Reports

Published on August 28th, 2012 | by Dim

1

Heated Up and Ready to Go: 2012 Seniors World Champion Report

Hi guys! I’m Toler Webb aka Dimsunlight, Dimsun, or Dim, as I’m known on these forums. I recently came out victorious in the  event known as the Pokemon Video Game World Championships in the Seniors divison. I had many tough battles along the way with trainers that I never imagined I’d even meet until this competition.

Let’s start off with the easy stuff. Earlier this summer, I came out 3rd on top of a dog pile of strong United States players, which earned me an invite to the competition in Hawaii. Preparing for Worlds was tough; I felt I was short on time and had a class to take during part of the time I had to prepare. I worked with players such as Harrison Saylor (Crow) and DrFidget on my team, trying to get it ready for the Worlds metagame, which is slightly different from that of National or Regional competitions in that the players usually have tried and true or extremely creative teams, and none of the kind of teams that still require work. Most teams at Worlds are finished and at least decent in concept. In some cases, especially in the case of Wolfe Glick’s (Wolfey) or Aaron Zheng’s (Cybertron) team, original ideas were tested for the first time in a major tournament. I went with a strategy that was straightforward and fit well with my play style: goodstuff that stops the opponent’s strategies with sheer damage and bulk.

[Read more about Wolfe Glick and Aaron Zheng’s team in Wolfe’s team analysis: Eggscelent Execution. – Ed.]

The Team:

ludicolo
Jrank (Ludicolo) ♂ @ Sitrus Berry
Trait: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 HP/108 Def/100 SAt/44 SDf/6 Spd
Calm Nature(+Sp. Def, -Atk)
-Scald
-Giga Drain
-Ice Beam
-Sunny Day

Ludicolo was a bit of an odd choice; it is a Pokémon typically chosen for a Rain team with the primary goal of knocking out the opposing player’s Pokémon and providing Fake Out support. On this team, however, it was chosen as a bulky ‘mon to take hits and wall particular threats while also helping to check Rain with the use of the move Sunny Day. With Swift Swim and a little speed, it could out speed particular ‘mons like faster Politoed and use Sunny Day, stopping Rain teams in their tracks. The issue is that this goal wasn’t achieved well because of the necessity to build Ludicolo in a bulky manner; he really isn’t that strong offensively, but takes hits rather well. This prevented me from making full use of my ability to outspeed Rain’s common threats with Swift Swim. However, as Ludicolo isn’t weak to most attacks used on a rain team,  he does a fantastic job helping to defeat them. The EVs allowed Ludi to survive a Latios Dragon Gem Draco Meteor and a Hitmontop’s max attack, Adamant, Fight Gem boosted Close Combat. Sunny Day also helped beat slower Tyranitar by removing their Special Defense boost, which was a huge boon considering my team’s Specially based nature. Sunny Day’s other purpose, though, was to allow me to make more long term plans in boosting my Rotom-H and Hydreigon’s Fire-type attacks, allowing for KOs or near KOs where I normally wouldn’t get them against Pokémon like Amoonguss with Hydreigon and bulkier Thundurus with Rotom-H.

rotom-heat
♥SPAMCAKES (Rotom) ♁ @ Fire Gem
Trait: Levitate
46 HP/252 SAt/212 Spd
Modest Nature(+SAt, -Atk)
-Thunderbolt
-Hidden Power [Ice]
-Overheat
-Protect

Rotom-H is one of those Pokémon that really needed to see more play throughout 2012. It has a surprisingly large number of resistances while only being weak to two types: Rock and Water. His coverage allows him to hit Water-types, the primary switch-ins to an Overheat, much harder then other users of the powerful Fire-type move can. Even so, he’s extremely weak to opposing Tyranitar, which needs to be dealt with when constructing a team with him. The EVs allow him to outspeed neutral max Speed Pokémon with a base 80 Speed stat. The most notable of these for Rotom-H is Mamoswine.  Rotom-H didn’t actually deal as much damage as it might have with its most powerful move, Overheat, however, with a Pokémon capable of using a powerful move like Fire Gem boosted Overheat, I could force quite a few “safety” switches, allowing me to take control of the game mentally. In actual battle scenarios, I tried to avoid using it, as it could be very predictable, and instead used the potential to Overheat as a mind game. Protects were easier to predict, and I got opportunities to double target and nearly KO, if not KO, bulkier targets, such as Cresselia. This helped to shut down opposing teams while lacking moves like Taunt, Safeguard, or Rage Powder, which might have been key on other teams.

metagross
Ben7000 (Metagross) ♁ @ Occa Berry
Trait: Clear Body
EVs: 172 HP/252 Att/6 Def/68 SDf/12 Spd
Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAt)
-Meteor Mash
-Zen Headbutt
-Bullet Punch
-Protect

Metagross was actually an important choice and not one used solely due to its popularity in the metagame, I swear.  He was used on the team to help beat opposing Tyranitar and occasionally Hitmontop. As you’ll notice, there are very few Pokémon on this team that switch well into any kind of strong Fighting-type attacks; Metagross helps to get rid of Fighting-types before they become a problem. Max attack with Meteor Mash and Bullet Punch allow him to 2HKO fully offensive Latios sets, while Zen Headbutt hits the all-important Fighting-types. His Specially Defensive EVs allow him to survive Water Gem Hydro Pump from max Special Attack Rotom-W, and the 12 Speed EVs outspeed 4 speed Hitmontop, if anyone still uses it. If you hadn’t noticed, this team is extremely weak to Volcarona; my only answer is Rotom-H, and that can’t even kill the scarlet firefly.  That’s the reason that Occa Berry was selected, as this Metagross can live a +1 Heat Wave as long as it has Occa.  This allows me to put damage on Volc, which is essential against it in the long run of a match. Before that, I was running a Shuca Berry, which would have been just as viable, had I not run three Levitating Pokémon, which gave me the ability to keep Metagross alive with switches.

cresselia
maski? (Cresselia) ♀ @ Expert Belt
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/44 Def/84 SAt/124 Sp. Def/6 Spe
Modest Nature (+SAt, -Atk)
-Trick Room
-Ice Beam
-Psyshock
-Helping Hand

Cresselia was an important selection for this team because of its bulk and its ability to beat Fighting-types. Cress could use Trick Room as well to reverse other Trick Room or for Speed control against faster teams. It is EV’d to 2hko Latios with the Expert Belt-boosted Ice Beam, but to be completely honest, this EV spread was last minute: I could have used a Calm nature to greater effect. Even so, Cresselia had a little trick up its sleeve: a Dark Gem Boosted Hydreigon Dark Pulse further boosted by Helping Hand had a chance to OHKO even Cresselia fully invested in Special Defense! Given the potential for Cress to provide trouble against my team and serve as glue for other teams, I felt that Helping Hand was almost necessary. It also boosted Rotom’s Overheat to make it capable of knocking out even the most defensive Thundurus in a single shot, which was important because otherwise a single Overheat would put Thundurus in Sitrus Berry range.

hydreigon
RoyalBlue (Hydreigon) ♀ @ Dark Gem
Trait: Levitate
6 HP/252 SAt/252 Spd
Modest Nature(+SAt, -Atk)
-Flamethrower
-Dragon Pulse
-Dark Pulse
-Protect

Hydreigon was used due to its utility in moves. He was primarily useful due to his strong Dark STAB in the form of Dark Pulse, but he also had Dragon Pulse and Flamethrower, which were both useful coverage-wise. He helps a ton against Cresselia and pairs well with my own Cresselia if I need to lead with the two of them. Otherwise, he was just a strong Special attacker. His EVs were generic and really should have been altered Speed-wise. Hydreigon actually made the team harder to play, in a sense. His lower speed made him susceptible to Latios leads, and this team has a pretty hard time switching around against Latios. However, he has fantastic synergy with Metagross, who can deal with Latios quite effectively. His power, coverage, and strength against Trick Room teams that didn’t run anything to outspeed him helped him to be very effective in certain situations.

garchomp
Solace (Garchomp) ♀ @ Haban Berry
Trait: Sand Veil
EVs: 156 HP/68 Att/30 Def/172 SDf/84 Spd
Adamant Nature(+Atk, -SAt)
-Dragon Claw
-Swords Dance
-Protect
-Earthquake

Garchomp was useful because of his incredible bulk. I used a Haban Berry set because of my slight weakness to Latios. I EV’d Garchomp to survive a Dragon Gem Timid Draco Meteor from Latios and then OHKO it with Dragon Claw. Garchomp also out speeds neutrally natured base 80s with maximum Speed, like Mamoswine and Chandelure. He speed ties with Rotom as well, potentially leading my opponent to believe I’m running a Timid Rotom set, or at least a very fast one. If Garchomp was ever faster then something, setting up a Swords Dance and sweeping was far more useful then trying to set up Substitute, as proven in my top 8 match against Gavin Michaels (kingofkongs), where I had an early wake up from Sleep and set up a Swords Dance to sweep the remaining members of his team. Playing Substitute also proved to be very predictable in practice, where Garchomp would be double targeted to get him off the field directly after he Substituted almost all of the time. Dragon Claw and Earthquake were generic useful STAB moves, though I actually needed the Ground coverage for this particular team to deal with Pokemon like Metagross. In some scenarios, Sand Veil proved to be useful as well. Garchomp helped to deal with Pokémon like Tyranitar when I expected them; in that same vein, the Tyranitar I battled would summon a Sandstorm. That Sand would benefit Garchomp, making even 100% accurate moves become less accurate then the famously inaccurate Meteor Mash. This could turn Garchomp into a nightmare for the enemy if they missed an attack or two.

Important Matches

Swiss Rounds

Round 1: Cora M.
scizorgarchomprotom-washhitmontoptyranitargengar

This match was important solely because it contained perhaps my largest misplay of the tourney. Against a team of Scizor, Garchomp, Rotom-W, Hitmontop, Tyranitar, and Gengar, I didn’t decide to bring my own Garchomp. During this match, I felt like I had been completely outpredicted and just straightforwardly stomped, when perhaps I could have decided to bring Garchomp to make her a little bit more predictable. I for some reason decided to make the match harder on myself by not bringing Chomp and therefore lost to the threats on her team, like Scizor.

Round 3: Edward T.  (Plusle)
tyranitarmamoswinecresseliasalamencerotom-washscizor

Ed was a strong opponent. I had won my Round 2 match, knowing I would need to win this one and the following two to be guaranteed to top. Ed missed a crucial Rock Slide with his Choice Scarfed Tyranitar against my Rotom-H. Even though I was able to Protect and was about to use the move, I instead had decided to go with a more risky plan of action, despite initially assuming that he was in fact Scarfed. This decision would have cost me the game, save for the miss. He also missed an Ice Shard with his Mamoswine against my Garchomp, which would have dealt crucial damage; however, he did bring his Tyranitar despite knowing and even saying prior to the match that bringing Tyranitar could be risky against opposing Garchomp. Regardless, I got slightly lucky in this match and won the 3 matches.

Round 5: Anant P. (IceArceus12)
tyranitarrotom-washscizorlatiasthunduruscresselia

The match against Anant was one of the few I had to end in only two games. I defeated him cleanly the first game, and held a strong advantage going into the second. In a certain scenario during the second game, I had my Metagross, who had used Protect the prior turn, and my Hydreigon out. My Rotom-H was the only other Pokemon left, in the back of my party. Anant had his scarfed Tyranitar locked into Crunch and his Rotom-W out. I realized the only way I was going to win this match was to somehow get my Rotom-H out without taking damage; the only problem was, I knew that his Rotom-W had a Water Gem Hydro Pump prepared and probably aimed at my Metagross. If I lost Metagross, I would no longer have an answer for his Tyranitar. I told him, “You should Hydro Pump my Metagross-that would be a great play,” and attacked with Hydreigon while switching to Rotom-H with my Metagross. He decided to act upon my statement: instead of Hydro Pumping my unprotected Metagross, he decided to Hydro Pump and Crunch my Hydreigon, assuming I have some sort of play up my sleeve to keep Metagross alive. Hydreigon survives both attacks and does serious damage to Rotom-W, which wins me the match, securing a spot in the Top 8.

Top Cut

Top 8: Gavin M. (kingofkongs)
galladezapdostyranitarjellicentamoongussbronzong

Gavin was the opponent I least wanted to play going into Day 2. He knew my entire team, down to what I would survive and what I wouldn’t, from the practice we’d had before Worlds. However, I knew his team as well. I thought on this for the evening and morning before Day 2, figuring out a lead that should have been capable of dealing with the majority of his: I would lead Garchomp and Hydreigon, which would comfortably deal with his threatening Gallade, his Amoonguss, and potentially even his Zapdos. The only Pokémon I would have trouble with would be his Tyranitar. I was fairly certain he wouldn’t bring Bronzong or Jellicent, as in the matches we’d played, they had been dead weight against me. I get an early wake up Game 1, securing victory, while game 2 I lead differently and defeat him more straightforwardly.

Top 4: Henry M. (Snake)
tyranitarexcadrillvolcaronathundurushitmontoplatios

Henry had a team consisting of, pretty much, almost all of the potential threats to my team: Modest Latios, which would OHKO my Garchomp, and Volcarona, which my team is extremely weak to. This was topped off by a Thundurus, which my team couldn’t really hit very hard, and a Hitmontop, which made switching more challenging because of my relative lack of strong Fighting resistances. Game 1 I take because of several very unfortunate misses on his side. Game 2, I just lost; my team’s most threatening weakness was against the infamous Hitmontop/Volcarona lead, otherwise known as TopMoth. Even though his Volcarona did not know Quiver Dance, I had almost no way to beat this lead and lost fairly straightforwardly. Game 3, I anticipate him to lead Latios/Hitmontop again, but don’t want to put everything behind it and lead Metagross/Cress. Instead, I lead Garchomp/Cress, and get control of the match with Trick Room, whittling away at every threat until just my Rotom-H and his Volcarona are left, as I was planning. I manage to hit the Overheat, and despite the crowd’s desires for a critical hit, I survive his Overheat and finish him with Thunderbolt.

Game 3 can be found on the Nugget Bridge Youtube channel here as well.

Top 2: Jaime Martinez A. (repr4y)
thundurustyranitarmetagrosshitmontoplatiosswampert

These matches can all be found on SeadraDS’s channel. They can be found here.

They don’t really require an explanation. They were all good matches, although I was extremely nervous at the time and let that get to me the first two matches, misplaying repeatedly.

Conclusion

That’s it! Thanks for reading. I hope that this analysis helped you to gain an understanding of my strategies and my decisions during the tournament. I would like to thank many of the people that helped me during the event and beforehand, including all of the Seniors I met and all of the Masters. Nightblade7000, Crow, Zach, MrFox, DrFidget (not to mention the rest of of Team Magma!), and CakesofSpan all deserve a special thanks for encouragement and support during and prior to the event. I’m so glad I was given the opportunity to compete and never expected to do so well. Thank you all so much, and I look forward to seeing YOU next year!

Of course, I’d also like to thank Stormfront, Styrofoameon, Jio, and especially Lucariojr for helping me obtain the Pokémon that I used prior the event. You guys are awesome, and I’m so glad that you were there to support me!


About the Author

has been playing competitive Pokemon for 5 years now. In 2012 he won the Pokemon World Championships in the senior division. He likes chocolate, running, gaming, and coming up with weird ideas about gaming.



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