Hi, guys! I'm Masahide Tamaki, also known as まさ(Twitter account:@masa83_poke), a Japanese VGC player.
I started playing VGC since last year, and practice to play well on every weekend.
In fact, this is the third time to join VR cuicuit. But I made top cut and Top 4 for the first time, so I decided to write this article as my achievment.
I want to thank all people who supported and congratulated me.
Teambuilding Process
In this regulation, I think Thundurus is very strong since he is weak to only rock and ice type and there is few pokemon which have these types. Bottleneck is the low endurance, but that can be recovered by wearing Assault Vest.
Next, I chose Landorus-Therian as the best partner of Thundrus. Thundurus can raise Atk and Spe of Landorus as well as own by Dynamax, and this simple strategy is very strong. That is because Landorus has overall move such as Earthquake and Rock Slide.
However, this two pokemon are weak to Glastrier. So, I tried Incineroar since he has great ability, Intimitade.
Of course, Incineroar is strong to Glastrier, but Glastrier is very very strong, so i felt insufficient. The next teammate I tried was therefore steel type pokemon who is strong with no Dynamax (I wanted to make it a top priority to Dynamax of Thundrous or Landorus). I came up with Kartana and Scizor, and it is hard to choose between the two. I thought about it over and over, and decided to adopt Kartana because of the strongness to Tapu Fini and Urshifu-Rapid-Strike.
I think they are not strong to the team which use Reflect or Light Screen. So, next coice fell on Urshifu because Wicked Blow is not affected by Reflect and Light Screen. Sucker Punch is also reliable.
The last piece is difficult, but I noticed opponent's Thundurus is very troublesome. Then, I regarded Spore as the solution. This is effective for not only Thundurus, but also any other pokemon except for Grass type.
The Team
Get the team's paste HERE.
Thundurus @ Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant
Level: 50
Evs: 164 HP / 84 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wild Charge
- Fly
- Superpower
- Electroweb
The star of the team.
Most common set for Thundurus @ Assault Vest, I think.
Wild Charge, Fly, Superpower are must.
Electroweb is very useful to lower opponent's speed after Dynamax finish.
Smart Strike or Iron Tail are interesting, but not suitable for this team.
・Defensive Calcs
252 Atk Life Orb Dragpult Max Phantasm with Helping Hand vs. 164 HP / 4 Def Dynamax Thundurus: 270-320 (77.1 - 91.4%) - guaranteed 2HKO
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Landorus-Therian @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
Evs: 36 HP / 252 Atk / 36 Def / 4 SpD / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Fly
- Rock Slide
- Protect
This Landorus is ジキル (@jekyll335)'s idea.
(* I'm sorry but this is Japanese article.)
The power of Landorus-Therian @ Life Orb is very high even if Atk fell by opponent's Intimidate.
The strategy to raise Landrus' Atk or Spe by Dynamax Thundurus' Max Knucle or Max Airstream is very strong.
Of course, Dynamaxed Landorus also poses a threat to opponents.
I prefer Rock Slide for Moltres, Zapdos, and so on. However, Superpower is also good choice because it is conveninet to Urshifu.
・Defensive calcs
252 Atk Mamoswine Ice Shard vs. 36 HP / 36 Def Landorus-Therian: 144-172(85.2 - 101.8%) - 6.25% chance to OHKO
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Urshifu-Gmax @ Choice Band
Ability: Unseen Fist
Level: 50
Gigantamax: Yes
Evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wicked Blow
- Sucker Punch
- Close Combat
- Poison Jab
I think best item for Urshifu is Focus Sash, but it is impossible because Amoonguss has it. So, I give Urshifu Choice Band. The game gets harder, but the power of Wicked Blow with Coice Band is destructive.
Evs are most common, so there is nothing to mention.
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Kartana @ White Herb
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 44 HP / 172 Atk / 4 Def / 36 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Protect
The bottleneck in using Kartana is low SpD. However, he can't wear Assault Vest (because Thundurus is wearing), so I give up SpD and assign more EVs to Atk and Spe.
Thanks to White Herb, I didn't fear opponent's Intimidate or Eectroweb.
Since there is a chance of Dynamax, I want Aerial Ace for Max Airstream. But Protect is more important.
・Defensive calcs
252+ SpA Regieleki Thunderbolt vs. 44 HP / 36 SpD Kartana: 113-133(80.7 - 95.0%) - guaranteed 2HKO
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Incineroar @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 4 Atk / 44 Def / 116 SpD / 100 Spe
Impish Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Parting Shot
- Taunt
- Fake Out
His ability (Intimidate) is very great especially for Glastrier or Landorus. For that reason, I choose Shuca Berry to hold up the Max Quake. But I think Sitrus Berry or Figgy Berry is also good to restore HP. This is a matter of taste, I think.
Taunt is very helpful for opponent's Trick Room, Yawn and so on.
・Deffensive calcs
-1 252 Atk Life Orb Cinderace Pyro Ball vs. 244 HP / 44+ Def Incineroar: 172-203 (85.6 - 101.0%) - 6.25% chance to OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Regieleki Thunderbolt vs. 244 HP / 116 SpD Incineroar: 153-181 (76.1 - 90.0%) - guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Rotom-Wash Hydro Pump vs. 244 HP / 116 SpD Incineroar: 170-204 (84.6 - 101.5%) - 6.25% chance to OHKO
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Amoonguss @ Focus Sash
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sludge Bomb
- Spore
- Rage Powder
- Protect
Maybe you think that best item for Amoonguss is Coba Berry and Urshifu should have Focus Sash. Of Course, that is good choice. However, Amoonguss must move at least one time. Moreover, opponent may choose Max Flare warying about Coba Berry. So, in this team Focas Sash is the best item.
Raising Spe of Amoonguss by Thundurus' or Landorus' Max Airstream threats opponent if Terrain is not Misty. +2 252+ Spe Amoonguss is faster than Urshif, Zapdos, and Thundurus!
Choice of Spore, Raged Powder, or Protect is very important and difficult.
How to use the team
Main Mode
Lead: or+
Back:+
The Main mode involves accelerating and Spore. If there is Tapu Fini in opponent's team, it is important to be careful.
If you can send opponent's pokemon to sleep, changing Amoonguss to Kartana or Urshifu is good choice.
Secondary Mode
Lead: +
Back: +
This secondary mode will be used when Spore is not necessary or Landorus' Earthquake and Rock Slide are effective.
Even if Landorus fainted, you have chance to win with Thundurus' support (Max Airstream or Electroweb).
Threats
Indeedee
+ Dusclops
It is hard for my team to stop Follow Me + Trick Room. Our choice is making Dusclops flinched by Landorus' Rock Slide.
Zapdos
@Life Orb
Zapdos is problematic because Landorus, Kartana, Urshifu, and Amoonguss are all weak to this legendary bird pokemon.
Dragapult + Thundurus
Powerful combination with which my team menbers are not good at dealing. If Dragapult has Will-O-Wisp, it is very hard to win.
Tournament run
Summary
R1 (Bye) vs. 승우
R2 WLW vs. Pengy
R3 WW vs. Arekusabi
R4 WW vs. snoresfan
R5 LWW vs. Skie
R6 LL vs. Poke Alex
R7 WW vs. Lil Bo Peep
Top 16 LWW vs. snoresfan
Top 8 WW vs. Skie
Top 4 LL vs. Naji
Swiss round
R1 vs. 승우 - WW(Bye)
I was very lucky because there was Zapdos in this team.
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R2 vs. Pengy - WLW
Pengy and I didn't change pokemon through G1 - G3.
Pengy: Garchomp + Urshifu / Milotic + Rotom-Heat
Me: Thundurus + Amoonguss / Kartana + Urshifu
Garchomp had Lum Berry, but I could send him to sleep because his first choice was Sword Dance(G1, G2). This was also thanks to Focas Sash.
In G3, Amoonguss fainted in first turn by Wicked Blow and Rock Slide, but Garchomp didn't Sowrd Dance, so he is not threat for Thundurus and Kartana.
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R3 vs. Arekusabi - WW
Arekusabi's chose Venusaur and Porygon-2. My choice was Landorus and Amoonguss. While Landorus selected Max Airstream, Amoonguss send Porygon-2 to sleep. The slip damage was troublesum, but Incineroar and Urshifu could defeat Venusaur and sleeping Porygon2, Urshifu, and Torkoal.
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R4 vs. snoresfan - WW
I was upset because Porygon-2 Dynamaxed, but using Max Knucle to increase power of Landorus and Urshifu was good strategy.
In this game, I couldn't choose Amoonguss since Grimsnarl has Taunt.
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R5 vs. Skie - LWW
I was very confused because Skie chose Indeedee and Spectrier (G1). And Spectrier's Nasty Plot was very strong. I couldn't stop this Ghorst Horse.
In Game2, the lead was Liepard and Hatterene. In this time, Max Rockfall and Fake Out to Liepard was very good choice because Trick Room and Copycat didn't succeed. Without Trick Room, Chansey and Shuckle couldn't defeat my Urshifu and Kartana.
In Game3, Indeedee protected and Hatterene used Trick Room. However, I chose Urshifu's Wicked Blow to Hatterene, so her HP became 0 thanks to Choice Band.
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R6 vs. Poke Alex - LL
I must have chosen Kartana and Amoonguss to stop the combination of Perish Song and Shadow Tag. But that was all transparent to Poke Alex. He chose Zapdos and Gothitelle (252+ Spe!!). I could do nothing through G1 and G2. I think this is very great team.
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R7 vs. Lil Bo Peep - WW
In G1, Lil Bo Peep selected Vensaur and Grimsnarl, so I could win as R3 with Landorus and Amoonguss. In G2, he changed lead to Grimsnarl and Charizard (Maybe Fake Tears + G-max Wildfire). However, it was just as I had expected. My lead was Thundurus and Amoonguss, so I could win thanks to Max Airstream and Spore (Focus Sash is very usefull in this game!).
It was also helpful that Grimsnar didn't have Fake Out and Taunt.
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Top 16 vs. snoresfan - LWW
This was rematch of the day before. So, I was care of Porygon-2's Dynamax, but first turn's move was Trick Room(G1). Because of this I lost this game, but I could predict Prygon-2's Dynamax in G2. Moreover, I expected Porygon-2's Max Wall + Spirit Break to Urshifu, so I consentrated on Grimsnarl. This was succeeded, and Grimsnarl couldn't set Reflect.
In G3, my Urshifu and snoresfan's Porygon-2 fainted in first turn. So, I was a little advantageous and could win finally.
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Top8 vs. Skie - WW
This was also rematch, and I could win as the day before.
Kartana and Urshifu was very strong to Chansey and Shuckle.
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Top4 vs. Naji - LL
In G1, Dynamaxed Regieleki and Clefairy was very threat to my Thundrus and Amoonguss because Spore became Invalid.
So, I chose Landorus in G2, but Naji's choice was Regieleki and Porygon-Z. Porygon-Z(Maybe 252+ SpA) was so powerful and Landorus was knocked out by Max Strike.
Finally, Naji won the tournament.
His team, lead select, and playing skill was very great.
Conclusion
I'm very glad to be Top 4 player of VR curcuit, but at the same time, I'm so frustrated because I can't join Grand Final.
I'll practice more harder to be able to produce better result on next circuit.
And more than that, I want to enjoy playig VGC battle with strong player.
Thank you for reading!
If you have question, please feel free to contact me
(Sorry for Japanese team photo since I don't have English ROM)
