An Intimidating Double Date! VGCS 2013 Winter Regional Team Analysis
Hello, everyone! My name is TheZeroVirus and I competed in the 2013 St. Louis Winter Regionals, finishing with a 6-2 rating and 14th place, overall. You probably haven’t heard of me. I’m what you’d call “the little guy.” I’m not famous for smashing Regionals or anything of the sorts, though I am proud of my 69th placing in Philadelphia this past Fall. Life is tough if you don’t have connections, but that was remedied when I stumbled across Team Magma. I love these guys from the bottom of my heart, and there isn’t a chance I would’ve been able to get this far without each and every one of them. That being said, you probably didn’t check this out to hear about my story, you came to see a team! I had a ton of fun building and using this team, as it took a more saboteur-like approach than my usual defensive playstyle. Scroll down to see what I mean!
The Team
Lightsworn (Raikou) @ Shuca Berry
Trait: Pressure
24 HP / 252 SAtk / 236 Speed
Timid Nature (+Speed, -Atk)
– Thunderbolt
– Protect
– Hidden Power [Ice]
– Light Screen
Raikou, how I love thee. You were always my favorite of the Gen 2 Legendary Trio (which are totally dogs), and I had a blast using you. With base 115 Special Attack and Speed, Raikou strikes hard and fast. 252 Special Attack is meant to take advantage of its promising offensive capability, while 236 is enough Speed to outspeed several threats, including but not limited to Latios and Garchomp. Originally, the HP EVs were dumped in to make the spread look prettier, but with stat boosts and drops (which I’ll get to in a second) everywhere, the HP allowed me to hang on just long enough to retaliate. Light Screen was a fantastic utility on Raikou, since it’s fast enough to outspeed non-Scarfed Latios and set up a Screen, avoiding an instantaneous death to a Draco Meteor. Light Screen also contributed to the overall bulk of the team very nicely. Shuca Berry ensures I survive an Earthquake from Garchomp and gives me the opportunity to fight back with a Hidden Power Ice.
OG Irons (Scrafty) (M) @ Chople Berry
Trait: Intimidate
252 HP / 244 Atk/ 12 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
– Fake Out
– Drain Punch
– Crunch
– Detect
Scrafty has been getting a lot of much deserved attention after being used with Moxie on benjitheGREAT’s Fall Regionals team that won Houston Masters. That being said, I didn’t pick our gangster lizard friend for his popularity. While one would probably say Hitmontop is a superior Intimidating Fake Out-er, Hitmontop cannot play with Cresselia — something my team is very weak to otherwise. Another reason I chose Scrafty over Hitmontop was that Scrafty is virtually unfazed by Trick Room, and can function just as well if not better underneath it. The spread was admittedly borrowed from Benji’s, but the reason for that is it’s an amazing spread. With HP, Special Defense, and a Careful Natured investment, it can survive a Gemmed Draco Meteor from Timid Latios. 244 Attack is to poke holes in Cresselia, among other things.
NPH (Amoonguss) (M) @ Black Sludge
Trait: Regenerator
236 HP / 148 Def / 124 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
– Substitute
– Rage Powder
– Spore
– Giga Drain
Amoonguss..Amoonguss makes people sad. Ever since VGC11, it’s been a fantastic support Pokemon, with access to incredible tools, such as Spore and Rage Powder, as well as considerable bulk in HP. Top that off with its Dream World Ability being released, Regenerator, and you have one annoying mushroom. That being said, I thought I’d take your typical Amoonguss and try something different in the form of Substitute. Like I said earlier, Amoonguss is quite a bulky Mon that can take a lot of hits, perfect for trying out Substitute. With Substitute, I can basically sponge hits with Rage Powder while giving my partner a veil of protection from anything that isn’t a spread move. Black Sludge is fantastic because each turn, I slowly make back the HP I used to make the Sub. Spore is a great utility move as I can put my opponents to bed and set up a Substitute or support my teammates.
Danly Dan (Rotom-W) @ Sitrus Berry
Trait: Levitate
252 HP / 108 SAtk / 148 SDef
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
– Thunderbolt
– Hidden Power [Grass]
– Hydro Pump
– Thunder Wave
Rotom-W enjoys screwing things up. With a considerable investment in Special Defense, Rotom can survive a Gemmed 252 Draco Meteor from literally every Dragon in the metagame, barring Timid Latios which has a 12.5% chance to OHKO, and retaliate by shutting them down with a Thunder Wave. This proved to be insanely useful when dealing with Rain, where I had the ability to take a blow from Kingdra and ruin its Swift Swim ability with a Paralysis. Aside from physical contact, such as a Fight Gem Boosted Close Combat from Hitmontop, Rotom sticks around for a while. 108 Special Attack was admittedly dumped for the sake of giving it some offensive prowess. Looking at my team, I realized I was very weak to Gastrodon, so I decided to go with Hidden Power Grass, because I knew that I wouldn’t bring Amoonguss nearly as much as I would Rotom. Thunderbolt and Hydro Pump are pretty standard. The night before Regionals, I was highly contemplating Hidden Power Water over Hydro Pump for the sake of accuracy, but the higher base power proved useful enough to keep it — not to mention without Hidden Power Grass, I would be completely walled by Gastrodon.
bdmence (Salamence) (M) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Intimidate
248 SAtk / 144 SDef / 112 Speed
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
– Draco Meteor
– Dragon Pulse
– Hidden Power [Flying]
– Flamethrower
Salamence is, for lack of a better term, terrifying. It’s fast, strong, and it looks cool, too. Its speed is only enhanced with a Choice Scarf, which allows it to outspeed Life Orb Timid Latios and Yache Garchomp, and punish them with a Draco Meteor to the face. While ordinarily being locked into one move would serve difficult, my team in particular is not afraid of switching at all. In the event I need to kill something and don’t want to go -2, Dragon Pulse does the job rather well. Hidden Power Flying is to give me dual STAB attacks, and Flamethrower was handy for those pesty Steel types, such as Ferrothorn and Scizor. While I knew I wouldn’t be able to take any Ice attack barring Icy Wind with a Scarf, I knew I should be able to take Dragon Pulses and such from other Scarfed Dragons. In my 5th Round, Salamence barely hung on from a Dragon Pulse from a Modest 252 Scarf Hydreigon, something I most definitely wouldn’t have been able to do without the invested bulk.
FIYAH (Heatran) (M) @ Fire Gem
Flash Fire
64 HP / 252 SAtk / 194 Speed
Timid Nature (+Speed, -Atk)
– Heat Wave
– Protect
– Hidden Power [Ice]
– Earth Power
I don’t think I have to sing about Heatran’s praises. After all, it’s found spots on several amazing players’ teams, such as Wolfey’s Worlds team and bearsfan092’s Fall Regionals team. With the raise in Excadrill this season, as well as the introduction of Landorus-Therian, Heatran’s life became more and more difficult, but I didn’t care. I looked at Heatran as a Pokemon and not just what it’s weak to, and it paid off. My team didn’t have much at all to take a Draco Meteor, nor did it have any true Fire coverage, so Heatran was the perfect choice. Because Hitmontop is all over the place in this metagame, I decided it would be in my best interest to try a Speedtran set. 196 Speed allows me to outspeed any Hitmontop I come across. 252 Special Attack is meant to take use of its frightening Base 130 stat. The HP was dumped from leftover EVs, but it turned out to be incredibly useful, especially in some of my later games where a strategically placed Intimidate helped Heatran hold on just long enough to fight back with a Gem boosted Heat Wave.
How It Comes Together
With access to two Intimidaters, I was granted a veil of protection from anything physical barring Metagross. If something is too dangerous to handle as is, I can Protect with my first guy while I switch in to an Intimidate to make the threat somewhat more manageable. This proved to be extremely effective, because I was able to consistently lower stats and make natural switches, while at the same time forcing my opponent to make switches. Salamence is the pride and joy of Double Date, as it can quickly strike with a Draco Meteor and switch to my second Intimidater, putting my opponent at -2 Attack and removing my -2 Special Attack. There were several instances where my Heatran would’ve dropped from a Close Combat had it not been for those Intimidates. However, my defenses don’t stop at Physical attack. For the longest time, I was experimenting with Snarl Raikou, but after some words of advice from Dr. Fidget, I gave Light Screen a try, and never looked back. While Snarl incidentally does a fair amount to Latios, the fact of the matter is it lacks 100% accuracy, and can be nullified by switching out. With Light Screen, however, I gain a veil of protection on my entire team for 5 turns, a luxury that would come in handy in some of my tougher battles — especially against Rain. Moving past that, we have my local hooligans Rotom-W and Amoonguss, two obnoxiously bulky Pokemon that get their kicks imperiling the opponent. While Swift Swim Kingdra is a terrifying sight, a Paralysis here or there makes it that much more reasonable. Amoonguss’ Rage Powder is a very convenient out to things like Swagger Metagross, as well as TerraCott, something I actually came across during my Swiss rounds (go home VGC ’11 meta, you’re drunk) and it paid off well. In addition, Amoonguss can ordinarily outspeed troublesome ‘mons under Trick Room, and put them to sleep with Spore.
Top Threats
Gastrodon
Ever since I played Singles, Gastrodon has always given me trouble, and in an unsurprising turn of events, it’s become the most irritating and dangerous Pokemon for my team to face. I am annoyed at how stupidly bulky this thing is. Aside from Amoonguss and Rotom-W, my team can’t lay a scratch on this dumb slug. Amoonguss is a risky move because it’s susceptible to an Ice Beam, and Rotom only has one attack that can affect it. Every time I saw this Pokemon on the team preview I made it my absolute priority to take it out, as it was a menace my team could not allow to survive.
+ 
+ 
Anything with Defiant
Defiant is the ultimate buzzkill to my team, and it forces me to play much more stiffly than I usually would. Because two members of my team initiate stat drops upon entering the battlefield, that means 1/3 of my team cannot be switched in without giving my opponent a nifty advantage. Bisharp is especially annoying, because at +1 it can punch holes in anything aside from Scrafty and Heatran with a priority Sucker Punch. More or less, I dislike Defiant ‘mons because they’re a mental psych out; they pressure me to lead something I wouldn’t normally lead for the sake of not wanting to set off their stat boost.
Common Leads
+
Raikou + Scrafty
This was my go-to lead combination for several of my matches. With Raikou and Scrafty I gain coverage on both defensive fronts with a relatively heavy hitter and a decently sized wall. In addition, the Intimidate + the Fake Out gives me options for setting up screens on Raikou, or to just dogpile something that’s giving me trouble.
+
Salamence + Rotom-W
I led like this whenever I knew I’d be playing against other Intimidates. Largely the same logic behind Raikou + Scrafty, this lead allows me to come in with a fast heavy hitter and a bulkier ‘mon for defense. While I don’t get Fake Out from Rotom, I do get Thunder Wave which helped me out quite frequently in some of my later matches. Salamence never really stayed out for long, as I mostly fired off a Draco Meteor and switched out to avoid sticking at -2.
+
Scrafty + Rotom-W
This was for when I led against your standard Rain team. Aside from a Draco Meteor from Kingdra or Giga Drain Ludicolo (which it survives), my opponent can’t really do much to Rotom-W with Rain, giving me the perfect opportunity to ruin their cherished Swift Swims with a Paralysis. I led with Scrafty for the Fake Out support, as I could cause their Politoed to flinch instead of setting off Ludicolo’s Absorb Bulb (this was still very much a thing at St. Louis), and I could further cripple his or her Ludicolo by Paralyzing it. In addition, should I want to go all in I could double target Kingdra with a Fake Out and Thunder Wave, bringing a fierce sea serpent down to the likes of a puny little seahorse.
+
Amoonguss + Scrafty
During my second round of Swiss, I encountered a player who set up Trick Room even though I led with Scrafty and Amooguss. Upon doing this, I realized how perfect the combination was for countering Trick Room. This lead is meant to exploit the slower side of my team, and it does wonders. Words cannot describe how terrifying Amoonguss going first is, as it permits me to Spore both of their Pokemon relatively easily, set up a Substitute, and begin to spam Rage Powder until the cows come home. But aside from my opponent’s interesting choice, this lead was meant to stun Trick Room as long as possible, if not force them to ditch the strategy altogether. While Scrafty doesn’t have a 0 Speed IV, my Amoonguss does, and unless they have something even slower than it or an Amoonguss of their own, they are helpless before it. Scrafty helps out with Trick Room as well, since it can poke holes in standard TR ‘mons, such as Cresselia and Chandelure, among other things.
Closing Comments
Well, that’s my team! Thank you so much for sticking with me this far and I hope my choices interested you. While 6-2 isn’t the greatest accomplishment in the world, I see it as a notable feat, especially because this is the first Regional I truly prepared for. Now, I’d like to give a few shoutouts to some of the amazing people that helped me get this far.
- Shiloh
- There isn’t a chance in hell I’d go without mentioning you at least once. If you hadn’t taken me under your wing and gotten me into shape, I have no doubt in my mind I would’ve blown this competition. You’re an amazing player and friend, and I couldn’t ask for a better mentor.
- bearsfan092
- You prevented me from psyching myself out, and I really appreciate that. I kept those words of advice you gave me close the entire tournament, and your last minute team check helped me so much in the long run. Thanks again, man.
- Mrbopper
- You were influential in a lot of my team choices, and had it not been for some of your guidance, I would’ve done a lot worse than 6-2. Scarf Salamence was a fantastic idea, and it let me clutch a handful of battles I should’ve lost. Stay awesome, man.
- Scott
- The fact that you put me on the radar for taking St. Louis means a lot, and I really appreciate the team analysis. Thanks man.
- Chalkey
- I couldn’t give shoutouts to Magmas and not have you on here. Thanks so much for getting my guys and giving me some much needed emotional support. You go, Ludicolo.
- Everyone else at Team Magma
- You guys are my family and I love each and every one of you to death. Thanks so much for all the things you guys do, be it team advice, laughs, or late night sessions of Cards Against Humanity. (AGRICULTURE!)
Thank you again for reading, and have a great day!
About the Author
TheZeroVirus also known as TheZeroVirus, is an up and coming player who got his first taste of VGC play in 2011. Tired of entering tournaments with a casual attitude, Alex joined Team Magma and buckled down to get his act together. When he's not playing Pokemon, he enjoys climbing terrain and handing out bags of Starburst to the students of Camp Hill Sr. High School.
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