Well, I thought it'd be fitting to talk about my team and the matches I had, so I might as well do it here:
A transition of 3v3 to 6v6 in one tournament was something I'd never done before, so I was rattling my brain at first trying to come up with a strategy that would function very well in 3v3 but still not be out of its depth in 6v6. I was over-thinking at first and coming up with stupid ideas until I thought about using Rain Dance. Rain Dance is a quick and easy set-up that lasts for five (eight with Damp Rock) turns, usually enough to plow through a team in 3v3 with little effort - which proved to be the case for both of my 3v3 matches. So, I went with this:
Bronzong@ Lum Berry
#Sassy nature
~ Rain Dance
~ Stealth Rock
~ Gyro Ball
~ Explosion
Bronzong is one of the best Pokémon to use when setting up Rain Dance. With Levitate, it only has a weakness to Fire, so once Rain Dance is in play, that's effectively gone as well. Stealth Rock would play a major part in breaking Focus Sashes to allow my water-lovers to attack and OHKO with no fear. Lum Berry was chosen so I could always get Rain Dance in play on the first turn. If I got the chance, I'd explode just to do some damage and get a turn over with.
Ludicolo@ Damp Rock
#Modest nature
~ Rain Dance
~ Surf
~ Energy Ball
~ Ice Beam
Ludicolo was the star of the show. With Swift Swim, STAB SUrf and Energy Ball, and Ice Beam to boot he was a real menace for all of my opponents. I stuck Damp Rock on just to make my rain last longer.
Kingdra@ White Herb
#Modest nature
~ Rain Dance
~ Surf
~ Draco Meteor
~ Toxic
My second Swift Swimmer. Kingdra is just another special sweeper and my final means of setting up Rain Dance. I used a White Herb so I can fire off a full power Draco Meteor twice, and I decided to go for Toxic instead of Ice Beam a few days before the tournament, as I realized that my only way to defeat Shedinja would've been to make sure I picked Kabutops and managed to get Rock Slide to hit, or got Stealth Rock on the field before it came out.
Kabutops@ Life Orb
#Naughty nature
~ Swords Dance
~ Waterfall
~ Rock Slide
~ Aqua Jet
I bred this Kabutops quickly a short while before, but I had to settle for a Naughty nature instead of Adamant because I got bored xD! I just realized I needed a bit more physical attacking, and this seemed like the best physical Swift Swimmer, bar perhaps Kingdra (which I was already using as a special sweeper) and Qwilfish, who's move-pool is IMO a little worse. I went for Rock Slide over Stone Edge as I prefer the accuracy and the flinch chance would be cool with my doubled speed. Aqua Jet was just to finish things off.
Metagross@ Shuca Berry
#Adamant nature
~ Agility
~ Meteor Mash
~ Earthquake
~ Explosion
My awesome Metagross I bred. I have a Shuca Berry on to protect me from a Ground attack, and the rain in play would almost negate my Fire-type weakness, having basically no weaknesses for at least one turn was appealing and would allow me to use Agility effectively. Then the play was just do as much damage as possible before exploding on something.
Latios@ Choice Specs
#Timid nature
~ Draco Meteor
~ Dragon Pulse
~ Surf
~ Trick
I didn't want to use any Choice Pokémon in 3v3 as there wasn't much room for switching, but Specs Latios is just too good to pass up. That Draco Meteor can just demolish almost anything not named Blissey (okay there are a good few more but shh
). Latios just rips through things and it's already fast. Surf would be boosted by Rain Dance so that was a nother bonus, and only Empoleon and Shedinja in this tournament could withstand the Water / Dragon offensive combo. Trick was an interesting choice, but it'd allow me to hinder something like Blissey if it switched in on me - and it helped me win the tournament in the final match.
Rounds 1 & 2
My first two matches were pretty simple, though I had to face one of my friends in the first round. Basically, I managed to set up Rain Dance with Ludicolo both times, and overall it was just Ludicolo that swept through them. There were a few switches here and there, but Ludicolo did all the damage and I don't think my opponents were really prepared for it. Both victories were 3-0 to me in 3v3 matches.
Semi-Finals
I faced my fellow Smogon moderator Toothache here, having to play against two of my friends during the tourney
- we knew eachothers teams already but were much happier that it was 6v6 now as it made it more interesting between us. It was Rain Dance vs Sunny Day, and a rather humorous start involving both of our Bronzong's. I used Rain Dance, follow by his Stealth Rock. I used Stealth Rock, followed by his Sunny Day. I used Rain Dance, while he switched to Latios. I exploded to get rid of his Latios, then I believe he exploded to take out my Ludicolo (or it might've been Kingdra). It was coming down to a close finish and I was wondering if I could pull off a win as I knew he had Shiftry left which could've caused me big problems. Metagross took out his Gallade with Earthquake after an Agility, then I exploded on his Tangrowth. Luckily, my Rock Slide KOed his Shiftry the next turn, so he couldn't set up Sunny Day, then I also KOed his Heatran with Waterfall for a 2-0 victory.
Final
So, I'd made it to the final. Alex had beaten KoL in the previous round, so I was expecting a tough game, and I was right. Yanmega managed to 3HKO my Bronzong, but he'd still allowed me to get both Rain Dance and Stealth Rock in play, the latter which proved to be one of the biggest turning points in the game. I think I then sent out Kabutops and used Aqua Jet to hopefully KO his Yanmega, but it wasn't enough and Kabutops fainted to Hidden Power [Ground] - sadly I couldn't use Waterfall or Rock Slide as his Speed Boosts meant he was still quicker. So, Metagross was in next, he used Hidden Power [Ground] again, but I expected this and obviously had the Shuca Berry. Meteor Mash took down Yanmega so it was 5-4 to Alex. He sent out Azelf next, and I planned to use Agility and then Meteor Mash or Explosion. But stupidly, I'd miscounted the turns (as he'd Protected once or twice with Yanmega earlier), so Rain Dance had stopped, meaning Azelf's Flamethrower KOed me. I was down 5-3 so it wasn't looking too great. I think I went to Kingdra next, and finished off Azelf with Surf, to make it 4-3 in Alex's favour. Next came Absol, but I really can't remember too much of the next few turns at this point. I'm sure I poisoned Absol with Kingdra here, and had the rain in play again. Kingdra somehow lost to Absol I think, probably through Sucker Punch, but I can't remember how that came about. I'm sure I was 4-2 down, though. I went to Latios next, and managed to predict the Sucker Punch and Trick my Choice Specs onto Absol. I expected him to Sucker Punch again, so I switched to Ludicolo, making Sucker Punch fail again. I then used Rain Dance to waste another turn, making his Sucker Punch fail, and the poison damage got rid of Absol. Next was Gallade, which Ludicolo couldn't OHKO, and was OHKOed back. So it was 3-1 to Alex, with Latios as my last Pokémon - now equipped with Life Orb over Choice Specs. He used Shadow Sneak on my Latios which brought me relatively low on HP, maybe about 50%~, but I finished off Gallade with Surf. Next was his Claydol, which also fainted to the rain boosted, Life Orb boosted Surf. His final Pokémon was Rampardos holding a Focus Sash, which is the reason I needed to keep Stealth Rock in play. Stealth Rock broke his Focus Sash, so I was able to OHKO with Surf and seal the tournament with what had to be less than 25% HP left on Latios. A thrilling final and a close finish, just what all the spectators wanted.
I had a great day, so thanks to all the PokéCharms and Gamerbase staff for sorting it all out. I hope there are more in the future and I'd love to help organise some.
