Charlotte(NC) Regionals Top 8 report:I'm just a dreamer too

Hello, everyone! My name is Brian Youm, and you might as well know me as Seven_Poke. I am a Pokemon VGC(Video Game Championships) competitor representing the U.S.A in Masters division and I’m here today to share my journey leading up to Charlotte Regionals Championships, which I top 8’d with an amazing swiss record of 8-0 and earning my worlds invite in the process. I’ll try my best to describe the battles just as I was thinking at the Regionals itself. Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s begin!

But before anything pokemon related, this tournament was extremely important to me. I aged up from Seniors in 2016 and did extremely poorly at most regionals and went X-3 other than Athens Regionals and Hartford Regionals which I Top 16’d, however finally breaking the curse felt amazing. I had ok accomplishments in the past as a senior but honestly nobody cares about seniors. Give yourself some time by listening to “Dreamer” by Axwell Λ Ingrosso, one of my favorite songs and what I named my song after. Anyway, after all of that, let’s begin!

2018 Brooklyn MSS

Team Name:BEGINNING

Result:Top 8

Cp Count:215/400

I started off VGC’18 with only 190 CP and I felt lost. I had no idea what to use, then started building teams that I felt was an ok metacall for the first month of the format. It’s funny because this team originally started off with Psych Up Psychium Z Cresselia paired up with Belly drum Snorlax,  but after I started throwing ideas around I polished the team so it’s semi-useable and not really “memey”. I went to the Mid Season Showdown expecting myself to go X-3 and drop, but I ended up being the highest 5-2 after swiss however I got eliminated in top 8 at the tournament. It was a pretty surprising performance by me after going on a huge tilt for the entire 2017. I finally felt like I was getting back on track.

2018 Dallas Regionals

Team Name:CHANGES

Result:Top 64

CP Count:265/400

After Mega Latias usage slowly started rising the format after FeisReis and Jonathan Evans used it in NPA, I started bouncing ideas around with a team that my good friend Jeremy Gross gave me that was built about Calm mind Mega Latias. After getting nowhere like usual, I started talking to my good friends Nick Navarre and Alvin Hidayat to get ideas from them to improvise the team. After laddering quite a bit and talking to my friends, I chose this team and headed to Dallas with no confidence. I ended up going 6-3 and barely bubbled Top 32 CP and I was extremely pissed off about it. I felt like I made the correct metacall but I played horribly with the team. I thought to myself that it’s time to snap out, there’s no more room for failures. It’s time to re-evaluate.

The revaluation, and regionals:

2018 Maryland & Chantilly MSS

Team Name:A BELIEVER

Result:Top 1, Top 1

Cp Count:365/400, +2 CP from the International Challenge March

There is no more room for failure. As you guys know, this was the team on EMOLGAME that I used to win 2 Mid Season Showdowns back to back within 2 weeks. I was super excited and finally felt like I was getting back on track for once, I played out of my mind and super well with this team. It was an amazing team built around Dragon Dance Mega Salamence and Belly Drum Azumarill. Just like how Control-Lax teams support Snorlax all out, my team supports Salamence and Azumarill all out so they can do work and sweep after few turns of setting up. The offensive pressure was insane with Choice Scarfed Heatran and Choice Specs Tapu Koko, it was basically unstoppable. However…...

Preparing for 2018 Charlotte Regionals:

Well, as you all know- Intimidate Incineroar got released a week before Charlotte

regionals. I’m pretty sure everyone was lost and no idea what to use after this annoying thing got released. I was super anxious and nervous and had no idea what to even do, but I did experiments with my friend Joseph Selmer, Ansena, Carson Confer, Chuppa Cross, Jonathan Evans and came up with few teams I wanted to bring. These are the teams I and my friends came up with, and it seemed like my preparation wasn’t going well at all.

Team 1:

Team 2:

Team 3:

2018 Charlotte Regionals:

BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT…

In the Afternoon, I and my friends, left Virginia to head to Charlotte, North Carolina. In the car, there was my good friend “Regional Champion” Alvin Hidayat(@JibaNOTHERE), Rajan Bal(@Blaramons), and #1 CP in Seniors division “Follow me on twitter @GalacticVGC”, Quentin Colon. I’m still really thankful for Quentin’s dad for taking us there to Charlotte and giving all a chance to compete at the Regional Championships. Rajan, Alvin and I were all having trouble deciding on teams while Quentin already decided on his team really fast, and ended up getting 2nd at the regional, congrats to him. We all ended up procrastinating and getting nowhere with team building until we arrived at Charlotte(in the span of...about 8 hours). After we arrived, we seperated with Quentin and his dad then went into our hotel rooms, and got greeted by rest of the Smogon squad at the regional aka Nick Navarre(@NailsOU), Robbie Moore(@Rakom_), Jeremy Gross(@JZGVGC), and then Drew Nowak(@Acenowak) that was out of nowhere. I accidentally took his wallet to my hotel room where I was staying with Jeremy, Alvin, Eli North(@CatVGC) but returned it later. After settling down and putting all our belongings in the hotel room, Jeremy, Alvin, Robbie and I went to get dinner at Ihop. We were all dead silent and ended up talking about Lurantis for the entire dinner and even after we came back to the hotel room, we all talked about Lurantis and most of us ended up using it at the regional, which was pretty funny.

After that night, after thinking hard and deciding things last minute while talking to Alvin and Robbie, I decided on the team last minute about 6 minutes before registration ended and I was really scared but it all ended up going well. Alvin, Robbie and I used the same 6 but with pretty much different movesets, and surprisingly I was the only one who top cut out of all of us in the entire hotel room. I gotta admit that music and friends’ positivity helped a lot at this tournament. S/O to the Smogon Squad for cheering me on all the way.

Team Name:A DREAMER2

Result:Top 8

CP Count:467/400

And the team I ended up using for the Regional was a team I made with Ansena and Robbie Moore’s help 6 minutes before registration ended, featuring Lurantis! I ended up going 8-0 in Swiss and losing in Top 8, but no regrets! I had an amazing run and it made me super happy. I’m kinda salty about being 1 step away from getting a Top 4 regionals brick, I still am really upset it and I beat myself up about it a lot of times when I’m alone, but I am still proud of myself. Quite unbelievable, right? Me being proud of myself? Jokes aside, Charlotte Regionals was a really big event for me and I’m sure all of you are interested about the team. Ask and you shall receive, let’s get right into the glorious team that got me Top 8 at Charlotte(NC) Regional Championships!

I had been using a variant Alvin Hiyadat’s (Jibaku) Manectric team for a few weeks with much success. However, following the release of Intimidate Incineroar, three members of Alvin’s team became significantly less effective or were outclassed by Incineroar entirely. The team started around the remaining members of Alvin’s team: Manectric, Tapu Fini, and Snorlax.

This three-mon core has consistent problems in dealing with bulky Grass-Type and Steel-Type Pokemon such as Amoonguss and Celesteela. Incineroar therefore complements the team incredibly well because of both its Fire-Type coverage and Intimidate support.

With the prevalence of Intimidate Incineroar following its release a week prior, I wanted a Pokemon that could deter and threaten opposing Incineroar and Intimidate users in general. Lurantis found its niche on this team because of its ability ‘Contrary’, which nullified Intimidate entirely allowed it to destroy unsuspecting opponents. Lurantis’ coverage also proved incredibly useful against various common threats such Tapu Fini, Porygon2, Snorlax, and Azumarill.

For the last member of my team, I needed a form of speed control as well as a solid answer to Salamence. An offensive Cresselia fit perfectly, being able to threaten common threats with Ice Beam while setting up Trick Room for the likes of Snorlax, Lurantis, Incineroar, and even Tapu Fini. This specific Cresselia also served as another check to Amoonguss and the increasing number of Mega Venusaurs, threatening OHKO’s with Z Psychic.

Now, drum rolls please…..Presenting to you guys, the masterpiece….

Team Name:A DREAMER2

EINE KLEINE (Manectric-Mega)

@ Manectite  

Ability: Lightning Rod -> Intimidate  

EVs: 4 HP / 4 Def / 228 SpA / 20 SpD / 252 Spe  

Timid Nature  

IVs: 0 Atk  

- Volt Switch  

- Overheat  

- Snarl  

- Protect

Coming into Charlotte Regionals, Manectric was still a relatively underused Mega. Providing Lightning Rod support for Tapu Fini and Intimidate support once Mega Evolved, Manectric’s role as an Offensive Intimidate Pivot is reflected in its moves and EV Spread. A rather standard Manectric set, Volt Switch allows Manectric an Electric STAB while simultaneously pivoting Manectric out of danger. Overheat allows Manectric to threaten the likes of Mega Metagross, the most common Mega in the format. And following an Intimidate or a Snarl, attacks that would otherwise OHKO Manectric would barely miss out on KO’s.

The EV spread aims to maximize Manectric’s Speed, hitting a stat of 205. This crucially outspeeds the fastest non-Scarf threats in Tapu Koko, Pheromosa, and Mega-Gengar, allowing Manectric to either pivot out before receiving damage or hamper opponents with Snarl.

Important Calcs:

Offensive:

228 SpA Mega Manectric Volt Switch vs. 252 HP / 44 SpD Tapu Fini: 96-114 (54.2 - 64.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

228 SpA Mega Manectric Overheat vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Metagross: 138-164 (88.4 - 105.1%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

228 SpA Mega Manectric Helping Hand Overheat vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Aegislash-Shield: 158-188 (94.6 - 112.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

Defensive:

-1 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Stomping Tantrum vs. 4 HP / 4 Def Mega

Manectric: 96-114 (65.7 - 78%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

-1 252+ Atk Landorus-T Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 4 Def Mega Manectric: 120-144 (82.1 - 98.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

-1 252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 4 HP / 20 SpD Mega Manectric in Psychic Terrain: 118-140 (80.8 - 95.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

220+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Fini Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 20 SpD Mega Manectric: 123-145 (84.2 - 99.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

GOODBYE (Tapu Fini)

@ Waterium Z  

Ability: Misty Surge   

EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 220 SpA / 12 SpD / 20 Spe  

Modest Nature

IVs: 0 Atk  

- Muddy Water  

- Moonblast  

- Calm Mind  

- Protect

A more offensive variant than Alvin’s Scarf Tapu Fini, this Tapu Fini survives common attacks while threatening KO’s in return with Waterium Z. Muddy Water and Moonblast are Tapu Fini’s main STAB moves, while Calm Mind allows Fini to net KO’s at +1 without even needing Waterium Z. Misty Terrain also crucially prevents Spore from hampering the likes of Snorlax. It has a lot of offensive pressure yet it can survive a lot of super effective and strong attacks from likes of Mega Gengar, Tapu Koko, and etc.

Important Calcs:

Offensive:

220+ SpA Tapu Fini Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 220 HP / 12 SpD Assault Vest Incineroar: 186-218 (93.9 - 110.1%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

220+ SpA Tapu Fini Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 124 HP / 140 SpD Assault Vest Landorus-T: 176-210 (97.7 - 116.6%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

220+ SpA Tapu Fini Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Koko: 163-193 (111.6 - 132.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 220+ SpA Tapu Fini Moonblast vs. 60 HP / 220 SpD Mega Salamence: 186-218 (104.4 - 122.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Defensive

252 SpA Life Orb Tapu Koko Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Tapu Fini: 133-156 (75.1 - 88.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Mega Gengar Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 12 SpD Tapu Fini: 150-176 (84.7 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

36+ SpA Zapdos Thunderbolt vs. +1 252 HP / 12 SpD Tapu Fini: 74-90 (41.8 - 50.8%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO

HEARTACHE (Snorlax)  

@ Iapapa Berry  

Ability: Gluttony  

Happiness: 0  

EVs: 244 HP / 44 Atk / 204 Def / 12 SpD  

Brave Nature  

IVs: 0 SpA / 0 Spe  

- Frustration  

- Recycle  

- Belly Drum  

- Earthquake

One of the most dominant pokemon out there, is Snorlax. After getting the Gluttony ability and getting access to the pinch berries, it has dominated the entire VGC’17 and it’s doing super well even now in VGC’18. The immense bulk it has combined with Intimidate and Snarl makes it an impenetrable wall that can set up to +6 in an instant and sweep an entire team in a blink of an eye. It has proven itself really well on this team and got me out of really awkward situations by being an amazing wall that can pierce through any core of pokemon after setting up with Belly Drum. The combination of Cresselia Snorlax was super dominant this regional due to Cresselia being able to 1HKO Amoonguss before it does anything, and +6 Helping Handed Earthquake pretty much wipes the entire field until there’s nothing left. One of the most destructive member of the team, Snorlax. It did super well at the regional and I can’t say I’m not proud of it.

Important Calcs:

Offensive:

+4 44 Atk Snorlax Return vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Fini: 172-204 (97.1 - 115.2%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

+4 44 Atk Snorlax Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 20 Def Incineroar: 204-240 (100.9 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+6 44 Atk Snorlax Return vs. 244 HP / 92 Def Eviolite Porygon2: 171-202 (89.5 - 105.7%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

Defensive:

+5 4 Atk Snorlax Return vs. 244 HP / 204+ Def Snorlax: 216-255 (81.2 - 95.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Gluttony Figy Berry recovery

-1 252 Atk Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 244 HP / 204+ Def Snorlax: 88-104 (33 - 39%) -- 2.8% chance to 4HKO after Gluttony Figy Berry recovery

252+ SpA Tapu Lele Shattered Psyche (175 BP) vs. 244 HP / 12 SpD Snorlax in Psychic Terrain: 225-265 (84.5 - 99.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Gluttony Figy Berry recovery

252+ SpA Ludicolo Hydro Vortex (185 BP) vs. 244 HP / 12 SpD Snorlax in Rain: 186-220 (69.9 - 82.7%) -- 68.4% chance to 2HKO after Gluttony Figy Berry recovery

STAND ALONE (Incineroar)

@ Aguav Berry  

Ability: Intimidate  

EVs: 252 HP / 124 Atk / 20 Def / 100 SpD / 12 Spe  

Adamant Nature  

IVs: 0 SpA  

- Fake Out

- Flare Blitz  

- Knock Off  

- Taunt  

The most disruptive Pokemon in the 2018 format, Incineroar rivals Landorus-T as the most commonly used Pokemon in the format. With great typing and even better movepool, Intimidate provides Incineroar with the tool it needed to spring into mainstream usage. Flare Blitz and Knock Off are Incineroar’s two STAB moves, allowing Incineroar to check Steel-Types, Amoonguss, and get rid of important items such as Pinch Berries, Assault Vest, and Choice Items. Fake Out allows Incineroar to force out Protects from opponents or allow allies to set up and sweep through teams. Taunt covers the team’s weakness to Hard Trick Room / Heavy Setup Teams, especially those with Snorlax.

Intimidate and Fake Out has always been a potent combination, but Incineroar’s fantastic spread distribution allows it to edge out the likes of Scrafty and Hitmontop. This EV Spread allows Incineroar to survive various Super Effective attacks, proccing its Aguav Berry to regain 50% of its HP. This bulk allows Incineroar to constantly switch into and out of opposing attacks to cycle Intimidate and disrupt opponents with Fake Out. In hindsight, I would’ve preferred to take out some Attack EV’s and invest more in Defenses to live Gigavolt Havocs more frequently.

Important Calcs:

Offensive:

124+ Atk Incineroar Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 12 Def Gothitelle: 156-186 (88.1 - 105%) -- 25% chance to OHKO

124+ Atk Incineroar Flare Blitz vs. 180 HP / 0 Def Celesteela: 186-218 (95.3 - 111.7%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

Defensive:

-1 252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Stomping Tantrum vs. 252 HP / 20 Def Incineroar: 86-102 (42.5 - 50.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Tapu Fini Scald vs. 252 HP / 100 SpD Incineroar: 176-210 (87.1 - 103.9%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Tapu Koko Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 100 SpD Incineroar in Electric Terrain: 178-211 (88.1 - 104.4%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

ANSENA (Lurantis)

@ Figy Berry  

Ability: Contrary  

EVs: 252 HP / 196 Atk / 12 Def / 44 SpD  

Brave Nature  

IVs: 0 SpA / 0 Spe  

- Leaf Blade  

- Superpower  

- Knock Off  

- Protect

The pride and joy of this team, Lurantis comes onto the battlefield as a serious threat. Following the release of Intimidate Incineroar, I was searching for a Pokemon that could match the damage output of Kartana while matching up decently against Incineroar. Lurantis’ natural bulk and pure Grass typing allows Lurantis to survive all Super Effective attacks barring Z Moves, proccing its Pinch Berry and allowing Lurantis to return heavy amounts of damage. Alongside its ability Contrary, which turns all stat drops into stat increases (e.g. Intimidate gives Lurantis +1 Attack), Lurantis can develop into an incredibly offensive and bulky threat if left unchecked.

Leaf Blade is Lurantis’ main stab move, allowing Lurantis to threaten the likes of Tapu Fini, Azumarill, and even Tapu Koko at +1 Attack. Superpower is the main selling point of Lurantis’ kit. Providing Fighting type coverage as well as raising both Lurantis’ Attack and Defense due to contrary, Superpower allows Lurantis to ramp up while dishing out heavy damage. Superpower crucially KO’s bulky Incineroar after an Intimidate boost. Knock Off allows Lurantis a way of damaging threats such as Aegislash and Gengar; if Knock Off attacks into King’s Shield, Lurantis gains a +2 Attack Boost.

Lurantis, while falling off a bit as more and more people understand its role and usage, was an incredibly good meta call in this tournament. Incineroar + Lurantis allows Lurantis the safety of either Fake Out + Superpower to KO opposing Incineroar, or surviving opposing Flare Blitz and KOing in return. (You can expand on this yourself)

Important Calcs:

Offensive:

+1 196+ Atk Lurantis Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Fini: 186-218 (105 - 123.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 196+ Atk Lurantis Superpower vs. 252 HP / 20 Def Incineroar: 198-234 (98 - 115.8%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

+1 196+ Atk Lurantis Superpower vs. 100 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 178-210 (99.4 - 117.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

196+ Atk Lurantis Superpower vs. 244 HP / 204 Def Snorlax: 136-160 (51.1 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Gluttony Figy Berry recovery

196+ Atk Lurantis Superpower vs. 244 HP / 92 Def Eviolite Porygon2: 82-98 (42.9 - 51.3%) -- 2HKO with Superpower

Defensive:

-1 252+ Atk Incineroar Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 12 Def Lurantis: 150-176 (84.7 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Tough Claws Mega Metagross Ice Punch vs. 252 HP / 12 Def Lurantis: 130-154 (73.4 - 87%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

-Note: After Superpower/Pinch Berry, Ice Punch is a 3HKO

252+ SpA Heatran Overheat vs. 252 HP / 44 SpD Lurantis: 254-300 (143.5 - 169.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Volcarona Heat Wave vs. 252 HP / 44 SpD Lurantis: 140-168 (79 - 94.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Aerilate Mega Salamence Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 44 SpD Lurantis: 134-162 (75.7 - 91.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

SO FAR AWAY (Cresselia)

@ Psychium Z  

Ability: Levitate  

EVs: 252 HP / 228 SpA / 28 SpD  

Modest Nature  

IVs: 0 Atk  

- Psychic  

- Ice Beam  

- Trick Room  

- Helping Hand

Offensive Cresselia, while very uncommon, served this team incredibly well. Psychium Z allows Cresselia the option of both Z Psychic and Z Trick Room, letting Cresselia nuke targets or set up Trick Room even when taunted. Psychic 2HKOs many Venusaur and Amoonguss, while Ice Beam allows Cresselia to KO all but the bulkiest of Landorus-T and Mega Salamence. Helping Hand, which has higher priority than Fake Out, allows Cresselia to not only provide its ally with extra damage, but also proved useful against opponents seeking to disrupt Trick Room with Fake Out. Helping Hand notably pushes Mega Manectric’s Overheat into KOing Mega Metagross 100% of the time. Trick Room amplifies the offensive threat of the team’s four slower mons, or is used to reverse Trick Room in the face of Hard Trick Room teams.

Psychium Z Cresselia is by far my favorite variant of Cresselia. Being able to KO pesky Amoonguss and Cresselia and numerous Tapu Koko catches many opponents off guard. Because of the numerous Incineroar all armed with Knock Off, Pinch Berries generally were not reliable and often resulted in Cresselia simply taking more damage.

Important Calcs:

Offensive:

228+ SpA Cresselia Shattered Psyche (175 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Koko: 142-168 (97.2 - 115%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

228+ SpA Cresselia Shattered Psyche (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 52 SpD Mega Venusaur: 186-218 (99.4 - 116.5%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

228+ SpA Cresselia Shattered Psyche (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 180 SpD Amoonguss: 218-260 (98.6 - 117.6%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO

Defensive:

+5 44 Atk Snorlax Return vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Cresselia: 195-231 (85.9 - 101.7%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

+1 252+ SpA Volcarona Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 28 SpD Cresselia: 204-240 (89.8 - 105.7%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Mega Gengar Shadow Ball vs. 252 HP / 28 SpD Cresselia: 132-156 (58.1 - 68.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The Swiss Rounds:

Round 1:VS Issac Van Name(???)

Games:WW
Swiss Record after R1:1-0

Opposing Team:

Round 1 of the tournament, I wasn’t really sure how to feel about the team. I completely expected myself to go 5-3 or something and the matchup felt awkward and I was still half awake from getting barely any sleep, but I played it on hoping for the best. The plays I made this round were really terrible and I’m very regretful that this round even HAPPENED. I started positioning myself well after losing Lurantis Game 1 turn 3 and got myself into a winning position, but an Ice Beam freeze from my Cresselia onto his Mega Tyranitar made my job easily. Game 2 was me forgetting I had Waterium Z instead of Pinch berry on my Tapu Fini so I carelessly let it take damage and had to withdraw out in the end until I got myself into a position where Cresselia and Tapu Fini could win. Really terrible round for me, I’m just glad I won. That mega tyranitar was an absolute threat those 2 games because I kept forgetting that it was weak to Fighting type moves.

Round 2:VS Jack Hatch

Games:WW
Swiss Record after R2:2-0

Opposing Team:

Pheromosa Tapu Lele, for god’s sake….I was super worried about this matchup because Alvin, who was running the same team as me, lost to Irving Johnson who also ran Pheromosa Tapu lele on his team. I was super stressed about this matchup because I had to flip so many coins Turn 1, thankfully I flipped them right. My game-plan against this was basically eliminating Pheromosa so Manectric and Snorlax can freely maneuver and slowly chip the team down. There were a lot of Rock Slide flinches included in the 2 games, but thankfully none of my team members actually flinched in the important turns so I barely won that set. Thank god for offensive Manectric and Earthquake Snorlax, I was able to chip the last 2 bulky mons of Jack’s away slowly and efficiently. I sighed in relief after Round 2 and took a pretty good 15 minute nap because that set, was extremely exhausting. I was really surprised I didn’t face a single Incineroar yet, because I was expecting a lot of those, the main reason I even brought Lurantis to this regionals was because of the annoying scary tigers. And boy, how I wrong I was...

R3:VS Jackson Hambrick(@HambrickMB)

Games:WLW

Swiss Record after R3:3-0
Opposing team:

Honestly-"Just, wtf was I facing?", I questioned myself.
But I have to say, underestimating that team was wrong in my part. Although I destroyed him Game 1 with Snorlax and Incineroar, his Incineroar and Rotom proved to be SUPER ANNOYING. My definite win con was obviously Snorlax Incineroar and letting him slowly take out my team Game 2 was regrettably my decision. He had Electrium Z Rotom which basically 1HKOs my Tapu Fini unless I set up a Calm Mind, and he also had Low Kick incineroar that does an enormous damage to my Snorlax. I changed my game-plan game 3 and whipped out the Snorlax Cresselia lead, read his Trick Room, Ally Switch so I pretty much ended the game within 3 turns. I pulled a Billa(Baris Akcos) by reversing Trick Room the moment he went to undo Trick Room. Snorlax did well, and I’m very thankful to Jackson that we had this match, this was one of the matches I truly enjoyed.

Round 4:VS  Jake Muller(@Majorbowman_)

Games:WW

Swiss Record after R4:4-0

Match Link:Brian Youm VS Jake Muller

Opposing Team:

This was one of the most questionable matchups I ever had against in the entire regionals. I had my ways to win but that Salamence Bisharp duo was extremely hard to stop, so my game plan was stopping the duo so I can win. Game 1, I barely pulled out the win by the plays I needed to make. I disliked the fact people thought I was making a dumb play by Ice Beaming the Salamence Turn 1, but if Salamence goes down and Bisharp goes down, Lurantis has a field day with everyone. That’s pretty much what happened with game 1 and 2, but for game 2 a Ice beam freeze from Cresselia let the win happen in Game 2. This was the first time Lurantis showed off on stream and I’m proud of how I did it, it proved itself and currently the usage went up by a lot, and it appears a decent amount of the PS VGC ladder and the Battle Spot Championships ladder. I was super pumped about this regional, because of Lurantis and the rising possibility of me getting my worlds invite at this event. The streak continues on….

Round 5:VS Nate Wright(@MechanicsPKMN)

Games:WLW

Swiss Record after R5:5-0

Opposing Team:

Quite a familiar face, I was facing the one and only PEANUTBUTTERVGC, one of my good friends, Nathan Wright. The moment I saw the team I knew what I was dealing with, that silly Garde Zappycat. Congrats on him for Top 4’ing Charlotte regionals though, I’m super proud of him. I actually ended up being his only loss in swiss, which was pretty funny.

“ DON’T F**K WITH ME, I HAVE THE POWER OF RNGESUS AND ANIME ON MY SIDE!!!!” was pretty much the most fit thing I could say in this whole regional. I got enormous amount of RNG against Nate and I honestly feel really bad about it. Moonblast special attack drops, a lot of Fini speed ties, accuracy drops, and everything else. Game 1 was basically me abusing Nate with RNG, and Nate actually pulled back game 2. I was actually scared of facing Nate. Game 3 came down to a basic coinflip turn 1, he lead Incineroar Gardevoir(same leads all 3 games) after I lead Manectric Tapu Fini, then he withdrew Incineroar predicting me to double protect. I was ready to make a play and I did, I Snarled and Calm Minded predicting his obvious switch, and that pretty much won me the game. I was starting to gain momentum and started to think more clearly, it was my time. The streak continues and I felt like there was nothing that can stop me.

Round 6:VS Ben Grismmer(@GimmerVGC)

Games:LWW

Swiss Record after R6:6-0

Opposing Team:

I hate Rock Slide, I hate Rock Slide, I hate Rock Slide, I hate Rock Slide and I hate Rock Slide. This game was absolute torture for me and I have no idea how I won this match. I got flinched about 7 times on the most important times which pretty much crippled my mentality. I lost Game 1 due to repetitive Rock Slide flinches, I won game 2 due to me not flinching in the 2 most important turns even after he got a double protect, like 3 rock slide flinches and everything. Game 3, I lost my Tapu Fini turn 1 due to a -1 Leaf blade crit and thought I lost the game. Apparently I was wrong. I somehow pulled off a Trick Room and Belly Drum right before Cresselia fainted. It was also funny how EVERY SINGLE ONE of his pokemons were in range…..of a certain attack that nobody knew about. When I yelled “HOLY SHIT, I WON!” in the middle of the set, Ben was staring at me like “Uh, how?” But then, I revealed it. EARTHQUAKE. When I revealed it, Ben said “FUCK!” and got a warning from one of the TOs….which was pretty funny. I was honestly so dumbfounded and I was jumping at what happened, I actually won the game despite all the RNG. I got up from the chair, popped off, almost spiked my DS, and threw my chair to the ground while screaming like an angry parrot. What’s not funny is, that I got a warning for that. It was such a stressful match, I legit screamed in the top of my lungs and popped off harder than Irving Johnson after his pokemon mega evolves. 6-0, I pretty much acquired my worlds invite, since Top 16 is 80 CP and I was right at 367 CP. I was pretty much at 447 CP. I was happy.

Round 7:VS Stephen Mea(@GramgusVGC)

Games:WW

Swiss Record after R7:7-0

Opposing Team:

One of the most underrated VGC players in the world, is Stephen Mea. He has been extremely consistent and I can’t say I don’t feel envy towards him. He recently just bubbled Sao Paolo internats as 9th place, but he has been EXTREMELY consistent and I’m super proud of him. Ok anyway, into the battle. He was running a version of one of Eduardo Cunha’s infamous teams. I felt relatively eased because I guaranteed my worlds invite and I pretty much got what I wanted. I ended up being matched VS Stephen, and it was a downpair(6-0 VS 5-1) and I honestly wasn’t going to lose this round. He didn’t have much to stop Snorlax because his only answer was Incineroar and his team lacked a lot of answers to Snorlax, but I noticed that Snorlax pretty much wins with Cresselia VS this team. I escalated my plan and just did the same thing over and over again, letting Snorlax set up and getting KOs with Earthquake and Returns, and finishing it late game with Manectric.THANKFULLY I won, and there was pretty much joy to feel. I have guaranteed top cut, and still is undefeated. THE STREAK SHALL LIVE ON AS REALITY!!! Now, last round and top cut lasts...

Round 8:VS Benjamin Hartman(???)

Games:WW

Swiss Record after R8:8-0

Opposing Team:

Well, well well. After seeing his team I pretty much I knew I would go undefeated. His entire team struggles with Trick Room and Lurantis pretty much thrives under Trick Room getting superpowers and leaf blades off. Funnily, I didn’t even use Trick Room this match. The team was pretty easily taken over by Cresselia Tapu Fini Manectric and those 3 pretty much did the work until Gastrodon came out, and it wasn’t really a problem as long as I had Lurantis on my side, which I did in both games. I honestly couldn’t believe I cut the regional, I came in the regional expecting myself to go 5-3 again but here I am, 8-0. First seed, there I was. With Lurantis. After my round was over and I did the OK hand sign, my friends surrounded me and gave me hugs, encouragements, whatever you can think of. I texted Ansena and my ex who dearly loves Lurantis and pretty much bragged about it. It was time, and I got Lurantis on a regional top cut. I’m proud of myself, I did something that I did last year, use my favorite pokemons(which are mediocre af) and top cut a regional. I truly dreamed and believed. You know, I’m a dreamer too.

TOP CUT:

Top 8:VS Sean Bannen

Games:LL

Record after Top 8:Top 8

Opposing Team:

It was a horrible matchup for me, and Sean also had RNGesus on his side this match. He got the Iron head flinch on one of the most important turns on Snorlax, then I proceeded to get about 3 low rolls in a row on his pokemons which was SUPER annoying to see. I would have locked up Game 2 because I had the information and the plan I needed to win game 3, but things don’t always work out as you plan them to. I got pretty tilted and made pretty mediocre plays which put me in a losing situation, but there’s nobody to blame other than myself. I should have planned and played better but ah well, I regret nothing(not really I REGRET PLAYING SOO POORLY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA SCREAMING) but oh well, top cut is a top cut. I was one match away from getting a brick, but I guess I can do that since I know how to carry my momentum into top cut. I guess it’s not my time just yet, but it’s time to dream on and believe again for the future.

The Conclusion:

I finished Top 8 at Charlotte Regionals Championship, a week right after I won the double MSS. I’ve been pretty consistent in this format and I know I can do better in the future. I am still pretty mad about losing pretty badly on stream for Top 8, but who cares. There’s no point mourning over the past when you can look at the future in a different way and hoping for the best. I was super proud of how I did and my friends from the Smogon squad congratulated me and I had a blast at the regionals. Thank you everyone for giving me such an opportunity and such a fun time, I thank you all. Now for shoutouts-

I’d like to thank-

-Quentin and his dad:

for driving me all the way to Charlotte and letting me have such an amazing opportunity and good times

-Kalea Meyer:

For rooting for me and pep talking me while I was stressing at the Regionals in early rounds

-Joseph Selmer:

For helping me practice matchups and think more about team positioning and being one of my best friends

-Ansena:

For building the team and supporting me on and on no matter what, you are one of the best team-builders out there and you are the star of this report and the team

-The Smogon Squad(Alvin, Nails, Rajan, Robbie, Jeremy, Eli):

For hanging out with me at almost every event I go to and just cheering me on and encouraging me to do well in general and flaming me when I deserve it

-Janice:

For being one of the nicest friends out there and helping me calm down so I could hype myself up by interacting with others and staying true to myself

-Kylie Chua:

Idk why I’m including you here but thank you so much for rooting for me everywhere and believing in me, you are my best friend and I will forever treasure our friendship : )

-Carson St Denis & Carson Confer:

For both rooting for me and encouraging me to do well before regionals when I was stressing about teams and everything

-Ingrid and Ashton:Hanging out and pep talking me after everyone was gone and just being amazing people in general

-Diana and everyone else rooting for Lurantis:

I couldn’t have done this without you all, you guys were my power, the hands that helped me back up when I thought I couldn’t pull through. Thank you everyone, you have all failed the grass trial and I’m glad you all rooted for such a bad player like me. #PeoplePower!!!!, I believe!

This marks the end of the report, thank you so much for reading this. If you can, please put down what I could do to improve my reports and writing in general for future reports. Thank you so much for reading this(again) and see you next time!!!