Wet Double D's-A 5th Place Lancaster Regional Report

Hello everyone! My name is pyromaniac720 (or if you ask some of my friends from this weekend, my name is actually dragonrainiac720) and this is the team that I used to get 5th at Lancaster regionals. The weekend wasn't all good though. At the PC, I went 3-4 with a team of Kingdra, Politoed, Mega Gengar, Ferrothorn, Thundurus-I, and Landorus-T. My logic behind the team was that rain does well against the omnipresent CHALK and offensive Mega Gengar with Will-o-wisp covered what rain couldn't. However, the team just didn't perform well, whether it be a couple unfortunate losses or just getting outplayed. After the PC, I went to Arby's with Brendan (mrbdog46), Jake (Araragii), Peara, and Chris (Amanaytsu). I told them that I wanted to start from scratch and try and build something that night for the tournament the next day (because I didn't drive 6 hours to go under .500).

Team Building Process

I told the guys that I wanted to stick with rain, because I still felt like it was a great option against CHALK and I noticed that a lot of teams that I played in the PC didn't have a great answer to rain. However, this time we went with a much more traditional rain and opted for Politoed and Ludicolo. The crew suggested Kangaskhan but Kangaskhan isn't something I typically play well and I didn't want to run into a bunch of mega mirror matches. I instead suggested Mega Salamence. It's something that I'm very comfortable with (I used it at Georgia, Nationals, and the Boston Open), the intimidate support was very useful, and it helped cover a lot of things that give rain trouble, like Amoongus, Mega Venusaur, Charizard, and Sylveon (since Double-Edge could OHKO with a Helping Hand boost or chip damage). Chris suggested I next add Raikou, since it pairs well with Salamence (and apparently that duo is pretty big in Japan). Next, I needed ground coverage for steel types (since I don't like putting fire types on rain teams). I already had Intimidate and I'm not really a huge fan of Landorus so I scratched that. Garchomp was suggested and I loved it. I had been looking for a way to use Life Orb Garchomp because I had had an argument earlier in the week with Will (Wiretap) about how Life Orb Garchomp is better than Focus Sash Garchomp. This was my chance to prove that to him (He got ninth at Florida with Sash). Finally, I noticed that I was pretty ice/fairy/dragon weak to I needed a good switch into those attacks. I really wanted to use Scizor but it didn't provide enough bulk for my already offensive team. Someone suggested Aegislash and I loved it.

The Team

If you're interested in a pastebin of this team to use on showdown, you can find it here.

Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 108 SpA / 148 Spe
Modest Nature
- Fake Out
- Scald
- Giga Drain
- Ice Beam

First member of the rain duo. Pretty much as standard as Ludicolo gets. I opted for max HP to make it generally bulky. The Speed allows Ludicolo to speed creep Scarf Landorus by a few points and the rest was just dumped into Special Attack. Ludicolo was very useful since it was my best answer to Rotom and Gastrodon and it could pick up some clutch Scald burns. Plus, it avoids Rage Powder and can't get Spored. I actually brought it to all three matches against Wolfe without Politoed, which shows that it certainly has use outside of rain.

Politoed @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Drizzle
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 SpD
Calm Nature
- Scald
- Ice Beam
- Helping Hand
- Protect

I hate manual rain so I went with the only legal rain setter: Politoed. Politoed is a bulky water type which is a typing that has done well the whole format. I decided to invest heavily in Special Defense for a few reasons. One, I had intimidate from Salamence to help it's physical defense. Two, I had two ways to get burns, which again, helps beef up its defense. Third, most super effective attacks directed towards Politoed are Thunderbolts from things like Rotom, Thundurus, and the occasional Raichu and Manectric. Therefore, I wanted to be able to take those attacks relatively well. And with a Sitrus Berry most of those attacks are a potential 3HKO. The Sitrus Berry also allows me to survive any attack from Mega Kangaskhan. I opted for Helping Hand for the filler move because my play style is very offensive, and Helping Hand fits that style perfectly. Helping Hand boosted attacks from Mega Salamence are crazy strong and OHKOs most everything that doesn't resist it.

Salamence @ Salamencite
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Double-Edge
- Rock Slide
- Fire Blast
- Protect

My favorite mega in this format is by far Salamence. Double-Edge has such raw power that completely obliterates things. Couple that with one of the highest speed stats in the game and crazy high defense with a great non mega ability and you have, in my opinion, the top mega in the game. Double-Edge is self explanatory. Rock Slide and Fire Blast may not be though. One thing that can be an issue for Rain teams is Charizard. Salamence has a great way to hit it Rock Slide. Technically, Double-Edge does slightly higher damage  than spread Rock Slide, however, Rock Slide doesn't give me a bunch of recoil damage and since it's a spread move, it allows me to clean up often in the late game. Also, as we all know, Rock Slide is the best move in the game and it actually got me a double flinch on Tommy Cooleen in round 9, sealing the match for me. Fire Blast was a move that I really needed to hit Ferrothorn. At nationals, I ran rain and had no way to hit Ferrothorn which cost me a set, and I didn't want that to happen again.

Raikou @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Pressure
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Snarl
- Light Screen

Raikou seems to be the forgotten dog (or cat? I don't know. I'll just go with beast) of the Johto trio. Suicune was pretty popular at the beginning of the season and Entei's been relatively popular as of late but Raikou just never seemed to get the use it deserves. Raikou is a great partner for Mega Salamence because it can lower the special attackers who threaten with Ice Beams and it takes out bulky water types that Salamence struggles with. The moveset is relatively standard except for the Light Screen. Most people asked me why I had Light Screen and Snarl on the same set rather than Snarl and Reflect. For one, like I mentioned before, there really isn't a physical attacker that my team fears. Light Screen and Snarl also help me drastically in the rain mirror, beefing up my special defenses to unreal levels. Also, Light Screen was a more reliable Snarl at time. It allowed me to raise my special defense without boosting the Attack/Special Attack of Bisharp and Milotic and it allowed me to avoid Sucker Punches, which actually helped me in my top 8 game 3 match vs Wolfe, where I avoided a Kangaskhan Sucker Punch and set up a Light Screen, which later allowed me Aegislash to live a Life Orb Thunderbolt from a Thundurus while in Blade Form. I opted for Shuca Berry to be able to survive Earthquakes from Landorus and potentially OHKO back with HP Ice. I decided to run max special attack/speed because I didn't like any bulky spreads due to the fact that my Raikou only has 10 Def IVs.

Garchomp @ Life Orb
Ability: Rough Skin
Level: 50
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Claw
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Protect

2014s most popular is back! Garchomp is a Pokemon that I always preferred over Landorus because I didn't like Landorus' speed tier and I didn't like Choice Scarf. But I never found a team to fit Garchomp on because I always use Salamence and I didn't like the idea of double dragon. However, with Gardevoir falling in popularity, I didn't really feel like double dragon was too bad anymore. Sylveon was slow enough that I could normally take it out before it did too much to me. The moveset is super standard. I went with Life Orb for two reasons: 1) I feel like Garchomp's power is meh without it so with Life Orb open, I slapped it on there and 2) I got into an argument with my good pal Will Collins (Wiretap) about what the best item for Garchomp is. He said Focus Sash, which he placed 9th with at Houston Regionals this year. I said Life Orb was better so he said, "If it's so good, then use it at Lancaster and place better than me". So I was pumped when I had the opportunity to use Garchomp at this event (and I placed better than Will so I guess I was right :p).

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
Level: 50
EVs: 196 HP / 252 SpA / 60 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- King's Shield

The final member of the team. Aegislash just fit so perfectly with the whole team. It gave me switches to Ice, Dragon, and Fairy attacks which threaten my double dragons. I've always preferred Substitute Aegislash because I feel like it gives me more options when I don't want to just attack and it can single handedly win games. The HP EVs give Aegislash an HP stat of 160, which is a perfect Leftover recovery number.

The Battles

I recorded most of my battles, except for my round 1 match, which I won, my round 9 match and my top 16 game 1 match and my games 1 and 2 top 8 matches.

Round 2 vs Kyle Morris

Round 3 vs Nick Montes

Round 4 vs Jeremy Rodriguez (Serapis)

Round 5 vs Nick Borghi (Lightcore)

Round 6 vs Bryan Tong

Round 7 vs Erika Pierson

Round 8 vs Adam DeMarchi

Round 9 I wasn't able to record because I was being streamed. I played Tommy Cooleen (Tman) and won the match

Top 16 Game 2 vs David Francis

Top 8 Game 3 vs Wolfe Glick (Wolfey)

Overall, I went 8-1 in swiss, taking the 3 seed. I ended up losing in top 8 in a super fun set to Wolfe, finishing in 5th place overall.

Special thanks to Brendan, Jake, Peara, and Chris for helping me build this team. They built most of it and it was so successful because they shot down pretty much all of my ridiculous ideas. Also big thanks to Will, Kolby (Lovetrain) and Tyson (Firefly) for all the help teambuilding and testing the weeks leading up the the tournament. And a final special shoutout to the Arby's worker who shot me down because she was married and was apparently too good for me. She probably wouldn't have said that if she knew I was going to get 5th place the following day at a Pokemon tournament. Make sure to follow me on twitter and check out my channel here!

2015 Worlds Preview Part 2-The Pokemon

Hey guys! Pyro again and today I'm back with part two of two of my world's preview article. In part 1, I predicted the 2015 world's top cut so definitely give that a read because I think it'll prove to be pretty spot on. For part two, I'll be talking about specific Pokemon, strategies, and team archetypes that I expect to be popular. DISCLAIMER: I don't claim to be a meta game expert. If you disagree with me, just tell me why. I'd love a discussion about it. But anyways, here we go!

A Look back at US Nationals

So of course, US Nationals was the last major event before worlds so taking a lot at that can give a good indication of where the meta game is heading and more specifically, what people will be bringing to counterteam the meta. Looking at day 2 teams, Landorus-Therian was overwhelmingly the most popular Pokemon, making its way on 27 of 37 teams. That means that basically 3 out of every 4 people were using Landorus-T! And honestly, don't expect this trend to die down. There's a reason Lando-T is so good. Flinches from fast Rock Slides literally swings momentum in games. And STAB Earthquake is so good! And only two types can switch into Earthquake: Grass and Flying. But with Rock Slide for Flying types and a lack of Grass Pokemon in the metagame, there's really nothing that's safe from Landorus-T. We saw the same trend last year with Garchomp, who was on nearly 40% of ALL teams by the end of 2014. Of course, with worlds we tend to see some more creativity, so don't expect all Lando-T to have Scarf with Rock Slide, EQ, Superpower, and U-Turn. I think we are going to see a shift more towards power with Life Orb on teams that are heavily reliant on speed control. The next four most popular Pokemon at Day 2 US Nats were Aegislash, Thundurus-I, Kangaskhan, and Amoongus. Again, each of these Pokemon are very solid overall. Aegislash hits hard and has amazing defenses thanks to Stance Change, Thundurus-I is one of the best support Pokemon in the game who also boasts a solid 125 SpA stat, Kangaskhan is the most popular mega, with very balanced stats, and Amoongus is arguably the best redirector, with Regenerator for recovery and impressive bulk that makes it a menace to take out. 

US Nationals also showed us a shift towards the new premier mega: Gardevoir. I actually predicted Gardevoir to make the finals of nationals because it was so good. And the great thing about Gardevoir is that people are finding more and more ways to use it. We've seen a shift from being strictly on a Trick Room team to being on teams that have different forms of speed control, which Gardevoir easily takes advantage of thanks to its 165 SpA and 100 Speed. Looking at National Champion Toler Webb's team, the only form of speed control he had was Thunder Wave from Thundurus, and he turned out doing all right. 

US Nationals was also quite the showing for weather, with 5/8 top cut teams having some form of weather with twenty of 37 day 2 teams sporting some sort of weather. Weather of course is always a very popular strategy because it usually offers some sort of support (i.e. weakening effectiveness of opponent's moves, boosting speed, etc) without having to waste a turn using a move (unless you're using manual weather). 

A Look at Worlds

So what will Worlds bring us? Should we expect to see something similar to Nats? Or will the metagame look entirely different. 

Top Pokemon

There are of course some specific Pokemon that I expect to be very popular. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Landorus-T, Thundurus-I, and Aegislash will all crack the top 5. All three are very good at what they do and don't show any signs of dropping in usage. However, I do expect Aegislash to overtake Landorus-T as the most used Pokemon. Aegislash has such amazing typing and deals with so much of the metagame so well. I also expect to see less Wide Guard Aegislash. Obviously Wide Guard is a great move but it seems like the novelty is wearing off because everyone and their mother knows that Aegislash has it. I expect to see Substitute as the most popular fourth move but I also expect to see a lot more attack moves in that fourth move, whether it be Shadow Sneak, a Hidden Power, or some other super niche tech move. As I mentioned before, Lando-T will of course be very popular but I expect to see it used much more creatively than the standard Choice Scarf variant. I think we'll see a lot of LO, Choice Band, AV, and maybe something really cool like Substitute, which we saw on a few Garchomp towards the end of last year. I'm sure Thundurus will continue to be bulky and annoying with four of Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Taunt, Hidden Power Ice, Swagger, and Protect. 

Top Mega Pokemon

After the Gardevoir battle in the finals of Nationals, will Gardevoir climb to the top in Mega usage? Unlikely in my opinion, but I expect it to thrive. I feel that Salamence will be top dog (or dragon) for worlds. Its ridiculously raw power plus its insane speed plus Intimidate make it a great pick. Much like Kangaskhan, you can slap it on most any team and it'll work out just fine. But what about that number 2 spot? I think it's going to be a battle between Gardevoir and Charizard Y. Gardevoir does a great job of keeping Mence in check (with speed control) while Charizard is able to rock my of the metagame with sun boosted base 159 SpA Heat Waves. And of course the ability to nuke things with Overheat and let's not forget that it can change the weather,  making match-ups with other weather teams much easier. I expect Kangaskhan to pretty comfortably settle into the four spot. It's always a solid pick and I'm sure it'll be on at least one top cut team but I think that teams are really starting to counter it, with Aegislash, Landorus-T, and Amoongus (Usually Rocky Helmet) running amok. 

Niche Picks

There are some Pokemon that seem to be so good against the metagame that could be very interesting if put on the right teams. Mamoswine is a perfect example. With a Scarf or LO and Tailwind, it's able to beat some very popular threats, such as Landorus, Thundurus, Heatran, Aegislash, Salamence, Amoongus, and Hydreigon. It really hasn't taken off this year but I expect it to be a good pick for worlds. Two megas that also fit the bill: Mega Scizor and Mega Blastoise. Both of them have very impressive Attack and Special Attack stats respectively and both get their moves further powered up by their abilities. But why do I think they are so good? Well their ability to again, counter popular threats. Mega Blastoise is a bulky water type with insane offensive power. With minimal support, it's able to easily beat threats like Kangaskhan, Salamence, Thundurus, Heatran, and Landorus. It also does a great job of countering Sand teams. And what does Mega Scizor do that's so great? Well it beats Gardevoir, beats sand, does well against rain (barring a Scald burn), beats Kangaskhan, and puts on immense pressure with very high powered Bullet Punches, which is able to clean up the late game. But Pyro, why not just use LO Scizor? Well while LO Scizor is a great call as well, Mega Scizor gives you very similar power while freeing up your LO for something else! I'm not saying that Scizor or Blastoise are surefire picks but they definitely can cause a lot of trouble on the right teams. 

Top Strategies

There's really two strategies to talk about here and that's weather and Trick Room. I expect to see a lot of Sand teams because it just seems to be everywhere. Ttar and Excadrill are a solid duo as are Ttar and Landorus-I. And I think that a lot of players will see this and thus, I think many will go with Rain. Rain is a great weather because it's able to beat Sand, even when Rain isn't active. I think that we will have two rain teams and one sand team team in top cut of Worlds. And what about sun? While I think that Charizard will be popular, I don't expect to see too many Charizard/Venusaur teams (Although if I was there, you might be seeing some Shiftry/Ninetales action). Isn't there another weather? I feel like I'm forgetting one. Hmmmm.....OH YEAH! Hail. Well, Hail is...ummm... well it's hail. It's arguably the worst weather due to the fact that its only upside is making Blizzard 100% accurate. Come on Game Freak. No Ice move attack boost? Or ice type Pokemon defense boost? Way to give it the cold shoulder....

While I don't expect Hail to be relevant at all, I do think that the best Snow Warning Pokemon may see some usage. Trick Room is a great strategy that never seems to be fully utilized. While lots of teams will be going fast with Weather, Twave, and Tailwind, I think that a good Trick Room team will be perfect for the meta. So many teams try to go fast that they seem like they auto lose to Trick Room. I feel like people have kind of forgotten about it. And what will be some good Pokemon to take advantage of Trick Room? Well I think we will see a good amount of Mawile in Trick Room. Mawile beats some of the most popular mega Pokemon, like Kangaskhan, Salamence, and Gardevoir. It's also just has crazy raw power and can OHKO a lot of good Pokemon that it hits neutrally. I also expect to see at least one good Mega Abomasnow in Trick Room. Ice and Grass are both pretty good offensive types right now and with 132 Atk and 132 SpA, Mega Abomasnow has a lot of options. It also gets some nifty coverage moves like Rock Slide and Earthquake that can patch up some of its weaknesses to fire types. 

Well thanks for reading! Hopefully you enjoyed my personal predictions on what to expect at worlds. Leave a comment here or on twitter about my predictions or just the article in general!

2015 Worlds Preview Part 1-The People

Hey guys! Pyromaniac720 here and today I'm going to preview the players that I think will do well at the 2015 World Championships. Just a heads up: this isn't a super in depth breakdown of every player and their accomplishments. This is more or less my predictions and why I feel the way I do about them. This will be part 1 of 2, with part two going more in depth in terms of Pokemon/strategies that i expect to do well at worlds. So without further ado, let's begin!

Strong Showings

Here are some people who I think will have a strong showing, but won't quite make the top 8

-Kelly Mercier-White (King Goomy)
-Phil Nguyen (Boomguy)
-Zach Droegkamp (Braverius)
-Andrew Burley (Andykins)
-Brandon Ikin (Toquill)
-Florian Wurdack (DaFlo)
-Arash Ommati (Mean)
-Paul Chua (Paulitoed/Pwny Person)
-Lajos Woltersdorf (Lajos)

Looking at this list, I think it's pretty clear that these are some of the biggest names in VGC. I'm pretty sure all of these people got at least top 4 or better at a regional/national. Also, most of them got their day 2 invites already, so they all turned in pretty impressive seasons. These are the people who will be the weak x-2's or the strong x-3's.

5th-8th Place

Here are the people who I think will make top cut but unfortunately won't win their top 8 match.

Blake Hopper (Bopper)-Bopper has had a very impressive season. He maxed out on PCs in the very talented state of Texas and had regional finishes of top 16/32/64. While his regional finishes don't look impressive, he did manage to earn his world's invite with a very impressive top 4 at US Nationals, beating Wolfe before losing to Rapha in semis. After qualifying for world's last year through LCQ and getting top 4 at the exclusively bo3 US Nationals, it's clear that Bopper thrives in bo3, so top cutting worlds certainly isn't out of the question.

Toler Webb (Dimsun)-What's one way to secure a day 2 invite to worlds? How about winning US Nationals! Yes, for those of you who somehow missed it, Toler won the national championships for the US. But what has he done outside of that? Well how about regionals finishes of top 4/8/32! That means that this guy has top cut 3 major events this year. Throw in a couple PC top 8s and you have the trainer who's second in the US in CP. It's hard to imagine that Toler won't get top 8 after such an impressive season.

Angel Miranda (CT Mikota Misaka)-Everyone's favorite white girl has had a break out season. Focusing solely on VGC this year (Rather than TCG and VGC), Angel has managed to get top 4 at two regionals, three PC wins at arguably the toughest PCs in the world, and snagged a cool 300 points for his top 8 at US nationals. It'll be exciting to see what amazing things Angel has up his sleeves, having already popularized such Pokemon as Clefairy, Swampert, and Landorus-I. Whatever Angel has planned, I don't think the competition will be able to handle it, snagging him a top 8 at his first world championship.

Baris Atkos (Billa)-(Sorry if I butchered the spelling of the last name). It's hard to imagine Billa not top cutting. After all, he does lead the entire world with 1169 CP. Unfortunately, I don't know too much about international player's accomplishments, but I'm pretty sure he top cut like all his regionals/nationals, hence the high CP total, so look for him to be a major threat at worlds

Top 4

Aaron Zheng (Cybertron)-This dude has been on a tear this season. After a lot of people were saying that he was washed up after 2014, Aaron came back strong, immediately winning a regional and getting top 4 at another. Add in a top 16 at a third regional, three PC wins, and a top 4 at US Nationals (Losing to eventual winner Toler Webb), and you have a trainer who's on a roll. And of course, Aaron gets in plenty of practice while recording his RTR series on his Youtube channel. I really think that this has really helped Aaron do well this year, because it forces him to experiment with a lot of different teams, and forces him to think out loud about them, which I think is very valuable for every player. 

Sejun Park-Who could forget about this guy? The guy who conquered the world with Pachurisu and Mega Gyarados. I'm not sure about what he's done this year, but I think he won some big tournament with a Mega Blaziken, which people loved. Regardless of whether he sucked or did awesome this year, he's still the reigning world champ, so don't expect him to give up his title so easily. It should be exciting to see what he has in store for worlds this year. 

Runner-Up

Wolfe Glick-Is anyone having a more impressive season than this guy? I mean, he's first in CP in all of North America! And how did he get there? How about 4 PC wins, two regional wins, a finals appearance in a third regional, and top 8 at US nationals. If that's not impressive, I don't know what is. He won a regional with Mega Banette and another with Perish Trap. This guy is constantly using very cool and innovative techniques. What else does he have going for him? How about the fact that he has an amazing training partner in Marcus Stadter, one of the best players in Europe. I think we will see Wolfe bringing the hype on stream on Sunday. But who will beat him?

And the Winner is....

Marcus Stadter (Yoshi)-It's Wolfe's partner in crime, co-founder of Eggy Emporium, and the guy who's second in the World in CP. Marcus had an awesome season, as evidenced by his 956 CP. He also won UK Nationals and I'm pretty sure he top cut some other nationals/regionals. According to his NPA post, he beat three world's competitors with a Dewgong, so how can you bet against him? And he get's to work with the top player in North America, Wolfe Glick. I've watched him play a few times on stream this year and I gotta say, it's very impressive. Everyone play he makes seems to be the best possible one, even when there doesn't seem to be a good play to make. That intelligence is what's going to win him the Pokemon VGC World Championships. 

Hopefully you enjoyed reading this! Stay tuned for part 2, where I break down specific Pokemon and strategies that I expect to thrive at Worlds. Also, don't forget to check out some of the other great content on our blog!

A Visitor's Guide to the Site of Worlds 2015: Boston! Part 2

Hey guys, I’m Jordan Edwards (Gawd Dang Gilly) and one-third of PokemonMass-ters. After reading Brendan’s post, I know what you are thinking. “Man, Boston was a great choice for Worlds. I need to be there. Between the historical sights to the cool activities, this looks like a go!” Then I can only assume that you checked Boston hotel prices. I guarantee your jaw dropped (I know these things, I’m ½ psychic type). Living and hosting family reunions in Boston for over 20 years has taught me something -when you go to Boston, you may want to consider Greater Boston area.

Why Greater Boston?

The Greater Boston area is vastly cheaper than hotels based inside of the city with plenty of amenities to help you traverse through Boston. With that said, I direct you to two cities outside of Boston -Braintree and Quincy. Many of them range $116 dollars a night to under $200 dollars a night which is a far cry from the hotels inside of the city that reach prices of $300+(ask about group packages for even cheaper savings!). To ease search, I will be replace Expedia as your Boston travel agent providing some hotels outside of the city as well as inside for those who still want to be closer to the action for a fair rate.

What should I look for in my hotel?

• Pricing
• Shuttles
• Distance from subway
• Dining Arrangements
• Activities in the area

Now let's take a look at the hotels.

Hyatt Place Braintree - Though the farthest away from Boston, the Hyatt Place Braintree offers plenty of reason for you to choose them for your stay. The Hyatt is priced at a frugal $134 per night. The Hyatt also fulfills our second point of interest with its great shuttle system. If you are flying into Logan, you can take the Logan Express Shuttle which will drop you off in-front of your hotel for only $22 dollars roundtrip for an adult and free for those 17 & under (Click link for times and details). The hotel also features a complimentary shuttle that takes you to any place within a 3-mile radius including the Quincy Adams and Braintree stops on the red line. I believe you need to call ahead to use these amenities. Hyatt Place has no shorts on dining around the area. The Hyatt offers free breakfast every morning for their guests. There is also Friday's, Legal's Seafood, Cheese Cake Factory, American Joe's, and much more. Activities in this area are plentiful as well. Up the hill from the Hyatt is the AMC movie theater, across the street is the South Shore Plaza Mall as well as Dave & Buster's, and less than a mile down the street heading north is F1 Boston for the racing fans. This is usually my first choice when planning family reunions.

Hampton Inn Braintree - Located across the highway from the Hyatt Place is the Hampton Inn. The Hampton Inn boasts many of the same redeeming qualities as the Hyatt Place while coming in at $125 dollars per night. However, you must note that Logan Express shuttle does not drop you off in-front of your hotel. You will be dropped off at the Hyatt Place Braintree where you either can call Hampton Inn before hand to pick you up from that spot or catch a 2 buck UBER ride. It features the same shuttle system as the Hyatt, so don't fret there.

Double Tree Inn Bayside - Barely inside Boston city limits (it really might as well be Quincy) is the Double Tree. The Double Prices in at $199 making it the most expensive hotel on our list. However, its location is excellent for taking advantage of Boston. To reach this hotel, you should look to take the Blue Line T and transfer to the Red line then get off at JFK/Umass. Located only 3 blocks from the JFK/Umass Red Line stop, you can easily make use of the subway system and traverse the city for night life while having a very comfortable stay. There isn't many activities in its vicinity unless you decide to take the train to Boston or Braintree area (it is directly in the middle of both). There is however, the JFK Library designed by well-renowned architect I.M. Pei and my alma mater, UMASS Boston. They have a wonderful art museum that is free to the public.

Best Western Inn University Hotel Boston/Brighton - Easily the closest to the action, the Best Western Inn comes in at $188 per night. Located directly on the Green line, you can get to anywhere in the city quick and easy. There is no free breakfast but I am sure you will be able to find something around the area. There is almost boundless activities in this area as you can take the train anywhere until about 1:30 am. Only concern about this locate is if you are walking impaired as there are no elevators in this hotel.

There are plenty of other hotels in the area but these are my top choices for "bang for your buck" while having a very comfortable stay. Again if you have any more questions, you can find Brendan (mrbdog46/@mrbdog46VGC) or myself (Gawd Dang Gilly/@GillySuits) on Showdown or Twitter.

A Visitor's Guide to the Site of Worlds 2015: Boston!

Hello readers!

First of all, welcome to the blog that Stephen and I have recently launched, and thanks so much for visiting! A VGC blog is something that I've wanted to do for a while now as the VGC scene continues to expand because I think content creation is an incredibly important piece of any growing community. I don't have the technical know-how (or a fast enough computer) to be able to create visual media, but I've always fancied myself an okay writer and I definitely enjoy writing! So again, thanks for visiting and we hope you'll check us out often!

The City of Townsville Boston

So before I delve into my own bit on Boston, I'd like to direct you to a fantastic post written by fellow Massachusetts resident Aaron Traylor (Unreality). His post is great and contains several elements of what mine will, but why read one Boston post when you can read two?

"Now Brendan, why should we listen to you about Boston?" Well that's an excellent question, so let me give you a little background about myself. I am originally from New Haven, Connecticut, but moved up here in 2011 to attend college at Northeastern University, located in the heart of the Back Bay region of Boston, and incidentally, a 5-10 minutes walk from Hynes Convention Center. So I've been living in Boston for about 4 years, and have taken just about every opportunity available to explore and learn about the city, starting from the touristy things and moving into some of the lesser-known attractions as years have gone on. As such, I like to think I know a little bit about the city, and I'm excited to share it with you all!

Transportation

Probably the first thing you want to learn about a city is how to get around it. There are a couple ways you can do this in Boston, each with varying pros and cons:

• Walking! - Boston is known as one of the most walkable cities in the world, with the majority of attractions being no more than a 30-40 minute walk away, and many much closer than that. It's a lot of fun to walk around and see the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life in the city, and you never know, you might just pass a cool place to stop on your way! Also, it's free! There are, however, a few things to be wary of when walking the city. First off, the cyclists are menaces. I'm not going to go into this too much because I'll go on for hours, but I often feel like I am much more likely to get hit by a bicycle than a car. Cars will stop, bikes will not. Second, it does take longer to walk than to use other modes of transportation, so keep this in mind if you're on a tight schedule. Finally, sections of Boston can be somewhat confusing, so if you're new to the city, make sure to have a map or your trusty smartphone with you in case you get lost!
• The T - The T is Boston's major public transportation system, and is a network of trains that are named by color (and by letter in the case of the Green Line). Despite what many Boston residents will say about the T, it is far better than most, if not all, other subway systems in the US, as it is consistent (except for the Green Line), fast (except for the Green Line), and relatively cheap ($2.65 one way). In addition, if you can manage to get ahold of a Charlie Card (they are available at most major T stations), fare drops to $2.10 for one way! If you plan to use the T, I would highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the map (at least a little bit) and figuring out how much you want to ride so you can put the correct amount of money on a Charlie Ticket or Charlie Card. If you've got money left over and don't plan to return to Boston any time soon, well, you're out a few bucks. Here is a map to the subway system. I'm not a huge fan of the Green Line overall (the line on which Hynes is located), but it is quicker than walking and fairly convenient overall.
• Uber - Some of you I'm sure have heard of Uber, as it continues to revolutionize taxiing in major cities. If you don't know what it is, it's basically a cheaper, more convenient taxi service that runs off of a phone app. Download the app, input where you want to go, click the big button, and someone will come pick you up within 5 minutes and take you where you want to go. Incredibly convenient and (in my opinion) far better than conventional taxi services. If you do plan to use Uber, just remember that it is more expensive than the T and walking, so if you're trying to save a few bucks, I would recommend hoofing it or hopping on the T. However, it's pretty difficult to beat the convenience and speed of Uber.

Those are your main methods of transportation for getting around the city. There are buses in Boston as well as conventional taxis, but in general, the T and Uber are respectively superior to these other modes of transportation. 

Attractions

Now that you know how to get around, what is there to see in Boston? Allow me to tell you!

Attractions near Hynes Convention Center

Duck Tours - Duck Tours are one of my favorite things to do in the city, and I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone visiting Boston for the first time (or to anyone who's never done one really). Duck boats are amphibious vehicles that were previously used by the US military and have since been repurposed into awesome tour vehicles. Each boat is driven by a different Duck boat captain, who tend to be enthusiastic and engaging (a good chunk of them are aspiring actors looking to land roles in Boston shows and movies and drive the Ducks as a side job). The Ducks will take you all over the city, passing by various attractions, and will even take you for a ride on the Charles River, allowing you a view of the city from the water. Tickets usually run around $30 (but don't let that deter you too much, these tours are a blast) and the tours often fill up quickly on weekends, so if this is something you plan to do, book in advance! The closest departure site is from in front of Shaw's (5 minute walk from Hynes) but they also leave from the Museum of Science. 

Museum of Fine Arts - The MFA is about a 10-15 minute walk (a walk in which you'll get to see lots of beautiful Northeastern University) or a short T ride (it has its own stop) from Hynes and is something I would recommend to anyone interested in, well, fine arts. The MFA features lots of paintings and sculptures, as well as various historical artifacts and exhibits. This doesn't tend to be my cup of tea (although I will grudgingly accompany my girlfriend on occasion), but people who are historically or artistically inclined absolutely rave about the MFA. MFA tickets are around $25, so it might be something better to bypass if you're strapped for cash and not very interested. 

Fenway Park - Check out a Red Sox game! The Red Sox will be at home vs the Kansas City Royals all weekend, and you can also get tours of the stadium in the early afternoon prior to the games. Tickets to games generally start around $30-40 for bleacher seats (unless they're playing the Yankees, then they're an arm and a leg) and increase in price from there depending on how close you want to be. Personally, I would recommend sitting in the bleachers, as I feel like that is where you get the most bang for your buck. I've sat in box seats and in the bleachers before, and have had a better experience in the bleachers. And if you sit in the bleachers, you'll have a few extra bucks for a ludicrously expensive hot dog! Finally, Fenway is about a 10 minute walk from Hynes as well as accessible by the Green Line. 

Newbury Street - A stone throw away from Hynes, if you're interested in spending far too much money, this is the place for you! Newbury features pretty much every up-scale store known to man, as well as some really cool local shops and neat little cafes (my favorite is Trident, I'll talk about that in a minute). Even if you don't plan to shop, it's a fun street to walk on and is probably your best shot at catching a glimpse of a celebrity. 

The Prudential Center - Another place to shop! There isn't anything particularly "Boston-y" about the Pru, but it's a fun place to hang out and it's pretty much on top of Hynes. There's a really nice garden in the center of it, as well as oodles of restaurants despite the fact that the food court is under construction. One fun thing to do is to have dinner at the Top of the Hub, which is a restaurant located of the top of the Prudential Tower. It is a little bit more upscale (wear a collared shirt at least) and pricey (cha-CHING), but you will get unrivaled views of the city and some pretty good food. 

Restaurants near Hynes Convention Center

Boston Burger Company - This is hands down the best burger I've ever had. I'll try to keep this bit short because this is another rant waiting to happen, but they have some of the most amazing burgers with creative and delicious toppings. It's about a 5 minute walk from Hynes and I HIGHLY recommend checking this place out. Here is the menu. I am salivating.

Tasty Burger - Another burger place! Tasty Burger is located right out side of Fenway, and is probably the best burger for your buck in the entire city. They have this cool thing called the Butta Burger which is literally a burger with butter (and onions) on it. Sounds disgusting, but it's actually really good. 

The Pour House - This is basically a dive bar after 8pm, but during the day, it's a place for great bar food. However, the real reason to go here is the weekend brunch, which is greasy and delicious and exactly what I want to be eating on a weekend morning. 

Trident Booksellers and Cafe - I mentioned it briefly earlier; Trident is a Cafe and Bookstore located on Newbury Street, and is another awesome place for brunch. (I like brunch, okay?) It's fairly different from The Pour House, and features a more refined take on brunch. Every bit as good as Pour House, but different. Oh also they do serve lunch and have some great sandwiches. I got a little hung up on brunch.

Boloco - Just a fast food chain around Boston, but apparently they don't exist everywhere so it's a cool place if you want to grab a burrito and/or a smoothie. Their claim to fame is a unique take on burritos, and while you can get a more traditional burrito, there are some pretty cool options there. (in October and November they serve this burrito called the "Late November" which is pretty much a Turkey dinner in a burrito; not particularly relevant to the middle of the summer, but that's an idea of what they serve)

Some other places - These are the "Boston-y" places that I can think of (excluding some of the ridiculously expensive places on Newbury and Boylston), but obviously there are plenty of other eateries in the area. To name a few: Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, Five Napkin Burger, Max Brenner's, and many, many more. Finally, if you're just looking for something late at night and don't feel like heading out, head over to www.foodler.com. You can order what you want online and they'll deliver it right to your door (or hotel lobby). 

Boston Attractions that aren't super close to Hynes Convention Center

Let's talk about some other attraction that are further away. These are all at least a 20-30 minute walk away, and I'd recommend taking the T to most of them. 

The North End - The Italian hub of Boston. It features numerous amazing restaurants with authentic Italian food as well as a really cool atmosphere. You can't really go wrong with any of the local Italian places located there, but my personal favorite is La Famiglia Giorgio's (although it is a little pricey). In addition to Italian dinner fare, there are a plethora of places to get Italian snacks and desserts, most notably cannoli at Mike's Pastry, which is a world-famous Italian bakery. You might have to wait in line, but I promise the cannoli are worth it. Also, if you like gelato, this is probably your happy place. The best way to get to the North End is to hop on the Green Line and get off at Haymarket. 

Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market - Generally one of the top tourist destinations in Boston, Faneuil and Quincy are some really cool historic buildings that now feature various stores and restaurants. It's a really cool place to walk around with a vibrant atmosphere, and often has numerous street performers which are a ton of fun to watch. Finally, there are some really cool restaurants scattered around that general area which are exclusive to Boston. I definitely recommend grabbing some chowdah or a lobstah roll from one of the stands in Faneuil Hall. Located near the North End, the best way to get here is to take the Green Line to Haymarket. 

The Freedom Trail - If you're an American history buff, this is the place for you! The Freedom Trail is a historic journey that is well-marked by a line of red bricks which will lead you past a number of destinations in Boston. It's very easy to spot, and if you're anywhere in the downtown area, I almost guarantee that you will cross it at some point or another. 

The Science Museum - Another of Boston's biggest attractions, the Science Museum has a TON of exhibits from all disciplines of what we call science. If you are at all academically inclined, and even if you aren't, you will definitely find something interesting and learn something should you go to the Science Museum. One warning: watch the time, or you can very easily spend the day there. Also, right now they have a Pixar exhibit which I hear is incredible, as if you needed more of a reason to go. 

The Aquarium - One of the most popular aquariums in the Northeast, the Boston Aquarium is a great place to spend a few hours. I don't know really what to say about the aquarium, but there is a lot of water and many creatures which inhabit said water. It's pretty cool. 

So that's pretty much it! Obviously there are a TON of other things to do, but these are a few of the highlights for someone visiting the city and with a limited amount of time to sight-see. If you have any questions, feel free to find me on Showdown (mrbdog46) or Twitter (@mrbdog46VGC) and I'd be happy to answer them for you. I hope this was an enjoyable and informative read, and I hope to meet you all at Worlds!

Thoughts on the Boston Open

Obviously, twitter and Nugget Bridge is abuzz with the news of this Boston Open. For those of you who don't know, the Boston Open is a tournament during Day 2 of worlds that gives out some pretty solid prizes as well as CP equivalent to that received at Regionals. I've seen mixed reactions, however, most seemed to be negative. I honestly feel that reactions to this should be mostly positive. 

The first and biggest complaint I've seen about the Boston Open is that it's not fair to anyone who makes Day 2 of worlds. This complaint bothers me the most and I have a lot of issues with it. I honestly feel like it's a very selfish complaint. If you are in Day 2 of worlds, then you are one step closer to achieving your ultimate goal: Being the world champion. At this point of the tournament, I imagine the amount of people left is roughly the size of a PC (Not really sure on the numbers, but I can't imagine many more than 20-30 X-2s make Day 2). This means you literally have to be top 8 out of 20-30 people to make it to top cut. Obviously this is difficult since these are the top players in the world, but if you've made it this far, then you are also a top player and there's no reason that you couldn't make it to the top 8. Evan Latt said it best: If you aren't playing to win, then you shouldn't be in Day 2 of worlds. If you care that much, then you should just drop out of the tournament and do the Boston Open. One "solution" I've seen is to give people who make day 2 CP that counts for next season. Again, you're already competing in a tournament that gives you a $10,000 grand prize and a paid invite for next worlds. Do you not want the Boston Open to "screw you over"? Then make top 4 and get an auto invite for next season. 

Another complaint that I've seen is that people who make day 2 of worlds are now behind in CP for the next season. This is true.....if the Boston Open didn't count towards your regional best finish limit. I went to 3 Regionals last year. I had friends who went to 4, 5, or even more Regionals. Did it suck that they had extra chances to get better finishes? Of course! But that's just life. I missed going to a fourth regional due to my college graduation and then my girlfriend's birthday. And it set me back a little because I wasn't able to replace my 68th place finish at Virginia. But that's just life. I could've skipped my graduation and gone to Mass regionals (which is 45 minutes from my house). But I didn't, because I prioritized my college graduation over a regional. And this is no different. You have to prioritize. What's more important to you: Competing for the World championship? Or getting a head start for next season? 

The complaints that I've seen are unwarranted. Yes, you may be a little behind for next season but if you're good enough to make day 2, then you're good enough to win worlds and good enough to bounce back next season and make it again. All of the complaining is just trivializing what worlds really means, because you're basically saying that a regional is equally or more important than the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! I think that the tournament is good because it'll bring attendance to worlds, which makes worlds so much more exciting. Without any tournament, you get hardly any people showing up, and you have the hype level of a regional. Personally, I would prefer an LCQ because I like the idea of making worlds this year. However, I think that this tournament is a very solid replacement and should be more welcomed by the community. Please feel free to comment below. I'd love for a discussion to come from this. Thanks for reading!

When it Rains, It Pours-Top 5-4 Nationals Team Report

Hey guys! My name is Stephen Brown III, also known as pyromaniac720 in the Pokemon community. This is my first post on Brendan and I’s new blog and it’s going to be about my nationals team.

The Process

I really really REALLY wanted to use Gardevoir for Nats. But I didn’t like running semi trick room teams (I’m okay at it but not great) so I needed another form of speed control. The first draft of the team was Crobat, Gardevoir, Infernape, Landorus, Lickilicky, and Suicune. Crobat was an amazing setter with Mental Herb as an item. The ONLY way it couldn’t get up Tailwind is if it’s outsped and OHKO’d, which most Pokemon can’t do. With Inner Focus, Scarf Rock Slide from Lando can’t flinch it and neither can any Fake Outs. The only time that I didn’t set up Tailwind turn 1 was when someone used Fake out with a Kang and then Overheated me with a Scarf Volcarona. Gardevoir paired well because nothing likes taking super-fast Hyper Voices. My Gardevoir spread survived certain Brave Birds from Talonflame, -1 Double-Edge from Mega Salamence, and outsped +1 max speed Salamence under tailwind, since a lot of Salamence would Dragon Dance turn 1, predicting my Protect/Tailwind play. I don’t want to get to in depth with this team since I didn’t use it, so I’ll do a quick rundown of everything else. Landorus was Adamant LO, Lickilicky was my weather control with Cloud Nine with Knock Off, Icy Wind, Disable, and Protect, Infernape was mixed with Overheat, Close Combat, Fake Out, and Feint. Feint was nice because people would double protect turn 1 so I could Feint and Hyper Voice something. Eventually I changed Lickilicky for Breloom and Infernape for Weavile. The team just wasn’t working though so I eventually scraped the idea.

            After trying a couple more Gardevoir teams, I gave up and tried something new. Brendan suggested that I try Mega Swampert. I figured rain would be a good at Nats and Brendan pointed out that Mega Swampert fits my hyper offensive “Gotta Go Fast” play style. It’s a great rain sweeper that heavily damages most of the relevant metagame such as Sylveon, Aegislash, Thundurus, Landorus, Kangakshan, Metagross, Salamence, Charizard, Heatran, and many others. With a Helping hand boost from Politoed, Swampert could OHKO every Pokemon listed above, and can OHKO many of them with simply a rain boost. I obviously added Politoed for Drizzle. I normally run Scarf but decided that bulky Toed with Helping Hand would benefit the team more. I added Ludicolo to go hard rain. I went with a traditional AV. I also added LO Scizor and Scarf Hydreigon. I needed something else. The team as it was struggled with Fighting and Grass types so I was looking for a flying type. I immediately looked at my favorite new mega: Salamence! There are some matchups that Swampert just doesn’t like and for most of them, Salamence was good. After some tweaking and testing, I eventually switched Hydreigon to support Dragonite and then to support Thundurus.

The Final Team

Politoed @ Sitrus Berry

Ability: Drizzle

EVs: 252 HP / 52 Def / 204 SpD

Calm Nature

- Scald

- Ice Beam

- Helping Hand

- Protect

Politoed’s role here is pretty self-explanatory.  Be bulky, fish for Scald burns, and support the heavy hitters with Helping Hand. The spread allows it to take a Timid LO Thundurus-Therian Thunderbolt. I wanted to be more specially bulky since I had Scald burns and Intimidate to help on the defensive side.

Ludicolo @ Assault Vest

Ability: Swift Swim

EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 100 SpA / 4 SpD / 148 Spe

Modest Nature

- Fake Out

- Scald

- Giga Drain

- Ice Beam

Again, the moves here are as standard as it gets. The spread was designed to outspeed Adamant max Speed Scarf Landorus by 4 points in Rain. I maxed out HP, threw 4 in each defense to get an extra stat point, and put the rest in Special Attack. Ludicolo was as good as you’d expect. No regrets using it.

Swampert @ Swampertite

Ability: Torrent

EVs: 100 HP / 252 Atk / 156 Spe

Adamant Nature

- Waterfall

- Earthquake

- Ice Punch

- Protect

Now for the cool part of the team-my first mega and Rain sweeper. Swampert is amazing because it wrecks Pokemon that typically slow down/check rain (Like Sylveon, Mega Gardevoir, Thundurus). I originally had Rock Slide over Ice Punch but Boomguy convinced me that Ice Punch was better and he was right. Ice Punch at least allowed me to not be walled to death by Grass types, something that can hurt Swampert. The spread is simple: Outspeed my Ludicolo, max attack, rest in HP. I wanted to outspeed my Ludicolo for a couple reasons. One, I didn’t want speed ties because I didn’t want to lose a match because I didn’t know who would move first. Also, if I decided to Earthquake with Ludicolo on the field, I wanted Ludicolo to be able to heal that damage back with Giga Drain after taking it. Swampert was amazing and actually had a better win percentage than Salamence in the tournament..

Salamence @ Salamencite

Ability: Intimidate

EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Jolly Nature

- Double-Edge

- Rock Slide

- Roost

- Protect

I wanted a second mega because there were some matchups that Swampert was just atrocious in. I gravitated towards Salamence for a couple reasons. I ‘m very comfortable using it since I’ve used it a ton and it patched up most of the team’s weakness. Double-Edge for power, Rock Slide for Zard and fast flinches, and Roost to stick around. Honestly, I hated Roost. If I could change anything about this team, I would swap Roost for Fire Blast/Flamethrower.

Scizor @ Life Orb

Ability: Technician

EVs: 188 HP / 252 Atk / 60 Def / 4 SpD / 4 Spe

Adamant Nature

- Bullet Punch

- Bug Bite

- Feint

- Protect

Scizor is pretty standard. I always enjoyed LO Scizor because it hits hard with a great priority attack. Also, Feint is my favorite move in the game. It allows me to punish people trying to stall rain by protecting. The HP gives me a perfect LO number, and the HP + Def allows me to survive some sort of Flare Blitz from Talonflame in Rain.

Thundurus (M) @ Rocky Helmet

Ability: Prankster

EVs: 180 HP / 60 Def / 12 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

Timid Nature

- Thunderbolt

- Thunder Wave

- Taunt

- Swagger

The final member of the team, Thundurus gave a form of speed control and a way to hit bulky water types like Suicune or Jellicent that could wall the team. I opted for Swagger over HP Ice because I already had three Ice type moves on the team and Swagger gives me a win condition when there normally isn’t one. It single handedly won me my round 4 match vs Lolfailsnail. I opted for max speed because Thundurus has an amazing speed tier that allows me to speed creep things like Mega Metagross, Gengar, and the Lati twins. Also, I wanted to guarantee that I could Taunt other Thundurus before they did the same to me. I chose Rocky Helmet because I figured it would be a good way to get some chip damage on things like Kangaskhan.

Team Issues

This team had one issue: Ferrothorn. I went into nationals knowing that Ferrothorn completely shuts down my team. But I was hoping that I wouldn’t face any at Nationals. I faced 2 and went 1-1 against them. I need to hope that the Ferrothorn is offensive so that HH Double-Edge can knock it out or I need some luck. Like I said before, I wish I had dropped Roost for Fire Blast/Flamethrower so that I could hit Ferrothorn. 

A lot of people hated on my team, saying that triple water was really bad. Honestly, Water is so solid offensively and defensively that it never posed an issue, except against Ferrothorn. Also, I enjoyed the team because it didn't even need rain. Thundy, Mence, Scizor, and Ludi perform well and I brought those four a few times at nationals and in practice. 

So that’s the team! If you have any questions about it, feel free to contact me via twitter @pyromaniac720 or on nugget bridge as pyromaniac720. I also have some battles with the team on my channel here!