Reports

Published on November 2nd, 2014 | by Unreality

20

Bakery Fun Zone

Hello, friends! My name is Unreality. I like short walks on the beach. Some of you may recognize me from my presence at real life tournaments, on Showdown, or as the kid saying “Yes?” when you’re trying to talk to Aaron Zheng any time over the past four years. If you don’t: My name is Aaron Traylor. I have been playing this game since I was 14, in 2011. I am from Massachusetts. This is the story of my favorite 2014 team!

Teambuilding Process

After a mediocre 6-3 finish at US Nationals, I knew that if I wanted to have any chance at the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) I would need to work hard to improve. The team that I used in July, while a strong team, was not right for me and I spent some time searching around looking for a team that would work. I was at work one day and it was ten days before the LCQ so I was starting to get a little bit antsy. I’m not a fan of last minute team hijinks and I usually need a bit of time to prepare my team physically and mentally. I started by writing all my ideas down on a piece of paper and making a list of pros vs cons for each archetype, but nothing really clicked for me. Raichu/Blastoise… Venusaur… Jumpluff… nothing just felt right, you know? Then, in a moment of frustration, at the bottom of the page, I wrote:

FUN ZONE

and circled it. And then I looked at it for a good long while. At first, I wasn’t serious, but then I had a plan. A wonderful, awful plan. For the first time in the 2014 season, I knew I was on to something.

For those of you who are not familiar, “Fun Zone” is a very silly kind of Smeargle team where Smeargle relies both on Dark Void and Transform. Instead of using Transform on the enemy Pokémon, however, Smeargle will usually Transform into its partner after Dark Voiding in order to pull off some crazy combos. In the original “Fun Zone” team, created in 2009 by Paul (makiri) with input from Danny (Dan) and used to win a regional by Huy, Smeargle could transform into Dusknoir, Machamp, or Lapras. The playstyle of the team was to evaluate whether or not the opponent was using Trick Room, and then Trick Room or prevent it accordingly. From there, double Machamp / Lapras makes short work of their team — especially after Dark Void put both enemy Pokémon to sleep.

Fun Zone teams were not possible between 2011 and 2013. In this time period, Smeargle did not have access to Dark Void (or Smeargle was plainly not eligible), which Huy assured me was vital to the team. I texted him frantically a week before 2012 Nationals wondering if it could work, and he told me it wouldn’t. However, that one August night, I realized that it could maybe work again, and I thought up:

Bakery Fun Zone

Nicknames are from the bakery. I like to bake things. Taglines are from The Nightmare Before Christmas’ opening song. This is the official theme song of this team. Feel free to play it and listen along.

Smeargle @ Choice Scarf (Biscotti)
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
– Transform
– Dark Void
– Trick-or-Treat
– Follow Me Forest’s Curse

Trick or treat til the neighbors gonna die of fright!

Say it once, say it twice, take a chance and roll the dice. Smeargle is one of the most feared Pokémon in the metagame if for one reason alone: Dark Void. With an 80% chance to put each enemy Pokémon to sleep, Dark Void is one of the strongest moves in Double Battles. Dark Void has been banned as a move since 2012 Regionals and was recently and somewhat controversially unbanned this year. Paired up with the most powerful Pokémon in the format, Mega Kangaskhan, Smeargle had the potential to became an unstoppable force. As such, for Spring Regionals and Nationals, at least one way to deal with Smeargle — whether it be Lum Berry, Chesto Berry, Safeguard, or Taunt — became a staple on every team. When opponents didn’t run one of these, they were willingly worsening their matchup against Smeargle. I can’t tell you how many people I talked to whose plan against Kangaskhan and Smeargle was “Hope my Pokémon don’t sleep for too long”.

However, when watching matches against Dark Void, I realized one thing: enemy players were very likely to double Protect on turn 1, expecting the Fake Out/Dark Void from Kangaskhan and Smeargle. This seemed exploitable to me and was part of the reason I chose to make a team around Smeargle. I also realized that the move Transform, which I was already interested in from makiri and Huy’s team, has the ability to go through Protect. The final piece of the puzzle was the item Choice Scarf. The Choice Scarf enables Smeargle to move before every common Pokémon in the metagame besides Mega Aerodactyl and some other Choice Scarfers. It even moves before Choice Scarf Tyranitar and Politoed, which became increasingly popular towards the end of the season. Furthermore, players who willingly accepted losses to Smeargle by making certain choices in their teambuilding (e.g. not running a Lum Berry) accepted even harder losses to Scarf Smeargle. With that, the Smeargle set came into my mind.

Transform is one of the most amazing moves in the game, and it is far and away the most versatile move. With Transform, I can get myself out of many holes. I can take their Mega Pokémon, I can take one of mine, I can grab an Intimidate from their Salamence, I can copy their boosted Pokémon, and much more. Transform made every game unique and threw my opponents out of their comfort zone.

I did not press Dark Void unless I felt I absolutely had to. This is the mentality given to me by Randy (R Inanimate), who popularized and sort of legitimized Smeargle competitively during Regionals and Nationals. Much more often, my play was to Transform Smeargle into Kangaskhan or something else. When you press Dark Void, these are the risks you take:

• 80%: A specific target on the opponent’s team is put to sleep.
• 80%: Missed Dark Void on a specific target on turn 1. The chance of Dark Void missing on that target again is 80%.
• 64%: Dark Void puts both targets to sleep.
• 32%: One of the two enemy Pokémon is put to sleep, but not both.
• 27%: A specific Pokémon on the enemy team is put to sleep, and sleeps for 3 turns.
• 27%: A specific Pokémon on the enemy team is put to sleep, and sleeps for 1 turn.
• 7%: Both Pokémon on the enemy team are put to sleep, and sleep for 3 turns.
• 7%: Both Pokémon on the enemy team are put to sleep, and sleep for 1 turn.
• 4%: Both Pokémon on the enemy team are not put to sleep.
• 4%: Missed Dark Void on both enemy Pokémon turn 1. The chance of Dark Void missing on both of those targets again is 4%.
• ?%: There is a Lum Berry or Chesto Berry on the opposing team.

I tried to always keep these risks in mind whenever I played Smeargle. Accepting that this game has dice rolls is more conducive to learning and a healthy line of thought than trying to ignore it. I have definitely lost games from being on the wrong end of this odds table. However, I’ve also won games because of good rolls.

I was searching for 3rd and 4th moves and nothing came to me. Originally, I ran Destiny Bond and Follow Me so that at least when Smeargle was bound to faint it served a purpose. Then, when talking to Scott H. (muffinhead), he gave me an unstoppable idea: Trick-or-Treat as a filler move. Let’s be clear here: most Smeargle do not rely on their moves beyond Dark Void and Spiky Shield — and Follow Me — if they’ve got Focus Sash. Every move that isn’t Dark Void is filler on Smeargle. So I decided to run some of the most ridiculous filler in the game: the type-changing moves. For those of you who don’t know, Trick-or-Treat and Forest’s Curse add Ghost type and Grass type to the target, respectively. What this means is that I could turn my Kangaskhan or Tyranitar into a Ghost type and avoid the Fighting-type attacks directed at them. I could Forest’s Curse one of my own Pokémon to make sure it couldn’t be Rage Powdered or Spored (even though Rage Powder will redirect Forest’s Curse, causing it to fail), and I could Forest’s Curse one of the enemy Pokémon to cause Talonflame, Lapras, or Salamence to score OHKOs on them. These moves were incredibly situational and they were hilarious when I used them and even more hilarious when I actually won with them. Like I said, they’re just filler: filler to get me out of incredibly niche situations. I actually took game 1 of a best of 3 from both Aaron Zheng (Cybertron) and Alex (PokeAlex) while they were practicing for worlds with just Trick-or-Treat, which was pretty strong.

Since Transform is so integral to the team, and its use changed with each Pokémon that I brought to battle, I will mention how Smeargle interacted with each Pokémon in their own sections.

Kangaskhan (F) @ Kangaskhanite (Cronut)
Ability: Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Fake Out
– Double-Edge
– Power-Up Punch
– Sucker Punch

In this town we call home, everyone hail to the pumpkin song.

Kangaskhan. That’s all I need to say about that.

I hope that Simon reads this article and is absolutely disgusted by my Kangaskhan spread this late in the year. I hope that YOU read this article and are disgusted by my Kangaskhan spread this late in the year. Please do not run this Kangaskhan on any other team. It is bad and you will feel bad and you will wonder why you are performing poorly. This is a very simple Kangaskhan set “designed” for use on this team. It has 252 Speed to outspeed all other Adamant Kangaskhan, since I felt Jolly Kangaskhan would be unpopular this late in the season, and any Adamant Kangaskhan with Fake Out would be outsped by mine, because they would be running a “smarter” spread with more of a bulky investment and less than maximum Speed. I was hoping that, in the LCQ, any Kangaskhan that I ran into would carry Protect, which is, I feel, the best choice for a non-gimmick team Kangaskhan in a best of three match.

Synergy with Smeargle

I ran 4 HP / 252 Attack / 252 Speed Kangaskhan in order to properly offensively synergize with Smeargle. Jolly would have been a better option if this team relied heavily on Dark Void. However, it does not. Since this team relies more on Transform, it made more sense to max Attack on Kangaskhan so that Choice Scarf Mega Kangaskhan could do as much damage as possible. In that vein, I felt my Choice Scarf Kangaskhan should speed tie with the neutral natured 100 base Speed Choice Scarf Pokémon, which are Salamence and Zapdos. Furthermore, Adamant Kangaskhan has a ~63% to OHKO Garchomp with Double Edge, whereas that chance is reduced to ~18% with Jolly Kangaskhan. This is a risk that I chose to take.

Choice Scarf Mega Kangaskhan is a beast. If a player cannot handle one Kangaskhan, they are often unlikely to be able to handle two, especially when one is faster than their Pokémon specifically designed to outspeed Kangaskhan. It one shots many Pokémon, especially Charizard, Gardevoir, Hydreigon, and Mamoswine. Thanks to Fake Out’s priority, most people do not expect the turn 2 Choice Scarf Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge KO on their Pokémon. When players double Protect into Transform + Fake Out, expecting a Dark Void, they often have little to no way to counterplay two Mega Kangaskhan. The biggest offender of this is Charizard-Y/Garchomp. Turn 1, Garchomp Protects, usually to save its Lum Berry, and Charizard either eats a Fake Out or Protects. Then two Double-Edges clean up the field.

Attacking with two Mega Kangaskhan is hilarious. If they switch Mawile in on a Double Edge, all it takes is two more Double Edges on it to pick up a surprise KO. Aegislash faints to a double Sucker Punch as well. Usually, the momentum gained by Choice Scarf Kangaskhan is enough to, at worst, clear the board of all four Pokémon, and at best, it picks up two KOs and leaves both Kangaskhan on the field. Trading Smeargle for a Pokémon on the enemy team is usually much more value than a Smeargle will get.

When Smeargle Transforms, it copies all of the stats of Kangaskhan but HP. Max HP Smeargle only has about 20 less HP than a 4 HP Kangaskhan. Just pretend it’s already spent two turns in Sandstorm or something.

Double Kangaskhan, while amazingly funny, is not a catch-all. It falters against Pokémon that would normally disrupt Kangaskhan. It is weak to Intimidate. It is weak to people switching in Rocky Helmet Pokémon. Against people who don’t expect it, it is devastating. And really, really, funny.

/

Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite (Burnt Cookie)

Ability: Unnerve
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Protect
– Dragon Dance
– Rock Slide
– Crunch

I am the shadow on the moon at night, filling your dreams to the brim with fright.

This is another silly spread! Against teams with large Tyranitar problems, I choose this Pokémon in order to abuse that weakness, which most teams could not handle along with Smeargle. Tyranitar is perfect for both supporting and being supported by Smeargle: its ability causes Lum Berry and Chesto Berry to not work, meaning that often the opponent’s only option is to pray for Dark Void to miss while Tyranitar Dragon Dances up to sweep. Tyranitar doesn’t miss Sand, because Lapras took care of Rain on its own for me. An option I really liked on this Tyranitar was leading it and having Mega Kangaskhan in the back without having to Mega Evolve Tyranitar.

I never brought Tyranitar as a lead against teams with Fake Out. In fact, Tyranitar was my least picked Pokémon, because it usually did not provide enough momentum or defensive synergy to support my team. When I did bring it, it performed well. It was my only way to deal with standard Charizard-Y / Venusaur sun.

Synergy with Smeargle

I never transform into Tyranitar with Smeargle. Rather, Smeargle gives Tyranitar Ghost-type with Trick-or-Treat, turning it into a Ghost/Dark/Rock juggernaut. The theory is: on turn 1: Tyranitar Dragon Dances while Smeargle Trick-or-Treats it. The next turn, Smeargle is still faster than Tyranitar, so it can use an offensive Trick-or-Treat along with Tyranitar’s +1 Crunch to KO anything. If, for whatever reason, being Ghost-type isn’t working out for Tyranitar, when it Mega Evolves, it turns back to Dark/Rock. I rarely used this in actual tournaments, but on the ladder it was hilarious and successful enough to keep on my team. To troll harder with Smeargle, I thought of using Life Orb Unnerve Tyranitar, so I could Dark Void Garchomp and then OHKO them with Ice Beam. I bred the Larvitar and never used it, but some extra defensive measures against Mega Mawile would have been nice.

Salamence @ Choice Specs (Coffee Cake)

Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
– Draco Meteor
– Fire Blast
– Dragon Pulse
– Flamethrower

I am the “who” in the call “who’s there?”.

This Salamence works with the “choose how risky you want to play” theme of this team. Given the first three Pokémon on this team’s massive weakness to Steel-types, especially Mawile, I wanted a Pokémon that could always KO them. Choice Specs Salamence fit that description, but Fire Blast isn’t as “always” as I want it to be. Neither is Draco Meteor. I definitely didn’t want to lose any games because I couldn’t get as much damage as I needed to in on time, but I didn’t want to lose any games because I missed my move on a low health Pokémon. This moveset let me decide how much damage I needed, and evaluate whether I needed to take a 10-15% risk. Stone Edge, Hydro Pump, and other moves are all way more conditional than higher accuracy/higher power options, and I maintain that this is the best Choice Salamence moveset.

Intimidate is incredibly important for this team. Since there is no natural bulk outside of Lapras and Kangaskhan, my Pokémon need all the help they can get surviving hits.

Synergy with Smeargle

This one’s fun. Turn 1 I lead Kangaskhan and Smeargle versus, perhaps, my opponent’s Ferrothorn and Garchomp. Clearly not a winning matchup. What I can do in some instances is switch into Salamence and Transform on the switch. That way, I’ve got both a Choice Scarf Salamence and a Choice Specs Salamence on the field at the same time, and my opponent’s Pokémon are both at -2 Attack. If they just double Protected, as most of my opponents were liable to, they’re in for a world of hurt. Having both Choice Scarf and Choice Specs options on a single Pokémon on one team is unheard of since 2010, when you could switch items around between games.

Talonflame @ Choice Band (Eclair)
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Brave Bird
– Flare Blitz
– Giga Impact
– U-turn

I am the wind blowing through your hair.

Another exciting, fun-filled spread! Just kidding. This Talonflame is your standard fare. It is Jolly, intended to outspeed other Talonflame, but it actually just managed to speed tie them because everyone else was also running Jolly (I lost a game at Regionals to a Talonflame speed tie). Whatever. Jolly is still important because Talonflame is a huge issue for Smeargle. Talonflame is incredibly useful in my matchup against Aegislash, Ferrothorn, and most importantly Mawile, which are all Pokémon that give my core difficulties.

Synergy with Smeargle

Have you ever heard of a Choice Scarf Talonflame? Neither had I until I figured that a pretty hilarious way to troll Amoonguss, Lucario, and their similarly Fire-type challenged friends is to switch into Talonflame and Transform into it. From there, I can both Brave Bird and Flare Blitz, or I could go with the double U-Turn to gain momentum if my opponent switched (and they often did). Because Smeargle’s U-Turn goes faster than Talonflame’s, I can switch out Smeargle for Kangaskhan, and then Talonflame for Smeargle, and then I have Fake Out + Dark Void/Transform pressure. Also, since Smeargle is faster than Talonflame’s Flare Blitz, I can Forest’s Curse something (say, Kangashan) and OHKO it with a super effective Flare Blitz.

Lapras @ Assault Vest (Cupcake)
Ability: Water Absorb
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 4 Def / 156 SpA / 116 SpD / 12 Spe
Sassy Nature
– Ice Shard
– Hydro Pump
– Freeze-Dry
– Sheer Cold

Won’t you please make way for a very special guy?

Original Fun Zone, rolling through. Do not be fooled by Kangaskhan and Smeargle running around using their wacky tricks. Lapras is the real MVP (Most Valuable Pokémon) of this team. It is one of the most bulky Pokémon in the metagame, and it is the Pokémon most able to use one of the best coverage moves invented: Freeze Dry. Freeze Dry turns bulky Water type Pokémon into soup. Assault Vest Lapras is the only Pokémon I have ever seen reliably stop Politoed and Ludicolo at the same time. Lapras makes powerful Pokémon like Garchomp, Salamence, Gyarados, and Hydreigon stop in their tracks and think “Is it really worth it to be on the field right now?” Most often the answer is no, which I can then abuse with Salamence or Kangaskhan. Kangaskhan and Smeargle can usually trade at worst 2 for 2. If they happen to get Pokémon out of the way that give Lapras trouble, Lapras can come in and mop up, even 1v2ing for the win.

• 156 SpA Lapras Freeze Dry vs. 12 HP / 36 SpD Garchomp: 184-220 (99.4 – 118.9%) — 87.5% chance to OHKO
• 252+ SpA Mega Manectric Thunderbolt vs. 220 HP / 116+ SpD Assault Vest Lapras: 98-116 (42 – 49.7%) — guaranteed 3HKO

Credit to Markus (13Yoshi37) for the powerful spread. He is winner and I am very noob.

You may have noticed or heard about my somewhat notorious fourth move selection by now. Sheer Cold is so undeniably strong that some Pokémon fan sites choose to ban it in casual battles before it has a chance to even have an effect on the metagame. I run it for two reasons:

1. Sheer Cold is mathematically better than Hydro Pump in some situations.

• The odds of hitting 1 in 1 Sheer Cold is 30%.
• The odds of hitting 1 in 2 Sheer Colds is 51%.
• The odds of hitting 1 in 3 Sheer Colds is 65.7%.
• The odds of hitting 1 in 4 Sheer Colds is 75.9%.
• The odds of hitting 1 Hydro Pump is 80%.
• The odds of hitting all of 2 Hydro Pumps in a row is 64%.
• The odds of hitting all of 3 Hydro Pumps in a row is 51.2%.
• The odds of hitting all of 4 Hydro Pumps in a row is 40%.

In a 1v1 duel vs, say, a slower Aegislash (if they revealed Substitute, I would timer stall with Hydro Pump until they started attacking), I am much more likely to grab a KO than I would be if I did not run Sheer Cold. Sheer Cold also gave me a stronger matchup against Mega Venusaur, Tyranitar (Lapras does NOT beat Tyranitar! Especially not Assault Vest variants), and other Lapras.

I rarely use Sheer Cold outside of the endgame, unlike the Australian Sheer Cold methodology as seen at Worlds. I try to always keep its percentage in mind when using it. There are two conditions for me clicking Sheer Cold: either using it and missing will not have significant consequences, or it is my only option, which leads me to…

2. Sheer Cold gives a glimmer of hope.

Sheer Cold gives me a chance to win games that could not be won. Let me say that again: if I am about to lose a game with Lapras out, there is around a 3/10 chance that I can win it. This is so absurdly strong! 30% is so much more than 0%! I’ve gotten some flack for using this move sometimes. I apologize for not being an honourable samurai but seriously, this is a game of probabilities and trying to pretend that luck doesn’t exist doesn’t help me when I make a team. What’s different between Rock Sliding and praying for a flinch on the right Pokémon and using Sheer Cold for the KO? You’re 3% more likely to get what you want with Sheer Cold.

My Spreads

You may notice that only one of my spreads is optimized. This is because I chose to go for general power, rather than specific power. I do not mind playing with “suboptimal” spreads. I think that a gigantic trap in this game is building very, very, very specific EV spreads that don’t do much at all, especially on Pokémon that need all of their power. I could have run more defensive spreads on Kangaskhan and Talonflame and Tyranitar so that Smeargle could copy their bulk. However, this was not the goal of my team. There were very few attacks I could survive on these Pokémon by changing my EVs up, and the ones I didn’t survive I didn’t care about much. If I were running more of a bulky offense team, these basic spreads would need to go. This team is much less about the spreads on the Pokémon, and much more about what the Pokémon themselves are capable of.

Big Scary Threats

This team is not without its counters.

This is kind of counterintuitive because it really seems like Mawile is my most feared Mega Pokémon. However, the trouble for me is Kangaskhan and its unpredictability. Especially in a best of 1 setting, at a Premier Challenge or a Regional or on Pokémon Showdown, I’m not going to know if Kangaskhan is Jolly or Adamant natured, or if it’s running Protect. My team was designed to play Kangaskhan with Protect. Jolly Kangaskhan does about 75% to Smeargle with Fake Out. In a best of 3, I can play around their Kangaskhan. Usually if I survive Turn 1 it’ll go downhill from there for their Kangaskhan. Most of the time, I need to lead Kangaskhan and Salamence to deal with enemy Kangaskhan. Like I said in my Kangaskhan paragraph, I could run Jolly Kangaskhan, but that would only improve my Kangaskhan matchup by risking a speed tie on turn 1, which isn’t the kind of risk I want to take.

Kangaskhan’s brother in arms. Talonflame isn’t so scary except for the fact that it one shots Smeargle. This means that against Talonflame, I usually had to play a bit more straight-up. Against Kangaskhan and Talonflame in team preview, I almost always led Kangaskhan and Salamence. I would usually Double-Edge Talonflame turn 1 because Quick Guard users deserve to faint in one shot.

Trick Room in general is toxic for this team. If Trick Room gets up, I will likely lose unless their team has multiple serious Lapras weaknesses. I’ve actually stalled Trick Room out once with Smeargle, but it wasn’t very pretty. Double this with Gothitelle, which traps both my Smeargle and my Kangaskhan while pretty much neutering Kangaskhan. The only way I can win against Gothitelle is to pull off shenanigans with Talonflame U-turn, Tyranitar, and Smeargle Dark Void. Gothitelle / Lum Berry Scrafty / Mawile is almost an automatic loss for me, and I think in the future I might switch Tyranitar for Bisharp to prevent that from happening.

Sableye is just another one of those Pokémon that Smeargle doesn’t play kindly with because of the faster Taunt. It also can spread Burn and Confusion around to my team with ease, which isn’t something that any of my Pokémon save Talonflame appreciate. I usually dealt with Sableye by turn 1 Scrappy Kangaskhan Fake Out + Salamence Draco Meteor before it could do anything.

Tournament Results

I did not do too pleasantly at the LCQ. I was hoping for something in the ballpark of my 2013 Top 16 finish, which I was very proud of, losing in a graceful battle to Eugene Park and his Gastrodon. However, my 2014 LCQ finish was anything but graceful. I beat Collin Heier’s mom 2-0 Round 1. She was a very powerful Pokemom. I ran into Westin Lee Round 2. The first game I won 4-0 with Double Kangaskhan, but Game 2 I fell right into a trap of… Mega Dragon Dance Tyranitar and Double Team Brightpowder Substitute Sand Veil Garchomp. I misplayed horribly by targeting Garchomp instead of its supporting Pokémon both games, and lost the set 1-2. Then I was out of the LCQ. It’s worth noting that each game I aimed a Freeze Dry on Garchomp turn 1 as he Double Teamed. It is also worth noting that I did not timer stall or play well. So it goes. Game 3 was actually incredibly crazy, with me losing Salamence and Kangaskhan on turn 2 and surviving 12 more turns with Lapras and Smeargle. I had a ~15% chance to both wake up and hit Sheer Cold on his Amoonguss, but it did not happen.

Unfortunate yet necessary casualties of wartime. I do not think I would have made it too far in the LCQ because of the presence of Gothitelle Mawile and the near-perfect matchup Wolfe’s team, for instance, had against mine. I did, however, win some local tournaments with it. I won an 8-person local (oh boy) and won about 48$ from it (oh boy! That’s the first money I’ve made since 2011, so baby steps). Then I went to the Springfield Premier Challenge and got 1st in that as well, beating out some local community figures such as Chalkey, JoeDaPr0, and Pyromaniac720. I am also 4-1 with this team in the NPA, so far (thanks a lot, LPFan 😐 (Look out, Chargers!)).

FUN AND EXCITING Pokémon PUZZLES!

I thought that something neat to include in my report would be some scenarios with my team that kind of show my luck-evaluating thought process, and this team’s strange way of finding outs or advantages. These are real-life scenarios that happened to me online and at the tournaments I played throughout the year.

1. vs joej m: It’s turn 2. I have Kangaskhan and Lapras in vs Salamence and Ludicolo. He’s probably got Mawile in the back, which I’m pretty afraid of. Last turn, I switched Lapras in for Smeargle and took 5% damage from Ludicolo’s Fake Out, while Kangaskhan used Fake Out on Salamence. Can you find the situation in which I take joej m’s Mawile for free on Turn 2?

VS

2. vs Arash Ommati (Mean): I have just won Game 1 of our best of 3 set in the NPA and am looking to take Game 2 to close it up. It is his -1 Attack Garchomp at ~30% health and his -1 Attack Mega Mawile at ~10% health vs my Salamence and Smeargle at full health, neither of which have chosen their moves. Percentage-wise, I’m in a good position: except both of his Pokemon still have space to pick up OHKOs on mine, and Smeargle needs a turn to get going. I am actually in an incredibly stressful position! Assume my Smeargle has Follow Me instead of Forest’s Curse. Assume Garchomp is not carrying Lum Berry. Assume Garchomp outspeeds my Salamence. Can you find the moves that give me the best odds of winning? What are those odds?

VS

3. vs pyromaniac720: In the Springfield Premier Challenge, I have just lost one game in the Top 8 best of 3 set. I made some moves that led to small advantages for me in game 2, but it’s wound down to my Choice Band Talonflame locked into Brave Bird next to my full health Smeargle versus his +1 Attack / +1 Defense Malamar. All Pokémon are at full health, and his Malamar doesn’t just have Superpower as an attacking move, so Talonflame isn’t safe. Can you find my most reliable out and keep me alive in the best of 3?

VS

4. It’s Round 9 of the Philadelphia VGC tournament, and I’m unfortunately at 5-3, which means I’m very far away from Top Cut. However, I want to clinch 10 or hopefully 20 CP by winning my last game. Somehow, in the battle, I’ve gotten myself into somewhat of a pickle: half HP Lapras, low HP Smeargle, and full HP Talonflame in the back VS his full HP Mega Mawile. It looks like I’m at a major advantage, and I am. However, I know his Mawile has Sucker Punch, and I also know Talonflame is not the bulkiest Pokémon. I want to find the 100% win condition, so there’s no way he can even critical hit Sucker Punch my Talonflame to knock it out and cost me the game. Can you prevent me from losing the game to a critical hit, and earn me some sweet CP?

Closing Thoughts

Every year I end up with a team that I just can’t imagine playing this game without. Whether it’s Beat Up Krookodile in 2011, Nidoking Cloyster in 2012, or Bird Forme Birds team featuring Landorus-Therian and Tornadus-Therian in 2013, I always leave the season sadly leaving behind a team that I held very close to my heart. I am proud but sad to add Bakery Fun Zone to the list. Unfortunate yet necessary. This team truly plays like no other. Every game was a roller coaster, from the very first tournament on Pokémon Showdown where I beat Scott’s Amoonguss Lucario leads with Talonflame/Talonflame, to the set against Westin, to the time I played Fatum in NPA and learned that Kangaskhan’s Struggle hits twice, to the time that I wrote this report and thought of all the good times my Pokémon and I had. Every game with this team is a pretty crazy experience where I can laugh at the absurdity of this game that we all devote so much time and effort to. If you pick up this team: I hope you laugh with me, too. Let’s be friends.

Shoutouts

I would like to give a shout out to everyone. You are all my friends.

• Shout out to Paul and Huy for putting up with me calling it “Bakery Fun Zone” forever.
• Shout out to Scott and pookar and the rest of our best friends for putting up with me talking about Smeargle and Sheer Cold for months on end.
• Shout out to Wolfe and Max for letting me stay at their place for LCQ and convincing me that Sheer Cold is in fact the correct move choice. And Markus for showing me how to play Wii Play Tanks and Monopoly and doing EV thinking so that I didn’t have to.
• Shout out to muffinhead for helping me come up with Trick-or-Treat!
• Shout outs to Aryana (feathers) and Zilin for helping me with cosmetics and making super neato artwork! And to Scott again for teaching me that Poke Ball choice is the only thing that matters when choosing Pokémon. This whole team is in Dusk Balls.
• Bonus shout out to Aryana who is both the lovely artist who drew the really awesome picture and who saw the team the night before LCQ and decided to run it and make it further in the LCQ than I did.
• Shout out to Collin. Sorry for beating your mom. She was a very nice woman.
• Shout out to Jake and Pyromaniac720 for driving me to all of these silly places.
• Shout out to JRank, who, I believe, is in fact the person who convinced me to run this crazy team when he said, frustrated after losing a best of three to an early version: “Aaron, this team is crazy, but it actually really works.”
• Shout out to Aaron and Alex for being my amigos and putting up with Trick-or-Treat and being such gosh darn good Pokémon battlers that it brings tears to my eyes.

I was a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all.

Answers to the Fun and Intriguing Riddles:

1. I Double-Edged Ludicolo, and I Sheer Colded Salamence. I was not afraid of the damage output of either of his Pokémon at that point in time. However, I didn’t want to play too many steps ahead in my mind and possibly mispredict him by switching my Salamence or my Talonflame, which would deal with his Mawile pretty well, into a Draco Meteor. I also did not want to Hydro Pump that slot, which would deal considerably more damage to Mawile than a Freeze Dry. Sheer Cold was a 30% risk. What happened turn 2: he switched Mawile in for Salamence, I Double-Edged Ludicolo for ~70% of its health and Sheer Colded Mawile on the switchin. Sheer Cold hits and Mawile goes down. He then forfeited. I was lucky that it paid off for me, but notice that I had switch-in options in the back if it did not. This was a play that I made on Pokémon Showdown. It is not, probably, a play that I would make at a real event. A safer play, as pointed out to me by a very angry Wolfe (but it’s pretty obvious), is to Power-Up Punch Salamence’s slot and Freeze Dry Ludicolo. The thing is that this play always leaves me in a moderately awkward board position (~30-45% Ludicolo, and ~70-85% Mawile) and my play has a ~70% to leave me in a somewhat more awkward board position and a 30% to leave me in an excellent one. Do you agree with this play? Why or why not?
2. I Transformed into Salamence with my Smeargle, leaving both his Garchomp and his Mega Mawile at -2 Attack, because Salamence’s Intimidate copies over. From then, my plan was to Dragon Pulse his low HP Garchomp with Scarf Salamence next turn, outspeeding and KOing and surviving because Garchomp is -2, and this turn KOing Mawile with Specs’ Flamethrower. Unfortunately, Garchomp crit KOs the Specs Salamence, and I lose the game before Smeargle turned into Salamence can do anything. The odds of that happening are 6.25%. I won Game 3 and the series in a 1v1, his Mega Mawile vs my Lapras: his Play Rough missed in questionable KO range and my Lapras hit Sheer Cold. The odds of that happening are about 3%. Pokémon is a very silly game sometimes.
3. I Transformed into his +1 Attack / +1 Defense Malamar with Smeargle. Talonflame did about ~40% to his Malamar with Brave Bird. He then used Psycho Cut on my Smeargle turned Malamar with his Malamar. Even if he had Superpowered, I still could have had the game, questionably. I ended up taking the game and the series with his Malamar, Transforming into it in Game 3 as well.
4. Smeargle uses Forest’s Curse on his Mawile. This means that Mega Mawile receives neutral damage from both Lapras’ Freeze Dry/Ice Shard, and Talonflame’s Brave Bird, which outspeeds his Sucker Punch, so there’s no way he can critical hit KO my Talonflame. When Forest’s Curse happened, we both burst out laughing. He was expecting the Dark Void. He kept saying “I’m not even mad that I lost!” This match inspired the phrase “LOST IN THE FOREST.” If you use this team and you use Forest’s Curse on your enemy’s Pokémon, make sure you let them know that their Pokémon are now LOST IN THE FOREST.

Article image created by feathers for Nugget Bridge. View more of her artwork on her tumblr or Nugget Bridge forums thread.

About the Author

Unreality Hi! I'm Aaron "Unreality" Traylor and I love short walks on the beach and making lots and lots of friends. Following mild success in the Seniors division in 2011, I quickly lost all steam upon entering Masters and have done slightly well since. Now I am a moderator on Nugget Bridge! Hooray!

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