The Bravest of Birds: AU Nationals Senior Division Runner-Up Report

Hello everyone! I’m Patrick (@AyriasVGC on twitter), and I recently placed 2nd at the 2015 Australian National Championships. While I only lost once in Swiss to Aaron Van der Kolk (who also ended my 9-0 winning streak in day 1 of the July International Challenge), I can’t say that my success was purely due to skill. I was justifiably allocated the pseudonym ‘Hax God’ for the majority of the tournament due to the insane amount of RNG rolls in my favour. My top 8 and top 4 games were quite clean however, and I mentally proved that I wasn’t just some lucky noob. Enjoy the report!

Teambuilding Process

Mega Metagross caught my attention when I was at Sydney Regionals, while it was being played with on the big screen. It was very intimidating and its damage output looked quite viable. I didn't really use it until I had confirmed my visit to Nationals, though. I saw KellsterCartier's Mega Metagross report, and I just knew it was the mega that I wanted to build my team around. Upon research, I discovered the perfect teammate;


In theory, these two have perfect synergy, discounting Bug and Fighting-type attacks. So I added this powerful Dragon-type as a defensive pivot for Metagross. I had been using Hydreigon most of VGC15 thus far, so I got excited when I learnt how beneficial it would be. I noticed that a special Salamence could break through both of these 'mons, so I used a very outdated tactic to deal with it, as well as other dragons and the perish trap archetype.


As well as patching up weak spots in my team, Gardevoir formed a Fantasy core with Metagross and Hydreigon, a core that I am very comfortable playing with. It was also an excellent switch-in to Fighting-type attacks aimed at Hydreigon and sometimes Metagross. At this point in building, I was a little bit bulky, but my choices were weak to ever present types in the metagame, so I needed a bulky Pokemon that could also provide the speed control I was lacking;


While my team was quite fast, scarfed Landorus-Therian could outspeed them all, take a decent chunk of HP from two and OHKO one. I definitely needed a hard counter to the floating lion, so Suicune joined the squad. At this point, I could play battles on showdown with just these four. I noticed a severe weakness to Mega Kangaskhan and Charizard-Y, and I definitely could not ignore this.


Terrakion's job would have probably been better done by Virizion, but I'm certain that Stone Edge wouldn't connect when I needed it to. Also, I had a Terrakion in my PC box, which finalised the decision. Where are we? The 6th member. God, I tried so much before I found the perfect Pokemon to complete the team. Originally, I used Gothitelle, which I really enjoyed using in combination with Scald burns, but I couldn't handle triple Psychic, and the damage output was lacking. I searched for something that had both Intimidate and Tailwind, and I was given two choices; Staraptor or Salamence. I chose to not use the Pokemon that has actually been proven to be decent, which turned out to be an excellent decision.


"RAPTOR BURD" - dannitard

Analysis 

I'm not 100% sure the EVs listed below are accurate to what I used, but the movesets and item are definitely correct. Here are the complete sets:


Metal (Metagross) @ Metagrossite
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Head
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch
- Protect

Metagross is definitely one of my top 3 favourite megas. While at this point in the metagame it is walled by every steel type, I used it when the 'Standard 6' were not set in stone. I originally ran Bullet Punch over Iron Head, but I really needed a secure answer to all fairy types, who would otherwise destroy my team. I didn't really try the Substitute variant, as I had only been playing for a few months and didn't think I would be skilled enough to use it. Ice Punch was a very good call, as Metagross had the natural bulk to survive anything Salamence or Landorus could throw at it, and had the offensive capabilities to cleanly OHKO both of them with an Ice Punch. I think 4/252/252 is the best spread for Metagross, as otherwise odd choices that have a speed tier of 100-109 (Infernape and the Musketeers, to name a few) can ruin Metagross' day with knockouts or flinches.


Bird (Hydreigon) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Dark Pulse
- Earth Power
- Flamethrower

Hydreigon is definitely Metagross' official partner in crime. Choice Specs boosted Draco Meteor will OHKO a considerable chunk of the metagame, and the combination of its other moves will deal with every steel type that would otherwise create huge problems for the Mega. Modest Nature, 252 EVs and Choice Specs were chosen to maximise the damage of Draco Meteor, and to be able to knockout most Aegislash with Dark Pulse. Earth Power is almost solely used for Heatran, while Flamethrower deals with Scizor and Ferrothorn. These two attacks can also knockout Mawiles that aren't running maximum special bulk.

QUOTE OF THE EVENT: "Patrick brings out his Starap- sorry, no, his Hydreigon." - commentator of the finals.


Maid (Gardevoir) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Trace
Level: 50
EVs: 108 HP / 124 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Energy Ball

First off, this is the only nickname that I made myself (more on that later), and apparently it created a small amount of controversy in the audience; this was NOT an innuendo, the name was a reference to how the Pokédex says it dedicates its life to its Master. With that out of the way; I believe this is the right EV spread, all I remember about the spread is that I copied it from Smogon. It was intended for the Mega forme, and is extremely inefficient for what I wanted Gardevoir to do, which was to outspeed and knockout a lot of threats to my team, namely Blaziken and Salamence, and to check Perish Trap. This spread doesn't even outspeed max speed Mega Gengar, but it did outspeed Fubat's, which was instrumental to my victory (as well as a few flinches here and there). The STABs should be pretty obvious, though picking a 3rd and 4th move was harder. Shadow Ball dealt decent neutral damage to a lot of Pokemon, and Energy Ball achieved some unexpected KOs on Swamperts and Gastrodons.


Cat (Suicune) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def  / 132 SpA / 60 SpD / 60 Spe
Bold Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Tailwind
- Protect

This spread was ripped off of DaWoblefet's Top 16 Winter Regionals Report, and I really like it. Suicune is a very good disruptor, being able to turn the game quickly in my favour with Scald burns, Ice Beam freezes and Tailwind. Rocky Helmet came into clutch in a number of occasions, and turned Suicune into an excellent counter to most contact Physical attackers (because Scald). I didn't really consider Snarl over Protect, though in retrospect, that might have been a better choice. Protect did, however, allow Suicune to not be spored in the finals. The team did not rely on tailwind, but it did create a lot of win conditions throughout the tournament. Also; the name 'Cat' was chosen as Terrakion seemed more like a Dog. Speaking of which;


Dog (Terrakion) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Close Combat
- Quick Guard
- Protect

Terrakion is the ultimate Kangaskhan counter. You know, unless the opponent has a Thundurus. But I did faint a lot of Kangaskhan (including one that predicted a Quick Guard - the plays!) throughout the event, and felt like it did put in a lot of work against neutral targets. Rock Slide is the second best move in the game (Swagger #1), and it definitely came in clutch in a lot of situations. It was also an excellent way to deal with Charizard-Ys that were EVd to survive Landorus-Therian's less powerful Rock Slide. Quick Guard switched places with Helping Hand multiple times during testing, but in the end I stuck with the former as it allowed me to create quite a few mind games. While Lum Berry is often used to check Thundurus more effectively, I liked the ability to survive Landorus' Earthquake, and to check Greninja better (neutral Close Combat will KO, assuming no Scald burn).


Dragon (Staraptor) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double-Edge
- Brave Bird
- Close Combat
- U-turn

Hands down the MVP of the tournament. I originally ran a supportive version with Tailwind and Gothitelle replacing Suicune, but I discovered the power of Choice Band and never looked back. While most of the sets that focus on pure power use the Reckless ability, I find that it does not need the 1.2x boost to pick up any notable KOs. Intimidate also served as supportive option, but I was too dumb to use it correctly. Close Combat was chosen to allow Raptor to reliably counter Kangaskhan, as it can survive a -1 Double-Edge. To be honest; I don't think Staraptor is a really great pick. I think the only reason it worked so well is because people did not have a counter to it. The team ended up supporting it decently, however, with Tailwind allowing it to outspeed almost everything.

Finals Video

I did not write down any notes about my opponents' teams, but luckily DYoshiiTV has uploaded the streamed senior finals to his YouTube channel:

Common Leads


Ah, the Cat + Dog combo. I'm not sure what it is about this lead, but it was very reliable and was used for about 70% of my games. I think it's due to the good coverage, and the sheer amount of hax. Yeah, with this lead I usually just set up Tailwind, and begin Rock Sliding and Scalding. That's what I call balanced!


The tried and true combo; these two support each other perfectly as a defensive combo, and even better with the insane coverage they share. Whatever the two of them cannot knockout with type advantages, Draco Meteor can nuke. If I want something to flinch, I can Iron Head + Dark Pulse, giving them a 49% chance to move. Yeah, I suck.

Conclusion

I was a horrible player in June and I have no idea how I got so far. I earned a hefty sum of CP that awarded me an invititation to worlds, but I did not go due to the funds required. The Australian Nationals was my second event, and it was extremely fun. I did, however, hear reports that I became quite arrogant after the event, so I apologise to anyone affected by this, and I will definitely fix the behaviour up for VGC16.

While Staraptor was definitely an odd Pokemon choice, I don't believe I showcased it on stream. Se Jun Park is an amazing player who used a niche Pokemon, but he proved that Pachirisu could be good when used right by showing his talent on screen. I do believe that with the correct support, Choice Band Staraptor can be a monster. I'm still practising VGC, but who knows, someday I may put the retired bird back into my battle box.

Special Thanks

There are a few people who helped with the development of the team greatly and I'd like to thank these people:
- NamedHero/DestinyLife: Thank you so much for the nicknames! They were so fun to play with, even though they only showed in the finals.
- RhombusPKMN: Thank you for putting up with all the crazy ideas I threw at you in my teambuilding process, and for letting me practice.
- TragicBliss: Thank you for all the BO3s we had, as well as inspiring me to play VGC and staying in Melbourne with me. Sorry for being "the most arrogant person on the planet"!
- You: Thank you for reading my report! ^-^ if you have any questions about the team I used, feel free to send me a PM on Nugget Bridge! (NB: Ayrias)