Johto x Alola RNG Team Analysis

Pokemon-GL: Johto X Alola and the Random Number Generator

The rules are nearly the same as standard Video Game Championship, simply with a restricted Pokedex. However, for this team, I decided to be less orthodox in my team building. After getting Pokedex numbers from a random number generator, it was up to me to make sure those Pokemon were able to work together.

The Team

Lucario fills our mega evolution, giving us a versatile starting point for the team. With near even offensive stats and a devastating ability to take advantage of, I was given an opportunity to fill voids left by the rest of the team composition. I had chosen to focus on Special Attacks, with Dark Pulse to help out in those rare occasions that Adaptability boosted moves weren't as effective. In hindsight, however, a physical set would have given me access to Blaze Kick, which could have added a much needed fire type attack to my otherwise lacking team. Even then, it's unlikely that a Blaze Kick would have really done much better than type-boosted moves, due to its ability. Because of the double battle format, a support role with Follow Me or using Final Gambit in combination with some other setup might have also been viable, but such tricks did not seem to fit the team's overall dynamic... or lack thereof.

Get used to this little guy! Emolga offers quite a bit as a support Pokemon. It has options with four different methods of speed control! Paralysis with Nuzzle, Electroweb which is essentially the same as Icy Wind, Tailwind which has been left off of this set, and the criminally underappreciated Speed Swap. Similar to how Pachirisu helped control the field in World Championships 2014, I personally think the flying squirrel could be a niche player in higher level competition, given the right team to support. What's more, people seem to forget its access to Motor Drive. It gives an extra edge when it comes to switching into predicted moves, especially those powerhouse Tapu Koko that are pretty common in tournaments. Changes to the set might include Tailwind over one of its electric moves. Tickle or Charm can weaken enemy strengths to help survive longer. Volt Switch and U-Turn with its high speed stat offer an alternative to hard switching which achieving at least some chip damage. Taunt offers about as much disruption as Encore. Similarly, an item other than Red Card would be in order, and trading off its nature for a Timid or Jolly, depending on its overall move set, instead of the Naive chosen to maximize damage of both Nuzzle and Electroweb seen here. This build would possibly work better trained to survive certain key attacks, picking a defense stat to split Hit Points with. Unfortunately, there seems to be no reliable way to build it to survive Mega Metagross using Ice Punch without significantly losing speed.

Honestly, I was not too sure how to put together Dragalge to work effectively. I knew I had a Speed Swap option to make it ridiculously fast, but other than that I could only work off its Adaptability. Instead of adding something like Scald for coverage, I opted to carry two dragon type moves to take advantage of the power difference between them, depending entirely on how much damage I felt needed to be done. A Poisonium Z with Sludge Bomb offered a surefire way to abuse Adaptability against anything that was not resistant, and its naturally high special defense did help against instances of Kommo-o trying to pull off its own Z Move, especially through protect or Wide Guard.

Toxapex is an interesting case. In several conversations about the championships double battle format, Toxapex is often written off, and understandably so. Weakness to Psychic with Tapu Lele and Metagross running around, with low offensive stats and little else it can provide in team support, I was a little concerned when the random number generator landed on its Pokedex entry. I resigned myself to dedicating it to status affliction, landing Toxic on things like Porygon 2 or other bulky special attackers, and hoping for Scald to land a burn against physical attackers. Pain Split gave me opportunity to turn some damage back towards opponents, instead of using Recover to simply recover health with no secondary effect. And finally, Wide Guard. This was the first wifi event on Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon, and I expected to see a fair amount of Kommo-o with its new Z Move. And the opposition did not disappoint. I got a lot of mileage out of Wide Guard over the course of the tournament, so all things considered I can't say I'm disappointed with how Toxapex performed when I did need it.

Mudsdale, as I understand it, has been no stranger to competitive play, and for good reason! A strong single-target Ground move that isn't hindered by Grassy Terrain, a fighting move to threaten Snorlax and Porygon2, and Heavy Slam to combat the massive rise of Fairy types since the Tapu made their appearance give it a lot to work with offensively. Its natural bulk and Stamina ability make it difficult to take down, though its special defense is a little bit lacking. Choosing between Leftovers and Assault Vest was difficult, but I'm content with how this performed. After all, max Hit Points and Protect does a lot for lasting power. And just in case you forgot, dear reader, this team included a Speed Swap Emolga. What that Speed Swap means is that its actual numerical stat gets traded to Mudsdale. Not just base stat, but Emolga's base 103 speed stat, plus its maximum Individual and Effort Values. I don't know about you, but if I stared down a bulky powerhouse like Mudsdale while it was moving faster than Garchomp, I'd be scared.

Bewear with an Assault Vest. By no means a unique build, but I had to try something to cover some of my team's lacking bases. Thunder and Ice Punches help against Salamence, Garchomp and Gyarados, while hopefully surviving whatever they try to throw. Drain Punch threatens common powerhouse Pokemon like Snorlax and Tyranitar, while recovering health simultaneously. When none of those options offer a higher damage output, I always have Double Edge to fall back on.

Afterthoughts

All things considered, this was an ineresting experiment for team building. I figured I would not get a lot of decisive wins or a high ranking on the ladder with this team, but that's not entirely unwelcome. Having my Pokemon picked randomly gave me a chance to try out things that I may not have otherwise used, and a couple of the Pokemon in this roster will be seeing future play. I've particularly enjoyed messing around with Speed Swap, as my other team report from this tournament will show as well, and intend to try refining the strategy to work more effectively in future events.

Paste bin

Lucario (M) @ Lucarionite 
Ability: Steadfast 
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe 
Timid Nature 
IVs: 5 Atk 
- Aura Sphere 
- Flash Cannon 
- Dark Pulse 
- Protect 

Emolga (F) @ Red Card 
Ability: Motor Drive 
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe 
Naive Nature 
- Nuzzle 
- Electroweb 
- Encore 
- Speed Swap 

Dragalge (F) @ Poisonium Z 
Ability: Adaptability 
Level: 85 
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA 
Modest Nature 
IVs: 25 Atk 
- Sludge Bomb 
- Dragon Pulse 
- Draco Meteor 
- Protect 

Toxapex (F) @ Black Sludge 
Ability: Regenerator 
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD 
Bold Nature 
- Toxic 
- Scald 
- Pain Split 
- Wide Guard 

Mudsdale (F) @ Leftovers 
Ability: Stamina 
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD 
Careful Nature 
IVs: 10 SpA / 15 Spe 
- High Horsepower 
- Close Combat 
- Heavy Slam 
- Protect 

Bewear (F) @ Assault Vest 
Ability: Fluffy 
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD 
Adamant Nature 
- Double-Edge 
- Drain Punch 
- Ice Punch 
- Thunder Punch 

Four Horsemen; Winter Mid Season Showdown Team Analysis

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.

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) @ Lucarionite
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

Mega Melee - Team Breakdown

The rules of the Mega Melee are pretty simple. Only Pokemon capable of Mega Evolution are allowed, except for Mewtwo, Diancie and Rayquaza. They may use any normally legal hold item, including their Mega Stones, Z Crystals, Focus Sash, Life Orb, etc. Battles are conducted after a team preview where players select only one of their Pokemon to battle, creating a sort of sudden-death game which renders popular Single Battle metagame strategies useless, such as entry hazards and constant switching. 

I was certain, going in, that Pokemon like Kangaskhan, Gengar, Blaziken and Lucario would probably dominate the format, but was pleasantly surprised at the amount of diversity that such a narrow pool gave us. Naturally, things like Salamence, Garchomp and Gardevoir are very powerful choices, as are the previously mentioned picks, but with careful planning and building Pokemon to be able to handle as many self-contained threats as possible, you would be surprised at how well you can climb the rankings in this format. Even if... my video series... is a little on the rocky side.

Lucario-Mega @ Lucarionite 

Ability: Inner Focus -> Adaptability 
Level: 50 
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe 
Jolly Nature 
- Close Combat 
- Bullet Punch 
- Extreme Speed 
- Earthquake  

I feel the Lucario on this team is a fairly standard build, taking advantage of the Mega's higher base speed and ability to deal massive damage with Close Combat. Bullet Punch and Extreme Speed help against even faster opponents, or against things like Gardevoir or Altaria that would otherwise prove threatening to the move set. Earthquake is kept on back to have an anti-Gengar option, or something to attack Metagross and Mawile with that would not require me to drop my defense stats, even though Adaptability-boosted Close Combat would still be stronger than Super Effective Earthquake.

Kangaskhan-Mega (F) @ Kangaskhanite 
Ability: Scrappy -> Parental Bond 
Level: 50 
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def 
Adamant Nature 
- Double-Edge 
- Earthquake 
- Sucker Punch 
- Ice Beam  

A bulky build on Kanga allowed me to survive some devastating Super Effective attacks while coming back to finish off an opponent using Sucker Punch. It does need to be carefully played off, however, since Double Edge's Recoil and the slower speed against other Pokemon's priority moves could spell disaster. Ice Beam was chosen to deal with Garchomp and Salamence, if need be, not only because Ice Punch would require me to get a new Kangaskhan from Alpha Sapphire, but because Garchomp's Rough Skin would apply to both Ice Punch hits and most likely give an opponent the win while both of our Pokemon faint.

Scizor @ Life Orb 
Ability: Technician 
Level: 50 
EVs: 212 HP / 252 Atk / 44 SpD 
Adamant Nature 
- X-Scissor 
- Bullet Punch 
- Brick Break 
- Brutal Swing  

Another fairly standard build. Admittedly, Bug Bite and Knock Off might be better move choices overall, but with my breeding and selections contained to Sun and Moon I do what I can. X-Scissor still does the job, especially against the couple of Alakazam I encounter over the weekend. Brick Break does what it needs to in weakening the likes of Kangaskhan, and Brutal Swing still offers exceptional damage against Gengar and Metagross. Just don't ask Scizor to stare down a Blaziken or a Charizard any time soon.

Slowbro-Mega @ Slowbronite 
Ability: Oblivious -> Shell Armor 
Level: 50 
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD 
Relaxed Nature
- Scald 
- Psychic 
- Ice Beam 
- Slack Off  

This monstrosity is nearly impossible to knock out in one shot. As far as I remember, the only thing that pulled it off was a Scizor, and that was after a Swords Dance and failing to land a burn with Scald. Even Gengar would have a rough time taking out Slowbro with maxed Special Defense, according to my pre-game damage calcs. Scald lets it turn physical attackers into a battle of the long game, and Ice Beam covers the ever present Garchomp and Salamence threats. Slack Off ensures that any opponent that can't deal 50% or greater damage will be unable to knock it out, and with Shell Armor the danger of losing to a critical hit is nonexistent. Unfortunately, I could not appease my buddy who wanted it to know Gyro Ball and nickname it "Beyblade-R."

Latias-Mega (F) @ Latiasite 
Ability: Levitate 
Level: 50 
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD 
Calm Nature 
- Psywave 
- Toxic 
- Recover 
- Charm  

Now we're getting into some weirder territory. I knew that Latios and Latias would have a hard time dealing with Sucker Punch from Kangaskhan and Mawile, as well as Shadow Ball from Gengar and Alakazam and Moonblast from Gardevoir. The weaknesses really work against the poor dragons, so I decided what any crazy person would. Build it as bulky as possible and hope for the best! Giving Latias maxed defenses gives it an opportunity to survive many attacks that would otherwise knock it out, with enough health to survive a second hit after it lands its first Charm. Toxic allows it to get continuous damage against opponents, especially those that might try to counter-stall my own efforts. Psywave was chosen as the primary means of attack since other options like Psychic, Draco Meteor or Dragon Pulse are ineffective against Mawile and Metagross. Besides, with no training in offense, it's at least some way to get reletively consistent damage without worrying about resistances.

Sceptile @ Focus Sash 
Ability: Unburden 
Level: 50 
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpA 
Brave Nature  

IVs: 0Speed
- Energy Ball 
- Earthquake 
- Endeavor 
- Quick Attack  

 Here it is, the team's MVP award goes to this guy. Time to come clean, this team was selected by people who aren't in the know when it comes to competitive Pokemon. Five Pokemon were picked by people at work, and one of them chose Sceptile. I thought, "Sceptile doesn't have a lot of favorable matchups against what are probably going to be the most popular Mega Pokemon." But then another coworker asked me, "Do any Mega Pokemon learn Endeavor?" It was then, while I was planning out moves, I found that fateful egg move in Treeko's list. Then came the challenge of figuring out how to make a Lv50 Sceptile underspeed the metagame, since all Pokemon above AND below Lv50 would be adjusted for the tournament. Brave Nature and a 0-Speed IV ensured that almost anything would outrun this otherwise speedy lizard's base 110 stat. But then came the other problem: Effort Values. I couldn't train speed or bulk, or Focus Sash might not trigger when I need it to. So the next logical step is to run a mix-set with maxed out Attack AND Special Attack. Energy Ball allows heavy hits against Pokemon I might not want to make contact with, like Garchomp and its Rough Skin ability, and Earthquake gives me an answer to Gengar and Mawile. Sure, I can't exactly one-shot most Gengar with it, but after a triggered Focus Sash, Unburden activates and Sceptile gains the ability to outrun even Mega Aerodactyl at a base 150 speed. My only regret is that this was an online tournament that doesn't allow you to interact with opponents after a match. I would love to know how some of the people reacted to this after the Endeavor goes off.