Hey guys! As vaguely promised, here is a report on the team I used for the majority of the VGC 2016 season, including the National Championships! Usually, I'd have a round-by-round report too, and this report will include that from 2016 Nationals to make for more in-depth content. So here goes!
2016 was a stupidly powerful year for the Video Game Championship series. With the inclusion of Box Legends, damage output reached an all-time high, and between power herb geomancy's, weather boosted spread moves, and Life Orb M-Rayquaza using Swords dance, odds of most pokemon and their battles surviving for more than a couple turns became slim. With the recent VGC rules for Sun and Moon being released, and being drastically different from that of ORAS, consider this team report just a recap of the 2016 season near its peak! While things became a little overpowered, this season was the climax of the stat creep/mega evolution era that started with X and Y. And this was the team I used at Pokemon U.S Nationals 2016 at Columbus Ohio!
This was my second national championship, and I was confident that my team was the best one Ive built yet. I always have to make sure the next team I build competitively is an improvement on the last. Now the thing is, I was 4-5 with this team; by no means am I a Wolfe Glick or Aaron Zheng. But I still placed around top 200 there (202 to be exact) and actually improved on a worse record the year before, something I was the happiest about. I consider the team I used the one I felt best with and was the most balanced team I could come up with, to avoid the majority of pit traps in the 2016 meta. And if you wanted an idea of what kind of team to build for this kind of format in ORAS (Fall Regionals still play by this rule, so I am using it at Fort Wayne in November!), this could give someone a good idea or two.
Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 188 HP / 28 Def / 100 SpA / 4 SpD / 188 Spe
Modest Nature
- Geomancy
- Protect
- Dazzling Gleam
- Moonblast
Your usual Xerneas, except modest for more damage. The 188 speed investment is 1 speed above many other neutral speed legends, things you dont want to get hit by before using Geomancy. The defensive investments make Xerneas' defenses more even, and the rest go to decent HP (225) and Modest boosted sp attack (180, 360 with geomancy). Fairy Aura boosts it's two STAB moves even further, and despite steel/poison/fire types having a resistance to any of Xerneas' attacks, an additional boost of some kind would be able to do the trick....
On a related note, I took a picture with this really nice girl who cosplayed as Shiny Xerneas! You'll see it at the bottom of this report.
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 speed / 4HP
Jolly Nature
-Protect
-Rock Slide
-Fire Punch
-Precimiss Blades
A Physical Groudon meant to speed-tie other Groudon! Although I think the Special Groudon set ended up being superior in tournament play, the destructiveness of Groudon goes both ways! Primal Weather was a must in the year, and Groudon was the first decent primal I was able to get my hands on. Rock slide is a convenient move against fliers like Rayquaza Thundurus and Talonflame, and also for flinch lmaos. Precimiss Blades, it has lost me matches before....but it's spread power cannot be denied. The typically great partner of Xerneas, they make a common yet potent duo.
Crobat @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 44 Def / 44 SpD / 180 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Quick Guard
- Tailwind
- Super Fang
- Taunt
Aaaaaand Utility, the most interesting part of the team report! You know, cause it's not a legend or mega and typically something on the support side. That's not to say Crobat can't pack a punch of any kind; super fang will half anything's life as long as it ain't ghost! Be it a Primal Kyogre or a tanky Cresselia, Crobat takes a VGC route paved by Pachirisu and uses the Super Fang technique like a champ! Since no actual attacks that use the attack stat are being used, you can easily invest in bulk instead!
So besides Super Fang, we have Tailwind for Speed Control opportunities, an always important factor in VGC. There is taunt for when a Smeargle, Prankster, or Status user needs to be punished! Quick Guard becomes a great block against anything as fast as Fake Out, a blessing. However, please know that for Quick Guard to work against Fake Out, they both have +3 priority, so your Quick Guard user must be faster than the Pokemon using Fake Out. With that in mind, I could have put it on the next Pokémon in the set, but I chose Crobat instead. The move was a crucial one to have! It also helps that Crobat has inner focus to avoid flinches as well. Because of that and its reasonable bulk, along with resistances to flinch and xerneas, it usually makes for a great lead!
Meowstic (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fake Out
- Helping Hand
- Safeguard
- Reflect
My special pick on this team! With all the legends and megas and other powerful Pranksters around, why Meowstic? Because its movepool had just what I needed to succeed. A fast fake out user, Meowstic also has Prankster Reflect and Safeguard, nullifying dark void memes and overwhelming physical damage. It was hard to choose between reflect and Light screen, but ultimately I trusted in my team's special defense and focused on weakening physical move, the more susceptible of the two to suppression. This was usually my GG lead with Xerneas, to the average unprepared joe: Fake Out, Geomancy...to helping hand dazzling gleam. This combo will send the non-meta back to their pokeballs without remourse. It does a great amount even to Groudon! Helping Hand is awesome to have when your 3 powerhouses have spread moves! Crobat/Meowstic, although to passive at times, has great set up to it, and be a straight counter to the expected Kang Fake out/DV Smeargle with quick guard and safeguard! The prankster safeguard is more reliable than Taunt Crobat in that regard, with Scarf smeargles running amok. His bulk is enough physically, with his max HP investment and when reflect is up. Perhaps even an intimidate!
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Hyper Voice
- Flamethrower
- Protect
My mega of this year! Chosen because I did not want Kangaskhan, but I also wanted a powerhouse par to my previous year's Power-up Punch M-Metagross! While I could have invested in bulk, I like where its defenses are at naturally. While not at that level physically, Salamence would be a fast damage spreader, intimidator, and loyal mega at the same time! Although like Groudon, a physical set might seem like a great damage dealer, I was happy with Hyper Voice's consistency. Draco Meteor was not to be underestimated, landing unexpected KOs, and wiping out Rayquaza before it can move, if there is no focus sash! Flamethrower was the coverage choice, and can do some serious damage to Mawile or Ferrothorn in Groudon's sun! If this is the last Mega I use competitively, Im glad it was Salamence!
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 196 Atk / 140 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Finally, good ol' Ferrothorn is always a good anchor to a team. This set is nice and tried out over the years since Ferrothorn became a sort of tank staple by Black & White. Although a swap for leftovers could've been nice, the idea of Kang losing half it's health on a Fake out switch-in always appealed to me. This year, it was one of a couple counters to Xerneas until Bronzong shot up in usage, for me, it is also a nice counter to Kyogre, a 2 for 1 when it comes to taking out the big '16 box legends! Leech seed for longetivity, attack investment, and a SpD boost that'd make it's defenses equal, Ferrothorn was a big lumpy force to be reckon with! Notice the 0iv speed; This was important to either take advantage of trick room or to hit someone with Gyro Ball as hard as I could...or both!
So that is the team in a nutshell. Of course, along the way I tried a lot of other pokemon out and experimented until I got a team that functioned nicely. And like a good tournament player, I used tools such as type coverage calcs for team and move balance, damage calcs to figure out exactly how much EVs I give to a pokemon, and speed tiers! And speaking of speed tiers, below is a chart for the speeds of my pokemon, based on their speed stat at level 50. it is a good thing to use to compare your teams balance in speed control with other teams!
(Tailwind - x2 option)
288 - Xerneas post geomancy
190- Crobat (bulkier/slower than weavile; I was not concerned with its presence in vgc16', though I know its good.)
189 - M-Salamence
171 - Meowstic (Applies to Fake Out,crobag Quick guard vs Liepard, weavile, raichu)
167 - Salamence (Speedties Palkia, Mega-Ray
156 - Groudon (was 155 the night before nats, so I had to reset EVs!)
144 - Xerneas (outspeeds neutral kyogre/groudon)
22- Ferrothorn :D
So that's about everything but damage calcs I can give about my team! If I couldnt breed it, I got the pokemon through a kind trades or giveaway. Besides thundurus, a pokemon I genuinely always dislike playing against, I felt the only weaknesses the team could have would have to be discovered...which they were! Nonetheless, It is what I brought into Nationals, with a goal of being better than 3-6
and getting as high of a standing as I could get. Any kind of CP would be awesome, but was any of it meant to be this year? Anxious, and against a strong opponent, my first round would begin:
R1 vs Nick!
Opponent's team:
Smeargle
Xenreas
Azumarill
Cresselia
Thundurus
M-Rayquaza
What a team, I thought. I knew from the start this would be a good battle, but again, two status-inducers off the start I hated going against were present...I wasnt sure how to play Round 1. We both start with Xerneas, yet he gets his geomancy off first, which is what got him the win 4-2. With Some smeargle added into the short match, and minor frustration sets in.
I space this paragraph out because this was the best game I played all day! Game 2 I was able to turn the tide by flinching his xerneas and getting MY geomancy off first! Thing is, his xerneas ends up doing the same later, and his cresselia ends up using Psych Up to copy these stat boosts!! I was in trouble, but being in the moment, I was not afraid of it...I had meowstic by my side! Helping Hand-Geo dazzling gleams come out the next two turns, and on the 2nd turn, I get the critical hit on the boosted cresselia, fainting it and ultimately winning me game 2! I was able to scout more by winning round 2, always a good thing. It was an intensely lucky game for me to win, and one of the only times I recall hacks going my way in such a game.
Game 3; It took me a moment for game 2 to set in, but I still had great focus. I switched meowstic for Crobat, which made the difference in this game. Xerneas comes in clutch on its bulk against a mean mixed Rayquaza, amongst others threats. I used my entire Crobat's moveset to my advantage, and it's quick guard blocking Ray's extreme speed saved Xerneas from certain KO, allowing it to get its +2 DGleam off and crushing what was on the other side. I was incredibly proud that I weaseled out a Round 1 win, and was very satisfied with my team's performance. It was the first of many game 3's in the day!
R2 vs Alvin!
Smeargle
Xerneas
Cresselia
Groudon
M-Salamence
M-Kangaskhan
Anything look familiar? This guy was a friend of the last guy I played, and half his team with similar movesets were there for me to defeat again. Game 1 I start with meowstic and crobat, to counter a smeargle/kang lead, but the bat was unfortunately killed early. Later in the match, my groudon makes an appearance, but instead of also getting KOd early, it lived a powerful move with 1hp! There were misplays, and I knew that at times, Meowstic and Crobat can be too much support not enough tank. My game 2 I also win via hax! Along these games, he was wise not to use his smeargle, but also wise for being another psych up Cress user! Game 3 was really, really close, but came down to a Precipice Blade Miss that was salt to my eyes! Afterwards it came down to cresselia, with too much hp, using icy wind to beat my usually trusty salamence. Two great games so far, but Im also 1-1.
R3 vs Matt!
M-Mawile
Yveltal
Crobat
Groudon
Breloom
Cresselia
Now we see something different! Breloom is my 2nd favorite pokemon, but I initially questioned its use in this format, having not seen it much at all for awhile. Game 1 I was able to scout out my opponents team, but was screwed against a special-attack Groudon with Eruption and Ancient Power. Game 2 was a Geomancy win on my part; my Favorite KO of the day was another Helping Hand-Geo dazzling gleam that OHKO'd a Mawile! It was comical how fast the health bar dropped down, as I said "see ya!" to my opponent's two pokemon. Game 3 I lost by the first turn! The reason being....I let my guard down and let my Xerneas get spored by a Scarf Breloom! So watch out for that....if you see a breloom. I would have been more upset if it wasn't my bro pokemon that defeated me. 1-2 had me in a rut, and I said to myself that I wouldn't be fooled like that again!
R4 vs Jacob!
Rayquaza
Ferrothorn
Whimsicott
Xerneas
Talonflame
Kangaskhan
A nice guy, but I was determined to beat him! I was not worried by his talonflame, and was able to scout all his non-megas game 1! something I wonder about now is why he didnt bring a mega that game, but im not complaining. He got his geomancy off first, but I had the better plays and spread damage to win me the first game. Game two, he gets his geomancy off again, and while I had ferrothorn on the field, he was gutsy to 2HKO it! It won him game 2, and set up for tue fourth game3 in four rounds! Unfortunately...for my opponent, my crobat taunts his Xerneas, his geomancy is denied, I get mine off, and it becomes GG city from there! Back to even, I had breathing room once again. All I wanted was at least 2 more wins, and I felt I could do that! It is easier said than done.
R5 vs Jack!
Infernape
M-Salamence
Cresselia
Kyogre
Togekiss
Groudon
Around now I was having charging issues, but I resolved them over time. This guy was...a little rude, but he wasnt a jerk by any means. I lost to him too, to put it shortly, to make it worse. I did not see either of his odder picks of Infernape and Togekiss, both of which I brought Nationals the year before. Icy Wind, Trick Room, and overall speed control with his cresselia led to his Mega and two primals to roll me over. Again, I felt the overwhelming instinct to remedy the loss with a win next round.
R6 vs Selena!
Smeargle
Kangaskhan
Xerneas
Groudon
Salamence
Talonflame
A typical team, one I was worried by and one I didn't have trouble with. We both had geomancys go off game 1, but mine was faster and helped me with the victory. Her smeargle was able to get a +2 speed AND evasion boost in that game, but I hit it with Xerneas anyway. Xerneas lived to the end with 1HP like groudon a couple rounds ago! The 2nd game my opponent made questionable plays, and I took advantage of them and swept. I was at the same amount of wins I had the year before, but I wouldn't be satisfied until I had one more!
R7 vs Stephen!
Cresselia
Groudon
Thundurus
Salamence
Kangaskhan
Kyogre
Another really nice dude! But dual primals killed me this time around. Not only that, but my team's weakness was becoming evident as Icy Wind Cresselia, an always persistent tank that Ive faced all tournament! I might want to consider what I can do to lock down a cresselia before my next tournament, because the group of that, a mega, and legends is absurdly good.
R8 vs Sean!
Thundurus
Groudon
Kangaskhan
Salamence
Xerneas
Talonflame
A short game 1 as I get off the turn 1 geomancy, with helping hand destruction to follow, OHKOing his xerneas with dazzling gleam. I recognized his Xerneas was faster than mine during the win, but also realized his thundurus was pretty bulky, and slower than Meowstic! Despite this, I switched crobat in for meowstic again to try and take the next game quietly, but I shouldnt have done that. I lost, and then I sort if choked game 3! It was too much switching on my part. With one game to go, I was in a bad mood. A lot of weight was on my shoulders to win the last game, and another 3-6 would leave me pretty dissapointed. After a long day, we finally reached the final round....
R9 Vs ...
I was given this win by my opponent, who was dropping out that round! Yup, sorry to make this the most anticlimactic of team reports, but that's how I became 4-5! :P
I love this team enough to use it again in November, and hopefully post a positive record from Fort Wayne. It made my experience at Nationals the best one Ive had yet with the video game! I recommend this event and any tournament near you!! It really is an amazing experience sharing what we love with others, especially in competition! As long as it stays midwest, you'll also see me at Nationals next year when Sun and Moon becomes the meta, and spoilers: there's an Oranguru on my team . You'd usually see me in Ash cosplay, but I am switching it up this year as a Luck sort of thing! Thanks for reading through, and any feedback is good feedback! Let me know especially if this helped anyone learn a thing or two, in case I feel inclined to make more content!
![[Image: vr79mc.jpg]](http://i67.tinypic.com/vr79mc.jpg)
2016 was a stupidly powerful year for the Video Game Championship series. With the inclusion of Box Legends, damage output reached an all-time high, and between power herb geomancy's, weather boosted spread moves, and Life Orb M-Rayquaza using Swords dance, odds of most pokemon and their battles surviving for more than a couple turns became slim. With the recent VGC rules for Sun and Moon being released, and being drastically different from that of ORAS, consider this team report just a recap of the 2016 season near its peak! While things became a little overpowered, this season was the climax of the stat creep/mega evolution era that started with X and Y. And this was the team I used at Pokemon U.S Nationals 2016 at Columbus Ohio!
This was my second national championship, and I was confident that my team was the best one Ive built yet. I always have to make sure the next team I build competitively is an improvement on the last. Now the thing is, I was 4-5 with this team; by no means am I a Wolfe Glick or Aaron Zheng. But I still placed around top 200 there (202 to be exact) and actually improved on a worse record the year before, something I was the happiest about. I consider the team I used the one I felt best with and was the most balanced team I could come up with, to avoid the majority of pit traps in the 2016 meta. And if you wanted an idea of what kind of team to build for this kind of format in ORAS (Fall Regionals still play by this rule, so I am using it at Fort Wayne in November!), this could give someone a good idea or two.
Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 188 HP / 28 Def / 100 SpA / 4 SpD / 188 Spe
Modest Nature
- Geomancy
- Protect
- Dazzling Gleam
- Moonblast
Your usual Xerneas, except modest for more damage. The 188 speed investment is 1 speed above many other neutral speed legends, things you dont want to get hit by before using Geomancy. The defensive investments make Xerneas' defenses more even, and the rest go to decent HP (225) and Modest boosted sp attack (180, 360 with geomancy). Fairy Aura boosts it's two STAB moves even further, and despite steel/poison/fire types having a resistance to any of Xerneas' attacks, an additional boost of some kind would be able to do the trick....
On a related note, I took a picture with this really nice girl who cosplayed as Shiny Xerneas! You'll see it at the bottom of this report.
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 speed / 4HP
Jolly Nature
-Protect
-Rock Slide
-Fire Punch
-Precimiss Blades
A Physical Groudon meant to speed-tie other Groudon! Although I think the Special Groudon set ended up being superior in tournament play, the destructiveness of Groudon goes both ways! Primal Weather was a must in the year, and Groudon was the first decent primal I was able to get my hands on. Rock slide is a convenient move against fliers like Rayquaza Thundurus and Talonflame, and also for flinch lmaos. Precimiss Blades, it has lost me matches before....but it's spread power cannot be denied. The typically great partner of Xerneas, they make a common yet potent duo.
Crobat @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 44 Def / 44 SpD / 180 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Quick Guard
- Tailwind
- Super Fang
- Taunt
Aaaaaand Utility, the most interesting part of the team report! You know, cause it's not a legend or mega and typically something on the support side. That's not to say Crobat can't pack a punch of any kind; super fang will half anything's life as long as it ain't ghost! Be it a Primal Kyogre or a tanky Cresselia, Crobat takes a VGC route paved by Pachirisu and uses the Super Fang technique like a champ! Since no actual attacks that use the attack stat are being used, you can easily invest in bulk instead!
So besides Super Fang, we have Tailwind for Speed Control opportunities, an always important factor in VGC. There is taunt for when a Smeargle, Prankster, or Status user needs to be punished! Quick Guard becomes a great block against anything as fast as Fake Out, a blessing. However, please know that for Quick Guard to work against Fake Out, they both have +3 priority, so your Quick Guard user must be faster than the Pokemon using Fake Out. With that in mind, I could have put it on the next Pokémon in the set, but I chose Crobat instead. The move was a crucial one to have! It also helps that Crobat has inner focus to avoid flinches as well. Because of that and its reasonable bulk, along with resistances to flinch and xerneas, it usually makes for a great lead!
Meowstic (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Fake Out
- Helping Hand
- Safeguard
- Reflect
My special pick on this team! With all the legends and megas and other powerful Pranksters around, why Meowstic? Because its movepool had just what I needed to succeed. A fast fake out user, Meowstic also has Prankster Reflect and Safeguard, nullifying dark void memes and overwhelming physical damage. It was hard to choose between reflect and Light screen, but ultimately I trusted in my team's special defense and focused on weakening physical move, the more susceptible of the two to suppression. This was usually my GG lead with Xerneas, to the average unprepared joe: Fake Out, Geomancy...to helping hand dazzling gleam. This combo will send the non-meta back to their pokeballs without remourse. It does a great amount even to Groudon! Helping Hand is awesome to have when your 3 powerhouses have spread moves! Crobat/Meowstic, although to passive at times, has great set up to it, and be a straight counter to the expected Kang Fake out/DV Smeargle with quick guard and safeguard! The prankster safeguard is more reliable than Taunt Crobat in that regard, with Scarf smeargles running amok. His bulk is enough physically, with his max HP investment and when reflect is up. Perhaps even an intimidate!
Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Hyper Voice
- Flamethrower
- Protect
My mega of this year! Chosen because I did not want Kangaskhan, but I also wanted a powerhouse par to my previous year's Power-up Punch M-Metagross! While I could have invested in bulk, I like where its defenses are at naturally. While not at that level physically, Salamence would be a fast damage spreader, intimidator, and loyal mega at the same time! Although like Groudon, a physical set might seem like a great damage dealer, I was happy with Hyper Voice's consistency. Draco Meteor was not to be underestimated, landing unexpected KOs, and wiping out Rayquaza before it can move, if there is no focus sash! Flamethrower was the coverage choice, and can do some serious damage to Mawile or Ferrothorn in Groudon's sun! If this is the last Mega I use competitively, Im glad it was Salamence!
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 196 Atk / 140 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Finally, good ol' Ferrothorn is always a good anchor to a team. This set is nice and tried out over the years since Ferrothorn became a sort of tank staple by Black & White. Although a swap for leftovers could've been nice, the idea of Kang losing half it's health on a Fake out switch-in always appealed to me. This year, it was one of a couple counters to Xerneas until Bronzong shot up in usage, for me, it is also a nice counter to Kyogre, a 2 for 1 when it comes to taking out the big '16 box legends! Leech seed for longetivity, attack investment, and a SpD boost that'd make it's defenses equal, Ferrothorn was a big lumpy force to be reckon with! Notice the 0iv speed; This was important to either take advantage of trick room or to hit someone with Gyro Ball as hard as I could...or both!
So that is the team in a nutshell. Of course, along the way I tried a lot of other pokemon out and experimented until I got a team that functioned nicely. And like a good tournament player, I used tools such as type coverage calcs for team and move balance, damage calcs to figure out exactly how much EVs I give to a pokemon, and speed tiers! And speaking of speed tiers, below is a chart for the speeds of my pokemon, based on their speed stat at level 50. it is a good thing to use to compare your teams balance in speed control with other teams!
(Tailwind - x2 option)
288 - Xerneas post geomancy
190- Crobat (bulkier/slower than weavile; I was not concerned with its presence in vgc16', though I know its good.)
189 - M-Salamence
171 - Meowstic (Applies to Fake Out,crobag Quick guard vs Liepard, weavile, raichu)
167 - Salamence (Speedties Palkia, Mega-Ray
156 - Groudon (was 155 the night before nats, so I had to reset EVs!)
144 - Xerneas (outspeeds neutral kyogre/groudon)
22- Ferrothorn :D
So that's about everything but damage calcs I can give about my team! If I couldnt breed it, I got the pokemon through a kind trades or giveaway. Besides thundurus, a pokemon I genuinely always dislike playing against, I felt the only weaknesses the team could have would have to be discovered...which they were! Nonetheless, It is what I brought into Nationals, with a goal of being better than 3-6
and getting as high of a standing as I could get. Any kind of CP would be awesome, but was any of it meant to be this year? Anxious, and against a strong opponent, my first round would begin:R1 vs Nick!
Opponent's team:
Smeargle
Xenreas
Azumarill
Cresselia
Thundurus
M-Rayquaza
What a team, I thought. I knew from the start this would be a good battle, but again, two status-inducers off the start I hated going against were present...I wasnt sure how to play Round 1. We both start with Xerneas, yet he gets his geomancy off first, which is what got him the win 4-2. With Some smeargle added into the short match, and minor frustration sets in.
I space this paragraph out because this was the best game I played all day! Game 2 I was able to turn the tide by flinching his xerneas and getting MY geomancy off first! Thing is, his xerneas ends up doing the same later, and his cresselia ends up using Psych Up to copy these stat boosts!! I was in trouble, but being in the moment, I was not afraid of it...I had meowstic by my side! Helping Hand-Geo dazzling gleams come out the next two turns, and on the 2nd turn, I get the critical hit on the boosted cresselia, fainting it and ultimately winning me game 2! I was able to scout more by winning round 2, always a good thing. It was an intensely lucky game for me to win, and one of the only times I recall hacks going my way in such a game.
Game 3; It took me a moment for game 2 to set in, but I still had great focus. I switched meowstic for Crobat, which made the difference in this game. Xerneas comes in clutch on its bulk against a mean mixed Rayquaza, amongst others threats. I used my entire Crobat's moveset to my advantage, and it's quick guard blocking Ray's extreme speed saved Xerneas from certain KO, allowing it to get its +2 DGleam off and crushing what was on the other side. I was incredibly proud that I weaseled out a Round 1 win, and was very satisfied with my team's performance. It was the first of many game 3's in the day!
R2 vs Alvin!
Smeargle
Xerneas
Cresselia
Groudon
M-Salamence
M-Kangaskhan
Anything look familiar? This guy was a friend of the last guy I played, and half his team with similar movesets were there for me to defeat again. Game 1 I start with meowstic and crobat, to counter a smeargle/kang lead, but the bat was unfortunately killed early. Later in the match, my groudon makes an appearance, but instead of also getting KOd early, it lived a powerful move with 1hp! There were misplays, and I knew that at times, Meowstic and Crobat can be too much support not enough tank. My game 2 I also win via hax! Along these games, he was wise not to use his smeargle, but also wise for being another psych up Cress user! Game 3 was really, really close, but came down to a Precipice Blade Miss that was salt to my eyes! Afterwards it came down to cresselia, with too much hp, using icy wind to beat my usually trusty salamence. Two great games so far, but Im also 1-1.
R3 vs Matt!
M-Mawile
Yveltal
Crobat
Groudon
Breloom
Cresselia
Now we see something different! Breloom is my 2nd favorite pokemon, but I initially questioned its use in this format, having not seen it much at all for awhile. Game 1 I was able to scout out my opponents team, but was screwed against a special-attack Groudon with Eruption and Ancient Power. Game 2 was a Geomancy win on my part; my Favorite KO of the day was another Helping Hand-Geo dazzling gleam that OHKO'd a Mawile! It was comical how fast the health bar dropped down, as I said "see ya!" to my opponent's two pokemon. Game 3 I lost by the first turn! The reason being....I let my guard down and let my Xerneas get spored by a Scarf Breloom! So watch out for that....if you see a breloom. I would have been more upset if it wasn't my bro pokemon that defeated me. 1-2 had me in a rut, and I said to myself that I wouldn't be fooled like that again!
R4 vs Jacob!
Rayquaza
Ferrothorn
Whimsicott
Xerneas
Talonflame
Kangaskhan
A nice guy, but I was determined to beat him! I was not worried by his talonflame, and was able to scout all his non-megas game 1! something I wonder about now is why he didnt bring a mega that game, but im not complaining. He got his geomancy off first, but I had the better plays and spread damage to win me the first game. Game two, he gets his geomancy off again, and while I had ferrothorn on the field, he was gutsy to 2HKO it! It won him game 2, and set up for tue fourth game3 in four rounds! Unfortunately...for my opponent, my crobat taunts his Xerneas, his geomancy is denied, I get mine off, and it becomes GG city from there! Back to even, I had breathing room once again. All I wanted was at least 2 more wins, and I felt I could do that! It is easier said than done.
R5 vs Jack!
Infernape
M-Salamence
Cresselia
Kyogre
Togekiss
Groudon
Around now I was having charging issues, but I resolved them over time. This guy was...a little rude, but he wasnt a jerk by any means. I lost to him too, to put it shortly, to make it worse. I did not see either of his odder picks of Infernape and Togekiss, both of which I brought Nationals the year before. Icy Wind, Trick Room, and overall speed control with his cresselia led to his Mega and two primals to roll me over. Again, I felt the overwhelming instinct to remedy the loss with a win next round.
R6 vs Selena!
Smeargle
Kangaskhan
Xerneas
Groudon
Salamence
Talonflame
A typical team, one I was worried by and one I didn't have trouble with. We both had geomancys go off game 1, but mine was faster and helped me with the victory. Her smeargle was able to get a +2 speed AND evasion boost in that game, but I hit it with Xerneas anyway. Xerneas lived to the end with 1HP like groudon a couple rounds ago! The 2nd game my opponent made questionable plays, and I took advantage of them and swept. I was at the same amount of wins I had the year before, but I wouldn't be satisfied until I had one more!
R7 vs Stephen!
Cresselia
Groudon
Thundurus
Salamence
Kangaskhan
Kyogre
Another really nice dude! But dual primals killed me this time around. Not only that, but my team's weakness was becoming evident as Icy Wind Cresselia, an always persistent tank that Ive faced all tournament! I might want to consider what I can do to lock down a cresselia before my next tournament, because the group of that, a mega, and legends is absurdly good.
R8 vs Sean!
Thundurus
Groudon
Kangaskhan
Salamence
Xerneas
Talonflame
A short game 1 as I get off the turn 1 geomancy, with helping hand destruction to follow, OHKOing his xerneas with dazzling gleam. I recognized his Xerneas was faster than mine during the win, but also realized his thundurus was pretty bulky, and slower than Meowstic! Despite this, I switched crobat in for meowstic again to try and take the next game quietly, but I shouldnt have done that. I lost, and then I sort if choked game 3! It was too much switching on my part. With one game to go, I was in a bad mood. A lot of weight was on my shoulders to win the last game, and another 3-6 would leave me pretty dissapointed. After a long day, we finally reached the final round....
R9 Vs ...
I was given this win by my opponent, who was dropping out that round! Yup, sorry to make this the most anticlimactic of team reports, but that's how I became 4-5! :P
I love this team enough to use it again in November, and hopefully post a positive record from Fort Wayne. It made my experience at Nationals the best one Ive had yet with the video game! I recommend this event and any tournament near you!! It really is an amazing experience sharing what we love with others, especially in competition! As long as it stays midwest, you'll also see me at Nationals next year when Sun and Moon becomes the meta, and spoilers: there's an Oranguru on my team
. You'd usually see me in Ash cosplay, but I am switching it up this year as a Luck sort of thing! Thanks for reading through, and any feedback is good feedback! Let me know especially if this helped anyone learn a thing or two, in case I feel inclined to make more content!
No matching Yveltal, but plenty of trainers, including Diamond and a Serena im friends with!
