Hi there, my name’s David Mizrahi, also known as PlatypusVGC and AwesomePlatypus online. I recently got 34th at the 2016 World Championships with a really fun team (well at least that’s what I think), so I thought I’d share it with all of you!

Part 1: The Coconut Menace

ok… , so it was a really hot day of August and I had a team for Worlds which looked like this: . Yeah, very standard, no originality, winning with this team requires no skill, etc… But the team did have a few techs, including Red Card Talonflame (well that was the only tech, so let’s just say it had a SINGLE not so cool tech).

The team did win a lot of games, but it struggled against the Gengar Crobat lead and didn’t have a very good win/loss ratio against Big B (teams featuring Groudon Xerneas Smeargle and Bronzong), and well... let’s just say that having a team that doesn’t do too well against Big B was pretty bad at this time of the year. This meant that I had to tweak the team, and that’s when I decided to add Exeggutor.

Naturally, you might ask yourself how I got the idea of adding Exeggutor, and it turns out the explanation is quite simple: During my Showdown practice, I faced a guy using Exeggutor Primals, and this weird-looking coconut tree turned out to be very problematic for my quite standard Groudon Xerneas team (that guy turned out to be @leimin, who got 35th at worlds, just 1 spot behind me, what a shame  ). So thanks to leimin and his team, I knew Exeggutor was fairly good against Groudon Xerneas teams, and it also turns out to be one of the few pokemon that can outspeed both Gengar and Crobat (thanks to Chlorophyll) and OHKO them with Psychic. However, the idea of Exeggutor, which from now on, I’ll refer to as Eggy, came to me quite late, so I asked my friend Andres( @000aj) to test the Eggy team for me as it was mutually beneficial. The early version of the team, which featured an Eggy with Gravity, a physical Groudon with Swords Dance and a Crobat with Hypnosis, turned out to do pretty well but could still be improved.
AND THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED: My Eggy moveset got posted on twitter, and that moveset got a lot of attention because of the quite important drama that surrounded the leak.
This made me quite unhappy at first, but this leak was, in the end, quite great for the Eggy Squad as it made me try a modified version of the team that had special Groudon, Skill Swap Eggy and Talonflame over Crobat. This team ended up doing way better than the previous version of the team in practice, and also surprised some of my opponents who were expecting Gravity Exeggutor and physical Groudon. I tested this team with some of the Spirits (my NPA team), and it did really well. So without any further ado, here is the finalized version of the team:
EGGY SQUAD:


Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 30 Def
- Eruption
- Earth Power
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Protect
The first reaction people had when they learned I had specially offensive Groudon was: “Eww, full special Groudon, how disgusting! Why aren’t you using physical Groudon with Precipice Blades, it is SOOO much better!”, and while I agree that physical Groudon is much better on slower Groudon Xerneas teams, I’ve always felt that special Groudon is way more useful on faster Xerneas Groudon teams as it can deal massive amounts of damage right away thanks to Eruption and doesn’t give me a heart attack every time it uses a Ground type move. I also really like the fact that special Groudon can KO most opposing Groudon after a Brave Bird or a Fake Out, which is something physically offensive Groudon can’t do. I gave my Groudon HP Ice because it makes it much more threatening against Salamence and gives me the opportunity to snipe a Rayquaza switching in to support Kyogre. The EV spread is really basic, I needed as much Special Attack and Speed as possible so I just maxed out both of those stats, and then dumped the leftovers EVs in HP. All in all, this Groudon did really well and I did not regret choosing special Groudon over physical Groudon for Worlds.


Xerneas @ Power Herb
Ability: Fairy Aura
Level: 50
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / -- SpA / 4 SpD / -- Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Dazzling Gleam
- Moonblast
- Geomancy
- Protect
A very standard bulky Xerneas. I won’t be revealing the actual speed of this Xerneas as it might still be used by myself and a few other people in future tournaments. This Xerneas has slightly more bulk than what’s required to survive 2 adamant Groudon Precipice Blades, which gives me a better chance of surviving this attack after a weak Fake Out or Feint. This bulk also allows me to survive a Fire Punch and a Precipice Blades from jolly Groudon 99.6% of the time barring crits and burns (but Xerneas always gets crit so what’s the point anyway :/ ). The only reason this Xerneas is shiny is because I released my previous one after it got crit at German Nats and made me miss my Day 2 invite (whoops), so I had to get a new one. To sum it up, I led with Xerneas way too often and won those games way too often.


Kangaskhan-Mega @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Early Bird Scrappy
EVs: 4 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Power-Up Punch
- Sucker Punch
- Fake Out
Kangaskhan is probably the best mega pokémon on a fast Xerneas Groudon team as it has access to Fake Out pressure, priority moves and can set-up alongside Xerneas. The moveset and spread is really standard, but it is very effective and there is no reason to run something else. I used Scrappy because it helped against Mega Gengar, and because I never thought someone would ever try to Fake Out my Kangaskhan with his own Kangaskhan on the first turn (oh how wrong I was). Early Bird was in consideration, but the effects of Early Bird stop as soon as Kangaskhan mega evolves, which makes the ability much worse. On a side note, I have to congratulate my Kangaskhan for winning most speed ties, which is nothing short of a miracle.


Smeargle @ Focus Sash
Ability: Moody
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dark Void
- Crafty Shield
- Feint
- Fake Out
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s move to the fun part of the team. Smeargle may be a really frustrating pokémon to face because of Moody and Dark Void, but that’s doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to use (when you have Moody, every game can become “fun” and “interesting”)! This Smeargle’s moveset is quite unconventional, but it fits perfectly with the team and the surprise factor made it even more effective. Fake Out is here to help Xerneas and Kangaskhan’s set-up and allows me to burn Trick Room turns more easily. Crafty Shield is as close to an “hax counter” as I can have. Feint allowed me to punish defensive play by breaking Protect, Wide Guard, Quick Guard and Crafty Shield, but it was also used to break many Focus Sashes. Finally, Dark Void is here as a staple move on Smeargle because of how incredibly threatening it is, and some of my game plans, if executed perfectly, allowed me to freely use Dark Void. Smeargle got some amazing Moody boosts during Worlds, and performed way better than expected.

Talonflame @ Red Card
Ability: Gale Wings
Level: 50
EVs: 76 HP / 244 Atk / 4 Def / 44 SpD / 140 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Taunt
- Tailwind
- Quick Guard
I’ve been toying with this Talonflame set for a few months now, and I must say I really like using it against opposing Xerneas Groudon teams. This Talonflame sports a Red Card instead of the traditional Life Orb, which allows me to phase out opposing Xerneas (and can also give me the opportunity to make some really awesome plays) at the expense of doing less damage overall. This Talonflame is slightly bulky, which allows me to survive any attack coming from a 252 Special Attack Timid Xerneas, while the Jolly nature and the speed EVs make Talonflame reach a speed stat of 180, which is both faster than max speed adamant Talonflame and max speed Thundurus. Brave Bird is there to offer some sort of damage output, Tailwind is there for much needed speed control and Taunt and Quick Guard are great support moves in a format where Smeargle, Trick Room and priority moves are everywhere. To sum it up, Talonflame did enough “chirp” damage for the main attackers clean the field, and its supportive role was always greatly appreciated.

And now for the moment you are actually waiting for (and I certainly made you wait because you had to read through all this annoying team history, and then through all my ramblings about how bringing Big 5 was actually not that bad of an idea):


Exeggutor @ Coba Berry
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psychic
- Sleep Powder
- Skill Swap
- Protect
I could fill this entire section of my report with eggscellent egg related yolks, but those are quite cheesy so I probably won’t.
Ah, Exeggutor, the last member of the team and the one that made everything fit together perfectly. Exeggutor was initially added to the team as a Gengar Crobat check, but we soon realized it could do much more than that.
With high speed thanks to Chlorophyll, Exeggutor could use Sleep Powder to put opposing targets to sleep before they could move (well at least, that’s what happened 75% of the time), but it could also soften up targets with Psychic before my own Groudon’s Eruption. However, it’s the addition of Skill Swap that made Exeggutor amazing. Thanks to this move, Exeggutor could not only reset the Desolate Land on a Kyogre switch-in, but it could also make my own Groudon faster by giving him Chlorophyll, swap away troublesome abilities such as Heatproof, Levitate, Parental Bond and Aerilate, and give chlorophyll to opposing Groudon and Kyogre to make them move last under Trick Room.
Andres and I decided to add Coba Berry on Exeggutor to make it survive flying type moves coming from Mega Salamence, Talonflame and non Life Orb Mega Rayquaza, which proved to be very useful.
The EV spread is quite basic, and under Desolate Land, Exeggutor reaches a 214 speed stat, which is faster than Crobat, Mega Manectric and Scarf Smeargle. Andres decided to run a slightly bulkier Eggy with less Special Attack, but he actually ended up missing a KO against a Crobat, so I guess I made the right choice by running this spread. Here’s a pastebin with a series of damage calcs showcasing Eggy’s offensive capabilities and bulk as I didn’t want to flood my report  : http://pastebin.com/PQRNKMzW
All in all, the team did extremely well and I didn’t regret bringing it to worlds for a single second (well actually, after getting destroyed round 1, I was on the verge of crying because I got outplayed every single turn and kept wondering why I brought such a dumb team, but that feeling went away after winning round 2 and 3):
I’m now going to fly over the main leads I used and against which archetypes I brought those leads, but I’m not going to detail it because it’s self-explanatory most of the time (and because this article is starting to become really lengthy, props to you if you made it this far).

Common leads:

Monkey:  +
Commonly used against: Everything with the exception of teams featuring Mega Gengar with either a Crobat or a Bronzong, and even then, I might lead it if I feel like they’re not going to lead Gengar. This lead is most often used against Xerneas Groudon teams without a Mega Kangaskhan and a Bronzong).
This is also one of my go-to leads if I’m facing a really weird team that I have never seen before.

Bambi:  +
Commonly used against: Almost everything, but mostly against Groudon Xerneas and RayOgre without Bronzong or Gengar

Khan Artist:  +
Commonly lead against: Almost every archetype. My other go-to lead against weird teams I’ve never seen before. Feint makes this lead extra dangerous as I can Feint + Power-Up Punch on a double Protect.

Hawaii:  +
Commonly lead against: Primals, Fast Groudon Xerneas and Yveltal Groudon.

Dodo:  +
Commonly lead against: Big B and other Groudon Xerneas variants featuring Bronzong

Chili:  +
Commonly lead against: Some Groudon Xerneas and Groudon Yveltal teams

Australian Summer:  +
Commonly lead against: Teams without Kyogre where I want to get a lot of damage off really fast

Hellhound:  +
Commonly lead against: Mainly for Groudon Yveltal and RayOgre, but still a viable lead against Groudon Xerneas and Primals

Baby Coco:  +
Commonly lead against: Rayquaza Groudon

Team’s goal: Try to set up Xerneas as soon as possible with heavy support. If setting up Xerneas is detrimental, bring Groudon and Eggy and try to win with those two (and Khan Artist if everything else fails). Try to always have fun because you don’t often get the chance to play at Worlds with Exeggutor!

Part 2: Attack of the Coconut (Day 1)

Day 1 started off pretty badly, we were supposed to be in the venue by 9, so I met Edu, Andres, Szymon, Nick and Steven at around 8:40 and we went to wait in line. However, the line was massive and we ended up watching the opening ceremony on my phone outside in the cold :/ (we still yelled when Crabrawler knocked out Smeargle, don’t worry). We then read on Twitter that VGC players didn’t actually have to wait in that line anymore, so we did manage to enter the venue right on time for the player’s meeting.
My expectations going into Day 1 were to make Day 2 and to not catch a cold from the freezing AC inside the venue.
I don’t recall all of those games too well, so I’m going to try my best to give you a brief summary of what happened.

Round 1: vs Cheng-Fong Lee [TW]

Kyogre / Groudon / Kangaskhan / Salamence / Bronzong / Whimsicott
I got  D E S T R O Y E D. He played G1 and G3 exceptionally well. He anticipated what I would lead, then took a massive risk when he was already in an advantageous position to secure both games. I only won the second game because he didn’t counter-lead me and missed and Origin Pulse which eased my Kangaskhan set-up.
LWL
0-1

Round 2: vs Victor Merino (@Sigfried) [CL]

Groudon / Xerneas / Kangaskhan / Cresselia / Smeargle / Crobat
This was a match-up I had really practiced for. If I recall correctly, I went with Smeargle Xerneas one of those games and swept with Xerneas pretty easily, and lead with Hawaii (Groudon + Eggy) in the other game and cleaned up the game in a few turns with Sleep Powder + Eruption.
WW
1-1

Round 3: Henry Laura [PE]

Groudon / Xerneas / Salamence / Smeargle / Talonflame / Amoonguss
Once again a match-up I had practiced a lot against. I lead with Xerneas both games and defeated him in the mirror without too much trouble in the first game, but in the second game, I accidentally switched out my boosted Xerneas in prime position to sweep (that’s almost as bad as it gets for a misclick) but I still managed to seal up the game with Talonflame and Groudon. Henry was really nice and even gave me a souvenir from Peru, so thank you for the great games Henry and I hope we’ll meet again!
WW
2-1

Round 4: vs Trista Medine (@ryuzaki) [US]

Groudon / Rayquaza / Venusaur / Raichu / Bronzong / Slowbro
Going into this game, I already knew it was going to be a tough one. Not only did Trista have Enosh’s team, but she’s also an extremely experienced player. Game 1 went pretty well and I managed to get into a spot where it came down to my 40% health Groudon and my full health Xerneas against her full health Bronzong. Her Bronzong went for Swagger on Groudon (!!!) but luckily for me, it missed and I managed to seal up the game without any trouble. In Game 2, Eggy and Groudon once again did some great work, but she also played really well and I was getting ready for a really close game. Unfortunately for her and fortunately for me, she missed a crucial Sleep Powder which made me win the game on the following turn.
WW
3-1

Round 5: vs Jean Paul Lopez Buiza [PE]

Groudon / Xerneas / Salamence / Smeargle / Talonflame / Amoonguss
My second Peruvian opponent, and he seemed to have the same team as Henry Laura. This set went pretty terribly. In the first game, we both led with Smeargle Xerneas and set-up Geomancy, but my Smeargle ended up missing Feint on his Smeargle (who was already down to sash) and he got a Dark Void off on my Xerneas. I ended up getting 3 turns of sleep, which made me lose quite a bit of momentum, and I lost the game to his own Xerneas. In the second game, I took the gamble that his Smeargle wouldn’t wake up on the first turn (after I had won the turn 1 speed tie \o/ ), avoid an attack, win the speed tie and land both of his Dark Void at -1 accuracy, but that’s exactly what happened and I ended up losing the game pretty quickly.
LL
3-2

Round 6: vs Jun Hong Kyun [KR]

Groudon / Yveltal / Kangaskhan / Gengar / Terrakion / Whimsicott
Jun Hong’s team was really scary because of the apparent Terracott (Terrakion + Whimsicott lead where Whimsicott goes for Beat-Up on Terrakion to boost his attack). I lead Smeargle Xerneas Game 1 and conserved my Xerneas well enough for the entirety of the game to win without too much trouble. In Game 2, he lead Terracott against Hawaii (Groudon+ Eggy), but I called the Protect on Terrakion correctly and killed the Whimsicott before it could go for Beat Up, and won the game thanks to that.
WW
4-2

Round 7: vs Nasseruddean Fadhil [MY]

Groudon / Xerneas / Kangaskhan / Salamence / Smeargle / Cresselia
I don’t remember too much about this game, but I do remember that I won both games pretty quickly thanks to Smeargle, a boosted Xerneas and Groudon.
WW
5-2

Round 8: vs Carlos Lima [LU]

Groudon / Xerneas / Kangaskhan / Salamence / Smeargle / Cresselia
This set was… interesting. In both games, we lead with Kangaskhan and Xerneas. In both games, I went for the Fake Out on his Xerneas while he went for the Fake Out on my Kangaskhan, and in both of these games, I won the Kangaskhan speed-tie and won the game from there.
(I had Talonflame in the back so I would have been able to deal with a boosted Xerneas, but winning the speed-tie in both of those games certainly helped).
WW
6-2

I couldn’t believe it! I made Day 2! Making Day 2 felt great as it was my objective right from the start of the season, and I was overjoyed to learn that most of the Spirits also made Day 2! Unfortunately, Andres went 4-4 on Day 1 and failed to make it to the second day, which meant that I was the only Eggy user in Day 2.
I decided not to change anything from Day 1 to Day 2 because the team worked pretty well and I didn’t want to risk trying something new.


Part 3: Revenge of the Coconut

Round 1: vs Lukas Müller (@Knappi) [DE]

Groudon / Xerneas / Kangaskhan / Salamence / Smeargle / Bronzong
Big B! The only matchup I had prepared a flowchart for (I don’t even know why I prepared a flowchart for Big B but I wanted to be sure my match-up was good enough.) He lead Khan Artist game 1 against my Smeargle Talonflame, Turn 1 was awful, but thanks to a great Feint + Eruption play on a Wide Guard, I got into a spot where it was hard for him to comeback. We lead the same in Game 2 and I had a much better start this time, but he got a crucial evasion boost in the late game (aka turn 4), and ended up evading an Eruption in a spot where I had the game almost secured. The 3rd game is what I consider the perfect game. He lead Smeargle Salamence against my Smeargle Talonflame, and I ended up going for the Feint + Taunt play on Smeargle to force it to struggle. He attacked with Salamence and activated my Talonflame’s Red Card which placed me in a position where I could get a free Dark Void off. I then ended up sweeping with Groudon and Smeargle.
WLW
1-0

Round 2: vs Bridget Snow (@squirtwo) [US]

Groudon / Dialga / Venusaur / Noivern / Clefairy / Landorus
Game 1: I was in a pretty great spot →  Smeargle got the perfect Moody boosts → I won the game.
Game 2: I got a Geomancy up without taking too much damage and ended up winning the game by overwhelming him with Groudon + Xerneas.
WW
2-0

Round 3: vs William Tansley (@StarKO) [UK]

Groudon / Xerneas / Kangaskhan / Salamence / Smeargle / Bronzong
What I was happy about: I was facing Big B.
What I wasn’t happy about: I was facing Will Tansley, and it just so happens that Tansley is a remarkable player that plays his teams to perfection (and I’m not very lucky against Tansley as well).
In the first game, he leads Smeargle Salamence against Talonflame Smeargle. I Feint + Taunt his Smeargle to make it Struggle, but he keeps it in and uses Struggle to kill my own Smeargle (fantastic play). I then miss a crucial Sleep Powder and lose the game.
I don’t even want to take about Game 2 because of how horrible it was. On the second turn, his Smeargle gets an evasiveness boost and I proceed to miss every single attack targeted at it (Taunt, Eruption, etc…). 0-4 loss.
LL
2-1

Round 4: vs Alex Underhill (@Lexicon) [US]

Groudon / Dialga / Salamence / Smeargle / Bronzong / Scrafty

This set was restransmitted on a TV and TeamRocketElite recorded both games, so you can find them right below!

Even though this team features a Dialga (read @MajorBowman’s great report about the team here), I felt that he would play this team like Big B. I lead with Smeargle Talonflame in game 1 and managed to have the perfect start, then ended up sweeping with Groudon and Exeggutor.
Game 2 was my shortest game of the tournament, I correctly predict his Salamence Scrafty lead and lead Xerneas Smeargle, I then go for the Fake Out on Salamence while his Scrafty goes for the Fake Out on Smeargle, and I get a free Geomancy up with Xerneas. He forfeits the following turn.
WW
3-1

Round 5: vs Alejandro Jimenez (@Legacy) [US]

Groudon / Xerneas / Kangaskhan / Salamence / Smeargle / Cresselia
I played against Legacy earlier this year in the NPA, but we were both using Primals at the time so I had no idea how he was gonna approach the Groudon Xerneas mirror. I don’t remember too much about Game 1, but I know I played well and ended up winning the game pretty decisively.
I started off Game 2 pretty badly, but my Smeargle got an evasiveness boost and dodged a Fire Punch from Groudon, which brought us to an extremely close endgame that I ended up winning.
WW
4-1

Round 6: vs Jonathan Evans (@Ezrael) [US]

Kyogre / Groudon / Gengar / Manectric / Talonflame / Bronzong
I was only 1 game away from Top Cut and I started to feel pretty nervous. Facing a fellow Spirit certainly didn’t help.
I started off Game 1 extremely well, I lead Hawaii against Gengar Bronzong and went for a Skill Swap Eruption play on turn 1, he switched his Bronzong out for Kyogre so that played ended up working out perfectly. He forgot about Groudon’s chlorophyll on turn 2 so I knocked out his Gengar and used Sleep Powder on the Groudon that had switched in. I was then forced to switch out Groudon for Xerneas and went for Sleep Powder on Kyogre. On the following turn, I used Geomancy (who wouldn’t?) and set the Desolate Land back up by going for skill swap on his Groudon. His Kyogre woke up on the first turn, went for the Thunder, hit Xerneas and got the Paralysis. My Xerneas then got immobilized for 3 whole turns and I ended up losing the game.
I managed to win game 2 by playing pretty well and by not missing a crucial Sleep Powder.
Jon played really well in the third game and I lost pretty badly. (I even got “HP watered” in the end, that's how badly I lost)
LWL
4-2

Round 7: vs Dane Zieman (@agentorangejulius) [US]

Xerneas / Rayquaza / Gyarados / Talonflame / Raichu / Amoonguss

This set went horribly. I led Smeargle Xerneas into his Raichu Xerneas on game 1 and we both set up Geomancy. He then went for Moonblast on my Xerneas on the following turn, got a critical hit and won the game. For some reason, I stubbornly lead  with the same two in game 2 but this time, he got the Special Attack drop with Moonblast and he also ended up winning the game pretty quickly.
LL
4-3

Ugh, this didn’t end too well, did it? I was pretty disappointed about losing my last 2 sets and not making Top Cut, but at least I went positive at Day 2 Worlds and ended up 34th overall, which was a result I certainly didn’t expect going into Worlds.
With my result, not only can I say that I’m the 34th best performing Master at Worlds in 2016, but I can also say that I’m the 13th best Groudon/Xerneas player of all time. (sounds much nicer that way, doesn’t it?)
Five Spirits ended up going 5-2 or better, and 4 of them made it to semi-finals, which was amazing. All in all, the team performed really well, and I did not regret bringing it to Worlds at all!