Reports

Published on July 1st, 2014 | by Terrakhaos

14

Inori’s a Tank: A Third Place Italian Nationals Report

Hello, Nugget Bridge. My name is Umberto Pallini, also know as Terrakhaos here, and this is the team I used to get 3rd place at Italian Nationals. This team ended up being very similar to the one that Lajo used to get Top 8 in Germany, but it’s only a coincidence, since I began working on this team three months before his report had been published. This coincidence, however, shows the potential of this team, since two players who worked independently decided to bring almost the same six Pokémon for the same team archetype.

The Team

At the begin of the season, when I looked at the list of the Pokémon that had received the ability to Mega Evolve, Mawile immediately caught my attention: it gains an immense amount of sheer power upon Mega Evolving. Unfortunately, Mawile’s base Speed is very low, and despite a priority move, it is most likely the last Pokémon to move during a turn, so I knew I had to create a Trick Room team to make it shine.

I looked at the list of the avaible Trick Room setters and found that Aromatisse had all I wanted: low Speed, amazing bulk, a great defensive typing, and Aroma Veil, which is probably the best Ability for a Trick Room setter. I also wanted Fake Out support, so I decided to use Scrafty, thanks to its bulk and Ability options. I decided to bring Trevenant as a second Trick Room setter since it can completely wall Kangaskhan and Amoonguss. Rotom-H counters some Trick Room threats, namely Bisharp, Talonflame, Amoonguss, Aegislash and Mawile. For the last slot, I wanted a Pokémon able to completely counter Amoonguss, and thus chose Goodra, since it can use all the elemental moves and, alongside Mawile and Aromatisse, creates a very solid Fantasy Core of Dragon-, Steel-, and Fairy-type Pokémon.

Accelerator (Scrafty) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Atk / 12 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
– Fake Out
– Drain Punch
– Crunch
– Head Smash

• 252 SpA Mega Gengar Dazzling Gleam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 136-160 (79 – 93%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• -1 252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 244 HP / 12 Def Scrafty: 144-170 (84.2 – 99.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 244+ Atk Scrafty Crunch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 200-236 (119.7 – 141.3%) — guaranteed OHKO
• 244+ Atk Scrafty Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Rotom-H: 138-164 (87.8 – 104.4%) — 25% chance to OHKO

The main role of Scrafty was to provide Fake Out and Intimidate support, but thanks to his Fighting- and Dark-type STAB, he also helped a lot against threats like Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Gyarados. and Aegislash, which can easily prevent Trick Room from going up. His item was originally a Coba Berry to help against Talonflame, but with fewer Talonflame in the metagame right now, I decided that the Berry wasn’t worth it; instead, I gave him an Assault Vest and never looked back. Scrafty starts off with incredibly high base Defenses which are further boosted by the combination of Assault Vest and Intimidate. This phenomenal bulk, alongside the HP drain from Drain Punch, helps Scrafty stay on the field for a very long time. Usually the fourth move of an Assault Vest Scrafty is Ice Punch, Stone Edge, or Rock Slide, but Head Smash was the move that caught my attention: its accuracy is quite poor and the recoil is very high, but with a sky-high Base Power of 150 it deals a ton of damage against everything with a Rock weakness, which scores many unexpected knock outs. Scrafty was easily one of the MVPs of the day and the support he brought with the Fake Out and Intimidate combination was really invaluable.

Ouma Shu (Trevenant) (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 84 Def / 180 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
– Trick Room
– Protect
– Shadow Claw
– Will-O-Wisp

• 0 Atk Trevenant Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Aegislash-Blade: 150-176 (89.8 – 105.3%) — 37.5% chance to OHKO
• 252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 180+ SpD Trevenant: 150-176 (78.1 – 91.6%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ SpA Choice Specs Salamence Fire Blast vs. 252 HP / 180+ SpD Trevenant: 162-192 (84.3 – 100%) — 6.3% chance to OHKO

Trevenant was my secondary Trick Room setter, which I used either in matches where I couldn’t bring Aromatisse or in matches when Trevenant could wall most of my opponent’s team by himself. Originally this Trevenant was way more offensive, with Wood Hammer over Shadow Claw and enough Attack investment to OHKO Ray’s Rotom-W, but after seeing Lajo’s Trevenant from Germany Nationals, I decided to give it a shot. The more-defensive approach really paid off, especially because I saw very few Rotom-W during the tournament. Trevenant’s Grass typing can counter Amoonguss, which is really annoying under Trick Room. His Ghost typing also helps dealing with Perish Trap and hits Ghosts hard with a STAB Shadow Claw, which even puts Rotom-H and Rotom-W in Mawile’s knock out range. Thanks to the Harvest Ability and the chip damage from Will-O-Wisp, he’s also able to stall out dangerous threats and beat them on the timer, scoring victories even in very tough spots.

Silpelit (Mawile) (F) @ Mawilite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spd
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
– Play Rough
– Rock Slide
– Sucker Punch
– Protect

Mawile was the Mega chosen for this team and what the team was built around. I decided not to invest any EVs into Mawile’s Defenses because I needed all the damage I could dish out if I wanted to knock out bulky Pokémon after chip damage or do a good amount of damage with Rock Slide. I preferred to use Rock Slide over Iron Head because I found myself using Iron Head only when I didn’t want to miss Play Rough, and being able to hit two targets at the same time (including Charizard, Talonflame, Rotom-H for super-effective damage) really outweighs the ability to OHKO bulky Gardevoir. If I did see a team with many physical attackers I would usually lead with her and Scrafty to get a double Intimidate off and theoretically burn both of my opponent’s Pokémon for at least one turn.

FlamingShana (Rotom-Heat) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Def / 140 SAtk / 104 SDef
Modest Nature
– Overheat
– Thunderbolt
– Protect
– Will-O-Wisp

• 252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 104 SpD Rotom-H: 72-85 (45.8 – 54.1%) — 6.3% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ SpA Gardevoir Psychic vs. 252 HP / 104 SpD Rotom-H: 70-84 (44.5 – 53.5%) — 1.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 252 HP / 12 Def Rotom-H: 130-154 (82.8 – 98%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Rotom-H, with its bulk and amazing typing, was what allowed my team to perform many switches and maintain the flexibility of the team. This was also possible thanks to its item, since this Rotom will likely stay on the field for many turns, healing a lot of health and often allowing it to win a 1vs1 match against a burned opponent. Rotom’s role on the team is to counter the counters of Trick Room, namely Aegislash, Amoonguss, Bisharp and opposing Mawile. Rotom really shines against Sun teams, and helps take care of them along with the next member of the team.

Kimochi (Goodra) (F) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Sap Sipper
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
– Thunderbolt
– Draco Meteor
– Flamethrower
– Dragon Pulse

• 252+ SpA Choice Specs Goodra Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Mega Mawile: 158-186 (100.6 – 118.4%) — guaranteed OHKO
• -1 252 Atk Garchomp Dragon Claw vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Goodra: 120-144 (60.9 – 73%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ SpA Choice Specs Goodra Dragon Pulse vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 246-290 (133.6 – 157.6%) — guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ SpA Choice Specs Goodra Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Rotom-H: 154-183 (98 – 116.5%) — 87.5% chance to OHKO

I tried many different Pokémon in this slot (like Overcoat Escavalier or Safety Googles Chandelure) to help counter Amoonguss before finally settling on Goodra. Her Special Attack and Special Defense are amazing base stats, and she can use all the elemental moves which provides excellent coverage. Her item was originally an Assault Vest but she couldn’t hit hard enough, so often my opponents would simply ignore Goodra and focusing on her teammate. When I tried out Choice Specs, Goodra was no longer dead weight: she could get many unexpected knock outs, and still maintained excellent bulk. Thanks to Sap Sipper as an Ability, Goodra can also ignore Sleep Powder or Spore from Amoonguss and Venusaur, which removed a huge weakness that all Trick Room teams suffer from. Although Goodra’s EV spread is quite simple, please note that she needs exactly 252 SAtk Evs to OHKO Mega Mawile with a Flamethrower.

Inori-chan (Aromatisse) (F) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Aroma Veil
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
– Protect
– Skill Swap
– Trick Room
– Moonblast

• 0 SpA Aromatisse Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 122-146 (66.3 – 79.3%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 252 HP / 92 Def Aromatisse: 162-190 (77.8 – 91.3%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ SpA Mega Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 164+ SpD Aromatisse: 174-206 (83.6 – 99%) — guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 164+ SpD Aromatisse: 140-168 (67.3 – 80.7%) — guaranteed 2HKO

Aromatisse, the Taunt-breaker and the cutest wall you’ll ever see! She was my other MVP of the day. In my opinion, Aromatisse, is the best Trick Room setter we have ever been given. Her amazing Fairy typing, Defensive stats and very low Speed could be enough, and unique Aroma Veil ability, make her and her teammates immune to Taunt, Encore and Disable, removing a big weakness that every Trick Room team has always suffered from.

Aromatisse’s purpose is to set up Trick Room, spread chip damage with Moonblast, and most importantly, disrupt the opponent’s team with Skill Swap. It can be used to steal Huge Power from Mega Mawile and Azumarill (actually giving them a -2 drop), steal Lighting Rod from Manectric, reactive Intimidate from a teammate or an opponent, steal Harvest from Trevenant to negate its HP regeneration, and many other things. I decided to give Aromatisse a Lum Berry, because I didn’t want Swagger to bring any random factors into my matches. This also let Aromatisse safely set up Trick Room against Amoonguss and Kangaskhan / Smeargle teams.

Lead Combinations

+  

This is my standard lead which can set Trick Room up quite easily. Once Trick Room is up I usually begin to weaken my opponent’s Pokémon through Intimidate and Skill Swap which helps me switch in Mawile safely. This lead is especially good against Kangaskhan / Smeargle leads and Perish Trap teams.

+

This was my go-to lead if I saw a Sun team, another Trick Rom team or some nasty combination, like Aerodactyl / Bisharp.

+

This was usually how I led against Rain team, or when I wanted to have an immediate offensive presence, since my main lead starts very slowly.

Overall this team’s playstyle is very defensive and tends to win in the lategame, so, when I was in a difficult situation that would have led to defeat, I could potentially stall the timer out to come out with a win, although some may think this is an unfair strategy.

Threats

/

This two Pokémon share one thing: their unpredictability. Their set could be a simple Choice Specs one, a support one or, in the worst case, they could pack a Trick Room + Imprison combination that completely shuts my team down. Their ability to reverse a Trick Room, OHKO a lot of things with a Choice Specs or spread burns makes them the potentially most dangerous threat for this team.

+

This is a combo that, as my first match against Koryo showed, can be very dangerous if not handled properly. The Rock Slide and Assurance combination OHKO almost everything that doesn’t resist it. Aerodactyl can even use Taunt or Sky Drop on my Trick Room setter.

Rotom-W isn’t exactly a threat, but the only way I have to smack it down is to hit it as hard as possible with STAB moves, which isn’t a very reliable method. If Rotom stays on the field long enough, it can easily burn all of my team members, either whittling away at their HP or rendering my physical attackers useless.

The Tournament

I arrived to the event around  9.00 A.M. and since I was pre-registered, the registration phase went pretty smoothly, so I had time to meet all my friends from my team, the ever-mighty Thunderice!

From left to right: Luca, me, Gianluca, Davide, Davide, Alessandro, Chuan

We hung out for a bit, waited for pairings, and made our bossy predictions about the tournament, obviously expecting players like Yoshi, Mean, Billa, Daflo and drug_duck to permorm very well. I also found out that Lajo had come in Italy too, so I took a nice picture with him!

Eventually after two hours the pairings went up , so the tournament could begin!

Swiss Rounds

Unfortunately my memory is quite bad and I recorded only a few matches, so I apologize to my opponents if I don’t go in deep with how our matches went. I can only say that all of my opponents were very polite, both in winning and losing, and they all made the tournament a pleasant experience.

Round 1: Rina Purdy

( )

A friend of mine told me that Rina was using a very weird team, and when we got in Team Preview I immediately understood why. She was using a Trick Room team, too, but with some very cool stuff, like Zapdos, Hydreigon and mainly Kecleon! I think she really loves Kecleon, since she also brought a very nice plush of it to the tournament. The only thing I remember from this match is that Zapdos went down almost immediately due to Scrafty’s Head Smash,which also fainted too from a combination of recoil and Rocky Helmet damage. Her Kecleon also surprised me with a STAB Rock Slide, netting significant damage on Rotom-H, but Mawile and Rotom-H easily swept through the rest of her team. Good game, Rina!

(1-0)

Round 2: Alessandro de Marchi (Aldragon)

( )

I had already battled with Alessandro in an online tournament, so I knew that he was a very good battler,  so I was a bit afraid to battle him in the second round. Going into Team Preview, his Nidoking immediately scared me, since it is able to hit for super-effective damage on almost all of my team, while I can’t hit it very hard. His Aegislash was a threat, too, but my Rotom-H took good care of it right from the start. Aromatisse stole Kangaskhan’s ability with a Skill Swap, rendering it useless and eventually the match went down to his Choice locked Sludge Bomb Nidoking and burned low health Hippodown against my full health Mawile, low health Rotom-H and low health Aromatisse. When the timer finally ran out, I ended up winning the game. Thank you for a great match, Aldragon, and I was very pleased to meet you in real life.

(2-0)

Round 3: Alberto Panicucci

( )

I was quite relieved to have won my first two games, so I entered the third round pretty confident.
Unfortunately, I remember very little from this game. The only thing I remember is that I chose a bad lead while he played greatly. His Trevenant put me in a very tough spot, so the only way I had to win was to stall the timer out. I managed to do that so I won, but he really deserved the win and I apologized to him.

(3-0)

Round 4: Luigi Domenico Orsi (ZPhoenix)

( )

After winning my first three games, I began to feel overconfident, so I entered into the fourth round pretty boldly, which was a big mistake. I was in a pretty good spot in the match, and decided to make a move that during the testing phase worked very rarely. I tried to Skill Swap and Flamethrower his Mega Venusaur, which was a very risky move, but I felt very confident. My attempt failed badly and he punished me, capitalizing on my error and I lost the match. He played that match very well and it was my own fault that I lost that match. Good game, Luigi! You’re a really good player.

(3-1)

Round 5: Carmelo Arena

( )

After losing the previous round I was very nervous, since I knew that I could afford only one more loss, but thankfully my friends were amazing and calmed me down before the next match, which was against a player who I knew pretty well. When I got to Team Preview and saw another Trevenant I felt nervous again (remembering my third round against Alberto); so nervous that I didn’t write down his sixth Pokémon! Luckily for me, Carmelo didn’t bring Trevenant and I won the match after Carmelo made a mistake, pretty much giving me the game.

(4-1)

Round 6: Christopher Bianchi

( )

His team featured two rarely-seen Pokémon in VGC, namely Weavile and Jolteon, but unfortunately he did not bring either of them against me. As usual, I don’t remember anything from this match except that his Greninja, almost OHKOed my Mawile with a very cool Hidden Power Fire.

(5-1)

Round 7: Maksim (MProx)

( )

I knew that he was using the same team LProx brought to Manchester, so I entered the match knowing what to expect. He led with Politoed and Ludicolo against my Scrafty and Trevenant. I knew that he had to double target Trevenant to take it down so I made the safe move to Fake Out Politoed and Trick Room with Trevenant, as he switched the Politoed out for Mawile and Ludicolo went for the Ice Beam on Trevenant. Fearing a Play Rough, I switched Scrafty out for Mawile and went for the Will-O-Wisp on his Mawile, which Mega Evolved and revealed to be a minimum Speed one. Mawile knocked out my Trevenant with Iron Head while his Ludicolo did just around 20% to my Mawile with a critical Ice Beam. Scrafty came back in, getting an Intimidate off, and I went for the Fake Out on Mawile (which switched out for Gyarados) and a Play Rough on Ludicolo, which replied with a Scald on Mawile, almost KOing it. Ludicolo’s health was now red so, despite I was fearing Mawile to come back, I went for the Rock Slide with Mawile and the Head Smash on Gyarados, netting the KO on both of them. Politoed and Mawile came back in, but I had kept Goodra in the back to OHKO Mawile once Trick Room finished, so I wasn’t worried at all. My Mawile went down to a Sucker Punch, while Scrafty dodged a Hydro Pump and hit Politoed with a Drain Punch. Goodra was sent in and his Mawile went down easily from a Choice Specs Flamethrower, while Scrafty hit Politoed with another Drain Punch and the next turn Politoed went down to a Flamethrower and Crunch combination, winning me the match.

(6-1)

Round 8: Davide Hermander

  (   )

I couldn’t believe that I had gone so far, and now only one win separated me from the Top Cut. I’ve recorded this match too, so the match will be more in-depth. From Team Preview, his Bisharp seemed like the most dangerous threat, but I also feared a Sky Drop or a Rock Slide / Assurance combo from his Aerodactyl. I led with Rotom-H and Scrafty, to immediately threaten Bisharp despite the Defiant boost, and he indeed led with Bisharp and Talonflame. I went for the Fake Out onto Talonflame, which switched out to Amoonguss, and the Will-O-Wisp onto Bisharp, which Protected itself. Then, expecting an Iron Head onto Scrafty, I switched it out for Trevenant, which activated its Sitrus Berry. I went for the Overheat on Amoonguss, knocking it out. Now, his Gyarados came in and I predicted a Waterfall / Assurance combo against Rotom, so I Protected it and went for the Trick Room with Trevenant while his Gyarados Mega Evolved. After that, I simply went for the double burn on Bisharp, which Protected, and Gyarados, which fired off an Earthquake, doing around 60% to Rotom and nearly no damage to Trevenant, which ate another Sitrus Berry and came back to around 75% HP. I expected his Bisharp to switch out to Talonflame, to eat the Will-O-Wisp or Overheat and to allow his Gyarados to fire off another Earthquake, so I Protected with Rotom and switched Trevenant out to Mawile. This was a huge mistake, since his Bisharp stayed in and went for a +2 Iron Head onto Mawile, knocking it out, and went for a Dragon Dance with Gyarados. My Scrafty came back in again, bringing his Bisharp to+3 Attack, going for the Fake Out on Bisharp and the Thunderbolt on Gyarados, while he made the obvious play to Protect with Bisharp and, probably, Earthquake with Gyarados, but luckily my Rotom got a critical hit, immediately knocking out his Mega Gyarados. Talonflame came in, obliterating my Scrafty with a Brave Bird, but Rotom KOed his Bisharp with an Overheat so it was GG and I apologized to Davide for the critical hit.

(7-1)

Round 9: Cristoph Kugeler (drug duck)

( )

With Top Cut assured for me, I approached to the following match very relaxed, but still determined to win. My last opponent was drug duck, and we had a more unique than rare match: it took the entire timer and finished 4-4 ! I recorded the match but I won’t commentate on it since it would probably be too long and boring. I won it simply because in the last turn, with the timer almost over, I burst out all the damage I could, putting his Tyranitar in low health. I want to thank Cristoph for the incredible match we had!

(8-1)

I had finally made it to the Top Cut, with an excellent record of 8-1. When the Top Cut went out, we discovered that they had decided to let anyone with a record of 7-1 into the Top Cut. The staff also determined that if your record was 8-1 or better you received a bye for the first round, so thanks to my great record I had at least one win ensured for the next day.

Top Cut Rounds

The night before I was really excited, but somehow I managed to calm down and go to bed early… but all my effort was nullified because I suddenly woke up at 4.30 A.M. and there was just no way to fell asleep again. I drank something like two liters of tea to help stay awake, which left me with a very bad stomachache that accompanied me throughout the day. I eventually arrived at the tournament, where I met all my friends again who came there to cheer me up and provide support. I had a bye for the first round, so I simply sat down, took notes, and enjoyed the battles streamed on the big screen.

Top 16: Davide Guaring (Ryokem)

If you’ve read this report so far you know how bad my memory is, and this is probably one of the best examples. Again, I must apologize to Davide for having completely forgotten our matches. I can tell what Pokémon he brought only thanks to my notes… and I’m honestly not even sure if I won both of these games or not.

Round 1

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Round 2

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Top 8: Ben Paul Kyriakou ( Kyriakou)

So somehow I managed to win in the Top 16 against Davide, which left me just one win away from a Worlds invite, so I was both nervous and excited. Unfortunately, my memory fell apart again and although the matches were broadcast on the big screen, neither of us saved the matches. I only remember that he was using an interesting Substitute Moltres, which gave me a very hard time, and that during the second game we both began to misplay due to the stress.

Game 1

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Game 2

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Top 4: Christopher Arthur Koryo (Koryo)

I won both of my games against Ben, so I made it: I had been awarded an invite t0 Worlds! I was really overjoyed but, the tournament wasn’t over yet and now I was aiming for a first place finish! When I saw Christopher’s team, my dreams were crushed: it featured the ever-heated Bisharp!

Game 1

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I remember that I was very nervous facing a Bisharp / Aerodactyl combination, so I misplayed a lot in the early game and, while I made many good plays in the early game, he simply had too much momentum from the start, making it impossible for me to recover.

Game 2

( )
He led again with Bisharp and Aerodactyl against my Scrafty and Rotom. Both of my Pokémon threatened his Bisharp and I had Fake Out pressure too, so, I expected Bisharp to switch out, and went for the Fake Out and Thunderbolt on Aerodactyl, trying to immediately knock it out. Bisharp indeed switched out to Gengar, but Aerodactyl Protected, nullifying my efforts and putting me in an even worse position. I was pretty confident that my Rotom could take a Rock Slide + Shadow Ball combination and I didn’t fear a burn too much, so I stayed in with both of my pokemon, going for the Will-O-Wisp on Aerodactyl, to render it a dead weight, and Crunch on Gengar, to send it to the Focus Sash. He decided to stay in too, and he went for the Rock Slide with Aerodactyl and revealed Dazzling Gleam with Gengar, doing around 75% to my Scrafty. I got the burn off on the Aerodactyl but Scrafty flinched, so the momentum was still his.

The following turn (expecting a double target onto Rotom), I Protected Rotom and switched Scrafty out for Trevenant, trying to set Trick Room up. This turn went perfectly and now I could try to pull out a Mawile sweep. After that, I switched Rotom out to Scrafty to recycle the Fake Out and absorb a potential Rock Slide + Shadow Ball combination, while I Protected with Trevenant fearing a double target. I predicted this correctly too, as he went for the Rock Slide with Aerodactyl, doing only five damage to Scrafty, and revealed the Taunt with Gengar. He had revealed the Taunt last turn, so he probably wasn’t expecting me to go for the Trick Room, and I was also expecting his Aerodactyl to switch out so I went for a Drain Punch on its slot: Aerodactyl indeed switched out to Bisharp, but Scrafty went down to Gengar’s Dazzling Gleam. Trevenant managed to set up Trick Room, so the loss of Scrafty was a good trade.

Rotom took the place of Scrafty and now his Bisharp was in a tough spot, but I wasn’t sure if he would switch out or not, so I went for the safe Thunderbolt on Gengar, doing around 80%, and I Protected Trevenant from an incoming Shadow Ball, while his Bisharp switched out to Aerodactyl. After that (expecting a Protect or a switch by his Aerodactyl), I double targeted Gengar with Will-O-Wisp and Thunderbolt, to knock it out or burn any possible switch in: Gengar indeed switched out to Garchomp, but the Will-O-Wisp missed and Aerodactyl simply went for a Rock Slide, which did around 25% to Rotom.

The following turn I really expecting his Aerodactyl to Protect or switch out, so I went for the double Will-O-Wisp on Garchomp to burn any potential Lum Berry, but he played it very well, Protecting Garchomp and using Sky Drop on Trevenant. I was almost sure that his Garchomp held a Lum Berry, so I switched Rotom out to Mawile, which ate a Rock Slide, and Aerodactyl completed his Sky Drop, which at -3 would have done a minimal damage, but he got a critical hit, which knocked out Trevenant. Eventually, Trick Room ended, so I Protected Rotom and went for a Play Rough on Garchomp, which did around 50% to Mawile with an Earthquake, and Aerodactyl went for another Rock Slide. Now his Aerodactyl would faint due to the burn the following turn and his Gengar came in, but I simply knocked it out with Sucker Punch, pretty confident to take a -3 Rock Slide with Rotom… but he scored another critical hit, knocking Rotom out and actually closing up the game.

It’s never fun to face off against luck, but I know I should have played my first game better and predicted better in the second one too. This loss is my own fault and also a punishment for all the safe moves I did, so GG Koryo, I’m looking forward to have a rematch at Worlds!

Closing Thoughts

What a fantastic weekend! First off, I would like to thank all my friends, old and new, for their support. I couldn’t have gone so far without you! I’m glad to have shown, alongside Lajo, how powerful Trick Room can still be in this generation: indeed, Koryo knew its potential, too, and was prepared very well for it! The event overall was great: the players, the matches and the atmosphere were the best I could have ever imagined. Final shoutouts to:

• Domenico Vaccariello, for being the only one who understands the charm of a Dusk Ball.
• Luca Lussignoli, for his advice against Mega Venusaur that I ignored.
• Angelo Peruzzi, who came during the Top Cut and played his guitar on the bleachers.
• Alessandro Romolo, who wanted to celebrate his last VGC with all us.
• All the ThunderIce, for being the greatest team ever and the only one where electric rice is dished!

About the Author

Terrakhaos He began playing VGC in the 2012 under advice of his friends and never turned back. He made the top 8 of Italian Nationals in 2013 and top 4 the following year.

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