Introduction
It's been a while since I last posted anything on the blog so if you guys forgot who I am, I am James Baek also known as Jamesspeed1. A lot of people have been asking about my team that I have used to top cut multiple events during the Spring and I thought I might as well talk about it just so I don't have to keep talking to people in DMs about it.
Team Building Process
So I think everyone knows about the team referred to as Chalk (Cresselia, Heatran, Amoonguss, Landorus, Kangaskhan and usually a filler commonly Thundurus) in 2015 which was the game defining team of the year and probably the most solid team in general. I wanted to find something that was able to provide the same roles as Chalk from 2015 and I decided not to use variants of the Big 6 teams (Kangaskhan, Salamence, Xerneas, Groudon, Smeargle, Talonflame) because in my opinion, it just isn't as solid. The reasons are that the team doesn't have many reliable switch ins to take attacks and most of the time I have played with Big 6, Xerneas ends up a being a win condition and if you get crit once, its over.
This was the team I had originally built:
Double genies are always solid and no matter what format their in, they are going to be good. Landorus provides Intimidate support which makes my Pokemon that are already bulky able to take physical hits better, allowing me for some easier set ups such as Trick Room or allowing me to play more aggressive without worrying about taking too much damage. Landorus also helped against Primal Groudon and since Primal Groudon is one of the strongest Pokemon in VGC 2016 if not the strongest, you need multiple answers to keep Primal Groudon in check. The reason I had Landorus over Salamence like I did in previous teams and most teams in VGC using a double mega core is because I wanted to have Intimidate even when bringing Kangaskhan which helped because I could have Fake Out pressure and Intimidate in one battle.
Thundurus is always good, having the ability to Prankster Thunder Wave or Taunt can really just disrupt teams and Thundurus gave me a way to hit Kyogre for some nice damage along with the speed control options. Kangaskhan is still a dominant Mega Pokemon this year for its ability to outspeed a large portion of the metagame, knock out Smeargles who carry Focus Sash, provide Fake Out and to hit hard with a stab normal type attack that hits almost everything in this format hard.
Now Cresselia was a Pokemon I was debating about but in a format where flying type attacks are common with Mega Salamence and Rayquaza along with Xerneas being one of the most popular Pokemon, I felt Bronzong provided a better role. Earlier in the year, I said that Cresselia overclasses Bronzong in either way because of its higher bulk, the fact it can win Skill Swap mirrors in Trick Room, it doesn't get knocked out by any one attack from a Primal, can set up Gravity completely fine against an opposing Groudon,and has a better movepool overall but the things Bronzong had which I really felt for it was its steel typing along with a way to hit Xerneas for some big damage.
Restricted Pokemon, it felt weird to pick restricted Pokemon last on a team but I already had an idea for the first 4 Pokemon I wanted to use. I picked Groudon to replace Heatran of Chalk for its fire typing, great bulk, typing, ability, can take hits from Xerneas and dish back some heavy damage to Xerneas and the fact it puts on so much offensive pressure. For the last restricted Pokemon, I didn't want to depend on Xerneas and I wasn't liking how a lot of restricted Pokemon didn't fit the team. I was choosing a Pokemon to replace Amoonguss but I didn't need any Amoonguss's roles on this team and no legend can provide Amoonguss's role so I decided to pick Kyogre as my last Pokemon. The ability to provide so much damage, nice resistances and protect my Bronzong with its ability of Primordial Sea.
Blue Bell Midseason Showdown Team
Landorus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- U-turn
- Protect
Life Orb is my favorite Landorus set for this season. Unlike Choice Band which provides some nice damage, you don't have to lock yourself into a move and I can put Protect on Landorus which really came in clutch. Earthquake and Rock Slide were nice ways to get some chip damage but U-turn was fantastic. With Dual Primal, U-turn is a great asset to have because one, you can outspeed opposing Primals and U-turn to gain weather control and 2, you can switch after if you're opponent switches into a Primal. The ability to cycle Intimidate to set up Bronzong to Trick Room and U-turn out into a Primal to take advantage of Trick Room and gain the weather control on the turn I set up Trick Room was great.
Thundurus @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Taunt
- Protect
Very standard Thundurus which did its role. Timid max speed Thundurus in order to outspeed base 110's such as Gengar. Taunt was actually pretty useless at the Tournament since I didn't face a Smeargle, the only Xerneas I faced was a Life Orb Close Combat Xerneas in Round 2, and every Amoonguss I faced was Mental Herb. Protect is nice on a frail Thundurus because it allows Thundurus to stay on the field longer combined with Focus Sash.
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 84 HP / 172 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 244 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Low Kick
- Protect
- Before Mega Evolution: outspeeds max speed Smeargle by 2 points
- Survives Jolly Mega Kangaskhan's Low Kick
Bronzong @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 36 Def / 228 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 2 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Hypnosis
- Trick Room
- Gravity
- Odd Number HP Stat to have 51% of health remaining after a Super Fang
- Takes the same amount of damage from Kyogre spread moves as max Sp Def
Bronzong vs. Cresselia as I have said before loses to Skill Swap wars so to make sure I would stick with Bronzong and not replace it later on with Cresselia is try out Hypnosis on it. Under Gravity which is a move I execute in almost every battle, Hypnosis becomes 100% accurate and allowed Bronzong to disrupt teams, allow my Pokemon to easily set up or do a lot of damage and allowed it to provide a 100% accurate sleep move like Amoonguss's Spore without the Grass type and Safety Googles drawback. I used Safety Googles to help in the Amoonguss matchup, as I could Hypnosis the Amoonguss and set up Trick Room which is why I have 2 speed ivs to be 1 point faster then minimum speed Amoonguss. Overall I never missed Skill Swap and Hypnosis was a great tech move and if I was desperate, one Hypnosis land outside of Gravity can be a huge turn around. I tried not to do this and only go for Hypnosis outside of Gravity when I didn't lose much from not going for Hypnosis on the turn where if I missed, it wouldn't overall effect the battle or those last chance situations.
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 140 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Fire Punch
- Swords Dance
- Protect
- Survives Neutral Nature Primal Groudon's Earth Power
- -1 Neutral Nature Primal Groudon's Spread Precipice Blades is a 3 hit KO
- +2 Spread Precipice Blades or 2 Spread knocks out 4 Hp Xerneas
- Speed Creeps no speed Primals
Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 52 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Water Spout
- Ice Beam
- Origin Pulse
- Protect
- Survives Choice Band or +1 Jolly Dragon Ascent from Mega Rayquaza
Slow Kyogre that was able to take physical hits very nicely and do a lot of damage. Water Spout and Origin Pulse allowed me some nice spread coverage and I loved clicking Water Spout in Trick Room allowing me to pick up some easy and fast kos. Origin Pulse was a backup in case Kyogre was weakened earlier in the battle and I do prefer Water Spout over Thunder just because having a nice accurate Water move that actually does damage.
This team did struggle a bit to Yveltal and a combination of Amoonguss/Parasect paired with Primal Kyogre.
Tournament Performance
This version of the team was able to win a NY Premier Challenge and made Top 4 at the NY Midseason Showdown piloted by Jake Skurchak (@Pokebeys) who helped me test this team in the field.
In Swiss I ended up making Top Cut at X-2 and rematching Chuppa Cross who I had lost to in Swiss at the tournament in Yop 8. After defeating Chuppa, I advanced to Top 4 defeating someone with a Parasect, Scarf Xerneas and Primal Kyogre and finally defeacted Kamikaze in the finals with Rayogre Amoonguss to win the Midseason Showdown where I clinched my Worlds Invite.
Top Cut: https://twitter.com/JamesWBaek/status/723929188416233472
Madison Regionals Team
Ended up going to Madison Regionals and I had not played Pokemon outside of recording for YouTube also did not decide what team I was going to use for the tournament. During the time span between Blue Bell and Madison, Alex Gomez (@Pokealex_) won Italy Nationals undefeated with the team of Kangaskhan, Salamence, Thundurus, Groudon, Kyogre and Cresselia while Krelcroc (@Krelcroc) had gotten 2nd at Korean Nationals with the team of Kangaskhan, Thundurus, Bronzong, Kyogre, Groudon and Salamence. The morning of the tournament, I decided to use my Blue Bell team and replace Landorus with Salamence.
The Team
Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 124 Atk / 132 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Double-Edge
- Tailwind
- Protect
Same Mega Salamence spread that I have used throughout the entire season. I chose Tailwind over Draco Meteor because I wanted more speed control, I never used Draco Meteor and I'm not a fan of Substitute in the mirror match facing a Mega Salamence that can Hyper Voice through the Sub.
Thundurus @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 36 HP / 216 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Protect
Same Thundurus except I picked Hidden Power Water over Taunt for the reason that I felt every Amoonguss I would face is Amoonguss and Crafty Shield Smeargle was popular at the time so I dropped Taunt and put Hidden Power Water over Ice because I felt Fast Groudon was more annoying than facing Salamence.
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 84 HP / 172 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 244 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
- Icy Wind
Same Kangaskhan from Blue Bell except with Icy Wind over Protect. I thought Icy Wind was a cool tech move and it helped while facing the Salamence and Thundurus/Amoonguss lead as well as allowing my Primals to outspeed opposing Primals after an Icy Wind since nobody was expecting it. Power-Up Punch was something I put because I never used Low Kick much at the Blue Bell Midseason and it would create a lot more options such as Power-Up Punching myself and a new win condition.
Bronzong @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 100 Def / 164 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 2 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Hypnosis
- Trick Room
- Gravity
Same Bronzong from Blue Bell with more defense to take physical hits better.
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 140 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Fire Punch
- Swords Dance
- Protect
Same Groudon
Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 44 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Ice Beam
- Origin Pulse
- Protect
I switched up the Kyogre last minute since I had Tailwind, so I changed from Quiet to Modest and put on Thunder since Dual Primal was becoming more popular and I wanted another way to hit Kyogre for damage. I prefer Water Spout but Thunder did its job.
Tournament Performance
Ended up facing some strong opponents and hard matchupsthroughout the tournament facing a lot of Yveltal and Dual Primal. In Round 3 of Swiss, I ended up facing against Zheyuan Huang who I didn't know at the time but had Top Cut Seattle Regionals last week with a protect the deer team. After lunch break Round 4 was against Chuppa Cross who I ended up losing to on stream. To make it into the Top Cut and Day 2, I needed to go X-1 so I couldn't afford a loss and every match I played was an elimination match. I ended up rematching Collin Heier who I faced in the finals of Madison last year and I faced Jon Hu in the last round of Swiss to make Top Cut at Madison. Day 2, I faced off against Alec Rubin in Top 8 and got a really unfortunate lucky break against him but ended up losing to Diana Bros (@eshivgc) after I played really poorly in games 1 and 3. Happy for her for winning the entire tournament though.
Top Cut: https://twitter.com/JamesWBaek/status/734172182088175616
New England Regionals Team
I only played a little Pokemon after Madison Regionals, since there was a one week interval between Madison and New England but I knew what I wanted to change after Madison.
The Team
Salamence-Mega @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 124 Atk / 132 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Hyper Voice
- Double-Edge
- Tailwind
- Protect
Same Salamence from Madison
Thundurus @ Focus Sash
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 36 HP / 216 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def / 30 SpA
- Thunderbolt
- Thunder Wave
- Hidden Power [Water]
- Protect
Same Thundurus from Madison
Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Inner Focus
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 172 Atk / 76 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Fake Out
- Return
- Power-Up Punch
- Protect
- Lives Jolly Low Kick from Mega Kangaskhan
I tried out Jolly Kangaskhan since Kangaskhan's main job is to provide Fake Out and get chip damage to help the rest of my team, I thought it didn't hurt the team if I went Jolly and it allowed me to outspeed Yveltal which is annoying to face. I put Protect back on because I felt Protect was more consistent than Icy Wind and allowed Pup Kang to become more threatening.
Bronzong @ Lum Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 100 Def / 164 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- Hypnosis
- Trick Room
- Gravity
Same Bronzong from Madison with Lum Berry over Safety Googles anticipating more Smeargle and Big 6 teams than Amoonguss.
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 140 Atk / 4 Def / 100 SpD / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Fire Punch
- Swords Dance
- Protect
Same Groudon from Madison and Blue Bell. I might've changed the spread but I don't remember but if I did it was very minor.
Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 204 Def / 44 SpA / 4 SpD / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunder
- Ice Beam
- Origin Pulse
- Protect
Same Kyogre from Madison
Tournament Performance
Ended up making Top Cut after losing to Enosh S. (@EnoshShachar) in Round 5 to go X-1 in Swiss and losing to the eventual winner Paul Chua (@Blue_Penguin_ ) in Top 8. Congrats to him for taking another Regional Championship and his sister Kylie for getting 2nd in Seniors. Also really proud of my friend Mihrab (@MegaChar10) for winning seniors.
Shoutouts
Jake Skurchak (@Pokebeys) - For helping me test the team.
Alex Gomez (@PokeAlex_) and Krelcroc (@Krelcroc) - For the team ideas and adjustments.
darkrai evs pls ? :)
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