Challenge 4th Generation Battle Facilities Discussion and Records

[reverselunatic]

I'd like to submit an ongoing streak of 49 wins for level 50 battle factory singles. This is the first time I've gotten the gold print, done on my soulsilver cart. I've included some scrambly notes on rounds 5 and 6, not much beyond the cursory notetaking I do to track what I was drafting/fighting/swapping and some vague memory of how the round went, but round 7 has a bit more thorough of a writeup.

Round 5

A '-' indicates no type spec

28/17 (wins/swaps)
draft:
milotic3 gengar2 granbull2 electrode2 slowking3 shiftry2
gen/gran/milo

- set2
tyranitar2 marowak2 forretress2
gen/ttar/milo

- set2
steelix2 muk2 blissey2

- set1
lopunny1 froslass1 victreebel1

- set1
absol1 exeggutor1 flygon1

water set1
shuckle1 gastrodon1 feraligatr1

ice set1
empoleon1 abomasnow1 glalie1

- set3
tangrowth3 politoed3 crobat3

Gengar2 clowned on a bunch of mons, with substitue being hilarious against smart AI and hypnosis hitting more often than I was expecting. Ttar2 and Milo3 in the back were amazing when they needed to be.

Round 6

r6: 35/19
draft:
altaria3 armaldo4 hippowdon3 ursaring3guts glaceon3 lopunny4klutz
glac/ursa/arma kill me

- set3
pinsir3mold absol3 claydol3
glac/ursa/pin

- set3
abomasnow3 scizor3 nidoking3
glac/ursa/sciz

- set2
honchkrow2 floatzel2 nidoqueen2

- set3
infernape3 lopunny3 empoleon3
glac/infern/sciz

ground set3
dugrtio3 kingdra3 mamoswine3
kingd/infern/sciz

- set2
whiscash2 togekiss2 shuckle2

- set4
blaziken4 armaldo4 slowking4

I was terrified after seeing this draft, but glaceon3 almost behaved like a real pokemon. The swaps kept helping the team keep going and I didn't face any of the extremely threatening sets. I wanted to stay below 21 swaps but the draft had other plans.

Round 7 Draft Thoughts

R7 draft: altaria4(24) milotic4(24) heracross4(24) infernape3 crobat4 wailord1

The round 7 draft looked decently strong, especially when I confirmed milo4. Wailord1 is never making the team and I don't trust altaria to do anything meaningful, so the choose 2 of 3 of crobat/infernape/heracross had me trusting the brave bat and endure/salac stuff over the monkey. Crobat4 seemed a good enough lead, it can at least guarantee a hit vs 99% of sets and non resisted brave bird is enough damage where milo/heracross can finish generally. This was only my second round 7 attempt, highest streak lost at 44 wins to a dragonite4 1v3ing my whole team with outrage (ramp4 missed head smash and dnite had a 3 turn outrage).

R7 Matches 1-6 (43-48)

I didn't take notes on each turn for each game so going off of memory on how everything played out.

Team: Crobat4(31IVs) / Heracross4(24IVs, Swarm) / Milotic4(24IVs)

Match 1: - set3 trainer: ninetales3 honchkrow3 cradily3
The first game went smooth and I don't think there's anything to say other than "I clicked my best moves" and didn't have trouble with any of those 3.

Match 2: ground set3 trainer: donphan3 raichu3 whiscash3
Second game I pulled a double switch, heracross taking a tfang meant for crobat and then going to milo on the subsequent fire fang. Milo hit through lax incense thankfully. Raichu couldn't do enough to milo with tbolt before taking surf, then the AI threw with focus blast missing so I got a free 2 KOs with milo and even did about half to the incoming whiscash. Easy cleanup for the crobat and heracross.

Match 3: - set3 trainer: vaporeon3 charizard3 exeggutor3
Third game vaporeon3 lead, I was getting a bit scared of how little I could do to it but it didn't do much to milo. I crit the first dragon pulse, and should have realized to switch in something before aqua ring started to heal up, but chose to stay in until I saw yawn, probably a misplay but crit/frz/acc drop on heracross or crobat had me stunlocked. Ended up switching after yawn was used but vaporeon was back to about 98% health, heracross went in but was also hit with yawn (I didn't know the AI could do this). Went back to milotic and then went crobat to just brave bird this and clean up with heracross and then trust hera/milo to win a 2v2. Zard came in, crit when I switched in milo but easily died to a surf, and exeggutor3 used wood hammer after milotic brought it down to sash with ice beam.

Match 4: ground set4 trainer: torterra4 glalie4 whiscash4
Fourth match, torterra4 had me just hoping for the best, no quick claw happened and crobat actually hit the brave bird range (about a 32% chance to KO). Glalie went down to crobat+milotic and again I was 2v1ing a whiscash this round with milo and heracross, no trouble there.

Match 5: - set4 trainer: lanturn4 medicham4 umbreon4
Fifth match, lanturn4 is fairly threatening so I choose to get a cross poison off and revenge with heracross eq, again putting a lot of faith in hera4/milo4 2v2s (rightfully so perhaps). Medicham4 let me get a free salac boost and I didn't miss the megahorn, then reversal cleaned up umbreon4.

Match 6: ground set3 trainer: steelix3 flygon3 drifblim3
Sixth match, last one where I'm guaranteed to know each set, lead steelix was a nice sight. Switched in milo, it cursed, surf easily OHKOs. Flygon can't KO milo4 in one shot even with a crit, so it's a 3v1 against drifblim3 which loses to ice beam + brave bird.

Gold Print Thorton

Match 7, gold print match:
Thorton2 had no type spec and I decided it was time to trade out the lead crobat. Flygon could be a downgrade in some ways (notably speed) but I wasn't sure the bat would be enough. Thorton sends out rhyperior4 (set4 high tiers in hgss) and I just want some damage on this so milotic can definitely kill with surf. EP damage reveals solid rock but surf easily revenges. HeatranX next, milotic4 at 24IVs outpseeds all heatran with 31IVs, so the only worry is quick claw heatran2 or missing heatran3 too much. Surf connects, does about 75%, stone edge connects but no crit. Had about 130hp on milotic, definitely within crit stone edge range, but it got off the second surf with no QC. Miltank4 is sent out. There was a notable chance I lose from here, but I click surf as it EQs. I know the AI won't use giga impact at full hp here, so I chose to get damage on it. This is perhaps a misplay, could have maybe recovered for a bit and switched in heracross. Heracross would need to endure an inaccurate zen headbutt after EQ damage to KO with reversal, but at least if it missed I had the switch to milotic to give heracross another chance later. I didn't fully think this through in the moment. From 130hp on milotic4, EQ is a pretty favorable 2 shot range for miltank4, and milotic goes down after doing about 60-65%. Heracross is outsped, and giga impact is a range to KO (81%). Now it CAN giga impact because of miltank's current health and because it is faster. I click endure, giga impact connects, and I reversal for the 49th win and my gold print.

I will continue this streak after a small break, been grinding for this print a ton recently, maybe too much. 69 wins would be my clear goal.
Open level gold on my list to get someday, pb in that is a pitiful 37 currently.

 

[straightouttatwinleaftown]

Hi, it's my first post here.
I'd like to submit a streak of 161 wins in the Pokemon Platinum Battle Tower. The streak was made on my Platinum cartridge and it's still ongoing, so I'll probably post some updates sooner or later.
I'm using a pretty standard trick-team with Cresselia as a lead and Registeel and Salamence in the back. You already know the strategy: I trick a choice scarf to the opponent's lead with Cres and then I set up with Registeel/Mence. I used a more offensive team (Garchomp, Starmie and Scizor) until battle 49, then I switched to this one.
Also, to make things a bit more difficult (lol) I don't use RNG manipulated mons and I don't grind with breeding. That's why, as you'll se, this team doesn't have perfect or near-perfect IVs.

Sets and descriptions

Cresselia @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 144 Def / 112 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 20 HP / 20 Atk / 28 Def / 29 SpA / 8 SpD / 25 Spe
- Trick
- Thunder Wave
- Flash
- Light Screen

Though she doesn't have the best movepool among the most used trick-leads, I like Cresselia because her bulk allows her to help a second set up in the rare case the first Pokemon faints for any reason.

Registeel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 100 Atk / 156 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 26 SpA / 23 SpD / 10 Spe
- Iron Head
- Curse
- Amnesia
- Substitute

I went for Registeel over Drapion because it's faster to set up and because it has a lot of resistances (especially dragon type) + really high defenses, which make its sub nearly-unbreakable with one move.

Salamence @ Lum Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 6 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 30 Atk / 7 SpA / 13 SpD / 20 Spe
- Outrage
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance
- Substitute

I chose Mence over Chomp simply because of Dragon Dance. Garchomp is a overall better mon but I don't really like how easily he's outsped in the Battle Tower. Also, Mence has a better synergy with Registeel, resisting two of his three weaknesses (fire and fighting) and being immune to the other one (earth).

You can find the proof here below. Let me know if you need anything else!

 

[straightouttatwinleaftown]

Hi, here I am again.
I lost at battle 251 because of a mix of misplay and bad luck.
I tried to complete my set up with Registeel in front of a Rhydon thinking it was Rhydon 1, but it was instead Rhydon 4, so I got KOed by Horn Drill. Then a Quick Claw activation and the objective disadvantage of what remained of my team against Rhydon 4 (it has Megahorn for Cres, that was also really low health, and Salamence is not the best mon to face a stone type lol) did the rest.
I must say I had already noticed the biggest weakness of trick-teams are OHKO moves, so I was expecting to lose from one of them sooner or later. Also, my team doesn't have great IVs (it was my choice to make the BT more challenging), so it was surprising to see it go that far in the challenge. You can find every info about it in the post above.
That said, I submit a win-streak of 250 in the Pokemon Platinum Battle Tower (singles).
You have the proof here below. Hope these two posts are enough to be included in the ladder!

 

[Figgyy]

Short war story

>Factory battle 49, first time ever against Thornton 2, it took months to get here
>My team is Dragonite 4, Gyarados 3, Ampharos 4
>"The opponent seems to be good with FIRE type."
>1st mon is Starmie
>fuckfuckfuck
>only Ampharos can save me
>crit Surf kills Ampharos
>Ice Beam on Dragonite
>Thunderbolt on Gyarados
>lost 3-0 without even being able to make a move
>it's so over, guys

41-55345-95427

 

[urban]

Submitting completed emulator streaks from a few months ago of Platinum Battle Tower Doubles and Platinum Battle Castle Doubles.

Platinum Battle Tower (Doubles) - 404 Wins

Team and Explanation

Team: https://pokepast.es/b6c83059c23f67f8

Trick Room is by far the most consistent way to win games in Gen 4 Battle Tower Doubles. With that, I knew I wanted a TR team, but I didn't want to rely on Follow Me Togekiss/Smeargle. Enter Azelf + Dusknoir.

The team is centered around Exploding with Azelf Turn 1 as Dusknoir clicks Trick Room. In scenarios where Azelf can't get 2 OHKOs, I often Protect with it to get chip damage from one of Dusknoir's attacks, then explode if I can get the kills, or click one of the coverage moves if I am facing a threatening mon that doesn't die to Explosion. Azelf's frailty with 0 defensive IVs means it can usually draw attacks from the opponent, which makes the chip damage from Dusknoir completely free.

Once Azelf goes down, I usually bring in Bronzong to click Explosion a second time if it can kill the final 2 Pokemon. If there are more than 2 Pokemon remaining or Bronzong can't kill them both with Explosion, I use Dusknoir + Bronzong to get me into a position where Explosion will win. Machamp can come in after Bronzong or Dusknoir go down to help clean up. I occasionally bring in Machamp before Bronzong if an Evasion abuser or Rock/Steel/Ghost was left on the field when Azelf went down.


Explosion is the lynchpin of this set, allowing me to go up 3v2 with Trick Room up in the majority of matches. Protect gives Dusknoir opportunities to get chip damage against Focus Sash users and things that resist Explosion. Flamethrower gets big damage if not outright KOs on the Steel types that resist Explosion. Grass Knot does the same for Rock/Ground and Rock/Water types (and the occasional Damp Pokemon). Spread and nature are pretty self-explanatory with a focus of making Explosion as strong as possible. Focus Sash is necessary for any Pokemon that has Quick Claw. It can also be really useful if Azelf can get a OHKO on a Pokemon with one of its coverage moves.


Trick Room is mandatory. Other 3 moves are Dusknoir's best options to hit Pokemon that don't die to Explosion. Shadow Punch hits Ghost types and can't miss. Earthquake hits Steel and Rock types, plus spread damage is often very useful next to Azelf/Bronzong. Brick Break is mainly for Weavile and Tyranitar, who are both big threats on lead for different reasons. Lum Berry gives Dusknoir the most consistency in setting up Trick Room. Spread and Nature are straightfoward.


Explosion is again the most commonly clicked move. Iron Head is good STAB which hits a lot of things that resist Explosion. Zen Headbutt is the secondary STAB option mainly for the Water types packing Damp. Trick Room gives me a second setter if things go really wrong on lead for one reason or another. I was open to changing this moveslot during the run, but I never really found a reason to do so, and TR saved more than a couple battles. Levitate is the chosen ability because Dusknoir loves to click EQ, and there are times when it needs to do so while Bronzong is still alive. Life Orb increases Dusknoir's power, which I found to be necessary with its subpar Attack stat. Spread and Nature are again straightforward.


With no Gravity user, No Guard + Iron Ball Machamp was a no-brainer for the last pick. This set has proven success on Jheisinho's TR team, so I borrowed it for my own and never found any reason to deviate from it. It is extremely effective on this team too, with SE coverage into every type that resists Explosion.

Loss

I ran into a Water trainer with Lapras/Golduck lead. I cannot click Explosion because Golduck can have Damp, so I decide to click Grass Knot into Lapras and Trick Room, hoping to chip Lapras so Machamp can kill it after Azelf goes down. Golduck 4 hits Azelf with Hydro Pump and Lapras 2 (!) hits Dusknoir with Confuse Ray (cured by Lum). On Turn 2, Golduck kills Azelf with Hydro Pump as Lapras uses Perish Song. Dusknoir gets chip on Golduck with Shadow Punch. Bring Machamp in Turn 3, and it dies to Quick Claw Sheer Cold. Cannot do anything at that point, especially with Perish Song up. Back two for my opponent were Quagsire and Politoed.


Looking at what I could have done differently, I could have tried to explode Turn 1 regardless of Damp. If Explosion goes off (assuming it hits a potential Lapras 4), the battle ends up being pretty trivial, with me in a 3v2 with maximum turns of Trick Room left. The match would get messy if Explosion fails and Azelf doesn't die that turn because Lapras 1/3 don't always see a KO. I am not sure if that would have been a better play, but a possible Damp user next to a set like Lapras 2 was always going to be very threatening.

Threats

Damp Users
Without a doubt, these are the biggest threats to the team, especially if they lead sitting next to a Pokemon with a potentially threatening set. Damp puts the primary damage output of this team on hold until they are eliminated, which is not always easy. Grass Knot/Shadow Punch is often the best damage I have into them on lead, and that is obviously very bad. Damp Pokemon can be a little threatening when they are in the back too, but I have much better damage options into them once Azelf is off the field.

Steel and Ghost Types
Particularly annoying on lead when they sit next to another Pokemon that I can't OHKO. All Steel types are annoying to some degree, but certain Bastiodon, Bronzong, and Registeel sets are big threats for one reason or another. Ghost types that aren't OHKOed or nearly OHKOed by Shadow Punch can be a big problem. This is mainly Dusclops/Dusknoir.

Leads that Outspeed Azelf
Anything that can status or flinch is really threatening. Flinches can be an issue for Dusknoir too.

Platinum Battle Castle (Doubles) - 455 Wins, 2272 Castle Points

Team and Explanation

Team: https://pokepast.es/12824ae3e2d12cd4


Azelf again shines on this team with Explosion being its main draw. Explosion is a broken move in 3v3 Doubles, and the mechanics of the Castle make it even better. Specifically, being revived at 1 HP every round after the initial Explosion is insanely useful with Salac and Leichi Berries available for cheap both of which can allow for a ton of Level Up opportunities. It's also hugely useful for focusing attacks into Protect while Garchomp gets chip damage or uses Swords Dance. Flamethrower can hit the occasional Steel Type while Knock Off can remove hax items on occasion. Nature and spread are straightforward.


The other star of this team. Garchomp is just an excellent Pokemon in the Battle Castle because of its offensive prowess, getting to +2 Attack in many battles with strong spread STAB damage in Earthquake and nearly unresisted coverage in STAB Dragon Claw. The free +2 in most situations makes it incredibly likely that Garchomp can take out anything that Azelf can't kill with Explosion, especially with the support of Zapdos in the back. Protect is mandatory when your strategy hinges on your partner exploding. Nature and spread are straightforward.


So Zapdos ended up on this team because the initial idea for it was centered around Discharge + Earthquake, but it actually does really well in the back here too. Discharge is another great spread move, especially when paired with Garchomp's (+2) EQ. Thunderbolt is a stronger single target STAB. HP Grass hits a bunch of annoying Rock/Ground and Ground/Water types that can usually live either Explosion or EQ. Electric + Grass in general is great coverage into a lot of things that are annoying to an Explosion team. Substitute was here to avoid status occasionally or stall with Lefties, but I very rarely used Zapdos that way. Spread was to hit a Leftovers number with max Speed and the rest put into Special Attack.


I used a Cresselia in the first few rounds because I didn't want to burn points with Explosion strategies.

Loss

Unfortunately, this loss can only be chalked up to incompetence on my part. It had been a while since I had played, so I was looking up AI routines for some moves, including Trick Room. I completely missed checking the Doubles AI portion, and thought a Focus Sash Exeggutor would click a kill move into Azelf over Trick Room, so I clicked Dragon Claw to break Sash and Protect. I realized my mistake as soon as TR went up, but there was just no chance that my team could ever win in a 3v3 without luck on my end. I did go for a double Protect on Azelf that could have put me in an okay-ish spot, but I didn't get it.

This type of loss is always very disappointing, but at least it was my own fault and not a flaw of the team.

The Future

After my loss, I wanted to take a break from the Battle Castle for a while, but I am actually extremely confident in this team's ability to go for a 1000+ win streak. It all just comes down to not making mistakes on my end. I am looking forward to starting a new streak here pretty soon.

Before my last round, I had actually made some changes to the team - Grass Knot over Knock Off on Azelf and Signal Beam over Substitute on Zapdos. These two moves take the team in a more offensive direction, which I hope eases a couple shaky matchups. Given how many Castle Points I ended the streak with, I think I can also play more conservatively by Passing and Leveling Down against certain sets with hax items more often. My rough Pass threshold was a scenario where I had approximately a 1 in 1000 chance of losing, but I think I can do even better the next time around.

Videos

Tower Doubles 385-404:

Castle Doubles R56-R61:

Castle Doubles R62-R65:

Castle Doubles R65 (Loss):