This is an analysis of the Perish Trap Rain team by the Japanese player YT (Twitter account and blog) who used it to achieve 1st place on the Showdown VGC 2014 ladder under the player names igrek and Showme. He also used it at the 15th Pokémon Arena Off which is a major grassroots event in Tokyo where he finished in the Top 16 out of 109 players. This particular Arena event also served as the Kanto region qualifier for Battle Road Gloria which is an unofficial national tournament for Japan leading to the unofficial Pokémon Asia Cup Spring 2014. The article has been edited and re-posted with permission from the original author. The original article is available on his blog here.
Team Details
Politoed @ BrightPowder
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 204 HP / 148 Def / 156 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Scald
- Perish Song
- Hypnosis
- Protect
This is a bulky Politoed which is used to set up both rain and Perish Song. The HP EVs ensures that the actual in-game HP stat will be 1 less than a multiple of 16 which serves to minimize hail and sand damage. Defensive EVs allow it to survive a Play Rough from an Adamant Mega Mawile on the physical side and a Thunder from Timid Mega Manectric on the special side. The actual EVs necessary are less than the listed values but the extra EVs were put in for more bulk.
On its moveset, I chose Scald because it is a solid STAB attack with 100% Accuracy with the bonus of possible burn for the opponent. I found Sleep to be more useful for the team so I gave it Hypnosis as opposed to other moves such as Ice Beam and Encore. Perish Song is to have a backup singer aside from Gengar and Protect is to stall out turns to advance the perish count.
For the item, since both Sitrus Berry and Leftovers were already taken by other team members, I needed something different. The defensive EVs ensure it can survive a Thunder from Mega Manectric, therefore it’s not necessary to give it Wacan Berry, so I gave it Bright Powder to slightly increase turn the odds in my favour.
Kingdra @ Life Orb
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Muddy Water
- Hydro Pump
- Protect
The EVs are very standard. I chose Timid nature as opposed to Modest since this team can’t risk a speed tie loss against an opposing Kingdra. The role of Kingdra is essentially a backup win condition when Perish Trapping is not viable. In this case the team plays very much like a standard Rain team with high base power moves chosen to increase the chance of OHKOs. I gave it Life Orb since Choice items are incompatible with the team concept but I still needed increased power and the flexibility that Protect offers. Indeed, Kingdra in rain tends to draw a lot of hate so being able to Protect allows for smoother playing.
Gengar @ Gengarite
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 188 HP / 20 Def / 44 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature
- Perish Song
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Protect
HP EVs are adjusted to minimize hail and sand damage. Defense EVs did not have any particular goals but it allows Gengar to survive a Crunch from an Intimidated Tyranitar and one hit of sand damage. Special Attack EVs are the least required to achieve a 13/16 probability of OHKOing a Chandelure with 252 EVs invested in HP and 4 EVs in Special Defense. Special Defense ensures it will survive a Hydro Pump from Politoed in the rain, and finally 252 Speed EVs ensure fastest Perish Song.
Perish Song is a self-explanatory move choice and Shadow Ball allows it to hit Ghost types which can now switch out of Shadow Tag due to the mechanic changes in this gen. Substitute is very useful to have in many situations, for example when Gengar has already Protected the previous turn or when faced with a Gengar mirror match and you predict the opponent will Protect. Finally, Protect is also a clear choice which helps stall out turns.
Gothitelle @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Shadow Tag
EVs: 236 HP / 188 Def / 84 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Trick Room
- Reflect
- Psybeam
- Protect
HP EVs are adjusted to minimize sand and hail damage exactly like Politoed and Gengar. Defense EVs have no particular objective but it allows a high probability of surviving a Crunch from Adamant Mega Tyranitar. Special Defense EVs along with Sitrus Berry recovery allow Gothitelle to survive a focused hit in the rain from Modest Specs Kingdra’s Hydro Pump and Modest Politoed’s Hydro Pump.
Trick Room is to support Amoonguss and Perish Song from Politoed. Reflect allows the team to survive longer. I chose Reflect over Charm since its effects remain in place even if the opponent leaves play either by switching or fainting. Gothitelle also needs an attacking move since it is vulnerable to Taunt. I chose Psybeam due to the possible confusion bonus, but other choices such as Psyshock (which has synergy with Scrafty’s Crunch) and Psychic (high base power) are also viable. And finally Protect is there for reasons outlined in previous paragraphs. Since Gothitelle must remain in play in order to activate Shadow Tag I gave it Sitrus Berry to maximize chances of survival.
Amoonguss @ Eject Button
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 236 HP / 68 Def / 204 SDef
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Rage Powder
- Spore
- Giga Drain
- Protect
HP EVs makes actual in-game values divisible by 3 which optimizes Regenerator recovery. Defense EVs have no specific targets but the Special Defense EVs allow it to survive a Heat Wave in the sun from a Timid Mega Charizard Y. The moveset is very standard and needs no explanation. For its item I gave it Eject Button since I can use its effect to send in either Politoed which sets up rain or Scrafty which can Fake Out next turn for easy perish count gain. In addition, Eject Button cancels the switching effect from opposing Volt Switch and U-turn.
Scrafty @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 92 Atk / 44 Def / 116 SDef / 4 Spd
Careful Nature
- Fake Out
- Drain Punch
- Crunch
- Protect
Attack EVs allow Scrafty’s Crunch and Mega Gengar’s Shadow Ball together to take out a Careful Trevenant with 244 HP, 156 Defense, 108 Special Defense EV investments taking Sitrus Berry recovery into account.
Defense EVs lets Scrafty survive a Brave Bird from Adamant Talonflame and Special Defense EVs allows for surviving a rain-boosted Hydro Pump from Specs Kingdra. The EVs are actually more than necessary for these targets but I added them for the extra bulk. Also apparently this Scrafty has a 75% chance of surviving Dazzling Gleam from Timid Gardevoir, so this is a very solid spread.
Fake Out is to stop various opposing Pokémon where the order of importance is outlined in the next section. I chose Drain Punch for its Fighting move because the healing effect has synergy with the team concept. Crunch is for attacking Ghost types.
Protect is for reasons written previously but one can use Detect instead if worried about Imprison. Using Protect along with Scrafty’s bulk allows for more than four instances of Leftovers recovery.
Playing the Team
The standard opening for this team is Scrafty and Gengar followed by Gothitelle and Politoed in the back. For the first turn Fake Out an opponent with Scrafty and Perish Song with Gengar while Mega Evolving. The order of importance of the Fake Out target is as follows: first target any possible disruptions to Perish Song. Secondly, any possible OHKO threats. Thirdly, any Pokémon with high damage potential, and at last all other threats.
For the second turn Protect both Pokémon to gain perish count. Third turn switch out both Pokémon to remove perish count and next turn Protect with both.
This selection is chosen when the opponent either has a Pokémon with Fake Out, Greninja, or a Taunt user such as Liepard. For the first turn the usual play is to Protect on both Pokémon while Mega Evolving and Rage Powder + Perish Song on the following turn. Proceed to play as in the previous case.
Dealing with Threats
Against Trevenant, Gourgeist, and Chandelure, focusing on the opponent with both Scrafty and Gengar will take them out so the standard selection is OK. However caution is needed against Scarfed Chandelure.
When faced with an opposing Gengar or Sableye, send out Gengar first. Keep in mind to play flexibly to win this matchup.
For Aegislash, you must correctly predict whether it will use Shadow Ball, Substitute, or King’s Shield. If you play correctly you will be able to win.
Do not try to Perish Trap against Volt Switch and U-turn users. Instead you can win by simply hitting hard and playing well.
Achievements
This team achieved 1st place in the Showdown VGC 2014 ladder playing as igrek and Showme.
This team also ranked in the Top 16 of the 15th Arena Off.
The post Top 16 with Perish Rain at Tokyo’s 15th Arena Off Tournament appeared first on Nugget Bridge.