PLAYS BOIS

Not sucking pt2 ('plays')

So this topic wasn't originally on the list of things to cover regarding VGC. But it's something I've personally noticed and experienced happening not only to myself, but to a lot of other players as well, especially newer ones. I'm of course talking about 'plays' and more importantly, when one is required. Now the term 'play' is pretty subjective so what is written will just be my own opinion. 

Since this is actually really difficult to explain since it encompasses literally everything you need to know in VGC, I'll do it in key points to simplify it as much as I can. Starting with what actually is a play.

Technically speaking a play is whatever you tell your Pokemon to do in each given turn. What is the right play and what is the wrong play differ massively from turn to turn and deciding what the best play is for any given turn can be incredibly hard, even for advanced players. There are a million things to take into account when deciding what the best course of action is during a turn. From risk reward and resource management to simply thinking ahead to the upcoming turns.

Thinking ahead:

This is by far the most important skill to have in competitive Pokemon in my opinion. It sounds so simple in theory to think a turn ahead, but its very often forgotten. Thinking ahead is just what it sounds like, thinking ahead. It's a lot more complicated when you dig deeper however, so simplifying it is hard. 

Picture the scene, Your opponent has a Whimsicott and you have a Kangaskhan. If you use Fake out you can expect to be encored. Just acknowledging this and knowing what is going/could happen next turn is an example of thinking ahead. (A very simple one) Much more complex examples of thinking ahead can involve deciding to leave a certain Pokemon alive instead of knocking it out. An example of this could be leaving a burnt Kangaskhan alive next to a Xerneas, as knocking it out would provide free entry for a Smeargle to use Dark void. This is all incredibly scenario based but hopefully you get the general idea. Before you make your play, always always always consider the following turns before locking something in. Thinking ahead can also involve combo's as mentioned in the previous article as well!

Big boy plays:

I've decided to call these big boy plays for comical reasons but just like thinking ahead, its just what it says on the tin. Big boy plays are plays that grant unbelievable amounts of momentum and leverage that the opponent will struggle to come back from it. On the downside, these plays are incredibly risky and if they backfire you'll find yourself losing rather quickly. It's worth noting that most of these 'big' plays happen in the endgame where one player is losing heavily and needs anything they can get to have a chance to come back. Using your own personal judgement and observing your last ludicrous win con are what you need for this stuff. If you can't see how to win, then how can you expect to win? Now I've made some big boy plays in the past. Using Hp ice on a Kyogre to catch a Landorus was a personal favourite and also the game that clinched me my worlds invite so I'll discuss that. 

Now I didn't use HP ice to show off nor did I click it because 'I'd lost screw it'. There was thought behind it, the thought being; If Landorus comes in here for free I'm going to lose. But if it doesn't and I ignore the Kyogre I'm going to lose anyways. I 100% had to pick up a KO that turn so I went for it. Risk management was tossed aside for one turn and it payed off. Now its not going to work every single time, in fact it'll probably work less than half the time. But if you're likely to lose, you may as well try. 'A cornered opponent is a dangerous one' couldn't be more accurate, picture it as flailing your arms around like a lunatic in a last ditch effort to win. 

What is the best play?

This is something that spectators will often claim to know and it's something that you need to know. Everyone gets it wrong, likely multiple times per game. I like to break it all down into Four seperate categories:

The best play

The good play

The mid-ground play

The bad play

The best play is actually fairly rare, I view it as a turn with no negative repercussions and nothing but gain for one of the players. Think doubling an opposing pokemon as the other protects, or switching in Groudon and using Tailwind at the cost of nothing. What your own best play is per turn is what your opponent is likely to try and stop, and you should do the same. Look at the field, determine what the opp is most likely to try and do, and then punish or disrupt it. 

The good play is similar to the best play since both achieve positive results but one at more cost. Imagine the same scenario with the Groudon and Tailwind, but you lose the tailwinder as a result. It's a good play because of the momentum gained from Tailwind, but you may of lost a valuable resource to do so. Whether this can always be called a good play is scenario based, but a boost of momentum is always good in my books.

The mid-ground play is my favourite. To put it simply, it's what you do when you're not 100% sure on what the opponent is going to do out of multiple options. Ala Crobat Groudon vs Kangaskhan Whimsicott. The opponent has more options than you so choosing which one to act upon can be tough, A play that checks multiple boxes but doesn't gain as much as a great play is much much safer, and can oftentimes be considered the best play in a tough spot. With these plays, its especially important to think ahead.

The bad play is a play that gains you nothing and loses you massive momentum and likely the game. This can be switching in Pokemon recklessly into attacks without thought or just letting important Pokemon die quickly. Example being using Geomancy t1 infront of a Mawile. This is a bad play since you're more than likely going to lose the main form of offence on your team. Simple

In general bad plays are more common than good plays and are much easier to make as a result. A lot of learning what is a good play or not is from experience. An easy way to gain experience for this incase you don't feel like playing, is watching game replays either of yourself or someone else. You can sit peacefully and inspect a replay and call out where the good bad great and mid-ground plays are, and picture what you would do in that scenario. It's surprisingly useful and I did it a bunch before I flew off to worlds. Tried and tested I suppose.

Showing off/being aggro/???

Now this is something I need to tackle. A lot of players will attempt to predict what the opponent is going to do every turn and act hard on it. The issue with this is if the opponent doesn't do what you thought you're in a lot of trouble. You can feasibly know what the opponent is going to do and act 'lightly' on it if you deem necessary. Think the Salamence is going to Tailwind? You don't have to taunt it, you can simply use Tailwind of your own to catch up, or attempt to KO it before it can. Think that Groudon is going to switch into a flying type to dodge your own Groudon? Using Eruption here can net a lot, but what if it stays in and uses a move to Ko you? Risk reward is key in making any play, don't throw it all out the window unless you have nothing else to lose!

I mentioned momentum a bunch in this piece and if you're not exactly sure what that is don't worry about it. It's the planned part 3/100 in this giant encyclopedia of 'knowledge'

PS: I wish I could've included replays for this but it's so so so hard to show. Its better to just get out there and see for yourself.

PSS: Have a sprite for no reason since this is a bit bland and boring.

PSSS: If I missed anything feel free to slap me round the head and tell me what it is. I'll fix it :]

-Matt

Things needed to not suck (pt1)

Part 1 Intro + Combo's

I guess this is going to be my attempt at a 'tutorial' for VGC. It obviously won't be perfect since everyone plays the game differently but hopefully I can cover a lot of universal mindsets that top players have. I'll also wack in a resource bin, almost like a references page for school work so everything is all in one place to start using and abusing. 

If you're reading this I'm assuming you know what VGC is so I'm not gonna write paragraphs about how its 4v4 double battles. I will however go over your 2 main win cons in the format. 

1:This is the most obvious and common way to win, knocking out all the opponents Pokemon.

2: The in game timer running out. Whoever has the higher % of HP for remaining Pokemon will win. Regardless of your personal thoughts on the timer, its a very real threat to you and it should be considered when it starts to run down a bit. 

Timer:

My personal thoughts on the timer are irrelevant in the game and so are yours sadly. It exists and we have to deal with it. When I personally start a game, I'm not even looking at it till it gets to about 7 minutes (which may be a flaw) at which point I'll consider if playing for it is worth it. Most of the time I've done this it backfires so I need to get a bit better at timer management. If your opp has no win con other than the timer, its perfectly in their right to go for it. Its frustrating for sure but its a competitive game. Playing the clock exists in almost all sports that utilise a timer so its hardly exclusive to Pokemon. While 15 minutes is a tad too low (imo) we have to deal with it and utilise it when we can.

KOing stuff:

This is the real meat and potatoes of Pokemon and the way you'll win the majority of your games. How you choose to KO the other team is completely up to you, as long as you get it done you'll win.

You can choose to set up and blow them away, you can Perish song them, you can Paraflinch them out, you can use a Kangaskhan. The possibility's are endless. Obviously you cant just throw out a kricketune and expect to ko mons left and right. (Niche mons are something I'll cover later on though.)

In regards to the actual game there are things to remember.

Some being: Momentum, Combo's, Risk management , Resource management, 'Prediction', Defensive options, Offensive options, Game and field evaluation, Team Preview etc etc.

This is a tonne of stuff to keep in mind and it may be pretty overwhelming at first but that's what I'm here for and I'll simplify it as best I can to make it easier to digest. All of this will eventually come from experience with the game but it's nice to have a Helping Hand to start with.

First part I'll cover Combo's since it's super important and all that.

Wombo Combo's:

This is a thing that's obvious to most players but never really talked about. This might be down to the fact that knowledge of combo's come from experience playing a meta game and a team for an extended period of time. Never the less! A lot of players still aren't 100% on what one is to begin with so I'll show one.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/vgc2016-434072429

Skip forward to turn 2 for this one. Notice how my opponents combo of Fire punch + Volt switch failed to KO my Kangaskhan and as a result my own combo of Grass knot + Return was able to take his Groudon. I was fairly certain Raichu was unable to take out my Kangaskhan and was 100% certain that Grass knot + Return would ko the Groudon. Having this knowledge in my arsenal I was able to 'safely' score a huge knockout early in the game and gain a significant advantage.
That was just one scenario, the beauty of Pokemon is that a combo can be pulled off with almost any combination of Pokemon. A M-Gengar's Sludge Bomb combined with a Kyogre Ice beam will ko most Amoonguss.

Now you don't have to go off and learn banded Kricketune calcs in case it can ko Kang with another Pokemon. Its important to learn all the 'big' Pokemon damage calculation. Or at least have a good damage range estimate in your head. Since that's all combo's are really; damage calcs combined. Learn the big mon calcs on your own team especially. Knowing that a Salamence Double-Edge + Groudon Eruption can KO your Kyogre can be the difference between a win and a loss.

While any Pokemon can pull off a damage combo with another, there are some Pokemon much more commonly involved in them. The main culprit in VGC16 is Salamence-M. Both of its stab attacks will put most common Pokemon in range of another's attack. (likely a Primal) This is due to Salamence's ability to spread damage across the board incredibly quickly and also due to its high speed which makes avoiding damage very tricky. Typically other very fast Pokemon can be good for putting Pokemon in range for other slower partners. Crobat can do this with Super fang and is very common. Weavile's stab attacks are hard to resist and are very strong. Even Greninja can fire off strong Stab attacks and help allies.

Its important to remember that combo's don't just exist on any given turn. A lot of top players will intentionally chip opposing Pokemon's HP for seemingly no reason other than DAMAGE. Its incredibly likely that the player is damaging a Pokemon for later in the game when another Pokemon can come in and clean it up with ease. Try to keep this in mind and don't let your bigger Pokemon get chipped for no reason. An example of this can be seen in the replay I posted above. I could of switched into Groudon on turn 3 or 4 relatively safely. The downside to this is that the Groudon would of taken heavy damage from the Kangaskhan, leaving it in range of a +2 Xerneas and no longer being able to effectively combat it. Thinking ahead is key in VGC and planning an endgame is of utmost importance. The burnt -2 Kangaskhan helplessly smacking away at Groudon might not seem like a big deal, but if it were to drop Groudon to around 60%, a late game Xerneas would easily be able to blow past it. Keep other Pokemon your opponent has in mind when choosing to take damage.

Its also worth noting that especially bulky Pokemon are more prone to being combo'd that others. Notably Kangaskhan Salamence and most restricted Pokemon. Some Pokemon also commonly hold a Focus sash like Gengar. This forces the opponent to combo or dedicate another turn into breaking the sash and koing later on, potentially hindering a game plan. Keep frail Pokemon in mind when launching attacks. You may need to double up on the slot to get the ko. (Sturdy also works like a sash but nothing really gets Sturdy so its very uncommon'

Sorry for the much more boring piece of writing this time but it's hard to be funny/stupid/entertaining when talking about damage calculations. To make up for it have a funny calc from a mon that doesn't need combos and a random sprite.

252 Atk Choice Band Teravolt Zekrom Bolt Strike vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 186-219 (102.7 - 120.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Hope this helps?


Edit: I forgot the resource bin! http://pastebin.com/PA0pDjxx

-Matt

W O R L D S

WORLDS BOIS

So... At the time of writing this it's nearly 10pm August 9th and it's just over a week until the World Championships arrive. I myself will be attending along with a large chunk of my friends with the remaining being temporary cheerleaders from back home sending energy our way. It's a hard thing to write about given the massive amount of variables involved but I'll try my best to cover what to expect and what this huge adventure will be like. Focusing more on the personal side since mons is a bit more boring than I am at the moment. 

I'll start with the mons part since that's the more interesting part for most. The metagame right now from my perspective is a bit of a mess. With some desperately trying to find 'the play' and others just accepting Xdon as the lord and saviour. Who can blame them? It's super solid if played well and relatively easy to pilot. Xdon with Bronzong or 'Big B/Dong' is the popular choice at the moment although the sixth slot seems relatively interchangeable with choices ranging from Cresselia and Thundurus to Exeggutor and Meowstic. Whilst I personally don't like Xdon or more specifically Xerneas. I do respect the sheer power behind the combination with +2 Xerneas being the end of the game for a lot of teams and Groudon just being really damn good. 

Double Primal seems to of disappeared off the face of the earth for some reason. Since I don't play the archetype myself I don't have too much experience with it and am not really sure what has changed for it to be seldom used. I think Double Primal Bronzong is still a solid answer to a lot of common threats in the format. Just might need some innovation to get around as easily as it did earlier in the year in the same fashion that Xdon upgraded to beat down on it. 

Rayogre is just doing Rayogre things and being weird. Its a ruthless archetype if played correctly assuming Dialga is dealt with. I can see quite a few Rayogre teams doing well in day 1 and day 2, potentially even Scarf Kyogre variants. It might struggle in bo3 but as Italian Nats showed, its strong enough to get past that. 

Everything else is just kinda doing its thing. I don't actually think there's a 'play' this year as much as there is a weird janky mon to slot in the sixth slot of a strong archetype. In every iteration of the team I've used this year the sixth slot has been relatively filler and I think finding a solid choice in that last slot is absolutely key to success. To anyone unsure of what to use at this late juncture I suggest just using the archetype you're most comfortable with. Be that Xdon, Xray,Dub primal or even Ydon, just use what you have the most experience in and play it to the best of your ability. 

I've got my team fairly locked in with just some EV's to mess with and finalise. My confidence is utterly low however despite winning a horribly stacked tournament a few days ago. I shall be fine on the day. I play better when I'm a crushed mess anyways :^) 

As for the actual holiday, I have a tiny fear of flying so it should be really fun times actually getting there aha. But when we all get there it's going to be absolutely amazing, I have no doubts about that. San Francisco looks like a lovely place and I plan to see all the things it has to offer. Especially oversized portions of cheesecake. No matter what happens at worlds. Whether I or anyone makes day 2 or not. It matters not, we're all gonna have a **** blast  regardless. Making day 2 would be a literal dream come true, I've worked so so hard over the past year to get better and to be the best I can be. Not making it would be pretty upsetting but at least I'll be on holiday in America with my frens instead of being stuck in dingy old Liverpool :^)

Sorry for the shorter piece especially after a general lack of content.(I've been very busy with things)

I get into San Fran on Wednesday 17th about midday. If anyone wants to hang then I'm easy to find. I'll be the (babe) nerd in the massively cool shades and a terrible sense of dress.Its gonna be a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to meeting new people and improving further. And to everyone staying at home, you're all amazing still. Just show me how good you are at cheer leading :] #TeamChat #TeamMatt #TeamPeen #TeamShades etc etc. 

I'll see you all on the other side... Wish me luck :D

PS: <333333333333

PSS: See ya in the Tiki Bars :]

Matt

Everything about RNG

Rice Ninja's Goat.

RNG is everyone's favourite thing about Pokemon. In general it makes you a very sad bunny, but it can also make you a very happy bunny. RNG short for random number generator has been a huge part of Pokemon and its competitive scene since the franchise began. With it, no battle is the same, no outcome is set and there's a good chance it will leave a bad taste in your mouth if you disrespect it. In this behemoth post I'll try and go over almost what can commonly screw you over in competitive play, how to avoid it and how to deal with it should it come knocking on your door.

What even is RNG?

RNG can be perceived as a villainous third party in a battle, ready to strike down without mercy on an unsuspecting player. This is horribly exaggerated of course but a lot of newer players make the mistake of actually believing this. That the game is out to get them and the game will reward them after a time. This is a fallacy since the game isn't a living being and has no morals, it owes no player anything. If you've been playing for 5 minutes or 5 years it doesn't matter, a games outcome can be changed drastically as a result of it. So why do players who've been playing for longer keep winning and the newcomer gets paralysed all the time? An older player likely has a deep understanding of what it is and how to control it whereas the newer player might not. Simple when you say it like that but there's a lot more too it which I'm going to try and cover.

;-; ;-; ;-;

'Hax'

Hax is a horrible term that we all use differently. Some will scream HAX at every occurrence of RNG. If I had a Pound for every time someone has complained at my Kang for critting their Greninja, I'd probably have enough to wallet warrior next year. Other's wont ever say the term and some will say it after a horrible encounter with RNG. I like to think of hax as RNG that directly changes the course of the game for the worse. Smeargle getting an Evasion boost is annoying but it isn't hax, missing it for the next 3 turns while Xerneas Geomancy's and losing as a result is though .Getting frozen by Cresselia's Ice beam and not un-thawing for the rest of the game can be classed as hax. Talonflame critting an Amoonguss from half is not. 

Every player will encounter these massive bouts of RNG. Its completely unavoidable...But you can mitigate it and control it to a degree.

Paralysis:

Z A P  Z A P

While this part will cover Paralysis in general, Thunder Wave and Thundurus will be the focus since that's where Paralysis tends to come from. Paralysis is a status condition that can be afflicted on any Pokemon that isn't electric type or has an ability preventing it such as Limber. It should be noted that Ground type Pokemon can be paralysed but this is very rare to see as they are immune to Thunder wave. The most common ways of doing this is through the move Glare or the ability Static, although you can also use other moves like Body Slam. The effect of Paralysis on a Pokemon is a huge drop in speed (25% of its original value) and a 25% chance to miss a turn each turn the status is on the Pokemon. This is quite obviously a very bad thing to be afflicted by and should be avoided if possible. You can use Paralysis as a means to very heavily tilt the RNG towards you, Thunder Wave is also an incredibly strong move that is easy and almost recommended to be on any team so you're not going out of your way much. If you're confused imagine a battle. One side has lost two of his Pokemon and the other side's has all four but they're all Paralysed. Who has the advantage? While naturally the Player with more Pokemon has the advantage you absolutely cannot count out the player who is down. They have the chance for the opponent to miss consecutive turns and pull things back. A lot of newer players will see this as cheap and an unfair win, which may be correct, but the game doesn't care. Whoever it declares the winner is the winner. And if anything, the losing player should be criticised for allowing everything to be Paralysed. It should be noted that sometimes you have to let a Pokemon get Paralysed and this should come under risk reward which I'll cover later. 

Pokemon that can carry Thunder wave in VGC16:

Thundurus

Cresselia

Groudon

Most random Pranksters.

Ways to avoid Paralysis:

Ground Types

Electric Types

Safeguard/Taunt

Lum berry/Cheri Berry

Killing Thundurus/user as early as possible

Move %'s and risk reward

These are literally the worst part of the game. Scald having a 30% to burn sucks, but getting burnt by Fire punch is much more infuriating with it's paltry 10%. And on top of it all, these are mostly uncontrollable. You may Taunt a Thundurus only for it to Paralyse with a Tbolt anyways. Whilst these instances cannot be 100% avoided, you can still plan for them happening in a game scenario. If your best way to win a battle is to have Kang beat down a Groudon 1v1. You need to consider beforehand that if Groudon gets a burn with Fire Punch then you can lose. You can then toss up risk reward, that way of winning has a 90% chance of working, does the other way have 100%? If so you should go for the 100% if possible. Do you lose if Kangaskhan gets burnt by scald t1? Then you might want to look into not risking that if possible. On the other hand if Kang doesn't get burnt you will more than likely win, what do you go for? If you decide to switch Kang you risk the switch-in getting burnt/crit and you might lose a mon and have to go for the same play again hoping not to get burnt. This is what separates the good from the great with players. The ability to think out and decide what the best chances of winning are each turn and also in the long run across multiple turns. This is a skill that comes from experience, experience of playing for a time or getting blasted into the floor by RNG like I did :)  Some players might never pick it up, some might take some time and some may understand it in an instant. Everyone is different.  

Manipulating RNG:

RNG manipulation is something everyone should do in competitive play. This can be little things in team building such as using Flamethrower over Fire blast to avoid accuracy checks, having moves like Thunder wave and Scald especially provide options to tilt the odds in your favour. It can also be clinging to the tiniest of chances for victory through Ice beam freezes, burns,  full Paralysis and consecutive protects. Giving up when there's still a 0.0001% chance of victory in a bo1 game isn't recommended as you never know what could happen, chances are you will lose... But imagine if you won. I'm guilty of relying on opponents missing countless moves and getting critical hits of my own multiple times. It doesn't always work out but that shouldn't stop you trying, especially in an important tournament match. A lot of players I've noticed get very flustered if there main gameplan for winning is distrupted through means of RNG. They then tilt midgame and swiftly lose. It's very important to have multiple plans in mind in order of chance to succeed. If the 100% endgame fails, then switch to the 75% then the 40% and so on. Never give in.

Fun little fact: Scald will un-thaw frozen Pokemon, including a Kyogre that's in Desolate land.

Dealing with the salt:

Dealing with salt on both ends is one of the harder things to do in this game. If you've just lost a game to a triple protect followed by a freeze and some crits, you have every right to be annoyed. You have no right however to insult your opponent, that's poor sportsmanship and you're not going to be making any friends doing this. Everyone has different coping methods to being 'robbed' out of a game. Personally (like many negatives in life) I like to laugh at it. Losing to such dire odds is something I find hilarious and laughing keeps you in a good mindset for the next rounds. Some might like some time to themselves to process what just happened. Completely up to the person. Being on the other side and seeing an opponent get angsty and flustered is a different story. It might be best to just ignore them or apologise if you feel the need and let them work it out on their own. Don't let a persons tendency's to overreact to a childrens game stop you from pursuing a win condition though, this is a competitive game and everyone is there to win, heartless as it may seem.

tl;dr Salt sucks.

Selfie of me at VGC14 Nationals

UN GOLPE CRITICO:

Now we're into the nasty parts. Crits can occur from any damaging move and it will cause them to deal 1.5 the regular damage and they have a 6.25% (1/16) chance of occurring. if you look at 1/16 as the odds you'll realise how high this really is. In a longer tournament, (especially in Bo3 play) chances are you'll be getting crit and dealing crits multiple times. You can consider it as a way for an opponent to win but you cant do much to prevent it at all except cross your fingers and hope for the best.

When your don gets crit by the other 

Closing notes:

I don't know if I've covered everything (Probably not) so I'll just do some tl;dr's.

Hax is different to RNG

They both suck anyways

Thunder wave is god

Abuse the hell out of RNG

Never give in

UN GOLPE CRITICOOOO

JAJAJAJAJAJAJA

PS: I got to dig into my reaction folder for this 10/10 

-Matt

  

My story

'Matt' edition

This is gonna be a continuation/expansion of a piece I wrote in the past about my Sutton Regionals run in the spring .Hopefully it'll be more in depth and cover everything I want to cover so get ready for a behemoth piece of writing. It's gonna be a doozy to get everything down so I hope you enjoy it when its finished. On top of my own, I'm going to see if I can get other members of the group to contribute their own story to make a sort of mini series prior to worlds 2016.

I started playing Pokemon casually way back in 1999 when I was a wee lad and was gifted a copy of Pokemon Yellow and a Game boy colour for my fourth birthday. Since then I have played every generation of Pokemon up to now and I still enjoy it as a young adult. I'm unsure if I would enjoy it still if I hadn't found myself in the competitive VGC scene so I owe that quite a bit. 

I first dipped my feet into competitive play around 2007 with Pokemon Battle Revolution, if you even want to call it competitive with all the Darkrai flying around spamming dark void. (sounds familiar) While I was absolutely awful at it I learnt the basics and how to use items somewhat effectively. I didn't touch competitive again for a very long time as I was unaware of the VGC in the UK as it was still a small thing and wasn't advertised very strongly

.

That was until 2012 came around and I attended my first VGC event which happened to be Nationals. I got absolutely creamed and knocked out instantly with single elimination brackets which sucked. But I liked the atmosphere and was determined to get better.(I still am) Sadly in 2013 the UK still didn't get many events outside of nationals so I spent most of the down time finding out who I was as a player. I avidly remember 2013 as my snowflake year. I used incredibly questionable things and still won a fair deal so naturally I thought this was how I would progress. Naturally I've learnt this isn't the case but I keep myself open to the stranger choices. UK nats 13 I finished 6-3 and was incredibly pleased with myself, which looking back is strange as I get upset with myself at 6-3 nats finishes nowadays.

Mon of the season 2012-2013:

I loved Hailroom so so much. I wasn't the best at it but I felt right at home with it. Maybe one day it'll be good again.

Onto 14 and the snowflake train was loaded and ready to blast through and get me my first worlds invite. For anyone that knows me you're probably laughing at how that year ended up but for the rest I went 3-0 to 3-5 at nationals from raw RNG hatred. I was never going to play mons again but anyone who has tried to quit knows full well how hard that is. The withdrawal games in the winter were probably the most important games of my life progression wise. I learnt how to minimize RNG so that I don't suffer the same fate at a large tournament ever again. At the time I wanted to throw punches around, but at the time of writing, I'm honestly glad I got murked by double freezes and heat wave burns. Everyone needs a really bad tournament RNG wise to fully understand how it works and how to bounce back and keep a strong head after a bout with RNG goes horribly wrong.

Mon of the season 2014:

Goodra is the biggest accident of all time. Accidentally putting on a choice scarf and winning that tournament was the best. Hope to use you again in the future. S L U R P      F R E N

And then 2015 came around and with it, UK's first real 'circuit' with PC's and Regionals. Kinda. We had very few PC's and one regional. But it was better than last year so we made the most of it. Over the course of the year I managed to attend 2 PC's one Regional and 2 Nationals. This was also the first year I sat down and used what I personally felt were the best Pokemon and made an actual team. Naturally Kangaskhan was going to return along with favourites Heatran and Cresselia from 2013. My stronger choices in Pokemon made a massive difference in how I perceived the game as a whole and it did me a world of good. It also got me stronger results than previous years alongside much more experience in a tournament setting. While I barely missed worlds that year I wasn't upset. I had learnt a lot and was more determined than ever to finally achieve my goal from day 1 of play. To make worlds.

Mon of the season 2015: 

Oh Kang, you absolute babe, I will continue to be carried by you for years to come. You're the stronkest there ever was <3

And now here we are in 2016, arguably the easiest year to get an invite to the world championships. If you can stand the format enough to even bother getting the CP required that is. I started this year with massive excitement personally as I really enjoyed playing the Ubers Tier in Smogon inbetween seasons. I deluded myself into thinking it would be an easy ride with my 'knowledge' of these Pokemon aquired from singles. I was very wrong and got blown all the way back for so so long. I'm not ashamed to say I was incredibly frustrated by the way the format played early on and simply didn't want to play it. I tried every possible combination and nothing worked. Everything clashed with the way I play, Xdon especially which was hyped as being the greatest of all time. I was in a hole but attended the Glasgow regional anyways, just to experience what the format felt like in a real life setting. I ended up getting my worst ever finish and a Flu to top it all off.

But with this huge embarrassing finish sitting on me and having the feeling everyone was laughing at me. I got up and kept trying and that's where I started the circuit properly. Similar to VGC14's national finish, I needed a terrible placing to progress as a player and Glasgow was just that. I owe it in that sense. (Not the flu it gave me however, that was rotten.)  

So, completely ill and almost unconscious from lack of sleep,feeling sad and a nasty flu, I was sat in the coach station with Tom @thesaxlad trying to figure out what went wrong and simultaneously throwing pokemon in a teambuilder. It all went dark after that and I remember being ill for a while. However, I remembered the mons that were in the teambuilder and gave them a try on showdown. That's when I started getting results. (The results up to Regionals are covered in the appropriate entry in this blog.)

Mon of the season 2016:

You don't know how much I love this thing. I cant put it into words how much work it has put in over the season and how much it will hopefully continue to put in. Thank you Evil Birb Fren. <3

After the Sutton regional finish I was still short on CP, sitting on around 208. Luckily for me there were some PC's and another MSS I could attend before having to go nats or bust on the circuit. The PC's I attended were rather small and not worth going into detail about but I achieved second place and then top 4 in one weekend bumping up the CP further. Leaving me in a position to clinch worlds with a top 16 at the MSS over a top4 that would of been required without the PC points. At the MSS I 100% went 4-2 and most definitely didn't throw the last game to a massive nerd who needed top 4 for his own worlds <3  Without joking around I managed to finish '4-2' in 14th place. I had finally done it, I had made worlds. It was a strange feeling, and I didn't know what to do with myself. So obviously I drank lots of alcohol and ate greasy chicken! When I had recovered from my binge, I still wasn't sure what to do with myself. So I decided to attempt to shoot for a paid trip with a massive run at nationals. It was ambitious but it was worth a try. (Stranger things have happened)

MVP of the month:

I've never liked Whimsicott, its always been an ugly puff ball thing that annoys me every time I see it. But with throwing a Life orb on it. It made my worlds dream happen. Thanks I guess?

With nothing but a PC in the way of UK nationals and my chance for gold I went all out at the PC and ended up winning 'undefeated' (I lost a game but it didn't count because worst TO) I was super confident for nationals but not super confident about Bo3 swiss all day. I felt that I would burn out really hard near the end. Thankfully I didn't showing myself I've come a long way from when three Bo3's in a row would make me want to sleep. I ended up going 6-3 from some delicious justice in the form of Thunder Wave. A move I've been rampantly and indiscriminately spamming for years. Doesn't matter if your a Aerodactyl or a Munchlax, you're gonna get zapped with it. So with karma slapping me in the face and crushing my dreams for paid you'd think I'd be more upset. I am not, VGC14 nationals taught me to not get angry at this game and I refuse to be. I lost my chance to get paid, however unlikely it was, (If a mandibuzz can get top 4 so can I) but I'm still here and I'm half ready for worlds. I will be attending so get ready to be paralysed if you face me >:] 

When worlds is over I'll make another post detailing what I used (it's gonna be funky) Till then...ba bye.

PS: wanna thank all my frens for smacking me when I snowflake too hard and for being nasty to me when I do well. It keeps me going and its appreciated.

PSS: I havent played a single game of VGC16 on Battlespot all year and I have 471CP. Doesn't matter where you practise just that you do.

tl;dr: You're only as good as you want to be. It may take time but you'll get there in the end. 

-Matt

Leading Efficiently (kinda)

Leading efficiently ( kinda ) in VGC16

This is gonna be a boon to write and probably to read since its such a difficult topic to cover, but since a lot of people ( Myself included sometimes ) struggle on how to lead. This can lead to autopilot decisions that can prove disastrous, especially in a format as volatile as this. I'll attempt to cover some of the more commonly led pairs from popular archetypes and some specific Pokemon and also Pokemon with useful traits that won't immediately lose you the game.

Note the specific Pokemon will be Mons that are relatively splashable in any team, IE Thundurus Salamence. Because even if Lum berry Empoleon  beats Smeargle Xerneas, chances are you'll lose the majority of your games just by having a silly Pokemon on your team.

Also note your lead can depend heavily on what Pokemon you plan to bring in the back so this isnt a guide on How to win every lead matchup. It just highlights things to look out for and how to counterplay them with the options you have.

Fake out pressure:

This is incredibly common in any format as getting a free turn to get off any attack whatsoever be it speed control, set up or just letting a strong mon blow a hole in the other team is lovely. Its incredibly important to immediately find the opponents Fake out Pokemon (they probably have one) and identify its speed stat. There are very few viable Fake Out Pokemon in this format, but the one's that can effectively use it, happen to be very strong Pokemon. These include Kangaskhan ( 90speed pre mega) Raichu ( 110 ) Liepard ( 105 ) and  Weavile (125) and a mention should go to Smeargle (75) that sometimes run it. On team preview you can expect a faster FO Pokemon to be led with. This might not always be the case but its very important to consider it as an option as giving the opp a free turn. 

Counterplay to FO leads differ vastly in risk levels and actual effectiveness. A riskier move is Quick Guard which is common on Pokemon such as Crobat and Talonflame. However a Kangaskhan can quite easily just use a strong attacking move and pick up a KO early. Inner Focus also stops FO from inflicting a Flinch, although the only Pokemon of note with this is Crobat. A double protect may also appear safe if the other side doesn't have any form of obvious set up, although an unexpected Swords Dance or Substitute can lose massive amounts of momentum. An easier way is to lead with a faster Fake Out user than the opponents which can provoke them to not even try or trade Fake outs. Prankster Pokemon that learn Encore like Whimsicott and Liepard can deter a Fake out but will draw out a stronger attack so be aware of that. Make sure your answer to Fake Out isn't in a vacuum however, Always always consider the partners options as ignoring the partner can result in a swift loss. 

Speed control:

This is often paired up next to a FO user, IE: Kangaskhan Talonflame but can also be seen next to a Primal Pokemon which is arguably more threatening as allowing them to successfully use the move will result in a Primal Pokemon running through your team. This is a MASSIVE thing to consider on preview, however autopilot it may seem. A common pairing of this nature is Groudon Talon or Crobat Kyogre. Seeing both of these Pokemon on team preview should be enough to force your hand into leading with your own speed control (if you weren't doing that anyways) While Pokemon like Thundurus can Thunder Wave the turn later, this obviously won't work if the opponent has a Groudon or is clicking Quick Guard so this isn't foolproof. If one goes this route be sure to immediately ko the opponents Quick Guard user. Leading with Trick-Room or  Tailwind of your own can prevent a mullering as well so don't fret if Thundurus isn't gonna cut it/they have a Groudon. Again the partner to the Tailwinder should dictate your play.

Another big option is Trick-Room which is easily identifiable on team preview. This is arguably the hardest speed control to prevent as the setters are often incredibly difficult to KO. IE: Cresselia Bronzong. Gengar may also be seen with T-room but this is uncommon. Different teams will approach this differently, with some abusing the free turn you get whilst t-room is set up and other's attempting to OHKO the setter: Yveltal.

A safeish pick against possible T-room is Amoonguss as this dissuades T-room altogether out of fear of rampant Sporing. If they don't choose to set up t-room however, Amoonguss isn't deadweight as it can redirect attacks from your stronger Partner.

Thunder wave/Thundurus is a huge huge Pokemon to consider as a lead since it is commonly led alongside Fake out Support : Kangaskhan Thundurus. Unfortunately there isn't much out there that can viably shut down Thunder Wave spam. Attempting to Taunt a Thundy with your own can result in a speed tie so its not a safe option. Raichu is a decent shut down to Thundurus but it's incredibly frail and prone to being ko'd early. Ground Pokemon like Groudon and Landorus are immune to Paralysis but it won't protect your partner from getting Paralysed. Slower Pokemon like Ferrothorn tend not to mind the speed drop but the 25% chance to miss your turn is huge enough to be wary. The best way to prevent Thunder wave spam is to Ko the user as fast as possibly before your team is bright yellow and you're bright red.

Icy wind is mentionable but the only real user of this move is Gengar, this can be counterplayed by leading with your own Speed control, especially Trick Room.

Gimmicks:
I won't spend too much time on this as its hardly relevant but no one likes losing to Soak Shedinja. Its important to notice the gimmick asap and do as much as you can to disrupt it. Be it with Fake out, Quick guard , Redirection or just plain offence. These tend to be noticed by very obscure Pokemon choices like Floatzel , Spinda and Magikarp. These teams are only really found at low level play so its not something your likely to run into at a tournament. 

There is one team you might though... and that team is Voidcats/Sheercats. This team is destroyed by one move. Quick Guard. If you have it be prepared to lead with the Pokemon that has it and click it until the game is won. If you lack Quick guard however, you should lead with your most offensive pairing (Kang Primal) and cross your fingers.

Big 6:

Oh dear. I'll start this part with saying that the pairing of Thundurus Groudon will give Big 6 a lot of trouble. Lum berry Bronzong is an incredibly strong lead utilised by T-room Double Primal. Teams can also lead Salamence Thundurus to cause issues. The biggest thing to remember when you face off against Big 6 is the Smeargle. Don't just throw on Lum berrys onto random Pokemon and expect to beat it however. The threat from Smeargle should come from the fear of Follow Me + Xerneas with Moody mixed in. This equals you wanting to KO the Smeargle as fast as possible or taunting it to have it sit there. Disabling the Follow me through any means will leave the Xerneas open to attacks and Status such as Thunder Wave. Generally you want to lead something that threatens massive damage or hindrance to Xerneas whilst also beating Smeargle. Kangaskhan,Thundurus,Faster Groudon.Talonflame variants with taunt also work.  Your leads also want to be able to deal with Groudon and Salamence to some degree as these can easily be led. You'll have to use your own judgement on your team to decide your safest lead, as teams and the techs they have change dramatically. Big 6 is a complex matchup but getting the lead correct often gives you enough momentum to win the game.

Gravity stuff:

This is a relatively simple matchup for most teams given the predictability of the lead. Its just important to keep your head and remember the late game. Since Sableye will lead 9/10 times, you just have to figure out the other member. Groudon and Whimsicott are seldom seen as leads but are extremely common in the back. This leaves Gengar, Salamence and Kyurem-w. If you have multiple Ice weaks expect a Kyurem lead, Double Primal and lone Ogre  tends to lure in Gengar as a lead to trap and sleep everything. Anything else can expect Salamence. I won't tell you how to actually play against it but your mons in the back are incredibly important. Strong Pokemon against this archetype include, Thundurus, Kangaskhan, Yveltal, Groudon, Talonflame. 

While this 'Guide' doesn't highlight literally every lead combo ever (obviously) I hope its enough to give a general understanding of Pokemon to lead against certain common lead combo's seen. Thundurus is a common mention in this which really highlights its strength in the format right now. If I've missed anything let me know and I can edit it in. Above all, trust your judgement but keep every option your opponent has at the front of your mind and choose your leads wisely. 

Best of luck 

-Matt

Top 8 UK Regionals 2016 :]

Top 8 Sutton Regionals 'Rundown'

Quick disclaimer before I get started, I'm calling this a run down instead of a report which means it won't have Ev's or anything, but instead the cool story behind it. The reason for this is the community is a bit of an arse hole these days, not reading for entertainment or trying to improve but instead just using it as a scouting guide which upsets me greatly. If you do want Ev's and all the details, feel free to message me on Twitter or NB and I'll gladly share. Just putting my best hope at getting worlds in public is sadly a bad idea nowadays.


ANYWAYS, lets start by me sharing my love/hate relationship with the format that is known as VGC16. First of all: it kinds sucks.....But...I think there is massive potential hidden away beneath the suicide Tailwind and Smeargle moody boost nonsense. A well fought weather war is always splendid and well thought out at a high level. It also sucks.

Start of the format was an incredibly rough time for me, I had no idea what I was doing and kept losing and losing till it got to the point that for every win I'd have about 6 losses. I'd tried all sorts in the early meta, mainly the preliminary core that would eventually become BIG 6. But I hated Xerneas and the dependency I felt the team had on it. Granted when it sets up (easily) it runs rampant, I just didn't believe it to be the thing to win events for myself personally. I eventually settled on one Pokemon deemed shitty by almost everyone I talked to. (Snowflake confirmed)

That Pokemon was:

Oh man do I luurvee this thing. I was drawn by the cool typing being both offensively and defensively strong towards anything not named Xerneas. Granted Xerneas is literally everywhere, but its a fairly one dimensional Poke that's only gonna be doing one thing, which makes it fairly predictable and much easier to shut down than people think.



So how do you check Xerneas enough for Yveltal to thrive? Well old Matt thought Mawile Trick room with Ogre was the play. I was very very  wrong and got roflstomped at Glasgow Regs going  2-5 disgracefully. It was at the coach station on the way back that I had an idea on how to not rage quit the format and it was to try Yveltal again but in a different environment. I was also really bloody ill that night so apologies to Tom (TheSaxlad/noob) for being with me at midnight when you'd rather be in the pub :P


That team was to be used at a Manchester PC the following week. It was:

Yveltal

Groudon

Mawile

Gengar

Kangaskhan

Talonflame

Just by switching the Kyogre to a Groudon the team felt infinitely stronger. It wasn't an insta loss to big 6 with Tailwind, Gengar, Mawile, and Physical Groudon but it still wasn't consistent against it. I managed Top 8 at that PC losing to a stupid Rock Tomb miss against The Haxlad that I built the team with but it didn't bother me super hard, I had gotten my first CP and it was the middle of February. I had another PC the week after that I managed top 4 in with the following change:

Cresselia > Gengar

Something clicked that day, I suddenly understood the format and felt like I could do anything, but a dumb Smeargle got some boosts and shut me right up. But I kept the confidence gain and random understanding of the format and got ready for the next big one.. The Manchester Midseason Showdown



The MSS

Going into this I had thrown out Mawile because its really bad and added a Thundurus because its not a team of mine without Paralysis spam. The team now looked like this:

Kangaskhan

Groudon

Yveltal

Cresselia

Thundurus

Talonflame

I went into this event super nervous since it was my last chance to get a chunk of CP before being forced into a deep nationals run. I was pretty crushed when I lost the first round to a friend in Jonathon Marston.
I was pretty much forced to go all or nothing and not drop a game for the rest of the day. I played a few friends on the way and was forced to batter them aside #nomercy ;)  and managed to go 5-1 5th seed(ofc)
I was over the moon and I had a chunk of cp but I was super thirsty and wanted all of it. I learnt I had to play P3ds in top 8 who had a gravity Kyurem-w team that scared me as a lot of my tourney runs have ended in freezes. Unfortunately the stream recording has been deleted so I can't link it.  I ended up winning this set surprisingly as I had a better match up than I first thought. Top 4 was revenge against Jon and finals I lost to Conan Wild because I didn't have Skill swap on Cresselia x_x I couldn't care less though, I'd gotten a big finish and a chunk of CP  but I knew the team had its issues that needed correcting before Sutton Regionals rolled around.

And with all that useless filler text sorted, I can get onto the main course being the Regional that I somehow did well in :]

Team:

Kangasbabe @ Kangstone
Scrappy
Jolly Nature                            
Fake out                                  
Return                                      
Power Up Punch                    
Sucker Punch


Super Bog standard Kangaskhan happens to be the best Kangaskhan. Able to quickly pressure and deal   big damage easily. Also gets a boosted Sucker from Yveltal's Dark aura. Didn't Opt for Low Kick on the set as I simply didn't care about Dialga or Ferrothorn.




Groudong @ Red Orb
Drought
Jolly Nature
Precipice Blades
Fire Punch
Substitute
Protect

This is a cool set that I rather like, Pblades does big damage to Xerneas post boost and is good as a field clearer if you trust the accuracy. Fire Punch is really strong single target damage boosted further in the Sun and was mainly used to get a KO 100% when Pblades was a bad idea. Also good at chargrilling Ferrothorns who wanna get cheeky. Sub is the 'weird' move I guess. With Jolly you can get a substitute up for free on any Smeargle and it also provides a massive shield against T-room teams as they have to waste a few turns trying to get rid of it burning T-room turns. 9/10 would recommend.

Yveltal @ Blackglasses/Swagshades
Dark Aura
Jolly Nature
Foul Play
Sucker Punch
Tailwind
Protect



Have I mentioned how awesome this thing is? Cus it's really awesome! Being able to 2shot most of the relevant Pokemon in the format bar Xerneas. Yveltal really piles on the pressure especially against T-room teams and double primal where speed control is key, when Yveltal threatens to completely shut down whichever you try you have a big problem. Notably this set lacks Knock off as I wasn't super scared of t-room and the presence of Amoonguss on the same team is enough to assume they wont even bother trying  
(not one player tried) Foul play is a very strong attack being able to 2 shot Groudons regardless of preference to Phys or Special, Sucker punch is really stupid and does wayyyy to much damage, Even Xerneas takes a good 30% in an emergency. Its also really fun to pair this with Kangaskhan and Sucker Punch the format into the floor. Tailwind is a move used to support the rest of the team which is obviously strong..



                                       U watt m8  @ Focus Sash
                                       Prankster

         Timid Nature
         Thunderbolt
         Hidden Power (Ice)
         Thunder Wave
         Protect


If you don't hate this thing there's something wrong with you and if you don't love this thing there's something wrong with you. Its lose lose which is very accurate when it comes to Thundurus. Its incredibly hard to stop it ruining your day in some way. I ran HP ice because I like one shotting Salamence and Landorus which otherwise annoy me greatly. Protect is ran because its commonly targeted by Fake out and a well timed one gives a burst of momentum.

Kevin @ Life Orb
Gale wings
Adamant
Brave Bird
Quick Guard
Tailwind
SWAGGER




Standard Talonflame because its really good. Swagger is really bad though don't try and use it, I never clicked it once but wanted to get some sexy Swagplay going. Never happened never will. 1/10




                      Guss Fring @ Lum Berry
   Regenerator
   Bold Nature
   Spore
   Rage Powder
   Grass Knot
                         Protect

On a side note look at the gen 5 Amoonguss sprite. He know's he's gonna spore the bejeezus outta you.
Anyways.... I added Amoonguss > Cresselia because I felt the speed controls clashed where I to bring T-wave and T-room, especially against big 6. This mon is basically to scare away T-room and to check Manectric Yveltal teams which I really really don't like facing. Lum berry is also good to outcheese those Gravnosis teams with Rage powder spam.


Yeah this probably horrible team got all the way to top 8 going 6-1 before losing to a friend ( Eden ) and his stupid Togekiss in strong wind which I just couldn't get past without massive loss. The 4th move on Talonflame can be taunt to try and shut down Togekiss so that's a likely step forward for the team. Thanks to all my 'Friends' who constantly call me and Yveltal shit. It's been pushing me to keep using it for the strong banter game and I'm actually doing quite well now. A late start in the season means worlds hasn't been attained yet but I'm starting to catch up.Hoping to get there soon! Um, that's it I think. Peace out

Shoutouts to Lucky Shirt!

-Matt Carter