Hi, everyone! The name’s Abdullah Mohayyuddin, also known as sempra. I’m a 17-year-old VGC player based in Canada, and if you’ve heard my name before it was likely through online tours or draft leagues. I was a purely online player before Vancouver, and I’m so happy I got to experience the real-life circuit. I’ve been playing VGC for about 10 months and I’ve watched the game for about twice as long. I’m so excited to share my thoughts on the team I brought to win Vancouver 2023!
Before I begin, I want to give a giant shoutout to Nick Navarre (Nails), who was the original creator of the team. His team report is public and I urge anyone considering running this team to first check his report out on Adi Subramanian’s (ck49) YouTube channel:
Table of Contents
Teambuilding
Coming into Regulation Set B, I felt very uncertain about the format. I had just come off an impressive 2 months in Regulation Set A with high placements in both online tours and draft tournaments with dozens of different teams, but in Regulation Set B nothing was sticking. I felt very lost as I bounced around so many archetypes. Just weeks before Vancouver, I was confident I would bring one of Talonflame + Great Tusk (either Emilio Forbes‘s version or Yotam Cohen, Toler Webb & Justin Carris‘s version), Volcarona set-up (Kyle Livinghouse’s team), or Palafin balance cores. The reality was, I felt awful on everything.
That’s when Calvin Foster (calvonix) reached out to me. In his preparation for Perth, he sent me what would be pretty much his exact paste a week before the tour. Looking at the team, I didn’t quite understand it, it felt odd putting Torkoal on what was such a fast and offensive team. After his great placement, this style of team was on my radar, but it took Knoxville to realize that this was the team. I also want to take this section to apologize to Calvin. On stream I called his team trash when what I meant to say was that I didn’t initially understand it but I would later come to find out the true strength of Torkoal; I was just so overwhelmed after the Regional to process what I was saying… oops.
Nails had come off an amazing placement in Knoxville, even through a tough time. It was just a couple days before Vancouver, and at this point I was so confused on what I would bring I decided to give it a spin. It took a day of laddering to realize Nick had created something amazing. The team was constructed masterfully and after watching his report on Adi’s channel, I was locked in. This team had the perfect combination of exactly what I wanted in my previous teams: hyper offense to make the offensive reads I preferred over defensive ones, an unbreakable backbone of Dragonite and Kingambit that turned this team from frail to a tank, and, the best part, set up was literally unneeded as Torkoal set up the whole team just by existing. It was perfect.
I now guide you to the video where Nick goes into incredible detail on the team. It would be disingenuous to give anything but thoughts on the team since Nails has done such an amazing job on talking about his process of building already. I made three hilariously tiny changes:
- Power Gem > Icy Wind on Flutter Mane. This helped with the small Arcanine issue the team has, as well as constantly pressuring Volcarona teams. This change would help me win finals as my opponent was pressured to Terastallize his Arcanine, letting me get the KO with a predicted Moonblast. I honestly don’t think either is better or worse, it just depends on how you play.
- I added one point of Speed on Dragonite. I couldn’t tell you if this made a difference, but after seeing so many Dragonite with 60 Speed EVs, there’s a chance.
- Steel Tera Type > Ground Tera Type on Great Tusk. This is the change I’m most proud of, as it helps you most importantly with the Talonflame + Tyranitar matchup, as Steel-Tera Type Great Tusk essentially walls these two Pokémon. This Tera Type can also save end games vs Booster Energy Iron Bundle and Flutter Mane who get a Speed boost from your own Sun.
The Team
Get the team’s paste here!
Breakthrough (Torkoal) @ Charcoal
Ability: Drought
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
– Eruption
– Flamethrower
– Earth Power
– Protect
The heart and soul of this team. Torkoal of course sets up the Sun for the rest of the team with its Drought. This Torkoal is very standard: Fire Tera Type-boosted Eruption does disgusting damage even to resisted hits, and the turtle is quite resilient, surviving so many neutral and super effective attacks.
Torkoal on this team is very special compared to many teams of this style, taking up its very own slot as an incredibly powerful special attacker. This Torkoal works in conjunction with Lilligant to blow up teams on its own, and with other Pokémon such as Flutter Mane to threaten 150 base power Eruptions if you don’t respect it.
TT (Lilligant) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Chlorophyll
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Sleep Powder
– Leaf Storm
– After You
– Protect
Lilligant: the queen herself. Lilligant is so unbelievably powerful and disrespected that a whole team report can be made on her on its own. Lilligant was an unbelievably smart call Nails made as many teams just don’t have a matchup into it. Lilligant is deceivingly powerful too, outspeeding and KO’ing Booster Energy Iron Bundle even at -2.
I’d like to reference Nails’s report where he said that people had the uninformed belief that Lilligant + Torkoal required reads and predictions to play properly, and as the second person to say it, this could not be so hilariously far from the truth. After You + Eruption go brrr.
Funny enough, you don’t even have to click Sleep Powder to win, I used it 8 times in all 17 rounds with 5 being the singular set on the top 4 streamed match.
-2 252 SpA Lilligant Leaf Storm vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Iron Bundle: 150-176 (114.5 – 134.3%) — guaranteed OHKO
FANCY (Flutter Mane) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 20 HP / 84 Def / 196 SpA / 4 SpD / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Moonblast
– Dazzling Gleam
– Shadow Ball
– Power Gem
The GOAT. The Muhammad Ali of ‘Mons, the Jordan of ‘Mons, the Serena Williams of ‘Mons. This Pokémon is the most broken Pokémon in the entire format and I refuse to play a team without this thing. Flutter Mane is just disgusting on this team, the option to nuke with Fairy Tera Type-, Choice Specs- and Protosynthesis-boosted Moonblasts is just not fair. If you’re running this team, I would recommend looking at calcs specifically for that nuke, the amount of people that don’t know these calcs brings tears to my eyes as I OHKO their Garganacl.
196+ SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 116+ SpD Garganacl: 202-238 (97.5 – 114.9%) — 81.3% chance to OHKO
196+ SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tera-Ground Baxcalibur: 260-308 (117.1 – 138.7%) — guaranteed OHKO
196+ SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tera-Flying Roaring Moon: 228-270 (107.5 – 127.3%) — guaranteed OHKO
Trouble (Great Tusk) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Headlong Rush
– Earthquake
– Close Combat
– Rock Slide
Great Tusk is such a strong end-game Pokémon, and Choice Scarf + built-in “Life Orb” is just ridiculous. There were very few games I didn’t bring this Pokémon and it served me so well as a ridiculous nuke as well as a very underrated switch-in. I felt very comfortable with eating physical hits, even super effective ones, and this Pokémon would retaliate with OHKO’s on so many neutral hits. Jolly allows it to outspeed even fast Tyranitar in Tailwind as well as Baxcalibur on Joji Kaieda & Rinya Kobayashi‘s “Rinya Monsters” team.
Espresso (Dragonite) @ Lum Berry
Ability: Multiscale
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 68 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Tera Blast
– Ice Spinner
– Extreme Speed
– Protect
Dragonite is so incredibly strong and with Multiscale you eat 4-times effective Ice-type moves like it’s no one’s business. I still can’t believe people don’t see the strength of this Pokémon as it boasts one of the highest Day 2 turnouts of any Pokémon this generation. Flying-Tera Type Tera Blast, being a STAB of 2 off a max Attack thanks to Terastallization, means you absorb hits with Multiscale and then chuuunk threats.
Dragonite is irreplaceable in my opinion as many people have asked. The combination of Extreme Speed, its terrain countering and Multiscale is so solid off a decently fast Pokémon. I also preferred Protect over Tailwind as did Nails, as your Lilligant + Torkoal core being the only two Pokémon with Protect can make matchups very difficult, much more than the niche situations getting Tailwind up helps.
HOT (Kingambit) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 196 Atk / 4 Def / 52 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Kowtow Cleave
– Sucker Punch
– Iron Head
– Tera Blast
I was so surprised as to how strong this Pokémon is. Kingambit fills so many roles on this team that it comes to so many matchups. Kingambit is your designated Arcanine check, Armarouge check, Tailwind check, Trick Room check, etc.
Kingambit’s Fire Tera Type, another brilliant call by Nails, allows you to effectively wall much of the hard Trick Room core, as well as making your opponent double guess using Will-o-Wisp on it. Fire Tera Type is so strong as Kingambit survives Headlong Rush from Great Tusk, so there are situations I’d even Terastallize there. (Do note that this is without Protosynthesis boost: make sure you don’t screw up your own calcs by forgetting the boosts on the opponents team!)
How to use the team
Common leads
I had three common leads that I used in around 90% of the games I played.
| Common leads | Comments |
|---|---|
| + Classic | Lilligant + Torkoal needs no intro. This style of playing is the core of this team. After You + Eruption, Sleep Powder, setting up Sun for your Sun abusers, the whole 9 yards. This lead is the team in a nutshell. |
| + “XernDon” | Flutter Mane + Torkoal is the core that truly drew me to this type of team. Fairy Tera Type-boosted Moonblast is a nuke, OHKOing Water-Tera Type Baxcalibur, Flying-Tera Type Roaring Moon, and even having a favourable roll at OHKOing some Garganacl. This core works so well together because very few Pokémon can OHKO Flutter Mane, forcing your opponent to double it while also taking a huge Eruption from a full-HP Torkoal. This mode has very few checks and, along with Lilligant + Torkoal, this can make for an unwinnable switch-up. |
| + / Immovable object | The defensive core of Dragonite + either Kingambit or Great Tusk is unbreakable for so many teams. This core generally works to stall means of speed control, such as Tailwind and Trick Room, preserving the frailer Pokémon in the back to clean up. I brought this core just as much as I brought Lilligant + Torkoal, and this is probably the least expected core on team selection. Your opponents are usually leading something to play around Lilligant + Torkoal and leading this tank core completely throws off their positioning and game plan. |
Common matchups
Now, this is how to play against some common matchups.
| Matchup | Comments |
|---|---|
    Trick Room teams |
Trick Room is a very favourable matchup for this team. In general, Dragonite + Fire-Tera Type Kingambit is unbreakable. You can Ice Spinner away the Psychic Terrain, are slower than Armarouge with Kingambit, and the double priority haunts Torkoal who is already doing no damage to the Multiscale Dragon type and Assault Vest Fire type. Of course, Torkoal goes crazy under their Trick Room, but it’s much harder to position it correctly. The major tips I can give in this matchup is to lead Dragonite + Flutter Mane on mix-ups as this counters very likely counterplay, such as Hatterene leads, Iron Hands leads, and more. Also, if Indeedee is not on the field, try your best to not use priority if you can because Trick Room players love catching you using priority on the Indeedee switch. Sometimes Trick Room players rely on this common misplay to steal the win. Always use regular priority if you can afford it. |
  Tailwind Talonflame teams |
Tailwind is definitely a weaker matchup for this team. Thankfully priority Tailwind is on a decline, but the still common Talonflame + Tyranitar core can prove to be miserable if you don’t play it right. Generally the gameplan is to stall with Dragonite + another Pokémon, while setting up Flutter Mane to clean. These teams generally have a weakness to Flutter Mane, so preserving that is very strong. Saving Terastallization for Great Tusk is also a very strong play, as very few members of this core can break Choice Scarf Steel-Tera Type Great Tusk. The Dragonite + Great Tusk lead threatens Extreme Speed + Rock Slide onto Talonflame turn 1. If the lead is unfavourable, swap Great Tusk into Kingambit and go from there. Watch below my Game 1 battle vs Collin Heier to see this play out perfectly! |
 Palafin balance teams |
This is a matchup that this team excels in. Simply put, abusing the fact that Palafin needs to swap turn 1 makes this matchup so, so favourable. You can normally lead Torkoal + Flutter Mane, use Eruption + Fairy Tera Type-boosted Dazzling Gleam, and pick up 1 or 2 knockouts. The Sun makes Palafin nearly useless, and the general core of these types of teams happen to be weak to Flutter Mane. This is where knowing your Fairy Tera Type- and Protosynthesis-boosted Moonblast calcs is useful, as knowing that you can just nuke a slot is extremely helpful. |
Common threats
The following are some tough Pokémon or archetypes to play against.
| Threat | Comments |
|---|---|
Focus Sash Flutter Mane | The combination of Focus Sash and the fact that these Pokémon get Speed boosts under your own Sun can prove deadly. A well-positioned Flutter Mane will sweep, and nukes don’t work as they’ll live with Focus Sash.
|
Booster Energy Iron Bundle | In general, most players will save this Pokémon till the end of the game. A properly positioned Booster Energy Iron Bundle can be a nightmare, and smarter players will leverage Sun turns and the need for you to Terastallize your leads to sweep with a late-game Iron Bundle.
|
Tyranitar | This Pokémon will give you trouble, and you need to keep it in mind. “I’m gonna Close Combat it” is not enough of a game plan, you have to fully invest every turn into saving counterplay for it for later, predicting turns it’ll come out, and using Terastallization conservatively. Tyranitar will mess up your entire game plan if you don’t respect it.
|
 Arcanine | Arcanine, especially with Safety Goggles, will sit in your own Sun and OHKO your entire team with Flare Blitz. An unchecked Arcanine can be your biggest enemy and can sit pretty in front of much of your team. You need to dedicate resources and time into taking out Arcanine, because, if you lead badly, this team hates switching out, especially for Arcanine who doesn’t have many switch-ins to begin with.
|
Tournament run
This was my run at Vancouver Regionals!
Day 1 Swiss rounds
Click on the tabs to see some notes about my matches!
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | WW |  Noah Ridgway (DAMN0AH) |    |  |
| R2 | WLW |  Sean Wen (Hegna) |   | |
| R3 | WW | Jing Zhou (Z) | | |
| R4 | WW | Ata Makhdoom (PokéMonStër) | | |
| R5 | WW |  Galo Orbea (EcuaDude) | | |
I don’t remember too much about my early rounds. I remember playing some tougher matchups like Talonflame + Great Tusk + Tyranitar, but I knew my lines and I was confident. I played a lot of Armarouge for whatever reason, and while that does make bringing Lilligant + Torkoal not an effective strategy, I still brought it on mixups. The strength of a team like this is that you can go easy on the early rounds and just bank off flow charts to win.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R6 | WW | Collin Heier (Crown) | | |
My first major challenge of the day. Everyone knows who BattleRoom is, no one knows who sempra is. This truly means nothing in a battle, but the battle started when I saw who my opponent was. It takes a lot to settle yourself and understand that you’re bound to play strong players. Turns out, this would also be my streamed match. I sent the link to all my friends and family (as one does) and sat in the chair prepared for the battle.
My heart did sink a little realizing the matchup, but I knew my lines. Game 1 was a perfect execution of the Dragonite + Great Tusk lead, showing the threat of Extreme Speed + Rock Slide and then not going for it. Game 2 showed the power of Steel-Tera Type Great Tusk, making it the ultimate tank. Unfortunately, my Kingambit got frozen on a switch into Freeze-Dry, but Great Tusk was able to clean up after coming back in. This was my worst interview given, I was just so excited and nervous… don’t check that one out. Also apologies to Collin, in my excitement I completely forgot to go for a handshake.
You can watch my Round 6 match below, starting on 5:12:20!
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R7 | WW | Gavin Michaels (HUH?!!) |      | |
This being my gateway to Day 2 was very scary. Everyone knows Gavin Michaels, the previous winner of the Vancouver Regionals and the SV Rain GOAT. I knew Gavin’s team before this after watching his stream game and watching him play other strong players, and I knew just how incredible Gavin was. Gavin really makes the best of the best look like stepping stones, and honestly I was more excited than anything to play Gavin on a Sun team of all things.
The matchup felt like the Kyogre and Groudon duels I was used to in Series 12 of Sword & Shield, and it played very similarly. Gavin had to preserve Pelipper for Azumarill’s strong Aqua Jets, and I had to keep Torkoal for as long as possible even if it was a useless bring just so I didn’t get swept by Azumarill. Game 1 was won off a hard read that Gavin’s Brute Bonnet would Terastallize into Poison type. I Headlong Rushed the slot and was able to win after maneuvering around Torkoal. Game 2 wasn’t as easy, Gavin had stalled perfectly, statusing and chipping the majority of my Pokémon to create the ultimate Azumarill playground. One by one Gavin swept my team with his final two of Pelipper and Azumarill, until I barely took out Azumarill. It was now 1v1, my Torkoal in Sun vs his Pelipper. The issue was that Gavin had to hit 2 out of 2 Hydro Pumps, otherwise I was 2HKOing him. I got very lucky and avoided one of the Hydro Pumps and was spared a Game 3.
I was in cut at this point! I had just gotten off a call with my parents explaining that I would be Day 2 no matter what, and their happiness made my night. Nevertheless, I tried my best as your Day 1 score will greatly impact how easy your second day is. In these rounds, I played hard Trick Room twice and my flow charts worked just as well. I learned in these two rounds just how much Armarouge + Indeedee players need you to mess up and click priority on their Indeedee switch-in, and I was tested probably half a dozen times between the 4 games I played in these 2 rounds. Not falling for it, I took both games 2-0.
I was 18-1 in games at this point. I had dinner at a friend’s place and left my group some matchups to look at. I woke up the next day and talked to some friends about more matchups, and I felt confident.
Day 2 Swiss rounds
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R10 | WLW | Aaron Zheng (CybertronVGC) | | |
| R11 | WW | Ryan Loseto (SableyeVGC) |  | |
| R12 | LL | Neil Patel (Neil) |   | |
| R13 | LL | Dylan Salvanera (Dylan) |   | |
| R14 | LWW | Gavin Michaels (HUH?!!) | | |
Click on the tabs to see some notes about my matches!
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R10 | WLW | Aaron Zheng (CybertronVGC) | | |
Small side story! I made it to the venue on time but after getting there I didn’t realize you needed to keep your snapped wristband from the day before and almost didn’t get in. Regardless, I was marked as late and I believe they were giving game losses if the opponents agreed to late players. I didn’t receive one, so while Aaron hasn’t confirmed it I’m pretty sure he declined taking a game win. If that doesn’t prove how amazing this man is I don’t know what will.
This game was so exciting. The fanboy in me wanted to play Cybertron win or lose, but the competitor in me was scared about the matchup. I didn’t get too much time to prep vs the Rinya Monsters team Cybertron was playing, but I felt that my lines vs most Talonflame + Great Tusk would prove useful in this matchup. The issue in the matchup was that if I gave Baxcalibur too much room it could easily run with the game, and of course that Talonflame + Great Tusk is a harder matchup on its own.
Regardless, in Game 1 I ran the same Dragonite + Great Tusk lead and stalled Tailwind to allow my Flutter Mane to sweep. Game 2 Aaron pulled the cord, playing much sharper and more aggressive to counter the more defensive switch-up I went for. Game 3 I returned to my old lead and missed a crucial Rock Slide on his Talonflame after it got hit with Extreme Speed. Aaron said he didn’t catch it on the team sheet, so it felt better after the set knowing we could play a series that wasn’t decided by a teamsheet miss. Regardless of the miss, I crawled my way up with smarter Terastallization usage from Game 2 to seal the series 2-1.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R11 | WW | Ryan Loseto (SableyeVGC) | | |
This was a matchup I was happy to pull. You can’t make a team that has perfect matchups into everything, and in Ryan’s case, Torkoal + Lilligant, as obvious and team sheet shouting as it was, was very effective vs him. These games looked similar to our finals games, though I ended up leading my XernDon Flutter Mane + Torkoal core in Game 2 to take it. Ryan said Terastallization didn’t go off which would’ve won him the game in Game 1, so it was a little unfortunate to take a game like that, but I won the set 2-0.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R12 | LL | Neil Patel (Neil) | | |
This was the worst matchup I could’ve pulled. Neil’s team isn’t something that hard counters Sun in my opinion, it was just something so different and unseen that I had no clue how to go about it. I worked with Giovanni Cischke (Pqlarbear) and Calvin Foster (calvonix), who both shared their agreement that Lilligant could have a very strong place in the late game.
This would work perfectly in Game 1, as I got a 50/50 go in my favour and end up with a low-HP Dondozo with Tatusugiri in its mouth vs my Lilligant and Torkoal in the back. Unfortunately, I got unlucky with misses to lose the end game, which happens when you’re playing Lilligant + Torkoal. In Game 2, I tried to catch Neil on the mix up with a Lilligant + Torkoal lead, but he was unfazed and led perfectly with Glimmora + Dragonite, getting a perfect read that I would After You + Earth Power his Glimmora I chipped with Leaf Storm and setting up Tailwind. I forfeited as I lost my first game 0-2.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R13 | LL | Dylan Salvanera (Dylan) | | |
I was back on stream, being the first streamed game of the day. This matchup was tough, and while I didn’t realize it at the time (I didn’t recognize his real name), Dylan was a very strong long-time player of the game. I was reluctant to lead Lilligant + Torkoal (which I would later learn was kind of my only out vs. this team) because of the last game I had lost to misses. I don’t think I need to talk too much about this game, I got destroyed. The game wasn’t even close and I knew it. This was the first time in the tour I was frustrated with myself, not because I lost, but because I let the events of one round carry over into another round. It was stupid of me to not lead Lilligant because of my fear of missing, and I was very disappointed in myself for not playing to my outs.
You can watch my Round 13 match starting in 1:03:50!
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R14 | LWW | Gavin Michaels (HUH?!!) | | |
At this point, I believe me and Gavin both knew our resistances were both strong enough to make cut. I wanted to win this anyway so I was guaranteed (because you never truly are).
This time, I recognized Gavin’s game plan. Gavin needed to chip and status my Pokémon to allow Azumarill to take KOs, and he needed to lead Brute Bonnet + Mimikyu to do so. I didn’t want to make the same hard read I made in Day 1, so I led Dragonite + Great Tusk to allow me to Earthquake + Tera Blast either slot to 1HKO either Pokémon. I allowed Game 1 to slip me, Gavin played around his late-game Azumarill very strongly to sweep. I had some new information though, even though Gavin’s supportive Mimikyu set up Trick Room, it was still faster than my Dragonite. This was very good for me, as I could effectively swap out my Dragonite slot into Torkoal whenever I was threatened by Azumarill. If Gavin swapped in Pelipper in the same turn, my switch will go second allowing me to get the Sun up.
I leveraged this to win Game 2, critting Gavin’s Azumarill in the process. I feel like I had the lead, but this just pushed a win instantly.
Game 3 unfortunately went in my favour RNG wise as well. Gavin stalled his Mimikyu + Brute Bonnet lead very strongly, having Dragonite eat a Lum Berry as well as burning my Great Tusk. He traded huge damage and Terastallization for the double status. The turn after, Gavin Will-o-Wisped my Dragonite and missed, keeping Dragonite’s Multiscale and allowing for huge Tera Blasts. Gavin forfeit after this. This miss sealed the game. I felt like I was still in the lead, but this miss made it impossible for Gavin to have a chance.
I finished Swiss 12-2 and locked in #1 seed. Every single one of my opponents made cut, and I played all 3 of the eventual top 4. Cut would prove to be my biggest test, as I would play one of the two top 8 I hadn’t yet played.
Top Cut
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 8 | LWW | Demitrios Kaguras (DEMITRI) | | |
| Top 4 | WLW | Dylan Salvanera (Dylan) | | |
| Finals | WW | Ryan Loseto (SableyeVGC) | | |
Click on the tabs to see some notes about my matches!
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 8 | LWW | Demitrios Kaguras (DEMITRI) | | |
Another Tyranitar + Great Tusk + Talonflame team. I was very scared, but I knew my plays. Demitrios however also studied his matchup into my team, or at least knew his lines after discussion with him after the set.
Game 1 I played decently, but Demitrios correctly assessed the threat being the Steel-Tera Type Great Tusk, sacrificing Flutter Mane to force me to Terastallize my Dragonite early. He would sweep the late game with Iron Bundle.
Game 2 played out similarly. I was forced to Terastallize early, but I took the game after a read into the Flying-Tera Type Tyranitar and Rock Sliding it out of the sky.
Game 3 was the culmination of both of us understanding how we wanted to win. He once again sacrificed his Flutter Mane to my now Dragonite + Kingambit lead, but I had gotten huge damage on his Talonflame for the first time. After Tyranitar came out, I found a very sharp line that allowed me to win most of the time. I could ignore the Talonflame because it was either KOing itself with Brave Bird or Will-o-Wisping my Great Tusk that had swapped in. In either case, I felt confident I could Close Combat + Tera Blast the Tyranitar slot to put it in Tera Blast range for the next turn. Demitrios made a hard read, assuming I would Rock Slide like last game and didn’t Terastallize his Tyranitar. His Talonflame KO’d itself with Brave Bird, and I OHKO’d the Tyranitar that didn’t have a chance to move while my Dragonite sat pretty. Iron Bundle couldn’t win the 1v3, and Demitrios forfeit.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 4 | WLW | Dylan Salvanera (Dylan) | | |
For this matchup, I had gotten huge help from Nails (the creator of the team) and a couple of his friends as well as my own friends. We had assessed that a Lilligant + Torkoal lead was the strongest lead as Dylan was pretty much forced into leading Roaring Moon. I could go for a Sleep Powder onto the Roaring Moon while swapping in Flutter Mane. After this, After You + Dazzling Gleam spam could just win the game there.
Dylan led off with Roaring Moon + Sandy Shocks this time to put great pressure on this lead. I missed my Sleep Powder as Dylan went for Breaking Swipe + Earth Power into a protecting Torkoal. Turn 2 I went for the original plan, Sleep Powdering the Roaring Moon and swapping in Flutter Mane, who ate the Earth Power. I banked on sleep turns in turn 3 since they were favored and I would get an instant win. In hindsight, I could’ve just used After You + Dazzling Gleam, but if Dylan got the one-turn wake into Protect, the matchup would get dicey. I won Game 1.
Game 2, I took my chances on rolls and mixed my calcs up, believing somehow that Eruption would OHKO the Tauros. Getting no KO turn 1, it eventually came down to Kingambit KO’ing a low-HP Fairy-Tera Type Sandy Shocks. Kingambit missed the KO, and I haven’t checked if it was a roll because frankly I hit too many Sleep Powders to care.
Game 3 we went back to our original leads. This time I felt confident Dylan wouldn’t simply Earth Power my Torkoal slot, so I felt much more confident swapping in Flutter Mane turn 1. I hit my Sleep Powder on the Roaring Moon as Sandy Shocks Volt Switched my Lilligant into Iron Bundle. Turn 2 I KO’d Roaring Moon, and turn 3 I Sleep Powder the Sandy Shocks switch-in + Dazzling Gleam as he used Icy Wind, KOing my Lilligant. His Iron Bundle is on Focus Sash HP and his Sandy Shocks is on low HP and asleep. Turn 4 I incorrectly read the Sandy Shocks switch and used Sucker Punch on Iron Bundle. Dylan’s Sandy Shocks took another turn of sleep as my Flutter Mane KO’d it. I played the end game incredibly poorly. Swapping out Flutter Mane won it instantly, but I forgot it was -1. Then I used Sucker Punch instead of Kowtow Cleave on Tauros, which would’ve been -1. Running the calc, the Close Combat never KO’d my Torkoal, but a crit could’ve lost me it if I got the Sucker Punch mind games wrong.
Regardless, I won my top 4 set, and I stared at the silver medal that was set up on display. I would’ve been happy taking either medal home at this point!
You can watch my top 4 match below, starting at 5:05:40!
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals | WW | Ryan Loseto (SableyeVGC) | | |
I felt good for finals. I decided not to think too hard, Lilligant + Torkoal and mash buttons it is. Sableye responded with good calls regardless.
In Game 1, he covered for nearly every one of my plays. He expected either a Sleep Powder on his Great Tusk, or an After You + Eruption. I went for the third option, Leaf Storm into his Great Tusk. This freed up After You + Eruption and allowed me to take the first game swiftly.
Game 2 Ryan led the same lead, but I know he was not going to make the same mistake. I used After You + Eruption, confident either my Torkoal would live Earthquake or my Lilligant preserve its Focus Sash to sweep. Torkoal did live Earthquake, and I went for a double Protect to scout his Protect the next turn. After failing the double, After You + Eruption chipped Arcanine and took out Great Tusk as my Lilligant fell to Flare Blitz. The final turn was up to a read. Ryan knew I had Power Gem, and Power Gem was the obvious play. I could OHKO both of his Pokémon with this move, and I felt like he was deeply pressured to either Icy Wind + Flare Blitz, which was winning for me after Torkoal took out Iron Bundle, or Terastallize into a Water type, which I read with Moonblast. I got the turn correct and won the set 2-0!
You can watch the finals match below, starting at 6:17:55!
Tips for newer players
Before finishing, I wanted to give some tips for those that will have their first tournament experience soon!
- EAT. You will get anxious and live off adrenaline for a long time. Eat as much as you can. If you get time between rounds and you’re hungry, grab a snack. Eat well during lunch break, and eat a good breakfast. You will literally forget to eat, trust me. On Day 2, I was too excited to eat breakfast, forgot to grab a snack on the way to the venue, and fueled myself off adrenaline between rounds. I was STARVING in top cut and it was definitely an unhealthy way to go about it. Bring as much food as you can and bring money to spend on food, you will not regret it.
- DRINK. Bring a water bottle and fill up between rounds. You will get a migraine spending 9 rounds staring at a tiny screen without water. Water will put your mind at ease and settle your head. Water doesn’t have the crash sodas do, and you literally cannot afford a crash when you’re playing 12 hours of Pokémon. Dehydration and headaches will kill your run.
- SLEEP. To complete the trifecta, I want you to repeat after me: playing 3 more ladder games isn’t gonna do you nearly as good as an hour of sleep will. I want you to take the perfect amount of sleep you need, and go to bed an hour earlier. You will not be able to fall asleep thinking about Pokémon.
In general, a good tip I can give is to relax the day before. Hang out with friends, eat some good food and hit the sack early. You will burn yourself out stressing about Pokémon the night before. Get some warm-up if you haven’t, but don’t overplay the game. You are about to play 12 hours of Pokémon into another 8 hours, you can afford to relax the day before. Obviously this information depends on who you are as a player, some people need that day to lock in and play 18 hours of Pokémon, and if it works it works. All I’m saying is, for most people, you need that day to rest your mind.
And finally, regarding the competitive aspect of the weekend:
- BE RESPECTFUL. This isn’t just the obvious stuff, everyone knows not to be plain rude, but try your best to avoid things like groaning and complaining. Things happen, you need to be able to vent out that frustration to people who should be hearing that. Everyone has a support group, but your opponent didn’t sign up to be on it. Take into account other things such as being careful with your opponent’s possessions: be careful with their team sheet, ask before you touch their plushes and make sure your hands are clean before you shake hands and exchange things. Don’t pop off in front of them if you can help it, and definitely don’t make comments suggesting that you got unlucky or that they got lucky. We all signed up to play this game and these things happen.
- TREAT EVERY OPPONENT EQUALLY. This is also related about how to play stronger players, the biggest thing I can tell you is to treat them like regular players. Follow your flow charts, play your best, and forget who’s in front of you. Exude confidence, the biggest tip I can give is to save your comments until after the game, even if they’re positive. Say “good luck”, play out your match, and then let them know you watch their content or are a fan of their play. If you must let them know before the game, please don’t tell them backhanded compliments along the lines of “my run was going so well” or “I’m gonna lose”. Firstly it gets awkward, there isn’t a response to this comment that feels natural, and secondly you make them feel bad for losing. These players are humans at the end of the day, there are better ways to let them know you look up to them.
- I MADE DAY 2… NOW WHAT? Now you’ve made Day 2, what’s next? Teams will be published shortly. Get a bite to eat and relax for a bit before making your way to bed. Checking out the Day 2 teams, especially players at your record, is a smart decision, but don’t let it interfere with sleep. Discuss harder matchups with friends or pass them off to them while you take your needed 8 hours. Wake up early, check your matchups again, and have a great day at the venue!
Closing words
That’s my story on how I won Vancouver! I’m so happy I had such an amazing experience at my first regional. I’m so happy I got to meet such amazing people and have such a good time.
I want to give a shoutout to everyone who supported me. The messages I read and received made my day every time I read them. The support even after I was guaranteed Day 2 was so positively overwhelming.
- I want to thank Joseph Ugarte (JoeUX9), Navjit Joshi (NJ11), and Luca Paz for all being supportive and helping me with Pokémon-related things, but especially for making my weekend so amazing and hanging out with me, as well as Team Canada for being so kind to me during the weekend.
- I want to thank my close teambuilding group of Sven van der Voorden (Sven), Paschalis Dermentzis (PasDer), Giovanni Cischke (PqlarBear), Yotam Cohen (yotam), and Violet for supporting my decisions (even if some of you didn’t trust in queen Lilligant).
- I want to thank Alex Arand (Azulite) for being the member of the community who guided me from my very first weeks of VGC till now, as well as everyone on the Kyoto Kingambits and Cruisers for being so helpful and some of my first experiences in high-level VGC.
- I want to thank the now Charlotte Mikes for their support, as well as everyone in the VGC Trainers School. Huge shoutouts to Alexis Esparza (bat) and Shinobi for allowing me to spam your DMs with random information about my team, thank you for always listening.
- Thank you to Antonio Sánchez (Rahxen) and Enosh Shachar (Human) for being so supportive and discussing matchups with me.
- Shoutout to Calvin Foster (calvonix) for being my introduction to Sun and helping me with matchups and just being someone I could ask questions to.
- Finally, a giant shoutout to Nick Navarre (Nails). He’s the creator of the team, but was also someone who was so kind and supportive throughout my run. I didn’t know Nails at all before Vancouver, but he reached out first and listened to all the questions I had, creating a support group where he helped with my entire playoffs gameplans. I’m so glad I got to know him.
Thank you so much to everyone!
