Full disclosure, I'm writing this post after the season's conclusion, but when I joined the Paldea Battle Academy, I really wanted to have at least one more draft league in case I'm never really able to again. Nothing's wrong, draft is just time-consuming and more of my time gets consumed by things in life the older I get, as with most people.
But this is Gen 9, Kevin! You haven't played a draft league in TWO generations of Pokemon, and you plan to go up against seasoned veterans of the game?! You must be mad! You know me too well, dear reader, but if that's true, then you also know that I haven't let that stop me before. Pokemon is structurally still the same game, there's just lots of moveset changes and new Pokemon to account for... and abilities, items, the budget/ tiering... and what the fuck is "Tera"? Oh no... I've made a terrible mistake...
Going into the draft, I knew I wanted to try and build with the old tried and true principles, attending to balance and versatility in as many ways as possible, but I'd also be willing to make concessions for Pokemon I liked. Also to win a game! Let's see how I did beginning with my draft analysis.
Budget: 120, 1st Pick - Spectrier (-18) "Daredevil"
I was the third-to-last pick in the draft, and the 13 picks or whatever before me cycled out my top 10 choices; I kind of wish I would have saved my notes actually because it was funny to see thing after thing fall off. There was no panic initially as round after round, Terapagos, my top choice, didn't get drafted, but eventually he did, along with other stuff that interested me like Gouging Fire, Gholdengo, Ursaluna-Bloodmoon, Sneasler, and Dragapult. Eventually I landed on ol' Daredevil and that kind of became the whole identity of the team... which I had to make in MS Paint in a browser because I use a Mac.
It could have been worse.
This actually went against my instinct because I do feel as though Spectrier is a little one dimensional. It has a few interesting tricks (I did not get to use my Curse set) and brings a lot of great stuff with the first pick, but I think the real strength of it is how restricting it can be on team-building. I know you're going to bring your Normal/ Dark type because if you don't, you basically have to sack something every time he gallops into action. Plus if you play around it wrong, it just sweeps you, so now I can understand YOUR team building constraints more clearly. I like that. I drafted Mega Alakazam for a similar reason, well before its potential was realized because I felt it played similarly and I did enjoy having it, even though I didn't draft around it well, so loosely similar and I do think I did better drafting around Spectrier when the final version of the team was made.
In Review: I actually don't think I'd draft it again to be honest. It's strong, but it's manageable for opposition and a difficult choice with which to get creative. If the price were lower, I might be persuaded to look at it, but it didn't feel like a mon I wanted to bring to every game, often being unable to break through certain things, or being revenge killed too easily. That's partly why most of my top choices had some bulk to them--I want an ace that's going to stick around a while and be a pain in your ass. I've always played better with bulky offense, but theoretically in my head, this thing seemed much better than how I felt it actually performed or what it was like building with and around it.
Budget: 102, 2nd Pick - Great Tusk (-19) "Snuffleupagus"
The greatest of tusks is one of my favorite paradox designs and since I don't currently play OU, I'm not sick of it like the rest of yall, so I snagged that off that long 3-pick wheel and named it after our pachyderm friend from Sesame Street. And I was just talking about liking mons that stick around to be a pain in your ass, wasn't I? Spin, rocks, set up, knock, phys def, ground typing, this thing does so much for a team, which was why I was willing to spend that much--Great Tusk is in the second-highest tier at that price, alongside meanaces like Darkrai, Garchomp, and motherfucking Zamazenta-Crowned. Let me guess, "it can only hold one item so it's more predictable"? Ok.
How do you not love his giant tusks and fluffy feet?
Budget: 83, 3rd Pick - Iron Crown (-10) "Lil Troy"
With how strong Tachyon Cutter is, I wouldn't be surprised if there WERE twenty-inch blades on this impala! (if you don't get it, the nickname is a clue). I discussed this one with my friend Emvee who shared my opinion that this was an extremely budget-friendly pick-up and would be my first Tera captain. Tera captains had a separate budget that essentially allowed for 2-3 mons with 3 Tera types decided in advance of the season but could be switched once. Additionally, one of those types had to be from it's original typing, so you definitely want good ones, like say... steel.
Admin Poll Consensus MVP for the Spectriers
In Review: I really loved this mon, I would still draft it a couple tiers up--I think it's really being underestimated right now, especially with Tera. Great bulk, decent speed, very strong, pivot, good typing, strong special attacker, this was one of the easiest mons to use in my opinion. The other coaches agreed evidently as it was ranked my team MVP at the end of the season and if I had remembered to Tera in my week 1 game, it probably would have had a run at league MVP as it was poised for a 6-0. The set I found myself using most commonly was really just four-attacks with Volt Switch, Tachyon Cutter, and Psychic/ Psyshock, but once it sets up, which it does easily thanks to it's bulk and typing, it steamrolls teams with the Stored Power set. My Teras were Steel, Fighting, and Fairy, the latter of which I actually never used, and rarely found little reason to deviate from Steel, actually. Tachyon Cutter with set up was pretty much always worth running over other coverage for the Stored Power resist/ immunity that always had to come. Not sure what I'd pick for the third type off-hand, and I don't think Fairy is a bad choice, but I'd personally be more inclined to try something else. Obviously, I would absolutely draft this thing again.
Budget: 73, 4rd Pick - Sylveon (-9) "RaRa"
Sylveon has been around long enough, but in my "storied" career of terrorizing draft leagues with fairies, I've never been able to get it. I've been sniped for it before, but at last it's on our side.
Named after our family cat, "Ra". Not as cute as the real thing, but much more obedient.
One of the reasons I most wanted to acquire this in the past is because of how great Umbreon has been for me as a bulky support/ wall and the similarities in the way they play, but with offensive potential and better typing. I also nickname my Umbreon's Osiris, my late beloved by all cat, and he was Ra's best friend. Aww. So we've got a nice tie-in to my lore... now back to your regularly scheduled carnage.
In Review: I'm also a huge fan of sound moves in general because a well-timed substitute can really ruin your evening, and also make certain sets more likely to be excluded, like a Sub-Dragon Dance Dragapult or something, and Hyper Voice is basically always on this thing. RaRa seemed like an optimal choice for a tera captain, and while I do think it makes an excellent one, I found myself using it more as a parachute for something getting out of control, which happened once (you remember the time I forgot to tera...). I really liked the Tera types I picked for that purpose (Fairy, Fire, Water), especially since I didn't originally have a Fire type, but I think Poison and Steel would be amazing on this thing also. I pretty much brought Tera Fairy each week (seldom used) but Fire one week as a CM sweeper, and Water a couple times as an aforementioned parachute, which I did not use but nevertheless was glad to have. If doing it over again, I probably would have made a different Tera, and while I could have switched it, I just didn't have the time this season to think that deeply about it, honestly. I could go look at matchups and whatnot, but I'm drafting against "everything" in my head because I want to win lol. And of course, would draft again, even if not a Tera captain.
Budget: 64, 5th Pick - Salamence (-11) "Chomps McGee"
Salamence is one of my all time favorite Pokemon, probably top 5, top 10 at the lowest, and I've never drafted it. I used it while subbing for someone in a Gen 6 draft and thought it was incredible. I've also found it difficult to prepare against, which is why I think I had so much fun building with him.
Now Chomps McGee was from Tennessee...
One of the most underrated qualities about Mence to me is how good it is as a special attacker as well. Everyone and their mom has been swept AND been swept by the Dragon Dance set multiple times... assuming they've been playing since this fella came out anyway, but the versatility of Salamence, combined with that price tag was too good to pass up. At this point also, having never done a points-budgeted drafts (tiers back in my day!), I'm trying to be very frugal and look for "hidden" gems like this.
In Review: Chomps did not disappoint, but it also didn't dazzle me. There's fewer matchups where it's good and I think it's primarily because of other dragons available and the abundance of strong ice coverage with the distribution of moves like Ice Spinner and Triple Axel. One of my biggest complaints about the direction of the games it it's obsession with offense, when the intricacies of methodical building and counter-play characterize the experience. That's the Pokemon I love to play, and while I do think he's worth the price tag, I don't think I'd spend more than another point for the value I felt he brought in this particular meta. As a favorite mon? Delighted--like I said, loved having this thing as an option in the team builder and would put him there again.
Budget: 53, 6th Pick - Alolan-Muk (-8) "Gak" { exchanged for } Clodsire (-9) "Mudsy Bogs"
This was a tough one because I really thought Alolan Muk was amazing while I had it. Truly and I would draft it again--it was extremely clutch the first couple weeks I had it, especially thanks to some surprise Clear Smogs. I also think Muk-A is definitely underrated, but I made a fairly big change of four free agency swaps to remove some redundancies (as well as add the ground one I mentioned earlier) while offering substantial gains with no real loss... other than Gak :(
So what kind of gains? Besides being my favorite gen 9 mon of all, my team was heavily pressured by set up and Unaware took a lot of pressure out of needing Clear Smog/ Haze always taking up a slot. Of course, Mudsy's hazard options are top tier and it finally gave my team access to T-Spikes, which I didn't have before, as well as maintaining a spiker I lost in the free agency moves, and a reliable rocker. Losing the ever-reliable Knock Off of Muk was a bummer, but between Unaware, T-Spikes (to help Spectrier by making Hex easier to do), the supplemental ground type, and a personal favorite, I couldn't resist, and I'm glad I didn't.
In review: Whatever praise I could heap on one, I could heap on the other, but I do feel Mudsy fit the team better having piloted both version. Both felt like "every game" mons, the utility was tremendously felt, and they made building the rest of the team much easier. T-Spikes did come in handy for a Spectrier sweep as expected, and Unaware made my life much easier. I'd absolutely recommend both, and I might even think Clodsire could get tons more mileage out of being a Tera captain. Part of me wishes I would have swapped Sylveon's onto him, but maybe next time.
Unfortunately, no, Regieleki is not allowed to be a Tera Captain in this league. I know you're going to ask, that's got to be the first question with that thing. Regieleki with Tera would be more broken than Spectrier, Terapagos, Zamazenta, Chi-Yu, according to the administrators of the league who banned it.
Behold the lightning bringer of doom
So I ended up with another 1-dimensional mon, but also still brings that nice benefit of forcing certain preparations out of an opponent. I know you're bringing your ground type because the moment it's gone, this thing is going to be so fucking annoying because Transistor boosted Volt Switches sting a lot. I also love the way this looks, and it's my favorite Regi, narrowly beating out Death Metal Kirby. I mean Regidrago.
In Review: There were a few times where I would have maybe rather had something like Jolteon, but I had a great time in games where I brought it, and I actually don't think I ever lost when I did bring it, now that I'm thinking about it... damn. But the thing was, it wasn't great in many games too; I was always glad to be able to have that spare spinner in the back who could also close out the game and surprisingly few scarfers can catch this guy even with a Modest nature. Also Screens are always nice to have in the back pocket since few end up with Aurora Veil and Screens can be really disruptive to someone's prep. If it could Tera, I might draft it first overall, and without it, I still think it was outstanding. Would love to have it in my builder again someday, if I ever get back into this like when I was younger.
Budget: 37, 8th Pick - Ogerpon (-13) "Ipkiss { exchanged for } Incineroar (-9) "Crossfitten"
I'm just gonna get this out of the way: I never brought Ogerpon. I never even found it good in matchup, which probably sounds sacrilegious to a modern competitive player, but I just didn't find it good. Offensively, it was pretty easily walled by at least one mon and defensively, while viable I think, never made sense when I had another option for a Grass type I liked more that we'll get to later. I also realized in the initial draft that I was being too stingy with my points and wasn't really loaded up with much power, and Ogerpon felt like the best fit for my team at the time with so many other desirable options snatched up. I almost got the Fire Ogerpon too, but felt the cost was a little too steep and wanting to have some wiggle room as more things start getting sniped.
Really I just wanted someone to hold me accountable at the gym.
Enter: Incineroar. After losing my dark-type in Muk, and seeing the opportunity to acquire a bulky fire type that had both Intimidate and multiple pivot moves to whittle down would be checks to Spectrier as well as help get it in safely, I felt this was a move I had to make.
In Review: This thing did exactly what I drafted it for. I think the price tag makes sense, and I'm really glad I dropped Ogerpon for this thing. I would go so far as to say that I feel this is an ideal Pokemon to have on Spectrier teams; while certainly not mandatory, I definitely felt like having this expanded my options with Spectrier. I would also recommend it without the spooky horse because that slow bulky pivot with STAB Knock Off and Intimidate is seldom not useful. You'll run boots often if the hazard game is tough, but I always had a reliable spin with this draft too. I do wish I could have given Ogerpon a better shake, and perhaps sprung for the fire one initially, but it will have to be on a team it's better suited for, I believe.
Budget: 24, 9th Pick - Milotic (-11) "Focalors"
Everyone thinks they know what the best Water type in draft is, but if they don't take Milotic into consideration, I don't believe they've seen what this thing can do. In the Casualness Intensifies League (CIL) that I ran for a few years (6 seasons I think), Milotic earned its way into legend by tanking Thunder from Heliolisk and Thunder from Zapdos in the same game and walling a rain team into defeat. I helped build that team, I've drafted it before myself, and it is the only mon joining the squad that I have drafted before.
Every bit deserving of the namesake.
In the draft, I was willing to wait for this around the long wheel because there were still great options like Suicune and Dondozo on the board, neither of whom I had drafted and both of whom I had interest in. I felt Milotic was the stronger choice though so when it didn't get picked up, I pounced. I consider a bulky Water type a must when drafting--this may be contentious to some, but I feel it's as important as the equally requisite Ground or Poison types.
In Review: When you factor in cost, I will always think Milotic is one of the best value picks in draft. It's actually an incredible Pokemon, that may be a bit one dimensional at times, but it's a clutch dimension that saves your ass--I would know, because until the end of the season, this was actually the coach's pick for my team MVP until the very end. A big advantage I think this thing has over other bulky Waters is it's immediate recovery, where as Suicune and Dondozo must rely on Rest. Higher budget options generally have this going for them as well, in addition to more utility in most cases, but for only 11 points, she was incredible. At this point, after two drafts, she has to be "Signature Mon" status, which is basically my "Hall of Fame"... might be another fun post actually... anyway, I obviously would, in theory, draft it again, but I would personally like to explore new choices in future leagues if the opportunity presents itself like a Slowbro/king, Empoleon, Primarina, even Samurott-H, who I've yet to see fill his full potential in my opinion. I think people are too aggressive with the Ceaseless Edge spam and would like to try it myself some other ways just to see if I'm on to something. Anyway, yay Focalors.
Budget: 13, 10th Pick - Garganacl (-6) "Salt Bae" { exchanged for } Dudunsparce (-9) "Thousand Dragon"
Garganacl was a mon I never used and should have week one. I thought I didn't need it when it would have helped a ton vs Skeledirge that I knew was going to be an issue but had I remembered to Tera my Iron Crown... anyway! I ultimately felt that Garg without Tera just wasn't that good and knowing it's coming increases the likelihood of Covert Cloaks, which diminishes the value of Salt Cure, so while I do think it's a mon I'd look at again if I could Tera it, ultimately, Dudunsparce was a more useful Pokemon to have around.
Thousand Dragon as happy about the exchange as I was.
In Review: I genuinely feel that this is a mon that could be brought just about every week despite the fact that I only ended up bringing it once to the maybe 3 or 4 games I had it for, but when I looked at calcs and started building out options/ versions of teams, I really enjoyed dialing up plays for Thousand Dragon to run. If I get the chance to draft him again, I may even make it a priority because there were so many sets cooked up that I never got to use. I have to note though, that having run some calcs, when you factor in the fact that the price tag isn't cheap, but a defensively better and offensively worse prevolution exits for the low cost of 3. 6 points is a lot and since you probably aren't using this as your primary offensive weapon, I suspect Dunsparce might actually have comparable or better value. For reference, that could be a Dunsparce + Entei or a Dudunsparce + Raboot combo for the same price because of how much Dunsparce saves you while offering a marginally worse package for a role you may not even use every week, even if you could if you wanted.
Budget: 7, 11th Pick - Whimsicott (-5) "Whimsy"
Another top 5 or 10 favorite Pokemon design and mon that I've never drafted: my beloved Whimsicott. Whimsicott is one of the only Pokemon I actually did the breeding process for back in Gen 5 (when it wasn't as convenient as you whippersnappers have it) and I've definitely been that dude pissing you off on the ladder with shenanigans like Encore and Sub Seed, but occasionally, I've even liked offensive Whimsy. I love this mon so much that I could have made even better roster changes if I gave it up and I just couldn't. Something about that "play with your favorite" ethos just sticks with me, especially when we're talking about a fluffy, cute, excited, face of terror.
Another top 5 or 10 favorite Pokemon design and mon that I've never drafted: my beloved Whimsicott. Whimsicott is one of the only Pokemon I actually did the breeding process for back in Gen 5 (when it wasn't as convenient as you whippersnappers have it) and I've definitely been that dude pissing you off on the ladder with shenanigans like Encore and Sub Seed, but occasionally, I've even liked offensive Whimsy. I love this mon so much that I could have made even better roster changes if I gave it up and I just couldn't. Something about that "play with your favorite" ethos just sticks with me, especially when we're talking about a fluffy, cute, excited, face of terror.
Destroyer of Worlds
At this point in the draft, I felt the team was effectively complete, so I was looking for things I liked to be fun role-players and Prankster mons are always welcome to me, especially since this one has STAB Moonblast to address that new-ish Dark-type immunity to Prankster. Having it also enabled me to make the big moves because dropping Ogerpon freed up so much cap space when I honestly felt Whimsicott was more useful anyway, plus how great those moves ended up turning out. Blasphemy. I know. You goobers and your Ogerpons. I don't care.
In Review: As expected of a late, lower-tier pick, Whimsy didn't see much field time, but was yet another mon that I loved having in the builder. There was one week where I was seriously considering it over Spectrier because the opponent was particularly weak to Fairy and definitely could have. As much as I love this mon, and I don't think it's a bad pickup if you feel it suits your team or you enjoy terrorizing people, but I don't know if I'd draft it again, especially with some of these intriguing new fairies like Enamorus, Iron Valiant, and Fezandipiti. I still haven't even drafted Togekiss (not available in current draft) and I think I could do some damage with that thing. Maybe as a budget grass type, like in this draft though. Fairy is a type I don't mind doubling up on, especially since one was a Tera captain... actually I think Tera Whimsy would probably be good too because it's a decent hit-and-run kind of mon anyway and I think Tera just elevates most offense more, although a defensive Tera like Poison or Steel could be interesting too as a nice bulky pivot to help you position.
Budget: 2, Final Pick - Smeargle (-2) "LE ARTEEST" { exchanged for } Illumise (-1) "Dolores"
Smeargle never came, but the prospect of any moveset imaginable was too tempting to resist when I felt the team was already complete. But now if I want to do something wacky, I can, I've got every hazard and hazard removal now... everything. Except, I don't know if you've ever done calcs with Smeargle but even the most obscene offensive setups do like 40% to mons uninvested in bulk. It's depressing. And on top of that, it can't really be used defensively either because it's defenses are even worse somehow. I actually didn't have to make this change, but as life started getting busier and the dream of the bizarre Smeargle sweep became less tenable, I decided it was time for a change to improve our lack of ground resists and picked up the best bug I could with 2 points left.
"10 Points from Gryffindor!"
I chose Illumise over Volbeat, who is essentially the same mon but with better offensive coverage (abysmal offenses for both though), but lacks Wish. I felt if I was going to use her, it would be as a bulky pivot to some dangerous ground type or prankster Encore deterrent to set up.
In Review: While Illumise never came this season, I did have a couple interesting builds with her loaded up as alternate versions, but ultimately found it hard to justify this pick over some stronger option on the roster. I really wish one of these twin bug sisters got Reflect though; they would be outstanding dual screen setters, and I think for the toolkit they bring at the lowest price available, it's definitely a mon I would consider drafting again. I'd still like to revisit Smeargle, but it's difficult to imagine a time in my life where I will have more availability to spend time on creative build shenanigans as I get older
Closing Thoughts
Ultimately, I'm going to give my draft a B+. Surprisingly, I felt the squad really shone with it's defensive prowess, despite some of the potent offensive potential available to me with things like Spectrier and Regieleki. Especially once the changes were made, the team felt incredibly defensively sound and I wasn't overly concerned with renegade mons. Even Gouging Fire, who is still tough enough to merit two mons for in my experience, was handled well by the combination of Incineroar and Milotic, while both also covered other threats like Greninja and Reuniclus in the same game. Some of that could be chalked up to my style too as I have a tendency to make sure I'm "safe" before I figure out how to break them.
With that in mind, part of the reason I couldn't give myself an A was because as I've found in many drafts, I never am satisfied with my wall-breaking options. Except that time I had Kyurem-B in... gen 6 or 7 I think, and that was probably the best team I drafted and ultimately ended up winning that season. The crazy part was, Kyurem-B had one less kill than my Torn-T, but the pressure a great wallbreaker exerts is even better than the more narrow pressure of things like Spectrier and Regieleki, which may have few checks and counters but are generally addressed easily by at least one mon on the team. This is kind of why I'm still thinking about if I had tried the Fire Ogerpon, for instance. That's not to say the offense wasn't good, but A-grade has to be great.
I also have to dock points for the Whimsicott thing, because it definitely would have been better to drop it for the points and be able to spend even more when I was rebuilding. I also recall some version with Heracross that I think would have been an incredible fit for the team that even kept Whimsy, but I think cost me Dudunsparce or something. So I definitely played favorites a bit, but I also found some great undervalued gems as well.
I also think I did a nice job with the speed tiers and type synergy, as well as accounting for many utility roles for a very well-balanced and fun team to build and play with. Despite my rough 2-game start to the season, I was on path to make playoffs and perhaps most important of all, I feel like I "still got it", even while learning this very different meta and rule set against really experienced competitors, and with adequate time, I could definitely still compete in this format, even if I never end up getting to play it again. If this was the last ride, it was as all fun ones are: exciting and over too soon.
Often I miss the draft league though, not really so much for the competitive Pokemon aspect (although I do enjoy that), was the friends made along the way. I have truly cherished memories with some friends I've met, and some friends I've never met, playing in the CIL, being silly and having fun, while providing me with some semblance of normalcy in a tumultuous time in my life when I moved across the country from a rural town of 1200 people to the 18 million in Los Angeles in pursuit of a dream, alone, and knowing no one there. I think about my friends often now, as we don't keep in touch like we used to, but I really do wish everyone had the time to keep it going because those times, as difficult as they were, still fill me with so much happiness when I really needed it, that I just might feel a tear in each eye right now. If any of you read this, thank you, I love you, and I hope we'll play again one day.
P.S. Special thanks to my friends Kelly and Joe for getting me into the PBA and Emvee for his draft consultation haha. And of course the PBA people for putting it on and being very pleasant yet fierce competitors.
P.S. Special thanks to my friends Kelly and Joe for getting me into the PBA and Emvee for his draft consultation haha. And of course the PBA people for putting it on and being very pleasant yet fierce competitors.
P.P.S. For my own amusement, 25 Gen 8/9 Pokemon I still haven't drafted and really want to, not necessarily in order but kind of, maybe as a personal reminder/ starting point for another league 👀 :
1. Skeledirge
2. Dragapult
3. Garchomp
4. Terapagos
5. Gouging Fire
6. Walking Wake
7. Sneasler
8. Ursaluna-Bloodmoon
9. Gholdengo
10. Chi-Yu
11. Kleavor
12. Annihilape
13. Zoroark-H
14. Arcanine-H
15. Roaring Moon
16. Urshifu-Single Strike
17. Samurott-H
18. Enamorus
19. Ogerpon-Fire or -Water
20. Darkrai
21. Fezandipiti
22. Pecharunt
23. Wo-Chien
24. Iron Valiant
25. Houndstone
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