Reports

Published on June 5th, 2013 | by Duy

16

The Empoleon Strikes Back – A Utah Regionals Runner-Up Team Analysis

After a pretty disappointing start and finish in Long Beach and finishing too low in the CP standings for my taste, I knew I needed to do it big in my next regional. I decided that I was not going to be that guy that built a team the night before again and just winged it. After being convinced that Heatran was a better choice than Empoleon by my friends the night before SoCal, I knew that this time around I was going to use Pokemon that I was comfortable and playtested a lot to know how it works. My preparations began a few days after the Winter friendly, and I practiced nonstop.

Just kidding. Practice? My philosophy on practice resembles Allen Iverson’s.

I knew I wanted to use Empoleon after being crushed in Long Beach by every rain team I faced and because Empoleon is cool. I was also worried about sand becoming extremely popular, and then Huy told me that Breloom is the play. I had never used Breloom before, and I always kind of laughed it off. I figured if Huy likes it, then why not? So it’s the night before Utah, and I’m just sitting in Alaka‘s dorm library, watching people play games on the gigantic fifty inch flat screen while trying to figure out what to use the next day (more on the social aspect to come). I finally pieced together what I thought was a pretty cool team.

The Team

Empoleon (F) @ Chople Berry
Trait: Torrent
EVs: 220 HP / 108 Def / 176 SAtk / 4 SDef
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
– Hydro Pump
– Ice Beam
– Hidden Power [Fire]
– Protect

The emperor of penguins. Empoleon has always been fun to use because it has so many resistances. It’s the same spread as the one I used in San Jose because I feel that is its optimal bulk. I can survive Fighting Gem Close Combats from Hitmontop and then dish back a lot of damage with Hydro Pump, a move I opted for over Scald because I just wanted to deal as much damage as possible. It’s bulk allows me to survive most Earthquakes. Ice Beam can OHKO  a Garchomp with no defensive investment and no Yache Berry. Hidden Power Fire was used to OHKO max HP, no SpDef Scizors with my SAtk investment. All of his resistances came into play in the matches that I brought him, which I will try to recall as much of later on in my report.

Breloom (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Technician
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
– Spore
– Mach Punch
– Bullet Seed
– Protect

Huy told me about Breloom and all of its niches. I knew it had been used to great effect earlier by wer and R Inanimate during Winter Regionals. I was very scared of Sand because that is the one weather that Empoleon just cannot do well in. But then I saw what this thing can do. It can one shot Excadrill without Chople Berry and deal massive amounts of damage to a lot of common threats thanks to Technician.  Bullet Seed was very clutch as it was able to KO threats, such as Tyranitar, when I needed it to. If that wasn’t scary enough, it could put an entire team to sleep if it wanted to. Breloom was definitely the MVP of this team and came up clutch in Top Cut.

Rotom-H @ Fire Gem
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 240 HP / 252 SAtk / 16 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
– Thunderbolt
– Overheat
– Protect
– Hidden Power [Grass]

I have always loved Rotom formes for their unique typings. I knew Rotom-H was a good Thundurus/Zapdos counter from when I used him at the Worlds LCQ in 2012. It wasn’t until my friend Dante suggested that I used Rotom-H after I discussed how good the Pokemon was with him until I realized how good of a fit it would be for my team. I knew that Empoleon’s biggest enemies were going to be those birds so I opted to bring a dedicated bird counter. Overheat with the Fire Gem provided tremendous power to my team and allowed it to KO Thundurus-T quickly. The HP investment allowed me to survive three thunderbolts from Thundurus-T, taking into account the first attack being boosted by an Electric Gem. If they opted for Choice Specs, it became two-hit KO. Rotom-H also helped me beat Scizor walling its’ attacks and allowed me to smack around Amoongus (which caused me tons of problems in Long Beach). One thing I would definitely change is HP Grass. It’s was kind of redundant with Breloom on the team.

Tyranitar (F) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252Atk /  252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
– Rock Slide
– Crunch
– Low Kick
– Fire Punch

I have used Scarf Tyranitar since HGSS. Granted, it was in the Battle Factory and only knew elemental punches, but I knew that this thing was surprisingly fast with that Scarf on it. After shrugging it off as a one time thing with its surge in popularity at 2012 Nationals, I finally looked into it and realized how much damage it could do to Flying-types despite being Jolly. I knew I wanted it to help deal with Thundurus-T (if you haven’t noticed yet, I really don’t like playing against Thundurus-T ever since BioSci crushed me with it in Long Beach). I found myself using him often to deal damage really quickly for the rest of my team, to clean up, or even reset the weather if I needed to later on in the match. Crunch was also a way for me to deal damage to Cresselia, something that the rest of my team lacked the ability to do.

Togekiss (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 244 HP / 92 Def / 4 SAtk / 116 SDef / 52 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
– Follow Me
– Air Slash
– Tailwind
– Protect

I knew in this slot I wanted some sort of Flying-type to provide me with support and an option to hit Hitmontop hard. When I talked to wer about how to use Breloom, he told me that it pairs well with Crobat and Togekiss for support. At first, I thought about Crobat but I didn’t really like how it could only provide speed support with Tailwind. And then when I asked Huy which flying type to use (after everyone else dismissed Drifblim), he suggested I try Togekiss. I figured Follow Me would be pretty good support. The only thing that always troubled me about using Togekiss was that I did not know what spread to use and which side of the defensive spectrum I wanted it to be bulky in. Huy told me to just look at R Inanimate’s team report. It then hit me that I was practically building his team independent of his article from what I thought worked well together, with subtle hints from Huy. So I gave in at that point figured that great minds think alike, and decided that his spread was going to be the ideal spread anyways. I found myself bringing Togekiss to a bunch of matches. Tailwaind was clutch in the matches that it was used in.

Latios (M) @ Dragon Gem
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
– Draco Meteor
– Psyshock
– Helping Hand
– Protect

While I was deciding on a last Pokemon for this team I remembered the wise words of Caffwin’s mother, “No two dragon rule one mountain,” and I knew I wanted a Dragon-type (only one, not two). I had already ripped most of R Inanimate’s team so I decided to just keep at it and picked his Latios. Latios was probably my least used Pokemon.

Most of my team focused on hitting hard, a throwback to how I played in 2010 and 2011 when I was young and reckless. I have grown a little bit since then and the defensive switches provided by Empoleon and Rotom-H symbolize the growth and maturation that I have been through since then. Because my team was built the night before, I did not know the synergy pairs that this team had together and relied on my usual “Read N’ React” mindset.

The Battles

We arrive at the fairgrounds pretty early because I needed to distribute some teams to friends. Most notably, Fish was also going to be using the same team as me. If it failed then I would be responsible for the downfall of two players. It’s been over a month since these battles have happened so I do not recall them too vividly but I will do my best.

Round 1: Bye

The water fountain was broken so Tyler and I decided to go grab water bottles from the car to quench the thirsts of our other friends.

Record: (1-0)

Round 2: Evan Falco

Well now, first round and two people with byes end up facing each other. A little back story to this battle. Evan Falco and I have never battled each other. We both have heated arguments about who the best of DPL (Davis Pokemon League) is (Stempe is probably the best). This argument has been so heated that we have had infighting within our own group.What better way to settle this conflict than on the big stage at a Regional?

I remember looking at his team preview and instantly knowing that he was going to bring Amoongus and Jellicent to Rage Powder and Trick Room. I select Rotom-H and Breloom to just nuke the Amoongus with Rotom-H and have Breloom out there to create pressure on Jellicent. And then I thought to myself, “He’s not that stupid.” So I take some more time to think about how he might get around that and see that he might try to Fake Out with Hariyama. I decide to bring Breloom and Tyranitar instead so I could circumvent a Fake Out and have two things that create pressure on Jellicent.

He was smart enough to think that I thought he was smarter. He led Jellicent and Amoongus and I just shook my head at how much of an advantage I could have had. He gets up Trick Room as I put Amoongus to sleep. He retreats the fungus for Abomasnow and he begins his HailRoom mode. I do get off the Bullet Seed to kill Jellicent but I just cannot recover because I don’t know what to do against Trick Room besides shutting it down before it starts. My head held low, I am now 0-2 after a bye and I knew I had to win the rest of the afternoon to secure a spot in the top cut.

Record: (1-1)

Round 3: Shaw K.

He was a very friendly guy, and I felt bad because I started sporing everything and dodged some Heat Waves from his Chandelure. It was a good game, but that’s all that I can remember because I was so discouraged by my earlier loss. I finally take my first win of the day.

Record: (2-1)

Round 4: Some Guy From NorCal

I recognize this guy because I see him at TCG tournaments all the time and his name is blanking from my memory. He brought a pretty rain heavy team so I bring, in some order, Empoleon, Tyranitar, Togekiss, and Breloom. He has me on the ropes but I was able to clutch it out at the end.

Record: (3-1)

Round 5: Scott S

He was a local guy. He was very kind, which is something I liked about Utah. I see a Porygon 2 and I just have this feeling it’s another trick room team. He was using some other pretty cool Pokemon too. He ended up bringing Porygon 2, Azumarill, Scizor, and Dragonite. I brought Tyranitar, Rotom-H, Empoleon, and I think Latios. It came down to my damaged Rotom-H and Empoleon vs. Scizor and Dragonite. I knew Dragonite would be the hardest hitter out of the two so I nailed it with an Ice Beam> Lucky for me, he thought that knocking out Rotom-H was the key to his victory but Empoleon clutched it out as the emperor was able to take out Dragonite with an Ice Beam that same turn, tank a Bullet Punch with less than ten HP left and return the favor with an HP fire. It was a very close game.

Record: (4-1)

Round 6: Tyler

Another two players with byes battling. How exciting! There is actually a video of this, so I am going to give you guys some inside thoughts on my moves.

Video: 941763827733

Team Preview: Tyler was running, the now infamous, Liepard/Breloom with his twists that Len used during the Winter Regional. I forgot what his 6th Pokemon was, but the fact that Yanmega, Thundurus-T and Mamoswine were on his team made Rotom-H an instant choice for me. Tyranitar, I felt, would also help me dish damage. Breloom would help me if Tyler decided to use Liepard and Togekiss could help me redirect those pesky Prankster Encores if I was forced to Protect and Switch.

Turn 1: I see his leads and I instantly know that Mamoswine is a threat to my leads. I thought a Mach Punch would KO, but I guess I was wrong, but at least I’ll be able to do damage to both Thundurus-T and finish of Mamoswine. Breloom goes down, but since he didn’t bring Liepard during the first turn I’m kind of indifferent about Breloom being knocked out.

Turn 2: He sends in Yanmega. I know he’s going to either Spore Rotom-H or go for the kill with either Bullet Seed or Mach Punch so I need to get Tyranitar out of there. The turn works perfectly for me.

Turn 3: Breloom is the biggest threat at my chance for victory right now. Yanmega cannot deal too much damage to Rotom-H and if he decides to Spore this turn then I can deal with a sleeping Togekiss for the rest of the game at the benefit of knocking out Breloom.

Turn 4: I need to do the same thing again and bait that Spore so I can KO that Breloom.

Turn 5: If I can just get some more damage onto Thundurus-T, then Tyranitar will be able to come in and finish off with Rock Slides because I’m pretty sure I can survive that Bug Buzz from Yanmega.

Turn 6: These Pokemon have done their jobs, now they can be knocked out and I can get Tyranitar in to Rock Slide to victory.

Turn 7: Here it goes…

Turn 8: I have one more shot… oh

GG Tyler.

Record: (4-2)

Round 7: Alaka

I get to play the guy who housed me for the weekend! He was running Liepard/Breloom and led with it. The details of this match are fuzzy because we were kind of just talking and having fun. I think I brought the same Pokemon as I did against Tyler. I pulled it out though. That’s all that I can remember.

Record: (5-2)

I doubt that I would make the cut but then we heard that a few people who lost two would be able to cut. I end up cutting as the 8th seed, ahead of Regional Bubble Boy Evan Falco. This was extra sweet for me because I beat him off the second tiebreaker! 😛

Top 8: Dallas B.

Well here I am. Can I go all the way, climbing all the way from the bottom of the bracket? The battles are located in an archive somewhere, so again I will provide some insight. When facing off against Dallas, two things I noticed right off the bat: Blissey and Cloyster. I know how bad it can be to have no way to beat Blissey and I know just how big of a threat Cloyster can be after using it twice in the 2012 season.

Game 1: I bring Tyranitar, Empoleon, Breloom, and Rotom-H. I got really intimidated when i saw his Haxorus lead and I know that he is the biggest threat to my team. With Tyranitar and Empoleon out, I know I’m in for an Earthquake. I switch to Breloom and I luckily survive as I fire off a Rock Slide in hopes of catching the Yanmega off guard and dealing some damage to Haxorus. I was able to pick off the Haxorus the next turn with my Mach Punch and I retreat Tyranitar for Empoleon to absorb Yanmega’s attack. My memory gets hazey at this point, as I think he sends in Chandelure to begin Heat Waving things. Out of fear of Blissey being in the back, I decide to retreat Breloom and take on Dallas with my Scizor killers. I think he protects with Yanmega and that opens up Chandelure for a Hydro Pump. Blissey is revealed and I know I need to get rid of Yanmega to secure my victory and steal game 1. I’m able to knock out Yanmega and then now I just wait for an opening to get Breloom out to Mach Punch to victory. As Empoleon fires off Torrent boosted Hydro Pumps, the Special Sponge eventually meets her maker as the crowd cheers for the Steel Penguin.

Game 2: I know Empoleon is my key to victory and he sure came in handy here. He led Cloyster and I knew this is where Empoleon can shine. I immediately switch one of my leads for Empoleon to wall anything Cloyster can do and from there Scarf Tyranitar and the rest of my team made quick work of Dallas’s team to end what I thought was among the most exhilarating sets I have played.

Top 4: makiri

This isn’t the first time I faced Paul in the Final Four of a Regional. We met previously in 2011 at the San Jose Regional that Paul eventually won. We were not on stream for this, but we were able to record our set.

Game 1:

Team Preview: I see Tyranitar, Excadrill and this instantly reminded me of a Synre type team. I know Breloom is going to be able to shine here, while Empoleon is going to have to spend some time on the bench because everything could hit Empoleon pretty hard. Looks like people are already packing Empoleon counters. I decide to bring Tyranitar and Togekiss in the front and react to his leads with Breloom and Rotom-H as reserves.

Turn 1: I knew he’s not going to let me KO Volcarona on the first move of the game in exchange for a KO on my Tyranitar. I knew my Tyranitar would be in danger so the safest switch I saw was to go to Rotom-H. I could not allow Volcarona to get a free turn either so I needed to either hit it with an Air Slash or set up Tailwind. I figured a Tailwind would be best not only for this turn, but for future turns to come.

Turn 2: I am pretty glad I set up that Tailwind now. I decided to smack Volcarona with the Air Slash and target Hitmontop with the Overheat just to deal some damage.

Turn 3: Well that worked out great. With Hitmontop back on the field, I knew that my Rotom-H was still fairly safe for the turn. Time to get rid of the Volcarona. I selected Overheat and then I clicked Air Slash until I realized that Togekiss probably could not survive two and he still has the Fake Out option. I opt to protect with Togekiss and see how much damage an Overheat from Rotom-H deals despite being -2.

Turn 4: Well that sucked. I knew I still needed to get rid of that Volcarona. I decided to Air Slash it this turn and switch in my Tyranitar for Rotom-H to take the Heat Wave.

Turn 5: Despite Tailwind fading away, I think I still have an advantage because I can Rock Slide to do massive damage here and I feel I can tank a Bug Buzz. I was wrong, looking back, and I got lucky that Paul played it very defensively.

Turn 6: I don’t care for much anymore, its 4-2 and I feel like he’s going to try to Grass Knot my Tyranitar. I Follow me to eat a Specs’d Thunderbolt instead. I just need to keep clicking that Rock Slide button and let my reserves come in to sweep.

Turn 7: An Overheat would put Thundurus into KO range for Tyranitar once the Wide Guards start failing.

Turn 8: I know I want to put something to sleep. And in hind sight I should have put Thundurus to sleep instead. I get lucky with the flinch and from there it’s game.

Game 2:

Turn 1: I want to KO that Latios because nothing in the back can really do significant damage. I figure if he targets it with Fake Out then I will just get it the next turn while dealing massive damage to Hitmontop with Air Slash. I become kind of disappointed when I fall for the bait and lost my Latios counter.

Turn 2: I know Paul’s not going to let me take Tyranitar out that turn, so I decide to sponge any attack from Latios with Togekiss to put Latios to sleep.

Turn 3: I’m kind of scared at this point because now I need to break the Substitute and then deal damage to Latios. Togekiss is now in charge of looking out after Breloom by spamming Follow Me as I target Tyranitar and take the lead.

Turn 4: I know that Paul is going to protect his Excadrill. He’s trying to bait me. I decide that I need to keep the pressure on Excadrill.

Turn 5: Two on Two. I know that Paul’s best option for winning is to try and double Protect and leave my Breloom vulnerable. And from what I had seen the past game, Paul has been pretty lucky with those back to back Protects. I decide to bait Paul instead and whittle away at the sub with Rotom-H.

Turn 6: I need to hit this Mach Punch to win. I’ll be able to break the sub this turn so I should be good.

Turn 7: I see his HP is whittling down due to Sand and I know I can probably survive a Draco meteor with enough HP to not worry about Sand. I click on Thunderbolt.

Turn 8: I realize my mistake, that he could still set up a substitute for the turn and that I would be screwed if he did. I click Overheat this time, to enable me to break the sub if he chooses to set one up.

GG Paul.

Finals- Michael F.

I don’t remember much from this battle at all except thinking that I had a huge advantage in Game 1 because my Low Kick would KO his Terrakion and Thundurus would fall to Rotom-H’s Overheat. I was wrong. And from there it all went downhill and no doubt about it Michael deserved this win more than anything. He played exceptionally well and I cannot wait to see how he does at Nationals!

Conclusion

Utah was one of the most well run events I have ever attended. I was happy with my team despite not practicing with it at all before the tournament.

Props:

• Utah is a cool state. I don’t mind Utah
• Great friends, great times
• UTAH JAZZ
• Masha
• The tournament organizer, Andrea, for running a very smooth event.
• Ultimatedra for knowing how to run the tournament really well and he making sure that everyone with a bye had their bye
• Empoleon
• R Inanimate  because we think alike, until I realized it and then ripped parts of his team
• Mountaintop basketball
• Beating Evan Falco on second tiebreaker

Slops:

• Coming short yet again.
• Driving home the same night.
• Mountaintop basketball
• Losing to Evan Falco

About the Author

Duy is NuggetBridge's finest playboy

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