Tail Up : The AusTerrain VGC 16 Special

Introduction

How’s it going guys, Mitch Kendrick (MitchVGC) here with a report on the team I used for 3 out of the 4 regionals I attended. I must admit, VGC 16 was a format that I did not particularly enjoy from the outset, as I found myself struggling to build a consistent team and was not finding as much success with Big 6 as others were seemingly getting. I eventually found myself becoming comfortable with Ray-Ogre however I felt it was getting quite out of date prior to regionals.

The Team

Around this time Luke (Dawg) had been messing around on showdown with a team that was designed to infuriate the opponent rather than produce consistent wins. I wanted to play around with the team for a while as a distraction from the stresses of teambuilding, so Luke kindly gave me the pastebin for the team.

 TAIL UP

Smeargle @ Focus Sash  

Ability: Own Tempo  

Level: 50  

EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD  

Relaxed Nature  

IVs: 28 Spe  

- Dark Void  

- Follow Me  

- Crafty Shield  

- Spiky Shield  

Bronzong @ Lum Berry  

Ability: Levitate  

Level: 50  

EVs: 244 HP / 148 Atk / 116 SpD  

Sassy Nature  

IVs: 0 Spe  

- Trick Room  

- Gyro Ball  

- Skill Swap  

- Hypnosis  

Kyogre @ Blue Orb  

Ability: Drizzle  

EVs: 204 HP / 252 Def / 52 SpA  

Modest Nature  

- Water Spout  

- Scald  

- Ice Beam  

- Protect  

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite  

Ability: Inner Focus  

Level: 50  

EVs: 36 HP / 140 Atk / 76 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe  

Jolly Nature  

- Return  

- Aqua Tail  

- Fire Punch  

- Fake Out  

Talonflame @ Life Orb  

Ability: Gale Wings  

Level: 50  

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe  

Adamant Nature  

- Brave Bird  

- Flare Blitz  

- Tailwind  

- Quick Guard  

Xerneas @ Power Herb  

Ability: Fairy Aura  

Level: 50  

EVs: 4 HP / 44 Def / 156 SpA / 52 SpD / 252 Spe  

Timid Nature  

IVs: 0 Atk  

- Moonblast  

- Dazzling Gleam  

- Geomancy  

- Protect  

The goal of the team was to get surprise knockouts on Groudon, as well as Ferrothorn when it was more prominent. This was achieved by using Aqua Tail on a turn that Kyogre is switching in, as even at -1 it was picking up the knockout the majority of the time. This allows for a giant momentum shift and gives Kyogre the opportunity to dish out major damage with one of its main threats gone. Unsuspecting Ferrothorn are also caught out by Fire Punch on a turn that Kyogre switches out.

While having the surprise Kangaskhan is fun, the team can also function well as a standard team, with its Xerneas + Smeargle mode, Bronzong to threaten Xerneas and provide speed and weather control.

After some fun victories I decided I wanted to take this team to a grassroots so I made some adjustments to produce the team you see above. Talonflame originally had snatch which I never used, so replaced it for Flare Blitz as I wanted an extra way to deal with Steel types as Kangaskhan’s Fire Punch wasn’t always enough. Bronzong also had gravity, for a while I was struggling to work out what to replace it with and eventually decided on hypnosis as a way to help against Gravity + Precipice Blades.

Tournaments

Grassroots

I took it to the grassroots feeling no pressure at all, as my reason for going was to help build up the numbers as the host was endeavouring to become a TO. I was able to produce some hilarious reactions from people who lost their Groudons to surprise Aqua Tails which was definitely the highlight of my day, and I eventually finished runner up. In light of this I felt pretty confident that I would be able to go X-2 at the upcoming in regional in Adelaide with this team so decided to test it out down there.

Adelaide Regionals (May 1st, 2016)

The event itself was a bit of a shamble. I went from playing a best of 3 match against Luke in round 2 to playing a best of 1 match against Nihal (UchihaX96) in round 3 which isn’t exactly ideal. Ultimately I finished 5-2 (13th Place), I was able to knock out a few Groudon with Aqua Tail which was quite enjoyable to say the least. I felt that the team proved itself to be quite solid, given that Adelaide was quite stacked I decided to continue using it at other regionals for some safe CP in the buildup to Nationals.

Sydney Regionals (May 14th, 2016)

I didn’t run into many Groudon at this regional, nor anyone who was very well known, though most of my opponents were quite skilled so no match could be considered easy. That being said, leading Kangaskhan with either Xerneas or Kyogre helped deal with my opponents quite comfortably. In the final round of swiss I was overjoyed to see both Groudon and Ferrothorn on my opponents team, however my opponent’s Smeargle prevented me from being able to Tail Up his team and as a result I did not make top cut. My finishing record was 6-2 (10th), and looking back on the losses, I had I found that I was not playing as well as I could have.

Brisbane Regionals (May 21st, 2016)

The majority of teams I faced were quite strange and not exactly what some would call “real teams”, for example in swiss I faced more Giratina than Xerneas and played against Minimize Chansey with Guard Split Shuckle at 5-1 which was pretty unbelievable to say the least. The team held up very strongly, however I did lose to Daniel Walker for the 3rd time in the swiss rounds out of the last 4 tournaments. I was able to Top cut as 4th seed after going 7-1 in Swiss rounds. The top cut matches were much tougher, and I lost in top 4 to the eventual champion.

Melbourne Regionals (May 29th, 2016) and beyond 

Going in to Melbourne I was not going to earn CP unless I finished in the top 8. Happy with my current amount of CP, I decided that I would focus on Nationals and use Melbourne regionals to test a potential team. I went 5-3 using William Tansley’s (StarKO) Double Primal team. I felt a little disappointed that I did not bring Tail Up to this regional as I felt top cut was a real possibility after seeing the teams that were playing at the X-1 and above tables in the final couple of rounds.

By the time Nationals came around I decided to run a variant of Big B with Raichu in place of Kangaskhan, and I felt very confident with my choice based on where the Australian metagame was at and recent trends in the International metagame. The swiss rounds being split over 2 days was a concern, the first 7 rounds were on day 1 where I finished 5-2, with my losses featuring moments where I could’ve sealed up the win but had a brain failure. Round 8 was the first round of the second day and my brain quite simply did not turn up this time, I would dare say it was the worst I have ever played. I finished 5-4 overall after not playing the final round as my opponent needed the win to secure his worlds invite.

This is where my season ended as I was unable to take time off to go to worlds, I am disappointed I was unable to take a new version of Tail Up to worlds, but hopefully I will once again get the opportunity to compete next year! 

I also ended up uploading a couple of videos to showcase Tail Up on my YouTube channel (Kendrick Mitch). If you want to check it out you can do so down below :)

Overall Thoughts

• This team unintentionally ended up looking like a Big B variant before Big B started becoming prominent, which I found to be amusing looking back.
• Another amusing point is that Xerneas + Kyogre + Bronzong has picked up in popularity as of late.
• Fire Punch did not end up being too useful after Ferrothorn usage started falling. Power Up Punch, Low Kick, or Sucker Punch would have been more useful later in the season.
• Opposing Kyogre was a difficult matchup.
• Team is still very solid even once the opponent is aware of Aqua Tail and plays around it accordingly.
• Practice is important, it is probably why this was my most successful team of the year
• Every time I used a team with Groudon this season, I did no better than X-3.

Shoutouts

• Luke (Dawg) - Thank you again for the team, it made the season much more fun.
• Nihal (UchihaX96) - His strong and consistent season is something that everyone should be aiming for. His help throughout the season has been invaluable.
• William Tansley (StarKO) - Thank you for letting me borrow your Nationals team for Melbourne regionals, and for the battle practice in the leadup to my Nationals.
• All of the Pear - Whether it be helping practice online, fun dinner events, cheering me on from halfway around the world, or general good banter. You guys are just the best.
• Nintendo Australia - I am grateful for the events but the running of them was a real step down this season.

Conclusion

With the VGC17 format looking on paper to be much more enjoyable than VGC16, I am looking forward to doing more write ups as the season progresses. Having also borrowed a capture card from Lionel (CatGonkVGC), keep an eye out for video content throughout the season!

See you all next season!

Mitch

Live by the Moody, Die by the Moody - A Top 16 Worlds Report

Introduction 

Hi everyone, my name is Sam Pandelis (Zelda), and today I'm here to recount to you my experience at Worlds this year. I'm a VGC player from Australia, and this year I competed in my fourth season of competitive VGC. Over the years I've had a few notable successes, winning 3 Regional Championships, and making Top Cut at Nationals twice, but this was the first year that I was fortunate enough to attend Worlds. I had an amazing time at Worlds, meeting people I had talked to online for years, and hanging out with so many amazing friends that I usually never get a chance to see. Overall it was a fun experience. Regarding the tournament itself, I was not expecting to do as well as I did, but I just played to my strengths and did what I felt I was good at, and finished in the Top 16. I’ll start off with a simple team report, which will be followed by a war story of sorts on how I progressed through Day 2 of Worlds.

The Team

The team that I used was created by Gavin Michaels (kingofmars) and myself. Most of the team was constructed based on ideas that he had, after which we collaborated together on how to improve the team.

Crobat @ Lum Berry  
Ability: Inner Focus  
EVs: 68 HP / 188 Def / 252 Spe  
Timid Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Super Fang  
- Tailwind  
- Quick Guard  
- Haze  

Crobat was absolutely fundamental to my team as it was the only Pokemon on the team that significantly improved my matchup against Xerneas. Super Fang and Tailwind are self-explanatory, and I chose to use Quick Guard over other common options such as Taunt. At times it proved to be quite useful when paired with my Groudon. Setting up Tailwind and being able to stop priority moves such as Sucker Punch or Fake Out allowed me to fire off 150BP Eruptions more consistently. Haze was there purely for Xerneas, but I actually found it quite useful in Hazing away intimidates off of Kangaskhan, so all around it proved to be a solid move.

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite  
Ability: Scrappy  
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
- Fake Out  
- Double-Edge  
- Power-Up Punch  
- Sucker Punch  

Kangaskhan is a Pokemon that has been featured in all of my teams since the introduction of Mega Pokemon in VGC ’14, and since then it has been a core member of all my teams. The moveset I decided to use was fairly standard, as is the EV spread. Just the cookie cutter set that is quick and powerful. Interestingly, I had been running Inner Focus for most of the year, but I changed it's ability to Scrappy the night before Day 2 Worlds because I wanted to have a better matchup against Gengar on teams like those of Wolfe/Markus/Billa. A key factor to my success this entire season is the infamous Side-Pup, where you Power-Up-Punch your ally Pokemon when you’re predicting your opponent to protect their Pokemon. I was able to get away with a Side-Pup way too many times at Worlds.

Yveltal @ Life Orb  
Ability: Dark Aura  
EVs: 20 HP / 204 Atk / 28 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
- Knock Off  
- Foul Play  
- Sucker Punch  
- Protect  
My first restricted Pokemon, and considered by many to be a strange one. Many people are drawn away from Yveltal due to the fact that it has a huge disadvantage against Xerneas. The way I saw things, people were always trying to come up with ways to beat Xerneas, and in my eyes, with Yveltal I felt super confident that I could beat anything that wasn’t Xerneas quite easily. When it came to the Xerneas matchup, I’d rely on other pokemon such as Crobat to play out the game to my advantage.

I don’t really remember what the EV spread is designed to do, but I feel like we just made it strong enough to deal with the things it needed to, and dumped the leftover EVs into Defense. The moveset is quite simple. Knock Off OHKOs Bronzong, which was such a common threat in this format, but in reality what made Yveltal so good for me was that it’d make Bronzong disappear. As in on team preview, your opponent would be a lot less inclined to bring it (even when I was afraid of it!). Foul Play does consistent damage against Groudon, Kangaskhan and Salamence, while Sucker Punch gave me a hard hitting priority move (which also was the most effective move against Kyogre).

Groudon @ Red Orb  
Ability: Drought  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe  
Timid Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def  
- Eruption  
- Hidden Power [Ice]  
- Earth Power  
- Protect  
My second restricted Pokemon, and also the most popular Pokemon in the format. A lot of people chose to run physical sets this season, with special being the least popular, but I felt like this fit in more with what I wanted to achieve. Eruption dealt massive damage when the sun was out, but is slightly unreliable when compared to other fire moves, as I needed to keep Groudon healthy. I chose to run Earth Power because it was important for me to be able to ensure KO’s on most other non-bulky Groudon, as Precipice Blades wouldn’t be able to OHKO me. I chose to go with HP Ice because my team has a pretty big Salamence weakness, so I wanted to be able to ensure huge damage on it with my Groudon. It was a little bit of a surprise factor too.

Thundurus @ Focus Sash  
Ability: Prankster  
Level: 50  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe  
Timid Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Thunderbolt  
- Taunt  
- Thunder Wave  
- Protect  
There’s really no need to go in depth here. I chose to use Focus Sash as I wanted Thundurus to still be able to hit hard with Thunderbolt, and I didn’t see much benefit in going the defensive version with sitrus berry for the kind of team I was running.

Smeargle @ Choice Scarf  
Ability: Moody  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
- Taunt  
- Feint  
- Dark Void  
- Transform  
Note: I intended for the ability to be Own Tempo, but my breeder bred the wrong ability and unfortunately I did not notice. I have a long history of not noticing things. In 2013 I won Melbourne Regionals with a 3 move Thundurus; In 2015 I brought a Weavile to Nationals with no Ice move, and in 2016 Worlds I had the wrong ability on my Smeargle.

Probably the most interesting Pokemon on my team, It is also the one Pokemon I put on the team myself without any outside help. I was in a call with one of my friends BaseIN2, laddering on Pokemon Showdown with variants of this team, and we noticed that we kept asking ourselves the same question: “What does my opponents team do against Scarf Smeargle???”

The answer? We found that way more teams than we expected didn’t have consistent answers to it. For example, the World Champion's team featured Raichu, Rayquaza, Gengar, Kyogre, Hitmontop and Bronzong. It’s unlikely that Bronzong is coming because of Yveltal’s presence, the rest of those Pokemon must eat Dark Void, provided it hits. Regardless of the variability in terms of missing and sleep rolls, this was a position we would rather be in than not, and I found that way too many teams had this weakness to Scarf Smeargle. 
I chose to run Taunt for one reason. When they lead Crobat/X, Protect the other Pokemon and Tailwind, I can fire off a Taunt on the Crobat before it can Tailwind and get an easy +2 from Power-Up-Punch. This happened very often, most notably in my Top 24 match against Andrew Nowak. It’s a play that is high in risk, but I felt confident in being able to read my opponent and win the gamble.
Feint was not a move I used very often, but the scenario in which I found it the most appealing was when I led Khan Artist against Crobat/Kyogre, and I’d Feint + Double-Edge into the Kyogre. They would protect Kyogre almost every time, and if I was predicting something else I could get a Dark Void off, but otherwise this move wasn’t super important to me. I loved Transform because I could control the weather by Transforming into my own Groudon. It helped me a lot in practice, and won me a game at Worlds too.
Okay, so that’s out of the way! I really loved this team. I felt super comfortable with it and I was positive in playing any matchup with it after intense practice. With that done, let’s now move on to my experiences in Day 2 of the 2016 World Championships.

Day 2 Worlds
Round 1: Baris Akcos (Billa) - WW

As soon as I looked at pairings and I saw I was against Billa, I kind of got really afraid. Billa was a good friend of mine, but also I saw him as an incredibly strong player, and in a way, this woke me up into realizing how hard of a tournament Worlds would be, seeing as I’ve pulled a player like this in the very first round. I was completely unaware what kind of team he would be using until we got into team preview.
I got into team preview and I saw the RayOgre team everyone had been talking about and I got really excited. I had been theorizing in my head the entire night before on how to beat this team, and I was pretty confident going into this matchup.
Game 1

He brought  +  

while I brought +

When I saw the Pokemon on the field turn 1, I saw a simple play in the sense that we trade our Fake Out, and then he wouldn’t have a way to prevent his Pokemon from taking a nap. We exchanged Fake Out, and then both of his Pokemon went to sleep. I proceeded to setup my Kangaskhan with Power-Up-Punch while switching in Yveltal. I then fired off a Sucker Punch onto the Raichu for the OHKO, and Double-Edged Rayquaza for the knockout after it didn’t wake up. It was a pretty simple game, and then we moved on to the second game.
Game 2 pretty much happened exactly the same way. I think his Rayquaza woke up, but it wasn’t able to do anything significant, and the huge threat Yveltal posed, paired with always being able to fire off Dark Void for free was able to easily manoeuvre around his team.
Current Record : 1-0

With this win, I became hugely ecstatic. I was incredibly happy to have won my first game at the World Championships. This win gave me a lot of confidence, and I was in the mindset that I could make a deep run.

Round 2: Rajan Bal (Blarajan) - WLL

I don’t remember who, but someone tipped me off that the Smeargle was holding a Chesto Berry. So knowing that information came in handy. Overall, this set was pretty disgusting.
Game 1: He led Smeargle + Groudon against my Kangaskhan + Smeargle. He double protected and I got a side pup off, and then proceeded to win the game 4-0 from there.
Game 2: Same leads, This time I successfully switched in Yveltal, side pup’d again but his Smeargle got an evasiveness boost. I used Double-Edge to one shot Groudon, and Knock Off missed Smeargle, then I took double sleep and lost.
Game 3: Same leads again, I once again won the Turn 1 gamble and got off another successful side pup, but this time the Smeargle got a Speed boost from Moody, I couldn’t wake up at all, and I lost.
Rajan was incredibly apologetic to me that he won in this fashion, and at the time I obviously got a little bit agitated and was incredibly upset with how much RNG caused my loss, but I had to accept it and move on to the next battle.
Current Record : 1-1

Round 3: Zhang Zhe (Politozhe) - WW

A Standard Double Primals team. I can’t actually remember a whole lot about this battle, I do remember that I won both battles due to changing the weather from rain to sun thanks to the Transform on my Smeargle. I don’t think anything particularly interesting happened in this battle, and nothing he did posed a threat to my team at all. I remember the games being relatively straightforward.

Current Record : 2-1

At this point I felt relieved to not be negative, and was just hoping to continue good form. I felt like I was playing really well.

Round 4: Koutake Hideo (Liar) - LL

I had no idea who this guy was until I asked resident weeb Hibiki who he was. So he was the guy that won the Japanese National Championships I heard. Well, that was scary to hear.  When we got into team preview, I once again felt that Kangaskhan and Smeargle would be the play. Honestly, both Game 1 and 2 went pretty much exactly the same and ended in the same fashion. I can’t remember it too vividly, but I made some poor choices. Both games ended in a Groudon vs Groudon speed tie, we both had Earth Power and he won both speed ties and I lost.
Current Record : 2-2

After that set, I felt a little demotivated in the sense that I was completely out of the tournament if I lost another set, but I had to carry on and do my best. I hoped to just go positive.

Round 5: Chase Lybbert (RookieVGC) - WW

Two rounds, two National Champions. I thought I’d go out for sure here because he was using a Xerneas/Groudon team. Once again, I don’t really remember too much about how these games went. I led with Crobat/Groudon both games, and I managed to close out the sets pretty convincingly thanks to Tailwind and Haze. I remember one of the games ending in my Yveltal finishing off his Xerneas with Sucker Punch.

Current Record : 3-2
I knocked out the US National Champ and I was still in the tournament! Was very happy!

Round 6: Alvin Hidayat (Jibaku) - LWW

I was kind of worried to face Jibaku since he bodied me in the NPA, but regardless, that’s what it was. I noticed he was running the same team as Blarajan because they are close friends, so I had to think about this one a little more. Obviously they would have discussed how to beat me before the game, so I wondered if I could play this a bit differently.
Game 1: He led Smeargle + Groudon against my Kangaskhan + Smeargle. Flashbacks! I decided to play the 50/50, switched in Yveltal and went for side pup. I failed miserably as he used Eruption and deleted both of my Pokemon.
Game 2: I decided to play a bit more conservatively this game, I didn’t bring Smeargle and I opted to bring Thundurus instead. He led Smeargle + Groudon. I was able to threaten the Smeargle well with Taunt, and I had Fake Out at my disposal with my Kangaskhan and I was able to pretty convincingly win this game, as even when he switched in the Kyogre and Zapdos, he was still under a pretty big disadvantage to my Kangaskhan and Thundurus.
Game 3: My thought process going into the third game was that based on how convincingly I won Game 2, that he’d think I was going to bring Thundurus again. I felt confident that if he didn’t lead Smeargle Groudon, I could beat any of his leads with Kangaskhan Smeargle. I thought he’d try to account for Thundurus more, but he once again led Smeargle Groudon, much to my dismay. I tried to play a bit safer this time, I didn’t go a side pup. Eventually, the game came down to his full HP Kyogre vs my Yveltal and Groudon. I was in a horrible position because Yveltal was paralyzed, this is where things got a bit weird and interesting. Alvin double protected here for some reason, and then that let me get a free Earth Power off on his Kyogre, I then protected Groudon, fired off a Sucker Punch which put it in range for Earth Power as Yveltal fainted, and then I won the battle.
Current Record : 4-2

Somehow, I was still alive! I just needed to win one more set to make it to Top Cut. I can do it. I knew I could do it. I was just hoping not to pull a Japanese player for Round 7.

Round 7: Yuichi Sasaki (Yuuichi) - WW

Oh great. I pulled a Japanese Big B user. This was the kind of team I really didn't want to see. However, I felt confident in my Crobat to be able to play the Xerneas matchup properly. I felt like he wouldn’t bring Bronzong due to the threat of my Yveltal, and it turns out that he didn’t.
I don’t have any notes on this set unfortunately! And I don’t recall much of what happened. I led Crobat/Groudon both games, I deleted his Salamence with HP Ice once, and won the game after not dropping too much momentum.
One of the main factors coming into this game was that his Groudon was a Trick Room Groudon, meaning that I could fire Earth Power on it comfortably to do a lot of damage. Doing this both games swayed the game in my favour, and I was able to close out the set quite easily.
Final Record : 5-2!!

I did it! I came back from 2-2 to 5-2 and ensured myself a spot in the Top 24 of the 2016 World Championships. This is where things got really intense, I started to feel like I could win this, and that the World Championships was well within reach.

Top 24: Andrew Nowak (Nowakgolf) - WLW

Ah, this was the money bubble match. Was a bit scary going into haha. I didn’t know much about this player besides the fact that he won a Regional. He made it this far though, so I gave him the respect he deserved for it. These games are on YouTube! I’ll link the video and give a short analysis on my thoughts during the game.

After I saw the leads for Game 1, I knew what was going to happen and I really wanted to hear the crowd's reaction to it (lol). This was such an obvious play for me, as I was 100% sure he would Protect + Tailwind. I got too excited over the whole side-pupping thing that I attacked my own Smeargle when it made more sense to attack Crobat, that was my first mistake in this game. Oh well, it happened. My second mistake was not using Sucker Punch on his Crobat when I knew what he was doing. My third mistake was not transforming into my own Groudon when I sent out Smeargle. I risked Moody, and risked missing Dark Void. Oh well, I still managed to win.
Game 2

Turn 1 came with the same leads, I thought about making the same play, but I went against it. If I had sidepupped again, I would have most likely won this game. However, Andrew played well and managed to win this game against me.
Game 3 

I was pretty nervous going into this because it could potentially be my final game at Worlds, so I decided to not gamble on Smeargle and I brought Thundurus instead. The game played out pretty normally until it came down to my Yveltal + Groudon against his Rayquaza + Groudon. It came to the point where I had realised although I knew it was Life Orb, he had not yet revealed Draco Meteor on his set yet. I knew he had it, and I felt like it was most logical for him to use it here thinking that I don’t know he can one shot my Groudon who is on full hp. So, it came down to this crucial read. I protected my Groudon and called his Draco correctly, I then OHKO’d Rayquaza and proceeded into the Top 16 of the World Championships!

I made it into the Top 16 of the World Championships! I was overly happy to have won the goodie bag and $1,500 USD! But I had also made it onto the live stream for my next set which would be against Justin Carris.

Top 16 : Justin Carris (Azazel) - LWL

Going into this, I wasn’t worried at all about who I was facing, but rather I was really afraid of his team. The only two restricted Pokemon I feel my team has a horrible matchup against is Xerneas/Kyogre, and unfortunately that's exactly what he was using.
This full set can be viewed here:

Not much to say about this set honestly. In Game 1 I made a bad play and got punished due to the Mental Herb on his Bronzong amongst some other subpar plays.
In Game 2, he led Bronzong + Amoonguss I stuck with the same lead but I decided to side-pup and Dark Void because I now knew the Bronzong was Mental Herb, the game played out nicely for me, and due to setting up Kangaskhan I won the game convincingly.
Game 3 -He changed it up and he led Salamence + Amoonguss, I led the same and I side-pupped myself successfully again and got myself into a fantastic position. I knew I could OHKO Amoonguss, but unfortunately my Smeargle got an Accuracy drop from Moody. After this, I had a choice to either switch out and lose a bit of momentum to try and win the game later, or I could risk the game on DV hitting the Salamence and win the game and set right here. I chose to Dark Void, and I missed and I lost. My Worlds run was over. I have no regrets though, as it was my decision to play to Dark Void hitting/missing, and I must be ready to accept when things don’t go my way.
Overall, I was super pleased with how I did at Worlds. I would have loved to continue on and play Wolfe just to see how it would have played out, but I suppose that’s waiting in 2017 (hopefully).

Looking Back
Thanks to everyone for reading this! – and just a couple (okay, more than a couple) of shoutouts.
I’m really grateful for all the friends I made in Pokemon, and I couldn’t have gone this far without all of them. Pokemon is a huge part of my life, and I’ve made so many of my best friends through the game.
Martin Larumbe (BaseIN2) – Thanks for always teambuilding with me, and testing stuff with me and letting me know when my ideas are bad.
Luke Curtale (Dawg) – Easily the person I’ve asked the most for advice this year, and easily been the most helpful. Without Luke I wouldn’t have won a Regional this year, and most likely not have performed well at Nationals & Worlds. The countless times you’ve helped me is much appreciated mate, thanks.
Nihal Noor (UchihaX96) – Good mate, and you’ve helped me at times in learning how to improve board position. Always willing to help me improve my play and my team. Your help has also been invaluable to me.
Gavin Michaels (kingofmars) – Without you, I definitely wouldn’t have made it this far, as I would have continued to run Big 6 and got stomped at Nationals and not even made it to Worlds. My favourite person to discuss ideas and test with, and also a great friend. I look forward to working with you in the future for VGC ’17.
Chuppa Cross (Chuppa) – He helped me a lot with life problems as well as VGC. You've been a huge inspiration to me as well as one of my best VGC mates. I’m beyond excited to see him in London.
Angel Miranda & The Imoutos – Man, you guys are legit my best friends in VGC. Without all of you to keep me sane, I don’t know where I’d be lol. Always there to help me with issues in VGC or life, and always there to tell me when I’m being an idiot. Invaluable friends, and I can’t wait to see all of you next year again.
Markus Stadter (13Yoshi37) and Wolfe Glick (Wolfey) – I’ll tag you as one because the experiences I have with you both are similar. I always appreciate the time you take out of your busy schedules to reply to me with any questions I may have, with some various suggestions about strategies or whatnot. Both of you are huge inspirations to me of players who I strive to be like one day.
The Australian Cancer Chat – Thanks to all of you guys for the support and memes for the entire year.
Josh Callister (Jcal) / Nicholas Bingham (ludicolopatrol) - Thanks for all the good talks during the year, I was really happy to have made friends with both of you this season.
Sam Schweitzer (SamVGC) – Shout out to Side Pups.
Damon Murdoch (SirScrubbington) – Thanks for being a quality memer, and for that one time at Nationals.
Trista Medine (ryuzaki) – Honestly we talk a lot but never about VGC, but I’ll give you the shoutout anyway! Thanks Trista!
Matthew Bockman (Zyihk) – Last but not least, thanks.

Final Words

I’d like to close this out by saying one thing. I have no regrets on how I play this game. I think all players should always strive to improve their own style of playing. Some play risky, some play safe. Some like to make reads, and some like to focus on the endgame. I think everyone should strive to improve at work they feel works best for them. Respect to each player for their individual accomplishments.

Gen 1-6 Pokemon Available in VGC '17

Gen 1-6 Pokemon in the Alolan Pokedex

Hey guys, Its Ty (@SarkastikVGC) and Matt (@JiwaVGC) here again and we’re going to go through the list of Evolutionary lines available in Sun/Moon, not including Alola mons. Shoutout to @ProfShroomish for posting a helpful gallery here.

**Disclaimer**

This is a competitive analysis, and though we are aware that Ariados has access to Rage Powder and Masquerain has Intimidate, we do not feel inclined to analyse and discuss pokemon with little to no past competitive success.

Secondly, there are points in this analysis that we will mention moves that can only be learned via move tutors, which are not yet confirmed to be in the new games. However, as we don't know whether or not they're in the games we still find them worthy of being mentioned. The situation is similar for pokemon who rely on their Hidden Abilities (like Clefairy with Friend Guard).

***We have put any move or ability that may not be in the new games in italics for clarity**

Table of Contents

• List of Pokemon
• Supports
• Redirection
• Speed Control
• Disruption
• Hybrids
• Low-Speed
• Medium-Speed
• High-Speed
• Damage Dealers
• Low-Speed
• Medium-Speed
• High-Speed
• Our Picks

For the purpose of this article, we’ve made a note of the Pokémon from this list that we think could be viable in some way or another (occasionally being a bit generous,- looking at you Tauros), we’ve organized the Pokémon into pools to make it easier to identify trends. These pools, as you can see below, are Support, Hybrid, and Damage-Dealer.

Supports are those Pokémon that don’t have much offensive presence on the field, and focus mostly on establishing board control and setting up win conditions in conjunction with their more offensive partners.

Hybrids are those Pokémon who offer damage potential, but also have their own ways of influencing a match other than just attacking outright. Pokémon such as Gengar and Arcanine are good examples of this because they offer relatively high damage while still offering supportive coverage with moves like Will-O-Wisp, Icy Wind, Snarl etc.

Finally, Damage-Dealers are rather straightforward, and include those Pokémon whose job it is to dish out damage. These Pokémon regularly carry offensive items like Life Orb or a Choice item, or things like Lum Berry as to ensure their damage cannot be weakened.

 

Supports	Hybrid	Damage Dealers
Clefairy	Slowbro	Metagross
Clefable	Slowking	Garchomp
Porygon2	Hariyama	Krookodile
Trevenant	Milotic	Lapras
Crobat	Gengar	Gastrodon
Parasect	Aerodactyl	Tauros
Smeargle	Lucario	Gyarados
Whimsicott	Weavile	Scizor
Sableye	Arcanine	Salamence
Misdreavus	Machamp
Klefki	Eeveelutions
	Politoed
	Talonflame

Notes/First Impressions:

• Politoed is the only weather setter, and Carracosta is the only swift swim Pokémon that seems like it’s not garbage…. (it’s still pretty garbage).
• There are 4 main Intimidate options which all seem decent, but share a weakness to bulky waters: Arcanine, Gyarados, Salamence, and Krookodile. (Tauros also gets it but lol)
• There are 5 (reasonable) Trick Room setters, and many of them share a weakness to ghost and dark: Pory2, Misdreavus, Trevenant, Slowbro, and Slowking.
• There are 5 Pokémon with redirecting abilities: Clefairy, Clefable, Parasect, Smeargle, and Lucario

Support Pokemon

Support Pokémon are those that focus mainly on non-attacking moves that either benefit its partner or hinder its opposition. They typically carry one attacking move on the set, though this is only a rule of thumb. I’ve split the support mons into 3 main categories for the purpose of this review; Redirection, Speed Control and Disruption.

Support Pokémon
Redirection	Speed Control	Disruption
Parasect	Porygon2	Smeargle
Clefairy	Crobat	Sableye
Clefable	Whimsicott	Whimsicott
Smeargle	Misdreavus	Klefki
	Trevenant

Redirection

Redirection options in the Alolan dex are limited from the pool we were treated to in VGC 15 and 16, with notable exclusions including Togekiss and Amoonguss. However, the key remaining options include Parasect, Clefairy, Clefable and Smeargle, all of which have seen some usage in previous years.Parasect has suffered from poor typing and being outclassed by Amoonguss as both a sleep inducer and redirection user. It does have its niche in the form of the theoretically powerful combination of Rage Powder and Wide Guard, but despite this has seen very little success in the recent past. With Amoonguss out of the picture, Parasect may get its opportunity to shine. Expect Spore and Rage Powder on every Parasect, with a mix of Wide Guard, Seed Bomb, X-Scissor and Protect making up the final move slots.

Clefairy and Clefable both saw usage in VGC 15, with Clefairy favoured by some due to the extra utility it gains from its ability; Friend Guard. However though its ability is less valuable, Clefable makes up somewhat due to the capability of holding an item other than Eviolite, often Sitrus Berry. Both benefit from solid defensive typing as well as good bulk on both the physical and special side. Though they lack much offensive pressure, the pair can offer speed control in the form of Thunder Wave and Icy Wind, as well as further support in Helping Hand. Common attacking moves (if carried) are Moonblast and Ice Beam.

Finally for redirection users is Smeargle. Though notorious for its disruptive capabilities primarily in the form of Dark Void, it also often carries Follow Me and should not be overlooked as a redirection option.

Lucario is also an option, but we found it fits into the analysis better in the Hybrids section, so check it out there.

Speed Control

Speed Control has come in a variety of forms in previous years. Though Thunder Wave and Icy Wind/Electroweb are options, they are typically seen on Pokémon we feel fit more closely into the ‘hybrid’ category. In this section we’ll be looking at two main forms of speed control: Trick Room and Tailwind.

Trick Room as a form of speed control has been a huge factor in just about every year of VGC. In the Alolan dex however, there are a number of important omissions in this department, including Gardevoir, Gothitelle, Jellicent and Chandelure. This is not to say that Trick Room won’t feature as heavily as it has in the past as we don’t have information about the new Pokémon. There are also still a handful of notable TR users from past generations in the dex. 

Porygon2 was a mon that featured as a niche option towards the end of VGC 15, though ironically enough it served primarily as a hybrid attacking anti-meta option that utilised moves such as Ice Beam, Hidden Power Ground, Toxic and Recover. Nonetheless, TR variants did exist, and perhaps with the exodus of more popular options this set may become P2’s best option looking forward. Porygon2 also benefits from the durability granted by its extreme bulk granted by Eviolite in conjunction with its access to Recover, as well as having only one weakness thanks to its normal typing. Also notable for Porygon2 is the absence of Bisharp; the most common user of Knock Off from the dex as its item is extremely important to its function.

Misdreavus is another option Trick Room users may turn to, though it has typically been greatly overshadowed by its alternatives in the past. It also benefits from fantastic bulk granted by the Eviolite, and as a result is another beneficiary of the absence of Bisharp from the format. Though less reliable than Recover, Misdreavus also has a recovery option in the form of Pain Split. Its offensive pressure comes mainly in the form of Foul Play, and one notable advantage it has over Porygon2 is access to Will-O-Wisp. It also has access to Icy Wind, which allows it to fit on some more offensive teams and take advantage of its relatively high base 85 speed stat.

Trevenant saw some usage as a Trick Room setter in its first season of VGC back in 2014, but fell out of favour altogether in 2015 as a variety of superior options were available. Its durability comes in the form of its ability; Harvest, in combination with a Sitrus Berry. Similarly to Misdreavus, Trevenant has access to Will-O-Wisp. Trevenant’s attack stat higher than the attack or special attack of either of the aforementioned options, and is utilised by its common attacking moves in the form of Horn Leech, Shadow Claw and Phantom Force.

Other possibly notable Trick Room users include Gengar and Slowbro/Slowking, which will be discussed more in depth elsewhere in this analysis.

Last year saw Crobat have perhaps its most successful year of VGC in terms of usage, as its blistering speed as well as access to Inner Focus as well as support moves including Super Fang, Tailwind, Quick Guard and Haze placed it in something of a special position. However, this niche was extremely unique to the format, created by Xerneas and Smeargle. In a more traditional past formats, Crobat has utilised the likes of Tailwind, Super Fang, Brave Bird, Taunt and Rain Dance, amongst others. Its viability hinges heavily on the usefulness of these moves, particularly in combination, so we might have to wait and see how the format unfolds to have a better picture of how Crobat fits in. 

Whimsicott is typically referred to in combination with other Pokémon, namely Mega-Gengar and Terrakion. The absence of these Pokémon from the format, as well as the potential for the new Psychic Terrain to negate the use of priority moves places Whimsicott in the precarious position of not having an obvious niche in the format. Historically, Whimsicott has utilised its vast pool of support moves which includes Encore, Tailwind, Taunt and Fake Tears, as well as the occasional offensive option of Moonblast or Grass Knot. Once again, we can only wait to see if a niche develops, but the early signs look grim for the cotton ball.

Other potentially notable Tailwind users include Salamence, Aerodactyl and Talonflame, which will be discussed further elsewhere in the analysis.

Disruption

Pokémon in this category typically utilise disruptive and status inducing moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Swagger, Encore and Dark Void. They often make use of the ability Prankster to give such moves priority, though with the introduction of the ability Dazzling and the possibility of the likes of Electric Terrain and Psychic Terrain being relevant in this format, perhaps Prankster and status inducing moves will take a back seat.

We’re starting with one mon that doesn’t have Prankster, but thanks to its ability to learn almost any move in the game is still an extremely powerful and disruptive supporter. Smeargle generated controversy throughout the 2016 season due to the numerous options it had in both moves and items. This made it incredibly hard to play against, as each set required a very different approach to counter it, and one misstep could cost the entire game. On top of this, its Moody ability made it even more unpredictable, and one unfortunate boost to evasion or speed could steal games on the spot. Though I think the majority of the competitive community would love to see Smeargle left out of the game entirely, whenever it is in the format it must be accounted for. We can only hope that Tapu Koko and its Electric Terrain will make Smeargle too inconsistent to use. Notable moves Smeargle often uses include Dark Void, Follow Me, Wide Guard, Quick Guard, Crafty Shield, Taunt, Sheer Cold and Transform.

Sableye is a disruptor in its purest form. A Prankster user that makes use of Will-O-Wisp and Swagger, Sableye benefits from its solid defensive typing and ability to make use of the synergy between Swagger and Foul Play. Though it is usually quite predictable, move options include Will-O-Wisp, Swagger, Confuse Ray, Recover, Feint, Quash, Fake Out, Gravity and Taunt. 

Klefki is extremely similar to Sableye, making use of the synergy between Swagger and Foul Play. While Sableye relies on Will-O-Wisp for spreading status, Klefki uses Thunder Wave, which also has some synergy with Swagger. Another commonality between these two is their entirely different but equally strong defensive typings, with only 3 weaknesses between them. Other moves to watch out for from Klefki include Reflect, Light Screen, Crafty Shield and Safeguard.

Other disruptors worth mentioning are Whimsicott (check it out in the  'speed control' section) and Murkrow.

 

Hybrid Pokemon

We agree that in our opinions Hybrid Pokémon are the most exciting part of VGC.  As you can only bring 4 Pokémon per battle, it makes the most sense in my opinion to focus on Pokémon who are versatile and can accomplish something regardless of the matchup. This is what we’re calling Hybrid Pokémon.

Hybrid Pokémon
Slow-Speed (60-)	Medium-Speed (60+)	Fast-Speed (110+)
Slowbro	Milotic	Gengar
Slowking	Politoed	Aerodactyl
Hariyama	Eeveelutions	Weavile
Machamp	Arcanine	Talonflame
	Lucario

Low-Speed

So we’ll start by talking about the slower Pokémon we think can have an impact. First off, the Slow Bros (hehe) both have the ability to control speed in a few ways. Both get access to Trick Room and Thunder Wave to ensure they can control the pace of a match. Furthermore, their access to Scald as their primary STAB move allows for a lot of burn scenarios which can help get damage over time. Other options include things like: Slack Off, Heal Pulse and Magic Coat.

Next we have Hariyama, who has a strong presence with Fake Out, especially when paired with a Trick Room setter. As well as this, Hariyama can come with support moves such as Knock Off, Feint, and Wide Guard, all of which can be useful in disrupting your opponent. The combination of these moves with its high base attack stat, and ability Guts, allow Hariyama to both aid its team and dish out significant damage in the right circumstances. Machamp provides similar utility, but drops access to Fake out and Feint for a few more coverage moves, as well as the option for Dynamic Punch+No Guard which can spread confusion.

Medium-Speed

In the Medium tier, there are two Pokémon who provide a similar role to the Slow Bros (hehehehe), but are a bit more versatile in that they do not rely on hard speed control to be effective. Politoed and Milotic, both fill a role as a bulky water type that is able to get burns with Scald, and control speed with Icy Wind. They differ a bit in that Politoed’s other movepool options include moves like Encore, Perish Song, Hypnosis, and Milotic has historically functioned as a wall with Recover and Maranga Berry to boost its longevity.

The Eeveelutions that are relevant to the format most likely only include Sylveon, and perhaps Umbreon on more defensive teams. Sylveon is effective at dishing out immense damage with Hyper Voice, and honestly belongs more in the Damage-dealer category. As for Umbreon, it is able to use a few moves such as Snarl, Foul Play, Wish and Charm in order to fulfil a defensive role on a team. It should also be noted that all Eeveelutions have access to: Charm, Fake Tears, Yawn and Wish. Honestly hopes aren’t especially high for Eeveelutions not named Sylveon, but given the limited nature of the format, anything is possible, and the stat distribution among the –eons is generally quite good, so we’ll see how it progresses.

Arcanine is another Pokémon that is able to be quite effective at disrupting enemy teams. It combines strong STAB moves like Heat Wave, Flamethrower, and Overheat with interesting support options like Will-O-Wisp and Snarl. It also has access to Intimidate which can relieve a lot of pressure instantly. Arcanine also has interesting offensive options like Extremespeed, Wild Charge and Close Combat which combined with its relatively high speed can give it a lot of options regardless of the enemy team’s composition.

Lucario is another relatively speedy Pokémon, but its supportive side is much different to those Pokémon previously mentioned. Unfortunately for Lucario, the lack of both Mega Kangaskhan and Tyranitar will make it far less useful, but it still has options regardless. Lucario is one of the few Pokémon with access to Follow Me, which can help immensely with supporting a damage-dealing partner, as well as giving free turns for set-up. It also has access to Quick Guard and Heal Pulse, two rarely used moves that can situationally be very useful. In combination with this array of unique support moves, Lucario has access to Extremespeed, Bullet Punch and Close Combat on the physical side, and Aura Sphere and Flash Cannon on the special side. Lucario’s wide movepool and unpredictability are generally what give it an advantage in battle, and its access to unique keeps it relevant.

High-Speed

Fast Pokémon generally come with the tradeoff of high speed and attacking stats, but general frailty. This tends to dissuade people from using them due to fear of conceding an early knockout, but they can be very useful regardless. Gengar is a Pokémon famous for its versatility in recent years of VGC. Its access to Will-O-Wisp, Taunt, Icy Wind, and even Trick Room have allowed it to be incredibly successful. Gengar also has access to powerful dual-STABS, in Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball, which allow it to pressure the enemy with high damage. This combination of offense and support make Gengar force the opponent to react defensively – which is when you are able to create openings with your support moves.

Aerodactyl was a Pokémon that saw a decent amount of success in the VGC14 season. It was one of the few Pokémon who had access to Tailwind without using move tutors. It also has access to Wide Guard and Sky Drop which can keep its team safe in various ways. Its offensive options include Rock Slide mostly, and some interesting coverage options in Ice, Fire, and Thunder Fang.

Weavile provides a role as a disruptor that can also deal significant damage. Its options for disruptive moves include: Taunt, Fake Out, Feint, and Knock Off, all of which can reduce the options of enemy teams, and put yours into a favourable position. Offensively, it is most likely to run Knock Off and Ice Punch, as well as maybe Ice Shard for priority damage that can outspeed Talonflame.

Speaking of Talonflame, I’m sad to say I think it will be an impressive Pokemon in the VGC17 format. It has the ability to dish out a huge chunk of damage with its dual-STABs, Brave Bird and Flare Blitz (or maybe even Overheat). It also provides its team with an array of support moves such as Quick Guard, Will-O-Wisp, Taunt, and Tailwind. It is also important to note that Talonflame can run the ability Flame Body, which was seen a little in VGC14 – however without mega Kangaskhan being available this seems far less viable.

Damage Dealer Pokemon

Damage Dealing Pokemon are exactly what their name suggest – Pokemon whose primary job is to deal damage onto the enemy team. They differ from hybrid pokemon usually in that their choice of status move serves to increase their own damage potential, rather than aid their team. Examples of this are things like Substitute Garchomp, or Dragon Dance Gyarados.

Damage Dealer Pokémon
Low-Speed (70-)	Medium-Speed (70+)	High-Speed (100+)
Gastrodon	Metagross	Garchomp
Lapras	Krookodile	Salamence
	Gyarados	Tauros
	Scizor

I’ll make like Regigigas and start slow with this one (hehe). Gastrodon and Lapras are two pokemon who seem like an odd fit for the ‘Damage-Dealer’ category, because of their relatively poor offensive stats and slow speed. However we’ve decided to include them here because their job on a team has historically been to provide offensive pressure due to their type coverage and impressive bulk.

Low-Speed

Gastrodon was considered an effective anti-meta pick in VGC15 where it could hit common pokemon like Thundurus, Landorus and Heatran for super-effective damage with moves such as Scald, Ice beam and Earth Power. It also provides protection from water-type moves to its teammates through its helpful ability: Storm Drain. Its low speed also allows Gastrodon to thrive in Trick Room matchups, while not needing to rely on the speed advantage to be useful.

Lapras falls into a similar boat in that it was an effective anti-meta pick in 2014, where it was able to threaten pokemon like Garchomp, Salamence, Ludicolo and Politoed, using its moves Ice Beam, Freeze Dry and Hydro Pump. Similarly to Gastrodon, Lapras can absorb water type moves to heal itself, but unfortunately it cannot redirect them away from your teammates. It notable also can use moves like Perish Song, Icy Wind, Ice Shard and Sheer Cold, to get it out of tight situations.

Medium-Speed

The mid-tier speed damage dealers are interesting in my opinion, and the format’s access to speed control moves will determine their level of usefulness.

Kicking off, Metagross, has been around in VGC for a long time, though its non-mega form hasn’t seen much usage since 2013. That being said, there have been a few changes since then that can help regular Metagross shine a bit more. The new item, Assault Vest, could be an interesting choice depending on the prevalence of special attackers, and the large number of potentially viable intimidators in the format could give Metagross and edge over other physical attackers (due to its ability Clear Body). Metagross has a large movepool with access to dual-STABs in Zen Headbutt and Iron Head. It also has access to a variety of coverage moves including: Hammer Arm, Meteor Mash, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch, Bullet Punch and Earthquake. Metagross can also run a variety of items such as the aforementioned Assault Vest, as well as things like Life Orb, Lum Berry, Choice Band and Air Balloon.

Krookodile is another pokemon that has seen mixed success, and a fair amount of overseas play in Japan in both VGC14 and VGC15. It boasts an impressive base 117 Attack stat, and has the useful ability, Intimidate. Krookodile has typically been seen with a Choice Scarf, but can also run items like Lum Berry or even Choice Band to increase its sweeping potential. Krookodile’s commonly used moves include: Earthquake, Knock Off, and Rock Slide, though it also has access to unique coverage moves in Fire Fang, Low Kick, Stone Edge, Superpower and Aqua Tail. Krookodile usually suffers for being the weaker Ground-type in the meta, as it was outclassed by Garchomp in 2014 and Landorus in 2015, though its unique Dark-typing could allow it to break ahead this season depending on how the metagame progresses.

Gyarados is a pokemon who could honestly fall into any of the three categories discussed in this article. As a bulky pokemon with access to Intimidate and support moves like Thunder Wave, Swagger and Taunt, it can help your team immensely without having to provide much damage. Conversely however, it has reasonable coverage moves in Waterfall, Ice Fang, Crunch and Stone Edge, and is one of the few viable Pokémon with a strong stat-boosting move in Dragon Dance. Because of this there are really a lot of viable sets Gyarados could run, and almost any item would work on it. In saying this however, our guesses at items for supportive Gyarados include: Wacan Berry, Leftovers, Sitrus Berry, or Rocky Helmet, and for a more offensive set we could recommend Lum Berry, Life Orb or even Choice Band.

Finally for the Medium-speed pokemon we have Scizor, A pokemon who much like metagross, has fallen out of favour in the metagame since 2013. Scizor’s strengths come from its ability Technician, which allows it to fire off strong, priority Bullet Punches. It also has access to Bug Bite, which with technician become a strong 90 base power, STAB move, that can hinder opponents by eating their berries, with X-Scissor serving as a less powerful alternative in the absence of move tutors. Scizor commonly boosts its attack with Swords Dance as well, so that it can compensate for its relatively low speed with high-damage priority attacks. Scizor has honestly had a lot of success in more limited metagames where it is partnered with Politoed, whose rain can threated fire types. In this case however, due to an apparent lack of good Swift-Swim users, this seems like it will not be possible for Scizor. Scizor often runs the items Life orb or Lum Berry to enhance its sweeping capabilities, and Occa Berry is another option to avoid instant KO from opposing Fire-types.

High-Speed

Moving onto the speedy damage dealers we have Garchomp. Garchomp was a menace in 2014 and was effective due to its high base speed (102) which allowed it to outspeed most other pokemon. It was also especially useful against Kangaskhan due to its Rough Skin ability activating twice. Unfortunately for the dragon Mega-Kangaskhan isn’t available in 2017, and Garchomps speed supremacy isn’t guaranteed. That being said, Garchomp still offers a lot of pressure with its powerful dual-STABS, Dragon Claw and Earthquake, as well as coverage moves like Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Fire Blast and Draco Meteor, all of which have seen some competitive success. Towards the end of the 2014 format there was also an increased usage in Life Orb, Substitute Garchomp who could threaten teams with high damage, and aim to avoid status and intimidate by setting up an early substitute. All-in-all I think Garchomp has a lot of potential in this metagame with partners like Salamence, Gengar and Talonflame, but its success will be conditional on its speed relative to the metagame, and if its STAB moves are as relevant as they used to be.

Salamence is similar to Garchomp, in that it was a titan of the VGC 14 Metagame, due mainly to its Intimidate ability and strong choice of coverage moves in Draco Meteor, Dragon Pulse, Stone Edge, Hydro Pump, Fire Blast, and Flamethrower. Typically Salamence ran a Choice Scarf or a Choice Specs item, though some favoured Haban Berry due to the popularity of Dragon-type pokemon. This year however, Salamence may have some new tools to work with that it didn’t have previously, namely Tailwind. This would allow Salamence to provide its team with a speed control option, while also weakening opposing physical attackers with intimidate. For a set like this, the items Life Orb, Focus Sash  or even  Rocky Helmet could be useful, to help Salamence fulfil a more supportive role.

Finally, I’ll quickly mention a pokemon who saw some surprising success in the 2015 format. Tauros is a pokemon who has been largely uninteresting across the years in VGC, however there was an interesting team in late 2015 that finally gave it a chance to shine. The team revolved around Tauros’ ability, Anger Point, and through critically hitting it with your Smeargle’s weak Storm throw, you could reach an impressive attack stat and snowball the game out of control from there. This will likely not be as possible in his format however, mainly due to the lack of Lopunny and Togekiss as supporters. Setting up Tauros also relied on putting your opponents to sleep with Dark Void, which is not legal for at least the first month until Pokemon Bank has been updated for Sun and Moon. Aside from this, Tauros does have an impressive movepool, and is an intimidate user, which on paper look impressive – though in practice, it’s not quite fast or strong enough to be an especially potent attacker. If you were going to try run a non-Anger Point set, I’d probably discourage you from doing so. If you were insistent however, maybe you would run moves like Return, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Stone Edge or Wild Charge. And a standard offensive item like Lum Berry, Life Orb, Choice Band  or Choice Scarf.

Our Picks

After looking over these options a bit, we’ve come up with a few ideas on the Pokemon from this list that we feel will be effective in the VGC17 format, based on their existing strength, and our speculation on the Alolan pokemon.

In no particular order, we agreed on:

Gengar, Garchomp, Talonflame, Milotic, Clefable.

Gengar seems especially strong at this point for a number of reasons. Its high speed and Focus Sash make sure that it can usually get off at least one move, which combined with its varied movepool allow it to be useful in the majority of games. On top of this, its poison typing gives it a good matchup versus the Tapus, who all potentially share a fairy typing, and who we speculate will be relatively common due to their interesting ‘Terrain’ abilities. It is also a minor buff to Gengar that weather + speed ability strategies (Rain+Swift swim, Sun+Chlorophyll) are no longer possible, which means it can more easily take advantage of its speed.

Garchomp seems strong due to its also strong speed tier, as well as its impressive type coverage and high damage stats. Its dual STABs are rarely both resisted, and its decent bulk without investment allows a player to opt for a more offensive item like Life Orb without losing much. Garchomp is also likely to regain its position as the premier Ground-type now that Landorus-T and Groudon are no longer available.

Talonflame is strong because of its incredible damage from turn 1 thanks to its dual STABS, as well as its incredible mix of support moves like Tailwind and Will-O-Wisp, both of which can set up easy win-conditions in the mid to late game. There is also an absence of strong Rock or Electric-type pokmeon who will resist its Brave Bird (like Tyranitar or Rotom), and the existing intimidators all take a sizeable chunk of damage even with Talonflame at -1 attack. Its frailty is generally a cause for concern but in a fast-paced ruleset like VGC has (4v4), the ability to both do damage and give yourself a free switch into a new Pokemon on the same turn can be incredibly valuable if managed correctly.

Milotic is a pick that isn’t immediately obvious as being strong, but we feel it may be the strongest we have mentioned due to a few key factors. Firstly, Milotic has an impressive matchup against the 3 offensive pokemon on this list. It is easily able to spread burns around the opponents team with Scald, and control their speed with Icy Wind. At the same time, Milotic can remain healthy by utilizing its Recover move, which has historically been partnered with a Maranga Berry to ensure its dominance over special attackers. Milotic also dissuades enemy intimidators from entering the field due to its Competitive ability, which can help out in preserving your damage-carries.

Clefable is the last pokemon we’ve picked, and it was honestly a hard choice. Due to the nature of support pokemon relying on their unique status moves, we really need to have a gauge of the metagame before we can determine which collection of moves will be most effective. In Clefables case however, we feel that due to its access to Follow Me, as well as speed control in Icy Wind and Thunder Wave, it is almost guaranteed to be at least somewhat useful. Clefable also has a large offensive movepool that can be used to punish 4x weaknesses in common Pokemon like Ice Beam for Landorus in 2015.

Closing Words

Though much of this current analysis is purely speculative, we still find there to be value in this kind of early analysis. If nothing else, we hope it inspires the same kind of excited anticipation we feel for the upcoming format. There's going to be a lot more similar content coming as the new format gets underway, so if you're keen for more be sure to follow AusTerrain on twitter here. Thanks for reading! 

Pokemon Sun and Moon Demo Leaks

Pokémon Sun & Moon Information (Demo Leaks)

In-Game Mechanics:

Hey guys, It's Ty (@SarkastikVGC) and Nihal (@UchihaX96) and we're going to give our thoughts on the leaks from the Pokemon Sun and Moon Demos that have recently been released. We'll focus on how we feel the new mechanics, moves and abilities will impact the VGC '17 Format, and try speculate on potential strategies or combinations.

• Paralysis now slows by ½ rather than ¾
• Thoughts: Honestly this feels like a bit of an unhealthy change. The main issue with paralysis in competitive is more with the 25% chance for a pokemon to be fully paralyzed, and less so with the speed drop. Paralysis has always been an important form of speed control in VGC that allows slower pokemon to remain viable, especially on teams that don't want to dedicate a slot to a Trick Room setter. This change is essentially a nerf to slower pokemon, who will now find it harder to compete with faster opponents, as well as being an indirect buff to tailwind and other forms of speed control, which previously could not compete with the immense speed drop afforded by paralysis.
• I have to agree with Ty here. This change is a bit odd, as the underlying issue with paralysis was the 25% full paralysis chance. I'm not sure what Gamefreak's thoughts were when they implemented this change, and at this point in time we can't say for sure how much influence this will have in the new format. Only halving speed is a key point though as Tailwind now essentially completely nullifies the speed drop from paralysis. It also enables you to paralyze your opponent's pokemon, set up Trick Room and not have them benefit from the drop in speed.

• Psychic Terrain: Pokémon on the ground won’t be hit by priority moves for 5 turns. It also boosts the power of Psychic-Type Moves
• Thoughts: Psychic terrain is a really interesting move and at this point seems like it will be very influential in the metagame (assuming viable base stats for the Tapu who wields it.) The ability to block priority moves is a secondary effect that seems far stronger than any of the other terrain effects. There are a number of applications for this move/ability that will allow a player to control the game.
• Firstly moves such as Fake out and Feint that allow a player to control the field in their favour will be negated, providing a level of safety for slower-paced teams. As well as this, a number of setup sweepers favour priority moves like Azumarill's Aqua Jet and Scizor's Bullet Punch. Psychic Terrain will allow the user to have more options against opponents like this by combatting them with their own faster pokemon.
• Another thing to consider is that due to the psychic-typing of the move, it is realistic that the Tapu who has access to Psychic Terrain may also have access to Trick Room. In conjunction with this ability, slow pokemon can feel more comfortable in Trick Room, and faster teams will have to utilise other methods to combat the teams.
• Interesting ability, and even more interesting effects. Kangaskhan, Bisharp, Talonflame, Azumarill, Scizor, etc were all pokemon that liked to use priority moves. First impressions of this ability make it seem like a response to their influence in the past 2-3 years of VGC. It might even be able to stop Priority status moves, which would also be in response to pokemon like Whimsicott and Thundurus. Overall I think this ability hits pokemon like Talonflame really hard, and it'll be interesting to see what pokemon gets this ability, and how it's utilised in the new format.

• Throat Chop: The Pokémon hit by this attack can’t use any move that produces sound for 2 turns
• Thoughts: This move seems to be somewhat in reaction to the prevalence of Hyper Voice in the last 2 years of VGC, allowing the user to protect itself and its partner from enemy spread moves. Notably, the move is fighting-type, which suggests it will help keep Fighting-type Pokemon safe from Pixilate/Aerilate Hyper Voice strategies. This move could be relevant but it will depend heavily on its BP, Accuracy, and if move tutors (and thus hyper voice) are avaiable in the VGC17 format. 
• The first thing that occurred to me when I learn about the ffect of this move : "Oh they decided to try and contain Sylveon somehow". It may not be as simple as that, unfortunately. Like Ty said, it would depend on the base power, accuracy and most importantly whether move tutor moves were accessible in this new game. This move could also prevent moves like Perish Song from being used if timed correctly. While this may not be as useful as I've made it out to be since it can't actually hit Gengar due to its Ghost typing, it can prevent pokemon like Politoed or even Dewgong from using the move. Mega Gardevoir could also be stopped from using Hyper Voice, but as Megas aren't allowed this season, it's not as useful in that respect. Other notable moves affected by the effects of Throat Chop are Snarl, and Bug Buzz.

• Aurora Veil: This move halves the power of special and physical attacks for 5 turns. “Your Team’s Aurora Veil wore off” (team specific, not field/terrain).
• Thoughts: This move was probably the biggest surprise from the leaks in terms of competitive VGC. Depending on what pokemon have access to this move, it could be incredibly influential. The move combines both Reflect and Light Screen into one, and will swing the matchup heavily in favour of the player to use it. Most likely it will be help setup strategies to succeed, as well as potentially easing pressure on making reads turn-to-turn, as you will likely be able to win every damage trade with Aurora Veil in your favour. 
• Aurora Veil looks very interesting at first sight. Having the effects of both Light Screen and Reflect in one move is incredible. While we're not sure what pokemon gets this move, if this move is used well it will allow much more defensive play. Personally I like this move a lot. Hyper offensive teams have been pretty successful in recent formats, and this move allows people to play a more defensive, position oriented game, which I think is really nice. The interaction between this move and the new timer rules is another question mark, as I'm sure the effects of Aurora Veil will prolong games. That being said, if Minimize/Stall teams are prominent this could be very annoying.

• Laser Focus: The move on the turn after the Pokemon uses Laser Focus will Always result in a critical hit.
• Thoughts: Laser Focus seems a bit gimmicky to me and its viability is hard to gauge without having a full picture. In my opinion you wouldn't run this move unless it was a reasonably base-powered STAB, attacking move, or was a type that had strong offensive presence in the meta (like ice in VGC15). With that in mind, you have to take into account that the tradeoff is always going to be: 2x STAB move or 1x Laser Focus + OtherMove x1.5. To know if you'd want something like this, it seems like you'd have to evaluate if dropping an extra coverage move and being predictable in your moves (as youre obviously attacking the following turn) is worth it for one turn of increased damage. I feel like in most situations this wouldnt be worthwhile, however there are some niches where it may be helpful, specifically against pokemon who boost their defensive stats, or even to power up an especially potent Z-move to try and eliminate a bulkier-than average threat. On the whole I'd guess it will be around a 55 BP move and I'm not convinced it will be great.
• Laser Focus looks like a setup move, with the next move resulting in a crit. I do not think this move would be worthwhile in VGC unless it actually does damage, as the games are usually fast paced. I could see this catching on if a bulky pokemon like Calm Mind Cress were to emerge again, as Laser Focus looks like a nice wallbreaker option. Combined with a Z move it could be deadly. I could be wrong, but I see this move being used more in singles than in VGC, as it could potentially break stall teams. Otherwise, this move feels like it would be very situational.

• Stakeout: Doubles the damage dealt to the target’s replacement if the target switches out
• Thoughts: Honestly I dont have a lot to say about this ability. Its a conditional damage boost which means it can be good for 'highlight plays' but its never especially consistent. If there is a high damage mon that has this ability and can afford to be run without relying on its damage boost, that would be pretty sick for covering switches. Unfortunately it might just end up on Gumshoos and that would be a bit of a disappointment. 
• I think what Ty said pretty much sums up my thoughts about this move as well. You'd have to force a switch for this ability to have any effect, and only then you'd be able to punish it. I guess this ability could prevent your opponent from switching in fear of a strong move targeting their switch in, but that's only the case if a pokemon with high attacking stats were able to obtain this ability. 

• Battle Bond: Defeating an opposing Pokemon strengthens the Pokemon’s bond with its Trainer, and it becomes Ash-Greninja. Water shuriken becomes more powerful
• Thoughts: The stats on Ash-Greninja look impressive at this point, (72/145/67/153/71/132), though the pokemon itself is locked to a neutral nature(no stat increases), and thus wont be a whole lot more useful than its regular form. Its a cool ability for sure, but the pokemon and its conditions for 'evolving' are pretty inconvenient to use, so I doubt it will see too much competitive success. 
• Battle Bond is exclusive to Ash-Greninja if I recall correctly, and it seems to give Ash-Greninja a substantial increase in base stats. Ash-Greninja isn't legal for VGC '17, but anyway. Looking at the stats, and running some calculations, I already see that Life Orb Protean Greninja is by far more useful in general than this Greninja. The STAB boost for each move that comes with Protean seems more useful overall than a massive increase in base stats. I do think Ash-Greninja is a cool idea as I like seeing new forms of pokemon, but I think I'll stick to using it in game :)

Pokemon:

• Tapus 

• 

  

• Starters

• 

• Ultra Beasts

•  

  

  

  

Finally, here are 3 videos you can watch that come from the people who datamined the Sun and Moon Demos. This outlines everything that they have found, in 3 short videos.

We have also included a pastebin of fully evolved pokemon that are in the alola dex, thanks to Gavin (KingOfMars). 

ProfShroomish also uploaded a full version of the alola pokedex here : 

http://imgur.com/gallery/5C8ry

Kaphotics Videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_KfjwyVaoY – Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwpIhRkAlRw – Part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJnB7EHQ2XU – Part 3

http://pastebin.com/9f43teW2 - KingofMars' List of Fully Evolved Pokemon in the Alola Dex

AusTerrain is Back

Hello everyone! This is our first post in a while (almost 10 months), and we just want to clarify a few things regarding the future of this blog.

As you all know, the format for this VGC season (VGC '16) was very different from previous years, it was akin to VGC '10 in a way besides the fact that Primals and Mega Rayquaza were allowed. Due to the highly volatile nature of the metagame in this format, a lot of us here refrained from playing, and as such we did not have, and were not able to produce the content that we wanted to produce for the readers. Before we move on to talking about VGC '17, we've actually got one of our members here that would like to share some of his experiences during the 2016 season, and maybe it will help some of you understand why we were not able to deliver much content this year.

A VGC 2016 Reminiscent

Hey, what's up guys, I'm Faaiz, but you can call me Feis, and I'd like to talk about how my "2016 season" went. The reason I left this in quotation marks is that my 2016 season didn't actually exist. The last two years have made it difficult for me to compete in the official circuit as I was finishing school and I have asian parents, so there's that. This year took  some time to go to UK Nationals to meet some friends. I finished a very average 4-4, which I didn't really care about though.

The more important thing for me the last two years was getting good grades in the final years of school so I could fulfill my dream of studying medicine -- which I managed to accomplish! Although I didn't play at any events besides Nats and a few PC's in that time, I'll have to admit that I spent a lot more time playing Pokémon than I probably should have, considering school and that I didn't really play in many live tournaments. 

So how did I like this year's format?

Not very much, but I won't go too much into the details, as I'm sure you've all heard similar things being said about it all year. I'll be honest. Although I reckon if some things were different, like Moody not being available on Smeargle, it would've been a tad cooler. I still don't really like the massive power creep between Primals, Megas and Xerneas. But, it's totally possible to have fun playing VGC '16, and I have had fun with it at some points, but other metas offered fun more frequently, for me at least. 

Speaking of fun, as I said earlier, I did play quite a bit at home and online. I played in Nugget Bridge's Circuit and had a lot of fun playing for the Ninjas in the NPA and getting 2nd with them (I think). I also somehow managed to qualify for the Nugget Bridge Invitational even though I lost a deciding match in Top 4 of the Dodrio Cup. Unfortunately I lost in the Top 16 of that tournament, but I think it's a good ending to a weird VGC '16 season, and I'm certainly looking forward to the new format!

Pokemon Sun and Moon : VGC 2017 

So moving on to the VGC '17 season, we've decided to become more active both with this blog and the format itself. We only started posting in late 2015 and unfortunately due to a lack of interest in the 2016 format from many of our contributors, we never really got AusTerrain rolling in the way we'd originally planned. For the coming year however, we want to provide a consistent stream of content that will include:

• Individual pokemon sets/analyses.
• Analysis on team archetypes and how we feel they interact with each other.
• Report-style entries that will focus on our own experiences with teams we use at live and online events.
• Pretty much anything else we feel is relevant or enjoyable for fans of VGC and pokemon in general.

We've also got a few players who are a bit more well-known who will be releasing content with us in the coming season, so keep an eye out! 

The "Showdown Special"

Today we'll be talking about a team that has been making the headlines in the VGC community throughout the world. Yes, this is the infamous Kangaskhan/Groudon/Xerneas/Smeargle/Talonflame/Salamence team, also dubbed as the "Showdown Special" for it's ease of use and staggering popularity. 

This team is incredibly diverse, and extremely hard to "counter" per se, due to the existence of a certain pokemon named Smeargle. The team preview pressure provided my Smeargle is immense, and forces opponents to counter lead it. That being said, because Smeargle is so diverse, it is virtually impossible to beat it consistently. With options like Fake Out, Wide Guard, Follow Me, Transform, and every other move in the game, you can't be certain which moves Smeargle is carrying until you've seen them all. Let's not forget about Dark Void or it's ability, Moody, which can both win a game in a single turn. Playing it in best of one is a tricky task, as it can hold a multitude of items, mainly being Focus Sash, Choice Scarf or Mental Herb. Calling it's item wrong can mean an instant game loss.

Xerneas by itself is a huge threat, but partnered with Smeargle it is capable of winning games all by itself. When faced with the common Smeargle - Xerneas lead, more often than not the opponent has to choose whether to stop the Geomancy or stop the potential Dark Void. Failing to shut either down can result in the game ending very quickly.

The rest of the team pivots around Smeargle and Xerneas, as their primary functions are to support Xerneas after it has set up. Kangaskhan has Fake Out support, Talonflame usually has Tailwind and Quick Guard to prevent Xerneas from going down, and Groudon acts as a defensive pivot, being able to switch into Kyogre to override the weather, as well as dealing with all the steel types that "threaten" Xerneas. Salamence acts as the secondary mega here, being able to hit both Primals and Mega Rayquaza for good damage. It's usefulness is extended by it's pre-mega ability - Intimidate - providing even more support for Xerneas. 

I made a VGC 2016 teambuilding guide for lazy people pic.twitter.com/j2UVwb1a0K

— Simon (@YopYopTDS) January 24, 2016

In response to Simon's tweet, we've made our own teambuilding guide for even lazier people! 

With all that being said, this is a definitely a team you can expect to see at events throughout the next few months. There are variations of this team, so not every team with these 6 pokemon will have the exact same movesets and EV spreads. It is also popular on the Battle Spot Special ladder, so definitely keep this team in mind when building your own teams.

VGC 2016 Moveset/EV Spread Compendium

Hey guys! Sam (SamVGC) here with something newer in VGC, a moveset and EV spread compendium for all of the new, restricted Pokemon to help people new to the tier get started, and since we're all new to this tier, to help everyone else get help. Sets can be donated on the Nugget Bridge forum, and if they're deemed to be quality and unique from what is already on the page we'll go ahead and post them. 

Note : Calcs for spreads are being updated. 

Nugget Bridge Thread link: 

nuggetbridge.com

Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Atk / 76 Def / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Precipice Blades
- Fire Punch
- Swords Dance
- Protect

172+ Atk Primal Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 44 HP / 20 Def Xerneas: 105-124 (50.7 - 59.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 252 HP / 76 Def Primal Groudon: 176-209 (85 - 100.9%) -- 2.3% chance to OHKO

Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 132 Atk / 4 Def / 12 SpD / 156 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Fire Punch
- Substitute
- Protect

132 Atk Primal Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Kangaskhan: 93-109 (51.3 - 60.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 204 HP / 4 Def Primal Groudon: 169-200 (84 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

132 Atk Primal Groudon Fire Punch vs. 44 HP / 132 Def Xerneas in Harsh Sun: 106-126 (51.2 - 60.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

132 Atk Primal Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Primal Kyogre: 100-118 (48.3 - 57%) -- 89.1% chance to 2HKO

Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Eruption
- Flamethrower
- Earth Power
- Protect

252+ SpA Primal Groudon Eruption (150 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan in Harsh Sun: 177-208 (97.7 - 114.9%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Primal Groudon Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 204-242 (98.5 - 116.9%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

Groudon @ Choice Band
Ability: Drought
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Hammer Arm
- Fire Punch
- Rock Slide

(Nido's Set) Groudon @ Red Orb  

Ability: Desolate Land  

Level: 50  

EVs: 252 HP / 100 Atk / 156 SpD  

Adamant Nature  

- Precipice Blades  

- Fire Punch

- Roar/Swords Dance 

- Protect

252+ SpA Primal Groudon Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 156 SpD Primal Groudon: 174-206 (84 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 

 

Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
EVs: 140 HP / 116 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Water Spout
- Ice Beam
- Origin Pulse
- Protect

252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 140 HP / 116 Def Primal Kyogre: 145-172 (75.1 - 89.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 140 HP / 116 Def Primal Kyogre: 164-192 (84.9 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
Level: 50
EVs: 140 HP / 12 Def / 188 SpA / 4 SpD / 164 Spe
Timid Nature
- Origin Pulse
- Thunder
- Ice Beam
- Protect

188 SpA Primal Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan in Heavy Rain: 178-211 (98.3 - 116.5%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 140 HP / 12 Def Primal Kyogre: 162-191 (83.9 - 98.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

(Thanks to Xtremepieman for this next one)

Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb 

Ability: Primordial Sea  
Level: 50  
EVs: 244 HP / 140 Def / 124 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Origin Pulse  
- Ice Beam  
- Calm Mind  
- Protect

252+ Atk Ferrothorn Power Whip vs. 244 HP / 140 Def Primal Kyogre: 170-204 (82.5 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 244 HP / 140 Def Primal Kyogre: 155-186 (75.2 - 90.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 244 HP / 140 Def Primal Kyogre: 175-208 (84.9 - 100.9%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO (You can live this with 244 HP / 156 Def)  

Kyogre @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Water Spout
- Origin Pulse
- Ice Beam
- Thunder

Rayquaza-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Delta Stream
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Dragon Ascent
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Protect

252 SpA Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 200-238 (96.6 - 114.9%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan: 185-218 (102.2 - 120.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO 

Rayquaza-Mega @ Lum Berry
Ability: Delta Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Ascent
- Waterfall
- Extreme Speed
- Protect

Rayquaza-Mega @ Choice Band
Ability: Air Lock
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Ascent
- Waterfall
- Extreme Speed
- Earthquake

252 Atk Choice Band Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 140 HP / 116 Def Primal Kyogre: 187-222 (96.8 - 115%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

(Volcanion's Optimised Spread)

Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
Level: 50
EVs: 84 HP / 4 Def / 224 SpA / 196 Spe 
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Ground]
- Geomancy
- Protect

252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 84 HP / 4 Def Xerneas: 175-208 (82.5 - 98.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 84 HP / 4 Def Xerneas: 172-204 (81.1 - 96.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Primal Groudon Eruption (150 BP) vs. 84 HP / 0 SpD Xerneas in Harsh Sun: 178-211 (83.9 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 132 Def / 76 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Geomancy
- Protect

252 Atk Choice Band Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 44 HP / 132 Def Xerneas: 178-211 (85.9 - 101.9%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO 

Xerneas @ Choice Specs
Ability: Fairy Aura
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 132 Def / 72 SpA / 12 SpD / 248 Spe
Timid Nature
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Dazzling Gleam
- Grass Knot

Xerneas @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Fairy Aura
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 12 Def / 248 SpA / 4 SpD / 200 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Dazzling Gleam
- Grass Knot

Yveltal @ Life Orb
Ability: Dark Aura
Level: 50
EVs: 172 HP / 4 Def / 12 SpA / 68 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Foul Play
- Snarl
- Tailwind
- Protect

252+ SpA Primal Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 172 HP / 68 SpD Yveltal in Heavy Rain: 190-225 (85.2 - 100.8%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

0 Atk Life Orb Dark Aura Yveltal Foul Play vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Rayquaza: 181-214 (100 - 118.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Yveltal @ Assault Vest
Ability: Dark Aura
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 132 Def / 12 SpD / 108 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Foul Play
- Oblivion Wing
- Sucker Punch
- Snarl

+1 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Yveltal: 205-244 (87.9 - 104.7%) -- 17.2% chance to OHKO

4 Atk Dark Aura Yveltal Sucker Punch vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Kyogre: 84-100 (47.7 - 56.8%) -- 86.7% chance to 2HKO

Yveltal @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Dark Aura
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 76 Def / 4 SpA / 132 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Dark Pulse
- Oblivion Wing
- Tailwind
- Protect

Boomguy's Zygarde

Zygarde @ Focus Sash
Ability: Aura Break
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Glare
- Land's Wrath
- Rock Slide
- Protect

Lugia @ Kee Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 68 Def / 76 SpA / 4 SpD / 108 Spe
Bold Nature
- Aeroblast
- Earth Power
- Recover
- Calm Mind

+2 252 SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Dazzling Gleam vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Lugia: 63-75 (29.5 - 35.2%) -- 15.6% chance to 3HKO

252+ SpA Primal Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. +1 252 HP / 4 SpD Lugia in Heavy Rain: 93-109 (43.6 - 51.1%) -- 6.3% chance to 2HKO

+1 76 SpA Lugia Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 112-132 (54.1 - 63.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 252 HP / 68 Def Lugia: 191-227 (89.6 - 106.5%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. +1 252 HP / 68 Def Lugia: 87-103 (40.8 - 48.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Ho-Oh @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sacred Fire
- Brave Bird
- Substitute
- Protect

Mewtwo @ Iron Ball
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 124 HP / 60 Def / 252 SpA / 72 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Psystrike
- Ice Beam
- Trick Room
- Protect

252 Atk Life Orb Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 124 HP / 60 Def Mewtwo: 173-204 (87.8 - 103.5%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

Mewtwo-Mega-X @ Mewtwonite X
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Low Kick
- Zen Headbutt
- Ice Punch
- Protect

Mewtwo-Mega-Y @ Mewtwonite Y
Ability: Insomnia
Level: 50
EVs: 124 HP / 60 Def / 124 SpA / 20 SpD / 180 Spe
Timid Nature
- Psystrike
- Ice Beam
- Flamethrower
- Protect

252 Atk Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 124 HP / 60 Def Mega Mewtwo Y: 160-189 (81.2 - 95.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Primal Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 124 HP / 20 SpD Mega Mewtwo Y in Heavy Rain: 169-199 (85.7 - 101%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Sucker Punch vs. 124 HP / 60 Def Mega Mewtwo Y: 166-196 (84.2 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ Atk Primal Groudon Fire Punch vs. 124 HP / 60 Def Mega Mewtwo Y in Harsh Sun: 165-195 (83.7 - 98.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Kyurem-White @ Life Orb
Ability: Turboblaze
Level: 50
EVs: 124 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 124 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Fusion Flare
- Ice Beam
- Protect

252+ SpA Life Orb Turboblaze Kyurem-W Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 211-250 (101.9 - 120.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Turboblaze Kyurem-W Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan: 195-230 (107.7 - 127%) -- guaranteed OHKO

(Interstellar's Set) Kyurem-White @ Life Orb
Ability: Turboblaze
Level: 50
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 228 Spe
Modest Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Ice Beam
- Fusion Flare
- Protect

"Draco Meteor and Ice beam are the two STAB moves, and Fusion flare is for those steel types that wall it. Instead of Protect, Earth power can be used and Choice Specs can replace Life Orb for even more damage." 

252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 20 HP / 252 Def Kyurem-W: 168-202 (82.7 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
4+ SpA Life Orb Turboblaze Kyurem-W Ice Beam vs. 44 HP / 44 SpD Xerneas: 113-134 (54.5 - 64.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

4+ SpA Life Orb Turboblaze Kyurem-W Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan: 168-199 (92.8 - 109.9%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO

4+ SpA Choice Specs Turboblaze Kyurem-W Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Kangaskhan: 193-228 (106.6 - 125.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

4+ SpA Choice Specs Turboblaze Kyurem-W Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 210-247 (101.4 - 119.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Kyurem-Black @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 124 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 124 Spe
Rash Nature
- Fusion Bolt
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Protect

124 Atk Life Orb Teravolt Kyurem-B Fusion Bolt vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Primal Kyogre: 185-218 (105.1 - 123.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

donation needed

Zekrom @ Life Orb
Ability: Teravolt
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Bolt Strike
- Dragon Claw
- Substitute
- Protect

Reshiram @ Lum Berry
Ability: Turboblaze
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Blue Flare
- Draco Meteor
- Tailwind
- Protect

Giratina @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 36 Def / 100 SpD / 36 Spe
Careful Nature
- Shadow Force
- Pain Split
- Will-O-Wisp
- Protect

252+ SpA Primal Groudon Eruption (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 100+ SpD Giratina in Harsh Sun: 63-75 (24.5 - 29.1%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Primal Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 100+ SpD Giratina in Heavy Rain: 66-78 (25.6 - 30.3%) -- 0.8% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recover

+2 252+ SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Dazzling Gleam vs. 252 HP / 100+ SpD Giratina: 216-254 (84 - 98.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Choice Specs Dark Aura Yveltal Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 100+ SpD Giratina: 218-258 (84.8 - 100.3%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Huge Power burned Mega Mawile Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 36 Def Giratina: 120-142 (46.6 - 55.2%) -- 15.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

84 Atk Giratina Shadow Force vs. 44 HP / 132 Def Xerneas: 67-81 (32.3 - 39.1%) -- 99% chance to 3HKO

84 Atk Giratina Shadow Force vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Primal Kyogre: 81-96 (46 - 54.5%) -- 50% chance to 2HKO

Giratina @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpA / 100 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shadow Force
- Draco Meteor
- Will-O-Wisp
- Rest

36 SpA Giratina Draco Meteor vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 84-100 (47.7 - 56.8%) -- 86.7% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 36 Def Giratina: 112-134 (43.5 - 52.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Giratina-Origin @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Force
- Draco Meteor
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split

(Nido's Set) Bulky Offense (Giratina-Origin) @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 140 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpA / 116 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shadow Force
- Shadow Sneak
- Draco Meteor
- Will-O-Wisp

 

140+ Atk Griseous Orb Giratina-O Shadow Force vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Aegislash-Shield: 168-198 (100.5 - 118.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 108 SpD Giratina-O: 216-254 (84 - 98.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Dark Aura Yveltal Dark Pulse vs. 244 HP / 116 SpD Giratina-O: 213-252 (83.2 - 98.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Brave Nature to not hinder the damage output of Draco Meteor. 

 

(Interstellar's Set) Giratina-Origin @ Griseous Orb
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 60 HP / 204 Atk / 4 Def / 212 SpD / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shadow Force
- Will-O-Wisp
- Shadow Sneak
- Protect

252+ SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 60 HP / 212 SpD Giratina-O: 194-230 (83.2 - 98.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Aegislash-Blade Shadow Ball vs. 60 HP / 212 SpD Giratina-O: 179-213 (76.8 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Dark Aura Yveltal Dark Pulse vs. 60 HP / 212 SpD Giratina-O: 198-234 (84.9 - 100.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Palkia @ Haban Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Def / 76 SpA / 156 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Spacial Rend
- Hydro Pump
- Trick Room
- Protect

252+ SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 156+ SpD Palkia: 164-194 (83.2 - 98.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Double-Edge vs. 252 HP / 20 Def Palkia: 146-173 (74.1 - 87.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Primal Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 156+ SpD Palkia in Heavy Rain: 34-40 (17.2 - 20.3%) -- possible 5HKO

252+ SpA Primal Kyogre Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 156+ SpD Palkia: 50-59 (25.3 - 29.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

76 SpA Palkia Spacial Rend vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Rayquaza: 170-204 (93.9 - 112.7%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

Palkia @ Assault Vest
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 164 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 84 Spe
Timid Nature
- Spacial Rend
- Hydro Pump
- Flamethrower
- Rock Tomb

252 SpA Palkia Spacial Rend vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 103-123 (49.7 - 59.4%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

(Nido's Set) Palkia @ Lum Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 116 SpA / 156 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Spacial Rend
- Earth Power
- Trick Room
- Gravity/Protect

252 SpA Mega Salamence Draco Meteor vs. 236 HP / 156 SpD Palkia: 158-188 (81 - 96.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 236 HP / 156 SpD Palkia: 164-194 (84.1 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Primal Kyogre Ice Beam vs. 236 HP / 156 SpD Palkia: 55-65 (28.2 - 33.3%) -- Miniscule chance to 3HKO

252+ SpA Primal Groudon Earth Power vs. 236 HP / 156 SpD Palkia: 70-84 (35.8 - 43%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Dialga @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Def / 156 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon
- Trick Room
- Protect

252+ SpA Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Dialga in Rain: 88-104 (42.5 - 50.2%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO

252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 100 Def Dialga: 160-190 (77.2 - 91.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

156+ SpA Dialga Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 139-165 (67.1 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Dialga @ Adamant Orb
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Flash Cannon
- Flamethrower
- Protect