Reports

Published on February 26th, 2015 | by Metatyph

10

Bring In the Storm! An Indonesian Asia Cup Qualifiers Top Cut Report

Hey there! I’m known as Metatyph here, Tempest in some places, and Icun Prayitno in others, and I’m somewhat of a lurker at Nugget Bridge. I was an Indonesian Asia Cup representative, and although my run in the continental tournament has ended, I want to share with you all the experiences I had in the qualifiers.

I began playing Pokémon competitively roughly five years ago, but I only played single battles. To keep a long story short, I became intrigued by the VGC format after watching the replays of the 2013 and 2014 World Championship finals, particularly by Arash Ommati’s Choice Scarf Mamoswine and Sejun Park’s Pachirisu. Since I was accustomed to the lack of innovation in singles, I was shocked that a Pokémon like Pachirisu could win Worlds. In October 2014, I started playing VGC, and quickly fell in love with the format. Sadly, in my first tournament, I was very inexperienced and only finished third to last. My team was truly atrocious, and I set out to build a better one.

Metagame Calls and Teambuilding

Here’s a quick glance at the team:

tyranitarexcadrillcradilytalonflamethundurusaegislash

Most people would immediately think “sand team”, and they wouldn’t be wrong. I chose to go with sand because I thought it would be a good metagame call. The Pokémon are listed in the order that I picked them in, which should bring some light to why I chose them.

This team has two gears; a Sandstorm cleanup/pressure mode, and a fairly standard “goodstuffs”-esque role. I typically end up using a combination of both. Tyranitar, Excadrill, and Cradily form my Sandstorm core, while Talonflame, Thundurus, and Aegislash simply complement each other well.

Looking back, this team had many flaws that could have been fixed. It is relatively weak to the metagame’s most common Pokémon, and a team with multiple top threats (Kangaskhan, Landorus-Therian, and Sylveon for instance) would give this team a lot of trouble. I’ve modified this team since with the help of a fellow Asia Cup representative, but for now, I’ll discuss the version of the team I brought to the qualifiers.

tyranitar-mega
Darude (Tyranitar) @ Tyranitarite
Sand Stream | Modest
196 HP / 252 SpA / 60 Spe
– Ice Beam
– Rock Slide
– Fire Blast
– Protect

Originally, this team was built around supporting Tyranitar. As it progressed, it ended up being Tyranitar’s job to support the team.

Honestly, the first reason why I even considered using Tyranitar was to have “Darude’s Sand Stream” show up onscreen. I thought of this even before VGC 2015, although I never ended up using Tyranitar in VGC 2014. However, my decision to use a sand team was nowhere near as silly.

I initially predicted that the two dominant teams of the new metagame would be offense built around Mega Salamence and rain built around Mega Swampert, with Kangaskhan being much less frequent. (This ended up being incorrect, but that’s irrelevant.) I reasoned that Tyranitar could handle rain (as well as any other weather) while still beating Mega Salamence. The Dragon-type frisbee can’t come close to OHKOing Tyranitar, while Tyranitar OHKOs any reasonable Mega Salamence with Ice Beam after sand damage.

Due to Sand Stream, Tyranitar can deal with other weather by simply switching in. It can easily OHKO Mega Charizard Y with Rock Slide, and maul the rare Abomasnow with Fire Blast. Sand also conveniently eliminates an opposing Focus Sash. In my singles-playing days, I loved breaking Focus Sash and Sturdy with Stealth Rock or Spikes. In doubles, however, hazard moves aren’t that great. Instead, I used sand to accomplish the same purpose. Quite sadly, the only Focus Sash user I played against was Landorus-Therian, which was immune to Sandstorm’s chip damage.

The decision to use Tyranitarite was a last-minute one. When I finished building this team, I didn’t have a Mega Evolution, so I decided to put one on Tyranitar. It’s been fairly useful, as Tyranitar can win the weather war against Mega Charizard Y and Eject Button Politoed, while gaining some defenses and Speed. However, the EV spread isn’t quite optimized for Mega Tyranitar.

Tyranitar had Ice Beam mainly for Salamence and Landorus-T, but it also helps with other Dragon-types that show up. Fire Blast deals with Ferrothorn, but can also take down the occasional slow Scizor that opts for Bug Bite over Bullet Punch. I chose Rock Slide instead of Stone Edge due to accuracy.

Apparently, special Mega Tyranitar isn’t common. I… didn’t know that when I used this set. However, Tyranitar’s Ability and stats allow it to run multiple very viable sets, so I don’t think this one is particularly suboptimal. I made multiple unorthodox team choices without knowing, and I’ll mention them when I get there.

excadrill
Guacamole (Excadrill) @ White Herb
Sand Rush | Adamant
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
– Earthquake
– Iron Head
– Rock Slide
– Protect

The item Excadrill held probably caught your eye, but I’ll discuss it later on.

What’s a sand team without Excadrill? Excadrill, with Sand Rush bolstering its Speed in sand, functions as my main cleanup sweeper, but it also creates significant pressure in general, and is able to deal decent damage on his own.

Another metagame prediction I made was the use of redirection, mainly with Togekiss, Clefable, and Pachirisu. With Earthquake and Iron Head, Excadrill could deal significant super effective damage to these Pokémon. As a bonus, Excadrill is immune to Pachirisu’s Nuzzle, allowing it to essentially ignore it. I also predicted that Heatran would be very common, and Excadrill deals with it well. It can OHKO even the most defensive Heatran with Earthquake, and outspeeds Choice Scarf variants after a Sand Rush boost.

I know that Mold Breaker has typically been the ability of choice on Excadrill, and sometimes I wish I had it when facing Rotom. Sand Rush’s Speed boost, however, really comes in handy at times.

On to White Herb! I had originally planned to lead with Tyranitar and Excadrill, and I was aware that many players would attempt to stop such a combination with Intimidate. White Herb would have allowed me to ignore with the Attack drop without losing any valuable turns of sand. (I ended up never leading with the combination.)

cradily
CrayCrayLovr (Cradily) @ Sitrus Berry
Storm Drain | Bold
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
– Giga Drain
– Ancient Power
– Gastro Acid
– Protect

Cradily helps me deal with opposing rain, as well as pesky Water-types.

At first glance, Cradily seems to be a very mediocre Pokémon; good, but generally outclassed. It’s got decent stats and a good ability in Storm Drain, but nothing exceptional. However, its typing and ability fit in perfectly in this team. I saw a glaring weakness to Water-type attacks between Tyranitar and Excadrill, and chose a Storm Drain user to patch it up.

Storm Drain allows my entire team to be safe from most Water-type attacks. I knew that Water-type Pokémon would be very common (Suicune, Rotom-Wash, Politoed, etc.) so Cradily gave me an easy solution. One question I was asked many a time after making this decision, however, was “Why not Gastrodon?” Although Gastrodon is a great Pokémon, I needed Cradily more. Its STAB Giga Drain could deal massive damage to those pesky Water-types, especially after a Storm Drain boost. Additionally, with Ludicolo being so common, I was doubtful of Gastrodon’s ability to stop rain teams.

Cradily is also a Rock-type. Although Rock-type doesn’t provide many useful resistances, it does provide a 50% boost to Special Defense if sand is up. As such, I maximized Cradily’s HP and Defense, since its Special Defense would be boosted by the sand. These EVs make it extremely bulky, capable of withstanding powerful attacks such as Choice Specs Hydreigon’s Draco Meteor and Mega Salamence’s Return after a Dragon Dance. I didn’t invest in Special Attack, as Giga Drain and Ancient Power are mostly used for either super effective hits or chip damage, neither of which particularly benefits from investment.

Gastro Acid was somewhat of a strange choice, but provided a nice surprise factor. It could disrupt several common attackers, such as Sylveon, Mega Kangaskhan, and Mega Salamence to name a few. A well-timed Gastro Acid would often force my opponent to switch, netting me some decent momentum.

talonflame
Bravest Bird (Talonflame) @ Life Orb
Gale Wings | Adamant
252 Atk / 44 SpA / 212 Spe
– Brave Bird
– Overheat
– Quick Guard
– Protect

At this point, I noticed that this team was extremely weak to Fighting-type attacks, so I took the easy way out again by adding Talonflame. Talonflame gave me both a way to hit Fighting-types and a Fire-type attack. However, between all the sources of recoil and residual damage, Talonflame doesn’t last for long. Most of the time, though, it does what it needs to.

Let’s start with the item. Choice Band has been the most common, so I initially went that route. However, Talonflame’s Attack stat is mediocre- it’s no better than Cradily’s. It’s not particularly hard to EV certain Pokémon to survive a Brave Bird or two. As such, I chose Life Orb instead; Talonflame’s Brave Bird won’t be pitifully weak, but since it’s getting the 2/3HKO anyway, it might as well sacrifice some of its nearly nonexistent survivability for the ability to switch moves. Being able to use Talonflame’s great support movepool is a huge benefit.

To be honest, there’s not much to say about this Talonflame. 212 Speed EVs allow it to block Lopunny and Kangaskhan’s Fake Out with Quick Guard. Quick Guard also allows me to handle priority moves, such as Bullet Punch Scizor, Prankster users, and opposing Talonflame. I maximized Attack for Brave Bird. Overheat OHKOes Cobalion and avoids even more recoil. I didn’t use Tailwind on this particular Talonflame, as the Speed boost was irrelevant for every Pokémon on this team. I passed over Taunt, too, as my next Pokémon covered that need.

thundurus
Voltergeist (Thundurus) @ Safety Goggles
Prankster | Timid
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
– Thunderbolt
– Hidden Power Ice
– Taunt
– Protect

I was originally using Rotom-Wash, but then switched to Thundurus. Although my initial reason to replace Rotom was an immature “wait, I want to use a Legendary Pokémon”, I noticed that Rotom-Wash’s Hydro Pump could be redirected by Cradily’s Storm Drain. It was fortunate that I picked up on this, as I led with Cradily and Thundurus a lot due to their synergy.

I know that modern Thundurus typically invests heavily into defenses, but I wanted to deal with Whimsicott. To maximize Thundurus’s chances of winning the Taunt war, I maximized its Speed. I decided to invest into Special Attack as well, as I wanted my Thundurus to deal respectable damage. I chose Safety Goggles to avoid sand and deal with Rage Powder and Spore. Prankster Taunt is a scary tool to have, and can be a lethal weapon against Trick Room teams. Aromatisse can pose a problem due to Aroma Veil, but it’s relatively rare and is threatened by Aegislash.

Thundurus originally carried Thunder Wave instead of Taunt. Although Thunder Wave is a fantastic tool, crippling many common offensive Pokémon, I knew that many players would find ways to play around it. By removing it, I could play mindgames with Thundurus; my opponents, expecting Thunder Wave, would play inaccurately and place too much effort into stopping the nonexistant threat, occasionally giving me some momentum.

aegislash
Blade Works (Aegislash) @ Weakness Policy
Stance Change | Quiet
252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
– Shadow Ball
– Sacred Sword
– Flash Cannon
– King’s Shield

It’s hard to go wrong with Aegislash. Its typing is fantastic both offensively and defensively speaking. Between its STAB attacks and Sacred Sword, it can hit any Pokémon in the game for at least neutral damage.

Despite its extremely standard set, this Aegislash serves as an important glue for this team. It deals consistent damage with Shadow Ball, checks threats such as Sylveon, Mega Kangaskhan, and Cresselia, and can even beat Landorus-Therian after a Weakness Policy boost. There really isn’t much to say about Aegislash—all in all, Aegislash is an amazing answer to many of top threats, and I never regretted using it.

Asia Cup Qualifiers: Indonesia

The event itself was held on January 11, 2015, and was the first Indonesian Premier Challenge. It was held in a pretty well known mall, fX. A total of 117 players attended it, and the Top 4 players were given invites to Asia Cup as Indonesia’s representatives. The 1st place prize was a brand new Nintendo 2DS, so it was a pretty big deal for many people. I, on the other hand, came to have fun, not really expecting to win anything but experience and maybe a few friends here and there. Even so, I was still really nervous—I ended up drinking roughly three bottles of water. Although it was only my second major tournament, I felt it was fairly easy to talk to people, since I had met some of Indonesia’s top players. I originally planned to attend with a friend, but he had to pull out at the last moment. There were seven rounds of Swiss and a top eight cut, which took over six hours to complete. It was a fun event, and I learned many things from it.

A note: I can’t remember every single detail. I did bring a notebook and pen, but halfway through the opening speeches, my pen ran out of ink.

Swiss Rounds

Round 1: vs. Yaku
 vs 
VS Recorder: ZDJG-WWWW-WWXB-NM8V

Since I put up Battle Recorder codes I won’t be walking through every turn of each battle, but I’ll try to highlight important turns and turning points.

I was greeted with an interesting team right off the bat, but I didn’t let myself be shaken by it. I decided to lead with Thundurus and Cradily, as they deal with most of the opposing team pretty well. I kept Talonflame in the back to clean up after Thundurus and Cradily harassed the opposing team, and chose Tyranitar just in case Cradily needed that Special Defense boost.

I played very reactively, switching between offense and defense as necessary. Even though I liked my lead matchup (Thundurus/Cradily vs Gliscor/Eelektross), I went for the double Protect turn one just to see what the opposing Pokémon were capable of. To be honest, I was somewhat worried, as I had never seen Gliscor nor Eelektross used in a doubles metagame before. My opponent played very offensively, and didn’t anticipate Thundurus’s Hidden Power Ice. From that point on, I decided to pretty much ignore Eelektross as it did not pose a threat to my team, and instead concentrated on harassing the Pokémon next to it. This allowed me to pretty much bottleneck my opponent’s entire team while Eelektros continued to struggle to dent Cradily. For some strange reason, my opponent refused to switch Eelektross out at all, effectively sealing the win for me. Sadly, I didn’t see much from Gliscor or Eelektross, save from the Flamethrower spam and an interesting move choice in Knock Off from Gliscor.

1-0

Round 2: vs Heterozygous
 vs. 
VS Recorder: 8NMW-WWWW-WWXB-NMR2

I was faced with another interesting team in my second battle. Remember when I said that I didn’t expect any Pachirisu usage? Well, I was wrong.

I used Thundurus and Cradily to lead again, as I thought it was the best combination I had to disrupt my opponent. I had Excadrill in the back in case Pachirisu became too much for me to handle, and I believed that Talonflame would help me in cleaning up and applying pressure. Aside from Pachirisu, none of my opponent’s Pokémon would enjoy switching into a Life Orb Brave Bird.

My opponent’s intentions were obvious enough: use Pachirisu’s Follow Me support to help Ninjask set up, and Baton Pass to a Pokémon waiting in the back. Thankfully, although it was a neat trick, it was fairly simple to stop. Within a few turns, both Pachirisu and Ninjask were Taunted and rendered useless, with the latter also brought down to its Focus Sash. This battle exhibited Cradily’s great staying power, as well as its annoying presence. It was a close match, but I managed to win.

2-0

Round 3: vs. Daniel Aldo
 vs. 
VS Recorder: 8HAW-WWWW-WWXB-NPSJ

After two battles, I finally saw a team that was relatively in line with the metagame. It was actually pretty reassuring.

Again, I used Thundurus and Cradily to lead; they started to develop into my defensive lead combination. This time, I actually formulated a game plan in my head. I didn’t think Charizard would lead, as it feared Tyranitar, and I predicted that my opponent would lead with a combination that could handle Tyranitar and Excadrill easily. I was right, as my opponent chose to lead with Garchomp and Rotom-Wash. I had Tyranitar and Excadrill in the back to clean up after my leads disrupted my opponent.

I am really fond of double Protecting to scout out my opponent, especially since I can’t risk losing a Pokemon turn one in a best of one set. This allowed me to burn off Garchomp’s guaranteed Protect, allowing me to hit Garchomp hard with Thundurus’s Hidden Power Ice. Rotom-Wash proceeded to burn Cradily for some reason, and Cradily knocked out Rotom with Giga Drain. With both leads KOed, my opponent was forced to bring out Greninja and Charizard.

I had no doubt that Cradily would withstand a Sun-boosted Heat Wave, but I forgot about Greninja’s Mat Block. This allowed Charizard to net some free damage, allowing my opponent to knock out both Thundurus and Cradily on the following turn. With Tyranitar and Excadrill out, I used two Rock Slides, and although Excadrill’s missed Charizard, Tyranitar was able to clean up the game.

3-0

Round 4: vs Inori
 vs. 
VS Recorder: SZVW-WWWW-WWXB-NUA9

I was finally able to lead with Tyranitar and Excadrill! You don’t understand how happy I was.

My plan this game involved using Tyranitar’s Sand Stream to complement Excadrill’s Sand Rush so I could immediately apply pressure, while bringing Cradily in the back to handle Milotic. The first turn went horribly with Excadrill knocked out and Tyranitar severely injured, while the opposing Gardevoir Traced Sand Rush. So much for pressure.

Thankfully, I was able to bait out a Scald from Milotic by sending in Talonflame, and Cradily snagged a Storm Drain boost. This allowed me to handle Milotic pretty easily, while Talonflame fired off Brave Birds to clean up its teammates. I was able to force Togekiss to face Cradily and Tyranitar alone, which quickly made it a nonissue.

4-0

Round 5: vs. Kévin
 vs. 
VS Recorder: 3JLW-WWWW-WWXB-P88V

As soon as I confirmed that I had a 4-0 record, I started getting worried. There were plenty of others who were 4-0, too, but I believed that most of them would have much more experience than I did. I also was worried about some of them being elitists and looking down on me for being relatively new; for the record, though, everyone I met was really kind, so there’s that!

I faced yet another interesting team (we sure do have a lot of those here), this time starring a Beedrill. Going in, I had no way to tell if it was Mega or not, but since this person was also 4-0, I thought it likely that it was Mega Beedrill.

I started off with a double Protect on my side. Big mistake, as the opposing Aegislash set up a Substitute. I then used Brave Bird on the Sub, hoping to break it without resorting to Overheat, only to be met by an Attack drop. I got off to a very bad start. Despite all of this, however, I didn’t see Aegislash as much of a threat for the remainder of the battle, likely due to the ability of Excadrill and Tyranitar to deal with it. Thundurus was a great asset, too, locking Aegislash out of its Substitute and King’s Shield while pressuring Togekiss with powerful Thunderbolts.

In the end, I was able to force Beedrill to face both Tyranitar and Excadrill. Beedrill could not outspeed Excadrill under sand, even after Mega Evolving, and a Rock Slide quickly dispatched of it.

5-0

Round 6: vs. Josua (Josua Sudrajat Marbun)
 vs. 
VS Recorder: 5JWW-WWWW-WWXB-PFJV

For the sixth round of Indonesia’s Asia Cup qualifiers, I had the honor of battling the eventual champion! Of course, I didn’t know he was going to take the prize at the end, but it was an honor nonetheless. I was pretty intimidated by him. If you’re reading this, Josua, I’m sorry I couldn’t strike up a conversation!

This was the first time I played against Mega Kangaskhan. Since Kangaskhan has a really good matchup against my sand mode, I decided to only use my standard core. I led Thundurus and Talonflame against his Breloom and Suicune, which was a good matchup. I went for the double Protect first turn, scouting out a move or two while burning Breloom’s guaranteed Protect. Surprisingly, Suicune used Surf. I knew that Breloom would switch out, so I switched out Talonflame to save it from a potential Surf. Although Breloom did switch out to Landorus-Therian, Suicune used Ice Beam instead of Surf, so it wasn’t a perfect turn.

Although the combination of Landorus-T and Kangaskhan was a terrible one for me, I managed to play around it. A well-timed Hidden Power Ice on the Landorus left it at low health, and after a series of turns my opponent was left with only a low-health Mega Kangaskhan and a Breloom against my Talonflame and Aegislash. From there, it was a simple win.

6-0

Round 7: vs. Osiris (Purabaya Bon)
 vs. 
VS Recorder: F3AG-WWWW-WWXB-QCUK

I was the only player remaining with an undefeated record, so I was paired with someone with a 5-1 record. This was perhaps the fiercest battle I had during the Swiss rounds.

I led with Tyranitar-Excadrill as I thought the matchup was suitable against most of his team. I had Cradily at the back mainly due to Swampert and added Aegislash to stop Staraptor. My opponent led with Swampert and Staraptor, whose Intimidate revealed my White Herb for the very first time. I Protected Tyranitar, fearing the Close Combat, and used Iron Head on his Staraptor. That was a bad play, as Staraptor Protected while Swampert OHKOed Excadrill with Earthquake.

This was a relatively long battle compared to my other ones, and eventually, I burned out. I made questionable plays and failed to factor in the chance of full paralysis. I was unable to keep my head in the game, and eventually my opponent was able to close out the game.

W:L Ratio = 6:1

Top Eight

Although I was confident that I wouldn’t make it to top eight, I somehow made first place in Swiss!

It was announced that my battle would be streamed on a huge projector screen. It might be considered a disadvantage for most players as others can scout your team, but I personally was really excited! I was just really weird that way. I guess I was thinking that if I were going to go down, I’d better go down with a bang.

I was designated to battle against Ama Bon, my Round 7 opponent’s younger brother. That was actually a name I recognized, and I knew the battle was going to be really, really hard.

vs. Ama Bon (Ama Bon)
 vs. 

Game 1
 
vs. 
VS Recorder: AMYG-WWWW-WWXB-QFWE

Thankfully, I had enough time to recover from the burnout I suffered in the last battle (read: take the stress out of my mind by beating up some AIs in Smash 4). I actually had some difficulty thinking in general after that particular round and started stuttering for a minute or two. Pokémon. Not for the weak-minded.

I started off with Tyranitar and Excadrill, while my opponent opted for Mesprit and Salamence. Everyone watched Excadrill’s White Herb activate for Salamence’s Intimidate, and the crowd went wild. I guess unseen innovations aren’t that badly received by the community here.

I had absolutely no idea what Mesprit is capable of, as my singles experience told me that Mesprit was outclassed by Uxie defensively and Azelf offensively. But heck, it only took about 40% from Adamant Excadrill’s Iron Head! This led me to believe that it had a physically defensive spread, and made a mental note to bring Aegislash in the next game. Mega Salamence was able to OHKO Excadrill with a Helping Hand boosted Fire Blast. However, I was able to knock out Salamence with an Ice Beam.

Though fierce, this match was relatively simple. We traded blow for blow multiple times. In the end, though, I learnt a meaningful lesson in that Talonflame cannot defeat a Landorus-T one-on-one, no matter how hard it tries. My opponent claimed victory in a very close first game.

0-1

Game 2
 vs. 
Vs. Recorder: NAXW-WWWW-WWXB-QF6H

My opponent did not opt for a team change at all. I pretty much banked on this, as I attempted to counter his previous leads.

I immediately used Hidden Power Ice on his Mega Salamence, but it managed to take the blow. It then knocked out Thundurus with a Helping Hand boosted Draco Meteor. Aegislash hurled a Shadow Ball at Mesprit, dealing a good 70% or so, but Sitrus Berry activated and healed a significant amount of health. I then switched Tyranitar in, applying pressure on Salamence. The first turn ended up being a fairly equal trade.

The highlight of the battle was when Cradily survived a Helping Hand Life Orb Iron Head from Cobalion. Its survival didn’t mean much, but it sure excited the crowd!

This battle was ultimately very close. In fact, I won due to sand damage finishing off my opponent’s final Pokémon, Mega Salamence. I panicked when Mega Salamence survived a turn of sand damage in the red, but sand picked up the KO the following turn. I managed to nab the win in game two.

1-1

Game 3
 vs. 
Vs. Recorder: EKZW-WWWW-WWXB-QGRG

I kept my previous lead, as it seemed to work. I brought Tyranitar and Cradily in the back: Tyranitar for the Ice Beam pressure, Cradily for disruption. My opponent decided to lead with Landorus and Cobalion with Salamence and Volcarona in the back.

My biggest mistake was that I didn’t have any tricks left by game three. I had revealed Excadrill’s White Herb, Tyranitar’s special moveset, and Talonflame’s Life Orb during game one, and Cradily’s bulk, Aegislash’s Weakness Policy, and Thundurus’s Hidden Power Ice during game two. My opponent, on the other hand, had the ability to bring one of the two Pokémon he hadn’t revealed. Additionally, I forgot that Volcarona could learn Rage Powder, which contributed to my loss.

There really is nothing much to say about this battle. I might have been burned out, or I might have not; to be honest, I don’t exactly remember. Words can’t do justice to how beautifully I got bodied in this match. I lost 4-0 this battle, and I can’t even get mad about it.

1-2

End Results

I got utterly destroyed in top 8, thus ending my run in the qualifiers and leaving me with a fifth place finish. With only the top four receiving invites to Asia Cup, I didn’t expect to be invited. But, as it turned out, Ama and Aya Bon both did not receive invites for personal reasons: Ama Bon already had an invite from last year’s event, and Aya Bon decided to help the other representatives prepare instead of going. Thus, the invites were given to the 5th and 6th place finishers instead.

I received a certificate signifying my 5th place finish, an ORAS mug given away as a door prize, and a Latias plush from the prize pool, alongside the Asia Cup invite. I grabbed the Latias because I was planning on using it in the next Premier Challenge with some interesting shenanigans I had thought of, but I soon gave up on that idea. I missed out on a Nintendo 2DS, which is regrettable, but I did come in not expecting to get anything, so what I received was more than enough.

Indonesia: The Metagame

From this tournament alone, it’s pretty obvious that the meta around here isn’t as Kangaskhan-heavy as other regions might be. Instead of using Kangaskhan themselves, players seem to be more interested in stopping the beast. Indonesian players also tend to use more gimmicks. For instance, I played against Ninjask and Mega Swampert outside of rain. My Top Cut opponent, Ama Bon, used Mesprit, a choice that seemed questionable at first, but ended up being very effective. I made choices that might throw off certain opponents, such as using an offensive sand team. Granted, Mega Kangaskhan eventually won the qualifiers, but I personally find it refreshing to see so many rouge Pokémon being used, even in the Top Cut.

Conclusion

The Asia Cup qualifiers showed great variety. It was an open tournament, so people from varying experience levels gathered to battle, prove their worth, and just play a few rounds of Pokémon. It was great to have such a big event hosted in a popular public setting, as it really gave the Indonesian VGC community the exposure it deserves.

I know this might sound cliche, but I feel that it’s wonderful that a game can bring a community together. I talked to people I never met before, making friends left and right. Though the event itself was about competition, the sense of togetherness was exceptionally strong, and even as a newbie I didn’t feel alienated.

Right now, my journey at Asia Cup has ended. I lost in Stage 2 of the Asia Cup, but in return, I learned a lot of valuable lessons I would never have gotten otherwise. My message to all of you is this: don’t be intimidated! The competitive VGC scene may seem scary at first, and you might not net as many wins as you’d like, but don’t let that stop you from playing. There are many things to learn from playing in tournaments; it is possible to learn from both wins and losses, and both as a player and as a person. My run has ended; will you continue yours?

I’d like to thank ryuhashegi and Michael Pond for organizing this awesome tournament! I would also like to thank everyone who attended the Indonesian Asia Cup Qualifiers: players, organizers, staff, and otherwise, for making the event as enjoyable as it was. On a special note, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents, who have been extremely supportive of my endeavors in Pokémon. I would have gotten here without them.

And with that, I end my report on the Indonesian qualifiers. Thanks for taking your time to read this wall of text—I really do appreciate it! Feel free to ask me questions if I was unclear about anything. This is Metatyph, signing out!


About the Author

A relatively new VGC player that has an insatiable desire to learn new things all the time. Is still pretty much an unknown nobody to the community as a whole, but seeks to make a place for his name one day. One day.



10 Responses to Bring In the Storm! An Indonesian Asia Cup Qualifiers Top Cut Report

  1. Cinaclov says:

    That’s really cool, and reminds me of my own sand teams that I played back in 4th gen OU. Cradilly was absolutely amazing in D/P but Platinum (and most notably the boosts it gave to Scizor) really didn’t do it any favours and I haven’t really used it since. I might give both Cradilly and sand another look for VGC now, it’s sort of inspired me. Thanks :)

  2. amadayo says:

    Ama Bon here! It’s awesome to battle you, especially with your unique team which I really respect, I was really surprised with that modest tyranitar holding an ice beam, and also the white herb on the excadrill, never expect of that. But anyways you’ve done a brilliant job! We should meet again during our next Premier Events and do out best, congrats on your run!

  3. Dreykopff says:

    Safety Goggles Thundurus, folks. That is the real one you should be looking at, mark my words.

  4. ryuhashegi says:

    Wow, an excellent report, It’s really awesome to see you going for the top! See you on the next Tournament!

  5. Metatyph says:

    That’s really cool, and reminds me of my own sand teams that I played back in 4th gen OU. Cradilly was absolutely amazing in D/P but Platinum (and most notably the boosts it gave to Scizor) really didn’t do it any favours and I haven’t really used it since. I might give both Cradilly and sand another look for VGC now, it’s sort of inspired me. Thanks :)

    Hey, thanks! Glad to see that I influenced someone in a (hopefully) good way. Good luck with Sandstorm and Cradily, I hope you get to find a team to complement them! 
     

    Ama Bon here! It’s awesome to battle you, especially with your unique team which I really respect, I was really surprised with that modest tyranitar holding an ice beam, and also the white herb on the excadrill, never expect of that. But anyways you’ve done a brilliant job! We should meet again during our next Premier Events and do out best, congrats on your run!

    Oh hey there Ama, fancy seeing you here! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed the battle, ’cause I sure did, too. Your team was also extremely interesting, although it caused me a million and one headaches, ahah. And yeah, I’ll see you in the next Premier Challenge! Maybe one day I’ll be able to take a set from you– one day. >w>
     

    Safety Goggles Thundurus, folks. That is the real one you should be lookingegi at, mark my words.

    Safety Goggles Thundurus, new meta, amirite or amirite? //shot
    I’m just disappointed it’s not used as much as I hoped it would, to be honest. 
     

    Wow, an excellent report, It’s really awesome to see you going for the top! See you on the next Tournament!

    Thanks Hashegi! See you in the next tournament indeed! 

  6. I really liked how cradily was used. It seems like it did a good job in your team. 

  7. Dreykopff says:

    Safety Goggles Thundurus, new meta, amirite or amirite? //shot
    I’m just disappointed it’s not used as much as I hoped it would, to be honest.

    Hey, I was in fact serious. The thing is, Thundurus is usually pretty annoying, Amoonguss is usually a mediocre mon but what Amoonguss is really good at is redirecting Thundurus away from the mons that don’t want to deal with him. I don’t know in how far you personally followed 2014, but the story basically went like: “hey, Amoonguss is good, right? let’s use Amoonguss” “only bad players lose to Amoonguss. I would never admit that Amoonguss actually annoys me somewhat” “ok, I’ve had enough of this. let’s throw Safety Goggles onto a random mon that is good at dealing with the cowards that try to hide behind Amoonguss!” “my name is Pachirisu and I’m actually better at doing this grimer now”
    What we’re now experiencing is basically a repeat of last year. I’ve seen some people running Goggles recently, and the number of them can only increase as time progresses but people still keep trust in Amoonguss. Apart from that, there’s this Breloom hype as well, which makes that Item even more attractive…

  8. Metatyph says:

    I really liked how cradily was used. It seems like it did a good job in your team. 

    Hey, thanks! And yes, Cradily is awesome and I never looked back after picking it. 
     

    Hey, I was in fact serious. The thing is, Thundurus is usually pretty annoying, Amoonguss is usually a mediocre mon but what Amoonguss is really good at is redirecting Thundurus away from the mons that don’t want to deal with him. I don’t know in how far you personally followed 2014, but the story basically went like: “hey, Amoonguss is good, right? let’s use Amoonguss” “only bad players lose to Amoonguss. I would never admit that Amoonguss actually annoys me somewhat” “ok, I’ve had enough of this. let’s throw Safety Goggles onto a random mon that is good at dealing with the cowards that try to hide behind Amoonguss!” “my name is Pachirisu and I’m actually better at doing this grimer now”
    What we’re now experiencing is basically a repeat of last year. I’ve seen some people running Goggles recently, and the number of them can only increase as time progresses but people still keep trust in Amoonguss. Apart from that, there’s this Breloom hype as well, which makes that Item even more attractive…

    I actually remember adding something akin to murdering the Amoonguss+<insert Water-type setup sweeper here> combo, but I guess the editor must’ve thought it was redundant or something, ahah. I only started looking at the metagame at the late “let’s use random Goggles” part though, which seemed weird to me at first, but after seeing so many people succeed, I can’t exactly argue. The fact that I saw a lot of Safety Goggles Zapdos near the end of 2014 also led me to slap the item on Thundurus… Though avoiding Sandstorm chip damage is still the driving factor, ahah. 

  9. Sharqi says:

    I like the team, but didn’t you feel somewhat weak to bulky fighting types? I can see assault vest Conkeldurr ripping up your entire team if the opponent has a good check to Talonflame…

  10. Metatyph says:

    I like the team, but didn’t you still feel somewhat weak to bulky fighting types? I can see assault vest Conkeldurr ripping up your entire team if the opponent has a good check to Talonflame…

    Admittedly, Conkeldurr is a threat I have to play around. Thankfully, I didn’t meet any that particular tournament, but should I actually do see one, it’s technically not impossible to take out with some well-timed plays. 

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