#VGC

[kandiyaki]

teambuilding going well

[haunted-skitty-doll]

I need the tumblr girlies to know that Sejun Park is bringing Pachirisu to worlds again 10 years after his iconic win

[pirateprincessjess]

what if you fucking grow up instead of pretending to be a dog so people will give you the love you never got from your parents.

Oh! Oh! I’ve been waiting for this! I even took this picture so I could make this joke! But it’s such an autistic hyper fixation joke that I feel the need to explain it in excruciating detail!

In the early meta of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC one cool Pokemon that I used was Dachsbun (a puppy Pokemon).

I would have it use substitute, which is a move that summons a pokédoll that sits in front of your pokemon. The pokédoll then takes damage instead of your pokemon.

In the picture I’m a puppy with a pokédoll substitute in front of me to intercept the anons attack! Just like how I used this stupid joke to intercept the attack! But the joke goes deeper!

Dachsbun has an ability called “Well-Baked Body” which makes it absorb fire type attacks, causing it to get a defense buff from the attack instead of taking damage. Dachsbun wasn’t a very commonly used pokemon so people often didn’t realize it had this ability and would try to use fire attacks against it.

In this post Anon is trying to burn me, so this is a fire type attack. And they had no idea that I’m an autistic pokemon turbo nerd who was going to absorb the attack into this extremely convoluted (and unnecessarily long) joke and use it to strengthen my defense. Just like Dachsbun!

But wait! There’s more!!!!

Dachsbun doesn’t have a strong attack stat, so its main offensive move is Body Press which allows it to attack with its defense stat instead of its attack stat.

Body press is a good move, but it doesn’t do a lot of damage without a ton of buffs, so it often ends up taking a long time to chip away at an opponents health. That’s exactly like how this post is probably slowly chipping away at anons health!

So to sum it up! I’m a puppy with a substitute Pokédoll that I’m using to intercept attacks, and I’m absorbing a fire type attack to raise my defense while slowly chipping away at my opponents life!

Anyway, thank you so much anon! I really appreciate you walking into this incredibly stupid trap that I’ve laid!

[diefakehomura]

This really makes you think

[vikyyikyy]

Wolfey 😃 ... 🤨.... Wolfey con perish 😶 ... Nooooo 😞

[kiwymelody]

In competitive Pokémon lore, Amoonguss now canonically supports trans rights. We already knew Ferrothorn was homophobic so that's 2 of their opinions on LGBT rights, 1023 to go.

[1863-project]

I need to actually talk about the EUIC Masters Division VGC finals from yesterday, because to me they really epitomized what Doubles is all about, and especially brought to mind what Emmet means when he talks about how one tiny misread can change the entire course of a battle.

First off, here's the video of all three rounds. The two Trainers in the finals were well-known veteran and 2016 World Champion Wolfe Glick, the most prominent Perish Trap user out there, and newcomer Dyl Yeomans, who we will absolutely be seeing more of. They're incredible.

Wolfe got to the finals in typical Wolfe fashion, skillfully piloting a Perish Trap team through a tournament with over 1,000 Trainers vying for the top spot. Dyl came out of seemingly nowhere, and their surprising use of Iron Treads caught a lot of people off-guard. The stage was set for what was clearly going to be a battle for the ages.

Interestingly, neither Trainer used the most stand-out methods they used to get to the final in the final. Wolfe didn't run his Perish Trap team members, and Dyl didn't bring Iron Treads to any of the three rounds. Ultimately, this came down to a more simple concept: past versus future, and Koraidon versus Miraidon. Wolfe, the veteran, had Koraidon, Scream Tail, and Flutter Mane on his roster; Dyl, the newcomer, had Miraidon, Iron Hands, and Iron Treads. The parallel was not lost on anyone watching.

The thing I really want to discuss here specifically is the third round. Both Trainers had won one battle apiece at that point - Dyl taking round one in a fairly dominant fashion, and Wolfe clawing back round 2. It seemed that whichever Raidon was standing at the end would determine who won that round - Miraidon was taking the knockouts in round 1, with Koraidon being the last dragon standing in round 2. It really did seem like it was going to come down to who got their restricted Pokemon set up first.

But round 3 didn't go as expected.

Wolfe's leads were Koraidon and Flutter Mane. Dyl's leads were Urshifu and Incineroar. One of Incineroar's abilities, and the one most used in competitive play, is Intimidate. The whole point of having Incineroar on your team is to pivot it in and out of battle to continue to get Attack drops on the other team. Both Wolfe and Dyl had an Incineroar on their roster that appeared in all three battles for both of them. It wasn't a particularly unexpected start; a lot of players lead with Incineroar to get the initial Intimidate onto the other team.

Turn 1

Dyl's Incineroar's next move was to use Fake Out on Wolfe's Koraidon. Again, this is another common use of Incineroar - preventing the major attackers from landing a blow, or stopping a support Pokemon from using its own skills. As a priority move, Fake Out goes first, so Koraidon was able to do nothing on the first turn. Wolfe's Flutter Mane, the fastest thing on the field, then launched a Moonblast into Dyl's Urshifu, bringing it down to its Focus Sash. The Urshifu was essentially a sitting duck with 1 HP now. Urshifu went last, hitting Koraidon with a Close Combat, bringing Koraidon into the yellow.

Turn 2

Wolfe retreated Flutter Mane and sent out his own Incineroar with Intimidate. Dyl Terrastalized their own Incineroar to Ghost-type, eliminating the Dark-type weakness to Fighting moves. Urshifu attempted to use Sucker Punch, but Flutter Mane was no longer there, and Koraidon took it out with a Flame Charge. Dyl finished the turn by having their Incineroar take out Koraidon with a Flare Blitz. Both Trainers were now only down to 3 Pokemon each. Given how the last two battles had gone, the crowd murmured, thinking Dyl had possibly obtained their win condition already - the biggest threat on Wolfe's side was off the field.

Turn 3

Wolfe replaced Koraidon with Flutter Mane. Dyl replaced Urshifu with Farigiraf. Before any action could occur, Dyl swapped their Incineroar out with Miraidon. Flutter Mane, targeting the Incineroar that was no longer there, hit Miraidon with a Shadow Ball, earning a Special Defense drop. Wolfe's Incineroar followed up with a Flare Blitz, doubling into the slot. This freed up Farigiraf to use Trick Room, reversing the speed order - now the slowest Pokemon would move first. This obviously did not bode well for Flutter Mane.

Turn 4

Farigiraf's work was done, so it retreated in favor of Dyl's Incineroar. Flutter Mane, not in a good position, used Protect to stay safely on the field as Wolfe's Incineroar used Parting Shot, a pivot move that drops the target's Attack and Special Attack by one stage each; this move went into Miraidon, and Incineroar swapped out for Amoongus. Miraidon swapped out with Volt Switch, hitting Amoongus (who resisted), and Farigiraf came out in its place.

Amoongus, notably, has two main functions in competitive play - redirection via Rage Powder, and Spore to put the opponent to sleep. Since Miraidon was setting Electric Terrain every time it came onto the field, which prevents all Pokemon touching the ground from falling asleep, Amoongus had one purpose in this battle, and it would do it incredibly well.

Turn 5

Wolfe Terrastilized Amoongus to the Dark type. Farigiraf, also running support, used Helping Hand on Dyl's Incineroar to boost its next move, but then Amoongus used Rage Powder to draw all attacks onto itself, likely preventing Dyl's Incineroar from attacking Flutter Mane. Sure enough, Incineroar used Flare Blitz, but with Amoongus no longer being a Grass type due to its Dark Tera, it should have taken the hit cleanly. However, Helping Hand boosted things just enough, and Amoongus went down, leaving Wolfe with just two Pokemon. Flutter Mane, left unharmed, took out the Incineroar, leaving Dyl with just two Pokemon as well.

Turn 6 - "if you misread one thing, the rest will be totally different"

The crowd didn't notice the moment the battle was actually won. In fact, it's unclear if the commentators realized it right away, either. But Wolfe knew it, and if you were paying attention to his reaction, you would have known it too.

Wolfe was down to Flutter Mane, a glass cannon, and Incineroar, running primarily support. Dyl was down to Farigiraf, running support, and their Miraidon, who had handily won them the first battle. The advantage appeared to be Dyl's, and the crowd thought so too.

Incineroar did its thing, getting the Intimidate down upon its reentry into the battle. All the Pokemon except Miraidon were in the green; Miraidon was notably in the yellow, but with its sheer strength and the support of Farigiraf, nobody paid that much mind. It had the terrain advantage. The sunlight Koraidon had set for Flutter Mane was gone. The ball was in Miraidon's court.

Trick Room was still up, meaning Farigiraf went first. Farigiraf used Psychic, hitting Flutter Mane. Incineroar went next, and in a key moment, it hit Miraidon with Flare Blitz, bringing it down to the red and leaving a burn. Miraidon was now on a timer, and it launched its Electro Drift - into Flutter Mane.

This was the misread that made the rest totally different.

Flutter Mane fainted, and the crowd roared. Dyl's victory looked assured...except that it wasn't. Trick Room was still up. Farigiraf would go first, Incineroar second, and Miraidon third. Farigiraf had a couple of options - it could use Helping Hand to strengthen Miraidon's next attack, or it could try to attack Incineroar. However, neither of these were viable, because Farigiraf was only carrying one attack move, Psychic. Incineroar, a Dark type, wouldn't have been affected by it at all. If Farigiraf used Helping Hand to support Miraidon, it wouldn't have done anything either, because Miraidon still had to go after Incineroar, who would knock it out.

So Dyl did the only thing they really could do in this situation...

Turn 7

...and had Farigiraf mercy faint Miraidon with Psychic. Incineroar hit Farigiraf with a Flare Blitz for a decent amount of damage, and prepared to do so again on the next turn, but Dyl locked in the forfeit instead. Farigiraf couldn't do anything to win at that point, and so Wolfe's Incineroar was the last mon standing, netting him the 2-1 victory.

I watch a lot of Doubles because, frankly, I do genuinely like Doubles and all the different strategies that can go into it. I love seeing how different combinations on the field can completely change the course of battle. But it's absolutely true that sometimes, Doubles comes down to sheer luck. If you lose to Emmet in BW or B2W2 on the regular Doubles train, he'll mention that he thinks he "just got lucky," and famously goes on to say that "In a Double Battle, if you misread one thing, the rest will be totally different." That was absolutely the case here - if Dyl had targeted down the Incineroar, they would have had the victory, but they chose to focus on Flutter Mane, likely because they knew the Trick Room was going to run out soon. Unfortunately, with one more turn on Trick Room remaining, Incineroar being the remaining Pokemon on Wolfe's side was actually the last thing Dyl's team would have wanted there, because Farigiraf couldn't hit it and with Trick Room still up Incineroar was going to go before and take out Miraidon. It was one small mistake, but it ended up losing them the battle - perhaps something that can be chalked up to inexperience. Wolfe, who has been doing this since the early 2010s, knew in that moment that he'd won, but it had literally come down to luck. He lucked out when Dyl attacked Flutter Mane; that battle could have gone either way.

This set is definitely going to be joining my rotation of Doubles VGC matches I rewatch to learn from. There's always more to learn, after all, and this battle will definitely be one of the greats.

(Also, I can't wait to see more of Dyl. They've clearly got a huge future ahead of them and I'm so excited to see what they do next!)

[nathallly]

I had a epiphany.

Ive been seeing pokemon twisted wonderland aus and Ive been watching WolfeyVGC.

So, VGC Trainer! Yuu. World champ or not.

They have Incineroar,Rillaboom,Goldengo,Amoonguss,Ursaluna Bloodmoon,Archaludon,Whimsicott etc all in the box that they take to twisted wonderland

Not metioning the strategies,trick room,rain Pelipper archaludon, tailwind,terrain setting,weather or any pokeman that are just busted ( Urshifu-Rapid Strike ) and more.

If they have Koraidon or Miraidon or Ogerpon then its over for nrc or any paradox mon ESPECIALLY fluttermane

And Yuu has great adaptability,quick thinking,planning,reading people,memory etc due to their time in VGC

[kafus]

i dissociated extremely hard for hours and then eventually passed out (didn’t go to classes today due to medical issues) and i woke up and there is a pokepaste open on my laptop of the six heroes as a VGC team. you have got to be joking MY EXTREME DISSOCIATIVE ACTIVITY WAS VGC TEAMBUILDING THE SIX HEROES????? WHAT IN THE SPECIAL INTEREST

[hydriiaas]

More useless comp pokemon discourse

[helshollowhalls]

cronchy meme of Wolfe's Raging Bolt during that one game at Worlds because I felt like it

[misersdream]

fanart of the wolfey con perish cookie... cookie con perish

was obsessed with this thing ever since it was slowly revealed on stream i had to draw it

[marcelwasp]

Not sure how many people are gonna get this

Edit: this blew up on twitter so Incase you saw it there I am the same person

[haunted-skitty-doll]

So I think it's well known that scarlet and violet are a rushed, buggy mess, but I wanna share the absolute disaster of a week they've been having for those who may not have heard about all of this

Sunday May 15th: Japan nationals is held as an online tournament, with the top 64 players earning a world's invite. It ends up having multiple bugs such as not allowing breaks between matches, not awarding game wins for an opponent's disconnection, or not showing win loss record, all of which are standard for online battles and tournaments. This gets a lot of complaints obviously, so they decide to redo the tournament and revoke the world's invite of the top 64 players. This is the tldr version, and you can hear a better explanation on Ray Rizzo's youtube channel

Thursday May 18th: the official Japanese Pokemon twitter account says that the Pokemon home update with scarlet and violet compatibility will be released soon. The international account gives us a specific date, May 24th. Keep this in mind for later

Friday May 19th: Great Tusk, Iron Treads, and Chesnaught raid events go live for the weekend. Great Tusk and Iron Treads end up crashing the game when completed, so the entire event is cancelled and postponed

Also Friday May 19th: Pokemon's international twitter account quote tweets their Pokemon home May 24th announcement and says it was a mistake, assuring us it will come "soon"

[mor-mirmir]

thumbnail comm for a buddy

[kandiyaki]

my vgc friends (nobody) when i show them Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Copy of Untitled 202