Hello! My name is Jeremy Boyd, and I technically started playing VGC in the Generation 4 meta when I was a child. I started to get serious at the beginning of 2020 when I placed 4th at a local Premier Challenge. I then went on to play in a few of the Players Cups, qualifying for the NA Regional Qualifier in the PCIV.
With the help of this team, DMNTR (Dusk Mane Necrozma Trick Room [which is kind of funny too, I think, because Mimikyu kind of looks like a dementor from Harry Potter]), plus countless Pokémon trainers I’ve met along my journey, I was able to top cut the Salt Lake City Regional Championship. I’m excited to attend the next Regional event and look forward to growing stronger as a player until and after then.
Before anything about the team, I want to thank Riley (Rickyspudd) for battling with me days before the Salt Lake City Regional Championship and giving me genuine unending support as we competed together. I also want to thank the Kansas-Missouri Moonlights from the United States (and Canada) Pokémon Association for skyrocketing my growth as a player throughout my time in the league and helping me construct this team. Finally, I want to thank Thomas Goff (Staticasaurus) from the Moonlights for helping me get the team on cartridge.
Teambuilding process
I knew I wanted to play with a Dusk Mane Necrozma as I had experimented with it extensively in Series 11. I also knew that I wanted its restricted partner to be Kyogre, seeing as a Water-type STAB covered for two of its four weaknesses in Fire and Ground. Drizzle further helped Necrozma resist Fire and provided weather control.
After attempting to put these beasts in a Tailwind as I did in Series 11, I realized that the cyber cat could not keep pace with the speed tiers of the new format, so the Moonlights offered the idea of a Trick Room. Having loved playing much Dusclops in previous series, I tried this Pokémon as my first dimension twister.
Dusclops was unfortunately too vulnerable to reliably set up a Trick Room without a Mental Herb or Disguise, which is when the Moonlights suggested I try Mimikyu—more on Mimikyu’s monumental support later.
I added Incineroar for its unparalleled supporting capabilities and Amoonguss instead of Rillaboom for its board control in (and even out) of Trick Room and healing potential for Necrozma.
This completed a Fire/Water/Grass core and left me with only one slot left to fill. I decided on the fastest Pokémon in the game since my team badly wanted to function in a Trick Room. I thought Regieleki’s immediate pressure had to be respected and dealt with.
The Team
Get the team’s paste here!
Necrozma-Dusk-Mane @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Prism Armor
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 196 Atk / 4 Def / 84 SpD / 4 Spe
Brave Nature
– Trick Room
– Sunsteel Strike
– Earthquake
– Swords Dance
This Steel-type Pokémon was my centerpiece and main Dynamax candidate. I was first drawn to its ability, Prism Armor, which reduces damage from supereffective moves by 25%.
Since I wanted to run it in a Trick Room, I gave Necrozma the capability of setting the speed control itself. Its best item by far was a Weakness Policy to help neutralize Intimidates + Parting Shots since so many meta attacks are supereffective against its typing. Necrozma also had Swords Dance to help boost its Attack. After Sunsteel Strike, I decided on Earthquake over Rock Slide so that it could help raise the team’s Special Defense and since one of its partners already set weather.
Shortly before the tournament, I raised its HP to an even 200 stat in exchange for some Attack effort values which landed it at 222 (Jolly Zacian’s max Attack stat) with a Brave Nature. This was so that Necrozma could always survive an Astral Barrage and conveniently slightly helped reduce Foul Play damage. After special and physical defense investments to reach stat totals divisible by four, I was left with a Speed stat of 88.
In hindsight, with my Dusk Mane’s perfect Speed IVs, I should have given it an Adamant nature so that it could outspeed most Incineroar, seeing as neutral game is not in a Trick Room.
252+ SpA Life Orb Calyrex-Shadow Astral Barrage vs. 220 HP / 84 SpD Prism Armor Necrozma-Dusk-Mane: 166-199 (83 – 99.5%) — guaranteed 2HKO
Kyogre @ Life Orb
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 52 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 29 Spe
– Protect
– Origin Pulse
– Ice Beam
– Thunder
Drizzle discouraged Flare Blitzes, blocked out the harsh sunlight, made accurate Thunder, and of course boosted Origin Pulse. Kyogre also carried Ice Beam and Protect.
I decided to give Kyogre a Life Orb and max its Special Attack with a Quiet nature: with very good speed, my Kyogre hit a stat of 98 which outsped all but one Incineroar I faced. I gave my whale its highest 10n + 1 HP stat for Life Orb chip and invested the rest in Defense. Finally, ideally Kyogre would’ve had no good Attack to better resist Foul Play, but the one I caught had perfect Attack.
Mimikyu (F) @ Light Clay
Ability: Disguise
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Light Screen
– Trick Room
– Shadow Sneak
– Taunt
Mimikyu was the best Trick Room setter for the team, only being OHKO’d in very specific ways which I never encountered like G-Max Drum Solo, Sunsteel Strike, or Turboblaze.
I gave my Mimikyu Shadow Sneak as a method of self-activating my Necrozma’s Weakness Policy, and it came in handy to break Focus Sashes and sometimes deal as much as 60% damage to Shadow Rider Calyrex’s HP. Mimikyu also carried Taunt to stop Spores, Yawns, Parting Shots, and Protects. I scanned its movepool for a long time when determining what its fourth slot should be and decided on Light Screen.
I operated under the assumption that everyone would assume Mimikyu carried a Mental Herb, so I gave it a Light Clay to hold. This was a risky gamble but paid off very well. Before the tournament, I considered adding Wood Hammer instead of Light Screen specifically for opposing Gastrodon but did not make the change—I still agree with this decision. After maxing its HP, I gave Mimikyu a Sassy Nature and invested EVs in both of its defensive stats.
Amoonguss (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Regenerator
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 220 Def / 44 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
– Spore
– Rage Powder
– Pollen Puff
– Protect
Amoonguss was a devastating support Pokémon, especially in Trick Room and even out.
Spore, Rage Powder, Pollen Puff, and Protect allowed me to have near complete board control as it underspeeds almost every Pokémon I encounter. Pollen Puff was incredibly valuable after Necrozma boosted its defenses with its Max Moves, and healing Kyogre allowed it to dish out even more Life Orb-boosted attacks while bulkily soaking up incoming moves. Additionally, my Amoonguss could hit Rillaboom for substantial damage.
I approximately equalized its defenses and nearly maxed its HP, making it a stellar pivot for a variety of incoming attacks. Amoonguss also held a Focus Sash so that it could comfortably survive attacks from any of its weaknesses as well as any Helping Hand-boosted attack or +X attack.
Incineroar (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 172 Def
Adamant Nature
– Flare Blitz
– Fake Out
– Snarl
– U-turn
With an incredible typing, ability, and movepool, I gave my Incineroar an item that would allow me to bolster its stats: Assault Vest. After maxing its HP, I gave my Incineroar enough Defense investment to always survive a Precipice Blades from +0 Attack Groudon without a Life Orb. The rest of its EVs went into Attack, and I gave it an Adamant Nature.
After Fake Out and Flare Blitz, Incineroar had U-turn for pivoting and Snarl. Most of my opponents wanted to eliminate Incineroar quickly, which allowed my Incineroar to be somewhat passive and stay on the field with its only consistently significant damage in Flare Blitz during a Trick Room.
252+ Atk Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 176 Def Incineroar: 168-200 (83.1 – 99%) — guaranteed 2HKO
Regieleki @ Choice Band
Ability: Transistor
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naughty Nature
– Wild Charge
– Volt Switch
– Extreme Speed
– Explosion
I do not have much to say about my Regieleki. I rarely brought this addition to my team because it was built extraordinarily riskily. While my main mode was Trick Room, I wanted to have a fast option, the fastest option to exert immediate pressure—having a Regieleki in team preview, I think, is very threatening, but mine was not. I definitely should have brought a more standard Regieleki build or maybe even a Raichu to redirect any Max Lightning attempting to prevent Sleep or something else.
My Regieleki was Choice Banded with a Naughty Nature carrying Wild Charge, Volt Switch, Extreme Speed, and Explosion. I maxed out its Attack and Speed and put 4 EVs into Special Attack.
Tournament run
Swiss rounds
Top cut
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 8 | LL |  Joseph Ugarte (JoeUX9) |     |
You can watch my top 8 match at the Salt Lake City Regionals in the official stream, starting at 1:03:00!
Conclusion
In retrospect, I probably should have brought a Pokémon that would have helped me better defeat Kartana, Gastrodon, and Solgaleo, three tough match-ups for my team, instead of Regieleki.
As for Necrozma, it’s proven to be a powerhouse and a wall. Although I do not think I optimized my team for it, my Necrozma and entire team battled well for me, and I can’t thank them enough for helping me achieve what I have so far.
The SLC Regionals were tons of fun, and thank you to everyone I met there for all of your encouragement and kindness.
I cannot wait to attend my next Regional!
