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.
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Sunday, August 7, 2016
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 ;)
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 ;)
Sunday, April 10, 2016
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.
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.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
From the Coach's Desk: Kinglers Season 1 Reflections
At the time of writing this, the CIL technically isn't over, but Kinglers fans... ours is. Despite suffering our second and worst loss of the season, we can't deny that overall, it was very successful. We won the X Conference, posted the second best record and differential in the league utilizing what we could describe as an "odd" team at best, and made it to the final four.
What Worked:
1) Lil Cletus
No surprises here; the CIL MVP stole the show by putting the team on her back carrying us to two wins out of the gates. Cletus was prepared for the week 3 match-up (and only one I view as favorable) but El Murcielago handled it. Cletus's tide-turning ability and versatility presented a unique threat each week and had we gone with the Cosmic Power Cletus in week 4 as originally planned, we would have finished the regular season undefeated. There's even a chance that Unaware Cletus could have saved us against SD Scizor, but forcing the CP set and only making one change to the team lead to our season's end. To be honest, I still think the CP set could have won it, but for some reason, Roserade's Sludge Bomb did over 25% more than the damage calc said, but perhaps it was Modest. Regardless, if franchising is allowed, Lil Cletus will definitely be back.
2) El Murcielago
Undoubtedly our most quietly successful team member who nearly matched Cletus in KOs and had fewer deaths thanks to a vintage form sweep in week 3. Its utility also helped in week 2 but ultimately, I feel as though it may have been a little underutilized. I may try to bring it back.
3) PoPo
As one of the best walls in OU, PoPo did not disappoint this season. It did exactly what I knew it would and performed exactly as expected. However, as I'd like to have a very different team composition next time, I'm not sure if it will have a spot, but I'll always be open to it.
4) Predictions
Not to toot my own horn (toot toot) but predictions were spot on after week one (I still don't know why Heatran stayed in on 3 different things that could OHKO it haha) and almost grabbed us a HUGE comeback win in week 4 had I not mis-clicked at the end. Additionally, there was never a time where I was surprised by what was brought; in most cases I was at least 5/6 (4/6 the last match) and felt as prepared as I could be with what I had. I don't feel as though I could have played much better, though until we're at 100%, there's always room to improve.
5) Straw Polls
I am so good at these it's not even funny.
What Did Not Work:
1) Mega Gyarados
Listen, buddy, I love ya, but you're weak to literally everything. Not a single team didn't have something that could switch in on a DD and OHKO the following turn and having so many weaknesses (common ones at that), it really isn't suited for a defensive position. A monster in OU, but not in league play where mega evolution is forced on turn 1. No joke, if I could have swapped a mega for Gyarados, mid-season, I would have picked almost any of the other ones over it... except Audino lol.
2) Team Composition
Just because I didn't plan my draft, doesn't mean I didn't expect more out of the it, but I think the thought process was flawed. My thinking went like "okay so Diggersby sweeps me... better grab Haunter"; basically make sure no one Pokemon just took a dump on the team. Every time I sat down to team-build, I was frustrated by the lack of cohesiveness and how easily countered my unit was. Had I tried to draft a more balanced, synergetic unit instead of trying to counter the meta, I think the Kinglers could have done much better and walked away with the title.
So How Do We Improve?
1) Draft a Better Team
Yes, it SEEMS like a no-brainer, but no-brain in the draft process lead to our downfall. I will go into the next draft with an archetype in mind, probably Volt/Turn, Balance, or Semi-Stall, and construct a team that, above all, works well together. Hyper Offense honestly seems preferable to me in league format but I'm not as comfortable playing that at the moment.
2) Less Prediction
I just tooted my own horn about this, right? Why change that? The idea is that having a better team should mean I don't have to read aggressively or take unnecessary risks.
3) Prep
I only got to do it a couple times and when I did, the game was always under control. My two losses were both little- to no prep; not only did I lack time, but I felt the match-up was so stilted against me, that I'd just have to play my way out of it anyway, so why bother. This is going to be hard to do since I don't know if my schedule will become any less busy in the future, but I did enjoy when I was able to do it; it's kind of the point of the league format haha.
Final Grade: B+
In spite of the negative things I say in my focus on improvement, it was generally a very positive season. Working with this roster, I'm very pleased, but I can't say it was A-level play yet with the draft being so weak. And I'm sure someone will be quick to assert that they liked my draft, but it really wasn't good. It lacked synergy (though it was almost a respectable sand team), immediate power, and switch-ins, meaning it really didn't excel at anything. Still, I learned a lot and have some ideas for the future so the Kinglers will definitely be a lot stronger the next time they take the field.
What Worked:
1) Lil Cletus
No surprises here; the CIL MVP stole the show by putting the team on her back carrying us to two wins out of the gates. Cletus was prepared for the week 3 match-up (and only one I view as favorable) but El Murcielago handled it. Cletus's tide-turning ability and versatility presented a unique threat each week and had we gone with the Cosmic Power Cletus in week 4 as originally planned, we would have finished the regular season undefeated. There's even a chance that Unaware Cletus could have saved us against SD Scizor, but forcing the CP set and only making one change to the team lead to our season's end. To be honest, I still think the CP set could have won it, but for some reason, Roserade's Sludge Bomb did over 25% more than the damage calc said, but perhaps it was Modest. Regardless, if franchising is allowed, Lil Cletus will definitely be back.
2) El Murcielago
Undoubtedly our most quietly successful team member who nearly matched Cletus in KOs and had fewer deaths thanks to a vintage form sweep in week 3. Its utility also helped in week 2 but ultimately, I feel as though it may have been a little underutilized. I may try to bring it back.
3) PoPo
As one of the best walls in OU, PoPo did not disappoint this season. It did exactly what I knew it would and performed exactly as expected. However, as I'd like to have a very different team composition next time, I'm not sure if it will have a spot, but I'll always be open to it.
4) Predictions
Not to toot my own horn (toot toot) but predictions were spot on after week one (I still don't know why Heatran stayed in on 3 different things that could OHKO it haha) and almost grabbed us a HUGE comeback win in week 4 had I not mis-clicked at the end. Additionally, there was never a time where I was surprised by what was brought; in most cases I was at least 5/6 (4/6 the last match) and felt as prepared as I could be with what I had. I don't feel as though I could have played much better, though until we're at 100%, there's always room to improve.
5) Straw Polls
I am so good at these it's not even funny.
What Did Not Work:
1) Mega Gyarados
Listen, buddy, I love ya, but you're weak to literally everything. Not a single team didn't have something that could switch in on a DD and OHKO the following turn and having so many weaknesses (common ones at that), it really isn't suited for a defensive position. A monster in OU, but not in league play where mega evolution is forced on turn 1. No joke, if I could have swapped a mega for Gyarados, mid-season, I would have picked almost any of the other ones over it... except Audino lol.
2) Team Composition
Just because I didn't plan my draft, doesn't mean I didn't expect more out of the it, but I think the thought process was flawed. My thinking went like "okay so Diggersby sweeps me... better grab Haunter"; basically make sure no one Pokemon just took a dump on the team. Every time I sat down to team-build, I was frustrated by the lack of cohesiveness and how easily countered my unit was. Had I tried to draft a more balanced, synergetic unit instead of trying to counter the meta, I think the Kinglers could have done much better and walked away with the title.
So How Do We Improve?
1) Draft a Better Team
Yes, it SEEMS like a no-brainer, but no-brain in the draft process lead to our downfall. I will go into the next draft with an archetype in mind, probably Volt/Turn, Balance, or Semi-Stall, and construct a team that, above all, works well together. Hyper Offense honestly seems preferable to me in league format but I'm not as comfortable playing that at the moment.
2) Less Prediction
I just tooted my own horn about this, right? Why change that? The idea is that having a better team should mean I don't have to read aggressively or take unnecessary risks.
3) Prep
I only got to do it a couple times and when I did, the game was always under control. My two losses were both little- to no prep; not only did I lack time, but I felt the match-up was so stilted against me, that I'd just have to play my way out of it anyway, so why bother. This is going to be hard to do since I don't know if my schedule will become any less busy in the future, but I did enjoy when I was able to do it; it's kind of the point of the league format haha.
Final Grade: B+
In spite of the negative things I say in my focus on improvement, it was generally a very positive season. Working with this roster, I'm very pleased, but I can't say it was A-level play yet with the draft being so weak. And I'm sure someone will be quick to assert that they liked my draft, but it really wasn't good. It lacked synergy (though it was almost a respectable sand team), immediate power, and switch-ins, meaning it really didn't excel at anything. Still, I learned a lot and have some ideas for the future so the Kinglers will definitely be a lot stronger the next time they take the field.
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
CIL Post-Season To-Do List
This is really just for me so I remember what I need to do after season 1 and before season 2. Yall can feel free to move along or comment something you feel I'm forgetting.
1.) Discuss & vote on expansion
2.) Draft details
3.) Discuss & vote on franchising
4.) Discuss & vote on season progression (probably depends on expansion)
5.) Schedule the season 2 draft
1.) Discuss & vote on expansion
- Yes/No
- How many?
- Process of deciding who?
2.) Draft details
- matching records will be compared by differential
- Continue w/ Smogon tiers or switch to GBA tiers (or something else)?
- don't forget: GBA tiers won the initial vote so obvious interest
- un-tiered is still an option (pre-season tournament?)
- reflect on balance/imbalance of current method
- Keep snake-style (w/ 2 wheel picks) or consistency (1st pick of round 1 always picks 1st)?
3.) Discuss & vote on franchising
- Yes/No
- "Contract" length (1 season max?)
4.) Discuss & vote on season progression (probably depends on expansion)
- 2 weeks = C-Week?
- 5 game regular season?
5.) Schedule the season 2 draft
- Franchise picks
- Draft picks
In case someone does stumble upon this, I actually have them in this order for a specific reason (for instance, voting on expansion may determine how we approach draft style & season progression) but open to insight on that as well.
Friday, October 23, 2015
The Real Top 10 PokeTubers
Watchmojo recently put out a video in which tried to list the top 10 PokeTubers out there and... it was interesting. I'm sure everyone on that list works really hard, but they left out some of the absolute best channels so I decided I'm going to edit that list. Why? Because Wynaut :P I think each of these could be number 1 in their own way because Pokemon allows for such diversity, but here's a *real* top 10 from someone actually in the community:
10. KantoCast
I know they don't do much on YouTube and maybe I'm a little biased, but when it comes to Pokemon news in the competitive world, no one holds a candle to KantoCast. Had to work this weekend and couldn't catch the regional on stream? Tune in and find out. Want the hilariously adorable banter of Blue and Yellow as she tries to figure out this crazy Pokemon universe? Tune in and lol. Or maybe you'd like to hear the perspective of an up-and-coming competitive VGC player as he rises the ranks? Blue is your guy. He also recently made a foray into the theory-realm with his mind-blowingly good Z theory so we can only hope that the Kanto Nation continues to grow to see more content like this. I would put them higher, but none of you would take the rest of the list seriously because I happen to be besties with the guy who runs it :P #TotallyNotBiased
9. CrimsonCBad
CrimsonCBad may be a lesser known choice for the list, and thus a little surprising for some of you but it only takes seconds before a slick intro to one of his videos reveals his professionalism and passion. Like many of the others on this list, he is a friendly, likable guy who covers a variety of areas like Let's Plays, competitive battling, and is a coach in the original league-format organization, the GBA. His channel is still very much in the early stages (recently reaching the one year mark, I believe) but with what he's shown so far, he's likely to be earning spots on lists like this for a long time to come.
8. The King Nappy
Did you really think there would be a list without this guy? Neither did I. For one of the biggest names in the business of Poketubing, an honorable mention feels a bit... shady. But the rest of us know that the King Nappy pumps out content with the best of them exhibiting a great variety of content, at a high-level of energy that is always fun to watch. Keep an eye out for his many collaborations, competitive play, league format, free-for-alls and much, much more.
7. TyranitarTube
TyranitarTube was actually the first Pokemon channel I ever discovered when I was in college and my friends and I were discussing the upcoming X&Y release. It's for that same reason I go back to his channel because although it offers the standard sampler of variety, what makes him stand out is the insight in his speculation coverage of upcoming releases and with the prospect of a potential Pokemon Z around the corner and Gen 7 on the horizon, TyranitarTube will be the place to be as new information regarding these titles gets released.
6. CybertronProductions
Aaron could easily be higher up on this list if he wanted to be. Currently only doing a Road to Ranked VGC-style series on his channel, Aaron has essentially become the international poster boy for the official Pokemon format and for good reason. His videos teach many people the nuance of the VGC format by using cool, innovative teams and explaining with great detail his decision making process while he climbs the BattleSpot ladder. The fact that he continues to be among the top players in the country year-in and year-out only adds to the value of his work.
5. aDrive
I'm personally not a fan of shiny hunting, but among his other fine qualities (have you heard him sing???) aDrive is the undisputed Shiny King. His channel also offers a great variety of other content like Pokemon Showdown lives, Let's Plays, Battle Spot, and league format videos (like the GBA and UCL) and comes out at a peerless level of quality while proving his exceptional skill as a competitive battler as well.
4. Proto Mario
At the moment, no on does Pokemon theory videos better. *in Proto voice* "BUT KEVIN, SOME OF HIS THEORIES ARE FLAWED. BUT KEVIN H--"Stop it. Now. Yes, comment section, some of them are flawed, but that's what makes a theory; we can't prove it. What we can prove, however, is that tons of research goes into the making of these theories and they're generally well-thought out with reasonably sound arguments put forth, which is exactly what a theory video should do. The fact that he addresses interesting topics in engaging ways puts him at the top of his game.
3. Alex Ogloza
There are many things that make OG great. His fun-spirited devil-may-care attitude is exceptionally entertaining and has been a key factor in becoming the best Battle Spot channel around. Like his good friend Aaron, Alex endeavors to teach us the insight of a top-level player and national champion while having fun and definitely not taking himself too seriously. And just when you thought it couldn't get more laid back, Stempe Friday rolls around and the shenanigans are declared. While Pokemon FEET has slowed down and theme teams haven't been around in a while, Alex's channel does offer some measure of variety in content and as you would expect for a channel this high on the list, the quality is always great. To put a cherry on top, no PokeTuber on any list interacts with his or her fans better than OG and his channel has seen substantial growth and fan loyalty as a result, all of it very well-deserved.
2. MegaMogwai
So you're not a VGC guy? The best Pokemon channel for competitive singles is right here--MegaMogwai combines solid production value with remarkable content rooted in his prowess as a competitor on Pokemon Showdown. He crafts innovative, creative teams that are fun to use *and* competitively viable before showing you how to use it to win and climb the ladder. Not only that, but he'll give you the team and teach you how to make your own with an astute insight into the meta that he shares gratuitously with viewers while being one of the most entertaining personalities in the community. Oh and did I mention he won the last season of the GBA? Mogwai's consistently-high level of success in the format makes his channel the place to be for singles battlers.
1. ShadyPenguinn
Shady had to top this list and the fact that he didn't even make honorable mention on Watchmojo is frankly ridiculous and demonstrates a glaring lack of knowledge about the scene. Aside from the vast amount of content, the variety on his channel is great. He literally has almost every possible type of Pokemon video but the reason he's at the top of my list is that he finds ways to innovate that bring everyone together, whether the penguinn is flying solo or working on an exciting collaboration. Got a thing for VGC? Check out VGC with pros. Love a good league-format? His GBA and UCL teams have you covered. Maybe you're a sucker for the good ol' days of Pokemon Stadium--check out his hilariously entertaining Blind Battles series with his best friend, Nipps. Fan games? He's got those too. There is no Pokemon channel on YouTube that cranks out that amount of content, with that variety, at top-tier quality, with that level of contagious excitement. Even the Pokemon company, who can be notoriously evil about people using their copyrights were like "damn--we need this guy to commentate our events."
You'll notice I left a lot of the more "informative" ones off the list like the Dex & whatnot--the reason for this is that sites like Bulbapedia and Serebii make it incredibly quick and easy to find this information essentially making them obsolete. It's like how mp3s are much better than records, but some people still enjoy their vinyl.
What do you think? Did I miss your favorite? Let me know on Twitter@KevinVGC!
10. KantoCast
I know they don't do much on YouTube and maybe I'm a little biased, but when it comes to Pokemon news in the competitive world, no one holds a candle to KantoCast. Had to work this weekend and couldn't catch the regional on stream? Tune in and find out. Want the hilariously adorable banter of Blue and Yellow as she tries to figure out this crazy Pokemon universe? Tune in and lol. Or maybe you'd like to hear the perspective of an up-and-coming competitive VGC player as he rises the ranks? Blue is your guy. He also recently made a foray into the theory-realm with his mind-blowingly good Z theory so we can only hope that the Kanto Nation continues to grow to see more content like this. I would put them higher, but none of you would take the rest of the list seriously because I happen to be besties with the guy who runs it :P #TotallyNotBiased
9. CrimsonCBad
CrimsonCBad may be a lesser known choice for the list, and thus a little surprising for some of you but it only takes seconds before a slick intro to one of his videos reveals his professionalism and passion. Like many of the others on this list, he is a friendly, likable guy who covers a variety of areas like Let's Plays, competitive battling, and is a coach in the original league-format organization, the GBA. His channel is still very much in the early stages (recently reaching the one year mark, I believe) but with what he's shown so far, he's likely to be earning spots on lists like this for a long time to come.
8. The King Nappy
Did you really think there would be a list without this guy? Neither did I. For one of the biggest names in the business of Poketubing, an honorable mention feels a bit... shady. But the rest of us know that the King Nappy pumps out content with the best of them exhibiting a great variety of content, at a high-level of energy that is always fun to watch. Keep an eye out for his many collaborations, competitive play, league format, free-for-alls and much, much more.
7. TyranitarTube
TyranitarTube was actually the first Pokemon channel I ever discovered when I was in college and my friends and I were discussing the upcoming X&Y release. It's for that same reason I go back to his channel because although it offers the standard sampler of variety, what makes him stand out is the insight in his speculation coverage of upcoming releases and with the prospect of a potential Pokemon Z around the corner and Gen 7 on the horizon, TyranitarTube will be the place to be as new information regarding these titles gets released.
6. CybertronProductions
Aaron could easily be higher up on this list if he wanted to be. Currently only doing a Road to Ranked VGC-style series on his channel, Aaron has essentially become the international poster boy for the official Pokemon format and for good reason. His videos teach many people the nuance of the VGC format by using cool, innovative teams and explaining with great detail his decision making process while he climbs the BattleSpot ladder. The fact that he continues to be among the top players in the country year-in and year-out only adds to the value of his work.
5. aDrive
I'm personally not a fan of shiny hunting, but among his other fine qualities (have you heard him sing???) aDrive is the undisputed Shiny King. His channel also offers a great variety of other content like Pokemon Showdown lives, Let's Plays, Battle Spot, and league format videos (like the GBA and UCL) and comes out at a peerless level of quality while proving his exceptional skill as a competitive battler as well.
4. Proto Mario
At the moment, no on does Pokemon theory videos better. *in Proto voice* "BUT KEVIN, SOME OF HIS THEORIES ARE FLAWED. BUT KEVIN H--"Stop it. Now. Yes, comment section, some of them are flawed, but that's what makes a theory; we can't prove it. What we can prove, however, is that tons of research goes into the making of these theories and they're generally well-thought out with reasonably sound arguments put forth, which is exactly what a theory video should do. The fact that he addresses interesting topics in engaging ways puts him at the top of his game.
3. Alex Ogloza
There are many things that make OG great. His fun-spirited devil-may-care attitude is exceptionally entertaining and has been a key factor in becoming the best Battle Spot channel around. Like his good friend Aaron, Alex endeavors to teach us the insight of a top-level player and national champion while having fun and definitely not taking himself too seriously. And just when you thought it couldn't get more laid back, Stempe Friday rolls around and the shenanigans are declared. While Pokemon FEET has slowed down and theme teams haven't been around in a while, Alex's channel does offer some measure of variety in content and as you would expect for a channel this high on the list, the quality is always great. To put a cherry on top, no PokeTuber on any list interacts with his or her fans better than OG and his channel has seen substantial growth and fan loyalty as a result, all of it very well-deserved.
2. MegaMogwai
So you're not a VGC guy? The best Pokemon channel for competitive singles is right here--MegaMogwai combines solid production value with remarkable content rooted in his prowess as a competitor on Pokemon Showdown. He crafts innovative, creative teams that are fun to use *and* competitively viable before showing you how to use it to win and climb the ladder. Not only that, but he'll give you the team and teach you how to make your own with an astute insight into the meta that he shares gratuitously with viewers while being one of the most entertaining personalities in the community. Oh and did I mention he won the last season of the GBA? Mogwai's consistently-high level of success in the format makes his channel the place to be for singles battlers.
1. ShadyPenguinn
Shady had to top this list and the fact that he didn't even make honorable mention on Watchmojo is frankly ridiculous and demonstrates a glaring lack of knowledge about the scene. Aside from the vast amount of content, the variety on his channel is great. He literally has almost every possible type of Pokemon video but the reason he's at the top of my list is that he finds ways to innovate that bring everyone together, whether the penguinn is flying solo or working on an exciting collaboration. Got a thing for VGC? Check out VGC with pros. Love a good league-format? His GBA and UCL teams have you covered. Maybe you're a sucker for the good ol' days of Pokemon Stadium--check out his hilariously entertaining Blind Battles series with his best friend, Nipps. Fan games? He's got those too. There is no Pokemon channel on YouTube that cranks out that amount of content, with that variety, at top-tier quality, with that level of contagious excitement. Even the Pokemon company, who can be notoriously evil about people using their copyrights were like "damn--we need this guy to commentate our events."
You'll notice I left a lot of the more "informative" ones off the list like the Dex & whatnot--the reason for this is that sites like Bulbapedia and Serebii make it incredibly quick and easy to find this information essentially making them obsolete. It's like how mp3s are much better than records, but some people still enjoy their vinyl.
What do you think? Did I miss your favorite? Let me know on Twitter
Sunday, October 18, 2015
CIL: Da Rulez
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:
Team Rosters
I. Pokemon on each team's roster must be static except under the following conditions:
- Trades: Each team is allowed three trades with any team in the CIL.
- Trades must be conducted tier-for-tier (i.e. an OU Pokemon can only be traded for another OU Pokemon)
- Trades must be conducted within the beginning of the second and end of the third "weeks" of the season.
- Trades must be submitted to @CIL_Official on Twitter to be approved by the Kevmissioner (simply to check that all these conditions are met).
- Free Agents: Each team is allowed two free-agent acquisitions per season.
- Acquisitions must be conducted as a trade-off tier-for-tier (i.e. an RU Pokemon can only be acquired by dropping an RU Pokemon from the roster).
- 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 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.
II. All roster change requests will be processed in the order they are received through the Twitter account.
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 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 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 recreation, coaches are expected to start over in recreating 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. Having accurate measures of differential is important for the end of the season. Forfeiting will result in a 6-0 loss.
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.
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.
The Season
I. The regular season takes place over five CIL-weeks in which each team must play every other team in their conference once.
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. Two wildcard seeds will be selected regardless of division and based on record.
- 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 and CIL Semifinals while the two and three seeds play a quarterfinal match.
III. Pro Bowl - This is a maybe, but we could vote on top performing Pokemon in the league and have a non-playoff coach or someone who wanted in the CIL but couldn't (such as @GeneticInsect) use the teams.
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.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
CIL: The Next Steps
First of all, let me thank all the coaches for being a part of what I hope will be the most casual league of them all :) Below are all the coaches and their teams that I will update as everyone sends me info (if you're a coach who's had a past league team, I'm using the same name you've had. If you wanna change, just let me know):
@EdkrazeGaming - Kentucky Combusken
@DirectorDRB - Charlotte Houndooms
@MightyMamoswine - Washington Blazikens
@HankThePidgey - Winnipeg Aqua Jets
@KevinVGC - LA Kinglers
@CBranGames - Bentonville Blastoise
@TheFlyingFiona - Kansas City Whirlwinds
@Satoshi_Red_Ash - Lavender Town Night Shades
@Craig_de_Aragon - Colorado Rapidash
@KantoCastBlue & @KantoCastYellow - Wilmington Wynauts
@MavroTrainer - Sarnia Poison Sting
@Sanyer1124 - Portland Pinsirs
And of course, the next order of business is the draft. Some of you have sent me schedules and since we're already seeing some issues, @MightyMamoswine gave me a slick idea. In true casual fashion, we'll hold the draft over a large group message on Twitter. It would probably take a week or so and we'd really need you to draft as soon as possible to ensure it's completed, but it would hurdle the issue of all of us being together at once. Be on the look out for that once I have all the team names.
In any event, here's how the draft will work (again, thanks to @MightyMamoswine for these):
Rules
-Each team must have 11 Pokemon (no exceptions)
-Must have (can be drafted in any order):
--> 1 Mega
--> 1 OU
--> 1 BL
--> 2 UU
--> 1 RU
--> 1 NU
-Each coach has 400 points to spend after those seven rounds to complete their roster of 11.
--> You cannot go over this point total for your team.
--> Drafting certain Megas will increase your 400 point total based on their Mega tier (new GBA board to be released after this update)
-If you need to draft a Pokemon to fill your "must haves" from a tier in which there are no remaining Pokemon, you may select from a lower tier and the difference will be added to your 400.
All I need from you now is your team name and the draft will begin... soon? At the end of this week or the beginning of the next :) Bon chance.
@EdkrazeGaming - Kentucky Combusken
@DirectorDRB - Charlotte Houndooms
@MightyMamoswine - Washington Blazikens
@HankThePidgey - Winnipeg Aqua Jets
@KevinVGC - LA Kinglers
@CBranGames - Bentonville Blastoise
@TheFlyingFiona - Kansas City Whirlwinds
@Satoshi_Red_Ash - Lavender Town Night Shades
All I need from you now is your team name and the draft will begin... soon? At the end of this week or the beginning of the next :) Bon chance.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Casualness Intensifies
Yall! So we're talking about our own draft league now (thanks to Gengar Knight VGC for the hilarious name)! Let me run down the basics of what were thinking here.
I don't think I'm alone in that I've always wanted to try a draft but never have, and likely never will have the time to commit to something like the GBA with weekly demands and deadlines, let alone recording and editing tasks. So here's my idea to make The Casualness Intensifies League (CIL) simpler:
1) Double the time to prepare.
2) Be flexible.
3) No recording requirement.
This is, to borrow some of my favorite words, a league by us, for us. You and your opponent want to have your match a week early? Go for it. You had a rough week at work and need more time? Done. Let's just try this new way to play a game we love and have fun with it.
Based on who we have so far, it's looking a little bigger than I anticipated but I won't turn anyone away--this is an easy issue to resolve by making divisions.
Confirmed Coaches:
@EdkrazeGaming
@DirectorDRB
@MightyMamoswine
@HankThePidgey
@KevinVGC
@CBranGames
@TheFlyingFiona
@Satoshi_Red_Ash
@Craig_de_Aragon
@KantoCastBlue
@KantoCastYellow
@Sanyer1124
Tier Votes so far:
Smogon - 3
GBA - 7
Stopped taking votes as 7 constitutes a majority in 12, but GBA was well on its way to winning.
Comment or tweet at me your responses, and I'll let you know everything you need to know before the draft and we'll work on scheduling when it will happen. I'll hold the draft on my stream.
Now let me leave you with some words very near and dear to my heart...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYeHPFR3f0
-The Kevmissioner of the CIL ;)
I don't think I'm alone in that I've always wanted to try a draft but never have, and likely never will have the time to commit to something like the GBA with weekly demands and deadlines, let alone recording and editing tasks. So here's my idea to make The Casualness Intensifies League (CIL) simpler:
1) Double the time to prepare.
2) Be flexible.
3) No recording requirement.
This is, to borrow some of my favorite words, a league by us, for us. You and your opponent want to have your match a week early? Go for it. You had a rough week at work and need more time? Done. Let's just try this new way to play a game we love and have fun with it.
Based on who we have so far, it's looking a little bigger than I anticipated but I won't turn anyone away--this is an easy issue to resolve by making divisions.
Confirmed Coaches:
@EdkrazeGaming
@DirectorDRB
@MightyMamoswine
@HankThePidgey
@KevinVGC
@CBranGames
@TheFlyingFiona
@Satoshi_Red_Ash
Tier Votes so far:
Smogon - 3
GBA - 7
Stopped taking votes as 7 constitutes a majority in 12, but GBA was well on its way to winning.
Comment or tweet at me your responses, and I'll let you know everything you need to know before the draft and we'll work on scheduling when it will happen. I'll hold the draft on my stream.
Now let me leave you with some words very near and dear to my heart...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYeHPFR3f0
-The Kevmissioner of the CIL ;)
Friday, September 11, 2015
Not yOUr Average Meta Team: Semi-stall Team "Report"
I've wanted to do a sorta team report on this unit for a while. It's really interesting and looks awful on paper, but at it's best, got me to a 1702 (pre-reset), which is my second-highest ladder ranking on Smogon. It's a long way from my goal of voting, but I think that had more to do with not having as much time to play.
Anyway, the point here isn't "oh look at me, I'm so cool" but that this team is still a work in progress, and I wouldn't mind some outside eyes weighing in on it so suggestions are absolutely encouraged.
I feel like the last spot in particular (Thundurus) is most open to something new, but I'm having a hard time placing it. The ideal candidate would provide switch initiative (U-Turn preferred), and somehow help me deal with Kyurem-B and Mega Venusaur, the two things I have problems with. Gyarados is also optional but I like having dual Intimidates, I love Dragon Dance, and Gyarados is a favorite. This team is as close as I can get to favorite-stacking and being competitive.
Blue (Gliscor) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 188 Def / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Protect
I really think Gliscor is the best physical wall out there. The viability rankings may disagree but I don't exactly agree with those anyway (they change too often to be followed verbatim anyway; next week Gliscor may be ahead of Hippowdon). I haven't done the math, but it feels like Poison Heal basically doubles his HP and the bulk is there to begin with. He also doesn't care about Knock Off once poisoned and uses that move punishes the all-too-common Lati@s switch-ins and helps speed up the stall process. The rest is standard Gliscor. I've seen Substitute & Roost used effectively, but I really like having a way to soften-up AssVest & Eviolite users as well. Tbh, the EV spread is based on an OLD one, probably gen 5 I think & I have no idea what I need 72 Speed for but it works.
Osiris (Umbreon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Foul Play
- Toxic
- Protect
- Wish
Special wall/ favorite Pokemon that happens to have decent synergy with Gliscor. The two fill very general roles as walls, not for anything in particular and almost always provide me with a way out. Plus, how often can you do that with two of your favorites? Synchronize lets me Toxic Mega Sableye (oh it's worth it) while Foul Play helps speed up stall a little bit and is really my best way of hurting Kyurem-B and keeps him from subbing. Surprisingly effective but without it, most variants of Kyurem-B maul me with most sets hitting my whole team super-effectively. Wish-Pass is self explanatory.
Kowalski (Empoleon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Defog
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Roar
This was actually the last addition to the team. The logic was: who can set up rocks, clear them, and switch in to special fairies who otherwise tickle my core? The ability to phaze is a HUGE bonus and keeps almost all set-up sweepers from getting cute. Did I mention the perfect defensive synergy with Gliscor? I really love this core.
Jormungandr (Gyarados) (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
Another favorite who puts in the work with Dragon Dance. Lum Berry is for frequent burn & T-wave shenanigans, the other moves are coverage. It used to be Moxie, which saved me on multiple occasions in the lower ladder but higher up, players are too smart to let that thing get away from them and Intimidate is really nice anyway. But seriously, Moxie w/ a Lum in tact eviscerates unprepared teams (which is how he got his nickname--the world serpent slain by Thor [electricity]... clever, no?) and sometimes I miss it, especially after the ladder reset.
Beowulf (Manectric) (M) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Gyarados's buddy and one of my favorite Megas. Lightning Rod means everyone has to think twice about firing off a T-Wave/bolt. Honestly though, the best thing this thing provides is fast offense, and Intimidating switch initiative. The whole idea is to systematically wear down teams so it's essential to get into favorable positions where they have to switch often, gradually getting worn down while I heal up my walls so I need Volt/Turn to do that. Lots of people love Overheat, but I prefer Flamethrower mostly because it usually KOs things like Ferrothorn, Scizor, Weavile, etc and what it doesn't, I almost invariably deal with using a combination of Volt-Switch & the corresponding wall. I also hate the special attack drop--for this team, it's more like a marathon than a sprint and Flamethrower helps me control the pace. Beedrill is tempting in this spot but that's 3 Rock weaknesses.
RNGesus (Thundurus) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 244 HP / 108 Def / 64 SpA / 72 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
I've tried a few things in this spot like Victini, Noivern, and Azelf to help address the Mega Venusaur problem and bring U-Turn into the fold, but nothing has worked as well as Thundurus. Prankster T-Wave + Taunt is really nice and few teams have enough ground types to really deter double Volt Switch. Still, I believe a stronger choice is out there, so if you have ideas, let me know. The EV spread isn't mine--I'm normally a 252/252 guy and just let my play handle it but I wanted a bulky one that still had a little punch to it. A more offensive variant might be better but again--semi-stall is a marathon...maybe a half-marathon. Whimsicott is a favorite and kinda tempting here but Stun Spore isn't great, however Encore is ^.^ I just haven't had a chance to test it.
_________________________________________________________________________________
First you may notice, everyone is blue & yellow. This is purely coincidence (Buckeye fan, thank you very much). But there's also a lot of overlapping weaknesses too--Ground + Ice are common (yet I've never had a problem with Mamoswine yet), as is Electric, which is why you see Kyurem-B being so annoying. I also do nothing to defensive Mega Venu and only beat it through a 70+ turn battle with Umbreon who's obvi the clutch-est and so cute and makes me miss my real cat named Osiris back in Ohio <3
Other than that, I honestly don't encounter many problems besides hax (WHAT'S THE POINT OF HAVING RNGESUS ON MY TEAM) and questionable plays but we can't do anything about that. My main thing is this: what can I switch into the Thundurus spot (or potentially Thundy & Gyarados) that:
-helps deal with Mega Venusaur
-helps deal with Kyurem-B
-provides switch initiative (key to the team strategy)
-doesn't stack any more weaknesses
-priority and fairy-slayers would be nice as well
-actually, I think Mega Swampert may have been tricky also.
Feel free to comment your ideas below, I promise I'll check them all, or even tweet me some ideas. Thanks, yall!
Anyway, the point here isn't "oh look at me, I'm so cool" but that this team is still a work in progress, and I wouldn't mind some outside eyes weighing in on it so suggestions are absolutely encouraged.
I feel like the last spot in particular (Thundurus) is most open to something new, but I'm having a hard time placing it. The ideal candidate would provide switch initiative (U-Turn preferred), and somehow help me deal with Kyurem-B and Mega Venusaur, the two things I have problems with. Gyarados is also optional but I like having dual Intimidates, I love Dragon Dance, and Gyarados is a favorite. This team is as close as I can get to favorite-stacking and being competitive.
Blue (Gliscor) (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Poison Heal
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 188 Def / 72 Spe
Impish Nature
- Knock Off
- Earthquake
- Toxic
- Protect
I really think Gliscor is the best physical wall out there. The viability rankings may disagree but I don't exactly agree with those anyway (they change too often to be followed verbatim anyway; next week Gliscor may be ahead of Hippowdon). I haven't done the math, but it feels like Poison Heal basically doubles his HP and the bulk is there to begin with. He also doesn't care about Knock Off once poisoned and uses that move punishes the all-too-common Lati@s switch-ins and helps speed up the stall process. The rest is standard Gliscor. I've seen Substitute & Roost used effectively, but I really like having a way to soften-up AssVest & Eviolite users as well. Tbh, the EV spread is based on an OLD one, probably gen 5 I think & I have no idea what I need 72 Speed for but it works.
Osiris (Umbreon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Foul Play
- Toxic
- Protect
- Wish
Special wall/ favorite Pokemon that happens to have decent synergy with Gliscor. The two fill very general roles as walls, not for anything in particular and almost always provide me with a way out. Plus, how often can you do that with two of your favorites? Synchronize lets me Toxic Mega Sableye (oh it's worth it) while Foul Play helps speed up stall a little bit and is really my best way of hurting Kyurem-B and keeps him from subbing. Surprisingly effective but without it, most variants of Kyurem-B maul me with most sets hitting my whole team super-effectively. Wish-Pass is self explanatory.
Kowalski (Empoleon) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Defog
- Stealth Rock
- Scald
- Roar
This was actually the last addition to the team. The logic was: who can set up rocks, clear them, and switch in to special fairies who otherwise tickle my core? The ability to phaze is a HUGE bonus and keeps almost all set-up sweepers from getting cute. Did I mention the perfect defensive synergy with Gliscor? I really love this core.
Jormungandr (Gyarados) (M) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Ice Fang
Another favorite who puts in the work with Dragon Dance. Lum Berry is for frequent burn & T-wave shenanigans, the other moves are coverage. It used to be Moxie, which saved me on multiple occasions in the lower ladder but higher up, players are too smart to let that thing get away from them and Intimidate is really nice anyway. But seriously, Moxie w/ a Lum in tact eviscerates unprepared teams (which is how he got his nickname--the world serpent slain by Thor [electricity]... clever, no?) and sometimes I miss it, especially after the ladder reset.
Beowulf (Manectric) (M) @ Manectite
Ability: Lightning Rod
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Gyarados's buddy and one of my favorite Megas. Lightning Rod means everyone has to think twice about firing off a T-Wave/bolt. Honestly though, the best thing this thing provides is fast offense, and Intimidating switch initiative. The whole idea is to systematically wear down teams so it's essential to get into favorable positions where they have to switch often, gradually getting worn down while I heal up my walls so I need Volt/Turn to do that. Lots of people love Overheat, but I prefer Flamethrower mostly because it usually KOs things like Ferrothorn, Scizor, Weavile, etc and what it doesn't, I almost invariably deal with using a combination of Volt-Switch & the corresponding wall. I also hate the special attack drop--for this team, it's more like a marathon than a sprint and Flamethrower helps me control the pace. Beedrill is tempting in this spot but that's 3 Rock weaknesses.
RNGesus (Thundurus) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 244 HP / 108 Def / 64 SpA / 72 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power [Ice]
I've tried a few things in this spot like Victini, Noivern, and Azelf to help address the Mega Venusaur problem and bring U-Turn into the fold, but nothing has worked as well as Thundurus. Prankster T-Wave + Taunt is really nice and few teams have enough ground types to really deter double Volt Switch. Still, I believe a stronger choice is out there, so if you have ideas, let me know. The EV spread isn't mine--I'm normally a 252/252 guy and just let my play handle it but I wanted a bulky one that still had a little punch to it. A more offensive variant might be better but again--semi-stall is a marathon...maybe a half-marathon. Whimsicott is a favorite and kinda tempting here but Stun Spore isn't great, however Encore is ^.^ I just haven't had a chance to test it.
_________________________________________________________________________________
First you may notice, everyone is blue & yellow. This is purely coincidence (Buckeye fan, thank you very much). But there's also a lot of overlapping weaknesses too--Ground + Ice are common (yet I've never had a problem with Mamoswine yet), as is Electric, which is why you see Kyurem-B being so annoying. I also do nothing to defensive Mega Venu and only beat it through a 70+ turn battle with Umbreon who's obvi the clutch-est and so cute and makes me miss my real cat named Osiris back in Ohio <3
Other than that, I honestly don't encounter many problems besides hax (WHAT'S THE POINT OF HAVING RNGESUS ON MY TEAM) and questionable plays but we can't do anything about that. My main thing is this: what can I switch into the Thundurus spot (or potentially Thundy & Gyarados) that:
-helps deal with Mega Venusaur
-helps deal with Kyurem-B
-provides switch initiative (key to the team strategy)
-doesn't stack any more weaknesses
-priority and fairy-slayers would be nice as well
-actually, I think Mega Swampert may have been tricky also.
Feel free to comment your ideas below, I promise I'll check them all, or even tweet me some ideas. Thanks, yall!
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Team Report: 2015 June International Challenge - Hybrid Trick Room
Usually team reports are done by people who are really good. Well today, we're making an exception. I've never done a team report before but I figured, Wynaut? Sorry... on the Plusle side, you know I can't use that joke again. I'm hoping that this will help anyone trying to build a hybrid Trick Room team for VGC. There are good things, and there are some things that definitely need improvement because I'm lazy and didn't do any calculations while team building. I just made a team on Showdown for one of my streams, tested it out, liked it, and used it to a 15-5 effect this weekend with all of the losses having 3 things in common.
The team I had to use was not the team I had planned. For some reason, my Rotom-H and Gyarados gave me entry issues so I had to swap them with Heatran and Bisharp respectively. Gyarados was a crucial part of the team as weather, particularly sun teams, presented significant problems. In fact, 3 of the 5 losses were to sun teams (side note: Why so many sun teams!?). One was also to a Salamence who surprisingly outran Bisharp under Trick Room (next time I will definitely be Sucker Punching) and the fifth was to a Substitute Aegislash. As soon as that happened I was just playing for differential ^.^'
The Squad
Aria (Gardevoir) @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 12 SpA / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Protect
- Hyper Voice
- Psychic
- Trick Room
I opted for a bulkier spread because I was inspired by the team Ray Rizzo used on "Rayce to the Top", his short-lived VGC series on his YouTube Channel. The more Hyper Voices this thing gets off, the better. I can't tell you how many clutch survivals there were in the red, but enough to know that I absolutely wouldn't change a thing. It also doesn't make sense to run a bunch of speed on a hybrid Trick Room team but there are 20 Speed EVs is to outrun Bisharp after Mega Evolving when I choose not to run that mode.
***Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant
- Protect
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
This is a very standard set. It was supposed to be Gyarados and I say with no small amount of confidence, we could have erased three losses from that record if I had him; I wanted to bring Gyarados to far too many matches. However, thanks to some key predictions, Sucker Punch did win me a couple but I don't think I would have been staring in the jaws of defeat had I had Gyarados in the first place. It was nice to have for dealing with the increasingly popular Aegislash. Landorus-T fits well in this spot as a means of physical offense, but honestly I'm so sick of seeing it that I refuse to use it.
Scottie Trippin (Amoonguss) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 140 HP / 180 Def / 188 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Protect
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Giga Drain
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this is Wolfe Glick's Amoonguss that was on his Massachusetts Regionals team. If it is, then this EV spread lets him survive Mega Charizard Y's Heat Wave in the sun once. Not a situation you want to be in, but I was once and managed to win after getting off a clutch Spore and protecting with Gardevoir. To vary from Wolfe's I went for the Sitrus Berry to prolong Scottie's life (Smogon nickname, obviously) instead of the Eject Button, which also came quite in handy. I don't think I would change much about this spread unless you're having trouble with physical attackers, but even Khan wasn't difficult to play around.
***Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 176 HP / 248 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Protect
I was so sick of using Heatran before this tournament. I've had him on almost every team since I have a nasty habit of being weak to Ice and Fairy moves. Plus he's one of the few Fire-types neutral to Rock Slide and has that extra resistance to Hyper Voice, which I strongly believe to be the second best move in the game. Originally Rotom-H was in this spot, inspired by Alex Ogloza's which is doing so much work on Fight4First right now and would spread burns and help deal with Amoonguss, who can take advantage of my Trick Room mode. It seemed like the most viable choice for the team outside of Heatran but the game hated it and wouldn't let me bring it, so Heatran it was. Not as many people use the Air Balloon any more, but I didn't lose a single Heatran mirror match because of it. Without Gyarados (grr), Heatran was actually my best answer for Heatran. The 84 speed EVs are to outrun people who got their Heatran set off Smogon xD
Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 180 HP / 76 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Thundurus is another one I always have on my team. Prankster Taunt can help me shut down a lot of annoying shenanigans, particularly other Pranksters (which is why he's max speed) and Thunder Wave is nice not only for slowing down things when I'm outside of TR but for slowing myself down when I am. Life Orb was necessary because the team was a bit lacking in offense and it helped tons in the tournament. Getting OHKOs on Mega Salamence and Landorus make my life way easier and with the LO, 76 Special Attack EVs is all I needed for standard sets, the rest going into bulk to help him live longer. I may try a max offense set, but I saw no reason to change this one.
Scrafteezy (Scrafty) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Atk / 184 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Super Fang
Scrafty is a great Pokemon to pair with Gardevoir as he helps deal with Aegislash and Bisharp, provides Intimidate and Fake Out support and isn't totally useless when burned thanks to Super Fang. Unfortunately, Super Fang only hit twice for me in the tournament, but it was really useful for stopping Cresselia who don't have berries because if you Knock Off right away, a 3HKO becomes like a 5HKO. I've never been particularly threatened by Cress and more often than not, I just let it sit there and do "nothing" but being able to get rid of it somewhat efficiently when the time comes is nice. I'll be honest--I kind of hate the EV spread. Scrafty didn't put up nearly as much damage as I'd like him to, but that's my own fault for essentially using a random EV spread. I would probably switch Atk & Def while making it Adamant to get the 2HKO on Kangaskhan and Heatran. Zero speed EVs are not only for the Trick Room mode but for trying to catch Aegislash in blade-form as opposed to his shield form.
Threats
Aegislash, Sun, and Sylveon
I know that's a short list but those really are the only things this team struggled with AND, you can make a great acronym for it. Go ahead, try ^.^ Rotom-H would have been a better choice for dealing with the first two being able to tank hits from Charizard Y but deal more damage and not having to worry about physically hitting Aegislash's King's Sheild or dealing with its with Wide Guard. It also isn't totally useless in the rain and if you haven't brought your Fire type to a rain match, you might not be living life to the fullest. Heatran was definitely nicer to have for Sylveon and while Bisharp is better than Gyarados for that job, the Bisharp vs. Sylveon matchup happened once in twenty battles. Gyarados also helps with my abysmal sun match-up, provides Intimidate support, and is a threat in the rain who can also present issues to this team.
One of the ways I dealt with Aegislash was a bit risky, but with all the Weakness Policy sets running around, I would set up Trick Room so it would be caught in blade form more often. This strategy is hard to pull off since you don't want Gardevoir out in front of Aegislash any more than necessary but getting one unboosted attack off is far better than trying to deal with how it normally operates. It's definitely a "one step back, two steps forward" way of approaching this threat if you can manage it.
What I Learned
Based on my experience and the teams I saw, I would definitely put Gyarados in for Bisharp. I can all but guarantee the team would've seen 18-2 unless RNG took control. Landorus-T would have worked well in that spot too. As much as I would have liked to give Rotom-H a shot, Heatran is always a strong choice and completes a classic trio with Gardevoir and Amoonguss. I was also considering Entei, Arcanine, and surprisingly enough Ninetales for that spot and I still believe any of those choices could be viable. Perhaps another day :)
The nice thing about a hybrid TR team is that you aren't boned when you face a full-TR team and nobody wants to mess around with speed control knowing an Icy Wind might actually help their opponent. Also, when facing a full-TR team, you have the ability to reverse something upon which their strategy is dependent. With the right play, you're almost in complete control of the speed factor and having that control means your play and your decisions have a greater overall impact on the outcome. I think the key here is making that decision early in the match so that you establish momentum early and aren't trying to respond to their Tailwind once it's already up.
Gardevoir is a great choice for the mega slot and being great, it's going to be targeted often. Protecting it with redirection, status, and well-timed switches can make or break the team, especially since most of the offense relies on Hyper Voice. Having this reliable, powerful spread attack also means reducing the amount of predicting you have to do in terms of who's going to protect and who isn't--whoever doesn't is getting blasted and whoever does lives to faint another day.
If you decide to build a team like this, definitely play around with the EVs. Scrafty's spread is by far the worst and there were numerous occasions where it felt like dead weight. I'd be curious to see how a more offensively-invested Mega Gardevoir performs, but I really liked the bulky set. Amoonguss could be better tweaked to fit your team needs and Heatran could be more specific as well. Despite all of this, at present, I don't think I'd alter anything but the Scrafty. Still, I think this is a good starting point for team-building as 15-5 in a very competitive tournament doesn't happen by accident.
Feel free to let me know what you think, what you'd change, and how it works for you if you use it!
Update: Final Results are In
So 15-5 was a good run and my best in VGC so far. This record was good enough for 87th in the US and 409th in the world, placing me in the top 4% and 6% respectively. I think this is evidence as to how good Mega Gardevoir is and how effective the hybrid Trick Room team can be so if you're looking for something new to try in your VGC battles, I definitely recommend this team. And let me know how it goes! What you would tweak or what you loved... that kind of thing. Later Feraligatrs!
The team I had to use was not the team I had planned. For some reason, my Rotom-H and Gyarados gave me entry issues so I had to swap them with Heatran and Bisharp respectively. Gyarados was a crucial part of the team as weather, particularly sun teams, presented significant problems. In fact, 3 of the 5 losses were to sun teams (side note: Why so many sun teams!?). One was also to a Salamence who surprisingly outran Bisharp under Trick Room (next time I will definitely be Sucker Punching) and the fifth was to a Substitute Aegislash. As soon as that happened I was just playing for differential ^.^'
The Squad
Aria (Gardevoir) @ Gardevoirite
Ability: Trace
EVs: 252 HP / 224 Def / 12 SpA / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
- Protect
- Hyper Voice
- Psychic
- Trick Room
I opted for a bulkier spread because I was inspired by the team Ray Rizzo used on "Rayce to the Top", his short-lived VGC series on his YouTube Channel. The more Hyper Voices this thing gets off, the better. I can't tell you how many clutch survivals there were in the red, but enough to know that I absolutely wouldn't change a thing. It also doesn't make sense to run a bunch of speed on a hybrid Trick Room team but there are 20 Speed EVs is to outrun Bisharp after Mega Evolving when I choose not to run that mode.
***Bisharp @ Focus Sash
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant
- Protect
- Knock Off
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
This is a very standard set. It was supposed to be Gyarados and I say with no small amount of confidence, we could have erased three losses from that record if I had him; I wanted to bring Gyarados to far too many matches. However, thanks to some key predictions, Sucker Punch did win me a couple but I don't think I would have been staring in the jaws of defeat had I had Gyarados in the first place. It was nice to have for dealing with the increasingly popular Aegislash. Landorus-T fits well in this spot as a means of physical offense, but honestly I'm so sick of seeing it that I refuse to use it.
Scottie Trippin (Amoonguss) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 140 HP / 180 Def / 188 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Protect
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Giga Drain
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think this is Wolfe Glick's Amoonguss that was on his Massachusetts Regionals team. If it is, then this EV spread lets him survive Mega Charizard Y's Heat Wave in the sun once. Not a situation you want to be in, but I was once and managed to win after getting off a clutch Spore and protecting with Gardevoir. To vary from Wolfe's I went for the Sitrus Berry to prolong Scottie's life (Smogon nickname, obviously) instead of the Eject Button, which also came quite in handy. I don't think I would change much about this spread unless you're having trouble with physical attackers, but even Khan wasn't difficult to play around.
***Heatran @ Air Balloon
Ability: Flash Fire
EVs: 176 HP / 248 SpA / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Heat Wave
- Earth Power
- Substitute
- Protect
I was so sick of using Heatran before this tournament. I've had him on almost every team since I have a nasty habit of being weak to Ice and Fairy moves. Plus he's one of the few Fire-types neutral to Rock Slide and has that extra resistance to Hyper Voice, which I strongly believe to be the second best move in the game. Originally Rotom-H was in this spot, inspired by Alex Ogloza's which is doing so much work on Fight4First right now and would spread burns and help deal with Amoonguss, who can take advantage of my Trick Room mode. It seemed like the most viable choice for the team outside of Heatran but the game hated it and wouldn't let me bring it, so Heatran it was. Not as many people use the Air Balloon any more, but I didn't lose a single Heatran mirror match because of it. Without Gyarados (grr), Heatran was actually my best answer for Heatran. The 84 speed EVs are to outrun people who got their Heatran set off Smogon xD
Thundurus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 180 HP / 76 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Thundurus is another one I always have on my team. Prankster Taunt can help me shut down a lot of annoying shenanigans, particularly other Pranksters (which is why he's max speed) and Thunder Wave is nice not only for slowing down things when I'm outside of TR but for slowing myself down when I am. Life Orb was necessary because the team was a bit lacking in offense and it helped tons in the tournament. Getting OHKOs on Mega Salamence and Landorus make my life way easier and with the LO, 76 Special Attack EVs is all I needed for standard sets, the rest going into bulk to help him live longer. I may try a max offense set, but I saw no reason to change this one.
Scrafteezy (Scrafty) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 72 Atk / 184 Def
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Knock Off
- Super Fang
Scrafty is a great Pokemon to pair with Gardevoir as he helps deal with Aegislash and Bisharp, provides Intimidate and Fake Out support and isn't totally useless when burned thanks to Super Fang. Unfortunately, Super Fang only hit twice for me in the tournament, but it was really useful for stopping Cresselia who don't have berries because if you Knock Off right away, a 3HKO becomes like a 5HKO. I've never been particularly threatened by Cress and more often than not, I just let it sit there and do "nothing" but being able to get rid of it somewhat efficiently when the time comes is nice. I'll be honest--I kind of hate the EV spread. Scrafty didn't put up nearly as much damage as I'd like him to, but that's my own fault for essentially using a random EV spread. I would probably switch Atk & Def while making it Adamant to get the 2HKO on Kangaskhan and Heatran. Zero speed EVs are not only for the Trick Room mode but for trying to catch Aegislash in blade-form as opposed to his shield form.
Threats
Aegislash, Sun, and Sylveon
I know that's a short list but those really are the only things this team struggled with AND, you can make a great acronym for it. Go ahead, try ^.^ Rotom-H would have been a better choice for dealing with the first two being able to tank hits from Charizard Y but deal more damage and not having to worry about physically hitting Aegislash's King's Sheild or dealing with its with Wide Guard. It also isn't totally useless in the rain and if you haven't brought your Fire type to a rain match, you might not be living life to the fullest. Heatran was definitely nicer to have for Sylveon and while Bisharp is better than Gyarados for that job, the Bisharp vs. Sylveon matchup happened once in twenty battles. Gyarados also helps with my abysmal sun match-up, provides Intimidate support, and is a threat in the rain who can also present issues to this team.
One of the ways I dealt with Aegislash was a bit risky, but with all the Weakness Policy sets running around, I would set up Trick Room so it would be caught in blade form more often. This strategy is hard to pull off since you don't want Gardevoir out in front of Aegislash any more than necessary but getting one unboosted attack off is far better than trying to deal with how it normally operates. It's definitely a "one step back, two steps forward" way of approaching this threat if you can manage it.
What I Learned
Based on my experience and the teams I saw, I would definitely put Gyarados in for Bisharp. I can all but guarantee the team would've seen 18-2 unless RNG took control. Landorus-T would have worked well in that spot too. As much as I would have liked to give Rotom-H a shot, Heatran is always a strong choice and completes a classic trio with Gardevoir and Amoonguss. I was also considering Entei, Arcanine, and surprisingly enough Ninetales for that spot and I still believe any of those choices could be viable. Perhaps another day :)
The nice thing about a hybrid TR team is that you aren't boned when you face a full-TR team and nobody wants to mess around with speed control knowing an Icy Wind might actually help their opponent. Also, when facing a full-TR team, you have the ability to reverse something upon which their strategy is dependent. With the right play, you're almost in complete control of the speed factor and having that control means your play and your decisions have a greater overall impact on the outcome. I think the key here is making that decision early in the match so that you establish momentum early and aren't trying to respond to their Tailwind once it's already up.
Gardevoir is a great choice for the mega slot and being great, it's going to be targeted often. Protecting it with redirection, status, and well-timed switches can make or break the team, especially since most of the offense relies on Hyper Voice. Having this reliable, powerful spread attack also means reducing the amount of predicting you have to do in terms of who's going to protect and who isn't--whoever doesn't is getting blasted and whoever does lives to faint another day.
If you decide to build a team like this, definitely play around with the EVs. Scrafty's spread is by far the worst and there were numerous occasions where it felt like dead weight. I'd be curious to see how a more offensively-invested Mega Gardevoir performs, but I really liked the bulky set. Amoonguss could be better tweaked to fit your team needs and Heatran could be more specific as well. Despite all of this, at present, I don't think I'd alter anything but the Scrafty. Still, I think this is a good starting point for team-building as 15-5 in a very competitive tournament doesn't happen by accident.
Feel free to let me know what you think, what you'd change, and how it works for you if you use it!
Update: Final Results are In
So 15-5 was a good run and my best in VGC so far. This record was good enough for 87th in the US and 409th in the world, placing me in the top 4% and 6% respectively. I think this is evidence as to how good Mega Gardevoir is and how effective the hybrid Trick Room team can be so if you're looking for something new to try in your VGC battles, I definitely recommend this team. And let me know how it goes! What you would tweak or what you loved... that kind of thing. Later Feraligatrs!
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One Last Ride: The Sleepy Hollow Spectriers Season-in-Review
I'll make this pretty short since I didn't save any replays, but now that the season has ended for everyone else also (I had to dro...
