Leftovers and Choice items, thanks to its access to Knock Off, which also hits the Psychic-types that resist its STAB moves. Also, Mega Gallade has access to priority through Shadow Sneak, so it can deal with some faster threats or Pokemon it Speed ties with after they have been weakened, notably Latios, Gengar, and Tapu Koko. While Mega Gallade's imposing offensive presence often causes the foe to switch out and allow it to set up, its lackluster physical bulk limits its ability to set up often and causes it to be pressured by powerful priority attacks like Mimikyu's Shadow Sneak, Mega Pinsir's Quick Attack, and Scizor's Bullet Punch. While its Speed tier is decent, it Speed ties with many dangerous Pokemon like Gengar, Latios, and Mega Diancie and is outsped and OHKOed by a variety of revenge killers such as Mega Pidgeot and Choice Specs Tapu Koko. Mega Gallade relies heavily on its offensive abilities, so being burned or paralyzed would cripple it, while being poisoned would limit its ability to sweep and wallbreak effectively.