Hello, friends! I’m Aaron Traylor, I go by “Unreality” online, and this is the story of my trip to Dallas to play in the Pokémon Video Game Championships Regionals where I ultimately placed top 4 and won 500$. This is a true-to-form “warstory”: I’ll interleave my tournament preparation and the specific details about Pokémon with my social experiences from the trip.

Tournament Prep

I took Moon series teambuilding seriously as soon as the Pokémon Showdown ladder became active in late December. In formats that allow restricted Pokémon, my goal is to first categorize the important archetypes, because these powerful Pokémon centralize teambuilding decisions. After several weeks of spectating ladder games and testing, I arrived at the following metagame breakdown, rated by estimated popularity of archetypes at Dallas from most to least:

Yveltal / Groudon (popularized by Oliver Eskolin and Raghav Malaviya)

Xerneas / Groudon (akin to teams run by Angel Miranda and Nick Navarre)

Xerneas / Lunala (Ashton Cox and Jeremy Rodriguez)

Xerneas / Kyogre / Tornadus (Riley Factura and James Baek)

Necrozma Dusk Mane / Kyogre

Xerneas / Yveltal

Lunala / Kyogre

At this point I seriously question the consistency of teams with other combinations (potentially excepting rogue Palkia, Ho-Oh, or Solgaleo compositions, but they seem challenging to build).

Particularly, I favored Xerneas/Groudon teams, but they seemed unfixably weak versus opposing Venusaur. I didn’t want to use Yveltal / Groudon, the most targeted team before the tournament. Xerneas / Yveltal teams are restrained in the supporting Pokémon necessary to be viable versus Choice Scarf Kyogre and/or Xerneas setup teams. I liked Xerneas / Lunala teams, but was simultaneously worried about facing other Xerneas combinations and about addressing the popular Yveltal / Groudon team.

It was getting close to the tournament, and I had to make a decision. I asked my friend Jake Magier what he thought was the right call, and he adamantly declared that a Xerneas / Groudon team would win the regional. I decided, yes, that was likely: however, I didn’t know how to ensure it was my Xerneas / Groudon team that would win the regional. Teams featuring Xerneas / Groudon often are forced to take risks with their moves, especially when they feature Venusaur, which relies on its 75% accurate Sleep Powder to make up for its poor defenses. Furthermore, Venusaur has a challenging time consistently gaining the upper hand versus opposing Venusaur, which is already strong against Xerneas / Groudon teams.

I wanted to optimize my team for consistency, a lesson I learned from Ray Rizzo. Loosely, the more consistent a Pokémon team is, the more actions are viable in light of varying opponent skill, team selection, and luck factors. I felt that I could consistently perform my best using a team that supported Xerneas and Lunala, and chose to base my work on the successful team piloted by Ashton Cox and Jeremy Rodriguez.

My Team – “Pepper”

I think everyone who top cuts should have to draw their team. I put this on the hotel fridge later.

Xerneas @ Power Herb

Ability: Fairy Aura

Level: 50

EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Protect

- Geomancy

- Moonblast

- Dazzling Gleam

Marky got with Sharon,

Xerneas was the best Pokémon in the restricted format of 2016 and it sure looks like the best Pokémon in 2019, too. Importantly, this Xerneas is Timid natured and thus at worst speed ties with other Xerneas. Any other Xerneas will lose to opposing Xerneas and requires too much teambuilding help to be worth the risk. Unlike Ashton and Jeremy, I used Dazzling Gleam instead of Substitute for spread move coverage.

Lunala @ Lunalium Z

Ability: Shadow Shield

Level: 50

EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

- Protect

- Psych Up

- Moongeist Beam

- Psyshock

Sharon got Cherese.

Lunala is Timid natured to outspeed Modest Xerneas and other Pokémon that are just below its Speed stat (Timid Kyogre, Timid Tapu Lele, et cetera). Psych Up helped me manage opposing Xerneas and other Pokémon that gave the team trouble such as Stakataka and Ho-Oh.

Smeargle @ Focus Sash

Ability: Moody

Level: 50

EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Fake Out

- Follow Me

- Lovely Kiss

- Crafty Shield

She was sharing Sharon’s outlook on the topic of disease.

Smeargle is the best Pokémon to support Xerneas setup in the mirror. It has the upper hand versus common Xerneas partners such as Incineroar and Amoonguss, as it is able to outspeed and sleep them or redirect their attacks from Xerneas. I could cycle Smeargle with Incineroar / Toxicroak and stall through Trick Room by chaining Fake Outs. Yes, Lovely Kiss is 75% accurate: however, Smeargle relies far less on a successful hit on average than Sleep Powder Venusaur, so I felt comfortable including it.

Crafty Shield was an important part of the 2016 metagame and has since fallen out of favor. It prevents allied Pokémon from being targeted for the turn by non-damaging moves such as Roar, Taunt, sleep-causing moves, and even Psych Up. Crafty Shield is a useful tool in the Xerneas / Smeargle mirror match– without Crafty Shield, Smeargle is forced to risk Moody boosts and Lovely Kiss to deal with opposing Smeargle. However, by including it, Smeargle can prevent allied Xerneas from being slept while it sets up. Crafty Shield further removed volatility from this already consistent archetype.

Incineroar @ Iapapa Berry

Ability: Intimidate

Level: 50

EVs: 236 HP / 236 SpD / 36 Spe

Careful Nature

- Fake Out

- Flare Blitz

- Snarl

- U-turn

Mikey had a facial scar

Incineroar is important for this team chiefly to cycle Fake Out, as well as to resist and threaten opposing Lunala. I picked Snarl to force opposing Xerneas into awkward positions. I would have run Protect Incineroar (instead of Snarl) if I didn’t need Dark-type coverage.

Toxicroak @ Assault Vest

Ability: Dry Skin

Level: 50

EVs: 140 HP / 108 Atk / 4 Def / 252 SpD / 4 Spe

Adamant Nature

- Fake Out

- Poison Jab

- Low Kick

- Sucker Punch

Tommy played piano

like a kid out in the rain

Then he lost his leg in Dallas

He was dancing with a train.

Toxicroak mainly answered Kyogre teams. Rather than lead it into these compositions, I frequently kept it in the back and switched it in at the best opportunity, as many players may give up what answers they have for Toxicroak in the early game without realizing their mistake. I ran Sucker Punch for insurance against opposing Lunala. Apart from facing Kyogre teams, Toxicroak was rarely part of my gameplan.

Landorus-Therian @ Safety Goggles

Ability: Intimidate

Level: 50

EVs: 124 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 20 SpD / 108 Spe

Modest Nature

- Protect

- Earth Power

- U-turn

- Grass Knot

Another Mikey took a knife for arguing in traffic

Landorus-Therian is the major departure from Ashton and Jeremy’s team. It is included to gain the upper hand over time versus Venusaur and Groudon, as well as to OHKO Stakataka that disrupt my Xerneas. It can always 2HKO the most specially defensive Groudon in two shots with Grass Knot as well as Incineroar and frail Venusaur by using Earth Power. Compared to the Crobat that previously occupied this slot, Landorus-Therian made matchups versus Yveltal / Groudon teams amazingly easy, at the cost of making Xerneas / Groudon matchups more challenging. Landorus-Therian is worse than bad against Xerneas: Xerneas can set up for free, while Landorus-Therian does not threaten Xerneas and cannot knock out its supporting cast fast enough to prevent the setup.

The Pokemon Global Link QR code for this team can be found here.

Big shoes to fill haha ha ha ha

Pre-Tournament

I grabbed my buddy Bonsly and left Boston early Friday morning. Honestly, it’s cliche, but the minute I walked off the plane I was stunned: everything is bigger in Texas. The airport had gigantic ceilings and gigantic stores and even gigantic boots advertising the county fair. When my friend Cedric Bernier (@TalonVGC, tridivisional regional champion, last year’s Dallas regional champion) came to pick me up I couldn’t believe the size and sprawl of the highways. We went to the favorite eatery of VGC players worldwide, Buffalo Wild Wings aka “Buffy Wa Wa’s” for a simply unforgettable dining experience. Some friends who had gotten in earlier joined us on this delectable journey. We went back to Cedric’s place and I crashed while he prepared his team for the next day. Wolfe Glick was supposed to hang with us but his plane was crazy delayed and he didn’t make it to Cedric’s until very late at night.

horsin’ around with Clayton

In the morning, Cedric’s mom made us an awesome breakfast and then the three of us zoomed to the venue for registration. I met up with a bunch of friends including Trista (@ryuzaki_vgc) and Clayton (@zubatvgc) who would later go on to be the only undefeated player that day. He gave me Canadian candy and some poutine sauce powdered mix, so I could “have a taste of the real Canada”. Pretty soon, the tournament had started.

The Tournament (Swiss Highlights)

Round 1: James Baek (Win, 1–0)

(Solgaleo / Kyurem-B / Tapu Fini / Incineroar / Venusaur / Hydreigon)

I did not want my first round opponent to be James, hot off his baek-to-baek Regional win and second place in the Latin American International Championships. He used Misty Seed, Assault Vest, and Tapu Fini’s Light Screen to boost his Pokémon’s Special Defense to the point where they could shrug off Lunala’s Z-Move as well as Xerneas’ boosted attacks. I was able to stall out his Trick Room, Light Screen, and Misty Terrain through a war of attrition by cycling my Fake Outs. James’ team interests me most moving forward in this format.

Round 2: Cody Cobb (Win, 2–0)

(Yveltal / Kyogre / Incineroar / Tapu Koko / Amoonguss / Stakataka)

Cody’s team frightened me because I was forced to bring Xerneas to deal with his Assault Vest Yveltal despite his solid Xerneas counters. This set took a while– game 3 lasted 21 turns. On the second to last turn, I made a clutch prediction and self- U-Turned to force him to attempt and fail a double Protect for the win.

Round 3: Josh Mecham (Loss, 2–1)

(Yveltal / Xerneas / Incineroar / Kartana / Amoonguss / Landorus-Therian)

Josh and I had been on opposing teams in Dodrio Cup several times so I expected strong play. Yveltal / Xerneas is a bad matchup for this team when Lunala needs to come to games, and Josh was able to guess my moves correctly on several crucial turns which led my to my first set loss.

After this round, I went with casters extraordinaire Brendan Lewis (@mrbdog46) and Regina Ang Lee (@rejigglypuff) around the airport to catch Shiny Feebas in Pokémon Go before the next round. Although we had intense neeb for feeb’, Regina was the only one to find one which was hax.

Round 4: Eleazar Espinoza (Win, 3–1)

( Palkia / Solgaleo / Tapu Lele / Trevenant / Tyranitar / Volcarona)

After Game 1 of this set, we heard a Juniors player who couldn’t be older than 8 walk behind me sadly singing, “All my life is a waste… all my life is such a waste.” Life really does come at you fast.

Round 5: Devyn Powers (Win, 4–1)

( Xerneas / Lunala / Amoonguss / Incineroar / Milotic / Kartana)

He was a nice guy and I liked his competitive attitude. His Xerneas paired with Lunala, Kartana, and Amoonguss made me nervous, but in both games my Smeargle stalled his Pokémon so my Xerneas could set up and sweep him.

Round 6: Patrick Donegan (Win, 5–1)

( Zygarde / Groudon / Incineroar / Venusaur / Tapu Fini / Stakataka)

Unfortunately for Patrick, I had tested his team on the ladder and knew how it functioned. This is the set that Landorus-Therian shined most brightly in, reducing the damage output of Patrick’s physical Pokémon and consistently threatening a knockout on his Stakataka.

Round 7: Tommy Cooleen (Win, 6–1)

( Xerneas / Kyogre / Incineroar / Ludicolo / Smeargle / Stakataka)

This match can be viewed here. Tommy is a great player and teambuilder so I was determined to respect his play. I was worried about facing opposing Xerneas / Smeargle with Stakataka support, but Tommy revealed that his Xerneas was Modest natured, meaning it was slower than my Lunala. Toxicroak put in work.

Round 8: Nick Navarre (Win, 7–1)

( Xerneas / Groudon / Incineroar / Venusaur / Tsareena / Gengar)

Nick and I have played twice before, at Virginia Regionals 2017 and Connecticut Regionals 2018. Our sets are always great– this set was over quickly, though, as I was able to outposition him in game 1 and then a couple of misclicks decided game 2. I had made Top 8! I was proud to reach the first X–1 Swiss record of my career.

Standings! Picture credit @NailsOU

I would be against Ashton Cox in Top 8. Xerneas Lunala was a matchup I feared, and Ashton is its master, having just won a regional and the Latin American International Championship back to back. Luckily, Ashton had made some departures from his standard team which made it easier for me to face.

Saturday Night

Wolfe Glick’s Wild Ride

Cedric, Wolfe, and I went to “Plucker’s” for even more chicken after the tournament had ended, joined by a group of friends largely from Texas. At the dinner table, Ryan Tan (@TanVGC) revealed that he had hoarded a stack of ~10 free wings tickets (each worth 5 wings) and proceeded to dole them out like poffins to starving Pokémon. Wolfe, who is a vegetarian, naturally used his coupon to order the spiciest wings possible for everyone else, the “Fire in the Hole”. With courage, our boys dove in while Wolfe looked on in satisfaction. After a plucking good dinner, we went to Oliver (@Smith_und)’s house to goof around. I coached Wolfe and Blake (@boppervgc) to huge wins in Smash. Ben Irons (@BenjiTheGREAT) and I were the bad guys in a high-stakes game of Mafia and he carried my butt as I spoke very little. We then went back to Cedric’s house and I got some rest before the second big day.

The Tournament (Top Cut)

Top 8: Ashton Cox (Win)

( Xerneas / Lunala / Incineroar / Amoonguss / Crobat / Kommo-O)

Fueled by another amazing breakfast made by Cedric’s amazing mother, my plan for Ashton was simple: first, thanks to his Modest natured Xerneas, my Lunala could Z-Move before it had a chance to Geomancy. Second, because he dropped Smeargle, he only had Crobat to deal with its combination of Fake Out, Lovely Kiss, and Follow Me. However, even Crobat could not reliably deal with Smeargle thanks to Crafty Shield. I knew that if I survived the first turn I could navigate to a favorable endgame given nearly any scenario. I lost my notebook so I had to use crayons from the art station.

You can view the games here. I am exceedingly proud of how I played this set and this victory meant a lot to me.

Ouchie oof owie i touche the banna

After the set, this adorable small child out of the blue walked up to Wolfe and handed him a banana (his favorite food). After he recovered from shock at the non sequitur, she revealed that a year ago at Dallas Regionals, he had been kind to her and her mother in the Starbucks line (while ordering a banana) and had inspired her to start playing the video game competitively. It was way too cute.

Top 4: Nick Navarre (Loss)

( Xerneas / Groudon / Incineroar / Venusaur / Tsareena / Gengar)

You can view the games here. Nick came in with two great game plans and the luck in the game gave me no respite. I thought I had a nearly optimal strategy but it wasn’t enough and I was out of the tournament.

In the end, despite my practice, confidence, and the consistency of my play and team, I wasn’t able to beat a nearly perfect player with perfect luck. While I’m sad I couldn’t play in the finals, I’m content with my exit. In Pokémon, it’s easy to win a game 90% of the time, but it’s very challenging to win 100% of the time. To be the best in this game, you need to be better than not only your opponent but also better than the factors you can’t control, and that gives me reason to work harder than ever.

Both of me and Jake’s predictions came true: Xerneas / Groudon ended up defeating me and winning the regional, but many strong Groudon / Xerneas players dropped before the finals because of move accuracy and other bad luck. With Xerneas / Lunala, I achieved the consistency I desired in teambuilding and made a deep run, winning a trophy, 130 championship points, and 500$.

My pals made me signs in the audience! ❤

Jorge Peraza, my latam leagues teammate from Costa Rica! Super cool to meet him 💪

Got to hang out with Joe (@c9_joseph)!

Post-Tournament

(Sunday: Stranded in Dallas)

Because of the winter storm as well as the airport traffic due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Brendan Lewis and I had our Sunday afternoon flights to Boston cancelled. We faced tough choices if we wanted to return to our side of the Mason-Dixon reasonably quickly. I chose to keep new flights assigned to me and remain in Dallas until Tuesday, and Brendan had work so he booked a flight to LaGuardia Monday evening.

We decided to make the most of our involuntary vacation. TJ (@PsyJVGC, VG stream lead) booked a hotel room in the Hyatt and we spent Sunday night eating pizza, watching the Hulu Fyre Festival documentary, and peeking out the window at the superwolfe blood moon.

Monday: Deep Ellum (My Hot Date With Brendan)