Trappin’ like a Bawse
Team Report: Top 8 PJT ‘14 Participant
Rio Hindami
(WARNING: A LOT OF READING LEL)
Alright, Hello, everyone! As most of you know who I am in the PJ.net community, my username is @RIOspeedwagon. I’ve been a member of PJ for over a year now, but I have lurked in the murky water on the site for a lot longer like about 2-3 years during the beginning hype of BW. I first “joined” PJ as a guest during the IAMTHELEAKER incident to help debunk and learn more “rumours” from him (I kinda credit myself for his downfall when I asked him to leak some of the dex, but he messed up so it didn’t match with his previous statements). However, I actually joined a couple days before XY were released for the sole purpose of getting friend codes for FS (sorry!) but I stuck around because the people were great and so was the community! A decision I don’t regret today.
When I got wind of the possibility of a tournament being hosted at PJ, I was super excited! 6th gen was the gen that got me into competitive battling since XY made breeding so much easier than past gens; I felt like I had a chance and I wanted to marvel and learn from other people’s team and strategies. Many months later, I was even more excited when I got confirmation as a participant! And now here I am with a team report about my team and experience participating in the first ever PJT. (Thank you NL for the opportunity and suggestion!)
THE TEAM
[spoiler]
Mei-Shi (Mienshao) F @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Fake Out
– High Jump Kick
– Knock Off
– U-Turn
Hit and Run. This would usually be my lead to break sashes with Fake Out. I was kinda disappointed with Mienshao’s performance. Particularly during the Elimination Rounds, I always had Mienshao in the back as it was a bad match up against my opponents’ lead and didn’t really rely on it much during the whole match due to its frailness. Despite this, Mienshao did great what it did during my battles:knock off items on predicted switches or U-Turn switch on predicted switches. Plus, Mienshao is one of my favorite Pokemon :3 I chose Mei-Shi as its name because I originally had a different Mienshao with the name Shao Lee but it had “improper” IVs so i bred a new and with help from the PJ community, Mei-Shi was born (it sounded cool)!
Some Japanese words (Entei) @ Choice Band
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Sacred Fire
– Stone Edge
– Extreme Speed
– Stomp
Wallbreaker. Entei was an excellent choice on my team since I needed a burn absorber, burn spreader, Sableye check (I had a feeling it would run rampant), fire type move attacker and priority attacker. Entei had the all-round perfect package for my team. Spamming Sacred Fire and getting burns was a satisfying feeling to have. Extremespeed and Choice Band made Entei an effective revenge killer. Stomp was chosen over Bulldoze because the possibility of having to face Minimize shenanigans is not my cup of tea (stares at Jordin).
Mammy (Mamoswine) F @ Focus Sash
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 4 HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Stealth Rock
– Icicle Spear
– Ice Shard
– Earthquake
Revenge Killer or Rocks. Mamoswine is a huge asset to my team. Its role is either to set up rocks and tank a hit/predicted switch or revenge kill a Pokemon. Rocks were a crucial play in my match against HeavyMetalFairy and Chaos. Focus Sash either allowed me to set up rocks wand was guaranteed to survive or, as I said earlier, revenge kill a Poke and live. Hazards on my side lessened the viability of Mamoswine in those matches but it still did a great job killing off Dragons. The reason behind Jolly Nature and 252 Speed is because I wanted to be faster than other base 80’s such as Breloom. Mammy as a name because it’s a girl and it rolls off the tongue well.
Gengar (Gengar) M @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate >>> Shadow Tag
EVs: 4 HP/252 SpAtk/252 Spe
Timid Nature
– Taunt
– Shadow Ball
– Sludge Bomb
– Perish Song
Stallbreaker. GENGAR TOO OP PLZ NERF LULZ. But seriously, M-Gengar is no joke. I originally had M-Gyarados as this slot but I needed an answer to Stall teams, Baton Pass teams as well as another special attacker so I chose M-Gengar. Sorry if its broken in your eyes bros (specifically UmbreonLifts #NoRagrets) but rules aren’t Smogon based. I knew Stall will be a big problem, something I hate to face so M-Gengar was a perfect solution. Very clutch in my battles against HeavyMetalFairy, UmbreonLifts, and Chaos (Alice as well if a certain something didn’t happen… you’ll see). Oh and it’s shiny which makes it even more cooler and broken (Thanks Heavy!)
Emmeryn (Clefable) F @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 252 HP/132 Def/124 SpDef
Bold Nature
– Moonlight
– Cosmic Power
– Moonblast
– Stored Power
Wall-er. With the addition of Fairy types added into the games, Clefable rose from the ashes of the NU normal type Pokemon to being one of the best Fairies there are.Clefable role on my team was to act as a wall and a physical deterrent with Rocky Helmet. I know that Rocky Helmet may seem like an odd item to use on Clefable compared to like Life Orb or Leftovers, but it works. With a couple Cosmic Powers under its belt, Clefable can tank a hit back with either Moonblast or Stored Power whilst healing with Moonlight. Steel types, however, kill Clefable. Good thing is, most of them are physically based *cough* Mega Mawile *cough* so they take damage from Rocky Helmet. Nicknamed Emmeryn from Fire Emblem Awakening (I recommend you to try it out! 9.5/10)
Robyn (Hydreigon) F @ Assault Vest
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpAtk/4 SpDef/252 Spe
Modest Nature
– Dragon Pulse
– Dark Pulse
– Fire Blast
– Earth Power
“Special Wall” and Versatile attacker. Hydreigon is bae (along with Shakira and Lucina). I originally had a Timid one with Flash Cannon instead of Earth Power but I decided to switch because it wasn’t really out speeding anything at it’s awkward speed tier and I needed more power/coverage. Assault Vest may seem like an odd choice of item on Hydreigon but trust me, it works (again). It can survive a Life Orb boosted Ice Beam from a Timid Greninja at full health and KO it back with Fire Blast. It’s used as a secondary special wall on my team as it can absorb not very effective moves such as Flamethrower, Scald, and Thunderbolt retaliate back. It’s named Robyn from the default name of the Avatar in Fire Emblem Awakening. It fit perfectly with a certain dragon in the game (; Thanks Regidudem for the idea![/spoiler]
EXPERIENCE AND BATTLES
Alright, so I got randomly chosen to be in the Undella Group with HeavyMetalFairy, UmbreonLifts, Edgaroth, and simkenno. Honestly, I was really nervous for the tournament to start since I had HMF and UL as opponents. Heavy is known for his scary Geomancy Pass and I lost to Umbreon in a tourney hosted by StarBits a couple months back because of STUPID SLOW(HOE)BRO. That poll hosted by RocketClauncher didn’t help my nerves at all once it was nearing the start of the tournament as HMF gained the lead in the votes. I was pretty psyching myself out with my team and felt like I regret not using other Poke’s instead. However, everything settled down when I started my first battle with Heavy.
VS HeavyMetalFairy
Code: N/A (Thanks for DC before I could save the vid ;~;)
Whew, Heavy’s team doe. We talked earlier before the group battles started on Twitter about the tourney and Heavy was dropping hints of what his team strategy was about during our talk. I connected the dots and came to the horrifying conclusion of what his team is about: A FULL BATON PASS TEAM. These teams are completely evil (learned from Showdown before the Baton Pass nerf) and I was just glad I had an answer to his team: M-Gengar. His full roster was Scolipede, Smeargle, Vaporeon, Sylveon, Mr. Mime and an unknown (forgot but I probably remembered if I HAD THE VID. I also took notes on the battle just for this purpose but I lost them somewhere…).
So let’s see if I can remember this off the top of my head. He lead with Scolipede (typical BP starter) and I led with Entei just for that reason. He started off with substituting and I Sacred Fire. Then the same thing happened again. I switched out to Gengar while he Iron Defense’d/Substitute’d(?). Now I mega’d, but he baton passed to his Mr.Mime while I used Perish Song but got blocked out by Soundproof. Smart play because in the next turn, he used Encore with his super-fast Mr.Mime so i used PS again. I swapped out to Entei I believe and he Calm Mind’ed. I swapped back out to Gengar and he sets up again. This turn was crucial. He Substituted or something and I Taunt’ed him. Next turn, I find out that he had no attacking moves so he struggle’d. It was an awesome feeling! All his boosts are trapped and he needs to start all over again. Mr.Mime dies to struggle and Sludge Bomb so I believe he sends out Scolipede again idk. But the rest of the match was a blur because pretty much M-Gengar rekt his whole team with a combination of Taunt and Perish Song. I remembered i only lost one member (Hydreigon to Sylveon) and the battle ended with me winning. However, Heavy disconnected after the battle was over but before the “Save battle video” screen popped up to my dismay. I was happy nonetheless cause i BEAT A FREAKING BP TEAM and I had one win under my belt. Heavy was a great opponent and I feel bad to whoever faced him after me (Edgaroth and Umbreon).
VS UmbreonLifts
Code: 2LZG-WWWW-WWW8-NZ4B
Ugh, stupid Slow Hoe. Slowbro was a pain in my butt the whole match with T-Wave, Scald, and Regenerator. I got some major hax with paralysis. Umbreon was another pain to deal with but luckliy Gengar’s Taunt shut it down and it could only struggle. Mienshao did a great job in this match as well as Clefable. M-Gengar has to be the MVP of this match due to how well it dealt with Umbreon, Chansey and Garchomp. TOO OP 4 U LIFTS lel. Enjoy the long match.
VS Edgaroth
Code: 7UFG-WWWW-WWW8-PX5G
Edgaroth’s team worried me because of how unique and the underused Poke’s he was using. The battle was pretty straightforward. Clefable tank’d out Greninja and Volcarona was really scary with its Heat Wave. Hydreigon was MVP of this match. bae <3
VS simkenno
No battle 🙁 simkenno had a family death right when the tourney so he dropped out. Sorry about your loss simkenno! I’m expecting a battle in the future to make this up or your know, an early copy of ORAS (;
Now since the group battles were officially over with me winning 4-0 with a bye, I was feeling really confident with myself! Now onto the Elimination Rounds…
VS Chaos
Code: K2UW-WWWW-WWW9-9YZP
This was an interesting battle. I heard talk that Chaos was running the same Mega as mine but in this battle, it turns out he has a Mega Aggron. His team had the right amount of balance and bulk with Clefable Wish Passing, Scarf Magnezone trapping Steels, and the defensive behemoth Mandibuzz. Magnezone gave me huge troubles in this match because it was scarf and I had nothing to take its hits. I had great switches and double switches in this match. Stealth Rock was a major factor in me winning this match. Chaos was a worthy opponent and he currently still is with his rain team ;~;
VS Alice
Code: ZG6G-WWWW-WWW9-B4M2
Oh boy, this battle ;~; I just felt like crying after this battle (not really but maybe) especially since it was my last one. I lost this battle. Alice had a very Smogon-esque team. She had the coveted Dragon-Fairy-Steel core with a Stealth Rock setter and a Special and Defensive wall. She was really well rounded and played smart. I,however, made a horrible misplay in this match that potentially costed me the match. Let’s just say M-Gengar was not the MVP in this battle ;~; I played really badly in this battle. I’ll let you guys see the video to find out. GG to Alice! A formidable foe!
Closing Remarks
I had a LOT of fun battling in this tourney and I’m glad I had the opportunity to participate. All my opponents varied in strength and strategies which made the experience even better! If there was anything I could change to my team after going through this tourney would be changing Jolly to Adamant for Mamoswine and teach Flamethrower to Clefable instead of Stored Power. And with that, here is the conclusion to my team report and experience with PJT ‘14.
I am looking forward to future tourneys being hosted by PJ and all the experiences that follow. Special thanks to NL for the idea of this team report and a big thanks to moving for coordinating this tourney! Peace out everyone! Follow me on @HydreigonHero for battles/trades and my giveaways 🙂
This is not the only report article we wil have pertaining to PJT 14. Stay tuned for more great articles!-NL