The tournament and the champion
Gdańsk was played in Reg M-C with open team lists. Javier Varela reached the final and beat Jude Lee; Victory Road highlighted it as his first major result. The recap with the Top 8 and the teams has its own article; here we focus on the why.
The team has little in common with the one that won Puebla: it leaves out Whimsicott and Kingambit and bets on two Megas that call for very different games.
Two Megas: team preview decides
Only one Pokémon can Mega Evolve per game: in the simulator, once one does, the rest of the team loses the option. Bringing two stones lets you choose at team preview which one fits the team in front of you.
Mega Tyranitar brings Sand Stream and base stats of 164 Attack, 150 Defense and 120 Special Defense. Mega Staraptor is Fighting and Flying, with 140 Attack and 110 Speed. It comes in with Intimidate, its regular form's ability, and switches to Contrary when it Mega Evolves.
Our read: Tyranitar is the plan against teams that rely on special attacks or on another weather, and Staraptor is the plan against fast teams or teams with Intimidate.
| Mega | Types | Ability | What it brings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mega Tyranitar | Rock and Dark | Sand Stream | Sand and bulk on both sides |
| Mega Staraptor | Fighting and Flying | Contrary | Big Attack and Speed |
Contrary: drops become boosts
Contrary reverses any stat change. Close Combat lowers the user's Defense and Special Defense; with Contrary, Mega Staraptor raises both by one stage every time it uses it. And an opposing Intimidate raises its Attack instead of lowering it.
According to Pikalytics, its most used moves in Champions are Brave Bird, Close Combat and Tailwind. Tailwind gives the team the speed control that sand does not give Staraptor, Milotic or Sinistcha.
Sand and who can take it
Sand lasts five turns and takes a sixteenth of max HP at the end of each turn from anything that is not Rock, Ground or Steel. Excadrill (Ground and Steel) and Gholdengo (Steel and Ghost) don't feel it, and Tyranitar, a Rock type, gets 50% more Special Defense.
With Sand Rush, Excadrill doubles its Speed in sand, and the Focus Sash it held lets it survive one hit from full HP. Gholdengo hits hard with Life Orb and, thanks to Good as Gold, ignores status moves the opponents aim at it, such as Taunt, Encore or Spore.
The semifinal: leaving the opponent's sun
The most talked-about play came in the semifinal. Play! Pokémon pointed out that Javier deliberately did not change the weather so his Tyranitar would take less damage from Wave Crash, and it was the right call: he went through to the final.
The simulator explains why: in sun, Water-type moves deal half damage. Wave Crash is a 120-power physical Water move, and Tyranitar is weak to Water. Sand raises its Special Defense, which does nothing against a physical hit. Leaving the sun protected it better than setting its own weather.
It is an idea you can take to any weather team: your own weather is not always the best one. Before changing it, check which attack is coming that turn and which weather softens it.
What to copy from the team
Milotic and Sinistcha round out the team as support. According to Pokémon Zone, Sinistcha usually runs Hospitality, which heals its ally by a quarter of its HP on entry, and Rage Powder, which has +2 priority and draws the opponent's attacks. It is a way to protect Staraptor or Excadrill while they attack.
Three ideas that work beyond this team: bring two Megas and choose at team preview; surround sand with Steel types that don't suffer from it; and treat weather as a decision you make every turn, not something you always have to set. It is a single tournament, so it is worth seeing whether the team shows up again at the next Regionals before calling it a trend.
