Battle Royale - May International Challenge Team Report

Hey all, Marco/Nickscor/NEETscor here with another team report this time for the 2014 May International Challenge. I have a really big boner for Bicho's team (which you should definitely check out if you haven't had the opportunity yet) so I wanted to go with something similar to that and what I used in the Nugget Bridge Major. After some testing last month on Battle Spot with Ghettouto Rain (A ghetto version of Angel's rain team using Double Mega and Soggy Cat) I decided that Double Mega was definitely the play since it gives you more options in Team Preview, as opposed to basing your team around one Mega. I also thought Choice Scarf Salamence was kind of dumb, so that's the slot I put Mega Kangaskhan in.

Fast forward to the night before the tournament began, I was about to throw in an Assault Vest Azumarill in my Battle Box and call it a night, but after the suggestions from Angel and Amanatsu, I decided to can Azumarill in favor of support Gyarados. The major reason was for Intimidate, which most teams should have if they don't have a deliberate counter to Mega Kangaskhan. I can definitely say the two hours I spent breeding (I only had Adamant and I needed Jolly) and training Gyarados from scratch was worth it since I brought it to almost all of my games. Taunt is a very underused move this generation and is very strong in shutting down Trick Room, Meowstic-M, and other silly gimmicks. The combination of Taunt and Thunder Wave on Gyarados makes it a surrogate Thundurus of sorts minus the speed, Prankster, and offensive power for superior bulk and Intimidate.

The nickname theme is based off of the various factions from Academy City's dark side that becomes the major focus in Volume 15 of Toaru Majutsu no Index. There may or may not be spoilers pertaining to that particular volume, but you should probably read it because it's great. And this is coming from someone who hates reading.

Final Rating: 1650++
Wins: 19
Losses: 7


Venusaur ♂ @ Venusaurite **GROUP
Ability: Chlorophyll → Thick Fat
252 HP / 68 Def / 60 SAtk / 52 SDef / 68 Spe
Bold nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis
- Protect

• Deployed 14/26 games.
• Named after GROUP, which Tsuchimikado Motoharu, Accelerator, Musujime Awaki, and Etzali are members of. At the end of Volume 15, GROUP is the last science faction standing. In a similar vain, Venusaur is usually the last Pokémon standing at the end of a battle (ideally).
• The spread is tylee61's which I've been using for a couple of months now. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.
• Giga Drain gives Venusaur more staying power, despite it being a 3HKO on Sitrus Rotom-W.
• Since Gyarados and Rotom-H were on status control, I chose Synthesis over Sleep Powder. I think Leech Seed is a terrible move on Mega Venusaur, so that's why I chose Protect.
• Helpless against Steel-types, but can at least attempt to Timer Stall with Synthesis if necessary. Having a burn on the opponent makes this a lot easier.

Left to right: Accelerator, Tsuchimikado Motoharu, Musujime Awaki, and Etzali as Unabara Mitsuki

Kangaskhan ♀ @ Kangaskhanite **ITEM
Ability: Scrappy → Parental Bond
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Double-Edge
- Fake Out
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch

• Deployed 12/26 games.
• Named after ITEM, an all-female faction consisting of Mugino Shizuri, Takitsubo Rikou, Kinuhata Saiai, and Fre nda. I figured Kangaskhan was fitting since Mugino could sort of be the mother to its members (to an extent).
• In my opinion, Jolly max Speed is the best Kangaskhan spread. I might remove some Attack and move it to HP in the future, but this spread is good enough for now.
• Double-Edge gets big damage even without Power-Up Punch's Attack boost, but the recoil makes it (literally) a double-edged sword.
• Much like how GROUP and ITEM had zero interaction in Volume 15 of Toaru Majutsu no Index, I never brought Venusaur and Kangaskhan at the same time due to both of them being my Megas.
• Has a hard time against Steels and Ghost-types since Sucker Punch is not 100% reliable.

Left to right: Hamazura Shiage (lackey for ITEM), Kinuhata Saiai, Takitsubo Rikou, Fre nda, and Mugino Shizuri

Gyarados ♀ @ Rocky Helmet **BLOCK
Ability: Intimidate
252 HP / 20 Atk / 20 Def / 4 SDef / 212 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Ice Fang
- Taunt
- Thunder Wave

• Deployed 25/26 games.
• Named after BLOCK, a faction led by some intimidating-looking fellows, one of them being a muscular woman.
• EVs are a mashup of Zach and Crow's spreads.
• Ice Fang was chosen over Stone Edge at the suggestions of my friends. There weren't many situations where I used Ice Fang, but I didn't find myself wishing I had Stone Edge either.
• Outspeeds max speed Smeargle by one point to get the Taunt off before it could fire off a potential Dark Void. Incidentally, the only Smeargle I faced was Lv 1.
• Thunder Wave is my form of Speed Control. For one, it helps a ton against Kangaskhan mirrors as well as stupid things such as Greninja.
• I originally had Wacan Berry as its item, but I decided that cheesing Kangaskhan and other physical attackers was better than having the ability to safely stay in on Manectric and Rotom-W. My doubts about Wacan Berry arrived at the point where I couldn't sleep after putting all of my Pokémon in the Battle Box that I had to get up and change it to Rocky Helmet.

Garchomp ♂ @ Lum Berry **DRAGON
Ability: Rough Skin
12 HP / 204 Atk / 4 Def / 36 SDef / 252 Spe
Jolly nature (+Spe, -SAtk)
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect

• Deployed 17/26 games.
• Standard Garchomp, nothing new or interesting to say here. It does its job and it does it well.
• Lum Berry because having a safeguard against untimely status (even if it's a one-time-only deal) is amazing.
• Named after DRAGON since Garchomp is well, a dragon.
• EVs are copied from my baka aniki Simon's report to survive Timid Mega Manectric HP Ice and OHKO 4 HP Charizard Y with Rock Slide 100% of the times. 

Rotom-Heat @ Sitrus Berry **MEMBER
Ability: Levitate
252 HP / 68 Def / 156 SAtk / 12 SDef / 20 Spe
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Overheat
- Thunderbolt
- Will-o-Wisp
- Protect

• Deployed 23/26 games.
• Named after MEMBER, the first of the 4 factions to go down. I figured it would kind of work since the professor leading MEMBER had a robotic dog and Rotom messes with appliances which is kind of robotic...yeah I'll just stop.
• The EV spread was stolen from starmetroid's report.
• My main answer to opposing Steel-types which explains its high deployment rate. Keeping it preserved is a crucial part of my game plan when facing Steels.

Aegislash ♀ @ Leftovers **SCHOOL
Ability: Stance Change
252 HP / 180 SAtk / 76 SDef
IVs: 0 Spe
Quiet nature (+SAtk, -Spe)
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Ball
- King’s Shield
- Substitute

• Deployed 13/26 games.
• Named after SCHOOL, a faction that antagonizes both GROUP and ITEM. Incidentally, the Pokémon that I named after those factions have a hard time against Aegislash.
• Since I don't have the time to breed one with perfect Attack and 0 Speed, I went with Flash Cannon over Sacred Sword.
• Can beat certain Pokémon one-on-one with a Substitute up, but preserving it and eliminating opposing Fire and Dark-types was necessary in doing so.

Team Synergy and Thought Process

First off I'll start off by saying that more than 85% of my games, I led with Gyarados. Against Kangaskhan, it can punish Fake Outs with Rocky Helmet, or if it targets my other Pokémon I can get a free Thunder Wave off. It can get a surprise Taunt on Meowstic or Amoonguss rendering them useless, or even Aegislash to prevent them from setting up Substitute and essentially disabling Shield Form—forcing them to sacrifice their Aegislash or switch.

Anti-Kangaskhan

As the name implies, this lead combination seeks to punish opposing Kangaskhan leads through Rocky Helmet and Rough Skin's passive damage in addition to Intimidate's Attack drop. When partnered with Garchomp, Gyarados can get off a Thunder Wave against opposing Salamence and Greninja (the latter being fairly common for some reason) to remove their Speed advantage. However, this lead matchup is disadvantageous against Rotom-W since Gyarados is one-shotted by any Electric moves thrown at it, and Garchomp can't deal a whole lot of damage to it either. At the very least Gyarados is fast enough to outspeed most Rotom, allowing me to get off a last minute move if I feel that Gyarados has done its job already.

Anti-Steel

As I've mentioned before, Steel-types are a major problem for my team, regardless of whether I bring Venusaur or Kangaskhan. Rotom-H's Overheat can smack opposing Mawile, Ferrothorn, and Aegislash or can opt to Will-o-Wisp to help Venusaur stall them out. Substitute Aegislash can beat Mawile and Ferrothorn one-on-one if it can get a Substitute up and can over getting burned. With Steel-type's Ghost and Dark resists removed this generation, Shadow Ball can hit Steel-types reliably.

Fire/Water/Grass Core

Most beginning players recognize the Fire/Water/Grass core that is a staple in every Pokémon game since its inception. Talonflame is a huge threat to Venusaur, however Rotom-H and Gyarados check it. Rotom-H resists both of Talonflame's STAB attacks and can OHKO with Thunderbolt while Gyarados can give Venusaur a fighting chance at surviving a Choice Band Brave Bird by virtue of Intimidate or can punish Talonflame with a Waterfall.

On the other hand, Venusaur checks Rotom-W and other Water-types, which gives both Gyarados and Rotom-H a hard time. Gyarados is helpless against Water-types since both Waterfall and Ice Fang are resisted. It can Thunder Wave and Taunt, but that's the extent to what it can do. Rotom-H on the other hand, can do damage against Water-types but at the same time takes super-effective damage from Water as well. These are just a few examples of how this core works.

Usage Statistics

Over the course of the tournament I made sure to record each of my opponents' teams and the 4 Pokémon they brought. Here is a link to the spreadsheet for those that are curious. Also keep in mind that the sample size isn't really the biggest (26) but it's more for personal reference.

Mega Pokémon Brought to Battle

1. Kangaskhan - 9
2. Mawile - 5
3. Charizard Y - 4
4. Venusaur - 2
5. Blastoise - 2
6. Gengar - 1
7. Aerodactyl - 1
8. Ampharos - 1
9. Lucario - 1

Pokémon Brought to Battle

1. Garchomp - 8
2. Rotom-W - 6
3. Talonflame - 6
4. Salamence - 5
5. Aegislash - 5
6. Scrafty - 4
7. Greninja - 4
8. Meowstic-M - 4
9. Rotom-H - 3
10. Politoed - 2
11. Gardevoir - 2
12. Reuniclus - 2
13. Amoonguss - 2 
14. Venusaur - 1
15. Wigglytuff - 1
16. Gengar - 1
17. Slowbro - 1
18. Azumarill - 1
19. Espeon - 1
20. Smeargle - 1
21. Tyranitar - 1
22. Staraptor - 1
23. Weavile - 1
24. Rhyperior - 1
25. Liepard - 1 
26. Ferrothorn - 1
27. Gothielle - 1
28. Mienshao - 1
29. Chesnaught - 1
30. Diggersby - 1
31. Pangoro - 1
32. Heliolisk -1
33. Sylveon - 1
34. Hawlucha - 1
35. Klefki - 1
36. Goodra - 1 
37. Gougeist - 1
38. Noivern - 1

Pokémon Seen on Team Preview But Not Brought to Battle

1. Garchomp - 4
2. Talonflame - 4
3. Charizard - 3
4. Meowstic-M - 3
5. Azumarill - 2
6. Conkeldurr - 2
7. Aegislash - 2
8. Rotom-H - 2
9. Bisharp - 2
10. Venusaur - 1
11. Exeggutor - 1
12. Kangaskhan - 1
13. Vaporeon - 1
14. Lapras - 1
15. Aerodactyl - 1
16. Espeon - 1
17. Kingdra - 1
18. Tyranitar - 1
19. Gardevoir - 1
20. Sableye - 1
21. Aggron - 1
22. Salamence - 1
23. Mamoswine - 1
24. Gallade - 1
25. Rotom-C - 1
26. Rotom-W - 1
27. Scrafty - 1
28. Amoonguss - 1
29. Ferrothorn -1
30. Greninja - 1 
31. Aromatisse - 1
32. Dragalge - 1
33. Sylveon - 1
34. Goodra - 1
35. Klefki - 1
36. Avalugg - 1
37. Noivern - 1

Pokémon Seen on Teams Overall

1. Garchomp - 12
2. Kangaskhan - 10
3. Talonflame - 10
4. Charizard - 7
5. Rotom-W -7
6. Meowstic-M - 7
7. Aegislash - 7
8. Salamence - 6
9. Mawile - 5
10. Rotom-H - 5
11. Scrafty - 5
12. Greninja - 5
13. Venusaur - 4
14. Azumarill - 3
15. Gardevoir - 3
16. Amoonguss - 3
17. Blastoise - 2
18. Gengar - 2
19. Aerodactyl - 2
20. Politoed - 2 
21. Espeon - 2
22. Tyranitar - 2
23. Conkeldurr - 2
24. Reuniclus - 2
25. Ferrothorn - 2
26. Bisharp - 2
27. Sylveon - 2
28. Goodra - 2
29. Klefki - 2
30. Noivern - 2
31. Wigglytuff - 1
32. Slowbro - 1
33. Exeggutor - 1
34. Vaporeon - 1
35. Lapras - 1
36. Ampharos - 1
37. Kingdra - 1
38. Smeargle - 1
39. Sableye - 1
40. Aggron - 1
41. Staraptor - 1
42. Lucario - 1
43. Weavile - 1
44. Rhyperior - 1
45. Mamoswine - 1
46. Gallade - 1
47. Rotom-C - 1
48. Liepard - 1
49. Gothielle - 1
50. Mienshao - 1
51. Chesnaught - 1
52. Diggersby - 1
53. Pangoro - 1
54. Aromatisse - 1
55. Dragalge - 1
56. Heliolisk - 1
57. Hawlucha - 1
58. Gourgeist - 1
59. Avalugg - 1

Interesting Things to Note:

• Garchomp, Kangaskhan, and Talonflame are still the cream of the crop in usage stats, seeing as they were to Top 3 most seen for my run.
• I did not run into a single Manectric and I only fought one Tyranitar. Seems like Rocky Helmet was the right call...
• There was a surprising amount of Meowstic-M, but only roughly half of my opponents that had it brought it out.
• Despite EVing my Gyarados to outspeed Smeargle, I only ran into one and it was Lv 1. And all it did was use Protect.
• Greninja was surprisingly common for most players in this tournament. For me, it was just as common as Scrafty.
• 1/3 Azumarill users thought it was a good idea to bring it out, despite my Venusaur being on Team Preview.
• 0/2 Bisharps I saw on Team Preview were deployed, yet the single Wigglytuff I saw was sent out. Be sure to stay competitive and don't let defiance intimidate you.

Room For Improvement and Closing

Much like the #imoutos Special I was using for the Nugget Bridge Major, this team has a hard time against Steel-types if I don't have Aegislash or Rotom-H. Bisharp can also be intimidating in Team Preview due to my over-reliance on Gyarados. Most of my losses I feel I could've prevented in some way due to the way I play. One match in particular where I lost to Brightpowder Aegislash (My Taunt missed it and there were no Accuracy/Evasion drops) I could've easily knocked out either of their Pokémon with Rotom-H but didn't. I have a habit of making ballsy plays that blow up in my face and not making them when I really need to. But overall, I think I did "good enough" at making the right plays. Also, I'm too much of a beta to marathon battles since I get really lazy at times, even though the VGC ladder is essentially gone and we won't have another tournament in this format until June. But as a player who has amassed a whooping 0 CP over the past two seasons, I was just playing this for shit and giggles. It would've been funny if I had grinched a few people out of CP though.

Thanks for reading this long-ass report. Hopefully you got something out of it other than "Marco is a weeaboo" and learned something new. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @NickscorVGC!