(Artist: Sa-Zurri)
Preview
And so .... I have to battle Epic....yayyy....(I'm going to hate this)
ROUND 3 / PFA SEASON 3 FINALS VS INDY LATIS (EPICLOLZ)
Note: The following is the PFA Season 3 Finals from my perspective in terms of teambuilding, possible matchups preparation, my team analysis, the battle itself, and any thoughts I remember. No play-play of the battle, as spoilers, it was a long slug fest, but no disrespect to my opponent at all. Anyone reading will understand what I mean once at the main summation of the battle. This Finals is from around the "4th of July weekend", so obviously not going to recall every detail, and of course, this is from my viewpoint so can't say much about my opponent, aside things we talked about. That said, here's the S3 Finals!
Preview
The Los Angeles Nidokings are now on the verge of a second title shot and possibly "repeating" in the same league after winning way back in February. By the time the Nidokings, or I beaten PxGKashHoward in a rather convincing fashion, the outcome of the Mesa Macargos (GingerxPug) versus the Indy Latis (Epiclolz) was unknown. It was only a day after my semis they were ready to due battle and I contemplated, and even attempted to prepared for both of them. On the matchup perspective, the Nidokings had not only "swept" the Mesa Macargos in Week 5, but possibly improved odds since that eventful win. Recent transaction as well as the main offensive threats like Mega Altaria and Manaphy made this possible finals matchup somewhat easier to prepare to, but couldn't take my opponent for granted. Ginger has stronger faster threats like Weavile, Krookodile, Mega Manetric, and Torrent Greninja, but lacked clear walls. If Ginger had chance to beat me, I suspected he'd attempt to go hyper offensive, but in such a scenario his main sweepers didn't have the fire power to bypass my team's bulk. (Look here for comparisons).
On the other hand, (sorry Ginger), Epic had the matchup advantage against Ryan, and even me given his entire team was a mixed of defensive walls paired with strong wall breakers (will get to those individual Pokemon later). My first battle against Epic, he could have won...but one of my frailer Pokemon (Torrent Greninja) survived a boosted Earthquake to OHKO his +1 Tyrantrum. Game 2 was evenly match, but as soon as I got my Volt Turn momentum going, the team was slowly able to pick off his team, unitl it was just a Specs Latias left. Despite that loss, Epic didn't let up. In fact, he won the rest of the last seasonal weeks, beat Kyle (ItalianG62) 's stacked team, and then beat the 2nd seed in Ginger.
It didn't surprise me Epiclolz was able to beat Ginger in both games rather convincingly, considering Epic didn't many any "bad plays". Though I can't recall what transpired, Epic consistently threaten and maintain pressure against Ginger to the point he had lost most of his own heavy hitters. And this happen....
On the other hand, (sorry Ginger), Epic had the matchup advantage against Ryan, and even me given his entire team was a mixed of defensive walls paired with strong wall breakers (will get to those individual Pokemon later). My first battle against Epic, he could have won...but one of my frailer Pokemon (Torrent Greninja) survived a boosted Earthquake to OHKO his +1 Tyrantrum. Game 2 was evenly match, but as soon as I got my Volt Turn momentum going, the team was slowly able to pick off his team, unitl it was just a Specs Latias left. Despite that loss, Epic didn't let up. In fact, he won the rest of the last seasonal weeks, beat Kyle (ItalianG62) 's stacked team, and then beat the 2nd seed in Ginger.
It didn't surprise me Epiclolz was able to beat Ginger in both games rather convincingly, considering Epic didn't many any "bad plays". Though I can't recall what transpired, Epic consistently threaten and maintain pressure against Ginger to the point he had lost most of his own heavy hitters. And this happen....
(Never lock yourself into Shadow Ball with a Scarf Ditto...still this shit was hilarious to watch)
And so .... I have to battle Epic....yayyy....(I'm going to hate this)
Indy Latis: Mega Camerupt, Latias, Terrakion, Scizor, Milotic, Galvantula, Porygon2, Tyrantrum, Amoonguss, Slowking, Mismagius, Kecleon, and Liepard
LA Nidokings: Manaphy, Mega Altaria, Victini, Gengar, Roserade, Zapdos, Gyarados, Flygon, Bronzong, Aerodactyl. Mesprit, Miltank, Articuno
Preparing for this battle was by no means simple since this was the finals. Best out of three. Do or die. Win or go home...even though Epic and I will be "at home". Pep talk aside, we both worked, team built, and battled all 16-17 games for this moment, and I wasn't planning on losing this potential second title. The matchup on both ends was rather interesting to say the least. Both of us had ways to neutralize key threats, but Epic had the edge with offensive powerhouses like Terrakion, Tyranitrum, Scizor, and the unorthodox Mega Camerupt. Even from the defensive standpoint, Epic's core lead by his infamous Porygon2, Amoonguss, Slowking, Milotic, and sometimes Latias ensure he has walls/pivots to always fall back to. Galvantula was another X factor in this battle as I'm technically forced to bring a Defog user into this matchup as the minus one speed drops almost helped Epic beat me the first time we battled this season. Finally we get to the three "unusual" Pokemon, but can still do a decent amount of work in Mismagius, Protean Kecleon, and the Prankster Liepard who all had decent niches roles.
When doing the initial preparations for this battle, I knew Epic had the "Speed initiative" given his five Pokemon with a base speed of 105-110, a Galvantula who can setup Sticky Webs, and lastly, the Trick Room potential with Mega Camerupt and Amoonguss leading the charge. No matter what, Epic kinda always had the speed advantage, or speed control majority of the time so I had to build my "Finals" team with just low speed benchmarks like Tyranitrum, Milotic, and Scizor. Possibly most of the team prep came regarding "defensive investments" as most of my Finals team had enough speed investments and had enough points to spare. Cannot stress how important this was as almost anything on Epic's team can deal good chip damage over time, while have something like Terrakion or Mega Camerupt sweep through.
Judging by the two battles we faced, Epic "brought" Latias, Galvantula, and Tyrantrum (the dinosaur that almost Head Smash swept me), and chances were likely he'd bring either two of the three. Porygon2 and Amoonguss were the next two defensive Pokemon Epic would likely bring considering how "dominate" P2's performance was during Epic's later half of the season (plus playoffs), and the mushroom's ability to wall a plethora of threats including Manaphy and Mega Altaria. The last two or three Pokemon to me were honestly up in the air, however Terrakion, Mega Camerupt, and regular Scizor can easily provide the offense for Epic. If there was one Pokemon I'd absolutely feared, it was definitely Terrakion as it outspeed all my mons, hit them with neutral Rock-/Fighting-type coverage, and if it setups a Sword Dance....I lose in an instant.
For the team I'd brought, immediately Manaphy, Zapdos, and Bronzong (which I regret bringing) were the main "basis" of the Finals team. All three of these Pokemon were bulky enough to perform their respective roles, take as much punishment from Epic's offens as possible, and pretty much be the main backbone of the team, in case shit goes wrong. Essentially after those three mons, kinda experienced a bit of "writers's block", but in terms of team build as almost everything I thought, Epic has a counter measure. Funny enough, Gengar, Gyarados, and even Victini were immediately scrapped as most of them needed considerable support for setup, were "too frail" against Epic's offense, and actually got walled out. Victini was the mon I wanted to bring the most, however V-Create was moreso a hindrance, given I'd probably forced to switch out every turn and give Epic momentum. Even with all the multiple Victini sets from standard Choice Band, to AV, to some random Magic Coat set to "block" Sticky Webs, reality set in that Victini wasn't going to be brought given the rather 50/50 matchup.
By the time it was Friday, I still had just those three Pokemon mention above, along with like six Pokemon to fill in the remaining three spots. The only Pokemon which intrigued me at the time was Flygon, Mega Altaria, Roserade, and possibly Mesprit. By the time it was midnight going into Sunday, my Finals team was prepared, but doubts arose. The 1st team I relied heavily on setting up Spikes with Roserade to wear down Epic's team, but the the problem was Roserade had somewhat of four move slot syndrome (I'll explain later). Not mention, Epic still has Defog himself on two potential users in Latias (most likely) and Scizor (kinda but possible). Mesprit eventually rose up to take the last slot, but I'll be the first to say, that was probably the biggest mistake I'd made, or the best....
Bloo (Manaphy) @ Leftovers
Ability: Hydration
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 76 Def / 4 SpA / 76 SpD / 124 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rain Dance
- Rest
Milestones:
-Outspeed Jolly Tyranturm by one point.
-Takes a +1 Adamant Head Smash from Tyrantrum.
-Takes two Close Combats/Stone Edge from Terrakion (Jolly and non-boosted)
-Download isn't activated after 1 CM boost (important)
Well Bloo... if there was a battle I absolutely needed it to perform 100% well, its definitely this one. Originally wanted to run Tail Glow with some coverage moves, but figured Manaphy can serve as a pseudo wall as very little on my team can take most of Epic's offense aside Bloo. This set is a RIP from the standard CM Rain which abuses Hydration, but the only thing is Bloo has to at a certain boost, with decent HP, and Rain up to be able potentially wall break Epic. Scald was opted over Surf to inflict crucial burn chip damage as well as possibly save my ass in case Bloo gets frozen (since we all know what happens to a frozen Manaphy right). The thought did occur of Epic pulling the same Psych Up shenanigans against Kash's CM Suicune, but crunch for time, I focus on only getting one or two boosts. For this set to work, Amoonguss had to be "dealt with", so figured I bring other Pokemon who can support Bloo in dealing chip damage against the opposing team.
mjölnir (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 4 Def / 4 SpA / 156 SpD / 124 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Heat Wave
- Toxic
- Roost
Milestones:
-Enough Speed to outspeed Jolly Tyranturm
-Can take two Consecutive Draco Meteors from Life Orb Latias.
-Ice Beam from non-invested Porygon2 is a 4HKO. (3HKO if Modest)
-Download isn't activated for SpA as Porygon2 can 2HKO Zapdos
Sorta figured Zapdos was going to be my main pivot Pokemon for this battle given Epic's draft is mainly special attackers. Another contributing factor into using Specially Defensive Zapdos was it feared only main physical Rock-type attackers in Terrakion and Tyranturm, while Scizor is moderately countered. What made me chose Zapdos immediately out of the three of my mons was its potential to wall some of Epic's main special attackers, spread some Toxic status, and just pressure stall him. Volt Switch was opted as Thunderbolt didn't achieve notable 2HKOs, but Volt Switch allows for potential switch initiative, unless Epic blocks this with Mega Camerupt. The use of Volt Turn was probably one of the reason why in my 2nd game with Epic, he had a harder time dealing with my mons as I kept momentum, doing chip damages with Spikes, and maintaining the right matchups. Figured if I can try to replicate the same type of success as before.
Flora (Altaria-Mega) @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 100 Def / 16 SpA / 148 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Return
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Roost
Milestones:
-Takes an Iron Head from Terrakion
-Takes a two Flash Cannons M-Camerupt and two LO Bullet Punches in "Non-Mega" Form
-Pixilate Return OHKOs Terrakion, Latias, and Tyrantrum (after rocks)
-Pixilate Hyper Voice doesn't get the OHKO on the Terrakion/Latias, but against Tyrantrum.
-Download doesn't trigger SpA raise (ok I think you are seeing a pattern)
Possibly the most WTF and maybe worse Mega Altaria set I've used all season. The Milestone explanations kinda says it all, but let me elaborate. This Mega Altaria has to gets the OHKOs on Terrakion and Latias period. The usual standard Hyper Voice set doesn't achieve this as both can live with moderate investment, or possibly AV. Running this "mixed" set might convince Epic that I'm either a Physically, or Specially-oriented Mega Altaria as usually the rare mix set is used, but with Earthquake for Steel-types. Flamethrower was opted instead of Fire Blast to consistently hit Scizor and Amoonguss for super effective damage against would be responses. HP Water is there for the Mega Camerupt as my team didn't have a decent "counter", but I realized something.... what if....
....I don't Mega Evolve my Altaria at all? Technically speaking for this season, the standard first turn Mega Evolve rule was removed, but as long as the Pokemon itself was carrying the Mega Stone item, not any other item. There have been multiple uses of people using their non-mega forms, with the reason case with Altaria setting up a Dragon Dance on a Heatran as it uses Flash Cannon. Now I'm taking this to a whole new level.
Altaria in its regular form can wall Mega Camerupt... provided Epic doesn't bring Ancient Power. Sheer Force-boosted Earth Power can touch my regular Altaria thanks to its part "Flying-type".Bullet Punch from Scizor will deal neutral damage as will Sludge Bombs from Amoonguss. Heck even Natural Cure can help Mega Altaria by "absorbing" status like Spore and Thunder Wave. Guess one can say this Altaria has a muli- purpose role to be the main "glue" of this team, and honestly I won't have thought of without further testing.
Gatekeeper (Bronzong) @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Atk / 188 Def / 4 SpA / 60 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Reflect
- Light Screen
Milestone:
-Takes 3 Head Smashes from Adamant Tyantrum
-Takes 2 Close Combats From Jolly Terrakion.
-Just there for Latias....
Perhaps the most "restricted" member of the team. I absolutely didn't want to bring Bronzong, however with the teams plagued weakness in Ice-type offensively, and it weakness to an offensive Latias, my Steel/Psychic-type had to be brought. Light Clay Screens was brought once again to supplement the team's defense, though I "lacked" a strong offensive wall break aside the "slow" CM Bloo to abuse. The rest of the moveset is self - explanatory as Rocks are my onl hazards and Gyro Ball is to 2HKO Terrakion, Latias, and Tyrantrum. Again didn't want to bring Bronzong...but with the lack of Dragon-, Psychic, and Rock-type resists on the current roster, there was no reason not to.
Spirit (Mesprit) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 68 Def / 4 SpA / 196 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave
- Healing Wish
Milestones:
-.........
-I don't know
-Well it doesn't trigger Download...right?
Mesprit was extremely last minute given I'd realize the team had four Pokemon weak to Ice-type attacks and still lacked some responses for Latias. Pretty much the goal of this Mesprit set was to Thunder Wave as many "fast" stuff as possible, U-Turn for momentum, and finally sacrifice itself for Healing Wish. Out of all the times Mesprit was brought, only two time this season I'd brought Healing Wish, however this was no exception. The idea for Healing Wish occurred when I realized "what if" one I still need one of my mons like Manaphy or Mega Altaria for the late game and have a lingering half HP Mesprit that's might be useless. Still was uncertain about this change, but I felt Healing Wish support was far more important than Spikes from Roserade (I'll get to Why...I even considered that...)
Lucina (Flygon) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- U-turn
- Defog
Milestones
-Outspeeds most non scarf mons.
-Doesn't Trigger Download SpA raise (for the 5th time)
Aside Bronzong, Scarf Flygon was the other Pokemon that was "there", but at least to outspeed most of Epic's mons. Moveset is a classic bread-and-butter Flygon, though I need to be careful if facing a Trace Porygon2. Most of the time Flygon is going for U-Turn, but if there's a scenario where STAB Outrage can finish the rest of the opposing team, I'll go for it. Defog is on there just as filler, in case Sticky Webs was brought. Last thing to point out is Flygon's Levitate ability should enable it to "bypass" the Sticky Webs and keep its speed boost from Choice Scarf. Not much to say though I'd expect Flygon to come clutch late game.
The "Other" Pokemon
Indigo (Roserade) @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 36 Def / 40 SpA / 20 SpD / 208 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Dazzling Gleam / Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis
- Spikes
Kinda forgot the milestones for this Roserade set, but it can mainly outspeed the Tyranturm and take some Sludge Bombs from an Amoonguss. Definitely this was the one Pokemon I worked on the most aside the multiple Victini sets given how "weak" Epic's team was to Spikes. Part of the initial plan was to "hazard stack with Roserade / Bronzong and attempt to wall out or pretty much Semi Stall Epic's team until it was time to bring in Bloo. Synthesis was opted to 1v1 the Amoonguss and setup Spikes against this as other mons can easily beat Rose. What made me doubt Roserade potential in this battle was the potential "Defog" factor. After winning the 2nd matchup against Epic with Spikes and some Volt Turn maneuvering, there was a legitimate chance either Latias or Scizor was going carry Defog to prevent the same strategy. Against the Scizor, Roserade can beat it easily with a Technician HP Fire itself, but Latias was a different story. Latias pretty much has free rain on Roserade and it can either Defog hazards, or attack one of my following Pokemon like Bronzong on the switch in. I will say this, changing Roserade, especially this late into the team preparation was rather dumb on my end, and I'll get to "why" that is.
Preparing for this battle was by no means simple since this was the finals. Best out of three. Do or die. Win or go home...even though Epic and I will be "at home". Pep talk aside, we both worked, team built, and battled all 16-17 games for this moment, and I wasn't planning on losing this potential second title. The matchup on both ends was rather interesting to say the least. Both of us had ways to neutralize key threats, but Epic had the edge with offensive powerhouses like Terrakion, Tyranitrum, Scizor, and the unorthodox Mega Camerupt. Even from the defensive standpoint, Epic's core lead by his infamous Porygon2, Amoonguss, Slowking, Milotic, and sometimes Latias ensure he has walls/pivots to always fall back to. Galvantula was another X factor in this battle as I'm technically forced to bring a Defog user into this matchup as the minus one speed drops almost helped Epic beat me the first time we battled this season. Finally we get to the three "unusual" Pokemon, but can still do a decent amount of work in Mismagius, Protean Kecleon, and the Prankster Liepard who all had decent niches roles.
When doing the initial preparations for this battle, I knew Epic had the "Speed initiative" given his five Pokemon with a base speed of 105-110, a Galvantula who can setup Sticky Webs, and lastly, the Trick Room potential with Mega Camerupt and Amoonguss leading the charge. No matter what, Epic kinda always had the speed advantage, or speed control majority of the time so I had to build my "Finals" team with just low speed benchmarks like Tyranitrum, Milotic, and Scizor. Possibly most of the team prep came regarding "defensive investments" as most of my Finals team had enough speed investments and had enough points to spare. Cannot stress how important this was as almost anything on Epic's team can deal good chip damage over time, while have something like Terrakion or Mega Camerupt sweep through.
Judging by the two battles we faced, Epic "brought" Latias, Galvantula, and Tyrantrum (the dinosaur that almost Head Smash swept me), and chances were likely he'd bring either two of the three. Porygon2 and Amoonguss were the next two defensive Pokemon Epic would likely bring considering how "dominate" P2's performance was during Epic's later half of the season (plus playoffs), and the mushroom's ability to wall a plethora of threats including Manaphy and Mega Altaria. The last two or three Pokemon to me were honestly up in the air, however Terrakion, Mega Camerupt, and regular Scizor can easily provide the offense for Epic. If there was one Pokemon I'd absolutely feared, it was definitely Terrakion as it outspeed all my mons, hit them with neutral Rock-/Fighting-type coverage, and if it setups a Sword Dance....I lose in an instant.
For the team I'd brought, immediately Manaphy, Zapdos, and Bronzong (which I regret bringing) were the main "basis" of the Finals team. All three of these Pokemon were bulky enough to perform their respective roles, take as much punishment from Epic's offens as possible, and pretty much be the main backbone of the team, in case shit goes wrong. Essentially after those three mons, kinda experienced a bit of "writers's block", but in terms of team build as almost everything I thought, Epic has a counter measure. Funny enough, Gengar, Gyarados, and even Victini were immediately scrapped as most of them needed considerable support for setup, were "too frail" against Epic's offense, and actually got walled out. Victini was the mon I wanted to bring the most, however V-Create was moreso a hindrance, given I'd probably forced to switch out every turn and give Epic momentum. Even with all the multiple Victini sets from standard Choice Band, to AV, to some random Magic Coat set to "block" Sticky Webs, reality set in that Victini wasn't going to be brought given the rather 50/50 matchup.
By the time it was Friday, I still had just those three Pokemon mention above, along with like six Pokemon to fill in the remaining three spots. The only Pokemon which intrigued me at the time was Flygon, Mega Altaria, Roserade, and possibly Mesprit. By the time it was midnight going into Sunday, my Finals team was prepared, but doubts arose. The 1st team I relied heavily on setting up Spikes with Roserade to wear down Epic's team, but the the problem was Roserade had somewhat of four move slot syndrome (I'll explain later). Not mention, Epic still has Defog himself on two potential users in Latias (most likely) and Scizor (kinda but possible). Mesprit eventually rose up to take the last slot, but I'll be the first to say, that was probably the biggest mistake I'd made, or the best....
The Finals Team
Ability: Hydration
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 76 Def / 4 SpA / 76 SpD / 124 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Rain Dance
- Rest
Milestones:
-Outspeed Jolly Tyranturm by one point.
-Takes a +1 Adamant Head Smash from Tyrantrum.
-Takes two Close Combats/Stone Edge from Terrakion (Jolly and non-boosted)
-Download isn't activated after 1 CM boost (important)
Well Bloo... if there was a battle I absolutely needed it to perform 100% well, its definitely this one. Originally wanted to run Tail Glow with some coverage moves, but figured Manaphy can serve as a pseudo wall as very little on my team can take most of Epic's offense aside Bloo. This set is a RIP from the standard CM Rain which abuses Hydration, but the only thing is Bloo has to at a certain boost, with decent HP, and Rain up to be able potentially wall break Epic. Scald was opted over Surf to inflict crucial burn chip damage as well as possibly save my ass in case Bloo gets frozen (since we all know what happens to a frozen Manaphy right). The thought did occur of Epic pulling the same Psych Up shenanigans against Kash's CM Suicune, but crunch for time, I focus on only getting one or two boosts. For this set to work, Amoonguss had to be "dealt with", so figured I bring other Pokemon who can support Bloo in dealing chip damage against the opposing team.
mjölnir (Zapdos) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 4 Def / 4 SpA / 156 SpD / 124 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Heat Wave
- Toxic
- Roost
Milestones:
-Enough Speed to outspeed Jolly Tyranturm
-Can take two Consecutive Draco Meteors from Life Orb Latias.
-Ice Beam from non-invested Porygon2 is a 4HKO. (3HKO if Modest)
-Download isn't activated for SpA as Porygon2 can 2HKO Zapdos
Sorta figured Zapdos was going to be my main pivot Pokemon for this battle given Epic's draft is mainly special attackers. Another contributing factor into using Specially Defensive Zapdos was it feared only main physical Rock-type attackers in Terrakion and Tyranturm, while Scizor is moderately countered. What made me chose Zapdos immediately out of the three of my mons was its potential to wall some of Epic's main special attackers, spread some Toxic status, and just pressure stall him. Volt Switch was opted as Thunderbolt didn't achieve notable 2HKOs, but Volt Switch allows for potential switch initiative, unless Epic blocks this with Mega Camerupt. The use of Volt Turn was probably one of the reason why in my 2nd game with Epic, he had a harder time dealing with my mons as I kept momentum, doing chip damages with Spikes, and maintaining the right matchups. Figured if I can try to replicate the same type of success as before.
Flora (Altaria-Mega) @ Altarianite
Ability: Natural Cure
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 100 Def / 16 SpA / 148 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Return
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Roost
Milestones:
-Takes an Iron Head from Terrakion
-Takes a two Flash Cannons M-Camerupt and two LO Bullet Punches in "Non-Mega" Form
-Pixilate Return OHKOs Terrakion, Latias, and Tyrantrum (after rocks)
-Pixilate Hyper Voice doesn't get the OHKO on the Terrakion/Latias, but against Tyrantrum.
-Download doesn't trigger SpA raise (ok I think you are seeing a pattern)
Possibly the most WTF and maybe worse Mega Altaria set I've used all season. The Milestone explanations kinda says it all, but let me elaborate. This Mega Altaria has to gets the OHKOs on Terrakion and Latias period. The usual standard Hyper Voice set doesn't achieve this as both can live with moderate investment, or possibly AV. Running this "mixed" set might convince Epic that I'm either a Physically, or Specially-oriented Mega Altaria as usually the rare mix set is used, but with Earthquake for Steel-types. Flamethrower was opted instead of Fire Blast to consistently hit Scizor and Amoonguss for super effective damage against would be responses. HP Water is there for the Mega Camerupt as my team didn't have a decent "counter", but I realized something.... what if....
....I don't Mega Evolve my Altaria at all? Technically speaking for this season, the standard first turn Mega Evolve rule was removed, but as long as the Pokemon itself was carrying the Mega Stone item, not any other item. There have been multiple uses of people using their non-mega forms, with the reason case with Altaria setting up a Dragon Dance on a Heatran as it uses Flash Cannon. Now I'm taking this to a whole new level.
Altaria in its regular form can wall Mega Camerupt... provided Epic doesn't bring Ancient Power. Sheer Force-boosted Earth Power can touch my regular Altaria thanks to its part "Flying-type".Bullet Punch from Scizor will deal neutral damage as will Sludge Bombs from Amoonguss. Heck even Natural Cure can help Mega Altaria by "absorbing" status like Spore and Thunder Wave. Guess one can say this Altaria has a muli- purpose role to be the main "glue" of this team, and honestly I won't have thought of without further testing.
Gatekeeper (Bronzong) @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Atk / 188 Def / 4 SpA / 60 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Reflect
- Light Screen
Milestone:
-Takes 3 Head Smashes from Adamant Tyantrum
-Takes 2 Close Combats From Jolly Terrakion.
-Just there for Latias....
Perhaps the most "restricted" member of the team. I absolutely didn't want to bring Bronzong, however with the teams plagued weakness in Ice-type offensively, and it weakness to an offensive Latias, my Steel/Psychic-type had to be brought. Light Clay Screens was brought once again to supplement the team's defense, though I "lacked" a strong offensive wall break aside the "slow" CM Bloo to abuse. The rest of the moveset is self - explanatory as Rocks are my onl hazards and Gyro Ball is to 2HKO Terrakion, Latias, and Tyrantrum. Again didn't want to bring Bronzong...but with the lack of Dragon-, Psychic, and Rock-type resists on the current roster, there was no reason not to.
Spirit (Mesprit) @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 68 Def / 4 SpA / 196 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
- Psychic
- U-turn
- Thunder Wave
- Healing Wish
Milestones:
-.........
-I don't know
-Well it doesn't trigger Download...right?
Mesprit was extremely last minute given I'd realize the team had four Pokemon weak to Ice-type attacks and still lacked some responses for Latias. Pretty much the goal of this Mesprit set was to Thunder Wave as many "fast" stuff as possible, U-Turn for momentum, and finally sacrifice itself for Healing Wish. Out of all the times Mesprit was brought, only two time this season I'd brought Healing Wish, however this was no exception. The idea for Healing Wish occurred when I realized "what if" one I still need one of my mons like Manaphy or Mega Altaria for the late game and have a lingering half HP Mesprit that's might be useless. Still was uncertain about this change, but I felt Healing Wish support was far more important than Spikes from Roserade (I'll get to Why...I even considered that...)
Lucina (Flygon) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 236 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Outrage
- U-turn
- Defog
Milestones
-Outspeeds most non scarf mons.
-Doesn't Trigger Download SpA raise (for the 5th time)
Aside Bronzong, Scarf Flygon was the other Pokemon that was "there", but at least to outspeed most of Epic's mons. Moveset is a classic bread-and-butter Flygon, though I need to be careful if facing a Trace Porygon2. Most of the time Flygon is going for U-Turn, but if there's a scenario where STAB Outrage can finish the rest of the opposing team, I'll go for it. Defog is on there just as filler, in case Sticky Webs was brought. Last thing to point out is Flygon's Levitate ability should enable it to "bypass" the Sticky Webs and keep its speed boost from Choice Scarf. Not much to say though I'd expect Flygon to come clutch late game.
The "Other" Pokemon
Indigo (Roserade) @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 36 Def / 40 SpA / 20 SpD / 208 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Dazzling Gleam / Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Synthesis
- Spikes
Kinda forgot the milestones for this Roserade set, but it can mainly outspeed the Tyranturm and take some Sludge Bombs from an Amoonguss. Definitely this was the one Pokemon I worked on the most aside the multiple Victini sets given how "weak" Epic's team was to Spikes. Part of the initial plan was to "hazard stack with Roserade / Bronzong and attempt to wall out or pretty much Semi Stall Epic's team until it was time to bring in Bloo. Synthesis was opted to 1v1 the Amoonguss and setup Spikes against this as other mons can easily beat Rose. What made me doubt Roserade potential in this battle was the potential "Defog" factor. After winning the 2nd matchup against Epic with Spikes and some Volt Turn maneuvering, there was a legitimate chance either Latias or Scizor was going carry Defog to prevent the same strategy. Against the Scizor, Roserade can beat it easily with a Technician HP Fire itself, but Latias was a different story. Latias pretty much has free rain on Roserade and it can either Defog hazards, or attack one of my following Pokemon like Bronzong on the switch in. I will say this, changing Roserade, especially this late into the team preparation was rather dumb on my end, and I'll get to "why" that is.
ROUND 3 FINALS
Team Preview and Pre-Game Mindset
My Team: Manaphy, Mega Altaria, Zapdos, Flygon, Mesprit, Bronzong
Epic's Team: Latias, Scizor, Porygon2, Amoonguss, Slowking, and Tyranturm
Immediately note the lack of Terrakion, Galvantula, and Mega Camerupt and breath in a huge sigh of relief. As expected Epic brought Latias, Porygon2, Amoonguss, and the Tyrantrum as Those were the mons I prepared for the most. Scizor was there, but given my direct counter is Zapdos and Altaria can stay in its regular form, it was a non issue. If anything, completely forgot about Slowking as it was the one last transaction Epic made before entering playoffs and it actually formed a decent regenerator core with Amoonguss. After like a minute reviewing his team, Zapdos was the primary lead for both games as I can Volt Switch out and possibly Toxic something. Will like to say this one last thing, I won't do a PLAY-BY-PLAY. Instead going to summarize what happen in Games 1 and 2 into bullets discussing my thoughts. Spoilers: both games totaled took 129 turns total on the cartridge.
Game 1: 2N3G - WWWW - WW4C - UNNJ
(Highly Recommend Anyone Watch Both Games)
(Highly Recommend Anyone Watch Both Games)
- No Ducktales Here: Missing Toxic is always fun against Porygon2, especially on turn 1 of the series. As expected, Porygon2 does have the Download ability to possibly raise its Special Attack, but most of my team has its EVs into Special Defense to avert the boosts. Strangely enough, Porygon2 was almost a "non-factor" throughout the series given Epic never used Recover once and got pressured / forced out many times. It was mostly there to take hits, T-Wave stuff, but never did much.
- Amoonguss has Quick Claw.... WTF is this shit. Ok I'm not going to lie, Quick Claw Amoonguss was the single most annoying thing I didn't think of, or prepare for. Now I have to worry about one of my Mons getting put to sleep with Quick Claw and this forced me into Mesprit on many occasions. This also puts the potential CM Bloo matchup in jeopardy, as I'll explain later.
- Bronzong Limbo. Well for some reason, I forgot to click Stealth Rocks in this battle, possibly might have mitigate the entirety of the battle. Also the lack of moves to hit both Slowking and Amoonguss with Psychic/Toxic was a pain. The Light Clay Light Screen / Reflect did prove helpful in mitigating Epic's own offense, heck ensuring Zapdos's survival at one point.
- The Slowking - Amoonguss Wall; This is what I get for not paying attention to Smogon for almost one years and a half now, and should have figured this was a possible core Epic bring. The lack of strong attackers like Victini, Gengar, or even Gyarados allowed these two Pokemon to thrive against my team and let them do what they want. Pretty much the game plan was to "faint" one of these two Pokemon as it was the essential backbone of the Indy Latis... speaking of which...
- Scout for Latias Moveset: Every time the female Eon Dragon hit the battlefield, it became my priority to scout for her moveset, and possibly neutralize it with damage or Paralysis. By the time it was extremely late game, only three moves were shown in STAB Psyshock, Shadow Ball for Bronzong, and Ice Beam for my mostly Ice-type weak team. It did occur to me what was Epic's last moveslot, especially with Latias's Item being Life Orb. The last moveslot could have been either Healing Wish, Recover/Roost, Defog, or something much different, but this did assured me later on in Game 2.
- Almost Lost Zapdos: As the title explains, almost lost Zapdos due to residual damage from the Scald burn + the combination of Knock Off and Bullet Punch from Scizor. If it wasn't for the Reflect, I think Zapdos might have died right there, but we manage to Roost off the damage, and get a surprise OHKO with Heat Wave against Scizor.
- Mega Altaria is Shut Down: Thanks to the Regen Duo that is Amoonguss and Slowking, I'm not able to Wall-Break against Epic's team. Flamethrower does almost crap, same with Return, and HP Water is effectively a dead moveslot. There was a few turns where I'd manage to Flamethrower an Amoonguss (get a crit) and hit the Slowking in the process, but the Thunder Wave paralysis soon gets to Mega Altaria, removing my last bastions of defense.
- Regretting the Roserade Drop... Without Roserade to setup Spikes and threaten Amoonguss and maybe Slowking to a degree, they'll manage to receive more HP as they switch in. If I had brought Rose and potentially setup to three layer of Spikes (unlikely but possible), the Epic's Regen core wouldn't recover as much as they did. Probably would have mitigate the whole length of the battles, especially the lack of Black Sludge Amoonguss on Epic's end.
- Well.... it becomes apparent to me the only way to win this battle was to setup Calm Minds with Bloo, somehow maintain rain up to prevent any Spore shenanigans thanks to Hydration, and hope Amoonguss doesn't get something crazy like consecutive Quick Claws or crits. For this scenario to work, the Amoonguss needs be significant damaged, and maybe have some full paralysis turns. The only problem is I have to switch out in on the last turn of rain to Zapdos/Mesprit to prevent the Spore. There are multiple engagements between Manaphy and Amoonguss in this battle, but most of them end with Bloo retreating.
- "Bob the Destroyer": One point in the battle, Bloo gets paralyzed by the Slowking, and Epic tries to setup on it via switching into Tyranturm and possibly work off the paralysis to end the game. Forunately for me, 1) Bloo setups the Rain to cure the paralysis, 2) can 2HKO Tyrantrum now, and 3) can take a +1 Adamant Head Smash, provided it wasn't paired with another item. Thankfully no crits, Tyranturm fails to OHKO Bloo as it 2HKOs it with the Rain-boosted Scald.
- Healing Wish Time: With Bloo at near death, I figured it was time to reveal my tech move for this battle. Decide to sack Bronzong to the incoming Latias's Shadow Ball. After forcing out Latias with my Choice Scarf Flygon, I manage to get the matchup between Slowking and Mesprit, which then I use Healing Wish. Now Bloo is back in the game at 100% HP, but still time is running out...
- The Timer War: At this point, there was only about 20 mintutes left on the timer, and realized Epic can win based on this as part of the league ruling. The Amoonguss - Slowking core was still intact, Latias could have Roost, and Porygon2 can recover so if Epic was playing for time, he definitely played it well enough. Now I have to figure how to reverse this in my favor as the score was "tied 4-4", but clear in Epic's favor.
- One Final Effort: With time running down, I figured the only way to "win" this game was to beat the Amoonguss, and possibly faint as many things with a boosted Bloo as possible. Thanks to some eventful paralysis and Heat Waves on Zapdos's end, I'm finally able to get the Amoonguss at around 50% HP.
- Breakthrough: After setting up Rain and getting to +1/2 CM, Bloo manages to beat the half HP Amoonguss in a Scald - Giga Drain exchange, thought at being reasonable low HP. Thankfully not one turn when Epic used Spore on Bloo did the Quick Claw didn't activate, which if it did would have gave Epic the win.
- The Final Stand and Time: Latias is sent out and Bloo is almost low HP, so I figured it was fine to sack it off to the incoming Psyshock. For some reason, Bloo lives the attack, and manages to get a Scald Burn, severely reducing Latias HP to where LO + Burn + Scald will faint, if I mange to live. In a strange twist, Epic goes for Ice Beam on Bloo the Manaphy, freezes me, but it Scalds to faint the Latias. Now the game is 4-2 in my favor with less than three minutes on the clock. Even if Epic manages to crit Bloo, my best play was to technically timer stall the last few turn with Rest, and end the the game in a timer win. It wasn't easy at all, but we manage to steal that game from Epic which puts us in a good positioning to take either Game 2 or Game 3.
Game 2: PC2G - WWWW - WW4C - UNS8
- Rinse and Repeat (with Crits): Well repeat points 1-5 and 7-9 from Game 1, as this basically all happens of this same crap occurs about 20 turns in. The only difference is I lose Mesprit and Bronzong too early on due to a couple of crits.
- But before Bronzong / Mesprit Dies.... Lets get some Stealth Rocks on the field, and T-Wave the Amoonguss. Should have setup Rocks in the first place to get off some residual damage. As for going for paralysis on Amoonguss again, it was mainly to get some eventful hax going.
- When in Doubt, Volt Turn it Out: With our backs turned against the wall down 6-4, felt it was time to get some Volt-Turn action going, and surprisingly this works out in my favor by doing residual damage and the consistent Stealth Rocks switches. This ends as soon as Slowbro tanks an incoming EQ from Flygon, but Porygon2 is really low as a result of this.
- Staring Down a Dragon: Now I tried to setup with CMs Rain Dance with Bloo against the Latias. Tested the waters to see if this was a 4-attack Life Orb Latias with Thunderbolt, but it seems like STAB Psyshock is the only move to hit me with. From this process, Bloo gets to +2 CM and eventually faces a half HP Amoonguss.
- Bloo vs One Final Hi: Thankfully the Quick Claw doesn't activate, Bloo is able to setup Rain Dance and begin the slow process it started last game. Everything almost went to plan, bar the Amoonguss critting Bloo and the game now banking on a high roll or crit on my end. As Bloo Scalds the Amoonguss at around 31% HP, and I do get the high roll. Now the tides have definitely turned in my favor.
- Bloo's Rampage: With Amoonguss finally gone, Bloo can do some quick work to Epic's team. Immediately Epic calls in Scizor, however after doing some Calcs, a +2 Rain-boosted Scald easily OHKOs Scizor with Rocks. I go for the attack and Scizor as well drops to the Scald as the score is now 4-3 in my favor. Latias is sent back in, but its considerably low to where +2 Scald (no rain) and LO recoil can faint the Eon Dragon. Without Roost to recover back HP, Epic is forced to commit with Latias's Psyshock, but fails to OHKO Bloo. In retaliation, we managed to faint the Latias, and now the game is 4-2 in our favor.
- The "Other Dragon": As soon as Slowking is sent out, Bloo immediately goes for Rest as I knew it was extremely vital for winning the series, but this came with a "cost". I knew Epic's only chance to win the game was if he managed to setup two Dragon Dances from Tyranitrum, and sweep me from there. The remainder of the game was mostly double switches on both our parts, though my Volt Turn from Zapdos and Flygon is still intact. Tyranitrum finally gets to +1, and faints Mega Altaria with Head Smash, but is quickly routed by Scarf Flygon. Now its just a Slowking that can't setup vs a Manaphy, Pressure Zapdos with Toxic, and this... bug dragon (its ok Flygon you did something meaningful).
- 47/62 Turns: At this point, both Epic and I knew it was over. There was nothing really Epic can do as I tried to end the battle with Bloo on a lasting note. Well maybe that wasn't the smartest idea, but at least we got some laughs out of it.
- Repeat: After 129 turns of rather stupid plays on my end, we managed to beat Epiclol in two games and win the Season 3 title. The Final Record Count is 20 Wins and 1 Loss.
Afterthoughts + Current Events
Not going to elaborate much about the finals, as both Epic and I played well even to the very end. We were both "exhausted" from thinking constantly on all our plays, games plans, and eventual end games. Will be the first to admit it to everyone in public Epic did "out prep" me in terms of the matchup, but it came down to whether who can last the longest. It was incredibly funny enough how we both dreaded either Mega Camerupt and Terrakion on my end, and Victini and Roserade on his. Both our teams were suited to tank any possible hits from each other, just that we might have over did it... Well if anyone wants to see Epic's team, here's a pastebin here.
I'm not sure what the situation might be had Latias used Psyshock on Bloo late Game 1, maybe I've might lost as all my Pokemon were at low HP. Same thing goes for not selecting Roserade last minute as Spikes alone just rendered the Amoonguss / Slowking Regen core near useless, though I'm sure Epic can say the same thing if he brought Defog/Roost on Latias. While I definitely gave Epic a ton of crap about him running Quick Claw Amoonguss, if he had gotten off the Quick Claw Spore at any given point in the battle against Bloo, I'm certain he'd probably win in one of those games. Won't criticize it any further, though I'll admit it was random as fuck.
Well Good Games to Epiclolz as we complete the Season 3 run with a record of 20 wins and 1 loss. While I could post about Season 4, I can't. After doing about 9 Weeks into PFA Season 4, some circumstances rose which I felt took priority before the battles themselves. It definitely sucks I have to leave with another strong season in the works, just that time wasn't my ally. Like I can battle in almost every game, but in part of my success was the team preparations as it gives me ideas how to plan my battles. If only I can do this more so in standard play in both VGC or Singles, but at least I've enjoyed my time with Draft Leagues, as the Nidokings don't plan on joining for a time.
Expect there be a CIL Playoffs coverage and one more update regarding some other stuff regarding the growth of this blogpost. All of this will be covered on October as we all get closer to the release of Su/Mo. Well guess that's it, until October I'll see you all around!
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