Hi everyone, I’m NayeonLove (@nicky030526) and this is the Team Report from my Korean League S3 winning team! Today I will be introducing the team I used and the story of how I did so, while also taking a deeper look at the final matches of the event.
Team Building Process
The event was right at the weekend my exams were finished, so I started building my team Friday evening. First, I thought of which restricted Pokémon I would use, and decided to use the stable and strong RayOgre. Along the building process, I referred to a bit of Wolfe Glick’s 2016 Worlds winning team.
At first, I used Mega Gengar, but then I thought ‘What about giving Gengar a Focus Sash and use it to set up Trick Room?’ I changed it and it worked well, therefore sash Gengar became my third member. My 4th member was Incineroar, and you’re losing out if it’s not on your team.
In the remaining places, I put Stakataka for Xerneas and Tapu Koko for a wide range of matc-ups. As I was building the team, Hojae Jeon (Korean League S3 Semi Finalist, you can read his team report here!) called if I wanted to join them in Junhee’s place, where they were prepping together. So I went there, set EVs and played in Showdown to test my weaknesses.
The Team
▶️ Get the importable version of the team here!
Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb
Ability: Primordial Sea
Level: 50
EVs: 204 HP / 204 Def / 44 SpA / 4 SpD / 52 Spe
Modest Nature
– Water Spout
– Origin Pulse
– Ice Beam
– Protect
Brought the Kyogre straight from what Wolfe used in the 2016 Worlds. Its role is to play every match and nuke damage in Trick Room or Tailwind. With assistance from other Pokémon, it allows me to break through around half the foe’s team. It was very strong, and quite bulky as well, so I felt satisfied using it. In my semi finals match, it missed Origin Pulse and did not KO Incineroar due to a low roll, but overall it did what it had to do.
Rayquaza-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Delta Stream
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 60 Atk / 4 Def / 124 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Dragon Ascent
– Extreme Speed
– Tailwind
– Protect
This is the EV set I put most effort into. At first, I used normal 252 attack / 252 speed, but it seemed too weak against scarfed Lele, so I changed the set to withstand a Moonblast. Most of my opponents reacted surprised: “Rayquaza is so bulky!”.
I originally had Swords Dance instead of Tailwind, but I changed it because Swords Dance seemed unnecessary. Rayquaza carried every game this series, making the team more consistent. Taking a Moonblast and having Tailwind was really the play. Usually, I set Tailwind at the last turn of Trick Room, so I could keep the momentum up even after TR expired.
-1 60 Atk Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 252 HP / 60 Def Tapu Fini: 66-78 (37.2 – 44%) — guaranteed 3HKO
-1 60 Atk Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 236 HP / 4 Def Incineroar: 84-100 (42 – 50%) — 0.4% chance to 2HKO
-1 60 Atk Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 252 HP / 196 Def Primal Kyogre: 69-82 (33.3 – 39.6%) — guaranteed 3HKO
-1 60 Atk Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 236 HP / 76 Def Amoonguss: 186-222 (84.9 – 101.3%) — 6.3% chance to OHKO
60 Atk Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Ultra Necrozma: 120-142 (69.3 – 82%) — guaranteed 2HKO
-1 60 Atk Mega Rayquaza Dragon Ascent vs. 244 HP / 20 Def Mega Rayquaza: 76-91 (36 – 43.1%) — guaranteed 3HKO
Tapu Koko @ Electrium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
– Thunder
– Dazzling Gleam
– Sky Drop
– Protect
A typical, hyper offensive Tapu Koko. I saw Suwoong using Sky Drop Tapu Koko, and thought it looked nice, so I dropped Volt Switch. Thanks to this, I felt better fighting against Shedinja, but actually used it only twice along the whole event.
Volt Switch may have been better indeed. There were a lot of Togedemaru and in many occasions Tapu Koko was pushed back by opposing Incineroar carrying the Z move, but it did what it had to do when used.
Incineroar @ Incinium Z
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 20 Atk / 236 SpD
Brave Nature
– Fake Out
– Flare Blitz
– Darkest Lariat
– U-turn
I thought a lot between Pinch Berry and Incinium Z, but decided to use Z move. I did not know that this choice would lead me to winning the tour.
This Pokémon excelled almost every match and was able to deal unexpected big damage. It performed best especially in top cut rounds. During swiss rounds, when TR was set up, Z move + Shadow Ball knocked all Primal Groudon out. I was able to instantly break through Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza that moved carelessly in front of Incineroar.
There were many Incinium Zs in top cut, so it seems like Z-move is a trend nowadays.
20 Atk Incineroar Malicious Moonsault vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 258-306 (121.1 – 143.6%) — guaranteed OHKO
Gengar @ Focus Sash
Ability: Cursed Body
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
– Trick Room
– Shadow Ball
– Sludge Bomb
– Taunt
The surprise gimmick. Almost everyone thought this was Mega Gengar, so I easily resisted one attack and set Trick Room. On occasion, I used it in Tailwind as an attacker. It was very strong, and it had Taunt for possible tricky plays. It also stopped Amoonguss, and Cursed Body came into play from time to time.
Stakataka @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Beast Boost
Level: 50
EVs: 220 HP / 60 Atk / 228 SpD
Sassy Nature
– Trick Room
– Gyro Ball
– Wide Guard
– Skill Swap
The normal and stable TR setter Stakataka. I gave it a Shuca Berry, as is standard. Although I left Stakataka on the bench a bit, it did a lot every time it was used. It helped in dealing with Groudon that switched in with Skill Swap and Kyogre’s Water Spout, and having Wide Guard allowed stopping both Primal’s key moves.
Team Match-ups
I chose my leads on a game by game basis rather than with strict rules, but here are some of my tendencies.
Xerneas + Groudon| Archetype | Always bring | Never bring | Common leads |
|---|---|---|---|
|  | – | +/ |
Xerneas + Rayquaza| Archetype | Always bring | Never bring | Common leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| | – | +/ |
Rayquaza + Kyogre| Archetype | Always bring | Never bring | Common leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| | – | + / |
Tournament Run
Top 16 vs 
Jihyeon Ryu | WLW
First round in top cut and I meet another top player. Before the match begun, we told each other of which cores we were using and, frankly speaking, I thought this would be very hard, since I never even thought of fighting Kangaskhan–Tornadus teams.
Game 1:
What I bring: 
/
What my opponent brings: /
On turn 1, the opposing Kangaskhan used Fake Out on Tapu Koko, setting Tailwind up. Frankly speaking, if Kangaskhan with Scrappy had Faked Out Gengar, it would have been very hard for me, but he accidently brought the wrong Kangaskhan, and I was able to set TR. Turn 2, Sludge Bomb cut Tornadus down to half, and Electrium Z brought Kangaskhan down. Flynium Z from Tornadus hit Gengar, but it held on with Focus Sash, and Kyogre came in the slot Kangaskhan was. Again, I went Sludge Bomb to knock out Tornadus and Thunder on Kyogre, and my opponent forfeited.
Game 2:
What I bring: /
What my opponent brings: /
Turn 1, I Faked Out Smeargle to prevent SSpore. My Fake Out came first, so I assumed Smeargle didn’t have it. The opposing Kyogre went for Water Spout, knocking my Incineroar out while bringing Gengar down to its Focus Sash while it set TR up. I sent Kyogre in, and we both knocked out our respective Gengar and Smeargle. I sent Rayquaza in, and my opponent brought Incineroar out. Fake out hit my Kyogre, and I knocked his Kyogre out with Extreme Speed. This was turn 4 of TR now, and this turn changed the game. His last mon was Xerneas, and I didn’t expect Incinium Z since I saw Tornadus had Flynium Z. It turned out wrong assuming, and my Kyogre with weakened Water Spout BP could not do enough to Xerneas, leading to my loss. I should have gone for the Origin Pulse.
Game 3:
What I bring: /
What my opponent brings: /
This time, I was scared of Incinium Z, so I tried Tailwind with Rayquaza lead. Opponent went for Fake Out on Tapu Koko turn 1, and Tailwind was up both sides. Supersonic Skystrike was obvious turn 2, so I went for Protect and Gigavolt Havoc on Kangaskhan. This worked out well, knocking Kangaskhan out and blocking his Flynium Z-boosted attack. The rest of the games were basically Dragon Ascent+Thunder finishing the game.
Top 8 vs Seongmo Byun | WW
As soon as I saw his team, I thought I should go for my Tailwind mode, beating them while preventing Trick Room going up from their side.
Game 1:
What I bring: /
What my opponent brings: /
He led with both restricted Pokémon. I went for Tailwind and swept through with RayOgre. As the turn went on, I realized that his Rayquaza was banded and Adamant, and when Origin Pulse missed it became a bit hard. However I managed to win through it.
Game 2:
What I bring: /
What my opponent bring: /
We traded Fake Outs turn 1, and I was able to set Tailwind and beat him down. On the last turn of it, I set up TR, and this finished the game. He did not use his Amoonguss, and that made my game plans easier.
Top 4 vs Jungyoung Park | LWW
Game 1:
What I bring: /
What my opponent brings: /
His Kyogre was scarfed. I set TR while blocking Water Spout with Wide Guard. My opponent used Focus Blast to knock out my Stakataka at once, and I was able to bring in my Kyogre instantly. Kyogre started to sweep and Gengar helped knock out Tapu Lele. His Kyogre used Water Spout again, and was caught by Cursed Body. He then sent Incineroar out, switching the other slot around to burn TR turns. TR was over, but my pokemon were in great health, so if Origin Pulse steadily hit, I had good chance of winning. AND IT MISSED. Incineroar avoided the attack, resisted the next one and crit u-turned me, leading to the game loss. The miss was big and the game was so close.
Game 2:
What I bring: /
What my opponent brings: /
I used Tapu Koko to keep eyes on Kyogre, then went for the Tailwind-TR play to finish him off and take the series to a game 3.
Game 3:
What I bring: /
What my opponent brings: /
This time I went for Fake Out-TR turn 1, and the rest of the game was basically Kyogre sweeping through all his team.
Final vs SpringsVGC | WW
His team was streamed, and I knew he had Icy Wind Kyogre and Choice Band Rayquaza going in. This information helped me in our set.
Game 1:
What I bring: /
What my opponent bring: /
Togedemaru kept my Tapu Koko from being led, so I chose 4 out of the rest.
Turn 1, we traded Fake Out, and I didn’t mega evolve my Rayquaza. Turn 2, we both withdrew Rayquaza, and my Gengar was hit by a Nuzzle on the switch while his Kyogre was hit by Incinium Z. Turn 3, I thought he’d go for Origin Pulse and attack on Incineroar, so I switched it into Rayquaza, setting Trick Room with Gengar. Gengar withstood Origin Pulse with Rayquaza’s Air Lock and moved through paralysis. This was a very scary turn for me. Thanks to paralysis, Rayquaza was able to move faster in Trick Room. I doubled into Kyogre and he protected, but I went for the same play the next turn, finally getting rid of the Kyogre.
Togedemaru knocked out my Gengar and I brought Incineroar in, saving Rayquaza for later. I sent Kyogre in where he sent Tapu Fini in, and my Kyogre had nothing to do so I brought back Kyogre and Flare Blitzed Togedemaru to finish it. The opposing Fini used Scald on my Incineroar. It was turn 6, and I had a weakened Rayquaza that was paralyzed, Incineroar and Kyogre, whereas he had full health Rayquaza + full health Tapu Fini. The only chance for me was him going for Extreme Speed on Incineroar expecting Protect on my side, and it actually happened. There we eliminated every Pokémon except his Fini and my Kyogre. I still thought I was at the low spot, but he did not have Nature’s Madness, so I kept going for Water Spout to win the game.
Game 2:
What I bring: /
What my opponent bring: /
I went for the same lead, and set up Tailwind this time. He U-Turned out to Rayquaza. Next turn, he switched Kyogre to Incineroar again so my Pokémon were intimidated twice. His Dragon Ascent was so threatening that switching out wasn’t easy. So I just went for attack and his Rayquaza knocked my Incineroar out. From here, my game was so hard. I tried doubling into Rayquaza with both my Rayquaza and Gengar, but his Kyogre came in as a switch. I tried to go for Trick Room at the last turn of Tailwind, but Gengar fainted by the U-Turn. My last hope was gone, and the only thing I got was switching Rayquaza out to Kyogre, resetting the intimidate. Now I only had both my restricted Pokémon, and my opponent had all his Pokémon, albeit at low health. I thought this would be hard to win. I actually don’t have a clue of how I won this. He tried to switch in and out, stacking Intimidate, trying to catch my Rayquaza with Extreme Speed. But my Rayquaza was invested in bulk, and stood this, knocking his Rayquaza out instead. Water Spout caught Incineroar, too. Opponent now had Togedemaru and Kyogre, and Fake Out on Rayquaza was obvious, so I went for Origin Pulse + Protect. It worked, and his Kyogre fainted. His last chances were paralyzing my Kyogre hoping for hax to happen, so I went for Protect + Tailwind play. This read worked as well, so Water Spout + Dragon Ascent finished the game. And I was now the champion.
Closing words
I never had the chance to win a series back in the Seniors Division, so this was like dreaming. Although the team was built the day before the tour, it was very strong. Focus Sash Trick Room Gengar and bulk-invested Tailwind Rayquaza really came into play many times and proved clutch.
This tour, I did not use Smeargle and Ally Switch, which I love to use. Suwoong always tells me that it is not a consistent play, and some people told me the same thing when I reached 1900s in battle spot. This time, I felt like I’ve proven myself with pure skills.
Thanks for reading, hope to see you soon!
