Dominating the South: A Top 4 Winter Regionals Team Analysis
Article image created by ryuzaki for Nugget Bridge and used with permission. See more of ryuzaki’s artwork on deviantART.
My name is Simon Yip, many of you know me as TDS or Papa Zheng (I am not actually Aaron’s dad; it’s a long story). I recently plowed my way through a tough field of competition which included three 2012 Worlds Top 8 players to make top 4 at the Virginia Regionals. My team is fairly standard individually, but I believe that it was the team synergy that allowed me to go 7-1 during Swiss and defeat my close friend Daniel Levinson (who I played in top cut for the second time in a row) in top 8 before falling to eventual champion Ben Rothman.
Prior to the event, I didn’t really know what I was going to use. I had been using the Tyranitar/Cresselia/Thundurus or Zapdos core since the beginning of time. I spent a lot of time testing unproved things like Magneton and Haxorus, but I wasn’t comfortable enough bringing them to a Regional where I expected random moves from random Pokemon. I had long chats with Enosh Shachar and Zach Droegkamp the week before, and I came to the conclusion that the best way to do well was to use what I was used to. On Saturday, Ray Rizzo almost convinced me to use his sweet team that was inspired by the Korean who beat him in the USA vs Korea International Battle. However, I ended up deciding against it because “SWAGGER is DISLIKE,” and I had never used a strategy that involved so much defensive play. On Saturday night, I ended up re-EVing my Pokemon to speed creep Ray’s Pokemon (no just kidding, I just realized that my team is a little Mamoswine weak and made my Thundurus-T faster than Jolly Mamoswine). Unforunately, I did make some errors with the EVs which almost cost me a match but hax fixed that right up.
I’ll briefly go through the individual members of the team before talking about the team as a whole.
Latios (M) @ Dragon Gem
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
– Draco Meteor
– Psyshock
– Thunderbolt
– Protect
Latios is probably one of the most feared Pokemon in the metagame. Steel-types are simply a must due to dragons like Latios and players even EV their Pokemon to specifically to survive a Latios Dragon Gem Draco Meteor. All of that just for the 10th most used Pokemon in the Wifi Winter Battle shows how much players fear it.
Latios is the definition of a glass cannon: it takes hits hard but dishes them out even harder. It even has one of the highest Speed stats in the game along with its monstrous 130 Base Special Attack. It OHKOs a large percentage of the metagame and is really only OHKOd by super effective or strong STAB physical moves. Thunderbolt should not have been on the set and should’ve been either Grass Knot or Tailwind, but I never ended up needing any of the three moves so it was irrelevant.
Thundurus (Thundurus-T) (M) @ Choice Specs
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 64 HP / 248 SAtk / 196 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
– Thunderbolt
– Grass Knot
– Volt Switch
– Hidden Power [Flying]
Zapdos was a member of my team for a very long time until Thundurus-T came out. I despise Thunder Wave strategies, and Thundurus-T punishes players for trying to Thunder Wave my faster Pokemon. Volt Absorb and the higher Special Attack stat was worth the loss of Heat Wave and some bulk.
I do regret using Modest a little bit because I realized after the tournament that Timid with max Speed would get the majority of the KOs that Modest got while allowing it to outspeed things like Hydreigon and Volcarona, who gave me a lot of trouble in my top 4 match and was probably the reason I lost. The extra 64 EVin HP didn’t help me survive anything significant anyways although max Special Attack Choice Specs Thunderbolt OHKO’s Kingdra 100% of the time. Hidden Power Flying was used as a solid secondary STAB move and hit things immune to Thunderbolt for quite a bit. Grass Knot was used for type coverage although I never used it. Volt Switch was used to hit slower Pokemon I knew would OHKO me back and switch into something more favorable.
Hitmontop (M) @ Sitrus Berry
Trait: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 12 Atk / 84 Def / 156 SDef / 4 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
– Fake Out
– Close Combat
– Stone Edge
– Helping Hand
Hitmontop was on the team purely for utility. Fake Out is one of the best moves in VGC and needs no explanation. Close Combat and Intimidate allowed me to threaten Tyranitar which is extremely threatening to my team. Stone Edge was to hit things like Volcarona (which would be KOd about 50% of the time after opposing Intimidates and Sandstorm or previous Fake Out damage would be enough to kill it). Helping Hand netted me a lot of KOs especially things EVed to survive Latios Dragon Gem Draco Meteors. I know it’s a bad habit to get into but I did Helping Hand my Excadrill Earthquake to kill my Hitmontop numerous times and every time it ended it up winning me the game. Sitrus Berry was used because my Hitmontop was very heavy in defensive EVs and turned defensive Cresselia Psyshocks from 2HKOs into 3HKOs and did the same for a plethora of other special attacks.
Cresselia (F) @ Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 188 HP / 248 SAtk / 72 Spd
Modest Nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
– Icy Wind
– Psyshock
– Grass Knot
– Hidden Power [Fire]
My Cresselia is very tricky. Most players immediately Taunted it fearing something like Trick Room or Thunder Wave. My Cresselia has absolutely no support moves and takes advantage of people viewing it as less of a threat than the rest of my team. Icy Wind gave me speed control and was my main way to beat Dragons outside of my own Draco Meteor. Psyshock allowed me to threaten other Hitmontop and fighting Pokemon. Grass Knot was a surprise move that no one expected me to have and probably won me a handful of games as I encountered Rhydon, Rhyperior AND Gastrodon during the tournament and all three were surprised to be KO’d by it. Hidden Power Fire allowed me to deal with Steel-types a little easier, but I rarely used it because the rest of my team already threatened Steel-types to a large degree. Cresselia is probably the biggest Scizor and Tyranitar bait in the game next to Latios and my Cresselia moveset took advantage of this. The speed EVs allow for Cresselia to outspeed Jolly Garchomp and anything in that Speed Tier after an Icy Wind and outspeed most base 70 Speed Pokemon without any Speed drops.
Tyranitar (F) @ Chople Berry
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 36 Def / 96 SDef (0 Speed IV)
Brave Nature (+Atk, -Spd)
– Protect
– Fire Punch
– Low Kick
– Rock Slide
My Tyranitar looks much more bulky than offensive. That’s because it was missing 124 Attack EVs which almost cost me Game 3 in Top 8 where Fire Punch missed a crucial KO but burned for the KO anyway. I decided not to use Crunch because Psychic Pokemon like Cresselia did little damage to my team. Low Kick was used to beat other Tyranitar. Fire Punch let me beat things Tyranitar is usually afraid of like Scizor and Ferrothorn. Rock Slide is a Solid STAB multi-target move that has the added bonus of flinching either or even both Pokemon. I used a 0 Speed IV because it allowed me to underspeed minimum Speed Politoed and go first against a majority of Trick Room teams. The HP and Defense EVs allowed it to survive an unboosted Metagross Meteor Mash 100% of the time. The 124 Attack EVs I was supposed to have allowed it to KO Scizor 100% of the time.
Excadrill (M) @ Life Orb
Trait: Sand Rush
EVs: 132 HP / 252 Atk / 124 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
– X-Scissor
– Earthquake
– Rock Slide
– Protect
Excadrill was the last addition to my team. This spot used to be occupied by Garchomp, but I decided to use Latios as my Dragon type and forgo the Garchomp for something that was faster and could survive Dragon attacks without significant investment and Haban Berry. Excadrill’s Earthquake made quick work of weakened teams in the late game and its resistances, although it has fairly poor defensive stats, allowed me to switch in on weaker attacks and clean up. It also dealt with Thundurus fairly well, which is something I didn’t have with Garchomp for fear of a Hidden Power Ice. X-Scissor was really a filler move because I didn’t think Magnet Rise was that good. The 124 Speed EVs gave it a 124 Speed stat (what a coincidence) which allowed it to outspeed all base 70s and anything that Speed creeped those by 1.
Leads and Team Synergy
+ /
Tyranitar + Cresselia/Thundurus
Tyranitar made sure that weather was on my side and is unthreatened by common leads such as Thundurus and Cresselia. It also baited out the Hitmontop and Scizor that Cresselia and Thundurus had no problem killing. And if the opponent decided to lead Rain against it, I would have my weather up and have a huge advantage with my Thundurus being able to OHKO the majority of a rain team. And if the lead matchup ended up being unfavorable, Thundurus could just Volt Switch out of it. Tyranitar/Thundurus was my most frequent lead and got me an early advantage almost every time.
+ //
Hitmontop + Thundurus/Cresselia/Latios
Being a Fake Out user with Intimidate, Hitmontop was a great lead in combination with just about my entire team. I didn’t really have an answer for Trick Room so I often led Hitmontop/Thundurus and opened with Fake Out + Thunderbolt on the Trick Room user followed by a Helping Hand Thunderbolt for the KO. Leading Hitmontop/Cresselia against faster physical teams won me a lot of games because I gained speed control early in the game. Hitmontop/Latios was probably my second most used lead. I loved being able to bluff a Fake Out and going straight for a Helping Hand Dragon Gem Draco Meteor for a quick lead and KO.
If you look at the types of my Pokemon, you’ll realize that I have a generally strong combination. I rarely had to force a switch in and their attacks covered each other’s weaknesses fairly well.
Matchups
Rain
I would lead Tyranitar and Thundurus against Rain to get an immediate weather advantage. Thundurus would create a huge hole in their team as it is able to OHKO common Rain Pokemon like Ludicolo, Gastrodon, Politoed and Kingdra while switching out Tyranitar to save sand for a Politoed switch in. Latios usually replaces Tyranitar in the switch in to soak water or fighting attacks thrown at it and I would usually win out from there. Excadrill was usually the last Pokemon I brought and would easily be able to clean up after Thundurus and Latios.
Sand
Cresselia and Hitmontop gave me a huge advantage against sand and having Excadrill in the back to clean up without having to bring Tyranitar made this match up very easy. Cresselia also hits every Pokemon commonly used in sand for super effective damage.
Sun
I didn’t really prepare a game plan for Sun, though I did play against three Ninetales during the swiss rounds. Ninetales still lost out to Tyranitar even with Sun out so I never had to worry about it.
Trick Room
Trick Room was by far my hardest matchup. I didn’t have any way to stop it besides Fake Out. I was forced to lead Thundurus/Hitmontop and try to predict what was going to protect when and what was going for Trick Room and out maneuver my opponent with Helping Hand Thunderbolts. Using 0 Speed Tyranitar really helped because my Tyranitar went first in Trick Room just about every time and chunked my opponents health with Rock Slide and gave me potential flinches.
Good Stuffs
Latios and Cresselia were my main weapons against Good Stuff teams, being able to OHKO or speed control opposing Pokemon. My team was basically a Good Stuffs team so I won the matchups with prediction and my Cresselia’s large type coverage.
Unfortunately, I was unable to match my son Babbytron’s Regional win, but I am not a product of the RNG like Aaron and Brendan are. I really enjoyed my experience at Virginia, being able to hang out with Dan, Ray, Trista, Matt, Aaron, Wolfe, Dom and everyone else I can’t remember off the top of my head. I did play in my first TCG tournament ever and I started 2-0 before dropping the next 3 because I suck at TCG whereas Aaron went 0-2 to drop (hahahaha). Getting Top 4 in 2 regionals in a row puts me a good spot for a Worlds invite at 180 Championship points, and I hope to do even better at the Spring Regionals in Massachusetts and at Nationals. Maybe I can bring someone of my “untested” ideas next time and not chicken out on using the ridiculously broken Magneton.
About the Author
Simon has played Pokemon since the release of the original Red and Blue games but has played at a casual level until 2010 where he earned his first invite to Nationals. In 2012, Simon conquered the Nationals LCQ and earned a Top 4 spot in Nationals to win his first invite to the World Championships. He is also the "father" of our beloved Aaron and Brendan Zheng and is frequently referred to as Papa Zheng.
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