TL;DR I had a team I thought was a great meta call but I played poorly and went 4-3 drop. Team is here and my insignificant thoughts will be below it.
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 72 Def / 172 SpD / 100 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 Def
- Thunderbolt
- Rain Dance
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 172 HP / 52 Atk / 4 Def / 28 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Explosion
- Superpower
Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
Level: 50
EVs: 156 HP / 52 Def / 156 SpA / 4 SpD / 140 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fake Out
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Giga Drain
Metagross @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
EVs: 132 HP / 236 Atk / 140 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm
- Protect
Arcanine @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 28 Def / 4 SpA / 28 SpD / 236 Spe
Timid Nature
- Flamethrower
- Snarl
- Will-O-Wisp
- Substitute
Hydreigon @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 12 HP / 108 Def / 132 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Protect
Miscellaneous thoughts:
Yes, RAIN DANCE Thundurus. Paired with Ludicolo and Metagross it provides the option of the much-hyped "Steel-type with rain" without having to have Politoed (which is funny because Toler used Politoed with a Steel-type to win the whole thing). It gave me a pretty terrific matchup against both Sand and Sun provided I played it right - in practice I was able to lose games to them because of my poor play - while seemingly being strong even when other weather wasn't present.
Ludicolo is a pretty bad Pokemon. It basically has to be hitting something on the field for very super effective damage or else it loses damage trades. Even in rain Hydro Pump doesn't hit all that hard and I got talked out of running Energy Ball by Aaron Traylor so my Grass-type STAB wasn't doing enough. Energy Ball honestly might have won me Game 1 of my set with Mancuso, has Giga Drain wasn't able to pick up the KO from around 75%.
Arcanine is a pretty good Pokemon but moreso in a vacuum than on this team. I teched it in over CM Cress (swapping Mawile for Metagross in the process) to deal with Ferrothorn and Heatran better. Of course this meant I lost 0-2 to the only Ferrothorn I played. If I could do it again I would go to Aegislash, which solidified itself as "best Steel-type in the format" over the weekend, and probably would've wound up with a better record because of it. The Sub/Leftovers variant I played Arcanine was too slow for this type of team, which even without being as fast as the Talonflame/Mawile stuff I ran for most of the season was still faster than the bulky, slow rate at which Arcanine plays. I have ideas for it in the future, though.
The Metagross set was kind of funky but I really enjoyed it. Bullet Punch was a great asset when running a non-max Speed nature and EV spread, although not being able to OHKO Clefairy turned into a liability against Mancuso. Hammer Arm was excellent for doing around 90% to Heatran and Kangaskhan because apparently I could only play bulky variants, but my opponent knowing I had it was great for later games in sets.
Landorus was kind of hit-or-miss for me, as it didn't feel quite right on the team but it wound up putting in work when I did bring it. It is really just the best Pokemon in the format, I think. Explosion was neat and I didn't really miss U-Turn, but my one chance to make it count was wasted when I forgot about Friend Guard and didn't double into Azumarill when I Exploded alongside Metagross, The reaction from Mancuso was great but the damage was not, as it allowed Azumarill to eat its Sitrus and still Belly Drum. Doing a little bit of damage to my own Metagross in return for a KO on Azumarill was my play, but I got scared of looking foolish if he double Protected. I will reiterate that I was not playing anywhere near my highest level.
Now that my season is over:
I haven't played at an elite level in a very long time (perhaps never?). I kind of lucked my way through Swiss in most of the 2015 events I participated in; Michael Fladung (Primitive) accidentally used Fake Out after Kangaskhan's first turn on the field and I got really lucky against Traylor in Round 8 in St. Louis, then managed to beat 3 consecutive rain teams through a combination of waking up at perfect times and my opponents making some really silly plays in Kansas City. The one time I did make it to Top Cut I showed off my prowess with a play that was actually stupid against Aaron Traylor in Top 8, and then paid for blowing what could've been a one-game lead when a Heat Wave crit ended my run there. Because of my luck I wound up in a pretty decent spot going into Nationals, needing a Top 32 (which became Top 16) for Worlds, and I hadn't failed to cut/make Day 2 of Nationals in the Masters Division. I sort of started to recognize my play wasn't good and didn't have much time to correct it, as I had a school trip directly prior to Nationals, so I wound up knowing I would bow out early and played like it.
I think part of my problem had to do with the style of teams I was playing. The fast Mawile team I played from the end of 2014 to the last Regional of 2015 was fun but not really me. I wound up with some fluky-decent placings and convinced myself that playing fast without much switching and heavy reliance on predicting opponent switches was how I was going to become elite. This wasn't the case and I was ready to quit Pokemon going into Nationals, but watching Wolfe's streamed matches reminded me how much I loved his style. The bulky choke out way of winning games was what netted me my best finish at Nationals (10th) and while my ideal personal style isn't quite as defensive as Wolfe's, it's pretty close. I actually really liked his team and the way he was playing it despite Wolfe himself and pretty much everyone else saying how much they hated it. The consistent and safe way of playing enthralled me and inspired me to get back on the grind.
It's very possible my rejuvenation won't last that long, as I was entirely ready to quit playing Pokemon competitively going into the event and dropped as soon as I was eliminated and didn't touch my 3DS the rest of the weekend. For now though I think I'm going to follow my good friend Aaron "Aaron CT Cybertron Zheng" Zheng and do what I think remade him into the extremely solid player he is now: two matches a day while explaining what he's doing. This probably won't involve streaming or YouTube but is more akin to the "rubber duck" method that I've heard some programmers use. Just by telling myself why I'm making a play and reasoning it out should be helpful and I'm of the opinion that doing so has helped Aaron find his mojo again. That plus consistent but not exhausting practice should be extremely beneficial to me as a player, and maybe I can get to a point where I feel like I am good enough to make Worlds.
This might be the start of a new era for me or the end of one, as I still really don't know if I want to keep playing this game. Whatever the case is, I hope you enjoyed this post.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
2015 St. Louis VGC Regional 5th Place Team Analysis
The past weekend and the current VGC format have me excited about Pokemon again, so here I am hoping to write on a more consistent basis. I have this team to analyze as well as a couple of older ones I want to revisit, so maybe I'll be putting up some quality content in the next couple of weeks. Who knows. Hopefully you enjoy this team as much as I did!
-Thanks to Justin Burns (Spurrific) for trading me this.
Virizion is traditionally something that seems like it will fit when I'm building a team, but then I put it on and it flops spectacularly. It seemed that way initially with this team, too, as I texted Aaron Traylor and said "I always try to make Virizion good. It's never good." I was wrong this time, though, as I gave Virizion an extended trial and it wound up clicking really well with the other 5 Pokemon. Patience really is a virtue.
Virizion is really, really good right now. I expected Sylveon to be mysteriously absent from strong teams at real life events, as the good players would shy away from the thing's one-dimensional approach, so the number of hard counters to Virizion I needed to plan for was one: Talonflame. This, put with the upswing in Suicune and Heatran and the metagame constants in Kangaskhan and Bisharp, allowed Virizion to match up super well with most of the teams I faced. Rotom-W was something that troubled the rest of the team bar Hydreigon, so having the ability to OHKO it was huge.
The set is standard and I think pretty much the only way to run Virizion right now. I could see arguments for Quick Guard or Double Kick, but the damage on Zapdos and Thundurus plus the pressure on Charizard makes Stone Edge the superior option, and the need for max Attack and a boosting item to pick up OHKOes on most Kangaskhan and Rotom-W makes the EVs and item obvious.
Though fourth on the team in overall usage, I was most pleased with Virizion's performance in St. Louis. It was the biggest wild card going in, as I wasn't yet totally sold on it, but Virizion wound up proving itself well.
Specs Hydreigon marks the first part of the team from 2014, this time with Earth Power and a Timid nature. Going back to my thoughts on Virizion, I expected very few Sylveon to show (I was correct, as I only faced one) and so I had no qualms bringing the dragon. I don't actually have much to say about it because I'm so familiar with it. It dishes out damage and threatens OHKOes on many common Pokemon. I had troubles with teams similar to Aaron Zheng's Mega Venusaur team in testing, so what had been a Gengar became Hydreigon with Earth Power to stonewall Venusaur and Heatran.
The EVs outspeed Adamant Salamence before Mega Evolution, and survives a Jolly Double-Edge from Mega Salamence. That never came in handy but outspeeding non-Scarf Landorus and surviving -1 Terrakion Close Combats did, so I was pleased.
It didn't play a super vital role and never directly won me a game, but it never lost me one, either, and did the grunt work to set up Mawile and Landorus for the late game.
Speedy Mawile. Checks Kangaskhan, Venusaur, and Metagross, walls Salamence, provides Intimidate, has some of the strongest neutral hits in the game. Metagross vs Mawile is an interesting discussion and one I've already had with some on Twitter. For this team Mawile felt right, partially because I never actually thought about Metagross and partially because its typing is so superior. It does lack special bulk - it makes up for the lack of physical bulk with Intimidate - and speed, but with the speed control options I had available I never had any problems, I just outsped and chunked things.
The Speed EVs put it above Jolly Salamence in Tailwind. I never ran into that situation, but the speed both in and out of Tailwind was a great asset to have. I was nothing but happy with my choice of Mega.
Initial Construction
When I start to build I team I usually start with a core of Pokemon that I like. Since the last days of VGC 2014, and even now into VGC 2015, I've been coming back to Mawile and Rotom-W. I absolutely love when two Pokemon have perfect synergy (ie each one resists the other's weaknesses), so those two get me really excited. I think Rotom-W is one of the two best Pokemon in the format right now (along with Landorus-T), and Mawile matches up with well Kangaskhan, Venusaur, and Salamence (the three Megas I expected to see most often at the regional), so I put them together and started building around them.
The team is actually very similar to the one I played for most of the post-Worlds VGC 14 metagame, with only two Pokemon changes and a few tweaks to the other four. It's not by coincidence that this happened, as the old team had all of the elements that I want in a team - specifically a Fire/Water/Grass core, a Dragon/Steel core, and a hard hitter/glue to round things out - so after I decided on my old Thunder Wave Rotom-W/fast Mawile core I looked for ways to model the old team.
The team is actually very similar to the one I played for most of the post-Worlds VGC 14 metagame, with only two Pokemon changes and a few tweaks to the other four. It's not by coincidence that this happened, as the old team had all of the elements that I want in a team - specifically a Fire/Water/Grass core, a Dragon/Steel core, and a hard hitter/glue to round things out - so after I decided on my old Thunder Wave Rotom-W/fast Mawile core I looked for ways to model the old team.
The Old Team
The New Team
A few adaptations for the new metagame, but mostly the same idea. Apply speed control through either Tailwind or Thunder Wave while dealing damage with Hydreigon and the Grass-type to set up for Mawile and/or the Ground-type to come in and take out the weakened foes. Not really an unique setup, but it suits my style well and I felt it gave me a chance in any game.
Speaking of my style, I think it's really important to know what yours is and to build a team to that as opposed to a team that is generically solid. For instance, I had a strong Trick Room team built off of the core of Togekiss and Jellicent (inspired by Paul Chua) that I was also seriously considering bringing to the event. I ultimately didn't because it was too rigid in its gameplan: set TR, win in the next four turns. For some people that fits them well and I tried to convince myself it fit me, too, as the fact that the endgame is planned for you and your only job is to play well turn-to-turn patches up my weakness in board control and highlights my elite prediction skills (at least I like to think they're elite). However after a few weeks it became clear that the team was going to land me an x-2 finish and yet another regional top 16; this team netted me an x-1 finish and a top 8, which isn't as great as I'd hoped but is better than placing in the 10-14 spot I'd become accustomed to at big events in the past year. /tangent
Now that I've gotten those random tidbits of Jonny Pokemon philosophy out of my system - remember this blog is called my rambles - I'll show you the team!
Virizion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 30 HP
- Leaf Blade
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge
- Protect
Swiss: appeared in 4/9 battles
Top Cut: appeared in 3/5 battles
-Thanks to Justin Burns (Spurrific) for trading me this.
Virizion is traditionally something that seems like it will fit when I'm building a team, but then I put it on and it flops spectacularly. It seemed that way initially with this team, too, as I texted Aaron Traylor and said "I always try to make Virizion good. It's never good." I was wrong this time, though, as I gave Virizion an extended trial and it wound up clicking really well with the other 5 Pokemon. Patience really is a virtue.
Virizion is really, really good right now. I expected Sylveon to be mysteriously absent from strong teams at real life events, as the good players would shy away from the thing's one-dimensional approach, so the number of hard counters to Virizion I needed to plan for was one: Talonflame. This, put with the upswing in Suicune and Heatran and the metagame constants in Kangaskhan and Bisharp, allowed Virizion to match up super well with most of the teams I faced. Rotom-W was something that troubled the rest of the team bar Hydreigon, so having the ability to OHKO it was huge.
The set is standard and I think pretty much the only way to run Virizion right now. I could see arguments for Quick Guard or Double Kick, but the damage on Zapdos and Thundurus plus the pressure on Charizard makes Stone Edge the superior option, and the need for max Attack and a boosting item to pick up OHKOes on most Kangaskhan and Rotom-W makes the EVs and item obvious.
Though fourth on the team in overall usage, I was most pleased with Virizion's performance in St. Louis. It was the biggest wild card going in, as I wasn't yet totally sold on it, but Virizion wound up proving itself well.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 180 HP / 4 Atk / 96 SpD / 228 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 SpD
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Superpower
Swiss: appeared in 7/9 battles
Top Cut: appeared in 5/5 battles
One of the most used Pokemon right now and one of the best Pokemon in the metagame, period. Enough words have been written about its strength by others that most people know why it's so good, so I'll focus more on why I used it the way I did.
Similar to my thoughts on Scarf Salamence last year, I think Scarf Landorus-T this year is bad. It's probably not as bad as Mence was because Scarf Rock Slide is a thing, but the poor damage output, lack of bulk, and predictability come together to make Scarf a below-average set, one that shouldn't be sitting at 60% usage on Battle Spot. I think Choice Band and Focus Sash are the ways to go, with Assault Vest, Yache Berry, and Scarf being less viable options that can have a place.
My aversion to Choice Scarf aside, I absolutely loved this Landorus-T set. The EVs outspeed Smeargle and then have a kind of generic bulk. It survives some fairly arbitrary Cresselia Ice Beam - maybe 212 Modest version - which felt really nice even if it wasn't specific, as I could expect to survive most non-STAB Ice attacks as well as +1 LO Bisharp Sucker Punches.
I considered both Knock Off and Stone Edge instead of Superpower, but the drop in power after knocking off an item turned me off and the ability to OHKO Kangaskhan won over the ability to OHKO Zapdos and Thundurus.
I've been playing with Band Landorus-T since the beginning of the season, so I wasn't surprised by its high usage nor anything else. A solid mon that I will definitely use again.
One of the most used Pokemon right now and one of the best Pokemon in the metagame, period. Enough words have been written about its strength by others that most people know why it's so good, so I'll focus more on why I used it the way I did.
Similar to my thoughts on Scarf Salamence last year, I think Scarf Landorus-T this year is bad. It's probably not as bad as Mence was because Scarf Rock Slide is a thing, but the poor damage output, lack of bulk, and predictability come together to make Scarf a below-average set, one that shouldn't be sitting at 60% usage on Battle Spot. I think Choice Band and Focus Sash are the ways to go, with Assault Vest, Yache Berry, and Scarf being less viable options that can have a place.
My aversion to Choice Scarf aside, I absolutely loved this Landorus-T set. The EVs outspeed Smeargle and then have a kind of generic bulk. It survives some fairly arbitrary Cresselia Ice Beam - maybe 212 Modest version - which felt really nice even if it wasn't specific, as I could expect to survive most non-STAB Ice attacks as well as +1 LO Bisharp Sucker Punches.
I considered both Knock Off and Stone Edge instead of Superpower, but the drop in power after knocking off an item turned me off and the ability to OHKO Kangaskhan won over the ability to OHKO Zapdos and Thundurus.
I've been playing with Band Landorus-T since the beginning of the season, so I wasn't surprised by its high usage nor anything else. A solid mon that I will definitely use again.
Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 20 HP / 84 Def / 196 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Earth Power
Swiss: appeared in 7/9 battles
Top Cut: appeared in 1/5 battles
Specs Hydreigon marks the first part of the team from 2014, this time with Earth Power and a Timid nature. Going back to my thoughts on Virizion, I expected very few Sylveon to show (I was correct, as I only faced one) and so I had no qualms bringing the dragon. I don't actually have much to say about it because I'm so familiar with it. It dishes out damage and threatens OHKOes on many common Pokemon. I had troubles with teams similar to Aaron Zheng's Mega Venusaur team in testing, so what had been a Gengar became Hydreigon with Earth Power to stonewall Venusaur and Heatran.
The EVs outspeed Adamant Salamence before Mega Evolution, and survives a Jolly Double-Edge from Mega Salamence. That never came in handy but outspeeding non-Scarf Landorus and surviving -1 Terrakion Close Combats did, so I was pleased.
It didn't play a super vital role and never directly won me a game, but it never lost me one, either, and did the grunt work to set up Mawile and Landorus for the late game.
Mawile @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 196 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Play Rough
- Iron Head
- Protect
Swiss: appeared in 7/9 battles
Top Cut: appeared in 4/5 battles
Speedy Mawile. Checks Kangaskhan, Venusaur, and Metagross, walls Salamence, provides Intimidate, has some of the strongest neutral hits in the game. Metagross vs Mawile is an interesting discussion and one I've already had with some on Twitter. For this team Mawile felt right, partially because I never actually thought about Metagross and partially because its typing is so superior. It does lack special bulk - it makes up for the lack of physical bulk with Intimidate - and speed, but with the speed control options I had available I never had any problems, I just outsped and chunked things.
The Speed EVs put it above Jolly Salamence in Tailwind. I never ran into that situation, but the speed both in and out of Tailwind was a great asset to have. I was nothing but happy with my choice of Mega.
Talonflame @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Brave Bird
- Overheat
- Will-O-Wisp
- Tailwind
Swiss: appeared in 3/9 battles
Top Cut: appeared in 2/5 battles
-Thanks to Chuppa Cross (Chuppa/Yung Vege Table) for trading me this.
Kind of a crazy set. This is the same set I ran on the old team, too, so my insanity has been prolonged. I didn't especially like Talonflame throughout most of 2014, but I gave it a shot after seeing Sejun's usage of it at Worlds, and I've fallen in love. Life Orb would be my go-to item, but with Garchomp and Virizion needing it more on each team, I used Safety Goggles to absolutely destroy Amoonguss and Venusaur, as well as any Rage Powder + Kangaskhan/Azumarill/Bisharp teams I might run into.
Overheat was lacking in power without the Life Orb but I rarely used it anyway, so the ability to ignore Intimidate and avoid recoil outweighed any advantage Flare Blitz had. Will-O-Wisp and Tailwind are what really made the set, turning Talonflame from kamikaze frenetic bird to graceful supporting swan. I didn't expect to use Tailwind that often but knew I'd use Protect even less so I "flew" with it and never looked back. Having it meant I could bulk up Landorus and Rotom and not worry as much about a lack of speed. Will-O-Wisp was surprising coming from the Talonflame instead of Rotom, so players wouldn't be as careful with their physical attackers and pay for it.
I only brought it 5 times but its strength in those battles and in battles outside of the weekend proved its worth to me. Probably my favorite Pokemon on the team.
-Thanks to Chuppa Cross (Chuppa/Yung Vege Table) for trading me this.
Kind of a crazy set. This is the same set I ran on the old team, too, so my insanity has been prolonged. I didn't especially like Talonflame throughout most of 2014, but I gave it a shot after seeing Sejun's usage of it at Worlds, and I've fallen in love. Life Orb would be my go-to item, but with Garchomp and Virizion needing it more on each team, I used Safety Goggles to absolutely destroy Amoonguss and Venusaur, as well as any Rage Powder + Kangaskhan/Azumarill/Bisharp teams I might run into.
Overheat was lacking in power without the Life Orb but I rarely used it anyway, so the ability to ignore Intimidate and avoid recoil outweighed any advantage Flare Blitz had. Will-O-Wisp and Tailwind are what really made the set, turning Talonflame from kamikaze frenetic bird to graceful supporting swan. I didn't expect to use Tailwind that often but knew I'd use Protect even less so I "flew" with it and never looked back. Having it meant I could bulk up Landorus and Rotom and not worry as much about a lack of speed. Will-O-Wisp was surprising coming from the Talonflame instead of Rotom, so players wouldn't be as careful with their physical attackers and pay for it.
I only brought it 5 times but its strength in those battles and in battles outside of the weekend proved its worth to me. Probably my favorite Pokemon on the team.
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 132 SpA / 124 SpD
Calm Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Confuse Ray
Swiss: appeared in 8/9 battles
Top Cut: appeared in 5/5 battles
Fun fact: the only battle in which Rotom-W did not appear was the only battle I lost during the swiss rounds.
Rotom-W has been covered by many people and I don't feel the need to highlight its strengths again. I knew I'd be using it in nearly all of my battles and I knew it would contribute in all of them. The only thing that surprised me was how ill-prepared many teams were for it. I'll just get to the part you're probably waiting for:
CONFUSE RAY. I'm usually a grouch who whines about Swagger and Confuse Ray, but since September I've been spreading evil of my own through parafusion. When I first built around Mawile and Rotom-W I knew I wanted Thunder Wave instead of Will-O-Wisp, as Mawile had Intimidate and struggled more with speed than physical attackers. What I didn't know was how little I'd use Protect, and I eventually started looking for a move to replace it. I saw Confuse Ray with its perfect accuracy and viability against all Pokemon, not just special attackers, and gave in to the devil on my shoulder and tried it. I've used it very sparingly, so it's not like I spam parafusion; I sleep just fine. The percentage of my opponent moving when paralyzed and confused (37.5%, if I'm not mistaken), can win me games I might not otherwise. The fear of it once it's revealed also messes with the opponent, as they either stay in and try to prove it's bad by hitting through it, or switch when they really shouldn't to reset the confusion. Coupled with Iron Head from Mawile and Rock Slide from Landorus, it can make endgames go from 50/50s to decidedly in my favor. Sorry guys, I've been turned to the dark side.
As I said before, Rotom didn't surprise me but it didn't let me down, either. I had remarkable success with Hydro Pump and Thunder Wave's speed control definitely won me one battle that I was close to losing. Confuse Ray provided me the glory of the audience's laughter on stream as well, saving me from jumping off of a bridge after my horrendous decision-making in my Top 8 match.
Top Cut: appeared in 5/5 battles
Fun fact: the only battle in which Rotom-W did not appear was the only battle I lost during the swiss rounds.
Rotom-W has been covered by many people and I don't feel the need to highlight its strengths again. I knew I'd be using it in nearly all of my battles and I knew it would contribute in all of them. The only thing that surprised me was how ill-prepared many teams were for it. I'll just get to the part you're probably waiting for:
CONFUSE RAY. I'm usually a grouch who whines about Swagger and Confuse Ray, but since September I've been spreading evil of my own through parafusion. When I first built around Mawile and Rotom-W I knew I wanted Thunder Wave instead of Will-O-Wisp, as Mawile had Intimidate and struggled more with speed than physical attackers. What I didn't know was how little I'd use Protect, and I eventually started looking for a move to replace it. I saw Confuse Ray with its perfect accuracy and viability against all Pokemon, not just special attackers, and gave in to the devil on my shoulder and tried it. I've used it very sparingly, so it's not like I spam parafusion; I sleep just fine. The percentage of my opponent moving when paralyzed and confused (37.5%, if I'm not mistaken), can win me games I might not otherwise. The fear of it once it's revealed also messes with the opponent, as they either stay in and try to prove it's bad by hitting through it, or switch when they really shouldn't to reset the confusion. Coupled with Iron Head from Mawile and Rock Slide from Landorus, it can make endgames go from 50/50s to decidedly in my favor. Sorry guys, I've been turned to the dark side.
As I said before, Rotom didn't surprise me but it didn't let me down, either. I had remarkable success with Hydro Pump and Thunder Wave's speed control definitely won me one battle that I was close to losing. Confuse Ray provided me the glory of the audience's laughter on stream as well, saving me from jumping off of a bridge after my horrendous decision-making in my Top 8 match.
Conclusion
This wasn't as thorough as I would've liked and I think trailed off in quality towards the end as I race to finish before I head to bed, but I hope you enjoyed the look into my team. I think it fell a few places short of its true strength thanks to some user error, but it was a lot of fun and renewed my passion for the game. I'll try to flesh this out a little more later on in the week and hopefully get it posted on Nugget Bridge, but for now I'm done. Deuces!
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Kansas City 2014 Regional Team Report
Credit: Stephen Morioka
(Disclaimer: I took issue with the editing on NB, posted what I wrote originally here. Love it or hate it, I have no further comment.)
Hello everyone, JRank here again! It's been a while since I wrote an article (that being my 2013 U.S. Nationals report), so I will catch you up on how I have been performing. I attended the Last Chance Qualifier for Worlds in Vancouver, and was eliminated by Jason Wynja (Arti) in the Round of 32 there. In the last XY VGC event of my career, I had a really odd day where I didn't feel like I was playing terribly but I still wound up 4-3 and somewhere in the Top 32 at Houston. I bounced back from that debacle with a 7-1 record in swiss and an 11th place finish at St. Louis. I wasn't particularly pleased, however, because my reward for going 7-1 was a good player and a terrible team matchup for me in Scott, so my streak of not winning in Top Cut continued.
Now that you guys are all caught up on my previous disappointments, I'm here to share yet another one! This time I attended the Overland Park (Kansas City) regional on April 6th, 2014. I finished 6-2 in swiss, good enough for 9th place and first place on the vaunted bubble (I have wonderfully salty thoughts about how it happened that I'll get to later). I definitely felt I was playing a few places higher than that on that day, but through a combination of Pokemon, me letting the Pokemon get to me, and TPCi using awesome tiebreakers, I wound up on the outside looking in. Despite that, I thought my team was really solid and fit my style this year really well (which has generally been an archetype that looked like Fire/Water/Grass/Dragon/Steel/filler), so I wanted to share. I'm not discussing my battles this time because I might turn into Lot's wife as a pillar of salt if I did. I hope you enjoy the team!
Building the Team
I was initially skeptical of Garchomp's usefulness within the team upon first reading the article, and within a few battles my suspicions were confirmed: it was out of place. I lacked strong ways to deal with physical attackers, especially Kangaskhan. With that in mind I tried out Scrafty, who brought two ways to handle Kangaskhan via Intimidate and its Fighting-type STAB, as well as fitting in with the maxim of the team that was bulky offense. It fit pretty much perfectly and so I decided to take the team and run with it. I was (and am) satisfied with how it turned out, and there's only really one Pokemon that I would alter at all (that being Aegislash's moveset and possibly item).
When you read my explanations for each Pokemon, please don't look at it through the lens of "how JRank changed the team he copied," because that's not really what happened. Venusaur WAS inspired by the article (although I had been considering it for a while anyway), but the rest of the team was really what I had been playing with and just happened that it was almost exactly what bicho (I think that's the author's name) used first. With that in mind, here's the team!
The Team
Salamence (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 36 HP / 52 Def / 164 SpA / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Rock Slide
- Protect
Deployed in 2/8 battles
Salamence was one of the first things I changed from my St. Louis team. While Hydreigon was really good at what it did - sticking around, dishing out damage, and beating other Dragons (thanks to its Haban Berry) -, I found myself losing against Kangaskhan and sun teams more often than was acceptable, so I went to Salamence. Salamence provided several things that Hydreigon did not, including a higher base speed, Intimidate, and a way to hit Charizard for super effective damage (Rock Slide), while also bringing the Dragon STAB and Fire-type move that Hydreigon had.
While most Salamence these days opt for a Choice Scarf, I've never really been a fan of it. I feel like it invites speed ties (or outright losing to Timid variants) if you run Modest, and you lose out on a lot of power if you go Timid, to the point that it isn't worth it for me. I also don't like the prospect of locking yourself in to a stat-reduction move (Draco Meteor) or a non-STAB physical move when you run no Attack investment (Stone Edge or Rock Slide).
Because of those thoughts above I used a Life Orb and a Modest nature. I wasn't especially interested in the extra Speed Timid would bring, and really just wanted the power, because I tended to play as if my Salamence was slower than whichever Dragon it was facing and played accordingly, anyway. The moves aren't anything special: Draco Meteor for a generic nuke/STAB, Flamethrower for coverage on Steel-types (I changed to it from Fire Blast the day before because I was not a fan of having no 100% accurate moves), and Rock Slide to take out Charizard and Talonflame - the Life Orb allowed me to do it even with the damage reduction because it is a spread move, another reason I like LO more than a Choice item - even around Rage Powder or Follow Me, while potentially getting some delicious flinches. Protect is fairly obvious because I didn't have a way to guarantee beating other Dragons one-on-one and I didn't need any extra coverage anyway.
The EV spread is one that I am a big fan of. I maxed Speed because I didn't feel like losing to ALL other base 100 Speed Pokemon. 36 HP and 52 Defense EVs guarantee its survival against most Garchomp Dragon Claws (provided I get it Intimidated, which wasn't usually a problem), up to Adamant Life Orb users. The remaining EVs went into Special Attack to deal damage, with 4 going into Special Defense so as not to waste any. I never really lacked power, and being able stay in against Garchomp was a great asset to have, so I don't regret going for the small amount of bulk.
Despite me writing four paragraphs about it already, I only used Salamence twice at the tournament - and once it didn't even appear on the field. It either had a bad matchup against the teams I played or wasn't needed as much as something else, so I just didn't bring it very much. That doesn't mean it wasn't worth its spot, however, because its presence in Team Preview would make opponents think twice about leading with a physical attacker and make them want to bring a Fairy-type, to which I would respond with my 3 Fairy resists.
Venusaur (M) @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
EVs: 52 HP / 188 Def / 124 SAtk / 92 SDef / 52 Spd
Modest Nature
- Sleep Powder
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
Deployed in 6/8 battles
Probably the coolest Pokemon I used. It's quite ironic that I used it, actually, because in the lead-up to the event I told my friend Aaron Traylor (Unreality) multiple times that I thought that at that point in the season you should only build around the Big 3 Mega Pokemon of Kangaskhan, Charizard(-Y), and Mawile. I hilariously contradicted myself by going with a very uncommon (yet very good: I think it's probably the fourth-best Mega because Manectric is frail weak and bad) Mega Evolution in Venusaur.
The moveset was ripped straight from the article previously mentioned, with Sleep Powder to sleep stuff, Giga Drain and Sludge Bomb for STAB, and Synthesis to crush opponents' dreams when they thought they had it finished. I was nervous originally about forgoing Protect, but after playing with it for a bit I discovered that I wasn't really using Protect anyway, so I never really regretted it. The EV spread was one that my friend Edward Fan (iss) used, so I'm not especially sure what it does, other than take hits, recover more HP with Giga Drain, and out speed uninvested Rotom formes.
I think it's a testament to the team's overall strength that my Mega Evolution was probably only the third-best performer of the day. I brought Scrafty and Rotom more often than Venusaur and they were probably more vital to my success, but Venusaur was no slouch. Often in both practice and the tournament I could keep it in the back, eliminate Flying- and Psychic-types, then send it in, Mega Evolve, and win the game; which is something that you generally want your Mega to be able to do.
Rotom-Heat @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 180 SAtk / 12 SDef / 60 Spd
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Overheat
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Deployed in 8/8 battles
If you're not building around Charizard (and maybe even if you are), I think Rotom-Heat is the best Fire-type Pokemon in this format. Its offensive coverage with just Thunderbolt and Overheat is fantastic, and whatever third move you run (I used HP Ice before going to Will-O-Wisp to help against physical attackers) is just gravy. It also has great stat distribution; I was able to accomplish just about everything I wanted to with the 510 EVs I had available to me.
As I covered already, the moveset is run-of-the-mill, and the item probably is, too. Safety Goggles is incredible on Rotom-H, making it a fairly hard counter to Venusaur/Charizard leads, and allowing it to hit Water-types with Thunderbolt or Will-O-Wisp physical attackers around Rage Powder make it better than anything else I could've used. The EV spread is pretty neat, too. 60 Speed EVs puts it one above neutral max Speed Tyranitar (which has been growing in popularity), 180 Special Attack allows it to always OHKO Ray's Mawile spread with Overheat, and the remaining EVs are placed in HP and defenses, with more going into Special Defense because I originally used it to survive Draco Meteors and so I wanted to be able to do it occasionally.
Along with Scrafty, Rotom was hands-down the MVP of the tournament (Overheat miss and Rock Tomb problems aside). Its combination of typing, coverage, stats, and strong matchup with almost every team I faced meant that I brought it to every battle I played.
Aegislash (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 180 SAtk / 76 SDef
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sacred Sword
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- King's Shield
Deployed in 6/8 battles
While Aegislash was the key to my success at St. Louis (I used a Substitute/Leftovers version there that pretty much put me and the rest of the team on its back and carried us to 7-1 and Top Cut), its 6/8 usage statistic lies as to how useful it was in Kansas. Its typing and ability remained stellar, but without Substitute or Leftovers it seemed more frail and exposed. While Weakness Policy was a nifty item for picking up surprise OHKOes on Dragon-types, Kangaskhan, and Tyranitar, it didn't need it all day, and I ironically forgot that it activating would boost my Attack and put me in Foul Play KO range, losing me my final match.
The EV spread is a common one, surviving Timid Mega Charizard Y Heat Wave. I didn't want to have to do that if I could avoid it, but the spread felt good and so I didn't see a need to change it. Shadow Ball was solid as usual because of its buff this generation, as was Sacred Sword. I switched from Flash Cannon to it to help out against Kangaskhan (I think it's safe to say Kangaskhan is the best Mega in the format with all the changes I made just for it) and Tyranitar, because I wasn't using it very often anyway. Ray Rizzo's thoughts on it are actually similar to mine when he says:
"I opted for Flash Cannon instead of Sacred Sword because they do the same exact thing except one is better vs some TTars and Bisharp while the other is better vs Mamoswine, Aromatisse and when Intimidated or Burned. I prefer the advantages of Flash Cannon. Another aspect of Flash Cannon that I prefer is that it makes it harder to switch in on Aegislash. Many times you'll be in a situation where both Shadow Ball and Flash Cannon will do the same damage. When Aegislash is in a threatening position in one of those situations (For example, when facing a Gardevoir that may opt to switch out) you choose which move based on potential switchins. If the opponent for example has no Pokemon that resist steel and one that resists Ghost, Flash Cannon becomes the easy move to make. That way you punish the opponent no matter whether they stay in or switch out. This situation is a lot more frequent than it may seem."
Despite my agreement with the three-time World Champion, I chose Sacred Sword because of how big of a problem Kangaskhan could be, especially when you consider my lack of Substitute. Speaking of the third move on Aegislash, if I could play the tournament again I would not run Hidden Power Ice: its coverage was irrelevant with the Weakness Policy. I actually came very close to switching it to Wide Guard before I registered, but I forgot and so I used HP Ice anyway.
I'll start off its final paragraph the same way I started Venusaur's: I think it's a testament to Aegislash's strength that I wasn't satisfied with the way I ran it, yet I still brought it to 6 of my 8 matches. Its typing is solid and its stats and ability so good that I couldn't justify not picking it most of the time.
Scrafty (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Atk / 12 Def
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Stone Edge
- Taunt
Deployed in 8/8 battles
My opinion on Scrafty had soured prior to picking it up, mostly because of the prevalence of Talonflame and Fairy-types. That wasn't a problem on this team because Talonflame was on the downswing at the time and as previously mentioned I have three Fairy resists. With that in mind, I was able to bring Scrafty to all of my games to take advantage of its Fake Out, Taunt, and Intimidate support.
The moveset and spread is common bar Taunt (the EV spread survives CB Talonflame Brave Bird at -1). When I was considering adding it to the team, I went to my friend and reigning U.S. National Champion Gavin Michaels (kingofmars) for Scrafty advice. He advised Taunt over Crunch, so I tried it out and it was amazing. Along with the Lum Berry it stopped Amoonguss and Venusaur cold, while shutting down Meowstic as well. I really only wanted Crunch in my final match, but by the time I needed it I was going to lose anyway, so I wasn't bothered by not having it.
Although I've written the least on it Scrafty was co-MVP for the day. I would list its characteristics that made it so useful but I would list everything: it was that good. I led with it 7 out of the 8 games I played, and 4 times its partner Rotom-H led by its side.
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 36 SDef / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Belly Drum
- Protect
Deployed in 2/8 battles
After writing oodles of words on the previous five Pokemon, I find myself at Azumarill without a strong opinion. It was stronger on the previous version of the team with Kangaskhan to support it, but when Venusaur hopped on board the emphasis shifted from getting Azumarill into advantageous positions to getting Venusaur and Rotom into them. Although it wound up going from shining star to pushed aside in favor of the newest toy (perhaps how I felt when my sister was born), it was solid in the two games I brought it to.
Everything about it is ripped from Daniel Nolan (Zog)'s When the Void Stares Back! report, although it's really just the standard Azumarill these days. Even without specific support for it I still felt more comfortable with Belly Drum because of how much pressure it could create if I got a chance to get one off (spoiler: I didn't). Aqua Jet and Play Rough provided STAB and priority, while Protect is Protect. Not much else to say.
I hate to end on a somewhat down note, but Azumarill just really wasn't needed during the tournament. However, it still earned its spot through practice and the games I did bring it to, so I am proud of its performance regardless.
I'll begin by giving you a plate of salt and a glass of w(h)ine so that I can end on a higher note. I wound up in 9th place when the tournament had an 8-man Top Cut. I lost to the 5th and 6th place finishers (on an Overheat miss and Rock Tomb crit, respectively. I had a chance to win both games anyway but I let the luck affect me negatively and I misplayed immediately after both times. Despite that I still put myself in a position to win and didn't, so it's very frustrating), while defeating the 8th, 10th, 11th, and 13th place finishers. While matches (and a 4-2 record) against 6 of the top 13 players would seem like enough to put me in the cut, my first opponent, obligatory nice guy that isn't very good(TM), went 1-5 drop, while my second opponent went 3-5. This was apparently enough to slot me one spot below the cutoff. The thing that angers me most of the whole situation (besides my inability to control my first two opponents' records leading to a crapshoot for resistance), is the fact that I beat the 8 seed in swiss. It baffles me that head-to-head is not the first thing taken into account when two players have the same record and are listed 1-2 based on resistance. I understand that it is a limitation of TOM that probably can't be fixed, but it just baffles me that the way Pokemon's tiebreakers are set up that you can directly prove you are better than someone in swiss, yet end up a spot behind them when you both have the same record; I feel like it defeats the purpose of playing someone with the same record as you.
The solution to all this is the "just win" motto, and I get that (I could have and should have won at least one of my last two games), but the two x-2 players ahead of me didn't have that applied to them, so I'm not a fan of good players using that as an excuse to put down those that wind up on the bubble. Perhaps I wouldn't be so bitter if CP wasn't in the equation. Had I finished just one spot higher I would have gained 20 more CP and been tied for 30th in the CP standings. Depending on how that is resolved (or if I had won in Top Cut), the tiebreakers probably made me lose out on an additional $350 travel stipend for Nationals.
With that off my chest, I'll conclude this monstrosity of a team analysis. I absolutely loved my team and I think I played well all day; it just so happened that a miss, a crit, and two misplays wiped away the 6 previous games of overall solid play. It's one thing to accept that it's the game we play, but it is quite another to not be bitter about it, and I obviously need to work on the bitter part. Hopefully you enjoyed the team aspect of my report and maybe won't hate me for my vitriol I had to include at the end. Perhaps next time I'll bring a report that ends somewhat happily; although I think that's what I said last time, too. Thanks for reading!
Ability: Huge Power
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 36 SDef / 4 Spd
Adamant Nature
- Aqua Jet
- Play Rough
- Belly Drum
- Protect
Deployed in 2/8 battles
After writing oodles of words on the previous five Pokemon, I find myself at Azumarill without a strong opinion. It was stronger on the previous version of the team with Kangaskhan to support it, but when Venusaur hopped on board the emphasis shifted from getting Azumarill into advantageous positions to getting Venusaur and Rotom into them. Although it wound up going from shining star to pushed aside in favor of the newest toy (perhaps how I felt when my sister was born), it was solid in the two games I brought it to.
Everything about it is ripped from Daniel Nolan (Zog)'s When the Void Stares Back! report, although it's really just the standard Azumarill these days. Even without specific support for it I still felt more comfortable with Belly Drum because of how much pressure it could create if I got a chance to get one off (spoiler: I didn't). Aqua Jet and Play Rough provided STAB and priority, while Protect is Protect. Not much else to say.
I hate to end on a somewhat down note, but Azumarill just really wasn't needed during the tournament. However, it still earned its spot through practice and the games I did bring it to, so I am proud of its performance regardless.
Theory / How it worked
One of the main reasons I liked this team so much was because it fit into the way I like to play. I feel like it was about as defensive as you can get this gen while still being viable. I rarely OHKOed anything, because outside of Rotom (Overheat), Salamence (Draco Meteor), and Azumarill (after a Belly Drum), I didn't really have ways to deal big damage. I preferred to use my synergy to switch around and whittle down the opponent. I think a lot of my success also relied on my prediction skills, as I needed to be able to predict where the Protect was coming and double target the one that wasn't, something that I've been able to do pretty consistently. It was basically the embodiment of myself and the way I like to play, which is exactly what you want from a team.
Closing Thoughts / Salt
The solution to all this is the "just win" motto, and I get that (I could have and should have won at least one of my last two games), but the two x-2 players ahead of me didn't have that applied to them, so I'm not a fan of good players using that as an excuse to put down those that wind up on the bubble. Perhaps I wouldn't be so bitter if CP wasn't in the equation. Had I finished just one spot higher I would have gained 20 more CP and been tied for 30th in the CP standings. Depending on how that is resolved (or if I had won in Top Cut), the tiebreakers probably made me lose out on an additional $350 travel stipend for Nationals.
With that off my chest, I'll conclude this monstrosity of a team analysis. I absolutely loved my team and I think I played well all day; it just so happened that a miss, a crit, and two misplays wiped away the 6 previous games of overall solid play. It's one thing to accept that it's the game we play, but it is quite another to not be bitter about it, and I obviously need to work on the bitter part. Hopefully you enjoyed the team aspect of my report and maybe won't hate me for my vitriol I had to include at the end. Perhaps next time I'll bring a report that ends somewhat happily; although I think that's what I said last time, too. Thanks for reading!
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