Explaining the Best Competitive Pokémon Games from Week 3 of Smogon Champion's League

[@amberhernandez]

As a chronic Trick Room addict, seeing the Ubers game devolve into a mess was simultaneously hilarious and second-hand embarrassing lol

[@mattzr1550]

you deserve this for using trick room

[@amberhernandez]

@@mattzr1550 Not my fault Mega Camerupt SLAPS lmao

[@CyberDork34]

As someone who watches VGC too, I have never seen a calyrex-i + porygon2 team so thoroughly dismantled

[@chopinfanclub6672]

@@CyberDork34 yeah vgc trick room is amazing but in singles it’s borderline shit competitively and cheesy. Could be Fun on ladder tho

[@CyberDork34]

@@chopinfanclub6672 right. Singles trick room does better when the trick room setter is the trick room abuser. Like gen 4 ou's trick room bronzong. Or some gen 8 ou cheese where you trick room with Victini late game and sweep with V-create

[@jimmyjuice697]

That trick room battle was brutal lmao. The combination of luck, outplay, and matchup really culminated in a complete beatdown.

[@SakhotGamer]

I despise Iron Head Necrozma-Dusk-Mane users

[@leoade6101]

@@SakhotGamer It's more for the 24pp than for the flinch, especially since Dusk-Mane has 77 base speed in a tier where 90 is the average. HONESTLY, it's on a trick room user for using mons slow enough to get flinched

[@SakhotGamer]

@@leoade6101 Thunder wave Iron head my dude. they were fishing for the para-flinches.

[@leoade6101]

@@SakhotGamer Oh I sincerely take everything back I can't respect that playstyle

[@madelinebrie4202]

Oh my lord that LC game had so many twists and turns. Amazing game. Narrative whiplash permeated the last few turns in all the right ways. Easily one of the best movies I've seen in a while. I also really appreciated your commentary during Blunder v Devin. You pointed out that Blunder recognized his first plan of attack (keeping Spikes off vs Tran + Ferro) was a losing proposition. What I really like about competitive mons is that an initial game plan doesn't have to remain your win-con. Like you said, Blunder changed his game plan to focus on offense, weakening the Rotom, and then getting in Balloon Exca for a free SD so he could gauge the defensive response (which turned out to be a sweep). That kinda commentary goes a long way towards educating players at higher levels how to change their game plan and ultimately be better battlers.

[@user-fe8gx3ie5v]

Sir, humans cannot change genders.

[@sealeo5772]

That excadrill sweep is an example of why I think the rapid spin speed boost is one of the coolest buffs a move has ever received. It is so cool seeing the move that is primarily used for utility and defensive play also be able to make the spinner into a scary offensive threat. It is fun when it lets you use something slow like Dhelmise to force switches and still threaten whatever switches in and even more fun to see it cause a 6-0 sweep.

[@wetakethose6968]

That Little Cup game was insane, makes me want to actually check out the format now

[@firewall5189]

i havent played showdown in a while lol, and even when i did, i didnt play too often. but LC was genuinely some of the most fun id had there: i just really liked experimenting with my team builds (which were bad lol im a novice to competitive pkmn), and the knowledge that freezai has dispensed over so many months of content went a long way in improving my fundamentals.

[@CubeBizz]

LC is so fast paced that's why I love it

[@bobbybobv]

I would love to see something like "hot streak" players/teams, or some way of creating a narrative. The RU battle is a great example where you set up how capable both the players are in their tier. Whether it's the battle of titans, David vs Goliath, or a return to form, there are a number of simple narratives that help create engagement

[@Mimagito]

With the many twists that LC battle had, I was actually expecting Mienfoo to just reveal Zen Headbutt for whatever reason.

[@agentgrove7243]

Dude that final battle had me at the edge of my seat! Amazing job to all the teams!

[@LamesAMA]

"Blunder is 0-2 looking for his first win" Average Heatah Fajita episode

[@Kmn483]

That Exeggutor set is evil and I love it.

[@y00py62]

I honestly look forward to these vids every week. You’re single-handedly making competitive Pokémon accessible for fans, thanks a lot!

[@Quicksilvir]

I always love watching Pokeaim's games. He almost always brings something spicy and has really solid fundamentals.

[@aaaaaa-ts3rw]

I caught a legendary pokeaim game live where he brought an hp bug keldeo tech for celebi and actually obliterated it Still think about it sometimes lmao

[@basedpliskin]

aim in his prime was DIFFERENT. he’s still incredible now but 2013-2017 joey was on one 24/7.

[@Hitmonchu]

That Little Cup game was an absolute rollercoaster, goodness me what a game

[@Mewseeker]

That's the kind of battle you would see in an anime. XD

[@kaloncpu57]

As a VGC fan, I really enjoyed seeing somebody using Trick Room in an event like this, even if it went poorly. My favorite game was the Little Cup game though

[@Connor_Kirkpatrick]

WelliOu is about to go on his Lavos arc after that game, dear god

[@alwaysjc_]

endure harvest custap sounds like mad fun wtf

[@Mega_Umbreon]

Hi Freezai, just wanted to leave a comment to say I love this content. As someone who enjoys competitive Pokémon but has never seriously followed the competitive scene, these videos go into the perfect level of detail and your explanations about the reasoning behind the plays are awesome. Keep it up friend.

[@kassygo1375]

That last game was insane!! I love that you’re doing this thanks so much!!

[@thenuggetytb3386]

The fact that McMeghan's mons have their french names as nicknames is fun to me as a french person

[@galelululu]

yo wait a lot of hot games here but can we appreciate blunder bringing back that game from what was looking like a slow loss to the king of balance, heatran? on-point analysis by freezai about the changes in each player’s battle plan and how blunder took the setbacks in stride and turned it around, very cool

[@digitaldarmanitan3072]

Thanks for posting these; I always find your recaps really interesting

[@Xalvadore505]

Interesting to see McMeghan again after the video where he caused the greatest rage quit, that Freezai made last month

[@KenNywithrice]

Love the coverage, and you seem to be the perfect person to do it since you don't have a schedule to upload Showdown lives. Can't justify not subbing anymore, surely 100k soon!

[@chester1882]

jesus christ that LC game. What an emotional rollercoaster!!!! THIS is peak pokemon.

[@dtexdarkus]

Vids like this further demonstrate that high level gameplay is more about good luck than good plays

[@mrgranadas2051]

I actually screamed out loud in the LC game when the mienfoo missed the high jump kick omg what drama

[@CinJyxxe]

Last game in the Little Cup was the most intense one and it just feels right.

[@manuelcamara6400]

That last little cup game made me audibly scream three times

[@SC_Pilot]

Lmao thank you so much for keeping up the act throughout the last battle, made it that much better

[@SmokeRulz]

I didn't think I'd ever feel sorry for a Trick Room user, although, it's really ballsy to use it in 1v1, so he got props from me for just GOING FOR IT. Goodness did he ever get RNG'd straight to hell, though. Brutal. That Little Cup game was awesome.

[@WardofSquid]

Blunder being the GOAT as usual. And that last match was pure anime hype😅👏

[@ritwikism]

That last game just shows why LC is one of the most interesting meta

[@totalphantasm]

Man if I was Welli0u In that last game I would most likely have a documentary worthy tirade on the forums afterwards holy shit

[@DillionDallas]

Unfortunate doesn't begin to describe my series

[@RimCie]

this game rewards blind luck and nothing else

[@Sly_Sir]

Joey with an insane strat as usual and Acehunter with a felony after robbing a man

[@shokuou7249]

You are doing god's work with this series

[@flyingoctopus4304]

Thanks for the recaps and commentary that goes with them, it's really interesting.

[@spectrummike]

Jesus christ that last gamwę Also cool eggy tech

[@Chimera-man-man]

Ngl seeing a trick room team just get completely destroyed like that was so carthartic for me

[@loserbrandon]

It’s actually insane to think that I’m subbed to Acehunter1 because of an Uberstrike video and didn’t know he was a competitive player LOL

[@Acehunter1]

Ah, I see you're a person of culture as well

[@loserbrandon]

@@Acehunter1

[@brenoldt]

i loved the LC battle, but loved the exeggutor endure/custap !!

[@lukespeers2466]

These are probably my favorite competitive Pokémon videos right now

[@MossyBD]

These videos are more and more interesting every week, thank you!

[@dinonadoop]

That LC game is just a series of whiplash

[@kaimanthelizardwizard1248]

Acehunter1 vs WelliOu had more last minute twists than an M. Night movie.

[@ace-xy8ub]

Great content, thanks for putting this together and sharing!

[@kassygo1375]

I think after seeing that little cup game we’ll probably see more people playing the tier on Showdown

[@kideuler1758]

Freezai your analysis is impeccable as always

[@MMR_LM]

Man all of your videos are so insightful, I'm getting more and more addicted to comp, just wish I was any bloody good at it lmao

[@Random_Person2]

The rapid spin at 2:45 also was to get rid of leech seed right? So that it could survive hippowdon eq

[@ktbmk]

but SpDef hippo got ohko'd by +4 EQ eitherway

[@ktbmk]

the speedboost is the only thing super necessary here, to outspeed Tornadus-T, but getting rid of leech seed is never bad

[@skeetermania3202]

@@ktbmk Odd how competitive players forget that Rapid Spin also gets rid of Leech Seed and stuff like Magma Storm.

[@thecrunchh6]

blunder played insane that first game. truly an agency moment to be remembered

[@milanotheduelist]

These videos are fire 🙌🏼

[@marioponce8482]

Drilbur: "Any last words before I kill ya?" Pawniard: "Pick a God and pray!" **Critical hit Sucker Punch**

[@galaxystudios370]

“What killed the dinosaurs?”

[@staralul]

isnt mcmeghan the one who made lavos quit

[@andrewg254]

Yeah

[@garchompdude]

Pokeaim stays goated. What a strat!

[@tomnuke9122]

Ferrothorn sweep was pretty crazy.

[@stllr_]

don't have a favourite match but whoever made the studio gible logo did a fantastic job

[@aurora_x86]

Hey, why was the "How you can control my showdown account" video taken down? I have the notification but it just leads to a 404 error?

[@chaostails7]

Well that last game was a rollercoaster, lol

[@silveratlas2706]

Those Uber and little cup games were crazy

[@randymarsh5176]

the last game a rollercoaster

[@RaviKumar-iu5wp]

That exeggitor sets of custop berry just wins my heart man

[@michaelzaccardo1010]

2:13 "Toxapex reveals Toxic" used it against Tornadus.

[@irishpenguin2047]

2:07 Toxic was already revealed as it used it on tornt on turn 3 (I think )

[@snakey1315]

What does reveal mean in Pokémon because I thought it meant when you reveal a move but you said reveals toxic but at the start of the match he used toxic

[@inazuma-fulgur]

That's just a mistake, probably forgot or missed it Reveal means what you thought it meant

[@uholysock3563]

I think that was just an error on his part

[@FreezaiPokemon]

i made a mistake

[@snakey1315]

@@FreezaiPokemon ok

[@cannonmallanon2264]

This is super cool!!! So hype!!!

[@hh-gi7jc]

What is the name of the soundtrack he uses?

[@tforrest6779]

Amazing video freeze!! More like this please!!!

[@emilforsstrom2499]

That lc game was something else xdd

[@gold626]

Aye, an RU game lets go, that game defining play on the first turns was very cool and seeing pangoro do things is also great that LC game was also very funny, wide lens mienfoo meta when?

[@SergioArt1227]

that LC game was Sick!!!!!!

[@undeadmyth9977]

2:09 he says toxapex reveals toxic, but toxapex had already revealed it before vs tornadus. not a huge discrepancy but it's there

[@colgator1092]

glad to see some hippowdon representation

[@ddd8828]

That Custap Eggy-Alola is so fucking sick.

[@angryaromatisse1801]

Losing because of a miss is so sad oml

[@horribleville]

That ubers game was brutal

[@blainepounds5786]

Proof why having the big 3 is important. Trick room user got Clowned on by necrozma

[@ink3487]

2:07 Wasn't Toxic Revealed at 0:37?

[@Telogor]

In the last game, HJK was actually a roll to kill. Even if it hit, there was a small chance that the minipex lived, as HJK did 26% on the previous turn and the pokemon had 27% HP.

[@Acehunter1]

It's not a roll, it's the same amount of HP, and that was the minimum damage HJK could deal. It's just how HP values are shown in Little Cup, at different values, the same amount of HP can be represented by slightly different percentages.

[@videlltheassassin]

Blunderr coming in clutch

[@kysimple1313]

This was kind of tough to sit through as most matches came down to "some bullshit happened so they lost"

[@jchud13]

ahh! Cool video freeguy!

[@Mewseeker]

5:12 "SURPRISE!"

[@mysterydego]

I've actually had a few non attacking Ferrothorn sweeps

[@BrettRKS]

Good vid Freezai

[@qedsoku849]

This goes to show how strong the element of surprise is, makes me wonder why ditto to scout the opponent’s moveset is so uncommon

[@misirtere9836]

Because when you use Ditto, the opponent also knows exactly what your options are. Both of you lose the element of surprise in that interaction, and if the opponent doesn't happen to have an out for their own Pokemon, you're screwed, because your only real option is to switch (since not running Scarf on Ditto is basically career suicide).

[@qedsoku849]

@@misirtere9836 there goes my heavy duty boots lead ditto idea

[@misirtere9836]

@@qedsoku849 OK, I will clarify a little bit. You don't NEED to run Scarf on Ditto necessarily. It's the only way to guarantee you'll win the forced speed tie after you first send it in, but because Scarf is clearly the best option, you can get a good surprise mix-up if you actually use a non-Choice item (probably Expert Belt to not give the game away). However, this is still a terrible idea, because this requires that your Ditto comes in at a point where if you were actually running Scarf, your opponent's best option would be to switch. Because if you don't do that, and your opponent subsequently calls the bluff that you can't oneshot them, there's a 50/50 chance they just go first and annihilate you. And even THEN, your opponent STILL knows your entire moveset, so you can't gank them with surprise coverage since they know what their own coverage is, so they'll switch in to their best option against ALL of their own moves, so not being Choice locked still isn't going to help much.

[@elise3852]

i can hear the classical music already

[@sekaihunter9378]

I can't wait to see how all of the Legend Arceus Pokémon would perform in Gen 9. Wyrdeer seems like a lower tier Pokemon and get overshadowed by Indeedee, Kleavor is very strong and Bug/Rock is a way better typing than it may looks, Hisuian Arcanine seems way worse than its Kanto form, Hisuian Zoroark and its unique typing should be able to compete in OU, and Ursaluna helps boost Trick Room viability and allows Ursaring to be a viable Eviolite holder. I expect Ursaluna to be incredibly good in UU with an Assault Vest set and Ursaring to be a massive threat in NU and PU. ...Hmm, did i forget something? Ahh, whatever, some untiered thing probably.

[@zad_rasera]

The last two games looked like something that came out from the anime

[@Hardcore_Hybrid]

when is the next part of the tier list?

[@jonatanjohansen4485]

Freezai the goat👑

[@UloeDragonball]

Where can you find the replays?

[@marioster2]

HJK is such a gamble dude.

[@Waxwell1]

If i had the luck of the Ubers match i wouldn’t play showdown again for months

[@Raph920]

Impeccable video

[@Raph920]

I’m not a bot

[@LuxInfinita]

How is it that the LC match was the most intense one and had the most twists out of the whole video?

[@Acehunter1]

Because LC is the best and most fun tier on Pokemon Showdown

[@zad_rasera]

@@Acehunter1 The legend!!

[@SparnaOfYomi]

Anyone know where one could find Devin's team info? Really interested in the details

[@DigitalRag3X]

How freezai gunna reach 100 k before blunder 😭😭😭

[@jkid1134]

Yo let's go blunder what can I say I love a good drill sweep

[@regulargoat7259]

I know its toxic but man, it felt like ace didnt earn that win. He stealth rock’d against magic bounce. Who doesnt keep track of trace porygon’s copied ability? And his opponent was so smart too, with that pawniard play. Ah well though. Pokemon is super rng dependent, so he did win fair and square. Just felt kinda empty

[@Acehunter1]

Yeah I definitely shouldn't have won that game, sorry I'm bad at Pokemon