I will try to mimic marcoasd 's thread from last year and do a report of my run from this year's RBY Invitational.
I will go over every opponent and talk about my thought process when selecting my teams. I will go over every game and comment on the games, trying to point out good moves as well as mistakes made (especially from myself).
Without further ado, let's jump right into the rounds:
ROUND 1 VS PEASOUNAY
Peasounay and I go way back. We started out around the same time on the ladder more than 10 years ago at this point and became freinds. We grew up in this game together. We have been practicing with each other for our first tournaments which we joined back then on PokemonPerfect and climbed the rankings there together. Eventually we competed for tournament victories and became rivals in a competitive sense. There are a lot of memories for me connected to Peasounay and I have nothing but the utmost respect for him and his skills. In my opinion he is one of the all-time great RBY-Players and he is proving it to this day. Winning the Global Championship is a monumental achievement and he did it not only twice but 7 years apart - it's one thing to be amoungst the best in 2017 but still showing up like that in 2024 cannot be overstated, a lot has changed in the meantime, but greatness does not go away. And right now he can almost smell victory in RBY Cup.
With all that said, it has been a long time since we faced each other: While we played regularly in 2015 - 2018, we have not played against each other since. Both of us stopped playing for a while. For me, I can say that the Introduction of RBY World Cup in 2023 reignited the fire for RBY a bit in me and I always come back to play this tour every year. I think it might be similar for him since he does the same. Still, we have never faced each other in that one.
If I write a long paragraph like that just as an introduction, it is no surpirse that facing Peasounay is very special for me and I was always hoping to some day meet him again. So when the tiers got assigned for Round 1 of Invitational and we both ended up in tier 2 the chances of us meeting were as good as they get and I can honeslty say that I was glad to be put in that situation. Fate did it's thing and we got paired. I was excited to play my friend and RBY legend again.
I knew what I had on my hands here and it was not going to be easy. But I also knew I can beat him. After all, our games were always close but historically I think I have beaten him more than he has beaten me (I am not sure though, I do not keep track). So despite everything I did not prepare specifically or thoroughly for the matchup. My main focus was on bringing one Rhydon-, Cloyster- and Zapdos Team respectively (if possible with changing leads) and play well. I simply decided to use what I feel are currently the 3 most solid Rhydon-, Cloyster- and Zapdos-Teams respectively.
Game 1
VS 
Game 2
VS 
Game 3
VS
I manage to come out on top in a super close set, especially g3. I was overall satisfied with how I played g1 and g2. I think it could have been a 2-0 if my Tauros had the "normal" moveset. I would like to say that I learned my lesson from it immediately but I ended up bringing EQ Rest Tauros in the following two rounds as well (even though I don't think it mattered in those games) before finally adapting in the later weeks. In g3 I got the early game wrong and clicked too quickly after that. I almost got punished for it but managed to get some plays right to force my luck for the win.
[To be continued]
I will go over every opponent and talk about my thought process when selecting my teams. I will go over every game and comment on the games, trying to point out good moves as well as mistakes made (especially from myself).
Without further ado, let's jump right into the rounds:
ROUND 1 VS PEASOUNAY
Peasounay and I go way back. We started out around the same time on the ladder more than 10 years ago at this point and became freinds. We grew up in this game together. We have been practicing with each other for our first tournaments which we joined back then on PokemonPerfect and climbed the rankings there together. Eventually we competed for tournament victories and became rivals in a competitive sense. There are a lot of memories for me connected to Peasounay and I have nothing but the utmost respect for him and his skills. In my opinion he is one of the all-time great RBY-Players and he is proving it to this day. Winning the Global Championship is a monumental achievement and he did it not only twice but 7 years apart - it's one thing to be amoungst the best in 2017 but still showing up like that in 2024 cannot be overstated, a lot has changed in the meantime, but greatness does not go away. And right now he can almost smell victory in RBY Cup.
With all that said, it has been a long time since we faced each other: While we played regularly in 2015 - 2018, we have not played against each other since. Both of us stopped playing for a while. For me, I can say that the Introduction of RBY World Cup in 2023 reignited the fire for RBY a bit in me and I always come back to play this tour every year. I think it might be similar for him since he does the same. Still, we have never faced each other in that one.
If I write a long paragraph like that just as an introduction, it is no surpirse that facing Peasounay is very special for me and I was always hoping to some day meet him again. So when the tiers got assigned for Round 1 of Invitational and we both ended up in tier 2 the chances of us meeting were as good as they get and I can honeslty say that I was glad to be put in that situation. Fate did it's thing and we got paired. I was excited to play my friend and RBY legend again.
I knew what I had on my hands here and it was not going to be easy. But I also knew I can beat him. After all, our games were always close but historically I think I have beaten him more than he has beaten me (I am not sure though, I do not keep track). So despite everything I did not prepare specifically or thoroughly for the matchup. My main focus was on bringing one Rhydon-, Cloyster- and Zapdos Team respectively (if possible with changing leads) and play well. I simply decided to use what I feel are currently the 3 most solid Rhydon-, Cloyster- and Zapdos-Teams respectively.
Game 1
VS T1: Starmie vs. Jolteon: Of course I know a switch to a sleeper can come here but I decide for the honest move instead of risking getting critOHKOed
T2: Rhydon vs. Venusaur: I have to make a decision what takes the Sleep Powder. I decide to keep my Rhydon because I already know about Jolteon and I believed SingToss Chansey to be the most expendable, since I can get my own sleep (or threaten it) with my Exeggutor easily against Venusaur
T4: Exeggutor vs. Venusaur: Psychic is an easy click because Jolteon Sleep Sac is very likely since I have shown Rhydon
T6: Rhydon vs. Jolteon: Rock Slide because I don't want to paralyze Exeggutor to prevent it from blocking sleep
T11: Starmie vs. Jolteon: I feel a switch is obvious and I feel confident enough to make a read. T-Wave is the pussy-play though. Either Blizzard there or play safe. T-Wave was a bit of a midground to not give away the turn completely if he does stay in
T13: Starmie vs. Snorlax: I cannot let Starmie fight Snorlax. it is too important for Tauros, switch to ReflectLax
T15: He explodes his Lax on mine. I take it. I believe it is favourable for me even though at this point I still did not really have a read on his last
T17-18: Some more pussy-plays. I was expecting his switches the way they happened but did not want to risk anything which puts me in a bit of an awkward position for T19
T19: Starmie vs. Jolteon: Look at T11. Same thing. A real Tauros predict is T-Wave
T26: Tauros vs. Zapdos: I feel okay whether or not he stays in but he outplays me there, luckily I do not get punished and Blizzard hits on T31
T2: Rhydon vs. Venusaur: I have to make a decision what takes the Sleep Powder. I decide to keep my Rhydon because I already know about Jolteon and I believed SingToss Chansey to be the most expendable, since I can get my own sleep (or threaten it) with my Exeggutor easily against Venusaur
T4: Exeggutor vs. Venusaur: Psychic is an easy click because Jolteon Sleep Sac is very likely since I have shown Rhydon
T6: Rhydon vs. Jolteon: Rock Slide because I don't want to paralyze Exeggutor to prevent it from blocking sleep
T11: Starmie vs. Jolteon: I feel a switch is obvious and I feel confident enough to make a read. T-Wave is the pussy-play though. Either Blizzard there or play safe. T-Wave was a bit of a midground to not give away the turn completely if he does stay in
T13: Starmie vs. Snorlax: I cannot let Starmie fight Snorlax. it is too important for Tauros, switch to ReflectLax
T15: He explodes his Lax on mine. I take it. I believe it is favourable for me even though at this point I still did not really have a read on his last
T17-18: Some more pussy-plays. I was expecting his switches the way they happened but did not want to risk anything which puts me in a bit of an awkward position for T19
T19: Starmie vs. Jolteon: Look at T11. Same thing. A real Tauros predict is T-Wave
T26: Tauros vs. Zapdos: I feel okay whether or not he stays in but he outplays me there, luckily I do not get punished and Blizzard hits on T31
Starmie
Ability: No Ability
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Blizzard
Rhydon
Ability: No Ability
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
- Substitute
- Rock Slide
Exeggutor
Ability: No Ability
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Explosion
- Stun Spore
Chansey (F)
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Seismic Toss
- Sing
Snorlax
Ability: No Ability
- Body Slam
- Rest
- Reflect
- Hyper Beam
Tauros (M)
Ability: No Ability
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
Ability: No Ability
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Blizzard
Rhydon
Ability: No Ability
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
- Substitute
- Rock Slide
Exeggutor
Ability: No Ability
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Explosion
- Stun Spore
Chansey (F)
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Seismic Toss
- Sing
Snorlax
Ability: No Ability
- Body Slam
- Rest
- Reflect
- Hyper Beam
Tauros (M)
Ability: No Ability
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
Game 2
VS T2: Jynx vs. Starmie: I believe a double switch to another sleeper is diffivult for him (but possible). Still I decide to go Chansey ideally on a T-Wave, blocking sleep
T20: Cloyster vs. Victreebel: Now it becomes interesting. He has a Victreebel against my Team with Cloyster, Rhydon and SurfBolt Starmie. I have to get Jynx in on it without eating Sleep Powder. For now I decide to scout his move and make the safe Chansey switch ad he Razor Leafs
T22: Chansey vs. Snorlax: Nice move from him to double to Victreebel on my Cloyster.
T23: Cloyster vs. Victreebel: I go Jynx because I feel there is not a Sleep Powder coming. He reveals Swords Dance
T24: Jynx vs. Victreebel: I don't know if I can play around Hyper Beam effectively (he can predict me). I decide to just take the damage with Blizzard (hope for no miss and possibly a crit or freeze) in exchange for Jynx' life
T30: Chansey vs. Victreebel: I try to get Tauros in for free by going Cloyster. It works on T32
T39: Tauros vs. Tauros: Cloyster is worthless and I sacrifice it to go into Starmie. If this was PsyBlizz instead of SurfBolt I like my position. My opponent does not know the set though
T41: Starmie vs. Tauros: I Surf because I think it is possible for him so save Tauros and sacrifice Victreebel. T-Wave would not help in that case. I have no clue that his last is Dragonite. I believed at the time it might be a Rhydon since his team is pretty weak to Zapdos otherwise. In hindsight it makes sense for him to stay in. He needs Starmie paralyzed for Dragonite (or so he thinks)
T43: Starmie vs. Victreebel: Probably Chansey was my move. I decide for T-Wave because I wanted my Rhydon to outspeed Vic. At this point. because he fought Starmie with Tauros, I did not belive into a Rhydon last. I was thinking Articuno or something like that now and I did not want to lose my Chansey to Victreebel because it could still use Sing on Starmie later.
T44: Rhydon vs. Victreebel: I thought about Rock Slide there, hitting his "Articuno" on the switch but was afraid to miss
T46: My Tauros is EQ Rest and I lose because of it
T20: Cloyster vs. Victreebel: Now it becomes interesting. He has a Victreebel against my Team with Cloyster, Rhydon and SurfBolt Starmie. I have to get Jynx in on it without eating Sleep Powder. For now I decide to scout his move and make the safe Chansey switch ad he Razor Leafs
T22: Chansey vs. Snorlax: Nice move from him to double to Victreebel on my Cloyster.
T23: Cloyster vs. Victreebel: I go Jynx because I feel there is not a Sleep Powder coming. He reveals Swords Dance
T24: Jynx vs. Victreebel: I don't know if I can play around Hyper Beam effectively (he can predict me). I decide to just take the damage with Blizzard (hope for no miss and possibly a crit or freeze) in exchange for Jynx' life
T30: Chansey vs. Victreebel: I try to get Tauros in for free by going Cloyster. It works on T32
T39: Tauros vs. Tauros: Cloyster is worthless and I sacrifice it to go into Starmie. If this was PsyBlizz instead of SurfBolt I like my position. My opponent does not know the set though
T41: Starmie vs. Tauros: I Surf because I think it is possible for him so save Tauros and sacrifice Victreebel. T-Wave would not help in that case. I have no clue that his last is Dragonite. I believed at the time it might be a Rhydon since his team is pretty weak to Zapdos otherwise. In hindsight it makes sense for him to stay in. He needs Starmie paralyzed for Dragonite (or so he thinks)
T43: Starmie vs. Victreebel: Probably Chansey was my move. I decide for T-Wave because I wanted my Rhydon to outspeed Vic. At this point. because he fought Starmie with Tauros, I did not belive into a Rhydon last. I was thinking Articuno or something like that now and I did not want to lose my Chansey to Victreebel because it could still use Sing on Starmie later.
T44: Rhydon vs. Victreebel: I thought about Rock Slide there, hitting his "Articuno" on the switch but was afraid to miss
T46: My Tauros is EQ Rest and I lose because of it
Jynx (F)
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Lovely Kiss
- Psychic
- Blizzard
- Rest
Cloyster
Ability: No Ability
- Clamp
- Blizzard
- Explosion
- Rest
Starmie
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
Chansey (F)
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Ice Beam
- Sing
Rhydon
Ability: No Ability
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
- Substitute
- Rock Slide
Tauros (M)
Ability: No Ability
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Earthquake
- Rest
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Lovely Kiss
- Psychic
- Blizzard
- Rest
Cloyster
Ability: No Ability
- Clamp
- Blizzard
- Explosion
- Rest
Starmie
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Surf
- Thunderbolt
Chansey (F)
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Soft-Boiled
- Thunder Wave
- Ice Beam
- Sing
Rhydon
Ability: No Ability
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
- Substitute
- Rock Slide
Tauros (M)
Ability: No Ability
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Earthquake
- Rest
Game 3
VS T1: Alakazam vs. Zapdos: I Seismic Toss predicting an Exeggutor Switch. I want to keep it unparalyzed to be able to click Sleep Powder with my own Exeggutor
T5: Exeggutor vs. Exeggutor: Unfortunately the plan does not work as he wins the speed tie and I fail to predict his Explosion. I am in a bad position now
T6: Exeggutor vs. Tauros: I think Exeggutor was his only sleeper so I sacrifice Alakazam instead of Exeggutor
T8: Snorlax vs. Tauros: I played too fast at this point, not thinking through my moves. I had a good clue on his team at that point. I figured it would be Chanseyless (probably with Alakazam and Starmie or Cloyster). I went Snorlax because I thought I would not need it for a potential Chansey. Trading Snorlax for Tauros does not help me much, though and he is probably happy about that trade. I should have gone Starmie here and then doubled to Snorlax in my opinion, forcing him to fight my Lax with something else and get more value out of my own Lax since I need to make up ground
T10: Zapdos vs. Alakazam: I need to start getting T-Waves in and am forced to fight Alakazam wth Zapdos
T12: Zapdos vs. Alakazam: I think he makes a mistake by not recovering his Alakazam. I still play off of his non-Recover on that turn and take advantage of it by bringing in Starmie, keeping Alakazam low
T14: Starmie vs. Starmie: I think my opponent can afford to use Thunderbolt if he has it but T-Wave is obviously an option. I decide to risk Zapdos, hoping for a T-Wave and get it
T15: Zapdos vs. Starmie: Zapdos survives a Blizzard and gets huge damage on Starmie, allowing me to force a speedtie to threaten a KO on Starmie with my PsyBlizz Starmie
T17: Starmie vs. Starmie: He does not want to risk the tie and sacrifces Alakazam
T18: Starmie vs. Zapdos: I need to hope for some Starmie odds here. I need to freeze Zapdos or survive the Thundebrolt (the odds are not in my favour) and get one critical hit with two tries. I do get the latter. At this point the game is in my favour and I avoid the freeze on T 23 to win
T5: Exeggutor vs. Exeggutor: Unfortunately the plan does not work as he wins the speed tie and I fail to predict his Explosion. I am in a bad position now
T6: Exeggutor vs. Tauros: I think Exeggutor was his only sleeper so I sacrifice Alakazam instead of Exeggutor
T8: Snorlax vs. Tauros: I played too fast at this point, not thinking through my moves. I had a good clue on his team at that point. I figured it would be Chanseyless (probably with Alakazam and Starmie or Cloyster). I went Snorlax because I thought I would not need it for a potential Chansey. Trading Snorlax for Tauros does not help me much, though and he is probably happy about that trade. I should have gone Starmie here and then doubled to Snorlax in my opinion, forcing him to fight my Lax with something else and get more value out of my own Lax since I need to make up ground
T10: Zapdos vs. Alakazam: I need to start getting T-Waves in and am forced to fight Alakazam wth Zapdos
T12: Zapdos vs. Alakazam: I think he makes a mistake by not recovering his Alakazam. I still play off of his non-Recover on that turn and take advantage of it by bringing in Starmie, keeping Alakazam low
T14: Starmie vs. Starmie: I think my opponent can afford to use Thunderbolt if he has it but T-Wave is obviously an option. I decide to risk Zapdos, hoping for a T-Wave and get it
T15: Zapdos vs. Starmie: Zapdos survives a Blizzard and gets huge damage on Starmie, allowing me to force a speedtie to threaten a KO on Starmie with my PsyBlizz Starmie
T17: Starmie vs. Starmie: He does not want to risk the tie and sacrifces Alakazam
T18: Starmie vs. Zapdos: I need to hope for some Starmie odds here. I need to freeze Zapdos or survive the Thundebrolt (the odds are not in my favour) and get one critical hit with two tries. I do get the latter. At this point the game is in my favour and I avoid the freeze on T 23 to win
Alakazam
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Seismic Toss
Zapdos
Ability: No Ability
- Thunderbolt
- Drill Peck
- Thunder Wave
- Agility
Exeggutor
Ability: No Ability
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Explosion
- Hyper Beam
Starmie
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Blizzard
Snorlax
Ability: No Ability
- Body Slam
- Rest
- Reflect
- Self-Destruct
Tauros (M)
Ability: No Ability
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Seismic Toss
Zapdos
Ability: No Ability
- Thunderbolt
- Drill Peck
- Thunder Wave
- Agility
Exeggutor
Ability: No Ability
- Sleep Powder
- Psychic
- Explosion
- Hyper Beam
Starmie
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
- Recover
- Thunder Wave
- Psychic
- Blizzard
Snorlax
Ability: No Ability
- Body Slam
- Rest
- Reflect
- Self-Destruct
Tauros (M)
Ability: No Ability
- Body Slam
- Hyper Beam
- Blizzard
- Earthquake
I manage to come out on top in a super close set, especially g3. I was overall satisfied with how I played g1 and g2. I think it could have been a 2-0 if my Tauros had the "normal" moveset. I would like to say that I learned my lesson from it immediately but I ended up bringing EQ Rest Tauros in the following two rounds as well (even though I don't think it mattered in those games) before finally adapting in the later weeks. In g3 I got the early game wrong and clicked too quickly after that. I almost got punished for it but managed to get some plays right to force my luck for the win.
[To be continued]
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