My name is Graham Amedee, aka Ammodee, and I’m a VGC competitor for the Brisbane Buzzwoles, Australia. I became a VGC player in 2015, thanks to my brother Paulo Amedee (aka The Mastodon). He brought me along to Brisbane Regionals in 2015, and since then I have been attending multiple competitions yearly. I am known to build unorthodox, Hyper Offensive teams, and my personal challenge was to build a strong team around Lunala and Primal Kyogre.

Team’s Achievements

I had a variant of the team with Accelgor over Tapu Koko and Togedemuru over Nihilego, which made top 16 at Sydney Regionals.

This team reached a rating of 1800 on the Battle Spot ladder.

Alyssa Smith made a notable Regional cut recently with a similar team: Lunala, Primal Kyogre, Mega Lucario, Whimsicott, Nihilego, and Celesteela.

The Team

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Medicham-Mega @ Medichamite

Ability: Pure Power

Level: 50

EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

– Fake Out

– Poison Jab

– High Jump Kick

– Bullet Punch

I decided to use Medicham due to its Ability, Pure Power. This ensures that it has immediate offensive pressure from turn one. Medicham carries Fake Out, which is handy to flinch an opposing threat so that its most common partner, Lunala, can set Tailwind. Medicham can OHKO Incineroar with High Jump Kick at -2. Medicham can also OHKO Primal Kyogre and Yveltal with minimal bulk.

Lunala @ Lunalium Z

Ability: Shadow Shield

Level: 50

EVs: 4 HP / 28 Def / 196 SpA / 28 SpD / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

– Moongeist Beam

– Psyshock

– Tailwind

– Roar

In my opinion, Lunala is the best lead when paired with Mega Medicham. Having Tailwind and Roar meant that I could get speed control while also preventing the opponent’s Trick Room or set-up. Lunala has so much offensive pressure with a strong Z-Move that does a lot of damage to everything that isn’t Dark or Normal type. Lunala had 4HP, 28 Defence, and 28 Special Defence. This was to live a Modest max Special Attack Moongeist Beam from Choice Scarf Lunala. 28 Defence EVs ensured that I had a very good chance of living a Choice Band Crunch from Jolly Mega Rayquaza.

Kyogre-Primal @ Blue Orb

Ability: Primordial Sea

Level: 50

EVs: 236 HP / 12 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

– Water Spout

– Origin Pulse

– Ice Beam

– Protect

An excellent Pokémon with plenty of damage output. The goal of the team was to set up Tailwind, then get Kyogre in at the right time to deal massive damage with Water Spout. Kyogre had near max HP to take Jolly Life Orb Dragon Ascent from Mega Rayquaza. Having a fast Primal Kyogre helped me get big damage off against slow, bulky Xerneas.

Tapu Koko @ Assault Vest

Ability: Electric Surge

Level: 50

EVs: 236 HP / 116 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 148 Spe

Jolly Nature

– Wild Charge

– Nature’s Madness

– Electroweb

– Sky Drop

Tapu Koko was added to the team a week before the competition. It filled a lot of gaps in the team: it helped the RayOgre matchup with Electroweb and Wild Charge, the latter of which could OHKO max HP Primal Kyogre in Electric Terrain. Tapu Koko also had Sky Drop, which helped me beat hard Trick Room teams, being able to lift the redirecting Pokémon, which gave me the chance to Z-Move or Roar the Trick Room setter.

Tapu Lele @ Choice Scarf

Ability: Psychic Surge

Level: 50

EVs: 76 HP / 20 Def / 156 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Modest Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

– Psyshock

– Moonblast

– Shadow Ball

– Magic Room

My favourite Choice Scarf Pokémon, which dealt with a lot of threats to the team, such as Mega Gengar, Mega Lopunny, and Mega Rayquaza. The Psychic Terrain ensured that no Fake Out stall could ruin the offensive pressure that my team thrives on. Tapu Lele had great offensive coverage along with Magic Room, which helped me against teams that rely on their item, notably Focus Sash Shedinja and Power Herb Xerneas. Tapu Lele’s Defence EV’s lets it take a Precipice Blades from max Attack Adamant Primal Groudon. Tapu Lele also lives a Modest max Special Attack Origin Pulse from Primal Kyogre.

Nihilego @ Focus Sash

Ability: Beast Boost

Level: 50

EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

IVs: 0 Atk

– Power Gem

– Acid Spray

– Role Play

– Protect

Nihilego played a huge role against Primal Groudon teams. It had Role Play to help support my team by maintaining weather control. Having Acid Spray over Sludge Bomb meant that I could further damage opponents with a hard-hitting special attack from Lunala or Primal Kyogre. Nihilego was made to come to XernDon and YvelDon matchups.

Team Play

The idea of the team was to gain speed control and prevent opposing set-up within the first turn. Between Medicham and Lunala as a lead, there was constant offensive pressure. Primal Kyogre was always waiting at the back, ready to come in and click Water Spout. This was a simple and effective game strategy for the majority of matchups.

Core Combinations and Common Leads

My most common lead was . I would typically click Fake Out into the most threatening Pokémon and gain speed control by clicking Tailwind or Roar. If speed control was not a concern, then I had very strong attackers ready to fire off High Jump Kicks or a Z-Move.

Core combinations: were brought to a majority of matchups. was brought against RayOgre. was also brought against teams with Trick Room and redirection, due to its Sky Drop. was brought to Primal Groudon matchups, and was brought against Ultra Necrozma. would also be brought when my opponent had multiple attacking moves with priority.

Team Match-ups

Approaching team preview is very important for any team, particularly an offensive team. I would almost always lead the two Pokémon that have the best chance against my opponent’s biggest threats to my team. I would keep in mind the Speed tiers of the opposing Pokémon, potential items that they might be holding, look out for the possible Megas and the restricteds, see who could set up terrains and weather, see what means of speed control they might have, and what possible set-up combinations they could use. With experience, I would try to play out the first few turns of the game mentally before I select the 4 Pokémon in team preview.

: bring Mega Medicham, Lunala, Primal Kyogre, and Nihilego. Set your Tailwind, then do damage. Attempt to get Primal Kyogre in as late in the game as possible to win the weather war. Nihilego is always nice to have in the back, as its late-game Role Play helped against Primal Groudon.: bring Mega Medicham, Lunala, Tapu Koko, and Primal Kyogre. Try to set your Tailwind, then bring Kyogre in at the right time. Tapu Koko is handy for late-game speed control with Electroweb. If my opponent has Crobat, you can use Scarf Tapu Lele to hit it was a fast Psyshock. Try to match the Tailwind to the best of your ability. If you can’t, then try to stall some turns of Tailwind, and attempt to KO the non-Crobat slot.: bring Mega Medicham, Lunala, Primal Kyogre, and Tapu lele. You can get Tailwind up and be faster than Xerneas. Use Poison Jab to do decent damage against it. Roar the Xerneas if you think that it will go for Geomancy.

Against YvelOgre: bring Mega Medicham, Lunala, Kyogre, and either Tapu Lele or Tapu Koko, depending on whether they have Mega Gengar or Sucker Punch Yveltal. Make sure you get Tailwind up before their Yveltal can OHKO Lunala with Darkinium Z.

Rundown of Tournament

Overall, I went 10-4, 8-1 in day 1 Swiss, and 2-3 in day 2 Swiss.

Day 1 Swiss

Round 1: Daniel Name (USA) 2-1 (WLW)

Daniel was a tough round 1 opponent. He only lost his first game because he forgot that priority moves couldn’t hit his Xerneas in Psychic Terrain. He Protected, which caused Psychic Terrain to run out. I was able to get a Bullet Punch off to win that game. He outplayed me game 2, making good use of his Rayquaza. Game 3, I had to make a read turn one to prevent his Darkinium Z Krookodile from OHKO’ing my Lunala. I went for Nature’s Madness with Koko and a Z-Move with Lunala into the Krookodile slot, which KO’d it. I was fortunate enough to play straightforward from there to snatch the win.

Round 2: Aaron Traylor (USA) 2-0 (WW)

In both games, I was able to clutch out wins by gaining speed control, then proceeding with my offensive pressure. Aaron fought hard, but a -2 High Jump Kick caught him off-guard as it OHKO’d his Incineroar.

Round 3: Xavier (South America?) 2-1 (LWW)

Xavier had a very fast and offensive team which could OHKO my Lunala before it could do anything. Game one, he smashed me with Ghostium Z Blacephalon. In games 2 and 3, I had to do some defensive switching to get Lunala in at the right time to click Tailwind. Once I had gained speed control, I could win.

Round 4: Alex Gomez (Spain) 2-0 (WW)

Alex lead Incineroar and Tapu Fini with Groudon and Xerneas in the back for both games. Game 1 was straightforward, and I won by achieving speed control and putting out immense offensive pressure. Game 2, Alex positioned himself well to get a Geomancy off, but fortunately, I was able to Roar his Xerneas out. From there I played straightforward to take the set.

Round 5: Jonathan Evans (USA) 2-1 (LWW)

Jonathan used Swords Dance Rayquaza to convincingly beat me game 1 by making good use of Extreme Speed and Dragon Ascent. Game 2 and 3, I decided to drop the Tapu Koko and replace it with Tapu Lele to prevent the boosted Extreme Speeds. I got a key read in game 2 to win me the game: he thought I would swap in Tapu Lele, but I didn’t and attacked, predicting he wouldn’t Extreme Speed. Game 3 was close, and we both made quality reads each turn. I managed to only just beat him in the end.

Round 6: Yuanhao Li (Canada) 2-0 (WW)

I won game one by achieving speed control, which let me fire off attacks before he could do the same. Game 2 he made excellent reads which let him get his Trick Room up. I managed to stall Trick Room out and win game 2 by getting a max roll on his Kyogre with a single-target Origin Pulse.

Round 7: Ashton Cox 2-0 (WW)

Ashton brought Tornadus, Kangaskhan, Xerneas, and Groudon game 1. We both managed to exchange Tailwinds, and I was able to get Kyogre and Nihilego in at the right time to pick up KOs before Xerneas could set up. Game two, Ashton brought Xerneas and Kangaskhan as a lead. I was able to attain speed control and KO his Pokémon before he could KO mine.

Round 8: Melvin Keh 1-2 (LWL)

Game 1, Melvin caught me off-guard by Soaking his Shedinja and winning the game due to me not being able to hit it super effectively. Game 2 I won by using my Tapu Koko. I managed to KO his first three Pokémon before bringing Tapu Koko in to finish Shedinja off with Sky Drop. Game three came down to the final turn of the game. Melvin had about 4 plays in his favour, while I had about 2. I read him going for an Ally Switch and used Sky Drop onto his Groudon slot, but he didn’t go for it.

Round 9: James Beak 2-1 (WLW)

I won game one, which started with us both exchanging Tailwind. I managed to play fairly straightforward to clench a close win. Game 2, James Tailwinded a turn after me, and managed to stall out my Tailwind before being able to beat me due to him having the better speed control in the end. Game 3, I got a crit turn one on his Tornadus, which mattered as he could have KO’d my Lunala turn 1 with Tornadus’ Z-Hurricane and Kartana’s Knock Off. For me, that meant I was 4-3 up with Tailwind, and I managed to close out the game and take the win with straightforward play.

Day 2 Swiss

Round 10: Jonathan Evans 2-0 (WW)

I won game one by obtaining speed control easily and being able to go for straight-up offense. Game 2, Jonathan was put in a tough position in turn 2 where he had to make an important read. Unfortunately, he times out and I was able to capitalise on that turn and close out the game.

Round 11: Melvin Ken (1-2) (WLL)

This whole set came down to who made the better reads. Melvin brought Groudon and Shedinja as a lead, with Xeneas and Tapu Fini in the back for both games. The four that I brought were Lunala, Nihilego, Kyogre, and Tapu Koko (to all 3 games). In the end, it came down to his Xerneas being too bulky for my Kyogre to pick up the KO on it, and he won by going for Geomancy.

Round 12: James Beak (2-1) (LWW)

Game 1, James outplayed me, being able to make use of the offensive pressure of his Kyogre from the start. He maintained speed control and beat me convincingly. Game 2, I lead Tapu Koko and Lunala. I clicked Electroweb and Z-Moved the Xerneas. James Taunted my Lunala and did not Protect his Xerneas, so it was KO’d turn 1. I managed to stall out Tailwind and win from there. Game 3 was almost an exact repeat of game 2, where I expected him to attempt a Taunt again. I wanted to force offensive pressure into the non-Tornadus slot, which ended up being the play that won me game 3.

Round 13: Ashton Cox 1-2 (LWL)

Game 1 Ashton, flowcharted me well, using Kangaskhan and Tornadus efficiently and obtaining speed control through Icy Wind and Tailwind. He missed an Icy Wind on my Lunala turn 1, but still managed to beat me, winning a Speed tie late-game with his Groudon. I managed to win game 2 only because I went for a slower paced game, attempting to keep Tornadus on the field for as long as possible. I tried to not let him get a free switch into Groudon. Fortunately, I won game 2, as we both matched the other’s speed control. Game 3, Ashton Taunted my Lunala as I went for Tailwind. The next turn he flinched Lunala with Bite. From there, Ashton had the speed control and offensive pressure to beat me with his Groudon and Tapu Koko.

Round 14: Flavio del Pidio (1-2) (LWL)

Game 1, we both got Tailwind up. He OHKO’d my Medicham and flinched my Lunala with Bite. From there, he swept my team. Game 2, we both exchanged Tailwinds and both damaged each other’s Pokémon at an even rate. I managed to win a key Speed tie late-game to bring the set to a third game. In game 3, we both exchanged Tailwinds once more. My Nihilego took the Z-Move and Kangaskhan flinched me with Bite. I needed to not flinch so I could Z-Move the Tornadus before it could start Icy Winding. In the end, all Flavio had to do was attack and he won the game. I forgot that Flavio had an extra turn of Tailwind as I Roared his Xerneas when it went for Geomancy. Flavio won late game, hitting his moves first.

Top 8: Melvin Keh (2-0) (WW)

I changed my gameplan to making use of Tapu Lele’s Magic Room. This helped as Melvin’s team struggled without its items: Xerneas couldn’t Geomancy freely, and I only needed to hit Shedinja once to KO it. There was no need for speed control as my team outsped Melvin’s naturally. I managed to play in an aggressive manner, which let me KO his Pokémon before Magic Room ran out. This worked again for game 2. I was lucky enough to Role Play next to Kyogre, letting me get a Water Spout off to OHKO his Groudon. My Nihilego managed to live a few Shadow Sneaks before KOing it with Power Gem.

Top 4: Jonathan Evans (2-0) (WW)

Game 1, Jonathan played exceptionally well to stall out Tailwind and KO my Lunala before I could KO Mimikyu, which then set up Trick Room. I did my best to play defensive and stall Trick Room turns by burning Mimikyus Z-Move. In the end, he missed a Play Rough, which gave me the opportunity to close out the game with Medicham and Tapu Lele. Game 2, I was fortunate enough to win the game by turn two as I called the Incineroar switching into the Rayquaza slot and Mimikyu switching into the Tapu Koko slot. I doubled the Rayquaza slot, and after KOing the Incineroar, the Z-Move redirected into the other slot to OHKO Mimikyu. From there, it was straightforward play (including a side-Roar) to win the game with Tapu Lele.

Finals: Wolfe Glick (0-2) (LL)

Wolfe prepared really well for this match. He was smart to focus down Mega Medicham. I thought I might have pulled myself back into the game when I doubled the Celesteela with Z-Move and Ice Beam as he switched Rayquaza into Incineroar and Wide Guarded. After that, I expected a Fake Out into Kyogre, so I Protected. Wolfe read me and went on the offence to KO Lunala. My Kyogre and Tapu Koko could not defeat his Rayquaza, Incineroar, and Tapu Koko. Game 2, I decided to go on the offence, figuring that if he didn’t Mega Evolve Rayquaza again, I might potentially pick up an OHKO onto his Celesteela turn one. Wolfe called this and Mega Evolved, OHKO’ing my Mega Medicham before it could attack. From there, Wolfe simply played safe and won the game easily, by utilising Celesteela’s Wide Guard and the strong offensive pressure from Tapu Koko and Rayquaza.

Conclusion

All in all, I had so much fun playing with a team which brought a lot of excitement to the audience. The team is viable, as shown by it placing 2nd. Mega Medicham, Lunala, and Primal Kyogre surprised a lot of competitors, as this kind of core had never really been seen before. I don’t think people will make an effort to counter this team, as many players seemed very confident beating it. I will look into strengthening my TornKang matchup, and also matchups against opposing Lunala (due to the Speed tie).

The biggest thank you goes to my brothers Brian Amedee and Paulo Amedee for the constant support with teambuilding and practice. Also, a big shout-out to the rest of the Brisbane Buzzwoles. They are the best bunch of people in the Pokémon community. There is always plenty of encouragement in growing the VGC scene, and they are all very friendly VGC competitors which I consider good friends for life. A final thank you to The Pokémon Company for keeping the event running smoothly throughout the weekend.