Reports

Published on January 27th, 2014 | by Jackson7 D

13

Blast Off! A Top 4 Southern California Regionals Report

Hey everyone!  My name is Jackson Daugherty, but I go by Jackson7 D on here.  Although I play Pokemon constantly, I do not post on Nugget Bridge very often.  That being said, I am proud to say I have made some great friends through this website both online and in real life.  This is my second year playing competitive Pokemon, and my first year playing in the Masters division. I did not have much success last season, but this year I managed to place fourth in the 2014 Long Beach Winter Regional, and I had a lot of fun doing it.  Here is my team!

The Team

Pam (Blastoise) @ Blastoisinite
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 252 SAtk / 124 HP / 132 Spd
Modest Nature
– Hydro Pump
– Fake Out
– Dragon Pulse
– Aura Sphere

Mega Blastoise.  As all of you know, all three of the original Kanto starters received Mega Evolutions this year.  While Charizard(Y) and Venusaur became offensive and defensive behemoths respectively, Blastoise seemed to have been left awkwardly in the middle.  Although it may not have the same crazy stats or typing that the others have, it can do great things in this meta that set it apart from the all the other megas.  With the Mega Launcher Ability, Dragon Pulse and Aura Sphere are both much more powerful moves.  Dragon Pulse is my favorite move on Blastoise, mainly because of its great coverage.  It is able to KO Garchomp while not taking much damage from any of its attacks.  Aura Sphere was almost exclusively for Kangaskhan, although it also KOs 252HP Tyranitar in sand 93.7% of the time.  Fake Out is another great move on Blastoise because it is fairly unexpected.  The few Blastoises I faced before Regionals were all Water Spout attackers used in Trick Room, mainly with Aromatisse.  At the tournament, not a single opponent played as if they expected Blastoise to be running Fake Out, expect for BadIntent, who knocked me out.  Hydro Pump was probably a bad choice, as the extra power compared to Water Pulse is not that much.  Considering how little I used my Water STAB, Water Spout may have been a better option than both, although finding a Blastoise with 4 egg moves was not worth the trouble for me. Ironically, I had more KOs with Fake Out than Hydro Pump during swiss.

Blastoise was used in every single match of the tournament for me, and was used as a lead in most games.  For me, it was the perfect combination of power, bulk, and creativity that players look for.  I’m obligated to say that Blastoise was suggested to me by my great friend and winner of Seniors at the tournament, emforbes.  I named it Pam after the HR director in the cartoon Archer, who is fat and awesome, much like Blastoise.

volcanoes (Rotom-Heat) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 100 HP / 252 SAtk / 156 Spd
Modest Nature
– Thunderbolt
– Will-O-Wisp
– Overheat
– Protect

Rotom-Heat has slowly become more and more popular, and for good reason. It is a great counter against both Charizard-Y and Talonflame, two very common Pokemon. The one Pokemon Blastoise had the hardest time dealing with was surely Amoongus, so Rotom was an ideal partner.  For this reason, I wanted a powerful Rotom that would outspeed my Blastoise, so Amoonguss would be KOd and Blastoise’s attack would never be redirected.  This spread was given to me by the man who was largely responsible for Rotom-Heats popularity in 2014, the great Pokemaster649.  Will-O-Wisp is a great move that has been spoken about enough, and it only missed once the entire tournament.  I originally ran Light Screen over Protect, but Light Screen was almost never used so I decided to ditch it.

Rotom worked great the entire tournament, and I brought it to many of my matches, especially towards the end of swiss.  Its name comes from the mini-NPA league that has been going on through Showdown!. “The Cinnabar Volcanoes” are clearly the league’s best franchise.

Mr. Rager (Amoonguss) @ Black Sludge
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 232 SDef / 20 SAtk
Sassy Nature
– Giga Drain
– Spore
– Rage Powder
– Protect

Amoonguss was an easy choice, as it had fantastic synergy with both Blastoise and Rotom.  Both Blastoise and Rotom were threatened by opposing Rotom-Wash, and I often brought Amoonguss in the back if I ever saw one.   Due to a lack of time and my own inability to breed pokemon, I had to borrow an Amoonguss from fellow SoCal player KobraTail.  To this day I do not know what EVs he had on the thing, as the spread here is what I was using online.

This Amoonguss is no different than most; its only job was to take attacks, spread sleep, then heal back its health with Regenerator.   There are many reasons not to use Amoonguss this generation, such as the popularity of Meowstic or the lack of good Trick Room setters, but I firmly believe it is still a great Pokemon.   Amoonguss was only used in about half of my matches, but when I was used it, Amoonguss was usually the Pokemon most crucial to my team on the field.   The nickname is a poor attempt at a pun from the Kid Cudi album.

ROCK HALL (Tyranitar) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 Atk / 4 HP
Jolly Nature
– Crunch
– Rock Slide
– Protect
– Dragon Dance

Looking at the team, it was clear I needed a physical attacker.  Although Dark-type coverage is, in my opinion,  less useful now than last year, Rock-type coverage is as great as ever.  As Tyranitar is such a versatile pokemon, I wondered for a while what I should run on it.  Since Blastoise and Amoonguss could do a good job giving Tyranitar time to set up, I thought Dragon Dance would work very well.  At plus one Speed, Jolly Tyranitar outspeeds most of the metagame, namely Charizard Y.   Dragon Dance can instantly shift the momentum of a match in your favor, which is what I liked so much about it.  When I looked at what people usually did to counter Dragon Dance Tyranitar, I saw that it often involved status moves such as Will-O-Wisp.  Lum Berry ended up being a fantastic item for my Tyranitar, as it took many people by surprise and allowed to me to set up.  Lum Berry also further improved Tyranitar’s possibility as a counter to Sun, because I saw many Venusaurs chose to Sleep Powder Tyranitar rather than attack it during practice.

Tyranitar was fantastic at the tournament.   Dragon Dance proved to be an amazing move, creating win positions that otherwise would be impossible.   The EVs are super standard, as I saw no reason for them not to be.   Tyranitar was named after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, which I grew up nearby.

BettrCallSal (Salamence) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Spd / 252 SAtk / 4 Atk
Modest Nature
– Draco Meteor
– Hydro Pump
– Flamethrower
– Dragon Pulse

This is a very standard Choice Scarf Salamence. My team lacked immediate speed and Intimidate support. Plus, Blastoise was my only solution of dealing with Garchomp, so Salamence was an obvious choice. Fire coverage was great, giving me a second option (other than Rotom) to hit Steel-types like Mawile and Scizor for super effective damage.  This Salamence also originally ran Stone edge to OHKO Charizard Y and Talonflame, but I could not find a Salamence with six flawless IVs.  I doubted I would ever use Hydro Pump, and I never did.  One of things Salamence was best at was being an excellent switch-in.  Despite being a generally frail Pokemon, having Intimidate paired with many great resistances made my team much more defensively sound.  I chose a Timid nature so I would not be outsped by any other Choice Scarf Salamence, and as I already had lots of other Pokemon with special attacks, all the speed I could get was fantastic.

Salamence was very helpful to my team when I chose to use it, although that was not as often as the other Pokemon seen above.  The nickname is a reference to Saul Goodman, the greatest lawyer in TV history.

(Aegislash) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Atk /  12 SDef
Brave Nature
– Iron Head
– Swords Dance
– King’s Shield
– Shadow Sneak

Aegislash is is a very fascinating pokemon.  It has so many things going for it: an amazing Ghost/Steel typing, excellent stats, and a very unique ability.  However, not being able to change forms and still be protected from status is a huge weakness, especially on a team without Safeguard, like mine.  The reason I chose to put it on my team was because it provided me with another physical attacker that  worked well with Tyranitar, and also could be paired well with Blastoise and Amoonguss and still set up a Swords Dance.  Shadow Sneak was also my only priority move, although the power has always left something to be desired.

Whenever I considered replacing Aegislash, the Pokemon that came to mind most often is Scizor.  Scizor has a stronger priority move , and keeps its bulk when you are attacking.  However, Aegislash provides an often crucial Rock resistance that Scizor cannot give.  Aegislash was brought into one game in Swiss, and one best-of-three games in Top Cut.  It surprised me how successful Aegislash was in both matches.  Regardless of how much I used it or how well it did, it added a fun and creative element to my team.

The Tournament

Now on to the tournament!  The day started out with me and my dad driving to the Long Beach Convention center, where we saw a line larger than anything I had ever seen at a Pokemon tournament.  Luckily, I found emforbes and Jonas who still had not chosen their teams for the day. We managed to make it through the line and register, but that was just the beginning of the waiting.  This tournament had over 500 people in Masters alone, and apparently the staff were not prepared for it.  They were all working very hard and were really kind, but the sheer number of people made it very difficult to stay organized.  Although the players meeting was scheduled for 10:00, we did not start battling until well after 1:00.  Before then, I spent most of my time playing Flappy Bird with Emilio, Jonas, and Alec.  Swiss eventually did start, but it was a long day and I only took a few notes, so here are the highlights.

The tournament staff split the competitors into 2 flights, each with around 250 people.  The original plan was that each flight would have a top eight cut, but late in the day it was switched to each having a top 16.  Round one  I played Tiffany (who later battled kingofmars on stream).  She was very nice, and gave me a great resistance as she went 7-2.  My only loss during swiss came round 3, against this guy with a handlebar moustache named Greg.  Greg sure loved Klefki.  There was a very unfortunate first turn paralysis on my Salamence against his Garchomp, a pretty unfortunate rock slide flinch, and a bunch of swagger hits, but I’m sure if I had defeated him I probably would have lost to a much better opponent later in the day. My closest match came against a guy wearing an N cosplay, because of a horrendous turn one where his Haxorus OHKOd my Rotom with Earthquake. Tyranitar managed to turn it around for me.   Almost all of my opponents were really cool people. I especially remember two of my opponents, Jeremy and Brad, who I spoke with throughout the rest of the tournament.  In the end, I was 8-1, and the 4th seed in ‘Flight A’.  On to Top Cut!

Top Cut

I had never cut a tournament before, so I was already overjoyed.  Top Cut also started way later than expected.  Emilio actually managed to win the Seniors division an hour before I even began to play.  My round one opponent was a guy named Rolland, who was at his first tournament.  His team, however, had every Pokemon I despised.

Game 1: As soon as I saw his team, I knew this would be difficult.  I led with Blastoise/Tyranitar, and he led with Rotom/Chandelure, which he ended up doing every game. I switched in Amoonguss for Tyranitar and used Fake Out on Rotom, while he hit Blastoise with an Energy Ball from Chandelure. I remember that he was using a Choice Scarf Rotom. The match came down to my Amoonguss and Tyranitar versus a sleeping Garchomp, Rotom, and a low HP Kangaskhan in the back. I knew if I could get a Dragon Dance off I have a great chance of winning, so I Rage Powder and Dragon Dance.  He gets the first turn wake up on Garchomp, and KOs both of my Pokemon.  Lose

Game 2:  The game started out differently as I led Blastoise/Rotom with Amoongus and Salamence in the back.  He decided to bring Gyarados this game, which ends up holding a Wacan Berry.  This game was also very close, but Rotom survived his Gyrados’s Waterfall late in the game, giving me the edge. Win

Game 3:  This time, I led Blastoise/Amoongus against his same lead.  I Rage Powder and Dragon Pulse while Chandelure uses Overheat and KOs my Amoonguss much earlier than I had hoped.  In turn two, I was very lucky; Salamence’s Draco Meteor gets a critical hit and KOs his Rotom-Wash.  The rest of the game is smooth sailing.  Win

Top 16 vs Bridger

The only thing I knew about this guy was that he had just beat Alaka the last round, so I knew he would be good.  His team looked ridiculous  which caught me a little off guard, but I knew if I didn’t overthink it I could win.

Game 1: He leads Charizard/Mr. Mime, as I lead Blastoise/Tyranitar.  My goal this game was to set up Dragon Dance with Tyranitar and sweep. His Mr. Mime caught me off guard when it used Trick Room, and I was even more surprised to find out that his Charizard was very slow: much slower than my Blastoise. This game was close, but he managed to take it. Lose

Game 2: I was more prepared for Trick Room this time. I led Blastoise/Aegislash with Amoonguss and Tyranitar in the back.  I allowed Trick Room to be set up and managed to KO Mr. Mime with Aegislash and bring in Amoonguss safely. Win

Game 3:  I brought the exact same Pokemon and my opponent brought in Mr. Mime and Scrafty.  Blastoise OHKOd  Scrafty with Aura Sphere and the rest of the game went well. Win

Top 8 vs Alec (Pokemaster649)

Alec was by far my most difficult opponent up to that point, and I am very sorry to say I did not take very good notes.  There was a huge gap in between the Top 16 and Top 8 games, because the tournament staff wrote down every remaining competitor’s team of Pokemon on a piece of paper. It was nearly midnight, and I was very tired.  I will try my best to explain the matches.  After speaking with Alec online, I know he remembers well what happened.

Game 1:  I lead Blastoise Rotom with Tyranitar and Amoonguss in the back.  He leads Manectric and Amoongus, which surprises me because I expected to see Kangaskhan. Amoonguss was a key player this match; I switched it in on turn one and began putting his entire team to sleep. He revealed that his Manectric was running Flamethrower, which was very important in Game 3. By the end of the match, I had not lost a single Pokemon. Win

Game 2:  This game went much worse for me than the first match. I led Blastoise/Tyranitar while he led Gyarados/Kangaskhan. On turn one, Alec predicted that I would switch in Salamence for Tyranitar, and he uses Ice Fang instead of Waterfall. The match goes downhill from there, as my opponent makes one good prediction after another. Lose

Game 3:  He led Manectric/Gyarados versus my Blastoise/Rotom. I only remember the end of this match. He had a Manectric and Gyarados locked into Waterfall, while I had Rotom and Amoonguss.  Amonguss Rage Powdered and managed to survive Manectric’s Flamethrower and redirect Gyarados’s Waterfall. Rotom KOd Gyarados with Thunderbolt, and Rotom then beat Manectric on timer.  GGs Alec.

Top 4 vs Omari (BadIntent)

Omari had gone undefeated in swiss, and already had a regional win and a second place finish under his belt this season.   I was incredibly excited to play someone with his level of skill, but also really nervous.  It was around 1:00 in the morning, which not only meant that I was tired, but also meant that it was my birthday!  I’m not going to go into too much detail about my first battles as a 16-year-old because they were all on stream. I was outplayed for most of the time in the first and third games, but I did manage to take game two.  You can see our battles on the stream archive below.

In Conclusion

So that’s my story!  I hope you enjoyed it, if you think any part of my team was interesting, feel free to try it out.  Before I end this report, here are some shout outs, as there is absolutely no way I could have done this all by myself.

Tman: Thanks for being an awesome friend by helping me make this team. Your advice before regionals really helped.

emforbes, KobraTail, and TechnoZ: Thank you guys so much for helping me get my team in game by the event.

Sam (RastaCharmander): Thanks for being my good luck charm rounds eight and nine. (He was sitting next to me for both games and also won both of his matches.)

Also, one last shout out to all of the Volcanoes: truthwalker, Sabaku, and captain HeroOfTheWinds.

About the Author

Jackson7 D

Related Posts

Memoirs of a World Champion: by 2015 World Champion SHADEviera →

The Other Fire Doge: A Top 8 Lancaster Report →

Blazing Forward! A Malaysian Regionals 2nd Place Report →

Top 4, Top 4, We’ve Never Used This Team Before →