Reports

Published on August 4th, 2014 | by pball0010

15

Dat Lapras: A VGC ’14 Team Retrospective Report

Hello everyone! My name is Pat Ball, and if you have ever seen me at a VGC event before, you’ve seen my hat with those exact words on it. I go by the username pball0010 as a remnant of my younger days when Goldeneye was very much a thing, and I have been a VGC player for about one and a half years, although I’ve played the video game franchise since the very beginning. My first event was US Nationals in 2013, and I ended the event with a dismal 3-6 showing. Over the past year, I have not had a particularly standout Regionals run, going 4-4, 4-5, and 4-4 at Ft. Wayne, St. Charles, and Madison respectively.

My team in Ft. Wayne was interesting: it was Beat Up Ambipom led with Calm Mind Cresselia with the option to either switch in Lucario for Justified boosts or play with Calm Mind Cresselia, depending on what I felt had a better matchup against my opponent. This team also had an Anti Trick Room Shuckle with the move After You in response to the abundant Trick Room that was present during last year’s metagame. I had a decent run at a grassroots Penn State tournament with an Arthurian themed team of Jolly Kangaskhan, Skill Swap/Reflect/Helping Hand Sylveon, Scarf Tyrantrum, Sash Delphox, Physical Lum Swords Dance Aegislash, and a Malamar I didn’t even use because I wasn’t really sure which Pokemon I should bring as my sixth. After that, my team evolved with Weakness Policy Tyranitar, Sash Greninja, and Mega Manectric replacing Tyrantrum, Delphox, and Malamar respectively. This gave my team some Speed Control with Thunder Wave, as well as some anti-Speed Control with the addition of Manectric. The team worked out pretty well, but I decided to change it rather close to the Winter Regionals because I didn’t feel too comfortable with it.

Before the Nugget Bridge Major, I started to experiment with a Trick Room team a bit to see how Trick Room fared this generation. A team of Aromatisse/Slowking/Chesnaught/Tyranitar/Manectric/Aegislash was formed, and I achieved modest success with a 5-3 showing. I found myself missing the overpoweredness that was Mega Kangaskhan, and ended up bringing a near-Rizzo-cloned Kangaskhan/Aegislash/Salamence/Azumarill/Rotom-Heat/Amoonguss to Madison in the Spring Regionals. Unlike Ray, I didn’t achieve nearly the same amount of success, due to a few misplays on my part and also my generally poor attitude during the day.

Transition into Penn State Premier Challenge

Thinking back on what I didn’t really like about my Regionals performance, two things in particular stuck out: my attitude, and Azumarill’s role on the team. I felt that I could never really run my Azumarill effectively. The non-Fake Out Kangaskhan I was using didn’t allow my Azumarill to get up Belly Drum when it needed to, Aqua Jet was usually underwhelming, and Azumarill tended to get KOed by Rotom forms much too quickly, even with Amoonguss Rage Powder support. I decided to try out something bulkier in Azumarill’s place. Assault Vest and Choice Banded Azumarill did cross my mind at one point, but both were still hampered by Will-o-Wisp. In the case of CB Azumarill, I already had Scarf Salamence on the team, and I personally try to avoid having more than one Choice item user. On a whim, I bred Lapras with Freeze Dry, wanting to test out Freeze Dry’s tasty new mechanic, and I found things just started clicking with the team. I went to Penn State with the mindset that I was going to have fun with my Lapras, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The Team

The nicknames were inspired by a friend of mine who cheered me up after a harder day of Battle Spot, suggesting I run a team named after him, Iron Man, Batman, Chuck Norris, John Wayne, and a sixth person both of us forgot.

W. Scarberry (Kangaskhan) @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Atk / 4 Def / 76 SDef / 12 Spd
Adamant Nature
IVs: xx SAtk
– Return
– Sucker Punch
– Power-Up Punch
– Protect

What a surprise! Yes, everyone and their mother knows how strong Kangaskhan is, but I feel people overestimate it a bit. I ran Jolly Max Speed Kangaskhan earlier in the year, but for this team I decided on a bulkier variant because Kangaskhan and its Mega forme have wonderful natural bulk, and it would almost be a disservice to not take advantage of it. I used it in almost every one of my matches, unless Kangaskhan had such a poor matchup against the opposing team that it would be best to leave Kangaskhan out. I personally find Kangaskhan to be a good clean-up Pokemon or revenge KOing force if I happen to be at an early deficit. Kangaskhan’s 252 HP and 76 Special Defense allow it to survive a Timid Charizard-Y Overheat 100% of the time, with most of the remaining EVs put into Attack, as I felt like Kangaskhan would not pack enough of a punch without the investment. I did give it 12 Speed EVs to outrun other bulky 4 Speed Kangaskhan, however.

Oh and in case you’re wondering, W. Scarberry is short for Wilma Scarberry. Google it. You won’t be disappointed.

Iron Man (Aegislash) @ Lum Berry/Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 4 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 44 SDef
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
– Shadow Ball
– Substitute
– King’s Shield
– Sacred Sword

Ah, Aegislash. After theorymonning with Matthew Carter (mattj) while rooming together at the Ft. Wayne Regionals, we both thought that Aegislash was going to be a behemoth, and we weren’t disappointed. I’ve used Aegislash on literally every team I’ve played so far in this format. It’s the closest approximation to Metagross in 2014 (although apparently this isn’t a completely unanimous opinion). The first thing you might notice on my Aegislash is that it has a Lum Berry over the oh-so-standard Leftovers. Aegislash is a huge status magnet, so I wanted to be able to mitigate that somewhat. Additionally, it gives Aegislash a much better matchup against any Meowstic that might try to Swagger it, as well as a better matchup against Venusaur, which can only hope to Sleep Powder in vain, unless it has the rare Hidden Power Fire. King’s Shield can be a wonderful thing at times, with the ability to cripple certain Physical Attackers, but it leaves Aegislash open to all sorts of non-damaging moves (especially Swagger). 204 HP puts Aegislash at 161 HP, allowing it to use Substitute four times, assuming no other damage is taken. I maxed out my Special Attack in order to deal as much damage with Shadow Ball as I possibly can, while allocating the rest to Special Defense since it gets help in Defense with King’s Shield. I happen to be a fan of Sacred Sword over Flash Cannon only for the ability to hit Tyranitar, Bisharp, and Pyroar harder and not be walled by anything, too. Also, I know that Bisharp probably looks more like Iron Man than Aegislash, but I still stand by my ‘slash.

Batman (Salamence) @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 4 Def / 244 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
– Fire Blast
– Draco Meteor
– Stone Edge
– Protect

I got acquainted with Salamence when I tried out Scarf Salamence in a team I built to understand the metagame and help test other people’s teams. I fell in love with Salamence, as it demonstrated both great power and utility as an Intimidator. For this tournament, I decided on making a Life Orb set out of it, mostly for the extra power, but also for the mindgames, as it was still the fastest Pokemon on my team and could still possibly feign a Scarf. It did work at the tournament, as I had at least one opponent go “Oh, so it’s not Scarfed!” Standard moveset is standard, with Timid 252 Speed caught in the Famous Speed-tie of Base Speed 100 Land. It does happen to outrun Timid non-Scarfed Hydreigon, although who runs 252 Speed Timid Hydreigon?

Also, I’m sorry it’s not a Crobat–I thought Salamence was close enough to Batman to work.

John Wayne (Rotom-Heat) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 108 Def / 68 SAtk / 4 SDef / 84 Spd
Bold Nature
– Overheat
– Thunderbolt
– Protect
– Thunder Wave

A defensive Rotom-Heat. In hindsight, I could’ve ran Sitrus Berry Rotom-Heat, seeing as how my Sitrus Berry was now freed with Azumarill being off the team. However, I wondered how much Rage Powder I’d have to bypass while making the team. The HP and Defense EVs allow it to survive a Jolly 252 Attack Mega Tyranitar Rock Slide, and the Speed is based on Ray’s Rotom-Heat so I can get off a Thunder Wave before they Dragon Dance. Speaking of Thunder Wave, I needed a reliable form of Speed Control, since my team was relatively slow, but its a move I may replace if I do some more work with my team. If anything, I probably made Rotom-Heat a bit too bulky, as John Wayne never really hit too hard in practice. Live and learn.

Ed Friton (Amoonguss) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs: 172 HP / 252 Def / 4 SAtk / 12 SDef / 68 Spd
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Rage Powder
– Spore
– Protect
– Giga Drain

Ray-speed Amoonguss: another idea I shamelessly pilfered, but Rocky Helmet Amoonguss is really a very Japanese metagame idea in general. Amoonguss works well with some of the members of my team. It soaks up Super Effective Electric attacks for my already Specially Defensive Lapras, redirects Fighting attacks, helping both Lapras and Kangaskhan out a bunch, and soaks up Water attacks for Rotom-Heat, all while pressuring the opponent with Spore. The HP investment puts me at 207 HP. I maxed on Defensive bulk so it can do the job it was originally meant to do better, at the expense of some Special Defense.

My Amoonguss is named after my friend who works at a health care institution where he endures slight physical abuse from his patients, which is kind of what Amoonguss does for the team.

Slapras (Lapras) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Shell Armor
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 4 Atk / 60 Def / 172 SAtk / 68 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 2 Speed
– Freeze-Dry
– Hydro Pump
– Ancient Power
– Ice Shard

I tried to experiment a bit with a Calm Water Absorb Lapras, since that was what was initially available to me, but after seeing “Critical Hit” one too many times, I decided that Shell Armor is the best ability for Lapras. I’m sure absorbing Hydro Pumps might be nice, but Lapras resists Water to begin with, so I’ll take the small chip damage from Water attacks in exchange for protection against bad luck. The 2 Speed IV was actually a lucky break for me. I bred this Lapras the night before the competition, and it’s rather conveniently just enough to outspeed minimum Speed Aegislash, which helps me determine my opponent’s Aegislash’s Speed. Lapras also happens to Speed tie with my Amoonguss, so it might be worth going a bit faster in the future.

It’s named Slapras because… it’s short for “Sarah Lapras.”

Yup.

Team Playstyle Theory

The way I found that this team worked best was by working with a core of three Pokemon and Kangaskhan waiting in the back, usually to revenge KO or start sweeping once the threats to Kangaskhan were eliminated. At least, this was my strategy 90% of the time.

Leads and Back-Up Pokemon:

Combination 1

+

This was my “fast mode”, or at least the standard setup I was most comfortable using. This mode is where Lapras shined the most, taking advantage of its lovely 4x resistances to help its two teammates. Since Rotom-Heat is usually bait for its cousin Rotom-Wash’s Hydro Pumps, and Salamence the bait of many an Ice Beam, Lapras could comfortably switch in on these attacks and take negligible damage. Rotom-Heat and Salamence also have useful resistances if Lapras needed to be taken back. Unfortunately, this trio has a hard time against Rock attacks, so against teams with Tyranitar, Aerodactyl, or Mienshao, I brought another Pokemon to help out:

Combination 2

+ or

Intimidate + Wide Guard can shut down certain teams if they are too reliant on spread moves, or unaware that Wide Guard can be spammed repeatedly this generation. This was part of the reason for my success at Pittsburgh. Substitute certainly has its perks in certain matchups, but the presence of Wide Guard helped my team bloom as a whole, considering its current Rock weakness. Aegislash can also be brought in the back if I needed to apply pressure on the opposing team before bringing it in.

I thought about Wide Guard for the Penn State Tournament, but I really liked Substitute for certain endgame situations, so I didn’t get this changed for this tournament. My choice didn’t matter much, because even without Wide Guard, Lapras can deal fairly well with many common Rock Sliders (Garchomp, Aerodactyl, Scarfed Mamoswine). If there were certain Pokemon who had strong Fighting moves along with Wide Guard, Salamence could come in for a free Intimidate switch, although they might usually opt for more Rock Sliding anyway.

Combination 3

+ whatever I’d need for a switch or better match-up

The presence of certain Physical Megas like Mawile and opposing Kangaskhan usually forces me to lead with a certain Pokemon who can deal with said threats, and that Pokemon is Rocky Helmet Amoonguss. Megas cannot possess any item to stop Spore or Rage Powder. Leading with Amoonguss is usually nice since Regenerator allows it to switch out and recover some of its HP, and any way to regain HP is nice in a metagame with 15 minute timers.

Combination 4

& / +

This is my Rain mode. Amoonguss can Spore/Giga Drain and Rage Powder for Lapras, or for Rotom-H if the opposing team had Manectric and/or Talonflame. Rotom-Heat was also useful if I felt like I needed the Fire pressure for Mawile, but usually Amoonguss and Aegislash can handle Mawile well enough. Lapras could usually handle whatever Rain sweeper my opponent would want to bring with Freeze Dry, while Aegislash could switch in on an Ice Beam if Amoonguss needed the Regenerator HP.

Leads For Certain Pokemon

Rotom-Heat against the former, and Aegislash against the latter. While I do admit that Prankster Screens and Safeguard was something I really wanted last generation, it’s really easy to tell if either of these are a probable lead, and I can send something out to threaten them right away.

Kangaskhan/Salamence or Rotom. This would be one of the rare times I would lead with Kangaskhan, as I didn’t have much else that could do much damage to Venusaur due to its Thick Fat. My gameplan here was to hit Venusaur hard before it got much of a chance to recover. If Venusaur manages to bypass that strategy well enough, I’d be in trouble.

Not Salamence. I usually led with Rotom against teams with Bisharp on them, but my lead also depended on what else was on the team. Sometimes I’d go with Kangaskhan and Amoonguss for another mode. Same story with Bisharp as with Venusaur: if I can’t KO it quick enough, I’m in some trouble.

Rotom and Salamence, two Pokemon that outspeed Smeargle. One option was to double target Smeargle for the quick KO. I could also Paralyze Smeargle, especially if Smeargle wanted to be cheeky and Kings Shield to block the intended double target, and then deal with it with the rest of my team.

Threats

My team is a bit Rock weak. I am able to bypass this somewhat with Wide Guard support, but if Aegislash is threatened by something else on the field, I’m in trouble.

Trick Room

I used to not fear Trick Room so much, but Trick Room teams seem to have become smarter as the metagame has evolved. There’s more Safety Goggles to deal with Amoonguss, and more Quick Guard to deal with Talonflame. My removal of Fake Out on Kangaskhan and Substitute on Aegislash make this matchup a bit harder to manage. Hariyama in particular caught me twice in the International Challenge, just because of the choices it made both games, such as when a Hariyama undersped and OHKOed my blade Aegislash with Knock Off. I might just be lazy when playing these teams, but I might just have to reconsider my matchup here, too.

Smeargle

Since most of my team is slow and none of my team had any anti-status with the exception of Aegislash at Penn State, Smeargle is a problem for me. I thought in theory that having at least two Pokemon faster than Smeargle and its relative rarity would be a good enough protection against it, but Andy Himes showed me otherwise in a best of three.

Bisharp

The presence of this little soldier makes it somewhat hard to run Salamence as freely as I could, and usually forces me to use things like Rotom and Amoonguss to play around it.

Penn State Premier Tournament

Originally, this section was going to have most of my battle videos saved, but due to the Penn State twitch somehow losing the stream archives, I lost a decent bit of the Top Cut footage. I can still give a general idea of what happened, and there are battle videos for some of the matches.

Nothing special happened on the way up. I didn’t arrive as obscenely early as I first did when I went to Penn State in the fall, but I was still among the first to arrive. Most of the day I floated around the Ohio gang of David Mancuso and Ashton Cox to make them feel welcome among the Penn State people. I thought my eyes were deceiving me when Ashton wrote “Rotom-Regular Forme” on his team paper; I thought he meant “Rotom-Wash.” Then again, it’s Ashton, so it didn’t really surprise me that much.

Round 1 (0-0): Trevor Shorthouse (tbob#s)

His Team: Mega-Mawile, Amoonguss, Mamoswine, Rotom-Wash, Aerodactyl, Salamence
I brought: Amoonguss, Rotom-Heat, Salamence or Lapras, and Kangakshan

For some background, this was actually the same Round One opponent that I faced in the Penn State grassroots tournament, which he ended up winning. I had forgotten to make space for battle videos the night before, so I wasn’t able to save this match. In a nutshell, Amoonguss happened. I won in a 4-1 forfeit victory

Round 2 (1-0): Nicholas Seman (Spooty)

His team: Chandelure, Azumarill, Abomasnow, Conkeldurr, Aromatisse, Staraptor
I brought: Aegislash, Amoonguss, Rotom-Heat, Kangaskhan

I’m paired up with a pretty obvious Trick Room team for Round 2. I make a good play on the first turn, protecting Amoonguss from what I thought was going to be a Brave Bird from Staraptor. Instead, he uses U-Turn while Aegislash gets a free Substitute up and Trick Room goes down. I try to put the Staraptor to Sleep while throwing Shadow Balls around with Aegislash, but the bird switches into a Chandelure with the anti-Amoonguss Safety Goggles on. For some stupid reason, I thought bringing Kangaskhan in Amoonguss’s spot to take a Shadow Ball was the play, instead of the obvious Heat Wave. Kangaskhan gets burned for its troubles. I double target the Chandelure, taking out his biggest threat to my Aegislash and Amoonguss, and from there I just had to manage his threats for the victory. 2-0 win

Round 3 (2-0): Patrick (paddy)

His Team: Chandelure, Rotom-Wash, Escavalier, Mega Charizard-X, Venusaur, Gyarados
I brought:Rotom-Heat, Salamence, Lapras, Kangaskhan

Up against a fellow Pat, I knew this battle would be good. I see a Charizard and Venusaur in Team Preview, and the first thing that occurs to me is that this is a Sun team. I would end up paying for this assumption. On the first turn, I Paralyze his Gyarados, assuming he would switch in Venusaur, and I switch Lapras in for Salamence expecting an Ice Fang. Instead, Gyarados Waterfalled my Rotom-Heat, and Chandelure gets a free Substitute up. I hoped to turn things around by breaking Chandelure’s Substitute and taking it off the field, but Chandelure Protects, allowing Gyarados to take out my Rotom free of charge. I send Salamence back out to get another Attack drop on Gyarados, and Protect next turn in order to see if Chandelure would send a Shadow Ball my way. Lapras finally breaks Chandelure’s Substitute as Charizard is sent out. Thinking it was a Charizard-Y, I send a Stone Edge at it, hoping for the KO, but it Mega Evolves into Mega Charizard-X. Both my Stone Edge and his Charizard-X’s Will-O-Wisp miss, and Shadow Ball and Hydro Pump from Chandelure and Lapras deal substantial damage to Salamence and Chandelure, respectively. I try to go for the knock out with Ice Shard and Draco Meteor, but I end up just shy of the KO on Chandelure, and my Draco Meteor hits the Gyarados switch-in. I try for the knockout on Chandelure before it does any more damage to my team, and my Salamence is taken out in the process as my Lapras takes out his Gyarados. A 2-2 game at this point, his Rotom-Wash and my Kangaskhan are sent out. Knowing his Charizard has Will-o-Wisp, I go for the Power-Up Punch on Charizard, thinking Rotom would Protect anyway. The Charizard decides to Dragon Claw Lapras as Rotom Will-O-Wisps my Kangaskhan.I make a really gutsy play trying to take out Rotom with Return, but it hangs on with 1 HP and is able to take out my Lapras. Kangaskhan can’t handle the remaining 1v2 and I lose 0-2.

Round 4 (2-1): Colin Schonewolf (Wolf)

His Team: Lapras, Reuniclus, Talonflame, Mega-Tyranitar, Golurk, Kangaskhan
I brought:Aegislash, Salamence, Rotom-Heat, Kangaskhan

I’m up against a fellow Lapras user for Round 4, although neither of us felt bold enough to bring it this game. I led Aegislash and Salamence, as I felt this gave me the best matchup against what I assumed correctly to be Trick Room. His Kangaskhan never Mega Evolves, and at one point Façades for some sad damage. The most hilarious point of the match, however, was when his No Guard Golurk tried to Phantom Force and got hit with a Shadow Ball. I end up winning 3-0.

Round 5 (3-1): Ashton Cox (LinkYoshiMario)

His Team: Rotom-Ghost, Weavile, Emolga, Ludicolo, Mega-Alakazam, Hawlucha
I brought: Rotom-Heat, Salamence, Lapras, Kangaskhan

Say whatever you want about Ashton’s little-used Pokemon playstyle, I think he happens to be one of the most creative thinkers in the metagame right now. He leads with Weavile and Emolga and apparently his strategy for this lead was to Paralyze things with Emolga’s Nuzzle and flinch things with Weavile. I switch Lapras in turn one. wondering if he’ll try to Ice Punch me from the start. Rotom flinches from a Fake Out and Lapras gets paralyzed. He then Flings his Kings Rock at my Rotom, flinching it again, while trying to Swagger my Lapras. Swagger misses, and I throw an Ancient Power at it. He goes for a Rain Dance while flinching my Rotom with Icicle Crash. Emolga is taken out, and Ludicolo is sent in to replace it. I suspect it might Giga Drain, but I take it out with a critical Freeze Dry while my Rotom Protects itself from a potential Hydro Pump. Alakazam gets sent out, and I’m wondering if I should paralyze it or Weavile so I stop flinching so much. Alakazam gets a Calm Mind off and KOs Rotom the next turn, while I get substantial chip damage with Hydro Pump. My Kangaskhan reserve lets me take this one, 3-0.

At this point I was a very happy camper, as I made Top Cut at a Penn State Tournament for the second time in a row. Most of us had to play our Round 5 matches over again in Top Cut, so Ashton had a chance at some revenge.

Top Eight (4-1): Ashton Cox (LinkYoshiMario)

Game 1

His Team: Rotom-Ghost, Weavile, Emolga, Ludicolo, Mega-Alakazam, Hawlucha
I brought:Rotom-Heat, Lapras, Salamence, Kangaskhan

I was really hoping I’d have streamed matches to put here, but they were lost. All I can really recall from this match was that Focus Blast missed a LOT and that he brought his Ghost-tom, which had a Life Orb. I win 2-0.

Game 2 (1-0)

His Team: Rotom-Ghost, Weavile, Emolga, Ludicolo, Mega-Alakazam, Hawlucha
I brought: Rotom-Heat, Lapras, Amoonguss, Kangaskhan

I remember being pretty lucky with damage rolls in this match. I remember Kangaskhan surviving a +1 or +2 Psychic and Sky Drop combination and taking out Alakazam at one point. 3-0 Win
Top 4 (5-1): Alex Valente (avdc90)

Game 1

His Team: Talonflame, Mienshao, Mega-Manectric, Tyranitar, Ludicolo, Scizor
I brought: Salamence, Rotom, Lapras, Kangaskhan

My next opponent was the big kahuna of the Penn State Pokemon Society, a player who’s had a good Regionals result somewhere if memory serves me right (Editor’s note: Alex went undefeated in Swiss at Sandston in January 2013), so I knew I wasn’t playing any slouch for sure. I saw Mienshao, which I knew would be a probable lead due to my Kangaskhan, so I make my game plan to lead Rotom/Salamence to try to see if I can Paralyze Mienshao, allowing my Kangaskhan deal with it later in the game. With a Manectric on the field, however, I decide to try and deal with that first with an Overheat from Rotom, which goes right into a Protect. I go for the Thunder Wave next turn on Mienshao, but it switches into Ludicolo while my Salamence and his Tyranitar replace Lapras and Manectric. I knew I needed a way to handle the Tyranitar with three Pokemon weak to Rock on my side. I Protect Rotom while bringing in Kangaskhan. I know Tyranitar’s likely to switch out for Manectric, but I figure I can get a nice +1 or +2 either way. Scald burns Lapras, unfortunately, but Lapras is still is in nice position to start hitting Ludicolo hard. I wondered if he knew about the mechanic of Freeze Dry, so I made an unnecessarily bold move to Hydro Pump Ludicolo’s position. Mienshao eventually replaces Ludicolo’s position, and I am able to get a free 50% off from High Jump Kick recoil, while Lapras faints to Burn damage. I Sucker Punch for the KO on Mienshao next turn while baiting a Hidden Power Ice on Salamence and feigning a Choiced item. I risk going after Manectric next thinking that his Tyranitar might Protect while Thunder Waving Tyranitar just in case it doesn’t. The Lord of Paralysis is on my side, and gives poor Alex no chance for a comeback. 3-0 Win.

Game 2 (1-0)

His Team: Talonflame, Mienshao, Mega-Manectric, Tyranitar, Ludicolo, Scizor
I brought: Aegislash, Salamence, Lapras, Kangaskhan

Although Thunder Wave was half the reason I won the last game and Rotom-Heat is a great match-up against Mega-Manectric, I decided to go with a slightly less Rock-weak lead for game two, in case he led with Tyranitar. Instead, he brought Ludicolo, which I imagine was to deal with Rotom-Heat. He goes for a Fake Out on Salamence, which switches out for Lapras, and Flamethrowers my Aegislash, which gets a Substitute up. I thought he would try to target Aegislash in order to break the Substitute, so I try using Kings Shield. He instead double targets Lapras as I go for a Freeze Dry on Ludicolo. My Lapras will likely be KO’d with either a Giga Drain or a Rock Slide before it can do any non-priority attack, so I try for an Ice Shard on Ludicolo and nab the KO with a critical hit. Tyranitar does break my Substitute with a Flamethrower, while I take off a chunk of its HP with Sacred Sword. Next turn, Manectric goes for a Flamethrower on Lapras and Tyranitar fires its own Flamethrower into my incoming Salamence, so Lapras is able to Hydro Pump Manectric for a bit of damage before fainting to the Sand. Kangaskhan comes out, takes a critical Volt Switch, and the game is all but over when the Talonflame in the back is extinguished with a Draco Meteor and Tyranitar falls to Power-Up Punch. A Sucker Punch closes the game, 3-0 Win.

A whopping 15 CP within my grasp! Winning a tournament would be nice for my first CP. My final challenge was an interesting Perish Trap team.

Finals (6-1): Brian Aing

His Team: Liepard, Amoonguss, Gothitelle, Zoroark, Politoed, Mega-Gengar
I brought: Lapras, Aegislash, Rotom-Heat, Kangaskhan

I felt a mix of hype, stress, and lack of sleep during this match. He had a fairly standard Perish Trap team with Zoroark thrown in, adding an element of mind games for this match.I didn’t save the battle video here since it was streamed, but from what I remember I took Liepard out early with a Sacred Sword and Ice Shard double target in game one. My Aegislash was double targeted and brought down in all three openings. All three games opened about the same way, except in game two when Gengar didn’t immediately mega-evolve. I was also highly confused by Perish Trap at times, forgetting in game three that Rotom-Heat wasn’t yet under Perish Song. It was a very entertaining set, and I really regret not having the space to save the videos. Scores: (2-0) (0-2) (1-0)

Interlude: The International Challenge and some team changes I made

So going into the International Challenge, I noticed a couple things my team lacked. John Wayne the Rotom-Heat didn’t have enough firepower, and I felt like I needed Wide Guard support. I know Substitute and Leftovers are nearly mandatory on Aegislash, and they work great, but I needed to patch up my Rock weakness to really excel with this team. I threw Wide Guard on Aegislash and didn’t look back. I also decided to experiment with a slightly different Scarfed Rotom-Heat in order to outspeed the Greninja and Aerodactyl I thought I might see in the IC. I ended up using an inefficient but well-allocated 244 Special Attack/252 Speed/4 HP/ 4 Defense /4 Special Defense EV spread with Overheat, Volt Switch, Hidden Power Ice, and Will-o-Wisp as the moves. I managed a 1690 rating, peaking at 1765 on Day 2. If you want the spreadsheet for what I used and what I saw, here is the spreadsheet. In general, these were my thoughts on what I saw:

• My opponent’s highest average ELO pokemon were Aerodactyl, Azumarill, Rotom-Heat, Hydreigon, Amoonguss, and Bisharp. Amoonguss is the strongest redirector in the format at the moment, Aerodactyl has a LOAD of tricks up its sleeve coupled with a high Speed, Rotom-Heat deals with Mawile, Sun, Aegislash, and Amoonguss really well, Azumarill can hit extremely hard if it has a +6 up in addition to handling Fairy and Water weak Pokemon without the boost, Bisharp has a new toy in Assurance coupled with the Defiant it gets from all the Intimidate flying around, and Hydreigon can pair up perfectly with Aegislash in addition to handling them really well.
• The BIG SIX I saw in this IC were Talonflame, Garchomp, Rotom-Wash, Aegislash, Mega-Mawile, and Amoonguss. Slightly different from the usage overall for that tournament, which is interesting.
• The top 3 Megas were what you’d expect them to be: Mawile, Charizard, and Kangaskhan. The megas I was most impressed by outside of those three were Gengar, Tyranitar, and Venusaur.

After the International Challenge I put together a slightly better EV spread the night before my run at Pittsburgh, and it probably ended up being my saving grace:

Rotom-Heat @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 124 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 124 Spd
Timid Nature
– Overheat
– Volt Switch
– Hidden Power [Ice]
– Thunder Wave

The new EVs allowed me to outspeed max base 130 Pokemon while being able to survive more hits, only two HP shy of having a good HP number. This is in my opinion the best Scarftom EV spread. Thunder Wave was my best form of speed control.

The Pittsburgh Premier Challenge

After running my local half-marathon at a time of 1:46, I hustled my way to the Pittsburgh Premier Challenge. I ended up getting there at around 11:40. I quickly wrote down my team from memory, impressing one of the attendees who saw me write it all down. After I had paid my money and turned in my team sheet, I talked with Matt Sybeldon and met the wonderful Andrea Shaffer. All four Nugget Bridge members who attended would eventually make it into top 8, even Cassie who ended up being late because of traffic problems, taking an automatic round one loss. The Top Cut was surprisingly tough, as I had a hard time even making it in because I lost the last two rounds.

Round One: Ryan Timko

His Team: Blaziken, Blastoise, Tyranitar, Dragonite, Espeon, Raichu
I brought: Lapras, Salamence, Rotom-Heat, Kangaskhan

It was his first VGC tournament, if you couldn’t already tell from the illegal Blaziken he had on his team. In addition, his Blastoise carried Scald and Hydro Cannon, I outsped and OHKOed his Raichu with a Draco Meteor, and I didn’t use a single other Pokemon before I 4-0ed the poor fellow. I decided not to inform the judges about Blaziken since he was unlikely to make Top Cut. 4-0 Win

Round Two (1-0): Andrea Shaffer (andrea)

Her Team: Amoonguss, Ludicolo, Hydreigon, Aerodactyl, Rhydon, Mega Charizard-Y
I brought: Lapras, Salamence, Rotom-Heat, Kangaskhan

A battle of West Virginia’s finest! She told me beforehand how she was using a modified version of Keegan Belljanski’s (Darkeness) Regionals team, with Amoonguss instead of Gourgeist since she couldn’t play the pumpkin comfortably enough during the International Challenge. She opened with Charizard and Amoonguss while I led Salamence and Lapras, since I liked how Lapras matched up against her team. She opened with a Rage Powder and Mega Evolved Charizard, which I liked since the Sun let Salamence hit Amoonguss hard. It tanked my Sun-boosted Fire Blast, surprisingly, but not the Ancient Power it redirects as Amoonguss sacrifices itself to allow Charizard to fire a Solar Beam at Lapras. Seeing that the Solar Beam was at 2HKO range, I switched in Rotom-Heat to tank the next Solar Beam while firing off a Draco Meteor so the Hydreigon switch-in could be in range of a knock out if it were indeed Haban Hydreigon as I suspected. However, Hydreigon Protected. I suspected that Rhydon might come in to redirect the Electric attack from Rotom, so I doubled targeted Hydreigon in order to secure the KO. I sacrifice Rotom for more chip damage on Rhydon, and a Stone Edge connects next turn which pretty much seals the game here. 2-0 Win

Round Three (2-0): Rocky Buyan

His Team: Tyranitar, Mega-Medicham, Aerodactyl, Rotom-Heat, Mamoswine, Aegislash
I brought: Aegislash, Rotom-Heat, Salamence, Kangaskhan

So I had a little conversation with Matt Sybeldon right before this match:

Me: “We’ll probably end up playing each other if we keep winning”
Matt: “Things can happen…”

So things happened. Almost. I have heard the horror stories of how people have gone through five turn freezes, but never actually had one of those games myself until this one. My saving grace ended up being able to spam Wide Guard, as my opponent was not aware of the new mechanics of the move. Win 3-0

Round Four (3-0): Alex Ducouer

His Team: Talonflame, Greninja, Noivern, Aegislash, Goodra, Mega-Tyranitar
I brought: Salamence, Rotom-Heat, Kangaskhan, Lapras

I probably could have attacked Talonflame here to prevent the loss. I feared Focus Sash + Ice Beam from Greninja, and was prepared to have Lapras come in and take it out next turn. I also assumed that Kangaskhan would outspeed Goodra, but was surprised as Dragon Pulse got the KO before Return could hit. Lost 2-0

Round Five (3-1): Sam Amity “Rad”
His Team: Chandelure, Mega-Mawile, Dragalge, Wigglytuff, Carbink, Scrafty
I brought:Rotom-Heat, Aegislash, Lapras, Kangaskhan

Hello, Trick Room. I didn’t feel comfortable bringing Salamence because of Wigglytuff’s Competitive ability, so I led with Aegislash and Rotom to have something that could do substantial damage to his Trick Room setter and Mawile or Wigglytuff. He led with Wigglytuff and Chandelure, so I decided to try to get some chip damage on the Chandelure to break Sash if it had it while Kings Shielding Aegislash. I am able to get rid of the Chandelure the next turn, while Lapras and Wigglytuff trade a Freeze Dry for a Dazzling Gleam. Despite having an early lead, I was nervous to see Scrafty come onto the field, as it threatened three of my Pokemon and potentially undersped my entire team, if the Scrafty was minimum Speed. I Kings Shielded Aegislash in case Scrafty decided to attack it, but instead it Drain Punched my Lapras while Wigglytuff just targets Aegislash with Flamethrower. Realizing that targeting Scrafty is dumb since it can just recover HP by Drain Punching Lapras, I decided to focus on Wigglytuff. My Aegislash was double targeted and KOed, and I sent out my Kangaskhan with one turn of Trick Room remaining. Instead of making the smart play of Protecting my Kangaskhan to stall out Trick Room, I decided to attack in case I wouldn’t get KOed by a double target. The double target did KO, and Rotom and Lapras were not able to get it done after that. Lose 0-2

Luckily for me, my losses coming late and the Top Cut of eight players meant that I squeaked in as the highest 3-2 in the tournament.

Top Eight (3-2): Darius Blavton

Game 1

His Team: Aerodactyl, Raichu, Klefki, Salamence, Bisharp, Kangaskhan
I brought: Rotom-Heat, Amoonguss, Aegislash, Kangaskhan

The first thought that I had upon seeing his team was that I wanted to stop the Kangaskhan lead and neutralize Bisharp. I led Rotom and Amoonguss, as I felt Rotom matched up strongly against a good bit of his team and Amoonguss could handle Kangaskhan. He led Bisharp and Raichu, which revealed its Air Balloon. I decided to Overheat the Raichu while Sporing Bisharp’s spot, knowing that a Fake Out + Assurance combination is a very big possibility, but instead Bisharp switches while Raichu Protects, letting my put the Salamence switch in to Sleep. My Rotom outsped the Salamence on the next turn, letting me know that Salamence wasn’t Scarfed, while I double targeted Raichu with an Overheat and a Spore, in case he switched again. I decided to recharge my Rotom and tank a Draco Meteor or Stone Edge if Salamence woke up this turn, so I switched out to Aegislash while Giga Draining Raichu to nab the 4-3 lead. Bisharp replaced Raichu, and I went for a Sacred Sword on Bisharp while Rage Powdering while Bisharp Protects and Salamence snoozes another turn. I decided to bring Rotom back out in case Salamence throws a Fire Blast at Aegislash. My prediction was correct, and Rotom ate a Fire Blast while the Sucker Punch from Bisharp failed. I decided to use Hidden Power Ice on Salamence, instead doing about half damage to the Aerodactyl switch in as he Protects with Bisharp. I decided that I might as well go for the potential KO on Aerodactyl, and Rotom gets it while Assurance from Bisharp takes about half of Amoonguss’s HP away. Hidden Power Ice doesn’t quite KO Salamence on the next turn, and it is able to take out Amoonguss. Kangaskhan is able to clean up from there. Win 2-0.

Game 2 (1-0)

His Team: Aerodactyl, Raichu, Klefki, Salamence, Bisharp, Mega Kangaskhan
I Brought: Aegislash, Rotom-Heat, Amoonguss, Kangaskhan

For the second game my opponent opened with the Kangaskhan and Klefki. I decided I would like to pair Rotom with Aegislash for the Wide Guard support, so I led with that. I feared a Fake Out coming my way, so I decided to try the switch to Amoonguss. Klefki Safeguards my opponent’s side of the field, and I can smell the Swagger on Kangaskhan coming a mile away. However, the next turn Klefki uses Thunder Wave, and I breathe a huge sigh of relief as I pull off a decent prediction, Protecting Amoonguss and hitting Kangaskhan with a Sacred Sword. Klefki’s Swagger comes out too late as I Rage Powder it away and KO Kangaskhan. I switchout Amoonguss for Rotom to take the incoming Thunder Wave and Fire Blast. Next turn Klefki revealed Protect, which I really wasn’t expecting, while Aegislash took its first turn of Paralysis. It got its second turn immediately afterwards, but luckily for me, my opponent switches out his Salamence for Aerodactyl while Swaggering with Klefki. My opponent Swaggered his own Aerodactyl without Safeguard up, and Aerodactyl hit itself in confusion twice, making it too hard to make a comeback. Win 2-0

Top 4 (4-2): Cassandra Fordyce (cassie)

Game 1

Her Team: Rotom-Heat, Mienshao, Garchomp, Venusaur, Aerodactyl, Gardevoir

I Brought: Kangaskhan, Rotom-Heat, Aegislash, Salamence

I don’t think I had the chance to battle Cassie before, so I was somewhat stoked at this matchup. From the lack of Charizard on Team Preview, I assumed that she was running Mega Venusaur. I didn’t want the Mega Venusaur to set up, so I led with Mega Kangaskhan, even knowing that I ran the risk of having to face off with Mienshao. I paired Kangaskhan with Rotom to possibly catch Aerodactyl off guard. She does lead Mienshao, which High Jump Kicks into Kangaskhan’s Protect. Mienshao goes down to a combination of the recoil and a Volt Switch, and I bring in Aegislash which takes negligible damage from Rock Slide. She brought in Aerodactyl and made an interesting play to Sky Drop Aegislash while getting a Will-o-Wisp off on Kangaskhan, but I neutralized the Burn’s Attack drop with a Power Up Punch. I saw that she would be able to Overheat Aegislash freely at this point, so I attempted to get the KO on Rotom before it could do so. Kangaskhan could not, and Aegislash was baked. A series of cautious plays were made on both sides, but I handled things to the point where my Rotom and Kangaskhan were able to finish off her Gardevoir. Win 2-0

Game 2 (1-0)

Her Team: Rotom-Heat, Mienshao, Garchomp, Mega Venusaur, Aerodactyl, Gardevoir

I Brought: Kangaskhan, Salamence, Rotom-Heat, Aegislash

This game she led with Aerodactyl and Venusaur while I used Salamence and Kangaskhan, opting for some Intimidate support this time around. I feared Ice Fang on Aerodactyl, so I switched to Rotom while both our Megas Protected and Aerodactyl set up a Tailwind. I decided some counter Speed control was in order so Kangaskhan could deal with Venusaur more easily. I decided to preserve Rotom a bit by switching in Aegislash to take Venusaur’s Sludge Bomb. I manage to stop an Earthquake with Wide Guard while Venusaur fails to Protect, letting Kangaskhan KO it. Tailwind died out, and while I thought Cassie might’ve known about Wide Guard mechanics, I thought she might try Earthquaking with Garchomp anyway for a double KO. I decided not to Shadow Ball + Sucker Punch the Gardevoir.

I decided that Gardevoir was something of a problem now given that Kangaskhan was out of the way. The only Pokemon on my team that could quickly take it out was my Aegislash, so I switched in Rotom to Thunder Wave Gardevoir and switched out Aegislash for Salamence to stomach the incoming assault. Salamence took a Rock Slide and Shadow Ball to the face for its trouble. With Gardevoir paralyzed, I switched out Rotom for Aegislash to take a Dragon Claw. However, Garchomp Protects, and she switched in Aerodactyl, and Salamence’s Stone Edge in that slot misses. She Sky Dropped my Salamence for further disruption while I stopped another Earthquake with Wide Guard. I wondered if she planned to take out my Salamence this turn with a Dragon Claw, but she targeted Aegislash instead, explaining later that she didn’t know that Flying and Levitating Pokemon weren’t affected by Sky Drop. Salamence was free to Draco Meteor the Garchomp, but misses again. I Shadow Balled Garchomp, as I wanted to punish a possible switch into Gardevoir. I could have gone for the KO on Aerodactyl, but I decided it was not too big of a threat, as my Rotom could come in and take it out. Cassie was a step ahead, however, and went for the second Tailwind. I could not recover at that point. Lose 2-0

Game 3 (1-1)

Her Team: Rotom-Heat, Mienshao, Garchomp, Mega Venusaur, Aerodactyl, Gardevoir
I Brought: Kangaskhan, Salamence, Rotom-Heat, Aegislash

I stuck to my guns from the first game and led Kangaskhan and Salamence to her Garchomp and Aerodactyl. I decided a Power-Up Punch was in order, and I Protect the Salamence thinking that it could be wiped with a Rock Slide + Dragon Claw combo. I get the Power-Up Punch for free, as Garchomp Protected and Aerodactyl used Tailwind. I decided that I had a nice win condition in order, but I wanted to be even more secure. I sent in Aegislash, and the Rock Slide + Dragon Claw I anticipated on the first turn happens, putting me in great position. I start Kangaskhanning my way through her team, KOing her Aerodactyl with Sucker Punch and Shadow Balling her Garchomp. I decided that Gardevoir was the only thing that could reasonably do anything to my team at this point, but I wasn’t sure if Sucker Punch could KO it at +2. I Returned that slot, and one Moonblast’s worth of damage on Kangaskhan later, her Rotom-Heat came out. I decided to finish off the Garchomp at the expense of my Kangaskhan, and the match came down to her Rotom-Heat against the rest of my team. I felt somewhat confident, but started to sweat a bit when Salamence got Paralyzed from a Thunderbolt. Keeping in Rotom-Heat longer than she expected saved my Aegislash from an Overheat, and that seals the win for me. Win 2-0
Feeling the hunger of not eating much all day along with the exhaustion of having ran a half-marathon, I was able to get a short break before my next match. My next round was against someone I’d never heard about. He defeated the previously undefeated Matt Sybeldon and Andrea Shaffer, meaning his road to the finals was extremely tough. I certainly braced myself for this match up. He was an extremely good sport, letting me continue the games despite my 3DS dying early on in game 2.

Finals: Blake Dunback (ign: Carl)

Game 1

His Team:Charizard, Mega Tyranitar, Venusaur, Garchomp, Meowstic-Male, Scrafty
I Brought:Aegislash, Rotom-Heat, Amoonguss, Kangaskhan

His Team Preview showed four potential Megas. Bracing myself for a Sun or Meowstic lead, I led my Rotom and Aegislash and kept Amoonguss in the back for extra support against Scrafty. He led Meowstic and Tyranitar, which I didnt mind since Aegislash put decent pressure on both. I decided to KO Meowstic first, wondering if Tyranitar would Protect, so I got the early knock out while my opponent set up Safeguard and Dragon Danced with Tyranitar. Despite my quick lead, I was in a bit of a pickle if I couldn’t stop Tyranitar in time. He sent out Garchomp and my plan at this point was to try to bring Tyranitar down to a range where Sacred Sword could KO. He double targeted my Amoonguss, even though this meant extra damage for him. I decided to switch out Amoonguss to take advantage of Regenerator while Wide Guarding to catch a potential Rock Slide or Earthquake. I decided to do more Rocky Helmet damage on Tyranitar, since I figure Aegislash was probably a prime target for his Tyranitar, while amassing solid damage on Garchomp with Hidden Power. I had to sacrifice my Amoonguss in the process, but I had a healthy Kangaskhan ready to clean up. I decided that he’d Protect with his Garchomp to get my Rotom out of the way, so I switched in Aegislash while going for the Power-Up Punch on Tyranitar. Instead, he switched in Scrafty while Protecting Tyranitar, putting pressure on everything I have out. I figured Scrafty would have Fake Out, so I double Protected, and was rewarded with a -2 Scrafty. The Power-Up Punch on Tyranitar fails to KO, and Aegislash falls to a +1 Mega Tyranitar Crunch. After seeing the poor damage Scrafty was doing, my opponent switched in Garchomp, which was promptly KOed by another pair of Power-Up Punches. Scrafty is brought out and reveals Fake Out, deciding to take out my Rotom and leaving my Kangaskhan helpless in the end. Loss 0-2

Game 2 (0-1)

His Team: Mega Charizard-Y, Tyranitar, Venusaur, Garchomp, Meowstic-Male, Scrafty
I Brought: Amoonguss, Aegislash, Salamence, Kangaskhan

If you only watch one battle video out of all of the videos in this report, watch this one. This battle video showcases why Aegislash has been on all of my teams in this metagame: it’s ability to win games it really shouldn’t be able to win. I led Aegislash and Amoonguss in order to give Mega Tyranitar a harder time this match, and his leads were Meowstic and Garchomp. I decided to get an Attack drop on Garchomp by switching in Salamence, should it use Earthquake, while aiming another Shadow Ball at Meowstic. Garchomp Protected, and another Safeguard goes up before Meowstic is OHKOed by Aegislash. I finally get to see my opponent’s Charizard, and my suspicions were confirmed: it was a Mega Charizard-Y. I Kings Shielded with Aegislash, not knowing which forme of Charizard I would be dealing with, while Salamence lost the Speed tie and is KOed by Charizard’s Dragon Pulse. My Kangaskhan replaced the fallen Salamence, and on the next turn my opponent smartly predicts my Wide Guard, instead double targeting Kangaskhan. Kangaskhan took a lot of damage, but OHKOed his frail Timid Charizard in the process. I decided to switch out Aegislash for Amoonguss, as I think my opponent’s Tyranitar will Crunch that slot since I couldn’t Kings Shield safely. My prediction pays off, with Tyranitar taking Rocky Helmet damage and chip damage from Kangaskhan. I tried to Sucker Punch the Tyranitar to finish it off, but it Protected instead, with Kangaskhan KOed and Safeguard ending. I decided my endgame: bring the game back with Spore. He double targets my Amoonguss, sacrificing his Tyranitar in the process, and I land a Spore on Garchomp only for Lum Berry to activate.

At this point, there were a number of scenarios that could play out. My opponent could Protect his Garchomp and let Amoonguss fall to Sand damage, which I could avoid by using Giga Drain on my own Aegislash. He could also try to do solid damage to both of my Pokemon with Earthquake, though I could negate that damage with Wide Guard. Finally, he could Dragon Claw Amoonguss in order to ensure its defeat, with the risk of having Aegislash hit it with a Shadow Ball. My opponent chose to let the last scenario play out, while I predicted the second. With Amoonguss gone, the match became a matter of being able to hit Garchomp with two Shadow Balls while playing mindgames with Wide Guard. In a real tournament situation, I would have won by timer, but in this tournament I was told I had to play out the match. In the end, I was able to pull out the victory. Win 1-0

Game 3 (1-1)

His Team: Mega Charizard-Y, Tyranitar, Venusaur, Garchomp, Meowstic-Male, Scrafty
I Brought:Aegislash, Salamence, Rotom-Heat, Kangaskhan

The hype and the momentum were building, and I was very happy to bring the series to a game three. My opponent led Garchomp and Meowstic again, while I changed up my lead yet again, selecting Salamence and Aegislash. Instead of putting Safeguard up like last time, he Swaggered his own Lum Berry Garchomp and destroyed my Salamence with a Dragon Claw while Aegislash Shadow Balled Meowstic for the KO for a third consecutive match. We sent in Charizard and Rotom, respectively, and he double Protected for a turn, probably to see which Pokemon my Scarf Rotom targeted. I got a Hidden Power off on Garchomp the next turn, and he double spread-moved into a Wide Guard, putting me in excellent position. I switched out Rotom for Kangaskhan, knowing Blake would probably be smarter than to allow me to KO his Garchomp. He ended up switching out Charizard for Venusaur while Protecting Garchomp, as I safely get Kangaskhan in. I predicted Venusaur going for the Sleep Powder on Kangaskhan and Protect while Garchomp fires away with an Earthquake, knocking out his own Venusaur with a Critical Hit. At that point, it was all a matter of hitting the right targets with Suck Punch and Rotom to win the game. I end up winning, 3-0.

What I have learned this year:

• Fresh batteries: It might be worth the $10 investment to buy a better power pack in order to avoid the embarrassing scenario of losing power during critical moments.
• Socializing: Going to these events is also a great excuse to hang out with people, as I had the time of my life playing on the Miracle on Ice machine at the mall in Columbus at another Premier Challenge. I also regret not using the DDR machine while at Pittsburgh, although part of that was due to having run a half-marathon. I would have loved to do some side tournaments at Pittsburgh had people stuck around.
• Battle Videos: The 100 battle video limit is too small for my tastes, but I can just record things if I can remember to do so. I also used a lot of my videos up earlier on in the meta, but I can’t help but think that we have a lot more space on the DS to store more videos.
• CP Limit and Being Experimental: Getting to the CP limit early was really nice, as it allowed me to really experiment and come up with the best team for Nationals.
• Turn Time: We get a really nice cushion of time to make each move, and I probably have taken this cushion for granted in some of these tournaments. I might need to train myself to make my moves faster.
• Prize Support: I’d like to make a shout out to AJ Schumacher for giving out an excellent reward: a $35 gift card to the Nintendo e-store. Because of you, I will be able to get 3DS Smash Brothers when it comes out. He’s also one of the best TO’s I’ve seen run these Premier Challenges.
• Never Give Up: If I had let tilt get the best of me at Penn State after game two, I wouldn’t have been able to finish the set. It’s important to remember to keep a calm mind, and that this game is supposed to be played for fun.

Article image created by TKOWL for Nugget Bridge. View more of his artwork on his deviantART page.

About the Author

pball0010 Hi, my name is Pat Ball. I write songs, go running, and play pokemon. I love Golden Retrievers and my favorite pokemon are Shuckle, Raikou, Lucario, Cobalion, Landorus, Mew, and Laporas. While I can't brag about my performance at Regionals, I can say that I am a Premier Challenge Master, being the first to reach the best finish limit with two straight victories. Hi :3

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