Reports

Published on September 24th, 2014 | by Gilbert

17

6 and 0 in the Snow: 5th Place Senior Division Worlds Report

Hi all, Gilbert here! I come from the modest country of England. Today I’d like to share a report about my first and last year competing in the Senior division. I started playing Pokemon competitively in the summer of 2013 when a friend told me about the Video Game Championships. I had been playing Pokémon for years and had never heard of the VGC before. I was intrigued by the competition and watched many videos of past VGC tournaments. This year, I placed 2nd at UK Nationals, eventually stopped in my tracks by Nicola Gini. I suppose second place wasn’t too bad for my first VGC tournament. My apologies in advance if this report doesn’t live up to one of Zog’s legendary team reports but “I did my best, I have no regrets.”

As you can probably see, this team was inspired by Se Jun Park’s 2013 World Championship team, and I found that his team suited my play style. Much like Se Jun last year, I finished 5th with my team at Worlds, although in my case it was in the Senior division. Although the lack of good Trick Room setters made setting up Trick Room harder this year, I found that my team could still catch many other teams off guard with the surprising amount of offensive pressure it offered. With this team I didn’t have to rely on Trick Room, as I could also slow them down with Thunder Wave. After a lot of practice, I felt confident in the way the team played.

I went 6-0 during Swiss with this team, and came in 5th place overall, only losing to eventual runner up woopahking.

The Team

Sun Tzu (Abomasnow) (M) @ Abomasite
Ability: Snow Warning
Level: 50
EVs: 188 HP / 68 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Wood Hammer
– Blizzard
– Protect
– Ice Shard

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Hail Room.”

• Survives Brave Bird from -1 Choice Band Adamant Talonflame
• Survives Flash Cannon from max Special Attack from Aegislash
• OHKOs Hydreigon even if it’s running max HP
• OHKOs Rotom-W with 96 Defense EVs

In my opinion, Abomasnow is an underrated Mega. With more Attack than Garchomp and more Special Attack than Hydreigon, Abomasnow can deal devastating damage to teams at both ends of the defensive spectrum. The only area in which Abomasnow is lacking is Speed, which made it ideal for Trick Room. With Mega Abomasnow, my aim was to deal so much damage that my opponent couldn’t recover. This Pokémon also beats double Dragons and Rotom-W, which are really common in VGC 2014. Mega Abomasnow was very good at controlling the weather, and could deal nice chunks of damage to anything that didn’t resist Blizzard. I reckon it would be used more if it wasn’t for that pesky Talonflame.

Bane (Rhyperior) (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Solid Rock
Level: 50
EVs: 88 HP / 252 Atk / 168 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Rock Slide
– Drill Run
– Protect
– Substitute

“We will rock you.”

• Survives Flash Cannon from Modest max Special Attack Aegislash 100% of the time
• Survives Iron Head from max Attack Mega Mawile 100% of the time
• Survives Aqua Jet from max Attack Choice Band Azumarill 100% of the time
• OHKOs 4 HP Garchomp after +2 from Weakness Policy

This Pokémon was the star of my team and in my opinion is underused this generation. Its amazing Defense and Attack made it a solid check for Talonflame, and it could eat up Kangaskhan’s Power-Up Punch to get a powerful +2 Attack from Weakness Policy. This was my main reason for choosing Rhyperior over Rhydon. Solid Rock meant that it could survive Super Effective attacks throw at it and retaliate with a +2 Attack Drill Run. This thing tanks physical hits and is a great switch-in to Talonflame and Kangaskhan.

I chose Drill Run over Earthquake because most of my team couldn’t dodge Earthquake without Protecting. Substitute was my last move, and not only shielded me from Will-o-Wisps but also gave me a chance to get behind a Substitute if I predicted a Protect from the opponent. I invested heavily in Special Defense as that was an area in which Rhyperior was lacking. These EVs allowed Rhyperior to survive a Draco Meteor from Salamence, as well as other assorted Special Attacks. Rhyperior could deal heavy damage to anything that Abomasnow couldn’t, and vice versa, so they were almost a perfect pair.

Technoz (Scrafty) (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Atk / 64 Def / 68 SpD
Adamant Nature
– Crunch
– Taunt
– Drain Punch
– Fake Out

“Who needs the Incredible Hulk when you have incredible bulk?”

• OHKO’s Aegislash-Blade with 252 HP / 40 Defense
• Survives max Special Attack Timid Choice Spec Hydreigon Draco Meteor 100% of the time
• Survives Adamant Choice Banded Brave Bird from Talonflame at -1 100% of the time

This Pokémon was the primary support member of my team, as it had Fake Out to help Trick Room set up. I used Scrafty mostly to shut down Aegislash and Tyranitar, as both of these Pokemon threatened my Trick Room setters. For a long time I used Quick Guard on Scrafty, but Taunt just seemed to fit the team better, and I already dealt with Talonflame well enough. Taunt also allowed me to completely shut down Aegislash. Intimidate was a major factor in most of my games, helping Gardevoir to survive key physical attacks. I got the idea to use Taunt on my Scrafty from Technoz when he was using it at the US National Championships, and I thought it worked really well for him so I tried it.

Lawiet (Chandelure) (F) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 136 Def / 120 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Overheat
– Trick Room
– Will-O-Wisp
– Protect

“Can’t touch this.”

• Survives Hydro Pump from Calm Rotom-W with 116 EVs invested in Special Attack 100% of the time
• Survives Adamant Banded Talonflame’s Brave Bird 100% of the time
• Survives Crunch from max Attack Tyranitar 100% of the time
• Survives Life Orb Dark Pulse from Tyranitar as long as it’s not Modest

This Pokémon completely shuts down threats to my team such as Mawile, Kangaskhan, and Amoongus, as well as neutering many physical threats with Will-O-Wisp. I chose Overheat over Heat Wave for the extra bit of power. Chanderlure didn’t attack often, so the Special Attack drop didn’t matter so much. Chandelure was originally my primary means of getting Trick Room up. This is why I put a lot of EVs into its Defenses. I also felt Chandelure had enough Special Attack as it is, and so didn’t need any EV investment in Special Attack. I have used both Scrafty and Chandelure from the very beginning of VGC ’14 as they have very nice synergy together.

Eric1999 (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 196 Def / 36 SpA / 56 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Thunder Wave
– Roost
– Swagger
– Thunderbolt

Shout out to Eric1999 for giving me this EV spread.

• Survives Play Rough from max Attack Mawile 100% of the time.
• Survives Rock Slide from Banded Garchomp 100% of the time.

This was by far the hardest slot on my team to fill. I felt as though I needed something that resisted Steel and that could work outside of Trick Room. I tried several Pokemon in this slot, including but not limited to Mega Gyarados, Mega Blastoise, Clawlitzer, Rotom-Heat, and Mawile. I finally decided on Zapdos after using a team given to me by Eric1999. I found Zapdos to be a great support Pokémon that helped against Azumarill and Aegislash, both of which caused my team problems. Zapdos’s ability to resist weaknesses in my team such as Steel and Fighting made it a great switch in.

For the last move, I chose Swagger over other options such as Light Screen purely because I could Swagger my own Scrafty to get a +2 Attack boost. However, I didn’t get to use this combination in the tournament. I also considered having Hidden Power Ice on this Zapdos, but I found Abomasnow already dealt with Dragons well enough. In hindsight, I feel as though I should have chosen Mega Blastoise instead of Zapdos, as it would have done more work during Swiss and especially against Mark in Top Cut.

Trinity (Gardevoir) (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 32 Def / 180 SpA / 44 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Moonblast
– Psychic
– Protect
– Trick Room

“To Trick Room or not to Trick Room, that is the question.”

• survives Life Orb Brave Bird from Adamant Talonflame 100% of the time
• survives 252 Special Attack Modest Aegislash Shadow Ball 100% of the time
• OHKOs 4 HP / 4 Special Defense Garchomp 100% of the time
• OHKOs 4 HP / 4 Special Defense Venusaur 100% of the time

As you may or may not be able to tell, this is almost the exact same EV spread as Lajos’s Gardevoir, but with EVs taken out of Defense and Speed and put into Special Defense. I felt as thought these changes gave Gardevoir the perfect balance between offence and defense, and allowed Gardevoir to get Trick Room up easily when paired with Scrafty. I think because of this factor I brought it to almost every game. I considered using Ally Switch over Psychic to try to keep my heavy hitters alive, but I found Psychic was more reliable.

Synergy

+ 

I used this lead if getting Trick Room up seemed too risky or just not worth it. This lead also caught my opposition off guard when they expected a full out Trick Room mode. These two were a solid lead if I had no idea what to lead, and this came in particularly handy against Mark and Henry. This is often my lead against Rain.

+  or 

This was my main Trick Room lead, as it provided enough support to get Trick Room up without too much risk. These three were probably my most common lead, as all the practice I put in with these leads made me feel comfortable using them. Chandelure was perfect against Sun teams, and Scrafty offered that little bit of support I needed to succeed.

+ 

This was my lead if I needed to slow the opponent’s team down, or if I was playing a team like Mark’s. This was also a very strong lead against the Trick Room killer also known as Aegislash. There was additional synergy in that I had the option to Swagger my own Scrafty, adding a bit more offense to Scrafty and giving it the ability to OHKO 4 HP Mega Kangaskhan with Drain Punch.

+ 

These two were my all out offense mode. When Trick Room was up, I would primarily rely on these two to get damage dealt. As noted above, these two covered each other’s weaknesses very well.

Worlds Matches

Round 1  vs Mark McQuillan (woopahking) [UK]

Of course the first match I play is against my British rival. This was the first time I had met Mark in real life and I was determined to win. From the Team Preview I assumed that Lapras was holding an Assault Vest. However, I was mistaken, as it turned out to be a Weakness Policy Lapras. An awesome item choice that definitely benefited him in this scenario.

Game 1:

Game 2:

He led with Aegislash and got a Substitute up on the first turn. This left me at a great disadvantage, especially as I set up Trick Room on the first turn. He was able to cripple my Scrafty with two Will-O-Wisps, and managed to win Game 2.

Game 3:

I don’t remember a thing about this game but according to Mark, I got Trick Room up and was able to make good predictions. From there, I was able to sweep with Rhyperior. I won the set 2-1.

Round 2 vs Daniele Saracino [IT]

Round 2 and I run into my most feared Pokémon, Bisharp. Luckily he only brought it to Game 1.

Game 1:

I managed to burn his Bisharp with Chandelure once Trick Room was up. During Game 1 Chandelure did a lot of work, as he brought Bisharp, Kangaskhan, and Amoongus, all of which were susceptible to Will-O-Wisp.

Game 2:

I had a clear game plan: knock out Rotom-W and Amoonguss, get Trick Room up, and Rhyperior would do the rest. Abomasnow smashed Rotom-W with Wood Hammers and hit everything else with Blizzards to help me achieve my plan.

Round 3 vs Dylan Salvanera (DullAce24) [US]

This team looked very much like TheBattleRoom’s team so I knew what it was capable of.

Game 1:

He didn’t bring the Trick Room side of his team, so all I needed to do was set up Trick Room and Blizzard would do the rest. That’s exactly what I did.

Game 2:

On the first turn, Reuniclus’ Focus Blast was a critical hit on Scrafty. Scrafty bare hung on with 8 HP, and was able to knock Reuniclus out in return. In the end, it came down to his Amoongus and Mawile against my Chandelure. I missed a Will-O-Wisp one turn, and hit it the next. Mawile was low on HP, so I stupidly Overheated his Amoongus thinking that he might try to timer stall. I was rewarded with a Sucker Punch, which knocked me down to about 30% HP. I Protect to let the Burn do some damage, and then decide to Will-O-Wisp again to avoid Mawile’s Sucker Punch. My opponent predicted this, however, and Play Roughed Chandelure, doing about 20% damage. After another Protect his Mawile was in the red, and I had a choice to make: I could use Will-O-Wisp or Overheat, and if he Sucker Punches on Will-O-Wisp or Play Roughs on an Overheat I win. In the end, I played it correctly and won the set.

Round 4 vs Yuki Takashima [JP]

From Team Preview my opponent’s team looked like a Sun team, but the Charizard could have also been a Charizard X. I decided that the best lead I could use was Scrafty and Chandelure. Once Trick Room was up, I could start dealing damage with Abomasnow and Rhyperior.

Game 1:

He led with Charizard and Aerodactyl. This was perfect, as he couldn’t stop me from Faking Out his Aerodactyl and setting up Trick Room. Once Trick Room was up, I burnt his Aerodactal as he Sky Dropped and eventually took down my Scrafty. Rhyperior switched in and cleaned up from there. I learned that his Aegislash had Wide Guard, but luckily I had Drill Run so I was not affected too much.

Game 2:

This game came down to my Scrafty and Rhyperior with low health against his Aegislash. I had been in this situation before on Battle Spot, and I knew that if I played this scenario poorly I could lose. This is where Taunt came in handy. I knew he was going to use Kings Shield, so I Taunted his Aegislash and Substituted with Rhydon. He forfeited on the next turn and I won the set 2-0.

Round 5 vs Henry Maxon (Snake) [US]

This was the only other person I lost a game to in Swiss. This was due to the power of Life Orb Scizor and smart U-Turning on my opponent’s part. In the end, Chandelure was able to take on Kangaskhan and Scizor by itself. I remember almost nothing from this set, probably because half of the match I was trying to keep the British flag attached to my back.

Round 6 vs Alejandro Gomez (Pokealex1999) [ES]

This was a match I was looking forward to. I knew Alejandro was a good player, as I lost twice to him in the most recent International Challenge.

This was a set where Rhyperior did work, tanking hits and wreaking havoc behind a Substitute. My Rhyperior was dodging attacks left, right, and center in these games. It might as well have been Neo in the Matrix movies the way it dodged attacks. During Game 1 it dodged an Overheat while behind a Substitute, and dodged two Power Whips in Game 2, allowing me to burn his Ferrothorn with Chandelure. The deciding moment of Game 2 was predicting his switch from Hariyama to Ferrothorn and switching out my Gardevoir to Chandelure.

I have to say I was lucky in these games, and they would have been closer if not for the misses. I think I would have cleaned up with Chandelure in Game 2 even without the double Power Whip misses, though. During these games I knew that my win condition was keeping Chandelure alive purely because of Ferrothorn.

Top Cut

Top 8 vs Mark McQuillan (woopahking) [UK]

Of course I had to play against someone who knew my team in the first round of Top Cut. To be honest, I would have preferred to fight anyone other than him in Top Cut, since he and I were fellow Brits and wanted an all Brit final.

Game 1

I led Scrafty and Zapdos. Mark made some smart switches, switching in and out with Staraptor and Rotom-H so minimize Scrafty’s Attack. I ended up losing 2-0.

Game 2

My opponent led Staraptor and Rotom-H, and I started off with Rhyperior and Gardevoir. I protected with Gardevoir, fearing Staraptor’s Final Gambit, and hoped to deal some nice damage with Rock Slide. However, Rock Slide misses Staraptor, and on the next turn he gets the Final Gambit off on my Gardevoir. In doing so, he shuts down my Speed control and without that, I almost have no hope to win. He basically burnt his way to victory the second game. It had been a long day, but getting 5th place wasn’t too bad I guess.

Conclusion

Overall I feel I did well, but I was a little disappointed that I only finished in the Top 8, especially after doing so well in Swiss. Quarterfinalist sounds a little underwhelming compared to semifinalist, but I feel I did what I aimed to do: get into Top Cut without resorting to a standard team. Worlds was a great experience, and I met a lot of people I had played online before but never played in real life. I’m moving up to the Masters Division next year, so wish me luck. I’ll need it.

Shout Outs:

• Matt for telling me about the VGC series.
• Falcor (Trainerfalc) for helping me develop as a player and teaching me about IVs.
• Eric1999 for being my rival and helping me build my team.
• woopahking for an old bit of Scottish/English rivalry.
• The rest of Team UK for forcing me to wear the Union Jack.

About the Author

Gilbert Gilbert is fairly new to the competitive scene of Pokemon, he has been playing Pokemon for years but only in the last year or so has been creating competitive teams for all formats including VGC.

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