And the horse I rode in on

Donk(ey) Hammer

So I recently attended the London International Championships when I said I wasn't going to because I'm soooo good with money. The tournament was one of the most attended in Pokemon history and surprisingly one of the most fun! Given the huge CP and £££ payout the event offered I had to be top of my game and have a godsquad ready in the 2 week space between the games' release in EU and the actual event (whoever thought this was a good idea should probably have coffee spilt on their head).

This led to stress stress and more stress to find the team that was gonna get me some sweet dorra dorra. 

Pre-Tourney:

So I had some ideas on what I wanted to use and what could be good, 99.9% of them were awful and I'm honestly ashamed I even suggested them. From Instruct + Fissure Golem to Banded Dhelmise I was in a dark place. The void had claimed me and I had to continuously get dragged back into the light. Unfortunately for everyone, I was right at home there and pretty much became the void, showering friends with 'amazing' ideas and generally ruining their team-building efforts with my genius.

I did attempt to build something serious, however, when the format came to PS. Day 1 I topped the ladder on about 4 accounts with SlushRush + Celesteela, Gyara, Chomp, Maro; that core would go on to kinda take over and be a thorn in my side. It's also super boring to play - fearing I'd fall asleep mid game, I started building something else. 

I hopped from Weavile hyper offense to Weavile hyper offense to Weavile hyper offense. Nothing was working! My teambuilding had come to a halt and I was in a rut... 'til it was suggested that I stop using Weavile as it's a bit pants and try something else. This was the birth of Ninetales. One of my favourite 'new' Pokemon, this vixen filled the lovely role of fast spread spammer with tons of pressure. It also has RNG flowing out its' arse but I'll get into that later...

Now I have a lone Ninetales in the builder, and whilst that can (and did) win games on its own, I needed at least 4 Pokemon to compete. Naturally the next choice is a Tapu. But which one? I despise Lele because it fails my ugly check and goddamn is that thing ugly. Bulu is a hulk with a log on his head which is pretty cool. Koko is really fast but a bit weak in the damage department and Fini is adorable and I love it to bits. That settled it, I was using Fini. This didn't last however - I heard the moans of poor Magikarp in my sleep, calling to me from 2014. My boi Gyarados had to be used. Condolences to Fini, I still love you and you're actually pretty strong. It's just I'm already in a stable relationship with Gyarados. I hope you understand.

So with my love affair with a big blue snake rekindled I had to continue building a godsquad. I was on 2 members and finding myself stuck. I figured since I'm an atrocious player who literally cannot function without Fake Out I needed to find a user of that ASAP. Weavile was rubbish so I forgot about it instantly, Persian was really really cool but at the time it wasn't clear whether Parting Shot would be legal so I avoided building with it (ended up legal, thanks TPCI for telling us sooner you turds). With Ninetales getting blasted by Marowak and Gyara being a soft check to it, I figured a dirty wrestler cat called Incineroar might be good. It offered a way to KO Marowak (after Hail chip), a way to KO Celesteela and that sweet, sweet Fake Out. I also threw on Incinium for Malicious Moonsault which I'll cover later!

I now had 2 cats and a snake; I needed a Tapu still so I think I just threw in Koko for the fun of it. Koko is a cool coconut that appreciates a dead Marowak at the hands of Gyarados and Incineroar, strong Electric STAB also took care of bulky waters like Milotic and Gyarados (assuming Marowak was rip). It was also another way to crush that stupid Celesteela thing that I hate so much. 

The big issue here was Incineroar's Speed stat and a weakness to Trick Room in general. Marowak in TR was absolutely stomping me, and rather than bank on it not getting up in the first place, I decided to add a funky little check to it... Mudsdale. He is the thiccest horse around and I want to give him a cuddle. Muds checks a surprising amount of Pokemon in the format and its' single target Ground attack, High Horse-Power, is incredibly strong. Stamina is also a really stupid ability to abuse.

Now for the dreaded last slot, although it wasn't really that hard for a change. I needed a T-Room mode of my own to let Muds roflstomp at will if the opponent didn't want to set it up. Oranguru is a bit pooper in the team and as much as I wanted to use Eggnecky, I couldn't justify it. This left that dirty duck Porygon2 as the sole survivor of my viable TR elimination squad. I threw it in the team and oh boy... it's so fat and it just refuses to die, it's the lil duck that can! Such a solid Pokemon and such a thorn in the side to play against.

So I had a team and it played nicely enough, unfortunately it was the Sunday before the event and I had nothing in-game. Queue constant stress, anxiety attacks and the biggest burnout in history. It killed me (hunting for shinies really didn't help me save time oops) but I got the team. It was also Wednesday by the time I finished so no BS practice for me!

The Tourney:

I registered my team, then had to level up Jade's lv28 Marowak cus I'm a freakin imbecile and thought it would auto-level, oops. It all worked out in the end though so it's fine. I got my amazing super cool hat and went for an early night. lol jk we all got absolutely destroyed by alcohol and had a blast. I'm not detailing it since I might get banned but, oh boy, if you ever want to have some fun come drink with the squad - you'll play Ring of Fire and make a new friend called Stephen who may or may not be a plant.

Moving on... I was both hungover and still drunk on the morning. This spelt disaster but it was fine since my iron (dead) liver was super resilient and I survived long enough to make player meetings then actually 'play' in the tournament.

Before I start I'll show the team in all its' glory and explain it a bit!

TEAM BOIS:

Ninetales-Alola (<3 Fairytale <3) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Snow Warning
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe        
Timid Nature  

- Aurora Veil
- Blizzard
- Icy Wind
- Protect

AAAAAAA ISN'T IT ADORABLE <33333

On a more serious note Ninetales is amazing. Having fast spammable Blizzard, speed control in Icy Wind and a stupid move in Aurora Veil allowing it to double the bulk of your team in an instant makes this quite the cool Pokemon. Sadly it has pretty severe 4 moveslot syndrome - having extra options in Freeze Dry and Encore means it's hard to actually settle on a set. Whilst Icy Wind was incredibly useful on the day, I can't help but feel Freeze Dry might've been better, just to snipe away Pelipper, Gyarados and Gastrodon, all of which were a nuisance and out in force. 

Ninetales accidentally became the MVP of the team when my frost wizard powers were reawakened from years of deep slumber. I got multiple freezes in EVERY set on Day 1. I'd feel bad but it became a bit of a meme - I'm sure I have haters now as a result, shame I genuinely don't care haha. Sash was almost required since Ninetales is super frail and can get OHKO'd by tons of common neutral hits.

Gyarados (Zicar) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature

- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Protect
- Dragon Dance

Guess who's back, back again. ZICAR'S back, Hide your wives!  Zicar is an old fren of mine and I admit that we had a relationship, It broke off when I fell for Yveltal though </3  He's back now though and cooler than ever, especially with no Groudon around to shut his s**t down. 

Gyarados is a cool guy though, Intimidate + Ground immunity is invaluable this format, the 4x weakness to Electric is unfortunate but easily built around. Its' strong typing allows it to set up DDs on a lot of the format making Gyarados a major offensive threat if left unchecked. Sitrus was honestly a throwaway item and I should probably have used something else. Maybe Splash Plate to gain some OHKOs? I should run calcs, haha. The berry did come in handy at some points though so I can't fault it too much.

Tapu Koko (Koko Pops) @ Life Orb
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk

- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Dazzling Gleam
- Protect

My wit is honestly top tier with these nicknames. I'm sure no one will agree with that but shush guys I want to be creative and name a GUARDIAN DEITY after some cereal. If Tapus existed I'm fairly certain I would be struck down with great vengeance as punishment for my blasphemous nicknames...

but I digress, Koko is a very simple Pokemon. Send it in, attempt to deal big damage, rinse repeat. This was too simple for me however so I added Volt Switch for momentum purposes and by golly did it pay off! Volt Switching an opposing Tapu and denying them the KO was really strong. You can also switch out Gyarados, use Volt Switch and bring it back in for some ghetto double Intimidate action!

I could've possibly run HP Poison (don't smite me oh great and powerful deities!) to snipe Bulu but that might be a bit too dark. Even for me...

Incineroar (Tiny) @ Incinium Z
Ability: Blaze
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 20 Spe
Adamant Nature

- Fake Out
- Flare Blitz
- Darkest Lariat
- Protect

Obligatory Crash Bandicoot related nickname.
Past 3 years I've had Ripper Roo the Kangaskhan but, since Kang is now literally Ripper Roo, I've had to adapt. Not exactly the same thing as Tiny the Tiger but I'm trying my best here okay.

Incineroar is a really niche and attractive Pokemon. Its' colour palette, type and movepool appealed to me massively. Dark/Fire is honestly really strong - we've only had squishy Houndoom in the past so we never really saw what it could do, but its offensively and defensively solid. Not having access to Intimidate hinders this Pokemon massively but that's not to say it's a bad choice. The dual STABs it carries can KO 2 of the most prevalent Pokemon in the format (these being Marowak and Celesteela) and it can also deal with Bulu, Koko and Lele. 

The item choice is an interesting one - Incinium Z grants access to Malicious Moonsault which, aside from being a base 180 Dark-type attack that looks stunning, lets it KO some really strange stuff. Incineroar can OHKO Garchomp, Gyarados before Intimidate, Oranguru, Tapu Lele, Marowak at -1. The list goes on, its worth just exploring the calcs yourself. The EVs look funky but they were just to make sure I outsped Celesteela outside of Trick Room, although they seemed to be creeping each other so it may have been wasted investment. Who knows!

Mudsdale (Robin Thicc) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Stamina
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 252 Atk / 52 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 12 Spe

- High Horsepower
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Heavy Slam

One of if not my favourite Gen 7 Pokemon. He is a good fren and thoroughly deserving of his Best Horse title. He's also thicc af and he tries his best to kick everything as hard as he can.

Sadly though, this particular horse is cross-eyed or just outright blind. I missed more High Horsepowers than I hit and it cost me so much... but do not worry my chubby friend! I still love you!

Anyway, Close Combat is honestly a bit pants but lets you hit Celesteela for a decent chunk which is appreciated, Rock Slide is a fun move under TR and lets you hit Gyarados harder or just be a nob and flinch things, Heavy Slam lets you crush Tapus under your thicc rump. Muds weighing in similarly to Groudon means Heavy Slam tends to be base 120 on targets, ensuring a good crushing. Assault Vest just increases the bulk on the Special side a bit and is generally a good choice for our horse friend. EVs do something regarding Lele which I cant remember, haha. IVs are just what I had in-game oops

Porygon2 (Duck Fren) @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 52 SpA / 36 SpD / 12 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe

- Ice Beam
- Toxic
- Recover
- Trick Room

This lil guy looks like my duck fren from over the local nature reserve. Yes that sounds lonely as anything and I'm secretly an old man who feeds the ducks every morning. Exposed!

Duck fren is the backbone of the team though and an absolute crutch in harder matchups. It can switch in to almost any attack safely and heal it off, annoying (and tilting) my opponent. Just running Ice Beam would've been annoying if I didn't freeze everything, so I didn't mind too much. Toxic was a last-minute addition and a fantastic one at that. I won so many games from Toxic stalling - in Day 2 especially, where the teams started to become unbreakable from an offensive standpoint. I have no clue what the EVs do nor am I about to find out. You could run 252/252 on this thing and it'd still be sturdier than the iron case around my heart ;-;

The Weekend:

Sadly my note taking is abysmal as always and I don't remember my games well enough to document them accurately without triggering someone, so I won't. Just imagine that I froze everything and didn't deserve Day 2 in the slightest instead!

I managed to squeak into Day 2 with a 7-2 record which meant I couldn't drop a game at all that day if I hoped to cut. This was a fairly impossible task but I vowed to try my best anyways. Sadly, I was preoccupied on other things that day which affected my play considerably and I finished 2-3 on Day 2, which I'm honestly a bit embarrassed about since I know I can do better. I can only blame myself, however, and use it to fuel myself to do better in the future! I ended up finishing 43/565 which is okay I guess. I'm at the point now where I'm hungry for the gold finish so I tend to become disappointed. Now gonna work on helping everyone else get the strong finishes they deserve since I'm nice like that and it's lonely cutting tournaments on your own ;) 

All in all I'm still super proud of my performance and also the performance of my friends. We did our best and it showed <3 I had a fantastic weekend away in London with my favourite people in the world and I can't wait til the next tournament so we can do it again. Hopefully with less plants and hubcap searches next time :)

Top tip: The best hangover cure is Blizzard freeze RNG plus Philadelphia and pasta sandwiches.

P.S: If I froze you, I'm so sorry. I hate winning games like that; it's not fun for either side. I hope we can play again on fairer terms again some time. 

"I'll get 'em next time, just gotta try my best again"

- Matt

UBs (Ugly Buggers)

EwwwwBs

There's been a TON of controversy surrounding these "Pokemon"? Not being officially recognised as Pokemon has left a lot of confusion over the legality of the UBs but, at the time of writing, they appear to be fully legal and usable in VGC17. Whether this is a good or bad thing seems to be the root of the complaints so I figured I'd give my two cents on the whole situation and look into the UBs individually to see just what the problem is! 

(Opinion: I hate them all they're ugly and break the ugly clause so can go away, this is coming from the guy who likes Vanilluxe...)

(Since at the time of writing the games aren't released yet the most I can do is speculate and give guesswork X/10 scores followed by a "Busted or not Busted")

(Note: All UBs have Beast Boost as the ability: it will raise the UB's highest stat when it scores a KO, à la Moxie on drugs. Letting a UB (especially Christmas Head) get a KO unpunished might be a grave error and could result in it just ripping you a new one. Be prepared!)

Nihilego
109 / 53 / 47 / 127 / 131 / 103
Rock / Poison
Beast Boost
7/10 Not Busted

Notable Moves:
Power Gem
Sludge Bomb
Grass Knot
Trick Room
Mirror Coat

Figured I'll do them in order starting with Lil Miss shower-cap-squid-thing, also known as Nihilego. My name is cooler though. 

The stats are heavily skewed in favour of Special Attack and Special Defense with a smaller emphasis on HP and Speed which are both still respectable. Its Attack is poor (but who cares) and its Defense is, well.... abysmal. This dastardly destroyer of metagames is felled by a simple Diglett throwing some mud on its face... pathetic.
Maybe I'm being too harsh considering its Special Attack is very respectable especially when acknowledging its strong speed tier of 103 (1 point above Garchomp). Its unique dual typing is interesting offensively as well, especially vs the countless Fairies running around in Alola. Rock is also quite handy to batter the inevitable bulky Fire types that are going to be prancing around.
The downside to this UB (other than its atrocious Defense stat) is the lacklustre set of potential move options. A common theme amongst the UBs actually is incredibly skewed stat distribution followed by a shallow movepool.


Buzzwole
107 / 139 / 139 / 53 / 53 / 79
Bug / Fighting
Beast Boost
4/10 Not busted

Notable Moves:
Lunge
Leech Life
Superpower
Hammer Arm
Ice Punch

Oh hey its a giant hench mosquito thing that probably bench presses a bus. Kinda looks like a Hulk Hogan / Larry the Lobster love child. Anyways, this big ugly bug is super strong! Its HP, Def and Attack are all way above average, with its Special Attack and Special Defense being absolutely horrid; the Speed tier is middling which isn't the worst thing considering the general speeds of the newer Pokemon in Alola. The problem here is the amount of faster Fairy and Psychic types roaming around ready to turn poor Buzzwole's mind to mush. It could hit back against Psychics with its Bug STAB were it not already dead. Heracross 2.0 here doesn't impress at first glance and we haven't gotten to the movepool yet...
Unsurprisingly it's pretty shallow but he does pack Ice Punch as coverage and Leech Life as strong STAB with added recovery. Its fighting options are lacklustre with no Close Combat, instead being forced to use Superpower or Hammer Arm. An Assault Vest might patch up Henchacross's poor SpDef but I doubt it will see much use. I'll happily be wrong, however!



Pheromosa
71 / 137 / 37 / 137 / 37 / 151
Bug / Fighting
Beast Boost
5/10  Might be busted?

Notable Moves:
U-Turn
Quiver Dance
Speed Swap
Hi-Jump Kick
Ice beam
Feint
Lunge
Bug Buzz

Okay I actually quite like the design of this one so I'm a liar when I said I hate them all. It looks like a lady who's a bug, but not a ladybug? Straight into the important stuff though... this thing is sooooooo fast! To the point where I'm actually afraid of it, mostly due to it learning the move Speed Swap, which will allow it to give a partner its speed stat. Picture a base 151 speed Wishiwashi, or maybe a Mudsdale, or even a Porygon Z if you're a madman!
The thought of this alone sends shivers down my spine. Its offensive capabilities are decent as well, sharing the same typing and almost the same Attack as the red Roidbug from earlier. The downside is its bulk overall is nothing short of shameful, falling to a single Gust from Pidgey... Priority moves will crush poor bug lady. Tapu Lele can be used alongside to block priority but its longevity on the field is incredibly limited regardless - might not be worth it. The gimmick potential with Speed Swap is what scares me the most here, in that regard Pheromosa isn't broken at all. But Speed Swap is a scary move so I'm unsure what to say about it... I'll leave it with a maybe for now.



Xurkitree
83 / 89 / 71 / 173 / 71 / 83
Electric
Beast Boost
8/10 Maybe Busted?

Notable Moves:
Thunderbolt
Grass Knot
Tail Glow
Discharge
Volt Switch

First thing's first. Its name is clever, it's an electric tree full of circuitry. Real smooth GF. Its head(?) is a glorified Christmas tree decoration and the body is just wires flying all over the place. I rather dislike this one although for reasons more than a strange design.
Its stats are incredibly average, "meh" bulk, decent Speed and holy moly it has 173 Special Attack! It's upon realising this you begin to realise why that is such a problem - you instantly look at its Speed stat and think "Choice Scarf". You then think "hmm, I want to make it stronger, lets add in Electric Terrain with Koko and maybe some Discharge spam? Or maybe I'll just run Tail Glow and blow things up that way." Whilst this UB is limited in the ways it can bring about ruin, it is certain that it WILL do so if you're unprepared. Its movepool is typically miserable, rocking very very little in the ways of coverage. It's likely ending using Grass Knot or Hidden Power Ice to hit Grounds and Dragons. Alola Marowak is probably one of the only Pokemon who can stand up to Christmas Head after a Tail Glow!
This UB has one job and that's to ravage as much as it can before it goes down. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Garchomp started running Sash/Scarf/Yache Berry just to destroy this thing. I for one am pretty terrified of Xurkitree; I'm unsure if its busted and will cause mass centralisation though, I doubt it so I'll leave another maybe for now.



Kartana
59 / 181 / 131 / 59 / 31 / 109
Grass / Steel
Beast Boost
8/10 Not Busted

Notable Moves:
Leaf Blade
Smart Strike
Sacred Sword
Night Slash
Psycho Cut
Laser Focus (lol)

Its a smol origami spaghetti monster! Its name is also a spark of genius from GF once again, their pun game is strong this year...
Say hello to Angry Ferrothorn! He got fed up of Legendaries beating him up in VGC16 and decided enough was enough, he's back with a vengeance! He also left his SpDef at home oops.
Serious talk though, why oh why does this thing have a higher base Attack than Mega Rayquaza?? It wont hit as hard since the BP on its moves aren't close to Dragon Ascent but still! Stupid stupid stupid! The benefits of this UB are its amazing Speed stat and strong STABs (especially when dealing with Fairies). Its movepool pretty much consists of 3 moves, those being Leaf blade, Smart Strike, and Sacred Sword (it learns more but eh)
The massive crippling downside to Kartana is its Special Defense being non-existent. Literally, it has none... Nincada has 1 less SpDef for reference, meaning even an Ember from something like Slugma in the rain will burn up this thing like I burn toast. Even resisted Special hits will deal a huge chunk to this UB.
So whilst it's one of the strongest attackers the game has ever seen and I'm terrified to have it Leaf Blade me... I don't think it is broken.



Celesteela
97 / 101 / 103 / 107 / 107 / 61
Steel / Flying
Beast Boost
8/10 Not Busted

Notable Moves:
Heavy Slam
Wide Guard
Flamethrower (lol)
Leech Seed (lol)
Earthquake
Air Slash

Game Freak... What the heck is this!?  It's a metal dress with a veil and giant rocket dicks for arms. I'm not impressed.... Honestly the worst design ever, I would rather look in the neighbours' bin than at this. Unfortunately for me, this UB seems to be the "best" at first glance so I'll be gouging my eyes out at events more than I usually would. RIP me.

So why is this the "best" one so far? Well its stats are surprisingly balanced compared to the rest, with nothing really standing out, instead opting for a well-rounded approach. It's also Steel/Flying which is SO GOOD! Pretty much Skarmory but with better stats and ability...  It also happens to weigh 999KG somehow, meaning Heavy Slam will more than likely be hitting for 120BP on most targets. Add in its natural synergy with Garchomp allowing EQ spam and you have yourself a cool 'mon. Personally however, I'm not a huge fan, and it's not due to it having rocket dick arms either. I'm not 100% sure on it so I'll have to wait and see what it turns out like in-game. For now though I can respect its great bulk combined with awesome typing and award it a big old 8/10.


G U Z Z L O R D
999 / 999 / 999 / 999 / 999 / 999
(223 / 101 / 53 / 97 / 53 / 43)
DARK / DRAGON
BEAST BOOST

1000/10 BUSTED HALP US
1/10

Notable Moves:
Wide Guard
Dark Pulse
Draco Meteor
Belch (lol)

Guzzlord is the greatest UB of all, it's so cool looking and I love it! (I lied twice now)
He will annihilate the format with his gaze alone and we should all just give up and bow to his might! Guzzlord will lead us to a new age of prosperity; donate to Guzzfund today to guarantee your place in this new age! Donations can be made to my PayPal...

All jokes aside, this UB (it pains me to say this) is the worst of the bunch... Its stand-out stat is its HP but the Defences are trout and its offences and Speed are nothing spectacular. It's pretty much a terrible Hydreigon, not to mention the amount of Fairies floating around. Guzzlord simply cannot keep up! I don't expect much use out of your boi at all to be honest... Apart from when I fancy using memes of course.




Closing thoughts:

Personally I don't find UBs to be that broken at all (at the time of writing anyways) They all have crippling weaknesses which can be worked around, lacklustre movepools or even both! I fully expect them to be used in the format however so preparing for them is a must. I don't feel like they're strong enough to the point of not using one being a stupid team decision.
I feel that if GF had simply called them something other than Ultra beasts, maybe the Binned Design Legends, we would've been more accepting of them... maybe even give them the Mimikyu treatment and make us feel bad for them. The only one I feel bad for is the Steel one since it has rocket dick arms :]

Jokes aside, I'm excited to see what UBs add to the format and I want to try them out for myself! I'll see you at events and am super excited to see what everyone brings :]


-Matt

The actual God Squad

So basically I did barely anything in regards to EV's apart from demand to survive ludicrous attacks. Thankfully everyone is a babe and actually helped this happen. Shoutouts to Eden (XenobladeHero) for doing 99% of the EV work for me since I can't do basic maths and I shouldn't be let near a damage calculator full stop. He also literally did all the highlighted calcs so thanks bro.

I'll slap all the Ev's and shiz at the end and talk about how everything came to fruition first since that makes the most sense.
After using the core of Kangaskhan Groudon Yveltal Thundurus nearly all season I decided after nationals that this would what I would stick to using for worlds, since I was most comfortable with it and knew pretty much every calc imaginable with it. I laid off building properly until US nationals had finished however, just to see if a new direction was needed. With Xdon winning that event nothing had changed in my plans and I proceeded with Ydon MK2. The team I used at Nationals was

 I loved this team to bits. It had its flaws that needed addressing but for the most part I was convinced I wouldn't need to change anything. That was until I stopped bringing Thundurus to games almost all together prompting me to replace it. Salamence was also incredibly clunky with Kangaskhan being brought to the majority of games because i'm bad and need FO pressure to win games. Whimsicott was complete booty after nationals so that was dropped also leaving me with the original Kang Ydon core to mess with. As with most Pokemon, these 3 really enjoyed Intimidate support to make ko'ing them incredibly difficult. This clashed with Foul Play quite a bit however and I simply wasn't comfortable in juggling my own teams options. I wanted things to be as straightforward as possible so the idea of Salamence/Landorus was thrown aside. Struggling to fill the void I decided to literally visit the void and test out ways to make Groudon completely invulnerable, which led me to this guy.




Heliolisk was really really cool. It had potential to OHKO basically anything with Solar power boosted attacks and with the move Electrify, it could make Groudon immune to any attack. It could also be used on my own Groudon to get an Electric type Pblades to nail Ho-oh if I wanted to be cheeky. I used this behemoth an embarrassing amount before I decided it was not the call at all and I was being silly. Funnily enough, if I had subbed it in over a Pokemon in Day 2 I very well could of cut since all I kept seeing were pokemon waiting to get eviserated by the animal we call Heliolisk. Hindsight is bad though and I made the correct call in continuing to look. I'll leave a funny calc though anyways:
236 SpA Life Orb Solar Power Heliolisk Hyper Beam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Dialga in Harsh Sun: 109-129 (52.6 - 62.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
2shotting Dialga with a resisted move is pointless and funny.

Moving on from me being somewhat of an idiot/innovator (you decide) I needed to fill the void left by Thundurus which was strong stab and speed control. Obviously I went for Cresselia with Icy wind and Thunder wave but it just wasn't strong enough. It dealt with Salamence nicely however which was a problem the core has. I was also getting swept up by the 'new Xdon' which was incredibly worrying. I had every problem in the world including Kangaskhan and I was almost ready to give up on the team. Until my friend Tyler @somethingWeeby told be to use Gengar since it beat his team quite nicely. I was hesitant since I don't like mons that only beat one team. But oh my this thing was doing work in a ton of games. I finally had a 4 mon core that was set after about 2 months. Next was even more Xerneas hatred and a Pokemon to stand up to Salamence Smeargle and Rayquaza. First mon to come to mind was Crobat, but that doesn't really beat anything on its own. I had to do some digging... after discarding scarf Sigilyph as an idea I got angry at myself and randomly threw an Aerodactyl in the teambuilder as a joke. Hoping to prove just how bad I was at building. Except I wasn't losing... My Win/Loss had shot up and this thing had literally everything I needed. A way to make Groudon invulnerable, a way to beat out Salamence and Rayquaza and a way to dunk on Xerneas. As weird as it was, Aerodactyl had found its home on the squad.

The last mon wasn't actually as hard as I thought it would be as I had used it previously and loved it. Scrafty had just popped his head up out of the vgc16 toilet and started to make a name for itself. It convieniently reminded me of just how good Fairy STAB is on an Yveltal team and how I was a bit weak to Double Primal (embarrasingly) It was time for good old LO Whimsicott to come back with an updated moveset to hate on Smeargle some more. Whimsicott also helps massively against the common lead of Salamence Thundurus that is always brought against me. While my place on the PS ladder was always disgracefully low for someone trying to win worlds I was semi confident I could do well so it didn't bother me too much. As long as I played well on the day I was fine. 


Here's the final team:

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite  (Ripper Roo)
Ability: Scrappy
Level: 50
EVs: 20 HP / 124 Atk / 68 Def / 44 SpD / 252 Spe    
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Sucker Punch
- Power-Up Punch
- Return

> Speed investment needed for Xerneas and to tie with Base 100's. 
> 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Low Kick (100 BP) vs. 20 HP / 68 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 158-188 (86.3 - 102.7%) -- 5.1% chance to OHKO
> +1 252 SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 20 HP / 44 SpD Mega Kangaskhan: 156-184 (85.2 - 100.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
> 252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 20 HP / 68 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 157-187 (85.7 - 102.1%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
> Rest put into attack, has a chance to 2HKO opposing Kang with Dark Aura Sucker Punch - double Sucker Punch KO'ing Kang is the dream
> PuP over Low Kick for Sucker Punch synergy and as an option to punish setup/Trick Room in particular

Kangaskhan is tried and tested as my favorite mega to use competitively. Yes its my crutch and I rely on it to win games more often than not. But that just shows how darn good this beast is. Weaker than my usual Kangaskhans for the sole reason of surviving a +1 Moonblast from Xerneas after a Snarl from Yveltal should I end up in that spot (I did a few times) Xerneas would have to waste 2 attacks to deal with Kangaskhan after setting up and that extra turn is enough to KO the Xern and outright win the game at times. The def is for Kangs Low Kick as that is an obvious thing to want to survive. I was tempted to drop Power Up Punch for Protect to help with Haze shenanigans but couldn't give up the 50000 win cons that PuP can present. Return was used over Double-Edge because after the recoil the defensive calcs were pointless and I didn't use Frustration because I want my Kang to love me and Ditto is stupid.

Groudon @ Red Orb  (LilMissSunshine)
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
EVs: 212 HP / 172 Atk / 4 Def / 76 SpD / 44 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Protect
- Precipice Blades
- Fire Punch
- Thunder Wave

> Hella bulky - this originally had more speed to outspeed Thundurus after Icy Wind but Icy Wind was removed from the team
> +2 252 Atk Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 212 HP / 4 Def Primal Groudon: 174-205 (86.1 - 101.4%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
> 252 SpA Primal Groudon Earth Power vs. 212 HP / 76 SpD Primal Groudon: 170-204 (84.1 - 100.9%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
> Speed to creep other Groudons - 28 was a number that was hit a lot
> Rest put into attack for powah
> TWave was a last minute choice to help the team tackle Salamence better and allow Groudon to support the team/do something on an opposing switch. 

Oh Groudon. I don't even know what to say about you. Apart from how stupidly strong you are. A lot of my games revolved around getting Groudon in a good spot to put immense pressure on my opponent and have the freedom to do whatever I wanted on turns. I opted for Physical since I don't like getting walled out by Xerneas after it's set up, especially since I have an Yveltal I needed as many ways to smack Xerneas around as possible. T-wave fwas there because I really didn't know what to use as a third move. I'll likely change it even though it won a game or 2.

Yveltal @ Black Glasses  (BlackBirbFren)
Ability: Dark Aura
Level: 50
EVs: 20 HP / 100 Atk / 28 Def / 132 SpD / 228 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Foul Play
- Snarl
- Protect

> With such a high HP stat HP investment isn't optimal
> 228 speed investment outpaces the max speed base 95 tier (Non scarf Kyurem, Non mega Rayquaza, Arcanine)
> Blackglasses over Life Orb to maintain bulk calculations, allow another team member to use Orb. This works since most offensive calculations are achieved anyway
> 252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 20 HP / 28 Def Yveltal: 172-203 (84.3 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
> 252 SpA Life Orb Thundurus Thunderbolt vs. 20 HP / 132 SpD Yveltal: 174-205 (85.2 - 100.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
> Can 2HKO Kang that invest for LO Rayquaza Dragon Ascent - 100 Atk Black Glasses Dark Aura Yveltal Sucker Punch vs. 28 HP / 92 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 90-106 (48.9 - 57.6%) -- 95.7% chance to 2HKO
> Snarl turned out to be the best third move since the team didn't require Tailwind support and it bypasses redirection, as well as shutting down certain special attackers

Bulky Yveltal has always been best Yveltal. Sharing the same stats as Xerneas. This thing can be hella bulky if it want's to be. And a Pokemon that can pressure whole teams just by being on the field wants to be able to stay on the field as long as possible no? Blackglasses were used over Dread plate because they look cool and I couldn't be bothered to find the plate. LO wasn't ever needed on this Yveltal since it clashes with the bulk and other Pokemon needed it more. The 100% KO on Mega Rayquaza and Landorus-T would of been nice though. Snarl was incredibly nice to help the rest of the team out. Specifically Kangaskhan and Groudon. Also helped get past Togekiss. One of the teams annoyances.


Aerodactyl @ Lum Berry  (NigelFarage)
Ability: Unnerve
Level: 50
EVs: 228 Atk / 28 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Wide Guard
- Taunt
- Tailwind

> Lum Berry for the spooky Scarf Smeargle
> 252 SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 28 SpD Aerodactyl: 133-157 (85.8 - 101.2%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
> Rocks Rocks everywhere - chip damage and sometimes you flinch :)

Very simple spread for a simple Pokemon. Just click the move you need to on any given turn. Deciding which move that is can be tricky but that's the skill part of it all. And if you're not sure. You can always just Rock Slide. Ev'd for Xerneas Moonblast at neutral incase they get cheeky and predict a Taunt. Unnerve was actually quite handy for blocking out Sitrus berry on Cresselia so boosted Kang could blow right through. Burning Ferro was kinda nice as well but it wasn't really something Aero wanted to stay in on anyways. Denying Thundurus it's Sitrus berry actually came into play countless times in practise as they all attempt to Thunder wave you instead of Ko'ing. This led to 2hkoing Thundurus almost consistently.



Gengar @ Focus Sash  (Harambe)
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Haze
- Sludge Bomb
- Protect

> Standard EV's
> Seriously nothing else makes sense with Sash involved
> Haze for shenanigans. Good utility for XRay and general Xerneas demolition

Haze Haze Haze. Haze is a cool move that no one I talked to knew Gengar even learnt. This team is very physically based and so intimidate shuffling was incredibly annoying. Haze completely mitigated that, along with any boosts the opponent might have, including a boosted Kangaskhan,Groudon or even Xerneas. So long as the sash was intact Gengar could be used as a last ditch effort to rid of Xerneas and win the game on the spot. (this happened twice) Protect is relatively uncommon on SashGar but in conjunction with Haze it allowed some nice pivoting to Haze safely next to a protecting partner. Will-O-Wisp is a fab move albeit inaccurate, it makes Gengar an incredibly safe lead against opposing Kangaskhan, Rayquaza Mawile Yveltal Scrafty,Hitmontop. Any common Physical attacker basically. It checked so many of the teams threats through the threat of burn and it was such strong glue for the core as a whole.


Whimsicott @ Life Orb  (Mimzi)
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Grass Knot
- Encore
- Safeguard

> Safeguard is a call for Worlds - shuts down Smeargle, Gravnosis and helps against particular leads (hello Salamence Smeargle)
> Needed Encore over Protect to punish setup on this team
> Life Orb enabled MASSIVE DAMAGE
> 252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Mega Salamence: 182-218 (107 - 128.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
> 252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Moonblast vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mega Salamence: 166-198 (97.6 - 116.4%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
> 252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 60 SpD Primal Groudon: 97-114 (46.8 - 55%) -- 66.8% chance to 2HKO
> 252 SpA Life Orb Whimsicott Grass Knot (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Primal Kyogre: 127-151 (61.3 - 72.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO


Whimsicott was a personal favourite of mine and also the whole chat of friends I'm in. The first thing I theoried this year was LO Whimsicott before being shelved swiftly. It was then resdiscovered when someone was destroyed by one and a lengthy discussion took place in Spoons (UK Pub) It felt fitting that the first thing I thought of this year was the last thing I would add to the worlds team and also the Pokemon that outright won me the most games. Life orb was chosen for the simple fact that it could OHKO Salamence before it could move (before Mega) Grass knot was also dealing insane damage to the Primals and could be combined with almost any attack across the team to KO a target. LO Grass Knot + Yvel Foul Play would kill any Primal. And LO Moonblast + Return would KO Xerneas because of the Fairy Aura. Whimsicott was an offensive combo machine in the team and was invaluable to its success. I added Safeguard because Hypnosis/Scarf Dark Void was incredibly annoying to deal with. I also had Encore over Protect because I wasn't sure if I could bluff no Encore for potentially 20+ games. It was nice for locking Pokemon into moves other than Protect and exploiting it.

That's basically it ( Or all I can think of on the top of my head) I probably have wayyyyy more info up in my brain but you'll have to ask me specific questions to get at that. I hope you enjoyed all this stuff. This is probably the most in depth I've ever gone with a team and it showed. Thanks to everyone who helped me. You know who you are and I love you so much <3


-Matt

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