NBA Season 6 Week 3: Toronto Maple Leafeons

Welcome back! This is Tommy aka AbruptFury, coach of the Toronto Maple Leafeons, here! Bringing you my week 3 report my match in the National Battlling Association. This week, I faced the newcomer, MikeWWM8. He has proved that he knows what he is doing by going 2-0 in the first weeks of NBA, with a differential that put him at the top of the leaderboard. Not a bad start at all. So can I overcome this challenge? We'll just have to see, I guess.

The Team Line-ups

My Team : Kyurem-B, Scizor, Sylveon, Vaporeon, Darmanitan(Z), Drapion, Electivire(Z), Dhelmise, Donphan, Mesprit(Z), Sawk

MikeWWM8 (Vegas Aegislash): Mew, Tornadus-T, Ferrothorn, Emboar(Z), Kingdra(Z), Granbull(Z), Linoone, Rotom-F, Buzzwole, Skuntank, Aurorus

The Game Plan

Trickywi (Sylveon) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Pixilate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 40 Def / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Baton Pass
- Hyper Voice

Once again, I noticed that Sylveon has a field day against another league team. Hitting most things for neutral or supereffective damage with it's Fairy type attacks. It puts in exceptionally good work against two of his biggest threats, Buzzwole and Kingdra. There isn't a whole lot that wants to switch in on Buzzwole's attacks. And Kingdra can be pretty menacing with either a Swift Swim set featuring manual rain on one of his Pokemon, or CritDra set which makes use of Focus Energy and Scope Lens to cause every move it uses to become a critical hit. I decided to opt for both Moonblast and Hyper Voice this week instead of just Hyper Voice. Hyper Voice has the ability to bypass Substitutes, but that doesn't matter when it can be completely shutdown by a move like Throat Chop from Linoone. Because I was concerned that Linoone might pack this move, and that Buzzwole might carry Substitute, I figured it would be fine to run both. Besides, on a Choice Scarf Sylveon set, there wasn't much else that I could think of running that would be worth it. |Hidden Power Fire is obviously for the Ferrothorn, though it is barely on the cusp of a 2HKO. Therefore, I would need chip damage on it first. Baton Pass would be used similarly to U-turn or Volt Switch to pivot out and keep up momentum against something that Sylveon has a harder time against, like Ferrothorn.  Choice Scarf gave my team a way of dealing with Choice Scarf Adamant Emboar outside of one other Pokemon on my team.

Offensive Calcs:

• Outspeeds Scarf Adamant max speed Emboar by 1 point.
• 252+ SpA Sylveon Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Buzzwole: 504-594 (141.5 - 166.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ SpA Sylveon Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Kingdra: 318-374 (108.9 - 128%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ SpA Sylveon Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Linoone: 226-267 (62.7 - 74.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Tornadus-Therian: 126-148 (34.9 - 40.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• 252+ SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Tornadus-Therian: 210-247 (70.2 - 82.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO | Mixed Life Orb Tornadus-T.
• 252+ SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Skuntank: 256-303 (73.7 - 87.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
• 252+ SpA Sylveon Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 196-232 (55.6 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Granbull: 259-306 (67.4 - 79.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Defensive Calcs:

• 0 SpA Tornadus-Therian Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sylveon: 120-142 (36.2 - 42.9%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• 252 SpA Life Orb Tornadus-Therian Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Sylveon: 192-229 (58 - 69.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Skuntank Poison Jab vs. 0 HP / 40 Def Sylveon: 306-362 (92.4 - 109.3%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
• 0 Atk Ferrothorn Gyro Ball (103 BP) vs. 0 HP / 40 Def Sylveon: 284-336 (85.8 - 101.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

Dr. Claw (Scizor) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Counter
- Defog

This Scizor set was specifically designed with Belly Drum Linoone in mind. I didn't have much that wanted to take hits from it. Other Pokemon that Scizor could help out against were Mew, Buzzwole, Aurorus, and perhaps Granbull (Intimidate + phys def set is hard to break for phys def Scizor). Bullet Punch helps Scizor damage certain Pokemon and revenge kill others. U-turn can keep up momentum while also dealing good damage with STAB boost. Counter was my strategy for dealing with both Linoone and Buzzwole. They would hit Scizor with a boosted or strong attack, and take double the damage for their troubles. Heck, Counter could even help against Fire Punch Granbull. Scizor can take 2 of those. Or even an Emboar locked into anything other than a Fire type move. But obviously the main problems were the ones that I wanted to deal with first. Defog would be my form of hazard removal on the team. Important for keeping health on my Pokemon.

Offensive Calcs:

• 8 Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Linoone: 123-145 (34.1 - 40.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• 8 Atk Scizor U-turn vs. 240 HP / 156 Def Mew: 164-194 (40.8 - 48.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 8 Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Granbull: 144-170 (37.5 - 44.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

Defensive Calcs:

• +6 252+ Atk Linoone Shadow Claw vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Scizor: 160-189 (46.6 - 55.1%) -- 14.1% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• +6 252+ Atk Linoone Extreme Speed vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Scizor: 137-162 (39.9 - 47.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ Atk Buzzwole Hammer Arm vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Scizor: 136-162 (39.6 - 47.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
• +1 252+ Atk Buzzwole Hammer Arm vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Scizor: 204-241 (59.4 - 70.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Spark Plug (Electivire) (M) @ Electrium Z
Ability: Motor Drive
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 68 Atk / 252 SpA / 188 Spe
Naive Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Earthquake
- Feint

Electivire has good coverage against Mike's team. It also walls Rotom-Fan in a way that no other Pokemon on my team does. Thunderbolt helps beat Tornadus-T and chips away at stuff like Rotom-Fan and Kingdra. Flamethrower destroys Buzzwole and Ferrothorn. Earthquake hits Emboar pretty hard. And Feint gives me a Plan Z against Linoone if it is within range and it's looking like game over because of a Belly Drum sweep. As for Electrium Z, I noticed something very important about Mike's team. It doesn't have a Ground type. This is pretty big since it means that he has a hard time with VoltTurn strategies. I considered running Volt Switch on Electivire, but just preferred the sheer power from Thunderbolt and Z Thunderbolt turning into Gigavolt Havoc. The Z move could not be wasted on anything, except for maybe Ferrothorn, but I would just remove that with Flamethrower. A Motor Drive boost onto Electivire from something like Rotom-Fan would be sweet. Electivire could outspeed something it wouldn't normally like Mew, Tornadus-T, or a Choice Scarf user like Buzzwole or Emboar.

Offensive Calcs:
Outspeeds max speed base 100s WITHOUT the Nature boost by 1 point.
252 SpA Electivire Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Linoone: 178-210 (49.4 - 58.3%) -- 98% chance to 2HKO
68 Atk Electivire Feint vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Linoone: 41-49 (11.3 - 13.6%) -- possible 8HKO
252 SpA Electivire Thunderbolt vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Tornadus-Therian: 288-342 (96.3 - 114.3%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Electivire Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Tornadus-Therian: 170-204 (47 - 56.5%) -- 80.9% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Electivire Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Tornadus-Therian: 332-392 (91.9 - 108.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Electivire Thunderbolt vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Kingdra: 124-147 (42.4 - 50.3%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
68 Atk Electivire Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Emboar: 258-304 (71.4 - 84.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
68 Atk Electivire Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Aurorus: 238-280 (61.4 - 72.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Aurorus Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Electivire: 208-246 (71.4 - 84.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after hail damage
252 SpA Electivire Flamethrower vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 244-288 (69.3 - 81.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs:
8 SpA Rotom-Fan Hidden Power Ground vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Electivire: 116-138 (39.8 - 47.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Granbull Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Electivire: 234-276 (80.4 - 94.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Aurorus Earth Power vs. 0 HP / 0- SpD Electivire: 208-246 (71.4 - 84.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after hail damage
0 Atk Ferrothorn Power Whip vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Electivire: 169-201 (58 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Koko (Darmanitan) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 188 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide

I should actually call this Pokemon "Chris Jericho", because he likes to BREAK THE WALLS DOWN! This hard hitting monster is back for another round. It's main purpose is to keep Buzzwole in line, because if it gets too many boosts, the match is gone. And the main set I'm fearing from Buzzwole is Choice Scarf. What better way to beat it than with a Choice Scarf'd mon myself? Or two. Since I also have Sylveon. But because of Sylveon's low speed stat, it can't hope to keep up with even Adamant Scarf Buzzwole. Flare Blitz can easily take down an uninvested Buzzwole, so he would be to have bulk to hope to survive. U-turn is for keeping up momentum and helping me break Mew, possibly a defensive Mew. Earthquake works against Emboar and perhaps Kingdra if needed. And Rock Slide does wonders against Tornadus-T and Rotom-Fan.

Offensive Calcs:
Outspeeds max speed base 100s with Scarf, but WITHOUT a boosting Nature, by 1 point.
252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Buzzwole: 408-480 (114.6 - 134.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Darmanitan U-turn vs. 240 HP / 156 Def Mew: 140-166 (34.9 - 41.3%) -- 69.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 240 HP / 156 Def Mew: 231-273 (57.6 - 68%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Rock Slide vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Tornadus-Therian: 272-322 (90.6 - 107.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 88+ Def Ferrothorn: 724-856 (205.6 - 243.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Aurorus: 351-414 (90.6 - 106.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Sting (Drapion) (M) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 100 HP / 252 Atk / 28 Def / 128 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Whirlwind
- Poison Jab
- Knock Off
- Aerial Ace

My friend and fellow coach, Black117 aka Kiev aka multiple champion of the PFA (renamed NBA) brought to my attention how Linoone doesn't necessarily have to set up to become a threat. It could just pull a hit and run until the right moment when it wanted to strike. The main purpose of this set was to take some uninvested hits from it and chip it down. Chip could bring it to 50% berry range, no 50% berry means no more recovery, no more recovery means easily revenge killed. If I can get enough chip onto it through Rocky Helmet and attacks, it will either die to priority, or won't even be able to get off the Belly Drum since it requires the 50% of it's health to be lost. Whirlwind could also be used to phaze it out of it's boosts, as well as Buzzwole. The reason I didn't opt for Roar on anything was because Throat Chop stops Roar and Linoone has access to that move. Poison Jab is mainly for Granbull, but can also be used against Z Kingdra or Mew, after it's item has been removed by Knock Off, to do more damage. Drapion can also get away with poisoning Mew without taking one in return from Synchronize. Knock Off removes items and hits Mew hard. Aerial Ace breaks Buzzwole's Substitute and can even take 50% of it's health off, so that it does not become setup fodder for Buzzwole to sweep my team.

Offensive Calcs:

• Outspeeds max speed Adamant Buzzwole by 1 point.
• 252+ Atk Drapion Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Granbull: 194-230 (50.5 - 59.8%) -- 85.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ Atk Drapion Aerial Ace vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Buzzwole: 172-204 (48.3 - 57.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
• 252+ Atk Drapion Aerial Ace vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Emboar: 158-188 (43.7 - 52%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
• 252+ Atk Drapion Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 240 HP / 156+ Def Mew: 212-252 (52.8 - 62.8%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Defensive Calcs: 

• 0 Atk Granbull Earthquake vs. 100 HP / 28 Def Drapion: 152-180 (49.6 - 58.8%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Buzzwole Earthquake vs. 100 HP / 28 Def Drapion: 226-268 (73.8 - 87.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 0 Atk Mew Earthquake vs. 100 HP / 28 Def Drapion: 130-154 (42.4 - 50.3%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO

Ariel (Vaporeon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic

Vaporeon is really good as a defensive pivot and support in this match. There are some threats like Ferrothorn, Rotom-Fan, Choice Banded Emboar and Buzzwole, but I think I can play around them. Especially since most of them are physical. And the one that isn't can't do much to Electivire.
Scald hits Emboar for good damage and can burns to Mike's other Pokemon. Wish and Protect help Vaporeon heal itself and it's teammates, as well as being able to scout move choices. Toxic can help it break bulkier threats, and ones that resist Scald like Kingdra. I just went with a pretty standard physically defensive set with Leftovers because I did some calcs, and this set really did give him a lot of trouble. Without a boosting item (including Z move), Kingdra couldn't do much for damage and would be stalled out by Toxic, Wish, and Protect. Emboar's Z move wouldn't do more Choice Band damage, but then I could scout which move it wanted to lock itself into and switch accordingly. Buzzwole didn't do a whole lot without boosts and would do even less if it were burnt. And Ferrothorn could be played around really well by my Darmanitan and Electivire sets. The biggest issue might be Choice Specs Freeze-Dry from Aurorus, which can cause freeze and does a lot of damage.

Offensive Calcs:

• 4 SpA Vaporeon Scald vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Emboar: 266-314 (73.6 - 86.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 4 SpA Vaporeon Scald vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Linoone: 141-166 (39.1 - 46.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• 4 SpA Vaporeon Scald vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Aurorus: 204-240 (52.7 - 62%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs:

• 252+ Atk Choice Band Reckless Emboar Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Vaporeon: 366-432 (78.8 - 93.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ SpA Kingdra Devastating Drake (195 BP) vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Vaporeon: 294-346 (63.3 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ Atk Buzzwole Thunder Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Vaporeon: 186-220 (40 - 47.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 0 Atk Ferrothorn Power Whip vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Vaporeon: 242-288 (52.1 - 62%) -- 97.7% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252 SpA Rotom-Fan Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Vaporeon: 266-314 (57.3 - 67.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252+ Atk Linoone Seed Bomb vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Vaporeon: 126-150 (27.1 - 32.3%) -- 52.7% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
• +6 252+ Atk Linoone Extreme Speed vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Vaporeon: 375-442 (80.8 - 95.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

The Aftermath

Here is the battle link: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlearea-gen7draftleague-29422

Week 3: Toronto Maple Leafeons (AbruptFury) vs. Vegas Aegislash (MikeWWM8)

Team that Mike brought: Aurorus, Granbull, Mew, Linoone, Kingdra, Buzzwole

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Match Summary and Explanations

• I decided to lead off with Darmitan to stop any shenanigans from Buzzwole or Linoone right out of the gate. Mike chooses Aurorus.
• I figured what with it being his lead, that it would want to go for Stealth Rock. So I pivoted out using U-turn, and went into Scizor. Scizor eats the Earth Power.
• Knowing that Bullet Punch was too obvious, I decided to U-turn predicting a switch. He does not switch. I went into Vaporeon expecting maybe an HP Fire. But he decides to set up Stealth Rock.
• I decided to scout what he wanted to do and Wish. Aurorus uses Freeze-Dry and it does quite much damage.
• I have Vaporeon Protect rather than be KO'd as he goes into Mew. Mew goes for Aurora Veil as I send in my Drapion.
• I decided to go for Knock Off on Mew and removed the Light Clay, but Drapion takes a Will-o-Wisp; crippling it for the rest of the game. 
• Knowing that Drapion couldn't do much to a presumed defensive Mew, I went back into Vaporeon. He decides to go into Linoone. 
• As a last ditch effort to stop Belly Drum from being a problem to my team, I use Scald and hope to fish for the burn and don't get it. Belly Drum is off. 
• I decided to sac off my crippled Drapion. Linoone takes it out. I send in Scizor.
• Scizor is fairly low on health because of the Stealth Rock and Earth Power earlier from Aurorus, but it hangs on after the Stomping Tantrum and Counter easily takes out the Linoone. One kill for Scizor and one giant threat out of the way. Mike sends out Kingdra. 
• I wanted to save Scizor for later as a sac, or to heal up with Wish. So I went out into Sylveon. Kindra uses Dragon Pulse and it is blocked by Sylveon's Fairy typing. 
• I threw off a Moonblast hoping for a Special Attack drop maybe, but I don't get it. Kingdra goes for a Corkscrew Crash, which came from Flash Cannon being in it's moveset. Sylveon hangs on and I am so glad. 
• Mike switches in Aurorus to sac it and save his Kingdra for later. Moonblast finishes it off and that's a kill for Sylveon! In comes Mew.
• I knew he would want to set up the Aurora Veil again, so I switched into Vaporeon because I knew that Mew couldn't do much to it. He does set up the Veil. Buzzwole comes in on my Wish. 
• Thunderpunch comes out from Buzzwole and does okay damage. But Vaporeon's Scald gets a crit and a burn, severely nerfing Buzzwole's potential as Vaporeon gets it's health back. 
• Granbull comes out in place of Buzzwole as I decide to go for Wish again. I don't want a burned Buzzwole breaking Vaporeon. Not after it's best checks were already dealt with so nicely. 
• I knew there was one move that Granbull gets that he would probably go for on that turn. Heal Bell. So I gave the Wish to Scizor. It survives the Stealth Rock entry on 1% of it's health and gains so much back from it. Heal Bell chimes and Buzzwole's burn is healed. 
• I wanted to get rid of the pesky Stealth Rock since Aurorus was gone, so I used Defog. Then, Granbull revealed the Fire Punch and Scizor was back to low health. 
• I saved Scizor again by switching into Vaporeon. Vaporeon takes a burn from Granbull's Fire Punch which isn't too bad at all. It means that I can just Toxic the Mew freely without taking one myself from Mew's Synchronize ability. 
• I have Vaporeon Wish again anticipating an attack from Gtanbull, but Granbull misses it's Play Rough. 
• I decided to wear down Granbull with a Scald and possibly burn it. Play Rough hits this time and does negligible damage. Health is returned by Wish. 
• There is a lot of rinse and repeat through Wish and attacking for a while.
• Kingdra ends up poisoned by Vaporeon's Toxic
• Granbull switches out to Heal Bell for Kingdra.
• Granbull is consistently being worn down by Vaporeon's Scald. 
• Despite being able to finish Granbull off with another Scald, I decided to go for Toxic expecting the Kingdra play and I get it right. FeelsGoodMan
• More rinse and repeat as Vaporeon stalls out Kingdra with Toxic. One kill for Vaporeon! In comes Buzzwole.
• Buzzwole uses Thunderpunch as I try and burn it again with Scald. The burn does not show up.
• I made a ballsy play by switching in Electivire on another Thunderpunch, getting the Motor Drive boost.
• Mike sacs off Granbull to Electivire's Thunderbolt. One kill for Electivire! In comes Mew.
• I have my Electivire throw off the Gigavolt Havoc, but it just misses out on the KO. Electivire is able to take the Earthquake from Mew luckily, and finish it off the next turn with Thunderbolt. Electivire gets another kill! Last man Buzzwole, returns to play.
• Electivire seals the game with Flamethrower and a third kill! The Toronto Maple Leafeons take the game with a 5-0 victory. What a huge win for us!

In Conclusion 

Good game to Mike! He told me during and after the game how much he regretted his preparation for our match. It's a shame when personal obligations get ya. I ended up putting a massive amount of time into figuring out how I was going to beat him and honestly, it still wasn't all that solid. I'm sure that he is going to be in the playoffs. Hopefully I will see him there and I know he would give it everything against me if we were to battle again. He is in the conference. So if we were to meet again, it would have to be in the finals. I think that would be a very interesting match. Since I've shown off my techs, and he's shown off a couple of his. Would I be able to dependably bring something like Counter Scizor again? Who knows? But yeah, I am absolutely ecstatic about this win and can't wait for next week! This should also be a huge leap for me on the leaderboard. I've been gaining some spots since my week 1 loss. Let's see if I can win this whole thing! And I will see you next time. This is AbruptFury, coach of your Toronto Maple Leafeons, signing out! :)

Wait! There's More!

Week 3 has come and gone, and I have made a couple of transactions to try and mend weaknesses in my team. The main one I've been looking at was speed. So I got myself two new team members to exchange for two previous ones. There has been no love lost between me and these Pokemon, but I had to do what I had to in trying to make my team the best that it can possibly be. So first off, I will show you who has been removed from the team, and who has taken their place. Without further ado, let's see who was cut.

This was easily the hardest of the two to get rid of. Darmanitan is a powerful threat to any team. It has the ability to pivot around when it feels like with U-turn, and makes for a strong attacker and fast one too. Sheer Force was a god-sent for this Pokemon, making it a real terror to deal with it battle. Resists hardly mean a thing when you hit as hard as Darmanitan does. I always loved Azumarill's wallbreaking abilities, but you just can't ignore how insanely powerful Darmanitan is. With coverage to boot in it's movepool. I will miss it for sure. And I hope I'm not making a bad decision by removing it. So who did I replace this cherished powerhouse for?

It was the Lizard Queen, Salazzle! This is a very fast Pokemon that hits hard on the special side. It has access to Nasty Plot to boost it's 111 base Special Attack. It also gets moves like Flame Charge, Disable, Knock Off, Dragon Pulse and Dragon Tail, Taunt, Fling, and Snatch. Some interesting moves that could see some play besides the standard Fire and Poison type ones. It is now one of my Z users since Darmanitan was previously a Z captain, so an Inferno Overdrive or Acid Downpour from this Pokemon could certain hurt, as well as being able to use some other non-attacking Z moves. And with access to the ability Corrosion, no Steel type or Poison type is safe from it's Toxic. That could be quite powerful against Pokemon like Heatran or Toxapex. This Pokemon also boasts a 117 base Speed stat. To put that into perspective, that is one point faster than Whimsicott which is renowned for it's insane speed outside of it's ability Prankster. Salazzle can subsequently outspeed Pokemon like Keldeo and Latios. This thing is so dangerous that it might end up giving my opponents an even harder time preparing for my team. They thought Kyurem-Black was bad enough. Things just got a lot tougher with Lisa Simpson the Lizard Queen around!

My biggest regret in trading this Pokemon away by far is not having Toxic Spikes access anymore. Salazzle unfortunately does not get it. And also that this thing has done a good job defensively for me. It finished it's time with me with 0 kills and 2 deaths, but it really was quite troublesome defensively, having only one weakness. It's Pursuit Trapping abilities made it so great against a Pokemon like Hoopa. It sucks to see it go, but I think I have picked up something as hard to prep for as Salazzle in it's replacement. It is another Dark type of course. I ain't no Alec. I traded it to the Phantump Thieves, coached by Reed. My week 1 opponent from the last season. There is a stipulation that came with it however, I must always name it "SubToReedIRL" because of his campaign that he has going to raise awareness for...himself I guess. Anyway, the Pokemon I traded him for was...

Who is that? The question everyone asks when a Zoroark is on someone's team. You never know what it might be disguised as with it's Illusion ability. This Pokemon also boasts the ability to be a really good mixed attacking option. Those can be hard to come by. It has access to U-turn, where I lost it on Darmanitan. It gets access to boosting moves like Calm Mind (which can help boost it's mediocre Special Defense as well as it's Special Attack), Nasty Plot (just like Salazzle), and Swords Dance. It has so many moves in both sides of the offensive spectrum. Moves such as Dark Pulse, Extrasensory, Flamethrower, Focus Blast, Knock Off, U-turn, Low Kick, Sludge Bomb, Sucker Punch, Taunt, Pursuit, and Throat Chop. Being partnered with Salazzle on a team will make people question which one they might be facing until it's too late and they have already lost a Pokemon. Definitely nice to have that mindgame option at hand. And the best part is that I don't even need to disguise Zoroark as Salazzle. It could work as anything. Lure them into a false sense of security and strike, that is what Zoroark does best. It is a fantastic Pokemon and I really hope it works on my team. The same goes for Salazzle.

I hope you enjoyed my report! See you on week 4!

PFA (Now Named NBA) Season 6 Week 2 Report: Toronto Maple Leafeons

What is up? Tommy aka AbruptFury, coach of the Toronto Maple Leafeons, here! Back again, with another team report. So far, we're starting the season with a loss, but we won't let that deter us! We will rise up and win this league! Our opponent this week is another veteran of the PFA (now named National Battlers Association aka NBA). His name is Justin aka Epiclolz, coach of the Indy Latis. We got the upper-hand on him last season. Can we do it again this time?

The Team Line-ups

My Team : Kyurem-B, Scizor, Sylveon, Vaporeon, Darmanitan(Z), Drapion, Electivire(Z), Dhelmise, Donphan, Mesprit(Z), Sawk

Epiclolz (Indy Latis): M-Altaria, Weavile, Skarmory, Porygon2, Galvantula, Lurantis, Rapidash(Z), Nidoking, Milotic, Mienshao(Z), Mismagius(Z)

The Game Plan

Rupert (Dhelmise) @ Colbur Berry
Ability: Steelworker
EVs: 176 HP / 252 Atk / 80 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Anchor Shot
- Shadow Claw
- Rapid Spin
- Power Whip

Despite the fact that his Weavile can easily trap this Pokemon with Pursuit or can OHKO with Icicle Crash, I knew I wanted to bring it to keep hazards off the field and to deal with the Milotic. Dhelmise's offensive abilities could prove quite useful in this matchup. With Anchor Shot, I could easy beat down the Mega Altaria or the Weavile. Shadow Claw would deal with any switch in that Mismagius wanted to pull if I predicted it to come in on my Rapid Spin correctly. Power Whip could do massive amounts of damage to Milotic, if not kill it outright. The Colbur Berry gave me a way to switch Dhelmise without being KO'd by Pursuit or Icicle Crash.

Offensive Calcs:

• 252+ Atk Steelworker Dhelmise Anchor Shot vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Weavile: 408-483 (145.1 - 171.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ Atk Dhelmise Shadow Claw vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mismagius: 380-450 (145.5 - 172.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ Atk Dhelmise Power Whip vs. 252 HP / 136 Def Milotic: 450-530 (114.2 - 134.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ Atk Steelworker Dhelmise Anchor Shot vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Altaria-Mega: 267-315 (91.7 - 108.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
• 252+ Atk Steelworker Dhelmise Anchor Shot vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mienshao: 217-256 (80 - 94.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Dhelmise Power Whip vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mienshao: 325-384 (119.9 - 141.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ Atk Dhelmise Shadow Claw vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Galvantula: 192-226 (68.3 - 80.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs

• 252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 176 HP / 0 Def Colbur Berry Dhelmise: 225-265 (69.2 - 81.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Ice Beam vs. 176 HP / 80 SpD Dhelmise: 273-322 (84 - 99%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 0 SpA Milotic Ice Beam vs. 176 HP / 80 SpD Dhelmise: 130-154 (40 - 47.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Trickywi (Sylveon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell

Outside of Skarmory, this Pokemon hits everything on Justin's team for some good damage. So I knew that I definitely wanted to bring it. I decided to run the standard Wish cleric set with max defensive bulk. And this time, I decided to have Heal Bell instead of Hidden Power Fire. I had pivots that I was fine with going into. Hyper Voice is great for wearing down Justin's Mega Pokemon, Mega Altaria, as well as Weavile and Mienshao. Wish, Protect, and Heal Bell are useful tools for healing and scouting for which moves Justin's Pokemon want to use. And Leftovers is good for that slight recovery every turn. I figured that his team would be a little more Toxic-happy than Alec's, so that is one reason why I opted for it on this set.

Offensive Calcs:

• 4 SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Altaria-Mega: 242-288 (83.1 - 98.9%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
• 4 SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Mienshao: 380-450 (140.2 - 166%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 4 SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Weavile: 288-342 (102.4 - 121.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Defensive Calcs:

• 252 Atk Mienshao Poison Jab vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 160-190 (40.6 - 48.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252 Atk Mienshao Acid Downpour (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 318-376 (80.7 - 95.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252 Atk Reckless Mienshao High Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 117-138 (29.6 - 35%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 186-219 (47.2 - 55.5%) -- 17.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 186-219 (47.2 - 55.5%) -- 17.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• +1 252 Atk Pixilate Altaria-Mega Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 250-295 (63.4 - 74.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Koko (Darmanitan) (F) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 252 Atk / 80 SpD / 176 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- U-turn
- Facade
- Earthquake

Darmanitan's main purpose in my match was as a fast wallbreaker. Capable of easily removing Skarmory. Being used with Choice Scarf, it could outspeed Weavile and OHKO it, and perhaps outspeed Mienshao if it wasn't a Choice Scarf set. Determining whether it was or wasn't used with a Choice Scarf was important however, so that I may play around it with my other Pokemon. Flare Blitz hits so many things on Justin's team so hard, mainly the Skarmory, Weavile, Galvantula, and Lurantis. U-turn could help me pivot around on bulky threats like Mega Altaria and Milotic. Earthquake was there to deal with Nidoking and Rapidash. I didn't really want to go for it much until the Flying types were down. And Facade was my last ditch effort for damage on something that I couldn't hit quite so reliably, like Porygon2, Milotic, and Mega Altaria.

Offensive Calcs:

• Outspeeds Timid max speed Nidoking by 2 points. Couldn't make it just 1 point.
• 252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 306-362 (91.8 - 108.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
• 252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 104 Def Eviolite Porygon2: 175-207 (46.7 - 55.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
• 252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 220 HP / 184+ Def Eviolite Porygon2: 147-174 (40.1 - 47.5%) -- 48.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
• 252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Altaria-Mega: 123-146 (42.2 - 50.1%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
• 252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 136 Def Milotic: 139-164 (35.2 - 41.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
• 252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mismagius: 408-480 (156.3 - 183.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252 Atk Darmanitan Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Rapidash: 306-362 (112.9 - 133.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252 Atk Sheer Force Darmanitan Flare Blitz vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mienshao: 405-477 (149.4 - 176%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252 Atk Darmanitan Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mienshao: 173-204 (63.8 - 75.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 Atk Darmanitan U-turn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Weavile: 230-272 (81.8 - 96.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
• 252 Atk Darmanitan Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Galvantula: 175-206 (62 - 73%) -- guaranteed 2HKO | Probably not a good idea to get locked into that while Mega Altaria is present though.
• 252 Atk Darmanitan U-turn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Galvantula: 122-144 (43.4 - 51.2%) -- 5.9% chance to 2HKO

Defensive Calcs:

• 252 SpA Life Orb Galvantula Thunder vs. 0 HP / 80 SpD Darmanitan: 273-321 (77.7 - 91.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Gypsy (Mesprit) @ Icium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 128 HP / 128 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam
- Signal Beam

Mesprit was my Stealth Rocker for the match and partly offensive threat. It also made for my best switch-in to Sheer Force Nidoking. Psyshock could deal some decent damage to Mienshao and Nidoking. It could also be worth it chip down something like Mismagius if it tries to set up a Nasty Plot. Ice Beam could damage Mega Altaria, Nidoking, and Lurantis nicely. And Signal Beam would damage any Weaviles trying to trap it with Pursuit, making it worth a single hit in most cases as Knock Off might not knockout Mesprit immediately thanks to it's investment and Z crystal. Speaking of it's Z crystal, I chose Icium Z to outright KO Mega Altaria and Nidoking most of the time. Or even Contrary Lurantis if Darmanitan had fallen. It was tempting to choose Buginium Z Signal Beam over it to KO Weavile, but I figured that Z Ice Beam would be more useful against more things, and also didn't want Psychium Z Psyshock to be wasted on something like Weavile or Skarmory.

Offensive Calcs:

• Speed ties other base 80s.
• 128 SpA Mesprit Subzero Slammer (175 BP) vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Altaria-Mega: 284-336 (97.2 - 115%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
• 128 SpA Mesprit Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Nidoking: 252-296 (83.1 - 97.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 128 SpA Mesprit Subzero Slammer (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Nidoking: 374-442 (123.4 - 145.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 128 SpA Mesprit Subzero Slammer (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 112+ SpD Lurantis: 260-308 (75.5 - 89.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
• 128 SpA Mesprit Signal Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Weavile: 146-172 (51.9 - 61.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 128 SpA Mesprit Subzero Slammer (175 BP) vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Skarmory: 196-231 (58.8 - 69.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 128 SpA Mesprit Psyshock vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mismagius: 153-180 (58.6 - 68.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs: 

• 252 Atk Choice Band Weavile Knock Off vs. 128 HP / 0 Def Mesprit: 288-342 (86.4 - 102.7%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

Dr Claw (Scizor) (M) @ Wacan Berry
Ability: Technician
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Bullet Punch
- Knock Off
- Natural Gift
- Swords Dance

This set could be used for revenge killing or for sweeping certain Pokemon if Justin's team is in range of it's attacks. Here is one of my most interesting sets this season so far. Bullet Punch is for hitting Mega Altaria and Weavile. It can also do some big damage to the less bulky Pokemon on his team, like Mienshao, Nidoking, and Mismagius. Knock Off can remove pesky items like Choice Scarf on Mienshao or Nidoking, Life Orb on Nidoking, Leftovers on Milotic and Skarmory, and Eviolite on Porygon2. It also does massive damage to Mismagius. Natural Gift is for Milotic and Skarmory. The Wacan Berry causes Natural Gift to become a base 80 power Electric type move. With a Swords Dance boost, it can OHKO some bulky Milotics, and do a massive amount of damage against Skarmory. With a little bit of chip from a Knock Off and/or Stealth Rock, I shouldn't have much trouble beating either of them with it.

Offensive Calcs:

• Outspeeds 4 Speed EV Milotic by 1 point.
• +2 252+ Atk Scizor Natural Gift vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 218-258 (65.4 - 77.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Scizor Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 248 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 67-79 (20.1 - 23.7%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
• +2 252+ Atk Scizor Natural Gift vs. 252 HP / 136 Def Milotic: 396-468 (100.5 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Altaria-Mega: 200-236 (68.7 - 81%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Weavile: 306-360 (108.8 - 128.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ Atk Technician Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mienshao: 162-192 (59.7 - 70.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Scizor Knock Off vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mismagius: 236-278 (90.4 - 106.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Defensive Calcs: 

• 4 Atk Skarmory Natural Gift vs. 120 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 196-232 (63 - 74.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO | Also, watch out for Counter Skarmory.
• +1 252 Atk Altaria-Mega Earthquake vs. 120 HP / 0 Def Scizor: 146-172 (46.9 - 55.3%) -- 71.1% chance to 2HKO

Sting (Drapion) (M) @ Assault Vest 
Ability: Battle Armor 
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Atk / 4 Def / 88 SpD / 80 Spe 
Jolly Nature 
- Pursuit 
- Poison Jab 
- Knock Off 
- Rock Slide

This Drapion set was designed to deal with Mismagius. I've played enough NU lately to know that that thing is a major threat if you don't have the right tools to deal with it. So I wasn't about to take any chances. Not even on a crit. Thank you, Battle Armor. Pursuit would be used to trap and vanquish it to the Shadow Realm. Poison Jab hits Mega Altaria and Lurantis. Knock Off could remove items that I talked about earlier. Very useful move. Rock Slide hits Weavile, Galvantula, and Rapidash for supereffective damage. This big, bad scorpion can take some Special hits with it's Assault Vest and lay it's opponents out with a Scorpion Deathdrop!

Offensive Calcs:

• Outspeeds Modest Nidoking by 1 point.
• 84 Atk Drapion Poison Jab vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Altaria-Mega: 158-188 (54.2 - 64.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 84 Atk Drapion Pursuit vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Mismagius: 260-308 (99.6 - 118%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO | Damage it would deal if Mismagius switched out.
• 84 Atk Drapion Rock Slide vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Galvantula: 164-194 (58.3 - 69%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs:

• 252 SpA Mismagius Twinkle Tackle (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Assault Vest Drapion: 114-135 (33.1 - 39.2%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO
• 252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Assault Vest Drapion: 283-335 (82.2 - 97.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The Aftermath

Here is the battle link: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlearea-gen7draftleague-27879

Week 2: Toronto Maple Leafeons (AbruptFury) vs. Indy Latis (Epiclolz53)

Team that Epic brought: Mega Altaria, Galvantula, Nidoking, Mienshao, Rapidash, Porygon2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Match Summary and Explanations

• I did a last minute calc on Darmanitan and Dhelmise before the match. I knew it would come in handy against what I thought he would lead. So I lead Darmanitan against the Galvantula.
• I decided to U-turn out of there to prevent anything damage on Darmitan early in the match, and possibly break a Focus Sash. I was not prepared for Eject Button Galvantula. In came Mienshao.
• Mienshao could easily through off a Hi Jump Kick onto my Darmanitan if it had a Choice Scarf, so I decided to get the heck out of there. Going into Dhelmise hoping that his Mienshao would take the recoil from missing, but he goes for Substitute. Unusual, but a little terrifying. Also, confirmed that he wasn't Choice Scarf set, so that brought me some relief. 
• Having Colbur Berry, I was fine with taking the Knock Off and just wanted to break that Sub. So I went for Anchor Shot. 
• Since Galvantula resists Steel, I thought he might want to get off a last ditch Sticky Web. I was correct and Dhelmise's Shadow Claw takes it out. First blood goes to Dhelmise! This also covered the Rapidash play. Flame Body would've sucked, but damage on that thing was important since I didn't prep for it very well. And what do ya know? In comes Rapidash.
• I didn't know what Rapidash would go for, so I decided to stay in and sac Dhelmise for possible damage with Shadow Claw, but it just finishes Dhelmise off with Flame Charge. Not what I wanted to see though. That speed boost could cause problems against Darmanitan. Since Justin didn't bring the Mismagius, I sent out Drapion in hopes of just getting some damage off on Rapidash, if not taking it out.
• Rapidash switches out of it's boost and into Mienshao. Mienshao beats down Drapion with 2 Hi Jump Kick as I get some nice damage on it with the combination of Poison Jab and Rock Slide. In the process, Sitrus Berry was revealed on Mienshao. Mienshao was a Z captain, so this was good news to me. I sent out Sylveon to pressure Justin's Mienshao. 
• Justin makes a bit of a misplay in staying in and going for Substitute, forgetting that Hyper Voice was a sound-based move which bypasses Substitutes. Sylveon picks up it's first kill of the match. Rapidash returns to the field.
• Justin reveals Steelium Z on his Rapidash, but Sylveon takes the hit and goes for Wish. I figured that if anything was coming out of Rapidash, it would have to be that. I was sure it was going to KO, but thought there might be a chance I could tank with my investments. 
• Sylveon gets it's health back and slowly widdles down Rapidash, which is having a hard time damaging it without a boosting item anymore. 
• Eventually, Justin gives up and breaks out the Nidoking. I decided to scout what he might go for. Then, I figured that I might as well leave Sylveon in since Nidoking just pretty much destroyed my team with it's power and coverage anyway. No switch was safe.
• He throws Rapidash back out and I find this a little confusing. Then it hit me, he must be a Choice Scarf. Which makes sense, since nothing else was. And my reason for running Choice Scarf on Darmanitan in the first place was for outspeeding faster threats. 
• I didn't think High Horsepower would be his first move to come out of Rapidash, so I went hard Darmanitan as he used Iron Tail and it missed. Free switch. We take those.
• No more messing with this thing. I decided to Earthquake even though Altaria was still around. Darmanitan picks up it's first kill of the season. He goes Porygon2, however, on the switch.
• Thinking he might go for something like Toxic or Tri Attack on Darmanitan, I switched out into Scizor. It takes a Discharge with no paralysis.
• Went for Knock Off to remove it's Eviolite for something like Darmanitan in the back. 
• I get really lucky with a crit Bullet Punch and Scizor is able to 1v1 the Porygon2. One kill for Scizor, and it's first of the season. Mega Altaria finally appears.
• Being so low on health, I decided to go for Bullet Punch. While Justin sets up Cotton Guard. Questionable play, since it meant that Scizor could just 2HKO Mega Altaria for it's second kill of the match. Last alive, Nidoking.
• I got some decent chip onto Nidoking, but it didn't matter. Scizor went down and Mesprit easily revenge killed with Nidoking with Subzero Slammer. One kill for Mesprit, and one win for the Toronto Maple Leafeons! We are now 1-1 in the season!

In Conclusion

Good game to Justin ! Your team was tough to prep for, honestly. If it weren't for that ring rust, you might very well have beaten me. I think Nidoking and Rapidash definitely could have put in more work. I'm looking to change up my team for our next encounter. I know you would like to do the same. Week 3 is coming up and it is transaction week! I think I will leave my Free Agent picks and Trades in my next report. I'm not even sure if one of them is happening or not. But yeah, I'm definitely looking to work out some kinks in my team. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed my report and are looking forward to more in the future! In week 3, we will be battling the #1 player in the leaderboard at this time in the season. He is a newcomer to the National Battling Association, but he is already making an impact with a win against both of our first two opponents. I was beaten by one of them, so I can only imagine how tough this guy might be. But I think I can take him on! Anyway, see ya next time!

PFA Season 6 Week 1 Report: Toronto Maple Leafeons

Greetings! Tommy aka AbruptFury, coach of the Toronto Maple Leafeons, here! I will be bringing you my report on what happened in my very first match of the sixth season of the Pokemon Forever Association. My body is ready! Let's get into it.

The Team Line-ups

My Team : Kyurem-B, Scizor, Sylveon, Vaporeon, Darmanitan(Z), Drapion, Electivire(Z), Dhelmise, Donphan, Mesprit(Z), Sawk

Alec (Indianapolis Keldeos): M-Manectric, Landorus-T, Togekiss(Z), Cobalion(Z), Hoopa-C, Moltres, Ferroseed, Goodra(Z), Starmie, Frogadier, Slurpuff

The Game Plan

Gypsy (Mesprit) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 80 Def / 176 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Psyshock
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball
- Stealth Rock

For the first game of the season, I figured that Mesprit would be a good Stealth Rock setter. But that's not all it can do. Psyshock allows it to get some good damage off on anything that doesn't resist. Ice Beam easily OHKOs Lando-do, as well as hits Togekiss for supereffective. Shadow Ball destroys the biggest offensive threat to this Pokemon on Alec's team, Hoopa. This Hoopa takes 4x damage from Ghost type attacks. This coverage is perfect for hitting his team. Rocky Helmet punishes any physical attacks that come Mesprits way, like U-turn for Landorus. This Pokemon is also the best one I have to take both of Cobalion's STAB type attacks. So it makes an okay switch-in to that beast.

Offensive Calcs:

• Fast enough to outspeed Timid Hoopa-C by 1 point; and subsequently, Togekiss and Goodra too.
• 0 SpA Mesprit Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Landorus-Therian: 324-384 (101.5 - 120.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 0 SpA Mesprit Psyshock vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Goodra: 120-142 (37.2 - 44%) -- guaranteed 3HKO | Even Specs Goodra will take more from Psyshock than Ice Beam.
• 0 SpA Mesprit Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Hoopa: 192-228 (63.7 - 75.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs:

• 252 Atk Landorus-Therian U-turn vs. 252 HP / 80 Def Mesprit: 146-174 (40.1 - 47.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• 252 SpA Life Orb Protean Frogadier Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Mesprit: 242-289 (66.4 - 79.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 Atk Cobalion Corkscrew Crash (160 BP) vs. 252 HP / 80 Def Mesprit: 180-213 (49.4 - 58.5%) -- 98.8% chance to 2HKO

Ribbons (Sylveon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Protect
- Hidden Power [Fire]

This is a pretty standard Sylveon set. The usual UU defensive one nowadays. Instead of Heal Bell, Sylveon has Hidden Power Fire. This is specifically for Ferroseed. My team in it's completion was a little weak to it. Hyper Voice allows Sylveon to hit everything on Alec's team, except for Moltres and Ferroseed, for some big damage. Even with so little investment, it can 2HKO a lot of his Pokemon. Wish and Protect allow Sylveon to scout, bait and take very little from Z moves, and recover itself and it's teammates. Goodra was the main reason I wanted to bring Sylveon. Big special attack damage from that thing hurts my Pokemon a lot, especially Dragon type attacks. And with Moltres and Ferroseed covered, Sylveon runs wild on his team with it's damage output and support.

Offensive Calcs:

• 4 SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Landorus-Therian: 153-180 (47.9 - 56.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO 
• after Stealth Rock
• 4 SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Cobalion: 165-195 (51 - 60.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 4 SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Goodra: 180-212 (46.8 - 55.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock | Any less damage may signify Assault Vest.
• 4 SpA Pixilate Sylveon Hyper Voice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Goodra: 180-212 (55.9 - 65.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs:

• 252 Atk Cobalion Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 192-228 (48.7 - 57.8%) -- 50.8% chance to 2HKO
• 252 Atk Life Orb Hoopa Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 286-338 (72.5 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 Atk Life Orb Protean Frogadier Gunk Shot vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 304-359 (77.1 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed 
• 2HKO
• 0 Atk Ferroseed Gyro Ball (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Sylveon: 176-210 (44.6 - 53.2%) -- 0.4% chance to 2HKO

Ariel (Vaporeon) (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 192 Def / 64 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Heal Bell

Talk about Sylveon having a great matchup with it's offensive presence. Vaporeon has the same Special Attack stat and similar coverage options. Scald hits Pokemon like Landorus-T and Moltres hard, and can burn physical attackers like Cobalion. Shadow Ball messes up Hoopa-C and Starmie, and does neutral damage to everything else. You see - Alec somehow overlooked a Ghost weakness in the team. And I wanted to make him pay the price. It would be a very easy weakness to abuse without a Dark or Normal type to stop me. Hidden Power Fire deals with the Ferroseed. I did not want that thing coming in for free, setting up hazards and Leech Seeds. Heal Bell would help off any status moves that Alec might like to go for such as Thunder Wave and Toxic.

Offensive Calcs:

• 64+ SpA Vaporeon Hidden Power Fire vs. 252 HP / 124 SpD Eviolite Ferroseed: 148-176 (50.6 - 60.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 64+ SpA Vaporeon Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 8 SpD Hoopa: 232-276 (77 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 64+ SpA Vaporeon Scald vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 264-312 (82.7 - 97.8%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
• 64+ SpA Vaporeon Scald vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Moltres: 252-296 (65.7 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs:

• 252 Atk Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 192 Def Vaporeon: 205-243 (44.1 - 52.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
• 252 SpA Manectric-Mega Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Vaporeon: 314-372 (68.5 - 80.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 SpA Life Orb Moltres Hidden Power Grass vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Vaporeon: 174-205 (37.5 - 44.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Spark Plug (Electivire) @ Life Orb
Ability: Motor Drive
EVs: 12 Def / 252 SpA / 12 SpD / 232 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flamethrower
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Toxic

The combination of Mega Manectric and Landorus-T is very strong. They can get away with Volt Switch/U-turning all over you and cripple physical attackers with Intimidate on top of that. With the ability Motor Drive, I could take advantage of his Mega Manectric's Electric type attacks and gain a speed boost. This speed boost would allow Electivire to outspeed both Mega Manectric and Choice Scarf Landorus-T.  All I needed was 232 Speed investment to outspeed Scarf Landorus-T after a Motor Drive boost, since Electivire's natural Base speed is faster. Then, Electivire could simply OHKO Landorus-T with Life Orb Hidden Power Ice. Initially, I wanted Elecitivire to be a Choice Specs set for major damage output, but I decided that versatility is better. Electivire's natural HP means that it can use Life Orb 10 times without fainting since the number ends in 1. Thunderbolt dominates Togekiss, Starmie, Frogadier, and Moltres. Flamethrower beats Ferroseed and Cobalion down, and can hit Mega Manectric hard. Hidden Power Ice beats Landorus-T, like I mentioned earlier, and hits Goodra too. Toxic helps where down the bulkier mons like Goodra, which don't take a lot from it's Special Attacks. Overall, one of my best answers to his team.

Offensive Calcs:

• Set to outspeed Landorus-T by 1 point. Outspeeds Choice Scarf after a Motor Boost.
• 252+ SpA Life Orb Electivire Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Manectric-Mega: 135-160 (48 - 56.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
• 252+ SpA Life Orb Electivire Hidden Power Ice vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Landorus-Therian: 364-432 (114.1 - 135.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ SpA Life Orb Electivire Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Togekiss: 304-359 (81.2 - 95.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
• 252+ SpA Life Orb Electivire Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Moltres: 390-460 (101.8 - 120.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ SpA Life Orb Electivire Flamethrower vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Cobalion: 294-348 (91 - 107.7%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
• 252+ SpA Life Orb Electivire Hidden Power Ice vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Goodra: 107-127 (33.2 - 39.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

Sting (Drapion) (M) @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Battle Armor
EVs: 24 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Fang
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance

This set was designed to deal with Hoopa if it was getting out of hand. As well as perhaps take something out with a Swords Dance boosted attack. Ice Fang hits Pokemon like Landorus-T, Togekiss, and Goodra. Pursuit traps and beats Hoopa. Earthquake hits Mega Manectric and Cobalion. Battle Armor means that I don't have to worry about critical hits. Shuca Berry helps Drapion survive an attack from Landorus-T, hopefully baiting it to stay in and take some serious damage if not get taken out. Drapion's speed was also set to be higher than max speed Landorus-T's.

Offensive Calcs:

• Outspeeds non-Scarf max speed Landorus-T by 1 point.
• 252 Atk Drapion Pursuit vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Hoopa: 304-364 (100.9 - 120.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• -1 252 Atk Drapion Ice Fang vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus-Therian: 160-192 (50.1 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• +2 252 Atk Drapion Ice Fang vs. 184 HP / 0 Def Togekiss: 230-272 (64.4 - 76.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• +2 252 Atk Drapion Ice Fang vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Goodra: 296-350 (77 - 91.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs:

• 252 Atk Cobalion All-Out Pummeling (190 BP) vs. 24 HP / 0 Def Drapion: 222-262 (77.3 - 91.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 248 SpA Choice Specs Hoopa Shadow Ball vs. 24 HP / 0 SpD Drapion: 138-162 (48 - 56.4%) -- 87.5% chance to 2HKO

Rupert (Dhelmise) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Steelworker
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Anchor Shot
- Shadow Claw
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin

He's back! Dhelmise has returned to us and is coming to battle once again! Dhelmise's main purpose is sponging special attacks, walling Dhelmise, and keeping opposing hazards off the field. Anchor Shot traps and beats down Togekiss and Slurpuff. Shadow Claw destroys his whole team, just like Shadow Ball on my other Pokemon. Earthquake beats Cobalion and Mega Manectric. Rapid Spin keeps Stealth Rock and Sticky Web at bay.

Offensive Calcs:

• 252+ Atk Steelworker Dhelmise Anchor Shot vs. 184 HP / 0 Def Togekiss: 306-360 (85.7 - 100.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
• 252+ Atk Dhelmise Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Cobalion: 194-230 (60 - 71.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252+ Atk Dhelmise Shadow Claw vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Hoopa: 768-904 (255.1 - 300.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
• 252+ Atk Dhelmise Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Starmie: 288-342 (88.8 - 105.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
•  -1 252+ Atk Dhelmise Earthquake vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Manectric-Mega: 192-228 (68.3 - 81.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Defensive Calcs

• 0 Atk Ferroseed Gyro Ball (131 BP) vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Dhelmise: 82-97 (23.9 - 28.2%) -- guaranteed 5HKO
• 252+ SpA Choice Specs Goodra Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Dhelmise: 254-300 (74 - 87.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 SpA Moltres Fire Blast vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Dhelmise: 254-300 (74 - 87.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
• 252 SpA Life Orb Starmie Ice Beam vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Dhelmise: 156-185 (45.4 - 53.9%) -- 41.4% chance to 2HKO
• 252 SpA Manectric-Mega Overheat vs. 248 HP / 8 SpD Assault Vest Dhelmise: 212-250 (61.8 - 72.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The Aftermath

Here is the battle link: https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/battlearea-gen7draftleague-26849

Week 1: Toronto Maple Leafeons (AbruptFury) vs. Indianapolis Keldeos (Slec)

Team that Alec brought: Landorus-T, Togekiss, Goodra, Cobalion, Starmie, Slurpuff

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think that I should retire Turn by Turn Analysis. Some turns don't really need commentary. They are pretty straightforward. I think I will just go over the important ones and summarize which Pokemon got kills and which got deaths. 

Match Summary and Explanations

• I led Mesprit to get my Stealth Rock up as Alec leads Slurpuff.
• Because he led Slurpuff, I knew he had to be Sticky Web. So I went out to Dhelmise to Rapid Spin. Alec switches into Landorus-T, perhaps expecting this.
• I have Dhelmise go for the Rapid Spin. I did not want to deal with Sticky Web.
• Alec is adamant about getting them up, but Anchor Shot doesn't OHKO the Slurpuff anymore, allowing Dhelmise to Rapid Spin the rest of Slurpuff's health away. Along with any hopes of him setting up Stealth Rock. First kill of my season goes to Dhelmise.
• Cobalion comes in and I decide to Earthquake with Dhelmise. Despite the Intimidate, I knew Earthquake would still do damage. Maybe even get rid of a Shuca Berry.
• Cobalion beats down Dhelmise with a couple of Iron Heads.
• I sent out Vaporeon, knowing that it could tank a hit and possibly get a burn with Scald.
• Alec makes a good switch to Starmie. My spinblocker is gone, he can get a free switch in on Scald and spin the hazards away. 
• I knew that so I went back into Mesprit to set them back up.
• Alec pulls the switch into Togekiss and goes for Wish as I bring in Electivire on what I hoped would be Thunder Wave.
• Knowing very well that he wouldn't risk Starmie against Electivire on the Wish pass, I went for Hidden Power Ice and hit the Landorus-T. One kill for Electivire.
• Goodra comes out as I go right for Toxic.
• I didn't want to risk Sylveon coming in on Goodra's Sludge Wave, so I made the mid-ground play of Drapion, but it does not take the Draco Meteor well.
• Since his Goodra is sitting at -2 and Drapion is low on health, I went for Pursuit trying to catch it switching out into something else. Alec makes a good play by staying in and taking less from the Pursuit.
• With Goodra weakened, I sent in Sylveon to finish it off.
• Starmie comes in and goes down to Sylveon's Hyper Voice. One kill for Sylveon.
• Cobalion comes in and sets up a Swords Dance on Sylveon. Unfortunately for me, Hyper Voice does not knock it out, so I know I'm losing a Pokemon.  
• I try to Protect on the Z move because I'm sure it is Steelium Z Iron Head. That way, it wouldn't be wasted on something like Mesprit or Dhelmise. And my Steel resists are not very tanky. Alec just goes for Iron Head and down goes Sylveon.
• I sent in Mesprit and it immediately goes down to Corkscrew Crash. In hindsight, I probably could've scouted for it better by sending in Vaporeon to take it, but I knew that Vaporeon could take a Close Combat from +2 Cobalion and that it was hard to play around in the first place when I was planning. And Cobalion got 3 kills in this battle.
• Scald from Vaporeon finishes off Cobalion. One kill for Vaporeon.
• Alec brings in Togekiss and I try the same thing again with Electivire by trying to get my Motor Boost.
• Goodra comes in on the Wish pass and survives the Hidden Power Ice from my Life Orb Electivire. Goodra gets a good amount of health back.
• I sent out Vaporeon as fodder for the Draco Meteor and bring Electivire back in.
• The combination of Hidden Power Ice and Toxic finishes off the Goodra. One kill for Electivire.
• The only way Alec could beat Electivire was if he was Choice Scarf'd. I tried to remember what it had done all game and if it had outsped any of my Pokemon it shouldn't have. It turned out that it was in fact Choice Scarf Togekiss with Wish. A very interesting set that I did not expect. And the Toronto Maple Leafeons take a 0-1 loss in their first game.

In Conclusion

Good game to Alec ! I think he played very well. And while his plays and moveset choices were a bit predictable, that doesn't mean they were bad. I just knew that those kinds of things would give me the most trouble. And so did he. If I have any advice for Alec this season it would be to GET A GHOST RESIST, YA GOOF! Transaction week will be coming up soon and I really hope he fixes that problem because I think that his team is very strong and it's a very obvious hole in it. Quite exploitable. 

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my article :) I hope you enjoyed it and I will be bringing the results of my next match soon. My week 2 match is against Epiclolz aka Justin. I have played him before and I'm looking forward to another battle with him. See you next time!

My PFA Season 6 Draft Analysis

What is up? I am Tommy AKA AbruptFury, coach of the Toronto Maple Leafeons, bringing you the results of our latest draft. I have been a part of this league for a few seasons now. It is between some of my best-est internet friends and I. There are also some new coaches joining us this season and one returning one from seasons gone by. They are all competent players, so it should be a fun season. Without further ado, let me dive right into it.

Rules of Drafting

Teams are comprised of: 

• 1 S tier Pokemon
• 1 A tier Pokemon
• 1 B tier Pokemon 
• 2 C tier Pokemon
• 1 D tier Pokemon 
• 1 E tier Pokemon; and
• 5 Free Pokemon, of which the ones you are allowed to pick from are determined by a certain number of points that can be increased or decreased depending on which S tier Pokemon you chose. The default number being 400.

My Draft Plan

Turn 1

I was happy with the success of my team from the following year, but wanted something that could pose more of a threat and wasn't pressure by hazards and a 4x weakness. Vanilluxe was easily one of my favourite Pokemon to use last season because of the pressure that it put on most of my opponents. So I decided that Kyurem-Black would be a great Pokemon to draft. And thus, Kyurem-B became the first (and only S tier) pick of the Toronto Maple Leafeons!

This Pokemon has always been difficult to prepare for and has always been good at putting holes into teams with it's movepool coverage and power. With moves such as Ice Beam, Fusion Bolt, Earth Power, Iron Head, Flash Cannon, Freeze Shock, Outrage, Draco Meteor, Psychic, Shadow Ball, Rock Slide, etc., there isn't much that this Pokemon doesn't hit. With access to the move Roost, it can allow Kyurem-B recover health that was taken away by hazards, or caused by use of good set options like Life Orb or Substitute. I could run a Hone Claws set too, to try and make more use of Kyurem-B's physical movepool. The only problem with this Pokemon, other than the fact that Game Freak hasn't given it a reliable physical Ice type move, is that I can't use Z moves on it. Z Freeze Shock is the absolute Bane of Smogon OU.

Turn 2

For the next round, I decided that I wanted to get right into building a VoltTurn core, rather than wait until later on and hope that there were some good picks left that mashed well with what I had already drafted. At the same time, I also wanted to build a good fantasy core (Steel/Dragon/Fairy). I was the second pick in the draft, by the way, so it wasn't too hard to get what I wanted initially, but it was difficult to sit there and watch so many Pokemon go before I got to pick again. So many chances to get sniped. I had heard some good things about this Steel type U-turn Pokemon being paired with Kyurem-B from a user in the GBA Discord chat, so I decided to give it a try. Second pick (A tier) for the Toronto Maple Leafeons was Scizor!

Scizor is a great Steel Pokemon, as well as one of the most reliable Bug types. A good Steel had actually been something that I went over a lot in my plan for what I wanted to draft. I knew what Fairy I wanted for my fantasy core much sooner than my Steel type. Scizor make one heck of a physical attacker, typically used as a Swords Dance sweeper or a Choice Banded attacker. It has access to the move Knock Off which is great for removing pesky items from your opponent's Pokemon. Bullet Punch is powered up by Scizor's Technician ability. It makes for a powerful form of priority. Bug Bite also receives the same boost and reaches 90 Base power because of it. The move itself can remove berries and allow you to use them. This might come in handy if you snag something like a Sitrus Berry. Agility can give Scizor's mediocre speed a boost making it a faster attacker and allowing you to take out your opponent's Pokemon before getting damage off on you. But the main selling point is definitely U-turn. Unlike Volt Switch, not a single Pokemon is immune to it (except for Shedinja with it's Wonderguard) and you get damage off onto your opponent while being able to scout what they want to do. Maybe they switch out and you bring in something that has the advantage right after, keeping your momentum going. Very helpful move that can be quite difficult to play around.

Turn 3

My next pick came up very soon and was not taken from me. I decided to pick up the Fairy type that I has mentioned earlier. Now for my Fairy type pick this season, I wanted to do something similar to that of last season in drafting one with Wish and Heal Bell support, but also able to apply some offensive pressure. Fairy is such a great defensive typing that I felt like that would be one of the better Pokemon for me to draft for such a role. The third pick (B tier) for the Toronto Maple Leafeons was Sylveon!

Since it's release in Generation 6, Sylveon has become somewhat of a fan-favourite. Is there any wonder why? It has a very cute design and it's very good in battles. Especially with it's Hidden Ability, Pixilate. This causes Sylveon's Normal type moves to become Fairy type moves and giving them a 1.2x power bonus. The one thing that Sylveon is probably best known for in competitive play is spamming Hyper Voice. There are few resists. Plus, this Pokemon boasts a nice 110 Special Attack stat. Like Scizor, it is not one of the fastest things, but it can take a hit and dish one back for sure. With speed control, it could even swipe your entire team out single-handedly with a Choice Specs sets. Being decently bulky like I mentioned, this Pokemon also makes great use of Wish and Heal Bell because it is able to benefit from it by stalling out certain types of Pokemon and gaining back health in the process. Calm Mind can allow this Pokemon to become stronger and tank more hits. Having such a high Special Attack means that it can make use of Hidden Powers, which gives it more coverage. Besides that, it also has access to moves like Psyshock (which is good against Poison types and specially defensive Pokemon) and Shadow Ball (which can be used to beat Psychic and Ghost types). I think this little cutie should make a fine addition to the team.

Turn 4

The following round, I was sniped for my Grass type pick. This was surprising because it was such a low tier pick that I didn't think it would be considered for a while. Alas, I had to find a substitute. I shifted a few things around in my draft plan and decided on this. I did not have a Rapid Spinner yet and knew that I wanted that option for my team. I was planning on using hazard stacking with my team. I found two Pokemon that could fit this role, but decided on the one that I saw as the better Rapid Spinner. The fourth pick (B tier) for the Toronto Maple Leafeons was a familiar face named Dhelmise!

This Pokemon was fantastic on my team last season. It is an amazing Rapid Spinner, and spinblocker since it is a Ghost. Dhelmise is a very slow Pokemon, but it's massive Attack stat and nice bulk make up for that. My favourite thing to do is usually to slap an Assault Vest on this thing and see how many hits it takes while being able to hit like a truck with it's 3 STABs. Thanks to it's ability Steelworker, it gains STAB from Steel types, making them more powerful. This can be useful against something like Togekiss which does not like taking Steel type hits in the first place, but loves to flinch down Grass types with Air Slash. The reason that Dhelmise edged out the other Grass type Rapid Spinner, Tsareena, was because it could deal with Fighting type hits better since it is immune. It can be argued that Knock Off is very common on Fighting types, but I can also argue that Tsareena is just a little too passive with it's pure Grass typing. I feel like it would have been easier to wall. Like one of my least favourite Pokemon in draft format, Umbreon. It's just so passive. Dhelmise can run Switcheroo to trade items with a foe and mess up an opponent's strategy. I have tried this before with Iron Ball. So much fun. Crippling the speed of a dangerous sweeper or wallbreaker. It also has access to moves like Rock Slide and Earthquake which make for good coverage.

Turn 5

Back around to me again so soon? It didn't take long for my next pick of which I really didn't want to get away from me. You see, I had a problem last season where I could only ever stand to run my Clefable defensively. Part of this was because it was such a good Pokemon to do so. But another reason was because it was my only Wish support option. I would have liked to have tried out more offensive sets like a Calm Mind sweeper or Life Orb attacker, but never got many opportunities to use Clefable to it's full potential. Well - I didn't want to let that happen this season. So I chose another good Wish and Heal Bell support Pokemon. I also decided to fill in another core with this pick. The fifth Pokemon (C tier) chosen by the Toronto Maple Leafeons was Vaporeon.

Yet another Eevelution to the team, Vaporeon has always been a great Pokemon at taking hits. It also has the same Special Attack stat as Sylveon, so it can be dependable on doing damage. It also has access to one of the best moves in the game, Scald. Only two types resist this move (excluding abilities), and it may inflict a burn on the target. This can cripple most physical type attackers which may help one of your other Pokemon set up boosts on it, or just allow you an easier time picking them off. Vaporeon has access to other moves like Ice Beam and Shadow Ball which can lend to it's coverage options, as well as Hidden Power potential. Most Vaporeon tend to run a very standard bulky Wish support set with Scald and Toxic/Heal Bell/Ice Beam, but this Pokemon just works so well with it. It's kinda like - why try to fix what isn't broken? I know what you're thinking "But broken stuff is so powerful." That is not the kind of broken that I was referring to. Baton Pass can lend itself as a way of keeping up momentum, like a non-damaging Volt Switch or U-turn. It can also come in handy for Wish passing to weakened teammates. Vaporeon is quite the team player.

Turn 6

Just before my turn came around again, I got sniped for the Fire type that I wanted. It was quite unfortunate because later on, we found out that the person didn't even have enough points for that particular Pokemon among their Free picks. So they ended up having to drop it for an E tier pick, and I have to wait until Week 4 to even have a chance to grab it. But I don't know if I will yet, because the calcs I have seen on the monster that I picked up are ridiculous. This Pokemon turns a resist into a pancake. Would you like to know which Pokemon I am talking about? Ready or not, here he comes! The sixth pick for the Toronto Maple Leafeons was Darmanitan!

The Pokemon that I was hoping to get was Rotom-Heat. It would have given me a Volt Switcher, a Fire type, a status user, and a possible Defogger all in one! However, maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Darmanitan might have the power and speed that it takes to pull my team to victory. I'm still on the fence about it, but you definitely can't deny it's power. With access to moves like Flare Blitz, Superpower, Earthquake, Rock Slide, U-turn, and Zen Headbutt. This is also combined with Darmanitan's terrifyingly high Attack stat of 140 and it's ability Sheer Force, which gives moves with a secondary effect a boost in power while removing certain effects. This pickup gives me a nice TurnTurn core in Darmanitan and Scizor. A nice quick option partnered with a slow bulkier option is what I was definitely something I was hoping for in this draft.

Turn 7

For my next pick, I wanted to have another Rapid Spin option on the team for games where Dhelmise doesn't have a very good matchup. It can also relieve some pressure on Dhelmise, allowing me to use another type of set on it (just like with Sylveon and Vaporeon). I wanted a Pokemon that could stop Electric type spam coming from Volt Switch users, so what I really needed was an immunity; a Ground type. Sure enough, I found what I was looking for. The seventh pick for the Toronto Maple Leafeons was Donphan!

Donphan is a physically based Pokemon, defensively and offensively. It has loads of options in it's movepool. Moves such as Earthquake, Stealth Rock, Stone Edge, Knock Off, Thunder Fang, Fire Fang, Gunk Shot, Ice Shard, Counter, Endeavor, Seed Bomb, Superpower, Rock Polish. This Pokemon can do a lot. I became quite interested with Donphan after seeing the kinds of sets it could utilize from Lord Emvee. Having Donphan as a Rapid Spinner allows me to use Dhelmise a different way, should I choose. Without missing out on Rapid Spin. And vice versa. This Pokemon has a lot it can do, and I want to try it out. Because of Donphan, I also now have an Electric immunity, which is a powerful type in league format.

Turn 8

It took a while to get back around to my turn, but when it did, I picked myself up a nice Toxic Spikes user for hazard stacking potential this season. I'm also interested in seeing if I can get Spikes on the team somewhere, but I was unable to in the draft. This Pokemon got a lot of success last season as a defensive tank. It was on last year's champion team, coached by BigEZ66. It also gave me a Dark type, which can be useful in league since a lot of Psychic types get scooped up and sometimes on teams, people tend to leave themselves open to Ghost types. The eighth pick for the Toronto Maple Leafeons was Drapion.

Just like Donphan, Drapion has a versatile movepool with access to hazards. The thing that stood out most to me however is the solo weakness of Ground against Drapion. Just Ground. With just one weakness, Drapion may have a hard time being pressured by certain Pokemon, making them easy to setup hazards or boosts or status against. Toxic Spikes can be helpful for chipping certain Pokemon down into KO range. I can't wait to use this poisonous scorpion!

Turn 9

By this point, I wanted a good defensive switch-in to Fighting types. Helps out my Kyurem-B significantly. So I decided to pick up a Psychic type. Bulky Psychic types are one of the most sought after things in league format, like fastest Electric and Ice types. This Pokemon has coverage and access to switch initiative. The ninth pick for the Toronto Maple Leafeons was Mesprit.

Mesprit is quite a versatile Pokemon. It has access to a variety of coverage options like Psychic, Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Dazzling Gleam, Psyshock, Energy Ball, the elemental punches, Calm Mind, and Stealth Rock. It carries base 105 across it's offensive and defensive stats, just not it's HP and speed. That makes it a fairly bulky and hard hitting Pokemon all in one. It can be used as a physical or special attacker too. U-turn gives this Pokemon a way of chipping at foes and escaping trappers. With Calm Mind and Power-up Punch, it can boost it's offensive stats. Healing Wish can be used to recover heavily damaged teammates and give them a free switch. Good for one time use at the expense of Mesprit because it faints afterwards. It's a shame that this Pokemon doesn't get much in terms of recovery, but being partnered with Sylveon might help.

Turn 10

Since I wasn't able to get Rotom-Heat, I needed a new Electric type option, so I picked this low tier threat. This Pokemon has astounding coverage while being decently fast. Can be run physical or special; usually prefers physical. And it was the one thing I knew I wanted to be my Z captain this draft. The tenth pick for the Toronto Maple Leafeons was Electivire. 

I helped BigEZ66 prepare one time for a league match, and the opponent's team that I was simulating had Electivire. It had so many good options for league format and I hope to show them off this season. I don't want to divulge all my strats in this article. The movepool options are amazing though. This Pokemon's offenses, speed, and coverage options will help me out a lot this season. And between it's two abilities, both are very good. Motor Drive can allow Electivire to come in on an Electric type attack and outspeed so many Pokemon, even some Choice Scarf users. And Vital Spirit makes it immune to sleep, giving it a relatively free switch into moves like Spore and Hypnosis.

Turn 11

For this pick, I went with a Fighting type to help me break certain Pokemon, mainly Normal types. The versatility among Normal types is certainly terrifying. I noticed that my Fighting type options weren't very good, and I was hoping to get a relatively fast one since my team was kind of slow. I ended up settling on this one. The eleventh and final pick of the Toronto Maple Leafeons was Sawk. 

Unlike his brother Throh, Sawk is fast and hard hitting. He's not much on the defensive side, but he can give some Pokemon a tough time with his movepool and Attack stat. Sawk gets access to moves like Close Combat, Knock Off, Earthquake, Rock Slide and Stone Edge, Poison Jab, Zen Headbutt, Taunt, Bulk Up, Throat Chop, Pain Split, and the elemental punches. It's abilities are all very solid. Sturdy gives it a free Focus Sash, meaning that it can't be taken out in one hit unless by a Mold Breaker Pokemon. Mold Breaker bypasses abilities like Sturdy, Disguise, Levitate; abilities that prevent damage or prevent a Pokemon from doing as much damage, so abilities like Unaware and Fluffy aren't even safe. Inner Focus makes Sawk immune to flinching. No Fake Out or Air Slash can stop him with hax. This allows him to just keep pummeling away. A very interesting Pokemon that I hope to make use of.

Conclusion

I don't think this team is as strong as the one I had last year, but I think it can still work, especially if I play it right. If anything, it will probably help me improve in competitive Pokemon. Also, some things didn't go quite as according to plan as I would have liked. Some of my draft plan got messed up with the early snipe from Gingerxpug getting Tangela and MikeWWM8 taking Rotom-Heat, and later finding out that he couldn't afford to keep it. Those actions changed my Fire, Electric, Ghost, Grass, and Psychic picks up. But like the improv artist I am, I managed to get some satisfying backups. And I can always change things up if they aren't working when the first transaction period comes along, which is either on week 3 or just after. Here is some of the beef that I have with my current team that I might like to change. 

Slow team - None of the Pokemon on my team hit a base speed at 100 or over. Last season, I at least had Mega Pinsir and Heliolisk, but it does feel like my team might have a harder time because of it. There is some potential for speed increasing on my team like Agility and Rock Polish, but I'm not sure about it quite yet. 

No Sticky Web - I would have liked a good Sticky Web user on the team, but since I already had my Bug and Fairy type picked out from the very beginning, it made it so that I had to have a same type, which can be annoying if it leads to a big weakness in the team.

Bird Spam - Because my Steel type is part Bug and I lack a Rock type, I am quite susceptible to Flying types. Something like Sawk can bait them to stay in and take advantage with it's Sturdy ability, I can set up rocks with a few Pokemon to inflict some damage upon switch in, and Electivire + Kyurem-Black can keep them on the run with their supereffective attacks. But when it comes to defensive switch-ins for Flying, I don't really have one. 

Lack of Speed Control/Status - Unlike last season, I don't have as many Trick Room setters and abusers. Thunder Wave from Electivire isn't quite as effective as it might be from a bulkier mon like Rotom. Will-o-Wisp from something like Darmanitan is not a good option either. Some of my Pokemon have access to Icy Wind, Bulldoze, and Rock Tomb. Maybe I could use that in some way. 

Thanks you for reading my report. I hope you are as excited as I am for another season of the PFA. It has been a while since the draft, but weather conditiions in Nova Scotia have caused power outages making it difficult to finish my report. As well as working my job. I will try and get back on top of things. After I conclude this, I am going to start on my Week 1 report. I played Alec aka MudkipLegend aka Slec. He was the one who beat me in the quarter finals of last season, so you best believe I wanted revenge. Anyway, until next time! Cya!

Update #3

    Pokemon league season is starting up again and I'm raring to go. I took a bit of a hiatus from posting for a little while because I didn't really know what I wanted to make them on. I spent some time playing NU and VGC, with varying success. I'm hoping to find a team that suits me well enough, in VGC, to stage an assault on the ladder. I might post an article on the Mismagius team that got me to the top 500 in NU. If anything, it might help someone get passed that lower ladder stage and help them get some top tier matchups against players that they can learn a lot from battling. And the reason why the team may not have made it further up the ladder could be just because of the way that the meta is up there. They are probably more prepared for Mismagius.

    So what I plan on doing with this blog site for the next few months will be league articles. I might also post about some VGC and Smogon tier teams, or even about how to get started with those formats. I might not be the best, but I do understand how some things work. Hopefully, someone can find some entertainment or information they are looking for. And I would like to win next season in the PFA (or whatever they are calling it now; they wanted to change the name because the community it was named after is basically dead). Last season, I had a fantastic team. But I would like to build around even stronger threats that don't have as many crippling weaknesses. Like how I had 3 Pokemon 4x weak to something. Or how my Mega pokemon took 50% coming in on Stealth Rock. I will try my best to draft myself the best team I can possibly have. I'm not sure when the draft will start, but it's looking like sometime later this month, because the owner had to finish their final exams this week.

    That's all for now. Ciao!