Week 5: Extending the streak

I skipped writing about my week 4 match because of the lack of replay. I was tempted to do the same for my week 5 match on the sole basis that it was unremarkable. That said, I'm not quite ready to write another Things I Like and Don't Like, so I'll be writing about some of my thoughts on my match against Genki and the Michigan Magcargos, along with some bigger-picture thoughts now that we're a third of the way through Season 2.

• Prep for the match started with a simple thought: I have three Pokemon that have come to every match so far—let's bench as many of those three as possible and let the Klinks second unit take a crack at Genki. While I didn't get to run as much of the second unit as I'd have liked (Gyarados, Heatran, and Lycanroc all came), it was good to see Beheeyem (hereafter referred to as BeheeSM) close a game in his first match. If only he'd had the chance to snag those last two kills. 
• Speaking of the Klinks second-unit, poor Cloyster has come to two games so far, but has yet to so much as see the field. Cloyster is still undoubtedly a valuable member of the team, providing valuable utility in Rapid Spin, and being a threatening sweeper with Shell Smash. 
• At a first glance, only Drampa, Greninja, and Conkeldurr posed much of a threat to my team, but I found myself still sweating every possible negative outcome. I told Emerson the day of the match that I'd had "nightmares about Assault Vest Conkeldurr." Crawdaunt could be a threat after a Dragon Dance or two, but I was fairly certain I could keep enough offensive pressure to prevent setup. In the end, I didn't have to deal with either of them. 
• In a similar vein to the Detroit Lairons, the Magcargos are one of the league's slowest teams. This allowed me to run more bulk on many of my team members (as well as some plus attacking natures on the likes of Gyarados and Heatran). I had a few back-pocket checks for the speedier members of Genki's team. Tapu Bulu could take an Ice Beam from Greninja and KO with Horn Leech, and without a Charti Berry, no Volcarona can survive a STAB, Tough Claws boosted Accelerock off of a positive-natured max attack invested Lycanroc-Dusk. 
• BeheeSM was a surprisingly good anti-matchup Pokemon for me. Sporting a Colburr Berry, BeheeSM could snag sneaky kills on the likes of Greninja, Crawdaunt, and Toxicroak. It was still threatened by Volcarona and Golisopod, but the rest of my team outright countered both of them. Golisopod couldn't so much as tickle Gyarados after an Intimidate, and between Lycanroc, Gyarados, and Heatran, Volcarona was going to have a real bad time.
• I was surprised to see Volcarona in Genki's lineup, but even more surprised to see it wasn't running HP Ground. 
• In a conversation with Pac recently, I mentioned that my one regret for the match was not playing harder for the 6-0 win. I could have saved Gyarados, but I figured I'd fodder it as a means of safely bringing in Beheeyem to clean up the scraps. It'd have been fulfilling to pull off a third 6-0 in four weeks.

Having played a third of a regular season, I'm feeling fairly confident going forward. I was graced with a light schedule early on, facing three winless teams in my first five matches (sidenote: it's good to see the new-look Golducks making a strong showing in their first match). The week 3 match against Pac's Indianapolis Ponytas proved that the Klinks can go toe-to-toe with the league's elite teams, and convincing wins over other teams should help keep the Klinks on the radar. That said, I don't expect the Klinks will continue to perform quite at the same rate they have thus far, especially with the remaining schedule.

The coming weeks are going to be tough. I'm happy I was able to capitalize and build a good record early on, but the easier part of my schedule is now over, with the upcoming weeks being brutal ones. The Kingdras are a fantastic team with a smart coach, and they're going to fight like hell to keep from losing a third game (pray to Arceus that there's no game-changing hax in this one). If Santoro manages to outlast the Charjabugs' heavy-hitting front line, I'll be the next team in line to take a crack at the only undefeated team left in the league. And after facing off against Brooklyn, I'll have to outlast the Charjabugs. I'm hoping the Klinks can continue to cement their position as an elite team in the league by snagging a few wins and keeping up the record, but the days of 6-0-ing and 5-0-ing teams may be permanently behind us.

Here's to keeping the playoff hopes alive. I'll be back later this week with more RDL-related content. Good luck to everyone in this week!

Four things I like and don't like, including reptiles that won't die

With the replay of this week's Klinks vs. Rowlets match being forever lost to the void*, there's no better time for a second installment of Things I like and don't like.

*I'm not entirely avoiding talking about the match—it'll come up a bit in today's things. To be honest, I'm just trying to avoid giving away the details of "Sam's Secrit Sets".

1. The Sun Conference early-season bloodbath
Dear heavens. It's bad enough that the Sun Conference is host to all four of last season's playoff coaches, but after four weeks of play it's difficult to predict who will make the playoffs amongst stiff competition. At the top is resident warlock Santoro (who just added Dusclops—another frighteningly bulky Pokemon to slot alongside Milotic, Snorlax, Necrozma, and Tangrowth—and Magnezone). The three-way tie of the Ponytas, the Klinks, and the Ninetales—all with a 3-1 record, and a triangle pattern of losses to one another—leaves the top seat of the Johto Division up for grabs. The Dracos are still very much in the race, and shouldn't be counted out or underestimated. Despite early-season disappointment, Adam's Akron Alakazams will almost certainly regress to the mean in the coming weeks, especially with several winnable matches coming in the next few weeks.
Even the two winless teams of the conference are not to be underestimated. Ballistic's Golducks can field an awfully speedy offensive lineup that can tear holes in teams, while also packing the support and defensive Pokemon needed to run balanced lineups that can outlast the opposition. Cossak's Lairons played an excellent match against Santoro's Bulbasaurs—up until the final turns post-cupcake Belly Drum, I thought Cossak had the momentum to win the match. Taking one of the league's two undefeated teams down to the last few turns should count as a morale victory for a team that's struggled to nab KOs early in the season.
Four teams will make the playoffs in the Sun Conference. That means that, of the Bulbasaurs, Klinks, Ninetales, Ponytas, Dracos, and Alakazams, two teams will watch the playoffs from the outside. Not one of these teams can afford to blink first.

2. The former Atlanta Rowlets, now under new management
This is the part where I talk, in brief, about my match with Atlanta this week. In preparing for the match, I identified three key threats to my team: Mamoswine, Tornadus-T, and Haxorus. Mamoswine was a difficult Pokemon for me to KO, and even without any investment, Freeze-Dry was a substantial threat to my two best Mamoswine switch-ins: Gyarados and Rotom-W. Tornadus-T was a dangerous combination of speedy, bulky, and devastating. Finally, Haxorus threatened to run through my whole team after a Dragon Dance, especially with Mold Breaker allowing it to bash Rotom-W with Earthquakes. I was so sure I'd have to deal with all of these threats, and combined with the team's other heavy hitters, the likes of Mega-Beedrill and Jolteon, I was sure I was in for a tough match.
Of my three identified threats, only one came along: Tornadus-T. It was dispatched on the switch by Stealth Rock and Rotom-W's Thunderbolt. It didn't even get to do anything.
I don't blame Lvision's play for this—he played the early game very aggressively, with clever double switches and one or two uncostly overpredictions. His reason for leaving was being too busy with real life to devote much time to Pokemon, and it showed through in his preparation. Pac correctly stated in his Week 4 Preshow that the team formerly known as the Rowlets had all the tools necessary to beat the Klinks, but the team seemingly failed to identify its own match-up strengths.
We'll see how the new head coach, Ballistic, does with the new team. The early season shortcomings make the playoffs a pipe dream for now, especially with difficult matches coming up. Still, don't count this team out, as they have the run-and-gun firepower needed to blitz slower, underprepared teams.

3. "It's not a Clutch match without game-changing hax"
This can be debated, no question, but sometimes, when you watch a match, you can pinpoint the exact moments at which momentum shifts. Sometimes, it's a predicted switch that unexpectedly removes a key member of a team. Other times, it's a little bit of luck at the opponent's expense.
In my opinion, one particular match this week had a particularly identifiable turning point: the match between the Kansas City Kingdras and the Galesburg Gliscors. That moment was at turn 16, when Shaymin missed a Seed Flare on an incoming Mimikyu, which then proceeded to use Destiny Bond to secure a kill on Shaymin.
In that instant, the momentum of the match shifted. A game that seemed winnable moments ago was suddenly all the more difficult.
Did it really matter all that much? Maybe not. Mega-Latios was always a threat to hurt Nick's team, and Shaymin may not have prevented the damage that M-Latios inflicted. Moreover, with Galesburg sporting a scarfed Buzzwole at the ready, did Shaymin ever stand a chance? Regardless, it's the case (in my opinion, at least) that one lucky/unlucky moment ended up defining the remainder of the match. Sorry, Clutch.

4. The Unkillable Lower-Tier Early Season MVPs
Regardless of what may or may not have happened in the ESG vs. DET Week 6 game (which was conducted early due to future lack of availability for the Gastrodons' coach, Emerson), we currently live in a world where there are two yet-undefeated Pokemon at the top of the MVP board: Emerson's Krookodile (herein referred to only as Marv) and Andrew/Nick's Kecleon. These Pokemon are Tier 3 and Tier 5 respectively, and are leading the league in kills whilst having yet to be successfully KO'd.
Both the Gastrodons and the Roggenrolas have used their respective MVPs masterfully (well... outside of the ridiculous dozen-turn stall war that capped off the Roggenrolas' match against the Magcargos this week, which even Andrew admits was fishing for the KO by Kecleon). Emerson has made ample use of Krookodile's Marv's typing, offensive utility in Knock Off, nifty speed tier (especially in the Draft League format), and STAB Earthquakes to abuse other teams. Meanwhile, Andrew and Nick have managed to get the most out of Kecleon, obtaining six KOs in just two games. Protean makes Kecleon a surprisingly slippery threat, with underestimated bulk and utility.
Both of these mons have gotten ample attention in the discord chat, and rightfully so—they've been fun to watch, each of them proving that it's quite possible for some Pokemon to outperform their tier, especially when placed in the right coach's hands.


Good luck to everyone in Week 5!

Week 3: To tie the division

As of the time of posting this, I'm closer in time to my next match (likely to take place this Thursday) than I am to last week's match, which now took place four days ago. Better late than never, though.

My match with Pac has been public for a while, so I feel comfortable spoiling the outcome—Somehow, the Klinks managed to pull off the win. It felt good to win an upset match (especially given that the only thing that predicted I would win was a damn coin flip). It felt even better given the sheer amount of hours I spent preparing for the match. The night before, I was going over my game plan—what to do if Nidoking switches in, how to scout and handle Ferrothorn, and so forth. And somehow, I couldn't ditch that one thought. "If I lose this, it's going to have been a whole lot of effort for nothing."

Well, I'm certainly glad it wasn't all for nothing.

Pac posted a few pieces this weekend with small tidbits about our match, including a quick, early quip in his week 4 preshow's introduction. I expect he'll be out to win it when the second round of division play comes around. I'm sure it'll be a fantastic match. For now, I'm just happy to have drawn first blood against a division rival, and I'm particularly happy to have denied him the sweep of division play, keeping my playoff hopes afloat early in the season.

Now, for the details:

• Prep-wise, Pac and I had a sort of arms race scenario. Both of us packed substantial threats to each others' teams. Nidoking packed powerful coverage that hit many of my team members hard, whilst sitting in a speed tier that made it unreachable to Gyarados and Heatran. Between Lycanroc and Diancie, I had speedy Rock STAB moves that threatened Weavile and Charizard X, two of Pac's most potent offensive threats. Ferrothorn was a hard stop to well over half of my team, but in its absence, no member of his team (bar Charizard) could switch in on STAB Grassy Terrain boosted Wood Hammers from Tapu Bulu. Trying to be prepared for anything and everything was a nightmare.
• I was a bit humiliated in the early game to have gone for a Volt Switch on such an obvious switch to Electivire. When I led with Rotom-W, I told myself that I would click Hydro Pump if he led with Fini or Blastoise. All it took to get that thought out of my head was being one turn away from the game's start. It was a fantastic move by Pac, allowing him to scout my Rotom set early on. I'm just happy I came to the conclusion on turn 3 that Electivire really couldn't threaten Rotom all that much, and that he would probably be at least a bit afraid of a Hydro Pump or a Will-o-wisp.
• This game came down to a handful of plays in the early-mid game, which I'd like to address individually: 
• If Bulu had been burned on the switch in to Blastoise, one of my most central win-cons would have been jeopardized. I held my breath until I saw the recovery from Grassy Terrain.
• After Rotom-W's HP Fire did next to nothing, I had to do my best to bait it to stay in. If I had sent out Heatran to revenge kill, Ferrothorn wouldn't have stayed in. Sending out Lycanroc, which was a threat to Swords Dance and start punching holes, helped bait the Ferrothorn into staying in, allowing me to get damage on it with a Tough Claws boosted Fire Fang. Again, I held my breath that it would KO. If it hadn't KOed, I'd have been in a much tougher position. That said, if Ferrothorn had survived, it would have been on its last legs, giving Diancie and Bulu free reign to wreak havoc. It would have also left me without Lycanroc's Accelerock, my primary offensive check to Weavile.
• Wacan Berry on Gyarados was for one purpose and one purpose only: catch Nidoking off-guard as it Thunderbolts, then KO with Waterfall. After Pac switched in Nidoking on Lycanroc, I switched out, fearing the possibility of Choice Scarf. Getting Gyarados in on Nidoking with no prior damage guaranteed Gyarados' survival. If I didn't run Wacan Berry on Gyarados, the game becomes much more difficult to win.
• In the absence of Ferrothorn and Nidoking, I was convinced I had the game clinched. All I had to do was protect Bulu at any cost, switch it in whenever possible, and click Horn Leech or Wood Hammer. Foddering Gyarados to Electivire's Volt Switch was one such move, allowing me to safely bring in Bulu and begin the process. Pac and I discussed a few hypotheticals in this end game, but in my opinion, his options were incredibly limited in the late game, and the match was pretty firmly mine to lose, even at a score of 4-4.
• It's possible that I could have gone 4-0 by just staying in on Electivire with Bulu and taking the Ice Punch, then healing back up with Horn Leech. The switch to Heatran was me acting on my game plan of protecting Bulu at all costs, even though it ended up being unnecessary. I wasn't ready for the possibility that Horn Leech wouldn't KO, and if I'm honest, I was afraid that Electivire got some kind of physical Poison coverage that I'd forgotten about.

That's all I've got this morning. While I was happy about the win, I fairly quickly rolled into prep for the next week. I play the Atlanta Rowlets this week in my first cross-division matchup. I'm going to be looking to keep my momentum going with a win against a team that's undoubtedly hungry for their first victory. I'll be back with more analysis this weekend!

To everyone in week 4: good luck with your matches! Show the other division who's boss!