Reports

Published on April 20th, 2014 | by starmetroid

11

Charizard the Benchwarmer: Top 4 Washington Regionals Report

After going 4-3 at the Oregon Regionals I retired my Safeguard/Swagger team and began testing out new team ideas, playing with sun teams for the most part. I tried out Venusaur because it was a natural choice for the team. I’m not a big fan of using very common lead combos like Charizard and Venusaur, because everyone has faced them plenty of times and has a way of dealing with them, but I still went back to it every once in a while. At some point I decided to put a Mega Stone on Venusaur because I didn’t think its item was very important, and over time I found myself preferring Mega Venusaur over Mega Charizard.

About a month ago, I started to move away from sun teams because everyone seemed to have an answer to Charizard. I tried out a variety of Mega Pokemon and cores during this time but never found anything I was too fond of. I made a Mega-Lucario team and put Mega-Venusaur on it as an alternate Mega, but again found that I preferred Venusaur to Lucario. In the end, I decided to focus my team around a core Mega Venusaur, Rotom-H, Aegislash, and Salamence. The night before Washington Regionals, I was choosing between Charizard and Garchomp or Lucario and Azumarill as my last two Pokemon. I decided that Garchomp would be a strong asset for the team with its option to bluff sun or play in it effectively.

The Team:

Venusaur @ Venusaurite
Ability: Chlorophyll -> Thick Fat
IVs: 31/0/31/31/31/31
EVs: 156 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 4 Def / 92 Spd
Modest Nature
-Giga Drain
-Sludge Bomb
-Sleep Powder
-Protect

Mega Venusaur is such a tank; very few Pokemon can take it down in one hit. With Talonflame usage dropping, Mega Venusaur gets even better.  Venusaur is similar to Ferrothorn with its ability to checkmate the opponent, except Venusaur doesn’t have the gaping Fire weakness that opponents take advantage of when faced against a Ferrothorn. Luckily, all the Pokemon that I paired with Mega Venusaur were Pokemon that I had tried out on sun teams in the past, so I felt that bluffing sun would be easy in swiss.

I wanted to maximize my Special Attack so that I could heal more HP back with Giga Drain. The EV investment got me to 112 Speed, which was enough to outspeed most Rotom outside and in the sun I’d be able to outspeed Mega Manectric. Due to how little I utilized sun, I probably would’ve been better off investing more in HP instead of Speed, but if I ever wanted to bring the sun I guarantee I would have wanted the Speed. I had seen Mega Venusaur using Synthesis in Japan over Protect. I didn’t feel comfortable not running Protect so I opted not to use it.

Rotom-H @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
IVs: 31/x/31/31/31/31
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 156 SAtk / 12 SDef / 20 Spd
Modest Nature
-Thunderbolt
-Overheat
-Will-O-Wisp
-Protect

During Oregon Regionals, I had a Rotom-W on my team that I only brought to one game. After this, I decided to explore Rotom-H. Whenever I built a team I found Rotom-H gave me so many useful resistances such as Fairy-, Fire-, Flying-, Ice-, and Ground-types. Rotom-H also makes me look more like a sun team. I also liked that Overheat was a stronger and more accurate move than Hydro Pump.

Rotom is a great ally for Mega Venusaur because it takes out Mega-Charizard-Y and Steel-types that try to wall Mega Venusaur. It also helps resist most attacks that the rest of my teammates are weak against.

I’ve copied this spread online a while back and was satisfied with how it performed. Little did I know that 68 Defense EVs are just enough to guarantee that Rotom survives Mega-Charizard-X’s +1 Dragon Claw. This was a pretty important number with the surprising amount of Mega-Charizard-X in Washington.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 4 Def / 172 SAtk / 76 SDef
IVs: 31/31/31/31/31/0
Quiet Nature
-Shadow Ball
-Sacred Sword
-Substitute
-King’s Shield

Aegislash has been a hit or miss Pokemon for me in the past. The nature of Stance Change makes it tough to use effectively. Everything changed when I tried out a Substitute set. Being able to get a Substitute on a turn the opponent expected King’s Shield or went for a Sucker Punch nets you a huge advantage. Aegislash was insurance against Kangaskhan and Gardevoir, which I didn’t like dealing with.

The Special Defense EVs allow Aegislash to survive a Heat Wave in the sun from Charizard-Y as well as a Shadow Ball from Mega-Gengar or Aegislash. The Quiet nature let me speed tie with other Aegislash and let me keep my Attack stat from being reduced by a Modest nature. I chose Sacred Sword over Shadow Ball because it dealt more damage against Kangaskhan and Tyranitar. I never ended up using Sacred Sword all day and I never wanted Flash Cannon so it ended up not mattering.

Salamence @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
IVs: 31/31/31/31/31/31
Modest Nature
-Draco Meteor
-Dragon Pulse
-Fire Blast
-Rock Slide

Originally, I had Assault Vest Hydreigon in this slot to complement Aegislash and Rotom-H, but the lack of Protect, the double Fairy weakness, and the fact that it couldn’t tank the Dragon hits after receiving chip damage caused me to retire it. I went back to Salamence and then remembered just how good Salamence was: Intimidate would let me switch in Salamence to take a resisted hit while weakening the opponent’s Pokemon that would attack my other slot, allowing Salamence to help protect two of my Pokemon at once.

I stuck with a Modest nature because it OHKO’s Garchomp and Salamence with Dragon Pulse instead of needing Draco Meteor. I also didn’t want to breed for a hex Timid Salamence. I opted to use Rock Slide over Stone Edge because I’d rather miss the KO on Charizard and have a flinch chance on both of their Pokemon than miss Stone Edge and do nothing with the turn.

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
Ability: Solar Power -> Drought
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
IVs: 31/x/31/31/31/31
Timid Nature
-Heat Wave
-Solar Beam
-Overheat
-Protect

When I was using Charizard as my main Mega I had a completely different set from this one. The night before the event I was deciding on the last two Pokemon of my team and settled on Charizard. I decided that if I ended up bringing Charizard, I wanted it to speed tie against Mega Kangaskhan and OHKO it with an Overheat right off the bat.

I brought this Charizard a grand total of 4 times during the tournament, and only Mega Evolved once. Charizard’s job on my team was to make the opponent prepare for sun and get taken by surprise by Mega Venusaur. In that regard he did his job, and I still had the option to go sun mode in top cut once the secret was out. Unfortunately, whenever I brought Charizard I threw him under the bus so that its teammate would be safe for a turn.

Garchomp @ Lum Berry
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
IVs: 31/31/31/x/31/31
Jolly Nature
-Earthquake
-Dragon Claw
-Rock Slide
-Protect

I wanted Garchomp because it improves my match-up against Kangaskhan and Smeargle by a lot, and I was feeling weak against the pair with my initial core. Garchomp ended up being a fantastic choice for me; I only lost a single game with Garchomp on my team all day, and had I used it in top 4 it would’ve put in more work then Charizard did.

Team Strategy

This is probably the first team I’ve ever made that didn’t have a clear lead combination, despite the obvious Charizard/Venusaur combo. Instead of going for a specific strategy, I would try to lead with two Pokemon that could deal with my opponent’s team and bring two Pokemon my leads could switch to in the back. Analyzing the opponent and countering their team is my favorite play style , which is why I like playing with good-stuffs teams.

In top cut, I was able to switch between strategies to try and catch my opponent off guard. Both finalists Tony and Randy had versatile teams that could switch up their strategies between games, and this was the sort of thing I wanted to do with my team. Despite this, Mega Venusaur was usually the best strategy for me to use, and I only used Mega Charizard once.

The Tournament:

This was my first tournament where I took notes throughout the day. After playing mostly on Showdown, I wanted to record which six Pokemon they had so that I’d know what Pokemon could switch in on me during the match. I also wrote down their moves and items, just in case I met any of my opponents again in the top cut.

Round 1 VS Duy Ha (Duy)

While I didn’t know Duy personally, I knew he was a good player and that he often used creative teams. This game was streamed, so I was afraid that everyone would see my Mega Venusaur and ruin the surprise in later rounds.

Win 1-0

Round 2 VS Teren Baverman

Teren’s Team: Salamence / Ferrothorn / Aegislash / Rotom-W / Azumarill / Charizard

I brought: Rotom-H, Venusaur, Salamence, Garchomp
He brought: Salamence, Rotom-W, Charizard, Azumarill

Venusaur put in a lot of work in this game, putting Salamence to sleep and taking out Rotom-W and Azumarill. His Charizard was also using the X Mega Stone, but I never gave him a chance to use Dragon Dance so Garchomp and Salamence took care of him.

Win 2-0

Round 3 VS Kacey Traver (KTween)

Kacey’s Team: Aegislash / Politoed / Kingdra / Manectric / Mienshao / Ferrothorn

I brought: Salamence, Venusaur, Charizard, Aegislash
He brought: Manectric, Mienshao, Politoed, Kingdra

I expected him to put Politoed in back because of my Charizard. I switched in Charizard pretty quickly to try and draw his attention to it. He ended up using Feint and a Thunderbolt to take it down. Mega Venusaur was able to win this matchup by itself, making for an easy win.

Win 3-0

Round 4 VS Hajime Uyesugi (Aralevent)

Hajime’s Team: Scrafty / Amoonguss / Rotom-H / Azumarill / Charizard / Garchomp

I brought: Rotom-H, Garchomp, Salamence, Venusaur
He brought: Rotom-H, Garchomp, Scrafty, Charizard

Rotom and Garchomp were the two Pokemon I didn’t want to see him lead with, because I was doing the same. He switches Garchomp out first turn for Scrafty however and my Rotom is able to burn it while Garchomp Protects against a Will-O-Wisp. His Charizard turns out to be a Charizard-Y, which is fine by me. I’m able to win without revealing Venusaur, so if he had faced me again in cut I’d still have the surprise factor.

Win 4-0

Round 5 VS Braden Smith (Dope Alien)

Braden’s Team: Machamp / Manectric / Aegislash / Gardevoir / Rotom-H / Garchomp

I brought: Salamence, Rotom-H, Venusaur, Aegislash
He brought: Rotom-H, Gardevoir, Manectric, Machamp

My team is very weak against Gardevoir, so this could have been a difficult match for me. Thankfully his Gardevoir is holding Choice Specs, so after Salamence went down the rest of my team resisted its Fairy-type moves. On the first turn, my Salamence misses a Draco Meteor on Rotom-H. Because of this I later go for a Sleep Powder on it because I couldn’t KO it in one hit but it had Safety Googles to block that. I later miss an Overheat on Manectric as well, which forces me to spend another turn KOing it instead of attacking the Rotom-H. It ends up with Aegislash against Machamp and Rotom-H. Machamp’s best moves against Aegislash was Stone Edge, so had the Rotom-H been taken care of earlier I would have been able to close out the game against Machamp. However, this is the nature of Pokemon and if I wanted to hit 100% of the time I should’ve run 100% accurate moves.

Lose 4-1

Round 6 VS Daryl

Daryl’s Team: Kangaskhan / Meowstic / Talonflame / Charizard / Rotom-W / Garchomp

I brought: Aegislash, Garchomp, Salamence, Venusaur
He brought: Meowstic, Rotom-W, Charizard, Garchomp

I was worried about Kangaskhan and Meowstic from Team Preview; Kangaskhan is a major threat and if the Meowstic starts spamming Swagger I’m not going to get a single attack off. His lead combo gives him no offensive pressure against me, so I Protect Garchomp and set up a Substitute with Aegislash. He sets up a Reflect and Protects Rotom. Next turn, he sets up a Light Screen and I am no longer worried about this game at all. He ends up missing a Will-O-Wisp on a Salamence switch in which then let him Thunder Wave it instead. Salamence was fully paralyzed next turn, which made the game a much closer match.

Win 5-1

Round 7 VS Emilio Orozco

Emilio’s Team: Mawile / Chandelure / Slowking / Scrafty / Rotom-W / Sableye

I brought: Garchomp, Aegislash, Rotom-H, Venusaur
He brought: Chandelure, Slowking, Mawile, Rotom-W

When I first see Team Preview I think obvious Trick Room is obvious and would be an easy match-up for me. However, I misplay early on when I predict him to Protect Chandelure and then I still double target it anyways. It came down to Venusaur and Rotom-H versus Mawile and Rotom-W. I Protect Rotom and Sleep Power the Mawile. Sleep Powder misses and he gangs up on Venusaur to knock it out. While I would’ve won if Sleep Powder hit, I also could’ve won by playing smarter early on and Sleep Powder isn’t the sort of move I should have been relying on to win a game.

Lose 5-2

Round 8 VS Cory Mitchell

Cory’s Team: Charizard / Conkeldurr / Rotom-W / Klefki / Amoonguss / Kangaskhan

I brought: Garchomp, Aegislash, Rotom, Venusaur
He brought: Amoonguss, Charizard, Conkeldurr, Klefki

I see another Charizard-X this game, which means I’m not facing Kangaskhan this game. He’s able to take out Garchomp early but Aegislash gets a Substitute up. I send out Rotom which is able to survive the +1 Dragon Claw and OHKO the Amoonguss with Overheat. Aegislash then takes out the Charizard without losing the Substitute. Conkeldurr and Klefki come out and there’s no doubt in my mind that I have the game. He’s able to make the game last much longer by paralyzing my Venusaur and having it get fully paralyzed for three turns, but he can’t do much to either Venusaur or Aegislash so it only wasted time.

Win 6-2

At this point I’m one of 27 6-2s, and cut has room for 7 of us. Thankfully my resistance is just high enough to slip in at 16th seed. My friends Tony, Randy, and Jason all make it as well and we’re ready to represent BC in cut.

Top Cut

Top 16 VS Mike Suleski (OmegaDonut)

Mike’s Team: Venusaur / Azumarill / Aegislash / Rotom-H / Salamence / Garchomp

This team looks an awful lot like mine and I’ve seen it before online, although I’m not sure if it is identical. Either way, I’m not sure of how to approach the mirror, although our wild cards are Azumarill and Charizard.

G1: His Salamence, Rotom-H, Azumarill, Venusaur VS My Charizard, Venusaur, Rotom-H, Salamence
Game 1 was super close. I had Salamence Rock Sliding against Rotom-H and Azumarill trying to whittle them down and going for flinches. He’s able to attack through and the game ends with just his -1 Azumarill with a tiny sliver of HP remaining.

Loss: 0-1

G2: His Venusaur, Garchomp, Salamence, Rotom-H VS My Salamence, Garchomp, Aegislash, Venusaur
Game 2 goes much better for me. I don’t remember everything that happened. He launches Sleep Powders left and right without missing. My Salamence is able to get the turn 2 wake and attack when it counted. My Venusaur puts his Salamence to sleep and my Salamence is able to take out both of his Dragons with Dragon Pulse.

Win: 1-1

G3: His Garchomp, Venusaur, Rotom-H, Azumarill VS My Aegislash, Venusaur, Salamence, Garchomp
Game 3 is really haxy for me. During the game I go for Rock Slide for several turns and get a critical flinch on Azumarill on one turn and a flinch on Rotom-H the next. I think I also got a critical hit at some point, but I can’t remember for sure. I always feel bad when I get so lucky during a game because then I don’t feel like I truly earned it. On the other hand, I used a lot of Rock Slides during the series and I didn’t get more then statistically probable; they just all happened in this game right when I needed them.

Win: 2-1

Top 8 VS John Rust (jnrust)

John’s Team: Vaporeon / Garchomp / Azumarill / Aegislash / Charizard / Manectric

When I saw this team I knew that Venusaur and Rotom-H would put in a ton of work. Rotom-H checks both of his Mega Pokemon and he has two Water-types that are weak to Grass and Electric.

G1: His Manectric, Azumarill, Garchomp, Aegislash VS My Venusaur, Rotom-H, Garchomp, Salamence
Game 1 is completely one-sided and not only did I not lose a Pokemon – he didn’t even get to see what my last Pokemon was. After this game I figure he’s going to switch things up and use Charizard instead. I don’t know which form its going to take yet but I’m confident either way.

Win: 1-0

G2: His Charizard, Azumarill, Vaporeon, Garchomp VS My Rotom-H, Salamence, Garchomp, Venusaur
I played super carelessly in this game, letting Salamence go down right away but I’m still so confident I’ll win unless he gets an untimely critical hit. The game comes down to Rotom-H and Venusaur against Charizard and Vaporeon. I’m sure I have it in the bag but then his Charizard uses Air Slash on me and if he gets the flinch I lose. He didn’t get the flinch however, so I’m able to take out Vaporeon and bring Charizard down to red HP. Both my Rotom-H and Venusaur are very low on health as well, but Rotom is able to take a Heat Wave and KO Charizard with Thunderbolt and win the sloppiest game of my life.

Win: 2-0

Top 4 VS Tony Cheung (Chinese Dood)

Tony’s Team: Gengar / Scizor / Gyarados / Staraptor / Rotom-H / Raichu

Tony and Randy are the players I look up to the most, and I’ve only ever beaten them in casual events like local or online tournaments. From Team Preview I’m unable to get a read on Tony’s team, although I know Raichu has Encore and Fake Out. I also saw Substitute Rotom at the end of his game against Jason in top 8. Aside from that, his team was a mystery.

G1: His Raichu, Gengar, Rotom, ??? VS My Rotom, Venusaur, Salamence, Aegislash
Game one is a total wash. I get Perish Trapped and Raichu is able to stop me from doing any damage against Gengar with Lightning Rod.

Loss: 0-1

G2: His Raichu, Staraptor, Rotom-H, Gyarados VS My Charizard, Aegislash, Rotom-H, Venusaur
During this game I do something I hadn’t done all day: use Mega Charizard. This ends up working well; I take out Raichu early on and Staraptor uses Final Gambit to take out my Rotom-H. His Gyarados reveals a massive Sitrus Berry and that it doesn’t have Stone Edge, so my Charizard is able to tank the Waterfalls and KO with a couple of Solar Beams.

Win: 1-1

G3: His Raichu, Rotom, Gengar, Gyarados VS My Charizard, Venusaur, Rotom, Aegislash
I see that Charizard is going to do nothing against his leads, so I Mega Evolve Venusaur and Charizard switches out. We end up trading Venusaur and Rotom for Raichu and Gengar, and this leaves me with no way to beat Rotom-H. He reveals Raichu’s last move is not Hidden Power Ice, so Garchomp would have been able to do a lot of work in this game.

Loss: 1-2

Conclusion:

I ended up in fourth place overall and got a trophy and a box of cards for my accomplishment. Tony and Randy got to continue their rivalry in the finals with Tony winning the event. I got enough points that I’ll be in the running for travel stipends, so I’ll be able to put that towards a trip to US Nationals.

It was interesting to note that I saw an equal number of Mega Charizard X and Y. When I think about it, I probably would have been better of with X instead of Y. I’d still get to bluff sun all the same, and I’d have a great answer to Rotom-H.

I’m satisfied with how I did and how much I enjoyed playing my team. Oregon Regionals left me feeling frustrated my performance and it felt great to go as far as I did. With another Regional behind me, I’ll be testing out new team ideas for US Nationals, although I’m not sure if I can find anything I like as much Venusaur.

About the Author

starmetroid

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