In Depth Reflections: Semifinals vs Bentonville Blastoise

Haven't really done a post like this since I normally cover stuff in the video but I got some good responses from my teambuilding post so I thought I'd jot down another example as quickly as I can without missing worthwhile details.  This is for my season 3 Semifinal match vs Chase.

The Matchup

General impressions: improved options vs my baton pass via taunt Tornadus. Roar Donphan seems likely as well.  I had this feeling he'd go Weavile to address my genies but I think Ttar would have been better when paired with Victini.  Thought Victini might sit the bench this week since I have 5 checks to it.  Serp is pretty good against the team but the presence of Torn, Kyurem, & Scoli might deter it.  Araquanid is gonna be annoying and force certain builds on me.  Florges and Donphan present set up opportunities as can a weakened or slowed Victini.  I have several directions I can take the team but I'll always be a little weak to some things.

My Team

Big Mamapotomus (Hippowdon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 156 Def / 96 SpD
Impish Nature
- Earthquake
- Thunder Fang
- Slack Off
- Stealth Rock

Physically defensive with enough bulk to not get 2HKO'd by Weavile's Icicle Crash and Jolly Mega Aerodactyl's Aqua Tail.  Rest goes towards Spdef investment ensures avoiding a 2HKO from mixed, physically-based TTar's Ice Beam, & mixed specially-based Life Orb Victini's Glaciate.  Big Mama can take on Victini, Tyranitar, Donphan, Mega Aero, and Tornadus lacking Grass Knot as well as help get chip damage on Celesteela and Araquanid if need be.

Frosty (Kyurem-Black) @ Haban Berry
Ability: Teravolt
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Atk / 212 Def / 44 SpA
Lax Nature
- Fusion Bolt
- Ice Beam
- Roost
- Iron Head

b/c of my weakness to Araquanid, I went phys def to capitalize on his great bulk while easing some of Manaphy's considerable defensive burden with the team's weakness to Weavile.  this set can perform multiple roles depending on his team composition and provide substantial offensive pressure as well.  Banded Adamant Araquanid's liquidation does 29% Max, offensive Donphan's Stone Edge does 43% max, Mega Aero's Stone Edge does 71% max and b/c of the Haban Berry, Goodra's Draco does 65% max.  obvi can't take repeated hits from M. Aero and has to roost stall Goodra to take repeated hits, but it *can* do multiple roles. I really wasn't sure what he'd bring so I wanted to cover as many bases as I could without stretching too thin.  It also has enough bulk despite the -Spdef nature to always live 252+ Florges' Moonblast and 2HKO back with Iron Head, for which it needs all 4 Atk EVs to do so lol... but seriously. The SpAtk gives it a 56.3% chance to OHKO Donphan from full as well as well as 2HKOing literally anything weak to Ice Beam.

Poseidon (Manaphy) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 248 HP / 228 Def / 4 SpA / 28 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Ancient Power
- Ice Beam
- Light Screen

Another physical check for his many physical attackers; this set is also my best Weavile response since I decided to forgo Mega Scizor.  I didn't need any other coverage so I went with Light Screen to try and help Beef Jones set up more.

Beef Jones (Snorlax) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 60 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def / 192 SpD
Impish Nature
- Curse
- Return
- Thunder Punch
- Rest

This set is perfect for the matchup.  Maximum bulk with as little HP as possible in order to reduce the amount of health Celesteela gains from Leech Seed.  All of his ways of beating this include and are limited to: Low Kick Weavile/ Ttar, crits, or Leech Seed + crits.  If I get to +2, which can be very easy on certain mons like Florges, Donphan, Tornadus, Serperior, Goodra, M. Aero and non-banded Victini.  It can also set up on Araquanid, if it's not banded and Rest means I don't have to worry about a rogue Toxic Florges or something.  I knew going into this that Beef was most likely the win con, but still believe I had other ways to win and might not need it.

RNGesus (Thundurus) @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 8 HP / 252 Atk / 184 Def / 64 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Fly
- Thunder Punch
- Superpower
- Agility

At +2 Speed, it outpaces his entire team even with scarves.  Physical because I wanted to make the most of my Z-Crystal and Supersonic Skystrike nukes everything but PhysDef Donphan and Celesteela, the latter of which is answered by coverage.  With screens + memento support, I felt RNGesus could clean late.  Brick Break doesn't OHKO Ttar from full and Hammer Arm has a 10% chance to miss, so I went with Superpower. As with Beef, lots of PhysDef with little HP to reduce Leech Seed healing and not get revenge KO'd by Weavile's Ice Shard as easily.

Sia (Chandelure) (F) @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 220 Def / 4 SpA / 36 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball
- Memento

Originally I had T-Spikes on the team so since I was hazard stacking, it made sense to have a spin blocker.  Aside from that role, its spread counters physical or physically oriented Victini variants but struggles against special w/ Shadow Ball unless it comes in on V-Create (for free), in which case, it always lives 1 Shadow Ball after rocks.  Memento is because TTar seemed like the perfect switch in/partner to deal with Chandelure and if I knew it wasn't banded, I know I could take 252+ Crunch, get some chip with Energy Ball and/or Memento to give Snorlax another set up opportunity.


The Game

Chase's team surprised me as he had no actual responses to Baton Pass.  I made 6 potential teams before deciding on this one and 3 of the 6 featured Baton Pass so theoretically, I could have done exactly the same thing I did last time.  Chase either took a bold risk or resigned to BP--I'm not sure which haha--but it paid off since I didn't bring it.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7customgame-593553822

There aren't too many things I would have done differently but they pretty much all revolve around Florges.  I didn't really prep for CM Florges (you'll notice both my steel types are missing this match) because I didn't acknowledge it as a threat so I should have given that some more consideration, but there were a couple things I could have done to drastically reduced the impact it had on the game:
1) Stay in with Kyurem for Iron Head damage; Kyurem lives Moonblast from even 252+ Florges as you recall and 2HKOs with Iron Head.  Losing Sia that early was not something I wanted.
2) Memento a turn sooner; Florges would have been at -1 SpAtk meaning Beef could have set up and taken almost literally no damage.  At that point, it would have been over.

Other than that, I stand by my plays but had I gone Beef when I *should* have, it could have been another 5-0 win.  I don't even think the play I made was bad per say, but it was definitely sub-optimal and I point this out because that's the difference making your optimal play can make.  Had I not played every turn right after that, I surely would have lost as a result.

Key Moments
1) The crit on Florges.  It meant Frosty stayed at full, which was helpful later.
2) Victini's dying flinch on Beef on lucky turn 13.  Again, once Beef set up, it was over.


You might watch that battle and think I should add the Ancient Power boosts on Poseidon, but they actually didn't matter. I'll explain but first I'd like to point out that after two seasons with the Kinglers, Poseidon has gotten as many Ancient Power boosts as Scald burns. Yes, one each in TWO seasons. But the boost meant Araquanid couldn't sub up which was good since I misread the calc & overestimated the damage output it had on Araq.  However, it is actually almost inconsequential because Poseidon was faster, it would never be able to stay behind the sub meaning it would have been revenge KO'd and the ensuing events would not have changed at all aside from happening sooner.


Thinking Ahead
The whole point of reflecting is deciding what I could have done better and simply it would have been recognizing the opportunity to set up sooner.  Florges was exactly the set up fodder I was hoping for in order to make Beef's sweep as easy as possible and how I missed that is beyond me.  Before the match I was already planning on setting up on Victini, Goodra, or Aero so maybe it was just a matter of focus.

But for anyone hoping to learn from this, I think the key tactic that you can learn here is understanding your set up opportunities.  There's sort of this "old wisdom" that you don't set up turn 1 creating a stigma about setting up early but it really isn't that simple.  Look for things that don't do much damage, anticipate their potential options and responses, and if you feel that they have a good counter to your set up, it's probably not time yet.  Once your set up mon's checks and counters have been removed or weakened enough that they could reasonably take them on after setting up, it's time to pull the trigger, even if it seems early.  I've seen both Emvee and Pokeaim set up Dragon Dances turn 1 with Mega Ttar and sweep their opponent's entire team--there were no good checks or counters to their set, their matchup against anticipated leads was favorable, and M. Ttar, being at full health, was able to set up safely.  I will certainly be keeping this lesson in mind as I prepare for the chance at winning the CIL and avenging the blemish on a near-perfect season.  Wish me luck!

Teambuilding Principles for the Draft League Format

Originally this was going to be a super cool video but my computer crashed and destroyed the nearly-finished recording : ( I know I saved it because in order to play video back on Final Cut Express, I have to render it and I can’t render it until I save it but it is nowhere to be found on my computer so unfortunately, if you want the info, you’re gonna have to bust out the reading goggles.

I’m writing this post to address an idea I saw in comment section from an actual Youtuber (aDrive maybe?) where someone asked them to make a video to learn how to teambuild for draft.  I haven’t seen anything like that out there so I thought I’d outline the principals of my approach so that others might apply them as well.  I thought I’d give it a shot since I help a lot of people with their league prep already, so Wynaut? 

I have four basic principles, and I keep them basic because how you build is totally match-up driven and requires the assessment of too many specific factors to be useful in such a post. My first principle is:

1) Understand your team’s capabilities.

-Not every team can do everything so know what your Pokémon CAN do as well as what they cannot.  Scarf Ferrothorn is not a good revenge killer. Don’t do it.

-Sometimes it helps to draft a team that fits a playstyle you want, but not at the cost of versatility, but I’m not going into draft strategy. I could do an article on that but that would be separate from this.

2) Understand your opponent’s team’s capabilities.

-Their Pokémon have limitations too. Knowing what your opponent can and cannot do with their team will affect your builds.  There’s no need to prep for banded Chansey, trust me.

-Identifying potential roles early will make the process easier too. Do you see a P2? It might be Sp Def w/ Trace to take on your Heatran.

-There are a lot of possibilities to account for so it may be beneficial to simply prep for the most dangerous ones.

3) Consider the matchup specifically.

Understanding what each team can do and how those possibilities match-up directly against each other can be the difference between good prep and bad.

-You might have an amazing set up mon that destroys their team...but what is it going to set up on? (Shout out to Mega Gyarados lololol).  If the opponent's team doesn't provide set up opportunities, you may have to forgo that option.

-Are there any obvious holes in their team that you can take advantage of?  What *can't* they switch in on?

-Are there any obvious holes in YOUR team they might try to exploit? How can you prevent that?

4) Building approach: Defensively vs Offensively

Even if you build according to a particular archetype, you typically approach it from a defensive perspective (what’s my switch-in to ‘x’?) or an offensive one (how can I utilize ‘y’ threat to rip through their team?).  This section is going to include examples so feel free to skip to each bullet point (-) if you're short on time.

-Defense/ Stall

Generally, I find defensive builds to be inferior in league-style because ladder-unviable coverage can be easy to incorporate and can break through cores.  Also taunt is relatively reliable, substitute, etc. Sometimes it can be very effective though and to demonstrate this point, I’m going to show you my build from a match I played in the EBC. 

This was a scary first match-up because my opponent had two things normally banned from draft leagues: Mega Kangaskhan and Necrozma.  He also had great offensive capabilities in Hawlucha, Zygarde, Sylveon, and Arcanine, as well as potential defensive builds for Necrozma, Arcanine, Suicune, Bronzong, and Drapion. I was not even mildly concerned with Armaldo lol. Call me when someone with a similar team gets a sweep with manual rain + swift swim Armaldo.  

So how did I prep?  Well as always, I start with some fire ass nicknames.

 

I started with Rocky Helmet Spaghett! because it checked his physical threats pretty well and got some nice chip damage on Kangaskhan, who'd be hitting it twice. It also completely walls Zygarde 10% and breaks its sub.  Knock Off disrupts his team and potential switch ins like Bronzong, Dhelmise, or Arcanine, Leech Seed means nothing can come in and set up freely because it will progressively lose health and heal my Pokemon while mine wear his down, and Stun Spore in case I needed to spam para. I considered Sludge Bomb for Sylveon and EQ for Drapion but decided I'd rather not stay in on those since, as with all defensive builds, it's important to preserve your walls.

Pako and Mogwai would be proud to see Lord Mountain doing so well even to this day.  I realized that Tangrowth was limited in its ability to wall stuff like Drapion and Sylveon, and thanks to its great natural physical bulk, I didn't need much investment to have a secondary measure against Mega Khan.  Since Sylveon was tough to come in on, a SpDef build made the most sense to me.  Something I also considered was Lord Mountain's lack of offensive investment made him somewhat easy to come in on for Arcanine, Suicune, Necrozma, etc, so spamming Toxic to wear things down was essential to optimal use.

This isn't very defensive, I know, but a LOT of his team hated burns and next to nothing could take repeated Flare Blitz's (besides Suicune). Bulldoze was to predict an Arcanine switch-in and Extreme Speed meant I could pick off worn down, faster foes that may have gotten to set up more than I planned.

Two things defensive builds hate are hazards and being set up on. Haze was my best measure of making sure Necrozma or CM Suicune couldn't run wild.  I also needed something that could beat Hawlucha (I think he needs to be at +2 for Thunder Punch to 2HKO) and an offensive Arcanine, so I put some offensive moves on her as well.  She also served as a secondary counter measure to Zydog.

Is it even defense if you don't have a Chansey?  Chansey gets a lot of shit for being passive and weak, but definitely watch the recording of this one and see how this set lead the team in KOs this week :)  Florence was my most reliable rocker this week, and served as a great utility wall who could pass Wishes to something like Entei or Tapu Fini, who can't really heal themselves.  Florence is a beast so she doesn't need protect and I like to keep Seismic Toss on most Chansey sets to break subs and do something even if Taunted.

When I do beat stall or defensive teams, it's usually because I find it easy to predict what someone's switch-in will be. Zapdos was an amazing option to chunk his team with Volt Switches and give me initiative if necessary.  His sole ground type was Zygarde 10% and because it's so frail, you really don't want to risk sending it in on a potential HP Ice.  The way I see it, Zydog works a lot like Weavile in this way; it wants to come in freely and collect KOs, so I didn't mind having to risk a Volt Switch on it.  I also had great counters to Zydog meaning this set had the potential to put in a lot of work.

See how the team worked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=043Z89Hy__8&t=9s

-Offense/ Hyper-Offense

Offense is a potent but volatile play style that can leave you vulnerable to unexpected threats but with the right prep can be tough to stop when you manage your sacks and initiative properly.  To show you what I mean, let’s look at the match where I substituted in for my friend @Satoshi_Red_Ash to play against @theflyingfiona.

Nobody likes prepping for Fiona.  She has threats on threats and literally the most intimidating team ever. THREE intimidators. I see so much offensive potential, especially with her Flynium Z, but a little less defensive potential, especially against the rain team I was using.

This team is very hard rain and very offensive (barring the Chansey, but that basically makes this a Chansey Offense build lol) and Water STAB alone is going to crush everything but Tapu Fini, Breloom, and Toxicroak, all of which are hit by Hurricane. Snoop's offensive potential here is severely limited by his speed so I opted for a bulky build to have as many opportunities to live and set up rain as possible. Max Def to ensure I live unboosted Supersonic Skystrikes.

Remember what I said about her only water resists being Breloom, Toxicroak, and Tapu Fini? Guess who hits them all super effectively?  The STAB Giga Drain was the main reason I chose Fruit Duck over Dr. Dra (Kingdra) who was walled by Fini with his STAB.  Toxicroak could have taken this set on pretty well if I didn't have HP Psychic so to keep momentum up, an important thing for all play styles but especially offense, I had to include it.

If Fiona found a way around rain, I wanted a late game cleaner and Ultron fit the bill.  The Shuca meant I could Agility up on basically everything but Arcanine, Clear Body means no amount of Intimidate can save her, and the coverage was sufficient to pick apart a weakened team, which is what late game cleaners do.  Metagross also gave me a solid flying resist (remember she also had access to Flynium Z) as well as a normal resist in case of Bewear.

While it does seem a bit slow for this match-up, it's ability to handle Magnezone, Breloom, and Tapu Fini were really appealing to me.  Also the Sucker Punch for Mega Alakazam, a huge threat to me if it traces Swift Swim, meant I could do some big damage before going down.

AV Magnezone was another thing that could stop the rain pretty well.  She could have prepped and brought Shed Shell, but to me that wasn't a threat.  It also can trap the Toxicroak making it worth bringing to me.  Thugtrio didn't do much else so Toxic and Memento round out the set; Memento to keep Persian-A from getting momentum with Parting Shot or weakening some powerhouses like Bewear, Lando, Mence, etc.

I already explained what Chansey does :P Light Screen was here over Reflect because if I slipped up and let Fini get some Calm Minds under her belt, it was gonna be tough to wear down so I wanted to make sure my Chansey could wear it down with Seismic Toss and put it in range of anything else.

No recording for this battle but here's the replay to see how the team worked: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7customgame-568853231

-Balance and Bulky Offense

These can cover part of both play styles but are jeopardized when stretched to thin.  Typically you have a good spread of offense and defense, so you can switch in on things, but also abuse strong attacks once you get the chance.  One of my favorite balanced builds is the team I used to take on @mattyb in week 4 of the CIL.

 

Matt had a team rife with threats that could easily tear through me, especially Kartana, Infernape, and Magearna, but I'm also a little weak to Starmie and Volcarona.  Initially I wanted to build offense with Toxic Spikes but the presence of Mega Sableye as well as defoggers Kartana, Latias, and Mantine as well as Starmie as a spinner made me think that might not be so easy to pull off, thus I went for a more balanced approach.

Besides being threatening on it's own, my sand mode served as a potential counter measure to a Shift Gear Magearna or Quiver Dance Volcarona.  Big Mama is my auto-sand and good phys def wall for the likes of Gigalith, Infernape lacking Grass Knot, and Krookodile. Smooth Rock made the most sense to me because as one of my switch-ins to Krook, leftovers don't do much good if Knocked Off, and I can always benefit from more sand so it made sense to choose that.

Much of Matt's team outpaces mine without this little lady and aside from Scolipede was the only way I could get mileage out of having Bugnium Z that week.  Swords Dance was to help me break through a Porygon2, who could have walled reasonably well without that.  Since I was bringing the Smooth Rock, I also had extra turns of sand if the opportunity to set up presented itself and I didn't need Iron Head for anything EdgeQuake coverage didn't hit.

If I had to describe this set in only two words, I would use "Pure Heat". This was essentially the only good response to Kartana on my entire roster. Leaf Blade + Smart Strike is deadly but having Sacred Sword and Night Slash options meant even my Chandelure wasn't safe.  Enter Iron Mantis with HP Fire.  Thanks to Technician, I don't need investment to OHKO Kartana with HP Fire even with a -SpAtk nature, which is good because I need that bulk.  Roost was to stay healthy because if Scizor went down, my chances of winning drastically fell.

This seems less than ideal because he has two of the most threatening steel types in the game, but I figured if I could snag a couple boosts, the season 1 MVP could remind everyone she's just as dangerous as ever and I think most of my friends know how much I love forcing Cletus lol.  The Babiri Berry protects me against one of the Steel types and she sets up on just about everything else not named Infernape or Volcarona.  It's also a great lead against Mega Sableye, who commonly lead to get their Magic Bounce right away.  Matt brought a surprising tech to deal with her though, so I won't spoil it.

Matt had a number of specially-oriented offensive threats I was concerned with and I also wanted a fighting resist besides Cletus because Infernape learns Gunk Shot.  I don't have a great way to *hit* Infernape on this set, but I figured I could bluff it reasonably convincingly if need be.  Ziz is also a great switch in to Latias, pivots very nicely for me, and has excellent coverage to ensure Volcarona didn't get out of hand.  Superpower was for a weakened Gigalith or P2.

At this point, the team was good, but also very weak to Starmie.  Due to its speed, power, and coverage, I didn't really have any better options than Beef Jones. Pursuit was to catch Starmie "inevitably" switching out so I could get damage before Sableye or Mantine came in, Rock Slide because this was also my best response to Volcarona, and EQ was just good coverage this week in case of Magearna, Gigalith.  Oh and Facade was in case Beef had to come in on a Scald and got burned :/

To see how this match went: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKf_K4PNm-8&t=898s

It's important to note that these are just examples.  I don't feel there is a general right or wrong way to build because each matchup poses a unique challenge.  Even teams you might not consider threatening can be full of surprises and dangerous in the right hands, which brings me to my final… bonus… super-secret special rules:

5) Respect your opponents.

Besides being good sportsmanship, even the BEST matchups can quickly turn against you if you get complacent.   Or maybe they’ll have some surprises you didn’t anticipate—build your team as best you can, and chose your plays carefully and deliberately for the optimal results.

However, the coach you play against isn’t your only opponent: RNG is a major factor that can undermine even the best preparations, so it should always be taken into account.  If you don’t have to risk losing because your Starmie could miss a Hydro Pump, don’t.  Be aware of potential consequences and in doing so, put yourself in a position to have the best odds at winning.  And finally:

6) Reflect on your choices. 

There’s going to be situations where there’s absolutely nothing you can do, but often you could have done something differently to cop the W. Accept your loss, understand it, and grow from it; you will only be better for doing so.

Nobody can win all the time, but if you apply these principles, you’ll have a solid foundation to approach your team builds on.  If you have questions, you can leave a comment, or it would probably best to reach me on Twitter, @KevinVGC.  Thanks for reading!

Season 3 Draft Results

I saw Mav's draft write-up and I was like "shit, I kinda wanna do one too!"

The Squad:
1) Manaphy
2) Kyurem-B
3) Excadrill
4) Hippowdon
5) Clefable
6) Reuniclus
7) Scolipede
8) Chandelure
9) Snorlax
10) Tornadus-Therian
11) Mega Scizor

Manaphy
Poseidon is back for a second season!  After not getting ONE single scald burn in season 2, Poseidon has promised that the water is going to burn hot with redemption for season 3.  He enjoyed his time in LA and is honored to be back despite under performing and after talking with him and hearing his desire to make things right, I knew he had to be the first pick.  He can fill many roles for this team and has that game-ending potential and I'm inclined to believe him when he says he'll stand out on the roster this year.

Kyurem-B
Frosty approached me in the off-season because I tried to initiate a trade for him last year.  He was flattered by my interest and was very open to coming to LA to join the prestigious Kingler organization.  He felt that under my leadership he could grow into the wintry lord of destruction he was meant to be, breaking down all the walls that stand between him and greatness.

Excadrill
Guacamole is our second returning member and she is as excited as ever.  She was able to fill a number of defensive roles for the Kinglers last year but without an automatic sand setter, her dream of becoming MVP was made much more challenging.  We talked at length about what season 3 could hold and she felt that, with proper support, she could lead an offensive front that would propel the Kinglers back into the playoffs.  I knew then who our next pick must be...

Hippowdon
Big Mamapotomus returns to LA after briefly visiting Canada last season.  While she had a good relationship with her previous coach, she knew she was most at home in LA and the return of Guacamole meant she could complete the Sand Sister duo.  Her resilience was something the team was lacking and she's excited for the opportunity to support Guacamole and the rest of the Kingler team to make another run at playoffs.

Clefable
Lil Cletus needs no introduction, she regularly basks in infamy after earning season 1 MVP honors with the Kinglers.  Lil Cletus was the most dangerous Pokemon in the CIL until another coach who shall not be named sniped her early in the draft, preventing her from battling under my leadership.  This proved to be nothing short of disastrous for Lil Cletus who greatly under-performed in season 2, an experience that was immensely frustrating to her and she regularly expressed interest in returning to LA behind her coach's back.  I know Cletus.  I know her passion...her determination.  She will want to reach for the MVP crown again but in a new meta with new Pokemon, it's going to be harder than ever.  Luckily, she's back with her favorite coach and primed to show that she's still got it.

Reuniclus
Big Fetus claims he knew he would be a Kingler this season--the extend of what Big Fetus knows is a mystery to me, but his capabilities are not.  Teams even slightly under-prepared for this powerhouse are going to find themselves praying to the hax gods because once this train gets rolling, they're gonna need some divine intervention to stop him.

Scolipede
Absolem showed many flashes of greatness in season 2 and he expected it would translate to an even better draft in season 3, but the introduction of many other new bugs cast him out of the limelight.  Fortunately for us both, his qualities still shone through to me.  Absolem's speed is just what the roster needed and he's blessed with the giving spirit and willingness to share it with his teammates to show everyone who's the big bug on the block!

Chandelure
Sia was a Pokemon I've worked with extensively in the past but never in the CIL.  For a ghostly lantern, she tends to avoid the spotlight but brings the heat to the Kingler's offense.  Her speed fits perfectly with both our fast mode and our trick room mode so Sia is looking poised to be the ghost with the most in season 3 and we're excited to have her.

Snorlax
Beef Jones.  What can be said about this guy that hasn't been said already?  A legend from the north known for waging many intense battles since the onset of Pokemon, Mr. Jones was high on my list from the get-go.  The power, the bulk, the coverage--Beef Jones is bulky offense personified and synergizes well with the squad and although he could go anywhere, he decided LA was where he wanted to be.  He has yet to make a big impact on the CIL but don't be surprised to see him pulverizing the competition this season.

Tornadus-T
Ziz is still in shock from being drafted so late in the game for season 3.  His anger was so intense, he started a hurricane that would have been category SEVEN in an attempt to exact his vengeance, but after talking with me, we were able to refocus this anger to the opposition.  I pity the team that forgets the threat staring them down when Ziz hits the field.  He's informed us he's excited to play for the Kinglers and I'm just excited to have him on the team.

Mega Scizor
The most used mega in generation six nearly went undrafted but with the last overall pick in the draft, we were able to add Iron Mantis to the Kingler team.  Much like the eponymous movie which I believe to be named after our mega, Fury has been through some of the most trying battles of any Pokemon there is.  His grit and experience is virtually unparalleled and we'll need him at his very best if the Kinglers are going to prevail against the threats of the new generation.


A common theme runs through our team in that many of our Pokemon feel overlooked by this year's draft.  This unites the team; they, the now outcast are hungry for redemption and seek the season 3 title to hold up in the realization of this goal.  Too, as coach, I would like to see the title stay here in the great city of Los Angeles, but I know it won't be easy with many dangerous Pokemon and brilliant coaches looking to take it as well.  In spite of the formidable opposition that stands in our way, I believe we have the team, the desire, and the heart to make this dream a reality and become the CIL Champions!  Let's go Kinglers!

CIL Season 3 Rules

No league is complete without rules.  I will do my best to keep this simple and brief as possible without compromising clarity.

Team Rosters  

I. Pokemon on each team's roster must be static except under the following conditions:

• Each team is allowed five (5) total roster transactions to alter their team between weeks 2-6.  Week two is the first week transactions may occur and no transactions can be completed once week six has ended.
• Trades: Each team is allowed to use any number of their allotted transactions on trades with any team in the CIL.
• Trades must be submitted to @CIL_Official or @KevinVGC on Twitter to be approved by the Kevmissioner (simply to check that all these conditions are met).
• Free Agents: Each team is allowed to use any number of their allotted transactions on free-agent acquisitions per season.
• Once a Pokemon has been dropped from a team's roster, any coach may acquire that Pokemon provided he or she has not already used his or her one free-agent acquisition.
• Free agency moves must be submitted to @CIL_Official or @KevinVGC on Twitter to be approved by the Kevmissioner (simply to check that all these conditions are met).
• A dropped Pokemon will not be considered to be available in free agency until it has been approved (to avoid timing discrepancies).
• An acquired Pokemon will not be considered on a team's roster until it has been approved as well.
• Roster changes do not take effect immediately.  Approved changes will be visible on the draft board spreadsheet and available the subsequent week as described on the spreadsheet.

II. All roster change requests will be processed in the order they are received through the Twitter account.

III. Some Pokemon with multiple forms are eligible for a multi-pick in the draft: Silvally (all types), Lycanroc (both forms), Rotom (all forms), Oricorio (all forms), Gourgeist (all sizes), Meowstic (both genders), and Wormadam (all forms) count as one pick.  However, teams with these Pokemon must declare which type and form they will use at the beginning of each new week.  Failure to declare with a minimum of 3 days notice prior to the match will render that Pokemon ineligible for the week.

• If coaches bring the wrong declared form to the battle, they will be drawn an quartered publicly in the CIL Town Square to be made an example of for all to see.
• In the event that we cannot get to the coach to exact medieval justice on him or her, a -1 differential penalty will applied to the match.
• Consistent with other differential penalties, the result will not be a differential that puts the offender in the negative, so if they lose the match 4-0, they will not have a -5 differential, only -4.

IV. Banned Pokemon: Refer to the GBA's ban list for a list of Pokemon and items not eligible for draft in the CIL.  These Pokemon will not be present on the CIL draft board spreadsheet.

UPDATE: With one exception: Pheromosa will be allowed for season 3.  All other banned Pokemon or items will not be permitted.

V. Before a new season, teams will enter a lottery like that used in the NBA to determine draft-order for the next season.  Also like the NBA, playoff teams are exempt from the lottery and placed in reverse-seeding order at the end of the draft.  New teams will be placed at the top of seeding in the lottery.

VI. Z-Crystals:

• Each week, every team will have access to one Z-Crystal that has been randomly selected and only they will have access to their particular crystal for that week. For instance, if the Whirlwinds have Flynium Z in week 1, only they will be able to use it that week. They may be able to get it again in later weeks, but it is random.
• It may be used on any Pokemon on that team's roster at the coach's discretion. 
• Coaches with Pokemon that have specialized Z-Crystals (such as Incinum Z for Incineroar) will have access to them as an alternative to the crystal they have been assigned.  These coaches must specify to their opponent at the beginning of the week so that the spreadsheet can be updated to accurately reflect which Z-Crystal they have access to for that week.
• Bans and Restrictions
• All omni-boosting moves like Z-Conversion, Z-Celebrate, etc, are banned, consistent with the GBA.  
• All evasion Z-moves like Z-Magnet Rise, Z-Kineses, etc are banned consistent with both the GBA and the Evasion Clause of Smogon.  
• Mewnium Z is banned, consistent with the GBA ban.

VII. Verifying multi forms/ types/ crystals

• As aforementioned, coaches are expected to inform opponent when they have variable Pokemon or Z-Crystals.
• Coaches who are being informed are also expected to confirm once being notified that they are aware of which form/ type/ crystal is being declared for that week.  
• Coaches are not required to use a Z-Crystal or a certain Pokemon just because it has multiple forms/ types, but must specifically declare it at the onset of the week regardless.  This is to allow for the utility of multi-form Pokemon in a single draft pick without having an unfair advantage against an opponent who doesn't know which Silvally is going to come that week, for instance.
• As a suggestion, an appropriate time to have this dialogue might be when scheduling the match.

Battles 

I. Players have two weeks to complete their matches, constituting one CIL "week" unless extenuating circumstances prevent a match from happening.  In this case, an extension will be granted to both teams if the request is submitted to @CIL_Official on Twitter with 24 hours notice prior to the conclusion of that week.  No notice results in a -3 differential loss for each team.

II. All battles will take place on Pokemon Showdown in either OU or Anything Goes (important for teams with Torrent Greninja, Blaze Blaziken, etc) at an agreed-upon time by both coaches.  If there are any problems finding time, contact your nearest Kevmissioner for help.

III. Rules will follow standard Smogon rules with one exception: all Mega Pokemon must evolve on their first full turn on the field.  If switching out immediately, the Mega Pokemon is not required to Mega Evolve, but if a move is being selected, it must also Mega Evolve.

• To review general rules: http://www.smogon.com/dex/xy/formats/ou/
• To review Smogon-wide clauses: http://www.smogon.com/xy/articles/clauses

IV. The timer should always be turned on except in the event of a disconnection. If a player should accidentally disconnect during a battle, the connected coach should turn off the timer to allow the other coach time to return to the battle.  

• Should the disconnected coach be unable to resume, the connected coach may turn on the timer and temporarily claim victory so that he or she may use the replay to send to the disconnected coach so that they may recreate the battle as it was to that point.  If new hax (such as a Critical Hit or status ailment) that did not take place in the original play transpires in the recreation of the battle, coaches are expected to start over in recreating the battle.
• Variable damage rolls are acceptable in the event that it does not lead to a knockout that it did not obtain in the original battle (i.e. if Gliscor survives with 1% in the original battle and get's KO'd by a higher damage roll in the re-creation, coaches are expected to start over in re-creating the battle).
• The disconnecting coach should also utilize his or her phone to contact their opponent on Twitter immediately to inform them of the disconnect.

V. No forfeits will be permitted.  Having accurate measures of differential is important for determining end-of-season standings.  Forfeiting will result in a 6-0 loss for the forfeiting team.

VI. No shows: if someone does not show up within 15 minutes after a previously agreed-upon match time without providing advanced notice, they will be considered to be no show.  A no show results in a differential of -3 added to that coach's score regardless of the outcome of the match whenever it does take place.  Any disputes on the matter should be resolved with screenshots.

• In the event that one of the coaches commits two no-shows for a single opponent, the offender will take a 6-0 loss and -6 differential with no opportunity to make it up.  The other coach will play their match against the sub to assess the proper differential to be awarded to them.
• Coaches who have to play against the sub after their original opponent no-showed twice will automatically be awarded a win for the week even if they lose against the sub.
• A loss by any margin will result in +0 differential.  Wins will assess differential as normal.
• If any coach commits three no-shows in a season, they will be removed from the CIL. 
• If matches from two previous C-weeks do not take place, each coach will be automatically subbed in for by designated CIL subs (most likely the Kevmissioner and the Chasemissioner).  For instance, if a week 1 match has not taken place yet, the day week 3 begins, the subs will be in control of that game.
• If one of these coaches has been showing a consistent effort to get the match scheduled, only the non-responsive coach will be subbed in.
• This substitution will be treated just as the no-show, with the coach who made the efforts getting an automatic win, but differential determined exactly the same as the no-show method.
• If coaches are non-responsive and do not complete two consecutive matches, they will be removed from the CIL.

VII. Substitutions: any coach may have anyone of their choosing substitute a match in the event that they would be unable to complete a battle even with a reasonable time extension.

The Season 

I. The regular season takes place over eight CIL-weeks (or 16 real weeks)

II. Playoffs - At the conclusion of the regular season, standings will be evaluated to determine playoff seeding.

• The top two teams from each conference will receive a playoff seed and first round bye.  The second place teams from each conference will also be awarded a playoff spot in which they will play against wildcard seeds determined by ranking.  Two wildcard seeds will be selected regardless of division and based on record making a total of six (6) playoff teams.
• In the event of a tie in records, differential will be used to determine which team gets a playoff seed.
• In the event of a tie in differential and record, we will hold a playoff match between the two teams and the winner will receive the remaining playoff seed for his or her conference.
• The number one seed in each conference automatically advances to the semi-finals while the two and three seeds play a quarterfinal match.

IV. Championship - Players going undefeated in their conference playoff-rounds will have the opportunity to play for the CIL Championship.  If I had a belt, I would totally give it to the winner, but I don't.  Sorry yall.  I would also really like to hold this on stream and pretend it's a televised event (maybe have the Pro Bowl as an opening event?) because I think that would be fun.  It will depend on schedules.  We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

I think that's it.  Let me know if I missed anything.

CIL Season 2 Reflections

Another season of the CIL is in the books and I'd have to say, there was a lot that surprised me this year making for a very interesting second chapter for the league.  Since this is my blog though, I'm going to talk all about my team and my season lol. Sorryyyy

I feel that the LA Kinglers draft was marginally better this season.  Going off of my theory that offense is the most dangerous archetype in league play, I drafted a very different team from season 1.  The team we settled on after trades & free agency swaps was:

1)    Merlin (Mega Alakazam)
2)    Poseidon (Manaphy)
3)    Guacamole (Excadrill)
4)    RNGesus (Thundurus-I)
5)    Wukong (Infernape)
6)    Thyme Lord (Celebi), formerly Mogwai (Amoonguss)
7)    Shuck N Jive (Shuckle)
8)    Julia (Diancie), formerly Spike (Granbull)
9)    Lancelot (Dragonite)
10)  Graninja (Greninja - Torrent), formerly Hanzo (Accelgor)
11)  Cap (Braviary), formerly Buzz the Ave (Mandibuzz)

Things that were sniped that I reeeally wanted lol: 
1) Lil Cletus (I will never not be mad about this)
2) Sylveon (My back-up Cletus :( )
3) Ttar (would have made some great synergy with this team)
4) Kyurem-B (although having Dragonite meant better priority for the team, so not as bad)

Immediately you see numerous potential set up sweepers, lots of Volt-Turn potential and hazard stacking options, including Sticky Web.  If you've never used Manaphy in OU with Sticky Web, you're missing out--I would have even drafted something I don't particularly like such as Leavanny to have it as an option on this team solely for that combination.  I think a lot of people expected me to get Mega Ttar (I wanted regular) to support Guacamole but after having a rough go with Mega Gyarados, I was hesitant to pick a slow mega with lots of weaknesses. Granted, Ttar would have performed better than Gyarados here, but I chose Mega Alakazam to deal with not only fast megas but to ease prediction on who my opponent could scarf for the match. Merlin is SO fast that most teams only have a couple of choice scarf options to outrun it; in fact, to outrun max speed Merlin, a Pokemon needs base 101 speed and a scarf to do so. For instance, if I had ever played the Wynauts, Raichu would be their only thing that could outrun Merlin when scarfed. I could choose to run modest knowing this and get extra damage on things.  I think many would be critical of this choice saying Ttar would still be better in general for this team, but

A) I like Mega Alakazam more lol
B) I knew I wouldn't have time to prep much/ at all this season so simplifying things (knowing the scarfs) as much as possible was important to me.
C) I didn't have Celebi when I first drafted (not that psychic typing is a "must")

This unit was able to finish 5-5 but I truly feel this season *easily* could have ended with only one loss but more realistically, I think 7-3 should have been the finish.  Allow me to discuss the losses:

Week 1 vs Poison Sting: 0-5 L

We were able to set up CM Manaphy to +6 so in a normal game that lacks something with water absorb, it's pretty much over at that point.  What I didn't realize is that an Iron Tail got a defense drop on it, meaning it could no longer live +2 Adamant Salamence's Outrage from full. This carelessness cost me as I didn't switch out when Mence later came back in and a Banded Adamant one was able to pick it off due to the def drop.  Manaphy had ample opportunities to set up against that unit so preserving it and switching in Granbull (pre-Diancie), as was the plan for Mence, would have been my play.  Unfortunately, a solid win turned into a huge loss because of this; I feel that had I noticed the drop, I would have played accordingly and won.  I still attribute the majority of this loss to RNG but unfortunately, I do bear some blame as well.

Week 2 vs Bisharps: 0-0 L (Late Penalty)

It would have been a 3-0 loss had my opponent been on time but luckily he was not since I lost this one too. RNG was not a factor, but I didn't bring Sticky Web for Mega Lop and Shuckle could have toxic'd the Zapdos that plagued my team and webs would have meant banded Iron Fist Infernape could have out prioritized and KO'd Mega Lop.  I decided not to bring it at the last minute in favor of something obviously irrelevant now lol.  This one's solely on me.

Week 4 vs Pinsirs: 0-0 L (Late Penalty)

Rough start, huh? The Pinsirs was actually the game I most wanted to win since he not only stole Lil Cletus, the season 1 MVP from me (grr) but I also wanted to draft a LOT of his team, especially Jirachi and Keldeo.  A lot of people think Keldeo is too one-dimensional for draft and I think even if you make that argument, it's dimension is so good, it's still always a threat you have to prep for. Tell me how many things enjoy switching into a Specs Hydro Pump? and Scald is Scald.  Anywayyy...  This was the only game I put in a lot of prep for and I LOVED the team I made.  I felt there was no way I was going to lose with the prep being so good but after missing a Rock Slide enabling Thundy-T to set up safely behind a sub, and my Thundy getting crit by a Tbolt after I... sacked Shuckle, I think... there was little room for me to claw back into it.  I salvaged differential (it would have been 0-1 or 0-2 w/o the penalty) because the team was so good but I know that had just *one* of the hax not happened, the match would have been hugely in my favor because of the prep.  I don't mean to discredit any of my opponents, but this was absolutely the second loss decided by RNG and after actually putting in the work to prep and everything, I mostly stopped giving a shit. My thinking was why would I put in all that time (literally spent like an hour calc'ing and shit) just to have RNG undo it all in an instant? Frustrating, especially since those two losses are what excluded us from the playoffs.

Week 8 vs Nidokings: 0-3 L

Not much to say about this; Kiev has proven himself to the best in our league and others and is definitely one of the best league-format players I've ever seen.  He drafts well, he plays well, and his prep, like his Chesnaught, is bulletproof.  I draft so-so, I play well, and I didn't prep, so I was actually pretty pleased with the outcome.  This loss is also on me, no RNG or anything.

Week 9 vs Charizards: 0-1 L

This came down to not having HP Fire on Celebi.  If I had that, I won, but I had Healing Wish because I love using it in OU and I hadn't used it yet in the CIL.  I also strongly expected my Thundurus to be the main mode of offense making Healing Wish more appealing but I played aggressively and inadvertently sacked it to a Draco when I was expecting a Defog. So close in this one but I still count it in that "expected" 7-3 record I mentioned earlier.


So none of the losses were bad, which I believe is evidence more of my play than my draft or builds, as usual.  In my season 1 reflections, I mentioned I was going to try to draft a team that required less prediction and I think I improved slightly with that even though it was my predictions that either won games or kept them close.  The next logical question then is...


How do we improve?

Obviously more prep would be great, but I can't give that time from my life and after my week 4 loss, I honestly don't think it's worth it.  I don't take this seriously enough to do that, particularly when my time is needed elsewhere.

Play-wise, I really feel I only made a few misplays this season and I think only one really determined a game (week 1 since I'm counting my lack of awareness as a misplay as it was my fault lol).  I'm really pleased with the decisions I made in-battle and feel that I did the best with what I had.

I think the best thing I can do in my situation is similar to a goal from my last reflections: improve my draft.  Offensively, the team is actually quite good and poses a significant threat to any team. We had every kind of hazard, multiple hazard removing options, dangerous set up sweepers, somewhat lacking on wall-breakers, but lots of initiative, and excellent speed.  Defensively, the Kinglers were paper-thin and as someone who rarely (never) plays hyper offense, my inexperience with the play style was very apparent at times.  While I still believe hyper offense is still the most potent style in leagues, I may lean more toward balance or bulky offense in the next draft.  The choice comes down to if I want to grow in a new play style or be more competitive and I'm not sure how I'll feel about the Sun and Moon meta.  But if I do move towards a bulk/balance, I definitely want a spin blocker and a wall breaker or two in addition to some better utility mons. Mega-wise I have a lot of things I'd really enjoy using so I'll wait to see what the rest of the team looks like before I decide but there are a few that interest me in this moment like Aggron, Diancie, Gardy, and Zard Y.


I've already written far more than I wanted to, but I think this does a good job of summarizing my reflections and feelings from this season at the end of the ORAS meta.

Improving Pokemon Go

I've been pretty open with my discontent while playing Pokemon Go but I feel that without an appropriate elaboration or ideas to improve, criticism is pointless.  Instead of whining about something I don't like, I'm going to offer suggestions on how to improve it and we'll just let Niantic thank me later ;)

Battling Sucks

For the casual player still sitting around level 10 and maybe one Pokemon above 500 CP, battling in a gym is a dubious proposition as I have yet to see one where the Pokemon were not 1100+ CP.  Why would I go battle just to get rekt by some dude who managed to get a 2000 CP Dragonite (when I haven't even seen Dratini's silhouette out here)?  Nevertheless, I attempted one battle and just as I was getting bored enough with whatever they tried to pass off as combat to consider quitting, it froze on me.  Neat.

Battling has been central to the success of the Pokemon franchise so in order to improve it, here are my suggestions:

1) Change the system. There's no need to reinvent the wheel here; people have loved Pokemon's turn-based battle system since its inception and it's not even the first game to be successful doing so.  I'm all in favor of innovation when appropriate and a real-time battle system could be dope but replacing a popular battle system with one that sucks was not what I would consider "appropriate."

2) Increase opportunities to battle.  Even if it's just grinding through wild Pokemon or practicing on the infinite Geodudes (or Rattata for people who don't live in the desert, I guess) roaming LA, make it accessible for players of all levels; casual and competitive, beginner and expert.

The Art of the Capture

I never liked the Safari Zone. Haphazardly throwing balls/ rocks/ bait without any indication of whether they'd stay is mostly chance.  Anyone reading this probably knows me and knows I'm not a fan of RNG because if I wanted to roll dice, I would roll dice, not play a strategic battle/ adventure game with a significant skill component.  Pokemon Go's method of capturing is almost exactly that and it got old quickly for me, especially enjoying the hunt of the main series games.

So my suggestion once again is to not ruin a good thing.  Being able to carefully whittle down a Pokemon to weaken it for capture is fun and catching Pokemon just isn't fun in a game where the most significant feature is exactly that.  We already have a game where you recklessly swipe your finger and it's called Fruit Ninja. Again, I came here for the Pokemon, not Fruit Ninja.

I do feel they were on the right track (pun intended) with the footprints and doing away with that was a move in the wrong direction.  Instead, they should not only bring it back but take it up a notch; offer headings in the cardinal directions so that you have an idea but you still have to roam and explore in a general N/S/E/W direction to catch that elusive Pokemon.



I have other grievances I could air on the game relating to Pokemon variety, the pointlessness of teams (though I do like the concept), general buggy-ness and more, but I feel these issues are minor in comparison to the two components that define Pokemon being desecrated by this game. Was desecrated an overly-dramatic word to use there? Probably, but I like that word a lot and don't get to use it enough so until Niantic stops desecrating the elements of the game that make Pokemon special, I'm going to keep using it... aaand keep playing when it's convenient in the hopes that one day, Pokemon Go won't suck ;)

Toxicity in Competitive Pokemon

Today, I found myself thinking about a topic I've thought about maybe twice before: Verlisify.  Specifically, I was trying to figure out why people enjoy his channel.  I've seen a couple videos and even debated with him briefly on the Aegislash ban, but as a "competitive" player, I don't find him entertaining and I observe an apparent lack of understanding of the game we play. 

I'm not throwing shade--we all have varying levels of skill in this game in a variety of formats and I'm no Cybertron/ Pokeaim myself; there's nothing wrong with that.  Pokemon itself is really difficult to seriously consider as a competitive game because of RNG, so criticizing someone's lack of experience, knowledge, or skill is laughable, frankly.  Have you ever stopped to think about how funny you sound when you criticize someone for not knowing Pokemon? And not the good kind of funny either, the "you should stop because you're making an ass of yourself" kind of funny... like "the joke is on you" kind of funny.  But for me personally, when I see Verlisify's content, I don't see the appeal and being perhaps the most-hated Poketuber, what makes those who watch, stay?  Unable to decide from my own experience, I felt that I needed to examine it through a different lens.

Thanks to my friend Edkraze (check out his eponymous YT channel!), I was more closely introduced to the views of a non-competitive player and fan of Verlisify, so I decided to try and understand his perspective.  From our conversations, one of the things I learned is that the bottom line for Edkraze is having fun with the game, a viewpoint that can be somewhat oppositional to certain competitive mindsets where winning is the foremost concern and I think that's they key to understanding Verlisify's appeal--his wacky sets can be really fun if you're not as concerned about winning and just enjoying the game.  Plus, with the competitive community known for being clique-y and even hostile at times, I think Verlisify has become a refuge for the non-competitive players, or players who have been disenfranchised by the negative aspects of competitive scene.

I'm sure right now someone will read this and attempt a "but he started it" argument a la second graders/ Donald Trump in regards to the aforementioned hostility and although it may be true, I don't care.  Each section of the community has allowed and accepted this manner of discourse, so it has to bear some responsibility in cultivating a section of the entire Pokemon community that has become toxic (pun not intended) and exclusionary, which, in itself, runs counter (pun intended that time) to one of the foundations of this game that brings us together.  Even if he *did* start it, we've created an environment which allows negativity to thrive and it's our responsibility to fix that.  But regardless of who initiated it, each side has supported this continued trend of hostile engagements and if one of them would like to demonstrate the superiority they believe they possess, they can start by dropping the rancor in favor of more welcoming and inclusive attitudes to newer players and those with contrasting opinions. 

It troubles me that these behaviors of malevolence pop up in seemingly every corner of the Pokemon community (Smogon, VGC, League-style, etc), and if you're reading this, I'd like to call you to action by not engaging in this inhospitable antagonism and instead viewing an opposing viewpoint as an opportunity to discuss ideas and learn from each other.  I know it's challenging to not get fired up when things start getting heated but remember: whenever tempted to fight fire with fire, know that the fire department usually uses water.

I know this is a long article but I know of one more comically fitting yet poignant thing to share.  It's Cherokee proverb I heard once:  A grandfather told his grandson, “In me there is a fight between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee replied, “The one you feed.” 

Let us take it upon ourselves to begin feeding the right wolf today.