Winter Mid Season Showdown: Four Horsemen of... Something
Truth be told, this team was thrown together the night before the tournament from what I had available in my boxes, a habit I do not recommend for players seriously trying to earn Championship Points. However, it does incorporate a couple things I am working on refining that you'll see progress in both these posts, as well as their accompanying video series. In fact, two of these team slots were filled the morning of the event when I realized two of them were filled by generation six breeds, and needed to be replaced.The Team
Lucario has been seen seldom in video game championship, but now that speed stats apply to mega evolution on the turn you click that special button, I thought it might be a bit more viable. I was not entirely wrong, either! The mega evolution's Adaptability makes Aura Sphere and Flash Cannon stronger, threatening some of competitive Pokemon's more commonly seen threats like Tapu Lele and Tyranitar. Dark Pulse helps against Aegislash but is chosen as more of an afterthought, and could be replaced with Feint, Extreme Speed, Bullet Punch, or even Vacuum Wave to give a little more aid to picking up chip damage knock outs. Protect is simply a staple of VGC that helps cut Z-move damage, scout moves from opponents in a best of 3 environment or block expected damage while a support Pokemon sets up combos like tailwind or its like. It also came in handy trying to stall out opponent's use of tailwind, sealing me a win that drastically needed Lucario to pull off.
The Guardian of Melemele Island may be prone to having its terrain overwritten by any other Tapu that is not using a Choice Scarf, but it still pulls its weight. Electricity is a hard scare to Pelipper and Gyarados, while Dazzling Gleam can spread damage out when one target is close to being knocked out. It also applies uncanny pressure to Kommo-o's risen popularity, barring Wide Guard supports of course. Grass Knot can help against odd team choices like Gastrodon, but admittedly I think Protect would have served better. Hidden Power is the true gem of the set, allowing a deadly threat to things like Landorus and Garchomp, long established staples in Video Game Championships any time they're legal. Even when Tapu Koko fails to get a one hit knock out on them, the position it leaves them in afterward is staggering. Life Orb was chosen for extra damage with disregard for its own hit points since a well placed poison or ground move typically knocks it out anyways.
A personal favorite Pokemon due to its sheer versatility. Protean allows it to not only hit any target for a 50% boost in damage, but allows it to change types at will to resist damage from opponent's attacks. This particularly came into play against an opponent's Zapdos that set up Tailwind as I used Ice Beam, followed up by a priority attack in Water Shuriken changing my type to resist an incoming Heat Wave. This set offers nothing unique in coverage that this team doesn't already have, but just the presence of the Kalos starter can threaten Gunk Shot, a dangerous proposition for Fairy types. What's more unsettling is something I found out after this tournament: Ultra Sun and Moon has graced Greninja with Powerup Punch as an egg move. Expect future experimentation with mixed sets!
Easily the glass cannon of glass cannons, Z-powered focus blast did a lot of work on tournament day. It's a fairly common set, I'm afraid, except for speed swap. Unfortunately, the speed swap never came into play, which could have created a terrifying Mudsdale. Perhaps a Focus Sash on future sets would be more effective, especially when I manage to refine the team to include at least one more Pokemon that can abuse speed swap like Snorlax or Stakataka. That said, Pheromosa did a lot for the team but needs more testing with modest or adamant builds, though Timid granting me a speed stat on Beast Boost did help combat Tailwind once or twice.
Originally, I wanted to use a Shuckle with Power Split. The only one I had, however, was bred a couple years ago in Alpha Sapphire. Enter Mudsdale, a bulky war horse that gets tougher every time it's hit. I almost went with an Assault Vest on it, and honestly that might have been a better option than the Leftovers I was using, but because of the last-minute entry into the team, I almost thought I was going to be using Assault Vest Malamar who was unfortunately bred back in Y version. Therefore, Lefties Mudsdale, carried over from my run in the Johto x Alola tournament. High Horsepower is chosen over Earthquake for its single target advantage, since the latter gets reduced in power due to spread damage. It also doesn't help that only a few Pokemon on this team have Protect, and I have no flying or levitating Pokemon to pair with it. Close Combat is a powerhouse egg move that actually has less drawback than when used by other Pokemon, due to its Stamina ability boosting its physical stat every time it gets hit. Heavy Slam was chosen to help with potential Fairy type threats, but since Tapu Fini seems to be the most popular currently that might not be the best bet.
Finally, the Pokemon that was picked last minute to replace Malamar, Oranguru easily pulled the least amount of weight on this team. Every time I tried to use Instruct on its partner, the Pokemon had already been knocked out. In two rounds, Oranguru was left to 1-v-3 an opponent for the match deciding game. There's a different build I want to try for Oranguru in the upcoming International Challenge on Pokemon Global Link, preferably one that doesn't use a pointless item. I realized after locking the battle box that the White Herb should have been a Mental Herb. Psyshock and Foul Play are used to deal some damage when necessary, and Toxic helps pressure Pokemon that continuously recover health like Porygon2 or Recycle Snorlax. All in all, the chief purpose of Oranguru was Instruct, but without a team that gets help from its possible Trick Room capability it seems to be mostly dead weight. Overall, I am determined to do something more unique with it soon.
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Flash Cannon
- Dark Pulse
- Protect
Tapu Koko @ Life Orb
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power (Ice)
Greninja (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Water Shuriken
- Dark Pulse
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam
Pheromosa @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam
- Speed Swap
Mudsdale (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stamina
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Careful Nature
- High Horsepower
- Close Combat
- Heavy Slam
- Protect
Oranguru (M) @ White Herb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 20 SpA / 92 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Psyshock
- Foul Play
- Instruct
- Toxic
The Guardian of Melemele Island may be prone to having its terrain overwritten by any other Tapu that is not using a Choice Scarf, but it still pulls its weight. Electricity is a hard scare to Pelipper and Gyarados, while Dazzling Gleam can spread damage out when one target is close to being knocked out. It also applies uncanny pressure to Kommo-o's risen popularity, barring Wide Guard supports of course. Grass Knot can help against odd team choices like Gastrodon, but admittedly I think Protect would have served better. Hidden Power is the true gem of the set, allowing a deadly threat to things like Landorus and Garchomp, long established staples in Video Game Championships any time they're legal. Even when Tapu Koko fails to get a one hit knock out on them, the position it leaves them in afterward is staggering. Life Orb was chosen for extra damage with disregard for its own hit points since a well placed poison or ground move typically knocks it out anyways.
A personal favorite Pokemon due to its sheer versatility. Protean allows it to not only hit any target for a 50% boost in damage, but allows it to change types at will to resist damage from opponent's attacks. This particularly came into play against an opponent's Zapdos that set up Tailwind as I used Ice Beam, followed up by a priority attack in Water Shuriken changing my type to resist an incoming Heat Wave. This set offers nothing unique in coverage that this team doesn't already have, but just the presence of the Kalos starter can threaten Gunk Shot, a dangerous proposition for Fairy types. What's more unsettling is something I found out after this tournament: Ultra Sun and Moon has graced Greninja with Powerup Punch as an egg move. Expect future experimentation with mixed sets!
Easily the glass cannon of glass cannons, Z-powered focus blast did a lot of work on tournament day. It's a fairly common set, I'm afraid, except for speed swap. Unfortunately, the speed swap never came into play, which could have created a terrifying Mudsdale. Perhaps a Focus Sash on future sets would be more effective, especially when I manage to refine the team to include at least one more Pokemon that can abuse speed swap like Snorlax or Stakataka. That said, Pheromosa did a lot for the team but needs more testing with modest or adamant builds, though Timid granting me a speed stat on Beast Boost did help combat Tailwind once or twice.
Originally, I wanted to use a Shuckle with Power Split. The only one I had, however, was bred a couple years ago in Alpha Sapphire. Enter Mudsdale, a bulky war horse that gets tougher every time it's hit. I almost went with an Assault Vest on it, and honestly that might have been a better option than the Leftovers I was using, but because of the last-minute entry into the team, I almost thought I was going to be using Assault Vest Malamar who was unfortunately bred back in Y version. Therefore, Lefties Mudsdale, carried over from my run in the Johto x Alola tournament. High Horsepower is chosen over Earthquake for its single target advantage, since the latter gets reduced in power due to spread damage. It also doesn't help that only a few Pokemon on this team have Protect, and I have no flying or levitating Pokemon to pair with it. Close Combat is a powerhouse egg move that actually has less drawback than when used by other Pokemon, due to its Stamina ability boosting its physical stat every time it gets hit. Heavy Slam was chosen to help with potential Fairy type threats, but since Tapu Fini seems to be the most popular currently that might not be the best bet.
Finally, the Pokemon that was picked last minute to replace Malamar, Oranguru easily pulled the least amount of weight on this team. Every time I tried to use Instruct on its partner, the Pokemon had already been knocked out. In two rounds, Oranguru was left to 1-v-3 an opponent for the match deciding game. There's a different build I want to try for Oranguru in the upcoming International Challenge on Pokemon Global Link, preferably one that doesn't use a pointless item. I realized after locking the battle box that the White Herb should have been a Mental Herb. Psyshock and Foul Play are used to deal some damage when necessary, and Toxic helps pressure Pokemon that continuously recover health like Porygon2 or Recycle Snorlax. All in all, the chief purpose of Oranguru was Instruct, but without a team that gets help from its possible Trick Room capability it seems to be mostly dead weight. Overall, I am determined to do something more unique with it soon.
The Rounds
Round 1 - Game 2 loss
- Zapdos: Misty Seed; Tailwind, Heat Wave, Roost
- Amoongus: 50% healing berry; Spore, Rage Powder
- Landorus: Earthquake
- Tyranitar
- Tapu Fini: 50% healing berry; Protect, Scald, Moonblast
- Metagross
Round 2 - Game 3 win
- Poliwrath: Swift Swim; Waterfall, Protect, Rock Slide
- Manectric-Mega: Flamethrower, Roar, Thunder
- Pelipper: Drizzle; Sky Drop
- Mudsdale: Leftovers; High Horsepower, Protect, Heavy Slam
- Ribombee: Dazzling Gleam, Tailwind
- Vikavolt: Flash Cannon
Round 3 - Game 2 win
- Tapu Bulu: Grassium Z; Horn Leech, Wood Hammer, Rock Tomb
- Aegislash
- Porygon2: Toxic
- Ampharos: Hidden Power (fire?), Protect
- Naganadel: Tailwind
- Terrakion: Sacred Sword, Rock Slide
Round 4 - Game 2 loss
- Tyranitar: Protect, Low Kick
- Excadrill: Sand Rush; Groundium Z
- Tapu Fini: Moonblast, Muddy Water
- Volcarona: Choice Scarf; Fiery Dance
- Tapu Lele
- Salamence-Mega: Protect, Hyper Voice
Round 5 - Game 3 loss
- Metagross-Mega: Protect, Stomping Tantrum
- Landorus
- Tapu Lele
- Hydreigon
- Ludicolo: Waterium Z; Swift Swim, Protect, Energy Ball, Hydro Pump
- Pelipper: Drizzle; Tailwind, Hurricane, Brine
Pastebin
Lucario (M) @ LucarioniteAbility: Steadfast
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Aura Sphere
- Flash Cannon
- Dark Pulse
- Protect
Tapu Koko @ Life Orb
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Dazzling Gleam
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power (Ice)
Greninja (M) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Protean
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Water Shuriken
- Dark Pulse
- Grass Knot
- Ice Beam
Pheromosa @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Timid Nature
- Bug Buzz
- Focus Blast
- Ice Beam
- Speed Swap
Mudsdale (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Stamina
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Careful Nature
- High Horsepower
- Close Combat
- Heavy Slam
- Protect
Oranguru (M) @ White Herb
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 20 SpA / 92 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Psyshock
- Foul Play
- Instruct
- Toxic
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