Gholdengo leverages its immunities and resistances from its typing and ability to set up with Nasty Plot and sweep with Make It Rain.

Leftovers increases Gholdengo's survivability, while Metal Coat and Life Orb allow Gholdengo to start attacking without needing a turn to setup. Metal Coat is preferred on sets that still lean on Nasty Plot, while Life Orb sets play more like a Choice Specs set that has the option to switch moves and punish passive turns with Nasty Plot.

Tera Dragon allows Gholdengo to resist Fire- and Water-type attacks like Flare Blitz from Incineroar and Wave Crash from Basculegion, allowing it to set up with Nasty Plot or to start attacking after getting a boost. Tera Steel Gholdengo is typically run with Life Orb to let it pick up OHKOs on Pokemon like Primarina and Amoonguss when paired with Nasty Plot.

The Speed investment lets Gholdengo outspeed bulky Volcarona, while the bulk investment lets it survive Wave Crash from Choice Band Basculegion-M and Tera Dark Throat Chop from Sneasler. A Modest nature lets Metal Coat Gholdengo OHKO Ursaluna-B with Make It Rain, while a Timid nature paired with 164 Speed EVs allows it to outspeed all opposing Modest Gholdengo.

Pros:

Setup Gholdengo can easily run away with the game if its given a turn to set up.

Setup Gholdengo can also afford to run more bulk investment, as it can increase its Special Attack.

Cons:

Requiring a turn to set up can lead to Gholdengo being OHKOed or heavily chipped before it can start doing damage.

Teams featuring Nasty Plot Gholdengo often have to include more support Pokemon such as Amoonguss and Electabuzz in order to get the most value out of it, as they ensure Gholdengo will have a safe chance to set up.

Choice Specs Gholdengo uses its high Special Attack stat, decent Speed, and powerful spread move to severely dent the opposing team.

Thunderbolt is a good coverage option for Gholdengo to threaten Water-types that resist Make It Rain like Pelipper. Power Gem also allows Gholdengo to threaten Incineroar while still threatening Pelipper. Trick works well with Gholdengo's immunity to Fake Out to allow it to shut down setup strategies or to force Trick Room setters like Porygon2 to switch out.

Tera Steel maximizes Gholdengo's damage output with Make It Rain, letting it do as much damage as possible before being knocked out and allowing it to pick up OHKOs on Pokemon such as Ursaluna-B.

A Timid nature lets Gholdengo outspeed Modest Glimmora and Basculegion, while a Modest nature guarantees the OHKO against bulky Annihilape with Shadow Ball.

Pros:

Choice Specs Gholdengo has a very high initial damage output, not requiring the setup turn that plagues the Nasty Plot set.

Teams without a bulky Pokemon that resists Make It Rain can quickly be blown away.

Cons:

Choice Specs Gholdengo's inability to switch moves and lack of setup can cause its Special Attack to quickly plummet if it tries to spam Make It Rain against Pokemon like Incineroar and Kingambit. This causes it to often have to switch out, losing momentum.