Reports

Published on October 16th, 2012 | by bearsfan092

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No Substitute for Skill: 2013 Philadelphia Champion Team Analysis (Masters)

After many years of being an online bystander to the Regional VGC tournaments, I decided that it was finally time to become actively involved in that scene.  Unfortunately, being an electrical engineering student doesn’t mean I have all the time I’d like to devote to making teams.  In fact, prior to the team I actually brought to Regionals (which I RNG’d at midnight the night before), I had created about three full teams that I could use.  In the end, I decided to make a team based around one of my favorite moves: Substitute.

The Team

heatran hitmontop latios scizor tyranitar gyarados

heatran
Heatran (F) @ Fire Gem
Trait: Flash Fire
EVs: 52 HP / 252 SAtk / 204 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
– Earth Power
– Heat Wave
– Protect
– Substitute

Heatran is a Pokemon I’ve been in love with ever since my testing period for Nationals 2012. In particular, Heatran has just the right combination of offense and bulk to do his job.  With all the Metagross, Scizor, and to a lesser extent Cresselia, Heatran gets many opportunities to come in for free and begin pestering the opponent with strong Heat Waves. Heatran’s typing is good enough to force lots of switches, giving plenty of opportunities to Substitute and spam Heat Wave from a safe position.

In terms of EV’s it’s pretty simple.  204 Speed Modest outruns max speed base 70’s, particularly Hitmontop.  That means I could get a Substitute up to block a Close Combat, dropping their stats in the process.  Afterwards, I would retaliate with a Heat Wave, hopefully knocking them off the field.  Max Special Attack is just to hit as hard as I could, which is also the logic behind Fire Gem.  The rest were dumped in HP for marginal bulk, but as I later found out, sometimes that couple of hit points made all the difference.

hitmontop
Hitmontop (M) @ Fight Gem
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
– Fake Out
– Close Combat
– Sucker Punch
– Wide Guard

This is an extremely boring Hitmontop.  The only thing worth noting is the choice of Wide Guard, which isn’t even uncommon in the first place.  With Heatran, Tyranitar, and Scizor on the team, there are a lot of spread moves like Surf, Earthquake and Heat Wave which my team doesn’t particularly enjoy.  Wide Guard would buy them time to either throw up Substitutes or just flat out attack.

I should take the time to say that even though Hitmontop is about as boring as it gets in our metagame,  it was the glue that held this team together.  The Intimidate support was invaluable, especially when coupled with Gyarados.  In addition, leading Hitmontop+Tyranitar or Hitmontop+Heatran was usually a good idea as Hitmontop could Fake Out the more threatening Pokemon, giving its ally a free Substitute opportunity.  If you’re more interested in the Fake Out+Substitute idea, you should check out my Fake Out article.

If I had the chance to do it all again, I probably would have moved the 4 Sp. Def to Speed, as it was worth it to outspeed Pokemon like Metagross with no speed investment.  I might also consider using Rock Slide or Stone Edge over Sucker Punch with the many Thundurus in the metagame, but Sucker Punch is always useful as another source of priority.

latios
Latios (M) @ Dragon Gem
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
– Draco Meteor
– Substitute
– Protect
– Psychic

Latios is another extremely vanilla Pokemon on my team, but it was incredibly useful.  Occasionally, there would be things like Thundurus and Gastrodon that would be problematic for this team.  Draco Meteor provided an easy albeit predictable response to many of these threats.

What was very interesting about my use of Latios was how many mindgames he could force.  Most players fear the Draco Meteor so much that I could force predictable switches into Steel types.  In fact, I can recall two instances where I double switched my ally out for Heatran just to intercept incoming Metagross, which also gave me an opportunity to Substitute on Latios.

scizor
Scizor (F) @ Flying Gem
Trait: Technician
EVs: 130 HP/ 252 Attack / 4 Sp. Def / 124 Speed
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
– Acrobatics
– Bullet Punch
– Protect
– Bug Bite

Scizor is one of those Pokemon that shows up on a lot of teams and for good reason.  With so many Cresselia in the metagame, Scizor is a reliable answer so long as they don’t carry Hidden Power Fire.  In addition, having one of the strongest priority attacks in the game is a valuable asset, particularly as our metagame shifts more towards a Japanese one where bulky EV spreads will leave enemies with slivers of HP.

I also elected to go back a bit in time and pull up Acrobatics Scizor.  While not completely abandoned, it has fallen out of favor ever since Wolfe Glick and Aaron Zheng popularized Swords Dance Scizor.  Acrobatics Scizor was extremely useful for hitting opponents with a strong neutral attack, which is important considering Bug Bite and Bullet Punch’s disappointing coverage.  Lastly, it had a habit of blowing away the Fighting-types that threatened this team.

The EV spread is a little random.  The Speed was just thrown on to outspeed Hitmontop who were running little to no speed EV’s as well as some trollish Fire Punch Tyranitar sets I had seen on Pokemon Online. I maxed out Attack for lack of a better idea, dumped what I could in HP, and put in 4 in Sp. Def just because of the way stats calculated at level 50.  In the end, I sacrificed some bulk for Speed, which definitely saved me in a couple situations.

tyranitar
Tyranitar (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Attack / 6 Sp. Def
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Speed) 0 Speed IV
– Rock Slide
– Crunch
– Protect
– Substitute

Tyranitar has always been one of those Pokemon that I’ve had trouble using. Between Intimidate and all the super effective attacks, I always found it difficult to use.  I had also noticed that I was rarely using Tyranitar’s coverage move whether it was Low Kick or Fire Punch.  As such, I decided to give Substitute a spin.

During testing, I had often used a Careful/Sassy Tyranitar with 252 HP/ 64 Attack / 192 Sp Def with Substitute.  Such a Tyranitar could withstand Timid max Special Attack Thundurus Thunderbolt without breaking Substitute.  At Regionals, I decided that that was too defensive and went with a Brave Tyranitar to hit hard and operate under Trick Room.  In reality, this decision was absolutely essential to my success, especially in my top 8 matchup where my opponent was using Trick Room Pokemon.  Tyranitar was great at throwing up free Substitutes on Pokemon like Cresselia and striking back with a strong Crunch or Rock Slide.

One thing to keep in mind when using this set is when to Substitute.  If I had a weather war on my hands, Substitute was generally a bad idea as it discouraged me from switching out.  It was also a bad idea to Substitute on an incoming Intimidate that might make it impossible to get the KO’s I needed.

What’s really fun about Sub-Tyranitar is how badly people want to remove it from the field after seeing Substitute.  With Protect, there were numerous occasions where I forced wasted attacks, allowing Tyranitar’s ally to wreak havoc.

Lastly is the choice of a Sitrus Berry.With Tyranitar, sometimes I needed him to sponge a special hit like a Thunderbolt or Draco Meteor.  After a while, the wear can take its toll.  With a Sitrus Berry, I could take a hit, activate Sitrus Berry, and throw up a Substitute, putting my opponent in a hopefully awkward situation.

gyarados
Gyarados (M) @ Water Gem
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Atk / 56 SDef
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
– Protect
– Waterfall
– Roar
– Thunder Wave

An underrated Pokemon, and a type of Speed control Pokemon.  Originally, I put in Dragon Tail to stop Trick Room.  However, Substitute was becoming increasingly popular in our metagame.  Since Dragon Tail is stopped by Substitute (along with imperfect inaccuracy), I put Roar in its place.  There was an instance where I did manage to prevent Trick Room from going up in my Top 8 matchup, so that alone was useful.

Thunder Wave was my other form of speed control, particularly for Rain teams.  In reality, I only used this move three times during my regionals performance, and only once was it actually vital when it stopped JiveTime’s Scarf Salamence.

Water Gem might be one of the more interesting item choices.  Against Rain teams, it was invaluable for smacking their steel types with a surprisingly strong attack.  It was also useful for laying a solid hit on Tyranitar, Heatran, Volcarona, Garchomp, and Excadrill.

Other aspects aside, the real reason why I chose to run Gyarados was to form an Intimidate tandem with Hitmontop.  When switching between these two, it was very simple to get a physical attacker to -1 if not -2.  This combo proved useful in my finals match against Aaron’s Swords Dance Scizor, and I’m so happy I did decide to include Gyarados in my squad.

Let’s Talk Leads

Picking leads is such a huge part of VGC.  Nearly everyone has been in that situation where the opposing leads 100 percent counter your own.  With this team, the idea was to make that very difficult to do.

hitmontopheatran
Hitmontop + Heatran

If the opponent wasn’t running rain or an obscene amount of Heatran counters, this was a lead combo I enjoyed.  With all the Metagross that people run in a lead position, it was easy to scare someone into Protecting.  However, oftentimes the safer move is to Fake Out the Metagross and observe whether they tried to Protect or not.  If they tried to attack, I inferred that the Metagross was an Occa Berry variant looking to OHKO with an Earthquake.  Also, this lead combo is the first one to demonstrate the fantastic synergy between Fake Out and Substitute.  With Heatran often forcing at least one bad matchup, it was possible to get Substitutes up easily with a little help from Hitmontop.

hitmontoptyranitar
Hitmontop + Tyranitar

This lead was basically for people who seemed to be reliant on Cresselia or Thundurus.  Against them, it was incredibly easy to get a Substitute up.  The concept isn’t particularly different from Heatran, but the one thing to note is that this combo should never be attempted against opposing Intimidate, lest I end up with a useless Tyranitar.

I should also point out that this was a fantastic Trick Room combo.  Against a slower Fake Out, I could use Hitmontop to stop the Fake Out, Substitute with Tyranitar, and be in fantastic position as most Trick Room setters like Cresselia and Jellicent are weak to Crunch.  The Brave 0 Speed aspect was just icing on the cake as I turned the Trick Room on my opponent.

hitmontoplatios
Hitmontop + Latios

This is one of my least favorite lead combinations, but with the switch in opportunities provided by Gyarados, Tyranitar, Heatran, and Scizor, it was possible to fire off a Draco Meteor and come back in later.  Basically, this lead was reserved purely for skilled opponents who prepared more for Tyranitar or Heatran.  I think I only used this lead a few times, and each time was a top cut rematch.  In my opinion, this lead is pretty disruptive psychologically as people scramble to avoid death by Draco Meteor.  When I compound those fears with Substitute from Latios or the rest of my team, I can press the advantage and put my opponent in a hole.

hitmontopgyarados
Hitmontop + Gyarados

Got a physical attacker that you know will lead?  No problem!  Just force them out with a double intimidate.  What also makes this lead somewhat viable is the use of Gems on my team.  Between Fighting and Water Gem, these two actually have an initial offensive presence.

This combo was also a good Speed control combo, so it was a candidate against Rain to throw out (an admittedly obvious) Thunder Wave.  Against Trick Room, I could Fake Out opposing Hariyama and slow Hitmontop, giving Gyarados a window to Roar out the Trick Room setter, keeping Trick Room from going up.

latiosheatrantyranitar
Latios + Heatran/Tyranitar

If I was faced with a potential Fake Out speed tie, this is what I used.  Heatran takes care of Steel-types that give Latios a hard time, while Latios destroys… well a lot of things.  Latios (and really many Psychic-types due to synergy reasons) was also great for setting up a Hitmontop switch in for a second turn Fake Out.

Latios and Tyranitar played a little differently than Heatran due to their collective inability to hurt Steel types.  If the opponent was lacking Steel-types for whatever reason, this lead combo became absolutely terrifying as Latios instantly KO’d a Pokemon while Tyranitar often got up a Substitute.

Threats:

sableye
Sableye

Aaaagh.  With Gyarados, Scizor, Tyranitar, and Hitmontop, I was Will-O-Wisp bait.  Also having a Ghost-type Fake Out makes it harder to get up Substitute.  In practice sessions, I would lure in Will-O-Wisps to trigger Heatran’s Flash Fire, but overall it was a risky situation.  By far, the most reliable method to deal with Sableye was just to smack it with a Dragon Gem Draco Meteor.  If that doesn’t work, Heatran can generally apply enough pressure, but a failure to address Sableye quickly spells trouble for the team.

In reality, this was a weakness I was aware of going into Philly.  However, I figured that people would be too scared or not skilled enough to run Sableye.  After all, Will-O-Wisp is only 75 percent accurate.

jellicent
Jellicent

Jellicent walls a good majority of the team.  Dragon Gem Draco Meteor generally will not OHKO.  Scizor, Heatran, Hitmontop, and Gyarados are all more or less walled by Jellicent.  In reality, Tyranitar was the only one who could stand up to Jellicent.  However, Substitute Tyranitar was such a strong answer to Jellicent that it didn’t prove too problematic.  Still, if I saw Jellicent, I knew that Tyranitar must not faint if I was to win.

rotom-wash
Rotom-W

A perfectly manageable problem, but still a nuisance.  Hitting it with a Close Combat or a Draco Meteor was usually sufficient to weaken it to acceptable levels, but with Thunderbolt hitting Gyarados and Hydro Pump hitting Tyranitar and Heatran for super effective damage, it was a priority to remove from the field.

whimsicott
Whimsicott

God curse priority Encore when you use Substitute.  Fortunately it’s easy to kill, but it completely changes the rhythm of this team, preventing me from using Substitute and Fake Out to the fullest extent.  I ran into this thing once during my Swiss rounds, and it was easily the most disruptive member of the team.

gastrodon
Gastrodon

Gastrodon: Like Sableye, I’m thankful that most players can’t fully utilize Gastrodon.  Scizor, Latios, and Hitmontop can all apply pressure to it, but Tyranitar and Heatran do not enjoy Earth Powers and Muddy Waters, especially after a Storm Drain boost.  Gyarados is 100 percent walled, although it can Roar it away.  Fortunately, when Gastrodon did show up, I knew better than to fall into a Storm Drain trap.

I want to make a point that a threat list with listing individual Pokemon (or even pairs for that matter), fails to encapsulate how multidimensional this game can be.  Sometimes it’s not just what Pokemon you see in front of you, but what can possibly switch in and the tendencies of the player.  In reality, how threatening  a Pokemon is varies on a case by case basis.

Team Matchups

politoedkingdraludicolo
Rain

Oh my god, Rain strikes fear into my heart with nearly every team that I build, mostly because all my teams are Rain weak.  To be honest, this team fits that description too, although it does have some answers.  Any team that has Tyranitar and Heatran as the centerpieces will inherently hate Water-type moves.  In fact, rain teams made Wide Guard Hitmontop extremely valuable during practice sessions as I could stop Surf or Muddy Water.  Against Rain teams, it was pretty much impossible to use Heatran, and with Tyranitar I had to be very choosy as to when I brought it in, if I picked Tyranitar at all.  Fortunately, Latios, Hitmontop, Gyarados, and Scizor formed a viable squad to attack rain with, especially considering Gyarados’s ability to Thunder Wave while resisting Surf and surviving Life Orb Kingdra Draco Meteor.

As a side note, when I heard I had to rematch Mosquito in the top 4 round, my stomach dropped.  I knew Rain was my worst matchup, and of the remaining players, he was the one I least wanted to play.

ninetales exeggutorchandelure
Sun

There are so many Pokemon on my team that handle Sun admirably.  In particular, Heatran is good at taking in Fire attacks to activate Flash Fire.  Latios doesn’t particularly mind outside of Sleep Powder Exeggutor, and Tyranitar can wall most Sun team attacks while changing the weather.  Except in the hands of an exceptional sun team user like Aaron Traylor, it was pretty close to an auto-win.

cresseliahariyamarhyperior
Trick Room

I loved playing Trick Room.  With this team, I could either prevent it from going up entirely, or I could turn it against them with Tyranitar (provided I eliminated any Scrafty).  With both Tyranitar and Scizor, I could strike the common Trick Room setters like Cresselia or Chandelure with Bug Bite or Crunch.  Hitmontop and Gyarados also did an admirable job of neutering the fearsome Trick Room attackers like the Rhyperior my round 4 opponent used while being able to survive common Trick Room special attacks, eating up precious Trick Room turns in the process.

thundurusgarchompmetagross
Goodstuffs

This team had exceptional switching ability, especially with Heatran, Gyarados, Scizor, and all the Intimidate I ran.  You can’t really say you have a good or bad goodstuffs matchup due to how varied the team archetype is.  However, I could safely say that this team was excellent at preventing auto-losses to goodstuffs, which is all I could really ask for in the end.

Closing Remarks

So that’s the team that ended up winning the Philadelphia regional.  Looking back, this team is far from invincible.  In fact, with such a gaping Gastrodon weakness, perhaps this team needs a good tuning up before anyone else decides to use it, particularly in the EV department as I did not have the time to calculate everything I wanted.  However, for those of you that enjoy predicting your opponent’s switches and Protects, this is a team (or at least a concept) that won’t let you down.

Now as I close out, I’d like to thank a few people who helped me out along the way.  First shoutout goes to Aaron Zheng (Cybertron) for being a great competitor and an even better friend.  I always envisioned a super competitive final where my opponent and I wouldn’t even be able to look each other in the eye, but with Aaron, it was so much more fun than I thought it would be.  My next round of shoutouts goes to Evan (the indie one, although the Expert one is pretty cool too) and Alan (Dubulous), who I spent a lot of time with in Philly.  Lastly, I want to thank the Nugget Bridge staff, including but not limited to Scott, Rushan (Firestorm), and Evan (again).  By running a site like this, the VGC community will surely grow into something great.  That wraps up everything I’d like to say, so see you at the next round of Regionals!


About the Author

is an avid lover of Jigglypuff and all things VGC. He also runs a youtube channel named "bearsfan092drums", which hosts a series of RNG abuse tutorials. He recently won the 2012 Philadelphia Fall Regional for VGC.



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