Battle Stadium Singles blog #20 — Lum Berry Cinderace (Season 20; Series 9)

Alright, here's what I used to drag myself across 1800 Elo during the last week or so of Season 20, Series 9. Not exactly a great result, and admittedly short of what I set out to do to see off Series 9, but not terrible either.

   In any case, the team I used for the last 30-40 games of the season is adapted from kenichi-poke's clever build, which has a greedy/lure Lum Berry Bulk Up Cinderace as its most distinctive feature.

The dream.

Still faster than defensive Dragonite after an Airstream.

By far the most common rental team I hit towards the end of the season.

I know, I know, it's only a single best-of-one that means nothing in the grand scheme of things, but getting a game off one of the best performers this gen does wonders for the ego. (Screens Dragapult + Iron Defense Heatran).

Dodged a bullet by benching Magnezone here: I led Cinderace into this only to hit fully offensive Dynamax Zapdos (Life Orb Heat Wave, Rising Voltage) as the opposing lead. 

Pokepaste: https://pokepast.es/064eb302affad5a6

1) Team overview

Ninetales-A

The most interesting thing here is the EV-spread, so let's get that out of the way first. The main defensive benchmark is to live +252 Att Choice Scarf Urshifu Surging Strikes from full, while still hitting a real Speed stat of 172, faster than Adamant Cinderace's 171, Nihilego's 170, and 252 Spd +1 Celesteela's 169. A secondary consideration of the Speed tier is potentially still outspeeding bulky Max Airstreamers like Zapdos, Dragonite, or Landorus at +1. Having a real HP stat of 151 is also geared towards getting in an extra click of Sheer Cold against Seismic Toss.

   So now that Ninetales lives a Surging Strikes, it has to KO it back with that pitiful Base 81 SpAtt. Moonblast guarantees this, but low rolls may have to rely on hail damage to actually get the KO, even against zero-bulk variants.

   Putting Moonblast on Ninetales means, of course, that is has to forgo options that are more impactful across more match ups, namely Blizzard, Hypnosis, or Icy Wind.

   Cutting Blizzard over Freeze Dry has felt especially painful, because the 40 additional BP not only makes Ninetales less reliant on Sheer Cold, but would make Ninetales much safer as a lead. This has been true particularly against opposing Celesteela, when paired with Urshifu and Landorus in the team select screen, making trying to Cinderace lead to try to catch the Celesteela slightly too scary at times.

   The lack of Hypnosis is also noteworthy because of the Focus Sash cushion style Ninetales often ends up anchoring, and would potentially give more outs against slower Dynamax users.

Magnezone

What I have opted for here over the original author's Iron Defense + Weakness Policy set — whose +2 Max Steelspike absolutely slaps down Landorus as it switches in on Iron Defense — is such a marked departure, it deserves some explanation.

   Having cut the original's Thundurus for Landorus, the justification for making Magnezone SpAtt-invested Assault Vest is twofold.

   First, having lost the Nasty Plot route against defensive match ups, relying instead on Sheer Cold and Bulk Up Cinderace or Swords Dance Landorus behind Aurora Veil to wall-break, special attacking is at a premium. Max Steelspike + Body Press is also an out against some forms of hard stall that do not bring Quagsire or defensive/special attacker Earthquake Dragonite, relying instead on things like Toxapex and Clefable.

   Secondly, the Assault Vest makes insertion easier on lead Urshifu's two best checks (aside from Ferrothorn), defensive Zapdos and Tapu Fini. Ninetales also benefits from the Magnezone pairing by having something that does not get abused by Nihilego. The same is true for Landorus with Porygon2.

   Overall, then, Magnezone's role can be said to be that of a defensive pivot that is happy with getting off a single Analytic-boosted hit on something switching in, putting it into sweeping range, before getting KO'd itself. Another central fact that bears remembering is that Magnezone does not turn games around single-handedly by cushioning opposing Dynamax in the way Landorus and Mimikyu so casually do, but its defensive typing and offensive coverage are nothing to shrug at, as far as non-Dynamax turns are concerned, at least.

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike

One of the more curious developments of late is that whenever you hit a team with Tapu Fini on it, you find yourself having to factor in the possibility of it being a Choice Scarf set, especially if on hyper offense or bulky offense teams.

   This is a positively shocking state of affairs for Tapu Fini, because of its defensive prowess, but Urshifu-RS is no stranger to bamboozling opponents with being hard to read in terms of its hold item of choice, either.

   Indeed, Choice Band, Choice Scarf, and Focus Sash have all seen major usage since Urshifu was unleashed upon the format, all fulfilling different roles, and made even that much more annoying to read by the fact that you can't technically tell which of the two Urshifu forms the opponent even has in the team preview screen in the first place.

   On the original author's team, Choice Scarf Urshifu had Leer as its Max Guard move because Urshifu does indeed find itself in Dynamax a fair amount, but after also starting out with a Max Guard option myself as well, I found things like Dragonite showing up far too often for comfort despite the Mimikyu and Ninetales on the team, so I ended up with Ice Punch in the flex slot.

   Finally, it should be noted that, defensively, this team does not have another switch into Surging Strikes other than Urshifu, which usually translates to having to either try to counterlead opposing Urshifu with Ninetales, or bringing Urshifu yourself.

Cinderace

The main gimmick of the team: Lum Berry Cinderace designed to farm prominent Cinderace checks. Indeed, coming into the team preview screen, the first thought should always be whether a given game is a lead Cinderace game. In this mode, the usual team composition is Cinderace-Ninetales-Mimikyu, where anything Cinderace doesn't outright bruteforce through is handled by a Mimikyu behind screens.

Landorus

Opting for a defensive set here makes taking calculated risks in the lead game more tolerable, especially regarding things like Cinderace mirrors.

   I am usually partial to sets that avoid the 2HKO from offensive Dynamax Zapdos, but this team relies on Magnezone and Mimikyu for that, and that duo needs all the help it can get against Cinderace.

   The benchmark for Speed is beating Base 110s after a Max Airstream, which is also high enough to outspeed other defensive Landorus sets opting for something more sensible like Ninetales-A/Kartana (177), or the crowded range of 169-171 referred to above.

Mimikyu

Mimikyu is needed on offensive teams like this to clean up after the Dynamax user makes its positive trades, and, alternatively, to cushion opposing offensive momentum when things go wrong.

   But beyond being a part of the team's main mode of Dynamax-Ninetales-Mimikyu where it does just this, Mimikyu also offers a much-needed alternative way of dealing with Dragonite and Zapdos.

   The Kee Berry Drain Punch set is most notable for cleanly going through most current variants of Porygon2, with the main defensive benchmark justifying the lack of Speed investment here being the 1v1 against Gyro Ball Ferrothorn.

2) Usage notes

Although this team has crucial differences to the author's original concept, the heuristic provided for the lead game by them is useful nevertheless, and will be covered below.

   First, against defensive or bulky offense teams equipped with Hippowdon, Swampert, Celesteela, or Ferrothorn, Cinderace is recommended as the lead. This is not only to take advantage of a Hippowdon lead or switch-in for a free set-up, but also to counter good anti-Ninetales leads like Celesteela and Ferrothorn.

  Second, against hyper offense or offensive goodstuffs compositions, the Ninetales-Mimikyu gambit in the back is key. This typically means leading Urshifu.

   As for Ninetales itself, it only really resembles anything like a good lead in games with some combination of Porygon2 and Landorus or Garchomp.

Going 19-1 in the last 20 games during the final three days of play tells me that this team is not the worst thing ever — even after my changes. Ok, yes, fair enough, there was a favorable Bounce miss in there, as well as a crit on a Dragapult before it got the relevant screen up.

Final rating. Rather unfortunately on the bubble for a triple-digits finish again, but in my defense, I didn't fully expect to go down over 100 places in the last seven hours of the season — the last time I checked the rankings. And, besides, it's not like these things write themselves, you know!

2.1 Usual team compositions

Urshifu-Ninetales/Landorus-Mimikyu

Cinderace-Ninetales-Mimikyu

2.2 VS Team Select Screen

I thought about getting rid of the entry for Screens Mode below, but I think being able to identify screens teams when the setter is Dragapult — the only truly non-telegraphed screens setter — is enough to merit keeping it around, even if, strictly speaking, I've only played against a handful of screens teams in the 160 or so games across both of my accounts this season.

Bulky Offense or Balance

- Goodstuffs compositions of Porygon2, Toxapex/Hippowdon/Swampert, Urshifu, Cinderace, Zapdos, and Mimikyu.

- Anti-Dynamax checks: Swampert/Toxapex/Hippowdon, Porygon2, Tyranitar/Rhyperior, Ferrothorn, Mimikyu.

- Reactive Dynamax options, likely EV'd defensively to cushion specific hits in Dynamax duels: Porygon2, Zapdos, Landorus, Tapu Fini, Mimikyu.

- Likely offensive momentum options: Nihilego/Celesteela, Cinderace, Zapdos, Dragapult/Dragonite.

- Choice Scarf surprise on bulky offense: Tapu Fini, Urshifu-RS.

- Wallbreaking options: Choice Band Urshifu/Rillaboom, Dracovish/Darmanitan, Dragapult (45%+ usage Dragon Dance), Landorus (58%+ usage Swords Dance).

Urshifu-Ninetales/Landorus-Mimikyu

Cinderace-Ninetales/Landorus-

Depending on the opposing six, Urshifu is a good lead when the Cinderace play is not on the table, as it can Dynamax to get through a Tapu Fini or a Dragonite switching in to take the turn 1 Surging Strikes.

Hyper Offense

- Usually comes in the form of Focus Sash user + dedicated Dynamax sweeper + Mimikyu.

- Secondary mode likely has at least one slow pivot or bulky mon like Zapdos or Porygon2.

- Focus Sash users: Urshifu, Pheromosa, Garchomp, Landorus, Cinderace, Cloyster.

- Possible Stealth Rock/suicide leads: Swampert, Hippowdon, Garchomp, Landorus, even Excadrill.

- Conventional sweepers: Cinderace, Zapdos, Nihilego, various Max Airstream users.

- Sturdy Endure + Custap Berry (e.g. Magnezone) as a second, pseudo Focus Sash user.

- Alternate mode may include Trick Room in the form of Mimikyu + Glastrier.

Ninetales-Mimikyu-Landorus

Urshifu-Ninetales-

Cinderace can potentially set up on some Stealth Rock/suicide leads, but playing through Urshifu should usually be the order of the day.

Screens Mode

- Curse Dragapult, Explosion Regieleki and Grimmsnarl as the three most common Light Clay screens setters outside Lapras screens, with Grimmsnarl being arguably the scariest because of Prankster and access to various crippling options (Scary Face, Trick Lagging Tail, Thunder Wave).

- Dragapult sets need to be inferred from the rest of the opposing line-up, usually not that difficult if it's Dragapult + sweepers, one of them likely being something slightly weird like a Shell Smasher or even Togekiss/Moltres-G.

- Common offensive pairings include set-up sweepers like Landorus, Dragon Dance and Swords Dance users.

- Baton Pass is also a possibility in a convoluted two-stage set-up, "dedicated Baton Pass".

Ninetales-Mimikyu-

Magnezone-Landorus/Mimikyu-

Landorus is usually a good idea against more or less telegraphed screens play, because it can prevent becoming set-up bait by clicking Rock Tomb through screens turns, doesn't really mind getting Tricked a Lagging Tail by Grimmsnarl, and can Swords Dance on setters like Regieleki.

   Similarly, Mimikyu is excellent at exhausting screens turns with Disguise and Max Guard. Magnezone also has a positive match up against all the prominent screens setters, and Ninetales can respond to screens with screens of its own.

   Offensively, Surging Strikes does of course go through screens, but Urshifu really dislikes being crippled by status moves from some screens setters (Will-o-Wisp Dragapult, Thunder Wave/Lagging Tail Grimmsnarl), while potentially being outright 1HKO'd by others (Regieleki, Tapu Koko).

Hard Stall

- Toxapex, Chansey, Quagsire, Skarmory, Tyranitar, Clefable, Tapu Bulu, Porygon2, Reuniclus

- Offensive punch, if present, likely made up of either Dragonite, Urshifu, Cinderace/Zapdos.

Cinderace-Ninetales-Magnezone/Urshifu/Landorus

Magnezone-Ninetales-Cinderace/Landorus

Hard stall typically relies on Tyranitar or Chansey to check Zapdos, and may not have anything immune to Volt Switch, making Magnezone a good pivot, or even a candidate for Dynamax user, depending on the exact composition of the opposing six.

   Ninetales is especially important when the opposing side has Quagsire, as the only way to get through it is by Sheer Colding your way to getting to click Freeze Dry against it.

3) In Conclusion

For the upcoming disaster zenith of fun and creativity that is Series 10 of ranked singles, I fully expect to put in a decent amount of games again — for the first month, at least. After that, who can tell. But I certainly hope they will throw in one or two online competitions for singles players during the next three months, so I will have something more interesting to write about.

   So, then, by all means, yes, bring on the next new paradigm of uncertainty! I am ready to Metronome through some Sucker Punches with Calyrex-S, and all in with Eject Button Thundurus-I into Xerneas/Volcarona.

- Tox

SW-0021-9848-8999