Hello everyone! My name is Ama Bon and I am from Indonesia, a country that has a very small competitive Pokémon community. You can find me on Nugget Bridge (amadayo), Twitter (@ama_dayo), or on X/Y itself (my in-game name is Ama). I’m really new to the world of competitive Pokémon; this year marks the first Pokémon competition I have played in so far.
I didn’t even expect much of myself when I first entered the Indonesia Qualifiers Tournament in February but I’m quite satisfied with my results! I finished 13th, which means I would later be competing in the 2014 Asia Cup Tournament on March 30, 2014. I was really happy that I joined this tournament because I made a lot of good friends and we could share our ideas about Pokémon with each other. I also found out that playing Pokémon competitively really is fun! Whether you play rated battles or join a tournament like this, you surely will enjoy yourself! I never knew the Asia Cup actually had over 1000 people participating! That’s pretty amazing.
So, let’s move on to the story itself. On February 2, 2014 I competed in the Asia Cup 2014 Indonesia Qualifiers. Also, on that day I wasn’t quite sure whether I could come or not because my city was flooding due to the rainy season that month! At last I did come to the tournament and finished 5th in the Top 8 cut, which was quite surprising because I didn’t have any experience. But thanks to my family (especially my brother and my friends who came there to support me) I managed to do well at the tournament! So I guess that’s quite enough; let’s jump to the team itself!
The Team
Champing* (Machamp) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability : No Guard
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Def / 132 SDef
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Wide Guard
- Quick Guard
- Dynamic Punch
Machamp is really the most important Pokémon in my team because it supports Zapdos and Charizard really, really well! As you can see, the only attacking move I had on Machamp is Dynamic Punch; if Machamp was faced against a Ghost-type Pokémon then it would be the end for me! The reason I chose Machamp is because it could use Quick Guard and also Wide Guard, which were necessary for my team. As you can see, both Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y are really fragile to Rock Slides so for me, Machamp was the Pokemon of the match in every one of my battles! By leading with Machamp in the front, I could also pressure opposing Tyraintar by forcing them to Protect or switch out. Machamp’s Wide Guard also protects my Rhyperior from getting Earthquaked by opposing Garchomp. Here are a few damage calculations that explain the EV spread on my Machamp.
- 252+ SpA Gardevoir Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 132 SpD Machamp: 170-204 (86.2 – 103.5%) – 18.8% chance to OHKO
- 252+ SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 132 SpD Machamp: 152-179 (77.1 – 90.8%) – guaranteed 2HKO
- 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 252 HP / 124 Def Machamp: 145-172 (73.6 – 87.3%) — guaranteed 2HKO
- -1 252 Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 124 Def Machamp: 156-186 (79.1 – 94.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO
Two Pokémon in particular could be really troublesome to my team, which is why I used this EV spread on Machamp. Mega Kangaskhan was a big threat so I created this EV spread to survive a Return or maybe a Double Edge from Mega Kangaskhan and heal myself with Sitrus Berry. Then, Machamp could bring Mega Kangaskhan’s HP down to 10% with Dynamic Punch and the next turn it will potentially hit itself through confusion for the KO. Talonflame was also a really big threat. Thanks to Quick Guard I was safe from those Brave Birds! There is a video down below that shows how effective Machamp’s EV spread really is; Machamp survives a 252+ SpA Moonblast from Gardevoir in one video and even survives a Draco Meteor from Life Orb Hydreigon followed by an Energy Ball from Chandelure (after consuming its Sitrus Berry) in another video.
Zapdos @ Life Orb
Ability : Pressure
EVs : 252 HP / 4 Def / 84 SAtk / 148 SDef / 20 Spd
Modest Nature
- Protect
- Ancient Power
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Zapdos! One of the best legendary birds! The reason why Zapdos is outclassed now is because it can no longer learn Heat Wave anymore without move tutors. Yet it really is still a great Pokémon in my opinion! To be honest I was quite confused if I should use Zapdos or Rotom-W in my team, but when I used Rotom I realized that my team was really weak to opposing Charizard-Y, and the fact that my Charizard-Y didn’t have AncientPower, opposing Charizard could just KO anything out on the field. So I decided to use Zapdos instead of Rotom-W.
After a lot of tries, I felt like Garchomp was also a big threat to my team, so I decided to borrow my friend’s game and catch a Modest Zapdos with a Hidden Power Ice! A big thanks to my friend named Dee for this beast! I originally used Choice Specs on my Zapdos but after a lot of consideration, I chose Life Orb so I didn’t have to switch out to use Hidden Power Ice when I would otherwise be locked into Thunderbolt. I also feel like my team is not able to switch in and out often because many of them have the same weaknesses. I invested EVs into the SDef because I wanted to survive strong special moves like Draco Meteor, Moonblast and Aegislash’s Shadow Ball. With the SpA EVs I was be able to OHKO normal 4 HP Garchomp and every Salamence because most Salamence were Scarfed and Mixed so there wouldn’t be any bulky Salamence out there. 252 HP also let me survive Mega Kangaskhan’s Return and Garchomp would usually 3HKO my Zapdos with Rock Slide. Thanks to the Life Orb boosted Hidden Power Ice, Garchomp was not quite as threatening as before.
(Rhypey) Rhyperior @ Weakness Policy
Ability : Solid Rock
IVs : 31/31/21/31/31/31
EVs : 252 Hp / 88 Atk / 4 Def / 164 SDef
- Protect
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Hammer Arm
Yes I know, there are only 21 Defense IVs! I was really looking for a shiny Rhyperior, so I started breeding it at my friends house while we were studying for an exam the next day and surprisingly I hatched a shiny Rhyhorn! Unfortunately it was a 5 IV, lacking Defense. I calculated the stats and found it had 21 Defense IVs, so I decided to use it afterall. This Pokémon helped me a LOT, especially against Trick Room. Even without Trick Room, this Pokémon does a really great job, because Garchomp would only 3HKO my Rhyperior and at the same time trigger the Weakness Policy. After that it will take Garchomp down to around 20% health. It also sometimes outspeeds Mega Mawiles and OHKO it with +2 Earthquake. Also, Mega Kangaskhan users always seem to Power Up Punch Rhyperior which only does around 30% damage, then I can OHKO in return with a +2 Hammer Arm.
Rhyperior paired up with Mega Charizard-Y is great because the effect of Drought decreases the power of Water-type moves. Sometimes Electric-types, such as Mega Manectric, which really threaten Mega Charizard-Y would be afraid to use Thunderbolt because they think that Rhyperior has the Lightning Rod Ability. The SDef EVs do give it a chance to survive a Hydro Pump from Rotom-W outside of sun and some Flash Cannon from Aegislash.
Ferrothorn @ Lum Berry
Ability : Iron Barbs
IVs : 31/31/31/x/31/0
EVs : 252 HP / 204 Atk / 52 SDef
Impish Nature
- Protect
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
I didn’t use Ferrothorn a lot, but sometimes it helped me in battle. If the enemy didn’t have any Fire- or Fighting-type moves then Ferrothorn could just stall them out with Leech Seed! I was a little concerned that there were so many Modest Tyranitars out there with Fire Blast. I liked to use the best-of-three format to scout a little, and check for Fire Blasts on the opposing team before bringing Ferrothorn to the next match.
Garchomp @ Focus Sash
EVs : 252 Atk / 252 Spd / 4 Hp
Jolly Nature
- Protect
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Dragon Claw
I think Garchomp is one of the best Pokémon about, and this is reflected by it being number 1 in the usage stats. I need Garchomp in my team to bring Mega Charizard-Y down because it’s really dangerous to my team if it stays in the arena with sun up. I need Focus Sash to survive some unexpected Hidden Power Ice, or a Scarfed Salamence with Draco Meteor, but it always did a good job at handling opposing Charizard really well.
Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability : Blaze > Drought
EVs : 252 SpA / 100 Def / 156 Spd
Modest Nature
- Protect
- Overheat
- Heat Wave
- Solar Beam
Last but not least, the mighty Mega Charizard-Y! Charizard-Y is the main star of my team, and in my opinion is one of the best Mega Evolutions out there! With Wide Guard support from Machamp, this Pokémon is a beast! A Modest 252 SpA Overheat is really enough to OHKO most Fairy-types like Gardevoir, which is a threat to Machamp. Sometimes it could even OHKO unboosted Florges. The reason I choose 100 Def EVs is because I wanted to survive a Brave Bird from Talonflame which is really dangerous if not accounted for. There’s not much to talk about regarding Mega Charizard Y because a lot of people already use it and have explained the spreads. I found in rated battles my Charizard would speed tie other Charizard, which meant there are also so many other players using the same spread with 156 Speed EVs. Of course Mega Charizard-Y helped me through a lot of difficult battles and close battles.
Common Leads
Machamp + Zapdos
This is the most common lead and I use this lead in almost every match I’ve played. This lead is quite good for handling the popular double Dragon lead, where I would go for a surprise Wide Guard to catch them out. This lead also counters Kangaskhan and Talonflame leads, because Ancient Power OHKO’s Talonflames and Machamp could help Zapdos out by defeating the Kangaskhan.
Garchomp + Charizard
This is the combo I bring if the opposing team uses weather. I usually Mega Evolve to change the weather to sun and then switch out my Charizard because the opposing team is likely to reset the weather. Then, on another turn, when I need the weather to be gone, Charizard would come back to the arena and reset the Sun.
Indonesia Qualifiers Tournament (5 Round Swiss)
Note: At the Indonesia Qualifier Tournament I used Flamethrower instead of Overheat and Air Slash instead of Heat Wave.
Round 1 vs Guy
???
I don’t quite remember the battle, but it was quite good to start the tournament with for me as it gave me a confidence boost for the following rounds.
Win (1 – 0)
Round 2 vs Jack
BAQG-WWWW-WWW6-GU3U
As soon as I saw his team, I knew it would be Trick Room-based. This match had a number of rolls going either way, though what sticks out most for me was a crucial Air Slash miss. Overall it was a really intense battle with a close ending where my Charizard with only 4HP remaining was against his Mega Mawile, which survived an Earthquake from my Rhyperior with 1 HP. It was a really fun game, and he was the first friend I made at the tournament!
Loss (1 – 1)
Round 3 vs Yufen
One thing I remembered about this player is that Garchomp had a Yache Berry and my Zapdos got knocked out by Sneasel and a Rock Slide from Garchomp. Sneasel didn’t hit itself during confusion for about three turns, while it hung on with a 1 HP left from a Focus Sash. It ended up my three vs his one Trevenant stalling out, so I let my Rhyperior and Machamp faint so I could bring my Charizard in without taking any damage, and then finished the match with Flamethrower.
Win (2 – 1 )
Round 4 vs Stevan
YVPG-WWWW-WWW6-GU48
This guy really confused me in Team Preview. I had to take a really long time to think and it ended up being a really great match! I got quite lucky during this game as I successfully got two Protects in a row off with my Ferrothorn. Close match!
Win (3 – 1)
Round 5 vs Mightaditya
bJKuIgjOnG8
I noticed the team was really similar to Ray Rizzo’s team, which I had just read the team report for. It even had the same items as Ray! I got quite lucky in the third turn with a critical hit on both opponents from Rhyperior’s Earthquake which knocked out both Tyranitar and Mega Mawile.
Win : (4 – 1)
With my performance, I qualified for the Southeast Asia Qualifier Tournament which would determine who would play in the 2014 Asia Cup.
Southeast Asia Qualifiers Tournament (5 Round Swiss)
Round 1 vs BlueInfinity (Marlon Valeza)
GG7G-WWWW-WWW5-Z6ZY
When I looked at my opponent’s team in Team Preview, it looked like a standard Rated Battle Spot Special team, which I’ve had plenty of practice against. I won this match.
Win (1 – 0)
Round 2 vs Kelvin (Kelvin Klein Lazam)
G9XW-WWWW-WWW5-R5JG
I was really afraid of Swagger-boosted Garchomp and Kangaskhan, but I managed to pull through and win the game!
Win (2 – 0)
Round 3 vs Maxdrassil (Max Evilwolf)
GDRG-WWWW-WWW6-GU3H
Even though I’d read Evilwolf’s team report in advance, I still didn’t have a counter for Ghost-types. His Chandelure ended up giving me trouble. I was also surprised that his Tyranitar could survive a Solar Beam from Charizard. Evilwolf is a great player, and I liked the way he utilized relatively rarely-seen Pokemon. I ended up losing, and I felt I had to play better in the next round in order to stay alive in the tournament.
Loss (2 – 1)
Round 4 vs Ronaldojj (Jun Jie Lim)
G8XG-WWWW-WWW6-G5SK
Win (3 – 1)
Round 5 vs MegaOddish (Nelson Lim)
His Team Preview showed Garchomp, which was the only Pokémon on his team I was really afraid of. He chose not to bring the Garchomp, however, so my Charizard was safe to repeatedly Heat Wave the opposing Pokémon and secure the win.
Win (4 – 1)
In my second tournament, I ended up finishing third overall and first among Indonesians. My good friend Jason finished fourth overall and second among Indonesians. Both of our showings were good enough to qualify us for the Asia Cup! Neither of us expected to get this far, so getting to the Asia Cup was a great achievement.
Asia Cup Spring 2014 Tournament ( 30 March 2014 )
Round 1 vs MegaOddish (Nelson Lim) [SG]
This battle ended up being a really close match. I led with my usual Zapdos and Machamp versus my opponent’s Azumarill and Amoonguss. My opponent managed to put both of my leads to sleep in the first two turns, while Machamp’s Dynamic Punch revealed that Azumarill had a Lum Berry. Waterfall from Azumarill 2HKOed my Zapdos, allowing me to switch Charizard in and get up the Sun. My Heat Wave the next turn failed to OHKO Amoonguss, as it revealed an Occa Berry, but I did manage to get a burn on Azumarill! This allowed Machamp to survive the incoming Play Rough, and it woke up and knocked out Azumarill with Dynamic Punch. I got another critical burn on his Salamence later in the match, which allowed me to survive its Rock Slide and KO it back with Overheat for the win.
Win (1 – 0)
Round 2 vs Maxdrassil (Max Evilwolf) [SG]
5UVG-WWWW-WWW6-GU3B
I don’t know what but I kept playing against opponents I had battled against in other tournaments. This was a really close match. I used defensive switching to help me win the match.
Round 3 vs Miraba [JP]
LR7G-WWWW-WWW6-G7VW
I lost this match. I didn’t have any counters to Ghost-type Pokémon on my team, so Gengar was able to help him take the win.
Lose (2-1)
Round 4 vs See [JP]
UPUG-WWWW-WWW6-GU34
Another Gengar, another loss. I remember I rushed through Team Preview and the first turn of the match, which was a big mistake. Zapdos fainted on the first turn and it went downhill from there.
Lose (2 – 2)
Final Round vs Sepia [KR]
CZ7W-WWWW-WWW6-GU2V
This was quite a close match. We ended up with my Rhyperior versus her Gardevoir at the end. I was worried that Gardevoir had a Grass-type move, such as Magical Leaf or Energy Ball, but luckily she didn’t and I was able to win the match.
Win (3 – 2)
Finishing Thoughts
My friend Jason (witzel) and I both finished the tournament with the same score ( 3 – 2 ). For our first year playing competitive Pokémon, these are great results! This was also the first time Indonesia was able to enter an international event and I am very happy that I could participate this year. Jason managed to participate in the Top Cut, and Team Indonesia was cheering him on! Unfortunately, he lost in the Top 8 to bicho (@bicho_5296) which means he finished in 8th place. The battle was on stream and it was a really great match, but sadly Jason didn’t have any counters to bicho’s Mega Venusaur once his Mega Charizard-X fainted.
I guess that’s it for my team report. I hope next year we’ll do better and I hope you guys enjoyed my team report. I would like to give credit to a really awesome guy, Huy Ha (Huy) and Soon for allowing me to post here. You guys rock! Also, I must give a really HUGE thank you to Michael Pond Wijaya, Ryan and my brother Aya Bon who all gave me encouragement for each round. Thank you to my friends (especially Timidsony) who helped me a lot with practice matches and gave me shiny Pokémon to compete with. I would also like to thank Aaron Zheng (Cybertron) for his VGC videos. Even though we don’t know each other, I couldn’t have done well at the tournament without your videos.
The details for the Asia Cup can be found here. Thank you so much for reading my article!
The post Takes it Like a Champ! Asia Cup Spring 2014 Report appeared first on Nugget Bridge.