Hey everyone! This week, I was feeling pretty frustrated with myself in SS OU. I took a detour into National Dex, as a way to clear my head. I had no prior knowledge of this ladder, so I looked at the metagame very closely, built this team with reference to my knowledge of previous OU metagames, and in only FOUR DAYS, I managed to go from my starting point at 1000 up to #7 on the Nat Dex ladder! I'd like this brief RMT to serve as documentation of my first time going top 10 ever.
The team itself is nothing too crazy, despite being really broken from my experience with it; it's built around a concept from Gen 7 OU that I had enjoyed quite a lot back then. It does, however, feature a Mega Tyranitar spread of my own creation.
The paste: https://pokepast.es/76b38afe05133bed
Table of Contents:
1. Proof of Peak
2. Teambuilding Process
3. Set Details
4. Replays
5. Shoutouts + Conclusion
1. PROOF OF PEAK
2. TEAMBUILDING PROCESS
I knew I wanted to start with this pairing. Z Celebrate Victini in particular is a mon that can be hard for opponents to stop. Mega Tyranitar is a mon that pairs extremely well with it, Pursuit trapping common things that Z Victini would struggle to hit such as the Latis, Mew, other Victini (especially the V-Create variants), Mega Alakazam, and serving as an excellent choice against all the Mega Charizard Y running around right now.
Of course, Tyranitar's best friend over the years, Excadrill would be the logical next step. Drill provides key support for the previous two, doubling up on offensive checks to mons such as Tapu Lele alongside Victini, and taking advantage of the brief windows of sand that Mega Tyranitar provides. Excadrill Sand is just really viable overall anyways.
Next, I noticed that the first three are very weak to Ash Greninja and don't do well vs rain; we needed a switch in. So, I chose Tapu Fini, one of my favorite 'mons to build with in general. Tapu Fini often acts as great glue for teams, and helps monumentally in terms of switch ins and support.
Rillaboom is essentially Part II of what Tapu Fini was added in for, and also adds some very powerful speed control in the absence of Excadrill under sand, whose turns are limited. Rillaboom is one of rain's worst enemies, and beats the aforementioned Ash-Greninja 1v1 as well, besides the general unga-bunga wins that Rillaboom is just overall capable of almost by itself in this format. It also helps the team stay healthy against opposing Mega Swampert, thanks to its grass typing and Grassy Terrain, which in turn provides some passive recovery to Victini, Excadrill, Tyranitar, and even Zapdos when it roosts.
The final things that the team struggles to beat were opposing Rillaboom, SD Kartana, Melmetal, and Mega Mawile. Bulky Zapdos was the mon to add, as we also needed a Flying type to answer Earthquake more consistently. This mon is also one of my favorites to build with, and rounds out the team very nicely.
3. SET DETAILS
Victini @ Normalium Z
Ability: Victory Star
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Searing Shot
- Stored Power
- Focus Blast
- Celebrate
Oh yeah. I'm sure you're already very familiar with this set. Z Celebrate grants an omni-boost with +1 in each stat, meaning Stored Power becomes quite powerful. Searing Shot has a nice burn chance with generally powerful fire STAB, and Focus Blast can smack clutch things such as opposing Tyranitar or even Greninja, if it comes to that. Absolutely deadly sweeper mon that can end games in an instant if positioned right.
Tyranitar-Mega @ Tyranitarite
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 248 HP / 192 Atk / 68 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Stone Edge
- Pursuit
- Fire Punch
- Stealth Rock
A spread of my own creation. Going into my run, I feared Mega Alakazam quite a lot. The HP and SpDef investment will always live Mega Charizard Y's Focus Blast from full health, and have a 75% chance to do the same from an unboosted Mega Alakazam. The rest of the EVs are placed into Attack with an Adamant nature, which does at least 94% to Mega Alakazam without the switch out boost. This + sand damage ensures that Mega Alakazam dies that turn, should you get a low roll on the 62.5% chance to OHKO, since Mega Alakazam doesn't usually trace Sand Stream, hesitant to come in on Mega Tyranitar in the first place. Stone Edge is key vs flying types/fire types like Zapdos, Charizards, and even Pelipper. Pursuit nails the stuff that Victini has trouble muscling through, and Fire Punch catches Ferrothorn by surprise quite nicely, and can even pick off stuff with certain accuracy like the annoying Corviknight.
Hilariously, I then learned soon after starting my run that Mega Alakazam is banned from National Dex. LOL. I was right to fear it, but the fear ended up being unfounded. However, its function vs Mega Charizard Y was already vital. I kept the set, since it didn't need full Attack investment anyways to continue ripping apart things with ease. This was very much a "get to know the format" experience for me. The spread ended up being a success anyways.
Excadrill @ Leftovers
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- High Horsepower
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
- Swords Dance
I decided to forgo Rock Slide on the Excadrill in favor of Rapid Spin, since Rapid Spin would end up becoming the sole method of hazard control for the final version of the team. Mega Tyranitar is already a hard check to most things that Rock Slide would be meant to hit anyways, so the only reason that Rock Slide would be there is for the sake of cheese sweeps. Rapid Spin is also great due to Mega Tyranitar's limited turns of sand, and can allow Excadrill to continue sweeping and possibly end games this way. I've been in games where it even was able to muscle past Mega Charizard Y with Iron Head. High Horsepower is chosen over Earthquake so as not to lose power in Rillaboom's Grassy Terrain. The passive recovery from Leftovers + said Grassy Terrain ends up being very annoying for opponents to deal with, especially in clutch situations where their answer against a healthy Excadrill involves Earthquake.
Tapu Fini @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
EVs: 252 HP / 216 Def / 40 SpD
Calm Nature
- Whirlpool
- Moonblast
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt
Just as Tapu Fini is one of my favorite mons to build with, so is Whirlpool Fini one of my favorite sets in the game. This helps a lot against stall, dismantling cores like Mega Sableye + Chansey with ease. Nature's Madness is a clutch all-around move for putting things in range of other mons. You know, usual Tapu Fini stuff :)
Rillaboom @ Choice Band
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Grassy Glide
- Superpower
- U-turn
- Knock Off
I decided to just go hard Choice Band on Rillaboom, so as to provide a dedicated breaker + offensive pivot for the team. Superpower is chosen over Wood Hammer since Steel types can often get comfortable trying to check Rillaboom. This is especially powerful vs rain when their only hope vs Rillaboom is Ferrothorn.
Zapdos @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Static
EVs: 248 HP / 240 Def / 20 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Volt Switch
- Heat Wave
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
Originally, Zapdos was a Defogger. However, Defog was a bit unnecessary in the long run, since if I was only Heat Wave, I was susceptible to Garchomp, and if I was only HP Ice, I didn't have great answers to SD Rillaboom or Kartana, and absolutely couldn't touch Mega Mawile. These are all key roles that Zapdos was there for in the first place. Excadrill ends up doing enough in terms of hazard control anyways, since games in this format, I learned, go by very fast anyways with all this power running around. The emphasis is less on hazard play and more on overpowering, as far as I could tell in my run. So, I ran both HP Ice and Heat Wave. This change to the Zapdos set ended up being the defining factor that carried me from high ladder up into top 10.
4. REPLAYS
Obtaining #7 vs my boy Shoghi: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1564311379-kctn9nmprpn5dsm5lqqfqj245vk0z5ypw
Against prince5's high ladder Gliscor/ZardX Balance: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1564304752-dwlpqin7zca51vk022iyfwtz5netsgzpw
Against mid-ladder Ash Gren + Mega Lop: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1564208366-0lu2u26hgaelwwhhr4t0ie1g66s47x6pw
Making high ladder Mega Sableye + Chansey/ShedPex Stall forfeit in 5 turns: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1564199897-weqa0ojit3u3e3873orkedb5ghecil0pw
Against Mollymiltoast in the 1900s: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1564174912-xmpph1605wjtnqvsfxem5bujm5cou9hpw
Against mid-ladder Mega Pinsir offense:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1563610865-l5jx3nwxmttkdnnxat0ot3wjefpmi4apw
Against high ladder Trick Room: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1563573045-d0ucruit3tfgdfnys9qf2t43z2oqgqzpw
Close game against Forecast Champion's high ladder rain: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1563536231-qeivg5jr6qzxvu6xkqw8pvr9n0v9dyopw
Against Dual Suns: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1562750078-ih3c9cgapplnme0b95xaudbihleozk1pw
BONUS REPLAY
From day 1 playing nat dex, dismantling low ladder Mega Sableye/Chansey stall: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8nationaldex-1562149398-8aeyyj2gbvzjg657ezh4zg01zxsd3dkpw
5. SHOUTOUTS + CONCLUSION
I want to shout out my buddies over at Pokemon Kill Squad (PKS), who play lots of National Dex regularly. They were all watching me pull this off on my first time playing the format and cheering me on all the way up the ladder. You can find their teams featured on YouTube by prominent figures such as PokeaimMD, blunder, and Emvee, as well as on their own channel by the same name. Special shoutouts to my boy Shoghi, or Shotime303 as he's known on Showdown, for challenging me to some Nat Dex games 1 on 1 and inspiring me to start on this run, as well as to my guy PKS Young Laddery. Both of these guys are frequent appearances in the National Dex high ladder, and provided lots of guidance during my run. Of course, my amazing friends and mentors with the Jamvad Academy; I learn broader concepts and grow monumentally thanks to them, and to Jam himself along with my good buddy DeeJ. Also to my good, long time friends with PDV and the TML National Dex Draft League. Many of these folks had been nagging me to play Nat Dex for a while, and I'm glad I did.
In my run, I learned a lot. I learned the power of a clean slate and a learner's mindset. Often, we pressure ourselves to earn a rank, an ELO, or a GXE. This ends up working exactly to the opposite of the goal due to the stress we end up putting on ourselves when all losses, wins, and the journey between, should always be a pleasure to learn from. I came into this run with the attitude of playing just for the sake of playing the game itself, and to learn about it, and it ended up being the fastest run I've ever performed and my first time into top 10 in any format.
Playing competitive mons like this and balancing a full time job really does teach a lot about mental energy, too, and how to manage it well. My approach once I entered high ladder was to climb and then end the run for the day once I lost twice consecutively. This was a sign that I was becoming mentally fatigued, and that it was time to rest and come back at it the next day when I was able. Today, that happened after hitting #7, achieving my top 10 goal on the fourth day. Thanks so much for reading the post, it's very much appreciated. Let me know what you think of my little Nat Dex adventure. :)
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pivot and trap core is very cool to see on sand, which normally just ends up looking a clump of bullkiness. Good stuff 