This is a translation of 2015 World Championship senior division Top 8 finisher Tsai Chien-Chien’s team report by shihhan0718. The original is located at his blog.

Hello Nugget Bridge! This is Chien-Chien Tsai again. I finished first in Championship Points in Southeast Asia this year, and I was greatly honored to represent Taiwan at the 2015 World Championships. This is the first time that Taiwan’s sent a player to Worlds, and I was extremely happy to make it to top eight. I’ve got a lot of things to say and a lot of people to thank, but that’s not the point of this report—maybe I’ll discuss that next time. Here’s my team!

Team Building

After I played at the Singapore National Championships, I was very familiar with the Gardevoir/Amoonguss combination. I was planning to use it again at Worlds, but I noticed a metagame shift to teams that countered the duo. This bothered me for a while, and I was considering using a different team. But I couldn’t come up with anything better; I had used the pair all season long. As such, I decided to find ways to make it stronger instead.

One big counter to Gardevoir/Amoonguss is Steel-type Pokémon holding Safety Goggles, such as Aegislash, Escavalier (through Overcoat), and Ferrothorn. Heatran is the most common and best way to deal with these Pokémon, and becomes even better with Speed control, giving it the ability to fight Kangaskhan and Landorus-Therian. However, Heatran is very weak to rain teams, so I decided to add the odd choice of Sunny Day Suicune. Suicune gives great Speed control in the form of Tailwind and can also OHKO Salamence, a big threat to this team. Therefore, I had the following four Pokémon:

Originally, I had Choice Scarf Hydreigon and Assault Vest Landorus-T in the final two slots, but I found that I was very weak to opposing Gardevoir. I played around with using Imprison to shut down Hyper Voice, but my Gardevoir was too slow to make it work. In the final week before Worlds, I switched out Hydreigon for Gengar and moved the Choice Scarf to Landorus-T on the advice of my friend Sayha.

Gengar @ Focus Sash
Timid | Levitate
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
– Shadow Ball
– Will-O-Wisp
– Icy Wind
– Protect

My team is fairly slow, so I chose Gengar to add some fast offensive pressure. Gengar has Shadow Ball instead of Sludge Bomb to deal with Aegislash. Icy Wind and Will-O-Wisp are very common and very good supporting moves, so I won’t go over them in detail. I was planning on using Sludge Bomb in the last slot to deal with Sylveon and Breloom, but I knew that Gengar would be double targeted often due to its Focus Sash, so I chose Protect to take advantage of those situations.

Suicune @ Sitrus Berry
Bold | Pressure
252 HP / 20 Def / 212 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
– Scald
– Ice Beam
– Tailwind
– Sunny Day

When I built this team, the Japanese sand team was very common, and Suicune was the best counter to it. However, it wasn’t so common at Worlds, and Suicune had a terrible experience facing off against Swagger Thundurus. However, it still brought an incredible balance of bulk, Speed control, and weather control. Sunny Day was a great move, allowing me to surprise Steel-types bathing in the rain. The EVs allow it to outrun Adamant Landorus-T after Tailwind and OHKO Mega Salamence.

Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Modest | Telepathy / Pixilate
252 HP / 124 Def / 100 SpA / 4 SpD / 28 Spe
– Hyper Voice
– Psychic
– Trick Room
– Protect

Gardevoir is the Mega Evolution I believe in the most. I modified the EV spread from my old team. Although a Bold nature made Gardevoir very bulky, it kept eating critical hits. Therefore, I decided to use a Modest nature and a new EV spread instead. The HP and Defense EVs allow it to take a Talonflame’s Brave Bird, while the Speed EVs allow it to outspeed Bisharp by two points. With all the extra Special Attack, I ended up with a much more offensive Gardevoir.

I want to quickly thank my friend Mitiru, who drew the picture below to cheer me up while I was playing in day two Swiss. In Taiwan, it was midnight while Worlds was going on, so I’m really grateful that she stayed up overnight to cheer me on.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Adamant | Intimidate
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
– Superpower
– U-turn
– Rock Slide
– Earthquake

This is a very common Landorus-T, so there’s nothing to really say about it. It’s so standard, and yet still so powerful. The only I’d like to note is that Intimidate really helps offset the loss of bulk on my Gardevoir.

Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Relaxed | Regenerator
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
– Sludge Bomb
– Spore
– Rage Powder
– Protect

Amoonguss is one of the best teammates for Gardevoir. Generally, all it really has to do is use Rage Powder and redirect attacks away from Gardevoir. Once Trick Room goes up, it can just spam Spore. I chose Sludge Bomb over Giga Drain to hit Breloom, as it’d otherwise be quite a pain for the rest of my team.

Heatran @ Safety Goggles
Modest | Flash Fire
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
IVs: 4 Spe
– Heat Wave
– Earth Power
– Ancient Power
– Protect

Heatran plays a fairly simple role: it resists almost everything that opponents throw at Gardevoir while hitting the Steel-types that Gardevoir can’t. I had been using a fast Heatran with Life Orb at Premier Challenges, but I decided to lower its Speed to gain more of an advantage in Trick Room. It’s also slower than Suicune, allowing for some nice Sunny Day plays. The 4 Speed IV allows it to outrun Jolly Mega Kangaskhan in Tailwind. I chose Safety Goggles to deal with opposing Amoonguss and Breloom, but I didn’t run into a single one at Worlds, so it was mostly a useless item. Ancient Power (instead of Flash Cannon) gave me a great surprise option against Mega Charizard Y, and most of my opponents seemed really caught off guard by it.

Those were my six Pokémon for the World Championships. Honestly, I don’t think this team was amazing. I had to rely on Hyper Voice against Thundurus and Milotic, but Swagger and Maranga Berry made Gardevoir’s job difficult. That’s also the reason why I lost in top eight. Regardless, the team brought me to Worlds and gave me a great experience. I think I’ll never forget this tournament.

Unfortunately, due to the Battle Competition screen, I have no Battle Videos to share. Really sorry about that.

Conclusion

I don’t know if you guys noticed it, but I titled the article “Boston, The Dream”. That dream doesn’t belong just to me, but to all the players back in Taiwan. I was just the one lucky enough to have the opportunity to use it. Through Taiwan Nationals, Singapore Nationals, and finally Worlds, I relied on the support of other players and the Taiwan Pokémon VG community. I’d really like to thank all of you guys.

After Worlds, I went the the Pokémon Symphony. I remember that the last song was “Friends, Fight, Finalize”. For me, the 2015 season has ended, but I’m sure that the friends and the fights will continue. This might have been Taiwan’s first year at Worlds, but I’m sure it won’t be the only year. We’ll see you guys next year—let’s all try our best!

The post Boston, The Dream: A 2015 World Championship Senior Division Top 8 Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

This is a translation of Daichi Kumabe (Scar)‘s team from the 2015 World Championships, where he placed sixth in the Masters Division. A returning Japanese representative from last year’s World Championships, Scar was part of the Japanese day one contingent this year and advanced to day two with a 4-2 record, where he made it into the top cut. We would like to thank him for permission to translate and publish this. The original can be found at his blog.

Here’s the team that achieved sixth place at the 2015 World Championships in Boston, as well as a summary of the events that led up to the tournament.

This year was my second consecutive year playing at Worlds. Building on experience gained from last year, my goal was to bring a team that retained its strength even if its details were exposed. I decided that I would use both Thunder Wave and Trick Room, two methods of speed control that could restrict my opponents’ options right from the start. Roughly two months ago, I had been considering a Mega Salamence-centric build, and up until a week prior to my departure from Japan I was planning to use the following six Pokémon:

I was confident in the team, as it was made up of six very strong Pokémon. Yet, up until the middle of July, I was unable to play Pokémon, and when I finally began refining the team one week before the tournament I was completely unable to win with it, so I panicked. One reason for my poor performance was simply that the team had not been sufficiently optimized. All of the 4x weaknesses on the team, which were especially important due to Salamence, really restricted the plays I could make. In particular, I was totally unable to deal with Milotic, which became extremely popular before I realized it. At this point, I hurriedly switched to a standard Mega Kangaskhan team. I experimented with the common team of Kangaskhan/Landorus-T/Cresselia/Heatran/Amoonguss, but due to my complete lack of experience with using Kangaskhan in this format, I was at a severe disadvantage in the mirror. After discussing these issues with my friends, I decided to use the same Mega Gardevoir team that I had been playing with since March. I made this decision on the very day I left Japan.

However, the Gardevoir variations I had on hand had all been revealed publicly on my blog, and had all been built with the best-of-1 format in mind for tournaments such as the Japan Cup and Japan Nationals. This made me uneasy, and making a few modifications was necessary. The foundation I started with was the team I used to take 3rd place in March’s Victoria League Tokyo tournament:

For day one of Worlds, at least, I would battle with these six members. Changes were made to all movesets and EV spreads except Gardevoir’s. The complete team is as follows:

2015 World Championships Day 1 team: Scar’s Gardevoir Amoonguss Switch 2.0

TN: Scar omitted EV spreads and natures.

The Thundurus and Heatran used here are the same ones used in the aforementioned Mega Salamence team. I was a big fan of them for their individual strength, and chose them to be able to execute a Thundurus-centric playstyle that reduce my reliance on Trick Room. In the end, I only managed to play two games with friends with the above team before I boarded my flight to Boston and made the team in-game.

On day one, I was lucky enough to barely advance to day two with a 4-2 record. Up until Worlds, my Mega Gardevoir teams had a heavy reliance on Trick Room, and I was very uncomfortable with using Thunder Wave instead. However, by analyzing my battles as I played them, I grew more familiar with the strategy and somehow managed to win four sets. Both the Thunder Wave and Trick Room leads worked well, which told me that I did something right by using both methods of Speed control on the team. At the same time, however, I discovered a few big problems, namely my inability to break through Charizard with Wide Guard support, Azumarill not being used outside of the sun matchup, and a lack of concrete ways to deal with rain (although I didn’t run into it on day one).

Luckily, we were allowed to change our teams before the second day, so I immediately set about making adjustments. I replaced the seldom-brought Azumarill with Tyranitar, which gave me a fantastic tool in the weather war. At first, I considered leaving the rest of the team untouched and simply slap on a Choice Scarf Tyranitar. However, I realized that this wouldn’t help in the problematic Charizard + Wide Guard matchup, and it would also leave me at a disadvantage against non-Scarf Politoed. Additionally, it had bad synergy with Trick Room. Then I remembered the Life Orb set that I had been using on the Salamence team; it was powerful, and it worked well with both Thunder Wave and Trick Room. This did force me to change my Landorus-T’s set, so I took the opportunity to deal with Charizard by adding Rock Tomb. I wanted to keep Rock Slide due to its great effectiveness against paralyzed opponents, so I ended up with two Rock-type moves on my Assault Vest Landorus-T. I had planned on using Stone Edge to OHKO Charizard even after being Intimidated, but fears about its accuracy and lack of use in other matchups pushed me onto Rock Tomb, which gave me yet another form of Speed control. Thus, my day two team was completed at 8 AM on the day itself. Of course, there wasn’t any time to test my changes before the real games started, but I knew exactly why I had made the changes I did, and that was good enough for me.

So, after that incredibly long foreword, here’s the team I used on day two of Worlds.

Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Modest | Trace / Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 116 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
– Hyper Voice
– Psychic
– Trick Room
– Protect

• 2HKOs 4 HP/0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan with Hyper Voice
• KOs 4 HP/0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan with Hyper Voice after two hits of Rocky Helmet damage + Double-Edge recoil on Amoonguss
• KOs 4 HP/0 SpD Bisharp with Hyper Voice after Rocky Helmet damage
• OHKOs 252 HP/0 SpD Amoonguss with Psychic (except for a minimum damage roll)
• Survives Brave Bird from Adamant 252 Atk Choice Band Talonflame
• Outspeeds 252 Speed neutral-natured base 70s

This is my favorite, most used Gardevoir, and is unchanged from my Japan Cup and Nationals teams. I regard Mega Gardevoir very highly due to its ability to hit many Pokémon for large amounts of damage, something that the most common Trick Room user, Cresselia, cannot do. A Speed stat of 123 allows it to underspeed nearly all common Pokémon, yet still makes it faster than Bisharp outside of Trick Room, allowing it to pick up the knockout after Rocky Helmet damage. I made my Gardevoir more physically bulky than a standard set, allowing it to withstand weaker hits even without the aid of Landorus-T’s Intimidate. During day two, I ran into a maximum Speed Tyranitar (124 Speed) and it was difficult for me to win, so bumping up its Speed to 125 might be a good idea. I brought Gardevoir to every single battle at Worlds.

Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Bold | Regenerator
252 HP / 164 Def / 92 SpD
IVs: 6 Spe
– Giga Drain
– Spore
– Rage Powder
– Protect

• Survives a +1 Parental Bond Return from 252 Atk neutral-natured Mega Kangaskhan
• Survives a +6 Play Rough from 252 Atk Adamant Azumarill
• Survives two Life Orb-boosted Hidden Power Ices from 252 SpA neutral-natured Thundurus
• Survives a Life Orb-boosted Protean Ice Beam from 252 SpA neutral-natured Greninja
• Has a high probability to survive a Choice Specs-boosted Draco Meteor from 252 SpA Hydreigon
• Underspeeds minimum speed Base 39s (Gastrodon)

This is a fairly standard Amoonguss set. This EV spread is my favorite, and I’ve used it throughout the season. One change I made was switching back to Giga Drain from Hidden Power Ground. While the latter is indeed a fantastic move on the mushroom, it meant that I lost an effective method of dealing with Gastrodon, which poses a large threat to the team. Additionally, unlike my former teams, this team relies less on Trick Room, giving me fewer opportunities to effectively use the move. As can be expected from the popular moniker “Sanabareru” (TN: “Gardymoonguss”), the Gardevoir/Amoonguss combination is extremely effective, especially when Amoonguss gets to spam Spore under Trick Room.

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Modest | Prankster
244 HP / 40 Def / 36 SpA / 156 SpD / 28 Spe
– Thunderbolt
– Thunder Wave
– Swagger
– Protect

• KOs opposing 4 HP/0 SpD Shuca Berry Heatran with Thunderbolt when used in conjunction with my Heatran’s Earth Power
• 2HKOs 252 HP/0 SpD Sitrus Berry Suicune
• Has a high chance to survive two Rock Slides from 252 Atk Adamant Landorus-T (with Sitrus Berry)
• Has a 15/16 chance to survive Life Orb + rain-boosted Hydro Pump from 252 SpA Modest Ludicolo

It is rare in Japan, but I used a Modest Thundurus. This Pokémon’s most important roles were dealing with rain teams and bulky Water-types (Suicune, Milotic) while dishing out disruption, which is why I made the EV spread very specially bulky. A Modest nature allowed it to finish off opposing Shuca Berry Heatran after my own’s Earth power, which was enough reason for me to use the non-standard spread. I originally had Hidden Power Ice as well, but against Kangaskhan leads, I despised eating Fake Out damage, so I switched to Protect. Swagger is a fantastic move, especially against Aegislash, which is always problematic for Gardevoir teams. It also gave me opportunities to win games that I had no business winning. In the day one variant, Azumarill had taken the Sitrus Berry so Thundurus had Leftovers, but I switched to the berry on day two to allow it to withstand Kangaskhan’s attacks. This was a fantastic moveset; I used Swagger on many Pokémon and gained huge advantages because of it. One final thing: SWAGGER IS GOD!!

Landorus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Adamant | Intimidate
4 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
– Earthquake
– Rock Slide
– Knock Off
– Rock Tomb

• OHKOs up to 252 HP/60 Def Mega Charizard Y with Rock Tomb
• Has a 15/16 chance to survive Life Orb-boosted Hidden Power Ice from 252 SpA neutral-natured Thundurus

I came up with this Landorus-Therian set on the morning of day two. I think Choiced Landorus-T in this format is weak in high-level battles for two reasons: it often gives opponents advantages when it gets locked into the wrong move, and if its U-turn gets blocked by Protect, it is very easy for opponents to make predictions on the following turn. On day one, it held a Life Orb and had Protect, and as I previously mentioned, I was planning on keeping it that way. However, I really wanted the Life Orb on Tyranitar as well as a single-target Rock-type move, so I switched to Assault Vest and Rock Tomb. The Speed drop from the move is very valuable to the team; for example, after a single hit, Gardevoir can outspeed maximum Speed Thundurus, and my Heatran can outspeed opposing maximum Speed Heatran, giving it the first Earth Power. The EV spread is fairly simple because I wanted the additional offensive power for the mirror; the defensive investment is the bare minimum to withstand Life Orb Thundurus’s Hidden Power Ice.

Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Modest | Flash Fire
196 HP / 56 Def / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
– Heat Wave
– Earth Power
– Hidden Power Ice
– Protect

• Has a 15/16 chance to OHKO 4 HP/76 SpD Mega Salamence with Hidden Power Ice
• KOs 4 HP/0 SpD Shuca Berry Heatran with Earth Power in conjunction with Thundurus’s Thunderbolt
• Has a 14/16 chance to survive Life Orb-boosted Earthquake from 228 Atk neutral-natured Landorus-T with Shuca Berry
• Speed creeps uninvested Heatran

Heatran is one of the strongest Pokémon in the format. I liked Heat Wave’s ability to deal solid chip damage while dissuading many switches, so I made it as powerful as possible. I seriously considered using minimum Speed for the best Trick Room advantage, but I realized that any Aegislash I would run into would not be faster than the current spread, and knowing the Speed priority beforehand made it easier to play against it. I added an extra point to Speed creep in case there were any uninvested Modest Heatran around. Hidden Power Ice was great against opposing Salamence and Landorus-T, especially when paired with Shuca Berry and Rock Tomb. Being able to take on even Life Orb Landorus-T without Intimidate support made it quite easy to play around it. This Pokémon took down innumerable Ice-weak Pokémon during the tournament—honestly, it might even be my MVP.

Tyranitar @ Life Orb
Adamant | Sand Stream
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
IVs: 12 Spe
– Rock Slide
– Crunch
– Low Kick
– Protect

• Has a 15/16 chance to OHKO 4 HP/0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan with Low Kick together with Sand damage
• Has a 3/4 chance to OHKO 12 HP/0 Def Heatran with Low Kick
• OHKOs 252 HP/0 Def Thundurus-I with Rock Slide
• Underspeeds minimum speed Heatran

I had Azumarill here for day one, but I quickly switched to Tyranitar to deal with both sun and rain. Life Orb gives this set overwhelming power in Trick Room or against paralyzed Pokémon, especially when boosting Rock Slide. Additionally, its ability to take a huge chunk out of Aegislash was crucial to this team’s success.

That’s all for the details. With a bit of luck, I got through Swiss with an excellent 6-1 record, finishing in fifth place. Landorus-T and Tyranitar, the two changed Pokémon, put in a lot of work. Losing in the quarterfinals to BIDC (Hideyuki Taida) and finishing in sixth was regrettable, but I’m satisfied and simultaneously shocked that I was able to get this far with such a hastily assembled team. To be honest, I really wanted to win, considering that a semifinal appearance would have given me an invite to next year’s tournament, but Hideyuki played really well, and I’m not too bitter about it. Next year, I think I’ll prepare properly and take another crack at the title!

My fourth round match against Yuichi Sasaki and my fifth round match against Lajos Woltersdorf (Lajo) were both streamed, as well as my interview after the latter match. It was a great experience to be able to play in front of the whole world. The videos are below.

Swiss Round 4 vs Yuichi [JP]

Swiss Round 5 vs Lajo [DE]

Swiss Round 5 Winner’s Interview

Honestly, I didn’t think I’d achieve such a good result given my lack of preparation, and being sixth in the world still kind of feels like a dream. I’m really grateful to my friends, who helped me refine the team and gave me great advice. Thanks to all who wished me well and congratulated me! I’m looking forward to being able to battle more players next year in San Francisco.

The post Scar’s Mega Gardevoir with Goodstuffs: A 2015 World Championships 6th Place Team Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Greetings from the warm island of Singapore!

My name is Martin Tan and my nickname for most occasions is mewmart. I’ve been playing Pokemon competitively from Gen 4. However I first started out with Singles format (which is largely based on Smogon rules). One fine day I was introduced to the VGC format by a friend and I’ve been hooked ever since. With the revamp to breeding and training mechanics in Pokemon X and Y, I was motivated to kick-start my VGC journey!

Compared to the previous year, the VGC ’15 format certainly allows for more creativity. It had some similarities to the VGC ’13 format, with the genies and musketeers being metagame defining Pokemon. The re-introduction of move tutors in ORAS opened up more team-building options. I was very excited to embark on this season’s format and immediately started building my team based on my favourite mega, Mega Salamence. I told myself that, for this season, I’m not going to use Mega Kangaskhan, as I really dislike it. :X

That aside, Mega Salamence is certainly a powerhouse in its own right within the current metagame. However, it has yet to establish much of a foothold in Singapore’s metagame, which is still dominated by Mega Kangaskhan.

Sylveon was another one of my favourites from Gen 6, even before taking into consideration its powerful and devastating Hyper Voice. I just think it’s cute. Thus, I decided to include these two in my team.

Of course, team-building involves a lot of experimentation, testing, and tuning of spreads and moves. I’ve tested many variants throughout the season and this core has evolved slowly into the one that I used for Nationals. I’m very happy with the team that I used in the 1^st ever Singapore VGC National Championships so, without further ado, let’s get to the detailed team breakdown!

Teambuilding Process

As mentioned earlier, I really liked Mega Salamence and Sylveon and wanted to make a team that could make these 2 work together seamlessly. Drawing ideas from the fantasy core (Fairy, Steel, Dragon) that became popular in VGC ’14, I decided to find a Steel type that would do well in the current metagame. I’ve tried Heatran as the Fire/Steel typing acts as a deterrent and excellent check to opposing Sylveon, but its middling Speed was not to my liking and playstyle. Instead, I opted for Aegislash, which can act as a check not only to Sylveon, but to bulky Cresselia, and opposing Aegislash as well!

I also wanted a hard counter to Mega Kangaskhan, which was popular in Singapore and was my most hated Mega. I didn’t have to look too hard, as Terrakion was an easy choice and Rock Slide flinch shenanigans was something that I couldn’t pass up.

The speed control options that I considered were Tailwind and Thunder Wave. I opted for Thunder Wave in the end as it was more permanent and could not be stalled out. Prankster Thundurus was hence the natural choice to provide this. Barring certain fast Pokemon that were immune to the move, the majority of the metagame can be slowed down by it. However, I know that just relying on Thunder Wave is a risky choice and this would be something that I would have to remedy when building future teams.

Lastly, I wanted to add Ludicolo to improve my matchup against bulky water types while exerting Fake Out pressure so that Sylveon can shout to her heart’s content with Hyper Voice. I had positive results with Ludicolo in testing and even got the chance to make use of Ludicolo to improve my matchup against Rain.

Finalized Team for Nationals

Sylveon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 92 HP/ 116 Def/ 252 SpA/48 Speed
Modest Nature
– Hyper Voice
– Psyshock
– Shadow Ball
– Hyper Beam

The main engine for this team, I really liked the damage output provided by this fairy’s loud Hyper Voice. Credit is due to Aaron “Cybertron” Zheng (Cybertron), as I took the EV spread from his Sylveon analysis.

However, I have to admit that surviving Jolly Return from Mega Kangaskhan is no longer a relevant benchmark. Still, this EV spread provides maximum damage output with respectable bulk. I’m quite happy with it and decided to stick with it. 48 Speed is mainly to outspeed other rival Sylveon which might not have speed investment.

Hyper Beam is a clutch move that can sometimes catch opponents off guard with its Choice Specs boosted damage. It can even OHKO Assault Vest Landorus-Therian (see the Swiss Round 4 Game 3 video). Whenever I needed to KO a Pokemon quickly, Sylveon is there to do it in superb fashion.

Salamence @ Salemencite
Ability: Intimidate/Aerilate
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Speed
Naive Nature
– Hyper Voice
– Earthquake
– Double Edge
– Protect

Oh, magnificent Salamence, your croissant wings are…just weird. Nevertheless it’s still my favourite mega despite its weird design. I switched to Naïve nature as the metagame evolved over time. I figured that, in Singapore’s fast paced metagame, I wouldn’t have many opportunities to set up a Dragon Dance. I maxed Attack and Speed to maximize the damage output from Double-Edge and didn’t feel the need to increasing bulk at the expense of getting outsped or missing a KO.

During playtesting, I experimented with Fire Blast to handle Steel types like Aegislash (while getting around its Wide Guard) and Earthquake to hit Heatran. Since my EVs were not invested in Special Attack, however, the damage output of Fire Blast was not to my liking at all, dealing less than 50% damage to most 252 HP invested Steel types. As such, I decided to stick with Earthquake.

Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 108 HP/ 252 SpA/ 148 Speed
Modest Nature
– Scald
– Ice Beam
– Giga Drain
– Fake Out

Ludicolo’s primary role was to exert Fake Out pressure and allow Sylveon to shout to her heart’s content. It was also helpful for breaking potential Focus Sashes. It also improved my Rain matchup and was solid against bulky water types such as Suicune. During testing, I typically led Ludicolo/Sylveon or Ludicolo/Terrakion but, during Nationals, it saw very little action. Still, it certainly served its function whenever I needed it.

The EV spread is taken from rapha’s (rapha) article No Substitute for Rain in the Northwest: 9th Place Oregon Regional Report. The Speed investment allows it to outspeed Choice Scarf Landorus-Therian under rain or Tailwind and I agreed with his philosophy of maxing out Special Attack to nab important KOs whenever I needed them.

Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
EVs: 4 HP/ 252 Atk/ 252 Speed
Jolly Nature
– Close Combat
– Rock Slide
– Quick Guard
– Protect

Standard Terrakion spread. Nothing much to mention about the EVs. Terrakion was primarily there to handle Flying types such as Thundurus or Mega Charizard Y. It also dealt with my most hated mega, Mega Kangaskhan. Fishing for Rock Slide flinches was also a viable strategy when the going got tough, but I tried my best to play in such a way that I didn’t need to rely on it as a win condition.

Quick Guard saved me so many times, allowing me to negate most Fake Out users that typically targeted Sylveon. This allowed me to launch Hyper Voices early in the game, dealing massive damage as quickly as possible before Sylveon went down.

Focus Sash allowed me to negate the consequences of losing a speed tie against opposing Terrakion. Most opponents expected Lum Berry, allowing me to catch them offguard and do more damage as Terrakion survives an otherwise OHKO attack.

Thundurus-I @ Sitrus Berry
Ability:Prankster
EVs: 236 HP/116 Def/128 SpD/28 Speed
Calm Nature
– Thunder Wave
– Thunderbolt
– Taunt
– Hidden Power [Ice]

I heavily relied on Prankster Thunder Wave as it was my only means of speed control on this team. Paralysis is, in my opinion, the most reliable means of speed control. Whenever I needed speed control, it was there to do its job. Taunt is there to stop all the Sporing, Dark Voids, and other status inducing strategies. It also helps against Aegislash, prevent it from using King Shield or Wide Guard, and often forcing it to switch out. This helps me to gain momentum in certain situations as well.

Hidden Power [Ice] is mainly there to do damage against Landorus-Therian and Salamence.

The EV spread is from Shaping the Metagross: A 2015 European VGC Regionals Runner Up Report by Kelly (KellsterCartier). The bulk is important for it to have an impact during its time on the battlefield. For example, it could tank a 252 Atk Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge with Sitrus Berry recovery, which attests to its significant bulk. I chose a Calm nature in order to better absorb Ice Beams, Thunderbolts, and the like.

Aegislash @ Life Orb
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 248 HP/252 SpA/8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 2 Spe
– King’s Shield
– Wide Guard
– Shadow Ball
– Flash Cannon

Aegislash completes the fantasy core with its Steel typing. The reason I chose a simple spread for its EVs is to maximize damage output and nab those important KOs. The idea of Life Orb Aegislash came from Aaron “Cybertron” Zheng (Cybertron).

Wide Guard is there to negate Rock Slide flinch machines like Landorus-Therian and Terrakion, as well as and other spread moves. Shadow Ball is there to counter Cresselia and deal massive damage to neutral targets.

Flash Cannon was mainly used to hit opposing Sylveon. Regardless of them surviving it or not, Aegislash’s partner can follow up and finish off the Sylveon if needed. Only my Sylveon can scream, not others!

The 2 IVs in Speed allowed me to underspeed opposing 0 Speed Aegislash in Trick Room while still retaining considerable speed under Trick Room. In reality, Aegislash was my own answer for Trick Room match ups.

Common Leads and Strategies

Since this team relies quite a bit on spread moves, my main strategy was to get myself into a position that would allow me to immediately exert offensive pressure with powerful spread moves from Sylveon or Salamence.

+

Such a lead would be ideal against Mega Kangaskhan leads, especially if I expect a Turn 1 Fake Out. I can choose to Quick Guard to negate the Fake Out and immediately chunk my opponent with Hyper Voice. I could even launch a surprise Hyper Beam attack on Kangaskhan’s partner. Should I make a hard read and Close Combat immediately on the 1st turn against Mega Kangaskhan, it can be rewarding over the long run. But such a move is typically risky, as I feel that most Terrakion users have slowly switched over to Focus Sash recently and my opponent may choose to Fake Out Terrakion to break the Sash and set up for a KO on a subsequent turn.

+

In situations where I need to exercise speed control, I would use this pair as my lead. Terrakion was there to negate the Fake Outs/Prankster moves and I could immediately start to paralyze opposing Pokemon using my own Thundurus.

+

I would only use this lead when I expect my opponent to lead with Landorus-Therian so that I can drop its Attack and reduce its offensive pressure. I can subsequently tank the Rock Slide onslaught and launch Hyper Voices with Sylveon. I usually Protect or switch out the Salamence to recycle the Intimidate. Most non-Assault Vest Landorus take a solid chunk from Choice Specs boosted Hyper Voice. Since Salamence is a mixed variant, it can also stay in and launch its own Hyper Voice as well. Such a strategy can potentially punish Amoongus switch-ins when the opponent brings it in to tank a predicted Hyper Voice from Sylveon.

Threats and Weaknesses

Japan Sand Teams

My team struggles a lot against Japanese sand teams as the fast Rock Slides and Earthquakes from these 2 Pokemon hit really hard and I have no way to speed control them effectively. Aegislash can Wide Guard to negate their spread moves, but I only have Ludicolo and Terrakion to apply offensive pressure on these two. More often than not, opponents can play around Wide Guard and my threats and preserve these two for a late-game win condition.

My friend Hugo Ng (hugo0379), whom I befriended during Round 4 Swiss in Singapore VGC Nationals Championships, suggested Rain Dance on Thundurus-I to win the weather war and allow Ludicolo to hard counter Japanese sand. I would definitely consider this should I revisit this team again.

Heatran and Mega Charizard Y

My only solution to Heatran is Terrakion’s Close Combat and Salamence’s Earthquake. In general, my team lacked Fire resists and, as a result, they can chunk quite a bit of my team. Fire types also threaten my Sylveon and, without her, my team’s offensive capability suffers. Ludicolo can be a decent solution but, more than often, it’s deadweight beyond handling the one Fire type. It was also difficult to use if my opponent also carried Salamence, forcing me to Paralyze it with Thundurus first.

Similarly, Mega Charizard Y can cause issues to my team should I opt not to bring Terrakion in the back as a check. Often, I find myself chunked by its Heat Waves, while I only have Thundurus and Terrakion to threaten it. Having a Rain mode on this team via Thundurus’s Prankster Rain Dance can be another option to mitigate this.

Game Replays

The first ever Pokémon Video Game National Championships in Singapore took place over the weekend of June 27th and 28th, 2015. It was hosted by the Singapore Cybersports and Online Gaming Association (SCOGA) at ITE Central in Ang Mo Kio for the Campus Game Fest. This was my last sanctioned tournament after a season consisting of small local Premier Challenges and the Regionals in Singapore at Anchorvale Community Centre. I was really excited to be part of a historic moment in Pokémon VGC history. I’ve met really great people outside of those from The Mirage Island, including new friends from Hong Kong (hugo0739), Thailand, and Malaysia (the KL Raikous). Below is a recording of my match against Hugo, as he was my opponent for Swiss Round 4. I eventually won the set through sheer brute force coupled with some unintended hax on both ends.

Game 1: Lose

I certainly misplayed a lot in this first game, as I just blindly clicked Hidden Power Ice and did not make the optimal plays. In general, I was too predictable in my reads. Hugo’s Milotic was causing me a lot of issues and you can see that Sylveon’s Choice Specs attacks did negligible damage to it.

The lucky paralysis on Venusaur was key and Turn 1’s damage trade wasn’t really significant. I tried to gain some momentum by dropping Landorus-Therian’s attack but the Sludge Bomb from Venusaur dealt so much free damage to my Salamence as a consequence.

Eventually Mega Venusaur went down, but the Heatran simply ate up the Hidden Power as if it was nothing.

Scald eventually took down my Mega and I was only left with Terrakion. A smart switch by him to Landorus-Therian made Terrakion’s Close Combat do minimal damage as I tried to make a hard read by double-targeting. The unfortunate burn on Terrakion took it down.

Sylveon against Heatran certainly wasn’t a favourable match-up and I knew all was lost. But by knowing that Milotic isn’t the Assault Vest variant, I knew I needed to take it down quick and hard in the next game. Recover was a big threat as well as, the longer it stayed on the field, the more problems it would cause.

Game 2: Win

I needed to regain momentum after the loss. Hence I led with more offensive pressure in mind. My objective was to take down Milotic as soon as possible before it could wreak havoc on my team. The unfortunate poison from Venusaur was really annoying.

Again, he led with Milotic/Venusaur and immediately attempted to get rid of the Ludicolo from Turn 1. I immediately double targeted the Milotic slot in an attempt to take it out as soon as possible. However, it proved too bulky, even with a max Special Attack Giga Drain from Ludicolo, and was able to just Recover and Recover.

Ludicolo went down soon after and I sent out Salamence as Venusaur became my prime target.  I gave Milotic a Competitive boost in the process, but he surprisingly chose to forfeit the boosts by switching to Landorus-Therian in order to Intimidate my Salamence. I suppose he predicted that I would Thunderbolt the Milotic slot, which I did, but I also mega-evolved and revealed Hyper Voice.

I spammed Hyper Voice to get rid of Venusaur and did a lot of damage to Landorus-Therian on the side. Still, the Hidden Power Ice DID NOT MANAGE TO KO the Landorus and it survived with 1 HP left. I was shocked!

Left with Terrakion and Thundurus against his team, he switched out Landorus-Therian for Heatran and I finally got rid of the Milotic. I was also able to paralyze his Heatran as well. I proceeded to fish for flinches and finish off his Landorus, which at this point I was certain was carrying Assault Vest.

Heatran tried to stall behind a Substitute, but Hugo did not give up until he targeted Terrakion with Flash Cannon, revealing my Focus Sash as a result. Definitely a close shave as I took this set.

Game 3:Win

I decided to go hyper offensive again for this game, it’s go big or go home.

Same leads from him (Milotic/Venusaur) as I led with Sylveon/Thundurus. I Thunderbolt into the Milotic slot and activated the Sitrus Berry while Milotic fired an Ice Beam back ONLY TO FREEZE MY THUNDURUS. Really unlucky there. Venusaur, after mega-evolving, proceeded to Sludge Bomb Thundurus, activating my own Sitrus Berry.

Guess what did Sylveon did? Hint: Look at the featured art! Milotic was down and out in an instant. Hugo was definitely caught off guard. I was sure he didn’t expect that play. It was really risky though on my end.

He sent out Landorus-Therian and I decided that Thundurus’ time was up. I let it get knocked out, but end up thawing out and whiffing the Thunder Wave on his Landorus-Therian. On hindsight, I should have picked my target properly and just paralyzed the Venusaur slot for additional speed control for the off chance that I did thaw. Surprisingly, Hugo chose not to target Sylveon with Sludge Bomb and targeted Thunderus instead, probably wary of Hidden Power Ice and recognizing that Sylveon had to recharge anyway.

I sent out Salamence, mega-evolved, and revealed that I was the mixed variant by using Double-Edge. He told me that the critical hit mattered, though that might be because he thought I was more invested in Special Attack.

• 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Venusaur: 182-216 (97.3 – 115.5%) — 81.3% chance to OHKO
• 4 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Mega Venusaur: 152-182 (81.2 – 97.3%) — guaranteed 2HKO

Venusaur was OHKOed and Sylveon proceeded to fire another deadly Hyper Beam which OHKOed the Landorus-Therian as well.

Hugo, left with Hydreigon against the world, forfeited.

Closing Thoughts

Certainly this season wasn’t very good for me. I did not Top Cut any of the tournaments this season in Singapore but, overall, I felt that it was largely due to my predictable play style. I would definitely seek to improve in the next season for sure.

In Singapore’s inaugural Nationals Championships, I finished in a respectable 28th place out of 118 Masters with a 4-3 record. To me, it’s a small yet significant milestone as a VGC competitor. I’ve learned a lot from the online content posted by many top players on Nugget Bridge and I’m more than grateful for the willingness of the community to help each other improve by sharing knowledge and bouncing ideas off one another.

During the Singapore Nationals, I managed to make friends with players from Thailand, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. The social aspect of the game is certainly something I hold dear and that is why I’m passionate about Pokemon This article is dedicated to you guys!

Here are some pictures from the Nationals that I took with my new friends:

Thanks to Wilson Chong, one of the PTOs that I’ve met during Malaysia’s inaugural Premier Challenge at Kuala Lumpur. He’s a great guy and I certainly hope to be able to help out with future events that he organizes!

My Swiss Round 4 opponent, Hugo Ng during Nationals! Thanks for the great game, hope to see you again in Hong Kong! Credit to his friend Juliet Kong for making the art for this article.

Glad to part of Singapore’s VGC history. Posing a picture with Wei Wen Ang.

My Round 5 opponent Jirawiwat Thitasiri and Round 6 Opponent Noppasorn Tangkasem, as well as his Thailand compatriot Chaiyawat Traiwichcha! Welcome to Singapore and hope to see you guys again! Ji, your Kecleon rocks but please no more Shadow Sneak!!!!

Shoutouts

• Credit to Juliet Kong for the featured article art
• Shoutout to Wee Zi Yun, Rayne Tay Zhi Sheng for being my practice partner for the majority of the season
• Thank you very much to Mirage Island for accepting me as part of the group and community, even though my skills are still quite below par at the moment. I hope to be able to give back and help with event organizing as well in Singapore.

Conclusion

With this, I conclude my report. I finished the season with 165 CPs, which I felt was pretty okay judging from my mediocre experience with the VGC format. I really enjoyed myself playing VGC for the past 2 years and I hope to come back stronger next season. Please also feel free to provide any feedback you may have pertaining to this team and how I can improve it further! See you guys soon and good luck to the Singaporeans who have qualified for the Worlds Championships in Boston (Thanks Theodora Hui for the Worlds 2015 Pikachu plush!). Take care and thanks for reading everyone.

The post Cup Your Ears! Hyper Voice Incoming: Top 32 at the Singapore National Championships appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Welcome to the Camel’s Room; you definitely don’t want to be stuck here. I’ll be writing about how my run at the 2015 World Championships went, along with a bit of insight into the team and my battles.

Teambuilding

After I finished my previous report, I had six weeks to come up with a team for Worlds. I considered using my old team, as it had been rather successful at two Nationals, but I knew it wasn’t good enough for the world stage; there were no surprise sets, and it would simply be too predictable for high-level players. Additionally, publicizing the team made it even more risky for me to use it. I did have one major advantage, though, in the form of my day two invite; I’d only have to build one team for the tournament.

After watching US Nationals on Twitch, it became clear to me that I wanted to use Trick Room for my Worlds team. I saw a lot of Thunder Wave and Speed creeping, two factors that a Trick Room team could essentially ignore. Additonally, the top four Mega Pokémon (Kangaskhan, Salamence, Gardevoir, and Charizard Y) were all naturally very fast, so catching them out in Trick Room would give me a big edge. In the end, I was right—the top eight players all used either Mega Kangaskhan or Gardevoir. While there were a few other choices in top 16, including Charizard X and Venusaur, Trick Room was definitely the right choice from a Speed perspective.

I’d rarely used used Trick Room in the past, since it’s the hardest method of Speed control to pull off. The setup can be stopped by flinches, critical hits, or status moves, and without Trick Room up most teams built for it fall apart. In 2014, I used a Trick Room team at Australian Nationals and at the Last Chance Qualifier, which you can read about here. This season, I had mostly used Tailwind-based teams. I like being able to attack before my opponents do, and I tend to play badly when I’m playing safe. By properly using Trick Room, I hoped to keep that advantage.

This was my inital Trick Room team. My two minimum Speed Megas worked well in Trick Room. Scrafty allowed for an easy setup, and could also take advantage of Gothitelle’s Tickle. Safety Goggles Heatran and Rocky Helmet Volcarona rounded out the team with some Fire-type coverage. Altaria might seem like an odd choice, but it played multiple roles; it could deal with opposing weather with Cloud Nine, use Perish Song with Gothitelle’s Shadow Tag, or simply go on the offensive with Pixilate Hyper Voice. However, after using the team for a month, I decided against using it, as it struggled against offensive teams and Gothitelle was often ineffective.

For my second attempt, I decided to build a team that was less dependent on Trick Room. While it might seem like a Trick Room team at first glance, Tyranitar was a Dragon Dance variant and Braviary had a Choice Scarf. I chose Mega Tyranitar because I thought it had a good matchup against several of the top Megas, and Braviary’s Defiant would deter opposing Intimidate users. Mawile dealt with Mega Kangaskhan, and Amoonguss was useful both in and out of Trick Room.

Things went much better with this team because I wasn’t forced into using Trick Room. I quickly made some major changes, however; I swapped Marowak out for Assault Vest Ludicolo, as the former fell victim far too often to Knock Off. Next to go was Mawile, as it simply couldn’t hit common threats such as Heatran hard enough. Additionally, I was having a lot of trouble with opposing Amoonguss in Trick Room. While looking for a replacement, I stumbled across Mega Camerupt and instantly realized it was the solution; it was slower than Amoonguss and could OHKO it, while being incredibly powerful regardless.

My results on Battle Spot began to improve, as many opposing teams struggled against Mega Camerupt once Trick Room went down. I used this version for roughly two days, but I struggled against the standard Heatran/Amoonguss/Cresselia/Kangaskhan/Landorus-T/Thundurus core. I was happy with the Trick Room side of the team, but the fast side needed some revisions. What did I end up switching to? Well, the final variant is right below.

Cresselia @ Mental Herb
Calm | Levitate
224 HP / 60 Def / 188 SpA / 36 SpD
– Helping Hand
– Trick Room
– Psychic
– Ice Beam

• Survives Adamant Life Orb Bisharp’s Knock Off
• Survives Modest Life Orb Aegislash’s Shadow Ball
• Survives Modest Choice Specs Hydreigon’s Dark Pulse
• Survives Mega Gengar’s Shadow Ball
• OHKOes 4 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian with Ice Beam 15/16 times
• OHKOes 4 HP / 0 SpD Naive Mega Salamence with Ice Beam most of the time

This Cresselia set was bulky enough to take essentially any attack, which was crucial to getting Trick Room set up. I did invest enough Special Attack to OHKO some common threats, however. After day one of Worlds, I switched Cresselia’s item to Mental Herb from Safety Goggles; I saw that Thundurus usage was extremely high, and Mental Herb could give me an important surprise option in those situations. As you’ll see later, this change was definitely crucial. I decided to use Helping Hand instead of Sunny Day for its priority and general utility.

Salamence @ Salamencite
Naive | Intimidate / Aerilate
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
– Double-Edge
– Earthquake
– Draco Meteor
– Protect

• OHKOes 4 HP / 0 Def Heatran with Earthquake
• OHKOes 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon with Draco Meteor
• OHKOes opposing 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Salamence with Draco Meteor
• OHKOes 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan with Double-Edge after Helping Hand

I decided to switch to Salamence from Tyranitar due to its naturally high Speed and extremely powerful attacks. Against Mega Kangaskhan, Intimidate was incredibly useful. Salamence was essentially guaranteed to be the fastest Pokémon on the field; if I saw anything faster, I’d probably use my Trick Room mode anyway. Draco Meteor dealt with opposing Dragon-types and could snag some useful midrange knockouts, while Earthquake dealt with the ubiquitous Heatran. By running maximum Attack, I was able to guarantee KOs on non-Shuca Berry Heatran and Mega Kangaskhan after Helping Hand.

Camerupt @ Cameruptite
Quiet | Magma Armor / Sheer Force
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
IVs: 0 Spe
– Heat Wave
– Earth Power
– Ancient Power
– Protect

• OHKOes 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield with Earth Power
• OHKOes 252 HP / 4 SpD Amoonguss with Heat Wave
• OHKOes 252 HP / 4 SpD Heatran through Shuca Berry with Earth Power

Camerupt is the ultimate Trick Room Mega. Fire- and Ground-type moves were extremely good against the top Pokémon, and Camerupt definitely carried its weight. I decided to use Ancient Power as Camerupt’s third attack due to its ability to OHKO Mega Charizard Y; I tested Substitute, but I rarely used it. Magma Armor was a decently useful pre-Mega ability that made switching into Ice Beams effectively risk-free; Solid Rock wasn’t worth it due to Camerupt’s terrible defenses.

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Brave | Huge Power
212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Def
– Aqua Jet
– Belly Drum
– Play Rough
– Protect

While I was repairing my team, I tried to think of Pokémon that would be good both in and out of Trick Room. Priority was high on my list of options, and Azumarill was the obvious choice. Especially when paired alongside Amoonguss, a single Belly Drum can be game-ending. I switched to Brave at the final moment; I didn’t want to risk a Speed tie against opposing Azumarill.

Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Adamant | Defiant
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
– Sucker Punch
– Knock Off
– Iron Head
– Protect

Bisharp took over Braviary’s role as the team’s Defiant user. Much like Azumarill, its priority attack gives it utility even inside Trick Room. I went with Focus Sash over Life Orb because I felt that it suited my playstyle better; being able to attack without too much worry was important to me. Besides, many players have begun EVing against Life Orb Bisharp anyway, so the power loss wasn’t that important.

Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Relaxed | Regenerator
140 HP / 252 Def / 116 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
– Spore
– Giga Drain
– Rage Powder
– Protect

• Survives Jolly Mega Salamence’s Double-Edge after Intimidate
• Survives Adamant Choice Band Talonflame’s Brave Bird after Intimidate

Amoonguss was always an easy choice. I decided to run a physicaly bulky Amoonguss with Rocky Helmet to improve my matchup against Mega Kangaskhan and avoid Amoonguss being knocked out by powerful Flying-type attacks. After seeing world champion Shoma’s Sunny Day Amoonguss, I’m definitely considering trying it out the move on my mushroom.

Threats

Rain is this team’s biggest weakness, as both of my Megas are easily knocked out by a Swift Swim-boosted Water-type. Ludicolo was the biggest issue, as Amoonguss is unable to redirect its moves. I thought that this weakness wouldn’t be too important, as the metagame was not favorable to rain; in the end, only two people brought rain teams to Worlds, and I only played one of them.

Life Orb Talonflame poses a major threat to this team, as its Brave Bird can quickly rip through most of my Pokémon. However, much like rain, I didn’t expect to see many Talonflame, and that prediction turned out to be correct.

Day Two Battles

I did not have a great start to day two; I woke up at 3 AM thanks to jetlag. If you’re traveling from Asia Pacific, I’d recommend getting to America early, as the Singaporean players were similarly sleep-deprived.

Round 1: Ryosuke Kondo [JPN] | W 2-0

This game was featured on Japan’s NicoNico stream, as well as a TV at the tournament hall. You can watch the full match on YouTube here. In Team Preview, I saw a Western-looking team with the combination of Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Charizard Y.

Game 1

I brought: ///

He brought:  ///

The biggest shock to me in game 1 was that his Cresselia had Trick Room. The reason I chose to Sucker Punch the Cresselia was because I thought his Mega Kangaskhan could be Jolly. As such, I didn’t want to risk the Speed tie with normal Salamence. I still think Ryosuke choked on the turn where he targeted my Mega Salamence with Shadow Ball. Instead, he should have double targeted my Bisharp, since it was clear I didn’t have Life Orb or a Choice item. Thankfully, Bisharp stayed on the field, and I was able to win the game after stalling out Trick Room.

Game 2

I brought: ///

He brought:  ///

Thankfully, Trick Room was revealed in game one, so I was able to bring Mega Camerupt for game two. I had a feeling that he would bring Charizard this game, and I was correct. I was very surprised to see that his Cresselia was faster than his Charizard. On turn three, his Tyranitar missed my Camerupt with Rock Slide, and I was able to land a critical hit Earth Power onto his Tyranitar to knock it out. Despite Ryosuke’s reveal of Hidden Power Ground from his Charizard Y, he simply didn’t have enough to win the game from there.

Round 2: Andrew Burley (Andykins) [USA] | W 2-1

I had seen Andrew play on day one against my friend Alejandro Jimenez (Legacy on day one, and I was not looking forward to our team matchup. I had played Andrew at last year’s LCQ, so this was a rematch of sorts.

Game 1

I brought: ///

He brought: ///

I immediately was in big trouble due to the lead matchup, and was unable to get Azumarill in safely due to the threat of a burn from Entei. After he knocked out Bisharp through Focus Sash with a Sacred Fire burn, the game was effectively over. I did manage to find out all four of his Pokémon, though, which was useful for game two.

Game 2

I brought: ///

He brought: ///

I knew that bringing either Azumarill or Mega Camerupt would be a bad idea, so I decided to go with Salamence instead. After he set up rain to dissuade Salamence from sweeping, I brought in Cresselia to set up Trick Room and regain control of the match. After his Encore failed due to Mental Herb, I was able to close out the game by slowly putting his team to sleep with Amoonguss.

Game 3

I brought: ///

He brought: ///

I brought the same four Pokémon, while Andrew failed to bring rain for some reason. All I remember from this game was that I won 4-0. Andrew was pretty angry at his performance afterwards, and I understand; he definitely had the better matchup here. Still, I was happy to get out of round two with a win.

Round 3: Yosuke Isagi aka Tony [JPN] | L 0-2

I was at table one for this round, which meant I made it on stream. I was extremely excited to showcase my team to the world. You can watch the entire match here. In Team Preview, I noticed that either of my Megas could do well, but I decided to go with Salamence to deal with his Kangaskhan.

Game 1

I brought: ///

He brought: //

I got completely dominated in game one, but I learned a lot about Tony’s team and playstyle. I was disappointed in my plays; I played far too safe, and I lost because of it. Tony made a very smart decision in making his Mega Kangaskhan slower than Heatran, which helped him against my Amoonguss.

Game 2

I brought: ///

He brought: ///

I really considered bring Mega Camerupt instead, but I decided not to due to his problematic Substitute Heatran. I decided to pick Salamence again given that he hadn’t yet seen Earthquake, which paid off well on turn two. Despite making a good call to knock out his Aegislash with Helping Hand Double-Edge, in the end I was outplayed by his Heatran and I lost. After talking to a friend after the match, I realized I should’ve knocked out Heatran instead, since Aegislash wasn’t a huge offensive threat.

Round 4: Arash Ommati (Mean) [ITA] | L 0-2

It had been over a year since I last played Arash during a NB Live tournament, and I was excited to test my skills against a former World Champion. When I saw Arash’s team, I knew he could bring Trick Room, but after my last match I was fixated on the Substitute Heatran + Kangaskhan combination, which led me to bring Salamence.

Game 1

I brought: ///

He brought: ///

I tried to knock out his Heatran with Earthquake on turn one, but it turned out it had a Shuca Berry. I noticed that his Charizard was extremely slow, so I knew he had a heavy Trick Room team, but it was too late. His Fire-type attacks were too strong, and after his Trick Room went up I quickly lost.

Game 2

I brought: ///

He brought: ///

I brought my Trick Room composition this time, but I simply played too badly. He landed a Heat Wave and Overheat on turn one to knock out Cresselia, and Camerupt couldn’t do anything without Trick Room.

With two early losses, I figured that my top cut chances were pretty much toast. I saw that Arash was playing Tony the following round, so I told him everything I knew about Tony’s team. I was determined to keep on pushing for a 5-2 finish.

Round 5: Alec Rubin (amr97) [USA] | W 2-1

I saw a bit of Alec’s match against Alejandro on day one, so I knew he had Calm Mind Sylveon going into the match.

Game 1

I brought: ///

He brought: //

Early on, Alec surprised me by reversing my Trick Room with his own. Afterwards, he froze my Cresselia with Ice Beam. From that point, it was an uphill battle as I stalled for Cresselia to thaw, but it never happened and I lost the game. I thought about game two, and I realized that both Mega Camerupt and Azumarill weren’t that useful in the matchup.

Game 2

I brought: ///

He brought: ///

My adjustments worked, and I was able to take this game fairly easily. His Cresselia revealed Safety Goggles, which made this game slightly harder, but I managed to win anyway. I felt confident, so I decided to bring the same four Pokémon to game three.

Game 3

I brought: ///

He brought: ///

Alec revealed his Heatran to have Life Orb and Fire Blast, which was rather curious. During one crucial turn, my Mega Salamence and Cresselia faced off against his Mega Kangaskhan and Choice Scarf Landorus-T. Both of my Pokémon were able to attack through Rock Slide, and I picked up two knockouts as a result. After that turn, I shouted a huge “Cmon!”. I was incredibly relieved that I was able to pick up the advantage. (After the tournament, Alec told me he was scared by my shout, but I definitely didn’t mean it that way. I simply do it when I get excited by big plays.)

Afterwards, I made a big play by knocking out his Heatran with a Helping Hand Knock Off. From there, it was simply my Amoonguss and Cresselia versus his Cresselia, and I was able to slowly chip him down and win.

Round 6: Luca Breitling-Pause (sewadle) [GER] | L 1-2

I noticed that Arash had lost to Tony in round five, so I knew my top cut chances were very slim. However, I still wanted to finish 5-2. Luca’s team was quite surprising, as he had Mega Vensuaur, something that I had thought was a mediocre Pokémon.

Game 1

I brought: ///

He brought: ///

Right away, I knew I would be able to easily set up Trick Room. Once it went down, Mega Camerupt and Amoonguss dealt with the entirety of his team, and I was easily able to take this game. I noticed that his Entei probably had a Choice item, as it failed to use Protect during Trick Room.

Game 2

I brought: ///

He brought: ///

Despite winning game one easily, I decided to bring Mega Salamence this game because I thought I had an even easier matchup. However, his Choice Scarf Entei knocked out Bisharp on turn one with a Sacred Fire burn, so I couldn’t break through his Aegislash. After another burn onto Salamence, the game was over.

Game 3

I brought: ///

He brought: //

I decided to switch back to my original plan of Trick Room. However, I failed to lead with Cresselia for whatever reason, and I lost the game because of it. On turn one, Entei knocked out Amoonguss with Sacred Fire, and with no way to deal with Rotom-Wash, I quickly lost.

Round 7: James Baek (Jamesspeed1) [USA] | W 2-1

Despite being out of top cut contention, I still wanted to finish with a positive record. This was the first time I played James in person, so I was very excited to battle. However, I was stunned to see that he brought Perish trap and Whimsicott to Worlds.

Game 1

I brought: //

He brought: ///

I got a great start to this game, as Cresselia barely withstood a Fake Tears and Shadow Ball. I was able to get a Trick Room and a Belly Drum off, and from there Azumarill picked off his team one by one.

Game 2

I brought: ///

He brought: ///

This time, he targeted Mega Camerupt with Fake Tears and Shadow Ball, and it went down. I brought in Amoonguss to use Spore, but I didn’t put his Substitute Terrakion to sleep, and he was eventually able to set up Perish Song and win.

Game 3

I brought: ///

He brought: ///

I guaranteed my setup this time by redirecting the Shadow Ball with Rage Powder. James tried to use Encore to reverse Trick Room, but Mental Herb prevented it from working. It came down to his Politoed against two of my Pokémon with Perish Song active; he needed three consecutive Protects, but in the end he only got a single one and I was able to take the game.

Closing thoughts

I ended up finishing 21st with a 4-3 record. I was alright with that finish; I had some great battles despite being jetlagged. I was very happy with the team I built, but I played too safe in many of my games and lost because of that. Having three of my matches streamed was fantastic, and I hope everyone who watched enjoyed them. I’m definitely considering going to San Francisco for next year’s Worlds, and I definitely am still hoping to become World Champion someday.

Shoutouts:

• Jip Snoek (Keonspy): Thank you for creating the lovely artwork for this article, as well as for practicing with me.
• Nihal Noor (UchihaX96): Thank you for the constant communication and for battling with me throughout the whole process. It really means a lot to me that someone cared.
• Matt Roe (RoeySK): Thanks so much for supporting me in America with battles and coaching prior to the tournament, and thanks for being there on day two.
• Thank you to those who practiced with me for the best-of-three format prior to the tournament. There are far too many people to thank individually.
• Australia, thank you for your massive support with both your messages and your viewership at a terrible hour. Even the Australian VGC chatroom renamed the chat to ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ PHIL TAKE MY ENERGY ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ for the day.
• Thank you to my fans on Twitter for sending me your energy and positive support. I’ll be back for more “CMON!!” action.
• Thank you to TPCi for hosting a successful Worlds event and the paid trip. It was great fun.

The post Welcome to the Camel’s Room: A 21st Place 2015 World Championships Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Hey everyone, for those of you who are not familiar with me, my name is Kolby Golliher, better known as Lovetrain. I started playing competitive Pokemon when I placed Top Eight at the 2011 Georgia Regional in the Senior Division, but this is the first year that I decided to take Pokemon more seriously and attend more than just the one Regional closest to me. For the most part, this season has been pretty pitiful for me because I am hilariously bad at Best-of-One. When U.S. Nationals was announced to be entirely Best-of-Three, I was ecstatic for the spectacular news. The following report breaks down the team I used to finish 13th in the Master’s Division, being the highest 7-2 on Day One and the highest 3-3 on Day Two.

Teambuilding Process

Spoiler: I am pretty much a thief. Throughout the 2014 season I used a team that was very heavily based off of Randy (R Inanimate) Kwa’s Blastoise/Smeargle duo. I became very accustomed to the systematic–yet adaptable–approach of using Smeargle. In the early 2015 season, Blastoise/Smeargle and even Kangaskhan/Smeargle were pretty disappointing. Thundurus was a huge threat to the core and Double Kick was by far the most popular fourth move on Terrakion.

After having a dismal run at the Florida Regional with a “standard six” team, losing to many Best-of-One gimmicks, I knew I needed to find something I felt more comfortable with. It was around this time that the Dodrio Cup signups opened and I decided I would finally try adapting last year’s Blastoise/Smeargle team into the current format.

Although Nicholas (Berserk) Walterhouse, William (Wiretap) Collins, and I did not even make it past the first round of the Dodrio Cup, I felt pretty comfortable with my current team and ended up taking it to the Georgia Regional. After another unsatisfactory Regional finish of 5-3, I gave up on Mega Blastoise. Although I was still dropping games in Swiss and on Battle Spot due to incorrect item guesses such as Focus Sash vs. Lum Berry on Terrakion,  I found that there were hardly ever any match-ups that I opted to bring Blastoise to in Kangaskhan’s stead. The team also felt like it was much too reliant on bringing Smeargle, which was not okay in this year’s format.

A few weeks before Nationals, Berserk messaged Wiretap and me saying he just won a Showdown tournament with a Smeargle team. Immediately interested, I asked him to send me the team. I made a few minor edits to the team, but for the most part it was everything I had been searching for. The team proceeded to win the next two consecutive Showdown tournaments as well, so I knew that Berserk and I were on to something good.

I was not able to complete all of my games in the June International Challenge because I worked 40-hour weeks this Summer, but I finished at a respectable 1650-1700 with around 20 games. Okay, so the team worked in Best-of-One, cool… except Nationals was entirely Best-of-Three. I was hesitant on using the team all the way up until registration because everyone seems to think that Smeargle only works in Best-of-One and that once the opponent learns its item and moves then it becomes easy to play around. In my opinion, this is absolutely and utterly wrong. I would argue that a good Smeargle team is just as good (if not better) in Best-of-Three as it is in Best-of-One. Hopefully after reading this report you will understand why I feel very strongly about this, but feel free to message me if you have any questions!

The Team

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Fake Out
– Return
– Power-Up Punch
– Sucker Punch

The team began with the same old run-of-the-mill Kangaskhan. I believe the standard boring Jolly set is still the most optimal way of using Kangaskhan on a team like mine. Kangaskhan was the centerpiece to this team and the Pokemon I brought to the most amount of games throughout the weekend. Kangaskhan had amazing synergy with the rest of the team; not only did she provide a fast Fake Out for Smeargle to set up, but she could also provide Fake Out pressure for Sylveon, and when I predicted my opponent to double Protect on the first turn, I could Power-Up Punch my own Sylveon, Landorus, or Talonflame for a quick +2 Attack boost that would immediately put me in a more advantageous position. Since I used Weakness Policy Aegislash on this team, there was also the rare option of Scrappy Power-Up Punching my Aegislash to OHKO an opposing Cresselia with Shadow Ball after the Special Attack boost, but the situation never arose at Nationals.

Talonflame @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 244 Atk / 12 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
– Brave Bird
– Overheat
– Tailwind
– Protect

Besides Kangaskhan and Smeargle, Talonflame is the only member of the team that made it through the full transition from 2014 to 2015. Talonflame is one of my favorite Pokemon because 1) well, it’s a bird of course, and 2) Gale Wings is such an amazing ability. Naughty Nature with 12 Special Attack EVs allows Talonflame to OHKO standard 252/4 Mega Mawile with Overheat, but this is not the main reason I decided to use this spread, because I did not expect to see a lot of Mawiles at Nationals anyway. Overheat allowed me to OHKO the likes of Scizor and Ferrothorn without taking huge damage in recoil and from Iron Barbs. Almost every team in this format has at least one Intimidate user so it was nice being able to work around that. In the past, I used to use Helping Hand on Smeargle, which allowed Talonflame to OHKO standard Aegislash 81.3% of the time, again without having to be worried about Intimidate. In my Round Four match against Blake (Bopper) Hopper, I was able to win one of the games because his Charizard’s Drought essentially gave my Talonflame the equivalent of a Helping Hand boost to knock out his Aegislash without having to worry about attacking into a King’s Shield.

Even without Helping Hand, I still prefer to use Naughty Talonflame over Adamant because of the aforementioned reasons. It actually helped Talonflame stick around longer when I needed it to because of the lack of recoil, and somewhat ironically allowed me to sack it easier as well. This might come as a surprise to a lot of people, but it is actually very advantageous in some situations to let Talonflame faint after it sets up Tailwind to bring in a heavy hitter like Kangaskhan or Sylveon for free without wasting any turns switching.

Of course, everyone knows the best way to use Talonflame is to press Brave Bird. Talonflame was essential in some match-ups for dealing significant damage to fast Pokemon like my Round Three opponent’s Chlorophyll Venusaur and also Jon (JHufself) Hu’s Mega Gengar/Mega Lopunny duo. Brave Bird also helped with my Rain match-up and helped to clean up games after Sylveon and Landorus put dents in opposing teams.

Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Moody
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Dark Void
– Follow Me
– Tailwind
– Spiky Shield

Up until this point, I have referred to this team as a “Smeargle team” only because most people perceive will perceive it as that anyway. I believe a successful team with Smeargle is as much of a Smeargle team as a team with Amoonguss is an Amoonguss team or a team with Clefairy is a Clefairy team. What Smeargle lacks in bulk compared to other redirection Pokemon, it makes up for with its phenomenal movepool, its nice Speed tier, and arguably one of the most broken abilities in the game. Dark Void, Follow Me, and Spiky Shield are all pretty standard moves on Smeargle. When Berserk sent me the team, he told me that Tailwind was really popular on Japanese sets last season because people tend to double Protect in the face of Khan Artist. Also, a turn of Fake Out + Tailwind is more likely to net me an advantage than Fake Out + Dark Void because Dark Void can miss and I always have the potential to use it the next turn anyway.

The EV spread is one I took from R Inanimate last season. It allows Smeargle to survive a Power-Up Punch from Jolly Mega Kangaskhan. After a Moody boost in Defense, Smeargle survives a Double Edge from Jolly Mega Kangaskhan and has an 89.5% chance to survive the same attack from Adamant Mega Kangaskhan. It is also worth noting that standard Adamant Landorus Rock Slide is a 3HKO on Smeargle barring a Defense drop from Moody (which actually happened in one of my games against Blake on Day Two).

Timid obviously would have been a more optimal Nature for minimizing confusion damage, but this is the same Smeargle I used throughout last season, which originally ran Fake Out. If it had ever mattered even once while testing, I would have bothered to breed a new Smeargle, but alas, here we are.

Sylveon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 224 SpA / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD
– Hyper Voice
– Hyper Beam
– Shadow Ball
– Hidden Power [Ground]

Riley (GENGARboi) Factura mentioned in his 1st Place Seattle Regionals report that he believes Sylveon has made as much of a metagame impact as Kangaskhan, and I agree wholly with that. Choice Specs Sylveon can 2HKO or 3HKO almost everything in the metagame that does not resist it. When paired with Mega Kangaskhan or the threat of putting my opponents’ Pokemon to sleep with Dark Void, I was able to overwhelm a lot of players with huge chunks of damage in the same respect that Blastoise did last year without taking up my Mega slot!

One of the greatest perks of using Sylveon on this team was that it was able to check nearly every common Smeargle counter. I would often lead Kangaskhan + Sylveon if I saw in team preview that my opponent had any Prankster Taunt users like Thundurus, Sableye, Liepard, Murkrow, Meowstic, etc.. Even if my opponent called my bluff and decided not to lead with their Taunt user, Kangaskhan + Sylveon was a very strong lead in most situations anyway. A lot of people tend to double Protect on the first turn or switch into Aegislash if they have it, fearing the Fake Out + Hyper Voice. I was able to predict and capitalize on these situations by Power-Up Punching my Sylveon and getting Kangaskhan a free +2 Attack boost. Most of the time when this happened, players typically would not Protect on the first turn of the next game because they did not want to fall into the same trap again, so it was usually pretty safe to go for the Fake Out + Hyper Voice play instead.

The EV spread and moves are pretty basic. 28 Speed EVs allowed Sylveon to outspeed Mega Kangaskhan in Tailwind, with the rest going into bulk and Special Attack. I considered giving Sylveon enough Speed investment to outspeed Terrakion in Tailwind, but Berserk and I decided it was not worth the sacrifice in power because I already had plenty of ways of dealing with Terrakion.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 76 HP / 244 Atk / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Rock Slide
– Earthquake
– Superpower
– U-turn

I do not have much to say about Landorus; there is a reason it has been one of the most popular Pokemon by usage statistics all season. The moveset is as standard as Landorus gets. The EV spread was designed to outspeed Mega Gengar by two points and always OHKO standard Terrakion with spread Earthquake. The leftover EVs were dumped into HP for general bulk and allowed Landorus to survive some weak Hidden Powers. Superpower was especially helpful for Sand match-ups and Kangaskhan mirrors. U-turn was great for playing mind games with my opponents, spreading Intimidate, and maneuvering myself into having the upper hand every turn.

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
– Shadow Ball
– Flash Cannon
– King’s Shield
– Wide Guard

Aegislash was my least favorite member of the team and probably the Pokemon I brought the least amount of times at Nationals. It was added because it did well against most of the current metagame and provided excellent switch-in synergy for the rest of my team. I tested a couple of other Pokemon in this spot (Rotom-Wash and Jellicent), but ended up keeping Berserk’s original selection of Aegislash because it provided Wide Guard and was able to hit Gardevoir and Sylveon hard. For the most part, Aegislash did exactly what it was meant to do on the team. On a few occasions, I was able to win games because I was targetted by an attack like Crunch from Tyranitar or spread Heat Wave from Heatran and was able to OHKO back after Weakness Policy activated. I think the biggest issue I had with Aegislash was that it seemed awkward having minimum speed Aegislash on a Tailwind team. Although it seemed to work out alright for me, the spread is vastly outdated and I probably should have invested in more bulk so that I would always survive and win the mirror match against the popular Life Orb Aegislash variant.

Warstory

I am really sorry everyone, but I am part of the minority that does not take notes during their games and memorizes everything important instead. I tried taking notes in the past, but I am a slow writer and spent too much time focusing on my notes and making sure I jotted everything down. I found that I was not making the best possible plays because I already tend to spend the full allotted time each turn and I was not able to think through each of my plays properly while glancing at notes. I have a fairly good long-term memory so I can still recall how most of my matches went, whether it be specific turns that were decisive turning points in a game or interesting sets and move choices that caught me off guard. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions about any of my matches in particular, because I would love to share them with you!

Day 1

Round 1: Daniel Stein (Blazikenburner) (2-1W)

Round 2: Harrison Saylor (Crow) (2-0W)

Round 3: Wilson Palacios (2-0W)

Round 4: Blake Hopper (Bopper) (2-1W)

Round 5: Austin Bastida-Ramos (Syncie) (2-0W)

Round 6: Chris Danzo (Lunar) (2-1W)

Round 7: Ian Combs (Jakuzure) (1-2L)

Round 8: Alec Rubin (amr97) (2-0W)

Round 9: James Baek (Jamesspeed1) (0-0L)

Subtotal: (15-5)

Day 2

Round 1: Leonard Craft III (DaWoblefet) (2-1W)

Round 2: Demitrios Kaguras (kingdjk) (2-1W)

Round 3: Blake Hopper (Bopper) (0-2L)

Round 4: Alex Underhill (Lexicon) (1-2L)

Round 5: Evan Bates (Veteran Padgett) (1-2L)

Round 6: Jon Hu (JHufself) (2-1W)

Subtotal: (8-9)

Total: (23-14)

Acknowledgements

• I would like to give another very special thanks to coolperson59 Berserk. Not just for letting me steal the team you made, but for always being supportive of me and being an overall amazing friend. Thanks for keeping my confidence up during the event and making sure I did not go on tilt after my losses. Nationals would have been at least a hundred times better if you could have made it, but I know you were there in spirit so that makes it a little better. <3
• My second shout-out goes to Mr. Heartthrob himself, WireGOD Wiretap. Thank you for paying for my share of the hotel room with your stipend and breeding all of my Pokemon for me, even the times when I am annoying about it. You are a really great friend too and there is no one that I do better theorying with than you and Nick together (but yes, your ideas will still always be trash to me until I try them out myself just to realize that you were right all along). Also thank you for being a true leader and inspiration to DadBods everywhere. <3
• Of course, I want to thank the other members of Team Scrublab, the group I share a small blog with and that I traveled to the Athens Regional and Nationals with: the infamous Jacobo “Digimon Shirt Guy” Salazar (jacsaz), the much less handsome Jacob Legler (Legler), and the competent one with the most potential in the group, Logan Harvell (TheLog).
• Thank you to my good friend Andrew Greenbaum (blutrane) for the signature Dive Ball Talonflame. It has yet to let me down and I will continue to use it on future teams. BIRD UP!
• Huge thank you to everyone in my Splatoon Squad Lv.52Inkay for helping me to get my mind off of Pokemon while practicing when I needed it and for supporting me throughout the weekend! I especially want to thank Thomas Schadinger (th1806) for telling me one night that Smeargle is bad in Best-of-Three right before I 2-0’d him. Staaaay fresh!
• I want to thank everyone that hung out with me over the weekend. Tyson Gernack (Firefly), Stephen Brown III (pyromaniac720), Cash Kostka (Cash Kostka), Kyle Ayala (crazyck), Jane Rininger (TalonJane), and TJ DiGiacomo (PsyJ), it was fun playing Smash and multi battles. All of you guys are the best. I also want to thank Priciliano Garcia (Pirate Lion Inferno) for always being a really cool guy and his girlfriend Izzy for coining me “Smeargle Guy” after the first time I played her at a Premier Challenge.
• I just want to point out that I placed higher than my friend and apparently twin Chance Alexander (Paragon) who lost on stream and finished 27th. :^)
• I want to thank the man I met right outside of the liquor store that told me he just got out of jail. Thanks for not mugging me because I legitimately thought I was going to die Thursday night. I hope you were able to make it home alright and are staying out of trouble.
• To everyone I battled over the course of the weekend: it was great meeting every single one of you guys and good games!
• We have not yet been acquainted, but thanks Randy Kwa (R Inanimate) for leading me astray to the dark side. Maybe next year Smeargle will finally make it past Top 16 at U.S. Nationals.

The post A Midsummer Knight’s Team – A 13th Place U.S. Nationals Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Hello, everyone! My name’s Michael, and back in May I placed second at the Massachusetts Regional Championships, going undefeated in Swiss and eventually losing to Kylie Chua in the finals. I’ll get into the team right away.

Building The Team

I’d been experimenting with a bunch of different team ideas for weeks before the event, but nothing seemed to be quite as consistent as I would’ve wanted. A few days prior to me leaving for Massachusetts, I decided to revisit the combination of Azumarill, Clefairy and Kangaskhan I’d tried around a month earlier. Clefairy and Azumarill made for a really solid “autopilot” lead in the metagame at the time. Few teams had a good match-up against it and as a result it could be very effective quite consistently. This led to the first version of the team.

Arcanine held a Choice Band with a moveset of Flare Blitz, Close Combat, Wild Charge and Extreme Speed. While it was nice to net so many OHKO’s with the coverage that Arcanine supplied, I realized that my team was able to get pretty much secure the same KO’s all of Arcanine’s non-Fire type moves could net. Since I wanted Landorus-Therian on the team over Arcanine but didn’t want to have double Intimidate, I tried to find a replacement for Arcanine on the team.

The first thing that came to my mind as a replacement for Arcanine was Rotom-Heat. It was able to take out everything I wanted it to with a Life Orb boosted Overheat, and added some nice coverage against bulky water-types and Landorus-Therian with Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice respectively. Landorus-Therian gave the team similar coverage against what Terrakion dealt with, but with the addition of Earthquake and Intimidate. Unfortunately, I was dissatisfied with Rotom-Heat’s awkward speed tier and the terrible bulk it had to run since I was using a Life Orb set. I also didn’t like that the team lacked Taunt. I replaced Rotom with Heatran to fix both problems. The night before I left for the event, I was doing some last-second teambuilding with Angel Miranda (CT MikotoMisaka) and Jun Tumaneng (Cypher). Angel mentioned that he thought that Clefairy, Azumarill and Bisharp together was the way to go. I did like the idea of Life Orb Bisharp over Aegislash, since Aegislash wasn’t as useful as I would have liked, plus Wide Guard wasn’t really necessary either. Heatran couldn’t KO opposing Aegislash while Bisharp could and having extra priority in Sucker Punch could help Azumarill sweep with Aqua Jet by helping it KO stuff it usually couldn’t. With that, I finally had a team that was ready for regionals.

The Team

Analysis

Kangaskhan (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 204 Atk / 4 Def / 44 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Fake Out
– Return
– Power-Up Punch
– Sucker Punch

Kangaskhan served not only as the devastating attacker it does with Power-Up Punch and Return, but it also fit perfectly with Clefairy and Azumarill. If I didn’t want to lead with Clefairy but wanted to set up Belly Drum with Azumarill, Kangaskhan could use Fake Out on an opposing Pokemon and let Azumarill set up that turn. After that, the opponent would have to deal with a terrifying combination of Mega Kangaskhan and an Azumarill with it’s attack maximized. If I didn’t even want to set up with Azumarill, Kangaskhan and Clefairy made for a great combination that let Kangaskhan fire off a Power-Up Punch, then start dealing massive damage.

Kangaskhan’s EV spread allows it to survive Modest Mega Charizard Y’s Overheat in the Sun with Friend Guard support. I used 252 speed EVs and gave Kangaskhan a Jolly nature to, at the very least, Speed tie with other Kangaskhan and Mega Charizard Y if not completely outspeed them. 4 HP and 4 Defense happened to be the minimum bulk to survive Terrakion’s Close Combat with Friend Guard. The rest of the EVs were put in Attack to maximize its damage output.

Clefairy @ Eviolite
Ability: Friend Guard
EVs: 204 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA / 44 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
– Icy Wind
– Follow Me
– Helping Hand
– Protect

Clefairy is one of my favorite redirection users and among my favorite Pokemon in the entire metagame. With Eviolite, it’s defenses become incredibly solid, plus it has Helping Hand to help its teammates dish out even more damage. Clefairy’s real selling point over other redirection users like Amoonguss or it’s older “sibling” Clefable is the ability Friend Guard, which reduces damage to Clefairy’s partner by 25%. This makes a wide variety of attacks that were impossible or required impractical amounts of investment to survive against certain Pokemon a lot easier to survive (see: Kangaskhan’s EV spread) and makes Clefairy even more frustrating to deal with.

I ran Icy Wind over Moonblast because I already had Fairy-type coverage with Azumarill on the team. While I find Icy Wind to be a lackluster form of Speed control, lowering the stat by one stage on an opponent can be extremely useful for Kangaskhan and Bisharp, giving them just enough of an advantage to make them faster than the majority of the metagame. Redirection lets Kangaskhan or Azumarill set up and destroy entire teams, Clefairy and Azumarill made for a devastating lead against several teams as seen in a lot of my games, and Helping Hand made everything hit harder, but most notably helped Azumarill pick up KOes it would barely miss with a +6 Aqua Jet. The EVs take Iron Head from Jolly Mega Metagross, Life Orb Iron Head from Bisharp, and most Flash Cannon’s from Aegislash.

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Atk / 20 Def / 4 SpD / 36 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Aqua Jet
– Play Rough
– Belly Drum
– Protect

Azumarill ended up being a truly fantastic call for the tournament. Most of my opponents lacked a way to prevent Azumarill from punching holes in teams after setting up, and with Clefairy’s support, Azumarill was able to set up pretty consistently. Even without the boost from Belly Drum, she ended up being a pretty powerful attacker on her own.

The EV spread is similar to the one on Alec Rubin (Amr97)’s Azumarill, featured in his Virginia Regionals report a while back. However, I reallocated 8 EVs from Azumarill’s Special Defense to its Speed, feeling that the increased special bulk wasn’t necessary and the extra point of Speed could help me in Speed-creeping other Azumarill or any opposing Mega Mawile. The HP EVs make sure that Sitrus Berry activates after Belly Drum by making Azumarill’s HP stat an even number. The Defense EVs also allowed Azumarill to take a Double-Edge from Jolly Mega Salamence and retaliate with a Play Rough.

Bisharp @ Life Orb
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Iron Head
– Knock Off
– Sucker Punch
– Protect

Simple and effective, your average Life Orb Bisharp. Bisharp was pretty handy in assisting Azumarill’s sweep, as Aqua Jet misses a few KOes even when at +6 Attack. With priority Sucker Punch, I could deal some good damage to an opponent while Azumarill took it out with Aqua Jet immediately afterwards. Defiant was helpful in dealing with Mega Salamence and Landorus-Therian. The pressure that Iron Head had against Fairy-types was pretty useful as well. There isn’t much else to say about it- Bisharp was extremely straightforward and served as a very effective attacker for the team.

Landorus-Therian (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 164 HP / 132 Atk / 4 Def / 28 SpD / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Rock Slide
– Earthquake
– Superpower
– Stone Edge

Landorus-Therian offered Intimidate support and additional coverage against a wide variety of Pokemon – most importantly Mega Charizard Y and Thundurus, but also Terrakion, Rotom-Heat, Heatran, Bisharp, and basically anything else it could hit super-effectively.

The moveset is pretty standard except for my decision to run Stone Edge over U-Turn. U-Turn was a move that I almost never used in practice except against Ludicolo. Stone Edge, on the other hand, was great when I needed to deal a lot more damage than Rock Slide would to Thundurus, Rotom-Heat, Mega Salamence, and Zapdos in particular. I found it to be much more effective with wider usage opportunities than U-Turn.

The EV spread is very similar to the one that Zach Droegkamp (Braverius) featured in his Missouri Regionals report. It survives a +1 Life Orb Bisharp’s Sucker Punch, Return + Sucker Punch from Adamant Mega Kangaskhan after Intimidate, and Hydro Pump from most bulky Rotom-Wash. In practice, the extra bulk was also useful in surviving a variety of weaker Ice-Beams from bulky Politoed, Suicune, and Cresselia, and Hidden Power Ice from most bulky Thundurus.

Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 188 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
– Heat Wave
– Earth Power
– Taunt
– Protect

I wanted to make sure that the final member of my team would be able to cover any missing essentials, and Heatran happened to fit the bill better than anything else. There were two things that I absolutely wanted to have in the team’s last slot. The first was a Fire-type move for the useful super-effective coverage (especially against Ferrothorn), and Taunt to deal with all manners of setup, status, “weird” strategies I could shut down with it, and any opposing Smeargle.

After choosing Heatran’s moveset, I decided to run Shuca Berry since I wasn’t running Substitute and Life Orb was already taken (and didn’t seem to be worth running anyway). The HP EVs allow Heatran to survive Earthquake from Choice Scarf Adamant Landorus-Therian with the Shuca Berry 100% of the time. I maximized Speed to always have the advantage against opposing Heatran, including other Shuca Berry variants. It was also more than enough to outspeed Bisharp and Smeargle, which was quite useful. The rest was dumped into Special Attack to maximize damage output.

The Tournament

Round 1 Vs. Joy G.

Her team:

She brought:

/

I brought:

/

Looking at team preview, Clefairy and Azumarill looked like they would have a pretty easy time setting up as Joy didn’t seem to have anything that could take down Clefairy in a single hit. I Follow Me and Belly Drum turn 1 while her Mega Alakazam uses Dazzling Gleam, not doing much to either of my Pokemon. Her Milotic went for Mirror Coat that turn, which failed since I hadn’t hit Milotic with a special attack. From there, Azumarill took out both her Alakazam and Milotic over the next two turns. Talonflame comes in, taking out Clefairy as I take out Milotic. This prompted me to send in Landorus to get off Intimidate so that Azumarill wouldn’t be taken down by a Brave Bird before it could move. She reveals Terrakion as her last Pokemon. Brave Bird misses the KO on my Azumarill, and I Aqua Jet + Rock Slide for the win.

WIN 3-0

W/L Record: 1-0

Round 2 Vs. Andrew Sego

His team:

He Brought:

/

I Brought:

/

I have a pretty strong lead advantage this game. I take out Furret pretty early on, and he switches Cryogonal into Sableye turn 2 while bringing in Mega Aerodactyl. The next few turns of the game consisted of me waiting to switch in Bisharp once either my burned Kangaskhan or taunted Clefairy went down. Clefairy goes down first, I switch in Bisharp, and Sableye goes down to Knock Off while Aerodactyl goes down to Sucker Punch next turn after taking damage from Kangaskhan’s own Sucker Punch the previous turn. Kangaskhan then goes down to burn damage, I send in Landorus, and it and Bisharp clean up the game easily from there.

WIN 1-0

W/L Record: 2-0

Round 3 Vs. Anthony Londergan

His team:

He brought:

/

I brought:

/

I talked with Anthony a bit about the event and our teams before the round began, and he was really pleasant and fun to talk with. When the round started, we wished each other good luck and went into team preview. Clefairy and Azumarill appeared to have a very favorable match-up here as long as I was careful with how I dealt with Jellicent. I lead with both and Follow Me + Belly Drum turn 1 while he uses Taunt + Will-O-Wisp. I switch Clefairy out into Kangaskhan as he doubles into my Azumarill’s Protect. I Fake Out Jellicent and Aqua Jet into his Protect the next turn, but then I switch back in Clefairy and Protect Azumarill. From that point on, the match went very smoothly for me as Clefairy and Azumarill took out most of his team and I was able to clean up the match with the Pokemon I had in the back once Clefairy went down.

WIN 3-0

W/L Record: 3-0

 Round 4 Vs. Michael Mirabelle

His team:

He brought:

/

I brought:

/

Right after I got paired up with Michael, I was told that by a friend he had went 3-0 without having a mega ring for his Kangaskhan (he actually ended up in top cut!) and was pretty surprised. I knew that he had probably been playing pretty well to have been able to do that, and was sure to be cautious going into this round. However, the game ended up being pretty straightforward and in my favor. Talonflame used Tailwind turn 1 and his Sylveon protected, his Talonflame going down to my Rock Slide that turn. From there, there was a bit of back-and-forth as Bisharp was able to get to +2 through defiant boosts from his Landorus-Therian. Once Bisharp got those boosts, I sealed up the game with relative ease.

WIN 3-0

W/L Record: 4-0

Round 5 Vs. Mihrab Samad (megachar10)

His team:

He brought:

/

I brought:

/

Mihrab is a pretty good friend of mine and I consider him to be one of the best Senior division players in the country. He was running Kangaskhan and Clefairy, but opted for a Landorus-Incarnate on his team, which I found interesting and was curious as to what it could potentially do. We both lead off with Kangaskhan and Clefairy, which resulted in a LOT of hit trading. The game eventually came down to me taking out his Kangaskhan while he KOed my Heatran with Blaziken’s Superpower, taking Life Orb damage and lowering his defense. Thankfully, his Blaziken had taken solid residual damage from Life Orb recoil and my Heat Wave the turn before, and my Kangaskhan KOed with Sucker Punch for the win.

WIN 1-0

W/L Record: 5-0

Round 6 Vs. Geoffrey Garsson

His team:

He brought:

/

I brought:

/

Unfortunately, I didn’t take many notes on this game for whatever reason. From what I did write down and know from memory, I remember that Azumarill had no problem setting up Belly Drum with support from Clefairy turn 1, and from that point on it was a pretty clean sweep, with my own Kangaskhan taking out his Rotom-Wash for the win on the last turn.

WIN 3-0

W/L Record: 6-0

Top Cut

Top 8 Vs. Jake Rosen (sableyemagma)

His team:

Jake was running a team with a lot of non-standard Pokemon, and during team preview I had to make sense of everything it could possibly do. With Misdreavus and a few slower Pokemon on the team, it seemed to have some sort of semi-Trick Room element to it, with a fast mode possible with speed control from Thundurus. I already knew that Torterra could learn Wide Guard, so I had to look out for that going into this set.

Game 1

He brought:

/

I brought:

/

Given what I had gleamed from team preview, Clefairy and Azumarill seemed to be my best lead. I double Protect turn 1 to avoid Fake Out from his Scrafty. He switches it into Torterra turn 2 while his Empoleon goes for Flash Cannon onto my Clefairy while I Follow Me + Belly Drum. I get the KO on Torterra with Aqua Jet as my Clefairy goes down to a second Flash Cannon. I send in Kangaskhan, and from there I’m in a great position as Azumarill proceeds to KO everything except for Misdreavus, which Bisharp finishes off at the end of the game.

WIN 2-0

Set Record: 1-0

Game 2

He brought:

/

I brought:

/

I didn’t feel that there was a better way to approach this game than the last time, so I brought the exact same Pokemon believing that it was the safest way to go. Jake makes a good adjustment from last game by leading Empoleon and Thundurus. I figured that he was trying to cripple Clefairy and threaten Azumarill at the same time. I Follow Me and Belly Drum turn 1, as he uses Thunderbolt and Flash Cannon on Clefairy for the KO. I send in Kangaskhan, and from there I easily take out Thundurus while getting to +2 with Kangaskhan by Power-Up Punching the Empoleon. Scrafty comes in and gets off the Intimidate, proceeding to Fake Out my Kangaskhan while his Empoleon attacked into my Azumarill’s Protect. From there, I KO Scrafty next turn and my Azumarill goes down, and with Kangaskhan at +1 and Bisharp in the back, I’m able to pull through and win the set.

WIN 2-0

Set Record: 2-0 [WIN]

Top 4 Vs. Stephen Mea (Gramgus)

His team:

I had fought Stephen in a few Premier Challenges before, so I knew that he was a good player and a threatening opponent. Unlike my top 8 set against Jake, Stephen’s team was a bit easier to break down and I decided that the best way to go at this set was to stick with bringing safe, reliable leads.

Game 1

He brought:

/

I brought:

/

I double Protect to avoid Fake Out, and set up Belly Drum the next turn. Clefairy’s taken down by a double target with Thunderbolt and Double-Edge that turn, and I send in Kangaskhan. Things suddenly begin looking incredibly bad for me when I Fake Out Thundurus and his Kangaskhan hangs on with a bit of HP after I hit it with Aqua Jet, and it takes out my Kangaskhan with Low Kick. I take out his Kangaskhan next turn with Aqua Jet, and I Sucker Punch his Thundurus to be safe- it fails and he paralyzes Bisharp. When he sends in his own Bisharp, I Aqua Jet hoping that it wasn’t carrying the Focus Sash, and it wasn’t! Bisharp picks up the KO on Thundurus that turn, and I easily clean up the game once he sends in Landorus.

WIN 2-0

Set Record: 1-0

Game 2

He brought:

/

I brought:

/

This game was much less sloppy than the last, right from turn 1. I set up right off the bat and bring in Kangaskhan next turn to deal with Bisharp. I take out both of his lead Pokemon the following turn, he doubles into my Kangaskhan with Greninja and his own Kangaskhan to take it out, but Azumarill brings his Kangaskhan down to low enough HP that the game was pretty much in my hands from that point onward.

WIN 2-0

Set Record: 2-0 [WIN]

Finals Vs. Kylie Chua

Her team:

Before this set, I was pretty excited to hear that our games would be streamed by CLASH Tournaments, and commentated by Aaron Zheng (Cybertron) and Jonathan Evans (Ezrael). Kylie’s team packed a lot of threats that made this team match-up incredibly difficult for me. The rain mode with three water-types and her own Mega Kangaskhan threatened my Heatran uncomfortably, but I didn’t have much else to deal with Ferrothorn and was torn between what I wanted to bring in each game- in the end I didn’t even bring Heatran once, which, while not being a fatal mistake, put me at a disadvantage as every game I struggled to deal with Kylie’s Ferrothorn.

Game 1

She brought:

/

I brought:

/

I predict Kylie to go with a rain lead, and go with what would give me the safest match-up against it. Kylie leads Kangaskhan and Thundurus, and I predict her to anticipate a double Protect and go straight for a Belly Drum to avoid her Power-Up Punching her own Thundurus and taking out Clefairy  next turn. Unfortunately, this backfires and while I still get Belly Drum off, Clefairy is hit by Fake Out and Azumarill is left at very low HP after Thunderbolt. Eventually, I’m left with my Bisharp and Mega Kangaskhan against her Ferrothorn and Ludicolo. I was pretty confident that I would have been able to take the game after KOing the Ludicolo the following turn with Knock Off, but her Gyro Ball actually KOes my Kangaskhan without a critical hit, which DEFINITELY caught me off guard. Bisharp’s Knock Off the next turn confirms her Ferrothorn’s item, and unfortunately Bisharp can’t close the game due to Iron Barbs + Life Orb damage and additional damage from Gyro Ball.

LOSS 0-1

Set Record: 0-1

Game 2

She brought:

/

I brought:

/

With the exact same leads as the previous game, I double Protect turn 1 to prevent the same situation as game 1. The next turn I Follow Me + Belly Drum, while Kylie doubles into Clefairy for the KO. I send in Kangaskhan and there’s some trades as it and Azumarill eventually bring Kylie’s team down to only her Ferrothorn. I finish it off over the next two turns with Play Rough and Power-Up Punch for the game.

WIN 2-0

Set Record: 1-1

Game 3

She brought:

/

I brought:

/

Kylie makes a smart adjustment this game by switching up her lead to better suit my own Clefairy and Azumarill lead. I was immediately kicking myself inside for not leading with Heatran and not even bringing it, especially given that I should have given the results of the last two games. Regardless, at that point I had no choice but to work with what I had. I get Azumarill to +6 and Clefairy goes down to a double target with Gyro Ball dealing a surprising amount of damage thanks to the Choice Band. Over the course of the game I’m able to wear down Kylie’s team to her own full HP Mega Kangaskhan (which could no longer use Fake Out) and slightly damaged Ludicolo against my 50% HP paralyzed Azumarill and full HP Bisharp. I make a bizarre play the next turn that Kylie points out in her interview with Aaron after the set – I predict her to Sucker Punch with Kangaskhan in anticipation of a double target with an Aqua Jet Azumarill and Sucker Punch from Bisharp – Sucker Punch would avoid any chance of Aqua Jet’s damage roll on Kangaskhan ending up with it surviving. I go for an Iron Head with Bisharp to prevent risking the effects of my Sucker Punch from being nullified, but Aqua Jet just KO’s Kangaskhan anyway and Iron Head hits Ludicolo. I did not think that play through, and should have gone for the Knock Off instead of Iron Head as even if Kangaskhan survived, Knock Off would allow me to KO Ludicolo for the win. Instead, I had misplayed and put myself in a position where the RNG would decide the game’s results. Iron Head doesn’t flinch the Ludicolo, and it hits Bisharp with a Scald and gets the burn, meaning that I wouldn’t be able to KO with Knock Off next turn and Bisharp would certainly faint to Life Orb + Burn damage- to win the game, I had to be able to hit Aqua Jet through Azumarill’s Paralysis for Knock Off to do enough damage to KO. Unfortunately, my Azumarill was fully paralyzed the next turn, and Knock Off barely misses the KO on Ludicolo as I had expected. Kylie then Giga Drains my Azumarill and Bisharp faints to burn damage.

LOSS 1-0

Set Record: 1-2 [LOSS]

Additional Thoughts

This section is written in a post-Nationals perspective.

Unfortunately, my games against Kylie in the finals were not uploaded to YouTube due to technical difficulties on the stream towards the end of the set, and they no longer exist in CLASH Tournaments’ Twitch past broadcasts. However, Aaron’s interview with Kylie after she won was uploaded to YouTube, and if you’re interested in watching it you can find it here.

I’m really glad that I’ve been able to have a fantastic Regionals circuit. I still find it hard to believe I’ve won two Regionals and still placed second at Massachusetts! While my Nationals performance was rather disappointing this season, I already had my Worlds invite locked up and after my disappointing finish in Indianapolis now I’m working hard to make sure that I do well there. With that being said, thank you for reading, and I hope to see some of you in Boston this August!

Shout-outs & Special Thanks

I’d like to thank the following people for some of the great things they did for me as I close out this report.

• Aaron Zheng (Cybertron) and Jonathan Evans (Ezrael) for commentating my finals games. I watched the set after I got home from the event and I really enjoyed the fantastic commentary you guys provided.
• Angel Miranda (CT MikotoMisaka) and Jun Tumaneng (Cypher) for helping me come up with some ideas while teambuilding.
• CLASH Tournaments for streaming my finals games and helping to provide the aforementioned commentary.
• Patty Lefavour for organizing one of the most smoothly run Regionals I’ve ever been to. Seriously, I don’t think that there were even any minor delays throughout the tournament.
• Brendan Webb (FloristtheBudew) for the report art.
• Everyone who’s given me support throughout the season up to this point- you all know who you are, and there are too many to list. I’m really thankful for all the support that you guys have given me.

As I’ve already said, thank you very much for reading!

The post Azumarill’s Aquatic Assault – A Massachusetts Regionals Senior Division Runner-Up Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Hello, Nugget Bridge! I’m James Tarbuck, and I finished 19th at the 2015 UK National Championships. I started playing competitively in 2014, but I didn’t know too much about the game and went 4-4 with a fun Self-Destruct Snorlax team. Since then, I’ve gone to two other tournaments, and I feel like I’m starting to really grasp a good sense of the game.

The Team

Throughout the season, I played around with quite a few different teams before making a final choice. I like to teambuild around my Mega Evolution, so at the start of the season I used Mega Tyranitar heavily, paring it with Amoonguss, Gastrodon, Braviary, Bisharp, and Terrakion. This team had a painful lack of Fire-type attacks, so I ended up switching Terrakion out for Blaziken to retain Fighting-type coverage. However, I didn’t enjoy playing with the team, so I started looking for something else.

The night before UK Regionals, I came up with the above team, which would eventually become my Nationals team. I tested it quickly on Battle Spot and went 4-1, so I decided to bring it to the tournament. I ended up finishing 3-5, but in my opinion most of my losses were due to my play rather than the team.

Tweaks were necessary, so I thought about how the team worked. I loved the combo of Mega Charizard X and Hitmontop, especially because of the sun bluff. I also liked Gastrodon and Thundurus, but Bisharp felt too frail and Tyranitar often went unused. As such, I replaced them with Scizor and Gardevoir.

I love the combo of Charizard X and Hitmontop as they work so well together and I think when people see my team preview they think Charizard Y . I was also happy with Gastrodon and Thundurus, but I thought Bisharp was too frail and I didn’t really use Tyranitar enough. I really wanted a bulky Steel type which led me to Scizor and wanted a Fairy type so I chose Gardevoir.

Charizard @ Charizardite X
Adamant | Tough Claws
100 HP / 156 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 244 Spe
– Protect
– Dragon Dance
– Dragon Claw
– Flare Blitz

The surprise factor of Charizard X is perhaps its biggest asset, but it is a very powerful Pokémon in its own right. After a Dragon Dance, it picks up numerous OHKOs while being quite tough to take down. Its moveset is fairly standard; the combination of Fire- and Dragon-type STABs hits everything in the game for neutral damage (except Heatran), so Charizard is never hurting for coverage. Charizard was great against the Mega Metagross and Hydreigon lead that was popular earlier in the season, threatening knockouts on both Pokémon. This was definitely my favorite Pokémon on the team.

The EV spread is tailored to allow Charizard to withstand its most common counters. It can take a Landorus-Therian’s Earthquake, a Heatran’s Earth Power, or a Garchomp’s Dragon Claw. On the offensive side, the moderate Attack investment gave it OHKO potential on Pokémon such as Sylveon, Garchomp, and Mega Mawile. The Speed EVs allow it to outrun Modest Hydreigon.

Hitmontop @ Sitrus Berry
Adamant | Intimidate
252 HP / 204 Atk / 44 Def / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
– Feint
– Quick Guard
– Wide Guard
– Close Combat

Before you ask: yes, there is no Fake Out. I had two main reasons for this decision: firstly, Hitmontop’s Fake Out is slow, so opposing Fake Outers could often nullify it. Secondly, almost all of my opponents simply assumed that I had the move. I discovered during my testing that many players would simply Protect against a Hitmontop/Charizard lead, giving me a free turn to either set up a Dragon Dance or go for a KO with Feint. Feint could also pick off Pokémon at very low health without the risk of Protect. Quick Guard dealt with Prankster users, slower Fake Outs, and other priority moves. Wide Guard protected Charizard from the ubiquitous Earthquake and Rock Slide, and Close Combat helped against Mega Kangaskhan.

I mostly EV’d Hitmontop to stay on the field as long as possible, but I did invest enough in Attack to knock out Mega Kangaskhan and Heatran with Close Combat most of the time. Hitting hard wasn’t really its job; Hitmontop was there to make sure the rest of the team could keep attacking. It was a great support Pokémon that could always do something useful.

Gastrodon @ Expert Belt
Bold | Storm Drain
252 HP / 28 Def / 108 SpA / 116 SpD / 4 Spe
– Protect
– Scald
– Ice Beam
– Earth Power

Gastrodon served several purposes for my team: it helped deal with Trick Room teams, rain teams, and redirected Water-type attacks away from Charizard with Storm Drain. I decided to use a standard moveset; I toyed around with Icy Wind since I didn’t have that much Speed control, but Ice Beam ended up being far more useful against Landorus-Therian and Thundurus. I EV’d Gastrodon to withstand Jolly Mega Kangaskhan’s Double-Edge—Hitmontop’s Intimidate could help against other sets. On the special side, it could eat a Choice Specs Hydreigon’s Draco Meteor and fire back with an Ice Beam.

Thundurus @ Life Orb
Bold | Prankster
228 HP / 4 Def / 100 SpA / 4 SpD / 172 Spe
– Thunder Wave
– Thunderbolt
– Swagger
– Hidden Power Ice

Thundurus is a really good Pokémon, and this one is no different. What’s interesting, though, is the set. Everyone knows how annoying (and useful) Thunder Wave and Swagger can be; I opted to drop Taunt on this set to provide additional disruption. Life Orb is a decidedly non-standard choice, but I was easily convinced by its power. With just a few Special Attack EVs, this Thundurus picks up KOs on Mega Charizard Y and Landorus-Therian, two huge threats to this team. Additionally, this item choice freed up my Sitrus Berry for Hitmontop. While this set isn’t a good fit for every team, it really helped patch up some holes here, and I don’t regret my choice.

Scizor @ Lum Berry
Adamant | Technician
204 HP / 220 Atk / 28 Def  / 12 SpD / 44 Spe
– Protect
– Bullet Punch
– Swords Dance
– Bug Bite

Scizor’s an interesting bulky Steel-type. I went with a 2013-esque Swords Dance set, which gave it some serious sweeping power. Bug Bite hit hard and could steal opposing berries; I missed Knock Off at times, but it wasn’t that important. Lum Berry could open up opportunities for Scizor to set up, as it’d often be on the receiving end of Will-O-Wisp or Spore.

I probably could have invested 252 HP, 252 Attack and 4 Speed, but I felt the need to tweak the EV spread a bit. I probably added more Speed EVs than I needed, but luckily it ended up being irrelevant.

Gardevoir @ Choice Scarf
Modest | Trace
152 HP / 4 Def / 108 SpA / 28 SpD / 216 Spe
– Dazzling Gleam
– Psychic
– Shadow Ball
– Energy Ball

Although I only brought Gardevoir once at UK Nationals, it was still a valuable addition to the team. It brought some much-needed coverage and the team’s only spread move in Dazzling Gleam. Gardevoir was especially useful against Mega Salamence, Gengar, and Terrakion, knocking out all three in a single hit.

Common Leads

This was my most common lead, and it gave me a turn one Dragon Dance in most games. It had a good matchup against Mega Kangaskhan, Sylveon, sand teams, and the genies (thanks to Quick Guard and Wide Guard). Once Charizard got its boosts, it could really start putting out good damage.

Typically, this lead would provide too little damage to be effective; however, Thundurus’s Life Orb combined with Wide Guard made it quite threatening against many Pokémon. I brought this lead if it was too risky to lead with Charizard.

Final Words

Even though UK Nationals could have been a better experience, the games that I did play were fun and really challenged me. I was very happy with my overall performance, my team, and the entire experience. I’m looking forward to the 2016 season and its new joys and challenges. Thanks to all the players and staff!

The post Y oh Y… No, It’s X: A 19th Place UK Nationals Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

What’s good Nugget Bridge? If you’ve watched the Madison Regionals and US Nationals streams you might recognize me as the Indian dude with the red snapback.

“Why does it say ‘Hi?'”

“IT DOESN’T SAY ‘HI’ YOU NINCOMPOOP- IT’S THE ABBREVIATION FOR HAWAII.” *

Er-hem. Anyway, I’m MangoSol on simulators and Manoj Sunny, a 19 year old Finance/Accounting student, in real life. Today in class we will be going over two things: 1) A team report on my squad that got 3rd at Madison Regionals and 11th at Nationals 2) How to be a consistent player in the multitude of events you play throughout the season or  even throughout the years in your excruciatingly long career. I’ll tie in my team that I used this year with other teams I have used in the past years to draw out similarities and differences to showcase what tangible efforts you can make to be a good player CONSISTENTLY. So grab some coffee, sit tight, and happy reading!

Madison 2015

You probably looked at this team and thought “Okay, standard Pokemon, I totally get how this works and probably will skip over anything not named Talonflame, Terrakion, and maybe Milotic,” which is totally fine, since everything here is something you’ve undoubtedly encountered on a simulator or Battle Spot. But for analysis’ sake, I’ll go over some stuff and try hashing out some points or insights you haven’t already thought about or might find interesting.

Kangaskhan (F) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 200 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 52 Spe
Adamant Nature
Double-Edge
Sucker Punch
Fake Out
Low Kick

Alright, Mega-Kangaskhan. The Queen of VGC. The big momma of all children. The harbinger of OHKOs. The reason you give your pathetic Rotom enough EVs to survive a double-edge only to get slammed by a critical hit. Mega-Kangaskhan has been the most CONSISTENT Mega Pokemon since its release. The results in various tournaments across the world are testament to her sheer power. In 2014, Mega-Mawile served as a check to the beast on many teams, but with the advent of Landorus-Therian severely mitigated its usage and utility. The top players in any tournament so far in this year NEEDED to have a counter, check, and another check to avoid being steam-rolled by it. Oops, I’m already saying things you know. Point is, Mega-Kangaskhan can be added to any team and have results if played right.

The moves are pretty standard. “Mango, you used Return last year- why did you switch to Double-Edge?” I traded Kangaskhan over, lost all his happiness points, and didn’t know how to train for happiness in the game. Whatever. It knocks out things so I can’t complain. Recoil hardly matters when everything on my opponent’s team is knocked out or severely crippled. Sucker Punch is a Kang classic and helped put some opponents in checkmate even though they were faster but damaged.

Fake Out. Alright, there’s been quite some arguments over whether to use Fake Out or not on Kangaskhan. In my humble opinion, YOU NEED TO. You’re literally wasting 25% of Kangaskhan’s potential by NOT running Fake Out. Running Protect, Ice beam, Earthquake, or whatever you think is “anti-meta” is absolutely diminishing the value of a Mega Kangaskhan. “But Mango, everyone predicts Kangaskhan to have Fake Out? They can double Protect out of it too?” Yeah, and everyone predicts Landorus-T to have Earthquake- do people run HP Grass to be “anti-meta?” There are a TON of Pokemon that don’t have Protect. Choice locked Pokemon, 95% of Thundurus, bulky set-up Pokemon, etc; Some people ran Protect on Kangaskhan early in the season for a surprise factor- some of which worked. But in a Bo3 format, even that luxury is gone. Also, if your team has set up moves like Tailwind and Substitute, then more power to you. Big momma can literally knock out so many Pokemon using just Fake Out and Sucker Punch. It’s ridiculous how powerful it is, and not running priority when you can is problematic.

I ran Hammer Arm on my 2014 Kangaskhan because Low Kick was not available at the time. I also didn’t learn until a few days before Nationals that Low Kick was released and punched holes in heavy things like Ferrothorn the same way Hammer Arm did. Whelp. Hammer Arm is still a viable option if you’re running Trick Room (or want a check), but if not, by all means use Low Kick. Hammer Arm having 90 accuracy was a nightmare- do yourself a favor and go with the 100 accuracy same base power move. Power Up Punch is also a great set in this metagame that seemed to have plateaued in usage this past Nationals with everyone opting for bulky Kangaskhans. Running Jolly and getting up some +2s can really landslide games, so look into that option as well.

The EV spread? I have no idea what it does. I had one goal in mind- dish out as much damage as you can while taking as many hits as you can. So max attack Adamant, obviously. As for the HP, Def, and Speed? I honestly don’t think it lives anything specific. Arbitrary speed to creep on other bulky Kangaskhans. Back in 2012, Flash wrote one of the most brilliant articles I have ever read on Pokemon- take a look at it; you’ll benefit even though the metagame is different. “Never think about raw calculations between 100% HP Pokémon because you won’t be in that situation frequently.” I always giggle to myself whenever someone asks me “What EV spread should I put on this?” “What should I make this live?” In my opinion and experience, when the cookie crumbles, the only stat that truly matters in terms of EVs is speed. That is the only thing you need to specifically focus on. As for the other stats, if there are certain Pokemon that are always  hit by certain moves from certain Pokemon, by all means EV for it. In no way am I saying don’t bother with EV spreads. If you feel more prepared making them, go for it. Personally, I usually follow the “dump random amounts into stats to maximize bulkiness” strategy. It has never let me down yet. But like I said, don’t fret optimizing your Cresselia’s HP to make a +2 Signal Beam from Life Orb Raichu a 5HKO in sand.

Tl;dr? Optimize speed above all. Be practical and optimize EVs to just be generally tanky. Raw calculations are never the same as when you’re in the heat of battle and have millions of different snags affecting your HP.

Talonflame  @ Life Orb
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Adamant Nature
Brave Bird
Flare Blitz
Quick Guard
Taunt

The bird is the word. This Pokemon is absolutely brilliant and the metagame is silly to not acknowledge this poor bird. True, 2015 has not been kind to Talonflame with the release of Landorus and Thundurus, but Talonflame still serves as an EXCELLENT tech Pokemon. If brought in at the right time, against the right Pokemon, using Talonflame is as simple as tapping the “win” button on your DS. Brave Bird and Flare Blitz hit so hard KOing things weak to it as well as frail neutral types. A combination of Kangaskhans Fake Out/Sucker Punch and Brave Bird sometimes flat out KOd middle-tier bulky Pokemon. Like I said earlier, use priority when you can. The key is to hit hard and fast. I find that the longer I’m in a battle, the higher the likelihood of me losing. My goal in making teams is to end things quickly and efficiently with the core Pokemon as well as the tech Pokemon. Back to Talonflame, LO Brave Bird demolishes Amoongus and Gardevoir cores. Some really defensive Amoongus are EVd to tank it, but so far I’ve been lucky with the Amoongus I’ve run across in tournaments and have been able to one-shot them with Brave Bird. Also a great Breloom check and Venusaur counter.

The last two moves are always a toss up. Will O Wisp is viable as is Tailwind, but I hate sacrificing my beloved bird for a few measly turns of speed, especially when I’m running strong priority moves. Quick Guard stopped jokes like Liepard, Thundurus’ T-wave (Caution: They may Thunderbolt you), and opposing Fake Outs. It was also a nice surprise factor, in Regionals Swiss. But mentioned above, don’t fear using Pokemon that aren’t heavily used. If you have CONSISTENT results with it, then it is totally viable and is everyone’s loss for not using it. Take advantage of that. Never be peer pressured into using Pokemon you aren’t comfortable with. That is the #1 consistency killer that I will talk about later. Don’t fear standing out, but at the same time, don’t make an effort to stand out by using weird things that work once every 7 games. At the end of the day people remember that you topcut regionals. They remember that you made day 2 at nationals. They remember that you got an invite to worlds. What they don’t remember is that you ran Barbaracle with Rock Polish or a Probopass with Magnet Rise and won only 4 games out of 9.

Hit hard and hit fast. 252/252. LO.

Fear the Brave Bird.

Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
Close Combat
Rock Slide
Protect
Quick Guard

“Mango, what do you think the top 5 Pokemon are in VGC ’15?”

“X, Y, Z, Q, TERRAKION.” -An actual quote.

Again, like Talonflame, Terrakion usage wasn’t as high as it was supposed to be. But unlike Talonflame, Terrakion still had a fairly high usage, which I’m glad for. This bull has some of the best stats a sweeper could ask for. A base 108 speed and 129 attack puts it in a weird tier shared by few others. But typing. Man oh man, that typing. Brings tears to my eye every time. Fighting/Rock is simply an offensive powerhouse, especially in this metagame. And the movepool? Tears are still streaming down my face. Even the ability is pretty good! Close Combat just OHKOs every normal type. Linoone? Bye. Snorlax? Goodnight. Lickilicky? See ya. Definitely takes care of the Pokemon defining this meta (wink)! The defense drop from CC didn’t matter because of the Focus Sash, so it was nice knowing I can take out a threat or at least damage one very handily before exiting the stage. Quick Guard was a nice tech move that blew up opposing Kangaskhans when they tried Fake Outing and also stopped TR setters reliant on Fake Out. Quick Guard is just a wonderful move and I didn’t want to settle on just using one Pokemon with it. Oftentimes I was in situations where I lead Talonflame and Terrakion against priority users (Whimsicott/Hariyama) and had the option of using Quick Guard from either Pokemon and blowing up whatever I wanted to.

There’s one word every VGC player shudders when he hears it. A word that brings flashbacks of pain, misery, and defeat. A word that symbolizes everything hax stands for. And that word is… Brightpowder! Wait no, wrong season. What I meant was Rock Slide. The ability to hit both targets and inflict a 30% chance of a flinch is absolutely amazing/abhorrent (depending on which side of the field you’re on). Add that to a Pokemon that gets STAB off of it, has a killer speed stat, and is devilishly handsome, and you get instant hax wins. Now, slap a Thundurus on your team and the word “hax” turns into “strategy.”

Terrakion in the limelight:

Hit hard and hit fast. 252/252.

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Bold Nature
Thunder Wave
Thunderbolt
Hidden Power [Ice]
Taunt

You already know what this does.

I didn’t include the EV spread here because at the time of me writing this worlds has yet to happen. I did not make this EV spread (a certain Japanese worlds finalist did) and the creator has no idea I have it, so for obvious reasons I won’t spread it. It is a VERY bulky and fast set and is simply the best Thundurus I have used. What a shame. It was my chance to look like I don’t just use 252/252 Pokemon.

Thundurus is a Pokemon that is so versatile- both in EVs and roles. It can be EVd to be a fast and hard hitter (the way it was originally used, for those who haven’t been around since forever) or it can be used as the common utility. Do not fear to experiment with different Thundurus- not one set is best (unlike Kangaskhan, pshhh).

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate Shiny: Yes
EVs: 156 HP / 124 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 212 Spe
Adamant Nature
Earthquake
Rock Slide
Knock Off
Superpower

Again, another Pokemon you already know inside and out. Originally I had experimented with Assault Vest Landorus, but quickly found it to be underwhelming and pointless. I don’t believe in using offensive Pokemon defensively, nor defensive Pokemon offensively. If a Pokemon is designed to do a certain task, then make it do that specific task. Bulky Talonflames with Roost? There’s a reason that has never made Top Cut. Timid Slowbro with 252 Speed and 252 Sp. Atk? Never seen in topcut. Those were pretty extreme examples, but I hope you see what I’m getting at. Certain Pokemon have certain responsibilities, and making them perform unnatural tasks is greatly inhibiting towards them. Landorus is meant to abuse its sky-high Attack. Sadly, its Speed stat needs help, but that’s what the scarf is for. Rock Slide, Earthquake, and Superpower are all self-explanatory moves. Superpower was a great option when I couldn’t Earthquake because of a Choice-Locked or non-protect Pokemon on my side which came in clutch a few times.

There have also been some arguments over Knock Off vs U-Turn. Move choice questions are always in a sort of grey area, but I think this specific choice is a black and white decision. Knock Off itself is a great move and in Bo3, it’s amazing. Revealing your opponent’s items is just great and puts you in a confident position for the next two matches. U-Turn, what does it do? Maybe a couple HP worth of damage? Speaking typing, Dark is better offensively than Bug. It hits harder initially than U- Turn as well. The problem with U- Turn, though is you’re putting yourself at a bit more risk than manually switching. Sure, it’s unlikely that their Terrakion is scarfed, but taking that minimal extra risk of getting hit with Rock Slide is still an extra risk you’re taking that you don’t need to. Plus the chance that they might switch into something with Rocky Helmet, Flame Body, etc just adds more risk to a table already stacked high with it. You’re playing Pokemon.

EVs? No idea what they do. I hope you’re getting the pattern by now. It probably lives some ice move, OHKOs the majority of steel types, and outspeeds everything not scarfed or named Mega- Beedrill. So basically, it’s a relevant spread I don’t need to think twice about.

Hit hard and hit fast. Scarf 124/212.

 Milotic (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 200 HP / 100 Def / 36 SpA / 122 SpD / 50 Spe
Bold Nature
Scald
Icy Wind
Recover
Confuse Ray

Ahhh Milotic. I remember as a wee child fishing for Feebas back in Emerald Version. Almost threw my Game Boy SP out the window in rage after my 743rd Carvanaha. Good times. Good times. Anywho, Milotic is wonderful (obviously, that’s why it’s on this team). When I was teambuilding, I noticed a slight weakness to Landorus- Therian. Obviously, this was something I could not let go, as he was on virtually every team. My answer to that was Bisharp, but I couldn’t fit Bisharp on this team- I would have a 5:1 ratio of physical to special Pokemon. Unacceptable imbalance. So I tried out Milotic for its ability. Competitive wrecked in a metagame where there were Mega Salamence and Landorus everywhere. Of course, there was the risk with Mega Mence that I might get Double Edged into a watery grave on T1, but I guess I would be a pretty bad player if I let that happen. You shouldn’t overlook a Pokemon’s potential simply because it gets one shot by another Pokemon. Unless its name is Rotom. Because Rotom is pathetic.

Anyway, the first three moves are a Milotic staple. Scald gets burns and crucial residual damage for a Pokemon of its archetype. I’ve seen some weird sets with Hydro Pump- that’s a big no-no. (See: Landorus Therian section.) Milotic can stall out teams of physical attackers even when it’s down 1-3 if it can get off its Burns. I chose Icy Wind over Ice Beam because I wanted a spread move to lower speed on Pokemon that Thundurus couldn’t hit. So basically, Landorus. Competitive Icy Wind also took care of some chip damaged Landorus as well.

Testing Milotic, I received some arguments that Milotic was just a poor man’s Suicune. NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. The two Pokemon are completely different and serve different roles. Suicune is mostly used as a Tailwind support Pokemon, whereas Milotic is mostly used to lower opponent’s speed via Icy Wind. Also, Competitive is much more important in this metagame than pressure.  Their stats are similar, but again, Milotic is simply more important to me in a VGC team than Suicune (though Suicune is still a perfectly viable and good VGC Pokemon by common standards). The difference here is that Milotic prevents people from using their Intimidate Pokemon haphazardly, or not even use it altogether. For a team like mine that has a good number of physical attackers, this was paramount. Milotic’s Competitive even works on a subconscious level- starting at team preview, your opponent will look at your team more cautiously in regards to Milotic and play more safely with his intimidate Pokemon. This helped ease predictions a lot in many battles for me. If I saw Landorus-Therian, for example, on their team, I would usually be right when I expected them to bring it against me (after all, my team is decently weak to Landorus). So if, for example, they don’t lead with Landorus, then I can safely assume that it’s in the back and HP Ice a switch in to get myself a KO. A lot of Pokemon is simply what helps you ease into predictions more easily. It doesn’t even matter what you use if you can’t make predicts and reads.

Oh, Confuse Ray. I think I actually justified my use for Milotic over Suicune because of this move. But for sake of you learning, ignore that kind of rationale and look to the paragraph above for educational content on why I chose Milotic over Suicune. Confuse Ray was a move that I kind of tossed on last-minute. I didn’t find Protect to be wholly practical in a lot of scenarios, but it was still a close second. Protect is always a viable option if you don’t know what to put for your fourth move or are unsure of how CONSISTENTLY a certain move performs. But yeah, Confuse Ray. Great for mind games, and great for flipping coins. I absolutely hate the move Swagger- not for the reasons of Confusion, but because of how it ALWAYS misses when I use it! I tried a Safeguard/Swagger set way back when, but always lost in testing due to missing Swagger on my own Pokemon. No joke, I played three games in a row and missed Swagger. So why would I risk swaggering someone else’s Pokemon? Confuse Ray had 100% accuracy and kind of just accumulated damage and stress when Milotic was just sitting there and flopping around. Wait, that’s paradoxical…  It definitely garnered some chuckles and confusion from viewers alike, so I guess that was the best part about using it. Give it a try. If you’re going to play a game with hax, at least make it in your favor!

Guess what this EV spread does?!…..Don’t know? BECAUSE I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA EITHER! WHOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!

You can see Milotic tanking moves left and right while retaining a strong presence on the field by applying pressure via Confuse Ray and Scald.

Well, that brings my Regionals segment to a close. This next part is just about the two Pokemon I swapped around for Nationals. Refill that coffee if you have to. And here we go~

Nationals 2015

(replacement for Talonflame)

Amoonguss @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 188 HP / 156 Def / 164 SpD
Sassy Nature IVs: 0 Spe
Giga Drain
Spore
Rage Powder
Protect

Oh gosh, I hate this thing. By far the most useless Pokemon I’ve used since Gourgeist in 2014 Regionals. I guess there’s a similarity in those two. Let me make one thing clear- I was pressured into using this because I was afraid of standing out with Talonflame. I got scared of using it because no one else was using it so therefore it must be bad, right? Looking back at all the games I lost at Nationals, I could have easily won the matchup had I had Talonflame in my party instead of Amoongus. I literally faced three Blaziken and 6 Amoongus (2 of which were Garde/Amoongus cores) which were all difficult to navigate around.

Right when I think I bring in Amoongus to the right place and time, I get absolutely dunked on. Spore a Scrafty switch in? NOPE. LUM/TAUNT VARIANT. RIP. Everyone and their mother was prepared for Amoongus at Nationals, and I should’ve followed my INTUITION and gone with Talonflame. But hindsight is 20/20 and my tears are meant for Terrakion only. Don’t fall into the same peer pressure trap I did.

Let me get this straight- Amoongus is a great Pokemon. It is absolutely deadly when played in the right hands. It has redirection, killer stats, and two great abilities which it can abuse.  By no means let my incompetence in using it impede you from using it. The moral I’m trying to ingrain in your head is to never ever use Pokemon you are “forced” into using or are uncomfortable with. It can only go one way, and that way is the opposite direction of a trophy. At the same time, you can’t just refuse to learn how to play with standard Pokemon and go charging into Nationals with a bug brigade consisting of Shedinja, Leavanny (“Mango, that’s a Pokemon?”), and Volbeat.

A last minute addition, I ripped this EV spread from y’boi GengarBoi (The “o” in his name is not a 0, for all you people who think my hat says “hi.”) It tanks all special attacks, lives an HP flying from Ursaring, makes your bed on Sunday mornings, yada yada yadaa I don’t care.

(replacement for Milotic)

 Bisharp @ Choice Band
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
Sucker Punch
Iron Head
Knock Off
Low Kick

MangoSol’s Choice Band Bisharp. Patent pending. I used it last year to get 9th at Nationals and this year to get 11th, so something tells me this little chess piece is CONSISTENT (when put in the right team).

If you weren’t around last year, I used an Assurance variant to blow things up right after Kangaskhan’s turn 1 Fake Out, including TheBattleRoom’s Hydreigon at 100%. So basically Bisharp gives me something I look for when building any team- raw power and speed. Sucker Punch boosted by Defiant and a Choice Band absolutely demolishes anything that stands in its way, notably Landorus Therians. I really liked the auto-response to Intimidates (Competitive/Defiant) and since Milotic was no longer on my team once I replaced Talonflame, the transition to Bisharp was natural. In testing, actually, I had used the two interchangeably to great success. Both fit seamlessly onto a team that need a Landorus counter. But in short, Defiant is an amazing ability that pinned Salamence and Landorus against walls. And like Milotic, it played mind games with Defiant.

Sucker Punch just boosted from CB can straight out OHKO things like regular Manectric and Mega Metagross. I actually cloned this Bisharp, slapped it on a rain team, and gave said team to my hometown friend Rafal Gladysz to use at nationals the week before. Even though Rafal is relatively new to the competitive scene, he was able to score a positive record and beat notable players like Ashton Cox in a bo3 set, which just shows how effectively Bisharp can be employed if you know when to Sucker Punch and when not to.

The switch to Knock Off from Assurance was a switch that I was satisfied with. In a Bo3 format, your opponents could scout out Assurance and figure out how to evade or protect around it. But in a Bo3 format, your opponent cannot evade Knock Off and its item reveal. So in that regard, Bisharp was relentless in its dismantling of teams.

Iron Head for fairy types. So basically Sylveon and Gardevoir. In the battles I brought Bisharp against Gardevoir, I was either a) Redirected into Amoongus b) Knocked out by a faster Hyper Voice. So I lost those matchups anyway. Low Kick was for opposing Bisharps, which, unfortunately I never encountered. I didn’t want a Jolly nature because Bisharp is the kind of Pokemon that really wouldn’t fit that personality type. Just look at its frown. Looks like a mean look to me. But really, I don’t care much for speed if I’m using Sucker Punch. Plus, the damage would be amplified at a greater rate with CB if I had Adamant instead of Jolly.

A well played Bisharp can plow through teams.

Hit hard and hit fast. Band 252/252.

CONSISTENCY

For those of you that have gotten this far, congrats (or sorry). For those of you who skimmed, I hope the only thing you didn’t pick up was my apathy towards EV spreads. Feel free to comment what you think of my team below. “Mango I hate it. It sucks and you suck.”  If you’ve stayed with me, so far, I’m sure you’ve gone through three cups of coffee, so take it easy and try decaf this time around. Anyway, we’re going to start with the next order of business which is more important than any team you’ll build: consistency. Let’s first take a look at the dictionary definition:

Consistency: the way in which a substance, typically a liquid, holds together; thickness or viscosity.
“the sauce has the consistency of creamed butter”

The following sections will direct you in the preparation of Bavarian Cream Custard.

Ok, terrible joke. I’ll be here all night. “Mango, you still suck. Stick to Pokemon.” Alright, consistency. Before writing this article, I consulted with many players on what their thoughts would be on this topic. The general consensus was that it would be a difficult topic to “teach,” but would be beneficial for the average player who places well once in a blue moon. As I write this, my goal is for novice  players to establish some habits that might lead to higher finishes more often, and for experienced players to get a look into the habits of another player and revise their current methods if they are looking for a change.

Let me talk about myself for a bit. In past reports I refrained from really talking about the physical experience of a tournament, but I see now that it is exactly the physical experience of a tournament that determines how you approach it and how you place. Quick Biography: I started playing Pokemon competitively in singles for a couple years on Pokemon Online. I then heard about VGC in 2012 and entered my nearest regionals (Madison) as a Masters division participant. I missed the Seniors cut off by two months, but I see masters is a better place to learn. The following list contains all my accomplishments. I swear, I’m not doing this to brag, but to prove a point later on:

[Madison Regionals 2012- 4th] [Madison 2013- Top 8] [Madison 2014- 2nd] [Madison 2015- 3rd]
[Nationals 2012- 3rd] [Nationals 2013- Top 64] [Nationals 2014- 9th] [Nationals 2015- 11th]
Worlds 2012- 11th

If you look carefully, you’ll notice that there has been only one event that wasn’t a top cut or Day 2: Nationals 2013 (we won’t count worlds).  If you know me personally, then you know that I only attend 2 events every year due to time constraints, travel, and protest of the CP structure. Regardless, the point is that the ratio of events attended and events top cutted is very strong. This is something that all competitive VGC players strive for naturally – once you have the taste of success (or even defeat, for that matter) you want more. You want to solidify yourself as a player, and the way of doing that is wrapping more wins around your belt.

Who’s the best player in the world? An overwhelming majority of you automatically have the name Ray Rizzo in your head. Why is it that? Is it because he used Gothitelle? Or Escavalier? Or is it because he won worlds thrice? There may be a few other players came into your mind, but I’m sure the reason they are there is because they have proven to the world over and over that they can excel in any metagame at any given time. Let me tell you a little personal story. In 2o12, my most successful year, I received a lot of backlash from the community when they saw I was running BrightPowder Garchomp. They instantly dismissed my consistent run throughout the season as a fluke and bet that I would never see success in upcoming tournaments. In the following years where I was trying to shrug off this backlash, I really learned the importance of consistency and how vital it was in rooting a player as “good.” Being a “one and done” kind of person is ok, but when you manage to prove that you can do the same thing over and over without fail, that’s when you really prove to yourself and others that you ARE as good as you think. So far, those of you out there who have done good “once” and are worrying if you’re good, you probably are. But I challenge you to try again. Challenge yourself and others around you to place as highly as you once did. You’ll be surprised at the motivation it may bring you.

A reason why I love competitive Pokemon more than any other competitive video game is because it is not a reflex-based game. Meaning, you aren’t REQUIRED to spend hours a day ensuring that your skills are sharp for the next tournament. So basically, you can drop practicing Pokemon for a few weeks, and pick right on up where you left without losing any skill. As I tell some students I teach chess to, it’s like riding a bike – once you learn how, you’ll always know how to. Of course, practice is VITAL to chess and Pokemon alike, so omitting the necessary hours it takes to hone your skills will reflect on your performance at tournaments. But let me let you in on a secret: For nine months out of the year I don’t play Pokemon. I don’t log on to any simulator or even touch my DS. This has always been the case since 2012. Why is it that I perform consistently then? Because of the way I build teams, practice, and handle game days. These are the three core aspects of consistency.

There are two times during the year I devote an extraordinary amount of time for Pokemon. Two weeks of winter break, and then the start of summer break. During these two periods, I go into this process I like to call “the works.” For 4-7 hours a day, I sit on Showdown and build a team. I spend the majority of my winter trying to come up with the perfect team. The perfect weapon for ME. I swap around different megas, different cores, different techs, different items, etc. I test defensive synergy, offensive synergy, and overall team synergy. EV spreads are the last thing I finalize. I look on Nugget Bridge to see the list of teams that were used during Winter and Fall Regionals. I think to myself “OK, these are the Pokemon I need to beat, and these are the Pokemon I should use for the most part.” With the team blueprint in mind, I think of how I would dismantle each individual team I see on those Regionals list. When I team build, I come to the understanding that to perform well, I must use Pokemon that can do well. I need to use Pokemon with the highest base stats and best relevant typing. I need to use the strongest Pokemon available in the metagame. I also need to understand that my opponents will prepare for those specific Pokemon, so I need to come in with counters to protect my core. I personally prefer team building around a mega, but I have seen a good many successful teams built in different ways. Don’t let one specific method of teambuilding bog you down.

Like I said in my team analysis, don’t try using abnormal Pokemon to accomplish goals other higher base-stat-total Pokemon can also handle. If you test out a totally niche Pokemon that yields consistent results, by all means use it! If it produces wins, it’s all you need to care about (unless you’re using Brightpowder Garchomp. Then you must suck, obviously). Certain Pokemon are standard for a reason – they’re simply the best that the metagame has to offer. That doesn’t mean there are a lot of undiscovered Pokemon waiting for their potential to be tapped into, but in all metagames there are a couple Pokemon that are ESSENTIAL to any successful team. In this season, it just so happens to be Thundurus and Landorus. If you can’t get over the fact that you’re going to have to use some standard Pokemon eventually, you’ll never finish high consistently.

The key here is to use standard Pokemon with a twist. If you’re running, say, four standard Pokemon and two strange tech Pokemon, then great! You’re off to a good start. If you’re running five strange tech Pokemon and one semi-standard, then you’re in for a rough day. When I say twist, I don’t mean “secret.” Your Cresselia running Red Card isn’t a twist. Your Choice Scarf Aegislash isn’t a twist. If you think these types of twists will win a drawn out tournament, especially best of three, you’re record will reflect. Now, if you have something like a Scarf Mold Breaker Excadrill, a Sleep Talk Sylveon, or Choice Band Bisharp (wink wink), now you’re talking. All of these twists are things that would take apart the common standard teams and strategies if played right. These are the kind of “gimmicks” that are capable of pinning your opponent against a wall, regardless if they know you have Scarf by game 2 or not.

On that note, I’d like to briefly address scouting. It happens. By the time you’re seven rounds into a tournament, everyone and their slap-happy grandpappy will know the exact EV spread and held item of your Teddiursa (except me, because I have no idea what EV spreads my own Pokemon even run). I have literally been in multiple situations where my previous round opponent is giving his notes sheet to my next round opponent right in front of me. And I never care to stop them or even voice concern. At the same time, I too have been guilty of doing the same thing, so no hard feelings. Point is, you need to be confident in what you’re running so that even if your opponent knows every item, move, and spread, you can still pull out a win. Of course, you should build your team with some “secrets” that can hopefully net you at least a game 1 win (and hopefully an overall win), but you need to ensure that your team is capable of pinning your opponent’s against the wall no matter the circumstances. THOSE are the teams that go far. Your teams need to be ones that give your opponents no breathing room. CONSTANTLY apply pressure so they either crack or help you make a prediction that seals the game.

If you punch a punching bag the wrong way 100 times, you’ll never get better. You might break your wrist and risk fracturing your forearms. On the flip side, if you punch the bag correctly and accurately 10 times, you now know how to hold your own. Just like that, there is a method in training properly. The key is to optimize your time spent; you’re trying to gain the most information and experience possible in the least amount of time. So many people go overboard optimizing EV spreads, moves, etc, when what they really need to optimize is the efficiency of their training.

So I teambuild and practice a bit during winter, but what do I do during the start of summer, leading up to Spring Regionals? I lock in my team. By now, I’ve become fairly confident in my teams ability to counter and beat the majority of teams I will encounter. Of course, adjustments should be made throughout practice if you miss something here and there, but for the most part, I’ve reached a point of no return and will not alter my core. A problem for many players is deciding on a team; they are so indecisive that they keep rotating around Pokemon never truly practicing with one comprehensive team. This remedies that problem by kind of locking you into that mentality of “I have to use this because this is what I prepared most with.” Which brings me to another point: use what you have the most practice with. Earlier I said how building a team is like crafting the perfect weapon for you. By the time your team comes out of the workshop, you need to know it inside and out. What team dismantles it? What team do you do extraordinarily good against? How would you play out the teams that have some hard counters? What are your hard counters? How do you account for unexpected events, should it come your way? All these are essential questions that should go through your head in your teambuilding process. Let me make this clear, my play-style might not necessarily be the most consistent one for you. It may be, but I think each individual player should build teams and use certain Pokemon they feel most comfortable playing around. Whether it be a Trick Room team switching around to establish a comfortable position and slowly whittling away at the opponent’s HP, or going in guns blazing with three choice-item Pokemon, find what suits you best. Me personally? I imagine myself as a spider when I play. I want to paralyze and force my opponent into a web before I devour them in one fell swoop. If I can establish positions where they’re FORCED to do something, it helps make prediction a 50/50 gambit. I like to say that leading right is half the battle. Considering an average doubles game lasts about five moves, you have no time for mistakes. Leading correctly ensures you’re applying the most pressure in the least time, so when you practice, keep in mind how many of your losses are due to leading wrong.

So teambuilding is done. Best ways of practice?

Showdown. I cannot stress the importance of laddering. I cannot stress how important it is that you play against the world instead of a few specific friends of yours. Forget what you heard about laddering. Forget the “good” player who said laddering isn’t important. Forget people who say “ladder doesn’t prove anything.” IT ABSOLUTELY DOES. It proves a plethora of things! First, it shows how ready your team is. Secondly, it shows you how good you are. Sure, you can win maybe six out of seven rounds in Swiss, but a better show for consistency would be if you win 100 battles and lose 25 on ladder. Thirdly, you gain valuable insight on a vast array of different ideas and strategies. I’ve heard complaints that the initial games of laddering are always against “noobs” using weird things. Truthfully, those are the places where I learn the most. That’s where I see ideas I’ve never seen before and make sure my team has a way of handling it (-cough cough- not that I’ve been in that area very often -starts sweating rapidly-). The further up you go on the ladder, the more standard the teams you face will be. Which is totally fine, since those are the kinds of teams you will face at tournaments. Anyway, please please please please practice laddering. The competitive boost of trying to get above your friends and the world can be an incentive, and also helps you focus on individual games. Which brings me to my next point- focus. Raise your hands if you’re guilty of going auto-pilot on Showdown. I’m guilty too. If you want to improve as a player, you need to go the extra mile. As a tournament chess player in high school, after I played a game and lost (or sometimes even won) I would go over the game with my coach. I would see where I went wrong and what I should’ve done. In my experience, this was by far the best way in which I improved. So look over your game after you lost. Look for the turn where you messed up. Slap yourself on the forehead for not realizing you should’ve trusted your gut and nailed the incoming Breloom switch-in with a Psychic. Mistakes breed knowledge, and if you fail to acknowledge your mistake or see how you committed it, you will never gain that knowledge, thus rendering that entire battle a waste of time.

Personally, I prefer the speediness of simulators over Battle Spot. I find the “download” time of information to be 4x slower on my DS, so I always refrain from practicing on it. On Showdown, on the other hand, I can play two games at once and finish them both within a couple minutes and gain that much knowledge for it. If you have no preference for the mode of practicing, I urge you to revamp your simulator approach. I know some people prefer playing on DS because it emulates the feel of playing at a tournament, which is also perfectly acceptable. I know some players who also take notes while doing Battle Spot, which is absolutely wonderful. More power to them. Do whatever makes you “download” the most information the fastest and most efficiently. Be consistent in your approach though. Be disciplined.

Of course, some of you don’t have a budgeted five weeks to “git gud,” so by all means spread out the intensity over however much time you have. Build yourself a consistent routine. Do realize that your laddering/wins will fluctuate at random periods throughout your practice times. One week you might get all the way to 1600 on the ladder, and the next you might struggle to break 1200. This is totally natural and isn’t an indicator of your skill level, so just take a break and come back to it. Burning yourself out will make you detest the game and damage your competitive spirits. You can’t place well at a tournament if you don’t have the heart and mind for it. So do yourself a favor.

Now the most important part. Game day. Alright, back to talking about me. I’m an OK team builder at best. I don’t follow the metagame and am never fully up to date on what the next big thing is or all the great ideas that people have come up with. And it’s totally my loss. In my top 4 match with James Baek I had no idea what Clefairy’s type was. I didn’t even know what it’s ability was, but it seemed like everyone and their fanny granny seemed to have known what it was used for. I was actually considering Close Combatting it at one point because I thought it was pure Normal, but had a doubt that it turned into a Fairy type (didn’t everything that was pink turn Fairy?). I don’t even know the EV spreads on my Pokemon and slap on moves because they’re convenient! But don’t be like me. Follow the metagame and try to know everything about every Pokemon possible. Perfect your Pokemon, but above all, perfect yourself and your ability to improve and place consistently. Although Pokemon isn’t a reflex-based game, it’s totally dependent on who has more knowledge about the game, so stay on top of the various mediums of Poke-information.

But back to game day. This is 55% of your success. The other 45% went into the preparation you put in. This is why players like me who are trash at EV spreads excel while others who are savants at the art may fail to get a positive record. This is why people like me don’t really need to care about what specific fourth move is placed on your Pokemon if you know how to land the other three moves on incoming switch-ins.

Physical preparation. Eat properly. Drink plenty of water. Bring a water bottle to the tournament. Exercise is also really good leading up to tournaments. I know, I know, this is a Pokemon thread, but seriously, try getting blood rushing through your veins. Being in good physical condition helps peak mental condition. And rest. Your brain needs to be amply rested, so don’t make bad decisions the night before. I know it’s hard not to stay up until 2 AM because you only get a few days to see all your buddies across the nation, but at least take it easy the night before Swiss. The tournament starting at 8 AM doesn’t really help either. Adjust your sleep routine if you can – I know some of you gamers out there go to sleep at like 3 AM! These are things your mother would say and we all know momma knows what’s best. “MommaSol?” No.

Mental preparation. Don’t be nervous. Nervousness is the #1 reason people perform worse than they anticipated. I’ll be honest, I’m probably a mediocre player at best. I don’t spend nearly as much time as I should on this game and I don’t keep up with my Pokemon knowledge. Yet, when I face some friends who I KNOW have laddered higher than me (with a much better super duper anti meta team) I’m often shocked at how poorly they play. Predictions which they could’ve made on simulators in seconds fail to emulate in a physical setting. They start making unconventional plays unlike their true selves and are on tilt for the rest of the battle because they are in a tough spot which they’re rarely in. DON’T CHOKE. Imagine you’re taking a standardized timed test. You come across a very difficult problem which you’re not sure of. Deep inside you don’t know what the answer is and will probably guess and it all depends on if you’re lucky and circled the right answer. Now, do you die on that problem and go on tilt the rest of the test? Or do you acknowledge there was nothing you can do on and move on to the next problem? Such is every turn in Pokemon. There are so many games I’ve played where it came down to 50/50 chances. My opponent and I both know what the two options are, but it’s a coin toss regardless. Is the winner better because he got lucky with heads? Not necessarily, but if the other player goes on tilt and decides to perform worse in game two, even though he know he can win, then yes, the winner deserved that win. Your performance at live tournaments are not just a reflection of your skills at Pokemon. It’s a reflection of how well you handle stress, tilt, and nervousness. If you can’t juggle all three, you’re putting yourself in a bad spot. The good tournament player is the one who can be as consistent in live tournaments as he is online.

Get over your nerves. Breath evenly and focus only on the game at hand. Don’t worry about who you’re playing. Big names are literally just that: names. Round 1 of Regionals last year, I got 4-0d by a Choice Band Crobat  (from a random player) and was ready to drop that same round. If I hadn’t gotten over my frustration and tilt, I wouldn’t have been able to come back and earn 2nd place. Channel your desire to win, frustration with losses, and other extraneous useless feelings into the game at hand and you will succeed. There is no room for your thoughts to wander and not think of every possible move your opponent can throw at you. You need to keep the same positive winning attitude throughout every game you play. You can’t fluctuate around and lose focus. BE CONSISTENT and play like your usual self.

Trust yourself. Trust your Pokemon. You know you’re ready for anything that any opponent throws at you. If you’re not, trust that your tournament persona will be able to figure things out and muscle his way through any sticky problems. Trust the team you’ve built and locked in. Don’t second guess any decisions on Pokemon, moves, items, or EV spreads. Doubt breeds fear. Fear breeds nervousness. Nervousness breeds losses. Trust that your team is the perfect sword for you. The weapon is only as good as its wielder. Play to your fullest potential and prove yourself- no one will care about the excuses you make as to why you weren’t ready. Be formulaic in the way you always set yourself up before tournaments. Consistency doesn’t happen without methodical planning!

I truly hope all of you who took the time to comb through this article will be able to take at least one thing out of this and help you become a better player. Thank you to everyone that has helped me become the player I am (you know who you are). Alex Buell, Johnathan Neville, Evan Deligiannis, and Sam Bentham for editing and fine tuning this article. And of course, a big thanks to you, the reader, for your time. See you at the top.

“You said you have a dream… That dream… Make it come true! Make your wonderful dream a reality, and it well become your truth… If anyone can, it’s you!” -N

• The Hawaiian snapback was bought when I was at worlds in Hawaii because all the pros seemed to have hats. That specific hat can only be bought at a specific store in Hawaii, so I thought it was special and indicated good luck. Just clearing things up. I’m not from Hawaii. I’m from Illinois. My parents are from India. But I study at Alabama. Got it? Good.
• Check out this guys Pokemon artwork; I really want him to get noticed by TPCi, so do me a favor and get their attention. His content found here and here is topnotch, I swear.

The post Sol’s Soliloquy on Consistency appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Hello all, my name is Stephen Gibbon or better known as Stegibbon/Hitmonste. My name might be new to the majority of you, so here’s a bit of background. I’ve played Pokemon competitively for about 3 years, initially playing singles on Smogon to start off. I made the switch over to VGC as X and Y came out, but 2015 is the first season I can claim to be a decent VGC player.

My only tournament in 2014 was the infamous UK Nationals in my hometown of Manchester. Despite the organisational problems I decided I was going to attend again, however being relatively new I only had one friend I’d made at last year’s Nationals and he couldn’t attend. I saw that the UK was about to host its first ever Regional level tournament in April so I decided to attend to make friends, so I’d have someone to talk to at the Nationals, and that was my only focus for the day.

Needless to say I was delighted with the friends I made on the day (shout outs to Jamie Kean (Sweet Clive), and John Fautley (JHNBazil)), but I was over the moon with my 4th place finish in only my second ever live tournament and a trophy to boot!

Team Analysis

My team that I used has history back to the one I was using from the Nugget Bridge Major. Unfortunately, due to real life issues, I had to drop out, but the team itself consisted of:

However, during my games in the major I found Salamence to be too much of a glass cannon, and the damage from anything other than Double-Edge was underwhelming. I needed a mega that could stick around longer and I’d seen a few articles about Mega Metagross with Substitute, which greatly appealed to me.

The Final Team

First, some testaments about the team:

“The warped lovechild of Baz Anderson’s team” – Andy Waddell (peng) in his top 8 report.

“Someone actually did top cut with Liepard and Breloom” – Barry Anderson (Baz Anderson) in his Regionals review video.

Thundurus and Suicune, I felt, were the most solid members from my Major team as the speed controllers of the team in a format where attacking first is so important, so they survived the axe. Hydreigon is always a good option for a Metagross team, with near perfect synergy and being able to hit all of Metagross’ main counters for super effective damage. Breloom replaced Terrakion as I felt the team lacked enough ways to hit bulky Water-types, and I could keep the Spore option Amoonguss had. Heatran was the final member of the team right up until a few days before the tournament when I realised how bad my Trick Room match-up was, especially with Fake Out support on the opposing team. A reasonably fast Fake Out with added disruption was needed and Liepard fit the bill perfectly.

The Team In-Depth

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Item: Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body/Tough Claws
Nature: Jolly

• Iron Head
• Zen Headbutt
• Substitute
• Protect

EVs: 44HP / 164Atk / 44Def / 4SpDef / 252Speed

A shamelessly stolen set from Nugget Bridge Major champion, Jake Muller (MajorBowman). I read his Missouri Regionals report, and his spread did everything a Substitute Metagross should, in my opinion. A 161 stat in HP to enable 4 Substitutes with no chip damage, surviving at least two Sucker Punches from 252 Adamant  Kangaskan from behind Substitutes, as well as being able to take a Sucker Punch from non-Life Orb Bisharp after one Substitute has been broken. Max Speed with a Jolly nature was very important, as it meant Metagross was faster than Terrakion, which otherwise is a threat to other members of the team, and conveniently avoids potential Rock Slide flinches from it. This left ample room for a significant Attack investment which with the Tough Claws ability deals massive damage to anything that doesn’t resist Steel and Psychic. All of this made Metagross undeniably the most valuable Pokemon of the team, contributing to most knock outs in the tournament.

Iron Head was a must on the set. With 3 Fairy weaknesses on the team, I had to be able to get rid of them before they could start wreaking havoc. Fortunately Sylveon and Mega Gardevoir were comfortably dealt with by Iron Head, meaning I wouldn’t have to risk the shaky accuracy of Meteor Mash, whilst also adding a flinch chance. Mega Venusaur was still a prominent threat in the meta, so Zen Headbutt was essential on the set. It’s 90% accuracy led me to only use it when Iron Head was the inferior option, and luckily I didn’t miss a single one throughout the tournament. Substitute was the centerpiece of the set. With the support of Liepard’s Fake Out and Breloom’s Spore, there were very few situations where it wasn’t able to set up a Substitute. It is incredibly useful on a fast physical attacker, blocking Thunder Waves, Will-o-Wisps and Intimidates.

Protect compliments Substitute brilliantly. If an opponent wants to damage a Metagross behind a Substitute, they will have to hit it twice and Metagross resists every form of Hyper Voice that can hit it through the Substitute due to being a sound move. This makes it a prime target for both of its opponents attacks. Protect can waste an opponent’s turn while Metagross’ partner attacks. It’s the best move in the game, simply.

Amon Amarth [Twilight of the Thunder God!]
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Bold

• Thunderbolt
• Hidden Power [Ice]
• Thunder Wave
• Taunt

EVs: 244HP/40Def/36SpA/116SpD/68Speed

IVs: Even Att, 30 Def

First thing I’d like to say about this Thundurus EV spread is that a Calm nature is better. To achieve the same stats, it requires eight fewer EVs, which is a whole stat point somewhere else. But this is the one I caught in game and it took me two and half weeks of soft-resetting so I stuck with it! In the previous incarnation of my team, it was holding a Sitrus Berry. I felt Suicune used it much better however, and my poor match-up against Water-types led me to throwing on the Life Orb, just to boost damage to opposing Pokemon like Suicune as well as guaranteeing the one hit knock out on Landorus-Therian without Assault Vests. Overall Thundurus did a good job in the tournament, although is was knocked out more than any other Pokemon on my team, so maybe the bulk was a waste, but it does take a hit or two nicely.

Thunderbolt is the obligatory STAB move on the set. Powerful and accurate, chance of paralysis, not much else to say. Hidden Power Ice, was my way to hit Ground-types. It’s worth noting for less experienced players that even a not very effective Thunderbolt does more damage than a neutral HP Ice, and a neutral Thunderbolt does more than a two times super effective HP Ice, so it’s only really worth using when it’s four times super effective or Thunderbolt does no damage. Thunder Wave is in my opinion, the best form of Speed control. It provides the biggest drop in Speed, cutting it to a quarter, as well as giving the opponent a one in four chance of not moving every turn, which came into play in one or two games of the tournament. Finally, Taunt shuts down so many things, stopping them from using any non-attacking moves. Excellent move, and something I saw as vital on the team.

North Wind
Item: Sitrus Berry
Ability: Pressure
Nature: Bold

• Scald
• Ice Beam
• Tailwind
• Protect

EVs: 212HP/100Def/76SpA/100SpD/20Speed

One of the bulkiest Pokemon in the game with access to two useful Speed control options in Icy Wind and Tailwind. I opted for Tailwind because I preferred the quick guaranteed +2 and I wouldn’t have to predict Protect turns. 20 Speed EVs allow it to attack before Adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-Therian when under Tailwind. Other than that I didn’t think too much about the EV spread, just making the HP number even to maximise Sitrus Berry recovery and guarantee it triggering if Suicune was attacked with Super Fang. The remaining EVs were used to make it as bulky as possible, whilst keeping some Special Attack investment. Notably this spread doesn’t OHKO Landorus-Therian 100% of the time with Ice Beam, but it wasn’t a situation I came across in the tournament.

Scald is the STAB move, 100% accurate with a good chance of a burn. Ice Beam is only really there for Grass-types and the chance to OHKO Landorus-Therian and Mega Salamence. Tailwind is there over Icy Wind for reasons mentioned earlier. It also allows my team to have the speed advantage over opposing Pokemon switching in. A lot of people run Snarl as their fourth move on Suicune, but I wasn’t using it enough in testing and there were more times I wished I had Protect. It also surprises some people as many Suicune don’t carry Protect and I could gain a lot of momentum when this was the case.

Item: Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
Nature: Jolly

• Mach Punch
• Bullet Seed
• Spore
• Protect

EVs: 252Atk/4SpD/252Speed

This set is as standard as it gets for Breloom and the majority of them you’ll come across will be this set. The Focus Sash saves it from needing any investment in bulk, so making it as fast and strong as possible makes sense.

Mach Punch is the fighting STAB and the priority is extremely useful. With the boost Breloom’s Technician ability gives it, even the bulkiest of Mega Kangaskhan are knocked out in two hits, provided it doesn’t knock Breloom out first. Bullet Seed is the primary reason I added Breloom to the team. Hitting those bulky water types for super effective damage, clean knocking them out if it hits 3 or more times, as it will do 66.6% of the time. Spore is always a threatening move, especially under Suicune’s Tailwind. It can be a bit of a mixed blessing, as a sleeping Pokemon is still a danger and it can wake up the very next turn if Breloom moves first due to sleep only being guaranteed for one turn. Protect goes with Focus Sash in a similar way to Protect and Substitute on Metagross. A Pokemon with a Focus Sash is also often a target for both opponents’ attacks and Protect allows Breloom’s partner to gain momentum.

Item: Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest

• Draco Meteor
• Dark Pulse
• Earth Power
• Flamethrower

EVs: 252SpA/4SpD/252Speed

I’m a firm believer that every team should have something faster than adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-Therian, or at least a way to make itself faster. This is to minimize the chances of a Rock Slide flinch and the damage it can cause. Of course my Suicune is packing Tailwind to solve this problem if it doesn’t flinch itself, but it’s always nice to have something faster right off the bat. Hydreigon was my choice due to its awesome coverage in its movepool and the near perfect type synergy it has with Metagross. I only brought Hydreigon to four games in the tournament and it didn’t get an attack off until my top 8 match, but it was instrumental in winning me that tie, and was incredibly useful in practice.

Draco Meteor is there for the sheer power output. The Special Attack drop doesn’t matter too much in the fast-paced VGC meta-game and it deals enough damage with STAB to warrant its use. Dark Pulse also gets STAB with the additional chance to flinch opponents. This move was my most used on Hydreigon, being able to hit most of Metagross’ counters for super-effective damage. Earth Power is also there to cover Metagross, as it will always one hit knock out Heatran assuming no Shuca Berry, whilst dealing massive damage to Mawile and opposing Metagross whilst not worrying about any popular rain support. Flamethrower finishes off the move-set. I chose it over Fire Blast because of its superior accuracy and it will one-shot Ferrothorn and Scizor anyway, two other Pokemon Metagross struggles with.

Item: Blackglasses
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Jolly

• Fake out
• Encore
• Foul Play
• Protect

EVs: 108HP/148Def/252Speed

As I mentioned, I added Liepard because of my poor match-up with Trick Room, and specifically the Hariyama + Cresselia lead. This might seem a bit intuitive, as Liepard is a very fast Pokemon and is weak to Hariyama’s STAB attacks, but it allows me to Fake out first so either Thundrus can Taunt the Trick Room setter or Breloom can Spore it or even just go right for a knock out onto Hariyama. Liepard can then threaten an Encore onto the setter the next turn, forcing my opponent to spend turns of Trick Room re-positioning. I didn’t come up against this in the tournament, but Liepard worked wonders in other situations. The EV spread allows it to survive Adamant Landorus-Therian’s U-turn 100% of the time as long as it doesn’t have a boosting item, whilst still allowing Liepard to be fully invested in Speed to be quicker than Fake Out users such as Kangaskhan, Lopunny and Mienshao.

Fake Out is a must on Liepard. With Tailwind on Suicune, Substitute on Metagross and Spore on Breloom, it allows me to be able to gain momentum right from turn 1 by shutting down one half of the opponents’ active Pokemon. Encore is a great move, especially when it gets the priority Prankster gives status moves. It forces opponents to worry about using Protect or a set up move, as I can then threaten them next turn with locking them into that move. Often this forces a switch out on my opponents end or enables me to do damage to a Pokemon that would otherwise have protected itself. Foul Play is the damage output and Liepard actually picked up a surprising number of knock-outs with it and the Black Glasses boost. Its worth noting that the move itself is totally reliant on the target’s Attack stat in the calculation, not Liepard’s. It’s how you can get away with no Attack investment on it. The last move is usually Swagger, which compliments Foul Play like bread and butter. However, I didn’t find many situations where I felt I’d rather have it over Protect, and I preferred having a 100% chance of avoiding damage that turn to a 50% chance that one of the opposing Pokemon doesn’t attack. The fact that Liepard doesn’t normally carry Protect also makes it a good surprise, as opponents usually assume they will be able to get damage off onto the slot Liepard is in and will attack there, again allowing me to gain momentum.

The Tournament

I saved all of my battle videos and have them here for your viewing pleasure:

Round 1 vs Haydn Gardner

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Looking at Haydn’s team, I saw that Metagross would run riot, especially if it could set up a Substitute. A Fire-type move from Goodra and Shadow Ball from Sylveon were Metagross’ only real threats, so I geared my first turn around achieving this. It was unfortunate that Liepard suffered a critical hit first turn, as it usually survives Iron Head from Mega Metagross. The other surprise he was packing was a fast Conkeldurr, with 252 Defense EVs and 252 Speed. Repeated Speed drops on Metagross, courtesy of Goodra’s Gooey ability, meant it eventually outsped Metagross, but by then it was too late for him to capitalize.

Win [1-0]

Round 2 vs Kim Everatt

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I saw the Charizard and Venusaur combination and led accordingly, knowing that was the biggest threat. As it turned out her Veunsaur was Mega too, which Metagross deals perfectly with. She only brought Landorus to deal with Metagross so it was surprising she let me knock it out on the first turn. From there, Metagross was never going to lose and cleaned up.

Win [2-0]

Round 3 vs Georgie Reeve

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Looking at Georgie’s team I saw three different modes, including one that was present on my team: the Liepard & Breloom, along with the Sylveon & Cresselia Trick Room mode and the famous 2014 World Championship winning Pacharisu & Mega Gyarados combination. The lead combination of Liepard and Thundrus seemed a good check to all three modes and while it was effective, I found myself forgetting Follow Me’s priority and ended up locking Pachirisu into it with Encore. I was unsure whether Taunt + Encore would cause the Pachirisu to Struggle or not, and miscounted Trick Room turns as well. Eventually though, I found my feet in this battle though and pulled through for the win.

Win [3-0]

Round 4 vs Charlie Powell

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We were called up to the stage for this game and both of us were fighting with nerves. This was a game that perfectly showcased how important board position is. I spent two turns improving my positioning with a double switch into resisted hits and sacrificing poor Hydreigon in its first taste of action to set up my Tailwind. There was also a nice double target onto Rotom when the Breloom protected as I felt he would think I would take the chance to knock it out, being faster on that turn.

Win [4-0]

Round 5 vs Eden Batchelor [Xenoblade Hero]

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My first meeting with my friend Eden who went on to a top 8 finish, and the first time in the tournament I can say that I may have been lucky to win the game with the freeze on Eden’s Ferrothorn. However, you can only play with what happens in front of you, and in the end I won on a carefully considered 50/50 which in my mind was more of a 51/49. Either way, I chose correctly and won the battle.

Win [5-0]

Round 6 vs Jamie Boyt [MrJellyLegs]

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Another new friend of mine. Jamie would go on to be undefeated in the Swiss rounds with an 8-0 record and ended up with a third place finish. Basically his team was packed full of surprises…and they worked to perfection. My assumption was that he’d Heat Wave and Thunder Wave turn 1 and that my Thunderbolt and Mega Evolving and Protecting with Metagross would put me in a position to knock out the Charizard on turn 2. How wrong I was as he went for the double set up, and from then I had no way of winning the game.

Loss [5-1]

Round 7 vs Daniel Oztekin [Necrocat219]

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Poor, poor Mawile. It tried its best, but had a terrible time with paralysis. This game was based a lot around Speed control. With Daniel’s Swift Swim Kingdra, Icy Wind on Politoed and Tailwind on Talonflame, I decided I needed to bring both of my speed controllers. I paralyzed his Mawile on the switch in and it was prevented from moving on a couple of crucial turns. A win is a win though.

Win [6-1]

Round 8 vs Jamie Kean [Sweet Clive]

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Unfortunately for Jamie, this was a top cut or bust kind of game for him. With my opponents’ win percentage, having played against three people that also made top cut already, I could probably have lost this game and still sneaked in to the top 8. Since then however, Jamie has gone on to top cut both the German and UK nationals and has subsequently attended the World Championships in August, deservedly so. In this match, however, I managed to come out on top, despite carelessly losing my Mega on turn 1. The critical hit on his Gengar didn’t matter, as I’d double targeted it with my Speed advantage under Tailwind, but Jamie will claim that the critical hit only didn’t matter due to the Icy Wind miss on Suicune the turn before. Either way, I won and secured my first ever place in a top cut at just my second tournament.

Top Cut

Getting to top cut was way more than I’d been expecting. I wanted to get here, of course, but my plan for the day was to just make friends and get some live practice for Nationals, so I was delighted to be in this position. I did however want to at least make the top 4 due to the cash prizes and trophies that were being given out. For the record, I won £25, which just about covered my petrol costs!

Top 8 vs Andy Waddell [peng]

I saw Andy’s team and I felt Hydreigon twitch in its Poke Ball. It hadn’t made a single mark on the tournament so far, but it’s time was now. It’s only threats were Terrakion and Andy’s own Hydreigon, which my Hydreigon could outspeed with its Choice Scarf.

Game 1

Despite losing Thundurus turn one, I felt in control throughout the game. It was one of those games where you just seem to predict everything correctly, but I suppose I put myself in a position where he’d have to make the safe play. I found a lot of useful information for game two as well, such as the Leftovers on his Aegislash, Charizard being knocked out by a Dark Pulse + Zen Headbutt and his own Hydreigon not holding the Choice Scarf.

Game 2

The information I gained in game one allowed Hydreigon to dominate once again. I knocked out Charizard in exactly the same way and won comfortably.

Top 4 vs Daniel Oztekin [Necrocat219]

A rematch from round seven of Swiss against a guy who is quickly becoming my nemesis! We were up on stage for the match to be streamed and maybe the nerves got to me a little bit, because some of my plays were very questionable. Anyway, here’s the video from the stream (ignore the crisp eating):

Game 1

I will forever ask myself the question “WHY DIDN’T YOU TAUNT THE SMEARGLE?!?!?” The Encore and Taunt combination was something I’d come across in game three of Swiss against Georgie’s Pacharisu, but for some reason I decided to just try to knock out the Smeargle with a Thunderbolt, having Encored it into Follow Me. The lead match up was perfect for me, but I picked my moves wrong, and to make things worse the Smeargle got all the right boosts from it’s Moody ability to tank a few hits from Foul Play. While I was making a meal of taking it down, the Kangaskhan powered up and did enough damage to my team to make the game unwinnable.

Game 2

He switched it up and brought the rain lead I’d defeated in Swiss. I got the turn one knock out on his Assault Vest Politoed, doubling up with Thunderbolt and Mach Punch, remembering it surviving on a slither of health in our earlier game. He made a questionable play switching his paralyzed Kingdra for Talonflame, expecting a Bullet Seed when I went for a Thunderbolt and a safe Spore onto the Mawile. There was another turn in the game where I Spored the still sleeping Mawile, but that was just in case it woke up going for a Sucker Punch onto Metagross.

Game 3

I led with the infamous Liepard + Breloom combination, something I’d never done before with this team. It was working well until his Kingdra got the 1 turn sleep, waking up at its first possible opportunity and knocking out my Breloom as I went to Spore the Talonflame. The next turn, however was a mistake on my end, I missed the opportunity to use Substitute with the rain up against a Talonflame and a Kingdra Locked into Ice Beam with its Choice Specs. I foolishly attacked into Talonflame’s protect with Zen Headbutt, allowing Mawile to come in and lower my attack with Intimidate the next turn, which turned out to be a game winner as it came down to my Metagross being quicker than Talonflame and missing out on the knock out with Zen Headbutt by about the amount of an Intimidate drop.

Anyway, I can’t complain. I did terrorize Daniel with paralysis and he was probably the better player on the day, so congratulations to him for placing second!

I’d also like to say congratulations to everyone else that top cut at the event, and also the organisers, Suzie and Ian who put on a great event, with everything running perfectly and making it a very enjoyable day for everyone involved.

Anyway, I’ve been Ste. I did my best, I have no non-taunt related regrets, thanks for reading!

The post The Warped Lovechild: A UK Regionals Top 4 Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Hello friends! My name is Alexander Kuhn, but most of you would probably recognize me by the name Hibiki.

I am an Austrian VGC player, currently living in Vienna, who started playing VGC in 2014. The years prior to that I’ve only watched from the sideline, not having the resources to go out and travel to events. With me becoming older, the game offering fairer ways of building teams, and Premier Challenges being introduced, I was finally able to play at events.

My 2014 season went rather poorly, as I finished 6-3 and 5-3 at the Italian and German National Championships, respectively. I was very lucky though, as German Senior Adrian S. (Chess) chose me as his legal guardian to accompany him to the 2014 World Championships, where I lost in Round 3 of the LCQ.

Despite the season being a bit of a letdown for me in terms of performance, I was still able to meet all the friends I’ve made online during the 2014 season, and I’ve been able to compete in some of Nugget Bridge’s online tournaments, even grabbing an invitation for the prestigious Nugget Bridge Invitational. I’ve decided to just keep on practicing and try my luck next year.

After playing a variety of teams in the 2015 Season, I finally managed to go deep in a tournament right after the 2015 World Championships. Despite going 0-3 at World’s Day 1, I wanted to keep trying next Season. After a measly Top 128 finish in the Boston Open I went to the Arena Cup Würzburg Regional Championship 2 weeks afterwards, and I finally managed to win a small trophy and a big chunk of CP for the 2016 Season, making it to Top 4 with a team that I had foolishly retired back around May.

I will introduce you to two versions of the team: the one I used to go 7-2 at the National Championship in Germany, and the updated version I used for the Arena Cup Würzburg.

The Team – Origins

Back in April when I was preparing for the German Nationals, I was playing around with ideas with what I could play. I am usually not too fond of going full-on standard with my teams, so I was looking at Mega Pokémon that were under the radar.

I don’t even remember how I got the idea in the first place, all I remember is my girlfriend talking about Rain Dance Thundurus at some point before, which I dismissed as a silly tech back then. I then realized that Rain Dance Thundurus would pair very well with Mega Swampert, so I started exploring the combination.

I took the idea to my good friend Aaron “Unreality” Traylor, who helped me get together a solid 6 for the team. I don’t remember what parts of the team came from him (apart from the Landorus-T, because I used his exact EV spread for Nationals), but it doesn’t matter anyways – the team would’ve never come to life without his involvement, and I am very thankful for what he has done for me this season, never dismissing my silly ideas and providing support throughout the whole year.

The basic idea behind using Mega Swampert + manual Rain is that it completely destroys Charizard Y. Mega Swampert in general is amazing against the infamous double genie combination, Landorus-T and Thundurus-I. Mega Swampert is extremly bulky too, and since Grass type attacks aren’t very common apart from Giga Drain on Amoonguss/Venusaur, it isn’t hit for Super Effective damage too often.

I will now introduce you to the team. I will provide detailed explanations for each Pokémon. I will also provide Battle Videos for the Arena Cup Würzburg, as we were able to save them thanks to the lack of tournament software.

The Team

Swampert @ Swampertite
Ability: Torrent
Level: 50
EVs: 28 HP / 236 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 220 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Waterfall
– Earthquake
– Ice Punch
– Protect

The star of the team. An incredible Pokémon that has a lot of potentional in a metagame infested with Landorus-T, Thundurus-I and Heatran. Amazing natural bulk, a terrifying 150 Base Attack stat and amazing STAB moves are its selling points. Whenever I talk to people about Mega Swampert, reactions are generally positive, but are usually accompanied by “but you kinda need to run Politoed with it right?”. I don’t like the idea of running double water types either, which is why I went for something different regarding that.

Waterfall & Earthquake are the STAB moves of choice, you don’t really have other options for those slots. Waterfall in rain is absolutely amazing, dealing huge amounts of damage to neutral targets and even to Pokémon that resist it, such as Rotom-Wash. Earthquake is a very strong spread move, that pairs up fantastically with Pokémon like Thundurus-I and Landorus-T as partners. Protect is very important to make big plays, and can also be used if you want to avoid not having the Swift Swim boost on the turn you mega evolve.

Ice Punch is used in the last slot to have a better matchup against otherwise problematic Pokémon, such as Mega Salamence and Amoonguss. It also provides better damage than Waterfall against Landorus-T outside of rain. There are a few options for this moveslot if you want to forgo the coverage for utility, such as Wide Guard, Mirror Coat or Counter. You could also run Superpower/Low Kick, but it seems obsolete as Waterfall in Rain hits hard enough already, and the Fighting type moves don’t really provide you with meaningful coverage.

The EV spread used is very simple. The HP/Def investment allows you to survive Adamant Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge 100% of the time. The speed allows you to outspeed Jolly Scarf Landorus-T in rain, which isn’t very common, but I wanted to go as fast as I reasonably could, with and without Swift Swim. Barely outspeeding Adamant Scarf Landorus-T would be my second choice, although it would put you at an awkward speed tier outside of Rain, right around Suicune and Rotom without speed investment.

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 68 Def / 4 SpA / 160 SpD / 32 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
– Thunderbolt
– Hidden Power [Flying]
– Thunder Wave
– Rain Dance

Part two of the deadly combination, Thundurus is the perfect partner for Mega Swampert. It has access to Prankster Rain Dance, which is, in my opinion, the best way to set up Rain for Mega Swampert. I almost always bring Thundurus to my games, even when I choose not to bring Swampert.

Thunderbolt is self-explanatory. I didn’t want to use Thunder because that would force me to set up rain before using my primary STAB move. Thunder Wave is used for speed control and disruption. Rain Dance should be obvious, considering the rest of the team.

The big elephant in the room here is probably Hidden Power Flying. I had a few different ideas for the moveslot before, primarily Taunt and Swagger. I chose Hidden Power Flying in the end, as it provided me with the most reliable option against Amoonguss, Mega Venusaur and Scrafty. Psychic could be used as well (thanks MajorBowman), but it would leave me weaker to Scrafty again. I don’t really think there’s a “best option” for this moveslot, but I am glad I was running Hidden Power Flying, as it helped me a lot against Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur.

When I created this EV spread I wanted to be as specially bulky as possible, as it would help me against my tougher matchups, such as Gardevoir + Amoonguss Trick Room and Rain. The spread can survive Adamant Kangaskhan Double-Edge 96% of the time and take two Choice Specs Sylveon Hyper Voices 95% of the time. It outspeeds Breloom by 1. The spread wastes 4 EV points, but that can’t really be avoided because of the Hidden Power Flying IVs.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 92 SpA / 164 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 29 Spe
– Shadow Ball
– Flash Cannon
– Substitute
– King’s Shield

Ah yes, Aegislash. Possibly one of the best Pokémon in the game right now, it’s a very valuable part of the team. Not only is it a big threat to a lot of strong Pokémon when running the Substitute moveset (Kangaskhan, Cresselia, Amoonguss), it becomes even stronger when utilizing Rain Dance. Rain allows it to use have a better time sitting in front of Heatran for example. It also helps contain what is possibly the biggest threat to Aegislash, Charizard Y.

The moveset is very, very standard so I won’t elaborate on it. I decided against using the Wide Guard + Substitute moveset as I valued the additional coverage a lot more than having Wide Guard on this particular team.

The EV spread is similar to what has been very popular in 2014. It survives Choice Specs Hydreigon Dark Pulse and allows me to use Substitute after being hit by 252+ Special Attack Shadow Ball from opposing Aegislash.
The speed stat might seem a bit weird. I decided to go with it as it allows me to outspeed standard Scrafty by 1 point, allowing me to Substitute up and still be safe on a bad prediction. I also outspeed Quiet Aegislashes and underspeed regular Modest ones, with the above Shadow Ball calculation I feel very safe going straight for Substitute most of the times. Life Orb Aegislash has become a lot more popular ever since, so reconsidering the speed might be a good idea. Maybe it was a stupid idea in the first place, I don’t know. I never had any issues with it though.

Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Close Combat
– Leaf Blade
– Light Screen  / Taunt
– Protect

I chose to run Virizion for various reasons. It provides me with an active threat to Mega Kangaskhan, Rotom-Wash and other bulky water types, it helps with the rain matchup, and it provides strong firepower in general. I believe Virizion is a very strong Pokémon, but it might be difficult to justify (heh) giving it a spot on most teams.

Close Combat and Leaf Blade are used as the standard STAB moves. Light Screen is used to help with the rain matchup at Nationals. I ended up using it maybe once, and it felt very situational, so I decided to use Taunt at the Regional. Taunt provides me with more options against certain Trick Room matchups, Smeargle and helps Aegislash set up Substitute in front of Mega Venusaur. I considered Safeguard before, even in combination with a Lum Berry and Swagger on Thundurus, but decided to go with something simpler in the end.

The EV spread is very basic, so I won’t elaborate on it.

Landorus-Therian @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs (Nationals):  140 HP / 140 Atk / 12 Def / 108 SpD / 108 Spe
EVs (Regional):  140 HP / 20 Atk / 12 Def / 140 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Earthquake
– Rock Slide
– Superpower
– Knock Off

Landorus-T gives me much needed Intimidate support and strong coverage. It also helps disrupt the enemy team with Knock Off and Rock Slide.

Assault Vest is used because I dislike the Scarf set, and the ability to switch moves gives me a lot of flexibility. It also helps me against a lot of special attackers, providing a strong switch-in option.

The moveset is very standard for the Assault Vest variant. U-Turn would have been a viable option over Knock Off, but I prefer the latter for how it can heavily weaken certain Pokémon by removing their item.

The first EV spread is a straight copy of Aaron “Unreality” Traylor’s Assault Vest Landorus-T he used to win the Missouri Regionals. He was also the one who suggested using Assault Vest to me, so big thanks to him. I changed the spread a bit for the regional, making it faster than Breloom, as that was still a very tough matchup for me and outspeeding it would give me another strong option against it. I also upped the bulk a bit, now surviving HP Ice from 4 Satk neutral nature Thundurus-I twice 99,6% of the time, turning it into a 3HKO. In retrospect, outspeeding Smeargle would’ve been useful at the tournament. But overall I was very satisfied with the second EV spread.

The last slot was Entei at the National Championship and Volcarona at the Regional Championship.

Entei @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 116 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpD / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Sacred Fire
– Stone Edge
– Snarl
– Protect

I had Entei in this slot at first to help me with my Venusaur/Amoonguss matchup. I also absolutely wanted a Fire type on the team, despite running Rain Dance, as having one is crucial for dealing with certain Pokémon in my opinion. Safety Goggles are a great item on Entei, especially since other strong options (Leftovers, Sitrus) were taken already.

Sacred Fire is the crux of this set, providing me with a strong supporting move that deals huge amounts of damage. The 50% burn chance is very disruptive, essentially increasing the power of the move. It can also disable physical attackers, although it might be a bit unreliable for that purpose. Stone Edge is there for coverage, dealing good damage to opposing Fire types. Snarl helps with disabling special attackers. Not much else to say there, it felt like my best option for this moveslot.

124 Speed allow Entei to outspeed Breloom by 2. The defensive investment allows it to survive Adamant Kangaskhan Double Edge 100% of the time, as well as Adamant Landorus-T Earthquake. The leftover EVs were put into Attack to boost Entei’s damage output.

After the National Championship I wanted to explore other options for my Fire type, as Entei was a bit too much of a sitting duck a lot of times. In the end I settled with Volcarona (which coincidentally is my all-time favorite Pokémon), using a set very similiar to what the runner-up at this year’s World Championship, bidc, used.

Volcarona @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 84 Spe
Timid Nature
– Flamethrower
– Bug Buzz
– Quiver Dance
– Protect

Volcarona is a scary Pokémon to face, regardless of what set it runs. I decided on using a bulky Rocky Helmet Quiver Dance variant after exploring Rage Powder for a bit. I realized Rage Powder doesn’t actually do much for my team, while Quiver Dance turns Volcarona into a huge, active threat that passively threatens physical contact-move attackers with Rocky Helmet + Flame Body, primarily Mega Kangaskhan.

I run Flamethrower over Heat Wave because I already have strong spread move options in Earthquake, and running Heat Wave kinda defeats the purpose of trying to beat Aegislash, as it could just Wide Guard your attack. It also provides slightly stronger firepower on a single target.
Bug Buzz is something I decided on very late, I tried both Hurricane and Bug Buzz in this slot before. In the end I settled with Bug Buzz to help against Hydreigon and Cresselia, two Pokémon that pose a great threat to the rest of my team, especially if they’re paired up. It also provides the strongest damage output against neutral target when rain is up.
Quiver Dance is amazing on a defensive build, as after one turn of setup you become a very active threat that your opponent has to react to, while still having amazing durability and disruptive options in Rocky Helmet and Flame Body. It kind of forces your opponent to deal with it, while on a Rage Powder build they can chose to ignore you for a few turns if necessary or play around your redirection. I am glad that I chose to go with Quiver Dance, even though I haven’t used it much in tournament. I never felt the need of having Rage Powder during the tournament either, so I am glad I dropped it in favor of Quiver Dance.

The EVs allow it to outspeed Adamant Landorus-T by 1 point. The defensive investment allows it to survive Jolly Kangaskhan Double-Edge 98,4% of the time and Adamant Landorus-T Rock Slide 93,7% of the time (15/16).

Arena Cup Würzburg

Unfortunately I didn’t keep detailed notes during the National Championship in Bochum, so I will focus on the Regional Championship. The Arena Cup Würzburg happened on September 5th 2015. The attendance was 100 for Masters, and it was a 1 day event.

European Regionals don’t have access to tournament software yet, so we were able to save Battle Videos.
I asked Eiganjo to kindly upload the Battle Videos to the Nugget Bridge Youtube channel, and I will write a few lines for each match I played.

Rounds 5 and 7 don’t have videos. My opponent prematurely closed his 3DS during Round 5 (I don’t blame him at all, and I will explain why), while I closed mine in Round 7 (oops).

Round 1- Emre Sahan (4-3)

Round 2 – Andreja “Naruto Uzumaki 97″ Turic (5-2)

Round 3 – Paul “the guy with the Snorlax cap and Rotom shirt” Hüster (4-3)

Round 4 – Markus “13Yoshi37″ Stadter (5-2)

Round 5 – Laurin “Jen Ledger” Arz (5-2)

No video for this match.

I noticed Laurin thinking hard about the matchup pre-game, giving me a feeling of uneasiness, as I was going into the match blind. After seeing the team I thought that it was certainly winnable for me. He led with Thundurus and Kangaskhan, and I made a terrible turn 1 decision, leaving Thundurus in and switching out Swampert, predicting him to anticipate the play of switching out Thundurus and attacking with Swampert. He was afraid of my Thundurus outspeeding his, so he doubled into the Thundurus slot with Fake Out and Taunt (I had Thunderbolt locked anticipating the Taunt). Rather devastated about what had happened, I still tried to bring it back. I used Flamethrower into his Kangaskhan slot with Volcarona. He ended up switching in his Landorus-T in that slot, which received a lucky burn from my Flamethrower, while his Thundurus taunted my Volcarona. I don’t remember what exactly happened afterwards, but I remember having Swampert out at some point, that froze his Thundurus with Ice Punch. He later also received a Flame Body burn on his Kangaskhan through my Volcarona. I only have Icy Wind written down on his Milotic, so I assume my last in the back was Virizion. Understandably angered, he closed his DS at the end of the match. He calmed down a bit though and shook hands with me, telling me it wasn’t my fault that he got haxed this badly. He also told me that he was having a streak of luck prior to this battle, and that it was only a matter of time until the bad luck struck back at him. I was glad that he didn’t put the blame on me directly, and we were able to talk a little later on in the tournament. Again, I’m terribly sorry that you ended up losing this game after I made such a bad play turn 1 Laurin.
5-0

After going 5-0 I felt rather safe in terms of cutting, but I knew that I could still go 5-2 and miss out on resistance. There also weren’t a lot of potential opponents left, so I looked around a bit at what kind of teams I could possibly face. The only thing I was able to really find out is that Dominic (TheFlashColonel) who got Top 4 in Italy, was playing Kangaskhan Smeargle, which made me feel a bit uneasy.

Round 6 – Dominic “TheFlashColonel” Scheffler (6-1)

Round 7 – Felix “Brisingr” Wintersberger (6-1)

No video for this match.

I felt confident in winning this matchup, seeing he was running double Mega with Gardevoir and (probably) Charizard Y. He ended up bringing Charizard Y to the matchup over Gardevoir, which threw me off. I think my leads were Aegislash and Swampert, which was pretty bad for me. He didn’t realize I had Mega Swampert and was caught off guard by the Rain Dance from Thundurus. His Landorus-T was rather slow and not Scarfed. I don’t remember much else. All I remember is that, at the end, it was my Thundurus + Swampert against his Thundurus + Charizard Y with Landorus-T in the back. I was also more or less sure that his Thundurus didn’t have Taunt. All I had to do was set up rain, hit my Waterfall into the weakened Thundurus and then clean up the Charizard Y in rain and the Landorus-T in the back. Easy, right?

Welp, he pressed the Swagger button, my Thundurus hit itself, he removed the Thundurus from play with Flamethrower, and my Waterfall didn’t deal any meaningful damage to his Thundurus. Game over.
I was pretty mad for a minute, closing my 3DS, shaking hands and getting out of there as fast as possible.
I was able to calm down after a bit though, realizing it was indeed his best play and I was fortunate enough all tournament not to receive any unfavorable dice rolls at all besides that single Swagger.

After Swiss was over I was tracking down my previous opponents to find out about my resistance. I ended up having 2 4-3s, 3 5-2s, and 2 6-1s in my schedule, giving me top notch resistance. I also thought at first that 2 5-2 players would make it into cut, clumsily forgetting about my friend Luis Conti from Spain who also managed to go 6-1, allowing merely 1 5-2 to make it into cut. In a slight state of panic I still realized that I possibly had the highest resistance out of all the 5-2s. When standings were finally put up, Markus Stadter told me that I had made it. After checking the standings myself, I saw that I was tied with another player in resistance, and won out on opponent’s opponent’s win ratio. Lucky me.

As the 8th seed I had to play the 1st seed of the tournament, my friend Sebastian “Sebixxl” Ernst, who went 7-0. All I could find out about his team was the fact that he played Whimsicott + Terrakion.

Top 8 – Sebastian “Sebixxl” Ernst (7-0, T8)

I decided to stick with my leads as they were pretty much optimal for the matchup, and I knew that Landorus-T could survive the possible -2 Special Defense Hyper Voice. He ended up leading Scrafty and Heatran, and I felt that I could simply double switch into Thundurus + Swampert and go from there. That ended up working out perfectly, swinging momentum in my favor, allowing me to dictate the pace of the match. He had to react to my plays every turn, and he wasn’t able to swing back momentum until the very end, allowing me to dominate the second game with just Swampert and Thundurus.

I was incredibly happy about winning this match, as it secured my very first VGC trophy, a good chunk of CP and 18 TCG booster packs. Sebastian and I shook hands, and I went off to prepare for my Top 4 match, which happened shortly afterwards.

Top 4 – Pascal “Moeper” Kiefer (6-1, Winner)

I don’t have much to say about the match, apart from the fact that it was stupid of me not to bring Virizion to game 1, as it would’ve increased my chances of winning. It might have also been better to leave Landorus-T at home (I should know that, I play Mega Swampert after all), bringing Swampert, Virizion, Thundurus and Aegislash. I also hesitated to test the waters with our Swamperts game 1, but towards the end of game 1 I realized that his Swampert was slower than mine, valuable information I could’ve used way earlier on in the game.

Despite my weak performance in this match I was excited about getting this far. I gave Pascal my Mega Swampert plushie to support him during finals, which he ended up winning. We talked a bit about our EV spreads and stuff, and I was glad someone else managed to take this amazing Mega Pokémon so far in tournament. With that I finally did it, I got my first trophy!

Conclusion

Thanks for reading my article, I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions about my team, feel free to send me a PM on Nugget Bridge.
See you next time!

The post In the Distance, That Day, When the Star Became Music: Regional Top 4 & National Top 64 Team Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Hello there, my name is Alex Underhill or Lexicon. On Pokemon Showdown I’m either Lexicon08 or bellius. I’m here to provide details on the team I used to reach 6^th place at the U.S. National Championships. Before I go into the team, I’d like to introduce myself, as many of you may not know me.

I’ve played Pokemon all my life, every generation since the beginning. In 2010 I started playing competitive Pokemon after hearing about it from a friend. I played Smogon singles on Pokemon Online and occasionally dabbed in doubles just for fun. My teams were far from serious, featuring Surf spam and Beheeyem with Simple Beam and Psych Up used on a Shell Smash Clamperl. It worked once. Early 2014, I started to consider doubles as a more appealing format, as singles went quite downhill that year in my opinion. I started practicing on Pokemon Showdown and watching Aaron Zheng’s videos to start to study up on the game, and had planned to attend U.S. Nationals as my first event. I also played in the June International right before my trip. I showed up with a Chesnaught, Florges, and Mega Manectric team and finished 5-4. The event was incredibly fun and I was hooked, I wanted to attend more of these events. Once Premier Challenges rolled around, I attended nearly all of them in the Chicago area. I wasn’t looking to rack up Championship Points, just to practice and gain experience at live events. Since then I have gone to 15 Premier Challenges and Madison Regionals and hadn’t cut a single one. I had accumulated 61 Championship Points through two top 8 Premier Challenge finishes (that had a top 4 cut), one top 64 Regional finish, and 235^th place in the April International Challenge. Going into Nationals this year I jokingly told my friends all I needed was Top 4 for my world’s invite. Never did I imagine that goal would be within reach.

A quick note on best-of-three Swiss. PLEASE make this the format for all events, from here on out. Best-of-one leaves no room for players to adapt, and lets cheesy surprise teams make it to top cut. In Day 1 Swiss, my record in game one alone was 5-4. I managed to turn around several of my sets once I knew my opponents team and play-style. I wouldn’t say luck factored into any of my losses, I felt proud I tried my hardest in all of them. In the end, the winner in best-of-three Swiss is the better player 90% of the time. This is format The Official Pokemon Company International should keep.

Team Building

After Winter Regionals, one team that caught my eye was that of Matthew Greaves (picklesword). His team consisted of Mega Tyranitar, Excadrill, Cresselia, Gyarados, Amoonguss, and Aegislash. I was a fan of using Tyranitar as it had the ability the check the Metagross Hydreigon duo that gained popularity after Winter Regionals. I took the Tyanitar, Cresselia and Excadrill from his team, removed Tyranitar’s Mega stone, and added a Mega Salamence. I had been using Semi-Trick Room with Mega Salamence for the majority of the 2015 season, so I decided this team could do the same. For the last two, I saw the Gastrodon Rotom-Heat combo on Battlespot and thought it looked fun. I knew Rotom-Heat commonly used Safety Goggles and Gastrodon added water coverage while still being immune to Sandstorm chip damage. They also could function very well inside and outside of Trick Room, so I was pretty set on adding these two Pokemon. Since the formation of the team in Mid-April, I have changed nothing on it. This team has been used at 1 Premier Challenge, 1 Regional, both the April International Challenge and the June International Challenge, and two practice events. Despite never performing outstandingly with the team, I was very comfortable with it. I think having experience with your team is a huge factor when going into an event. Changing the team last minute leads to having less practice with the team, and not knowing typical damage amounts. I felt confident going into Nationals that this team was the best choice for me.

The Team

All the nicknames are based on my favorite bands and I tried to match the name to the image of the Pokemon.

2DoorCinema♣ @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Earthquake
– Protect
– Iron Head
– Rock Slide

Excadrill is no surprise to see on a sand team. I liked Excadrill’s ability to hit hard and fast, while having good type coverage. Focus Sash was never of interest to me, as the extra power Life Orb offers is too good to pass up. Iron Head helps cover the popular Fairy type Pokemon and offers the nifty chance to flinch. With an even faster Rock Slide than Choice Scarf Landorus-Therian, you can imagine how many games have been swayed by the dice roll that Rock Slide is. Earthquake is just too strong, and paired with a Helping Hand boost from Cresselia, it can wipe out teams.

At Nationals Excadrill was my least used Pokemon. This was mostly due to rampant Intimidate users, which scares the mole back into his hole. However, in matches where my opponent had no Intimidate users, Excadrill caused a lot of damage.

The EV Spread is very basic but still matters for a couple of reasons. 252 Speed Adamant Nature Excadrill outspeeds Timid 252 Smeargle by 1 Point. I also wanted to at least force a speed tie with opposing Sand Rush Excadrill. As for the 4 EVs in defense, check below for two simple damage calculations. If the 4 EVs were placed into HP, Breloom’s Mach Punch would have a 6% change to OHKO. Kangaskhan’s Low Kick goes from a 41% change to OHKO to a 25% chance.

Defensive

• 252 Atk Technician Breloom Mach Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Excadrill: 152-182 (82.1 – 98.3%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Low Kick (60 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Excadrill: 166-196 (89.7 – 105.9%) — 25.4% chance to OHKO

Offensive

• -1 252+ Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Excadrill Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Sylveon: 190-226 (94 – 111.8%) — 68.8% chance to OHKO
• 252+ Atk Life Orb Mold Breaker Excadrill Helping Hand Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Shield: 198-237 (118.5 – 141.9%) — guaranteed OHKO

Smallpools @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 244 HP / 108 Def / 68 SpA / 84 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Scald
– Ice Beam
– Earth Power
– Protect

I chose Gastrodon primarily for its Storm Drain Ability, which supports the three Water weaknesses this team has. Excadrill and Rotom-Heat enjoyed being able to stay in against Water type threats to continue to output damage. Rotom-Heat especially enjoys this as it can use Thunderbolt without any threat of a returning super effective attack. The coverage Gastrodon provides made it quite the surprising threat in Trick Room. Scald was STAB and very nifty for the occasional burn. It also helped a lot during the tournament against Ice Beam-using Water types. Gastrodon got frozen TEN TIMES over the course of the event. This never bothered me, since Gastrodon can always thaw itself if it uses Scald. Ice Beam was a great tool for eliminating opposing Salamence and the ever present Landorus-Therian. This could also help against the occasional Grass type Pokemon. Earth Power rounds out the set for an additional STAB move, helping to deal with Heatran, Metagross, and Aegislash after it transforms into its Blade Forme. Protect was added as Sitrus Berry provided plenty of recovery. Due to Gastrodon actually posing quite the threat, Protect helped it avoid double targeting.

Gastrodon really shone in this tournament, shutting down a lot of water Pokemon and picking up several KO’s. He was likely the crowd favorite, as many of my opponents thought it was neat that my team included Gastrodon. When I played a match on TV, Gastrdon’s cry got to play over the speakers, which is always hilarious. East Sea Beast Sea.

The EV spread was completely ripped off the Nuggetbridge Damage Calc, as when I’m creating a team, I typically borrow EV spreads from other teams so I can get to the play testing stage faster. This one was created by Eugene Tan (IoriYagami) included a Bold Nature, which I changed to Relaxed with a 0IV in Speed to be faster in Trick Room. It was designed to take an Adamant Mega Kangaskhan’s Double Edge without the Sitrus Berry and to be able to OHKO 252 HP / 4 Sp Def Heatran with Earth Power. It doesn’t OHKO many Landorus or Mega Salamence, but this spread got the job done.

Defensive

• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 244 HP / 108+ Def Gastrodon: 176-209 (81.1 – 96.3%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
• 252+ SpA Choice Specs Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 244 HP / 88 SpD Gastrodon: 189-223 (87 – 102.7%) — 18.8% chance to OHKO
• 4 SpA Amoonguss Giga Drain vs. 244 HP / 88 SpD Gastrodon: 160-192 (73.7 – 88.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery

Offensive

• 68 SpA Gastrodon Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Heatran: 196-232 (98.9 – 117.1%) — 81.3% chance to OHKO
• 68 SpA Gastrodon Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Blade: 174-206 (104.1 – 123.3%) — guaranteed OHKO
• 68 SpA Gastrodon Ice Beam vs. 12 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 164-196 (98.7 – 118%) — 93.8% chance to OHKO

Passion Pit @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 220 HP / 100 Def / 188 SpA
Bold Nature
– Helping Hand
– Psychic
– Ice Beam
– Trick Room

This is a Pokemon I have been using all season. The bulk is comfortable and helps make easy switch ins, while offensive coverage is fairly decent. Cresselia filled an important role on this team. Ice Beam helps a lot against one of Sand’s greatest weaknesses: Landorus-Therian. I chose Psychic over Psyshock as most Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur were often built for Physical hits. Psyshock would have helped against Terrakion in Sand, but that is about all that I can think of. When I build teams with Earthquake, I like as many Ground immune Pokemon as possible. Cresselia could switch in on my own Earthquakes and provide Excadrill with a Helping Hand. Lastly, this team built to have a Trick Room aspect and Cresselia is my favorite Trick Room setter. I wouldn’t have changed any move on it for anything else, despite having such an impressive move pool. The main reason I ran Leftovers was just to counteract Sandstorm damage. Many times I considered swapping Gastrodon, Rotom-Heat, and Cresselia’s items around, but I think they fit best where they are.

Cresselia saw a lot of usage at Nationals. This is because Trick Room was a great option against many teams and caught a couple of people off guard. Also, when Intimidate is present, I prefer to bring my Trick Room Core as they are much less susceptible to Intimidate. The support Cresselia provided was unmatched by any other Pokemon. Helping Hand was even more useful in tournament than in practice, turning 2HKO’s into OHKO’s and 3HKO’s into easy 2HKO’s.

I wanted Cresselia to tank hits while still providing threatening damage to ice weak Pokemon. The spread is one I’m sure you’ve all seen before, I found it in Aaron Zheng’s Cresselia video and haven’t looked back. It’s effective and although people do damage calculations for it, it still works. Having 223 HP also minimizes Sandstorm chip damage.

Defensive

• 252+ SpA Choice Specs Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 220 HP / 0 SpD Cresselia: 176-210 (78.9 – 94.1%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off vs. 220 HP / 100+ Def Cresselia: 112-135 (50.2 – 60.5%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ SpA Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 220 HP / 0 SpD Cresselia: 174-211 (78 – 94.6%) — guaranteed 2HKO

Offensive

• 188 SpA Cresselia Ice Beam vs. 12 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 164-196 (98.7 – 118%) — 93.8% chance to OHKO
• 188 SpA Cresselia Psychic vs. 252 HP / 52 SpD Mega Venusaur: 84-102 (44.9 – 54.5%) — 37.5% chance to 2HKO

WalkTheMoon @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
– Draco Meteor
– Fire Blast
– Return
– Protect

My favorite 2015 Mega, the versatility makes Mega Salamence quite the offensive monster. I find that the things Trick Room struggles against, Mega Salamence does well against. While I have been using it most of the season alongside Trick Room, a good example of Mega Salamence Trick Room would be Harrison Saylor (Crow) and Collin Heier’s (TheBattleRoom) Spring Regional Team. I chose Return reluctantly over Double-Edge, because I didn’t like the way recoil stacked with Sandstorm chip damage. The power was missed, but at least I didn’t knock myself out. Draco Meteor helped in the Mega Salamence mirror and provided stronger damage in the face of Intimidate. Helping Hand Draco Meteor was a great way to deal with Rotom-Wash, a Pokemon that my team could not cover very well offensively. I wanted another powerful Fire move on the team and Fire Blast fit the slot. I didn’t use it a ton in the tournament but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything else. It chipped Aegislash, occasionally OHKO’d Ferrothorn, and provided a way to beat certain Steel types when Rotom-Heat wasn’t there.

I brought Salamence to probably around 50% of games. The games that I brought it, it was always worth it. Fighting types can be a pain and Salamence either knocked them out or scared them away. I’m sure some people expected Hyper Voice at some point, but Return does more damage overall and provided much more utility against the likes of Conkeldurr.

This Salamence is literally the exact same Salamence I brought to Nationals last year in 2014, as a Choice Scarf variant. I swapped 252 Sp Atk to Atk and vice versa for the 4 EVs in Atk. I didn’t intend to survive Ice Beams, so the Naive nature really did not bother me. The damage from Return was far more important to be than hitting harder on the special side, as I typically only used those for super effective OHKOs or chip damage. No bulk, straight offense puts pressure on the opponent, and I can usually knock out Pokemon before they attack. Also forcing opposing Salamence to at least speed tie is nice, which I actually ran into quite often. On a side note, my Salamence had an imperfect Sp Def IV, since breeding for 6 perfect IV’s isn’t so easy.

Defensive

• 4 SpA Politoed Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Mega Salamence: 156-184 (91.7 – 108.2%) — 43.8% chance to OHKO
• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Salamence: 133-159 (78.2 – 93.5%) — guaranteed 2HKO

Offensive

• 4 SpA Mega Salamence Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Blade: 166-196 (99.4 – 117.3%) — 93.8% chance to OHKO
• 4 SpA Mega Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Salamence: 188-224 (109.9 – 130.9%) — guaranteed OHKO
• 4 SpA Mega Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 60 HP / 4 SpD Hydreigon: 186-222 (106.2 – 126.8%) — guaranteed OHKO
• 252 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Return vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard Y: 151-178 (98 – 115.5%) — 87.5% chance to OHKO

Magic Man @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 236 HP / 84 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 148 Spe
Modest Nature
– Overheat
– Thunderbolt
– Will-O-Wisp
– Protect

Gastrodon’s partner in crime. The pair of Gastrodon and Rotom-Heat had a lot of synergy. Gastrodon does not like Grass types or physical attackers, which Rotom-Heat could scare off or at least cripple with Will-O-Wisp. Having Levitate was a huge plus, as it allowed Rotom to dodge my own Excadrill’s Earthquakes. With the combination of Excadrill, Rotom-Heat and Gastrodon, only half my team could be Thunder Waved. Rotom and Tyranitar were the two Pokemon that could function best inside and outside of Trick Room. While Rotom leaned more on the fast side, Tailwind teams and fast physical attackers best be wary once Trick Room is set up. The moves are standard. While Safety Goggles is a common item on Rotom-Heat as is, it helps even more when added to a Sand team. Amoonguss was a common site through the day and Will-O-Wisping or KOing despite redirection helped seal up some games.

During the tournament, Rotom-Heat got a lot of opportunities to cripple teams with burns. Water type Pokemon were also a common site, and with Gastrodon by it’s side, Rotom-Heat was free to Thunderbolt. I rarely used Overheat against any Aegislash I saw, as I feared they would survive and get the Weakness Policy boost. Typically I used Will-O-Wisp to start, which covered more options, such as King’s Shield and switches. Will-O-Wisp stacked with Sandstorm damage chipped away my opponents health quite effectively.

The EV spread speed creeps Bisharp and is generally physically bulky. Despite little investment in offense, the damage output was still very noticeable. I didn’t want my Rotom to be too fast as it needed to function well in Trick Room.

Defensive

• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 236 HP / 84 Def Rotom-H: 124-146 (80 – 94.1%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Landorus-T Rock Slide vs. 236 HP / 84 Def Rotom-H: 68-80 (43.8 – 51.6%) — 5.9% chance to 2HKO

Offensive

• 36+ SpA Rotom-H Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 52 SpD Suicune: 102-122 (49.2 – 58.9%) — guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage and Sitrus Berry recovery
• 36+ SpA Rotom-H Overheat vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Amoonguss: 206-246 (93.2 – 111.3%) — 62.5% chance to OHKO
• 36+ SpA Rotom-H Overheat vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 122-146 (73 – 87.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO

Cherub @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 84 Def / 4 SpA / 84 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Rock Slide
– Crunch
– Low Kick
– Protect

Tyranitar caused the most damage this Independence Day. Scarf variants of Tyranitar are weak and limiting. With Fighting, Dark and Rock coverage, there was a lot Pokemon Tyranitar could cover. The factor that sets my Tyranitar apart from most was the item choice. Weakness Policy activated many times throughout the event, nearly every set I played. Because Tyranitar has so many weaknesses, it gave me a lot of chances to set it off and dish out damage. Hyper Voice, Earthquake, Power-Up Punch, and Scald were some of the many moves that fail to OHKO Tyranitar, which gave Tyranitar the chance to OHKO back. My team lacks an effective way to deal with Kangaskhan, as it has only one fighting move. Low Kick either OHKOed Kangaskhan after it tried to Power-Up Punch me, or chipped it enough that Sandstorm damage would KO it in a couple of turns. Helping Hand from Cresselia also helped if Tyranitar could not get the Weakness Policy Boost. A +2 Attack Rock Slide or Crunch would do a lot of damage to Pokemon that did not resist it. Once my opponent knew about Weakness Policy, they had to fear setting it off or face the consequences.

The Trick Room mode of the team was quite commanding during the event, and Tyranitar was the head of it. Often times I could lead with him, get a Weakness Policy boost, and wreak havoc one Trick Room was set up. He also helped out during the fast mode, as Excadrill can be quite lackluster without him. Two times I successfully activated my own Weakness Policy and benefited, which I’ll go into during the respective battles.

Finally an EV spread I created on my own. 4 EVs were put into Sp Atk because they would be wasted elsewhere. Sadly Tyranitar sits at a base speed of 61, leaving him just above common Trick Room Pokemon and Aegislash. Despite that, having minimum speed ensured I always win the weather war, bar the uncommon Hail. I had a lot of goals for this Tyranitar when I first came up with the idea, so I could make as much use of Weakness Policy as possible. While it may look silly to have 84 EVs in 3 stats, it accomplished everything I wanted to.

Defensive

• 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 84 Def Tyranitar: 168-200 (81.1 – 96.6%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ SpA Choice Specs Hydreigon Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 84 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 102-120 (49.2 – 57.9%) — 95.3% chance to 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Power-Up Punch vs. 252 HP / 84 Def Tyranitar: 156-184 (75.3 – 88.8%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 84 SpD Tyranitar in Sand: 102-122 (49.2 – 58.9%) — 98% chance to 2HKO
• 252+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Solar Beam vs. 252 HP / 84 SpD Tyranitar: 160-190 (77.2 – 91.7%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ SpA Ludicolo Scald vs. 252 HP / 84 SpD Tyranitar in Rain: 162-192 (78.2 – 92.7%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 84 Def Tyranitar: 164-195 (79.2 – 94.2%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• -1 252+ Atk Landorus-T Superpower vs. 252 HP / 84 Def Tyranitar: 184-220 (88.8 – 106.2%) — 37.5% chance to OHKO
• -1 252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 84 Def Tyranitar: 84-102 (40.5 – 49.2%) — guaranteed 3HKO

Offensive

• +2 84+ Atk Tyranitar Crunch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Metagross: 192-228 (123 – 146.1%) — guaranteed OHKO
• +2 84+ Atk Tyranitar Low Kick (100 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 248-292 (147.6 – 173.8%) — guaranteed OHKO
• +2 84+ Atk Tyranitar Low Kick (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 226-266 (106.6 – 125.4%) — guaranteed OHKO
• +2 84+ Atk Tyranitar Crunch vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Aegislash-Shield: 192-228 (114.9 – 136.5%) — guaranteed OHKO

Team Modes

Trick Room

These were the four I brought most in the tournament. Trick Room Offense isn’t always prepared for, especially when they see Mega Salamence and Excadrill in Team Preview. I was able to set up Trick Room quite often, taking games pretty quickly after doing so. Intimidate was usually the factor that switched my team to this mode, as common Intimidate users in the forms of Landorus-Therian, opposing Mega Salamence, and Arcanine did not enjoy dealing with Gastrodon. This mode also helped against opposing weathers, as Gastrodon, Rotom-Heat and Tyranitar caused problems for Rain and Sun. The biggest problem for the Trick Room mode would be Snarl, as three of the Pokemon used exclusively special attacks.

Fast Offense

Does the opponent have Intimidate? If not, this was usually the way to go in game one. Excadrill and Tyranitar would typically lead to give myself the speed advantage. I then decided if Tyranitar was worth keeping in, or if I should switch to a Pokemon immune to Earthquake to put on offensive pressure. Salamence and Excadrill cover each others weakness’s pretty well, barring bulky Water types. This is not to say I would always bring these four Pokemon. Gastrodon and Cresselia made plenty of appearances alongside these Pokemon to patch up weak points.

Common Leads

The obvious sand lead. Because my Tyranitar uses absolute minimum speed, I could usually guarantee Sand would be up Turn One.

I lead with these two if I wanted Sand and Trick Room, as my opponents would typically Protect or switch out their weather user. Also Tyranitar could bait a super effective attack, survive, and have a Weakness Policy boost to abuse in Trick Room.

If I wanted to use my Trick Room mode, but I knew Kangaskhan would be a problem, or had Low Kick, these were the two Pokemon. Turn One I either set up Trick Room, or Kangaskhan got burned.

/ 

Anti-lead if I feared Kangaskhan and Breloom. Intimidate and Will-O-Wisp plus the threat of a super effective move targeting Breloom usually put me at an advantage. Tyranitar would sit in back so I could switch it in, knock Breloom down to its Focus Sash, and finish it off with Sandstorm damage.

Threats

Rain

Gastrodon couldn’t quite wall out the pineapple-duck thing. Salamence carried my only super effective move against Ludicolo, but didn’t enjoy taking an Ice Beam beforehand. My typical answer was Cresselia + Tyranitar to have the weather advantage, and threaten Ludicolo once it activated Tyranitar’s Weakness Policy.

 Kangaskhan + Breloom

These two honestly weren’t that bad, I just needed to lead cautiously and use Sand to chip away Breloom’s Focus Sash. Kangaskhan can be really annoying to face in best-of-one, as it becomes a huge mind game for me. Fake Out or Protect? Return or Double Edge? and most importantly: Power-Up Punch or Low Kick? I used game 1 to try and learn this information, so I could play more informatively the rest of the set.

Pokemon I Did Not Face

,,+

I was fortunate enough not to face these Pokemon at Nationals (bar Bisharp), as they gave me trouble in practice. Mega Gyarados ignores Gastrodon and abuses my team’s huge Water weakness. Intimidate helps it even more, as Mega Salamence’s Return hardly bothers it. Bisharp can hit many Pokemon on my team hard, and for super effective damage. I played around it and saw very few, so I didn’t need to worry. Perish Trap with Politoed took away my speed advantage and losing the ability to switch hurt. Lost to this nearly every time I faced it in practice, but never saw it at the live event.

The Tournament

My notes included only the Pokemon my opponent had/brought to our games, so I’ll talk briefly about what I remember and what I found significant.

Day 1 Swiss

 Round 1: Gabriel Berrios (2-3)

It’s go time! Round 1 I get paired up against somebody I didn’t know, which is always a plus. The team looked bulky and slow, so I decided I would match that with my usual Trick Room Pokemon. Turn 1 it’s my Rotom and Gastrodon vs. his Scrafty and Cresselia. He uses Fake Out on my Rotom and Skill Swaps away Gastrodon’s Storm Drain as I Scald. Not a great start to the tournament. I then proceed to Will-O-Wisp his Scrafty and discover it has a Lum Berry. I freeze Cresselia luckily and somehow manage to turn the game around into a win. Game 2 I used all my information from Game 1 and put myself in a favorable position. Fire Blast from my Mega Salamence fails to OHKO his Ferrothorn, which is scary, but didn’t end up helping my opponent all that much. I seal the game up with Mega Salamence’s strong offense.

G1:W/G2:W/G3:-

Win (1-0)

 Round 2: Aaron Liebersbach [Arch] (7-2)

This was the round they handed out the Blaziken Promo Card that had a move called Clutch, so you already know the end result. He had a standard looking team, something I felt prepared for. Kangaskhan ended up being very bulky, surviving Low Kick from Tyranitar and Return from Salamence with ease. Snarl Suicune can be a pain to deal with, and Thundurus’ Swagger caused some problems. Trick Room mode was brought every game, except with Salamence in the last one. One of the closest sets I played Day 1, and I felt my opponent honestly beat me. I’m happy I got to play him as he was a very nice guy and we talked through the rest of the weekend.

G1:L/G2:W/G3:L

Loss (1-1)

Round 3: Jay Simpson (4-5)

A very 2014-looking team, with the obvious addition of the new and improved Mega Salamence. A lot of his Pokemon were fast and frail so again I used the Trick Room mode. Gastrodon’s Ice Beam failed to OHKO his Garchomp, which he told me was Sand Veil Brightpowder. Thankfully I hit the next Scald and it was never an issue. Special Mega Lucario in Game 1 managed to do a lot of damage, but thankfully it did not knock out my Mega Salamence with Flash Cannon despite it’s Naive nature. It came down to my Rotom vs. his Tyranitar in a one on one, outside of Sand. He revealed Thunderbolt and Ice Beam and never went for anything else, so a strange moveset to say the least. Game 2 I know I successfully set up Trick Room and cleaned up with Gastrodon.

G1:W/G2:W/G3:-

Win (2-1)

Round 4: Evan Bates [Veteran Padgett] (7-2)

Ludicolo Kangaskhan struck fear right into my heart. I knew if I wanted to win this set, I had to preserve Tyranitar to do damage to the two of them. Trick Room with Tyranitar was my usual lead, but I learned Kangaskhan had Low Kick at the cost of Tyranitar. Game 2 I went in with the same strategy and managed to squeak out a win. Game 3 it came down to Tyranitar and Gastrodon against  a low health Kangaskhan and Ludicolo in Trick Room. I did not like the situation, but I called several 50-50 plays correctly and managed to win a game I probably shouldn’t have.

G1:L/G2:W/G3:W

Win (3-1)

Round 5: Johnathan Neville [TM Gold] (3-3)

I attended Madison Regionals so I recognized the name and the team.  The lack of Intimidate and glaring weakness to Excadrill meant Fast Mode got it’s first chance to shine today. Turn 1 I lead with Tyranitar Excadrill against Sylveon Kangaskhan. I was content to take a Fake Out on either Pokemon, as Iron Head onto Sylveon would do great damage or Hyper Voice would activate my Weakness Policy to allow Low Kick to clean up Kangaskhan. He swapped out Sylveon for Yanmega and Faked Out Tyranitar, so Yanmega takes around 70%. After that I’m not exactly sure what happens. I know Sylveon activates Tyranitar’s Weakness Policy and gets critical hit by Rock Slide in return, putting it in range of Sandstorm damage. Excadrill Rotom-Heat and Tyranitar were about all I needed to win 2 games quickly and easily.

G1:W/G2:W/G3:-

Win (4-1)

Round 6: Kenan Nerad [Lucien Lachance] (5-4)

Another Gastrodon! Also Arcanine can cause some trouble depending on the set they are running. I felt I was prepared for Metagross Hydreigon but Game 1 the Dragon type with Arcanine was too much for me. I did learn his Arcanine ran Close Combat, which was helpful to know. Despite losing Game 1 with my Sand Mode, I felt with the information I learned it could still pull out the win. Turn 1 Game 2 I lead Tyranitar Excadrill against Arcanine and Gastrodon. I decided to Earthquake without Protecting Tyranitar, as a -1 Attack Earthquake wouldn’t hurt myself too much. He switches Arcanine out for Hydreigon and I crunch his Gastrodon at +1 thanks to the Weakness Policy. It pays off as Gastrodon goes down. I manage to swing Game 2 my way and Game 3 I go with the same game plan, but sub in my own Gastrodon. I almost let my Salamence get knocked out by Extremespeed from Arcanine, finally telling me the dog was Choice Banded. Thankfully I pulled a switch and managed to knock out the Arcanine with Tyranitar. This set was another incredibly fun one, 3 great games.

G1:L/G2:W/G3:W

Win (5-1)

Round 7: Kyle Morris [XiciousVGC] (5-4)

Another standard looking team, which I felt comfortable with Trick Room against.  I underestimated Scizor throughout the whole set, it ended up being a bigger problem than I would have liked. Game 1 I managed to win only due to his Scizor activating Weakness Policy and getting Crunched at +2. Landorus was Assault Vest with Stone Edge, Scizor had Superpower, and Kangaskhan had Low Kick which created all sorts of problems. Game 2 my opponent was too ready for Trick Room. Game 3 Gastrodon managed to get 2 Scald burns on Cresselia and Kangaskhan, which helped a lot. I wouldn’t say they changed the outcome, but they made my plays a lot easier to make.

G1:W/G2:L/G3:W

Win (6-1)

Round 8: Kevin Reed [Tm-Silv3r] (7-2)

My first possible chance at making Day 2, my opponent told me he was definitely feeling the nerves. Our teams looked very similar, though his lacked the Trick Room option. Minimize Clefable. Game 1 he won mostly because I couldn’t hit the thing and it constantly redirected attacks. Throughout the set he kept bringing his Excadrill and abusing my Sand, so props to him for calling that. Game 2 came down to just Clefable vs. Gastrodon, both at full health. He starts to set up Minimizes, but Gastrodon doesn’t miss! Earth Power nets one Special Defense drop and Kevin decides its not worth it. Game 3 ends in nearly 5 minutes. I lead with Salamence and Excadrill and start calling all of his Protects. Turn 1 he switches his Salamence for Azumarill while I just Iron Head and Return the Clefable for a knock out. Next turn I Earthquake and Return Azumarill while he Protects his Excadrill. I didn’t lost a Pokemon, the game ended in a flash. I made Day 2! I was super excited to have a cool head going into Round 9.

G1:L/G2:W/G3:W

Win (7-1)

Round 9: Aaron Zheng [CybertronVGC] (8-1)

When I looked at the pairings, I couldn’t believe it. I’ve been watching Aaron since I started playing, so it was an honor to get to play him, especially with us both at the top. He was the only undefeated at this point in the tournament, so I knew I was up for a challenge. I lead with Cresselia and Rotom-Heat and set up Trick Room. I then proceed to double switch into Tyranitar and Gastrodon as they improved my board position. I feared Rotom-Wash’s Will-O-Wisp onto Tyranitar, so I had Gastrodon use Earth Power onto my own Tyranitar. Giving myself the +2 in Attack was enough for Crunch to OHKO the Rotom before it got to move. He switches in Salamence and I Crunch that slot at +1, which he swaps for Aegislash. Another OHKO for Tyranitar. Trick Room was too hard for Aaron’s team to stop, despite Aegislash and Amoonguss. Game 2 I made no changes, feeling confident after the result of Game 1. Aaron came prepared for my lead, with Aegislash and Rotom-Wash, so I quickly switched Cresselia for Gastrodon and Overheat Aegislash for ~80%. Amoonguss comes in and dies to a combination of Will-O-Wisp damage, -2 Overheat and Ice Beam from Gastrodon. Aaron manages to kill Gastrodon with Landorus-I when it comes in and then proceeds to Hydro Pump my Rotom-Heat for nearly an OHKO. Cresselia and Tyranitar finish the game in Trick Room. Thanks for the games Aaron, and congrats on Top 4!

G1:W/G2:W/G3:-

Win (8-1)

 Day 2 Swiss

 Round 1: William Hall [Biosci] (37th)

Day 2 is under way! The team looked very interesting, Mega Gardevoir with Sand and Trick Room was something I looked into right before Nationals, but didn’t feel I had enough practice with it. I knew my Fast Mode would do pretty well here, as he had no good way to stop Excadrill’s offense. Somewhere along the lines in the first game, it comes down to a weakened Landorus and a Mega Gardevoir vs. my Excadrill and Tyranitar with Weakness Policy activated. He figures I won’t try to Iron Head Gardevoir, and he was correct, and switches Landorus into Amoonguss. However, I go for Rock Slide and get a flinch, which lead to Tyranitar KOing the Gardevoir. After that I sealed up Game 2 with my fast offense. Gastrodon refused to flinch in the face of danger, as Tyranitar used Rock Slide onto it several times. The coverage Gastrodon provided lead me to get another win.

G1:W/G2:W/G3:-

Win (1-0)

 Round 2: Paul Chua [pwny person] (10th)

My Paul Chua match up isn’t the greatest. I have played Paul three times on Battle Spot and lost three times. Somebody who is very comfortable with Rain, especially Ludicolo Rain, meant I was in for some trouble. I knew if I wanted any chance at winning, I would have to conserve my Tyranitar. It caused the most damage and kept the weather in my favor. Throughout the set, I felt Paul always had the advantage, the better board position. I Crunched into several King’s Shield’s. The two games I had the opportunity to play against Paul ended quickly. I was happy I had the opportunity to play and talk to him, he was a very nice guy. Sorry to hear you bubbled!

G1:L/G2:L/G3:-

Loss (1-1)

Round 3: Raphael Bagara [rapha] (2nd)

I had several games of practice against this team, as many people have run this on Pokemon Showdown and Battlespot. Going in, I knew my primary damage output would come from Salamence and checking Thundurus and Landorus from ruining my dragon’s fun. I don’t remember all the details, but I know that luck was on my side. I believe I froze Gardevoir in one of the games, and it never thawed. Raphael was super nice about all his misfortune, and kept a level head. Congrats on turning things around after our set and making it all the way to finals!

G1:W/G2:W/G3:-

Win (2-1)

Round 4: Kolby Golliher [Lovetrain] (13th)

Somebody had to make day 2 with Smeargle. I wasn’t too worried about the beagle, as Sandstorm damage took away it’s Focus Sash and I had multiple Pokemon that out-speed it. The fact that such an offensive, frail team made it this far told me this guy knew how to play. Early in game 1, I learned Kangaskhan’s fighting move was Power-Up Punch, which meant Tyranitar was safe. A +1 Low Kick failed to OHKO Kangaskhan though, which meant this Mega was built to take hits. Landorus-Therian was Choice Scarfed, which makes it easy to play around once it locks into a move. I also found out Aegislash did carry Wide Guard. Game 1 my Sand offensive overwhelmed his Pokemon, and locked my up a Game 1 victory. Game 2 Kolby was more prepared for it, and Sylveon put out too much damage. We moved onto Game 3, and to my surprise, Smeargle was his lead. I was not too prepared for this in the lead, so I was forced to switch in Tyranitar and use Return with Salamence. The Focus Sash activates, and Dark Void comes out. Salamence thankfully dodges it, while Tyranitar takes a nap. Fast forward a couple of turns, and it’s Cresselia and Salamence vs. Landorus-Therian and Sylveon. I anticipated Landorus U-turning out into Aegislash, so I used Helping Hand and Fire Blast onto that slot. The Fire Blast whiffs, and Sylveon takes out my Mega. Excadrill and Cresselia in the red are my last two. I make the decision to Helping Hand Earthquake despite the possible Wide Guard. I call it correct and pick up a double knock out. Landorus has no one move it can lock into to beat my remaining two, so I finish it off and the set.

G1:W/G2:L/G3:W

Win (3-1)

Round 5: Demetrios Kaguras [kingdjk] (15th)

My Sun match up looked pretty good, even with the common Landorus-Therian. I knew Rotom-Heat and Tyranitar would help a lot in this match. To support them, I wanted Gastrodon and Cresselia because the former two had poor match ups against Landorus and Terrakion. Trick Room nearly netted me Game 1, as it came down to Rotom vs. Charizard outside of Sun. Charizard was at -2, and two Overheats took out my low health Rotom before 1 Thunderbolt could KO Charizard. Game 2 I saw no reason to change, and it paid off. I picked up early KO’s which lead to Suicune vs. Gastrodon and Rotom. Calm Mind Suicune threw me for a loop, but ultimately died by getting whittled away every turn. In the 3rd Game, around turn 3, things were looking favorable, I had Trick Room up and Gastrodon was threatening KO’s. Then, my opponents battery goes on red.. The judge won’t let us move, and Demetrios informs me that his 3DS dies almost instantly once on red. Sure enough, I click my moves as fast as possible but his 3DS dies one turn later. It’s out of my control but I still felt bad.

G1:L/G2:W/G3:W

Win (4-1)

Round 6: Hayden McTavish [Enigne] (2nd)

Hayden was the only remaining undefeated player, sitting at 5-0. Finishing 4-2 gave me a chance to make the bubble through resistance, but a win assured me Top Cut. Our match was put onto the TV, so I put my cartridge into the streaming 3DS. Thanks to teamrocketelite, I have videos of the matches! I’ll post them below, but talk about the games briefly. Conkeldurr goes down turn 1 in Game 1, netting Tyranitar an easy win. Weakness Policy activates after a Helping Hand Earthquake from Salamence, but I survive with ease and clean up the game. I learned he had Choice Scarf Rotom-Wash, Life Orb Conkeldurr, and Light Screen Cresselia. Game 2 Rotom-Wash locked into Will-O-Wisp, which lead to it becoming useless. Conkeldurr became the only remaining Pokemon, against my Gastrodon, Tyranitar and Salamence, which I safely wrapped up.

Game 1

Game 2

G1:W/G2:W/G3:-

Win (5-1)

I guaranteed making it into Top Cut! My friends all congratulated me, as well as many other big name players. My goal of Top 4 suddenly seemed attainable. Only one more best-of-three.

Top Cut

Top 8: Toler Webb [Dim] (1st)

Again, we were set up on one of the streaming TV’s. This time, Toler forfeited his 3DS, while I kept mine. While I didn’t like rain, Ludicolo was absent in my opponents team, which was a relief. Amoonguss, however, meant trouble. Gastrodon seemed huge in this match despite that, as I only needed to check Amoonguss and Gardevoir for it to do well. Politoed ended up causing me a lot of problems. Turn 1 I discovered Landorus-Therian was not Choice Scarf, which is always helpful. I anticipated Toler Protecting Politoed against my Rotom-Heat, knowing I had Safety Goggles. I targeted Amoonguss and lost my Rotom very quickly. Gastrodon was slower than Amoonguss, which is normally not the case. Twice, I attempted to finish off Politoed from ~50% with Salamence’s Draco Meteor. Both times it survived in the red, which lead to a quick faint for my dragon. Next time, I hope to be more ready for a player of Toler’s caliber. Congrats on taking the title, you earned it through your play.

G1:L/G2:L/G3:-

Loss (6th)

Conclusion

I’m grateful I got to carry this team so far, I had loads of fun at Nationals this year. My friends were very supportive and seeing them once again at Nationals was a blast. The Pokemon Community is a great one, and I continue to make more friends as I continue to attend events. Since I’m done playing for this season, at least I got to play so many matches in my last VGC 2015 tournament. Unfortunately, I missed Worlds by one best-of-three set. Making Top 8 at Nationals still means a lot to me, Worlds invite or not. Going forward, I plan to attend more events in 2016 to put myself in a better spot CP-wise for next year Nationals! There’s still a lot for me to learn, and I plan to put in the work to improve. Thanks for reading such a long winded article, please tell me what you thought!

Shout Out’s

• The Illinois VGC Crew – luisgqmetal, mangosol, kamaal, swanner, agentorangejulius, mario c, bagofchips99, darb, stephen, wesley, revinoctre and anybody I forgot
• Rebecca Cartwright for hosting the Illinois Premier Challenges
• Braverius, Unreality, CybertronVGC, and Arch for talking and congratulating me
• Ryan Auld and my bro Henry for accompanying me and for all the good times.
• Last but not least, my girlfriend Gina. Thanks for helping me keep a level head and coming to every event to cheer me on!

The post Fourth of July Slugfest: Top 8 U.S. Nationals Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

How’s it going, Nugget Bridge?  My name is Matteo ‘Matt’ Dorrell, and I’ve been playing VGC since March.  I built a team on Pokémon Showdown and won a tournament there, so I bred the Pokémon in game. The team then got me close to a 1800 rating on Battle Spot. As a beginner I was quite proud of what I had achieved with this team, so I decided to really test its mettle at a real competition: UK Nationals in Manchester.

When I first built this team, I had in mind a certain move: Rock Slide. Many people consider it to be the best move in the game, so I wanted to find a suitable user of it. I first considered the ubiquitous Landorus-Therian, but I came to think of it as an extremely overrated Pokémon. Many opposing teams had Bisharp or Milotic to counter Intimidate, and Landorus-T just didn’t seem to have enough power to pick up the KOs I needed. I then switched to Terrakion for additional power, but I found that it was easily hit by a status move or knocked out entirely; I tried Aerodactyl too, but it played much like Terrakion. Finally, I found Kabutops, one of the coolest looking Pokémon available. Even though its stats were fairly average and its typing wasn’t great, I found a way to use its strength and make my team work.

Kabutops @ Life Orb
Swift Swim | Adamant
196 HP / 252 Atk / 60 Spe
– Waterfall
– Rock Slide
– Low Kick
– Protect

• OHKOes 4 HP / 0 Def Landorus-T with Waterfall at -2 Attack in rain half of the time
• OHKOes 252 HP / 0 Def Sylveon with Waterfall in rain most of the time
• OHKOes 4 HP / 0 Def Heatran with Low Kick
• OHKOes 140 HP / 0 Def Thundurus-I with Rock Slide
• Withstands Jolly Landorus-T’s Superpower most of the time
• Withstands Adamant Mega Kangaskhan’s Low Kick

Kabutops’s Swift Swim doubles its Speed in the rain, allowing me to delegate most of its EVs into HP instead. With minimal investment, it hits 216 Speed after the boost, handily outpacing every common Pokémon in the metagame. Kabutops’s power is impressive, knocking out many threats with a rain-boosted Waterfall. The flinch chances of its STAB attacks also come in handy in tight situations. Kabutops also helps out greatly against Japanese sand, as it gains a ton of Special Defense and can take out Tyranitar and Excadrill in a single hit. I had considered Knock Off over Low Kick, but I would have lost a very significant coverage option.

Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Drizzle | Modest
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
– Scald
– Ice Beam
– Rain Dance
– Encore

As the only legal Drizzle user, Politoed makes it onto the team for obvious reasons. Scald and Ice Beam are two very useful attacks; the former provides crucial chip damage that allows Kabutops to snag OHKOs on Zapdos, Aegislash, and Cresselia, while the latter takes out annoying Grass-types and Mega Salamence. Rain Dance gives Politoed a good surprise option against Mega Charizard Y and Tyranitar, allowing me to keep the weather in my favor; being Choice-locked into Rain Dance isn’t a huge issue, as Politoed typically wants to switch out to preserve Drizzle anyway. I chose Encore over Hydro Pump in the last slot to pick up an advantage against Fake Out users; this didn’t really work out in practice, so I probably should’ve used Helping Hand instead to make Kabutops even more of a monster.

Talonflame @ Choice Band
Gale Wings | Adamant
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
– Brave Bird
– Flare Blitz
– U-turn
– Taunt

This set is pulled from Alex Ogloza’s 2014 US Nationals team. Talonflame just has an answer to everything; Trick Room, Tailwind, or sand up? No problem, priority Brave Bird takes care of every problem. Many people seem to have underestimated Talonflame, but it can turn a game around in the blink of an eye. The bird also handles Grass-types very well, threats that would otherwise doom this rain team. U-turn served as my counter to Perish Trap, but I rarely used it even when its intended use case occurred. Taunt was used as a last-ditch atempt to shut down Tailwind, Trick Room, or Aegislash, and it allowed Talonflame to occasionally masquerade as a Life Orb variant.

Manectric @ Manectite
Lightning Rod / Intimidate | Timid
4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
– Thunder
– Thunderbolt
– Hidden Power Ice
– Protect

Looking at the team so far, all three Pokémon are weak to Electric-type moves. Most opponents wouldn’t think twice against bringing Thundurus against this team. Manectric allowed me to handily disrupt those plans with Lightning Rod, redirecting those attacks and picking up a nifty Special Attack boost in the process. Thunder dealt tremendous amounts of damage, especially after a boost, while Thunderbolt gave me a more consistent backup option. In retrospect, I should’ve used Flamethrower instead of Thunder, as I faced many sun teams and did not get many chances to actually hit targets with the stronger move.

Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Iron Barbs | Sassy
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
– Power Whip
– Gyro Ball
– Curse
– Protect

• OHKOes 252 HP / 212+ Def Sylveon with Gyro Ball at +1 Attack
• OHKOes 252 HP / 164 Def Rotom-W with Power Whip at +1 Attack
• OHKOes 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan with Gyro Ball at +1 Attack after recoil damage

You might notice that this Ferrothorn is extremely specially defensive; I realized that Rocky Helmet and Iron Barbs would deter my opponents from using contact moves (mostly physical) against Ferrothorn, so I EV’d it to take the special attacks that would be inevitably thrown at it. In lieu of Attack investment, I put Curse on the set. It ended up being a great choice, as Ferrothorn was typically given free reign to boost while Kabutops and Politoed knocked out opposing Fire-types. After a single boost, Ferrothorn becomes extremely powerful, knocking out several common threats. It’s always a great feeling when Ferrothorn switches in on a Mega Kangaskhan’s Fake Out; however, as you’ll see shortly, skilled players can sometimes make a smart prediction for a free attack.

Serperior @ Leftovers
Contrary | Timid
252 HP / 4 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 244 Spe
– Leaf Storm
– Glare
– Taunt
– Protect

While Serperior might seem like an odd choice for the final spot, it covered several holes in my team. I needed a powerful special attacker, but I also needed a secondary Taunt user to deal with Trick Room and some form of Speed control. With Contrary, Serperior could take advantage of opposing Icy Wind and Snarl while boosting itself with Leaf Storm. Taunt allowed me to prevent Tailwind and Trick Room without forcing Talonflame to lock itself into it, while Glare provided much-needed paralysis support (and even had the bonus of being able to hit Ground-types). I invested into HP and Speed to allow Serperior to take hits while boosting up, as well as allowing it to outpace Thundurus.

Day One (Swiss Rounds)

Anyone who attended the UK Nationals will tell you that the tournament was an unorganised mess and had us all loitering around for 3 or 4 hours before any games even began.  Although for everyone else this was a nightmare, it gave me the opportunity to make new friends who supported me all weekend, despite never having met me.  I think the confidence boost this gave me had a part to play in the events that were to follow.

Game 1 – Sergio Marcos

His team:

()

I brought:

Seeing his team, I thought Kabutops could do what he does best, as long as I could get rid of the Amoonguss with a Brave Bird and the Azumarill with Thunder.

He led off with Gengar and Lopunny, and at the time I was pretty certain that his Lopunny was the Mega of the pair.  Expecting a Fake Out and Will-O-Wisp onto my Kabutops, I protected, and had Politoed target the Lopunny with a Scald.  As it turns out, the Gengar was the Mega as it sang the Perish Song.  *sigh*  Fortunately, I did predict the Fake Out correctly and left the Lopunny with only the tiniest bit of health or brought it down to its Focus Sash; it didn’t get knocked out, that’s for sure.  Politoed and Kabutops went down to Perish Song easily after the three turns, as I fell straight for the Eject Button Amoonguss.  Believing that the game was already over, my last two Pokémon, Manectric and Talonflame came out against what were his Mega-Gengar and Azumarill, which is when I started thinking.

His win condition was to get off another Perish Song with either Pokémon and to then stall out the last couple of turns with the two extra Pokémon he has in the back.  The obvious play here was to Brave Bird the Gengar and Thunder the Azumarill, so all he had to do was switch in Amoongus for Azumarill and Protect the Gengar, while following up with redirection and Perish Song.  Was I overthinking my situation?  I probably was, but my prediction turned out to be spot on, as Amoonguss went down easily to a Brave Bird, while Thunder went into Gengar to knock it out too.  Lopunny and Azumarill come out from the back, but now it was his turn to believe the game was all over.  This doesn’t mean that he didn’t put up a good fight until the end, as Lopunny used Fake Out on Manectric while his Azumarill went for the Perish Song.  As his Lopunny had gone down to Brave Bird, he was left with his Azumarill against an on-point Talonflame and an angry Manectric.  In a last ditch effort, Azumarill went for the triple Protect, but fortunately for me, only got the double.

Sergio Marcos ended making the top cut with a 7-2 record, coming 21^st  overall, which is very impressive, considering he lost his first battle of the tournament.  Good game, Sergio!
1 – 0

Games 2 & 3 – Micky Orchard & Alex Monks

Although I definitely won both of these games by leading Politoed and Kabutops, my memory is almost blank.  I know for a fact that both players used a Mega-Kangaskhan and I succesfully lured both players into having them use Fake Out on Ferrothorn.  Not to downplay their efforts, I’m quite sure that both games were close even if turn one went my way both times.  Manectric won the game both times with Lightning Rod boosts and a lucky critical hit at the second game.  I’d have remembered if my opponents were nasty, so I can only assume they were absolutely swell people.
Looking at the standings, my eyes spy that they both narrowly missed making the top cut with 6-3 and 5-4 records respectively.  Good Game Micky and Good Game Alex!
3 – 0

Game 4 – Matteo Gini (Matty)

His team:

()

I brought:

Fancy getting a game against someone who shares my name!  As our names suggest, I got to speak Italian with him, which was a pleasant surprise.

He lead with Charizard and Sylveon, which I was comfortable with.  Having a strong suspicion that he would Mega-evolve, I had Politoed do his Rain Dance and protect with Kabutops.  Matteo did in fact Mega-evolve with the Charizard and had his Sylveon use Hyper Voice.  Politoed took a lot of damage, but didn’t faint.  Knowing that his Charizard was too valuable to him, he switched it out.  Kabutops really shone as he picked up knock outs on both Sylveon and Landorus-T.  I did also play quite recklessly as I did lose Politoed a little bit too early.  On the final turn, his Charizard was up against my low-health Manectric and Ferrothorn, with the sun up.  Manectric managed to knock out the Charizard in one hit with a critical hit, which Matteo said had mattered, as his Charizard was bulky enough to take a Thunderbolt from Timid Manectric.

The critical hit might have set Matteo back a bit, but he still made the top cut with a 7 – 2 record, finishing 13th overall.  Good Game Matteo!
4 – 0

Game 5 – Harry Aurime (Adaranoy)

His team:

()

I brought:

Looking at his team, I made the schoolboy error of not thinking about Suicune’s Tailwind, meaning I didn’t lead with either Serperior or Talonflame to taunt it away.  Instead I lead with Politoed and Kabutops again, seeing as no Pokémon on his team particularly scared me and I had been leading the pair in every game to great success so far, as he lead with Suicune and Bisharp.

This is when I realised that he could Tailwind and seriously diminish my chances of winning, even if I didn’t feel that threatened by his team.  I decided to have Kabutops Rock Slide and hope for the flinch on Suicune.  I was going to Scald the Bisharp but realised that the only play that would make sense for him would be to Protect the Bisharp, so I went for the Scald on Suicune just to get free damage off and maybe hope for the Burn.  Thankfully, Harry is a calm and gracious player, because two critical hits, a burn and a flinch on his Suicune meant that his game plan was probably set back by miles.  But it did not stop there.  He had Sylveon and Kangaskhan in the back, but neither could make a significant impact on the game as Kabutops got even more flinches with Rock Slide while Manectric paralysed everything it touched.

The loss here unfortunately set Harry back a lot, as he narrowly missed making the top cut with a 6-3 record.  I had a friendly rematch against him after I got knocked out of the contest.  The rematch was just as eventful.  Good Game, Harry!
5 – 0

Game 6 – Matthias Suchodolski (Lega)

His team:

()

I brought:

Fun fact: When I was a kid, I was gifted Pokémon Gold Version in German, so that I could learn the language.  Being able to speak German at the Nationals with Matthias was another pleasant surprise.

Being ecstatic with what I thought would be an easy match-up for my team, I lead with my five-win-streak pair of Politoed and Kabutops, because they had done me proud so far.  Just like in games two and three, I kept Ferrothorn and Manectric in the back to lure in Fake Outs from Kangaskahn and electric-type attacks from Rotom-Heat respectively.  He lead with Kangaskahn and Rotom, which made me very happy.  If I could predict Matthias’ moves to a tee, I would win the game easily.  My plans however, fell apart from turn one.  Rotom switched out for Amoonguss, which was to be expected but his Kangaskhan became the first of the competition to use Fake Out on Politoed instead of Kabutops.  Ferrothorn came in, but I was already disheartened.  The game was still quite close, as Ferrothorn managed to set up enough turns with Curse to knock out quite a few Pokémon, including his Kangaskhan which was burned from a Politoed Scald the following turn and doing significant damage against Amoonguss.  With Terrakion and Rotom-Heat in the back, Ferrothorn struggled to not get knocked out in one turn.  Kabutops would have had free reign if I had bought Talonflame for the Amoongus.  I’d say this was my biggest mistake.

For 9 swiss rounds, Matthias impressively went unbeaten and came 5^th overall.  Good Game Matthias!
5 – 1

Game 7 – Terence Dray (Ty Flowsion)

His team:

()

I brought:

The first thing that struck me seeing his team was Reuniclus.  I knew Reuniclus was a Trick Room setter, but I couldn’t even begin to guess what its defensive stats were.  My guess was that it was a slightly less bulky Cresselia with higher offensive potential.  His Reuniclus was level 49, which made me assume that it had to be able to outspeed something in Trick Room to presumably beat it, my guess was Amoonguss (turned out I was right).  I was tempted to lead Politoed and Kabutops again as an attack from both could knock Reuniclus out, especially if it had to compensate defensive EV’s for Special Attack to knock out Amoonguss.  But I saw other problems, namely Charizard-Y and Scrafty who could both severely hinder my plans to disrupt Trick Room.  I decided to lead with Politoed and Serperior, as Politoed could try getting a burn off on Scrafty or Rain Dance after Charizard Mega-evolves while Serperior could stop Reuniclus from setting up the Trick Room with Taunt.

Terence led with Reuniclus and Staraptor.  I hadn’t even really considered him leading with Staraptor.  In a moment of bewilderment, I used Taunt on the Reuniclus with Serperior as planned, but completely forgot about Staraptor being able to use Final Gambit.  I lost Politoed, meaning that I had already lost the weather war on turn one.  The battle wasn’t lost, because Kabutops had me covered with his Rock Slides.  I was also sure that Kabutops could outspeed his low Speed Charizard because I had prevented the Trick Room.  The only Pokémon Terence had in the back that could potentially cause me problems were Breloom and Scrafty, who were both easy pickings for Talonflame.  He switched in Charizard as my Kabutops came out.  Even if  I did lose my Politoed, I felt that I had the advantage.  Rock Slide was the most obvious move to go for with Kabutops, while I correctly predicted the taunted Reuniclus to switch out.  Charizard used Protect while Scrafty came in to a Glare from Serperior.

I didn’t know what to expect next, and I was also suddenly not so sure whether or not my Kabutops could knock out the presumably bulky Charizard, especially after the Intimidate and Fake Out from Scrafty.  I decided to play safely and switch to Talonflame.  I’d say that this was a misplay.  I would have been far better off stalling out the Fake Out with a double Protect and then switching, but I think I was afraid of the Reuniclus switching back in for the Charizard.  He fakes out the Talonflame and goes for the Heat Wave, putting Talonflame at about half health.  Knowing that Terence would risk too much with a Solar Beam prediction, I switched in Kabutops for Serperior.  I made Talonflame Brave Bird Charizard instead of Scrafty, just in case Scrafty should decide to do anything like Protect.  Having his Charizard at low health would also be good, as a Rock Slide from Kabutops would guarantee the knock out.

Then came the play that won Terence the game: his Scrafty using Quick Guard.  I did no damage that turn and his Charizard managed to get yet another Heat Wave off, knocking out Talonflame in the process.  Out of options, I knew I had to commit to trying to getting lucky with Rock Slide flinches and the chance of full paralysis.  My Serperior went for the Glare on the Charizard, but Terence switched it out for Reuniclus.  Scrafty either flinched or got fully paralysed, it didn’t move, that’s for sure.  Next turn, I knew I had to get rid of the Scrafty as it was the only immediate threat to Kabutops, so I had Serperior target it down with a Leaf Storm.  But the unboosted Leaf Storm was nowhere near enough to knock out the Scrafty.  Scrafty overcame the Rock Slide flinch and the full paralysis to knock out my Kabutops with the help of both Pokémons’ Life Orbs.  To add salt to the wound, the Reuniclus managed to set up the Trick Room, which decided the game.  Serperior did manage to get a knock out on Scrafty during the last few turns because of Reuniclus getting fully paralysed, but did not stand a chance against the Charizard in the back.

Using this win, Terence solidified his chances and made the top cut with a 7-2 record, coming 12th overall.  Good Game, Terence!
5 – 2

Game 8 – Reece Timms (ChicoMono)

His team:

His team:

()

I brought:

It struck me as odd that I was paired with someone who was at a 4 – 3 record and as such, already out of the competition.  I would discover the reason later, but I did joke about bribing him to let me win.  Being such a kind-hearted guy, Reece said he wouldn’t mind losing and only planned to play for fun.  This did end up being quite a fun game as Reece brought an interesting team with him.  I didn’t struggle much in this battle, but I did have to do multiple double-takes when his Lapras dodged a Rock Slide from Kabutops, survived a Thunder from Manectric, and knocked Talonflame out with a Weakness Policy-boosted Hydro Pump.

Even though Reece was knocked out of the competition, he still finished relatively strong with a 5 – 4 ratio.  Good Game, Reece!
6 – 2

Game 9 – Yohan Pagonakis

His team:

()

I brought:

Another fun fact:  At the same time that I was gifted a German copy of Pokémon Gold Version, I was also gifted Pokémon Red Version in French, with the exact same aim: to learn the language.  Being paired up against Yohan and speaking French with him meant that I had spoken a total of four languages in one day, which I wasn’t expecting.

Tensions were high along the 6-2 table, as everybody was mentally preparing for the battle that would decide their place in the top cut.  I didn’t know at the time, but Yohan is a veteran player, having gotten 15th place at the German nationals a couple weeks before.

I led Politoed and Kabutops as per usual and had Politoed do a Rain Dance, because he led with Charizard.  The game went pretty smoothly from there, because Charizard locked into Solar Beam allowing Kabutops to knock it out.  The game was decided when Talonflame picked up a KO on Conkeldurr at -1.  Good Game Yohan!
7 – 2

With this final win, I made the top cut, ranking 8th in Swiss being the highest ranked player with a 7 – 2 record, which explains why I was matched against Reece earlier.

Day 2 (Top Cut)

Arriving at the venue the next day, I seemed to be the only person who wasn’t tired.  I had only gotten a few hours sleep that night because of how late we had finished the day before.  Obviously pumped with adrenaline, I waited with my breath held as my first opponent for the day was to be decided.  As it turned out, I got a bye round for doing so well the day before, and some matches were going to be played by people further down the ranking to determine who would get a place at the top 32.  Some really big names made the top cut, but there was a particular big name that I definately did not want to get matched up against.

Top 32 – William Tansley (StarKO)

For my top 32 match I was matched up against William Tansley.  Like me, William made the top cut with a 7 – 2 win ratio, losing only to big names Arash and Sekiam.  The stage was set for Kabutops to prove it was no one-trick pony.  My first ever best-of-three match was about to begin.

His team:

Latios was the first Pokémon that struck me on Williams team.  This was the moment where I had wished I had Knock Off on Kabutops instead of Low Kick.  I would bring Kabutops anyway, because of Landorus-Therian and Volcarona being easy pickings for it.

Game 1

I brought:

He brought:

At this point, I think you can easily guess what pair I lead with, but I should probably mention it anyway.  Politoed and Kabutops were going to be perfect bait for any Fake Outs from the Mega-Kangaskhan or Thunderbolts from Rotom-Wash, as Mega-Manectric and Ferrothorn were lurking in the back again.  Things went wrong from turn one.  Just like against Matthias the day before, William correctly had his Mega-Kangaskhan Fake Out Politoed while his Latios went for the Tailwind.  I decided it might be an idea to take the Tailwind to my own advantage, I wanted Ferrothorn to get a strong Gyro Ball off against Latios.  But on the other hand Ferrothorn would be at risk from the Kangaskhan.  I decided to switch Kabutops in as a sacrifice, which was the best play I could have possibly made, as he double-targeted it with Low Kick and Draco Meteor.  Politoed Scalded Mega-Kangaskhan and got the burn too.  I switched Ferrothorn back in, as I knew that it wouldn’t be taking that much damage from either Pokémon.  Knowing that one of his Pokémon would switch out, I had Ferrothorn use Curse.  Unfortunately it did take some damage from Low Kick.

The Rocky Helmet reveal was important for William, as he had in mind to burn Ferrothorn in future games.  Rotom-Wash came in next along with Latios returning.  Thinking he could get rid of Politoed quickly, I knew it was Manectric’s time to turn things around.  Gyro Ball from Ferrothorn did significant damage to Latios, almost knocking it out.  I wanted to stall out his Tailwind as well as my rain, so I could set it up again with Politoed in the back.  I needed Manectric to outspeed everything and launch those high-powered Thunders.  Protecting Manectric, I recall was also a fantastic play on my end, as William had identified it as a threat and double-targeted it.  This allowed Ferrothorn to hit the Rotom with a Power Whip.  The end of the game was easy as all I had to do was knock out the low-health Latios to stop it from setting up the Tailwind again, meaning that Aegislash was left to fight against my last three Pokémon.
1 – 0

Game 2

I brought:

He brought:

A piece of advice that is often given to best-of-three players is to stick to what works if you win the first game and change things up if you lose it.  At first I thought William hadn’t gotten that particular memo, but he would soon prove me wrong.  If the first game was heavily in my favor, the second was completely in his.  I didn’t want to risk any more wrong Fake Out predictions, so I just made Politoed and Kabutops go for the Mega-Kangaskhan, as any damage was good damage.  This is possibly the only good play I made this game, because Tailwind became a real thorn in my side.  His entire team became unstoppable, as no Lightning Rod or Iron Barbs predictions could become a reality.  Aegislash sealed the deal for William as I could not read its movements at all.
1 – 1

Game 3

It was back to the drawing board for me from here.  William was not going to fall for anything that I had revealed anymore, I knew that much.  But on the other hand I had dominated the first game with the element of surprise.  This time I had one thing in mind: Speed control.  I had to stop him from setting up the Tailwind, but I needed a backup plan just in case that idea were to fail.  Time for Serperior to shine.  Or should I say Glare?

I brought:

He brought:

And so started the best game of the competition.

Talonflame and Serperior were to lead and double-Taunt the Latios, because I knew that having one of the pair be Faked Out was no big deal.  He decided to Fake Out Serperior, which was probably to be expected, but there was no Tailwind for him this time.  I might actually have gotten really lucky there, as there might have been a speed tie between Talonflame and Latios. Serperior was the definite hero this game as it started running circles around William’s team, Glaring and Taunting, Taunting and Glaring.  All the while Protecting at clever intervals to recover with Leftovers.  William did not go down easily however.  Although Serperior did go largely ignored, my other Pokémon had a hard time between trying to find a way to dent the correct Pokémon and not taking damage.  Talonflame however survived a Psychic from Latios to knock it out in one hit with Brave Bird.  Aegislash also failed to outpredict the combo of Politoed and Kabutops, going down easily due to Serperiors Taunt.  Mega-Kangaskhan and Rotom almost ruined the party as they had free reign because I had not taken Manectric or Ferrothorn with me.  The last turn came about and Serperior, with a Leaf Storm boost and at almost full health, was left against Mega-Kangaskhan and Rotom-Wash.  Mega-Kangaskhan had visible battle bruises, as it lay in low health almost from Double-Edge recoil damage alone.

I think tiredness and hunger must have set in, because I suddenly drew a complete blank on what William had on Mega-Kangaskhan.  For some reason I was convinced it had Power-Up Punch.  I was also convinced that he was going to predict me to Protect to get Leftovers recovery and so would Power-Up Punch his own Rotom to get enough fire-power to knock out Serperior in one hit.  I had to prevent this from happening.  If my prediction turned out to be wrong, I knew that the chance of me getting knocked out from on Double-Edge was very low (around 10%).  Even if that did happen, there was no way that Kangaskhan wouldn’t faint due to recoil.  Putting all my eggs in the snakes basket, I easily knocked out the Rotom with Leaf Storm.  The moment of truth came as Double-Edge hit Serperior.  Time itself slowed down as I watched the health bar fall down…

to 4 HP.

2 – 1

There was no way that this game could have been any more tense.  This was the only other game Serperior was taken to, having lost the first one against Terence.  Not only did Serperior redeem itself, it also won me the game almost single-handedly.  This was my favourite match of the tournament, and possibly the best match I’ve ever played in my admittedly short VGC career.

Great Game, William!

Top 16 – Arash Ommati (Mean)

If you had told me on the cold Friday morning when I left my flat to get to Manchester that I would be battling Arash Ommati, the former World Champion, for a spot in the top 8, I would never have believed you.  Here I was, with the matchup that I was fearing.

I looked at his team.  It was very familiar.  Aaron Zheng had been playing a variation of it on his Road to Ranked series that week.  Arash brought a Japan Sand team.

His team:

I tried to keep calm, because I knew Kabutops could thrive in this battle.  If I won the weather war, Kabutops could get off fast Rock Slides and seriously threaten the sand core of Tyranitar and Excadrill.  On the other hand if I lost the weather war, Kabutops could tank the Mega-Salamence, Aegislash, Azumarill, and although I didn’t know this at the time, his Amoonguss.  I figured that I should take Ferrothorn with me, as it doesn’t take Sandstorm damage and was also immune to Amoonguss.  As long as I could get a few boosts with Curse up, I would be safe.  Arash recognised my win condition: Knock out his Salamence, and Ferrothorn could carry the rest of the game.   I didn’t.

Game 1

I brought:

He brought:

In the first game I decided to lead with my trusted pair of Politoed and Kabutops with Ferrothorn and Manectric on the bench.  The idea was to hopefully find out whether or not Tyranitar was carrying a Choice Scarf, by bating out a Superpower.  Arash led with Salamence and Tyranitar, with Aegislash and Azumarill in the back.  Although I suspected as much, I was comfortable with the confirmation of Salamence being the Mega-Pokémon, as I knew Manectric could threaten it.

My memory has faded on the details of this game, but I remember feeling that I played terribly.  I remember Manectric getting knocked out early, but getting Azumarill to low health at least.  Politoed also knocked out his Salamence quite early on with an Ice Beam.  Arash must have been playing worse, because I won the game in the end.  It might have had something to do with the fact that Arash targeted my Ferrothorn with a Shadow Sneak from Aegislash and an Aqua Jet from Azumarill after Ferrothorn had set up a Curse.  I remember having a miss-click this game too, but nothing as game-deciding as his.
1 – 0

We took a break after the first game, so that we could both have a breather and a think.   The difference between a veteran and a beginner really showed during this break, as Arash thought about whether or not his Azumarill was really worth bringing instead of Amoonguss, while I ran around the venue looking for as many people as possible to tell that I was one game up against the former World Champion.  Now that I’m no longer a fledgling player, I now know not to make this truly obnoxious mistake again.

Game 2

I brought:

He brought:

In the second game, I thought that Arash had maybe identified his Aegislash as a threat to me.  Not wanting to have the same Aegislash-related problems that I had against William, I decided to lead with Politoed and Talonflame.  I fealt safe leading with Politoed because I had a suspicion that he would drop sand altogether.  I’m not sure what he led with, but I honestly felt that I was playing better this game than the last.  I won the weather war, as Kabutops made Arash do a double-take by surviving a Superpower from Tyranitar and responding with a Low Kick to knock the it out.  If Arash hasn’t been at the top of his game, I would have won, because Amoonguss putting all of my Pokémon to sleep really prevented me from doing any other significant plays.  Talonflame was also having a tough time, because it couldn’t find the perfect opportunity to Brave Bird his Amoonguss.
1 – 1

Game 3

I brought:

He brought:

Click here to watch the third game!

I cringe every time I watch this game.  I still have no idea what I was thinking that first turn.  When Aegislash was targeted by Kabutops I heard Arash groan quite loudly, which means he must have been relieved when I did not double-target it.  Even if I did get the flinch on Aegislash, I would have been at an advantage if I played recklessly as usual, as Arash kept predicting me to play it safe.  I genuinely thought I was going to win when I got both the critical hit and the paralysis on Salamence, but I just couldn’t capitalise on it.  Having Flamethrower on Manectric would have also been useful, as Amoonguss would have given me much less problems.  I believe that the tiniest bit of bulk on Politoed would have also helped it survive the Shadow Sneak from Aegislash, which sealed the game in his favor.
1 – 2

Good Game, Arash!

The dream was over, but there was no way I could be bitter.  I was lucky to get that far in the first place and it was an absolute treat to get matched against Arash.  In the next round Arash faced Matthias and beat him.  This made me slightly disappointed at my loss as I would have really enjoyed a rematch against Matthias.  Arash got so close to winning it all, only to fall at the final hurdle, but his win against me had already solidified his place at the World Championships.  Hope to see you do well there, Arash!

Conclusion

As much as I love this team, I do have to admit that it relies a little bit too much on taking risks. I am happy about the fact that Kabutops proved to not be a one trick pony in best-of-three games. Does it need support? Yes, it does, but I still feel that it carried the team. Would I use it again?  Probably not. I assume that people will start to wise up about the prehistoric critter after reading this article, so it might possibly start seeing more use. Maybe someone could find an even better way to use it in the future!

I want you all to know that you should not be afraid of going to official events near you, because the Pokémon community is so welcoming to newcomers and I did not meet a single person I disliked. Neither should you be scared of bringing your favourite Pokémon, especially if you can find a clever way to use it. Who knows, you might even make it further than I did my first time.

Finally, I want to give some thank yous and shout outs to some people, because (and I don’t want to sound silly) I would not have made it that far without the praise and support of the people I met that weekend.

• Matt Sheppard (KaSlaps)(high-fives galore), who was even more daring than me and top cut with a Kecleon, coming 35th overall.
• Gareth Buckley and his friendly friend Lee (or Leigh), who would praise me like a god for using Kabutops and just being the most entertaining person at the nationals with his extraordinary plays (successfully reading a Zapdos Roost with an Earthquake).  Still trying to find you on Nugget Bridge, buddy!
• Astronautical, who volunteered to make that really awesome artwork you see at the top.
• Various people on Pokémon Showdown who complimented me on Kabutops and set my decision in stone to bring it with me to the nationals.
• The lady at the stand who made the bacon butties which were a blessing between games.
• Every single one of my opponents, for giving me great games and still being supportive and gracious after being beaten or when beating me.
• Everybody I met at the nationals who I didn’t battle in the competition, including the people who went: “Oh, you’re THAT guy”, after I would tell them about my team.
• Everyone who helped jog my memories of the event, as they were quite fuzzy at the time of writing.
• And lastly you, for putting up with the ramblings of a novice and reading this article to the very end.

The post Rise to the Kabutops: A 10th Place UK Nationals Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Hello, my name is Sheldon Isaac, but I go by Differentology on Showdown. I participated in the 4th Nugget Bridge Major and finished in the Top 32 after going 7-2 in Swiss and winning 2 of my Top Cut matches. I mostly play on the Showdown server although I have attended 2 Philadelphia Regionals. I’m not a big name in the community, but I have been playing VGC since 2013. Prior to my start in 2013, I did not play Pokemon competitively. I was introduced to competitive play by my friends, Chilebowl and Rukario, who have helped me along the way with all their Pokemon knowledge.

Team Building Process and Playstyle

Building this team was not too difficult once I picked the main pillar of offense: Sylveon. I wasn’t quite warming up to the new Fairy type to be honest, but Sylveon continued to shock me while I played on Showdown. It could single-handedly shred teams (my teams) with Hyper Voice, which made me want to give it a try. In order to abuse Hyper Voice I figured that I’d need to shut down Steel-types that would threaten Sylveon. However, I never did find space to fit in a Fire-type attack on my team, so I used Landorus to check Steel-types. After adding Landorus it only seemed right to add Thundurus, so I did. Continuing with my desire to spam Hyper Voice, I threw Mega-Kangaskhan into the mix for some cheap Fake Outs. Lastly, I decided to add Breloom and Talonflame as another duo solely to score some easy Spores. You can see where this is going. Sleeping Pokemon plus Sylveon equals more Hyper Voice.

The strategy of this team was usually to disrupt with my leads and clean up with Sylveon. If Sylveon was not going to be able to clean up, Breloom, Landorus, and Kangaskhan were the Pokemon I’d turn to. But… Isn’t Talonflame your featured Pokemon? Correct, and we’ll see why in the next section.

The Team

Talonflame @ Charti Berry
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Atk / 92 Def / 4 SpD / 68 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Brave Bird
– Will-O-Wisp
– Quick Guard
– Tailwind

MVP. Talonflame is one of those Pokemon that annoys people in team preview because priority Brave Bird is a nuisance. However, as you can see, the Talonflame I used annoyed people for other reasons. Before I go into how amazing this set is, I must give credit where it is due. Thank you to Kyriakou for his post on Eggyemporium! You can see the original article here.

The set was intended to be bulky and is actually a set for the 2014 metagame. Plain and simple, this set allowed me to live practically any Rock-type move, and outspeed Garchomp. Brave Bird was used because you just don’t use Talonflame without it. It also helped me hit Amoonguss, which is a good counter to my team. Wil-O-Wisp caught so many people off guard. This brave bird would stare down any Landorus or Terrakion, eat their Rock Slide after snacking on its Charti Berry, and fire back a Wil-O-Wisp to eliminate their threat to my team. Wil-O-Wisp also served to cause problems for pesky Steel-types that threatened Sylveon. Quick Guard helped to protect Sylveon from Bullet Punches or Prankster Thunder Waves, often buying Sylveon a turn to fire off just one more Hyper Voice. In addition, Quick Guard preserved Breloom’s Focus Sash, proving itself valuable in many instances. Lastly, Tailwind helped set-up Breloom, Sylveon, and Kangaskhan to dominate the field.

If I could go back and change one thing about this Talonflame, I would adjust the Speed EVs to outspeed Jolly Terrakion. I’d take EVs out of Attack since Brave Bird was not my primary reason for using Talonflame. Remember, I was running a 2014 set for the major so I was safe from Garchomp that hit 169 speed, but not Terrakion at 176. Luckily no Terrakion flinched my Talonflame so my Wil-O-Wisp was effective even at a lower Speed.

Breloom @ Focus Sash
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Spore
– Bullet Seed
– Mach Punch
– Protect

Breloom was Talonflame’s partner in crime. Breloom under Tailwind is pretty daunting. In addition, with Focus Sash, Breloom was almost always guaranteed to put one of the opponent’s Pokemon to sleep bar a Fake Out and Taunt. In most cases, Talonflame could even block Prankster Taunts unexpectedly with Quick Guard which was not always accounted for by my opponent.

Adamant nature raised an issue in the testing. Most Mamoswine run Adamant nature and still outspeed my Breloom, but at the same time not that many people ran Mamoswine so I did not feel threatened. As a result I stuck with Adamant Breloom because I loved the power that it packed. In more than one instance Breloom was able to OHKO opposing Sylveons with enough hits from Bullet Seed.

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 84 HP / 204 Atk / 28 Def / 4 SpD / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Fake Out
– Double-Edge
– Low Kick
– Sucker Punch

I borrowed this set from Level 51 in his report which you can read here, and I am so glad that I did.

I needed a Mega on my team and some Fake Out support, and Kangaskhan fit the bill perfectly. Kangaskhan being bulky with this EV spread was just an added bonus. I mainly used Kangaskhan for Fake Out leads with Sylveon, or if I needed an attacker that would deal heavy damage to carry a game. Under Tailwind, a Double Edge became extremely threatening for my opponent. Low Kick was used for pesky Heatran that hide behind Substitutes, and Sucker Punch was used to pick off easy targets that were faster than my team. This Kangaskhan spread was most importantly helpful in mirror matches because of its bulk, but it was annoying when the opposing Kangaskhan’s Fake Out went first.

Sylveon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 116 Def / 236 SpA / 64 Spe
Modest Nature
– Hyper Voice
– Psyshock
– Shadow Ball
– Helping Hand

Damage. I pretty much used one move with Sylveon for the whole tournament. In some cases I used Psyshock to deal with Amoonguss or Helping Hand for an ally Pokemon. I don’t even think I used Shadow Ball once. Hyper Voice was the key to victory, sometimes taking out whole teams without me switching Sylveon out from the lead.

The EV spread of this Sylveon was borrowed from Cybertron’s Choice Specs Sylveon analysis on YouTube which you can find here. However, I modified it slightly. Instead of running 252 SpA, I moved some extra EV’s into speed to bump Sylveon’s speed to 88. This was to speed creep other Sylveon set borrowers by one point, or simply being faster than Cybertron’s set by 2 points. The investment was worth it because I out-sped practically every Sylveon that I faced. This Sylveon lived a Jolly Kangashan Return, and an Aegislash Flash Cannon.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Earthquake
– Rock Slide
– Superpower
– U-turn

Pretty much a standard Landorus-T, so I’ll tell you how it functioned specifically on my team.

First, I used Landorus for flinching scouting. Leading with an Intimidate user allowed me to check for scarfed Pokemon. Also, if the matchup was unfavorable I could always U-Turn out into a more suitable Pokemon. Second, I used Landorus for Intimidate support which is always helpful. Third, I used Landorus to switch in for incoming Electric attacks aimed at my precious Talonflame. Lastly, Rock Slide hax is always a good way to turn unfavorable situations into favorable ones, especially with an ally Thundurus spamming Thunder Wave. I did actually win a match because of the amount of flinches Rock Slide scored, sorry to my opponent. Earthquake and Superpower were just used when needed.

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 104 Def / 60 SpA / 108 Spe
Modest Nature
– Thunderbolt
– Swagger
– Thunder Wave
– Hidden Power [Ice]

The second half of the infamous duo, Thundurus played a mostly filler role in my team. The EV spread was also borrowed from Level 51’s report. I borrowed this set because I wanted this to be a team in which my Pokemon had some way to stay on the field for more than one turn. The set had enough bulk to withstand an Adamant Kangaskhan Double Edge after Sitrus recovery. This bulk gave my Thundurus ample time to get in, spam Thunder Wave and get out.

Now let’s look at my move choice. Thunderbolt actually packs a nice punch with 60 SpA. Swagger was picked over Taunt because I’m terrible and I like to roll the dice sometimes. I still wanted to apply pressure and keep some of my gimmicky playstyle with this team so I opted to use Swagger. I actually do not regret using Swagger over Taunt in this tournament at all, because there were rarely any occasions where I actually needed to Taunt my opponent. Also, I did win one round when Thundurus KOed 3 Pokemon with Swagger all by itself. Thunder Wave was used for speed control. And Hidden Power Ice helped me clean up Mega-Salamence and Landorus which were big threats to my team if my Tailwind was not up.

Common Leads

Breloom and Talonflame was definitely my favorite and most versatile lead. Although I did not get to lead these two often, when I did, the match tended to be in my favor, because I’d get at least a Spore and Tailwind setup for Sylveon to come in safely. Focus Sash on Breloom allowed me to get a free Spore off, barring the presense of a Fake Out user that was faster than my Talonflame. Talonflame’s Quick Guard protected both itself and Breloom from potential priority, disruption. Another option, was a turn one Protect from Breloom + Tailwind from Talonflame. This would set Breloom up to potentially be the fastest Pokemon on the field the following turn, and score a free Spore. I also felt very safe leading these two if I was unsure what my opponent was going for. Lastly, this lead was very effective in the best of three format since I could switch things up with Talonflame and surprise my opponent round 2 and reveal that it was actually a support Talonflame.

Dual Genies was another lead I went to if I was unsure of how my opponent’s team functioned, and if Talonflame + Breloom appeared to be unsafe to lead. I could always scout with Landorus and control speed with Thundurus. Also, there was my hax backup plan, which involved Rock Slide and Thunder Wave. If the combination of those two moves was not enough, I could always throw a Swagger into the mix.

My go-to aggressive lead. If my opponent had no way of stopping a Fake Out + Hyper Voice lead from these two I’d lead with them. A Fake Out + Hyper Voice followed up by a Sucker Punch and possibly another Hyper Voice turn 2 usually sealed games because of the insane damage output. In the best of three format, if my opponent was unable to deal with these two the first time around, I’d lead with them again and switch my back Pokemon according to who they brought in round 1. Sometimes, leading with these 2 consecutively even threw off opponents who overpredicted and tried to guess my “adjusted” leads round 2.

Threats

The biggest threat to my team was a faster Sylveon, which I actually had the honor of playing in my flight. My opponent ck49 who was my first loss had practically the exact same team as me bar 1 Pokemon if I recall correctly. I remember us leading identically in one round and his Kangashan and Sylveon were faster than my two. The round went downhill from there as I was unable to stop his Hyper Voice + Fake Out combination from decimating my team. All in all playing a faster version of my team is scary because it runs through my team which is not too defensive. However, I was afraid of running a speedy version of my team because I liked to have some bulk to rely on if I ever misplayed.

Redirection and sponging up my Hyper Voices really hurt my team. I had no real way to KO Amoonguss quickly other than Talonflame, which was not even designed to be dishing out damage to my opponent. After a Brave Bird, the recoil plus most likely Rocky Helmet damage really put a dent on my Talonflame. Sylveon didn’t do much either because Amoonguss could always take a Psychock and Spore Sylveon.

Mega-Gardevoir is pretty much a faster Sylveon.

I feel as if this Pokemon threatens everyone’s team. Anyway, Mamoswine (depending on the moveset) hits two-thirds of my team for super-effective damage.

Conclusion

This team finished top 32 in the NB Major 4 and was built around Sylveon. Talonflame just happened to be the MVP because of its surprise factor, being a support Talonflame.

For the record, I just want to stress one thing to newcomers to VGC: this team is a best-of-three team. A lot of its success came from its ability to adjust in rounds two and three of a match. The movesets utilized gave me a lot of options and are different from how I’d make a best-of-one team. This team was built to adapt and apply pressure.

• Shoutouts
  Chilebowl and Rukario for teaching me the way of hax!
• Kyriakou for his Talonflame spread!
• Level 51 for his Kangaskhan and Thundurus spreads!
• Cybertron for his Sylveon spread!
• ck49 for having the exact same team as me!
• Lajo for having two of my biggest threats on the same team!

Thank You for reading!

The post Talonflame Ate Its Charti Berry: Nugget Bridge Major Top 32 Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Hello Nugget Bridge, my name is Sam Schweitzer, known on Twitter and Showdown as SamVGC (You can follow me here). For those who don’t know anything about me, Fort Wayne 2014 was my first live event, but I had been playing VGC since the beginning of VGC 2014 and played Smogon Singles since about 2012. The weekend of October 17th was the 2015 Fort Wayne Regional Championships, and I was looking to improve upon my performance last year, going 4-4. Last year’s tournament was not what I had hoped for obviously, but there were definitely positives to be drawn from it. I got paired with Zach Droegkamp (Braverius) Round 3, who has become one of my best friends in the community and is a large part of me talking to many of the people I speak to and interact with on a daily basis now. In this report I’ll be covering the team I used to win the 94-man Premier Challenge before Regionals, the opponents I played there, changes I made to the team between the PC and Regionals, and my schedule for the Regional. I hope you enjoy!

The Team – Premier Challenge Edition

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 20 HP / 108 Atk / 4 Def / 124 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
– Double-Edge
– Hyper Voice
– Draco Meteor
– Protect

The team began with Mega Salamence. After attending Houston Regionals and achieving Top 64, I took a look at what was doing well there and what I played in swiss and noticed that Salamence had very favorable matchups when played correctly. This led to me choosing it as a starting point for a team, and it was extremely useful. I never felt very let down by Salamence, as I brought it to every match save for one or two. The set is really the only Salamence set I’ve used all year, and the comfort level with it was apparent in how I played all my matches. I felt comfortable with knowing when to nuke with Double-Edge and when to get spread chip with Hyper Voice, while Draco provided some nice coverage on opposing Salamence, especially if they weren’t running max speed. Speaking of the EV spread, I opted for a set that would guarantee to at least speed tie other Salamence and provide a good balance of damage between Hyper Voice and Double-Edge.

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Rock Slide
– Assurance
– Superpower
– Ice Punch

Tyranitar is another Pokemon I’ve used quite a bit of this year, so it seemed like a logical choice to use. I had been noticing a trend of a lot of players picking up the Kangaskhan and Volcarona combo, and having both Tyranitar and Salamence to deal with that was incredibly useful. I tossed up between using Stone Edge or Ice Punch, and really I don’t think it would have mattered either way, as I didn’t end up using Ice Punch much and I never felt myself wishing I had Stone Edge.

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Analytic
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 92 Def / 148 SpA / 24 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 1 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 1 Spe
– Ice Beam
– Hidden Power [Ground]
– Recover
– Toxic

Next up came easily my favorite Pokemon from the weekend, Porygon2. I brought Porygon2 to every single game at the Premier Challenge and a vast majority of games at the Regional. It fits incredibly well into the current metagame, OHKO’ing Landorus-T with ease, dealing significant damage to Thundurus and Heatran, and being able to Toxic the rising Calm Mind Cresselia. Porygon2 worked extremely well as a win condition if I could take out the opposing Pokemon able to beat Porygon2 in a 1 vs 1 situation. I got a lot of questions about why I used Porygon2 over Cresselia so here it is: I needed more power and the ability to remove genies quickly, Porygon2’s typing was more beneficial, and Recover was more conistent than Moonlight given the presence of Tyranitar on my team. All in all, I recommend Porygon2 to everyone, it was absolutely my best Pokemon all weeekend and I think more people need to use it. The EV spread takes a Banded Landorus Superpower, and Adamant Landorus Superpower + Thundurus Thunderbolt is a roll in your favor.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 244 HP / 4 Def / 164 SpA / 20 SpD / 76 Spe
Modest Nature
– Shadow Ball
– Flash Cannon
– Substitute
– King’s Shield

Ah Aegislash. It wouldn’t be a tournament without me using Aegislash. I’ve managed to keep a streak of using Aegislash in every tournament I’ve entered since Winter Regionals, and with good reason. I think Aegislash is easily in the Top 5 Pokemon in this format, perhaps even Top 3. Its unique typing, great stats, and unique ability combine to make it something that should be seriously considered on any team. The spread is one I got from my good friend Felix (fxelxy), it had about the amount of Speed I was looking for and a good amount of bulk. Aegislash was instrumental in the Gardevoir matchup and patched a number of holes in the team.

Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 164 Def / 124 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Giga Drain
– Spore
– Rage Powder
– Protect

Pretty standard Amoonguss, shouldn’t be surprising anybody at this point. Sludge Bomb was a consideration over Giga Drain, but I opted against it. Amoonguss helped a ton with holding the team together and giving me switch options.

Excadrill @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Rush
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Earthquake
– Rock Slide
– Iron Head
– Protect

Excadrill was the final member of the Premier Challenge team, and was definitely used the least. Excadrill is something I had never used until I played with it in this tournament, but it did alright when I needed it to. The set and spread are about what you would expect, so hopefully don’t require any further explanation. I don’t think Excadrill was the right call, but the rest of the team good enough and I played well enough to make up for it and ended up winning the Premier Challenge, so obviously it wasn’t too bad!

Fort Wayne Premier Challenge 10/17, 94 Masters

I’m not going to go into detail about every match, but wanted to highlight what my opponents used to give a clear picture of what the metagame looked like for Fort Wayne.

Round 1 vs: Mario Serrano (Mario C) (Win)

Round 2 vs: Jacob Beard (Win)

Round 3 vs: Garrett Yee (Win)

Round 4 vs: Dane Zieman (Agentorangejulius) (Win)

Round 5 vs: Kevin Reed (Win)

Round 6 vs: Jake White (squirrelboy1225) (Win)

Round 7 vs: Jeremy Rodrigues (Serapis) (Win)

Top 8 vs: Jake White (squirrelboy1225) (Win 2-0)

Top 4 vs: Brandon Tang (Win 2-1)

Finals vs: Justin Crubaugh (iMagikarp) (Win 2-0)

Overall, I ended up with a 13-1 record! I was extremely tired by the end, given that it ended at midnight, but it was a very rewarding experience and filled me with a ton of confidence for the day ahead. The match against Justin in finals was also one of the funniest I’ve had in a while, so props to him for being a great opponent. With the day finished, I went back to the hotel and helped get my friend Andew Burley (Andykins) his team in game for the next day, then it was off to bed for the real thing.

Fort Wayne Regionals Team At A Glance

From the makers of CHALK, we now bring you PASTAA! After a dominating run at the Premier Challenge the day before, I went to bed with no intentions of changing anything. However, about 15 minutes before registration ended, me and Zach decided we wanted to run Azumarill on the team, so we rapidly made the change and got it ready to go. Outside of Azumarill and Tyranitar’s moveset, the team remained the same, so I’ll only go into those changes.

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Rock Slide
– Crunch
– Superpower
– Ice Punch

I ended up changing Assurance for Crunch as I only used the move once the day before, and never in such a way to gain the boost from Assurance. I decided Crunch would end up likely being more useful. I only used Crunch once at the regional as well, so I suppose the change really didn’t mean much.

Azumarill @ Assault Vest
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Atk / 92 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 18 Spe
– Aqua Jet
– Waterfall
– Play Rough
– Knock Off

The final swap I made was to change Excadrill entirely for Assault Vest Azumarill. I felt that Conkeldurr, Heatran, and Landorus were more of issues than I liked, and Assault Vest Azumarill would help me out much more than Excadrill with these problem matchups. I never regretted the change throughout the day, and highly recommend you try out this Azumarill. Given our preperation time, this isn’t the exact spread we used (I still don’t know what EV spread I was using in the regional). The 18 Speed IV’s listed are important, as Azumarill is able to catch minimum speed Aegislash in Blade forme and Knock Off and outspeed minimum speed Scrafty and use Play Rough.

Once again, I don’t have a ton to say about the matchups themselves, each of my opponents were pretty cool people and I was glad to be able to meet so many wonderful people throughout the day.

Fort Wayne Regionals 10/18: 236 Masters, 8 Rounds of Swiss, Top 16 Cut

Round 1 vs: Ted Rankin (Finished 4-4) (Win)

Round 2 vs: Isaac Wilson (Finished 4-4) (Win)

Round 3 vs: Evan Bates (Veteran Padgett) (Finished 5-3) (Win)

Round 4 vs: Lucas Johnson (ThunderPunch) (Finished 7-1, Top 16) (Win)

Round 5 vs: PJ Bradley (Finished 7-1, Top 16) (Win)

Round 6 vs: Mario Serrano (Mario C) (Finished 7-1, Top 16) (Loss)

Round 7 vs:  Martin Gajdosz (Finsihed 6-2, Top 16) (Loss)

Round 8 vs: Miroslawa Morioka (Finished 5-3) (Win)

Top 16 vs: Caitlin Beach (RandomVGC) (Finished 7-1, Top 4) (Loss 1-2)

Overall this was a pretty fun regional. Going out to Rock Slide Flinches, Thunder Wave full paralysis, and Swagger isn’t what I was hoping for, but that’s just the game we play. I had a great time hanging out with friends, meeting new people, and getting to just have a fantastic weekend as a whole.

Shoutouts

• Huge shoutouts go to Zach Droegkamp for getting a hotel for us and working on the team a bit with me, and thanks for just being a great friend.
• Shoutouts to all my friends who influnced the team and helped me practice or build it, including Luke Curtale (Dawg), Felix Rössler (fxelxy), and Zach.
• Team Michigan for having such a strong showing! None of us finished below 6-2, and Andy made Finals while Alec Beljanski (Polecat) and Caitlin made Top 4, so congratulations go out to them and thanks to them for being supportive of me.
• Thanks to everyone who supported me on Twitter throughout the day, it really meant a lot to me and helped me keep going. Particular shoutouts in this area go to Felix, Andy Anderson (TwiddleDee), Adit Selvaraj (LithiumAcid), and Blake Hopper (Bopper).
• Thanks to all of my Australian friends who I talk to on a daily basis now and Skype with frequently, primarily Luke, Saamid Zikria (Yourf), and Matthew Bockman (Zyihk). Shoutout to all the Pear.
• Big name dump for everyone I hung out with over the weekend, thanks for making it special: Jake Muller (MajorBowman), Ian McLaughlin (Raikoo), Evan Deligiannis (Nave), Abe Brath (Seaco), Ian Combs (Jakuzure), Chance Alexander (Paragon), Whitney Johnson (brokestupidlonely), Alex Underhill (Lexicon), Grant Weldon (Velocity), Alec Rubin (amr97), Jonathan McMillan (MrEobo), Aaron Leibersbach (Arch), Michael Garrett (YungsterMIKEY), Pat Ball (pball0010), Ashton Cox (linkyoshimario), Wilson Chen (ReviNocturne), Andy Himes (Amarillo), Dane Zieman (Agentorangejulius), Nick Navarre (Nails), Kyle Beggovich, Mario Serrano (Mario C), and probably more that I’m forgetting. Thanks again!
• Huge thanks to Kelly Kato for doing the art for this article! Check her out on Twitter @KellyUsedHoenn or here on Nugget Bridge on iRRRRRRRRECONCILA8LE!
• And a huge thanks to you for reading this report! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you have any questions feel free to contact me here or on Twitter @SamVGC if you have any questions. Hope to see everyone again soon!

The post What the Duck? A Top 16 Fort Wayne Regionals and 1st Place Premier Challenge Team Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Hi everyone! My name is Kevin Reed (xGSx3ntr0py/TM Silv3r). I started playing competitively in 2012 and placed 20^th at 2013 and 2015 US Nationals. The 2015 season turned out to be a fairly decent one for the TM clan, with Kyle Timbrook (TM Ruby) placing top 8 at Indiana and Missouri regionals and Jonathan Neville (TM Gold) placing top 8 at the Madison regional. Although I had a relatively weak season leading up to Nationals, I was able to earn a good amount of CP from my 20^th place finish. I think all of us ended up top 80 in the final CP standings,  just short of the ever elusive Worlds invite.

Some have you may have seen Clefable doing serious work in my match against James Baek (Jamespeed1), which was featured on one of the side screens during day 2 (Clefable > Clefairy). Unfortunately I do not take very good notes so I won’t be able to go into great detail about the matches. Without further ado, here it is:

Warning: Cringe worthy hard rock/grunge themed nicknames, proceed with caution.

The Team

ShOot2DriLL (Excadrill) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Rush
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 76 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Rock Slide
– Drill Run
– Iron Head
– Protect

“Shoot to thrill play to kill. I got my gun at the ready gonna fire at will”

The name comes from the AC/DC song “Shoot to Thrill,” and is very cheesy. Despite having played for 3 years, I was, for some reason, under the impression that Life Orb resulted in 1/8 HP loss instead of 1/10 so the HP investment was a sad attempt to reduce Life Orb recoil while allowing Excadrill to retain a decent amount of bulk. 4 EVs were placed in Defense and Special Defense to add to Excadrill’s bulk. Max Attack and Adamant nature were necessary to ensure that Excadrill would hit as hard as possible. The 76 Speed EVs allowed me to out speed Choice Scarf Landorus-Therian in sand and Pokémon such as Milotic, Cresselia, and Rotom outside of sand. I chose Drill Run over Earthquake so that I would not hit my own Tyranitar or Clefable, which were often on the field at the same time. I also used Drill Run over Earthquake because I had been facing a lot of Aegislash with Wide Guard prior to Nationals.

EnTerSaNdMaN (Tyranitar) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 244 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Rock Slide
– Assurance
– Ice Punch
– Superpower

“Tuck you in, warm within keep you free from sin ‘Til the Sandman he comes”

Named after the Metallica song “Enter Sandman,” for obvious reasons. The EVs allow scarf Tyranitar to outspeed Modest Choice Scarf Politoed and Modest Mega-Gengar. A few EVs were invested in bulk in hopes of increasing Tyranitar’s longevity. I noticed that many of the Japan Sand teams were running Assurance so I decided to follow suit. Other than that, the set is pretty standard.

->

LeArN2FLy (Salamence-Mega) (F) @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate -> Aerilate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 36 HP / 244 SpA / 228 Spe
Timid Nature
– Dragon Pulse
– Fire Blast
– Hyper Voice
– Protect

“I’m looking for a complication. Looking cause I’m tired of trying. Make my way back home when I learn to fly high”

Named after the Foo Fighters song “Learn to Fly”. I decided to run special Mega Salamence over the common physical or mixed sets because I knew that the team would be heavily targeted by Will-O-Wisp and Intimidate. The nature and speed EVs allowed me to out speed my own Choice Scarf Tyranitar by 1 point after mega evolving in order to increase Tyranitar’s Assurance damage. The HP EVs were divisible by 16-1 to reduce sand/hail damage. The rest were invested in Special Attack to allow Salamence to hit as hard as possible.

AliceNChains (Clefable) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Magic Guard
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 244 HP / 164 Def / 28 SpA / 68 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
– Minimize
– Follow Me
– Ice Beam
– Protect

“They come to snuff the rooster, yeah here come the rooster yeah you know he ain’t gonna die”

Like the band she is named after, AliceNChains was awesome and was definitely the MVP of the team. The EV spread was stolen from Leonard Craft III’s (DaWoblefet) Winter Regional article which allowed Clefable to survive Kangaskhan’s Return and Bisharp’s Iron Head. The Magic Guard ability allowed Clefable to avoid sand damage and damage from redirected Will-O-Wisps intended to cripple my physical attackers. I would generally try to lead with Clefable in the back and make a safe switch-in to either Protect Excadrill or start Minimizing. Landorus was a very common lead against my team, so with a Bold nature and Intimidate support from Salamence, Clefable was able to switch-in safely and start boosting. After increasing its Evasion, Clefable was capable of putting the team in winning situations with Follow Me support and was actually able to win several 1v1 situations from chip damage and Leftovers recovery.

♥ShapedBox (Rotom-Heat) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 116 SpA / 4 SpD / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
– Overheat
– Thunderbolt
– Thunder Wave
– Protect

“She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak. I’ve been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks”

Named after the Nirvana song “Heart-Shaped Box”. This EV spread was similar what to Alec Ruben (Namuko Pro) used at Virginia Regionals, but I adjusted the spread to outspeed Bisharp by 1 point and then put the remaining EVs into Special Attack in order to make the most out of Rotom’s offensive presence. I opted for Thunder Wave over Will-O-Wisp for speed control, and the occasional full paralysis didn’t hurt. Safety Goggles gave me a better matchup against Amoonguss and Breloom while also negating sand damage.

NoVeMbErRaiN (Azumarill) (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Def / 12 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Play Rough
– Aqua Jet
– Belly Drum
– Protect

“Nothing lasts forever and we both know hearts can change. It’s hard to hold a candle in the cold November rain”

Named after the Guns N Roses song “November Rain”. Azumarill was the last member added to the team and was initially selected for the resistances it offered my team. However, after using it I discovered what a powerhouse it could be. I used the standard belly drum set so there’s not much to say about it. The EV spread was given to me by Kyle Timbrook (TM Ruby). Despite doing well in practice, it was probably my least used Pokémon during nationals. I felt that a lot of my opponents had good counters for it which deterred me from using it.

Common Leads

If my opponents didn’t appear to have any Pokémon that use spread moves (like Hyper Voice Sylveon), this lead was a safe option. I think everybody knows how dangerous +6 Aqua Jet spam can be.

With the speed this lead possessed, I was able to apply immediate offensive pressure on my opponent. When I chose this lead I would typically bring Clefable and Salamence in the back with the intent of switching in-order to provide Follow Me and Intimidate support for Excadrill.

If the opponents team preview did not contain Pokémon with Defiant/ Competitive abilities and/or contained mostly physical Pokémon this was a common lead that allowed Clefable to get off a few free minimize boosts.

Tournament Summary

I was very nervous prior to the start of the tournament because I could not get a rank higher than 1,500 on Pokémon Showdown, but I was running out of time and ideas. I decided to enter this team primarily because I had done well with sand in 2013.

Day 1 I faced a lot of really good players, such as Paul Chua (Pwny Person), Mike Suleski (OmegaDonut), Alex Underhill (Lexicon), and Zach Droegkamp (Braverius). I know there are more, but I am going solely off of memory so I’m sorry if I forgot anybody. I played Paul Chua around round 3 and his rain team proved to be too much for me to handle.  Several rounds later I lost to Alex Underhill in a well-played sand vs. sand showdown. My most memorable match of the day was against Zach Droegkamp. I was 6-2 and it was the final round of Swiss.  I needed a win in order to advance to day 2. When I saw my match up I was extremely nervous because I knew the caliber of my opponent.  I ended up getting very lucky in the last match of the set with an Ice Beam freeze that may have won me the game.

Day 2 I played some more exceptional players. Chris Danzo (Lunar), James Ball (Pball0010) , James Baek (Jamespeed1), Demitrios Kaguras (Kingdjk), Paul Chua again, and  and Aaron Liebersbach (Arch).

I finished day 2 with a record of  3-3 which put me at 20^th place. I also used this team to place 2^nd at my first PC of the 2016 season.  Overall I felt that the team did very well and it was definitely a lot of fun to play with.

Special Thanks

• Johnathan Neville (TM Gold), Kyle Timbrook (TM Ruby), Erik Humfleet (TM Y3llow/Epoke28), Josh Meyers, and my brother Bryan Reed for spending countless hours throughout the season helping me practice and team build.
• Erik Humfleet (TM Y3llow/Epoke28) again for taking the time to breed my entire team shiny and EV train it for me. I probably would have ended up with a lot less cool, partially EVd team otherwise.
• My brother Bryan Reed again for attending all of the tournaments with me and offering words of encouragement.
• My girlfriend Tara for supporting this hobby, even when I missed Valentine’s day to scrub out in Missouri.
• Astronautical for creating the awesome cover art! Check out Astronautical’s art thread!
• The Pokémon community as a whole. There are so many cool people I have met while playing this game and it is always enjoyable to attend these tournaments. You guys rock!

The post Alice Unchained: A 20th Place US Nationals Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Good day everybody, I would assume most don’t know who I am, but my name is Stefan Smigoc. I am 15 years old and this was my first and last year as a senior. Some of you may know me as Eekthegeek, the name of my YouTube channel, Twitter and Nugget Bridge account. I have been playing VGC for a few months and have only gotten the chance to compete in two live events, Seattle Regionals and U.S. Nationals where I finished top 16 and top 8 respectively. In this report I will share my team that I used at U.S. Nationals and how the experience went overall.

The Team Building Process

When I first started building this team I didn’t take it too seriously. I started with the idea of building a team that allowed Kangaskhan to be able to destroy teams without being overly reliant on it. I first decided on building the perfect core around Kangaskhan.

When I had originally built this core I thought it was perfect. Amoonguss can redirect Fighting-type moves away from Kangaskhan and disrupt foes with Spore. Then if people tried to Intimidate Kangaskhan to prevent it from picking up KOs, they had to risk dealing with a new bulky monster being Milotic.

This ended up being the first draft of the team. While I had many changes before and after this team, I used this version of the team for the longest period of time not counting the finished product. I added Heatran, Sylveon and Hydreigon with the idea that I would have a complete Water, Grass, Fire core and a Steel, Fairy, Dragon core as well. I soon realized that type cores like this don’t mean much at all. In the end I gave up on the team because I realized I struggle using Hydreigon, Sylveon and Heatran. My huge Fighting-type weakness also made me reliant on Amoonguss every match just to spam Rage Powder. The team did accomplish one important thing; all the Pokemon had decent bulk while still being able to OHKO other threats and I had only one physical attacker being Kangaskhan. I must have really been afraid of Intimidate or something because this was the most anti-Intimidate team I have ever used.

The Final Team

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite***Imma punchu
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Protect
– Power-Up Punch
– Return
– Sucker Punch

At a glance most may think ugh what a boring standard meta game team. To that all I have to say is ‘so what?’ If it’s boring beat me quickly and end your misery. Now Kangaskhan is very standard and so is the spread, but I have strong justification for why I did what I did. Let’s start with the move Power-Up Punch as this swayed my opinion on the rest of the set. I had originally looked at Low Kick Kangaskhan but the damage was disappointing. After trying Power-Up Punch once I fell in love immediately! After one Power-Up Punch, a +2 Kangaskhan could OHKO just about anything. There have been multiple occasions where I simply lead Kangaskhan and Amoonguss and proceed to sweep by spamming Rage Powder and then just punching everything with Kangaskhan. Now one of the most interesting things about this Kangaskhan is the use of Protect over Fake Out. While Fake Out is huge for early momentum swings, it is a waste of a move slot thereafter as you cannot use it again until you retreat Kangaskhan and then send it out on subsequent occasions. With Power-Up Punch, I rarely wanted to switch out in the first place so Fake Out wouldn’t be used often. Also, many people expected Fake Out and either used Protect in both slots or switched out, thus allowing me to get off free Power-Up Punches for more momentum than Fake Out could ever dream of. The Adamant nature is a pretty simple justification, I don’t care about that bit of extra Speed for being Jolly and I didn’t want to rely on Power-Up Punch all the time to ensure Kangaskhan hits hard. Lastly the simple decision of Return over Double-Edge was that I didn’t miss out on to many KOs without Double-Edge and I wouldn’t have to worry about knocking myself out. Oh yeah and if you noticed I had Inner Focus that was me being lazy and not getting a Scrappy Kangaskhan. It actually probably came in handy more because the Dream Ball that Kangaskhan was in meant people assumed it was Scrappy from the outset!

Milotic @ Rocky Helmet***Bell
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 228 HP / 164 Def / 92 SpA / 12 SpD / 12 Spe
Bold Nature
– Scald
– Icy Wind
– Recover
– Protect

Oh Milotic, what a gentle majestic creature. Oh? What’s this? You sent out your legendary Landorus-Therian and flying croissant? Well say hello to my competitive Dragon-slaying monster! Milotic is one of the most anti-meta game Pokemon I have ever seen! I fell in love after first use and next to Kangaskhan these two are the cutest, prettiest and most monstrous bad girls in the game. Yeah, I never thought I would say that about any Pokemon I used either! I used Milotic first off  for the sole purpose of scaring off opposing Intimidate users. I’ve ran so many different sets here that I still do not have a favorite. Regardless, when Milotic hit the field it made Salamence and Landorus-Therian hide behind their trainer until they were the last Pokemon left and were dragged out to their doom. I ended up choosing to use a bulky Milotic because my team had enough offense and the Choice Scarf was already used up. The move set is simple, Scald is a powerful STAB Water-type move with a chance to burn. Icy Wind provides Speed control. With a Competitive boost, it can OHKO Landorus-Therian and Salamence. Protect and Recover increase my staying power as Milotic’s purpose was to sit on the field, limiting switch options for my opponent. Who knew switch control could be a thing. Here are some calcs for what the EV spread does:

• 148+ SpA Ludicolo Giga Drain vs. 228 HP / 12 SpD Milotic: 84-98 (42.2 – 49.2%) — guaranteed 3HKO
• 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 228 HP / 12 SpD Milotic: 159-190 (79.8 – 95.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 228 HP / 164+ Def Milotic: 151-178 (75.8 – 89.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• +2 92 SpA Milotic Icy Wind vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Salamence: 152-180 (88.8 – 105.2%) — 31.3% chance to OHKO
• +2 92 SpA Milotic Icy Wind vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-T: 164-196 (99.3 – 118.7%) — 93.8% chance to OHKO
• 92 SpA Milotic Scald vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 96-114 (57.4 – 68.2%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

I never once missed the KO on Salamence and Landorus-T, usually Salamence had taken chip damage or recoil before I hit it or because it ended up being the end game and I had single target Icy Wind. The item choice of Rocky Helmet was me not really caring about the item with the more valuable Sitrus Berry and Choice Scarf option already in use. I hadn’t thought about Maranga Berry until I saw Wolfe Glick use it at Nationals and I ended up realizing that would have been a great idea. Regardless Rocky Helmet was fun and extra chip can be big on Salamence if they are using Return instead of Double-Edge.

Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry***BestPixie
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 62
EVs: 188 HP / 156 Def / 164 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
– Rage Powder
– Spore
– Giga Drain
– Protect

Ugh this Mushroom thing… My least favorite Pokemon to go against but my favorite to use! The idea was simple, Rage Powder all the Fighting, Grass and Electric-type attacks away from Kangaskhan and Milotic and when I feel like spicing things up, throw some pixie dust to put my opponents to bed early. I am sure most of you have seen this thing in action and already know its purpose. Kangaskhan and Amoonguss are two of the most frustrating Pokemon to go against when ran right. Having Protect on Kangaskhan could allow for opportunities where I Protect and Spore getting me out of many sticky situations. With the Sitrus Berry equipped, along with Giga Drain and Regenerator, it is very hard to take out Amoonguss. Here are some calcs on what Amoonguss can live with this EV spread.

• 252 SpA Mega Charizard Y Heat Wave vs. 188 HP / 164+ SpD Amoonguss in Sun: 192-228 (90.1 – 107%) — 37.5% chance to OHKO
• 252 SpA Aerilate Mega Salamence Hyper Voice vs. 188 HP / 164+ SpD Amoonguss: 128-152 (60 – 71.3%) — 90.6% chance to 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
• 252 SpA Mega Gardevoir Psyshock vs. 188 HP / 156 Def Amoonguss: 180-212 (84.5 – 99.5%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery (Psychic does 92% max)
• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 188 HP / 156 Def Amoonguss: 180-214 (84.5 – 100.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery

The one problem that I had to be careful of was Salamence could OHKO with Double Edge easily. This spread was given to me by a friend and I have no idea where they got it, but it is the spread I stick with because I have no reason to change it and it hasn’t failed me.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf***Sera
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Rock Slide
– Superpower
– Earthquake
– U-turn

Do I have to explain this this standard Landorus-T setup? All I wanted was a way to OHKO Charizard-Y and have a fast Rock Slide because why not. After Nationals I tested Choice Band Landorus-T on other teams and I have two things to say about it. It is much harder to use but it is way better if played right.

Thundurus @ Life Orb***Zeus
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
– Thunder Wave
– Thunderbolt
– Taunt
– Hidden Power [Ice]

Now this may have been one of the biggest mistakes of my team. I debated bulky Thundurus for the longest time but I just could not find a spread that I liked. I ended up trying the fully offensive Life Orb set because it was another Charizard-Y counter and alongside Landorus-T I could either Earthquake or Rock Slide whilst using Thunderbolt to pick up lots of knockouts. Thundurus is really fast with base 111 Speed but running the offensive variant was hard because it tempted me to use Thunderbolt or Hidden Power Ice rather than the supporting moves of Taunt or Thunder Wave, unless there was an Amoonguss on the field which would be instantly taunted. Other then that there isn’t much to say about Thundurus, I could have tried a bulky one but I never do well with bulky Thundurus.

Entei @ Leftovers***MyBestie
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 4 Atk / 104 Def / 136 SpD / 20 Spe
Impish Nature
– Sacred Fire
– Substitute
– Snarl
– Protect

Oh Entei, my poor baby why didn’t I use you more. At first I used Entei because I thought it would be cool but after testing and coming up with an EV spread I was impressed by what it could do! Entei was the least brought Pokemon on my team yet I believe it may have been the best. Almost every game I brought it to I won and it always put in the most work regardless of the outcome. When I looked at my previous five there was one big thing sticking out to me that I did not like, my team was boring. Pokemon is about having fun and Entei filled that emptiness on my team. Don’t get me wrong, punching everything with Kangaskhan while Amoonguss throws its pixie dust is still fun, but Entei was the real MVP. Here are some calcs to give you a feel for the bulk.

• 252 Atk Tyranitar Rock Slide vs. 244 HP / 104+ Def Entei: 92-110 (41.6 – 49.7%) — guaranteed 3HKO after sandstorm damage and Leftovers recovery
• 252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 244 HP / 104+ Def Entei: 140-168 (63.3 – 76%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ SpA Ludicolo Scald vs. 244 HP / 136 SpD Entei in Rain: 192-228 (86.8 – 103.1%) — 18.8% chance to OHKO
• 252+ SpA Life Orb Heatran Earth Power vs. 244 HP / 136 SpD Entei: 159-187 (71.9 – 84.6%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

The Speed I chose was to outspeed Adamant Bisharp and anything around that speed. Entei really didn’t need any Speed as it could take hits well. Now the biggest question I get is why bulky Entei over offensive Entei? I have two answers to that. First, Entei is one of my favorite Pokemon and I think it looks absolutely amazing! With the bulky set it could survive longer and therefore stay on the field longer so I could look at the majestic beast longer. Secondly, people just don’t know what to do with Entei so they expect it to die after one attack because I am offensive or they don’t attack me thinking it’s not a threat. From there I get a Substitute, burn opposition or get a Snarl off for free. If that happens, good luck to you because Entei can be hard to take out.

I think the move set makes sense by now, Protect is a staple on any VGC team and allows me to get Leftovers recovery. Snarl allows me to weaken Special Attackers, increasing my staying power. Substitute wasn’t used often but came in handy to avoid Spore and other status moves. Sacred Fire was my only decent damaging move and without investment picked up a lot of two-hit knock-outs surprisingly. I could also predict Landorus-T or Kangaskhan switch-ins, giving me a chance to burn them with Sacred Fire and weaken them to a point where another hit often KOs. Now Sacred Fire’s burn chance is only 50% but I didn’t mind not having Will-O-Wisp as I made sure I wasn’t over reliant on the burn winning me the game in the first place. In a best of three I was willing to take the risk. I don’t have much to say about the item choice here; I could have run Safety Goggles and got rid of Substitute, but Substitute and Leftovers is a common effective strategy. I definitely do not regret using Entei as people began to recognize me as that Entei kid even though the rest of my team was boring. Overall I enjoyed using Entei as it was unique and took hits like a champ. He truly was MyBestie.

Pre-Nationals Thoughts

With my team looking pretty good and ready to go for Nationals it was time to know my threats and certain win conditions. I decided to use the team in the June International Challenge for Senior division practice a week before nationals as I figured no one would recognize my name. It was a good thing I chose to use the extra practice as after finishing 26-4 I noticed that all my losses had Cresselia on my opponents team! This was huge as I was then able to note that Cresselia would be a problem and had to be dealt with.

Threats

Now this wasn’t because my team was necessarily bad against Cresselia, but that I don’t know how to deal with it efficiently. The lack of powerful Ghost or Dark-type moves allowed Cresselia to always stick around for awhile. I knew I could chip at it with U-turn Landorus-T and Return Kangaskhan but even that couldn’t KO and potentially Rocky Helmet could punish me hard. That, in combination with Icy Wind or Thunder Wave to badly cripple my team and give my opponents’ valuable momentum. After going against so many Cresselia throughout my run with this team I found ways to work around it and win! Sometimes that meant Power-Up Punching my own Amoonguss to later get a powerful Return or Sucker Punch.

Rotom-Heat was always annoying in opening game of a best-of-three set. Overall I didn’t mind it too much but it could still prove to be a problem. It commonly runs either Sitrus Berry or Safety Goggles; both are annoying. Safety Goggles allows it to Will-O-Wisp past Amoonguss into Kangaskhan or Landorus-T. It also can go offensive with Overheat or Thunderbolt to really punch holes in the majority of my team. Whether it has Sitrus Berry or not just changes my Rock Slides and Returns from 2HKOs to potentially 3HKOs, allowing it time to burn or hit me more than I would like. I soon realized I could double target it with Kangaskhan and Landorus-T or straight up wall it with Entei.

Other then that I honestly never lost to anything consistently and had answers for just about everything besides Ben Piercy’s team (but we will get to that later). Any other threats I saw were easily dealt with a +2 Kangaskhan hence where I got my catchphrase for nationals: When in doubt, punch it.

Nationals

Being my first Nationals and my last event as a Senior I was definitely nervous as the stakes were high. Going into Swiss I had no idea what to expect and whether I was even good enough for top cut. Many people seemed to know each other and I felt alone for the first half of Swiss and even the day before watching the Masters play. I don’t remember much from my matches but I did right down my opponents teams and a few key things so i’ll give my best run down of Swiss.

Match 1 vs. Devan Brown

Looking at Devan and his team I knew I wasn’t going to get an easy start and I believe Devan may have nearly made top cut.

The first game made me feel really good about myself as I got a clean 3-0 win, taking out his Politoed, Mega Metagross, Thundurus and Scizor with ease. The only problem was I didn’t get enough information out of the game and in game two he retaliates with a 3-0 victory of his own. At this point I had identified important things such as Hammer Arm on Metagross plus Light Screen and Toxic Cresselia. That game he brought Scizor, Metagross and Cresselia and I was only able to take out Scizor. After noticing his rain wasn’t a good choice to bring to the battle, Entei helped beat both his Steel-types in game 3 for a 4-1 victory. This time he opted for Rhyperior, Cresselia, Scizor, Metagross. The Cresselia and Rhyperior combination was a problem, but Milotic was able to deal with it quite well.

Win 2-1 (Record: 1-0 (2-1))

Match 2 vs. Carson Confer (FootballFreak99)

Winning my first game gave me a huge boost. At Seattle Regionals I actually lost my first game, so being able to finally start off positive was nice. Congratulations also to Carson for getting top 16. Looking at my opponents’ team I was ready as it had similarities in the team I faced in the previous round.

In game one my opponent leads with Metagross and Volcarona, Politoed and Thundurus-I in the back. I don’t remember much except that the game was close but I always felt a step ahead of my opponent. A Scald burn on his Metagross consolidated my position, wrapping up the game for a 2-0 victory. Game two came along and my opponent made great adjustments by using Thundurus to deal with my Milotic which gave him trouble in the first game and Scrafty to Intimidate Landorus-T and Kangaskhan, two big threats to his team. I managed to work around it and pulled another 2-0 victory. I could tell that the burn in the first game got in his head; he was still talking about it when we were walking away from the table.

Win 2-0 (Record: 2-0 (4-1))

Match 3 vs. Jake Skurchak (Pokebeys)

Jake finished as the second seed at the end of Swiss and it was definitely a good thing I didn’t know he was so good at the time or I would have freaked out. I believe he finished in the Top 4 so congratulations Jake! At this point I was a pro at going against rain as this was the third one in a row!

In our first game my opponent leads Ludcolo and Politoed and being more then ready for rain I get a fairly easy win (3-0) beating his Mawile and Thundurus in the back. Sadly I don’t remember much of how I won and lost these matches but in the second game he lead Mawile and Terrakion which absolutely destroyed me 0-3. I was so focused on the next battle I didn’t even right down the Pokemon I took out on his side and what else he had sent out after that. Game three was much better and we both played our best. He lead with Terrakion and Ludicolo and had Mawile alongside Thundurus in the back. The match was very close and I pulled off a 1-0 win. Jake’s only loss during Swiss was to me and he personally told me I was his hardest match up. That made me feel very accomplished.

Win 2-1 (Record: 3-0 (6-2))

Match 4 vs. Logan Honts

As soon as I saw my opponents team my jaw dropped to the floor! It looked absolutely insane and I knew my opponent wasn’t going to be easy! Obviously he had been doing something right to start his day off 3-0.

Game one my opponent leads Charizard-Y and Rhyperior with Dragonite and Sawsbuck in the back. Offensive Thundurus was amazing against his team as I could Hidden Power Ice or Thunderbolt the majority of his team for OHKOs and whatever was left was easy pickings for the rest of my team. I won game one 2-0. Other than Thundurus putting in work and Kangaskhan punching half his team to death I don’t remember much of the matches as I was too busy gawking in awe of his awesome team. Game two he leads with Ninetales and Sawsbuck leaving Charizard-Y and Rhyperior in the back. While Sawsbuck was fast and threatening with coverage that hit my entire team for super effective damage, it simply didn’t hit hard enough and was too frail. I won game two 3-0.

Win 2-0 (Record: 4-0 (8-2))

Match 5 vs. Kylie Chua

I assume you all know who Kylie is because I sure did and I was scared going into my next match. Also, congrats to Kylie for finishing in the Top 16! As soon as I saw her team I knew it would be tough as the teams were very similar.

I barely remember our first two matches as she lead with Thundurus and Sylveon to absolutely destroy me and finish me with her Kangaskhan for a quick 0-3 loss. I made great adjustments and was able to take down her squad of Landorus-T, Thundurus, Sylveon and Kangaskhan in game two for a narrow 1-0 victory. The third game I decided to bring Entei which I had not the previous two games and it proved to be a great choice as her Sylveon was able to wreak havoc on my team otherwise. With Entei putting in the finest of work I was able to wall her lead of Kangaskhan and Sylveon and punish her Landorus-T and Thundurus in the back. Eventually it came down to the wire but a critical hit Hyper Voice took out my Landorus-T when I needed it to live, in order to Rock Slide for the win next turn as Kangaskhan punches her last. Sadly I walk away with my first loss but I was OK with it as I knew Kylie Chua is a great experienced player.

Loss 1-2 (Record: 4-1 (9-4))

By this point in Swiss I’d met some awesome new people, one of the nicest being Gavin Gentry (Freckles666666). We talked after nearly every match and I got a bit closer with a few of the other top Senior players. I had at least accomplished one thing: I wasn’t a complete loner at Nationals.

Match 6 vs. Mihrab Samad (megachar10)

I was pumped for this match! Mihrab was an awesome opponent and it was great to talk to him. Sadly, afterwards I was disappointed in how bad our match was.

Game one he leads with Charizard and Lapras with Cresselia and Landorus-T in the back. It was a close match and he ended up winning 0-1. The next match was absolutely terrible! He leads Charizard again but this time alongside Landorus-T with Lapras and Cresselia in the back. I thought my team had a great match up but it was impossible to get things going when his lead really had luck on his side. He quickly won 0-3. I am not one to complain about lucky breaks and Mihrab is a great opponent, but without it we would have had a much better match. That’s Pokemon though.

Loss 0-2 (Record: 4-2 (9-6))

Match 7 vs. Beav Berg

At this point it was do or die. I couldn’t lose any more matches in order to make top cut so I was in full focus. I barely remember my next few matches except that Kangaskhan ruthlessly punched my opponents to death and showed my true rage! Just kidding, I wasn’t that angry. I was already doing better then I would have ever expected and figured only a few months of experience isn’t enough to top cut US Nationals. Regardless here was my opponents team!

Game one my opponent leads Suicune and Thundurus with Charizard and Scrafty in the back. I was so ready for game two I forgot to right down how much I beat him by I think it was either 2-0 or 3-0. Game two Beav uses the same Pokemon only leading Suicune+Scrafty with Thundurus and Charizard in the back. He improved his game but I still came out with a 1-0 win.

Win 2-0 (Record: 5-2 (11-6))

Match 8 vs. Abram Burrows

I knew my opponent was not going to let me get this easy as we were both one win from top cut and one loss from elimination. The last match of the day and the nerves were high. The second I saw his team I took a sigh of relief and proceeded to punch everything.

I sadly never got to figure out what his mega was as his Venusaur fainted on a switch in and he never used Gardevoir. I knew Kangaskhan could OHKO everything on his team save the Zapdos and Venusaur if they were bulky enough. Even then both Bisharp and Tyranitar go down to a Power-Up Punch so the boost would normally allow me to take out Zapdos and Venusaur anyways. The first battle he lead Infernape and Bisharp with Tyranitar and Zapdos in the back. His Infernape was a threat to my Kangaskhan but with a few switches and Rage Powders at the right times Kangaskhan was just able to punch his entire team for a 3-0 victory. Game two comes along and he leads Infernape and Tyranitar with Venusaur and Bisharp in the back. This time the wrath of Landorus-T and Kangaskhan gets another clean 3-0 victory and guarantees my top cut.

Win 2-0 (Record: 6-2 (13-6))

Top Cut Match 1 (Top 25) vs. Kade Karim

This was my first time ever top cutting an event and for it to be Nationals of all places made me ecstatic! As soon as I saw his team I was ready; it was another rain team.

My opponent leads with Ludicolo and Kangaskhan the first match and after the double Fake-Out pressure with no rain right away it was an easy 3-0 victory. I sadly don’t remember much of this match but I can say that he played his Aegislash very well and his bulky support Politoed was also surprising. Game two he leads full rain going Ludicolo and Politoed with Mawile and Aegislash in the back. With his rain lead forcing me not to use Entei and Landorus-T his Mawile and Aegislash in the back put in work but I still pulled out a victory. I was so happy I didn’t even right down the score. Congrats to Kade for top cut!

Win 2-0 (Record: 7-2 (15-6)) Made it to Top 16

Top Cut Match 2 (Top 16) vs. Gavin Gentry (Freckles666666)

Oh Gavin why did I have to go against you in Top 16. He needed Top 8 for Worlds and I still didn’t know what I would need but it was either Top 8 or Top 4. Gavin was very nice to me throughout the entire team and our match was a lot of fun. It reminded me of why I play Pokemon. His team looked amazing and I was ready for a tough match.

My best matches of the entire tournament were against Gavin. The first game he leads Lopunny and Sylveon with Cresselia and Aegislash in the back. My team doesn’t have any dark type moves other then Sucker Punch so Cresselia and Aegislash were a problem. He also made an awesome play using After You Lopunny to speed up his Sylveon and use Hyper Voice. It was devastating. Regardless, I  managed to pull out a 2-0 victory. Game two comes along and after the first few turns it felt over. His Blaziken got a Overheat OHKO onto my Amoonguss and his Cresselia was an impenetrable force with Calm Mind and Moonlight. Eventually I made some great plays, mostly getting Kangaskhan to +2 to beat his Cresselia, leaving us with Landorus-T and Kangaskhan vs a Speed Boosted Blaziken at 90% with a 1HP Sylveon. I knew his Blaziken was hiding the HP ice the entire time and would most likely OHKO my Landorus-T and outspeed. So I took the only option I had and Power-Up Punched his Sylveon for a +3 Kangaskhan and the KO as his Blaziken took out Landorus-T. The Life Orb recoil put him at 80% and it all came down to how much Sucker Punch could do. I picked up the KO and later looked up the calc: +3 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Blaziken: 121-143 (78 – 92.2%) — guaranteed 2HKO. I obviously hit the high roll and pulled out a narrow 1-0 victory putting me into Top 8 and leaving Gavin with no worlds invite. Sorry Gavin but congratulations on Top 16 hope to see you in Masters!

Win 2-0 (Record: 8-2 (17-6)) Made it to Top 8

Top Cut Match 3 (Top 8) vs. Ben Piercy

I still wonder to this day what would have happened if I had a different opponent for Top 8. Hopefully you all recognize his name as Ben ended up winning it all and became the 2015 US Senior National Champion. I guess if I had to lose to anyone it might as well be the Champion! His team was absolutely amazing and he thoroughly deserved the National title.

The first game my goal was to scout out as much as I could as I knew learning his crazy set was important. I did this extremely well and lost 0-3, but I learned about his scarf Latios and Physical Salamence along with a few other bits of key information. Going into the second game I am extremely disappointed in myself as I went against everything my team was made to do. Firstly, I didn’t use Entei. Looking back, Entei walled half his team and dished out great damage back. Secondly, I was to afraid to punch anything with Kangaskhan as I was anticipating Mach Punch from Breloom the entire time, but never came. The second game ended up being a Latios+Breloom sweep. I could have avoided it by Sucker Punching his Latios for the OHKO with Kangaskhan and Returning his Breloom. The reason why I didn’t was because he started the match with an Earth Power from Nidoqueen onto Kangaskhan putting me into what I thought was Mach Punch KO range. The thing was Ben chose to run Superpower and not Mach Punch. He really fooled me and he totally deserved the win.

Loss 0-2 (Record: 8-3 (17-8)) Ending my Seniors run in Top 8

Conclusion

Let me just say that I more than impressed myself with a Top 8 finish, despite being so new to the format and having zero experience behind me. Several people told me after my Top 8 match that I most likely made Worlds, but I had a gut feeling telling me I didn’t. Later that week when the Final CP rankings were up, there was my name in 47th, 30 points away from worlds. Those 30 points I could have earned from just going to one more Premier Challenge. Well that’s what I get for starting so late! In the end, I don’t mind that I missed out on worlds or a Top 4 finish at Nationals because it was only my first time and I still had many years as a Master to look forward to! Nationals was a great experience and I will remember every bit of it for a long time. Have a great day and I hope to see you all in the Masters Division!

Thanks to http://raizy.deviantart.com/ for the awesome art!

The post When In Doubt, Punch It- A Seniors Top 8 US Nationals Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Hi, I am Edward Cheung from Hong Kong. I finished 3rd in the Singapore Nationals to secure my Worlds invite.

This year is important to Hong Kong players as we start to have our own premier challenges. Singapore also had their fist National Championship. All this means that, for the very first time, Hong Kong players were able to qualify for Worlds! Singapore Nationals was the first time I traveled abroad for a Pokemon tournament. It was an excellent experience and I made a number of foreign friends who all love the game. It was great seeing you at Worlds!

The Team

Trick Room Gardevoir is a very common Pokemon in Japan, but not as much in the West. Personally, I think the metagame of Singapore and neighbouring countries is under greater influence from the West, and that made me more confident in bringing a Japanese-style team to the tournament.

The failure of my standard Trick Room Gardevoir in HK Regionals suggested to me that I should deviate from the main track a bit while maintaining the balance of the whole team. A thorough search of Japanese websites lead me to bicho’s report of Japanese Nationals.

Bicho’s team is best-of-one oriented. It is full of surprises like Imprison Gardevoir. As in the standard Trick Room Gardevoir team, Amoonguss, Heatran, and Landorus are the core members. While Ludicolo is such an excellent supplement with the Fake Out support for Trick Room and Fire-type check (Gardevoir’s presence attracts Fire-types often). Setting up rain is also crucial to Ludicolo as it can easily counter Choice Scarf Landorus, one of the biggest threats to the team. In bicho’s opinion, Prankster Rain Dance from Thundurus is superior to Drizzle Politoed, especially versus Charizard-Y, which can Mega Evolve and cancel out Drizzle. Thundurus can also provide Thunder Wave support as an alternative speed control to Trick Room.

Nevertheless, I think bicho’s team doesn’t fit the best-of-three format nor my playstyle, So I made several important modifications which will be mentioned below.

Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Telepathy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 60 Def / 76 SpA / 4 SpD / 116 Spe
Modest Nature
– Hyper Voice
– Psychic
– Trick Room
– Protect

This is a relatively fast Trick Room Gardevoir. It outspeeds Jolly Breloom, one of the big threats to the team, after Mega, and offers an instant KO after any chip damage. I forgot exactly how the defensive investment works, but it should survive common attacks like Life Orb max-Attack Talonflame Brave Bird. The reason why I used Telepathy instead of Trace is because I do not want the opponents identifying my speed, especially knowing that it outspeeds most other Gardevoir. I abandoned Imprison in the last few days as I guessed the overall usage of Mega Gardevoir would be quite low here. Though this leaves Sylveon as a big threat to my team, I do not regret the choice.

Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 96 SpD / 4 Spe
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 1 Spe
– Hidden Power [Ground]
– Spore
– Rage Powder
– Protect

Gardevoir’s best partner. Kangaskhan and all single-target physical attackers hate it. Gardevoir and Amoonguss attract Heatran, and with the increasing usage of Safety Goggles Heatran, standard Amoonguss can have a hard time even if it can survive long enough to get a Spore off. Given that I have Ludicolo as my last member as my grass coverage, I choose Hidden Power Ground over Giga Drain on Amoongus. I EVed 1 Speed against the standard 0 Speed Amoonguss, just in case.

Heatran @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 20 HP / 28 Def / 204 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
– Heat Wave
– Earth Power
– Ancient Power
– Protect

I admit that a modest Heatran is better in general. While timid Heatran is very situational, my team needs it to offer secure OHKO or switch-in pressure on opposing Heatran. Ancient Power also offers coverage on Charizard-Y and Rotom-H. Looking back at the whole tournament, if I were to choose again, I would replace the Safety Goggles with Shuca Berry as most of the opponents would opt to not lead their own Amoonguss against my team.

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 76 HP / 124 Atk / 52 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Earthquake
– Rock Slide
– Superpower
– U-turn

Offers Intimidate support for the weak Defense of Gardevoir. Survives Life orb Defiant-boosted Sucker Punch from Bisharp. But as the usage of Bisharp has dropped dramatically, I suggest just using the standard max-Attack set. That extra damage can matter.

Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 248 HP / 152 Def / 4 SpA / 20 SpD / 84 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 0 Atk / 30 Def
– Thunderbolt
– Thunder Wave
– Taunt
– Rain Dance

Thundurus offers a variety of support to any team. Prankster Rain Dance slows Mega Charizard Y and other Heat Wave users quite well, and offers a speed boost to Swift Swim Ludicolo. 84 Speed is used to outspeed the majority of Thundurus and Taunt them without much concern (Ludicolo needs to ensure not being Thunder Waved). I was choosing between Taunt and Hidden Power Ice before the tournament, but experience has shown me that a slow Hidden Power Ice user may not as useful as you think.

Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 76 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 172 Spe
Modest Nature
– Hydro Pump
– Ice Beam
– Giga Drain
– Fake Out

Ludicolo was the MVP of the team. It really helped me in a lot of matchups that my previous Gardevoir teams had trouble with. It functions well both in rain and in Trick Room. Choosing which water and grass moves to use were big issues. I chose Hydro Pump for pure damage output and Giga Drain as a means of HP recovery, and to hit Rotom-W, Gastrodon, and Swampert in the current metagame. The Speed is to outspeed Mega Aerodactyl in rain. Bicho mentioned it was a nightmare for him at the Japan National.

Leads and Strategies

1. Gardevoir+Amoonguss

The simplest lead against teams with lots of single-target attacks. If you lead Kangaskhan and Bisharp against this, you are totally ruined. I could Protect both Pokemon and Rage Powder and Hyper Voice next turn. If Kangaskhan has Double Edge, together with the Rock Helmet damage and recoil, Hyper Voice will KO it with a single blow.

2. Gardevoir+Landorus-T

Another common lead against teams with a lot of physical attackers. Used when I am not facing Defiant or Competitive Pokemon. If the opponent leads a Fake Out user, I just switch away Landorus-T for Amoonguss and Protect Gardevoir. Then next turn I start spamming Hyper Voice.

3. Gardevoir+Ludicolo

I can set up Trick Room at ease if there is no faster opposing Fake Out user. This lead is used against opposing rain teams with Politoed and Ludicolo.

4. Thundurus+Landorus-T

This lead is also quite common in many other teams but the great thing here is that I can Rain Dance and U-turn to my Ludicolo.

5. Thundurus+Ludicolo

This lead works well against Mega Salamence. Fake Out allows me to set up Rain Dance turn one, immediately exposing Salamence to the threat of an Ice Beam. This lead also cancels out the drought from Charizard-Y. If Charizard does not Mega, Thundurus can just continue to Rain Dance. Ludicolo will be guaranteed a maximum power Hydro Pump.

6. Thundurus+Amoonguss

When I do not have good ideas, I need both utility supporters. You need to choose to take either the Spore or Thunder Wave.

Major Threats

1. Mega Metagross

Metagross often accompanies rain teams, which puts a lot of pressure on my Heatran. Maybe some status moves from Thundurus and Amoonguss can help me, but I still need to play a very difficult game.

2. Landorus-T

Earthquake is a big threat. Rockslide flinches are annoying. The best way to deal with Landorus is to outspeed it with Ludicolo in the rain. The setup required to pull this off is often a problem.

3. Sylveon

Sylveon can deal huge damage to a lot of my team. The best solution is to focus on knocking it out before it launches too many Hyper Voices, Sylveon’s partner often denies me that luxury.

4. Snarl users (Suicune, Entei, Arcanine)

My team is heavily invested in Special Attack, so Snarl can slow my team down tremendously. Not only can Snarl reduce my damage output, but it can make my switches much more predictable.

The Battles

Round 1

We have altogether 8 Masters from Hong Kong. With 131 players in the field, I thought the chance of civil war would be quite low. Nevertheless, my first matchup of the day is Siu Hin, one of my friends from HK:

Salamence, Tyranitar, Excadrill, Cresselia, Sylveon, Aegislash

I am quite familiar with this team as Hin was using the same team in the HK Regionals. Still, I do not have a good counter to it. As the team has both a fast mode and slow mode, I’m not sure whether Trick Room or Thunder Wave is the best approach.

Game 1

He used: Tyranitar, Excadrill, Cresselia, Aegislash
I used: Thundurus, Landorus-T, Heatran, Ludicolo

I expect him to initiate the sand immediately so I lead Landorus to intimidate and Thundurus to Rain Dance. The game started quite well, but my Ludicolo failed to deal enough damage. Finally, I was forced to sacrifice Heatran to an Earthquake from Landorus, and I eventually lost to a fast Excadrill.

Game 2

He used: Tyranitar, Excadrill, Cresselia, Aegislash

I used: Thundurus, Landorus-T, Gardevoir, Ludicolo

I admit that my mind was lost after the first game. His Cresselia used Trick Room with his Tyranitar paralyzed. I got some luck by reversing Trick Room with my own Gardevoir. Not a decent victory, but it was still a win.

Game 3

He used: Cresselia, Sylveon, Tyranitar, Excadrill
I used: Thundurus, Landorus-T, Gardevoir, Ludicolo

Looking at the lead, I can say I was totally lost. He correctly predicted I would not bring out Heatran, and I had no good answer to Sylveon and its Hyper Voice earned him the first match.

1:2 Lose

Round 2

Losing the first round is never a good start in Swiss, as you know you will get a lower opponent’s win percentage. Six consecutive wins were needed to secure top cut. My second opponent, “Wheatscuits,” comes from Malaysia, and his team is:

Manectric, Virizion, Talonflame, Azumarill, Excadrill, Aegislash

It was a very unconventional team, and three out of the six Pokemon would cause trouble for my Gardevoir, namely Talonflame, Excadrill, and Aegislash. I knew I had to be very careful in playing around this.

Game 1

He used: Azumarill, Aegislash, Manectric, Talonflame
I used: Gardevoir, Amoonguss, Landorus-T, Heatran

Leading Gardevoir against Aegislash is never good. Still, I managed to overcome it by continually Sporing Aegislash. My Heatran was never used in the game.

Game 2

He used: Talonflame, Excadrill, Azumarill, Manectric
I used: Gardevoir, Amoonguss, Landorus-T, Heatran

I saw no reason to change my lead, which did pretty well even with so many threats to Gardevoir. I protected Gardevoir in first turn and tried to Spore the Talonflame after taking a Brave Bird. Finding it to have Safety Goggles, I switched out both my Pokemon. I managed to Spore his Belly Drum-boosted Azumarill, and from there my Landorus swept with ease.

2:0 Win

Round 3

I encountered a rain team in this round, from a Singapore player known as “Fluke”:

Gardevoir, Mawile, Ludicolo, Politoed, Talonflame, Terrakion

Game 1

He used: Ludicolo, Politoed, Mawile, Terrakion
I used: Thundurus, Amoonguss, Ludicolo, Gardevoir

Game 2

He used: Ludicolo, Politoed, Talonflame, Terrakion
I used: Gardevoir, Amoonguss, Ludicolo, Landorus-T

Two straight and easy wins with not much worthy to mention, other than the fact that discovering that his Ludicolo was a Life Orb variant without Fake Out really helped me in game two, knowing that I could Hyper Voice directly against his rain lead.

2:0 Win

Round 4

The two wins made me feel more comfortable and hopeful for Top Cut. But all my hope seemed to disappear as I saw I would be matched up with Singapore player “Derrick Li”:

Metagross, Ludicolo, Politoed, Zapdos, Terrakion, Gothitelle

Metagross with rain was a total destruction on my hope in my opinion. Still, all I could do was try my best and hope for some luck.

Game 1

He used: Ludicolo, Metagross, Zapdos, Politoed
I used: Thundurus, Ludicolo, Gardevoir, Amoonguss

Knowing that paralyzing his Metagross or putting it to sleep was critical for me to have a chance in this game, I lead Thundurus and Ludicolo. His Mega Metagross eventually showed Bullet Punch and seemed not to have Iron Head or Meteor Mash. With his Mega fully paralyzed several times, I took the first win.

Game 2

He used: Gothitelle, Metagross, Zapdos, Ludicolo
I used: Thundurus, Ludicolo, Gardevoir, Amoonguss

A notable mention is that the game was disconnected right after I gained a huge advantage from a critical hit Hydro Pump onto his Zapdos. As the game did not appear to be my definite victory, the judge asked us to start the whole game in the same manner, but the critical hit on the Hydro Pump did not appear. The game did not go too smoothly to begin with, as my mood was disrupted by the disconnection. My Ludicolo suffered huge damage from his taunted Gothitelle. His Zapdos successfully launched Tailwind, but I get both his Pokemon paralyzed. With my Ludicolo and Thundurus down, it seemed I did not have a good answer to Mega Metagross. I knew my Gardevoir could take a single hit from Bullet Punch so I just courageously launched a Hyper Voice to do as much damage I could. Eventually, his Mega suffered from full paralysis continuously once again and I was able to close out another win.

2:0 Win

Round 5

My opponent is “NinjaTank 3.” I cannot recall much from this match, as I played it the way I would against a standard Kangaskhan team. My team earned me an easy win in game two and three.

Kangaskhan, Landourus-T, Thundurus, Milotic, Amoonguss, Rotom-H

Game 1

He used: Milotic, Thundurus, Kangaskhan, Landorus-T
I used: Gardevoir, Amoonguss, Thundurus, Ludicolo

Game 2

He used: Kangaskhan, Rotom-H, Milotic, Thundurus
I used: Gardevoir, Ludicolo, Amoonguss, Thundurus

Game 3

He used: Kangaskhan, Landorus-T, Amoonguss, Rotom-H
I used: Landorus-T, Thundurus, Gardevoir, Ludicolo

2:1 Win

Round 6

Salamence , Bisharp, Amoonguss, Blaziken, Thundurus, Swampert

I have to say I like “Izzy’s” team very much. I used Mega Blaziken and Bisharp and scored a 2nd place at a Premier Challenge in the past. Blaziken is a great counter to most of the common Mega Pokemon used today.

Game 1

He used: Blaziken, Bisharp, Salamence, Thundurus
I used: Gardevoir, Ludicolo, Heatran, Amoonguss

Rockslide from non-Meag Blaziken gave me a surprise. I’m used to seeing Blaziken mixed with Superpower, Overheat, and Hidden Power Ice. Both my Amoonguss and Ludicolo were threatened by Flare Blitz from Blaziken. Although I managed to get the Trick Room up, he stalled the turns well and I was stuck after the four turns were over.

Game 2

He used: Salamence, Bisharp, Blaziken, Thundurus
I used: Ludicolo, Thundurus, Gardevoir, Amoonguss

His Bisharp really annoyed me as I was reluctant to use my Landorus-T despite under the threat of his physical Blaziken. This time I used an alternative approach of using Thunder Wave to slow his Blaziken down. The plan worked and his Blaziken had no answer to it, and I won by successfully launching Hyper Voices. In this game, he revealed Mega Salamence as another Rockslide user.

Game 3

He used: Blaziken, Bisharp, Salamence, Amoonguss
I used: Thundurus, Amoonguss, Gardevoir, Ludicolo

I used my disrupting lead in the last game. The first round paralysis of Blaziken helped my Amoonguss survive a potential Flare Blitz and successfully Spore his Bisharp. Under the rain, he could not stop my Mega Gardevoir.

Win 2:1

Round 7

It was 8:00 PM already and I hadn’t eaten for nearly 10 hours. Though the organizer announced a very brief dinner break, I did not go for anything as I felt any food would break my intense mood and make me lose my concentration. Of course, I don’t recommend this. Your health is important. As the game started, my Singapore opponent did not show up until five minutes into the round, and he came with a meal box. How evil!

Camerupt, Tyranitar, Aromatisse, Gastrodon, Escavlier, Slowbro

Great! He didn’t have a great answer to my Ludicolo, so I would definitely lead with it. Understanding that his Gastrodon was the most critical Pokemon in the matchup, I boldly brought my Amoonguss as well. Supported with Gardevoir and Thundurus, I thought it should be an easy game.

Game 1

He used: Gastrodon, Escavlier, Camerupt, Slowbro
I used: Ludicolo, Gardevoir, Thundurus, Amoonguss

His Escavlier was really annoying and my Hyper Voice could only do minimal damage. It turned out my Thundurus was the sole solution to it, and this game was won with difficulty.

Game 2

He used: Escavlier, Aromatisse, Camerupt, Gastrodon
I used: Heatran, Ludicolo,

I knew his Escavlier could easily ruin my team, so this time I opted for Heatran. With his Aromatisse and Escavlier walking into my Heatran, my plan was successful. His Aromatisse successfully launched Trick Room , which made things complicated. But with Protect and some good switch predictions, I managed to overcome and claimed my victory.

Win 2:0

Yes, I DID IT! 6 consecutive wins! I felt relieved and very hungry. One of the Hong Kong players, Pascoe, insisted that I should share this encouraging story as a good lesson for players, that they should not give up even if the situation looks bleak.

Quarterfinal

Pokézard is one of the youngest quarterfinalists of the Master Divisions. Though he did not recognize me, I knew that I had played him in an online tournament, the Asia Cup 2015.

Kangaskhan, Sylveon, Amoonguss, Heatran, Cresselia, Conkeldurr

A very bulky team which I assumed to be largely dependent on Trick Room. I was determined to bring anything that could disrupt his strategy.

Game 1

He used: Kangaskhan, Cresselia, Heatran, Conkeldurr
I used: Gardevoir, Thundurus, Amoonguss, Heatran

He revealed Skill Swap on Cresselia, which was really important later on in the game when I taunted it to prevent the damage reduction from stealing Pixilate from Gardevoir. Hidden Power Ground from Amoonguss finally became useful, breaking Heatran’s Substitute. I played this game well and collected lots of information for the next game.

Game 2

He used: Kangaskhan, Heatran, Cresselia, Conkeldurr
I used: Ludicolo, Thundurus, Gardevoir, Amoonguss

A very important discovery on his Kangaskhan was her low Speed. I confidently used Fake Out with my Ludicolo and set up my rain. He seemed surprised by this. On the other hand, I was unfamiliar with the situation and made a few misplays. Thundurus was knocked out at the best moment, allowing my Gardevoir to come in at a perfect time to offer instant pressure. He managed to setup Trick Room twice afterward, but that only created an opportunity for my Amoonguss to put all his Pokemon to sleep. I managed to make some correct predictions and ended this 14-turn match somewhat convincingly.

Win 2:0

Semifinal

After the quarterfinal, four players from four countries (Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong) were left in the tournament.

Kangaskhan, Sylveon, Suicune, Landorus, Heatran, Amoonguss

A very standard Tailwind, Mega Kangaskhan, and Sylveon team. I was pretty sure he would not use Amoonguss, so it was a guess on the remaining four.

Game 1

He used: Kangaskhan, Sylveon, Suicune, Heatran
I used: Thundurus, Amoonguss, Heatran, Gardevoir

My Amoonguss suffered massive damage from a critical hit Double-Edge in the first turn, and the damage done to my Thundurus by Sylveon confirmed to me that it had Choice Specs. The trauma done to my team was so great that I could do not much to make a comeback.

Game 2

He used: Kangaskhan, Heatran, Suicune, Sylveon
I used: Gardevoir, Landorus-T, Amoonguss, Heatran

This game was really one of my best in the whole tournament. Admittedly, I could have forseen the Tailwind coming from his Suicune and I could have used Trick Room that same turn. But that would have been a very risky play.

Game 3

He used: Kangaskhan, Sylveon, Landourus-T, Suicune
I used: Gardevoir, Amoonguss, Ludicolo, Heatran

I played well in general and controlled the tempo of the game in the beginning. But when I chose not to Fake Out Sylveon and Ice Beam the Landorus slot instead, the door opened for my opponent to get a critical Rockslide flinch on my Ludicolo and burn my Gardevoir with Scald afterward. That flinch really did break my dream of making it to finals. Though the Rockslide missed my Ludicolo another turn, that didn’t save me the game. Heatran eventually became useless in this game, and if I had used Thundurus instead, the rain could have helped me in the Landourus-T matchup.

So my journey ended here. I had no complaint about the hax, as it could have been avoided on my part. There’s a lot you can do to avoid putting your hope in the dice.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, the Singapore National was a great event. Applause must be given to the three organizers: Tan (tanzying), Soon (Soon), and Choong. The commentators Loh (slyx183) and Rafie were also excellent and professional. I did not expect Asia Pacific to have such great commentators as in America.

For the teambuilding process, I must thank my very good friend Travis (Himte28) who offered great help when fine-tuning the team.

Post-Worlds Reflection

Foreseeing Mega Gardevoir would continue to be common among top players, I boldly change my whole team into a dual-Mega team with Mega Charizard Y and replaced Psychic with Imprison on my Gardevoir. This team is highly complicated and I am not going to exhaust you with another team report, but feel free to leave a comment or send me a message if you are interested.

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Blaze
Level: 50
EVs: 172 HP / 92 Def / 52 SpA / 4 SpD / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
– Flamethrower
– Solar Beam
– Tailwind
– Protect

Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Rock Slide
– Crunch
– Superpower
– Ice Punch

Gardevoir @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 76 SpA / 4 SpD / 124 Spe
Modest Nature
– Hyper Voice
– Trick Room
– Imprison
– Protect

Landorus-Therian @ Expert Belt
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
– Earth Power
– Hidden Power [Ice]
– Stone Edge
– Protect

Aegislash @ Life Orb
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 156 HP / 4 Def / 236 SpA / 4 SpD / 108 Spe
Modest Nature
– Shadow Ball
– Flash Cannon
– Wide Guard
– King’s Shield

Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 4 SpA / 92 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
– Sludge Bomb
– Spore
– Rage Powder
– Protect

Unfortunately, I did not do well at Worlds. Starting out 3-1 and winning the first game of round five, it seemed that qualifying for day two was very close to me. At that moment I felt my brain was not working well as usual and lost consecutively, ending 3-4. So my suggestion to all new players who are preparing to come to the Worlds next year: get plenty of sleep the day before the competition, and build up your resilience to stress early in the season!

It was a tiring season, and I thought Worlds 2015 would mark the end of my competitive Pokemon journey. But the atmosphere of the venue and the enthusiasm of all competitors, especially my APAC friends Theron, Zulherryka, Zarif, and Phil, reminded me why we play so hard and strive for excellence. I promise I will do my best in VGC 2016, and hopefully show great improvement to all of you next year.

Thank you all for reading!

Thanks to my friend “Final Fantasy” from the HK Golden Forum for the cover art.

The post Singing in the Rain: A 3rd Place Singapore Nationals Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

• Normal font: Written by Caitlin (RandomVGC)
• Bold-face font: Written by Alec (Polecat)
• Italicized font: Written by Jonathan (MrEobo)

The Three Competitors:

Hey everyone, I’m Caitlin Beach (RandomVGC) and I got top 4 at Ft Wayne regionals this season! I used to play back in the 2009-2011 seasons, but I never went to any meaningful events aside from the Nats LCQ in 2010, where I scrubbed out in 3rd round against Brianna Birt (TR_Jessie) who is now a life long friend of mine! Her 2nd place finish at Houston 2 weeks prior to this event motivated me to try to place highly at this event. All my practice was with a modified version of Sogeking’s “Enter Zardy oo” team he posted a while ago on Twitter in a pastebin, which I took to the PC the night before regionals and promptly went 0-3 drop. I knew I couldn’t use that team for regionals because by using 3/5 of my preferred lead’s damaging moves with 90% accuracy, I was asking for trouble like another 0-3 drop. Unfortunately, I hadn’t practiced any other teams, so I went to bed upset with my performance and ready to admit to a 4-4 finish at best. As I was blow-drying my hair in the morning, Jon (MrEobo) gave me the team and I overheard him telling Alec how to use it. This is what I heard: “Just lead Kang/Azu every game.” He said a lot of other things about the team, but I couldn’t hear him over the blow dryer and I wasn’t bothered to ask him to say them again, though I would imagine those things were him reciting “Just lead Kang/Azu every game” repeatedly. Before the tournament started I was in a rather negative mood, so I was considering dropping prior to Round 1, but decided to play a few rounds and see if I could make cut, here’s how it went.

Hi everybody, this is Alec (polecat), and I placed in the Top 4 at Fort Wayne this past weekend! After a pretty disappointing premier challenge the night before (I went 3-4), I was not feeling very confident going into regionals on Sunday. I was feeling so unconfident that I abandoned the team I was going to use (which involved Inner Focus support Dragonite) and instead used this team, which was probably a good idea seeing as Inner Focus Dragonite probably would not have gotten me very far (but who knows?). Anyway, after a half decent night’s sleep, I woke up to Jon (MrEobo) saying, “Alec you’re going to use this team; just lead Kang/Azu every time and you’ll win.” Then, still pretty much asleep, I asked “What else is on this team?” Apparently there was also Heatran, Amoonguss, Thundurus, and Landorus, but I had pretty much fallen back asleep by the time Jon answered. I think I also asked what Heatran did, but I don’t really remember. Waiting in line to register, I still was swapping through my battle box, Dragonite or Kang/Azu, Dragonite or Kang/Azu? My chances with either team looked pretty slim; either use a team that was bad, and I knew it or use a team I had never seen before, much less used. I went with the latter. After registering I waited around for round 1, (Taco Bell the night before and not having breakfast did not help my stomach).

When I set out to make a team, I usually just end up using someone else’s due to a decision made by me the night before a major event. Although it never goes horribly wrong, it does tend to always go x-3! Before Ft. Wayne 2016, the past seven (7) regional and national events I attended had x-3 results with me finishing in various placings (top 32, top 64, and top 128). As you could imagine, I was getting pretty tired of the same exact record each and every time. I’ve been playing Pokémon since the 2012 Ft. Wayne regional event back in the fall of 2011, and it’s been a great deal of fun for me since then in spite of never placing higher than top 8. I’ve made some really nice friends along the way, and they continue to be the reason I compete. I’m Jonathan McMillan (MrEobo), and this is our interesting regional adventure.

Now that we’ve told a little bit about ourselves and our Pokémon experiences, let’s dive right into the team-building process! The only reason this team in particular came into existence was because of a quick and sloppy explanation, just after the 2015 Worlds event, of the VGC standard format which I told to a new local friend, Seongjun, who at the time was curious of this format he’d never experienced before. He then told me he wanted to make a team using these four Pokémon: Azumarill, Amoonguss, Landorus-T, and Kangaskhan. I thought to myself, “Holy grimer, that’s actually really good,” and after some back and forth questions and answers about viable sets and ideas, we came to Choice Scarf Landorus-T with Knock Off, Sitrus Berry Azumarill with Belly Drum, Rocky Helmet Amoonguss with Rage Powder, and Mega Kangaskhan with Fake Out support. I loved where the team was heading. I mentioned that adding Thundurus and Heatran would be a phenomenal decision which rounded out the team nicely, and THALKA was born (I then learned of CHALK a few days later). Here’s what I ended up with after some indecisive decision making with friends regarding the items and moves on Thundurus and Heatran:

The Team, The Team, The Team:

Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 188 HP / 236 Def / 84 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
– Giga Drain
– Spore
– Rage Powder
– Protect

This set was given to me by Andrew B. (Andykins) with the original creator being Justin S. (Panko). It survives neutral 252 Attack Tough Claws Zen Headbutt from Mega Metagross 100% of the time, or positive 156 Ice Beam from Ludicolo along with another neutral 252 Ice Beam from Politoed 100% of the time.

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Return
– Fake Out
– Sucker Punch
– Power-Up Punch

It’s just a fast Kangaskhan that’s a tad bulkier than usual. Nothing special.

Landorus-T @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Rock Slide
– Earthquake
– Superpower
– Knock Off

The faces I got when this thing used fast Knock Off were priceless. This Landorus-T is only meant to go fast and use Rock Slide if I were to not select my move in time.

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Play Rough
– Aqua Jet
– Belly Drum
– Protect

The EVs invested in HP trigger the Sitrus Berry after using Belly Drum, and the rest were dumped into each useful stat after maximizing its damage output.

Thundurus @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Thunderbolt
– Thunder Wave
– Taunt
– Swagger

This thing. This yamsing Thundurus. What does it do one-on-one against a Landorus-T? It Swaggers it. Beautiful, I know. The spread is designed to do only one thing: survive positive 252 Parental Bond Double-Edge from Mega Kangaskhan. Safety Goggles allows me to completely ignore Amoonguss and its redirection for dealing with opposing Azumarill, and even switch in on an incoming Spore. Taunt came in very handy, I believe more than Hidden Power Ice would have. This thing can’t take special hits very well, but that’s all right considering opposing special attackers were hitting themselves in confusion half of the time! On a side note: I’m completely indiscriminate when I fire off Swaggers. Physical attackers don’t move just as much as special attackers.

Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 44 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Overheat
– Heat Wave
– Earth Power
– Protect

Lastly, the Heatran. All I wanted to do was outpace neutral 252 base 70 Pokémon. That’s it. The rest was dumped into defenses after maximizing its damage output. Overheat allows me to reliably chunk, if not outright OHKO, opposing Aegislash and Amoonguss. Heat Wave just does solid spread damage, and Earth Power gives opposing Heatran problems. Shuca Berry allows it to survive tons of different Ground moves, and I found most other items weren’t compatible or viable with this set and team.

For those curious, I was contemplating Leftovers vs Safety Goggles and Hidden Power Ice vs Taunt on Thundurus for a really long time. I was constantly switching between them and testing them out. I was considering Will-O-Wisp on Heatran as well, but never actually tried it. I solidified the final choices a few days before attending the Houston 2016 regional, where I predictably went x-3 finishing top 64 once again. Although I didn’t perform nearly as well as I wanted, that didn’t change my opinion of the team. I knew everything that went wrong was my own fault and I was adamant that the team was solid.

Now for the event this article is actually focused around: the Ft. Wayne 2016 regional! I decided nothing about the team needed to be changed, and anticipated simply using it again. What I hadn’t anticipated was giving the team to Caitlin B. (RandomVGC) and Alec B. (Polecat) the morning of the event, not hours before it started, and having them entirely drop whatever they planned to use. I explained the premise of the team with “Literally just lead Kang Azu,” while Caitlin went into the bathroom to use the hairdryer. I told Alec a few more things like some damage calcs and alternate strategies, but these clearly weren’t too important for Caitlin to also hear seeing her final placing. After all, everything basically boiled down to leading Kang Azu!

We hurriedly got ourselves to the competition hall to check in, and the event began soon after:

The Swiss Rounds:

Leads*, Back**.

Round 1: Jonathan Lusk [3-0 W] 1-0

** * ** *

We sat right across from each other during the player meeting and looked directly at each other when we checked our phones for the online pairings. We laughed, found our table, and began the first round. Leading with Kangaskhan and Azumarill eventually lead to me setting up with both of them, and sweeping from there.

Round 2: Joseph Pokorney (SourKreme) [0-4 L] 1-1

* *

I’m bad at this game and allowed my opponent to KO my Azumarill with a crit after it set up its Belly Drum, and opted to instead Fake Out the Cresselia to prevent a Trick Room sweep from the opposing Mega Camerupt. I had no way to deal with the camel at that point as my Swaggers weren’t being effective and I quickly lost once Trick Room was set. Like, badly.

Round 3: Nicholas Sefranek [1-4 L] 1-2

* ** *

I don’t remember the specifics of this battle, but Swagger was used on both ends, I missed a Play Rough and a Swagger, and played overall with a losing mindset. Bad, Jon. Bad!

Round 4: Glenn Ross [4-0 W] 2-2

* * ** **

I was worried this would be my x-3 battle. Then I noticed two of his Pokémon were only level 30, so I just sort of won. After the round was over, I thought to myself, “Wait, that’s my resistance,” and cried internally.

Round 5: Chaz VanCleve [3-0 W] 3-2

** ** * *

Apparently, this team had answers to some things I had no idea it had answers to before this battle. He was a very good player, but Amoonguss kind of took everything and let me sweep easily once I got myself into a nice position.

Round 6: Ron Marlow [2-0 W] 4-2

* ** ** *

This team hates dealing with Hyper Voice, so I did things to deal with it. I don’t remember a lot, but I learned that positive 252 Huge Power Aqua Jet from Azumarill doesn’t even do 90% to a Blaziken with no defensive investment! So fetch.

Round 7: Whitney Johnson (brokestupidlonely) [2-0 W] 5-2

* ** * **

I was paired up to Whitney who was 5-1 coming into our round. Apparently, he had faced Alec B. before this round and lost to our team already. I didn’t know this at all going in, so I played how I thought was best. Apparently, it’s exactly how Alec beat him in their previous round, and he simply had little answers to reliably beat our team. Unfortunate, but at least the pairing helped my horrid resistance.

Round 8: Cody Gray [1-1 W] 6-2

* * ** **

This was it. This was, once again from putting myself into this situation, a chance to break my x-3 streak! I went in fairly confident, then grew nervous from team preview. We both lead with Kangaskhan and Amoonguss. I knew this mirror was difficult, but having Safety Goggles Thundurus in the back certainly helped. I switched out Kangaskhan for Thundurus and his Kangaskhan didn’t Fake Out my Amoonguss, and I ended up putting the Kangaskhan to sleep (I don’t remember what the opposing Amoonguss did, but it was obviously nothing important). Eventually, we ended up with only our own Amoonguss. I had weakened his pretty badly, and since he failed to switch it out, I was able to win on timer with nearly full HP. I did it! I had finally broken my x-3 streak!

(Sorry I didn’t take the greatest notes. In my defense, all I had were essentially post-it notes from the hotel)

Round 1 vs Jimmy Kriegle

He had:

He brought:

I brought:

“So here I go” I was thinking. “First match with this team, and shoot, this guy actually looks like he knows what he’s doing.” I lead Kang/Azu (what else was I supposed to do when this was literally the only info I had about my team?) and Jimmy leads Gardevoir/Entei. I Fake Out the Entei, thinking it had Will-O-Wisp for some reason (yeah…my brain was not with it), and eat a Hyper Voice to the face while Azumarill gets off a Belly Drum, so both my Pokemon are down to ~30% health (Azu was in even worse shape, I think). Next turn I believe I Return the Gardevoir slot and Aqua Jet the Entei (because I could tell from the mega-evolutions Kangaskhan was faster…? Looking back that logic does not sound solid at all, at worst I was subject to a speed tie, though), but Jimmy Protects and switches out Gardevoir, leaving him with a Suicune in KO range and an Entei vulnerable to Aqua Jet. Next turn Jimmy just lets me KO both his pokemon, and he sends out Gardevoir and Hydreigon. I Aqua Jet (and KO) the Gardevoir and get a Return off on the Hydreigon, before it KOs Kangaskhan. Final turn I send out Thundurus, and, because I’m feeling cheeky, I Swagger the Hydreigon, and then because I wasn’t feeling that cheeky, I also Aqua Jetted it for the KO, and I won this match 3-0.

Round 2 vs Sean Baemen

He had:

He brought:

I brought:

This was a close round. I lead Kang/Azu, and Sean leads Gengar/Clefairy. From the team preview, I could tell it was Perish trap, so I Fake Out the Gengar and Belly Drum with Azumarill. Sean went for a Helping Hand with Clefairy, and that threw me off. Thinking that the Clefairy was going to both somehow Helping Hand and Follow Me in the same turn, I make the worst possible move: Protect Azumarill and Mega-evolve Kangaskhan and Return the Clefairy slot, while Gengar sets up Perish Song. Details are hazy from here, but I know I was able to Aqua Jet and KO his Gothitelle as well as KO his Clefairy. Anyway, it ends up with Amoonguss and Thundurus, both with a Perish counter versus a Politoed with a Perish counter and a perfectly healthy Gengar. Turn 1 of the Perish Song he double Protects and I go for a Taunt and Giga Drain (so he couldn’t Disable Thunderbolt or Spore). Turn 2, Sean goes for a double Protect on Gengar and Hypnosis on Thundurus. Thankfully, double Protect fails, Sean misses with Hypnosis, and I get a critical hit with Thunderbolt and Spore the Gengar. Turn 3 of Perish Song, Sean takes his one guaranteed turn of sleep, I Thunderbolt the Gengar, knocking it out, and Giga Drain what would have been the Gengar slot, but that doesn’t matter because at the end of the turn, everything faints, and I win 0-0 because Amoonguss is a mushroom that can’t move for beans.

Round 3 Whitney Johnson

He had:

He brought:

I brought:

This was a fun match. I got a little bit lucky and also made a couple good plays. Whitney leads Salamence and Zapdos and I lead Kang/Azu. Turn 1, I switch out Azumarill for Landorus and Fake Out the Salamence. This was a decent play as Whitney used Thunderbolt on the Azumarill slot. I’m not entirely sure what happens from here. I know that at some point I tried to Sucker Punch his Conkeldurr for the KO, but it used Helping Hand, and that at another point I couldn’t tell if Conkeldurr would Ice Punch Landorus or Drain Punch Kangaskhan and I made the wrong call. I also know that I got a Power-Up-Punch off, I got pretty lucky with a paralysis (and also unlucky with a Rock Slide miss that would have KO’d Zapdos), and it came down to Azumarill just needing to knock out two Pokemon (Zapdos at low health and Milotic), which Azumarill can do easily, especially at +6 attack.

Round 4 Adam Baltrusatis

He had:

He brought:

I brought:

I don’t remember a lot about this match. I do remember that I spent a good amount of time maneuvering around Aegislash and that he led Aegislash and Rotom-Wash while I led Kang/Azu. It ends up with Mega-Venusaur and Blaziken versus a +4 Azumarill, a Thundurus, and a Landorus in the back. I Thunder Wave and Aqua Jet the Blaziken after he Protects for a turn (just in case it had Focus Sash), and Azumarill goes down to Giga Drain. After that it was just a combination of Earthquake, Swagger, and Taunt to take down the giant plant dinosaur, and I win 2-0.

Round 5 Ashton Cox (linkyoshimario)

He had:

He brought:

I brought:

So after going 4 rounds without losing, I was feeling pretty good. I remember thinking, I really hope I don’t have to play against Ashton next round, mainly because we’re pretty good buddies, but also because Ashton’s good and always has a trick up his sleeve, but I knew it was pretty likely as there were only 15 undefeated records left. So next round I got paired with Ashton. It was a fun match, but I got plain outplayed. In my opinion at least, Ashton’s team countered mine pretty hard with Breloom and Mega Salamence. Ashton leads Salamence and Breloom, and I lead Kang/Azu. I Fake Out the Breloom and go for a Belly Drum with Azumarill, but Ashton has none of that and switches out Breloom for Gastrodon and Double-Edges the Azumarill for the knock out. After that, it was pretty much game over, with me not being able to get into a good position to take the win and me misplaying a few times (not Sucker Punching a Mach Punching Breloom when I was at +1) Ashton takes the win, rightfully, and I lose 0-2.

Round 6 Choayi (Bob) Zhang

He had:

He brought:

I brought:

This was another Perish Trap team, something I didn’t want to play against again. Bob leads Gengar and Politoed. Great, I don’t even know what’s going to go for Perish Song. Turn 1 I go for a Fake Out on Mega Gengar and Belly Drum my Azumarill, and I’m pretty sure Politoed Perish Songs. Once again, details are getting a little vague. Bob just makes some good switches especially with Eject Button Amoonguss so that I don’t even get any meaningful attacks off. Regardless, it ends with Landorus and Thundurus versus Kingdra and Politoed in rain. I go for a Swagger on Kingdra, but that doesn’t really do anything, and Kingdra Muddy Waters both my Pokemon for the knockout and I lose 0-2.

Round 7 Cody Fourman

He had:

He brought:

I brought:

This was another scenario where I was really close to losing but somehow turned it around in the end, this time not because of luck but because I made some gutsy plays and my opponent psyched himself out. I lead Kang/Azu, and Cody leads Talonflame and Kangaskhan. I switch out Azumarill turn 1 for Landorus and my Kangaskhan Fake Outs his Kangaskhan who Protected while Talonflame used Tailwind. Next, his Kangaskhan Low Kicks mine for the KO and Talonflame uses Tailwind while I Thunderbolt it and it survives with Focus Sash. I send out Azumarill and think “Well, Talonflame is going to kill itself next turn anyway, so why don’t I Play Rough Kangaskhan and Thunder Wave it as well.” This Talonflame had Acrobatics, so it actually doesn’t knock itself out, and Azumarill takes some bad damage while also missing the Play Rough. Next turn I Aqua Jet the Talonflame (somehow…), and Cody Protects his Kangaskhan. Cody sends out Cresselia and I’m pretty much screwed unless I go for a Belly Drum on Azumarill, so I do. This pays off and I end up with Azumarill versus the world (his Kangaskhan was Taunted too), and Azumarill is able to knock out all of his Pokemon with 30% health left.

Round 8 Nicholas Sefranek

He had:

He brought:

I brought: ??? ???

Final round. I would say I won this one pretty handily. I lead Kang/Azu and Nicholas leads Swampert and Mega-Salamence. Details are again fuzzy; he makes a couple good plays with Wide Guard, but eventually it ends up with Kangaskhan and Landorus versus his Bisharp and Thundurus. I Power-Up Punch Bisharp for the KO and he’s left to try to Swagger me, hoping that I knock myself out. That doesn’t end up happening and I take the last round.

Round 1 – Donald Davis

He brought: ( )

I brought:

I lead Kang/Azu, he leads Ferrothorn/Rotom-H. I know he is expecting Rotom-H to be Faked Out and will try to Power Whip Azumarill, so I switched Azumarill out for Landorus, his Rotom-H protects, I Power-Up-Punch my own Landorus for +2 Attack, and he Power Whips the Landorus on the switch-in for 40-50%. I then just Return into the Rotom slot for 2 turns knocking out Rotom-H and Conkeldurr, while losing Landorus to the Ferrothorn. I then take out his Kangaskhan in the back and the last little bit of health from his Ferrothorn for the game. 3-0

(1-0)

Donald: “What just happened?”

Me: “I Power-Up-Punched my own Landorus.”

This exchange set the tone for my confidence going into the rest of the day.

Round 2 – Tyler Miller

I knew Tyler from Premier Challenges in the Ohio area and we’ve played once or twice before, so I knew he used to run trick room, and I mentally prepared for that before the round.

He brought: ( )

I brought:

I don’t remember much about this battle, but I do remember I got a Power-up Punch off in the first 2 turns and was able to get my Kang back to neutral Attack after a couple Intimidates. Not sure what Pokemon I lost, but I won this match 3-0

(2-0)

Round 3 – Vincent Rivera

He brought: ( )

I brought:

I don’t remember many details about this match, but I do remember the final few turns. It was his 60% Kang vs my 60% Azumarill and full HP Heatran. I didn’t know how much Aqua Jet from Azumarill would do to Kangaskhan while being unboosted, so I used Aqua Jet + Overheat attempting to get a secure 2HKO. I used Aqua Jet, and I watched the HP bar on Kangaskhan drop slowly…. To 50%, it only did ~10% to it, and Kang Low Kicked into Heatran for the OHKO, leaving me in a position with an Azumarill to do 50% to a Kang that could OHKO me with Return, which it did. 0-1

(2-1)

Round 4 – Mike Matrasko

He brought: ( )

I brought:

I lead Kang/Azu, and he leads Bisharp/Zapdos. I know he knows I’m going to Belly Drum and Fake Out, but because I know that, I Fake Out his Bisharp and Belly Drum. He switches Zapdos to Landorus-T to put my Kangaskhan at -1 Attack, Bisharp flinches, and Azumarill gets to +6 Attack. I then Protect Azumarill and Power-up Punch the Bisharp, which survives at 3% HP and Iron Heads the Azumarill slot while Landorus uses Rock Slide. Over the next few turns I lost Kangaskhan and preserved Azumarill, leaving me with full HP Heatran and 75% Azu against Zapdos and Milotic both in red health, so I just use Heat Wave for game.  3-0

(3-1)

Round 5 – Alex Thompson

He brought: ( )

I brought:

I lead Azu/Kang, and he leads Ferrothorn/Thundurus. I don’t remember the turn orders for this battle too well, but I got my Kangaskhan to +2 with Power-up Punch, knocked out Thundurus on the 2nd turn while it set up rain for Mega Swampert, stalled out the rain, and used Heatran to KO Ferrothorn and Kangaskhan to KO Swampert. Then Azumarill cleaned up the Rotom-H after Kangaskhan went down. 3-0

(4-1)

Round 6 – Sam Moore

He brought: ( )

I brought:

I lead (you guessed it) Azu/Kang, and he leads Excadrill/Illumise. I Fake Out Illumise and set up Belly Drum, then switch Kangaskhan out to Thundurus after his Illumise flinches and Excadrill protects. I honestly didn’t know Illumise had Prankster, just like Volbeat, so I didn’t expect it to Encore my Azumarill into Belly Drum. This battle came down to “hax” as my opponent put it. He knocked out my Thundurus with a critical hit Iron Head from Excadrill after the last Iron Head showed Thundurus could survive at least 1 more. Then he Encored my Azumarill into Protect, so I kept Azumarill in as to not give up my +6 Pokemon. He then doubled into my Azumarill as it got a double Protect, and I got a Power-up Punch on something then swept from there. 3-0

(5-1)

Round 7 – Matt Hazen (theamazinhazen)

He brought: ( )

I brought:

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: “What about Kang/Azu?” Well in the Salamence matchup you have to lead Thundurus, I promise! I used Fake Out on Salamence and Taunted the Amoonguss while he used Giga Drain on Kangaskhan that turn anticipating the Taunt and Salamence protected. Next turn I switched Kangaskhan to Heatran and Thunder Waved the Salamence. I just began launching Heat Waves and Thunderbolts, and the battle eventually came down to my Heatran and Kangaskhan against his Sylveon. 3-0

(6-1)

Round 8 – Martin Gajdosz

He brought: ( )

I brought:

I recorded this match except the last couple turns, so here’s the video:

(7-1)

After the round concluded and the final results were posted, Caitlin and Alec both found out they had made the top 16 cut! As I went to go see where I placed, Zach D. (Braverius) was walking away from the standings board and quickly looked at me to tell me, “I’m so sorry!”

When I saw I had the lowest resistance of all the x-2 players and finished at 34th (another top 64 finish), I felt defeated. Losing early on during swiss obviously didn’t help the situation, but I couldn’t help but feel crushed. Luckily, everything turned around once top cut started, and I had the most fun cheering on friends in top cut at an event than ever before!

After the last round, I felt alright about my chances to top cut. I knew that eight 6-2s would make it to top cut, and I knew that all of my opponents were pretty strong (all of them had winning or neutral records before the last round). I had asked most of them about their last match, and all of them won, except for one. I thought, at best, I would be seeded at 16th, and even if I wasn’t, I would have been content knowing 1 of my 2 losses were to someone that top cut, so I was surprised when I saw I got 12th, but regardless, I was through to top cut!

So, I made it. I didn’t think it was possible given that I had gone 0-3 drop at the PC the night before with a team I had been testing for a week (the longest I’ve actually tested a team). I waited around for a while to see my standing, and it turned out I had made 7th seed! Alec had also made it in top 16, and I was so proud of that because we got to rep our school in top cut with a team we never used before! But the pairings came up for top 16, and I had to play against Sam Schweitzer, my worst possible matchup in the first round of top cut.

The Top Cut:

Top 16 Curtis Cousins

He had: 
This match was not all that bad. One minute before my match, I realized it would probably be a good idea to have an actual notebook, and Jon generously loaned me his. I’m not usually one to brag, but even Curtis admitted that I outright outplayed him. Game 1, I led Azu/Kang and he led Charizard/Thundurus. Mainly I just made the right Protect predictions, did some clever Power-Up-Punching, and Curtis conceded Game 1. Game 2 I lead Kang/Landorus, did some similar things, and made most of the right calls, so Curtis didn’t really get a chance to get his foot in the door. I took Game 2. (which you might be able to watch here).

Top 8 Ashton Cox (linkyoshimario)

He had:
I had some concerns going into this match. Having played Ashton earlier, I knew my team didn’t have a solid answer for a Salamence/Breloom lead other than leading Thundurus and spamming Taunt/Swagger/Thunder Wave. Although this was probably one of my favorite matches I’ve had to date, it required a lot of luck and some good plays. Game 1 goes down similarly to my match with Ashton in Swiss, but with me getting closer to victory than before. Had a few more confusions gone my way, maybe I could have taken game 1, but you obviously can’t rely on Swagger to give you the win. Between Game 1 and Game 2, Ashton accidentally reveals some pretty important info: his Gastrodon doesn’t have Protect, so I’m able to Power-Up-Punch it for free, and Ashton, thinking that I’d go for Return, uses Recover. Game 2 was easier to take because he didn’t lead Breloom and I was able to set stuff up easier. Game 3 Ashton goes for a big risk, not using Salamence; it doesn’t really pay off for him unfortunately, but the game still could have gone either way.
The last match with Ashton was pretty exciting. Don’t remember a ton, but I know that it ended with me missing a pretty critical play rough, which was then offset by getting a critical hit with play rough later in the match. Overall a great match and a great best of three.

Top 4 Jeremy Rodrigues (Serapis)

He had: 
Here is where my journey ends. I think I could have taken Game 1 if I had predicted better, and I adjusted appropriately for Game 2. Game 3 was hard. Serapis brought Sableye which could Will-O-Wisp stuff, and I put up a pretty weak defense to it. I tried to slow it down with Swagger because I predicted it had Mental Herb (which it did), but Sableye hits through the confusion and Will-O-Wisps Landorus. After that I felt pretty defeated, because I didn’t have a solid way to take down his Terrakion or his Sableye with Landorus being so weak. Bringing Heatran may have helped with taking out Sableye and protecting my team from Will-O-Wisp, but with Terrakion on the field it would definitely have been tricky. I also accidentally Thunder Waved into a Lum Berry, which didn’t help matters much. Basically, it was a pretty fair series, and Serapis rightfully won this match fair and square. You can see the last game here:

Top 16 – Sam Schweitzer (Sam)

His Team:

After losing the last 2 best of 3 sets I had played online for ICPA, I had very little confidence going into this match, but I knew one thing: this is the hardest matchup I would have all day. Salamence is a big issue for our team, but adding in Porygon2 to be able to Ice Beam the genies and Hidden Power Ground the Heatran on my side made it so much worse. I needed to do something that someone told me that day, “play Japanese genies,” and so I did. I’ll let Sam go over this match in his article, but the main points I needed to win the match were:

1. Paralyze everything, I needed the speed advantage against Salamence with Kangaskhan and Heatran to clean up stuff that was paralyzed.
2. Power-up Punch, I needed something with a huge Attack stat to beat the Porygon2, and the only way to achieve that was by using Power-up Punch to get to +4 Attack and sweep once everything was paralyzed.
3. Confidence, I needed to not be afraid to make gutsy plays and not be predictable.

I took game 1 by following these points, then in game 2 I got out played with Amoonguss and ended up having to deal a lot of Rocky Helmet damage to my own Kangaskhan, so I failed in my goals for the match in this game. In game 3, I followed point 1 religiously, and then added a lot of Swagger on top of that while taunting his Amoonguss to make it as much of a non-factor as possible.

Top 8 – Alec Rubin (Namuko Pro)

His team:

I was really happy to see that I was paired against Alec for top 8 because this meant that I could redeem myself for losing to him at local PCs. I don’t recall much from this match, but I know that I played too defensively game 1 and he came out with a 4-0 win. Game 2 I was able to do the Belly Drum + Power-up Punch thing to tie up the series. In game 3 he recycled Intimidates against my Kang/Azu lead, but that has a limit of what it can do when Azumarill is at +6. Azumarill OHKO’s Arcanine and hits Thundurus for enough damage to take it out at 60%. He also missed a Will-O-Wisp in game 3, so I don’t know how much that would have changed things, but I’d probably have had to do some maneuvering with Amoonguss to ensure the victory through Rocky Helmet damage. I escaped this set with the W.

Top 4 – Andrew Burley (Andykins)

His team:

Top 4? Yeah, that’s how I felt going into this battle. I was looking to potentially outsmart Andy with some tricks I didn’t use against Sam since I knew they had the same team, but this was a match where game 1 was decided at team preview.

Game 1

He brought:
I brought:

I started by spreading Thunder Wave on his Salamence and hitting switch-ins with it after Taunting the Amoonguss, but I made a really big mistake in this game. By bringing Amoonguss, I weakened my Heatran matchup by a lot, and it came down to my Amoonguss against his Heatran and Mega Salamence, which goes about as well as trying to use Sunflora in the current meta.

Loss, 0-3

Game 2

I recorded this match! Here it is in its entirety!

The Immediate Retrospect

After everything wrapped up, we all decided to eat at Champion’s across the street from the venue for obvious reasons. I couldn’t believe how well the team performed between three different players that day, and was extremely satisfied with the results. My hopes are set on improving enough to consistently go x-2 or better at future events after having broken this x-3 rut, and outright performing better than season. Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to just lead Kang Azu.

Obviously I can’t be too upset with a top 4 finish. This was my first time using a standard team at any event, really, so that was interesting. In 2012 I used Guard Swap Shuckle, in 2013 I used Swift Swim Mantine, in 2014 I ran Double Poli+Electrode, and in 2015 I used Skill Swap Stantler. I remember being sort of frustrated at the end of Nationals last year and saying, “Next regionals I’m just going to do something standard. No gimmicks.” I almost went back on my word with Inner Focus Dragonite, but standard’s not bad, and it worked out pretty well for me. I felt I had a lot more second chances, so that’s something nice about using standard teams. Regardless, I’m thinking Imprison Sableye or Choice Scarf Darmanitan as my next frontier, but (un)fortunately now I’m feeling pressure to get a Worlds invite, so that may have to wait a year.

So I got top 4, my best result so far! I am extremely proud of that result, and very excited to have made it that deep in the tourney with so little preparation with this team. I look forward to attending a few more regionals this season as school permits. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @jakesaysstuff. I love interacting with the community and hopefully you all will follow my transition to be a better Pokemon player as the season continues.

The Shoutouts

Special thanks to Rosemary K. (Nekkra) for introducing me to Seongjun. That was sort of the initial push which got this team idea rolling! Huge shoutout to Seongjun himself for sparking the initial idea. Hopefully you’ll be able to attend events with Team Michigan soon. If it weren’t for Andrew B. (Andykins) and Jake M. (MajorBowman), Thundurus would have probably ended up with Chople Berry and Heatran with Safety Goggles. Congratulations as well to Andy for finishing 2nd overall! Of course, major shoutouts to Alec (Polecat) and Caitlin (RandomVGC) for choosing to use my team and doing exceptionally well with it! Two top fours is too strongo. Thank you to Nugget Bridge for giving us the opportunity to write this article in the first place, and a huge thanks to all of you reading this! I hope it was enjoyable!

Shoutouts to Ashton Cox (linkyoshimario) for an awesome best of four, Curtis Cousins for a mutual dislike of cheesecake (the dessert) and a good best of three, Jordan VanderZwaag (jvswag) for that round 5 (6?) burger, and to Austin Huffman and Alec Brennan for being cool people.

I want to say thank you to my friends and fans who inspired me and kept me positive throughout the day: Brianna Birt (TR_Jessie), Maureen Cox, Jake Muller (Majorbowman), Ian McLaughlin (Raikoo), Kevin Swastek (Kswas), Jordan VanderZwaag (JVSwag),  and Andrew Burley (Andykins). Without your support, I was very close to dropping before round 1, and I am extremely grateful that Jonathan McMillan (MrEobo) could convince me not to do so, and you all made it an enjoyable time.

The post Top 4, Top 4, We’ve Never Used This Team Before appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Hi Nugget Bridge,  this is Aiman Ishak hailing from Malaysia here. With the conclusion of Boston 2015 World Championships, I would like to share my team that I’ve used to clinch 2nd place in our first ever Malaysian Regional Championships held on 31 May 2015. The VGC community in Malaysia has grown from strength to strength with our Tournament Organiser Wilson Choong putting in tremendous effort to grow the game. For that I’m very grateful to be part of it. This served as motivation for me to share this report with the rest of the world and to make our presence known!

Teambuilding: Initial Concept

I’ve always been a fan of Charizard and I wished to innovate beyond the common Charizard Y and Sun abuse. Hence I decided to start off with a Charizard X core. Me and my friend Kevin Ngim even today like to make fun of each other, saying that Charizard Y (he’s a fan of this variant) is a fire lizard and Charizard X is a wannabe dragon. But we both knew that regardless of X or Y variants, a well supported Charizard can wreak havoc.

I needed a Water/Grass type to complete the Fire/Water/Grass core. Ludicolo was my choice as it fulfils 2 our of 3 typings required. Furthermore, I wanted a Fake Out user that could aid in Charizard X setting up Dragon Dances to boost its Speed and Attack. At the same time, it is a perfect Rain counter should I lose the weather war by abusing its Swift Swim ability. Its Grass typing also helps in ignoring common status and redirection from Breloom and Amoongus which may impair my Charizard’s ability to deal damage to important targets.

Suicune was selected as my primary means of Speed control using Tailwind. Furthermore, its bulk is essential in ensuring its impact to the team and also for the valuable Scald and Ice Beam coverage against common Pokemon like Landorus-Therian.

I needed a Fighting-type Pokemon that has good bulk, yet can operate in and out of Tailwind. Conkeldurr was my choice as it fulfils my first criteria. With Tailwind support, it would be able to outspeed key targets that are weak to Conkeldurr’s attacks. It is also my check against the ever common Mega Kangaskhan.

In my opinion, every team should always pack a specific tech to improve poor match-ups. In my case, I felt that Sylveon, whilst effective against Breloom and Amoongus with coverage moves and Hyper Voice, it is often stopped by Spore, of which my team has issues with. Hence I picked Safety Goggles as the item choice for this fairy cat.

Bisharp is a cookie cutter Dark-type of my choice. Effective Fairy check. Effective Intimidate check. Nothing much to mention here. It’s just that good. However, key issues such as its fraility and also the prevalence of Fire types severely limited its usage and utility.

Teambuilding: Adjustments for Malaysian Regionals

Overall, the team functioned pretty well in terms of synergy but after testing I didn’t like the feel of the team as it didn’t suit my play style. So I decided to make some key changes to the team until I finally settled on the team I brought to the Regionals.

The first member to drop was Ludicolo, as I felt that its main role is only to exert Fake Out pressure and act as a Rain check. In the event that I do not come across Rain teams, its role would be limited in respect to an underwhelming physical defense. I figured that a better Grass-type should be used, hence Amoonguss came into the picture. It fulfils both the Grass coverage, as well as bulk on both physical and special spectrums with the right EV investment. The redirection is also invaluable in facilitating Charizard X to set up.

Next, the Fake Out user was replaced by Scrafty. It provides Intimidate support and also fulfils the Fake Out pressure that I wanted. Inevitably, Conkeldurr was dropped.

For the Water-type Pokemon, my take was that Suicune was too passive in its role. It seemed to only soak hits and cannot really exert offensive pressure other than 4x Water or Ice-weak Pokemon. I decided to use Rotom-Wash instead. It can help to neuter physical attacks via Will-O-Wisp. The typing also helps since it resists Flying and is only weak to Grass, which Amoonguss can cover for it.

The Steel-type in my team Bisharp was replaced by Aegislash. I figured that Aegislash can do a better job defensively and it has access to support moves such as Wide Guard. Should a physical attacker attack Aegislash, there is the potential to drop their attack courtesy of King’s Shield. This can help to gain momentum and increases the overall bulk of the team.

Lastly, Sylveon was too slow for my liking and I needed a team member that was fast and/or carry some form of Speed control (preferably an Electric type in my case). Originally I planned to add Thundurus. But at that time, I didn’t manage to reset for one and decided to add Raikou instead. It is the fastest Snarl user in the current metagame which can help to increase bulk at the Special spectrum.

Final Team for Malaysian Regionals

>>

Charizard@ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 60 Def / 4 SpD / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Flare Blitz
– Dragon Claw
– Dragon Dance
– Protect

Charizard has always been my favourite Pokemon and the choice of X and Y mega variants further improved its potential. In my opinion, Charizard X was the cooler mega. So when Game Freak released Pokemon X and Y, I knew which game I was going to buy. Furthermore, the Y variant of Charizard was more popular in the VGC 2015 metagame since there were so many Intimidators like Salamence and Landorus-T.  Choosing the X variant allowed me to grab the surprise factor and initiative by baiting them to use Rock Slide and setup with Dragon Dance… provided that it doesn’t get flinched first of course!

This spread was inspired by my friend Kevin Ngim (Kepp). Defensively, the spread ensures that Charizard after mega-evolving survives the aforementioned Rock Slides and Earthquakes from Landorus-T, allowing it to set up. Offensively, with only 4 Attack EVs I am able to pick up key KOs on Mega Mawile and Steel-types with Flare Blitz.

Offensive calculations:

• 4+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Amoonguss: 224-266 (101.3 – 120.3%) — guaranteed OHKO
• 4+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Mawile: 206-246 (131.2 – 156.6%) — guaranteed OHKO
• 4+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Dragon Claw vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon: 182-216 (108.3 – 128.5%) — guaranteed OHKO

Defensive calculations:

• 252 Atk Garchomp Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 60 Def Mega Charizard X: 120-144 (64.8 – 77.8%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 60 Def Mega Charizard X: 132-156 (71.3 – 84.3%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Landorus-T Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 60 Def Mega Charizard X: 68-80 (36.7 – 43.2%) — guaranteed 3HKO
• 252 Atk Terrakion Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 60 Def Mega Charizard X: 84-98 (45.4 – 52.9%) — 25% chance to 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 60 Def Mega Charizard X: 136-162 (73.5 – 87.5%) — guaranteed 2HKO

The Speed benchmark I chose was to out-speed max Speed Adamant Landorus-T by 1 point. Overall Mega Charizard-X performed really well in the tournament, taking a lot people by surprise and often taking advantage of getting a Dragon Dance up and proceeding to clean up games from there.

Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 60 SpA / 148 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
– Hydro Pump
– Thunderbolt
– Will-O-Wisp
– Protect

Rotom-Wash was mainly here to wall and neutralise Talonflame, whose priority Brave Bird can cause issues to my team. I chose a more defensively orientated build in order to maximize its impact while on the field to support my teammates. This is also why Sitrus Berry was chosen, as it provides a reliable recovery option.

Offensive calculations:

• 60 SpA Rotom-W Hydro Pump vs. 12 HP / 4 SpD Landorus-T: 164-194 (98.7 – 116.8%) — 87.5% chance to OHKO
• 60 SpA Rotom-W Hydro Pump vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 134-158 (80.2 – 94.6%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Defensive calculations:

• 44+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Solar Beam vs. 252 HP / 148 SpD Rotom-W: 126-150 (80.2 – 95.5%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery

Though I wanted to use Rotom as a possible option to burn Kangaskhan and Bisharp, my Rotom doesn’t outspeed 252 speed Adamant Bisharp as I just took a previously made spread rather than breeding a new one. That aside, it was still able to take threats such as Terrakion and Landorus-T down. I couldn’t really remember what the spread was supposed to do. In hindsight, I should have done a little bit more calculating and this spread definitely needs more optimizing should I revisit the team again.

Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 158 Def / 100 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Giga Drain
– Rage Powder
– Spore
– Protect

Standard Amoonguss spread and moveset. I’m not going to elaborate too much on this choice. Its main role, is to provide redirection for Charizard-X to setup or pivot in on a predicted Kangaskhan Fake Out and make a dent in its health via Rocky Helmet recoil.  It also is my solution for Trick Room match-ups, whereby it can start Sporing at will and allow me to gain momentum while opposing Pokemon take a visit to dreamland.

An interesting note on this Amoonguss is that it is able to usually survive Ice Beams from Modest Life Orb Ludicolo and Timid Politoed when double targetted.

• 252+ SpA Life Orb Ludicolo Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 100 SpD Amoonguss: 122-146 (55.2 – 66%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 SpA Politoed Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 100 SpD Amoonguss: 86-102 (38.9 – 46.1%) — guaranteed 3HKO

All these are calculated factoring the absence of Snarl support from Raikou, which makes my rain match-up much easier to deal with.

Scrafty @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Atk / 12 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Fake Out
– Drain Punch
– Knock Off
– Protect

I wanted a Fake Out user with the Intimidate ability to provide team support to increase the overall bulkiness of the team. Scrafty was the only Pokemon that could help me to achieve both objectives. Even without any defensive investment, Scrafty is able to hang on from a Kangaskhan’s Low Kick or a Choice Banded Landorus-T’s Superpower, a testament to how bulky it truly is.

Here are some defensive calculations:

• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Low Kick (60 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Scrafty: 100-118 (58.1 – 68.6%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Scrafty: 146-173 (84.8 – 100.5%) — 1.6% chance to OHKO
• -1 252+ Atk Choice Band Landorus-T Superpower vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Scrafty: 146-172 (84.8 – 100%) — 6.3% chance to OHKO

The 0 IVs and the Speed-decreasing nature allows Scrafty to under-speed minimum Speed Aegislash and attack it in its squishier Blade Form. It also gave me an answer to Heatran, especially the Shuca Berry variants where Ground moves may not be an effective answer, since Charizard is completely walled by it. It’s also another viable option to use against Trick Room teams.

For the item, I decided on Lum Berry over the traditional Assault Vest due to the fact that Scrafty is prone to getting double targeted or being inflicted with a status ailment to limit its function. I’ve packed Protect to punish any double targetting and this helps me to swing momentum back in my favor, while the Lum adds a layer of insurance against status.

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Shadow Ball
– Flash Cannon
– Wide Guard
– King’s Shield

I felt that the team was rather weak to strong spread moves like Hyper Voice from Salamence and Sylveon, or Rock Slide which threatened my Charizard-X severely. Hence Aegislash was my pick, primarily for the invaluable Wide Guard support. In a way it also helped to conceal my Charizard’s true identity too as Wide Guard Aegislash is common support for Charizard Y. I chose a vanilla spread to maximize damage output with or without the Weakness Policy boost. Such a spread makes the boost if activated an icing on the cake. It has a pretty good chance to survive Choice Specs Hydreigon Dark Pulse.

Defensive calculations:

• 252+ SpA Choice Specs Hydreigon Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 152-182 (91 – 108.9%) — 56.3% chance to OHKO

The Speed benchmark I chose was Quiet and 0 Speed. The objective was to underspeed opposing Aegislash (31 IV Modest variants) that aren’t holding a Life Orb and retaliating with Shadow Ball when they are in Blade Forme.  As the metagame evolved over time, Life Orb Aegislash became a thing (probably thanks to Cybertron). Retrospectively, it would be wise to revisit this spread and investing minimal Special Attack to pick up key KOs after the Weakness Policy boost, so that both bulk and offensive objectives can be met.

Raikou @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
– Thunderbolt
– Hidden Power [Ice]
– Snarl
– Protect

The mascot animal for Malaysia is the tiger, and hence our VGC Community is called the KL Raikous. Raikou resembles the tiger in all aspects and hence I felt that this Pokemon is a fitting mascot to represent us uniquely

That aside, I originally wanted a Thundurus in this slot, but unfortunately i didn’t have one with good IVs at the time so I settled on using a Raikou instead. Surprisingly, Raikou did not disappoint, more than exceeding the expectations I had of it going into the event. Raikou has one of the fastest Snarl’s in the metagame, coming into play many times during my games in the Malaysian Regional. Being able to reduce a Heatran and Sylveon’s Special Attack before they launch a riposte increases the overall bulk of the team on the special spectrum.

The item I picked was the Shuca Berry. It was essential to help it survive Earthquakes from Mega Salamence and Landorus-Therian and retaliate with Hidden Power Ice if they received any chip damage from before to ensure the KOs.

Common Leads and Strategies

+  

This pair would be my go-to lead should I want to exert immediate pressure and my opponent has no way to stop my Fake Out. The main aim with this lead is to allow Charizard to immediately set up a Dragon Dance to attempt to sweep with him.

+  

Should I expect my opponent to lead with a Trick Room setter in mind, this pair would be my lead. Aegislash being 0 IV in Speed is likely to be on an even footing with Pokemon aiming to take advantage of Trick Room. Snarl from Raikou can help to neuter any Fire-  or Dark-type attacks that might be directed at Aegislash too, helping it to survive the attack, activate its Weakness Policy and allow it to start dishing out huge damage.

+  

Charizard X is rather weak on the Special Defense spectrum, so Snarl support from Raikou can help to reduce offensive pressure from super effective attacks directed at Charizard. Examples include Heatran’s Earth Power or Draco Meteor from faster dragons like Choice Scarf Hydreigon for instance.

Alternatively, I can use this as a lead to immediately exert offensive pressure against Salamence with Hidden Power [Ice] from Raikou or Dragon Claw from Charizard X. The Hidden Power [Ice] from Raikou can also be used to threaten Landorus-T. And with the benefit of the Shuca Berry, I can usually expect to not get knocked out in a single hit from Earthquake.

+  

If I expect a Kangaskhan/Cresselia lead, this would be my lead of choice. I would Protect Charizard first, and attempt to shut down Cresselia by Sporing. This is to avoid any Trick Room being set up as it would cripple Charizard X’s ability to sweep if speed tiers are reversed. The redirection option (barring Safety Goggles) via Rage Powder would then aid Charizard X to set up its Dragon Dance. I can also opt to switch out Amoonguss to Scrafty after the Dragon Dance to exert Intimidate and Fake Out pressure to attempt picking up KOs.

+  

Such a lead is mainly to protect Charizard from Rock spread moves (namely Rock Slide) from common users such as Terrakion or Landorus-T, as it could chunk a significant amount of health from Charizard X. This is achieved using Wide Guard to support it from Aegislash. This lead pair would be my choice if I expect a turn 1 Rock Slide from the above mentioned.

Threats and Weaknesses

Mega Charizard Y

Yes, the Y cousin, was a nemesis to my team. It can easily deal huge damage on 4 of the 6 present in the team as the team lacks any proper Fire resists. Furthermore, this is exacerbated by Tailwind setters. Sun boosted Heat Wave and Overheat is a significant problem for this team, with Wide Guard often my only logical out.

Tailwind setters for Speed control 

   and the list goes on…..

My team lacks any decent form of Speed control in general, so once a Tailwind is up, it would be an uphill task to overcome the Speed disadvantage as I’ll be spending the next few turns soaking attacks from my opponents instead of dishing damage.

Heatran 

Substitute variants give this team lots of trouble, as I have only Scrafty and Rotom-Wash to hit it super-effectively via Drain Punch and Hydro Pump respectively. The Substitute itself, and the need to often break it in certain respects, can often mean losing crucial momentum in a match. As it stands, a well supported Heatran can be a huge threat to my Charizard X and its teammates; indeed most teams would struggle against it.

Fairies 

Fairies hit the majority of my squad for neutral damage. Hyper Voice from either Sylveon or Gardevoir is not a joke if you are on the receiving end. The only out is to preserve Aegislash to Wide Guard such attacks as much as possible.

Game Replays during Regionals and War Stories 

In this section I would briefly describe my Swiss rounds with my opponents and my road to Top Cut in our first ever VGC Regionals.

Round 1: Muaz Rosjam (Win)

Muaz started with a strong lead pairing with Gengar and Terrakion, while I lead with Amoongus and Raikou, concealing my Charizard and Scrafty in the back.  I was outpredicted at the outset as Muaz made unexpected plays like using Icy Wind with Gengar instead of Taunting my Amoonguss like I thought he would. From my perspective, I prioritized taking out his Mega Salamence first, which I felt confident was concealed in the back of his party. With some smart prediction from both ends, I managed to put his Gengar to sleep and Intimidate his Terrakion using Scrafty, also threatening it with Fighting-type attacks. In terms of match-up I was had the upper hand. I eventually managed to take out his Mega and seal the win once the main threat to Charizard X was removed from play.

Round 2: Amir Rafie (Win)

I’ve heard from my peers that the Singaporean players are of top standard in VGC and hence I was really pumped and nervous when I knew my second opponent was Amir from Singapore. He led with both his Kangaskhan and Terrakion with Talonflame and Suicune at his back. On my side, I led with Charizard and Scrafty.

With such a lead on his end, I was worried if my Charizard will be KO-ed turn 1, so I decided to switch in Aegislash and predicting him to Fake Out the Charizard slot. However he targetted the Fake Out on Scrafty instead, which was to my surprise. He managed to even knock it out on the next turn. This allowed him to grab some momentum as my Fake Out pressure was no longer present. Aegislash managed to pull its weight and impacted the game through some offensive plays (#thuglife with no King’s Shielding). Aegislash’s Weakness Policy boost after taking attacks from Talonflame was certainly key in taking down both Mega Kangaskhan and Terrakion. His key attackers were eliminated and this battle was more or less conclusive of the results.

Towards the late game, he only had Suicune remaining against both my Charizard X and Raikou,who were able to seal out my second win.

Round 3: Kenny Lee Yong Hwee (Lose)

In Round 3,  I was up against Kenny Lee, who was up-and-coming name in the Singapore VGC community with his superb battling skills. He was also famed for his Kangaskhan team having both modes of Speed control, in particular, using a slow Kangaskhan.  It was really a good match for me even though I lost that game. He caught me off guard with Life Orb Heatran which easily nabbed KOs on both Amoonguss and Aegislash, which were key  supports to allow my Charizard X to deal damage freely.  I managed to make the game more even using Scrafty to pull its weight, but an unfortunate Freeze from Ice Beam by Cresselia sealed the win for him.

Round 4: Destiny Skycloud (Win)

For this round I was up against Destiny. He is one of the veteran players locally with an unique play style. He always brings Pokemon with movesets that I would never expect. He had a Klefki which knew both Rain Dance and Metal Sound and a Mega Mawile with Rock Slide. I believed this was for coverage against Fire-types barring Heatran.  I immediately exerted pressure by setting up Dragon Dance to get a boost and impaired Mawile with some Intimidate shuffling on my side. The pace of my team was too fast for him to handle and he had no Trick Room user to reverse it to his advantage. It was a swift victory for me in the end as I didn’t lose momentum after the initial set up.

Round 5: Ryan Loh Junjie (Lose)

In this round I was up against another Singapore player, Ryan Loh who is a really great and friendly guy. He led with both Kangaskhan and Tyranitar, with Blaziken and Amoonguss in the back. At one glance, it is obvious that his team selection opts for more hyper-offense play. In Turn 1, he made a double switch and all of his attacks chose to target Scrafty, as he identified it as a major threat to this Mega Kangaskhan. My Scrafty managed to take down his Amoonguss, which meant that his redirection support is gone and the frailer attackers among his team were exposed. His Blaziken targeted Aegislash which resulted in an Attack drop due to King’s Shield, which I thought he won’t be able to take down my own Amoonguss. However, it managed to snag a critical hit and I also lost my redirection support too. It went downhill for me subsequently after his Tyranitar managed to set up his Dragon Dance and simply overwhelmed my Charizard via a faster Rock Slide. It was a good game and his win was well deserved in my opinion.

Round 6: Samuel (Win)

The last round was against Samuel. He had a great team featuring Blaziken and Mega Garchomp. But unfortunately, the game wasn’t to his favour as he made a significant mis-click which cost him the game. His Blaziken got paralyzed by my Rotom’s Thunderbolt and his Mega Garchomp was taken down by Hidden Power [Ice] by Raikou. That mis-click basically sped up the momentum on my end and it ended really quick.

Result: 4-2 and managed to top cut  

For the top cut games, I’ll just let the videos and the commentary speak for itself In this section I’ll be featuring videos from Top 8 and the finals!

Top Cut Top 8 Video

Top Cut Final Video

Conclusions and Reflections

Overall, I didn’t expect to reach as far as I did in the tournament, especially considering that I only started playing VGC since February 2015. The amount of strong players in the Malaysian and the Singaporean communities really blows my mind and for me to have the opportunity to battle with them was a great experience. I really hope that the VGC circuit in the Asia Pacific region continues to grow and develop further. Moving forward,  I would definitely like to build upon the momentum of this finish and continue to improve my game.

Looking back on the VGC 2015 season, the Asia Pacific region has grown tremendously in the player pool and awareness in Pokemon VGC. In fact, for the Worlds Championships, we had Zarif Ayman being the sole Malaysian representative in Boston. As a Malaysian myself, I was proud and happy for his achievements. His skills are definitely top notch and he flew our flag colours high on the world stage!

I hope to emulate his achievements in the VGC 2016 season and definitely I’ll be working hard in time to come!

Thank you once again for taking the time to read this report, and this is Aiman signing off!

Shoutouts and Credits

• Kevin Ngim for mentoring me and introducing me to VGC. It’s such a fun format.
• Destiny for introducing me to VGC as well. He’s really helpful in team building and I’ve benefited a lot from his insight into the game.
• Stephen Tan (stez) for helping with the initial editing of this report.
• Zikry for the artwork for this article!
• Martin Tan (mewmart) for helping with the final touch for this report.
• KL Raikous and the VGC community, this report is dedicated to you guys and let’s fly our Malaysian flag high for Pokemon VGC!

The post Blazing Forward! A Malaysian Regionals 2nd Place Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.

Hey, guys! I’m back to show you all the team I used to get top 8 at the recent Lancaster Regional for the second year in a row, as well as the team building process.

I was stuck for something to use, and I was talking with a good friend of mine, Josh Lorcy (Lorcylovesyou), and he suggested a really solid core of Kangaskhan, Entei, Clefairy, Landorus-Therian, Rotom-Wash and Aegislash. We built off this core and eventually Luka Trejgut (Zephyl) told me to replace Rotom-W with Cresselia to help my rain match-up. The team went through several more set changes, and eventually I changed Clefairy to Clefable, which was a good idea because Unaware was so good in this meta game, especially with Azumarill becoming much more prominent.

So here’s the team!

The Team

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 132 HP / 164 Atk / 12 Def / 4 SpD / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Protect
– Power-Up Punch
– Sucker Punch
– Return

I was talking with Josh and I told him that I loved the Kangaskhan/Entei core, as they work really well together. I went through several different variations of Kangaskhan, going through disgustingly bulky and fast and standard Jolly. This is the set that I eventually settled on.

Kangaskhan is by far the most consistent and powerful mega Pokémon available. It has an amazing damage output, and even burning it or intimidating it won’t slow it down too much due to Power-Up Punch. The amount of viable, yet very underwhelming, alternative move options is amazing. It is undoubtedly one of the most powerful Pokémon the VGC circuit has ever seen.

The move set is very standard, and there is not much I can really say about it. I chose Protect over Fake Out simply because it matches how I like to play Kangaskhan. I’m very inexperienced with Kangaskhan in general, despite having used it on my invitational team. I like being able to conserve my Pokémon, and Fake Out didn’t do that for me. My team also has problems with Trick Room and while it may seem counter-intuitive to the goal of bettering my match-ups, being able to stall out Trick Room turns helped me more than delaying Trick Room for a single turn. I like the boost from Power-Up Punch over the immediate damage from Low Kick. My team does have problems with Heatran, however, so Low Kick would have helped, but I felt that in all the matches that I had Low Kick during testing, it was never quite as consistent. Power-Up Punch also allows me to make a cool play where I could Power-Up Punch my own Cresselia, activating Kee Berry, and putting me in an endgame situation from turn one. Return is more consistent than Double-Edge and I don’t take recoil from it. Lastly, Sucker Punch was chosen over Crunch because the +1 priority helped Kangaskhan hit things that were faster than it.

The EV spread is pretty simple. The HP and Defense allow me to take a Jolly Mega Kangaskhan Low Kick. The Speed allowed me to out speed most Charizard-Y, which means I also out speed Adamant Max Speed Landorus-T by 2 points if it isn’t Choice Scarfed. After I had met all of my bulk and speed needs, I simply dumped the remaining investment into Attack.

Entei @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 36 HP / 124 Atk / 44 Def / 52 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Protect
– Sacred Fire
– Stone Edge
– Snarl

A lot of my teams had Entei on them recently, and I am still not entirely sure of the appeal to Entei. It’s such a strange Pokémon that I can’t quite explain. Despite this, it ended up being my favorite member of the team.

The spread is basically Jolly Max Speed to allow me to win mirror matches against other Entei who wanted to invest in more bulk. The slight bulk investment allowed me to survive a spread Landorus-T Earthquake, as well as a 60 SpA Rotom-W’s Hydro Pump. They weren’t calculations I was particularly worried about, but they helped for adding some general bulk. Sacred Fire is just such an amazing move, and I didn’t even use it mainly for the chance to burn. In fact, I think i went about 1/12 or 2/15 on getting burns when I used the move during Swiss. Stone Edge is a move that I was wary about using, but in my opinion, if you’re not using Stone Edge, you might as well be using Arcanine. Snarl is a move I added on because I was having trouble with Heatran, and being able to weaken it behind a Substitute was invaluable.

Safety Goggles is my own little tech. My Leftovers were taken elsewhere on the team, and I had found out on past teams that Safety Goggles Entei was strong in its own right. Amoonguss essentially couldn’t touch me, and it also helped me against the popular Amoonguss + Azumarill/Kangaskhan cores that had been running around recently. Unfortunately Entei didn’t pull his weight during the event, rarely ever burning with Sacred Fire, and also missing just as many Sacred Fires as it hit, most of them, however, didn’t cost me the game.

Thanks to Justin Carris (Azazel) for suggesting Entei! I instantly loved it.

Clefable @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 4 SpA / 84 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Protect
– Moonblast
– Follow Me
– Helping Hand

Clefable was not the next Pokémon that I added, but I’ll talk about it next due to the fact that I led it almost every single game during the tournament. I think out of 14 battles, it was my lead 12 times.

The main appeal of Clefable over Clefairy is Unaware. Unaware allows me to beat so many things in the meta game, such as Kangaskhan who are trying to plow through your team with Power-Up Punch, and Azumarill that want to Belly Drum.

The spread belongs to Leonard Craft III (DaWoblefet), which you can find in his article here. I used this because I was too lazy to make my own EV Spread for it.

Moonblast was a weird option here, as people like Chuppa Cross IV (Chuppa) and Jake Skurchak (Pokebeys) had Ice Beam here. I originally had Clefairy in this slot, but by the time I switched to Clefable I already had Ice Beam on my Cresselia and Hidden Power Ice on my Landorus, so I saw no reason to use an Ice move on my Clefable. Moonblast helped me with my Mega Gardevoir Trick Room team match-up, as it allowed me to always get off a safe 2HKO onto Scrafty. I used Helping Hand on this team because I learned in testing that being able to KO an Amoonguss with a +1 Helping Hand Return was too good to pass up. Follow Me was obviously the main appeal, as it just allowed my Kangaskhan to set up Power-Up Punch’s and completely sweep unprepared opponents.

Landorus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 30 Def
– Protect
– Earth Power
– Hidden Power [Ice]
– Stone Edge

Landorus-T was a very interesting Pokémon here. I realized as my team had progressed that I was having trouble with opposing Landorus, with no reliable way to hit them hard. This prompted me to run Angel Miranda’s (CT MikotoMisaka) Landorus from US Nationals. It worked so well throughout the day, and I absolutely loved using it in practice and during the event.

Here I’m just going to give you a direct quote straight from Angel himself, as it explains why I wanted to use it in the first place. You can find the entire Nationals report, as well as a lot of other great content over at his blog: Imouto Island

“Angel: God do I love Special Attacking Landorus-T. Special attacking ground moves are so good right now. There are a bunch of teams that have 3 Ground weaknesses and slap on Wide Guard and to “Patch up” that weakness. Well that doesn’t work when dealing with this monster! This is something Jeudy had been testing on a few different teams and liked a lot and when he mentioned this set I quickly jumped on board as this is essentially the same Landorus I used at Georgia regionals except changing the form so we could have Intimidate. Hidden Power Ice let us deal with opposing Landorus and Salamence, while Stone edge was dealt with Charizard and Volcarona which go down in one shot even with the -Atk nature.”

I did change one thing from Angel’s spread by switching the IV’s to still give me Hidden Power Ice, but I was also able to give myself one extra point in Attack. The extra point in Attack didn’t help me at all at the tournament. I didn’t use Stone Edge once all day. I essentially could have had any other move there and Landorus would have done its job just as well. Regardless, I can guarantee you that, at some point during practice, that extra point in Attack saved me a game or two.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 180 SpA / 12 SpD / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– King’s Shield
– Shadow Ball
– Toxic
– Substitute

A bunch of my friends have told me to try and trade mark this type of Aegislash, like how Billaslash became a thing. I honestly don’t care about trademarking this with a cool new name, as it was a very situational tech that didn’t even do it’s original intended purpose.

The appeal to this type of Aegislash is the move Toxic. This was put on to beat the Kee Berry Calm Mind Cresselia that have been running around lately. This would either KO Cress quick enough for my team to do other things or force Cresselia to switch out, allowing me to deal with other things on the opponents team. Substitute was a move I put on because it helped my Amoonguss match-up. The other appeal to this Aegislash is that it can 1v1 so much of the meta game. Here is a list of Pokémon that it beats in 1v1 situations:

Kangaskhan, Amoonguss, Cresselia, Salamence, Rotom-W, Conkeldurr, Gardevoir, Sylveon, Azumarill, Milotic, Scarfty, Terrakion, Zapdos, Ludicolo, Politoed, Suicune, Gothitelle, Gengar, Latios, Porygon2, Metagross, Virizion and much, much more!

The spread is nothing special. It has general bulk, and general speed to try and out speed other Aegislash.

Cresselia @ Kee Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 4 Def / 204 SpA / 52 SpD / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
– Moonlight
– Calm Mind
– Psychic
– Ice Beam

We all know what this does; it wins games and forces the opponent’s hand on who they have to start attacking. The combination of Calm Mind, Moonlight, and Kee Berry make Cresselia the scariest thing on the field.

The spread is just general offense and bulk. It isn’t meant to survive or KO anything specific. The only thing that seems out of place is the speed IVs and along with having Investment. As many of you know, I went to a PC 2 weeks before regionals, where I got disqualified in top cut for having a hacked Cresselia that my friend had gotten for me. To avoid this, I went and got my own Cresselia from in game and this is what happened as the result. I didn’t even find out that it didn’t have a perfect speed IV until after Swiss, where Chuppa pointed it out to me.

The Day of the Event

I woke up early that morning extremely sick. Luckily I didn’t end up ruining someones DS once the tournament had started. We got there about half way through sign up, and at that point, I was just happy to see my friends.

I spent a lot of my time puttering around and talking to different people, but I eventually settled down with Ashton’s group and had some fun battles. I felt so out of place though, because everyone was using silly teams, and the closest thing I had in game to that was Kolby Golliher (LoveTrain)’s Nationals team. It was great to get to hang out with Ashton Cox (LinkYoshiMario), Luka Trejgut (Zephyl), Jeremy Rodriguez (Serapis), Cameron Kicak (Stormfront), Cameron Swan (Drizzleboy), Ben Hickey (DarkPenguin67), Sam Lubell (SammyBoy), Zach (Meadwag) and a lot of other people I can’t remember right now.

Pairings went up and I suddenly got really nervous because I realized that this first battle, depending on who I pulled, could decide whether or not I make it back to the top 8.

Round 1 vs. James Dorsey

His Team:

He Brought:    

I Broguht:    

So James showed up a bit late, and I had actually been thinking that I was going to get a round 1 win, but he barely showed up on time. I see his team in team preview and I think to myself that I have this in the bag. Me and James were having a really fun conversation about how he was new and how he threw together a team from his PC box. He leads off with Landorus and Charizard as I lead Clefable and Kangaskhan. I immediately start going for Power-Up Punches and Follow Me’s as he U-Turns out with Landorus and Toxic’s my Clefable with his Charizard. It goes like this for a few turns, with my Kangaskhan just getting more Attack boosts and eventually Quick Claw activates on his Charizard, as I knock it out in one hit revealing that it was his Zoroark. I don’t remember much else, but I do remember that the Charizard was mega and it critical hit a Solar Beam onto my Entei for about 40%.

Win: 4-0

Record: 1-0

Round 2 vs. Ben Jarrett

His Team:

He Brought:    

I Brought:    

I don’t remember much about my opponent. I did ask if his team was based off of Hibiki’s report and he didn’t seem to know who Hibiki was, so that made things a little awkward for us. I lead Clefable Kangaskhan because it gives me the best chance of powering through his team right off the bat. I knew that I would have to bring Entei in the back to deal with his Ferrothorn. I get up to a quick +2 Attack with Kangaskhan and I start start powering through his team, as he never tries to set up rain for his Swampert. I get a clean one shot onto his Thundurus with a critical hit, but I don’t think it mattered in the long run of the battle. He reveals Rock Slide on his Swampert later to try and knock out my Entei, but to no avail. It ends with his Ferrothorn left against my +4 Kangaskhan and Entei. I get the clean Sacred Fire miss but Kangaskhan KO’s Ferrothorn with a +4 Power-Up Punch.

Win: 2-0

Record: 2-0

Round 3 vs. Nicholas Seman (Spooty)

His Team:

He Brought:    

I Brought:    

I got to talk with Nick a lot, and he was a really cool dude. He also just so happened to have one of my teams worst match-ups, which scared me a lot. I really thought that he would try to set up Trick Room turn one, so I lead my anti-Trick Room lead of Clefable and Aegislash. I do know, however, that if he leads offensively with Heatran and Gardevoir, that I’ll be in a horrid position. He leads exactly as I expect him to and I go straight for the Moonblast onto Scrafty and  King’s Shield with Aegislash to stop a potential Knock Off into that slot. I called his moves correctly, as he Protects Gardevoir and goes for Knock Off into my Aegislash, which lets me get a free Moonblast onto his Scrafty. Judging by the damage Moonblast did, it was definitely Assault Vest. He pulls a few more switches, and reveals some really cool moves like Shadow Ball instead Psychic on his Gardevoir, as well as Flash Cannon over Substitute on Heatran, which was a huge relief because I knew that I wouldn’t have to deal with Heatran behind a Sub. His Abomasnow reveals Focus Sash and his Heatran turns out to be slower than my Aegislash. At this point, the game is over and I remain undefeated going into round 4.

Win: 3-0

Record: 3-0

After the match, we both signed the match slip wrong and he received the win. We went and got this fixed, however we would still have to play our opponents for this round, meaning I would play against a 2-1 player, and he would play against a 3-0 player.

Round 4 vs. Emily Flanigan

Her Team:

She Brought:    

I brought:    

I don’t remember what really happened this round. I know that I sat next to her in the last round and she got beat by my friend Matt Hazen (theamazinhazen). It was clean game, and unfortunately I do not remember what happened during the battle besides what is in my notes. She showed that her Landorus was Assault Vest, and her Zapdos ended up being Choice Scarf with Hidden Power Ice. Virizion revealed Helping Hand at some point, which was extremely cool. Heatran has Substitute and Leftovers, which had scared me at first, but it didn’t end up doing much to my +6 Special Defense Cresselia after Entei had Snarl’d it down to -6 Special Attack. The game ends and I’m able to one hit KO her Heatran.

Win: 3-0

Record: 4-0

So we got everything settled with the TO, and I was out up to 4-0 and Nick was put up to 3-1 as he had just won his “pair up.”

Round 5 vs. Stephen Brown III (Pyromaniac720)

His Team:

He Brought:    

I brought:    

I had been talking a lot with Stephen prior to the event, and I knew some information about his team, like how his Salamence had Rock Slide and Fire Blast, and how his Raikou had both Snarl and Light Screen. He leads rain as I lead my anti-rain. He predicts a Follow Me turn one, and double Scalds into my Clefable, as I go for the safe double Protect. I don’t remember what else happened in this battle, but I know for the majority of it, it was me walking right into his predictions.. It eventually comes down to his Ludicolo against my +3 SpD Cresselia which brings the game down to timer. On the last turn, I needed to go for a risky play and Psychic his Ludicolo instead of going for Moonlight, because if burn had taken my HP lower than Ludicolo’s, I would lose the match. It goes down to timer and the screen says that I won, which felt amazing after such a crazy game. I did end up dealing Stephen his only loss in Swiss, which felt pretty good, but unfortuantly my going x-2 stopped Stephen from potentially getting first seed, so I feel a bit bad about that.

Win: 1-0

Record: 5-0

Round 6 vs. Adam DeMarchi (Hawkstar)

His Team:

He Brought:    

I Brought:    

This battle starts off for me badly right away. Turn one, I predict him to switch out Sylveon into Amoonguss and to Protect Bisharp, as I call his play correctly and Sacred Fire and Earth Power into the Amoonguss, expecting to pick up a free KO. However Sacred Fire misses and I blow the surprise of Special Landorus. The game essentially goes like that for a while, me predicting his moves but coming up just short. It ends up with my Clefable against his Sylveon locked into Hyper Beam. At this point I can timer stall, but I need to hope for either a double Protect, or for him to miss Hyper Beam, as neither of them happen and I lose the game. It really stunk because I felt like I had the advantage from turn one on the predicted switch, but the game just got away from me from that point, with him playing well and just not giving me any space for any of my predictions to even matter. Even if I could have called his moves correctly, there wasn’t anything I could do about it at that point.

Lose: 0-1

Record: 5-1

Round 7 vs. Paul Chua (Pwny Person)

His Team:

He Brought:    

I Brought:    

This was the first time that I have had the opportunity to battle Paul in a real competition since Virginia Regionals 2013 where he destroyed me because I had no idea what I was doing. So naturally, I was excited to get to try myself against Paul again.

This game starts exactly how I thought it would. Paul makes some smart switches and U-Turns around with Landorus, reading into every one of my plays. I eventually get it down to a 2v2 of my Kangaskhan and Entei both in the red left against his full HP Heatran and half HP Kangaskhan. Here, all Paul needs to do it Earth Power into my Kangaskhan, and he has the guaranteed win against my Entei. I knock out his Kangaskhan with my own by going for a Power-Up Punch. I say to Paul that the only way I can win is to hope he misplayed and went for Heat Wave and that he misses. And what do ya know, he does miss. The game is mine right there, as I land a Power-Up Punch and a Stone Edge onto his Heatran for the game. It stunk that it had to end like that, but I was discussing the game with Jeremy and Patrick afterwards and we all agree’d that Paul misplayed and payed for it. That’s just how the cookie crumbles, and it’s the game we choose to play.

Win: 2-0

Record: 6-1

Round 8 vs. Kazi Rahman (AwakenedCity)

His Team:

He Brought:   

I brought:    

This was a rematch from round 2 of the NY/NJ Invitational, and I was excited for it. I don’t remember much about this set, except for the fact that Aegislash did its job amazingly. It set up a Substitute and was able to Toxic stall Kazi’s Milotic and Kangaskhan. It also really helped that Milotic’s Scald didn’t break my Aegislash’s Substitute. Another really cool thing was that it showed our 2 Kangaskhan’s speed tied, which I found really funny considering that I went with a really strange speed stat on my Kangaskhan. He also showed in this battle that his Kangaskhan had Low Kick, his Milotic had both Icy Wind and Ice Beam, as well as his Aegislash being Life Orb’d. Good game to Kazi. It’s a pity that we didn’t get to see Darmanitan in the Top Cut.

Win: 2-0

Record: 7-1

Round 9 vs. Wolfe Glick (Wolfey)

His Team:

He Brought:   

I Brought:    

I was excited to get to play Wolfe. As many of you remember, there was a massive wait and then a repair for some of the players, but fortunately for us we were able to stay where we were. A lot of my friends asked me if I was scared going into this match due to how high-caliber Wolfe is compared to me, and I wasn’t at all. This is the point of going to events, to battle people better than you and to try and improve on your skills, so I was ecstatic when I saw I had the chance to battle one of the people who I admired since I had started out as a novice in 2012.

I call his lead and I lead one my two anti-Azumarill leads. Turn one I expected him to switch his Amoonguss out and to Protect Azumarill, because he didn’t watch to potentially lose his Amoonguss turn one to a Helping Hand Sacred Fire, or to potentially have his Azumarill burned by a Sacred Fire in case I expected the Protect from Amoonguss. I go for a Moonblast and a Sacred Fire into the Amoonguss slot, and he brings in Kangaskhan, which I was ecstatic about. I get off some damage from Moonblast as I miss Scared Fire, again. This next turn I call his Fake Out Belly Drum, and I go for the double Protect because it is my safest play and stops and other shenanigans. Next turn I expect him to Protect Azumarill and attack into Entei with Kangaskhan, as I go for the Follow Me, he wins what I find out to be a speed tie, and gets a crit Double-Edge onto my Clefable, and after Sitrus Berry I’m left around 30%, as on that same turn I miss Sacred Fire onto his Kangaskhan for the second time. From there there isn’t anything else I can do. I eventually pick up the KO onto his Kangaskhan, but by that point it’s too late for me to come back into the game, and I drop to 7-2 for the second year in a row. Looking back on this set, I maybe should have lead with Kangaskhan instead of Entei, as that would have eliminated some of the luck factor in this match, but I have to give it to Wolfe for playing phenomenally and joking around with me during the match.

Lose: 1-3

Record: 7-2

I started jumping around when I find out that my resistance would be good enough for me to make Top Cut again, and Luka just wouldn’t stop hugging me. I get in at 10th seed, although they do a repair for the 7th-10th seeds in top cut and my opponent changes from Tommy Coolean, to Joey McGinly, so I was pretty happy that I wouldn’t have to face a friend in round 1 of cut.

Top 16 vs. Joey McGinley (JoeJM)

His Team:

Game 1

He Brought:   

I Brought:   

Game one was pretty stressful of me. It resulted in me making really safe plays, and it just didn’t fit with my play style. My leads were awful, but I was able to pull myself into a good position. A lead of Entei and Landorus-T was a bad idea. He ended up being able to put my Clefable to sleep, which was a problem. I was able to put myself into a winning position, and he forfeited the game as to not reveal any extra information. While I was in a good position, the game still ended 4-2 in my favor, so while it may seem like I had a pretty clear-cut advantage, it was not the case at all.

Win: 4-2

Record: 8-2

Game 2

He Brought:    

I Brought:    

This game we both made some good adjustments. I don’t think I had revealed the move set on my Landorus during game 1, which I feel is the reason he lead with Heatran and kept it in on turn one. Turn one I got a clean KO through Shuca Berry onto the Heatran slot with Landorus, instantly putting me up 4-3 without any damage taken as his Azumarill goes for Belly Drum. From that point on in the game, it’s essentially making safe plays and not giving up any major ground. He revealed during this game though, that he had a Jolly Landorus, where if I had gotten a bit unlucky, and the set went to a game 3, could have been very useful information. I think the point in the game that sealed it up for him, though, was when my Kangaskhan took the -1 Superpower from around 50%, allowing me to KO Landorus. The game was over at this point because all he could do was attack my Clefable while I used Follow Me and KO’d everything with Return.

Win: 2-0

Record: 9-2

Top 8 vs. Jonathan Hiller (MrFox)

This was the match that I had dreaded all day. Last year during Philly in round 4, Jonathan had absolutely destroyed me. He had a clean 4-0 with no damage taken on his side. I didn’t want to face him at all, and now my fears had come to fruition.

His Team:

Game 1

He Brought:    

I Brought:    

I had a lot of information going into this set from having watched his streamed match earlier. Turn one I go for a Helping Hand Scared Fire to one-hit KO his Amoonguss as his Scrafty goes for a Knock Off onto my Clefable. From there it’s just me slowly taking down Pokémon while I’m trying to figure out as many damage calculations as possible. I was able to figure out that Moonblast from Clefable can one-hit KO his Scrafty from full health, and other information like a Helping Hand Sacred Fire can knock out his Aegislash from full, as well as the fact that it carried Substitute. We also were able to figure out that my Clefable and his Aegislash speed tie and that my Clefable takes 80+% from a Flash Cannon. I had known this calculation in my head, and that meant he was Modest with Max Special Attack, as well as a Modest Nature with only 4 Speed EVs, which I found very interesting for a Substitute variant.

Win: 3-0

Record: 10-2

Game 2

He Brought:   

I Brought: I forgot to write it down but it was probably along the lines of:

This game went a lot worse for me. It was full of misplays and bad damage calculations on my end. I remember, towards the end of the battle, it was my Landorus and Entei left against his -1 Mega-Salamence and Aegislash. I Protect Landorus, expecting him to Double-Edge and King’s Shield, I call the play right, and I get a free Stone Edge off onto his Salamence, however at -1 the damage roll wasn’t in my favor and he hangs on with a fraction of his health. I go for the Snarl this turn to pick off Salamence and weaken Aegislash, as I go for a double Protect and fail it, expecting his Salamence to Double-Edge again. He however goes for Earthquake this turn, which I was pretty confident that I could survive, but I end up going down to the Earthquake and he goes for double King’s Shield with Aegislash. Next turn I take a Double-Edge, and he goes down to recoil with my Landorus.

Lose: 1-0

Record: 10-3

Game 3

He Brought:    

I Brought:    

This is a game that I felt pretty comfortable going into. Turn one he expects a Helping Hand Sacred Fire into Amoonguss, so he Protects Amoonguss and Double-Edges my Entei slot. However I expected a play along those lines, so I Protect Entei and Moonblast into the Salamence, which was a misplay on both of our parts. After that turn happened, we both regretted the turn. He could have gotten a free Spore off, and if I hadn’t Protected Entei, yes I would have taken a lot of damage, but his Salamence would have went down earlier. Eventually, the game comes down to my Cresselia and Landorus left against Thundurus and Salamence, with both Amoonguss and Aegislash in the back. I knew I had the win because of how low health his Amoonguss would be coming back in. On this turn, he goes for a Swagger onto my Cresselia, and I hit myself in confusion, as his Salamence gets a Dragon Dance off and I do a solid 90% to the Thundurus. This had lost me the game as far as I was concerned. However, the game came down to Amoonguss and Aegislash left against my Cresselia. I expected him to Protect Amoonguss, and Substitute Aegislash, but I think to myself “There’s no reason for him to go for that play, he wins by clicking Spore.” As he goes for the Protect Substitute. I could have Calm Minded here, and I’m pretty sure I would have had the win. Shadow Ball does too much, and I can’t Recover to enough HP fast enough before timer declares Jon the winner.

Lose: 1-1

Record: 10-4

I was pretty upset at my performance. Last year I had gotten Top 8 at this event, before losing to Aaron Zheng. I wanted to improve upon my performance from last year, to prove to myself how much I had come since last year. Unfortunately that did not happen, and it looks like I still have some room to improve, but I plan on having even better showings at Winter Regionals. Here are some shout outs!

• Luka (Zephyl) & Jeremy (Serapis) for helping me practice and just being amazing friends. As well as the rest of my practice partners Jake (Pokebeys), James Baek (Jamesspeed1), Jake (Jhoqk), Josh, Chance, Kolby (LoveTrain), and everyone else in the Skype Group chat: Regional Champs in the making (Only 2 of us won Regionals)
• Chance (Paragon) and Riley (Spaff) for getting me off my tilt the weekend before the event.
• Josh (Lorcylovesyou) for helping me with the original concept of the team, and editing it to better fit the meta game. As well as Chuppa and Jake (Pokebeys) for using the same six as me, but with different alterations.
• Leonard (DaWoblefet) for being an awesome support crutch, as well as just being an over all great friend. Thanks again man.

I hope you enjoyed reading, and I’ll be back next time with another team report. Peace!

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