PJT ’14 Champion’s Team Report – The Boys Are Back in Town
Hey everybody, my name is Maple and I’m the 2014 PokéJungle Champion.
I was so excited to be able to participate in the first PokéJungle Tournament, partly because I have had so much fun battling people at this site. I was so happy when I was confirmed to participate in it. Finally, there was a competition. I was especially grateful for Zero and NL helping me finish up making my team because I left it until the last few days before the teams had to be submitted. Based Zero filled me with glory and power.
The Team
[spoiler]
Steve (Charizard) (M) @ Charizardite X
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Dragon Claw
– Flare Blitz
– Earthquake
– Dragon Dance
The team’s Mega and the starting point for building. I’ve been using Charizard on most of my teams since November. I played around with a few different sets, including a bulky roost set, but I had better results with this standard set. I use Adamant to maximize damage output, and he’ll out speed most things after a Dragon Dance anyway. Charizard is also very good even if he doesn’t get to use Dragon Dance. Flare Blitz is his main source of damage, recoil is worth it. I use Dragon Claw over Outrage because getting locked into Outrage is easily punishable and I like to keep Charizard alive. Earthquake is mostly just for any Aegislash that wants to King’s Shield, because Flare Blitz or Dragon Claw will usually do more damage to most anything else. The team’s goal was meant to be to try and get Charizard onto the field and use one Dragon Dance safely.
LG (Rotom-Wash) @ Chesto Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
– Hydro Pump
– Volt Switch
– Will-O-Wisp
– Rest
Burn and turn. Charizard loves setting up on burned things, so here is our Will-O-Wisp Pokémon. I figured that there would be more special attackers than physical attackers in this tournament, so I chose to make this Rotom Bold. Bold is also good because Rotom would be switching into physical attacks then probably taking another physical attack next turn before getting to burn them. I didn’t save any EVs for special defense as I wasn’t planning on Rotom taking any special hits that he didn’t resist. Volt Switch is simply awesome, it is easily used to create momentum shifts in my favour from nothing. I use Rest with a Chesto Berry for recovery. Also, I like having a Chesto Berry on one of my Pokémon so I can easily deal with Smeargle, I can take the Spore, wake up, while using volt switch to break Smeargle’s Focus Sash and switch to something that can threaten to knock it out. Rotom, Chansey, and Skarmory form this team’s defensive core. Life’s Good.
Shelley (Chansey) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
– Soft-Boiled
– Aromatherapy
– Toxic
– Seismic Toss
Special Defense. Taking one for the team, or maybe fifty. Chansey is bold with maximum investment in HP and Defense because Chansey already has really high special defense without EV investment, and she can take physical hits surprisingly well. For the most part on the special side Chansey only has to worry about STAB Fighting moves or really strong Choice Specs Pokémon. On the physical side she can usually take a hit unless it’s Close Combat or something of the like. Landorus likes to switch in on Close Combat to Intimidate the Pokémon and take not very effective damage, or Skarmory can take the hit fairly well and cause some damage with the Rocky Helmet. Another move that Chansey needs to avoid is Knock Off, Chansey is not nearly as useful as she can be if she loses her Eviolite. Usually my best answer to knock off is to switch to Skarmory and leave some damage on the knock off user from Rocky Helmet, or switch to Charizard if it won’t do much damage and if I can punish by setting up Dragon Dance. She has Soft-Boiled for recovery. Aromatherapy was always nice to have, because I never want any of my team members to become useless due to status. I used Toxic to spread residual damage throughout my opponent’s teams, and sometimes to stall out some Pokémon that cannot knock out Chansey in two hits.
Mrs. S (Skarmory) (F) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Sturdy
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
– Brave Bird
– Defog
– Whirlwind
– Roost
Physical Defense. I have a few options for dealing with a few specific stat boosting Pokémon, but I needed something reliable for more situations. If I see something in team preview that has potential to get scary stat boost I will leave Skarmory at full HP in the back of my party. So when I need it I can sacrifice something if necessary to get Skarmory in, having Sturdy and Whirlwind makes me feel safe. Rarely is a physical attack able to knock out Skarmory in less than 3 hits unless it is a super effective attack with STAB or the Pokémon has stat boosts. Rocky Helmet tacks on a fair amount of damage on physical attackers, Skarmory was usually my first choice when switching to take a physical attack. Roost is essential for recovery. I used to run Stealth Rock or Spikes instead of Defog. I had a hard time balancing the team while having another flying Pokémon for Defog, as my team has 3 Flying types already. I did try Latios, but I didn’t feel that Latios would have very many strong matchups in this tournament. Also, I found that there was no reason to use entry hazards if I was running Defog anyway, because I would be clearing my own hazards as I was clearing my opponent’s. I used Impish Nature, along with maximum EV investment in HP and Defense, so I could max out Skarmory’s Defensive potential.
Calrissian (Landorus-Therian) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 228 HP / 172 Atk / 108 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Earthquake
– Stone Edge
– U-turn
– Knock Off
Scarf Physical Attacker. Landorus was definitely the MVP of my team overall in the tournament. Landorus has an extremely useful ability in Intimidate, and he has the right bulk to make good use of it. Earthquake is a strong STAB move, Stone Edge lets Landorus hit flying types. U-turn is good for momentum shifts on predicted switches. Knock Off deals good damage on super effective hits and has good utility in getting rid of items. 108 speed EVs with a neutral speed nature lets Landorus out speed base 117 and below with choice scarf, this was especially useful for mega Lucario. 172 Attack EVs is quite powerful on base 145 attack, so we can sacrifice some for more bulk. With 228 HP EVs Landorus can take some powerful hits, such as a +5 Shadow Sneak from an Adamant Aegislash with maximum attack investment. Landorus is one of my favourite options for leading with, along with Rotom. Both of them can switch out while dealing damage, and Landorus can get rid of items or Rotom can burn some Pokémon.
Envious (Scizor) (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Technician
EVs: 252 HP / 176 Atk / 80 Def
Adamant Nature
– Bug Bite
– Bullet Punch
– Swords Dance
– Roost
Priority Offense. My last Pokémon had to be something with a priority move. Scizor has an excellent ability in Technician, as is powers up his attacks that have 60 or less base power by 50%. With 252 HP EVs and 80 Defense EVs, Scizor can take 2 Earthquakes from a Garchomp that has 252 EVs in attack and a nature that doesn’t boost its Attack stat if the Garchomp isn’t holding an Attack boosting item. The rest of the EVs go into Attack so Scizor can still deal some damage while being able to take it. Since many physical hits will not take more than half of Scizor’s HP, Scizor is able to effectively use Roost to heal himself. If my opponent has to switch out or will not be able to deal much damage to Scizor, I can use Swords dance to raise Scizor’s Attack stat by 2 stages. Like Charizard, Scizor likes to set up on physical attackers that Rotom burns. Bug Bite becomes a powerful move after the boost from Technician, and it consumes opponent’s berries. Bullet Punch is also boosted by Technician and it is much needed on my team because of its priority. Bullet Punch is also very useful because it is an effective option for revenge killing.[/spoiler]
The Battles
I went into the tournament knowing that my team had no solid answer to stall teams, but knowing that there would only be about 1-2 stall teams in the tournament I decided to stick with the team and hope that someone else would take them out.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The spoiler tabs in this article below this point contain very specific battle summaries, if you plan on watching any of the battles I suggest that you DO NOT read them before you watch the battles.
Group Stage (Ekruteak)
Vs AliceXVI
My first opponent in PJT ’14 was AliceXVI. Before our battle I was very nervous about having to battle her because I was not confident in myself or my team heading in to the tournament.
Battle Video: 46MG-WWWW-WWW8-ZTHA
Opponent’s Team: Aegislash, Mamoswine, Gliscor, Latios, Mawile, Goodra
[spoiler]Rotom didn’t have any bad matchups so I decided that I would lead with it, while Alice led with Goodra. I volt switched out to Chansey because Goodra cannot to anything to it and take a Draco Meteor. After a few turns of switching to try and get a good matchup, with a well-timed Volt-Switch I end up getting my Charizard in against her Goodra. She thought that I was using Charizard Y, so she left Goodra in and Charizard was able to Mega Evolve and pick up a clean OHKO with Dragon Claw. This was important because Goodra was her best option for taking out my Skarmory. She sent in Mamoswine knowing that I had to switch she got free Stealth Rocks up, I switched to Rotom and I was able to knock that Mamoswine down to its sash, knowing that Mamoswine would have to switch I went for a Will-O-Wisp that landed on Latios. Later switched Chansey into a Surf from Latios and was able to learn that it had the Choice Specs from how much damage it did. After some more switching on both sides trying to find a good matchup, I ended up having Skarmory in and being able to Defog those Rocks away and finish off Mamoswine with a Brave Bird after it taking about 40% of my HP with Icicle Spear. I ended up getting my Landorus in against her Latios and taking it out by surprise of Choice Scarf with U-Turn making it 6-3. Rotom was able to Burn Mawile, at this point the game is over so Alice forfeits. After this 6-3 battle my record is 1-0.[/spoiler]
Vs Spetsnaz
I had no idea what to expect from Sptesnaz, all I knew about him was that he was new to battling.
Battle Video: TZVW-WWWW-WWW8-QKDA
Opponent’s Team: Aegislash, Bastiodon, Ditto, Blaziken, Greninja, Helioptile
[spoiler]Again, I lead with Rotom. Spetznaz led with Helioptile. I decided to be safe and switch to Chansey, then I got scared because he used Double Team. Everything turned out just fine though because I was eventually able to land a Toxic on it and its Thunderbolts weren’t doing anything. Toxic stall was taking too long so I switched to Landorus and fortunately landed my first attack on it. After some switching he gets his Blaziken in, Mega Evolves, and uses Power-Up-Punch as I switch from my Chansey to my Landorus for the Intimidate. He is faster now and gets a flinch with Rock Slide, but the second Rock Slide doess’t KO so I can OKHO that Blaziken with Earthquake. After that I Toxic stalled his Greninja and used a few Seismic Tosses on it. Then Rotom knocks out Bastiodon with a couple of Hydro Pumps. Ditto transformed into my Rotom, was Burned, then was finished by a critical hit Volt-Switch. Aegislash was OHKOed by Charizard’s Earthquake. I take the game 6-0 and my record now stands at 2-0.[/spoiler]
Vs Gentleman of Sinnoh
I had a battle with Gent the week before PJT ’14 started and we both used some of the same Pokémon in the tournament so we had a good idea of what to expect from each other.
Battle Video: R7WW-WWWW-WWW8-R9RZ
Opponent’s Team: Sylveon, Sceptile, Garchomp, Kangaskhan, Magmortar, Heatran
[spoiler]I lead with Rotom and he led with Heatran. After some switching my Scizor got hit by Sylveon’s Hyper Beam taking about 60% of his HP, but he was able to answer with a Bullet Punch to KO it. Charizard got in against his Magmortar and got a Dragon Dance up, but he brought in Scarf Garchomp that took about 60% from a Earthquake so I had to get outta there. After some more switching I slowly knocked his Heatran down to low HP with Chansey’s Seismic Toss. Then I used Chansey to Toxic stall his Magmortar and his Sceptile with some use of Soft-Boiled and Seismic Toss. Also, Chansey stayed in to take a powerful Dragon Rush from Garchomp but then KOed it with Seismic Toss. I used Skarmory to get some Rocky Helmet damage on Kangaskhan then used Whirlwind to get Heatran in. Landorus came in to finish off Heatran with an Earthquake. I am not too sure but I think Landorus was able to get an Earthquake on the Kangakhan before going down, after that the Kangaskhan was weak enough so it would get KOed by Skarmory’s Rocky Helmet. The battle ends 5-0 and my record for group stage is 3-0.[/spoiler]
So I had only one of my Pokémon faint in the group stage and finished 3-0. From Group Ekruteak, Alice and I would move on to the bracket. Zero was struck down by the demon Alice and the Hax Gods, so it was up to me to restore order to this world.
The Bracket
Vs RocketClauncher (Round 1)
I had never battled RocketClauncher before so I had no idea what he would use or what he would try to do.
Battle Video: WKDW-WWWW-WWW9-7QQA
Opponent’s Team: Crawdaunt, Granbull, Ditto, Lucario, Emolga, Vivillon
[spoiler]I decided to lead with Rotom just in case he wanted to lead with Vivillon because my Chesto Berry can stop it from putting my Pokémon to sleep and setting up with some Quiver Dance. Vivillon put my Rotom to sleep, then Rotom woke up and Volt-Switched out to Landorus knocking it down to low HP. Chansey put some good damage on a Burned Emolga and Crawdaunt with Seismic Toss. After some more switching and small HP trades, Scizor took down Granbull with a Bullet Punch. Then Lucario came in on Scizor, I knew that Lucario was going to want to Mega Evolve and use Swords Dance or Nasty Plot so I switched to Landorus. Lucario used Nasty Plot. I was hoping that Rocket didn’t know Landorus was Choice Scarfed, and it paid off because Lando got a clean OHKO on with Earthquake next turn. Emolga died from another Chansey Seismic Toss. At this point I was up 6-2 and one of his Pokémon was weak, so I sacrificed 2 of my Pokémon to get free safe switches and finish up the battle. Taking the game 4-0 and moving on to the second round.[/spoiler]
Vs MarkoXY (Round 2)
Again matched up against someone that I never battled before, and I have no idea of what’s coming. His team reminds me of something, maybe Red from GSC.
Battle Video: K3FG-WWWW-WWW9-CDQP
Opponent’s Team: Blastoise, Venusaur, Pikachu, Espeon, Snorlax, Charizard
[spoiler]I lead this battle with Landorus, while Marko lead with Charizard. I thought that he had the Y mega stone so I went for a Stone Edge while he mega evolved to X and used Dragon Dance. The attack did more than 50% HP, so next turn I decided to stay in and attack again knowing that he probably didn’t have an attack that could deal too much damage to Landorus. Luckily, I out sped him this turn and Stone Edge has now been used twice this battle without missing. His Charizard is down. A few turns of switching later my Scizor has been sleeping and burned and is weak, but Aromatherapy took care of the Status problems and his Venusaur is burned. Charizard brought Espeon down to low HP and took out Blastoise. Then Charizard has a scary encounter with a raging Snorlax that gets a belly drum up, luckily Charizard is barely able to take it out before it destroys my team. His Espeon sets up with six Calm Minds on Chansey, the best Chansey can do is keep using Seismic Toss to make it so Espeon is at about 50% HP when Chansey faints because Espeon also had Morning Sun. Landorus is able to come into the battle and take out Espeon and a weak Venusaur with Knock Off. Scizor takes some HP off of Pikachu before fainting then Landorus comes in to finish up. The final score is 3-0 and I move on to the semifinals where I face AliceXVI for the second time in the tournament.[/spoiler]
Vs AliceXVI (Semifinal)
Finally, a battle where I know exactly what to expect. Before the battle I was feeling pretty good because from our first battle I could see that her team is fairly well countered by mine.
Battle Video: N/A
Opponent’s Team: Aegislash, Mamoswine, Gliscor, Latios, Mawile, Goodra
[spoiler]I started the battle off with Landorus while she started with Latios. I should have went for a Knock Off to OHKO it but instead I went for a U-Turn because I thought she would switch, knocking it down to about 10% HP and switching to Chansey to take its attack. Every time that she switched to Latios I predicted it and switched to Landorus on the same turn, forcing it to switch out. Every time that she had Goodra in I switched to Chansey because her Goodra could not do anything to Chansey. She got her Aegislash in at one point and it got a Swords Dance up as I switched to Landorus and got an Intimiate on it. I hit it with an Earthquake and its Weakness Policy activated as it used another Swords Dance bringing it up to +5 Attack. Then Landorus took a Shadow Sneak from it and KOed it with another Earthquake. Later in the battle Rotom came in on Mawile to burn it and then KO it with a few Hydro Pumps. Goodra was poisoned by Chansey and was soon to be taken out by Seismic Toss. The score was 6-4 soon to be 6-3 and Alice had no way left to take out a few of my Pokémon, especially Chansey, so she forfeit the match. Now I move on to the Finals.[/spoiler]
Vs Lasgorndalf (Final)
The final was a best of three, and I was up against yet another person that I had never battled before.
Opponents Team: Hydreigon, Gengar, Blaziken, Togekiss, Samurott, Crobat
Game 1
Battle Video: 725G-WWWW-WWW9-K29C
[spoiler]I started the battle off with Rotom because I thought Lasgorndalf would use Crobat, and he did. Crobat actually Confuse Rayed my Rotom and Rotom hurt itself in confusion for a few turns while Crobat used Cross Poison, Rotom was down to about 50% HP by the time it could wake up and Volt Switch bringing Crobat down within range of Scizor’s Bullet Punch. So Scizor was then able to go in and pick up the revenge KO. Later in the battle I double switched and got Landorus in against Blaziken, Landorus out sped thanks to Choice Scarf and got a clean OHKO with Earthquake. Rotom Rested and ate it’s Chesto Berry but Togekiss got a bunch of flinches on it and brought it down to about 15% HP so I had to switch out. A combination of Toxic damage and Rocky Helmet damage brought Samurott down to about 10% HP. Toxic damage and Seismic toss weakened Hydreigon then Gengar came in on Chansey. I knew that Gengar would Mega Evolve but I wasn’t thinking straight and I left Chansey in with it. Thankfully this Gengar had no Perish Song. Because of this mistake Lasgorndalf and I had an extremely entertaining PP stall war for about 25 turns before he decided to switch out. Togekiss was knocked out by Toxic damage and a Seismic Toss. Scizor finished up the rest of the battle with Bullet Punches, fainting at the end to Life Orb damage. The final score of game one was 5-0, but many of my Pokémon were very weak at the end.[/spoiler]
Game 2
Battle Video: HEBW-WWWW-WWW9-K28F
[spoiler]Rotom also lead the second battle, and picked up a first turn OHKO on Blaziken. Hydreigon became weak because I predicted it to switch in on Landorus so I used U-Turn to switch to Scizor to finish it off with Bullet Punch. With some use of Roost Scizor was able to set up a Swords Dance on Samurott. Then Scizor was able to KO everything besides Samurott with Bullet Punch, then the battle ended with Scizor OHKOing Samurott with Bug Bite. And like Game 1 the score was 5-0 and ended with Scizor fainting due to Life Orb damage. It’s all over now.[/spoiler]
Conclusion
If I was to make any changes to this team I would consider trading Scizor for Breloom, I might do this mostly so I could utilize Spore. Scizor was kind of useless for the most part in many of my battles besides the finals where he suddenly became the MVP in game 2, and I think Breloom would have been more useful in the other battles that I had in this tournament.
I am glad that I had participated in the tournament and I had fun during my battles. I’ll be looking forward to future tournaments hosted by Pokéjungle. Thanks to NL for giving me the opportunity to write this. Thank you to my competitors and thank you to people that supported me during the tournament. Thank you to the people that ran the tournament.
I really like doubles more than singles now, because it is so easy to choose Pokémon that can simply win most 1v1s with stall, and in doubles I find that there is much more thought that needs to be put into the making of a good team.
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