VGC Otro Atardecer: Two Tournaments, Two Variants. (Winner of the VGC UU Open and VGC UU Houston Regional)

[gephicka]

Introduction​

Hello All!

​

My name is gephicka, I'm the co-tier leader of the unofficial VGC UU metagame founded by my co-tier leader and good friend LovelyLuna! To quote her pitch of the metagame: "VGC UU is following Smogon's usage based tiering in a VGC setting. This means a metagame without the Calyrex formes, Urshifu, and Miraidon. But also a metagame without Incineroar and Rillaboom". We do not have suspect tests or bans and will not start any to keep in line with the spirit of VGC, with the exception of Evasion Clause. VGC UU is fairly active for an unofficial metagame, and we're looking for a lot more people to join us! We plan on remaining in Regulation G until the end of April and then swapping over to Regulation I/Double Restricted with another round of tier shifts (we have them every two months as three would be a little too long for the fast-paced VGC meta and one doesn't leave enough time for the VGC UU metagame to develop). Our discord server is linked here, feel free to hop in and play some games!

Part One: 4:15 PM
​

Teambuilding Process​

"Aún quedan dos botellas de vino, de vino..."​

I'm going to describe a little about the initial VGC UU metagame before we get into the team itself. Initially, there were four legal restricteds that were clearly the best: Lunala, Zacian-C, Groudon, and Koraidon (this was before Wolfey's EUIC win and Koraidon's eventual rise from the tier). The metagame was taking shape pretty slowly, with an initially pretty vibrant matchmaking channel littered with "no replays" requests to hide tech for the upcoming Open. The tournament was weekly, double elimination, and teams were locked for the entirety of the tournament**. This meant that we were all testing constantly to determine the best possible builds. I had narrowed it down to a variant of Zacian-C balance before the idea for this team hit me.

**Note On Teamlocked Weekly Tournaments

In hindsight as the TD, I would never run a weekly tournament like this again as I've outlined in posts here and here

I started with a really simple base: China Sun. As far as I had seen, I was the only person who was really playing with Groudon, using one of the sample teams that I made as a general idea and testing with Groudon. I really liked the fact that Groudon was basically the only restricted in the metagame with a strong spread move and had generally neutral matchups into the other three strongest restricteds. Walking Wake also especially intrigued me as its sun-boosted Hydro Steams and Protosynthesis Speed boost allow it to outspeed and threaten a large majority of the metagame (although the set I would end up using on this team ended up being kind of suboptimal). The idea of Groudon + Gouging Fire + Volcarona + Electric Type + Dark type + Breaker immediately stood out to me, as I realized really quickly that all of these roles would be really easily filled by UU viable mons. So I settled on the final six, with the role of breaker being filled by Walking Wake and electric type and speed control coming in the form of Regieleki.

Walking Wake​

"Si la vida me da de nuevo el placer"​

Moscow Mule (Walking Wake) @ Life Orb
Ability: Protosynthesis
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 36 HP / 220 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Steam
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Protect​

I went back and forth between bringing Specs or Life Orb on Wake a lot before eventually locking in Life Orb. I definitely think that Specs Special Attack Protosynthesis would have been a lot better overall (and as you'll see I made this change later on) as I just felt like I wasn't getting all that much damage or utility out of Wake. With that being said, in the (albeit few) games that Wake came to, its Speed tier and STABs were essential for dishing out damage to physically bulky teams that could withstand hits from Groudon and Kingambit. Its EVs are just maximum speed and special attack while optimizing for Life Orb chip. In hindsight, definitely run Choice Specs Wake– you miss way too much damage with Life Orb as seen in the calcs below.

wake calcs

220 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 180 HP / 156 SpD Assault Vest Groudon in Sun: 213-255 (107.5 - 128.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
220 SpA Life Orb Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 28 SpD Groudon in Sun: 268-320 (129.4 - 154.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
220 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Walking Wake Draco Meteor vs. 212 HP / 12 SpD Ogerpon-Wellspring: 140-165 (76.9 - 90.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
220 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Walking Wake Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Zacian-Crowned in Sun: 172-203 (86.4 - 102%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
220 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Walking Wake Draco Meteor vs. 236 HP / 4 SpD Koraidon: 273-322 (133.1 - 157%) -- guaranteed OHKO
220 SpA Life Orb Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 236 HP / 4 SpD Tera Fire Koraidon in Sun: 343-406 (167.3 - 198%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Groudon​

"Voy a volverte a besar como aquella ve' que el sol se escondió"​

NUAVAYoL (Groudon) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Drought
Level: 50
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 236 HP / 76 Atk / 12 Def / 44 SpD / 140 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Precipice Blades
- Heat Crash
- Rock Slide
- Stomping Tantrum​

The Groudon spread is meant to accomplish a few things, 1) outspeeding other base 90s, including opposing Groudon, in addition to other mons that creep within the 120 speed range, 2) hit the first attack EV bump (generally this does enough damage into everything off of Groudon's base 150 Atk stat), and 3) dump the rest into bulk to maximize staying power and facilitate spamming Precipice Blades more. Tera Poison was chosen over Tera Fire to have a better matchup into Rain Dance/Politoed + Ogerpon-Wellspring strategies which proved to be extremely annoying in testing. Poison also confers useful resistances to Zacian-C's Tera Fairy Play Rough and Koraidon's Collision Course.

gdon calcs

252+ SpA Lunala Moongeist Beam vs. 236 HP / 44 SpD Assault Vest Groudon: 67-81 (32.6 - 39.5%) -- 99.8% chance to 3HKO
76+ Atk Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Zacian-Crowned: 150-176 (75.3 - 88.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 76+ Atk Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Zacian-Crowned: 222-264 (111.5 - 132.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
76+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Behemoth Blade vs. 236 HP / 12 Def Groudon: 69-82 (33.6 - 40%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Venusaur Leaf Storm vs. 236 HP / 44 SpD Assault Vest Groudon: 166-198 (80.9 - 96.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
84+ Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Power Whip vs. 236 HP / 12 Def Groudon: 168-198 (81.9 - 96.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
84+ Atk Wellspring Mask Tera Water Ogerpon-Wellspring-Tera Ivy Cudgel vs. 236 HP / 12 Def Tera Poison Groudon in Rain: 142-168 (69.2 - 81.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Ogerpon Ivy Cudgel vs. 236 HP / 12 Def Groudon: 134-158 (65.3 - 77%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Tera Grass Ogerpon-Teal-Tera Ivy Cudgel vs. 236 HP / 12 Def Groudon: 180-212 (87.8 - 103.4%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Iron Bundle Freeze-Dry vs. 236 HP / 44 SpD Assault Vest Groudon: 84-98 (40.9 - 47.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
4 SpA Politoed Weather Ball (100 BP Water) vs. 236 HP / 44 SpD Assault Vest Groudon in Rain: 114-134 (55.6 - 65.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
164 SpA Life Orb Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 236 HP / 44 SpD Assault Vest Groudon in Sun: 172-203 (83.9 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 236 HP / 44 SpD Assault Vest Groudon in Sun: 179-213 (87.3 - 103.9%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
+1 76+ Atk Groudon Heat Crash (120 BP) vs. 212 HP / 12 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring in Sun: 189-223 (103.8 - 122.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Regieleki​

"Mientras la noche llegaba No sé qué sucedió pero me perdí en tu mirada"​

La Santa (Regieleki) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Transistor
Level: 50
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Volt Switch
- Electroweb
- Protect​

In the spirit of the original team, I wanted a strong electric type to round out the core. While sash Regieleki pales in comparison to the raw damage output of China Sun's Life Orb Raging Bolt, it offers something vital: speed control. Outside of the speed boosting monsters Roaring Moon (which unfortunately rose out of the tier in our first set of shifts) and Iron Bundle, Eleki outspeeds and outputs excellent damage and speed control into basically every mon in the game. Tera Electric and Focus Sash are meant to maximize damage and survivability respectively. Definitely the most linear slot.

Kingambit​

"Oh, oh, mami, dime qué tú me hicistе. Que pasa el tiempo y no te olvido"​

NADIE SABE (Kingambit) @ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Atk / 44 Def / 76 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Kowtow Cleave
- Sucker Punch
- Iron Head
- Protect​

Kingambit was to replace the dark type offense brought by China Sun while also support the team a lot by providing a Lunala counter, an addition Howl sweeper, priority, and deter Intimidate as I had already locked in AV Groudon. Gambit is one of the most important mons on the entire team, it almost singlehandedly defines the Lunala matchup and keeps Groudon and Gouging Fire from being overwhelmed by Intimidate cycling. Its defensive and offensive typing is vital for checking Lunala, which would otherwise be a fairly difficult mon to overcome.

calcs

+1 252+ SpA Lunala Moongeist Beam vs. 252 HP / 76 SpD Kingambit: 76-90 (36.7 - 43.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+1 252+ SpA Tera Fairy Lunala Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 76 SpD Kingambit: 144-171 (69.5 - 82.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Lunala Expanding Force (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 76 SpD Tera Fairy Kingambit in Psychic Terrain: 178-210 (85.9 - 101.4%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
156+ Atk Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 252 HP / 44 Def Kingambit: 146-174 (70.5 - 84%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 76+ Atk Tera Fairy Zacian-Crowned Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 44 Def Kingambit: 138-164 (66.6 - 79.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 124+ Atk Black Glasses Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 116 HP / 108 Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 264-312 (116.2 - 137.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 124+ Atk Black Glasses Kingambit Sucker Punch vs. 116 HP / 108 Def Shadow Shield Lunala: 218-258 (96 - 113.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
+1 124+ Atk Black Glasses Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 12 Def Groudon: 102-120 (49.2 - 57.9%) -- 96.5% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Eternatus Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 76 SpD Kingambit: 151-179 (72.9 - 86.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Eternatus Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 76 SpD Kingambit: 174-206 (84 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
164 SpA Eternatus Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 76 SpD Kingambit: 112-132 (54.1 - 63.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 124+ Atk Black Glasses Kingambit Kowtow Cleave vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Landorus-Therian: 148-175 (75.5 - 89.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Volcarona​

"Déjame acariciarte hasta quedarno' dormido'"​

LA CANCIÓN (Volcarona) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Flame Body
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Def / 36 SpA / 44 SpD / 84 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Heat Wave
- Protect
- Rage Powder
- Tailwind​

Volcarona serves as the defensive lynchpin of the team, providing redirection and speed control while still being able to output significant offensive pressure with modest Heat Wave in sun. Volcarona is especially excellent into Zacian teams, being able to redirect both of Zacian's STABs as well as its common coverage options and chip it down with Rocky Helmet or risk burn with Flame Body. Tera Water is used to resist Hydro Steam in order to keep Groudon safe in the mirror, retain Volc's Behemoth Blade resistance, and actually gives Volcarona a resistance to Fire giving additional utility into Koraidon (thankfully no longer relevant) and opposing Gouging Fire. Volc's speed creeps 0 speed Ogerpon-W by one point while also creeping Groudon and Lunala.

calcs

36+ SpA Volcarona Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Zacian-Crowned: 102-122 (51.2 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 76+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Behemoth Blade vs. 252 HP / 92 Def Volcarona: 86-102 (44.7 - 53.1%) -- 26.6% chance to 2HKO
+1 76+ Atk Zacian-Crowned Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 92 Def Volcarona: 78-92 (40.6 - 47.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
36+ SpA Volcarona Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Zacian-Crowned in Sun: 152-182 (76.3 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
84+ Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Ivy Cudgel vs. 252 HP / 92 Def Volcarona in Sun: 116-138 (60.4 - 71.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
84+ Atk Wellspring Mask Tera Water Ogerpon-Wellspring-Tera Ivy Cudgel vs. 252 HP / 92 Def Volcarona in Sun: 156-184 (81.2 - 95.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
36+ SpA Volcarona Heat Wave vs. 212 HP / 12 SpD Ogerpon-Wellspring in Sun: 91-108 (50 - 59.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
36+ SpA Volcarona Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 44 SpD Assault Vest Groudon in Sun: 61-73 (29.4 - 35.2%) -- 22.2% chance to 3HKO
36+ SpA Volcarona Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 44 SpD Groudon in Sun: 93-109 (44.9 - 52.6%) -- 22.3% chance to 2HKO
+1 252+ SpA Lunala Moongeist Beam vs. 252 HP / 44 SpD Volcarona: 135-159 (70.3 - 82.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Gouging Fire​

"A vece' me pregunto qué será de tu vida, Ojalá un día de estos me escriba'"​

DtMF (Gouging Fire) @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 220 HP / 60 Atk / 12 Def / 60 SpD / 156 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Breaking Swipe
- Howl
- Burning Bulwark​

Gouging Fire alongside Groudon and Kingambit is insanely strong. Gouging Fire's sun boosted Flare Blitz allows it to hit a vast majority of the metagame for huge damage, especially after a Howl boost. The speed is meant to outspeed max speed Adamant Landorus-T without Booster Energy or Adamant Choice Scarf Landorus-T. Breaking Swipe allows Gouge to fill a supportive role by reducing the attack of mons that would otherwise massively pressure the rest of the team, with Flare Blitz giving Gouge a way to pressure huge damage into basically everything other than Walking Wake and opposing Gouging Fire. Tera Fairy was chosen to allow Gouging Fire to soak attacks from the abundance of good Dragon types in the tier.

calcs

+1 60 Atk Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Zacian-Crowned: 216-254 (108.5 - 127.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
60 Atk Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Landorus-Therian: 88-105 (44.8 - 53.5%) -- 34.4% chance to 2HKO
60 Atk Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Landorus-Therian in Sun: 133-157 (67.8 - 80.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
60 Atk Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. 212 HP / 12 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 93-109 (51 - 59.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 60 Atk Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. 212 HP / 12 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring in Sun: 205-243 (112.6 - 133.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 60 Atk Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. 212 HP / 12 Def Ogerpon-Wellspring: 136-162 (74.7 - 89%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 76+ Atk Tera Fairy Zacian-Crowned Play Rough vs. 220 HP / 12 Def Gouging Fire: 142-168 (68.2 - 80.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 60 Atk Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tera Fairy Zacian-Crowned in Sun: 160-190 (80.4 - 95.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+1 60 Atk Gouging Fire Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Tera Fairy Zacian-Crowned: 108-127 (54.2 - 63.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
156+ Atk Groudon Precipice Blades vs. 220 HP / 12 Def Gouging Fire: 150-176 (72.1 - 84.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
84+ Atk Wellspring Mask Ogerpon-Wellspring Ivy Cudgel vs. 220 HP / 12 Def Gouging Fire: 79-94 (37.9 - 45.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 Atk Landorus-Therian Stomping Tantrum vs. 220 HP / 12 Def Gouging Fire: 116-140 (55.7 - 67.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Soft Sand Landorus-Therian Stomping Tantrum vs. 220 HP / 12 Def Gouging Fire: 152-182 (73 - 87.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
-1 252+ Atk Landorus-Therian Stomping Tantrum vs. 220 HP / 12 Def Gouging Fire: 86-104 (41.3 - 50%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO
+1 76+ Atk Tera Fairy Zacian-Crowned Play Rough vs. 220 HP / 12 Def Gouging Fire: 142-168 (68.2 - 80.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Leads​

"Babe, you know I'm thinking 'bout you"​

+

This lead works especially well into teams without Ogerpon-Wellspring. Walking Wake does a great job of pressuring mons that Groudon has trouble with like Landorus-T and Koraidon, while Groudon is able to threaten mons like Zacian-C and the dragons.

+

/

The Standard Howl-Spam leads, Gouge is able to boost up Gambit/Groudon, allowing them to soften up the opponent's team for Walking Wake or Regieleki to clean and otherwise damage trades really positively into the majority of the tier.

+

This lead is notable for how well it does into a lot of Zacian compositions. Gouging Fire is actually able to Howl for itself here rather than any of its partners, becoming a dangerous sweeper in its own right while also being able to lower the attack of any mons that may threaten Volcarona and prevent it from setting Tailwind.

+

This lead is good for matchups where Precipice Blades spam is really strong. Rage Powder and Tailwind from Volcarona do a really good job at allowing Groudon to spam PBlades as much as possible via speed control and/or redirecton.
​

Part Two: 7:06 PM, The Run​

"These days, 'cause I've been thinking 'bout you"​

OTS + Usage Stats
by Nocturne Nugget


Round 1 vs LovelyLuna
OTS
G1
G2
G3
During the testing process me and Luna ended up playing this matchup before, so I was pretty familiar with the lines that worked. Overall, Gouge and Gambit are so good into her team together that it's a pretty uphill matchup for her, and with Volcarona in the back to redirect Ursaluna's attacks if she decides to go for the Trick Room mode.

Round 1 vs Sinnoy
OTS
G1
G2
G3
Another good matchup, Tera Fire Solgaleo and Iron Treads are really bad into Groudon and Zoroark-H isn't really strong enough to actually break Groudon. Groudon kind of just solos this matchup.

Round 1 vs Wilfredkin
OTS
G1
G2
G3
I was honestly very worried about this matchup– between Gastrodon, Spectrier, and Roaring Moon they have a lot of pieces that can exert a lot of pressure into mine. I prepped with a good friend, Potato38683, and found the Groudon + Volcarona lead into swap Gouging Fire bating the Will-O-Wisp line that helped me win G1. Gouge is really good into every mon other than Gastro and can really effectively damage trade into basically all of their team, but the MU is still pretty scary because of how free yawn and Spectrier are into me. Gambit is weird here because the one mon it actually needs to beat (Spectrier) can just burn it with Wisp, but it's really important for sending damage into his team and forces Tera mindgames into Zacian.
​

Part Three: 10:30 PM, Interlude​

This is the variant of the team used to win the VGC UU Houston Regionals. This event took place after our March Tier shifts in which Roaring Moon, Ditto, Smeagle, and Koraidon rose out of the tier by usage while Weezing-G and Entei dropped. This one is definitely a lot more optimal than the original team with the new star:​

Lilligant-Hisui​

"Vamo' suavecito, me besa' tan bien– Empieza en mi ombligo, termina en mis pies"​

Andrea (Lilligant-Hisui) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 50
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Close Combat
- Triple Axel
- After You
- Sleep Powder​

The missing piece: Lilligant-H. Regieleki had always felt like the weakest link on the original team, with it thudding into important mons like Landorus-T and opposing Groudon. Lilligant-H basically solves the team; Lilligant is able to provide speed control through After You, pressure Landorus-T and opposing Chlorophyll mons with Triple Axel, and, most importantly, is able to pressure fast sleep into the entire metagame. Lilligant-H has the highest speed tier in the entire metagame, and is able to outspeed a lot of the tier even in Tailwind and basically solves a lot of the difficult matchups the team had– most notably Iron Bundle. Additionally, it provides further outs into Ursaluna-Hisui, Fake Out, and Shadow Tag with Tera Ghost and sleep into Porygon2 and Cresselia to prevent Trick Room.

Additional Change(s)​

"Beni, no te olvido Yo te digo, no te fallaré"​

I changed the Kingambit Tera from Fairy to Flying in order to solidify the Zacian and Ursaluna-H matchups as seen in finals. Having the immunity to Ursaluna is huge in the Lunala matchup and not being weak to Zacian post-Tera makes Gambit a lot more usable in the Zacian MU, especially into Intimidate heavy Zacian Balances. Walking Wake was changed from Speed Booster Protosynthesis with Life Orb to Special Attack Booster with Choice Specs. I realized that Wake was not doing anywhere near enough damage with LO + Speed Booster and with the addition of Lilligant-Hisui providing additional speed control, Booster Speed became a lot less necessary and the difference in damage is extremely noticable.

SpA Booster Calcs

252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Walking Wake Draco Meteor vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Ogerpon-Wellspring: 214-253 (114.4 - 135.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Zacian-Crowned: 152-180 (76.3 - 90.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Assault Vest Groudon in Sun: 284-336 (137.1 - 162.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 116 HP / 28 SpD Shadow Shield Lunala in Sun: 119-141 (52.4 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. +1 116 HP / 28 SpD Lunala in Sun: 158-188 (69.6 - 82.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 68 SpD Gouging Fire in Sun: 192-226 (90.5 - 106.6%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 68 SpD Gouging Fire in Sun: 256-302 (120.7 - 142.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 244 HP / 68 SpD Assault Vest Kingambit in Sun: 184-218 (89.3 - 105.8%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Protosynthesis Tera Water Walking Wake Hydro Steam vs. 252 HP / 132+ SpD Grimmsnarl in Sun through Light Screen: 169-200 (83.6 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Regional Semifinals & Finals​

"No sé qué te hizo, Pero yo nunca te dejaré"​

Top 4 vs CharmVGC
OTS
G1
G2
G3
The matchup here is pretty favorable. Walking Wake and Lilligant outspeed and pressure basically their entire team, with Triple Axel showing its value into the Lilligant mirror being able to immediately remove the opposing Lilligant in G1. Overall a pretty dominant showing.
Finals vs Wilfredkin
OTS
G1
G2
G3
We played earlier in swiss but they had something to do so we only played some of the first game. Lilligant-H was really strong into them, since their entire team other than Matcha and Ursaluna after burn get slept (and ofc due to gephihax I will always hit..) I messed up G1 by not bringing Kingambit because of how well that line worked for me in our original game– they adapted into it really well, but I was able to counteract with Gambit and take the set and the regional!​

Part Four: 12:52 AM, Eclipse​

"Y no hay que encontrar el atardecer"​

Winner's Top 4 vs Pengu

OTS

G1

G2

G3

Unfortunately ended up facing Pengu in what would end up being an extremely unfortunate matchup as he has loaded Water Absorb Politoed in his OTS– something I didn't even know about until he had already played multiple rounds with it. The matchup without Poli is almost unwinnable for him and it was a pretty quick 2-0.​

Part Five: 3:33 AM, Nightmares​

"Hay mucho de mí que te faltó conocer"​

Winners' Finals vs edgarmendez._

OTS

G1

G2

G3

Ended up across the table from a good friend of mine, and the only other undefeated player in the tournament. I was not ready for this matchup. I wasn't in the right mental for it– I mislicked Howl over Burning Bulwark G1 in a mistake that cost me my Gouging Fire and the game. Definitely a pretty embarrassing set, and something I was pretty worried about given that I figured I was probably going to end up right back up against him in grands.​

Part Six: 9:47 AM, Putting the Pieces Back Together​

"Si la vida me da de nuevo el placer"​

Losers' Finals vs Pengu

G1

G2

G3

Even after being pretty shaken by my loss in Winners' finals and some annoying hax/misplays on my end, the matchup is so in my favor I don't think Pengu even really stood a chance. There's only one more roadblock between me and the win. One more person I have to overcome before I can truly call myself the champion.​

Part Seven: 7:42 PM, The Second Sunset​

"Voy a volverte a besar como aquella ve' que el sol se escondió, Mientras la noche llegaba"​

GRAND FINALS vs edgarmendez._

G1

G2

G3

I was shaking going into this set. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to pull this one out, especially because of how dominantly he won our original set. I didn't prep or test lines, I only made a plan in my head five minutes before the game. Gouging Fire + Volcarona seems like it works really well on paper into basically any of the modes he could go for, with Gouge able to boost itself with Howl and outspeed everything other than Bundle and Volcarona able to set Tailwind and Rage Powder to allow Gouge to have as many turns as possible. It was rough and I was so so nervous. This was my first time ever being in finals of a weekly tournament, and on top of that it was for the metagame that I lead and helped to create. I could feel the pressure going in to this match, and I had to deliver. So when it came down to the last turn of Game 2, I calced and saw that even a crit Sucker Punch would never OHKO Gouge– and I knew that I had won.

​

Closing​

"No sé qué sucedió pero me perdí en tu mirada (Mirada)"​

It was a long road to get here, but I won. On the back of a great team and determination I came out on top.



Links:

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VGC UU Speed Tiers

VGC UU Sample Teams

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View attachment IMG_7036.webp

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[Pengu]

i lost to both of these

 

[Nocturne Nugget]

I made the worst vgc team of my life for this tour on god I'll do Eternatus justice next time

 

[TheDuckChris]

Fun team and really great post overall!

 

[hduser]

Goated team and great read, I should play vgcuu again tbh

 

[gephicka]

bump