Sets and Team Highlights - WEEK 2
thank you to Kiichikos for the major help and for telling me about the team she used!
thank you to Melanie uwu for the major help as well!
Slowbro
Slowbro
- Amnesia
- Surf
- Thunder Wave
- Rest
Heroic Troller vs. MetalGro$$ -
Game 2 - Turn 31
Nails vs. Tiba -
Game 2 - Turn 20
After seeing zero (0) usage in Week 1, Slowbro jumped up to a whopping two appearances and won both times. Amnesia sets are threatening because it's quite easy to boost on Chansey (Nails got to +6 against Tiba) and do massive damage with Surf (including 2HKOing Chansey). Even though Slowbro didn't pull off a full sweep in either match, it left Tauros basically dead in Heroic Troller vs. MetalGro$$ G2 and crippled Chansey and Lapras in Nails vs. Tiba, and could have done more if Lapras didn't wake up when it did.
While Heroic Troller and Nails chose Alakazam + Exeggutor and Starmie + Rhydon respectively to pair with Slowbro and the Big 3, both combinations function similarly. Starmie and Alakazam act as fast leads that can spread paralysis to benefit Slowbro later on while acting as a Sleep sack. Exeggutor and Rhydon are both used to check Jolteon, with the former acting as a reliable Sleeper (which frees up a moveslot on Chansey) while the latter is a hard counter to Jolteon and Zapdos.
H I G H L I G H T T E A M
Kiichikos vs. Serpi -
Game 3
Lapras made its SPL Xll Debut in RBY this week and secured the set for Kiichikos in Game 3 against Serpi. Paired with Sing Chansey and Exeggutor, Lapras dropped Sing for Confuse Ray and also chose Body Slam over Hyper Beam to spread paralysis and help against Starmie and Alakazam. Kiichikos went with Self-Destruct on Snorlax to break through Chansey, which can take any Lapras attacks with ease. She played very aggressively with it and was able to boom on Chansey Turn 14. This let Lapras to fire off uncontested blizzards when it hit the field on Turn 42. With the lucky freeze, it was able to finish off Serpi's last three pokemon, and even got to use Confuse Ray on Starmie to chip it into Thunderbolt range. If Jolteon was Pin Missle and didn't get frozen, it would have been a much closer endgame.
Alakazam and Exeggutor round out the team along with the Big 3. Exeggutor adds another Explosion option to help beat Chansey, while also has the added benefit of helping against Jolteon (while Lapras loves firing off Blizzards into the only other electric). Running Stun Spore also gives Kiichikos's yet
another way to spread paralysis to support Lapras and the rest of the team.
When I asked Kiichikos the team she used, she noticed Serpi used Closyter a lot, so she wanted to keep Starmie (or in this case Lapras) in the back and begin with Alakazam since leads typically get sacked to sleep. She also didn't want to be Rhydon weak which helps explains why Exeggutor was chosen. She also said she chose Sing Chansey over Sing Lapras because it's easier to sleep opposing Chanseys and you don't fear getting paralyzed. Kiichikos also thought it wouldn't be obvious she was Sing Chansey after revealing Seismic Toss as well as having Exeggutor and Lapras.
Lastly, Kiichikos told me she was Body Slam / Reflect / Earthquake / Self-Destruct Snorlax which is really useful for baiting Chansey, as seen in the replay. If a Snorlax reveals the first three moves, the last is almost always Rest, so Kiichikos can get a surprise boom off.
USAGE STATS TRENDS
1. 
Gengar was brought zero times this week after a 29% usage and 71% win rate in Week 1.
2. 
Rhydon shot up to 5th in usage (39%, up from 8%) behind the Big 3 and Starmie, jumping Alakazam, Exeggutor, and more.
3. Slowbro and Lapras made their first appearances (2 and 4 respectively) while Articuno, Victreebel, and Dragonite fell out of usage.
