A 4 Time 1st Place Tasmanian Premier Challenge Report
Hey guys Brendan Webb here. I decided I'd write up a blog post about my main PC (premier challenge) team that I used to win my first 4 PCs that were held here in Huonville, Tasmania, Australia. I'll talk about how I started it a while ago and then we'll move to the results. Though that's the least important thing if we're being honest here.
The Team Building Process
Now for the origination of the team. It's comprised of a few things so I'll elaborate about them in order. We'll start this when I'm at post worlds. I wanted to make a team that took some inspiration from ideas used back in 2013 and see if they could be used in a way which innovated a specific moveset or Pokemon for a team now. I was interested in Rotom-W and how back in 2013. Choice Specs seemed like a very popular pick as I assume it became a meta thing out of Ray Rizzo's Specs Rotom out of his worlds winning 2013 team. But I don't know so I'll assume I am wrong. Anyway, the only other Rotom-W I saw that interested me was having Light Screen as a fourth move rather than the coveted Protect. So I thought I'd give it a shot and see how I could build a team around the move choice. The move improved match ups with things like Mega Gardevoir, Rain and general special attackers like Heatran, Thundurus and many more. Protect in my eyes on Rotom-W is mainly to assist with the power creep with Mega Pokemon. As stalling or preventing hits like Fake Out and strong hits can assist Rotom-W with it's longevity. But I'll talk more about it with Rotom's specific detail.
Now I'll say here that after testing it for quite a while. I believe it is too match specific to be of any good reliance. I felt myself not using it as much as I would have. But I use it as much as I did with Protect. It does see usage but often the move is dead weight where Protect is just far more consistient. I don't reccomend it unless you really need the type of support. But then you should consider an option like Snarl with another Pokemon. It does however let Salemence survive an Assault Vest Ludicolo Ice Beam which while is cool. I would very rarely find this type of calucation useful as having rain up wile a lght screen up is not very likely due to my Ttar and its Sand.
The other adaption the team had was something I've come quite comfortable playing which is slow bulky Ttar (Tyranitar) and Mixed Mega Salamence. They work very well together as Sand disrupts other weather teams. While also dealing with threats to Mence (Salamence) such as Thundurus, Cresselia and Heatran to name but a few. They work well together with only having issues with Ice Punch Mega Kangaskhan which has seen a rise in usage as of late, Bulky Waters and Landorus-Therian just to name a few.
So I now had three Pokemon for the team. But I lacked a good utilty Pokemon for switches as I like to play defensive with my good type synergy switches. I also wanted something to check key metagame threats like Mega Gardevoir, Aegislash and Amoongus. With the former+latter having good match ups with the members and only having a soft check for Aegislash makes Heatran and obvious call. It has become easily my favourite Fire-Type Pokemon as I dislike most other options. As you can tell the team now has access to three strong spread moves as Rock Slide, Hyper Voice and Heat Wave. So it can punish switches if used correctly.
I added Cresselia next as I wanted Ice-Type coverage with speed control and good bulk. The Psychic-Type helped in improving Fighting-Type and Amoongus match ups. I enjoy Thunder Wave as my preferred speed control as it aggressively slows a Pokemon down and adds a 25% chance for a Pokemon to be fully paralyzed. Which stops it from making a move if it is fully paralyzed. Helping Hand is good for again either doing large amounts of damage via my methods of spread damage or allowing me to target down and KO specific pokemon with a nuke move such as Superpower or Double Edge.
The last Pokemon needed to help deal with again Fairies and Milotic. As it really gave me issues. I wanted to use a Grass-Type as I hate repeating types especially electric as they get too repetitive in their roles. Amoongus would have been used but having 3 Pokemon with different status moves (Rotom has Will O Wisp) makes it a little too much of a clash with status moves. So my only other options was Virizion or Ferrothorn. Virizion added another fairy weakness which was in the end too undesireable. So I settled for a double steel team with Ferrothorn filling the last spot. I'd like to thank Nihal Noor overwise known as UchihaX96 online. He helped give advice for the last Pokemon choice and it really was an asset.
The team has a very bulky nature and thus I did struggle with the item clause. As mutliple things wanted to run Sitrus or Leftovers. I settled with things such as Rocky Helmet Ferrothorn and Shuca Heatran. This does lead to issues with the team being a little too slow in some cases. But the team overall could function around this via good switching potential and through the use of Cresselia.
Early when I started using this I did not tend to use Ferrothorn enough and I noticed this enough. That I decided I needed to get more comfortable with the team and bring it more times as it has better match ups, but due to my unfamilllarity with it since Nationals I was not bringing it. After I corrected this issue it become a solid assest to the team. The only thing I could really want is Lum Berry on it due to the more offensive nature of it. But I prefer the item on Tyranitar at this stage of the metagame. I've rambled enough about the building of the team and should not just talk about each Pokemon.
The Team
Tyranitar
This is the Tyranitar I have been using for months as it is both extremely bulky but has good offensive pressure as well. Hitting key Pokemon like Thundurus and Cresselia as I previously stated.
I'll just use my last post to fill in the stuff it does since it has not changed since then.
"Now for the last few weeks I have been using Lum Berry Tyranitar since when I heard about it. I really like the item since it helps with keeping it to check the things it needs to. Thundurus burns a turn by attempting to paralyze it. It stops Burns and in general is just a good item. Normally you see Dragon Dance as the third move but I don't like setting up since for me that does not fit my playstyle for Tyranitar. I see it as a Pokemon I bring for specific roles, not as a general sweeper.
Honestly Tyranitar is one of my favourite pokemon to use. Some people stuggle to make it work. But I bring it a lot of the time since it fits in so well for me and my playstyle. Having an automatic weather setter for me makes match ups easier since it gives me a tool in winning the 'Weather Wars'. Sand is also the easist weather to incorporate to a team as Rain and Sun require certain team compositions.
To the spread now it is what really should be the minimun defensive investment for a bulky Ttar. It survives 252 jolly Megagross' Iron Head as well as Life Orb Bisharp's Iron Head. The nature benchmark is an efficient number since it has the two stat point benchmark. From you can tell. I like efficient spreads."
It speed creeps most bulky Ttar which is good for when facing Trick Room Tyranitar as I know most do not run 4 speed evs which allows me to KO unless they are Chople Berry. But then I'd say they deserved the win in that case.
Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Atk / 44 Def / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Protect
Salamence
Ah the easist Mega Pokemon to fit my playstyle. It fits both a physical and special damage dealer at the cost of having reduced special bulk but it is naturally bulky. It does take a chunk of high power special moves like Overheat and such which can be an issue.
Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 44 Atk / 4 Def / 204 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Double-Edge
- Hyper Voice
- Draco Meteor
- Protect
Heatran
You can see how I emphasise bulk over speed for the majority of the team. As I much prefer bulky Heatran as to say a Timid Heatran with Shuca. As I like the increased lonegivity rather than the ability to out speed Bisharp and potential opposing Heatran. The 20 speed evs are to ensure I speed creep opposing bulky Heatran as well as anything around the 70/75 base speed tier. I was running Safety Goggles up until our first PCs down here. As the metagame changed items with their Heatran and Breloom was already manageable. The change in item slot was a good call as it shows much more use than Goggles did bar hitting Fairies with Flash Cannon next to Amoongus. Which leads to Flash Cannon as my third move. With the team being relatively weak to Pixilate Hyper Voice. Having a way to hit Fairies is important for me. As Ferrothorn is not as reliable in my opinion a Steel-Type due to the common use of Fire-Type moves seen on many teams. I don't like any special attacking Steel-Type other than Heatran, as I much prefer physical Steel coverage. Which is why I prefer base Metagross over Aegislash on some teams.
Heatran @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpA / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 30 Def
- Heat Wave
- Flash Cannon
- Earth Power
- Protect
Rotom-W
Rotom-W has the spread I have been using for a long time now. Having 125 speed is incredible. I really encourage other players to ev for this as it speed creeps so many things that just stick to Bisharp. Speed creeping is a wonderful thing and it does a lot fo work for you. It is pretty standard bar Light Screen. But when the fourth PC was upon me. I swapped to Protect as it just provided more consistient work when I dropped the other move.
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 60 SpA / 44 SpD / 148 Spe
Calm Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Light Screen/ Protect
Cresselia
The glue of the team. She helped support the team in many ways by either slowing down the opponent or by assisting in knocking out key threats like Landorus-T or opposing Mega Mence. The spread is basically Aaron Zheng's just with some evs moved to create a more efficient spread via gaining an additional base stat.
Cresselia @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 92 Def / 188 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Helping Hand
- Thunder Wave
Ferrothorn
I'll mainly do the same as Ttar since it has not changed much since I made adaptions to my Nats team.
"Did a bit of work on the spread. It always survives Terrkaions Close Combat. It KOs 252 HP Kang 93.8% of the time when it uses Power Whip with Rocky Helmet and Iron Barbs Damage. 252 Jolly Kangaskhan always loses to Gyro Ball and Rocky Helmet and Iron Barbs Damage."
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Atk / 44 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
So there we go folks! I'm glad I finished this up as it was a cool team to use. I hope you players can learn from my experiences and maybe adapt some my ideas to your teams. It is always rewarding to see newer players learning :)
Australia versus Indonesia Friendly Team Review
I thought I should share the team I used for the Australia verus Indonesia friendly that happened last week. It was a best of three set and I lost 0-2 to my opponent. I forgot to teach Blaziken super power and had sky uppercut. Which made me lose game 1 and made me have to play completey differently. Since the Kangaskhan check was not a check anymore haha... Oops. Anyway onto the team.
Now for the last few weeks I have been using Lum Berry Tyranitar since I heard about it. I really like the item since it helps with keeping it to check the things it needs to. Thundurus burns a turn by attempting to paralyze it. It stops Burns and in general is just a good item. Normally you see Dragon Dance as the third move but I don't like setting up since for me that does not fit my playstyle for Tyranitar. I see it as a Pokemon I bring for specific roles, not as a general sweeper.
Honestly Tyranitar is one of my favourite pokemon to use. Some people stuggle to make it work. But I bring it like 70% of the time since it fits in so well for me and my playstyle. Having a automatic weather setter for makes match ups easier since it gives me a tool in winning the 'Weather Wars'. Sand is also the easist weather to incorpate to a team as Rain and Sun require certain team compositions.
To the spread now it is what really should be the minimun defensive investment for a bulky Ttar. It survives 252 jolly Megagross' Iron Head as well as Life Orb Bisharp's Iron Head. The nature benchmark is an efficient number since it has the two stat point benchmark. From you can tell. I like efficinet spreads.
Tyranitar @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Atk / 44 Def / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Superpower
- Protect
Now we move onto the the infamous leader of speed control. Thundurus-Incarnate itself. Basically this was a cut up version of MajowBowman's version he used for a regional in fall I think? I don't know what seasons are at what time everywhere in the world. So please cry me a pardon. Anyway pretty much the generic set. I considered Swagger > Taunt as I could Swagger Ttar for a free +2 boost in Attack. But the sheer value of prankster taunt made me go for that as a safeguard for the team. The spread physically survives 252+ Double Edge 98%from mega kang herself. The modest nature and SpA investment does two things. It is again an efficinet bump number and it gives my Thundurus a more offensive role. So it better deals with opposing Thundurus and water-types. The speed speed creeps max speed timid Heatran (the double speed words, what a bother). Which 75% beats most other thundurus within speed ranges. Unless they are like timid or max speed etc. I prefer actual speed benchmarks rather than arbitary values as most people use for their Thundurus-I. The SpD was just a filler in Evs. On reflection I realized sometime along the way I buggered up the spread and have a few EVs changed here and there. So whoops. Shoutout to NidoVGC for hooking me up with one for the friendly! I would be scampering around to try to find one still if not for him.
Thundurus @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 96 Def / 36 SpA / 68 SpD / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
Ah Salamence. My go to mega pokemon. While I have started to use Kangaskhan I still have the strong distaste for it due to its typing and how underwhelming it is being intimidated. To Salamence the mixed spread is really having the benefits of both worlds. Having a physical nuke with Double Edge to having the advantage of special spread moves and a decently powerful single target special move. I chose Naive since most ice attacks will KO anyway, and stuff like Thunderbolts scare me less than priority moves and Kangaskhan hits.
Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 44 Atk / 4 Def / 204 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Double-Edge
- Hyper Voice
- Draco Meteor
- Protect
Mmhm. That is how I describe base metagross. When testing the team I really liked how the team worked. Except that when I played trick room Conkeldurr. Turns out the game became an autoloss when I had aegislash as my dedicated steel type pokemon. Thus to make myself stronger for the match up. I went to what is considered the lesser Aegislash. The psychic stab was something sorely needed as it hit fighting types super effectivelty. While still giving the steel typing I desired. The item was mainly filler but it does help with Trick Room Gardevior match ups. It does work since it had the moves to work effectively. It bypasses rage powder to hit Gardevior. It has the best amoongus checking ability bar Heatran. Since it actually hits it super effectively compared to Escavalier. Hammer Arm was a cool tech move. Since it helps slow my metagross down to do damage in Trick Room. As when I played a friend while testing. He led Scrafty Jellicent (gard trick room team) and he Fakes out my Salamence. So I Hammer Arm his Scrafty to get very solid damage. Since clear body stops intimdate of course. I predict a switch to Gardevoir since 4x resist to fighting of course and Iron Head the slot. But his jellicent scalds and gets the burn. Meaning I miss the KO. The example was just to show moves were for more than show.
The idea still in my opinion was strong to be happy with how it performed. It did better than Aegislash for me at least with Trick Room.
The spread again efficient number. I ideally wanted more special bulk for Metagross. So I tried to split some EVs to help on the special side.
Metagross @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Atk / 4 Def / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- Zen Headbutt
- Hammer Arm
- Protect
Blaziken is an excellent pokemon since it deals with certain match ups well such as Kangaskhan, Scarf Landorus-T and Aegislash but to name a few. Basically the most standard form of Blaziken one could ever see.
Blaziken @ Life Orb
Ability: Speed Boost
EVs: 4 HP / 40 Atk / 212 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Superpower
- Overheat
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
Milotic is a pretty cool pokemon. Since it helps sway off Intimidate pokemon like Landorus-T etc. I reckon I will work on the spread since feedback suggests that Milotic does need more special bulk. But to my playstyle if someone leads double Genies then I normally protect with Milotic and try to bring in something to help support Milotic. As Thundurus has the Sitrus Berry. I have used Rocky Helmet for a while and I have tested Maranga Berry. I like to switch Milotic though a bit more than Maranga allows so I decided on more Kangaskhan hate. Since we all know I like to run that kind of hate.
Bog Standard once again for the move choices. But I do have again just efficient spreads. Since I am maximising my total stat points with the 4 EVs in stats etc.
Milotic @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Competitive
EVs: 252 HP / 244 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Icy Wind
- Recover
- Protect
So there we go. Blog post number 3 all done and dusted. I wrote a bit more than I thought I would but the more the better I suppose. Congrats on Indonesia for having such great opponents. I played one of them with the team before I had my B03. He was very kind and so my thoughts on Indonesia VGC wise is their players are extremely kind and are wonderful opponents. GG Michael :D
Updated VGC 15' Australian Nationals Team
So I finally got around writing this thing up. I elaborated a bit more on some team members and left a few untouched.
I swapped Excadrill since it theory it works but it is medicore in reality. It really only has speed to its advanatge but it is hindered by so much of the meta that in reality it does suck. Landorus-Incarnate form has much more versitality since it deals with Heatran better. It knocks out Aegislash if in sand which is also another big plus since the team does not like Weakness Policy Wide Guard Aegislash at all.
Tyranitar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sand Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Crunch
- Rock Slide
- Ice Punch
- Low Kick
Tyranitar has not changed since I used the team at Nationals.
Landorus @ Life Orb
Ability: Sand Force
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Stone Edge
- Protect
This guy has since replaced Excadrill. This performs better since it does not require Sand to work. It helps with Heatran, Aegislash, opposing Landorus, Salamence and Charizard. All which can be difficult for the team to work against.
Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Aerilate
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 4 Def / 244 SpA / 4 SpD / 188 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Protect
Nothing different other than speed increase implemented to out speed max speed Thundurus.
Ferrothorn @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 212 Atk / 44 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Power Whip
- Gyro Ball
- Leech Seed
- Protect
Did a bit of work on the spread. It always survives Terrkaions Close Combat. It KOs 252 HP Kang 93.8% of the time when it uses Power Whip with Rocky Helmet and Iron Barbs Damage. 252 Jolly Kangaskhan always loses to Gyro Ball and Rocky Helmet and Iron Barbs Damage.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 60 SpA / 44 SpD / 148 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Thunder Wave
- Protect
Rotom-W now speed creeps Rotom-A who are out speeding Bisharp. Since opposing Rotom-W and Heat can give issues. Out speeding Bisharp is not that relevant since I lack a way to burn it. But I can break sashes on Bisharp if this was neccesary.
Volcarona @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rage Powder
- Fiery Dance
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect
Changed Fire-Type stab since I always wanted to keep attacking if I was to use a offensive move. In theory Overheat sounds better but in reality having Feiry Dance checks Aegislash better and stuff.
Overall the team I think now is stronger, but I would only use it if I just wanted to have some fun. I perfer special Salamence on this team rather than mixed. Since the Steel match up becomes harder then. Wide Guard becomes less of an issue then too.
I credit the Pokemon Sprites from
Politoed in VGC 15'
I decided to cannbilize my Nugget Bridge discussion post to get a post on here. This Water-Type Pokemon has the hidden ability of Drizzle. Which when it enters the field brings the Rain weather status. Being a bulky Water-Type it has only two weaknesses as Grass and Electric-Types. It has good stats for a support based Pokemon having a 90 Hp 75 Def 100 SpD stat spread. But with it having 70 base speed. It can be used more offensively with a Choice Scarf. Where it still can do some damage with a base 90 Special Attack. Even some support Politoed run Eject Button for the sole purpose of setting rain and then switching to gain and conserve momentum. Making it difficult sometimes to identify what item your opponent's Politoed could be running.
Politoed has support moves like Encore, Helping Hand, Perish Song and Rain Dance to name the most prominent moves. Offensive moves ran with Politoed consist of Scald, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Icy Wind and Surf. Encore is associated with Trick Room or Perish Trap teams since it helps lock down opponents that protect to stall out Trick Room or to assist with Disable shenanigans. Helping Hand is a move that enables Politoed to deal damage with its partner, enabling a support Politoed to help get a KO on an opponent's Pokemon with a faster partner Pokemon. Perish Song is surprise surprise also associated with Perish Trap, but can also be used as a win condition if your opponent has only two of their Pokemon left in battle. Rain Dance is seen on Scarf Toed since it can be used to reset rain against Pokemon like Mega Charizard who change the weather when they Mega Evolve. Offensives moves normally are different based on if it is the support or scarf version (I am ignoring Specs or other forms since they are not common what so ever). The support normally runs Scald for consistency and the 30% chance to burn. Ice Beam or Icy Wind depending on whether Knock Outs or Speed Control is preferred for the move slot. The Scarf version runs Scald/ Hydro Pump for Accuracy or Power depending on which you prefer. Ice Beam to get KOs on Pokemon such as Salamence. Surf is a known third move since when paired with its Rain accomplices. They resist the attack and the move has good spread damage. Rain Dance is the fourth move selected normally.
Now for partners that Politoed can be run with. Ludicolo and Kingdra are the main Rain sweepers with Life Orb Thundurus getting a mention as well. Ludicolo and Kingdra both have the ability Swift Swim which doubles their speed stat when in Rain. Enabling them to out speed most Pokemon. Which gives them the advantage of fast offensive pressure with their respective move pools. Both also resist Water-Type moves 4x so Politoed can quite safely surf spam next to them. Thundurus gets a mention since some trainers like to use Helping Hand on a Life Orb Thundurus' Thunder (since Thunder is 100% accurate in Rain). This might be as far as a trainer goes with using Rain on their team just having the small Rain mode on their team. But some players like to go what is known as hard Rain and use more Pokemon that benefit from Rain. Such as their Mega Pokemon being a Steel-Type since they effectively lose their Fire-Type weakness unless it is 4x. Where it would be reduced to a 2x power effect.
Politoed in my opinion will see a strong presence at worlds. Since it helps win weather wars and helps disrupt common team arch types such as Japanease Sand or Trick Room Heatran teams.
