Intro:
In addition, I've added infos from Smogon analysis on similar builds used for the team.
Body:
Team Breakdown
Rather than relying on Tera Blast for OHKOs by Terastallization, we aim to crush everything through strategic play by not including Tera Blast in the builds. The following points were considered by the team builder when constructing the team:
- Due to the prevalence of strong Pokémon in the meta-game with few Poison-type Pokémon, there is a high likelihood that there are limited means to recover Toxic Spikes in many builds. We felt that by making Toxic Spikes a central component of the plan and not relying on OHKO kills via Terastallization, we could navigate matches more easily in the way we envision.
- In the Toxic Spikes setup slot, we considered that allowing the opponent complete freedom in move selection on the turn when Toxic Spikes are chosen might lead to situations where we could be overwhelmed and lose. Therefore, we chose Glimmora, which can spread Toxic Spikes while still being able to attack.
- We centered the team around three Pokémon selections: Glimmora as the lead, Boost Energy Iron Bundle as the second, which has a wide range of adaptability due to its nature, and Dark Urshifu as the last Pokémon, which is strong against non-Toxic Spikes Pokémon and has high matchup performance. These three Pokémon selections became the core of the team.
- As supporting Pokémon, we chose Substitute-protect Garganacl, which has good synergy with Toxic Spikes and can distort the opponent's selections, and Encore Dragonite, which can handle physical Pokémon led by Urshifu, as well as Pokémon that use setup moves and status moves.
- Throughout the team, we aimed to minimize vulnerabilities to Gholdengo and reduce the chances of losing due to moves with the secondary effect of flinching or freezing by utilizing Scarf Chi-Yu and completing the team.
Toxic Spikes Setting Glimmora: All-Out Attacker
The primary role is to spread Toxic Spikes while still being able to attack.
Glimmora's weakness lies in its inability to fulfill its role when hit with special attacks. However, by using an HP-heavy Assault Vest spread, it can handle special attackers and can still spread Toxic Spikes.
Additionally, by using it as a Grass Terraform with good synergy alongside the team, it gains Spore immunity from Breloom, Amoonguss and Brute Bonnet, and effectively reduces Ground-type moves' impact by a quarter (effectively making it eight times stronger).
Furthermore, its base stat in Special Attack is 130, which is on par with Urshifu's Attack stat of 130.
Glimmora spreads Toxic Spikes when it is attacked by a physical move. Combine this with a special Pokémon as the lead, and it seems like we have a pretty solid counter. This is the dream Pokémon that makes the team work.
Smogon Link: https://www.smogon.com/dex/sv/pokemon/glimmora/battle-stadium-singles/
Booster Energy Iron Bundle: Santa's Slay
This Pokémon is incredibly powerful, ranking as the most formidable among paradoxical Pokémon.
Its blistering speed after Boost Energy activation is simply astounding. Its versatility is overwhelming due to its wide range of Water-type and Freeze-Dry moves, making it challenging to predict and lead against.
While opponents may be wary of Encore and Substitute, these moves can be used to capitalize on their fears.
Giving the gift of an encore lets Iron Bundle punish passive Pokemon and naughty sweepers alike.
Substitute lets Iron Bundle take further advantage of encored Pokemon and is a decent way to scout for Tera types when using Booster Energy or Life Orb. It's especially effective at punishing Sucker Punch revenge killers such as Chien-Pao.
Tera Ghost gives Iron Bundle an important immunity to Extreme Speed, which can especially ruin Dragonite's holiday with Encore.
The only concern is the accuracy of Hydro Pump, but we've chosen to overlook this and go for maximum hits.
Smogon Link: https://www.smogon.com/dex/sv/pokemon/iron-bundle/battle-stadium-singles/
Dark Urshifu: Dancing Bear
A moderately powerful Pokémon that combines the role of a formidable physical attacker with a Taunt user to disrupt opponents.
Single Strike Urshifu was chosen due to its lack of vulnerability to Dragapult and its capability to hit Dragonite.
The creator opted for Swords Dance for Urshifu in this team, balancing its performance within the team.
After boosting its power through Swords Dance, Urshifu-S can leverage its complementary set of STAB moves to smash through the opposing team.
Tera Dark strengthens Wicked Blow and allows Urshifu-S to power its way through opposing walls. After a Swords Dance boost, Tera Dark-boosted Wicked Blow is a guaranteed OHKO on physically defensive Zapdos, while Close Combat has a high chance to OHKO Ting-Lu.
Focus Sash can help Urshifu-S more reliably get off a Swords Dance boost. It can survive hits from Fairy-types like Flutter Mane as well as powerful special attackers like Zapdos.
With an Adamant nature, Urshifu-S can reliably beat offensive Tera Fairy Flutter Mane with Wicked Blow + Sucker Punch, provided Focus Sash is still intact.
Poison Garganacl: Salty Stall
This Pokémon is incredibly powerful, and to maximize its performance against certain Pokemon (Fighting and Fairy-type), the creator opted for the Poison Terraform with a physically defensive spread (hp = 252 d = 244 sp = 12).
With some entry hazard support, this Garganacl can be very difficult to outstall, thanks to the constant passive damage from Salt Cure.
Not only does Protect scout for surprise Tera types, but it also goes well with the passive healing from Leftovers.
Substitute makes Garganacl even more difficult to properly switch into, providing protection against Trick, OHKO moves, and opposing Salt Cure.
While this Pokémon boasts the strongest abilities, it's essential to remember that it can easily lose matches through unforeseen metagame factors.
Therefore, it's ideal to rely primarily on Garcanacl to intimidate the opponent with its presence and choose it when there's a clear opportunity to fulfill its role—a complementary approach to team building seemed more suitable.
Defensive Dragonite: Paraflinch
A slightly scary Pokémon. The Speed stat is maximized with a Bold nature.
Paraflinch Dragonite is a defensively oriented Dragonite set that takes full advantage of Terastallization and the element of surprise to cripple and downright defeat numerous Pokemon.
Tera Water provides Dragonite with the much-needed defensive versatility to paralyze and wall common threats, such as Chien-Pao and Azumarill. Water is an excellent defensive type in general with its only weaknesses being Electric and Grass.
Multiscale allows Dragonite to paralyze its foes relatively safely, becoming a massive nuisance for unprepared opponents.
Air Slash is a more practical move for this set, as it can cover a wider range of Pokemon for at least neutral damage. Air Slash also does not trigger Rocky Helmet and is naturally boosted by Dragonite's STAB.
Encore allows Dragonite to effectively check a wider variety of Pokemon such as Ursaluna by locking them into an unfavorable move, giving it a free opportunity to land Thunder Wave on your opponent's switch-in on the following turn.
The creator was not sure if it was because his team selection pattern changed while playing more battles or if it was related to the matchups, but on the final day of season 8, they had fewer opportunities to bring Dragonite into the battle.
There were several instances where they got into a tight spot against an opponent's late-game Dragon Dance Dragonite when Glimmora was brought into battle.
In the second-to-last battle, the team creator foresaw this scenario and decided to bring Dragonite to handle it. Luckily, the actual battle played out as the creator expected, and Dragonite's performance led them to victory. So, the creator was glad they had Dragonite on the team. Thank you, Dragonite.
Chi-Yu: Choice-Yu
Not really a threatening Pokémon. It was added at the end, mainly because Garcanacl is on the team, and the team as a whole is vulnerable to Gholdengo.
With a Choice Item, Chi-Yu can choose to become either a spicy revenge killer or a scorching wallbreaker!
Flamethrower's higher power makes it the better cleaning tool, but Lava Plume's higher burn chance gives Chi-Yu a good shot of punishing major physical attacking fores such as Dragonite, Azumarill and Garchomp that resist Fire.
Modest nature is preferred since Chi-Yu's Speed isn't too impressive.
Tera Fire Overheat is extremely difficult to wall without a resistance, making it an easy choice for Chi-Yu.
Team Pilot
Seriously strong, the MVP. The embodiment that controls all choices.
Concluding Remarks from Team Creator:
As you can probably tell from looking at the team composition, there aren't any unusual Pokémon that seem like genius ideas. It's a relatively simple team, and some might wonder what's so strong about it. It might not appear strong enough to secure the first place.
However, the truth is, I think that with the right team selection and strategy, you can secure a top-10 spot in almost any meta-game. It's not something I meticulously thought through or optimized in terms of Effort Values (EVs), and in terms of completeness, it's not exceptionally high.
So, why did I get first place? Well, if I put on my "bragging" hat, I honestly believe that with the strength of team selection and strategy, I could secure a top-10 spot no matter what I used, provided I saved it.
Among all that, I feel that this season, various factors aligned favorably due to a combination of factors like my team choices for the meta-game, the rankings of my opponents, not losing to weird and rare Pokémon types, not misusing moves, and so on.
If someone were to ask if I got first place just because I had good luck, I'd confidently say that's not the case. However, I think that achieving first place, especially for the first time, is a result of my consistent efforts combined with a bit of luck and favorable circumstances. It feels like fortune smiled upon me towards the end.
I've always believed I was the strongest in Pokémon and have been playing with that mindset, so just in this month, being able to prove it for the first time makes me happy.
Finally, if I were to share some thoughts, I believe that apart from one-hit KO moves or extremely bad luck, the reason for losing a match is entirely within oneself.
I think that even in cases of move misfires or additional effects, if you delve into the finer details of strategy, team selection, and team composition, you'll find areas where you can reflect and improve.
Instead of complaining about the content of the matches I lost, I believe that by acknowledging my weaknesses, continuously reflecting, and working on them, I can become even stronger.
If you ever feel like you had an unjust defeat and want to come talk to me, the person who secured the first place this month with a sense of accomplishment, feel free to point out my flaws and give me a hard time.
