Smogon Snake Draft IV: LC Discussion

[DC]

Week 4 Stats!

Cumulative

Cumulative

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |   34 |  85.00% |  52.94% |
| 2    | Mienfoo            |   30 |  75.00% |  56.67% |
| 3    | Diglett            |   23 |  57.50% |  52.17% |
| 4    | Pawniard           |   20 |  50.00% |  45.00% |
| 5    | Mareanie           |   16 |  40.00% |  56.25% |
| 5    | Onix               |   16 |  40.00% |  50.00% |
| 7    | Ferroseed          |   12 |  30.00% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Staryu             |   10 |  25.00% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Foongus            |    7 |  17.50% |  57.14% |
| 9    | Grookey            |    7 |  17.50% |  42.86% |
| 11   | Wingull            |    6 |  15.00% |  50.00% |
| 11   | Timburr            |    6 |  15.00% |  50.00% |
| 11   | Abra               |    6 |  15.00% |  16.67% |
| 14   | Mudbray            |    5 |  12.50% |  80.00% |
| 14   | Porygon            |    5 |  12.50% |  40.00% |
| 14   | Spritzee           |    5 |  12.50% |  20.00% |
| 17   | Koffing            |    4 |  10.00% |  50.00% |
| 17   | Dewpider           |    4 |  10.00% |  25.00% |
| 17   | Vulpix             |    4 |  10.00% |  25.00% |
| 17   | Ponyta             |    4 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 21   | Scraggy            |    3 |   7.50% | 100.00% |
| 21   | Magnemite          |    3 |   7.50% |  66.67% |
| 23   | Trapinch           |    2 |   5.00% |  50.00% |
| 23   | Frillish           |    2 |   5.00% |  50.00% |
| 23   | Slowpoke           |    2 |   5.00% |  50.00% |
| 26   | Zorua              |    1 |   2.50% | 100.00% |
| 26   | Ponyta-Galar       |    1 |   2.50% | 100.00% |
| 26   | Woobat             |    1 |   2.50% | 100.00% |
| 26   | Farfetch’d-Galar   |    1 |   2.50% |   0.00% |

Week 4

Week 4

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |    8 |  80.00% |  50.00% |
| 2    | Mienfoo            |    7 |  70.00% |  42.86% |
| 3    | Mareanie           |    5 |  50.00% |  60.00% |
| 3    | Diglett            |    5 |  50.00% |  40.00% |
| 3    | Onix               |    5 |  50.00% |  20.00% |
| 6    | Pawniard           |    4 |  40.00% |  75.00% |
| 6    | Grookey            |    4 |  40.00% |  50.00% |
| 6    | Ferroseed          |    4 |  40.00% |  25.00% |
| 9    | Scraggy            |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 9    | Mudbray            |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 9    | Dewpider           |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Wingull            |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Timburr            |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Spritzee           |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 15   | Woobat             |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 15   | Porygon            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 15   | Foongus            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 15   | Staryu             |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 15   | Vulpix             |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 15   | Koffing            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |

Notable Trends:

• is an underrated Pokemon with a lot of potential to succeed, seeing 2/2 wins this week. Lily's Scraggy showcased the effectiveness of running Substitute as a 4th slot, letting it avoid status from Ferroseed and giving it a better opportunity to set up with Dragon Dance, whereas dcae's Scraggy went a more traditional route with Drain Punch, which can help Scraggy from being worn down by Fake Out damage and stay healthy.
• is another Pokemon that saw successful usage after a good display week 2. One of Mudbray's main appeal stems from the fact that it is a Stealth Rock setter that is not weak to Fighting-types, which separates it from the likes of Onix, Pawniard, and Ferroseed, and makes it so that it doesn't get forced out by them. Plus, it dishes damage out like a truck, capable of 2HKOing bulky Mienfoo with EQ and KOing Vullaby with Rock Slide after a WA proc.
• Grookbat won a week. Signs of things to come?

 

[tazz]

Wail vs Shrug
I think if the team MUs are even this game should be around even, but wail's teams have been significantly better than shrug's. If wail keeps doing what he's doing while prepping he should go around even at this rate, but shrug really needs to turn things around. Last week's team in particular had major issues; any team with mienfoo + mareanie had an almost guaranteed positive mu. Serene only had to get tspikes up and the game was virtually over.
dcae vs Xizaaa
I think Xizaaa has been doing really well so far, it is only based on the track record of his opponent that I don't bold him. Dcae had the courage to bring webs in a series deciding match and got rewarded with a stellar matchup, and with the exception of the third week has seemed supernaturally good at getting incredible mus. Xizaaa's matchups have been good, but he won't have as much to go off of with dcae as the three teams he has used since coming back to mons have all been radically different. If the matchup is even I think that dcae would have a slight advantage, but that advantage is bolstered by his streak of skillful (or lucky?) picks.
Serene Grace vs Ninjadog
Ninja is easily in the top half of the pool play-wise, only losing last week to a nearly unwinnable mu and the previous week to some questionable luck (iirc). Still, I don't think that theres any way that you don't bold Serene here: his team choices and play have both been great and I expect that to continue. Serene is without question the best player in the pool imo and I will be bolding him every week.
Osh vs tko
Two of the 1-3s face off in an incredibly important week for both. Mazinger to the surprise of few could not compensate for his lack of experience in LC, especially with the terrible teams he was using the first two weeks. Tko should succeed where he failed, as I trust him to pilot solid teams like ones that the serpents' have built the past two weeks to an evenish record if he earnestly tries to learn this meta. Osh was predicted to do great in this pool, but has been noticeably behind on the meta and seemingly unmotivated in the builder (last week's team, for example, was what everyone was spamming the very first week the DLC came out). If he can reclaim his SM experience he should be able to salvage his season, but his motivation to do this with a 0-2-2 team is a big question mark. This is the week where they both have to turn it around if they want a good season, and I think that tko will want it more.
LC: Kingler vs LilyAC
I think this prediction should be pretty clear. Kingler has been playing pretty decently this tournament, but has been greeted week after week with horrible matchups that are, in my opinion, very self imposed. Like Osh and tko this week is crucial for Kingler if he wants to turn his season around, but unlike them he could not have asked for a worse person to do it against. Lily is more than capable of picking something that will exploit the many, many holes in Kingler's team choices thus far, as long as she doesn't get too fancy. Kingler will have a good chance if he just copies what works, but his terrible webs show his hesitation to do so.

Vullaby (F) @ Berry Juice
Ability: Weak Armor
Level: 5
EVs: 76 Def / 236 SpA / 196 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Endure
- Air Slash
- Heat Wave
- Nasty Plot

I innovated this set for the webs team that dcae used last week, and I think the endure option is incredibly solid in that context. Webs often has questionable removal options, and endure allows you to set up on things that OHKO you after rocks much more consistently. Additionally, much of the priority in this tier only works on the first turn out, so if you use this set against a team that has, for example, mienfoo and pinch as its answer to NP vull, you can easily avoid being revenged by that priority.

Webs has not been making the splash I anticipated it to this tournament, with dcae netting it the only win it has gotten thus far. Still, I think this is mostly due to the webs teams themselves being suboptimal or running into bad matchups. The grookbat webs that dcae ran last week has the ability to fish the majority of the teams run in this tournament, and I think teams that take more after it would have won some of the games that webs lost this tournament.

EDIT: I also am very pleased to notice the drop-off in Abra usage from the first week and would like to point out its 16% win rate, this mon isn't good.

 

[GOAO]

i wotn do predicts. i dont rly play ss lc but just from watching games so far thats the impression i have on players:
i think wail is a good player, i thought he was gonna flop but watchng his games he seems to have good gameplan and is executing them well too. i am oficially on the wail wailord hype train.
i think shrug has been unlucky and honestly his matchups havent been that great as well, i think hes gonna finish like 3-6 or so from now on '-', definitely didnt expect him to do that bad but then again he has been unlucky i think. at least he has alrady fought lily and serene so theres that.
dcae is fuckign awful and wins by matchup because tazz is by far the best teambuilder lc has ever seen
xiza is fine he doenst look very good on his wins but not very bad on his losses, id say he would go 5-4 but im p sure he still hasnt played any of lily or serene and they seem to be the toughest so far, alongside dcae. hes gonna go 3-6 or 4-5 probably but not bad for first tematour i think? '-'
serene has looked like the best player ingame so far and i dont even think he gets amazing amtchups very often he just floats very well during the games and wins. he should go like 7-2 or 8-1 i think lol
ninja started well then had a shaky game vs kingler then had an unwinnable matchup vs dcae.. i still think hes on the upper part of the pool and should go like 5-4 or 6-3, but he still has to play serene and lily so its gonna be tough '-'
idt osh has looked very good tbh his teams are fine but it seems like people can outplay him often. he should pick it up soon though he is a fine player '-'
idk abt tko hes fire but idt he has ever played ss lc
kingler is probably gonna go 3-6 or 2-7 i think LOL his teams havent been of my liking and his plays are just like theyve been in other lc teamtours, hes not awful and i think thats what u expect from a 13th round pick anyway so
lily is good i really dislike her but its undeniable she is very solid. she lost to the goat wail wailord on a very timely double but then she bounced back with a classy win and should drive on to a 7-2 or even an 8-1 '-'

 

[freezai]

Week 5

Wail Wailord vs Shrug

Shrug's teams have been interesting so far but the problem is that interesting doesn't win games, especially if they get 6-0ed by the most common cores in the tier. Wail has been a revelation thus far and I think he's the clear favorite for the mu. Imagine saying that before Week 1. We are dangerously close to entering Snaga watch...

dcae vs Xizaaa

Both players have been really good so far, this is the highlight match of the week. Critics say that dcae has been fluking good matchups but I think the trend is indicative of him understanding the meta more than the so-called pundits. He's been bringing good teams with just enough surprise factor to gain the edge (Grookeybat, Frillish, even DD Onix all come to mind). Xizaaa has been playing well, and while its hard to gauge dcae's skill because hes just been playing safe and converting good mus, I think dcae and xizaaa are both equal in playing skill and dcae will gain the edge with his teambuilding.

Osh vs tko

I think bringing in tko was a decent move considering the circumstances. Mazinger was showing some good signs of improvement but tko is capable in his own right. I think personally I would've subbed tko into RU and kept Mazinger in LC but that's neither here nor there. I still favor Osh cause he's always been broken in team tours, I just don't see him dropping to 1-4, especially vs someone making their first start in a while.


LC: Kingler vs LilyAC
I'm calling the upset here. It's so frustrating to bold Kingler because you never know what you're going to get: sometimes he plays like the best lcer in the world, other times he almost loses to Gummy. I don't think he will finish positive anymore, but he's always a threat to beat anyone at any time.

Last Week: 2-2
Overall: 12-4

 

[tazz]

kingler is probably gonna go 3-6 or 2-7 i think LOL his teams havent been of my liking and his plays are just like theyve been in other lc teamtours,

If kingler is going very negative any record other than 2-7 is unacceptable. My hope for him to succeed is exceeded only by my desire for him to go 2-7 exactly for the memes. If he's going that negative in the final weeks please make the 2-7 happen people, at any cost.

 

[Kingler]

LC: Kingler vs LilyAC
I'm calling the upset here. It's so frustrating to bold Kingler because you never know what you're going to get: sometimes he plays like the best lcer in the world, other times he almost loses to Gummy. I don't think he will finish positive anymore, but he's always a threat to beat anyone at any time.

If kingler is going very negative any record other than 2-7 is unacceptable. My hope for him to succeed is exceeded only by my desire for him to go 2-7 exactly for the memes. If he's going that negative in the final weeks please make the 2-7 happen people, at any cost.

the way this snake is going I wouldn't be surprised if I disappoint the hell out of both of you

 

[taranteeeno]

Artwork by yours truly, don't mention it...
Smogon Snake Draft IV: Quick Bites - LC Edition!
Interviews with your favorite Snake LC players!

It's that time again... taranteeeno back with another edition of Quick Bites - LC Edition; brought to you by our sponsor, Levi Premier League, "LPL6 coming soon:tm:.." In this brief segment, I will conduct a short interview with some of the Smogon Snake Draft IV LC players. I'll check in with your favorite Little Cup player and get their latest metagame hot takes!

They finally did it folks. free dcae, free dcae, free dcae. The LC community chanted like a weird cult and eventually, you got what you wanted and then some! Smogon freed the man and dropped him right in the middle of a warzone we call Smogon Snake Draft IV. In this week's edition of Quick Bites - LC Edition, I traveled across the land, searching far and wide for your hero. Fresh off a tournament ban and in the midst of an excellent tournament run, I present to you dcae.

Quick Bites #2 - dcae

​

Hey dcae thanks for joining me for this edition of Quick Bites. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to see you get picked up for this tournament. I wasn't really paying attention to signups, but I didn't even know you were in the pool. What were your expectations going into the SSD IV draft? Were you training in the mountains during the tournament ban and ready to go?

it's kind of a funny story actually. i was complaining about some friends discussing who's playing for snake in a non-mons chat (because who cares about snake in 2020) and the ensuing convo with a couple others led me to sign up as a joke. i saw i got a bunch of likes so decided to keep it up, as with the amount of people who signed up for lc and given my rep as of late getting picked seemed impossible. on draft day, since i had just finished watching the ucl finals, i hopped on call with ninja to talk about it while he was watching the draft. the moment i get on call, ninja tells me i just got drafted...

i pretty much had 0 expectations going in and initially wasn't happy that the meme made me now have to learn the meta, because i hadn't played ss lc at all before getting drafted, but shoutouts to tazz who crash coursed me to get me up to speed in time for week 1. given i still felt like i was a top tier player, i wasn't really worried about having a bad tour.

It seems like tazz's crash course paid off. You've had some of the better matchups at team preview that I've seen this tour. Not only that, you've been playing quite well too with a 3-1 record to start. Are you doing anything different this tournament compared to your last Snake appearance where you went 1-3?

i think that jumping into the meta last second the way i did has allowed me to approach building with less preconceived notions, and that's consistently put me in a position to succeed matchup wise. in snake 2, i was more inflexible, resulting in worse team picks that put me in positions where i couldn't afford some bad luck and still recover to win games.

right now im flexible and ill use anything if i think itll work. not only does this philosophy work, its more exciting for the spectators.

What are your thoughts on the current metagame? Anything you like in particular? Things you really don't like?

im actually enjoying this meta a lot. on the surface it probably seems like the same old, but in practice it's very unique. i can't say i rmbr an lc meta quite like this one. one particular aspect i like is that matchup isn't as luck oriented in previous matchup-oriented lc metas. it really feels like an extension of the ingame instead of guesswork.

on a more specific note, i like seeing scraggy as a good mon again. the first team i made in lc had a scraggy, back in bw lc when it was broken af, so it's a bit of a callback. i dont like pursuit being gone, im not over that yet.

I'm definitely not over Pursuit being axed either. Anyway thanks for your time, dcae. One last question before I let you go. Being that we're at midseason, what's your impression of the player pool so far? Has anyone in particular impressed you or surprised you?

im pleasantly surprised. i wasnt really familiar with where people were at as players going into the tour other than like serene and lily, and id heard talk that the pool was allegedly weak. now that im watching, i really don't think that's true. ive been particularly impressed by xizaaa and wail who are not only doing well in their debuts but doing it very convincingly, having outplayed some of the most established players in this pool. i hope to see more of the same.

Alright well, that wraps up this Quick Bites interview. Hope everyone enjoyed this and I'll see you all again soon!

 

[GotCookies]

dcae is worse than me

 

[DC]

Games finished super early this week, so here are the Week 5 stats!

Cumulative

Cumulative

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |   43 |  86.00% |  53.49% |
| 2    | Mienfoo            |   35 |  70.00% |  54.29% |
| 3    | Diglett            |   30 |  60.00% |  46.67% |
| 4    | Pawniard           |   28 |  56.00% |  46.43% |
| 5    | Mareanie           |   20 |  40.00% |  55.00% |
| 6    | Onix               |   17 |  34.00% |  47.06% |
| 7    | Ferroseed          |   13 |  26.00% |  53.85% |
| 8    | Staryu             |   12 |  24.00% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Grookey            |    9 |  18.00% |  55.56% |
| 9    | Foongus            |    9 |  18.00% |  55.56% |
| 11   | Scraggy            |    7 |  14.00% |  85.71% |
| 11   | Timburr            |    7 |  14.00% |  42.86% |
| 11   | Abra               |    7 |  14.00% |  28.57% |
| 14   | Mudbray            |    6 |  12.00% |  83.33% |
| 14   | Wingull            |    6 |  12.00% |  50.00% |
| 14   | Porygon            |    6 |  12.00% |  50.00% |
| 17   | Koffing            |    5 |  10.00% |  60.00% |
| 17   | Dewpider           |    5 |  10.00% |  40.00% |
| 17   | Spritzee           |    5 |  10.00% |  20.00% |
| 17   | Vulpix             |    5 |  10.00% |  20.00% |
| 17   | Ponyta             |    5 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 22   | Magnemite          |    4 |   8.00% |  75.00% |
| 23   | Woobat             |    2 |   4.00% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Trapinch           |    2 |   4.00% |  50.00% |
| 23   | Frillish           |    2 |   4.00% |  50.00% |
| 23   | Slowpoke           |    2 |   4.00% |  50.00% |
| 27   | Zorua              |    1 |   2.00% | 100.00% |
| 27   | Ponyta-Galar       |    1 |   2.00% | 100.00% |
| 27   | Farfetch’d-Galar   |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 27   | Sandshrew-Alola    |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 27   | Snover             |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 27   | Budew              |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 27   | Bunnelby           |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |
| 27   | Skrelp             |    1 |   2.00% |   0.00% |

Week 5

Week 5

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |    9 |  90.00% |  55.56% |
| 2    | Pawniard           |    8 |  80.00% |  50.00% |
| 3    | Diglett            |    7 |  70.00% |  28.57% |
| 4    | Mienfoo            |    5 |  50.00% |  40.00% |
| 5    | Scraggy            |    4 |  40.00% |  75.00% |
| 5    | Mareanie           |    4 |  40.00% |  50.00% |
| 7    | Grookey            |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 7    | Staryu             |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 7    | Foongus            |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 10   | Koffing            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 10   | Porygon            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 10   | Abra               |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 10   | Dewpider           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 10   | Woobat             |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 10   | Ferroseed          |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 10   | Magnemite          |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 10   | Mudbray            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 10   | Sandshrew-Alola    |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 10   | Snover             |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 10   | Ponyta             |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 10   | Timburr            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 10   | Budew              |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 10   | Onix               |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 10   | Bunnelby           |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 10   | Skrelp             |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 10   | Vulpix             |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |

Notable Trends:

• In general, Fire-types have been super underwhelming in Snake. Vulpix and Ponyta have won in 1/10 games that they have been brought to. The meta has been generally unkind to them, as the combination of pivots + Diglett + Mareanie has been effective in curbing their usefulness.
• Mienfoo saw its lowest usage this week, dipping to 50%. In its place, Scraggy saw an increase in usage, winning on 3/4 teams that it was brought in (one was a scraggy mirror). It's ability to snowball is matched by very few Pokemon in LC, which was showcased in Lily's game where she took advantage of a Choice-locked Pawniard to set up and it was basically game over from there.
• Week 5 saw alot of experimentation in terms of niche picks, with Skrelp, Bunnelby, Budew, and Snover & A-Shrew hail making an appearance. Unfortunately, it seems deviating from the metagame is a recipe for disaster as all of the picks combined for a 0% winrate.

Weekly Core Analysis:
This is something new I wanted to try for this week. Snake Draft has finally passed its halfway mark and that has allowed the spectators and players to get a solid grasp on what the current metagame is shaping up into. In this section, I wanted to go over a specific core that has seen widespread usage or stood out as particularly surprising/innovative/etc. Our first core has been seen on over 40% of the teams and has been a staple of SS LC teams since DLC 1 dropped.

+ +
This core is relatively simple in approach: double pivots + trapper. Mienfoo and Vullaby have innate synergy with each other, with Mienfoo handling problematic foes like Pawniard and Onix for Vullaby while Vullaby can bonk Fighting-resists like Foongus and check Abra for Mienfoo. Together, they can soften the opposing defensive backbone with Knock Off and U-turn into its partners. Diglett benefits from both Mienfoo and Vullaby's pivoting abilities, helping it safely enter the battle and trap stuff like Mareanie, Onix, and Ponyta.

Common Partners: These are the Pokemon that are often paired with this core to supplement synergies or cover weaknesses.
- Provides the core with a Flying-resist, an answer to Spritzee, a Stealth Rock setter, and a secondary priority user (plus more Knock supp)
- Provides the core with a Fighting, Fairy, Fire, and Water-resist, a Toxic Spikes setter, and a tertiary Knock user
- Provides the core with a Fighting, Fairy, and Water-resist, a status user with Spore, and solid check to Grookey
- Provides the core with a Fire-resist, can break through opposing defensive cores with its coverage, and serves as a secondary hazard remover

Hope this has helped! Feel free to critique the analysis and offer your own opinions!

 

[freezai]

Week 6 Predicts
Unfortunately, I did not beat The Ape last week.

LC: tko vs Shrug

Shrug started using Foodig which is a good sign. Even though tko choked last week he did play well for 99% of the game so I think he's viable. I predict Shrug here because I think the early season experience matters. You can learn a lot from losses and based on his game vs Wail I think he's started to figure things out.

LC: LilyAC vs dcae
The stakes are really high for this game, for more reasons than you might know: lilyAC HAS to win this game. You know how a mom can lift even a car to save her baby? That's going to happen here. Not that she needs the power-up, she's already slightly better imo.

LC: Xizaaa vs Ninjadog

Honestly, I don't know who to predict here, both have had similar seasons and I can't really see this going one way or the other. I'm just going off a gut feeling here.

LC: frisoeva vs Osh
KINGLER NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I guess this was to be expected after getting swept turn 2 last game. I'm pretty ambivalent about the sub because Kingler's main issue has been his teams and that's easily rectified by just using foodigvull. I get it though, maybe a change is what the Bushmasters need to light a spark. In any case, I think Osh is better than either of them.


Last Week: 2-2
Overall: 14-6

 

[taranteeeno]

The stakes are really high for this game, for more reasons than you might know: lilyAC HAS to win this game.

Let me guess... a profile picture is on the line.

 

[Kingler]

the way this snake is going I wouldn't be surprised if I disappoint the hell out of both of you

-

 

[DC]

Week 6 Stats!

Cumulative

Cumulative

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |   52 |  86.67% |  53.85% |
| 2    | Mienfoo            |   39 |  65.00% |  53.85% |
| 3    | Diglett            |   33 |  55.00% |  48.48% |
| 3    | Pawniard           |   33 |  55.00% |  45.45% |
| 5    | Mareanie           |   21 |  35.00% |  57.14% |
| 6    | Onix               |   20 |  33.33% |  45.00% |
| 7    | Ferroseed          |   15 |  25.00% |  53.33% |
| 7    | Staryu             |   15 |  25.00% |  40.00% |
| 9    | Foongus            |   14 |  23.33% |  42.86% |
| 10   | Grookey            |   12 |  20.00% |  66.67% |
| 11   | Scraggy            |   11 |  18.33% |  72.73% |
| 12   | Abra               |   10 |  16.67% |  40.00% |
| 13   | Porygon            |    9 |  15.00% |  55.56% |
| 14   | Mudbray            |    8 |  13.33% |  75.00% |
| 14   | Timburr            |    8 |  13.33% |  37.50% |
| 16   | Koffing            |    7 |  11.67% |  57.14% |
| 16   | Wingull            |    7 |  11.67% |  42.86% |
| 18   | Dewpider           |    6 |  10.00% |  50.00% |
| 19   | Magnemite          |    5 |   8.33% |  60.00% |
| 19   | Spritzee           |    5 |   8.33% |  20.00% |
| 19   | Vulpix             |    5 |   8.33% |  20.00% |
| 19   | Ponyta             |    5 |   8.33% |   0.00% |
| 23   | Trapinch           |    3 |   5.00% |  33.33% |
| 24   | Ponyta-Galar       |    2 |   3.33% | 100.00% |
| 24   | Woobat             |    2 |   3.33% | 100.00% |
| 24   | Frillish           |    2 |   3.33% |  50.00% |
| 24   | Slowpoke           |    2 |   3.33% |  50.00% |
| 28   | Zorua              |    1 |   1.67% | 100.00% |
| 28   | Shellder           |    1 |   1.67% | 100.00% |
| 28   | Dwebble            |    1 |   1.67% | 100.00% |
| 28   | Farfetch’d-Galar   |    1 |   1.67% |   0.00% |
| 28   | Sandshrew-Alola    |    1 |   1.67% |   0.00% |
| 28   | Snover             |    1 |   1.67% |   0.00% |
| 28   | Bunnelby           |    1 |   1.67% |   0.00% |
| 28   | Skrelp             |    1 |   1.67% |   0.00% |
| 28   | Budew              |    1 |   1.67% |   0.00% |

Week 6

Week 6

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |    9 |  90.00% |  55.56% |
| 2    | Pawniard           |    5 |  50.00% |  40.00% |
| 2    | Foongus            |    5 |  50.00% |  20.00% |
| 4    | Scraggy            |    4 |  40.00% |  50.00% |
| 4    | Mienfoo            |    4 |  40.00% |  50.00% |
| 6    | Grookey            |    3 |  30.00% | 100.00% |
| 6    | Diglett            |    3 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| 6    | Abra               |    3 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| 6    | Porygon            |    3 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| 6    | Onix               |    3 |  30.00% |  33.33% |
| 6    | Staryu             |    3 |  30.00% |   0.00% |
| 12   | Mudbray            |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 12   | Koffing            |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 12   | Ferroseed          |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 15   | Dewpider           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 15   | Ponyta-Galar       |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 15   | Shellder           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 15   | Dwebble            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 15   | Mareanie           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 15   | Magnemite          |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 15   | Trapinch           |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 15   | Timburr            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 15   | Wingull            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |

Noticeable Trends:

• Vullaby remains as the only Pokemon with over 70% usage 6 weeks into Snake.
• Grookey was the highlight Pokemon of the week, winning in 3/3 teams that it was used on.
• This week saw more untraditional team structures, with Webs finally winning a game and hazard stacking HO making its first appearance.
• Foongus + Staryu core really struggled this week, losing all three of its games while Foongus was 1/5 this week.

Weekly Core Analysis:
This week's core is a core that gained alot of traction during the course of Snake, especially Scraggy started rising in popularity. The core has been used 7 times and has a high 86% WR, winning 2/2 games this week.

+ +

Triple Dark or Darkspam is one of the more offensive cores in LC and has been rising in popularity as Spritzee and Timburr usage becomes minimal and non-existent. Also, most, if not all, Mienfoo are the slow, defensive variants which can make pressuring all three Dark-types difficult. The core is relatively linear in its approach: Pawniard and Vullaby weaken stuff --> set Scraggy up and win late-game. What makes this core even more deadly is how it doesn't have to just rely on Scraggy and can enable other setup sweepers, shown by its pairing with stuff like Woobat and Grookey. The most successful variants of this core have Stealth Rock Pawniard, offensive Vullaby (Pivot or Nasty Plot), and Substitute Dragon Dance Scraggy.

Common Partners: These are the Pokemon that are often paired with this core to supplement synergies or cover weaknesses.
- Provides a Fighting-resist; can additionally set Toxic Spikes or use Knock Off to cripple opposing foes.
- Speed control makes it easier to play against fast threats like G-Pony, Abra, Scarf Magnemite, and offensive Mienfoo.
- Can function as its own wincon, taking advantage of the three Dark-types weakening opposing Dark-types.

 

[freezai]

Week 7 Predicts

Honestly writing predicts has gotten pretty boring, it just turns into "good player good bad player bad" when I don't have any meaningful insight to add. I'm going to stick to only predicts unless there's something to say that's not just word fluff
LC: Wail Wailord vs tko
LC: Ninjadog vs LilyAC
LC: Z Strats (!) vs Kingler
Z Strats did go 7-1 in LPL so he has that going for him, but otherwise I doubt his LC acumen. The sub was a little surprising but 1-4/1-5 is usually the breaking point for a lot of teams and I guess the team just decided an unknown quantity is better than a known one. Good to see Kingler back though though
LC: dcae vs Osh

Last Week: 1-3
Overall: 15-9

 

[DC]

Week 7 Stats!

Cumulative

Cumulative

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |   60 |  85.71% |  51.67% |
| 2    | Mienfoo            |   44 |  62.86% |  50.00% |
| 3    | Pawniard           |   39 |  55.71% |  51.28% |
| 4    | Diglett            |   34 |  48.57% |  50.00% |
| 5    | Mareanie           |   24 |  34.29% |  58.33% |
| 6    | Onix               |   23 |  32.86% |  39.13% |
| 7    | Ferroseed          |   18 |  25.71% |  44.44% |
| 8    | Grookey            |   17 |  24.29% |  64.71% |
| 9    | Scraggy            |   15 |  21.43% |  73.33% |
| 9    | Staryu             |   15 |  21.43% |  40.00% |
| 11   | Foongus            |   14 |  20.00% |  42.86% |
| 12   | Abra               |   11 |  15.71% |  45.45% |
| 13   | Porygon            |   10 |  14.29% |  60.00% |
| 13   | Koffing            |   10 |  14.29% |  40.00% |
| 15   | Dewpider           |    9 |  12.86% |  55.56% |
| 15   | Wingull            |    9 |  12.86% |  33.33% |
| 17   | Mudbray            |    8 |  11.43% |  75.00% |
| 17   | Timburr            |    8 |  11.43% |  37.50% |
| 19   | Magnemite          |    7 |  10.00% |  57.14% |
| 20   | Vulpix             |    6 |   8.57% |  33.33% |
| 21   | Trapinch           |    5 |   7.14% |  40.00% |
| 21   | Spritzee           |    5 |   7.14% |  20.00% |
| 21   | Ponyta             |    5 |   7.14% |   0.00% |
| 24   | Woobat             |    3 |   4.29% | 100.00% |
| 24   | Frillish           |    3 |   4.29% |  66.67% |
| 24   | Ponyta-Galar       |    3 |   4.29% |  66.67% |
| 27   | Dwebble            |    2 |   2.86% | 100.00% |
| 27   | Slowpoke           |    2 |   2.86% |  50.00% |
| 27   | Bunnelby           |    2 |   2.86% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Zorua              |    1 |   1.43% | 100.00% |
| 30   | Shellder           |    1 |   1.43% | 100.00% |
| 30   | Pancham            |    1 |   1.43% | 100.00% |
| 30   | Stunky             |    1 |   1.43% | 100.00% |
| 30   | Farfetch’d-Galar   |    1 |   1.43% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Sandshrew-Alola    |    1 |   1.43% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Snover             |    1 |   1.43% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Skrelp             |    1 |   1.43% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Budew              |    1 |   1.43% |   0.00% |

Week 7

Week 7

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |    8 |  80.00% |  37.50% |
| 2    | Pawniard           |    6 |  60.00% |  83.33% |
| 3    | Grookey            |    5 |  50.00% |  60.00% |
| 3    | Mienfoo            |    5 |  50.00% |  20.00% |
| 5    | Scraggy            |    4 |  40.00% |  75.00% |
| 6    | Mareanie           |    3 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| 6    | Dewpider           |    3 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| 6    | Ferroseed          |    3 |  30.00% |   0.00% |
| 6    | Onix               |    3 |  30.00% |   0.00% |
| 6    | Koffing            |    3 |  30.00% |   0.00% |
| 11   | Trapinch           |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 11   | Magnemite          |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 11   | Wingull            |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Pancham            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Dwebble            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Frillish           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Stunky             |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Porygon            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Diglett            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Abra               |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Vulpix             |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Woobat             |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Bunnelby           |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Ponyta-Galar       |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |

Notable Trends:

• This week saw Vullaby and Mienfoo's WR dip like crazy from their usual numbers. In their place, Pawniard saw a notable increase in WR, winning on 5/6 teams that it was brought on.
• Offensive teams, especially HO, has been prominent in the current metagame, seen by the increased usage in Webs (3) and hazard stack HO (1) this week.
• In general, traditional defensive cores struggled this week; notably Ferroseed, Onix, and Koffing went 0/3 this week. All of these Pokemon struggle against Scraggy and are setup fodder for many of its sets.
• Setup sweepers are extremely dominant in the metagame. Some of the tier's top offensive threats like Nasty Plot Vullaby, Scraggy, Woobat, and Grookey fall under this category. There has also been more uncommon sweepers like Agility Porygon and cool techs like SDSalac Pancham seeing strong showings.

Weekly Core Analysis:
The star of this week is something that has been garnering attention as an issue in LC. Is it good? Is it broken? Are people just bad at playing around it? Its not really a core and moreso an archetype, but is definitely worth analyzing. This week's "core" is Sticky Web offense or Webs.



The premise around Webs offense is extremely linear: get up Webs and start firing off attacks. Despite how basic this strategy is, its extremely effective, especially in the current metagame. There are a few reasons for this and I will just outline some of them. Firstly, entry hazard removal in LC has gotten worse. Hazard control like Staryu, Timburr, and Defog Wingull have seen declining usage and even the prolific Vullaby has sometimes opted to forgo Defog for Heat Wave or a different set like Nasty Plot. This makes it so that most teams usually carry one or even no sources of hazard removal and makes it difficult to keep hazards off the field. This leads to the second reason of how hazard removal can be easily punished. The rise in usage of Pawniard makes clicking Defog very dangerous, a perfect complement to keeping Webs on the opposing side. Lastly, setup sweepers are broken under Webs. Offensive juggernauts like Nasty Plot Vullaby, Scraggy, and Woobat become more potent when supported by Webs. Often, stacking multiple setup sweepers can cover each other's weaknesses and can easily snowball under the Speed drop from Sticky Web.

Sorry for the tangent lmao. Hopefully you enjoyed this analysis of Webs!

 

[freezai]

Week 8 sorry im tired

LC: dcae vs Z Strats
LC: LilyAC vs Xizaaa
LC: Ninjadog vs Osh
LC: Wail Wailord vs CyberOdin

Last Week: 3-1
Overall: 18-10

 

[taranteeeno]

Artwork by yours truly, don't mention it...
Smogon Snake Draft IV: Quick Bites - LC Edition!
Interviews with your favorite Snake LC players!

Hello hello hello, Little Cuppers! taranteeeno back with another edition of Quick Bites - LC Edition; sponsored by Levi Premier League. In this brief segment, I will conduct a short interview with some of the Smogon Snake Draft IV LC players. I'll check in with your favorite Little Cup player and get their latest metagame hot takes!

I've been chasing an interview with this player for quite some time now. She was very elusive during my time as SM LC Player of the Week interviewer. However... I managed to get her on the line for a few minutes to answer some questions! Without further ado, I present to you LilyAC!

Quick Bites #3 - LilyAC

Hey Lily, thanks for joining me for this quick interview! For some time now, you’ve been regarded as a top player and possibly the best builder in the community. What do you attribute to your success?

aside from my excellent timer management, I think it's just down to the huge amount of time I put into LC. I can often spend 1-2 hours just chilling with the builder open before I come up with a team I want to test, and at this point I've played hundreds of test games against top LCers, which has really helped me improve my playing ability.

Have you been enjoying this Snake Draft? Has your experience in this official tour been any different from the last two you've been a part of (SPL XI, SSD 3)?

been enjoying this official tour just as much as always, and it feels pretty similar to the last two. the main difference for me is prolly just the state of the meta - last snake it was like fully developed, in SPL it was brand new, and this time it's somewhere in between, which is nice because it gives room to experiment without it feeling like a shot in the dark. I will say I'm glad Kingler isn't in my teamchat this time round.

You’ve brought some interesting sets this tour ranging from bizarre picks like Zorua to leading the resurgence of Scraggy usage. Were there any metagame trends in particular that inspired these choices or were these specific counterpicks?

against Shrug I was out of ideas, so I tried to think of some kind of lure that could give me a head start. the best I could come up with was Zorua... which I didn't think was a particularly good pick, but I had nothing else to use, and it performed well enough in tests to convince me it had an okay chance at working. so to be honest there wasn't all that much thought behind it. Scraggy meanwhile is something I knew would be pretty solid all round, especially with Spritz usage being so low atm, so that's why I've been spamming it so much. the scarf trick Abra vs dcae was more of a specific counterpick though, as I thought it would be a cool way to beat Woobat webs, while still having some utility vs more standard teams (e.g. by luring Dig or tricking Ferro). sadly I failed to account for G-Pony webs, which was a pretty bad oversight that cost me the game and maybe even my discord pfp :/

No not your discord pfp! I knew I was onto something when I posted about your profile picture being on the line for that match.

Anyway, you still have two more matches this season with one being my highlight for the entire tour: LilyAC vs Serene Grace. What are you expecting from your opponent in this matchup and is there anything on the line this time?

yeah that's going to be a big match for a few reasons. it could easily end up being important for my team to make playoffs (which would be a first for me in an official tour), I'll have to win to beat my 6-3 record, and I'm sure Serene wants revenge after SPL where I lost at preview then immediately resorted to flinching his Shellos twice. tbh I have no clue what to expect, as Serene's definitely the most unpredictable opponent for me, but I'm excited to find out what he has planned.

That's all for this edition of Quick Bites. Hope everyone enjoyed this. I'll be following up soon with another interview!

 

[DC]

Week 8 Stats! Keeping it short this week.

Cumulative

Cumulative

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |   68 |  85.00% |  51.47% |
| 2    | Mienfoo            |   47 |  58.75% |  48.94% |
| 3    | Pawniard           |   44 |  55.00% |  52.27% |
| 4    | Diglett            |   36 |  45.00% |  52.78% |
| 5    | Onix               |   27 |  33.75% |  40.74% |
| 6    | Mareanie           |   26 |  32.50% |  53.85% |
| 7    | Scraggy            |   21 |  26.25% |  66.67% |
| 7    | Ferroseed          |   21 |  26.25% |  47.62% |
| 9    | Grookey            |   19 |  23.75% |  57.89% |
| 10   | Foongus            |   16 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 10   | Staryu             |   16 |  20.00% |  43.75% |
| 12   | Abra               |   15 |  18.75% |  46.67% |
| 13   | Porygon            |   13 |  16.25% |  53.85% |
| 14   | Dewpider           |   11 |  13.75% |  45.45% |
| 14   | Koffing            |   11 |  13.75% |  45.45% |
| 16   | Wingull            |   10 |  12.50% |  40.00% |
| 16   | Timburr            |   10 |  12.50% |  30.00% |
| 18   | Mudbray            |    9 |  11.25% |  66.67% |
| 18   | Magnemite          |    9 |  11.25% |  55.56% |
| 20   | Spritzee           |    7 |   8.75% |  28.57% |
| 21   | Vulpix             |    6 |   7.50% |  33.33% |
| 22   | Trapinch           |    5 |   6.25% |  40.00% |
| 22   | Ponyta             |    5 |   6.25% |   0.00% |
| 24   | Woobat             |    3 |   3.75% | 100.00% |
| 24   | Dwebble            |    3 |   3.75% | 100.00% |
| 24   | Frillish           |    3 |   3.75% |  66.67% |
| 24   | Ponyta-Galar       |    3 |   3.75% |  66.67% |
| 24   | Bunnelby           |    3 |   3.75% |  33.33% |
| 29   | Slowpoke           |    2 |   2.50% |  50.00% |
| 30   | Zorua              |    1 |   1.25% | 100.00% |
| 30   | Shellder           |    1 |   1.25% | 100.00% |
| 30   | Pancham            |    1 |   1.25% | 100.00% |
| 30   | Stunky             |    1 |   1.25% | 100.00% |
| 30   | Squirtle           |    1 |   1.25% | 100.00% |
| 30   | Farfetch’d-Galar   |    1 |   1.25% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Sandshrew-Alola    |    1 |   1.25% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Snover             |    1 |   1.25% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Skrelp             |    1 |   1.25% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Budew              |    1 |   1.25% |   0.00% |
| 30   | Zigzagoon          |    1 |   1.25% |   0.00% |

Week 8

Week 8

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |    8 |  80.00% |  50.00% |
| 2    | Scraggy            |    6 |  60.00% |  50.00% |
| 3    | Pawniard           |    5 |  50.00% |  60.00% |
| 4    | Onix               |    4 |  40.00% |  50.00% |
| 4    | Abra               |    4 |  40.00% |  50.00% |
| 6    | Ferroseed          |    3 |  30.00% |  66.67% |
| 6    | Porygon            |    3 |  30.00% |  33.33% |
| 6    | Mienfoo            |    3 |  30.00% |  33.33% |
| 9    | Diglett            |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 9    | Foongus            |    2 |  20.00% | 100.00% |
| 9    | Spritzee           |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Magnemite          |    2 |  20.00% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Dewpider           |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 9    | Timburr            |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 9    | Grookey            |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 9    | Mareanie           |    2 |  20.00% |   0.00% |
| 17   | Squirtle           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Dwebble            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Bunnelby           |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Koffing            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Wingull            |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Staryu             |    1 |  10.00% | 100.00% |
| 17   | Zigzagoon          |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |
| 17   | Mudbray            |    1 |  10.00% |   0.00% |

Notable Trends:

• Its official! The Scraggy hypetrain has reached its fullest point, becoming the second most used Pokemon this week. Cumulatively, it has a high 67% WR in 21 uses, cementing itself as a metagame staple and something to always to be wary about.
• Webs took a step back this week, going 0-2. Anti-Webs techs like Rock Polish Pawniard made a debut this week, showcasing the various adaptations that players have been making to counter one of the tier's most defining styles.
• Squirtle won a game .

No core analysis this week since pretty much all the famous cores have been analyzed to a good degree.
Also, sign up for LCWC II! Sign up thread.

 

[taranteeeno]

Artwork by yours truly, don't mention it...
Smogon Snake Draft IV: Quick Bites - LC Edition!
Interviews with your favorite Snake LC players!

Wow! What is this? Another edition of Quick Bites - LC Edition, sponsored by Levi Premier League, so soon? It can't be... but it is. In this brief segment, I will conduct a short interview with some of the Smogon Snake Draft IV LC players. I'll check in with your favorite Little Cup player and get their latest metagame hot takes!

This time, we have the #1 Snake LCer. He's currently on a tear in Snake Draft IV and is preparing for a Week 9 showdown against LilyAC. Please help me welcome Serene Grace.

Quick Bites #4 - Serene Grace

Hey Serene Grace! Thanks for joining me for this Quick Bites interview. You’re in the midst of an amazing team tour run and have established yourself as the one to beat. What do you attribute to your success in this tour? Do you think you’re prepping exceptionally well or have you been spending time sharpening your play?

While I think I have been playing well, at this level everyone plays well so its also about getting an advantage in the teambuilder. And by that I mean more than just keeping up with trends: you also need to be able to be creative enough to create new sets every week. While that is easier said than done, the payoff is huge if you're able to go into games with your opponent not knowing your sets.

There seems to be an increase in setup sweepers and far more hyper offensive builds in the last few weeks. What do you think about the current Snake LC metagame and why do you think we’ve looped around to a Webs- and setup-dominated meta?

Metagame wise I still like using FooDig. Some trends have hurt it, like the rise of Koffing and Scraggy, but for the most part FooDig means you always have a chance to outplay your opponent. Webs is a hot topic right now and is getting calls for a ban. I'm not entirely convinced its broken mainly because there's always a time lag between a threat and people responding to the threat. There are ways to neuter webs, for example I used RP Pawniard this week, and I think we need to wait a bit to see if webs is something we can adapt to before we start swinging the hammer at it.

You have what I believe to be the highlight match of this season coming up: Serene Grace vs LilyAC. What do you expect from your opponent and the outcome of this battle?

This match is definitely my personal highlight for the season and in all likelihood it's going to play a big role in determining which one of our team's makes playoffs so thats another exciting factor. Funnily enough this exact same scenario happend a few months ago in SPL where I lost, so i want revenge. I don't have any real expectations other than that itll be a lot of fun. And of course I'm confident I'll win.

The Crown Tundra DLC was just released. With the Isle of Armor, Little Cup received a timely revitalization. Is there anything from the new DLC that excites you? Do you see any drastic changes happening to the metagame?

I don't expect LC to change that drastically, we are mainly just gaining various utility rock types which I guess is good for diversifying Vullaby Switchins. Maybe we can free Rufflet now? I think there are some novelties that could be fun like Treecko in terrain or DD Tyrunt but I'm most excited for Omanyte, I've always liked its WA hazard sets and I think it could be a lot of fun here. I would've liked to see Post DLC in Snake playoffs but I guess you can't win them all.

Thanks for your time, Serene! I have one more interview planned for this tour. Thank you everyone for taking the time to read. See you again soon!

 

[San Tomas]

a whole serene interview and not a single mention of salac pancham :(

 

[DC]

End of Regular Season Stats!

Cumulative

Cumulative

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |   74 |  84.09% |  51.35% |
| 2    | Mienfoo            |   50 |  56.82% |  48.00% |
| 3    | Pawniard           |   48 |  54.55% |  52.08% |
| 4    | Diglett            |   37 |  42.05% |  54.05% |
| 5    | Onix               |   29 |  32.95% |  41.38% |
| 6    | Mareanie           |   26 |  29.55% |  53.85% |
| 7    | Scraggy            |   24 |  27.27% |  62.50% |
| 7    | Ferroseed          |   24 |  27.27% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Grookey            |   21 |  23.86% |  57.14% |
| 10   | Foongus            |   18 |  20.45% |  55.56% |
| 10   | Staryu             |   18 |  20.45% |  50.00% |
| 12   | Abra               |   16 |  18.18% |  50.00% |
| 13   | Porygon            |   14 |  15.91% |  57.14% |
| 14   | Koffing            |   13 |  14.77% |  46.15% |
| 14   | Dewpider           |   13 |  14.77% |  38.46% |
| 16   | Timburr            |   11 |  12.50% |  36.36% |
| 17   | Mudbray            |   10 |  11.36% |  60.00% |
| 17   | Magnemite          |   10 |  11.36% |  50.00% |
| 17   | Wingull            |   10 |  11.36% |  40.00% |
| 17   | Spritzee           |   10 |  11.36% |  20.00% |
| 21   | Vulpix             |    7 |   7.95% |  28.57% |
| 22   | Trapinch           |    6 |   6.82% |  50.00% |
| 23   | Ponyta-Galar       |    5 |   5.68% |  40.00% |
| 23   | Ponyta             |    5 |   5.68% |   0.00% |
| 25   | Woobat             |    4 |   4.55% | 100.00% |
| 25   | Frillish           |    4 |   4.55% |  50.00% |
| 27   | Dwebble            |    3 |   3.41% | 100.00% |
| 27   | Bunnelby           |    3 |   3.41% |  33.33% |
| 29   | Shellder           |    2 |   2.27% | 100.00% |
| 29   | Slowpoke           |    2 |   2.27% |  50.00% |
| 31   | Zorua              |    1 |   1.14% | 100.00% |
| 31   | Pancham            |    1 |   1.14% | 100.00% |
| 31   | Stunky             |    1 |   1.14% | 100.00% |
| 31   | Squirtle           |    1 |   1.14% | 100.00% |
| 31   | Natu               |    1 |   1.14% | 100.00% |
| 31   | Farfetch’d-Galar   |    1 |   1.14% |   0.00% |
| 31   | Sandshrew-Alola    |    1 |   1.14% |   0.00% |
| 31   | Snover             |    1 |   1.14% |   0.00% |
| 31   | Skrelp             |    1 |   1.14% |   0.00% |
| 31   | Budew              |    1 |   1.14% |   0.00% |
| 31   | Zigzagoon          |    1 |   1.14% |   0.00% |

Week 9

Week 9

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |    6 |  75.00% |  50.00% |
| 2    | Pawniard           |    4 |  50.00% |  50.00% |
| 3    | Ferroseed          |    3 |  37.50% |  66.67% |
| 3    | Scraggy            |    3 |  37.50% |  33.33% |
| 3    | Mienfoo            |    3 |  37.50% |  33.33% |
| 3    | Spritzee           |    3 |  37.50% |   0.00% |
| 7    | Staryu             |    2 |  25.00% | 100.00% |
| 7    | Foongus            |    2 |  25.00% | 100.00% |
| 7    | Grookey            |    2 |  25.00% |  50.00% |
| 7    | Koffing            |    2 |  25.00% |  50.00% |
| 7    | Onix               |    2 |  25.00% |  50.00% |
| 7    | Ponyta-Galar       |    2 |  25.00% |   0.00% |
| 7    | Dewpider           |    2 |  25.00% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Natu               |    1 |  12.50% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Woobat             |    1 |  12.50% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Shellder           |    1 |  12.50% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Porygon            |    1 |  12.50% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Trapinch           |    1 |  12.50% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Timburr            |    1 |  12.50% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Abra               |    1 |  12.50% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Diglett            |    1 |  12.50% | 100.00% |
| 14   | Vulpix             |    1 |  12.50% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Magnemite          |    1 |  12.50% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Frillish           |    1 |  12.50% |   0.00% |
| 14   | Mudbray            |    1 |  12.50% |   0.00% |

Notable Trends:
Biggest Winners from Regular Season (With more than 3 uses):
- 100% WR (4 uses) - 100% WR (3 uses) - 62.5% WR (24 uses)

Biggest Losers from Regular Season (With more than 3 uses):
- 0% WR (5 uses) - 20% WR (10 uses) - 28.5% WR (7 uses)

• Vullaby ends the regular season with 84% Usage rate, almost 30% more than the 2nd highest usage Pokemon in Mienfoo.
• Dewpider and Webs ended the season with a 38% WR, capped off by going 0/2 this week. Alot of early season struggles, coupled with more teams preparing for Webs lately, has managed to limit its effectiveness.
• The metagame was really unkind to Fire-types and Spritzee (went 0/3 this week). Although Timburr won this week, it also sits at a 36% WR overall.
• Alot more metagame diversity than expected? Many unexpected Pokemon made appearances like Zorua, Pancham, and Squirtle and managed to win.

Thats all for the regular season. Stats will return after finals since there are just 3 more games.

 

[DC]

Sorry for double post, but here are the end of the season stats for Snake!

Cumulative

Cumulative

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |   80 |  85.11% |  51.25% |
| 2    | Mienfoo            |   53 |  56.38% |  47.17% |
| 3    | Pawniard           |   51 |  54.26% |  52.94% |
| 4    | Diglett            |   39 |  41.49% |  51.28% |
| 5    | Onix               |   32 |  34.04% |  40.62% |
| 6    | Mareanie           |   27 |  28.72% |  51.85% |
| 7    | Scraggy            |   26 |  27.66% |  65.38% |
| 7    | Ferroseed          |   26 |  27.66% |  50.00% |
| 9    | Grookey            |   24 |  25.53% |  58.33% |
| 10   | Foongus            |   20 |  21.28% |  55.00% |
| 11   | Staryu             |   19 |  20.21% |  47.37% |
| 12   | Abra               |   18 |  19.15% |  50.00% |
| 13   | Koffing            |   15 |  15.96% |  46.67% |
| 14   | Porygon            |   14 |  14.89% |  57.14% |
| 14   | Dewpider           |   14 |  14.89% |  42.86% |
| 16   | Timburr            |   12 |  12.77% |  33.33% |
| 17   | Mudbray            |   11 |  11.70% |  63.64% |
| 18   | Magnemite          |   10 |  10.64% |  50.00% |
| 18   | Wingull            |   10 |  10.64% |  40.00% |
| 18   | Spritzee           |   10 |  10.64% |  20.00% |
| 21   | Vulpix             |    7 |   7.45% |  28.57% |
| 22   | Trapinch           |    6 |   6.38% |  50.00% |
| 23   | Woobat             |    5 |   5.32% | 100.00% |
| 23   | Ponyta-Galar       |    5 |   5.32% |  40.00% |
| 23   | Ponyta             |    5 |   5.32% |   0.00% |
| 26   | Frillish           |    4 |   4.26% |  50.00% |
| 27   | Dwebble            |    3 |   3.19% | 100.00% |
| 27   | Bunnelby           |    3 |   3.19% |  33.33% |
| 29   | Shellder           |    2 |   2.13% | 100.00% |
| 29   | Slowpoke           |    2 |   2.13% |  50.00% |
| 31   | Zorua              |    1 |   1.06% | 100.00% |
| 31   | Pancham            |    1 |   1.06% | 100.00% |
| 31   | Stunky             |    1 |   1.06% | 100.00% |
| 31   | Squirtle           |    1 |   1.06% | 100.00% |
| 31   | Natu               |    1 |   1.06% | 100.00% |
| 31   | Farfetch’d-Galar   |    1 |   1.06% |   0.00% |
| 31   | Sandshrew-Alola    |    1 |   1.06% |   0.00% |
| 31   | Snover             |    1 |   1.06% |   0.00% |
| 31   | Skrelp             |    1 |   1.06% |   0.00% |
| 31   | Budew              |    1 |   1.06% |   0.00% |
| 31   | Zigzagoon          |    1 |   1.06% |   0.00% |

Semifinals

Semifinals

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |    4 | 100.00% |  50.00% |
| 2    | Ferroseed          |    2 |  50.00% |  50.00% |
| 2    | Abra               |    2 |  50.00% |  50.00% |
| 2    | Koffing            |    2 |  50.00% |  50.00% |
| 2    | Onix               |    2 |  50.00% |  50.00% |
| 2    | Pawniard           |    2 |  50.00% |  50.00% |
| 2    | Mienfoo            |    2 |  50.00% |  50.00% |
| 8    | Scraggy            |    1 |  25.00% | 100.00% |
| 8    | Grookey            |    1 |  25.00% | 100.00% |
| 8    | Foongus            |    1 |  25.00% | 100.00% |
| 8    | Mudbray            |    1 |  25.00% | 100.00% |
| 8    | Staryu             |    1 |  25.00% |   0.00% |
| 8    | Diglett            |    1 |  25.00% |   0.00% |
| 8    | Mareanie           |    1 |  25.00% |   0.00% |
| 8    | Timburr            |    1 |  25.00% |   0.00% |

Finals

Finals

+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| Rank | Pokemon            | Use  | Usage % |  Win %  |
+ ---- + ------------------ + ---- + ------- + ------- +
| 1    | Vullaby            |    2 | 100.00% |  50.00% |
| 1    | Grookey            |    2 | 100.00% |  50.00% |
| 3    | Dewpider           |    1 |  50.00% | 100.00% |
| 3    | Pawniard           |    1 |  50.00% | 100.00% |
| 3    | Woobat             |    1 |  50.00% | 100.00% |
| 3    | Scraggy            |    1 |  50.00% | 100.00% |
| 3    | Mienfoo            |    1 |  50.00% |   0.00% |
| 3    | Diglett            |    1 |  50.00% |   0.00% |
| 3    | Foongus            |    1 |  50.00% |   0.00% |
| 3    | Onix               |    1 |  50.00% |   0.00% |

Notable Trends:

• To no one's surprise, Vullaby ended with 85% usage rate and above 50% WR. The bird was very good when sporting Heat Wave (15 uses, 73% WR) and Endure (6 uses, 100% WR). It formed a good duo with both Pawniard and Mienfoo (each seeing 44 uses as a duo and having over 50% WR).
• Scraggy was a controversial topic as a broken setup sweeper and for good reasons. The highest WR cores (trio with over 10 uses) all had Scraggy in it. Scrag, Vull, & Pawn (17 uses, 71% WR), Scrag, Pawn, & Grook (12 uses, 75% WR), and Vull, Grook, & Scrag (11 uses, 72% WR) were used a decent amount and won alot.
• Everybody's favorite Webs team (Dewpider, Vullaby, Pawniard, Scraggy, Grookey, and Woobat) was the winnest team in LC, going 4 for 4.

End of the Season Power Rankings (by teams):
1. Rattlers (9-2) - [Serene Grace (9-2)] - PR ranked #2
2. Lindworms (7-4) - [Dcae (7-3), Shogarth (0-1)] - PR ranked #7
3. Mambas (6-3) - [Wail Wailord (6-3)] - PR ranked #9
4. Astroias (5-4) - [LilyAC (5-4)] - PR ranked #3
5. Nagas (5-5) - [Ninjadog (5-5)] - PR ranked #6
6. Taipans (4-5) - [Osh (4-5)] - PR ranked #1
7. Cobras (4-6) - [Shrug (2-5), Z Strats (2-1)] - PR ranked #4
8. Leviathans (3-6) - [Xizaaa (3-6)] - PR ranked #8
9. Serpents (2-6) - [Mazinger (1-3), tko (1-3)] - PR ranked #10
9. Bushmasters (2-6) - [Kingler (1-5), Frisoeva (1-0), Cyberodin (0-1)] - PR ranked #5

Cheers!