Hey, my name is William Paterson also known as Willy in the Pokémon VGC community. I’ve been playing Pokémon competitively since early 2020, but have had more recent success in winning back-to-back tournaments at the end of 2020 and in early 2021; those being the Zelda Challenge and just recently the Desafío Latam tournament hosted by Locke. I am here to share this team because I feel like it is extremely strong, but I didn’t do a report on it right away because I wanted to use it a bit more before sharing. That said, I feel like more iterations of the 6 will develop in time because players will catch on to how strong the core and team itself are. Before sharing the teams I would like to thank my good friend Dark Jorch for coming up with the original 6 and using it to win the Desafío Latam tournament before me! Anyway, I hope you can enjoy the team just as much as I did.
Teambuilding Process
Going into this tournament, I was more confident with my abilities as a player but didn’t exactly have a team I was set on. Colossal had been good, but it was on everyone's radar after Wolfe had used it to win Player's Cup 2. I was tempted to use my Zelda team with a few changes until I looked at the results of the past Top 8 Desafío Latam tours. There I saw Dark Jorch's 6 Pokémon. For some reason, I had been staying away from screens for all of Series 7. This was a huge mistake; screens are stupidly strong right now, especially with the new addition of Glastrier to the format.
I recreated the 6 myself and tested a few games against friends. The team fit my playstyle perfectly (being a past Lapras player Series 4) and I entered the Latam tournament. I was curious about some matchups with the team because some looked tough on paper, so I decided to message Dark Jorch. He was extremely welcoming and was kind enough to share his paste with me, as well as some basic strategies. I stole his Porygon2 spread but felt comfortable with the sets I had already given my other Pokémon, and I set off.
The Team
Perry (Porygon2) @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 116 Def / 36 SpA / 100 SpD / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Tri Attack
– Ice Beam
– Recover
– Trick Room
Porygon2 is very annoying to play against, so why not abuse it with screens? I’m not sure why at the start of the format people flocked to Dusclops and then switched to Porygon2 later, but having the extra damage, great movepool, access to Recover, and another Dynamax Pokémon may be the reasoning behind this. I decided to go with a Modest Porygon2 on this team to abuse a Special Attack boost from Download further. The added assistance of screens lets me carry less bulk and slightly more speed, which allows Porygon2 to outspeed Urshifu after 2 Max Strikes. Porygon2 was essential to the team; it maxed fairly often against Rotom-Wash and Kartana, and other times when setting up Trick Room was difficult for the opponent to handle. I think partly the reason it was able to shine so brightly on this team was because of the amazing nickname given by CoologicJZ, Perry stayed winning!
Bas (Grimmsnarl) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 4 Atk / 148 Def / 108 SpD / 4 Spe
Impish Nature
– Spirit Break
– Reflect
– Light Screen
– Fake Out
Grimmsnarl is the backbone of the team. Out of all of the Pokémon on the team, Grimmsnarl was brought the most. For the entire tournament, there was only one game where I didn’t bring it. Screens are extremely important since it allows you to set up and gain momentum through careful board positioning. There isn’t anything about this set that really stands out, but I did have a few players ask about putting Fake Out or Taunt in the last move slot. Although Taunt can fix up some matchups, Fake Out + Trick Room is way too consistent to give up. Spirit Break is also pretty common for this set, being able to do good damage off a 120 base Attack stat and lowering the opponent's Special Attack by 1. Grimmsnarl is an extremely good Pokémon in the new Series 7 meta and perfectly fits a screen setter's role. Also, I’d like to say sorry to Bas, but you really do look like Grimmsnarl.
Cat (Landorus-Therian) (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
EVs: 116 HP / 132 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Fly
– Earthquake
– Rock Slide
– U-turn
Landorus was an interesting member of the team, It was the least brought Pokémon, but it did its job when brought. Landorus would mainly come if there was a physical oriented team; sun; or opposing Nihilego, Stakataka, or Rotom-Heat. I’ve discussed other options over Landorus with friends, but you lose out on a faster mode and Intimidate. I am also a huge fan of Earthquake + Rotom-Heat putting pins on the opponent right away. Against heavy setup, it was crucial getting off damage instantly and applying immediate pressure.
Guzman064 (Tapu Fini) @ Leftovers
Ability: Misty Surge
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 28 Def / 156 SpA / 12 SpD / 68 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Muddy Water
– Moonblast
– Calm Mind
– Protect
Tapu Fini is an amazing support Pokémon for the team, stopping all status on grounded Pokémon. This enabled Glastrier, strengthening the team's Trick Room mode. Leftovers Tapu Fini with screens up took hits like Iron Defense Ferrothorn/ It was unkillable at times and packed a huge punch. I ended up snagging Donald Smith Jr's Leftovers set, which maximized Leftovers recovery. Tapu Fini was used as a defensive switch-in, endgame win-con, support Pokémon, and sometimes even a Dynamax user. It fulfilled all roles very well. Thank you, Lenny (Guzman064 is his Pokémon Showdown nickname) for letting me use your name. You have been the best Tapu Fini I could ever ask for!
Oven (Rotom-Heat) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 50
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Def / 116 SpA / 4 SpD / 132 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Thunderbolt
– Overheat
– Nasty Plot
– Protect
Up until now, I have never used Rotom-Heat. I’ve used Rotom-Wash and had okay success, but I never felt like I knew how to play the Rotom forms; it never felt as simple as just boosting and winning. Screens ended up being more forgiving, letting me set up free. I also realized as the tournament went on how much I liked Rotom-Heat as a Pokémon. Glastrier has glaring weaknesses to both Metagross and Kartana, which Rotom-Heat walls if Metagross doesn’t carry Rock Slide. In the top cut bracket, many teams had very few Rotom-Heat checks. This made Rotom-Heat even more useful in Top Cut. Many of these teams consisted of Glastrier or Galarian Moltres, which Rotom literally cooked, paving my way to victory.
Horse (Glastrier) @ Life Orb
Ability: Chilling Neigh
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Icicle Crash
– Close Combat
– High Horsepower
– Protect
Glastrier is way too good. Its ability, stats, and movepool make it the best Dynamax Pokémon in the format. Usually, most of my win cons were based around a late-game Glastrier Dynamax to clean up my opponent's chipped team. Life Orb was necessary because most of the team is reliant on setting up to deal damage. In the early swiss rounds, I was bringing Glastrier only in Trick Room, but by the end of swiss, I was ling Glastrier as a lead with Grimmsnarl. Its bulk and offensive prowess were so good that Trick Room wasn’t always necessary. Under screens, Glastrier is nearly unkillable. I am still in awe of this Pokémon and will continue using it until it gets banned or nerfed.
Playing the Team
The most basic lead if you need Trick Room up for Glastrier to close out. Screens + Fake Out should almost always insure Trick Room up for yourself.
This lead is great against Tapu Fini, Glastrier, and Metagross teams. Rotom-Heat is such an under-prepped-for Pokémon in the format.
This lead is pretty good at disrupting the opponent's team. If there are no immediate threats, the team is primarily a Trick Room team or has no Intimidate, this is an amazing lead to puncture holes extremely quickly.
This is a pretty good passive/neutral lead. If your opponent doesn’t have enough damage to deal with Tapu Fini, you can win games solely off of being unkillable.
This lead is good against Glastrier, Metagross, and Stakataka teams. It applies immediate pressure between the threat of Nasty Plot and Landorus being able to Earthquake freely.
My Tournament Run
I ended up finishing 7-1 after swiss, which was good enough to grant me a bye for the first round of top cut. Every round was important because the top cut had a total of 6 rounds!
Top 32 – vs. Iker Rodrigo (Reki)
Game 1: Looking at team preview, this matchup looked to be in my favor. I had figured he would lead his own Regieleki to set up screens, so I decided to go my own Grimmsnarl and Porygon-2. Fake Out + Tri Attack was enough to remove it, and his Dusclops had no Haze either, so Rotom-Heat's and Glastrier's jobs were much easier, they both collectively cleaned up easily.
Game 2: Seeing as how Game 1 went, I figured he wouldn’t let me kill his Regieleki so easily or set up my Rotom for free. I went Grimmsnarl Rotom-Heat, predicting an Incineroar Tapu Fini lead, which he did go with. I switched into my own Tapu Fini and ate a Max Geyser extremely comfortably while Grimmsnarl took a Fake Out. My positioning was so good it was extremely hard to lose, so I Calm Minded with Tapu Fini to take Game 2 convincingly.
Result: WW
Top 16 – vs. Javier Ignacio Cordova Rojas
Game 1: Looking at this matchup, Brick Break Dusclops did not look fun at all, but still no Haze. Rotom-Heat was the win-con again. I was able to set up to +5 after chunking a few Snarls and Night Shades. I stalled out Trick Room and was able to sweep through.
Game 2: Game 1 I didn’t bring Glastrier because I felt the chances of him bringing Zapdos were extremely slim. Game 2 he caught me off guard and used all of his Dynamax turns to kill my Rotom. I was able to preserve Dynamax to use on my Landorus, but the damage output wasn’t enough, and I lost for not respecting a Zapdos lead.
Game 3: I brought Glastrier this time because I couldn’t risk Zapdos running through again. I led Rotom Grimmsnarl again and saw another Incineroar Tapu Fini lead. In my head, I’m thinking no way they Max Geyser Rotom like the last opponent right? Sure enough, they did and I switched into my own Tapu Fini and was instantly in a great spot. Brick Break wasn’t fun to play against, but I put Dusclops always into a position to either activate Weakness Policy or break screens. Because of another fortunate turn 1, I was able to clean up with a late-game Dynamax Glastrier.
Result: WW
Top 8 – vs. David Soltero (Widest)
Game 1: I didn’t prepare for the Tapu Fini lead properly and led passively. I was punished, as Taunt Incineroar and Calm Mind Tapu Fini ended all hopes and dreams. My opponent played the end game very well and gave me no chance to come back.
Game 2: I had figured they’d go with the same thing since it worked so well in Game 1. I was right: Incineroar and Tapu Fini were their lead, and I lead Grimmsnarl Rotom-Heat. I have a feeling of déjà vu, as they Max Geyser my Tapu Fini switch in, leaving momentum to be in my favor. I stall out my opponent's Dynamax with switches and protects, and I Dynamax Rotom-Heat, picking up a few KOs here and there. In the end game, my opponent had Mamoswine at 45% + Incineroar at 35% against my Glastrier and Rotom. He made an incredible play to side Ice Shard, proccing Incineroar's berry, allowing it to live Thunderbolt on his Incineroar and kill Glastrier. It’s a Rotom-Heat vs Mamoswine endgame, and I just have to hit Overheat once. He manages to flinch me 3x in a row and crit the 4th to almost bring it back, but Rotom clutches and hits the Overheat.
Game 3: Even after a great turn 1 in Game 2, I still almost lost, so I decided to switch up my leads, as did he. He went Kartana Incineroar as I went Grimmsnarl Tapu Fini. I figured he was more likely to Fake Out + Smart Strike my Grimmsnarl than Leaf Blade into a more obvious Protect, so I switch Grimmsnarl out into Rotom-Heat and Muddy Water. Rotom eats the Smart Strike and Fake Out. I am now in a good position to both KO Kartana and pivot around my Pokémon so Glastrier can finish up a very low health Incineroar. This was an extremely close set, but I was happy to have it as I made a new friend along the way.
Result: LWW
Top 4 – vs. Alejandro Vera (Arath Vera)
Game 1: This was my fastest set. He made some extremely risky plays, which were punished by some good switches and my team's bulk. Tapu Fini ended up being clutch, setting up Misty Terrain for Porygon2 to eat a +1 Max Wyrmwind. Glastrier was also able to sweep, picking up KO’s every turn without worrying about Intimidate.
Game 2: I started the game off against Tyranitar + Kartana lead with Porygon2 + Grimmsnarl. Kartana and Rock Slide flinches were a huge problem, so I Max Hailstorm his Kartana for the KO, putting myself into a winning position. He maxed Tyranitar later and poked holes into the team. I was able to set up Trick Room for Glastrier to clean up, but he was able to get a double Protect in the last turns of Trick Room and won the set. I was on edge but knew I had to keep my cool if I planned on winning the set.
Game 3: I wanted a more offensive lead to start off, so I decided to go with Glastrier Grimmsnarl. Glastrier lived everything and paved the way for a Tapu Fini endgame. There wasn’t much to say, because he was caught off guard on the lead, and I was able to put myself into a good position from the first turn onward.
Result: LWW
Finals – vs. Joan Chiu Díaz (Joanchiulo)
Game 1: At this point, I was super excited to be in the Finals. I’ve gone 7-1 in past finals sets, so I felt fairly comfortable with where I was. Blastoise and especially Rillaboom looked like it could be a problem. I was able to take advantage of his Trick Room with Glastrier, screens, and Tapu Fini, and some added Max Quake boosts helped shrug off Blastoise's Max moves. Catching a Glastrier on the switch also ended game 1 quickly.
Game 2: My opponent made a great adaptation to lead Indeedee-F + Blastoise in an attempt to set up with Shell Smash. I switched in my own Tapu Fini to change terrain and Fake Out his Blastoise. I was able to pivot in my Glastrier again after setting up screens and used the same strategy. I was expecting a Rillaboom, but never saw it, so Tapu Fini and Rotom-Heat were able to Thunderbolt, Overheat, and Moonblast his Blastoise and Glastrier to a KO. And with that, I was able to win the Desafío Latam Locke Cup Tournament!
Result: WW (1st Place Overall)
Conclusion
These 6 together are extremely strong, I definitely plan on continuing to use something similar to this in future events, possibly with updated movesets and spreads. Big thanks again to Dark Jorch for the concept! As well as to all my friends who cheered me on through the entire tournament. Here are some other accomplishments with the team recently as well. Enjoy!
- Jorge Vega – Desafío Latam Locke Cup Champion (Paste)
- Mattie Morgan – Top 8 Zelda High Roller Challenge (Paste)
- Kyle Geffner – Top 8 Zelda High Roller Challenge (Paste)
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