Reports

Published on September 6th, 2015 | by Boomguy

18

Welcome to the Camel’s Room: A 21st Place 2015 World Championships Report

Welcome to the Camel’s Room; you definitely don’t want to be stuck here. I’ll be writing about how my run at the 2015 World Championships went, along with a bit of insight into the team and my battles.

Teambuilding

After I finished my previous report, I had six weeks to come up with a team for Worlds. I considered using my old team, as it had been rather successful at two Nationals, but I knew it wasn’t good enough for the world stage; there were no surprise sets, and it would simply be too predictable for high-level players. Additionally, publicizing the team made it even more risky for me to use it. I did have one major advantage, though, in the form of my day two invite; I’d only have to build one team for the tournament.

After watching US Nationals on Twitch, it became clear to me that I wanted to use Trick Room for my Worlds team. I saw a lot of Thunder Wave and Speed creeping, two factors that a Trick Room team could essentially ignore. Additonally, the top four Mega Pokémon (Kangaskhan, Salamence, Gardevoir, and Charizard Y) were all naturally very fast, so catching them out in Trick Room would give me a big edge. In the end, I was right—the top eight players all used either Mega Kangaskhan or Gardevoir. While there were a few other choices in top 16, including Charizard X and Venusaur, Trick Room was definitely the right choice from a Speed perspective.

I’d rarely used used Trick Room in the past, since it’s the hardest method of Speed control to pull off. The setup can be stopped by flinches, critical hits, or status moves, and without Trick Room up most teams built for it fall apart. In 2014, I used a Trick Room team at Australian Nationals and at the Last Chance Qualifier, which you can read about here. This season, I had mostly used Tailwind-based teams. I like being able to attack before my opponents do, and I tend to play badly when I’m playing safe. By properly using Trick Room, I hoped to keep that advantage.


kangaskhan-megaaltaria-megagothitellescraftyheatranvolcarona

This was my inital Trick Room team. My two minimum Speed Megas worked well in Trick Room. Scrafty allowed for an easy setup, and could also take advantage of Gothitelle’s Tickle. Safety Goggles Heatran and Rocky Helmet Volcarona rounded out the team with some Fire-type coverage. Altaria might seem like an odd choice, but it played multiple roles; it could deal with opposing weather with Cloud Nine, use Perish Song with Gothitelle’s Shadow Tag, or simply go on the offensive with Pixilate Hyper Voice. However, after using the team for a month, I decided against using it, as it struggled against offensive teams and Gothitelle was often ineffective.

tyranitar-megabraviarycresseliaamoongussmawile-megamarowak

For my second attempt, I decided to build a team that was less dependent on Trick Room. While it might seem like a Trick Room team at first glance, Tyranitar was a Dragon Dance variant and Braviary had a Choice Scarf. I chose Mega Tyranitar because I thought it had a good matchup against several of the top Megas, and Braviary’s Defiant would deter opposing Intimidate users. Mawile dealt with Mega Kangaskhan, and Amoonguss was useful both in and out of Trick Room.

Things went much better with this team because I wasn’t forced into using Trick Room. I quickly made some major changes, however; I swapped Marowak out for Assault Vest Ludicolo, as the former fell victim far too often to Knock Off. Next to go was Mawile, as it simply couldn’t hit common threats such as Heatran hard enough. Additionally, I was having a lot of trouble with opposing Amoonguss in Trick Room. While looking for a replacement, I stumbled across Mega Camerupt and instantly realized it was the solution; it was slower than Amoonguss and could OHKO it, while being incredibly powerful regardless.

tyranitar-megabraviarycresseliacamerupt-megaludicolo

My results on Battle Spot began to improve, as many opposing teams struggled against Mega Camerupt once Trick Room went down. I used this version for roughly two days, but I struggled against the standard Heatran/Amoonguss/Cresselia/Kangaskhan/Landorus-T/Thundurus core. I was happy with the Trick Room side of the team, but the fast side needed some revisions. What did I end up switching to? Well, the final variant is right below.


cresselia
Cresselia @ Mental Herb
Calm | Levitate
224 HP / 60 Def / 188 SpA / 36 SpD
– Helping Hand
– Trick Room
– Psychic
– Ice Beam

  • Survives Adamant Life Orb Bisharp’s Knock Off
  • Survives Modest Life Orb Aegislash’s Shadow Ball
  • Survives Modest Choice Specs Hydreigon’s Dark Pulse
  • Survives Mega Gengar’s Shadow Ball
  • OHKOes 4 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian with Ice Beam 15/16 times
  • OHKOes 4 HP / 0 SpD Naive Mega Salamence with Ice Beam most of the time

This Cresselia set was bulky enough to take essentially any attack, which was crucial to getting Trick Room set up. I did invest enough Special Attack to OHKO some common threats, however. After day one of Worlds, I switched Cresselia’s item to Mental Herb from Safety Goggles; I saw that Thundurus usage was extremely high, and Mental Herb could give me an important surprise option in those situations. As you’ll see later, this change was definitely crucial. I decided to use Helping Hand instead of Sunny Day for its priority and general utility.

salamence-mega
Salamence @ Salamencite
Naive | Intimidate / Aerilate
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
– Double-Edge
– Earthquake
– Draco Meteor
– Protect

  • OHKOes 4 HP / 0 Def Heatran with Earthquake
  • OHKOes 4 HP / 0 SpD Hydreigon with Draco Meteor
  • OHKOes opposing 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Salamence with Draco Meteor
  • OHKOes 252 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan with Double-Edge after Helping Hand

I decided to switch to Salamence from Tyranitar due to its naturally high Speed and extremely powerful attacks. Against Mega Kangaskhan, Intimidate was incredibly useful. Salamence was essentially guaranteed to be the fastest Pokémon on the field; if I saw anything faster, I’d probably use my Trick Room mode anyway. Draco Meteor dealt with opposing Dragon-types and could snag some useful midrange knockouts, while Earthquake dealt with the ubiquitous Heatran. By running maximum Attack, I was able to guarantee KOs on non-Shuca Berry Heatran and Mega Kangaskhan after Helping Hand.

camerupt-mega
Camerupt @ Cameruptite
Quiet | Magma Armor / Sheer Force
252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
IVs: 0 Spe
– Heat Wave
– Earth Power
– Ancient Power
– Protect

  • OHKOes 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield with Earth Power
  • OHKOes 252 HP / 4 SpD Amoonguss with Heat Wave
  • OHKOes 252 HP / 4 SpD Heatran through Shuca Berry with Earth Power

Camerupt is the ultimate Trick Room Mega. Fire- and Ground-type moves were extremely good against the top Pokémon, and Camerupt definitely carried its weight. I decided to use Ancient Power as Camerupt’s third attack due to its ability to OHKO Mega Charizard Y; I tested Substitute, but I rarely used it. Magma Armor was a decently useful pre-Mega ability that made switching into Ice Beams effectively risk-free; Solid Rock wasn’t worth it due to Camerupt’s terrible defenses.

azumarill
Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Brave | Huge Power
212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 Def
– Aqua Jet
– Belly Drum
– Play Rough
– Protect

While I was repairing my team, I tried to think of Pokémon that would be good both in and out of Trick Room. Priority was high on my list of options, and Azumarill was the obvious choice. Especially when paired alongside Amoonguss, a single Belly Drum can be game-ending. I switched to Brave at the final moment; I didn’t want to risk a Speed tie against opposing Azumarill.

bisharp
Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Adamant | Defiant
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
– Sucker Punch
– Knock Off
– Iron Head
– Protect

Bisharp took over Braviary’s role as the team’s Defiant user. Much like Azumarill, its priority attack gives it utility even inside Trick Room. I went with Focus Sash over Life Orb because I felt that it suited my playstyle better; being able to attack without too much worry was important to me. Besides, many players have begun EVing against Life Orb Bisharp anyway, so the power loss wasn’t that important.

amoonguss
Amoonguss @ Rocky Helmet
Relaxed | Regenerator
140 HP / 252 Def / 116 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
– Spore
– Giga Drain
– Rage Powder
– Protect

  • Survives Jolly Mega Salamence’s Double-Edge after Intimidate
  • Survives Adamant Choice Band Talonflame’s Brave Bird after Intimidate

Amoonguss was always an easy choice. I decided to run a physicaly bulky Amoonguss with Rocky Helmet to improve my matchup against Mega Kangaskhan and avoid Amoonguss being knocked out by powerful Flying-type attacks. After seeing world champion Shoma’s Sunny Day Amoonguss, I’m definitely considering trying it out the move on my mushroom.

Threats

politoedludicoloswampert-megakingdra

Rain is this team’s biggest weakness, as both of my Megas are easily knocked out by a Swift Swim-boosted Water-type. Ludicolo was the biggest issue, as Amoonguss is unable to redirect its moves. I thought that this weakness wouldn’t be too important, as the metagame was not favorable to rain; in the end, only two people brought rain teams to Worlds, and I only played one of them.

talonflame

Life Orb Talonflame poses a major threat to this team, as its Brave Bird can quickly rip through most of my Pokémon. However, much like rain, I didn’t expect to see many Talonflame, and that prediction turned out to be correct.

Day Two Battles

I did not have a great start to day two; I woke up at 3 AM thanks to jetlag. If you’re traveling from Asia Pacific, I’d recommend getting to America early, as the Singaporean players were similarly sleep-deprived.

Round 1: Ryosuke Kondo [JPN] | W 2-0

This game was featured on Japan’s NicoNico stream, as well as a TV at the tournament hall. You can watch the full match on YouTube here. In Team Preview, I saw a Western-looking team with the combination of Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Charizard Y.

Game 1

I brought: ///488

He brought:  /488/248/681

The biggest shock to me in game 1 was that his Cresselia had Trick Room. The reason I chose to Sucker Punch the Cresselia was because I thought his Mega Kangaskhan could be Jolly. As such, I didn’t want to risk the Speed tie with normal Salamence. I still think Ryosuke choked on the turn where he targeted my Mega Salamence with Shadow Ball. Instead, he should have double targeted my Bisharp, since it was clear I didn’t have Life Orb or a Choice item. Thankfully, Bisharp stayed on the field, and I was able to win the game after stalling out Trick Room.

Game 2

I brought: 323M/488//

He brought:  006MY/488/248/681

Thankfully, Trick Room was revealed in game one, so I was able to bring Mega Camerupt for game two. I had a feeling that he would bring Charizard this game, and I was correct. I was very surprised to see that his Cresselia was faster than his Charizard. On turn three, his Tyranitar missed my Camerupt with Rock Slide, and I was able to land a critical hit Earth Power onto his Tyranitar to knock it out. Despite Ryosuke’s reveal of Hidden Power Ground from his Charizard Y, he simply didn’t have enough to win the game from there.

Round 2: Andrew Burley (Andykins) [USA] | W 2-1

I had seen Andrew play on day one against my friend Alejandro Jimenez (Legacy on day one, and I was not looking forward to our team matchup. I had played Andrew at last year’s LCQ, so this was a rematch of sorts.

Game 1

I brought: //488/

He brought: ///

I immediately was in big trouble due to the lead matchup, and was unable to get Azumarill in safely due to the threat of a burn from Entei. After he knocked out Bisharp through Focus Sash with a Sacred Fire burn, the game was effectively over. I did manage to find out all four of his Pokémon, though, which was useful for game two.

Game 2

I brought: //488/

He brought: ///

I knew that bringing either Azumarill or Mega Camerupt would be a bad idea, so I decided to go with Salamence instead. After he set up rain to dissuade Salamence from sweeping, I brought in Cresselia to set up Trick Room and regain control of the match. After his Encore failed due to Mental Herb, I was able to close out the game by slowly putting his team to sleep with Amoonguss.

Game 3

I brought: //488/

He brought: ///

I brought the same four Pokémon, while Andrew failed to bring rain for some reason. All I remember from this game was that I won 4-0. Andrew was pretty angry at his performance afterwards, and I understand; he definitely had the better matchup here. Still, I was happy to get out of round two with a win.

Round 3: Yosuke Isagi aka Tony [JPN] | L 0-2

I was at table one for this round, which meant I made it on stream. I was extremely excited to showcase my team to the world. You can watch the entire match here. In Team Preview, I noticed that either of my Megas could do well, but I decided to go with Salamence to deal with his Kangaskhan.

Game 1

I brought: ///

He brought: /485/

I got completely dominated in game one, but I learned a lot about Tony’s team and playstyle. I was disappointed in my plays; I played far too safe, and I lost because of it. Tony made a very smart decision in making his Mega Kangaskhan slower than Heatran, which helped him against my Amoonguss.

Game 2

I brought: /488//

He brought: /485//681

I really considered bring Mega Camerupt instead, but I decided not to due to his problematic Substitute Heatran. I decided to pick Salamence again given that he hadn’t yet seen Earthquake, which paid off well on turn two. Despite making a good call to knock out his Aegislash with Helping Hand Double-Edge, in the end I was outplayed by his Heatran and I lost. After talking to a friend after the match, I realized I should’ve knocked out Heatran instead, since Aegislash wasn’t a huge offensive threat.

Round 4: Arash Ommati (Mean) [ITA] | L 0-2

It had been over a year since I last played Arash during a NB Live tournament, and I was excited to test my skills against a former World Champion. When I saw Arash’s team, I knew he could bring Trick Room, but after my last match I was fixated on the Substitute Heatran + Kangaskhan combination, which led me to bring Salamence.

Game 1

I brought: /488//

He brought: 006MY/485//

I tried to knock out his Heatran with Earthquake on turn one, but it turned out it had a Shuca Berry. I noticed that his Charizard was extremely slow, so I knew he had a heavy Trick Room team, but it was too late. His Fire-type attacks were too strong, and after his Trick Room went up I quickly lost.

Game 2

I brought: 323M/488//

He brought: 006MY/485//

I brought my Trick Room composition this time, but I simply played too badly. He landed a Heat Wave and Overheat on turn one to knock out Cresselia, and Camerupt couldn’t do anything without Trick Room.

With two early losses, I figured that my top cut chances were pretty much toast. I saw that Arash was playing Tony the following round, so I told him everything I knew about Tony’s team. I was determined to keep on pushing for a 5-2 finish.

Round 5: Alec Rubin (amr97) [USA] | W 2-1

I saw a bit of Alec’s match against Alejandro on day one, so I knew he had Calm Mind Sylveon going into the match.

Game 1

I brought: 323M/488//

He brought: 488//

Early on, Alec surprised me by reversing my Trick Room with his own. Afterwards, he froze my Cresselia with Ice Beam. From that point, it was an uphill battle as I stalled for Cresselia to thaw, but it never happened and I lost the game. I thought about game two, and I realized that both Mega Camerupt and Azumarill weren’t that useful in the matchup.

Game 2

I brought: //488/

He brought: /488//

My adjustments worked, and I was able to take this game fairly easily. His Cresselia revealed Safety Goggles, which made this game slightly harder, but I managed to win anyway. I felt confident, so I decided to bring the same four Pokémon to game three.

Game 3

I brought: //488/

He brought: /485//488

Alec revealed his Heatran to have Life Orb and Fire Blast, which was rather curious. During one crucial turn, my Mega Salamence and Cresselia faced off against his Mega Kangaskhan and Choice Scarf Landorus-T. Both of my Pokémon were able to attack through Rock Slide, and I picked up two knockouts as a result. After that turn, I shouted a huge “Cmon!”. I was incredibly relieved that I was able to pick up the advantage. (After the tournament, Alec told me he was scared by my shout, but I definitely didn’t mean it that way. I simply do it when I get excited by big plays.)

Afterwards, I made a big play by knocking out his Heatran with a Helping Hand Knock Off. From there, it was simply my Amoonguss and Cresselia versus his Cresselia, and I was able to slowly chip him down and win.

Round 6: Luca Breitling-Pause (sewadle) [GER] | L 1-2

I noticed that Arash had lost to Tony in round five, so I knew my top cut chances were very slim. However, I still wanted to finish 5-2. Luca’s team was quite surprising, as he had Mega Vensuaur, something that I had thought was a mediocre Pokémon.

Game 1

I brought: 323M/488//

He brought: ///681

Right away, I knew I would be able to easily set up Trick Room. Once it went down, Mega Camerupt and Amoonguss dealt with the entirety of his team, and I was easily able to take this game. I noticed that his Entei probably had a Choice item, as it failed to use Protect during Trick Room.

Game 2

I brought: //488/

He brought: /681//

Despite winning game one easily, I decided to bring Mega Salamence this game because I thought I had an even easier matchup. However, his Choice Scarf Entei knocked out Bisharp on turn one with a Sacred Fire burn, so I couldn’t break through his Aegislash. After another burn onto Salamence, the game was over.

Game 3

I brought: 323M//488/

He brought: //

I decided to switch back to my original plan of Trick Room. However, I failed to lead with Cresselia for whatever reason, and I lost the game because of it. On turn one, Entei knocked out Amoonguss with Sacred Fire, and with no way to deal with Rotom-Wash, I quickly lost.

Round 7: James Baek (Jamesspeed1) [USA] | W 2-1

Despite being out of top cut contention, I still wanted to finish with a positive record. This was the first time I played James in person, so I was very excited to battle. However, I was stunned to see that he brought Perish trap and Whimsicott to Worlds.

Game 1

I brought: 488//323M

He brought: ///

I got a great start to this game, as Cresselia barely withstood a Fake Tears and Shadow Ball. I was able to get a Trick Room and a Belly Drum off, and from there Azumarill picked off his team one by one.

Game 2

I brought: 488/323M//

He brought: ///

This time, he targeted Mega Camerupt with Fake Tears and Shadow Ball, and it went down. I brought in Amoonguss to use Spore, but I didn’t put his Substitute Terrakion to sleep, and he was eventually able to set up Perish Song and win.

Game 3

I brought: 488//323M/

He brought: ///

I guaranteed my setup this time by redirecting the Shadow Ball with Rage Powder. James tried to use Encore to reverse Trick Room, but Mental Herb prevented it from working. It came down to his Politoed against two of my Pokémon with Perish Song active; he needed three consecutive Protects, but in the end he only got a single one and I was able to take the game.

Closing thoughts

I ended up finishing 21st with a 4-3 record. I was alright with that finish; I had some great battles despite being jetlagged. I was very happy with the team I built, but I played too safe in many of my games and lost because of that. Having three of my matches streamed was fantastic, and I hope everyone who watched enjoyed them. I’m definitely considering going to San Francisco for next year’s Worlds, and I definitely am still hoping to become World Champion someday.

Shoutouts:

  • Jip Snoek (Keonspy): Thank you for creating the lovely artwork for this article, as well as for practicing with me.
  • Nihal Noor (UchihaX96): Thank you for the constant communication and for battling with me throughout the whole process. It really means a lot to me that someone cared.
  • Matt Roe (RoeySK): Thanks so much for supporting me in America with battles and coaching prior to the tournament, and thanks for being there on day two.
  • Thank you to those who practiced with me for the best-of-three format prior to the tournament. There are far too many people to thank individually.
  • Australia, thank you for your massive support with both your messages and your viewership at a terrible hour. Even the Australian VGC chatroom renamed the chat to ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ PHIL TAKE MY ENERGY ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ for the day.
  • Thank you to my fans on Twitter for sending me your energy and positive support. I’ll be back for more “CMON!!” action.
  • Thank you to TPCi for hosting a successful Worlds event and the paid trip. It was great fun.


About the Author

Boomguy has been playing VGC since 2010 despite not being available in his home country in Australia back then. In 2013 he won the Brisbane Regional VGC and in 2014 he has became Australia's first representative in the Nugget Bridge Invitational.



18 Responses to Welcome to the Camel’s Room: A 21st Place 2015 World Championships Report

  1. Pichupowerd says:

    I sure hope I never get trapped in the camel room 😮

    Amazing team though 🙂

  2. MindApe says:

    It was great to be a part of your World Championships preparation process this year, watching your team develop. I wasn’t sold on your Worlds team at first glance, but I think it was a team that you understood how to use effectively, and was deceptively well thought through, as the mode options did make team preview a challenge for the opponent. 21st with a positive record is an impressive achievement for your Worlds debut, and I hope you’ll reconsider your Pokemon retirement.

    Congratulations Phil!

  3. Abacus says:

    Nice one Phil, and super concise analysis. I really liked your meta call too. You’ve done Australia proud!

  4. AlphaArrowz says:

    Amazing, loved it, especially Mega Camerupt. :3

  5. Velocity says:

    Congratulations, Phil! Really cool team. I wish you the best of luck next season!

  6. HyperTHD says:

    I see 2 Megas that I despise in Salamence and Camerupt. Somehow, you were able to do decent at Worlds with a dual mega team with both. ;)
    Great team and Congrats, Phil. I was able to catch your match on the Nico stream and boy was I glad to. It was a real treat to get to watch you do well and best of luck to you this upcoming season

  7. Livy says:

    Australia is proud of you Phil :)
    It’s been a joy following your journey, and finishing in the Top 32 for your first World’s is very impressive!

  8. jvlog26 says:

    am I the only 1 who just gets mad excited when you see a report from Boomguy, it serves as good inspiration for the newer players and those who havent been playing for long to strive for excellence. This may swerve from the point but you and Mindape continue to inspire the new players

  9. RevRush says:

    I’m so excited to see this report! I love hearing people’s success with megas that others may normally brush off as not being good enough. I saw the Mega Camerupt in action on a NPA battle the other team and it really is a deadly force when used properly. Congrats on your success, and good luck in the coming VGC 16 year!

  10. ipodcheese says:

    I love this team. Mega Camerupt is something I wanted to make work but never did. Best of luck for next year :D

  11. UchihaX96 says:

    Glad I could help. Well done Phil.
    Cheers!

  12. EarthBreaker says:

    Nice article indeed, my first team i’ve builded (and that i’m still using) was a Camel room, and this report is an information overload to improve myself and my team.

  13. Keonspy says:

    Ayyy Phil congrats with your 21st place and I was glad to help you with some battles, but its still 1-1 ;) And the banner looks better with a report written under it ;) good luck and #HolySpirits 

  14. huid says:

    Amazing report as always Phil. Congratulations on your success for the season – it is well deserved !!!

  15. Eiganjo says:

    I didn’t see your match unfortunately because of the Open happening, but I should go back and watch it on youtube at least.
    Mega Camerupt is already a plus in my opinion.
    At the very least it has given me some more inspiration :D

  16. SublimeInterface says:

    Congrats on going positive with such an unused yet powerful mega. Its always cool to see what Australians come up with.

  17. XacerB8 says:

    Congrats on going positive with such an unused yet powerful mega. Its always cool to see what Australians come up with.

    Don’t you be forgetting Geomancy Smeargle :P
    Anyway, another great article from a great player. Gratz Phil!

  18. I got so involved with the ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ PHIL TAKE MY ENERGY ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ  stuff on social media. Serious stuff aside. I was glad you managed to go positive at worlds. There was a huge amount of support being thrown for you phil and for good reason :D

    But glad you decided on helping hand in the end. It seems like it was a good move to have it haha. Congrats on the finish. It was a good read. 
     

Leave a Reply

Back to Top ↑