Reports

Published on August 13th, 2015 | by Sweeper

14

20XX Mence: Two Time Regional Champion & Top 32 US Nationals Team Report

Hey everyone! My name is Alberto Lara, and I go by CaliSweeper/Sweeper online (just call me Alberto though). I will give a quick competitive background on myself before I get into it. I have been playing Smogon OU since the release of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl in 2007, and I got into VGC during VGC14. I have been a fairly consistent player top cutting 5/8 Regionals I have attended, and winning 2 Regionals along the way. I typically keep to myself when it comes to both the Smogon and Nugget Bridge communities, but I decided why not write a team report (you can also thank GENGARboi for hassling me to write one a while now). Basically I will cover the team I have used the whole season in 3 different sets of tournaments, Winter Regional, Spring Regional, and Nationals. Anyways let get straight into it, considering this is a thorough report.

Origins of the Team

I will make this short and sweet. Salamence is one of my favorite Pokémon, Mega Salamence was broken in ORAS OU, so it should be good in VGC 15. Sylveon did well during VGC 14.5 I heard (I did not play this format), it is a Fairy type, so I threw it onto the team. Might as well use a steel type to complete a fairy/dragon/steel core, Ferrothorn seems cool. Choice Scarf Landorus-Therian is the most used Pokémon in OU, so I should add it to the team. Rotom-W is bulky, and lets me abuse Earthquake. I want to deter intimidators for my Salamence, Landorus-Therian, and Ferrothorn, so Bisharp fits the job. The team was created the day VGC15 rules were announced, in about 1 hour, and I stuck with it because of my lack of enthusiasm for VGC at the time. The team was surprisingly very solid for a first draft and little testing. Moving on to Winter Regional.

SoCal Regional

kangaskhan-mega

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Ability: Inner Focus
Adamant Nature
– Double-Edge
– Low Kick
– Fake Out
– Sucker Punch

This slot was originally a Bisharp, but I changed it the morning of the tournament. I changed it to have an easier time dealing with Bisharp, and for a double mega option. I chose an Adamant nature, because it was what I had ran in VGC14. Adamant with Fake Out was a terrible choice, and protect would have been the better option. I auto lost the mirror match most of the time, since most Kangaskhan were Jolly. I remember leading off with Kangaskhan, getting faked out, getting low kicked turn two, and getting zero value out of my Kangaskhan during one of the rounds. The spread was simply meant to maximize damage output, and catch opponents off guard with Adamant Double-Edges.

rotom-wash

Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 4 SpA / 148 SpD / 12 Spe
Ability: Levitate
Calm Nature
0 Atk IV
– Hydro Pump
– Thunderbolt
– Protect
– Will-O-Wisp

Defensive Damage Calculations

  • 252+ SpA Choice Specs Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 148+ SpD Rotom-W: 82-97 (52.2 – 61.7%) — guaranteed 3HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
  • 252+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Solar Beam vs. 252 HP / 148+ SpD Rotom-W: 132-156 (84 – 99.3%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
  • 252+ SpA Choice Specs Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 148+ SpD Rotom-W: 135-159 (85.9 – 101.2%) — 6.3% chance to OHKO

Rotom-W was put on the team to help my Landorus-Therian be able to use Earthquake easier, and to have a bulky water type. The spread was meant to be able to take most power special attacks, and the rest was put into bulk for physical attackers. I am not a big fan of the spread, since it does not out speed Adamant Life Orb Bisharp. Bisharp out speeds Rotom-W, uses Knock Off doing 63 – 75.1% (+ an extra 25% if you count the Stirus Berry that is lost), and Rotom-W only has an 85% chance to burn it with Will-O-Wisp. I would definitely recommend running enough speed to out speed Adamant Bisharp. The choice of moves are standard, since it is Rotom-W 4 best moves.

salamence-mega

Salamence @ Salamencite
EVs: 76 HP / 180 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Intimidate
Naive Nature
– Double-Edge
– Draco Meteor
– Fire Blast
– Protect

Offensive Damage Calculations

  • 180 SpA Mega Salamence Helping Hand Fire Blast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Metagross: 158-186 (101.2 – 119.2%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • 0 Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Helping Hand Double-Edge vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 181-214 (100 – 118.2%) — guaranteed OHKO

Salamence is an awkward Pokémon to use in my opinion. The reason is that its only real standard move is Protect, and the 3 other move slots are up to your discretion. It has amazing total base stats of 700, versatility, a great move pool, high speed, great bulk, and more. I ended up going with a mixed Salamence with Fire Blast, because I had expected certain steel Pokémon to be popular (Mega Mawile, Mega Metagross, and Aegislash). Draco Meteor and Double-Edge were there for dual stab, and just being powerful attacks in general. I do not remember the full purpose of the spread. A few things I do remember about it though were the Offensive Damage Calculations above, and I wanted it to be the fastest Pokémon on the field (except for choice scarf users). I felt HP investment would be best in order to avoid fainting from Double-Edge + Helping Hand recoil. At the end of the tournament I had not run into a single Aegislash, Mawile, or Metagross. For this reason, I began testing a Dragon Dance variant for the rest of the season. I also disliked running a Naive nature, since it lowers the great natural bulk Salamence has.

sylveon

Sylveon @ Pixie Plate
EVs: 252 HP / 164 Def / 76 SpA / 4 SpD / 12 Spe
Ability: Pixilate
Modest Nature
0 Atk IV
– Hyper Voice
– Shadow Ball
– Helping Hand
– Protect

Offensive Damage Calculations

  • 76+ SpA Pixie Plate Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Terrakion: 168-198 (100.5 – 118.5%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • 76+ SpA Pixie Plate Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0- SpD Mega Salamence: 186-218 (108.7 – 127.4%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • 76+ SpA Pixie Plate Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Scrafty: 180-216 (104.6 – 125.5%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • 76+ SpA Pixie Plate Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 91-108 (55.1 – 65.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO

The MVP of the season. I credit most of the team and season’s success to Sylveon, as a result of its great typing, amazing ability, and its bulk. I think Sylveon is the best non mega Pokémon, because it has very few flaws. The spread was originally based off a standard Smogon OU Sylveon, which is typically 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA with a Bold nature. I already had Sitrus Berry on Rotom-W and Leftovers on Ferrothorn, so I was unsure of the item to use on it. I looked at other popular items, and I was personally not a fan of Choice Specs. I ended up going with Pixie Plate, because it was really the only other viable item to run on it. It ended up being the perfect item, since Pixie Plate let me minimize special attack investment in favor of physical bulk. The offensive damage calculations I had in mind are listed above alongside having an 81.3% chance to OHKO a 4 HP Jolly Salamence. Shadow Ball was meant for Aegislash, but I never used it. Helping Hand was extremely useful, since Sylveon almost always lived attacks with <10% which let me get off a priority Helping Hand before being targeted down. Protect was also appreciated, since most opponents assume Sylveon to be Choice Specs. The 12 speed EVs were to help me speed creep Pokémon with a base speed of 60. The rest of the EVs were dumped into HP and defense, but it was not done optimally. At the time I really did not have any defensive benchmarks that I wanted to meet, but this was later fixed.

ferrothorn

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 164 SpD
Ability: Iron Barbs
Relaxed Nature
0 Spe IV
– Power Whip
– Gyro Ball
– Protect
– Leech Seed

Another crucial member of the team. I saw that my only good answer to Rain was Sylveon, so I threw Ferrothorn onto the team, and it was a great choice. It also helped me complete a Dragon/Fairy/Steel core which is something that I typically aim for when team building. Ferrothorn is a great Pokémon, because many teams simply do not have a great way to deal with it. If a team does not run a Pokémon with a strong fire attack, it is very difficult to knock out Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn can take Fighting type moves with ease, since I run both Landorus-Therian and Salamence with Intimidate. The spread is a standard Smogon OU spread, because I did not know of any other bulky spread. It really is not meant for VGC, since the benchmarks of this spread include surviving a 252 Atk Mega Lopunny High Jump Kick and 252+ Atk Choice Band Scizor Superpower, which really are not relevant benchmarks in VGC. The spread worked fine though for the tournament. Leftovers was the item of choice, since when paired with Leech Seed and Protect, I could recover a ton of HP after being heavily damaged. Gyro Ball was the main STAB attack and Power Whip was there for bulky Water types.

landorus-therian

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 44 HP / 252 Atk / 212 Spe
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant Nature
– Earthquake
– Rock Slide
– Superpower
– Explosion

Landorus-Therian is very predictable, but it does a really good job at being a revenge killer, Rock Slide flincher, intimidator, and more. The spread was simply to maximize damage and out speed Pokémon like 252+ Spe Mega Lopunny and Mega Manectric. The rest was put into HP for a bit of bulk. Earthquake, Rock Slide, Superpower are all standard, and I chose Explosion as my last move slot because of lack of testing. I was unsure of U-turns utility in VGC, and I was not a fan of Knock Off. After the tournament I felt that Landorus-Therian was the weakest member of the team. Besides being able to constantly Rock Slide flinch Biosci in the Finals, it did not have much of an impact on my tournament run. While I felt that it was the weakest member of the team, Landorus-Therian is one of my favorite Pokémon, so I refused to remove it from the team.

After winning SoCal Regional, I decided to play the rest of the season, and chase a Worlds invite (I intended SoCal to be my last tournament of the season for lack of interest in Pokémon at the time). I did not want to make the same mistake that I did the previous year, and abandon a successful team abruptly during the season. My biggest regret last season was going into nationals with a new team that I was not comfortable with, which cost me my Worlds invite. So I decided that I would like to stick with the same team, make changes to improve it, and adapt to the metagame. This time around I heavily focused on efficiency, and meeting many new offensive and defensive damage calculation benchmarks.

Seattle and Utah Regional

First Pokémon Change Kangaskhan ———> Charizard

charizard-mega-y

Charizard @ Charizardite Y
EVs: 188 HP / 196 Def / 8 SpA / 116 Spe
Ability: Blaze
Modest Nature
1 Atk IV/ 30 SpA IV / 30 SpD IV
– Heat Wave
– Solar Beam
– Hidden Power Ground
– Protect

Offensive Damage Calculations

  • 8+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Helping Hand Heat Wave vs. 12 HP / 4 SpD Landorus-Therian in Sun: 177-208 (106.6 – 125.3%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • 8+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Helping Hand Solar Beam vs. 252 HP / 148+ SpD Rotom-W: 170-200 (108.2 – 127.3%) — guaranteed OHKO

Defensive Damage Calculations

  • 252+ Atk Landorus-Therian Rock Slide vs. 188 HP / 196 Def Mega Charizard Y: 148-176 (83.6 – 99.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 188 HP / 196 Def Mega Charizard Y: 146-173 (82.4 – 97.7%) — guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ Atk Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 188 HP / 196 Def Mega Charizard Y: 72-85 (40.6 – 48%) — guaranteed 3HKO
  • +2 252+ SpA Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 188 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 148-175 (83.6 – 98.8%) — guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Zapdos/Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 188 HP / 0 SpD Mega Charizard Y: 146-174 (82.4 – 98.3%) — guaranteed 2HKO

As mentioned earlier I am a big fan of dual Mega Pokémon on my teams. It gives you better options when it comes to team preview and team matchup. After testing variants of the team with Salamence as a Dragon Dance variant, steel types such as Metagross, Mawile, and Aegislash were a huge issue for the team. I originally ignored this flaw in the team, since I had faced 0 of those 3 Pokémon during my tournament run at SoCal Regional. Testing though made me realize that the metagame was evolving, and Aegislash and Metagross were rising in popularity quickly. Charizard was a good answer to the steel types that gave problems to the team. Charizard also essentially made my rain match up from favorable, to almost an auto win. The spread was designed to be able to out speed Jolly 252 Spe Metagross, Breloom, and Bisharp by 1 point, as well as a decent amount of bulky Thundurus with minimal speed investment. There is only 8 special attack investment, since Heat Wave is a 2HKO on most popular Pokémon anyway (Cresselia and Sylveon are not threats to Charizard). 188 HP and 196 Def EVs was the most HP optimized spread to be able to live 252+ Atk Landorus-Therian Rock Slide. I chose to go with Hidden Power Ground after testing Charizard with Sylveon, since I realized the combination of Hyper Voice and Heat Wave have almost no switch ins, besides Heatran and Charizard. Hidden Power Ground was then put on both Charizard and Sylveon to lure Heatran in, and KO Heatran with ease. Hidden Power Ground also hit other fire types like Arcanine. Charizard and Sylveon is an amazing offensive core, and many teams get punished if they lead wrong against it with powerful spread moves like Heat Wave and Hyper Voice. Solar Beam and Protect are the last two moves, since they help with Bulky Water types and Pokémon that threaten Charizard.

Second Pokémon Change Rotom-W ———> Conkeldurr

conkeldurr

Conkeldurr @ Sitrus Berry
EVs: 196 HP / 140 Atk / 172 SpD
Ability: Guts
Adamant Nature
– Drain Punch
– Wide Guard
– Mach Punch
– Knock Off

Offensive Damage Calculations

  • +1 140+ Atk Conkeldurr Drain Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 198-234 (100 – 118.1%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • +1 140+ Atk Conkeldurr Drain Punch vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Scrafty: 182-216 (105.8 – 125.5%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • 140+ Atk Conkeldurr Mach Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Smeargle: 162-192 (100 – 118.5%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • 140+ Atk Conkeldurr Mach Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Bisharp: 148-180 (104.9 – 127.6%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • 140+ Atk Conkeldurr Mach Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Terrakion: 84-98 (50.2 – 58.6%) — guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Damage Calculations

  • -1 252+ Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 196 HP / 0 Def Conkeldurr: 170-204 (82.9 – 99.5%) — guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Life Orb Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 196 HP / 172 SpD Conkeldurr: 173-204 (84.3 – 99.5%) — guaranteed 2HKO

Another big flaw with my SoCal team was that it was vulnerable to burns (Kangaskhan, Landorus-Therian, Salamence, and Ferrothorn). For that reason I wanted a Pokémon that could absorb Will-O-Wisp, but still be an offensive threat. Conkeldurr was the answer, and it also helped with other match ups like against Trick Room Teams. It was also great against the rise of “Japan Sand”, with having priority Mach Punch. I did not feel max attack was necessary, since most Pokémon that were weak to fighting fainted by the combination of Drain Punch + Mach Punch. I opted for Knock off over Ice Punch, since I wanted a way to hit Aegislash and other ghost types hard. In hindsight I should have ran a Brave nature so that I would always attack Aegislash in Blade Forme. I originally had Assault Vest over Sitrus Berry, but I changed the item about a week before Seattle Regional for a few reasons. 1. I went to a Premiere Challenge, and while I knew the team was weak against Sun Teams, this Premiere Challenge made me realize that I almost auto lost against them. 2. I saw Aaron Taylor’s Team Report on his Missouri Regional win, and read that Assault Vest was a terrible item on Conkeldurr. At first I highly disagreed, since in testing Assault Vest had worked fine. After testing Sitrus Berry though, I agreed that Assault Vest on Conkeldurr was inferior to Sitrus Berry. Sitrus Berry is almost identical to Assault Vest (turning typical 2HKO to 3HKO etc.), except it gives you more HP bulk, and allows you to run Protect or Wide Guard. So Sitrus Berry allowed me to run wide guard, which slightly improved my match up against Sun Teams.

salamence-mega

Salamence @ Salamencite
EVs: 148 HP / 196 Atk / 4 Def / 60 SpD / 100 Spe
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant Nature
– Double-Edge
– Earthquake
– Dragon Dance
– Protect

Offensive Damage Calculations

  • 196+ Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon/Terrakion: 168-198 (100 – 117.8%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • 196+ Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Landorus-Therian: 168-198 (101.8 – 120%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • +1 196+ Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Ferrothorn: 181-214 (100 – 118.2%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • -1 196+ Atk Aerilate Mega Salamence Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Scrafty: 182-216 (105.8 – 125.5%) — guaranteed OHKO

Defensive Damage Calculations

  • -1 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 148 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 81-97 (42.8 – 51.3%) — 0.5% chance to 2HKO
  • 252 Atk Terrakion Rock Slide vs. 148 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 78-92 (41.2 – 48.6%) — guaranteed 3HKO
  • 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 148 HP / 4 Def Mega Salamence: 75-91 (39.6 – 48.1%) — guaranteed 3HKO
  • 252+ SpA Zapdos Hidden Power Ice vs. 148 HP / 60 SpD Mega Salamence: 152-180 (80.4 – 95.2%) — guaranteed 2HKO
  • 100 SpA Suicune Ice Beam vs. 148 HP / 60 SpD Mega Salamence: 144-172 (76.1 – 91%) — guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Cresselia Ice Beam vs. 148 HP / 60 SpD Mega Salamence: 160-192 (84.6 – 101.5%) — 6.3% chance to OHKO

Adding Charizard to the team let me use a bulky set up sweeper Salamence. I went with a bulky Adamant nature, since I think that Salamence does not need to be Jolly if you run a Dragon Dance variant. The large amount of bulk allows Salamence to set up at least 1 Dragon Dance with ease. The speed was meant to out speed neutral base 100 speed Pokémon, and most Choice Scarf users like Landorus-Therian after a Dragon Dance. The bulk was typically clutch, since most opponents always played around the Salamence as being fast anyway. Earthquake is there for Heatran and other steel types. Adamant nature with 196 Attack EVs also allowed me to OHKO Mega Kangaskhan after it took recoil damage from its Double-Edge.

ferrothorn

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 140 SpD
Ability: Iron Barbs
Relaxed Nature
0 Spe IV
– Power Whip
– Gyro Ball
– Protect
– Leech Seed

Defensive Damage Calculations

  • 252 SpA Adaptability Mega Lucario Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 140 SpD Ferrothorn: 152-180 (83.9 – 99.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO

The least changed Pokémon of the team. It served the same purpose and role, win against Rain Teams, and frustrate opponents. There was only one benchmark that I wanted to meet on the special defense side. The rest was put into defense, to be able to more likely live two 252 Atk Mega Kangaskhan Low Kicks after Leech Seed recovery + Leftovers + Protect.

sylveon

Sylveon @ Pixie Plate
EVs: 236 HP / 172 Def / 80 SpA / 8 SpD / 12 Spe
Ability: Pixilate
Modest Nature
1 Atk IV / 30 SpA IV / 30 SpD IV
– Hyper Voice
– Hidden Power Ground
– Helping Hand
– Protect

Defensive Damage Calculations

  • 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 236 HP / 172 Def Sylveon: 169-200 (84.5 – 100%) — 0.4% chance to OHKO
  • 252+ Atk Bisharp Iron Head vs. 236 HP / 172 Def Sylveon: 164-194 (82 – 97%) — guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 236 HP / 172 Def Sylveon: 84-100 (42 – 50%) — 0.4% chance to 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Overheat vs. 236 HP / 8 SpD Sylveon in Sun: 169-199 (84.5 – 99.5%) — guaranteed 2HKO
  • 44+ SpA Mega Charizard Y Heat Wave vs. 236 HP / 8 SpD Sylveon in Sun: 81-96 (40.5 – 48%) — guaranteed 3HKO
  • 252+ SpA Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon vs. 236 HP / 8 SpD Sylveon: 174-205 (87 – 102.5%) — 12.5% chance to OHKO

In my opinion, this is the best Sylveon spread (talking to you GENGARboi). Putting Hidden Power Ground over Shadow Ball let Sylveon be a better partner for Charizard, and be able to 1v1 a Heatran without Flash Cannon. Unfortunately there is not a spread that lets you live 252+ SpA Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Flash Cannon, without giving up special attack investment or defense investment, which are higher priorities. The special attack investment did not change (besides 4 SpA EVs to make up for using Hidden Power Ground), since it was still sufficient. I did not speed creep any further, since I felt that most Sylveon still opted for only 4 Spe EVs. The change in HP and defense investment was more optimal than the previous set in order to better meet the defensive benchmarks above.

landorus-therian

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 44 HP / 156 Atk / 92 Def / 4 SpD / 212 Spe
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant Nature
– Earthquake
– Rock Slide
– Superpower
– U-Turn

Offensive Damage Calculations

  • 156+ Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Bisharp: 144-170 (102.1 – 120.5%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • 156+ Atk Landorus-Therian Superpower vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Hydreigon/Terrakion: 168-198 (100 – 117.8%) — guaranteed OHKO
  • 156+ Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Sylveon: 102-120 (50.4 – 59.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Damage Calculations

  • +1 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch vs. 44 HP / 92 Def Landorus-Therian: 140-165 (82.3 – 97%) — guaranteed 2HKO
  • 252+ SpA Hydreigon Draco Meteor vs. 44 HP / 4 SpD Landorus-Therian: 141-166 (82.9 – 97.6%) — guaranteed 2HKO

I wanted my Landorus-Therian be more of a utility Pokémon, than a Revenge Killer/Pokémon that just dishes out damage. For this reason, I replaced Explosion with U-turn. I tested U-turn after SoCal, and really liked it as it let me reset weather with my Charizard, spread intimidates, and gain momentum on switch outs. 156 Attack investment is sufficient to net important KOs, and leaves EVs for bulk. The bulk spread out between HP/Defense/Special Defense is not optimal, so I do not recommend it. I messed up the EV spread, since I had about 4 different spreads, and could not settle on one. Speed stayed the same, since I don’t think there is a reason to go higher unless you are scared of Choice Scarf Smeargle.

I was tempted to go with a completely new team at Nationals, since Pokemon.com posted all of my items and moves after Utah Regional. I did have a second team that was doing extremely well in testing for nationals, but I was not comfortable enough with it. I did not want to make the same mistake as last year, and miss out on my worlds invite by disbanding a successful team. So I decided to stick with the same team with some minor tweaks. So while I was paranoid about my team being recognizable, I was still extremely comfortable with the team.

U.S. Nationals

Pokémon Change Conkeldurr ———> Greninja

greninja

Greninja @ Life Orb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Protean
Naive Nature (Timid the day before the tournament)
– Ice Beam
– Low Kick (Hidden Power Ground the day before the tournament)
– Grass Knot
– Protect

Offensive Damage Calculations

  • 0 Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 164-195 (98.2 – 116.7%) — 81.3% chance to OHKO
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Protean Greninja Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 187-221 (94.9 – 112.1%) — 68.8% chance to OHKO
  • 252 SpA Life Orb Protean Greninja Grass Knot (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 52 SpD Suicune: 164-195 (79.2 – 94.2%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery

Defensive Damage Calculations

lol

I will just start off by saying Greninja is the most underrated Pokémon this season, it is a top 20 Pokémon. While it does not always net OHKOs, it usually has a good shot to do so, or its partner can finish off Pokémon with a spread move (Landorus-Therian Rock Slide, Sylveon Hyper Voice, Charizard Heat Wave, and Salamence Earthquake). Greninja has a bad stigma because of how frail it is, but that is well worth the trade off for stab everything, unmatched offensive versatility, and a speed base stat of 122 to out speed Mega Salamence. No opponent can ever know what to expect from Greninja, since it legitimately has 10+ viable offensive moves, can be a special attacker, a physical attacker, or mixed. Greninja being such an offensive threat, paired extremely well with Mega Salamence. In testing, Greninja’s unpredictability allowed my Salamence to set up a Dragon Dance turn 1 very often, because opponents would typically double Protect to scout. The reason I added Greninja to the team was simply because I hate Thundurus and Zapdos (these damn Pokémon don’t die). While Thundurus can Thunder Wave and cripple Greninja, it risks being OHKOd by Ice Beam depending on its EV spread. Grass Knot was added because Grass/Ice/Ground coverage is great offensive coverage. Hidden Power Ground was for steel and fire types, and Protect was the last move for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, I switched Hidden Power Ground to Low Kick the morning of Nationals, because I was stupidly paranoid about Shuca Berry Heatran. This was a terrible last minute decision, since I had tested Hidden Power Ground for over a month with great success. Without Hidden Power Ground, it made my match up against any Wide Guard Aegislash unbearable.

salamence-mega

Salamence @ Salamencite
EVs: 92 HP / 196 Atk / 220 Spe
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant Nature
– Double-Edge
– Earthquake
– Dragon Dance
– Protect

I opted to prioritize speed over bulk this time around, since I had removed Conkeldurr from the team. This let me out speed Mega Kangaskhan and hit it hard or KO it before it got off a hit. With the addition of Greninja to the team, there was no need to be able to live a Suicune Ice Beam, since I could pick it off with Grass Knot + Double-Edge. As mentioned earlier, the offensive presence of Greninja still let me set up a Dragon Dance, even without the bulk.

charizard-mega-y

Charizard @  Charizardite Y
EVs: 228 HP / 148 Def / 8 SpA / 124 Spe
Ability: Blaze
Modest Nature
1 Atk IV/ 30 SpA IV / 30 SpD IV
– Heat Wave
– Solar Beam
– Hidden Power Ground
– Protect

Defensive Damage Calculations

  • 252+ Atk Landorus-Therian Rock Slide vs. 228 HP / 148 Def Mega Charizard Y: 156-184 (85.7 – 101%) — 6.3% chance to OHKO
  • 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 228 HP / 148 Def Mega Charizard Y: 153-182 (84 – 100%) — 0.4% chance to OHKO

In testing after Spring Regional, I never really found the physical bulk to be able to live 252+ Atk Landorus-Therian Rock Slide useful. I had only run into this situation a few times. So I opted to go with a more HP invested EV spread to be able to take special attacks better. This spread still lived 252 Atk Jolly Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge mostly, but it gave Landorus-Therian Rock Slide a 6.3% chance to OHKO Charizard. This was something I was willing to trade for more HP investment, since the odds were still in my favor if I was ever forced into that situation. I invested 8 more speed EVs just to speed creep on bulky Thundurus.

landorus-therian

Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
EVs: 108 HP / 156 Atk / 28 Def / 4 SpD / 212 Spe
Ability: Intimidate
Adamant Nature
– Earthquake
– Rock Slide
– Superpower
– U-Turn

This EV spread accomplished the same physical benchmark as my Spring Regional spread, except it is optimized. What I mean by optimized is that this is the highest HP investment you can run, while still surviving +1 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Sucker Punch. The higher HP investment is nice, because of the better odds of living special attacks, such as Rotom-W Hydro Pump.

ferrothorn

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 140 SpD
Ability: Iron Barbs
Relaxed Nature
0 Spe IV
– Power Whip
– Gyro Ball
– Protect
– Leech Seed

No changes from Spring Regional.

sylveon

Sylveon @ Pixie Plate
EVs: 236 HP / 172 Def / 80 SpA / 8 SpD / 12 Spe
Ability: Pixilate
Modest Nature
1 Atk IV / 30 SpA IV / 30 SpD IV
– Hyper Voice
– Hidden Power Ground
– Helping Hand
– Protect

No changes from Spring Regional.

Now I know what you are probably thinking, why in the world does this guy run Hidden Power Ground on 3 of his Pokémon, and Earthquake on 2? This was something that I was also against originally; I had convinced myself that 5 ground moves was over kill. In reality though, I discovered through using this team the whole season that the team actually really revolves around Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn’s amazing typing gives many teams trouble, because many opponents only reliable way to knock it out is with a Fire type attack. Take out the Fire type Pokémon threatening Ferrothorn, the most popular being Heatran, and just win with Ferrothorn. This is an over simplification of the goal of the team, but at its core this is the way the team earns many of its wins. So I eventually accepted that while 5 ground type attacks are over kill typically, it is not for this team.

Final Team Results

  • 1st of 260 SoCal Regional
  • 1st of 159 Utah Regional
  • 4th of 97 Utah Regional Premier Challenge
  • 50th of 229 Seattle Regional
  • 7th of 69 Seattle Regional Premier Challenge
  • 24th of 418 U.S. Nationals

Shout Outs

  • Riley Factura (GENGARboi) He is the one who basically got me write this extensive team report. It has been fun hanging out and rooming with you the majority of the season!
  • The Jimenez brothers (Legacy & DarkAssassin) I know I always give you guys a hard time, but you know it is all in good spirit!
  • Everyone else I have conversations with or hang out with at tournaments as well!

download_20150802_104338

Closing Comments

While this is not my favorite team I have ever built, it probably is my most consistent and successful team. This team report is already deep enough in my opinion, and I did not want to have it drag on with sections on common leads, the team’s biggest weaknesses (just know it hates Aegislash), etc. While I keep to myself online, that is the complete opposite at tournaments. I do not use it often, but follow me on Twitter @Alberto310 if you have any questions on the team, and I will answer them. Otherwise, I hope you found this team report enjoyable and insightful. This season has been a ton of fun, and I am looking forward to Worlds!


About the Author

History major that enjoys watching speed runs, Melee, and Street Fighter on Twitch.



14 Responses to 20XX Mence: Two Time Regional Champion & Top 32 US Nationals Team Report

  1. TrickRoomMaster says:

    Cool team! I find it absolutely incredible that you used the same team all season and still won 2 regional with it. Congrats and GL at Worlds!

  2. R Inanimate says:

    Congrats on making worlds, this year.
    I found it intersting that your team started with the two megas that I ended with, and even had a mixed mence in this case.
     
    Another thing that interests me about the team’s starting is that you made it based on stuff that you felt was popular in the Smogon OU metagame. I know that there’s people who probably have a bit of difficulty with the transition from playing OU to playing VGC, but it sounded like you made it work for yourself here. Do you have any sort of quick advice or pointers you could say to those people?
     
    Lastly, Greninja is NOT a fun thing to face against when you are 6-2 going into R9 of Day 1, and not thinking as sharply as you normally would be. I got wrecked so hard that battle. =(

  3. Sweeper says:

    I am not quite sure, since they are pretty drastic metagames. I remember there being an article on Nugget Bridge about the difference between OU and VGC, I would say to take a loot at that. I will say though that ideas from OU can definitely work well in VGC (I used choice scarf Garchomp all of last season with great success). Haha GGs dude, Greninja definitely catches opponents off guard!

  4. Crawdaunt says:

    Congrats on such a great run this year Alberto! Our games in the Utah PC were some of the strangest I had this year trying to get around that annoying Ferrothorn (and I still didn’t manage to in the end)! I used to use Ferrothorn a lot, but haven’t looked into it much thinking the metagame was generally hostile towards it. I think yours is the best team to support Ferrothorn that I’ve seen in the last few years. Also love the use of Greninja for Nationals, and being a Salamence player much of this year, definitely agree that Greninja is underrated; using rain, I think I was way more scared of a Greninja in team preview than something like Sylveon other Salamence threats like rain.
     
    Major congrats on making Worlds and on a crazy-good year. Two Regionals wins in one year? What? What even is that? Can’t wait to watch the stream for Boston this year, and here’s hoping you’re on it!

  5. Zubat says:

    I’m glad you found success this season. If only EMP Ravioliforce could say the same.
    Good luck at worlds!

  6. Sweeper says:

    Thanks Crawdaunt!

    EMP Ravioli > EMP Ravioliforce 🙂

  7. jlpsaxophonist says:

    It was a pleasure to play you at nationals! Congrats on such a successful year, 2 regional wins is crazy. Have fun at worlds, you deserved it!

  8. Legacy says:

    I want to make it clear that I HATE GRENINJA!!! I remember prior to our U.S. Nats match you mentioned how you would be able to KO my Suicune with your secret strategy. I thought you were joking so I stayed in with Suicune and then you revealed grass knot + a helping hand from Sylveon. haha

    You’ve been extremely consistent in the past few events and I can’t wait to see what you do at worlds. Anyway great team…except that dumb greninja. X)

  9. TitoVic says:

    Amazing teams, I really apreciate see all the proces of transformation in your teams.
    Felicidades de corazón, y suerte en el Mundial.

  10. iMagikarp says:

    I was your first loss at Nats…I’m glad to see you came through the rest of the day…I just wish I didn’t have to face the gauntlet. To be completely honest it seemed like an early loss benefited a lot of people on Day 1…

    Hope to play you again sometime! Your team composition was definitely great for nationals.

  11. GENGARboi says:

    I said this in Bopper’s article already so I won’t repeat myself so much. Alberto said earlier I was hassling him to write this article for Nugget Bridge. A lot of the reason why was because it would be content to help the community grow to be better players. Glad to finally see it up online.

    @Alberto: homieee can’t wait to room with you, Legacy, the Lybbert brothers, and (hopefully, maybe, but probably not) DarkAssassin at worlds. glad you had a great season and didn’t quit Pokemon. yeah i did say this was useful content but you’re wrong about Salamence being the best mega 😉 however you do share the love for Sylveon so i’ll give you that. oh btw my phone broke while i was in Vegas over the weekend so i’ll send you a PM over Twitter since you said you’re actually going to use it now

  12. Dreykopff says:

    I was pretty curious about this team since I saw it at Utah Regs, thanks for the write-up. (And that actually is quite something, because I usually think that Salamence and Therian Landorus in the same team are completely unacceptable.))

    About the Aegislash problems, well, there is one fairly obvious thing you could/should check out: Flamethrower Charizard. Good luck at Worlds.

  13. RhydonPhilip says:

    solid

  14. Sephirosu says:

    Nice Melee reference haha

Leave a Reply

Back to Top ↑