Enter the Dragon Type - HA Amaura as Entry Prize [END]

[Meultima]

Just when we finished the Generation Showdown, looks like another very similar tournament has been announced. As taken from Serebii:

Region: International
Registration Period: March 12th - March 20th 2015
Battle Period: March 20th - March 23rd 2015
Battle Type: Double Battle
Battle Limits: 10 Battles per day
Pokémon Restrictions: National Pokédex. One Dragon-type mandatory. Up to 2 of the following allowed: : Mewtwo, Mew, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Celebi, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, Victini, Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, Keldeo, Meloetta, Genesect, Xerneas, Yveltal, Zygarde, and Diancie
Entry Gift: Snow Warning Amaura

The Dragon Cup is a unique Battle Competition which has you have to use a Pokémon that is a Dragon-type in your Battle Box as well as allowing you to use any Pokémon in your team. It gives a Hidden Ability Amaura for entry.

Official Japanese Page here.
English version now up here.


So... Main takeaways:
1: Snow Warning Amaura.
2: Darkrai is allowed. Pretty much the same as the previous event, except now Event Pokémon are included in your two-special quota. Also you must have at least one Dragon-type in your team... That's almost a non-requirement, really.

A bummer to those of y'all waiting for another Singles tournament, but there you go.

 

[lucariomaster2]

I can't help but notice that this tournament was announced shortly after Europe and Japan get a Darkrai, with North America getting nothing. That said, I might try Primal Kyogre + Water Spout spam if I enter...

 

[ethan06]

Yesss time for Mega Diancie spam. Maybe some will take the Dragon thing literally so that I can just spam Moonblast all day long... (shoutouts to cant say I've been waiting to use this thing for so long) That said, more Mega Ray. Oh joy. At least it's not singles so it'll be manageable, in the same way it was manageable in Generation Showdown.

e: Mega Diancie will actually be really good in this meta, what with the way it beats almost all of the Dragon-type legends 1-on-1 as well as making a convincing check to Darkrai with Magic Bounce. Pity it gets curb-stomped by both Kyogre and Groudon, however, so bringing checks to those will be a must. What were the best checks that you guys saw to Groudon during Generation Showdown? It was one of the top threats, and having a reliable stop to it would be fantastic.

ee: Scratch the above, Diancie actually doesn't mind Groudon that much: 252 SpA Mega Diancie Earth Power vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 132-156 (75 - 88.6%)

 

[a0161613]

Snow Warning Amaura.....oh I'm going to have to play my first competition for this. Dragon leads to Fairies; in theory the best way to do well will be finding the best to deal with the Dragon counters. Scizor and Lucario will do well here I think. And maybe Mamoswine.

 

[yoshirrrr]

I'm really looking forward to this competition, but Xerneas is going to be on like 90% of teams.

 

[Superbobbobbob3]

Arceus can be used, O gosh the Fairy spam (Fairy Plate + Xrns Fairy aura)
Life Orb Diancie does a ton of damage with Diamond Storm too. This will be interesting

Also More info on HA Amaura: Participants that battle three times and record a win or loss in each battle will receive Amaura with its Hidden AbilitySnow Warning. It will be level 10 and will have the moves: Growl, Powder Snow,Thunder Wave and Rock Throw. After the rankings are released on March 27, Amaura will be available for participants.

 

[Karxrida]

Arceus can be used, O gosh the Fairy spam (Fairy Plate + Xrns Fairy aura)
Life Orb Diancie does a ton of damage with Diamond Storm too. This will be interesting

Also More info on HA Amaura: Participants that battle three times and record a win or loss in each battle will receive Amaura with its Hidden AbilitySnow Warning. It will be level 10 and will have the moves: Growl, Powder Snow,Thunder Wave and Rock Throw. After the rankings are released on March 27, Amaura will be available for participants.

You don't need to link to everything, we're not idiots.

 

[Skore]

ARCEUS!

SO many ways to use this thing.

Ground type Judgement is a clean OHKO on P-Don which is amazing considering the shadow it's sure to cast over the meta:

252+ SpA Earth Plate Arceus-Ground Judgment vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 444-524 (109.9 - 129.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Earth Plate Arceus-Ground Judgment vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Primal Groudon: 408-480 (100.9 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO (Timid)

It's pretty rare to see full Specially Defensive P-Dons.

Unfortunately an Electric or Grass Judgement can't do the same to P-Kyogre however there are more options to deal with it than there currently are for P-Don so having one solid answer to him is invaluable.

Ground Arceus is also pretty handy for all those Diancies you're sure to run into however you NEED to be able to deal with Kyogre via your other 3 active team members.

A funny gimmick to try - Trick or Treat and Forest's curse. Adding extra weaknesses on hard to break through pokemon can be a possible way to muscle past them.

 

[Superbobbobbob3]

Karxrida it was Copy and Pasted from Bulbapedia, I know you aren't robots or idiots

 

[Skore]

I'm really looking forward to this competition, but Xerneas is going to be on like 90% of teams.

Coming off the back of Generation showdown, it wasn't on as many teams as I expected.
Darkrai is going to be everywhere. Expect Darkrai leads behind Mat Block/Quick Guard cover all over the show.

Still theorymonning here as I'm unsure how viable it is in the rest of the meta but my own answer to Darkrai would be Mega-Mewtwo-Y which of course has the Insomnia ability however it can't outspeed if it runs Modest which allows a OHKO with Aura Sphere and is forced to run Timid.
140 speed EVs lets it outrun Timid Darkrai (@ lvl50) by 1 point allowing the rest of the EVs to go into HP which then allows it to not get OHKO'ed by Dark Pulse.

As always, team support is essential and I worry at the frailty of Mewtwo in a doubles setting.

 

[yoshirrrr]

Coming off the back of Generation showdown, it wasn't on as many teams as I expected.
Darkrai is going to be everywhere. Expect Darkrai leads behind Mat Block/Quick Guard cover all over the show.

Still theorymonning here as I'm unsure how viable it is in the rest of the meta but my own answer to Darkrai would be Mega-Mewtwo-Y which of course has the Insomnia ability however it can't outspeed if it runs Modest which allows a OHKO with Aura Sphere and is forced to run Timid.
140 speed EVs lets it outrun Timid Darkrai (@ lvl50) by 1 point allowing the rest of the EVs to go into HP which then allows it to not get OHKO'ed by Dark Pulse.

As always, team support is essential and I worry at the frailty of Mewtwo in a doubles setting.

I just expect to see at least one wide guard on every team

 

[ethan06]

I just expect to see at least one wide guard on every team

Wide Guard actually doesn't block Dark Void; stupid as hell but there you go. I wish it was that simple. What with Precipice Blades, Dazzling Gleam, Origin Pulse and Diamond Storm being thrown around everywhere, however, you're probably still right. Bringing an Aegislash with physical moves for Xern and Wide Guard for spread will probably be fairly standard (oh boy I get to use Diancie and Aegislash in the same format! I love this comp!)

e: oh wow this was post 400 and I didn't notice until now >.< uh EnGarde cant say Hulavuta haban012 Feliburn GroudonEmpire Level 51 xastify you guys are my frens so have a shoutout C:

 

[yoshirrrr]

Wide Guard actually doesn't block Dark Void; stupid as hell but there you go. I wish it was that simple. What with Precipice Blades, Dazzling Gleam, Origin Pulse and Diamond Storm being thrown around everywhere, however, you're probably still right. Bringing an Aegislash with physical moves for Xern and Wide Guard for spread will probably be fairly standard (oh boy I get to use Diancie and Aegislash in the same format! I love this comp!)

Well thats good to know that God I found that out now, but that makes Darkrai a bit more of a problem than expected

 

[cant say]

I like the look of Darkrai + Aerodactyl, Unnerve stops Berries curing the sleep and Iron Head is a clean OHKO on Mega Diancie

• 252 Atk Aerodactyl Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mega Diancie: 148-176 (118.4 - 140.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

It also gets Sky Drop which can get rid of something annoying for a turn while your partner goes to work, and Smack Down which allows Groudon / GroundCeus to hit a non-grounded opponent. Even with his limited options he suffers a bit from 4MSS. He can make use of all; Wide Guard, Earthquake, Rock Slide, Protect, Tailwind, Taunt, Ice Fang and Aqua Tail. I definitely want to try him (especially since I just got a flawless shiny hatched n_n)

 

[Hulavuta]

Yeah, I'm not sure if I'm going to be participating in this one. I think I'm busy on that weekend (either that or the one before), and playing with all of those ubers running around in the last competition was hella stressful. Darkrai seems like a big pain to deal with too.

I'm probably just gonna enter to get that Amaura.

 

[Erebyssial]

Hold on a second, I haven't seen this mentioned at all, have we missed something? After taking a closer look at the regulations page:

• Register four of your Lv. 1–100 Pokémon to your Battle Box.
• Only four Pokémon can be registered to your Battle Box, and all must be used during each match.

So it's not standard doubles where you have 6 and bring 4, you can only use 4 all together. I checked the February VGC competition rules page and it specifically mentions that you can bring 4-6 in your battle box, so I don't think it's a mistake. This actually makes a lot of sense considering how similar it sounded to Generation Showdown, and being forced to bring a dragon is a bit trickier with only 4.

Regardless.. I need to make sure to deal with Darkrai better this time, in the XY doubles competition that allowed it I didn't do too well and Darkrai being able to walk all over my unprepared team was a big reason for that. They're often paired with Quick Guard to avoid Fake Out, Prankster Taunt etc, allowing it to get off that fast Dark Void easily which is really annoying. If these rules are correct though I think it will be a bit easier to manage, the Mega Diancie idea for example would ruin Darkrai since you're forced to bring all 4 that you chose and Magic Bounce shuts it down completely.

 

[Meultima]

An interesting clause I missed (Ninja'd as I was writing this post, it seems!):

• Only four Pokémon can be registered to your Battle Box, and all must be used during each match.

Suddenly, teambuilding is stressed even further.

If these rules are correct though I think it will be a bit easier to manage, the Mega Diancie idea for example would ruin Darkrai since you're forced to bring all 4 that you chose and Magic Bounce shuts it down completely.

Keep in mind that Magic Bounce only protects M-Diancie (Its partner can get hit!), although it will bounce Dark Void to both opponents.

 

[Erebyssial]

Keep in mind that Magic Bounce only protects M-Diancie (Its partner can get hit!), although it will bounce Dark Void to both opponents.

Oh that's a bummer, even though it is a pretty good trade off. Hopefully we can get the showdown ladder updated soon then, suddenly the meta sounds interesting and I want to test some of this stuff out

 

[Darth Manaphy]

You're making me worried. I totally forgot that Darkrai was a thing with a super fast instant sleep move (normally I just play with friends who agree on no legendaries for the most part).

I was just planning on having Rayquaza (Mega of course), Togekiss, Scizor, and one other Uber that I haven't settled on just yet. Scizor takes care of those pesky fairies. Togekiss provides support for Mega Rayquaza and appreciates Delta Stream. If I wasn't cautious about physical walls or my Mega Rayquaza dying too quickly, I was thinking of Ho-oh. I have a shiny one that a friend RNG'd back in Gen IV and gave to me. Sacred Fire takes care of a lot of steel types (or at least severely dents them). It has special bulk so it can take Moonblasts all day. Under Delta Stream, it laughs at Diancie's Diamonds. I might just equip it with a Lum Berry so it can wake up and attempt to kill Darkrais. The only problem is I don't have anything to kill dragons with. Instead my team is more optimized to take care of the counters to dragons.

Pretty sure it's not a perfect plan, but it should prevent me from hating myself enough to get the three matches I need to get my Amaura. Maybe I'll get a 5-5 win-loss ratio like the Tyrunt one.

 

[Skore]

In this new competition, every team must include at least one Dragon-type Pokémon, or a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve into a Dragon-type Pokémon.

Interesting wording on the official UK website. I wonder if that means Charizard has to have the X mega stone equipped or if it can sneak in with the Y stone.

 

[cant say]

Interesting wording on the official UK website. I wonder if that means Charizard has to have the X mega stone equipped or if it can sneak in with the Y stone.

I'm no programmer but I would assume Char-Y wouldn't work. They would just have some algorithm that searched for a Dragon type and/or Pokemon holding the correct mega stone (so you can't just slap a Garchompite on your Rotom) in your party, so Char-Y would be out...

 

[Stinkbug]

I like the look of Darkrai + Aerodactyl, Unnerve stops Berries curing the sleep and Iron Head is a clean OHKO on Mega Diancie

I like the thought of Aerodactyl's fast taunt on Darkrai since Quick Guard foils any Prankster taunts. But I'm also curious, will Dark Void trigger a Justified boost even though it's a status move? (If not a Lum Berry, thinking Sleep Talk tomfoolery could by funny here.)

 

[cant say]

I like the thought of Aerodactyl's fast taunt on Darkrai since Quick Guard foils any Prankster taunts. But I'm also curious, will Dark Void trigger a Justified boost even though it's a status move? (If not a Lum Berry, thinking Sleep Talk tomfoolery could by funny here.)

Those were my thoughts as well, he has one of the fastest non-priority Taunts in the game so he can pester a lot of things with it.

No, Justified is only activated by Dark type attacks, not status moves..

 

[Stinkbug]

Those were my thoughts as well, he has one of the fastest non-priority Taunts in the game so he can pester a lot of things with it.

No, Justified is only activated by Dark type attacks, not status moves..

Well that's too bad. But then I also got thinking about Aerodactyl Sky Dropping Darkrai while something like No Guard Machamp KOs with Dynamic Punch the same turn. Works to neutralize Darkrai in theory at least. Don't have any events of my own to play around with so have to get weird. :P

 

[cant say]

Well that's too bad. But then I also got thinking about Aerodactyl Sky Dropping Darkrai while something like No Guard Machamp KOs with Dynamic Punch the same turn. Works to neutralize Darkrai in theory at least. Don't have any events of my own to play around with so have to get weird. :P

It doesn't work that way. If you use Sky Drop on Darkrai then it will be invulnerable, almost like Darkrai has used Fly or Dive, so you can't hit it with Machamp while it's in that state. If you want to do that why not just use Fake Out on the Darkrai and have your partner kill it?