Orre Cup 2023-05-14
by Mosquito

https://pokepast.es/db368e614f3fac11
Starmie/Snorlax/Zapdos/Swampert/Metagross/Latias

1nd Place
Sets: 6W-0L
Games: 13W-1L

===Forward===
I wrote this pretty quickly after Orre Cup 8 because there isn't much to say.

===Summary===
I built a standard team with strong neutral matchups and a Starmie to patch my weaknesses.

===Abstract===
Going into Orre Cup 8, I saw Swampert performing well on ladder. As I've expected since November. I've sung praises to no end to MetaLatiZap as the strongest core, and I feel Swampert completes it. As such I focused on modifying my Orre Cup 3 team by working around this four-mon core with Snorlax. In particular I liked Metagross+Latias from Orre Cup 6, so I carried it here. These five Pokémon have favorable neutral matchups across the board except for Tauros. Furthermore, I've had frustrating encounters with Gengar on ladder due to speed ties. I decided my sixth slot would be Starmie to patch this weakness and to free up more moveslots on my Latias.

My intention for this tournament was to do nothing excessively creative (Shedinja...) and focus on strong Pokémon. I consider myself more skilled than most Orre Colosseum players and I was willing to use predictable yet proven strategies and win via "skill difference". Doing this saved me the headache of figuring out specific matchups and calculations: I built a Registeel team but didn't want to overwork to solve its matchups. Therefore I agree this team is boring and unoriginal, but it wins.

===At-a-Glance===
~Zapdos+Swampert~
A strong "safety" pick. I can Icy Wind most mons (Starmie in particular) so Zapdos can outrun them. EQ is easy to click with Zapdos Flying typing.

~Metagross-Latias~
A strong core and an ideal lead. Both mons dead good chunk damage but fail to get many KOs. However, their defensive synergy is undeniable. Swagger+Lum enables an autowin vs. opposing MetaLati leads and puts me into a winning position if my opponent can't punish it. +2 Metagross is nuts.

~Metagross+Zapdos~
Solid lead that hits hard with good synergy. Tbolt + EQ should handily dispatch opposing Metagross.

~Starmie+anyone~
Lead Starmie eliminates Gengar immediately so I gain momentum with the teammate (Sub Zapdos especially)

~Snorlax+anyone~
Switch in to Ice Beams, Flamethrowers, Shadow Balls... this is the ideal reserve mon. Sometimes it's a useful lead when the opposing team is specially stacked and lacks Intimidate


===In-Detail===
(First paragraphs are copy/pasted from my Orre Cups 3 & 6 reports, second paragraphs are the changes)

~Starmie~
4H/252C/252S+ to speedtie Raikou, dump Sp. Atk.
Psychic is used to threaten Gengar support leads and prevent Explosions. Ice Beam hits Lati@s. Hydro Pump hits Metagross and improves the Rain matchup.

(Orre Cup 3->8) Protect replaces Endure because Starmie has sufficient bulk anyway that gets wasted by Enduring and taking HP damage while "Protecting". The reward of +1 from Petaya Berry isn't worth it without Substitute or Endure, so I opted for BrightPowder as filler. I preferred this over the minimal boost from MysticWater.


~Snorlax~
CB Snorlax is a great game cleaner - it takes on special attackers once Metagross and Gengar are removed. Normal is a easy STAB to spam. Shadow Ball and EQ are mandatory vs. Gengar and Metagross respectively. I don't run Self Destruct because this is meant to be an endgame wincon. For Normal STABs, Body Slam provides consistent damage with a 30% chance to paralyze. If I threaten 2HKO anyway, might as well hope for the para. Return and Double-Edge are both useful in various situations. I chose Return because I don't like recoil for my endgame wincon.

(Orre Cup 3->8) 252A+/244B/12S changed to 252A+/232B/32S - speedcreeps my Orre Cup 6 Snorlax, which outruns para'd base 130s. Max Attack, dump Defence to patch up its weaker defence.


~Zapdos~
Standard set. I love Sub Zapdos.

(Orre Cup 3->6->8) 60H/236C+/212S is changed to 4H/252C/252S+ - TeamCap has been running 252S+ Zapdos, so I maxed out my speed just to speedtie his. That's it. Literally the only reason I run Timid is because of TeamCap. I miss Modest.


~Swampert~
Icy Wind can glue the team together, Earthquake is the ideal STAB, and Protect stops Explosion.

(Orre Cup 3->8) 248H/252A+/8S is changed to 252H/252A+/4S (Brave). I don't want to reduce my Hydro Pump damage by using Adamant, so I opt for Brave then run 4S to speedcreep other Hydro Pump Swamper. After seeing the success of Hydro Pump Swampert on ladder, I switched to it over HP Ghost. It weakens my Lati@s matchup and Sub Zapdos matchup, but it improves my non-sub Zapdos matchup and lets Swampert be more threatening. I opted for White Herb because I feel Leftovers is more valuable on Zapdos.


~Metagross~
Standard set.

(Orre Cup 3->6->8) 112H/144A+/252S is changed to 80H/252A/176S+ to outrun all Adamant Metagross and then OHKO them with Swagger + EQ (it's a ~90% to OHKO 252H Metagross).


~Latias~
Replaces Shedinja

4H/252C/252S+ - Max speed, dump Sp. Atk.
Latias is used over Latios mostly because it has a better matchup against Tauros. Dragon Claw helps patch the Lati@s matchup just a little and deals consistent damage to all non-Steels. I opted for Swagger to enable a Metagross sweep and to beat Shedinja. Cheri Berry is selected over Petaya Berry because without Endure or Substitute, I have no way to self-proc Petaya. My team has a Thunder Wave issue as it is, so I'd rather patch that up than pray for the Petaya proc.

(Orre Cup 6->8) Psychic is replaced with Thunder Wave. With Starmie back on the team, I have my insurance vs. Gengar and would rather free up a moveslot by running Mono-Dragon. Thunder Wave improves the Tauros matchup and allows me to hustle my way out of losing positions.


===Matchups===

~Fast Goodstuffs~
This is tricky. Raikou and Starmie get free damage before I can move, and facing down base 110s in speedtie wars isn't fun. I rely on Latias to check Tauros, both via speedties and the guaranteed survival against CB Double-Edge.

~Slow Goodstuffs~
Swagger+Lum, then position the team to take down Zapdos

~SwampTar~
Swampert does great work here along with SwaggerLum. Bring Zapdos becuse Substitute usually survives Icy Wind.

~GyaraWak~
Zapdos + Latias beats this handily. Lightningrod does not redirect Thunder Wave in Gen. III.

~Rain~
Latias resists Water, paralyzes Swift Swimmers, and hits Kingdra hard with Dragon Claw. Bring Snorlax for its special bulk.

~Sun~
Starmie+Zapdos. Pschic threatens Gengar T1 and you can Substitute with Zapdos to punish Explosion. Metagross in the back is useful for switches.

~Imprison~
Zapdos + Metagross has good options here. Or just Swagger Lum.

~Skill Swap~
If it's Gengar, KO it with Starmie. If it's Starmie, the team has difficulty surviving the Slaking assault unless you correctly predict the target and switch in Metagross.


===Post-Tournament Reflections===
I won. Honestly it doesn't feel quite as exciting as it did to win Orre Cup 3, or even to get 2nd in Orre Cup 6. It could be the smaller tournament size, or I could just be getting accustomed to playing Orre regularly. I once again recognize I got lucky in many games and that my 13-1 game record isn't an accurate representation of player skill. Yes I outplayed my opponents with a strong team many times, but I did need lucky breaks to win the tournament.

This team is strong and proven. It uses many standard sets and the only "trick" is Jolly Metagross. If there's anything about this team that I believe should and will affect the metagame, it's the strength of Swagger Lum. Most Metagross are running Lum Berry anyway, so Swagger Lum has little opportunity cost. The reward is insane when one is in a position to pull it off. Please try SwaggerLum MetaLati, it's won me so many tournament sets.

Also Hydro Pump is garbage. It hit 2/5 times.

Thanks for all the games, and I'm glad to be back!