Reports

Published on January 9th, 2015 | by cobalte

16

The Dynamic Duo: Runner-Up at PokéMelbourne’s Spring Tournament

Hi everyone, my name is Emma Williams and this is the team I used to win 2^nd place at a local grassroots tournament in Melbourne, Australia. These grassroots tournaments are held about 3-4 times every year and always attract a fair amount of competitors, this one in particular with 100 Masters. I struggled a lot during the VGC ’14 season, placing pretty averagely at official events this season, so if felt good to finally do well with a team I felt comfortable with.

This team originated largely because I wanted to try something involving Staraptor. This Pokemon had gained popularity in the country after having a successful Nationals and Worlds run piloted by fellow player Dayne O’Meara (Prof Teak). I remembered creating a team earlier in the season that included Staraptor, Rotom-H, Garchomp, Gardevoir and Raichu. The main strength of that team came from firing off strong spread moves, creating situations of overwhelming offensive pressure on both opposing Pokemon. Around the time, teams based around Mega Blastoise and Pachirisu were also becoming quite popular for Premier Challenges in the US. Combining these two ideas, with Pachirisu replacing Raichu, I started testing and was very pleased with the results, making very few changes from the initial concept.

The Team

Staraptor (M) @ Choice Scarf ***GeneralBoris
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 196 HP / 156 Atk / 156 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
– Close Combat
– Brave Bird
– Final Gambit
– U-turn

Used in 7/11 battles

It’s the bird that started it all! Staraptor’s HP EVs allow it to nab 12HP Garchomps with a Final Gambit and adds some general bulk. The speed investment combined with Choice Scarf allows Staraptor to outspeed Scarfed Jolly Smeargle for a Close Combat KO. The rest of the EVs were dumped into attack for the following calculations:

• 156+ Atk Staraptor Close Combat vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 134-158 (74 – 87.2%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 156+ Atk Staraptor Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Lucario: 148-176 (102 – 121.3%) — guaranteed OHKO
• 156+ Atk Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 180 Def Amoonguss: 212-252 (95.9 – 114%) — 75% chance to OHKO
• 156+ Atk Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Amoonguss: 180-212 (81.4 – 95.9%) — guaranteed 2HKO

Some of those calculations might seem a bit strange where attacks do ~75% of damage at minimum, but they were used to line up KOs when necessary.

Rotom-Heat @ Leftovers ***Major Hottie
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 116 SAtk / 4 SDef / 132 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
– Overheat
– Thunderbolt
– Discharge
– Protect

Used in 5/11 battles

This is very similar to the set that I ran at Australian Nationals, except with Leftovers and Discharge. Rotom-Heat can fire off Discharges freely without having to worry about 3 of the other team members taking any damage from it, even healing Pachirisu, so only my opponents have to worry about taking the 30% paralysis chance. I used 156 Speed EVs to outspeed Adamant max speed Bisharps. The bulk is rather simple but let me take multiple attacks from common Pokemon such as Adamant Mega Kangaskhan, Adamant Mawile and Jolly Garchomp.

With 116 SpA EVs, Overheat OHKOs physically bulky Amoonguss and Thunderbolt deals over 75% damage to most Charizard-Y.

Gardevoir (F) @ Choice Specs ***Lucette
Trait: Telepathy
EVs: 236 HP / 116 Def / 36 SAtk / 4 SDef / 116 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)

– Dazzling Gleam
– Moonblast
– Shadow Ball
– Psychic

Used in 5/11 battles

I don’t remember exactly where I got the concept for this Choice Specs set. It’s a variation of a rather common 60 SpA one that was going around Nugget Bridge at some point.

116 Speed EVs puts Gardevoir above my Mega Blastoise by one point to avoid awkward speed ties. I had to sacrifice a 100% guarantee to take some attacks, but with tinkering I managed to get it to a very acceptable compromise of:

• 252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 236 HP / 116 Def Gardevoir: 148-175 (85.5 – 101.1%) — 6.3% chance to OHKO
• 252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon/Shadow Ball vs. 236 HP / 4 SpD Gardevoir: 150-176 (86.7 – 101.7%) — 12.5% chance to OHKO

On the offensive side, 36 SpA comes a bit short on some guaranteed OHKOs, but comes very close on the following:

• 36+ SpA Choice Specs Gardevoir Dazzling Gleam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Salamence: 168-198 (98.8 – 116.4%) — 87.5% chance to OHKO
• 36+ SpA Choice Specs Gardevoir Psychic vs. 252 HP / 72+ SpD Amoonguss: 212-252 (95.9 – 114%) — 75% chance to OHKO
• 36+ SpA Choice Specs Gardevoir Psychic vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Venusaur: 180-212 (96.2 – 113.3%) — 75% chance to OHKO

Garchomp (M) @ Life Orb ***Pluto
Trait: Rough Skin
EVs: 12 HP / 204 Atk / 4 Def / 36 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
– Dragon Claw
– Earthquake
– Protect
– Substitute

Used in 11/11 battles

Good old Life Orb Garchomp, famed for disrupting opponents when they have calculated their Pokemon’s defenses for a Lum Berry variant.

With this set, I chose Substitute over Rock Slide. At one stage, Garchomp had 3 attacks and Substitute, but I found myself in many situations where Protect could have been helpful. I was a little worried that I would run into a lot of Charizard-Y which can really threaten this team if I’m not careful, and Rock Slide is always nice to fish for flinches, but Substitute proved itself very effective in testing.

Pachirisu (M) @ Sitrus Berry ***Sejun Spark
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spd
Impish Nature (+Def, -Atk)
– Follow Me
– Nuzzle
– Super Fang
– Protect

Used in 6/11 battles

Pachi-fever spreads Down Under! The popular rodent suits my playstyle well by adding some more defensive elements to this team than Raichu did. I ran maximum physical bulk after realizing that Pachirisu functions on my team pretty similarly to how it did in Sejun Park’s team: tanking physical attacks while supported by Intimidate and shielding other members from electric attacks.

Super Fang proved useful not just for spreading damage, but also by giving me information about my opponent’s HP EVs, usually whether they were maxed or not. With 4 Speed EVs, Pachirisu outspeeds my own Mega Blastoise and Gardevoir so I can use the move before they attack. When Pachirisu didn’t really have too much to do, I would just use Nuzzle for disruption.

Blastoise (M) @ Blastoisinite ***Boogie
Trait: Rain Dish
EVs: 132 HP / 252 SAtk / 124 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
– Ice Beam
– Water Pulse
– Aura Sphere
– Protect

Used in 10/11 battles

Blastoise was added last to the team when I realised I didn’t have a Mega Evolution, but it fits in just fine. Mega Blastoise can be a nuisance to a fair range of common Pokemon used in Australia.

Rain Dish was just chosen because I thought it’d be more useful on a switch-in than Torrent. I went with maximum Special Attack investment to dish out as much damage as possible. 124 Speed EVs outpaces 44 Speed EV Rotoms to hit first. As for the bulk, 132 HP survives a Timid Thunderbolt from Mega Manectric if worst comes to worst.

The Tournament

I met up with my friends and fellow competitors in the venue and registered. Looking around, at least 100 other trainers had shown up for their shot at the title and some post-season fun. There were quite a few notable regulars missing though which though sad.

The initial announcements before round 1 revealed that for Masters we would be having 7 best-of-1 Swiss rounds with a top cut of 8. I was a little apprehensive at this because I was already a bit tired, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage on what was an unusually warm spring day inside with so many people, but I tried not to focus on that and take it one round at a time.

Round 1 vs Chris Taylor

I had time to chat with my opponents a little bit before each round while we waited for everyone to find theirs. Chris told me he had gone to Nationals and finished about 5-3.

Battle Video code: B9DW-WWWW-WWW9-T37Q

My team:  + /
Chris’ team: + /

I’m not really too sure there’s much to say about this one. Chris brought Azumarill, and I picked 3 Pokemon that could either OHKO or 2HKO it. He played this game fairly well compared to my shaky reads. A first round loss is never really a great feeling, but I just had to pick myself up and shake it off for round 2.

LOSS 0-1

Round 2 vs Alex Dug

Battle Video code: ZH5G-WWWW-WWW9-T37K

My team: + /
Alex’s team: + /

For some reason, I didn’t realise that I had brought both of my fastest Pokemon to a Trick Room party on turn 1.

On turn 2, I decide to conserve my Intimidate for later and swap Staraptor for Rotom-Heat. Gallade reveals Helping Hand as Mawile Mega Evolves and tries to Play Rough Rotom-Heat, missing. Knowing that this combination is probably what my opponent is going to rely to deal significant damage without needing to switch out and risk losing momentum, I swap out Garchomp for Staraptor again to put both of my opponent’s Pokemon at -2 Attack. The Helping Hand + Play Rough combination comes out again but this time on Staraptor, which survives on 20HP. Rotom-Heat Thunderbolts Gallade to put it in the yellow again.

Alex withdraws Mawile and brings in Talonflame, correctly predicting that I will aim an Overheat in its direction. However, he forgets that Ghost-type moves don’t affect Normal types and tries to Shadow Sneak Staraptor. This costs him his Gallade.

I send out Garchomp and Alex sends out Mega Mawile. I Protect Garchomp as this is the last turn of Trick Room, and Talonflame uses a rather surprising move on Rotom-Heat…Acrobatics. I didn’t catch if the bird had an item on it in Team Preview, I guess it did due to the low damage output. Mega Mawile also shows an interesting move when it Crunches Rotom-Heat for over 50% HP. Mawile takes an Overheat for about 75% HP.

On the next turn, my opponent swaps out Talonflame for Aegislash. Mawile Protects and I Earthquake and Thunderbolt the Aegislash slot. Alex mentions he didn’t expect me to do that, maybe he predicted a switch? Now I know I can hit all his Pokemon with super effective moves and clean the rest of the field up for the win.

WIN 1-1

Round 3 vs Jordan Guthrie

Battle Video code: D2XG-WWWW-WWW9-T37E

My team: + /
Jordan’s team: + /

I picked Staraptor as a lead due to the dual grass types, and Blastoise to cover Gigalith. These choices work out well as Jordan sends out Gigalith and Amoonguss. I double-targeted the Amoonguss expecting Rage Powder shenanigans, but instead it Protects and Gigalith uses Explosion. At -1 attack, this isn’t as effective as my opponent would have hoped. Jordan replaces Gigalith with his own Staraptor.

I wasn’t really sure whether my Staraptor outsped his, but I figured I didn’t really have too much to lose by leaving it in. Jordan’s Staraptor moves first to knock mine out, so I assume it had an EV spread of 252 Attack / 252 Speed. Mega Blastoise Ice Beams Amoonguss which retaliates with a Giga Drain, putting Mega Blastoise in the red and healing back up to 55% HP. I send out Pachirisu.

On the next turn, I manage to Nuzzle a Venusaur that had switched in for Staraptor. I assumed this was his Mega, so this turned out okay for me as from experience, paralysis was really inconvenient for Mega Venusaur when it needed to be doing something every turn to apply pressure. I Protect Mega Blastoise from an incoming Spore.

I Protect Pachirisu and decide to target Amoonguss with Ice Beam, figuring I’ll rid the field of it and afterwards either get a free switch-in for Garchomp in the back should Blastoise go down, or a free turn of damage. I got a free turn instead with Mega Venusaur targeting Pachirisu with Sludge Bomb. The fainted Amoonguss is replaced with Staraptor.

I’m in a pretty good position now with Garchomp sitting in the back against a paralysed Mega Venusaur and a Staraptor. I wasn’t exactly sure whether Pachirisu could resist a Final Gambit, but there wasn’t too much risk in using Follow Me to possibly draw away attacks aimed at Mega Blastoise. Staraptor uses Final Gambit and… Pachirisu survives on 3HP, healing itself back up with Sitrus Berry. Mega Blastoise Ice Beams Mega Venusaur, and it then is fully paralyzed this turn. I use a combination of Super Fang and Ice Beams to win the game from here.

WIN 2-1

Round 4 vs Ashley Lang

Battle Video code: D66W-WWWW-WWW9-T36V

My team: + /
Ashley’s team: + /

I’m a little less than proud of this match, as I made some careless plays that really weighed things in Ashley’s favour.

I decide to let Mega Blastoise attack Vaporeon for some minor damage and take a Thunderbolt from Starmie, which does about 55%. Gardevoir locks into Shadow Ball on the Starmie, which shows a Focus Sash. After Mega Blastoise’s Aura Sphere, Vaporeon reveals the Red Card which forces Blastoise to switch for Garchomp, and then uses Toxic on that slot.

I Protect Garchomp from an incoming Ice Beam (Vaporeon’s, in this case). Starmie uses Surf to heal Vaporeon and does 30% damage to Gardevoir, which retaliates with a Shadow Ball for the knock out. Ashley sends out Tyranitar.

I was a little worried about a mixed special Tyranitar and Ashley double-targeting my Garchomp to negate Substitute, which is kinda nonsensical when I haven’t revealed it. Garchomp Earthquakes and puts Tyranitar in red HP, with Vaporeon in the same state after a Shadow Ball. Vaporeon’s Ice Beam knocks out Garchomp and Tyranitar’s Rock Slide sends Gardevoir into the red. I send out Mega Blastoise. I know both of my Pokemon are faster than Ashley’s and attack them both. Ashley sends out her last Pokemon, Garchomp.

I know I’m not out of the woods yet with a Garchomp sitting in the sand… I swap out Mega Blastoise for Staraptor to get an Intimidate off, figuring Ashley would Earthquake. This works out, as Gardevoir goes down, though Ashley has Mega Evolved her Garchomp. I’m pretty worried at this point, I had been having a few conversations earlier in the day about people running into Mega Garchomp, where one tends to think it’s bad to use due to the middling speed and then get beaten by the overpowering attacks.

I don’t know if Ashley knew what Scarf Staraptor does, so I opted for the Final Gambit to take the match. It seems I forgot Staraptor had already taken some sandstorm damage on the switch-in. Then, she Protects, locking me into losing Staraptor next turn. I don’t think I’ll ever try and do that again on a Chomp in the sand against anyone, whether I think they know how Final Gambit works or not. On the next turn, I’m forced to Final Gambit the Mega Garchomp into the red and cross my fingers for some sort of low HP on the Mega Garchomp or a low damage roll from the heavens, knowing that after losing the first round I probably won’t make it into Top Cut as a 6-2. Mega Garchomp uses Dragon Claw… Mega Blastoise survives on 8HP! It then Ice Beams for victory.

WIN 3-1

Round 5 vs Brent Crowford

Battle Video code: 7VKW-WWWW-WWW9-T36Y

My team: + /
Brent’s team: + /

From turn 1 I assume that Chandelure is some sort of speedy variant, most likely Scarfed if it’s sitting next to Weavile. I Protect Mega Blastoise from an incoming Fake Out + Energy Ball. Chandelure moving before Rotom-H confirms my Scarf suspicions and I Discharge to get some spread damage and break a potential Focus Sash on Weavile. Unfortunately for Brent, Discharge paralyses Weavile.

I switch out Mega Blastoise for Staraptor to take the locked-in Energy Ball. Rotom-H Overheats Weavile for the KO. Brent sends out Kangaskhan.

I expect Chandelure to switch out, so I send in Garchomp in place of Staraptor hoping my opponent will use Fake Out on that slot. Chandelure switches out for Magnezone. Mega Kangaskhan uses Fake Out on Garchomp, taking Rough Skin damage. Rotom-H is at -2, not really being able to do significant damage, so I use Discharge again and get the paralysis on Mega Kangaskhan.

Garchomp Earthquakes to OHKO Magnezone and leave Mega Kang with about 30% HP left. Rotom-H uses Discharge again for minor damage. Brent reveals Façade on the paralysed Kangaskhan, which OHKOs Rotom-H. I send out Staraptor and Brent sends out Chandelure.

Mega Kangaskhan fails to do significant damage with a -1 Sucker Punch, and I clean up Brent’s last two Pokemon with Scarfed Brave Bird and Earthquake.

WIN 4-1

At this stage I’m starting to get more confident in my ability to cut. I’m playing a bit better by each round and starting to get more focused. I hear that we might be having only 6 rounds instead of the original 7, so I think I just need to win the next match to cut.

Round 6 vs Jordan Saunders

We were both pretty excited at the prospect of one of us making the top cut, I may have said that it was 6 rounds (genuine mistake), oops…

Battle Video code: 8M7G-WWWW-WWW9-T363

My team: + /
Jordan’s team: + /

Rotom-W gets swapped out for Mawile while Meowstic-M uses Safeguard. Mega Blastoise Protects and Pachirisu gets a Super Fang off on the switched-in Mawile.

I picked Follow Me on Pachirisu to avoid the possibility of Meowstic using Swagger for a quick +2 on a Mega Mawile and attack it with Water Pulse. Jordan Protects Mega Mawile from any attacks and targets Pachirisu with Swagger anyway.

Meowstic is switched out for Rotom-W. Pachirisu manages to use Follow Me through the confusion, fishing for any extra Swaggers aimed at Mega Blastoise. Mega Blastoise KOs Mega Mawile with Water Pulse. Tyranitar is sent out in its place.

Tyranitar Crunches Pachirisu for around 40% damage and manages to get a defense drop. Pachirisu hits itself in confusion. Mega Blastoise uses Aura Sphere on Tyranitar for a OHKO and Rotom-W burns Pachirisu with Will-O-Wisp. Pachirisu heals itself with a Sitrus Berry back to around 70% HP remaining before taking some burn damage. Meowstic-M is sent out.

My plan from here is to try and set up a situation where I can ignore Meowstic safely and take down Rotom-W. Mega Blastoise Protects from an incoming Swagger and Pachirisu uses Super Fang on the washing machine, activating a Sitrus Berry. It takes a Hydro Pump in return and succumbs to the residual sandstorm and burn damage. As there are only special attackers left on the field, I send out Gardevoir.

The rest of the match involves Jordan trying to get some sort of reprieve with Meowstic-M through Swagger and Thunder Wave, but it isn’t enough for him to come back. I take down the Prankster cat first and then follow through with Rotom-W being knocked out on the next turn.

WIN 5-1

I feel relieved thinking I’m in cut and find out we still have the seventh round as originally planned. Just one more…

Round 7 vs Leigh Biggerstaff

During one of the usual post-round discussions of how everyone went, one of my friends had mentioned that he had a close battle with a Leigh something-staff. I expected this to be a tough one.

Battle Video code: EL4W-WWWW-WWW9-T35L

My team: + /
Leigh’s team: + /

I needed to get rid of these two strong Steel types if my Gardevoir was to be of any use. Aegislash had an Air Balloon as well, making my Garchomp lead a bit less effective.

Mawile doesn’t Mega Evolve and is switched out for Salamence. I Protected Garchomp and used Super Fang on the slot that Salamence now occupies. Aegislash sets up a Substitute.

Salamence is switched out for Tyranitar. Pachirisu uses Follow Me, because I don’t think switching it is the best of ideas next to a -2 Garchomp that needs some attention and I can’t think of anything else for it to do. Garchomp Dragon Claws the Tyranitar for minimal damage. Aegislash uses Shadow Ball on Pachirisu for just over 50%, activating Sitrus healing. Tyranitar reveals that it has Leftovers.

I switch Garchomp for Blastoise, deciding to use Pachirisu as a bit of a sacrifice to get Garchomp back in with normal attack. Pachirisu Nuzzles Tyranitar and gets the full paralysis before going down to Aegislash’s Shadow Ball.

Now that Mega Blastoise is in, I decide to use it to get rid of Aegislash’s sub and Air Balloon with Water Pulse. Garchomp Dragon Claws the Tyranitar and puts it in yellow HP, while Aegislash Shadow Balls Mega Blastoise and gets a special defense drop. Tyranitar is fully paralysed again.

Mega Blastoise is swapped out for Gardevoir to prepare for any Salamence switch-ins. Aegislash uses King’s Shield and Tyranitar Protects. On the next turn, Garchomp uses Earthquake and Gardevoir uses Dazzling Gleam for the double knock-out. Leigh sends out Salamence and Mawile.

I switch Garchomp for Mega Blastoise, using it as another sacrifice to clear the effects of Intimidate. Mega Mawile Protects while Salamence’s Draco Meteor takes out the weakened Mega Blastoise. Gardevoir Dazzling Gleams to KO Salamence.

Mega Mawile could only really Sucker Punch to take out my Garchomp sitting at ¾ HP remaining, so I decide to use Substitute. There weren’t any drawbacks to doing this. If he Iron Headed Gardevoir, I still get to sit pretty behind the sub. Leigh chose to Sucker Punch. I Earthquake and Dazzling Gleam the last turns to win.

WIN 6-1

Hoorah, I made top cut! That was my main goal. Now I could relax a bit more and just enjoy the battles ahead.  I was the bottom 6-1 sitting at 6^th seed. This pitted me against the 3^rd seed who turned out to be none other than Sam Pandelis (Cypress). I hadn’t beaten him the few times we’d had to battle during the season, so hopefully I could buck the trend. Due to time limitations, all the top cut matches bar the final were to be best of 1.

Quarterfinals (Top 8) vs Sam Pandelis (Cypress)

Some of the finals matches were being shown on the TV behind us using my capture card 3DS, this was one of them.

Battle Video code: VFGG-WWWW-WWW9-T346

My team: + /
Sam’s team: + /

On turn 1, Pachirisu uses Follow Me and Bisharp Protects itself from my Mega Blastoise’s Aura Sphere. Talonflame U-Turns into Pachirisu and switches out to Rotom-W.

Bisharp switches out for Kangaskhan. Pachirisu Super Fangs the Rotom-W and doesn’t activate a Sitrus Berry, so I assume it’s likely a 252HP spread of some kind with no speed investment. Mega Blastoise Aura Spheres Rotom-W and after Sitrus recovery it sits at around 40% HP. Rotom-W burns Pachirisu, hoping for residual damage.

The next turn was a bit of a slop on my behalf. I double Protect in the face of a Mega Kangaskhan Fake Out, but Cypress switches Rotom-W for Talonflame and Power-Up Punches it for +2. The burn activates Pachirisu’s Sitrus Berry.

Poor Pachirisu is once again delegated sacrificial lamb as I opt to redirect all attacks and try to deal some good damage with Mega Blastoise’s Aura Sphere. Pachirisu takes a Brave Bird and is defeated by +2 Return. Aura Sphere crits Mega Kangaskhan for the guaranteed OHKO. Sam sends out Bisharp and I send out Garchomp.

Sam uses a combination of Brave Bird and Sucker Punch to knock out my Garchomp straight away, which I’m not terribly concerned about. Bisharp is OHKO’d by Aura Sphere. I send out Rotom-H against Sam’s Rotom-W.

I Protect Mega Blastoise against a potential double-target and Discharge to safely KO Talonflame, securing the win with Rotom-W left in red HP.

WIN 7-1

I was pretty nervous about this battle so I was relieved it worked out well. I just hoped I didn’t have to battle fellow Delphox Cub FamousDeaf for my top 4 match and knock one of us out. We don’t, thankfully.

Semi-finals (Top 4) vs Joshua Spriggins

I knew a little bit of what to expect after Dayne had mentioned losing to Josh with the help of a Confuse Ray Sableye.

Battle Video code: 6UKW-WWWW-WWW9-T32X

My team: + /
Josh’s team: + /

My initial plan was just to get rid of the Sableye as soon as possible. Although Gardevoir can survive a Mega Kangaskhan Return, it probably wouldn’t with Fake Out, so Staraptor was chosen as the partner here.

Mega Kangaskhan Fake Outs Staraptor and Sableye confuses Gardevoir, not quite what I expected. Gardevoir hits itself in confusion. On the next turn, Sableye burns Staraptor before it uses Close Combat on Kangaskhan for around 40% damage. Mega Kangaskhan uses Return on Gardevoir to put it into the yellow. Gardevoir thankfully snaps out of confusion and Dazzling Gleams both of Josh’s Pokemon into red HP, activating Sableye’s Sitrus Berry.

Sableye confuses Gardevoir again, and Staraptor attacks Mega Kangaskhan to knock it out. Gardevoir hits itself into red HP, while Staraptor’s burn puts it just below half. Josh sends out Talonflame.

Thinking that he might target Staraptor, which I needed in case of a Ludicolo, I swapped it out for Rotom-H. Sableye’s Shadow Sneak fails to KO Gardevoir and Talonflame’s Flare Blitz hits Rotom-H. Gardevoir snaps out of confusion and Dazzling Gleam finishes off Sableye. Josh sends out Ludicolo.

I Protect Rotom-H this turn and let Josh take out Gardevoir so that I can safely send in Staraptor against Ludicolo. The most common set for a Ludicolo is one with Assault Vest, so it’s unlikely to have Protect. I double-target it to knock it out and Staraptor goes down to Flare Blitz. I send out Garchomp. Talonflame can’t do much here, and I take down the bird to win this game.

WIN 8-1

The other top 4 match was still underway and being shown on the TV. I managed to catch the end of the match, where FamousDeaf was up against a Smeargle + Mega Kangaskhan ‘KhanArtist’ team. I’ve faced this combination only once before and was beaten pretty soundly with it, so I needed to think of some ways I could counter it. KhanArtist had done well at a few Regional Championships across Australia, though I didn’t expect to see it in Melbourne several months later. The matchup against my team really wasn’t in my favour, as I only really had 2 Pokemon that could be considered fast, and no Lum Berry.

KhanArtist made it to the finals and I know I really have to play well to get around this one.

Final vs Ben Veltmeyer

I recognised Ben as having played this team throughout Regionals, so he definitely had a fair amount of experience with it.

Game 1

I was a bit fatigued by this point and had a few mental slip ups which meant I failed to take advantage of the position I was in. KhanArtist is a team that mine struggles against, but there were some points where I feel I could have potentially turned the first game into a win for me. I end up relying on a speed tie between the Garchomps, which I lose.

LOSS

Game 2

I definitely tilted a bit in this game, not Protecting Garchomp once I got the initial Substitute up. There wasn’t much that could be done once there were double +2 Mega Kangaskhans with Tailwind. Ben adjusted really well this game to any countering plans I may have come up with, so props to him.

LOSS

But it’s not all bad! Second place  means I get this fancy trophy!

Conclusion

I’m pretty happy with the team overall and how it performed. It reminded me to have a simpler fast and offensive mode in my team, which I neglected a bit this year in building my own teams and probably had to suffer because of it.

I ran this team without any changes in two much smaller local tournaments and managed to take the title at both of them, which was nice. I had thought about taking the HP off Blastoise to make it faster and changing Gardevoir’s spread somehow, but that wasn’t necessary for those victories.

As for improving the Smeargle matchup, Lum Berry on Rotom-Heat could be a quick fix for now but it’s not the best when Rotom can just be smacked with Returns. I would probably have to make significant changes by replacing some Pokemon with faster ones.

Although it has been successful for me, I don’t think I’m likely to be running this exact team again in VGC15. The team has had it’s run and I have other ideas on what could be more effective in this new format.

Thanks are in order!

• Thanks to the PokeMelbourne team for holding the event, it was smooth from start to finish.
• To EB Games Swanston Street who let us use that space for the whole day and their continued support.
• You think I forgot about you guys? Cat-Gonk, Prof Teak, Boomguy, FamousDeaf, are just a few of the fantastic people that make up the most glorious Delphox Cubs. I probably wouldn’t be at this sort of renewed stage without all of your ongoing support.

About the Author

cobalte

Related Posts

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

The Other Fire Doge: A Top 8 Lancaster Report →

Blazing Forward! A Malaysian Regionals 2nd Place Report →

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