Wednesday, August 31, 2016

2016 Worlds Team

Hi everyone! I'm back again with another team report. This time, its about the team that I brought to the 2016 Pokemon World Championships. I had a pretty good start at the event going 5-0, needing only one more win to advance to day two. Unfortunately, a combination of me being unlucky, playing bad, and letting the pressure get to me caused me to lose my last three games, meaning I was unable to make it to the second day. That is a quick explanation about my day, time to talk about the team!

Building the team

After my abysmal 6-3 performance at Nationals, I knew that I needed to do well at worlds to show the world that I am still good at this game and that those pre-Nats results were not just a fluke (They might have been lol). I noticed that Xerneas+Groudon teams seemed to be still going strong after this event, so I knew I needed a way to counter it. I thought about what I wanted to use, and got my inspiration from watching Liar win Japan Nationals using Rayquaza+Groudon. This combination seemed to fit me because of how much pressure this duo provides. So with that, I decided to start off with Groudon and Rayquaza as my restricted Pokemon.

groudon_xy_iconrayquaza_xy_mega_icon

Now that I have my restricteds, I needed to decide on the rest of the team. The first thing I noticed is that these two can be decently frail. So, I decided I needed a pretty good way to support these two. The first notable Pokemon that this duo struggles with is Kyogre, especially with Rayquaza. Most people don't opt for a speedy Kyogre, opting for a more bulky spread. I decided to take advantage of this by using Smeargle, which can outspeed Kyogre and put it to sleep as well as other threats.

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Now we have half the team. The problem with just having smeargle to help vs Kyogre teams is the fact that Rayquaza is the only one of those three that resists Water. I knew this is a bad idea, so I knew I needed another Water resist. After looking at results from past events, I noticed an interesting choice by Stefan Smigoc at US Nationals, Suicune. Suicune seemed to be the perfect fit for this role, it was rather bulky and had just the correct support I needed, speed control and a way of removing boosts that can be troublesome. After that realization, Suicune went straight on the team.

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While Suicune does solve this Kyogre+Rayquaza problem, it does not entirely solve the Kyogre problem entirely. Kyogre under Trick Room can be a problem because Groudon, Rayquaza, and Smeargle are all slower than it. Suicune would not help due to its lack of offense. I knew I needed something to help in this situation. Ferrothorn seemed to be a good fit, it was slow and could deal a huge amount of damage to Kyogre. It also had access to Leech Seed, which can be used to restore Groudon or even Rayquaza's HP so that it could stay around a bit longer.

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I was perfectly content with the five I had at this point, they all seemed  to be doing their jobs like I wanted them to. Finding the last slot was a HUGE pain. With this group of five, I had a problem against leads of Kangaskhan+Smeargle and even Salamence+Smeargle. Not only that, but I also had a problem against Yveltal as well as a Xerneas if it is faster than my Groudon/ gets a late game Geomancy and even some Xerneas+Rayquaza teams. I tested tons of options, from Thundurus to Weavile to even Sylveon, but none of them seemed to work as they lead to a different problem. It seemed like this was too much for just one Pokemon to handle. At this point in time, Andrew Nowak was struggling to find a team for worlds, and started liking the one I was using. So, I gave him this team for him to work with. I brought this problem up with Andrew and he suggested to use Crobat. Crobat seemed like a good idea, with another way to Tailwind if Suicune is not necessary as well as access to Taunt and Super Fang. While I did like it, I was not a fan of the lack of offense that putting Crobat would have on this team, so I kept looking. Liar used a Talonflame on his Nationals team with Sleep Talk to handle Smeargle. I thought Talonflame was actually a good way to handle all the problems, with Will-O-Wisp Kangaskhan or most Yveltal and Taunt to handle Smeargle and Xerneas. Aside from support, it can provide pressure with its powerful attacks and high speed. I slapped it on and tried it out and in the end, I loved the addition and was content with the team.

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In depth look

Enough with the rambling about the team, now we take a closer look at the sets!

rayquaza_mega_shuffle
Rayquaza-Mega @ Life Orb 
Ability: Delta Stream 
Level: 50 
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe 
Naive Nature 
- Dragon Ascent 
- Extreme Speed 
- Draco Meteor 
- Protect 


Alrighty, here we are starting off with the only mega on this team. Rayquaza is known for its really high attacking stats and speed. Its ability is also really useful, allowing it to cancel the abilities of the primals. Dragon Ascent, Extreme Speed, and Protect are moves that are pretty much essential to Rayquaza. Draco Meteor might be a little shocking to some people, the reason why I wanted to use Draco Meteor is so that I can be able to take out some very scary threats in one shot such as Thundurus, Salamence, and fast Groudon. The EV spread is pretty simple, maximum speed and attack allow it to hit as hard as it can as fast as possible. The remaining 4 EVs were put into Special Attack to power up Draco Meteor. I used the Naive nature because this Rayquaza is a mixed attacker and not the bulkiest, meaning that defense isn't its biggest priority so I was fine with decreased defense. It also allowed it to get a Speed increase without harming its attack stats. Life Orb was the item of choice in order to boost its power even more, giving me better chances to KO threats like Kangaskhan, Groudon, or Kyogre. Also, I already knew I wanted Smeargle on this team which
needed a focus sash to support well, so I just went with the next best thing.


groudon_shuffle
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb 
Ability: Desolate Land 
Level: 50 
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe 
Timid Nature 
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def 
- Earth Power 
- Eruption 
- Hidden Power [Ice] 
- Protect


The next restricted on this team is Groudon, one of the biggest threats in this metagame. Since Rayquaza was built more towards the physical side, I wanted this Groudon to be leaned more to the special side because I personally like special variants compared to the physical ones. Eruption and Earth Power are pretty much essential for Groudon, being powerful attacks on the special side in Groudon's movepool. A powerful eruption can leave such a huge dent and unlike Precipice Blades, is unaffected by Intimidate and can only be weakened by attacking Groudon, which I thought would not be a problem since everyone was going bulky. Hidden Power Ice is probably the only strange thing about the Groudon. This was just meant to give me an easy way to handle Salamence or other Pokemon along those lines since Eruption might not be enough. The EV spread is rather straightforward, maximum Speed and Special Attack. This is pretty much the same reason why I wanted Rayquaza's EV spread, to hit as hard as possible as fast as I can.


smeargle_shuffle
Smeargle @ Focus Sash 
Ability: Moody 
Level: 50 
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spe 
Timid Nature 
IVs: 0 Atk 
- Dark Void 
- Follow Me 
- Wide Guard 
- Spiky Shield 

Smeargle is the next member of this team. Smeargle is a rather disruptive Pokemon, but also a really good one. It has access to every move in the game, allowing it endless possibilities for its moveset. This Smeargle has the same attacks I have been using pretty much the entire year. Wide Guard and Follow Me allow me to redirect attacks so that Smeargle's partner can deal tons of damage while it protects them. Dark Void allows me to get the upper hand of a match quickly by putting the opposing team's Pokemon to sleep. Spiky Shield is mainly used as my way of protecting Smeargle from attacks as well as a way to stall out Trick Room or Tailwind.  Spiky Shield and Dark Void also go hand in hand thanks to its ability Moody. For those that don't know, I have used Own Tempo for the entire year prior to Worlds because I didn't like the luck factor. After Nationals, I realized Smeargle with Moody is just a better option. Moody gives me the possibility of using Spiky Shield and hoping for a good boost so that I can get a benefit for using Dark Void. The Focus Sash is pretty much essential for this Smeargle because it allows it to survive longer than what its intended to. The EV spread just allows me to fire off fast Dark Voids and survive Power-Up Punch from Kangaskhan.




suicune_shuffle
Suicune @ Sitrus Berry 
Ability: Pressure 
Level: 50 
EVs: 244 HP / 100 Def / 52 SpA / 108 SpD / 4 Spe 
Bold Nature 
IVs: 0 Atk 
- Tailwind 
- Scald 
- Icy Wind 
- Roar

Now we move on to the elephant in the room, Suicune. Suicune was mainly used to its bulk and speed control options. As you can see, I use both Icy Wind and Tailwind as my speed control options. I used Icy Wind instead of Ice Beam because Icy Wind allowed me a way to get the speed advantage if I expected Taunt coming onto Suicune. The purpose of this Suicune was to support the team, not to be a heavy hitter. That is why I chose to go with a way to manage the field rather than a way to take out the opponent fast. Roar was another nice move to have, giving me pressure to stop Trick Room from being set up, stopping Geomancy boosted Xerneas, or just removing something from the battlefield because I don't like it. Scald is the last move and is my last form of "support". I use the word support loosely because I mainly just used it to take out Groudons. It can also be used to try and burn a threat so that it won't do much damage to Groudon or Rayquaza. As for the EV spread, this was given to me by miahruh123. He explained what it did, but I sort of forgot. All I know is that it pretty much won't go down to only one attack, meaning that you would have to double into it or waste two turns to take it down.
ferrothorn_shuffle
Ferrothorn @ Lum Berry 
Ability: Iron Barbs 
Level: 50 
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 80 SpD 
Brave Nature 
IVs: 0 Spe 
- Leech Seed 
- Power Whip 
- Gyro Ball 
- Protect



Oh Ferrothorn, this thing can be pretty annoying as some of us have experienced in the past. Leech Seed combined with Iron Barbs can be pretty devastating because of its chip damage which can be huge in the late game. Combining Leech Seed and Protect allowed me to get health so that I can survive attacks I might not have been able to survive otherwise. Power Whip and Gyro Ball are pretty much self explanatory, being Ferrothorn's main method of attacking and hitting threats like Kyogre and Xerneas for tons of damage. I am going to be completely honest about the EV spread, I have no idea what it does. I got this spread from an article on Nuggetbridge and I don't remember whose article it was or even what it did. For all I know, this was probably something from 2015. Andrew used a different Ferrothorn spread and I highly recommend using that one over the one presented here.

talonflame_shuffle
Talonflame @ Chesto Berry 
Ability: Gale Wings 
Level: 50 
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe 
Adamant Nature 
- Brave Bird 
- Flare Blitz 
- Taunt 
- Will-O-Wisp

Talonflame is the last member of this team, pretty much covering all the problems that this team had. It had the wide movepool to offer support such as Tailwind or Taunt and powerful attacks such as Brave Bird. Taunt and Will-O-Wisp are not common moves on this Talonflame, but they fit on this particular team. Taunt is able to surprise opposing Smeargle, stopping them from using the very scary Dark Void. Will-O-Wisp was able to handle other problems such as Kangaskhan. This can also be used to handle Yveltal because I think most people use a physical variant. Brave Bird and Flare Blitz help reduce the opposing team's health so that Rayquaza or Groudon can finish what is remaining of their health. Brave Bird also helps against Choice Scarf Smeargle, another big problem. Most of the time, I would taunt a Smeargle the second I see it. This can go wrong if they have a Choice Scarf or a Mental Herb, allowing them to Dark Void my main way to handle it. That is why I have Chesto Berry on my Talonflame, to cover all the options of checking Smeargle if things go wrong. The EV spread is simple, there really is no reason to do anything special with it because there really isn't much it can do in my opinion.

Conclusion

While I did not do as well as I expected, I am really satisfied with how my team ended up! Andrew would go on to make day 2 and cut with it, so that meant that the team wasn't that bad. Of course I am bummed out about my performance, but hopefully I can do better next year. I am also still looking to get that paid trip to Worlds since it has been almost 2 years since the last I got one haha.

Thank you everyone for your support! I would mainly like to thank miahruh123 for the Suicune spread, leftwingzero for the Smeargle, and Andrew for doing so well with the team! It was great seeing everyone at worlds and taking pictures and giving autographs with other people, this really did help cheer me up after Day 1.

Andrew will be posting the other half of this report, which involves a more in depth look at Suicune and his EVs for Ferrothorn and Crobat. His will also feature the battles he had throught the weekend. Be sure to check it out when it becomes available!

See you next time!