Bubble Buddies part 2: The Musings Of A Masochist
Hey there, and welcome to another report which will mostly be made up of further evidence as to why Kangaskhan is far and away the best Pokemon in the game, and has been for the last 2 years!
This follows on from Mattsby's report a while back, since we both had extremely similar results throughout the course of the VGC season, with teams that were somewhat similar in their build, but with noticeable variations based on our own personal preferences. All of our play with our teams eventually culminated into a Top 8 showdown in a Premier Challenge to see which team would reign supreme, so here's how it looked after the final tournament of the main season, Milan Nationals!
The Team:
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Adamant nature – Ability – Inner Focus
36hp/132atk/180def/4spdef/156spd
-Fake Out
-Double-Edge
-Low kick
-Sucker Punch
Kangaskhan. What more needs to be said? It’s the best pokemon in the game, therefore I'm going to use it. There are other megas in the format which compete with it for power and popularity, notably Charizard Y, Salamence and Gardevoir, but none of them can boast the team building options that Kangaskhan has at it’s disposal. It doesn't care who it's paired with, it’s just going to put a shift in.
I used the same spread throughout the season, and although it may not be entirely optimal, it does what I wanted. It can survive a low kick from any opposing Kangaskhan, maintain a good chance to OHKO in return, has a good chance to survive Terrakion's Close Combat and out speeds Smeargle after mega-evolving.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Adamant Nature
12hp/196atk/92def/20spdef/188spd
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-U-Turn
-Superpower
A very standard Landorus set here, and I don’t care, it’s another excellent Pokémon that is so good that you don’t care if your opponent knows the set before the game begins. It can flinch, it can Intimidate switch, it can batter things. Keep it away from ice moves, and it’s the perfect Pokémon.
The EV spread ensures Landorus can survive a Life Orb Sucker Punch from a +1 adamant Bisharp 100% of the time, while giving me a little more chance to survive some of the weaker HP Ice attacks. The speed allows me to outrun Pokémon in the Base 130 speed category, and in the event that Landorus’ choice scarf is knocked off, it can still out speed Breloom by 1 point. Looking back, I may have wanted to lower the attack stat a little more in order to invest a little more into special defence to feel more comfortable around HP Ice users, but nevertheless, I was still happy with this spread.
Breloom @ focus sash
Jolly nature
4hp/252atk/252spd
-Protect
-Spore
-Mach Punch
-Bullet Seed
Standard set again. There really is nothing more to say about Breloom. Its a nuisance when paired with Kangaskhan, and helped out with my Trick Room matchup by simply Sporing the setters before they could move. An all around annoying Pokémon that can quickly irritate your opponent if they allow it to get out of hand.
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Calm nature
252hp/44def/60spatk/148spdef/4spd
-Protect
-Will-o-Wisp
-Thunderbolt
-Hydro Pump
One of the biggest “Marmite” Pokémon around, I definitely love Rotom-Wash. Yes it misses it's moves a lot, but if you can deal with that then there isn’t much to complain about. I always felt it was criminally underused midway through the season, with it's good bulk, it's solitary weakness, and it’s potential to make opposing genies think twice about the situation they're in. This pokemon got me through some of my toughest matches this season, and I don’t regret using it one bit. EVs were unchanged from the standard 2014 spread. Survive Kangaskhan's Double-Edge with Sitrus Berry, Mawile's Play Rough, and Charizard's solarbeam 100% of the time.
Heatran @ Chople Berry
Modest nature
44hp/28def/196spatk/36spdef/204spd
-Protect
-Heat Wave
-Overheat
-Flash Cannon
Onwards into the slightly more interesting sets in the team now. This Heatran set is the one pokemon that myself and Matt 100% agreed on in every way, it’s fantastic. Yes, by running Chople berry and dropping earth power you are immediately consigning yourself to losing the Heatran mirror matchup, but here are the reasons why that doesn’t matter.
Firstly, during the time that this team was in it's prime, roughly half of all heatran were timid Max speed, suggesting that even if you opted for that set and ran earth power, in theory, you would still lose the Heatran mirror match an alarming amount of the time. Secondly, in being able to take strong fighting attacks, this opens up an abundance of opportunities to take on otherwise horrifically threatening Pokémon, such as Kangaskhan, Terrakion and Conkeldurr to name a few. Thirdly, this team has a Landorus, a Kangaskhan and a Rotom Wash in it. Opponents rarely bring Heatran to this match up at all so you would rarely use earth power anyway. EVs here were to outspeed adamant Bisharp, OHKO 252hp/4spdef Aegislash 100% of the time with Overheat, and to ensure that Breloom's Mach punch would always be a 3HKO with the Chople Berry.
Cresselia @ Safety Goggles
Bold nature
220hp/76def/212spatk
-Thunder Wave
-Calm Mind
-Psychic
-Ice Beam
Although the surge of Aegislash since nationals ended has led to a huge drop in Cresselia usage, it was still pretty stunning at the time. The move set or item slot on this Cresselia changed with every single tournament I entered, as there was just so much it could do, but I will go into more detail during the tournament analysis. The EV spread was very basic here, simply KO'ing as many Landorus as possible while still being nice and bulky.
The Tournaments:
- Sutton Coldfield Regionals – 6-2 (9th Place)
Adamant nature – Ability – Inner Focus
36hp/132atk/180def/4spdef/156spd
-Fake Out
-Double-Edge
-Low kick
-Sucker Punch
Kangaskhan. What more needs to be said? It’s the best pokemon in the game, therefore I'm going to use it. There are other megas in the format which compete with it for power and popularity, notably Charizard Y, Salamence and Gardevoir, but none of them can boast the team building options that Kangaskhan has at it’s disposal. It doesn't care who it's paired with, it’s just going to put a shift in.
I used the same spread throughout the season, and although it may not be entirely optimal, it does what I wanted. It can survive a low kick from any opposing Kangaskhan, maintain a good chance to OHKO in return, has a good chance to survive Terrakion's Close Combat and out speeds Smeargle after mega-evolving.
Landorus-Therian @ Choice Scarf
Adamant Nature
12hp/196atk/92def/20spdef/188spd
-Earthquake
-Rock Slide
-U-Turn
-Superpower
A very standard Landorus set here, and I don’t care, it’s another excellent Pokémon that is so good that you don’t care if your opponent knows the set before the game begins. It can flinch, it can Intimidate switch, it can batter things. Keep it away from ice moves, and it’s the perfect Pokémon.
The EV spread ensures Landorus can survive a Life Orb Sucker Punch from a +1 adamant Bisharp 100% of the time, while giving me a little more chance to survive some of the weaker HP Ice attacks. The speed allows me to outrun Pokémon in the Base 130 speed category, and in the event that Landorus’ choice scarf is knocked off, it can still out speed Breloom by 1 point. Looking back, I may have wanted to lower the attack stat a little more in order to invest a little more into special defence to feel more comfortable around HP Ice users, but nevertheless, I was still happy with this spread.
Breloom @ focus sash
Jolly nature
4hp/252atk/252spd
-Protect
-Spore
-Mach Punch
-Bullet Seed
Standard set again. There really is nothing more to say about Breloom. Its a nuisance when paired with Kangaskhan, and helped out with my Trick Room matchup by simply Sporing the setters before they could move. An all around annoying Pokémon that can quickly irritate your opponent if they allow it to get out of hand.
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Calm nature
252hp/44def/60spatk/148spdef/4spd
-Protect
-Will-o-Wisp
-Thunderbolt
-Hydro Pump
One of the biggest “Marmite” Pokémon around, I definitely love Rotom-Wash. Yes it misses it's moves a lot, but if you can deal with that then there isn’t much to complain about. I always felt it was criminally underused midway through the season, with it's good bulk, it's solitary weakness, and it’s potential to make opposing genies think twice about the situation they're in. This pokemon got me through some of my toughest matches this season, and I don’t regret using it one bit. EVs were unchanged from the standard 2014 spread. Survive Kangaskhan's Double-Edge with Sitrus Berry, Mawile's Play Rough, and Charizard's solarbeam 100% of the time.
Heatran @ Chople Berry
Modest nature
44hp/28def/196spatk/36spdef/204spd
-Protect
-Heat Wave
-Overheat
-Flash Cannon
Onwards into the slightly more interesting sets in the team now. This Heatran set is the one pokemon that myself and Matt 100% agreed on in every way, it’s fantastic. Yes, by running Chople berry and dropping earth power you are immediately consigning yourself to losing the Heatran mirror matchup, but here are the reasons why that doesn’t matter.
Firstly, during the time that this team was in it's prime, roughly half of all heatran were timid Max speed, suggesting that even if you opted for that set and ran earth power, in theory, you would still lose the Heatran mirror match an alarming amount of the time. Secondly, in being able to take strong fighting attacks, this opens up an abundance of opportunities to take on otherwise horrifically threatening Pokémon, such as Kangaskhan, Terrakion and Conkeldurr to name a few. Thirdly, this team has a Landorus, a Kangaskhan and a Rotom Wash in it. Opponents rarely bring Heatran to this match up at all so you would rarely use earth power anyway. EVs here were to outspeed adamant Bisharp, OHKO 252hp/4spdef Aegislash 100% of the time with Overheat, and to ensure that Breloom's Mach punch would always be a 3HKO with the Chople Berry.
Cresselia @ Safety Goggles
Bold nature
220hp/76def/212spatk
-Thunder Wave
-Calm Mind
-Psychic
-Ice Beam
Although the surge of Aegislash since nationals ended has led to a huge drop in Cresselia usage, it was still pretty stunning at the time. The move set or item slot on this Cresselia changed with every single tournament I entered, as there was just so much it could do, but I will go into more detail during the tournament analysis. The EV spread was very basic here, simply KO'ing as many Landorus as possible while still being nice and bulky.
The Tournaments:
- Sutton Coldfield Regionals – 6-2 (9th Place)
I went into this tournament far more confident than I usually do, believing that some of my funky move/item choices would see me through. Kangaskhan's ability was still scrappy here, while Cresselia was holding leftovers and had Protect in place of Thunder Wave, and icy wind over ice beam.
I started the tournament strongly like I often do, seeing off Jason Finch (Die2Distroy) in Round 2, before seeing a daunting matchup in Round 3 against a former travel buddy in the Netherlands... Koryo. I'd lost my 2 previous matches with Koryo, both including some dubious amounts of bad luck, and I certainly didn’t want to turn it into a hat trick! Long story short, I won in a very one sided game with Cresselia and Heatran getting out of control, the battle video can be found here – GU7G-WWWW-WW2G-EYQG.
At 4-0 I was absolutely demolished by Jamie Boyt. When you Icy Wind the opponent, and he switches in serperior to get a speed boost, it never ends well. Nevertheless, I soldiered on, got haxed on stage, and finished 6-2, but knew my resistance was going to be good. It was an agonising wait for the final standings, but unlike in Germany ’14 there was no fairy tale ending. I missed out on the top cut by one place, on opponent's opponent's win % to fellow Nosepass, Eden Batchelor!
Germany Nationals – 6-3 (78th Place)
I started the tournament strongly like I often do, seeing off Jason Finch (Die2Distroy) in Round 2, before seeing a daunting matchup in Round 3 against a former travel buddy in the Netherlands... Koryo. I'd lost my 2 previous matches with Koryo, both including some dubious amounts of bad luck, and I certainly didn’t want to turn it into a hat trick! Long story short, I won in a very one sided game with Cresselia and Heatran getting out of control, the battle video can be found here – GU7G-WWWW-WW2G-EYQG.
At 4-0 I was absolutely demolished by Jamie Boyt. When you Icy Wind the opponent, and he switches in serperior to get a speed boost, it never ends well. Nevertheless, I soldiered on, got haxed on stage, and finished 6-2, but knew my resistance was going to be good. It was an agonising wait for the final standings, but unlike in Germany ’14 there was no fairy tale ending. I missed out on the top cut by one place, on opponent's opponent's win % to fellow Nosepass, Eden Batchelor!
Germany Nationals – 6-3 (78th Place)
Germany is a great country, I'd been looking forward to going back there all year, this time with a huge crew of new travellers to make it even better! Ringbrots were consumed, ringbrots were worn, ringbrots were thrown... Onto the tournament itself!
Cresselia was changed once again with icy wind making way for ice beam.
I started strongly again, beating Solarii in Round 1 by managing to out speed his Virizion with Cresselia in the end game thanks to the choice scarf he had initially tricked onto me on turn 1! The strong opponents didn't stop there, with Round 3 pitting me against Riopaser, fresh from his top 4 finish in the senior World Championship last season. It was an incredibly close match which was finally turned when I predicted his Terrakion to protect from Kangaskhan’s Fake Out, so I simply smashed straight into his ludicolo, then survived the Close Combat the next turn, to pick up another KO with low kick. GG! 3-0!
The tournament was turned on its head the following round, suffering 9 Thunder Wave paralysis in a row, where hitting through once would have been enough to win the game. I never really got over this match, and in some ways, the next match was worse. When your mind is angry, the last thing you want to see is your name paired with Lajos Kowalewski. He never gives you an easy game, always long lasting with huge amounts of thought required, and that’s exactly what happened. Yet I found myself in a winning position, with just one more turn required for me to take the game! Only one problem, there's 19 seconds left on the timer and he's double protecting to take the match. The game could have been won much earlier if I had played a little riskier, but that’s the game. Lajo saw that the timer was his win condition, and he played it just right.
I whimpered to a decent 6-3 finish, which I wasn't upset with, but was certainly left contemplating what could have been.
Cresselia was changed once again with icy wind making way for ice beam.
I started strongly again, beating Solarii in Round 1 by managing to out speed his Virizion with Cresselia in the end game thanks to the choice scarf he had initially tricked onto me on turn 1! The strong opponents didn't stop there, with Round 3 pitting me against Riopaser, fresh from his top 4 finish in the senior World Championship last season. It was an incredibly close match which was finally turned when I predicted his Terrakion to protect from Kangaskhan’s Fake Out, so I simply smashed straight into his ludicolo, then survived the Close Combat the next turn, to pick up another KO with low kick. GG! 3-0!
The tournament was turned on its head the following round, suffering 9 Thunder Wave paralysis in a row, where hitting through once would have been enough to win the game. I never really got over this match, and in some ways, the next match was worse. When your mind is angry, the last thing you want to see is your name paired with Lajos Kowalewski. He never gives you an easy game, always long lasting with huge amounts of thought required, and that’s exactly what happened. Yet I found myself in a winning position, with just one more turn required for me to take the game! Only one problem, there's 19 seconds left on the timer and he's double protecting to take the match. The game could have been won much earlier if I had played a little riskier, but that’s the game. Lajo saw that the timer was his win condition, and he played it just right.
I whimpered to a decent 6-3 finish, which I wasn't upset with, but was certainly left contemplating what could have been.
- Sutton Coldfield Premier Challenge – 3-2 Swiss (2nd Place after Top cut)
I finally decided to give in and drop protect on Cresselia for this tournament replacing it with thunder wave, for the all important hax factor, whilst also switching Kangaskhan to an Inner Focus variant.
This was a bloodbath, from round 2 onwards, every single opponent I faced was a friend. The games were rough, and the final round of Swiss paired me against Mattsby’s himself. I lost the match but still managed to make the top cut, seeded 5th as the highest ranked 3-2 player. My opponent for top 8... Matt... Again. However, this time I had more of a game plan. Shut down the Scrafty. It was a menace in the Swiss round, and I knew that if I could contain it better this time, I’d have a good chance.
It was a great set, lasting much longer than the other top 8 matches, and here are the 3 games for you to enjoy:
3FKG-WWWW-WW2G-EPX3
CUMW-WWWW-WW2G-EP4K
4DNW-WWWW-WW2G-EP66
Eventually I ended up in a satisfying 2nd place after losing to Toquill in the final, onward to nationals!
UK Nationals – 6-3 (74th place)
This was a bloodbath, from round 2 onwards, every single opponent I faced was a friend. The games were rough, and the final round of Swiss paired me against Mattsby’s himself. I lost the match but still managed to make the top cut, seeded 5th as the highest ranked 3-2 player. My opponent for top 8... Matt... Again. However, this time I had more of a game plan. Shut down the Scrafty. It was a menace in the Swiss round, and I knew that if I could contain it better this time, I’d have a good chance.
It was a great set, lasting much longer than the other top 8 matches, and here are the 3 games for you to enjoy:
3FKG-WWWW-WW2G-EPX3
CUMW-WWWW-WW2G-EP4K
4DNW-WWWW-WW2G-EP66
Eventually I ended up in a satisfying 2nd place after losing to Toquill in the final, onward to nationals!
UK Nationals – 6-3 (74th place)
Another really fun tournament with another consistent result. A crippling early loss to Billa where only a final turn critical hit prevented me from winning the game was costly. At 6-2 going into the final round, I needed a win to make the top cut. The matchup was perfect. My Cresselia and Rotom-Wash were facing down Salamence and Blaziken mid-way through the match, surely I couldn’t mess this one up.
“The opposing Salamence used Swagger!”
GG
- Italy Nationals 6-3 (48th place)
Cresselia was finally changed again to match the set seen in this report. With Arash introducing “Japsand” to Europe, I wanted to make my matchup a little better than it already was, just incase I was paired against that team. The safety goggles helped, playing 3 exact replicas of the team along the way, and 2 attempted to spore Cresselia!
Going into the tournament, I was aware that 100cp from this event would most likely seal up my world's invite, so the goal was simple, win the early rounds and I'd be fine. It went according to plan, aside from a hiccup against Lega in round 4 where my own mistake stopped from winning the game, I flew ahead into a 6-1 score. (Massive apologies to Riopaser who I got a nasty freeze on when we met again in round 7.)
Although I disappointingly lost my final 2 matches, I was just happy to seal up my worlds invite, and knew my time with this team had probably run it’s course.
Going into the tournament, I was aware that 100cp from this event would most likely seal up my world's invite, so the goal was simple, win the early rounds and I'd be fine. It went according to plan, aside from a hiccup against Lega in round 4 where my own mistake stopped from winning the game, I flew ahead into a 6-1 score. (Massive apologies to Riopaser who I got a nasty freeze on when we met again in round 7.)
Although I disappointingly lost my final 2 matches, I was just happy to seal up my worlds invite, and knew my time with this team had probably run it’s course.
Concluding Thoughts:
Overall, I feel a team like this is exactly what was required to have a good chance of qualifying for world’s this year. Nothing too outrageous, just a team with solid foundations that is difficult to beat. Providing you could get consistent tournament results, and gain CP from every single one, like I did, then your worlds invite is almost guaranteed.
Thanks for reading, and bring on Boston!!!
Thanks for reading, and bring on Boston!!!
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