Team Report Bochum T4 Team

Introduction : the way i built the team.
I was looking for a team for the 1st european regional on switch during the 2nd half of December with my bro Cykomore, trying to build around all the ideas i have or that i found interesting when battling on the pokemon showdown ladder. That this way we found this team. Latter we discovered that this team was probably built by Alex Underhill, with what he finished 20th competiting in a Galar Weekly. I saw only a few of the team in action, but i immediatly found it interesting and felt that the call may be incredible for Bochum, people seemed to largely sleep on the potential of rain teams since the beginning of VGC20, and are not prepared to battle against it at all. Cykomore tried to reproduct the team as he can, and next we tried to improved it.

In the original team, instead of my Conkeldur, there was a full spe def Corviknight with a Iron defense/ body press set. It seemed to be an interesting choice, providing a good resistance against some types which were not easy to deal with for the team, like flying, fairy and poison moves. But i finaly found it too passive for this pretty aggresive team, and i wanted something to help the team to deal with pokemons really annoying for the team like Gyarados, Duraludon, or Charizard, but that keeps beeing a good answer against Tyranitar and Excadrill. We do not find the perfect pokemon to take this slot, but conkeldur had finaly been my 1st choice, not realy helping too much in the Charizard-Whimshicot match up, but with thunder punch it seemed to be a big threat under trick room, against all the Pokemon i just named or just in general. Moreover, it seemed to beter fit with the aggresivity of the team, and that was a pokemon i already loved to use in my first VGC20 teams.

The FX Saga team preview

Bjorn (Pelipper) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tailwind
- Hurricane
- Surf
- Protect

The base of a rain team, providing rain, and speed control with tailwind. The set is the most simple of the team, i just wanted Pelipper to do Pelipper’s things, and puting a maximum of pressure on the opponent with hurricane and surf. Surf will be used in every water mons in this team, providing good offensive pressure on both pokemons of the team, without the inaccuracy of muddy water and helping Jellicent and Gastrodon in the team. It’s really tempting to stupidly spam this move wih the team, but you should keep in mind that not all your mons are imunned to water moves (lol), like togekiss, conkeldur, or pelipper himself.

Askelaad (Ludicolo) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
Level: 50
EVs: 68 HP / 252 SpA / 188 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fake Out
- Ice Beam
- Surf
- Energy Ball

An other member of the rain core of the team. I just put enough speed to allow him to ouspeed dragapult or scarf darmanitan under the rain, or timid vileplume witheout sun. The leftovers of investements were in HP, wich allows Ludi with the assault vest to have a pretty good special bulk and to tank a bit better my owns surf. I found this defensive investements very helpfull during the reginal. His grass stab was crucial against opposing gastrodons and other water types, and ice coverage was great against grass and dragon types, like dragapult or rotom-cut.

Ragnar (Jellicent) @ Kasib Berry
Ability: Water Absorb
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 20 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 SpA / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Surf
- Sludge Wave
- Will-O-Wisp

Maybe the most important member of the team in my opinion. Best friend of Togekiss. Whereas it has offensive moves, his main role is to support the team. It can burns ennemies and set up trick room, witch was the speed control is used the most during the tournament, because the team is not that fast. Sludge wave allow him to activate the weakness policy of togekiss, witheout making him too much damage (if you don’t poisoned yourself lmao). That’s why i put him minimum SpA. Surf was mainly here to make sheep damages on the oponent team and boost gastrodon in the same time. This 2 spread moves are also very usefull to break potential focus sashes of the opposing mons.
I maximased his Def because the big part of the metagame his physically offensive, and put 20 EV in SpD to allow him to survive a Grass Dynamax move of timid Charizard without sun. It allows some mind games in Charizard/whinshicot match ups, but it finaly wasn’t very helpfull, i never had to deal with this match up during the tournament, or i guess one time but my opponent didn’t brought them.
I chose to play the kasib instead of the colburr berry just before the tournament because i was thinking that there will be a lot of dragapults and thaht it would helps me against ghost types in general. It helped me during the swiss rounds, but colbur berry may have been better for me in the top cut. Anyway, i think the 2 berries are playable on this set.

Canute (Togekiss) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Super Luck
Level: 50
EVs: 236 HP / 4 Def / 164 SpA / 4 SpD / 100 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Follow Me
- Dazzling Gleam
- Air Slash
- Heat Wave

The offensive goat of the team. Togekiss his in my opinion one of the best pokemon to dynamax with the weakness policy. Whereas you can set it up by activating his weakness policy with jellicent sludge wave and go for max airstream for speed control, you can also use it to redirect and protect his allies, like jellicent or gastrodon. Heat wave was cool against the steel types mons that resist togekiss 2 stabs, like corviknight, or ferrothorn wich can be realy annoying for the team. As i used most of the time the offensive mode, super luck seems to be the best ability for the extra crits :p I put just enough speed to outspeed vileplume with no sun, wich i was very afraid of.

Thorfinn (Gastrodon) @ Rindo Berry
Ability: Storm Drain
Level: 50
EVs: 196 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 52 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Ice Beam
- Earth Power
- Surf
- Recover

A more offensive gastrodon than usual. I put him some speed to be faster than jellicent, and to allow jellicent to boost him before he attacks under trick-room. I put ice coverage for the same reasons as on Ludicolo. I was hesitating to put him protect instead of recover, but it definitivly came to be clutch during swiss rounds, and it also allows you to use max guard when dynamaxing. As it is an offensive set, the rindo berry make more senses than any other recovery berry. A really good option of pokemon to dynamax under trick-room that i may have under-use during the tournament.

Thorkhell (Conkeldurr) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 76 Atk / 180 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 29 Spe
- Drain Punch
- Thunder Punch
- Protect
- Mach Punch

Cf introduction to know why i played conkeldurr in the team. The guts and flame orb hit so strongly that i added him some bulk invests to allow him to have better special bulk. This bulk allow him to tank any move of life orb dynamax duraludon, even if the flame orb get activated. Drain punch allows him to have one way of recovery and to raise his staying power. I withdrawed him some speed IV to make sure that there is no speed ties with my others mons. An other good option of pokemon to dynamax in the team, specially under thrick-room.

Gameplans of the team:

I mainly used 3 modes to play and start the games with this team, and 2 of them are using the same lead, wich make realy hard for the opponent to know on wich way you are going to play, even if he knows the team :
-	The Hard Rain mode : with the classical lead Pelipper-Ludicolo, wich provides a great offensive pressure, and allow you to easly go for tailwind to have a better set-up for the pokemons that you are keeping in the back with the help of ludicolo fake out.
-	The Togekiss sweep mode : wich consist in leading togekiss and jellicent, get speed advantage with max airstream while jellicent his activating the weakness policy.
-	The trick room mode : wich consist in leading togekiss and jellicent, redirect enemies attacks, set up trick room and sweep with gastrodon and/or conkeldurr. This mode can also work with togekiss as a sweeper if you don’t go for max airstream.

Some pokemons annoying for the team that you should be carefull about :

-Sylveon, because the team doesn’t have good switch ins and because of his speed interposed between the slowest (gastro, jelli, conk) and the fastest mons of the team.
-Lapras, and other freeze dry users, i think you understand why.
-Dracozolt : destroys all the team.
-Gengar : not a realy used mon but destroyed me each time i faced it on the showdown ladder
-Charizard : a mon realy hard to check, whatever your team is, specially with whinshicot.
-Gyarados : his resistances, and his flying and grass coverage make him realy annoying for the team, it forces to use the trick room most of the time.
-Duralugon : His potential coverage his realy painfull for the team. It can be really annoying to KO with a AV set, because it survives togekiss moves at +2. I recommend you to make sure that he doesnt get def boosts using max steelspike.

My journey in Bochum :

[Disclaimer] I don’t remenber properly of all the swiss rounds so sorry if there is not very much details or if there is some little mistake about what i am saying and what really happened.

ROUND 1 vs Leonard Konig WW (Togekiss-Chandelure-Excadrill-Dragapult-Rotom-W-Corvinight)
Hard match-up for my opponent, the fast rain mode gave me a good advantage, and the gastrodon wich wasn’t afraid by any grass move, cleaned the game. My berry on jellicent was already clutch in round 1 wich make me feel very confident for the next battles. It was my opponent first regional and it didn’t do so bad. Shout out to you man if you’re reading this, i apreciaded to meet you.

Round 2 vs Philipp Peixeto Gonzalez WW (Excadrill-Milotic-Rotom-W-Grimsnarl-Tyranitar-Arcanine).
I don’t remember very well this game, just that Conkeldurr cleaned the game, probably under trick-room. I didn’t try to bring Milotic whereas i didn’t have a good feeling about this pokemon, because it’s realy specialy bulky and that i only have conkeldur as a physical attacker to heavly dammage it.

Round 3 vs Jens Arne Maekinen LWW (Milotic-Bronzong-Rhyperior-Togekiss-Silvally Dark-Duraludon)
Crap, one other milotic. Fortunaltly, Jens didn’t brought it, but anyway there was others heavy threats in his team. First game he properly set up trick room and destroy me with rhyperior and body press bronzong before i can reverse the dimensions with jellicent. I do not remember the game 2. In game 3, i remember that i perfetly setted up togekiss, at +1 in SpA (because of silvaly snarl) and +1 in speed to OHKO his dynamax non AV duralugon. I was a bit surprised to one shot it, and it basicaly gave me the game, Togekiss destroyed bronzong with max flare before it can sets up trick room.

Round 4 vs Jorjin Raijmakers WLW (Grimsnarl, Gastrodon, Rotom-H, Excadrill, Dragapult, Togekiss)
A very hard match up for Jorjin. Each game i keep setting up faster my togekiss and destroy his own togekiss in priority. He had to rely on connecting horn drills with excadrill, wih allowed him to win the second game. Fortunatly he didn’t connect any one in the 3rd game.

Round 5 vs Alex Soto WW (Arcanine, Rotom-W, Ferrothorn, Braviary, Tyranitar, Sylveon)
Contrary to our battle in semi-final, there were no suspense during this round, each game i reach to easely set up my togekiss and sweep his team, well targeting his pokemons, but he definitivly did not make a good use of his tyranitar and his sylveon. If i remember well, he tried each time to bring his ferro but it was totaly useless.

Round 6 vs Pablo Hernandez Tello WW ? (Dragapult, Coalossal, Duralugon, Gastrodon, Rotom-cut, Grimsnarl)
This is the round that i probably remember the less. I just remember that i won in the last game thanks to a critical hit. Probably thanks to super luck togekiss.

Round 7 vs Emre Sahan (on stream) : LWL (Togekiss, Gyarados, Dusclops, Torkoal, Rhyperior, Gothitelle)
I didn’t start the Best of 3 very well in the first game, because i didn’t knew the team and get surprised by the hypnosis strategy. I think i played pretty well the next games, just needed a bit more luck like some hypnosis misses or some faster awakenings of my pokemons. I think to try to dynamax gastrodon could have been a good idea but it would have mean to play without the misty terrain. Would it have been better ? I am not sure.

Round 8 vs Taran Birdee : WW (Dracovish, Duralugon, Dragapult, Whinshicot, Charizard, Sylveon)
One of the strangest bo3 that i had, in the sense that in the first gme he leaded whimshicot and dragapult, i get all the good reads to set up my togekiss, ko quickly his dynamax dragaput and take a comfortable advantage, wich allow me to win the game pretty easely and that in the second game we reproducted exactly the same first turns, wich allows me to win pretty easely too. I think Taran was trying to anticipate that i will anticipate that he will adapt and do not do the same plays, what didn’t happen. That was pretty strange. Moreover, i think Taran already had some information about my team thanks to the stream, because he litteraly never targeted my jellicent with his dragapult, even if i always let it on the field in front of it.

Round 9 vs Flavio Del Pidio WLL (Vaniluxe, Togekiss, Excadrill, Hitmontop, Dusclops, Snorlax)
I wasn’t very confident when i had to start this round because i didn’t had any information on his vaniluxe, that could have freeze dry and being very scary for my team. Also it was the first time i faced of a snorlax today. Normaly, the water spam and conkeldur is a good answer to snorlax but i didn’t knew how it would go in this match up. First game I reached to pretty well set up my togekiss and Flavio tried to set up his Snorlax but i KOed it thanks to a Togecrit (%super luck). Flavio get his revenge during the 2nd game winning with the help of a critical hit. I get destroyed during the 3rd game. Flavio made some perfect reads to activate his own weakness policy and not mine, and i get totally screwed when he revealed taunt on his Vaniluxe, stoping my jellicent to set up the trick room, what i didn’t expect at all.

Top 16 vs Kevin Ano Kevinas : WW (Whinshicot, Dracovish, Mimikyu, Arcanine, Rotom-Cut, Duraludon)
The preparation that i made the night before with Cykomore worked perfectly. We supposed that he will bring Duraludon, Mimikyu, Rotom and one other mon, probably whimshicot. The plan was to make sure that Duraludon do not do max steelspike to boost his Defense and sweep with Conkeldurr, and it worked perfectly in the first game, leading Ludi-Pelipper, with togekiss and conkeldurr in the back. I thought he would adapt himself for the 2nd game so i leaded Togekiss and Jellicent, but no. Fortunaltly, he didn’t do any maxsteel spikes so it worked pretty well for me.

Top 8 vs Florian Van Hooijdonk : WW (Braviary, Dracozolt, Grimsnarl, Gastrodon, Arcanine, Rotom-Cut)
A pretty hard match up. Dynamax dracozolt had the potential to destroy all my team. But i reach to won the first game thanks to some luck. I get a Hurricane confusion and self-hit on the Dracozolt dynamaxed, wich gave me a precious turn of more to try to counter him. In my opinion, he also missplayed at the end of this game, making a free -2 volt switch on my togekiss, wich allowed my togekiss with his weakness policy activated to clean the game, whereas it may have not be able to without. In the 2nd game he didn’t lead dracozolt. I adapted myself in this game by leading Togekiss and Jellicent instead of Pelli-Ludi in the first game, wich allowed me to easely set up my Togekiss under trick-room and sweep his team.

Top 4 vs Alex Soto (on stream) : WLL
Rematch of my 5th swiss round. This time he mades some better choice of pokemons and of gameplan. I get lucky in the first game, he get lucky in the 2nd game. I don’t know how his sylveon was invested but the crit on my Conkeldurr didn’t mattered if it was max SpA. Maybe i should have hard switch my ludi on togekiss in the turn were he gets the double protect, but i think that i would have to rely on getting one flinch on sylveon with air slash anyway. The 3rd game i get very unlucky with the self poison of my togekiss. The game would have been totaly different without because togekiss could have survive one or 2 more turns (if i rethdraw the sandstream with max flare). Anyway, i was really surprised that he doubled my togekiss whereas i thought he would double up my jellicent slot. I think i should have try to bring and set-up my dynamax gastrodon because he clearly seemed that he would not bring his ferrothorn.

To conclude, even if i was a bit frustrated of the way i get eliminated, so close to go in final, i am so proud to have reach to access to my 1st top cut, get my 1st brick and all this during the 1st regional on switch and biggest regional we ever had. I would like to thanks so many people : 1st at all my friend Nicolas Carvalho (aka Cykomore) witheout who i would have not find and decide to play this team and with who i prepared myself for this tournament, all the people that supported me during this week-end, all my opponents during this tournament thanks to who i reach to cut this event with a very hight resistance, and with who all the battle were very enjoyable to play. Thanks to all the judges and organisators of this amazing tournament, and thanks to all the Victory Road team and commentators who provided us a realy professional and clean stream. I hopes it will continues like this !

I thinks its as a really great call to bring this team. People were not ready to play against a rain/water spam team. I let you make a good use of this team, and i think it always has the potential to be improved.

Screen of the rental team
ID of the team : 0000 0002 C4XN 9K