AKA The CIL Finale
( Artist: Allo412 )
Preview
This is it. The CIL Finals. After almost 6 months of planning sessions, battles, and downtime, we've reached this point of the season. Before we go on to discuss the Finals, I'd like to say a couple things. Despite not being as engaged with everyone in the league, I still had a ton of fun with you all [CIL people], not just the battling of course. I really wish some of the competitive players from Smogon, VGC, Draft League, etc today take the time to enjoy the game itself, and not overdo it at times. There should be some friendly competition at times, but we can't be too cut throat about things. Realized Pokemon should be taken for fun, and to enjoy all aspects, including the battles. By now, it seems most people finally have grasp of EV Training, optimizing sets, and engaging in some form of community, whether its a battling league like CIL, or other online or in-real life communities. Guess that's one of the few pointers about Gen 6 I generally like about.
Well not really going to go in-depth about that topic [specifically], but the whole gist of the thing is don't be overly competitive. Tried that, and just about anyone will feel burnout at playing Competitive Pokemon for some time. OK I've said enough. Whether I join for the following CIL Season 3 is clearly up to future events and fate on my end. Will admit this battle was rushed, but given the amount of planning I did with the night before and with ItalianG62, I felt strongly about the "Final" CIL team for the Nidokings was the best representation of... me in general. Then again, whenever you build a "good" team and question whether to make "last minute" changes, this was one of those cases where I decided to go with my gut, and just do it.
My opponent CBrangames, or Chase. Honestly Chase is one of the strongest players in the CIL League and was able to achieve a 9-1 record, with one loss being due to lapse in judgement. Nevertheless, most of the games Chase has played seemed he was in control, or was behind the most of the match, and makes a comeback late game. One last note before I actually discuss the teams is this is the first time I'm battling someone I don't know at all in an all stakes battle for "1st place"...well its been awhile. Didn't know what the hell to expect, just keep in mind his Pokemon team, and play accordingly.
Also this article is over-the-top, just my thoughts in full detail than usual.
CIL FINALS VS The Bentonville Blastoise (Cbrangames)
My Team: Charizard X, Latias, Suicune, Weavile, Sylveon, Doublade, Nidoking, Galvantula, Chesnaught, Empoleon, Gliscor
Chase's Team: Mega Latios, Starmie, Florges, Skarmory, Arcanine, Jolteon, Porygon2, Diggersby, Cobalion, Machamp, Tornadus
Looking at Chase's team, its a well-balanced UU Squad with a couple strong OUs, but threatening nonetheless. To start off, Mega Latios is the current League MVP with 15 kills and 2 kill during the regular season, an an immediate top threat to watch out for. Despite the rather ridiculous base 160 Special Attack, Mega Latios still has a 130 Attack stat to utilize so the potential Dragon Dance set has to be considered. Starmie is Chase's primary hazard removal (the others being Mega Latios / Skarmory as secondary options), and has a diverse movepool to hit my entire team with respectable speed. The Water/Psychic-type also has a viable defensive value to tank a couple hits from my Mega Evolution and has some utility to watch out for like Thunder Wave. Florges is strong specially defensive Fairy-type especially when combined some some members of Chase's team capable of tanking every special hit on my team, bar Nidoking. Skarmory pairs well with Florges as it can easily tank the Poison/Steel-types which threaten this core, while has access to Spikes and Stealth Rocks to hazard stack. Just from looking at past replays, expected Chase to bring at least 3 of the 4 Pokemon mentioned here, maybe leaving out Skarmory for Cobalion, though it can handle most of my team aside Char X.
The other Pokemon on Chase's team were wild cards, and honestly what could make, or break this battle. Of the remaining 7 Pokemon, I'd believed Porygon2 and Diggersby were going to be the last two Pokemon for a number of reasons. While Porygon2 hasn't been brought since being traded, it was the only Pokemon who can take a Flare Blitz from Char X, and can paralyze it immediately ...[i].cough certain somone knows about this when he battled Epic back in PFA cough[/i].... Well here's the problem with Porygon2, I don't have much for it as I'm forced to wear it down with residual damage, but with the wall core that is Florge + Skarmory, this might prove to be troublesome. Diggersby was something I'll just say, well..."goodbye Sylveon", or "goodbye Chesnaught" as a Choice Band set wall breaks my team. To top if off, Diggersby can use both Sword Dance and Agility, so I had to ensure it takes moderate damage to revenge kill with a certain Pokemon we all know about [alluding to Weavile].
Basically Diggersby and Porygon2 was "worse-case" scenario, so I essentially prepared for those Pokemon + the four of those Pokemon Chase tends to use. Of course, still have to review at other members of the Bentonville Blastoise team as well. Machamp can be a strong wall breaker against my team, but gets threaten out everytime I get in Latias or Sylveon so Chase has to make the correct calls there. Tornadus-I was another Pokemon which might see action with it being one point faster than Latias, and with the variety of sets to run from the Defiant physical attacker, Tailwind offense, to the bulky Acrobatics set. Cobalion was a potential options as it has Stealth Rocks, but I figured Skarmory can handle Chesnaught, Latias, and Sylveon better, though it make playing against it with Weavile annoying. Finally, I didn't expect either Arcanine or Jolteon as I couldn't think of a better reason to bring them, which one of Chase's other backups do better, or just are stronger wall breakers.
Looking at Chase's team, its a well-balanced UU Squad with a couple strong OUs, but threatening nonetheless. To start off, Mega Latios is the current League MVP with 15 kills and 2 kill during the regular season, an an immediate top threat to watch out for. Despite the rather ridiculous base 160 Special Attack, Mega Latios still has a 130 Attack stat to utilize so the potential Dragon Dance set has to be considered. Starmie is Chase's primary hazard removal (the others being Mega Latios / Skarmory as secondary options), and has a diverse movepool to hit my entire team with respectable speed. The Water/Psychic-type also has a viable defensive value to tank a couple hits from my Mega Evolution and has some utility to watch out for like Thunder Wave. Florges is strong specially defensive Fairy-type especially when combined some some members of Chase's team capable of tanking every special hit on my team, bar Nidoking. Skarmory pairs well with Florges as it can easily tank the Poison/Steel-types which threaten this core, while has access to Spikes and Stealth Rocks to hazard stack. Just from looking at past replays, expected Chase to bring at least 3 of the 4 Pokemon mentioned here, maybe leaving out Skarmory for Cobalion, though it can handle most of my team aside Char X.
The other Pokemon on Chase's team were wild cards, and honestly what could make, or break this battle. Of the remaining 7 Pokemon, I'd believed Porygon2 and Diggersby were going to be the last two Pokemon for a number of reasons. While Porygon2 hasn't been brought since being traded, it was the only Pokemon who can take a Flare Blitz from Char X, and can paralyze it immediately ...[i].cough certain somone knows about this when he battled Epic back in PFA cough[/i].... Well here's the problem with Porygon2, I don't have much for it as I'm forced to wear it down with residual damage, but with the wall core that is Florge + Skarmory, this might prove to be troublesome. Diggersby was something I'll just say, well..."goodbye Sylveon", or "goodbye Chesnaught" as a Choice Band set wall breaks my team. To top if off, Diggersby can use both Sword Dance and Agility, so I had to ensure it takes moderate damage to revenge kill with a certain Pokemon we all know about [alluding to Weavile].
Basically Diggersby and Porygon2 was "worse-case" scenario, so I essentially prepared for those Pokemon + the four of those Pokemon Chase tends to use. Of course, still have to review at other members of the Bentonville Blastoise team as well. Machamp can be a strong wall breaker against my team, but gets threaten out everytime I get in Latias or Sylveon so Chase has to make the correct calls there. Tornadus-I was another Pokemon which might see action with it being one point faster than Latias, and with the variety of sets to run from the Defiant physical attacker, Tailwind offense, to the bulky Acrobatics set. Cobalion was a potential options as it has Stealth Rocks, but I figured Skarmory can handle Chesnaught, Latias, and Sylveon better, though it make playing against it with Weavile annoying. Finally, I didn't expect either Arcanine or Jolteon as I couldn't think of a better reason to bring them, which one of Chase's other backups do better, or just are stronger wall breakers.
Team Building
As said for this matchup prior, expected Mega Latios, Skarmory, Florges, and Starmie to be brought against me, with the last two Pokemon as filler. As a result, I took into consideration all 4 Pokemon, but focus in particular against the Porygon2, Diggersby, and Tornadus compared to the rest of Chase's mons. Basically the whole idea was to bring a team which handles not only those three 'backups', but also any possible combinations of the other 4-5 mons like Machamp, or Arcanine. Will admit did start "team-building" for Chase as early as Week 7, but it was just some random ideas and set which weren't optimal against him for his entire team back then. By the time I'd beaten Iceolate at the Semi Finals, pretty much expected Chase to have idea what to bring against me as he had about a week to prepare for me or my Semi Finals opponent. As soon as the semi-finals were done, I'd immediately started planning for the imminent "finals" matchup, just as everyone expected of both of us to do.
Around Tuesday September 20th, I did contact ItalianG62 about the matchup just for some opinions as a certain sibling duo weren't available at the time (probably pissed I overslept that one time). ... Nah they just sick of mons anyways and had work at the time so reasonable enough neither won't be available. Alright both Italian and I knew Charizard X, Sylveon, and Weavile were going into the matchup, but the exact sets (except for Char X), was uncertain. Just looking at Chase's team, this might be the day where Char X might get the late game sweep to clinch us the championship, but recognized Porygon2 was going to be a huge obstacle. Sylveon can handle most of Chase's special attackers and can retaliate back with powerful Pixilate Hyper Voices, and can semi wall Mega Latios. While I was relucant to bring Weavile this battle, Italian did point out it threatens Mega Latios, Starmie, and Diggersby with its priority Pursuit, and Ice Shard attacks, though at the time didn't know what else to bring.
In terms of what I'd wanted to bring, we elaborated on Pokemon who were somewhat detrimental or momentum killers for the team. With three hazard removal Pokemon on Chase's team, Galvantula and Chesnaught were ruled out as both can't break through against Chase's wall core. Chesnaught in particular can't perform its job as decent physical wall when four of the predicted Pokemon were going to have a favorable matchup. Empoleon seemed like a decent response to bring against Mega Latios, Skarmory, Florges, and Starmie, but then I see the rest of his team... just beat, or impedes its support qualities. Gliscor was an attractive 6th option for a time to handle most of Chase's defensive Pokemon, but then realized most of his mons can carry a random HP Ice, or Ice-type move to net a quick KO.
By this point, we figured out 7 possible Pokemon to bring out of the 6 which gave me freedom to team build without compromising team synergy, roles, and compositions too much. Around Wednesday night (once my 1 hr session with Kyle was done), took about a full 2-3 hours later on messing around with stats, EVs Spreads, Held Items, Moves, and even roles/sets. IF there was one Pokemon I heavily considered, it was a potential Download Porygon2 after seeing what it has done in previous league battles. As a result, all my Pokemon had their Special Defense higher than their Defense, the exception being one, but with Roar.
Will admit, I was uncertain at first to battle Chase around Thursday [September 22th] with some time conflicts, but ultimately decided to have it then, or maybe sooner if we were both ready. By the time I told Chase I "might" battle on Wednesday 21st, we both knew it would happen later at night when most people were asleep. The battle was streamed that same night with the assistance of KevinVGC and Sanyer as acting commentators. Did post the link to the battle to the PFA chat if they wanted to see my a## get kicked hard, but draw in some viewers on the CIL twitch at least. The commentary done by KevinVGC, and Sanyer, who honestly did a great job with the match despite doing this extremely late on such short notice. NOTE: The Twitch replay of the LA Nidokings Vs Bentonville Blastoise (Me Vs Chase) was deleted, so I'll post the replay instead.
Ok so enough with what happen and here's the FINALS Team.
THE TEAM
(Based on Level 100s)
Forge (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 96 HP / 20 Atk / 212 SpD / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
Milestones:
- Outspeeds Jolly Diggersby, then Scarf Variant by +1 DD
- +1 DD OHKOs standard offensive Starmie
- Life Orb Scald from 252 Starmie is a 3HKO
-Moonblast from defensive Florges is a 3HKO
- (Important) Doesn't activate SpA Download boost from Porygon2
OK this set might seem strange, but it allows Charizard X to get as many opportunities it can to setup Dragon Dance and begin wall breaking, or sweep. The only reason to have Adamant max attack instead of the investment shown was to have a better chance to 2HKO Porygon2 on the switch with Rocks, but there was a good chance the Eviolite wall can be fully defensive. Essentially figured it was proper to shave some Attack EVs off of Char X, but then realized it doesn't need as much investment. Char X as is 2HKOs or OHKOs everything on Chase's team bar Porygon2 without any boosts which was rather huge. While messing around with the EVs in the damage calculator, decided to invest to the point where the Special Defense was higher than Char X's base 111, which took the most allocation. Once dumping the rest in HP / Atk, I realized ...holy shit, this thing can tanks some special hits now and potentially sweep under the right circumstance. Yeah Porygon2 was going to be annoying, but at least I can pressure it like we did against Epic's P2 in the PFA finals.
Nui Harime (Sylveon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 64 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Fake Tears
- Wish
- Heal Bell
Milestones:
-Psyshock from Mega Latios is a 3HKO.
-Again Calm Nature to bolster its higher Special Defense stat.
-Same Generic Butter and Bread Sylveon
-Fake Tears for "special" walls.
Couldn't believe myself that I'm bringing the same Fake Tears Sylveon from last match, except now it has to deal with Florges and Porygon2 potentially. The thought of running Toxic and Calm Mind did occur, but realized Sylveon would be in a Cleric Stall war with Florges, and can't break a CM Florges, or Eviolite P2 fast enough with boosted Pixilate Hyper Voice or Toxic. As mention last game, Fake Tears drops the Special Defense stat by -2, making these targets vulnerable to a Pixilate Hyper Voice. Have to be careful when facing Tornadus as Fake Tears will trigger Defiant, so can't freely spam this move. Did experiment with the Specs Hyper Voice set, even Scarf, but felt the Cleric support from Heal Bell and Wish was better. Figured Heal Bell might prove useful this time around to get some status recovery for my mons, especially if Porygon2 comes around. If there's a point in the battle if its just Sylveon (with some allies) vs Chase's core team of special attackers, chances are high it can carry the team similar to how it did against KevinVGC. Not being too optimistic, but Sylveon plays an important role here to tank those special hits and hold our defense..
Rogue (Suicune) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Roar
- Rest
Milestones:
-Few Speed Points to outspeed Adamant max speed Machamp
-Not much else
-Roar + CM should beat CM Florges
Aside the slight speed creep, this Suicune appeared the last 6 out of 7 of the last CIL season battles, including the playoffs. Honestly could have ran something else like Ice Beam or Toxic, but felt Roar was a better option to phaze stuff out in case they setup. There was one scenario where if anyone had Psych Up and copies Suicune stat boots, well I can use Roar to remove the immediate threat. Didn't like the fact I was bringing the exact Suicune set, but given it was my best "neutral" physical wall, it was almost necessary to bring it. Might as well have an anti setup Pokemon, who ironically can be one of its own and act as a valuable win condition.
Byrant (Nidoking) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 108 Atk / 200 SpA / 200 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Flamethrower
- Sucker Punch
- Stealth Rock
Milestones:
-Outspeeds "Diggersby" (non Scarf), by one point
-Has a great chance to OHKO Cobalion with Flamethrower
-Sludge Wave + Sucker Punch OHKOs 4 HP Mega Latios
-Flamethrower + Sucker Punch (with some damage), OHKOs 4 HP Starmie
- Should 2HKO most relevant targets.
Originally this slot was Doublade as it can act as a makeshift wall / sweeper at the same time for my team, but realized it was going to be pressured too much. Nidoking was the "safer" choice, as it can actually threaten most of Chase's team with its massive movepool alone, without him knowing my actual set. Actually debated for awhile which was my "best" STAB to run against Chase: Earth Power or Sludge Wave. At the end of the day, three Pokemon on Chase's team were "immune" to Earth Power: Skarmory, Tornadus, and Mega Latios. Sludge Wave hits most of Chase's team harder (notably Florges) and can use Flamethrower to hit the his Steel-types for heavy damage. Most importantly, this Nidoking gets damage on something and not let those Pokemon in for free, again with the exception of Chase's Steel-types. The third attacking move was a toss-up as the final slot was going to be Stealth Rocks to get residual chip damage. After some thought, decided to run Sucker Punch to hit Mega Latios and Starmie once weaken. In fact, just the combination of Flamethrower + Sucker Punch and Sludge Wave + Flamethrower, with some prior damage should OHKO Standard Mega Lati and Starmie.
Even though this Nidoking can't hit Diggersby for fairly SE damage, figured it was best to have Nidoking, as well as other teammates on my team outspeed to get some damage off. When attacking, might as well confirmed if the Diggersby is "Scarf" or not, so I rather have something on my team take the fall so the next Pokemon can revenge kill.
Ryan (Weavile) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 20 Def / 60 SpD / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit
Milestones:
-Outspeeds Timid Starmie by 1 Point.
-OHKOs 4 HP Mega Latios all the time with Choice Band
-Has a High 93.8% chance to OHKO 4 HP Starmie with CB Knock Off
-If these Pokemon are defensive, need prior damage of around 30%.
-Does about 73.9% min to Diggersby
Now Weavile or Aka Ryan. From the beginning of this team building process, I was uncertain what item to select for Weavile, heck even a set. Life Orb and Expert Belt came to mind, however not only was the damage output "poor", but Weavile is prone to getting killed or crippled with status if it doesn't have something. For a while, thought of running the standard Life Orb set, until I played around with Choice Band:
Anne (Latias) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 140 HP / 108 Def / 108 SpA / 16 SpD / 136 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stored Power
- Calm Mind
- Roost
- Defog
Milestones:
-Outspeeds Adamant Arcanine by one point
- +2 108 SpA CM Stored Power with Rocks up OHKOs most frail Pokemon
- +3 108 SpA CM Stored Power with Rocks up 2HKO most of Chase's walls (even Mega Lati)
- Calm Nature to take special hits slightly better
- Forgot the defense investment...might have been a waste.
Essentially the first 5 Pokemon on this list was my actual team, just this Latias was the best "filler" compared to the rest of the Nidoking eleven-mon team. Originally this was the same Trick Scarf Set to outspeed Mega Latios (avoid speed tie), and cripple one of Chase's walls with the Choice Scarf. Honestly, had I "continued" to team build to Thursday (September 22th), this set might not have been utilize. The main reason why I wanted this specific Latias set was to get a "secondary" setup sweeper, and of course, clean up anything Char X failed to do. Might have included Ice Beam to hit Mega Latios, but the potential of being hazard stack against me strong. So in the end, chose to run this mono-attacking set with Defog. Chances were this was going to be my "last ditch" effort mon to sweep, as consecutive CMs will bolster Stored Power to frightening levels. If we somehow get to +3 CM, well Latias might be able to punch a hole against Chase's team to where the remaining members can clean up the opposing team.
My Team: Char X, Sylveon, Suicune, Nidoking, Weavile, Latias
Will admit, I was uncertain at first to battle Chase around Thursday [September 22th] with some time conflicts, but ultimately decided to have it then, or maybe sooner if we were both ready. By the time I told Chase I "might" battle on Wednesday 21st, we both knew it would happen later at night when most people were asleep. The battle was streamed that same night with the assistance of KevinVGC and Sanyer as acting commentators. Did post the link to the battle to the PFA chat if they wanted to see my a## get kicked hard, but draw in some viewers on the CIL twitch at least. The commentary done by KevinVGC, and Sanyer, who honestly did a great job with the match despite doing this extremely late on such short notice. NOTE: The Twitch replay of the LA Nidokings Vs Bentonville Blastoise (Me Vs Chase) was deleted, so I'll post the replay instead.
Ok so enough with what happen and here's the FINALS Team.
THE TEAM
(Based on Level 100s)
Forge (Charizard-Mega-X) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Tough Claws
EVs: 96 HP / 20 Atk / 212 SpD / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Dragon Claw
- Roost
- Dragon Dance
Milestones:
- Outspeeds Jolly Diggersby, then Scarf Variant by +1 DD
- +1 DD OHKOs standard offensive Starmie
- Life Orb Scald from 252 Starmie is a 3HKO
-Moonblast from defensive Florges is a 3HKO
- (Important) Doesn't activate SpA Download boost from Porygon2
OK this set might seem strange, but it allows Charizard X to get as many opportunities it can to setup Dragon Dance and begin wall breaking, or sweep. The only reason to have Adamant max attack instead of the investment shown was to have a better chance to 2HKO Porygon2 on the switch with Rocks, but there was a good chance the Eviolite wall can be fully defensive. Essentially figured it was proper to shave some Attack EVs off of Char X, but then realized it doesn't need as much investment. Char X as is 2HKOs or OHKOs everything on Chase's team bar Porygon2 without any boosts which was rather huge. While messing around with the EVs in the damage calculator, decided to invest to the point where the Special Defense was higher than Char X's base 111, which took the most allocation. Once dumping the rest in HP / Atk, I realized ...holy shit, this thing can tanks some special hits now and potentially sweep under the right circumstance. Yeah Porygon2 was going to be annoying, but at least I can pressure it like we did against Epic's P2 in the PFA finals.
Nui Harime (Sylveon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 248 HP / 176 Def / 64 SpD / 20 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Fake Tears
- Wish
- Heal Bell
Milestones:
-Psyshock from Mega Latios is a 3HKO.
-Again Calm Nature to bolster its higher Special Defense stat.
-Same Generic Butter and Bread Sylveon
-Fake Tears for "special" walls.
Couldn't believe myself that I'm bringing the same Fake Tears Sylveon from last match, except now it has to deal with Florges and Porygon2 potentially. The thought of running Toxic and Calm Mind did occur, but realized Sylveon would be in a Cleric Stall war with Florges, and can't break a CM Florges, or Eviolite P2 fast enough with boosted Pixilate Hyper Voice or Toxic. As mention last game, Fake Tears drops the Special Defense stat by -2, making these targets vulnerable to a Pixilate Hyper Voice. Have to be careful when facing Tornadus as Fake Tears will trigger Defiant, so can't freely spam this move. Did experiment with the Specs Hyper Voice set, even Scarf, but felt the Cleric support from Heal Bell and Wish was better. Figured Heal Bell might prove useful this time around to get some status recovery for my mons, especially if Porygon2 comes around. If there's a point in the battle if its just Sylveon (with some allies) vs Chase's core team of special attackers, chances are high it can carry the team similar to how it did against KevinVGC. Not being too optimistic, but Sylveon plays an important role here to tank those special hits and hold our defense..
Rogue (Suicune) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Calm Mind
- Roar
- Rest
Milestones:
-Few Speed Points to outspeed Adamant max speed Machamp
-Not much else
-Roar + CM should beat CM Florges
Aside the slight speed creep, this Suicune appeared the last 6 out of 7 of the last CIL season battles, including the playoffs. Honestly could have ran something else like Ice Beam or Toxic, but felt Roar was a better option to phaze stuff out in case they setup. There was one scenario where if anyone had Psych Up and copies Suicune stat boots, well I can use Roar to remove the immediate threat. Didn't like the fact I was bringing the exact Suicune set, but given it was my best "neutral" physical wall, it was almost necessary to bring it. Might as well have an anti setup Pokemon, who ironically can be one of its own and act as a valuable win condition.
Byrant (Nidoking) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 108 Atk / 200 SpA / 200 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Sludge Wave
- Flamethrower
- Sucker Punch
- Stealth Rock
Milestones:
-Outspeeds "Diggersby" (non Scarf), by one point
-Has a great chance to OHKO Cobalion with Flamethrower
-Sludge Wave + Sucker Punch OHKOs 4 HP Mega Latios
-Flamethrower + Sucker Punch (with some damage), OHKOs 4 HP Starmie
- Should 2HKO most relevant targets.
Originally this slot was Doublade as it can act as a makeshift wall / sweeper at the same time for my team, but realized it was going to be pressured too much. Nidoking was the "safer" choice, as it can actually threaten most of Chase's team with its massive movepool alone, without him knowing my actual set. Actually debated for awhile which was my "best" STAB to run against Chase: Earth Power or Sludge Wave. At the end of the day, three Pokemon on Chase's team were "immune" to Earth Power: Skarmory, Tornadus, and Mega Latios. Sludge Wave hits most of Chase's team harder (notably Florges) and can use Flamethrower to hit the his Steel-types for heavy damage. Most importantly, this Nidoking gets damage on something and not let those Pokemon in for free, again with the exception of Chase's Steel-types. The third attacking move was a toss-up as the final slot was going to be Stealth Rocks to get residual chip damage. After some thought, decided to run Sucker Punch to hit Mega Latios and Starmie once weaken. In fact, just the combination of Flamethrower + Sucker Punch and Sludge Wave + Flamethrower, with some prior damage should OHKO Standard Mega Lati and Starmie.
Even though this Nidoking can't hit Diggersby for fairly SE damage, figured it was best to have Nidoking, as well as other teammates on my team outspeed to get some damage off. When attacking, might as well confirmed if the Diggersby is "Scarf" or not, so I rather have something on my team take the fall so the next Pokemon can revenge kill.
Ryan (Weavile) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Atk / 20 Def / 60 SpD / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Knock Off
- Ice Punch
- Ice Shard
- Pursuit
Milestones:
-Outspeeds Timid Starmie by 1 Point.
-OHKOs 4 HP Mega Latios all the time with Choice Band
-Has a High 93.8% chance to OHKO 4 HP Starmie with CB Knock Off
-If these Pokemon are defensive, need prior damage of around 30%.
-Does about 73.9% min to Diggersby
Now Weavile or Aka Ryan. From the beginning of this team building process, I was uncertain what item to select for Weavile, heck even a set. Life Orb and Expert Belt came to mind, however not only was the damage output "poor", but Weavile is prone to getting killed or crippled with status if it doesn't have something. For a while, thought of running the standard Life Orb set, until I played around with Choice Band:
- 252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off vs. 4 HP / 4 Def Mega Latios: 302-356 (100 - 117.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Colbur Berry Starmie: 256-303 (98.8 - 116.9%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
- 252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tornadus: 301-355 (100.6 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
- 252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Ice Shard vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Diggersby: 230-272 (73.9 - 87.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Anne (Latias) @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 140 HP / 108 Def / 108 SpA / 16 SpD / 136 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stored Power
- Calm Mind
- Roost
- Defog
Milestones:
-Outspeeds Adamant Arcanine by one point
- +2 108 SpA CM Stored Power with Rocks up OHKOs most frail Pokemon
- +3 108 SpA CM Stored Power with Rocks up 2HKO most of Chase's walls (even Mega Lati)
- Calm Nature to take special hits slightly better
- Forgot the defense investment...might have been a waste.
Essentially the first 5 Pokemon on this list was my actual team, just this Latias was the best "filler" compared to the rest of the Nidoking eleven-mon team. Originally this was the same Trick Scarf Set to outspeed Mega Latios (avoid speed tie), and cripple one of Chase's walls with the Choice Scarf. Honestly, had I "continued" to team build to Thursday (September 22th), this set might not have been utilize. The main reason why I wanted this specific Latias set was to get a "secondary" setup sweeper, and of course, clean up anything Char X failed to do. Might have included Ice Beam to hit Mega Latios, but the potential of being hazard stack against me strong. So in the end, chose to run this mono-attacking set with Defog. Chances were this was going to be my "last ditch" effort mon to sweep, as consecutive CMs will bolster Stored Power to frightening levels. If we somehow get to +3 CM, well Latias might be able to punch a hole against Chase's team to where the remaining members can clean up the opposing team.
Team Preview and Pre-Game Mind Set
My Team: Char X, Sylveon, Suicune, Nidoking, Weavile, Latias
Chase's Team: Mega Latios, Florges, Starmie, Skarmory, Jolteon, Arcanine
Team Preview: Going to say this right now...thank Arceus there's no Porygon2 and Diggersby as clearly both of these Pokemon were 2 of the top 3 threats against this team. It did surprised me a bit Jolteon and Arcanine were in this matchup, though decided not to question it as Chase brought them for a reason. Not that I didn't prepare for them, just depending on the sets, this battle might sway in my favor. As usual, Chase did bring the 4 Pokemon I'd expected, yet wonder was was the Starmie, and Mega Latios sets as both were now the most threatening. After weighing my options, figured the best lead of choice was going to by my Charizard X to 1) get the Mega Evolution, 2) threaten something out, and 3) ( BIG IF ) setup early game. Either way if he sends in Mega Latios, I'd likely switch into Sylveon, and play accordingly there. However with the finals already commencing live on Twitch, figured Char X might put up a show if we get anything except for the Mega Latios
NOTE: Here's the Twitch replay of the LA Nidokings Vs Bentonville Blastoise (Me Vs Chase). Commentary done by KevinVGC, and Sanyer, who honestly did a great job with the match despite being extremely late and on such short notice.
(Slight Spoiler...but whatever)
So Charizard X is up against Starmie and there's a couple options I've thought about, but one of them standout the most. Basically it was dumb "me" saying, "Hey let's risk the game and Dragon Dance up, and see how Chase responds... likely crippling my win con." All season I'd play rather passively and now finally have Char X in a position were it can actually do its thing...and let it dance. Starmie's Scald did below half thanks to my special bulk, and I managed to successful get +1 Dragon Dance. Now this puts me into an interesting position, Dragon Dance again, Roost, or switch out to Suicune / Sylveon as both haven't been damaged. Since Forge the Char X has +1 speed, figured I'd just Roost again, on the likely Arcanine switch in, but Starmie might reveal T-Wave. Again I'm risking the whole game on the fact if Chase has certain moves / coverage for Char X, but when am I going to this opportunity again?
As Arcanine drops my attack raise back to neutral, Char X recovers off some damage with Roost. Here Char X goes for Dragon Claw to gauge the damage on the Arcanine, doing about half HP, however Arcanine use Flamethrower on my quad resistant Dragon... At first I wonder if Chase had indeed misclick, but turns out that's all he has to hit my Char X and was catch off guard my lead. In response, decide to Dragon Dance again as Arcanine goes for E-Speed, and now its looking as if the game might be won "right here". Instead going for +2/+3 Char X, I foolishly go for Dragon Claw as Chase sends in Florges which kinda stops the momentum. Normally if this Char X was full attack investment, I'd risk the damage roll, but felt we need one more Dragon Dance boost up to potential sweep early game.
Chase inadvertently saves himself from being swept, but he's now has to sake Pokemon to keep himself in the game, likely the Florges and Skarmory. Before Florges goes down, it manages to get a Toxic on Char X, essentially preventing the sweep, before it goes down to the incoming Flare Blitz. As Skarmory is sent out, I knew Char X can't do much anymore and either Chase goes for the Stealth Rock, or the Roost to recover some damage from the Flare Blitz (Note: Sturdy will prevent Skarm from fainting). The first scenario happens as Char x goes down, but Chase using the chance to setup Rock, but now with a 1 HP Skarmory without many walls.
Nidoking is sent out and at this point, lets setup Rock ourselves. Problem is Skarmory can Roost this turn, and switch to Starmie the next, or sack Skarm for a free switch to Skarmory. Either way, I knew something faints either Skarm with Flamethrower, or Starmie with the Rock + Flamethrower + Sucker Punch. Skarmory faints to a Crit Flamethrower (not sure if it mattered) following to get up rocks. Starmie comes in and my immediate switch out is Sylveon, but Chase gets some good damage off with Psyshock. Realized after some thought the Starmie had no Life Orb item, so maybe it was Choice Scarf as he swapped out earlier against Char X. Immediately we make the double switch into Latias, and see the Arcanine switch, but now at low HP.
A normal Latias could pick off the weaken Fire-type, but this wasn't no ordinary one. Instead I remove the hazards on the field with Defog (a mistake on my end now I think of it), and decide maybe its time to Calm Mind here. Now that both Florges and Skarmory were out of the picture, it was time to setup to enough CMs to where Stored Power can damage or OHKO most of Chase's team. If Latios switches in, I'd just try to get off damage so Weavile can revenge kill it. As Latias starts Calm Mind boosting, Chase uses Wisp on my Eon Dragon, yet it seems like he has no response to it. After getting to +2 along with some recovery, I decide to attack with Stored Power, and doing so catch the Jolteon in the process for any OHKO.
Now this battle looks favorable as Arcanine is sent back in to damage get E-Speed damage on my CM-boosted Latias. Problem is its most setup fodder, as I get to +3 CM, then finally OHKO the Fire-type dog (sorry naitre ) . Now its brother vs sister. Mega Latios Vs a +3 CM boosted Latias. Unless Chase crits my Latias, this game is still in my favor as Choice Band Weavile is sitting in the back at full. All Latias has to do is get damage on Mega Latios, and the best part is I can 2HKO the blue Eon Dragon at +3 Stored Power.
Mega Latios manages to faint my Latias with a Draco Meteo + Psyshock, but now Weavile (or Ryan the Pug) is here to win us the game. We get a crit Knock Off in somewhat bad taste as I'd already had the game sealed. With Starmie as the last mon standing, it actually locks itself into Dazzling Gleam, crits back Weavile, though Ryan manages to survive the hit! At this point the game is all but locked up, and the LA Nidokings win their first League outside the PFA league we'd originated.
As Arcanine drops my attack raise back to neutral, Char X recovers off some damage with Roost. Here Char X goes for Dragon Claw to gauge the damage on the Arcanine, doing about half HP, however Arcanine use Flamethrower on my quad resistant Dragon... At first I wonder if Chase had indeed misclick, but turns out that's all he has to hit my Char X and was catch off guard my lead. In response, decide to Dragon Dance again as Arcanine goes for E-Speed, and now its looking as if the game might be won "right here". Instead going for +2/+3 Char X, I foolishly go for Dragon Claw as Chase sends in Florges which kinda stops the momentum. Normally if this Char X was full attack investment, I'd risk the damage roll, but felt we need one more Dragon Dance boost up to potential sweep early game.
Chase inadvertently saves himself from being swept, but he's now has to sake Pokemon to keep himself in the game, likely the Florges and Skarmory. Before Florges goes down, it manages to get a Toxic on Char X, essentially preventing the sweep, before it goes down to the incoming Flare Blitz. As Skarmory is sent out, I knew Char X can't do much anymore and either Chase goes for the Stealth Rock, or the Roost to recover some damage from the Flare Blitz (Note: Sturdy will prevent Skarm from fainting). The first scenario happens as Char x goes down, but Chase using the chance to setup Rock, but now with a 1 HP Skarmory without many walls.
Nidoking is sent out and at this point, lets setup Rock ourselves. Problem is Skarmory can Roost this turn, and switch to Starmie the next, or sack Skarm for a free switch to Skarmory. Either way, I knew something faints either Skarm with Flamethrower, or Starmie with the Rock + Flamethrower + Sucker Punch. Skarmory faints to a Crit Flamethrower (not sure if it mattered) following to get up rocks. Starmie comes in and my immediate switch out is Sylveon, but Chase gets some good damage off with Psyshock. Realized after some thought the Starmie had no Life Orb item, so maybe it was Choice Scarf as he swapped out earlier against Char X. Immediately we make the double switch into Latias, and see the Arcanine switch, but now at low HP.
A normal Latias could pick off the weaken Fire-type, but this wasn't no ordinary one. Instead I remove the hazards on the field with Defog (a mistake on my end now I think of it), and decide maybe its time to Calm Mind here. Now that both Florges and Skarmory were out of the picture, it was time to setup to enough CMs to where Stored Power can damage or OHKO most of Chase's team. If Latios switches in, I'd just try to get off damage so Weavile can revenge kill it. As Latias starts Calm Mind boosting, Chase uses Wisp on my Eon Dragon, yet it seems like he has no response to it. After getting to +2 along with some recovery, I decide to attack with Stored Power, and doing so catch the Jolteon in the process for any OHKO.
Now this battle looks favorable as Arcanine is sent back in to damage get E-Speed damage on my CM-boosted Latias. Problem is its most setup fodder, as I get to +3 CM, then finally OHKO the Fire-type dog (sorry naitre ) . Now its brother vs sister. Mega Latios Vs a +3 CM boosted Latias. Unless Chase crits my Latias, this game is still in my favor as Choice Band Weavile is sitting in the back at full. All Latias has to do is get damage on Mega Latios, and the best part is I can 2HKO the blue Eon Dragon at +3 Stored Power.
Mega Latios manages to faint my Latias with a Draco Meteo + Psyshock, but now Weavile (or Ryan the Pug) is here to win us the game. We get a crit Knock Off in somewhat bad taste as I'd already had the game sealed. With Starmie as the last mon standing, it actually locks itself into Dazzling Gleam, crits back Weavile, though Ryan manages to survive the hit! At this point the game is all but locked up, and the LA Nidokings win their first League outside the PFA league we'd originated.
Afterthoughts
I'll admit, this battle could have easily gone my way completely had I'd decided to Dragon Dance up, and with knowledge of Chase's full team now (here's the link). To be honest I'm probably at fault for arranging the battle to be done ASAP, but both Chase and my's schedules didn't line up well to be able to battle, aside Thursday or Wednesday night. Did wanted to wait until like Sunday, but later changed my mind as rather finish the CIL Finals before later September, and we did. Not going to nitpick the battle here and there like I did for the explanation, but I'd saw the Nidoking roster definitely had a clear advantage in terms of balance playstyle as my opponent Chase did. Kinda prepared for Chase to bring a bulkier team with Diggersby and Porygon2 being the focal points, but they never showed up. Can't "theorymon" too much about the possibly "what ifs" or "what might" occur.
Regardless good games to Chase, or Cbrangames of the Bentonville Blastoise, and there 9-1 record shows they aren't a team to to played around with. Definitely Chase is the best runner up team for the CIL as they improved from being one of the worse teams, to the among the best. One thing to note Chase has a somewhat tight schedule so completely understand how it feels to team build while line up the right times with your opponent. Aside the favorable damage rolls we got to achieve OHKOs, there wasn't too much hax involved and as somewhat clean. Well good games to you, maybe we'll battle again some time during Sun / Moon with the new Pokemon and stuff.
Really want to thank Chase, KevinVGC, Sanyer, Abruptfury, GingerxPug, Tref, KantoCastBlue, and all the others who stayed up to watch or commentate the battle. Special thanks to Kyle (ItalianG62) for giving me some ideas on which Pokemon to bring, and some sets to consider. Kyle also kinda had to put up with my set ideas and thoughts in the battle, as sometimes I'm kinda difficult to change opinions about during team building. Though they weren't there, Rogue and Naitre definitely helped support this Nidoking Championship run despite helping a couple of games, but still appreciated.
Man not much to say, but after this, I definitely need a break from battling semi-competitively, so might lay back for awhile. Definitely looking forward S/M when the game drops so I can spam Choice Specs Thunders with Tapo Koko....before it gets banned from Smogon. If anything, I'll see if its possible I can return to CIL S3 for a title defense, but that might be a long time from now until S/M. Well to all the people in the chat I've talked with and chatted, thanks for your support.
Three titles in a year, guess that'll suffice. Well thanks for reading this piece.
