Hello, everyone! I am Yang Chieh-lun, and I am honored to have won the 2022 Taipei Regionals!
Table of Contents
Teambuilding process
First of all, I think the best way of speed control in this Series 11 ruleset is Trick Room. Other options like Scary Face, Thunder Wave, and even Tailwind, are slightly unstable, but the better choice is to control both the high and low speeds. This can be seen in the Kaohsiung Regional Champion team by Liu Jian-ting (Sayha), which had Eternatus with the high-speed control options in Electroweb and Max Strike, and the low-speed control in Trick Room. This is an example of a very good choice.
Second, I think that Dusclops is quite a good Pokémon. Its Ability Frisk is very valuable, and the combination of Dusclops with a powerful hitter Pokémon can be used as a fairly good opening. This is especially true with the likes of Zacian or Eternatus, Legendary Pokémon which have a good bulk, can hit for high damage, and do not depend on Dynamax (which lets another Pokémon go for it). The opponent needs to guess whether your turn 1 will be straightforward attacking or using Trick Room to slow down the game. They must also worry that if they focus one Pokémon, the other can either attack or use Trick Room, and this position is extremely uncomfortable. That is why this combination is strong.
So I began to look for a Legendary Pokémon that suited me, and could also be a companion to Dusclops. After trying many times, I found that Kyogre was also a good choice, for the following reasons:
- No Dynamax can do spread damage. Compared to many other Legendary Pokémon that need Dynamax for a stable damage, Kyogre is less dependant on it and can let another Pokémon Dynamax.
- If it Dynamaxes, Kyogre has a 150 base power Max Geyser, which with Dusclops’ Helping Hand can deal extremely powerful damage. This option also allows the Kyogre + Dusclops lead a more offensive approach.
- The weather that comes with it can help teammates with weakness to the Fire type and solve the problem of Sun-based teams.
At that time, I got the first version of the team. I did not expect to use it, but I felt that it was already a prototype of what could be built.
Regieleki attacks with high-speed strong moves; Rillaboom solves mirror matches; Glastrier basks in the Rain under Trick Room, unafraid of Fire-type Pokémon; and Incineroar is so versatile.
After testing the first version of the team, I found that Regieleki’s high speed did not suit well with its teammates, because they had trouble taking advantage of the speed control and dealing damage, so I changed it to a Seismitoad. This Pokémon improved the team: as Regieleki, it not only had a high speed in Rain, but could also give the teammates a buff with Max Airstream and Max Quake.
The Max Airstream, Max Geyser, Max Quake and Max Overgrowth of Dynamax Seismitoad could help its teammates gain a big advantage, but the problem is also obvious…: even an intimidated Rillaboom’s Grassy Glide can still KO Dynamax Seismitoad in one hit, and Rillaboom is a very common Pokémon. If my opponent had Rillaboom, my Kyogre + Seismitoad would have a lot of trouble handling it.
Considering that it does not fully depend on Dynamax, can pose a threat to Rillaboom, and also makes up for the high-speed control, added to its strength against other Rain-thriving Pokémon like Rapid Strike Style Urshifu, Blastoise or Araquanid, the final answer is Zapdos.
The Team
Get the team’s paste here!
Kyogre @ Assault Vest
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 236 SpA / 20 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Water Spout
– Origin Pulse
– Ice Beam
– Thunder
The bulky, specially offensive Assault Vest Kyogre, with its Special Attack adjusted to a value of 220 (to hit 11n), max HP and the rest EVs put to Speed.
Its moves are the common twov spread Water-type moves (Water Spout and Origin Pulse), Ice Beam and Thunder.
When holding the Assault Vest, there is basically no special attacker that can directly break through this Kyogre. Regieleki must use Dynamax to have a chance to one-hit-KO the regular Kyogre, and you can Dynamax it and hit Dynamax Regieleki back with a Max Geyser for a one-hit KO.
- You can usually lead Kyogre to use its spread moves and reduce your opponent’s HP, and then go into Trick Room mode with Glastrier and Dusclops to end the game.
- You can Dynamax Kyogre next to Dusclops for a Helping Hand-boosted 150 base power Max Geyser.
- You can use Kyogre as a switch-in to change the weather, especially against Sun teams, which can also benefit Glastrier and Rillaboom as they have a Fire-type weakness.
Dusclops @ Eviolite
Ability: Frisk
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 27 SpA / 0 Spe
– Night Shade
– Helping Hand
– Haze
– Trick Room
This Dusclops has 0 Speed IVs to ensure it can go first under Trick room, and with a Defense value of 187 (to hit 11n). Basically it is adjusted to better take opponent’s physical damage, but more Special Defense may be better.
The moves are the common Dusclops set. I also wanted Pain Split, but Helping Hand and Haze are more suitable for this team.
- You can use Dusclops’ Night Shade alongside Kyogre’s Origin Pulse to lower the opponent’s HP. In the right moment it can use Trick Room to deal with opponent’s high-speed Pokémon with Glastrier and Rillaboom.
- You can use Dusclops’ Helping Hand to help its teammates deal huge damages, especially with Dynamax Kyogre and Glastrier; and Haze to remove the opponent’s boosts from Max Steelspike and Max Quake.
Glastrier @ Lum Berry
Ability: Chilling Neigh
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 14 SpA
– Icicle Crash
– High Horsepower
– Close Combat
– Protect
The bulky, physically offensive Glastrier. Its EV spread is maximised in HP and Attack, with 4 spare EVs in Speed in order to be faster than some Pokémon such us Amoonguss with 0 Speed IVs.
It holds a Lum Berry to deal with Venusaur’s Sleep Powder, and the Rain lets it not be scared of Charizard or Torkoal in Sun teams.
Icicle Crash and High Horsepower are a common set. This team also needs a strong move for mirrors, so for that I chose Close Combat instead of Heavy Slam.
- You can use Glastrier after its teammates have reduced the opponent’s HP. In this case, it commonly battles alongside Dusclops to attack powerfully under Trick Room and get knock-outs for Chilling Neigh‘s Attack boosts.
- Kyogre’s Rain make Glastrier comfortable in front of Fire types. The Kyogre + Glastrier pair is very difficult to deal with for Sun teams, as the Lum Berry Glastrier can easily take on Venusaur and Groudon, and the Assault Vest Kyogre can easily deal with Charizard and Torkoal.
Incineroar @ Chople Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 76 Def / 92 SpD / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
– Flare Blitz
– Darkest Lariat
– Fake Out
– Parting Shot
This Incineroar has a Defense-boosting Nature (Impish) as a personal preference. It has max HP, a Defense value of 132 (11n), and a rarely high Attack stat of 146, as I felt that it was needed. The remaining points were invested in Special Defense, except for 4 Speed EVs.
Due to my playstyle, I don’t feel like a HP-healing berry (like the Sitrus Berry) suits Incineroar, and the Shuca Berry cannot be eaten when needed as per Ice Rider Calyrex’s As One, so I decided to use Chople Berry. With this item, Incineroar can survive a Close Combat from Zacian and then KO it back (at -1 Defense) with a Flare Blitz.
Darkest Lariat allows for a surely powerful hit on Metagross or Solgaleo, as they often have Defense boosts and with this move they are ignored.
- Incineroar has its basic set: switch in to Intimidate and take some damage; use Fake Out to ease the use of Dusclops’ Trick Room; and use Parting Shot to position your team better.
- Because this set has some Attack investment, Dusclops’ Helping Hand can commonly boost Incineroar’s moves enough to get the needed damage immediately.
Rillaboom @ Miracle Seed
Ability: Grassy Surge
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
Gigantamax: Yes
EVs: 228 HP / 252 Atk / 28 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Grassy Glide
– High Horsepower
– Fake Out
– Protect
Kyogre is neutralised by Gastrodon, and opponent’s Water-type Pokémon often take advantage of my Rainy weather. It’s Rillaboom‘s job to deal with these directly! I prefer the active damage by Rillaboom to the passive Ferrothorn. In order to battle mirror teams, Rillaboom’s Speed is adjusted to a value of 109 to benefit from Zapdos’ Max Airstream (although later on I came to think that it seems more reasonable to adjust it to 110). The rest of the EVs are assigned to HP and Attack.
Rillaboom’s held item is the Miracle Seed, which maximises Grassy Glide damage.
As for moves, Fake Out is necessary, Protect can win your position some more opportunities, and if Gigantamax, it not only has the 160 base power G-Max Drum Solo, but it can also raise its Special Defense with Max Quake (based on High Horsepower).
- Rillaboom’s primary role is in mirror matches, where it can come out in the middle or late game to take down low-HP targets, and to create positioning opportunities for its teammates with Fake Out.
- Rillaboom’s damage output can be very high taking into account its Miracle Seed, Dusclops’ Helping Hand and Gigantamax. It is a common way to deal with threats such as Gigantamax Blastoise!
Zapdos @ Safety Goggles
Ability: Static
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Thunder
– Hurricane
– Heat Wave
– Protect
I put Zapdos into the team to deal with high-speed Pokémon. The Electric/Flying type is really easy to use. Compared with Thundurus, Zapdos’ moves are not so dependent on Dynamax, and its defenses are also better.
With Thunder and Hurricane in Rain, it can still be used without Dynamax to deal respectable damage, and it is also very good at suppressing Rillaboom or other Grass-type and Water-type Pokémon.
Its EV spread is a simple spread with max Special Attack and max Speed. The original item was Life Orb to maximise the damage, but after later considering more anti-Sleep measures, I changed it into Safety Goggles, which can be used to take advantage of Amoonguss or Venusaur.
Heat Wave is a must for me on the team: there must be at least a special Fire-type move, and tell those Pokémon that make use of Iron Defense strategies (especially Ferrothorn) at the end of the game that life is not so easy.
- You can use Zapdos alongside Kyogre for a powerful combination of Max Airstream + Kyogre’s spread move of choice. However, it does not need to Dynamax to deal stable damage in Rain.
- Zapdos’ role on the team is to deal with Water-type and Grass-type threats such as Rapid Strike Style Urshifu, Rillaboom and similar. It can also use Heat Wave to deal with Iron Defense Pokémon.
Tournament run
Some of my matches in the 2022 Taipei Regionals were streamed. You can take a look at my team in the following matches!:
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R6 | WW |  Chang Fan-ching (Rice) |    |  |
| Top 4 | WLW | Yang Da-wei (Wavvvy) |     | |
| Finals | WLW | Huang Yang-jie (三重流川風) |   | |
Conclusions
I am very happy to win the championship this time. Using Kyogre and Glastrier at the same time is very similar to playing two Restricted Pokémon… and we will soon play everything with the Series 12 ruleset.
I believe that Assault Vest Kyogre can continue to perform well in the new format!
See you in the next Taichung Regionals!
