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TOP LANER GUIDE
By BlackCH
Table Of Content
About
Bot lane is one of the most important lanes in the game, especially on the Groudon map. Because of how the map is designed, you’ll usually find scaling Pokémon, speedsters, all-rounders, and attackers, in this lane. These Pokémon grow stronger as the game progresses and often become the pivotal force in the late game, making them the most impactful presence in the final teamfight.
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With the Groudon rework, the Regi trio is no longer a guaranteed feature, but bot lane still offers huge amounts of experience thanks to the Indeedee camps. This makes farming and scaling even more valuable for the carry role.
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A typical bot carry will be a mage or ADC, providing consistent ranged damage and objective control. However, certain Pokémon like Meowscarada, Tsareena, Lucario, Dodrio, or even Rapidash can thrive here in very specific setups, bringing their own unique win conditions to the lane.
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This guide will cover the fundamentals of being a bot lane carry: how to farm efficiently, control the lane, scale into the mid and late game, and become your team’s primary damage threat during the decisive fight against Groudon.
1.Bot Lane Basics
The bot lane in the Groudon map is all about scaling, farming, and playing to your lane’s strengths. Both the carry and the support/tank share responsibility for securing wild Pokémon, depending on who has the stronger secure (“smite”). Recognizing your lane’s identity is crucial to knowing how you should play out the early game.
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Types of Bot Lanes
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Weak Lane Scaler
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Your main goal is to farm as much as possible and avoid unnecessary fights.
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Don’t panic if you’re pressured, just survive until mid/late when you outscale.
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Extra tip: If you’re being ganked often or your jungler wants to swap lanes, you can take over the jungle camps in the second rotation for extra EXP.
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Examples: Delphox, Armarouge, Gardevoir.
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Strong Smite Lane
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You don’t play for KO pressure, instead, you focus on denying enemy farm.
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Secure wilds with your smite advantage, and slowly starve the enemy of experience.
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Examples: Mew, Inteleon, Espeon.
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KO Pressure Lane
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An aggressive lane that thrives on early fights.
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Instead of farming passively, your priority is to punish the enemy carry and force KOs, creating a snowball lead.
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Best played when your duo has strong CC and early-game power.
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Examples: Pikachu, Raichu, Alolan Ninetales.
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Stacking Laner
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Pokémon like Tsareena, Meowscarada, or Dodrio excel here.
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Your priority is stacking items safely — your lane partner should help create opportunities for you to sneak in stacks.
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Once stacked, these Pokémon become some of the strongest mid/late-game threats in the game.
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Examples: Dodrio, Meowscarada, Tsareena.
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Early Game Goals
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Play your lane according to the type of bot lane you’re in.
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Avoid risky KOs, dying early slows your scaling.
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Contest neutral wilds, but only if there’s a clear benefit (EXP, pressure, or map control).
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If you’re a mid/late-game Pokémon, focus on scaling and staying safe.
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If you’re an early-game carry, assist your team in getting KOs or helping secure Regidrago.
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If you’re a melee carry, look for safe windows to stack without throwing lane control.
Bot Lane Timers
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9:40 – Neutral Bunnelby spawns in lane.
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9:30 – First Indeedee spawns.
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9:35 – Second Indeedee spawns.
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9:10 – Baltoy spawns behind your goal.
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8:50 – Altaria flock spawns in the center of the lane.
Keeping track of these timers is critical — they dictate when you should position for farm, when to play aggressive, and when to prepare for contests.
2.Early Game (10:00 – 7:00)
The early game on the Groudon map is about securing experience, playing to your lane type, and preparing for the first Regidrago fight. Every decision between 10:00 and 7:00 sets the pace for your scaling and determines whether you can contest key objectives.
Farm & Contest Order
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10:00 – 9:40: Secure the 3 speed-zone Bunnelby, clear your side’s farm first, then immediately prepare to contest the neutral Bunnelby at 9:40.
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9:35 & 9:30 – Indeedee Spawns
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If you have Smite pressure: Secure your side first, then invade the enemy side’s Indeedee.
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If you have KO pressure: Force the enemy to grab their berries early. This opens a chance to take their Indeedees or even KO them.
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If you are a Weak lane: Use “cheese” tactics. Split with your partner, the tank pressures enemy-side farm while you try to outsecure the enemy defender. Even if you don’t win, denying shared EXP is valuable for a scaler.
9:10 – Baltoy Behind Your Goal
Safe fallback farm. Useful if you’re behind, but not worth missing Altaria at 8:50.
8:50 – Altaria Flock
The first major bot lane contest.
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With KO pressure: Ignore Altaria at first, focus on forcing KOs. If successful, you’ll clean up Altaria and respawns for free, plus open scoring chances (especially if your jungler ganks).
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With Smite pressure: Work with your tank to split securing duties. One of you should focus on Swablu, the other on Altaria. Do this quickly to avoid losing HP before the next farm wave.
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With a Weak lane: Try to secure whatever you can while avoiding KOs, survival and scaling are your main goals.
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Stacking Opportunities
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Pokémon like Tsareena, Dodrio, and Meowscarada thrive on stacking early. Look for safe chances to score small points. Do not overcommit, getting punished can put the enemy ahead, making the lane extremely difficult to recover.
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Regidrago Setup (8:20 – 7:00)
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By 8:20, all players should communicate whether to contest Regidrago or not.
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KO pressure lanes and Smite Pokémon usually want to contest as long as they aren’t far behind in levels.
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If your team is too far behind, skip the fight. Instead, collapse top lane for pressure or look for cheeky backcaps to swing momentum.
Around 7:30, the team needs to make a decision based on the information at hand:
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If you are an attacker, your default is to rotate to where most of your team is grouped so you stay safe.
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If you are a side-scaling carry like Tsareena or Dodrio, you can flex as the offlaner instead, applying pressure elsewhere if needed.
Early Game Principles
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Play according to your lane type (scaler, smite, KO pressure, stacking).
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Avoid risky KOs, staying alive is more valuable than a forced trade.
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Contest neutrals only when you can realistically secure them or gain advantage.
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Stack when it’s safe, but never overcommit.
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Plan for Regidrago: at 7:30, decide whether to collapse as a team or split pressure. At 8:00, commit to the fight or rotate elsewhere.
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Extra tip: if you have a Leafeon as a jungler, most of the time you can ask for the blue buff
3. Mid Game (7:00 – 2:00)
The mid game is when the map opens up and rotations matter most. On the Groudon map the Regi spawns are now random and can appear top or bot, so don’t tunnel on a fixed objective, read the map and react. Between 7:00 and 2:00 you should be farming efficiently, rotating with purpose, and setting your team up for the late-game fights.
Map & Rotation Principles
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Read the map, don’t assume. Regi spawns are random; commit only when your team has information or numbers.
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Group when necessary. After the laning phase, attackers should stick closer to teammates for protection unless you have clear safe farm.
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Rotate for value. Side-scalers should pressure lanes when the enemy is grouped; attackers and smite Pokémon rotate to priority neutrals when safe.
Farm Priorities
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Attacker priority: Attackers are usually the most vulnerable due to small HP pools and the burst of speedsters. Contesting neutral farm without team presence is almost always impossible for them. After laning, attackers generally get priority for jungle farm or safe Indeedee camps so they can keep scaling safely.
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Example: Blue-buff-style camps often get taken by Delphox in your comps ,respect who needs which farm.
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Exceptions: Pokémon such as Sylveon, Dodrio, and Tsareena can safely take more aggressive or solo farm because of survivability or split-pressure potential, but do not become overconfident or overextend.
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Team rotations: Every role must rotate according to team positioning. If your team is grouped mid, your role is to either join or pressure elsewhere, nobody gets to solo-farm forever.
Role Guidance
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Mages & ADCs (Delphox, Gardevoir, Cinderace, etc.):
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Must always be with the team or accompanied by a frontliner.
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Solo-holding as a mage/ADC is extremely risky and usually punished — giving up farm, goals, or even feeding enemy XP.
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Your damage is only valuable if you’re alive and protected.
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Smite Pokémon (Mew, Inteleon, Espeon):
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Save secures for high-impact neutrals and be the reliable objective-secure threat.
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Use cooldowns smartly, a lost smite can cost the team a major swing.
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Stacking / Side-scalers (Tsareena, Dodrio, Meowscarada):
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Continue stacking and applying side pressure, but be ready to rotate and collapse when your team fights.
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Don’t overcommit to stacks if the enemy shows up, losing stacks + a death is brutal.
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KO Pressure Lanes:
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Keep punishing isolated enemies, but respect mid-game longer respawns. One bad death can hand objective control to the enemy.
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Mid-Game Objectives & Behavior
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Contest high-value neutrals only when you have numbers or a clear smite advantage.
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Pressure lanes when enemy is committed elsewhere or if you count with a good amount of ultimates.
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Protect your attacker. By mid game their power spikes matter, securing them space is often worth more than an extra neutral contest.
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Play for side-scale backcaps. A neglected Dodrio or Meowscarada can turn into free points quickly
Common Mid-Game Mistakes to Avoid
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Solo-contesting neutrals as an attacker. You’ll usually get punished.
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Chasing KOs into enemy numbers. Mid game punishes greedy plays harder than early game.
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Ignoring rotations. If your team is collapsing and you stay farming, you’re likely to lose objectives or give up map control.
Leaving your mage/ADC alone. Without front line support, they’ll die easily and your team loses its main damage source.
4. Late Game (2:00 – End)
The last two minutes decide the game. This is when Groudon spawns, and one mistake can cost the match. Death timers are long, and losing a carry or smite Pokémon usually means losing the objective.
Map & Rotation Principles
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Set up at 2:20 / 2:00. Everyone must rotate, no stray farming or solo plays unless you’re a designated side-scaler.
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The choke bush is your best friend. It sits near your jungle entrance and gives attackers the safest positioning close to T1/T2 towers. Control this bush to set up DPS safely.
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Establish vision early. Positioning is won before the Groudon spawns, secure bush control so your carries don’t get collapsed on.
Role Guidance
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Attackers (mages & ADCs):
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You are the core of your team’s damage, if you’re KOed, your team loses poke and burst pressure.
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Stay close to your frontline or tower safety, never alone.
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Your job is not to chase kills, instead, keep steady damage on safe targets and the Groudon pit.
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Smite Pokémon:
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Secure is everything, save your burst for Groudon.
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Only use smite moves early if you’re guaranteeing a fight-winning KO.
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Communicate timing with your team to line up the flip correctly.
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Frontliners (tanks, supports):
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Zone assassins off your mage/ADC. If they die, the fight is unwinnable.
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Choose carefully between peeling for carries or diving the enemy backline.
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Do not die early, staggering before 2:00 is game-losing.
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Side-Scalers (Dodrio, Tsareena, Meowscarada):
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Your flexibility decides close games.
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If your team can’t win Groudon straight up, look for backcaps or pressure elsewhere.
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If you stay for the fight, collapse decisively on enemy DPS or peel for your own, don’t float between roles.
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Groudon Fight Priorities
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Stay alive. A single KO before the fight can end the game.
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Control choke bush and vision. This is the safest setup for carries and forces enemies into bad angles.
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Protect your DPS. If your mage/ADC survives, you win the fight by default.
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Smite discipline. Secure abilities are for Groudon, not random chip.
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Flip only when safe. If their smite is down or their carries are KOed, burn Groudon immediately.
Common Late-Game Mistakes
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Arriving late and losing bush control.
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Frontliners engaging too early and getting KOed.
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Carries chasing for kills instead of holding safe positions.
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Side-scalers overextending instead of playing flex.
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Wasting smite abilities before Groudon spawns.
Win Condition Mindset
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If ahead: Be patient and poke. You don’t need to force bold plays, play safe, deny enemy angles, and capitalize on mistakes.
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If behind: Follow up on your team’s engage and deal as much damage as possible to frontliners and all-rounders. If you survive the fight, you can still contribute to Groudon DPS afterward.
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Last resort: If there’s no time and you’re behind, there are two final plays:
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Flip the Groudon, gamble on a smite secure before the enemy wipes you.
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Siege a tower for one last desperate push and scoring chance.
5. Tips & Tricks
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If you are a scaler: Your mission is simple, survive and grab every single crumble of farm you can. Scaling is patience; don’t trade your life for scraps.
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Front-to-back play: Most mages and ADCs are played front to back. That means your job is to deal with the tank or top laner first before you can safely reach the enemy backline.
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Early jungle buff priority: If your team has an early-ganking Leafeon or Sylveon, you should always secure the blue buff after lane. It will accelerate your damage and safety.
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Post-lane positioning: After the laning phase, always stay near your tank or wherever your team is exerting the most pressure. Never get caught alone.
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Max range discipline: Every move you have comes with a range indicator, respect it. Playing at max range keeps you alive and still lets you output pressure.
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Anti-heal duty: Almost always, the attacker role is the best candidate to run anti-healing. Make sure your build covers it when needed.
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Play around goal zones: Goal zones are your best friend. Position fights near them whenever possible, and communicate with your team to keep at least one up, ideally the bot goal zone, for safer retreats and control.
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Stay vigilant: Always check bushes with your abilities, assume that a speedster is hunting for you, and ask your tank or support to “hold your hand” when rotating. Playing paranoid keeps you alive.
6. Attacker Positioning
7.Attackers Per Role
There is a plethora of options you have as a bot lane carry which is why it is extremely important to know the role of each carry you can play in the bot lane
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Anti-Dive:
This are relatively safe picks when the enemy team relies on a dive comp
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Melee:
Normally played in full dive comps or placed in bot when a strong early game attacker ins played in top or jungle
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Smite / Secure:
Normally you pick this Pokemon when the other 2 carry lack a secure
ADC:
Main source of damage is their basic attacks
Control Mage:
Strong attackers that deal AoE damage or that control the game with heavy CC
Sniper:
Long range pokemon that are extremely good when the enemy lacks healing
8. CONCLUSION
Bot lane carries are the backbone of most team compositions on the Groudon map. Whether you’re a scaler, a KO pressure lane, or a smite-focused mage, your impact comes from patience, positioning, and decision-making. You don’t have to be the flashiest player on the map, your consistency in farming, surviving, and dealing safe damage is what wins games.
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Play with your tank, respect your range, and understand when to commit versus when to hold back. If you stay alive and keep up your damage output, your team will always have a win condition around objectives and late-game pushes.
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Remember: your role isn’t just about scoring or chasing kills. You’re the steady core of your team’s DPS, and when you play smart, you give your teammates the space to make winning plays.