2016 Pokémon VGC Regionals – Perth: Analysis and Usage Stats

Australia’s Regional Championship season wrapped up over the weekend, with over 120 Masters participating in the Perth Regional Championship on Sunday June 5th, with some even lucky enough to do battle on circular tables. Alister Sandover took out the event, defeating the returning-to-form Sam Pandelis from Victoria in the final. Defending Champion Mustafaa Olomi made the top cut before bowing out. Martin Larumbe, travelling from Sydney, just missed top cut, so won’t improve his Championship Point standing. Many locals, including star of the PC season Alex Poole, filled out the remaining top cut positions.

Top Cut Teams

1. Alister Sandover
Rayquaza / Groudon / Smeargle / Crobat / Cresselia / Sylveon

2. Sam Pandelis (@ZeldaVGC)
Kangaskhan / Salamence / Groudon / Xerneas / Thundurus-I / Smeargle

3. Daniel Baguley
Kangaskhan / Groudon / Xerneas / Landorus-T / Crobat / Ferrothorn

4. David Arevalo
Kangaskhan / Salamence / Rayquaza / Kyogre / Thundurus-I / Talonflame

5. Francis D’Souza (@fdsouza19)
Rayquaza / Xerneas / Talonflame / Amoonguss / Infernape / Aegislash

6. Benjamin O’Neill
Salamence / Groudon / Kyogre / Thundurus-I / Amoonguss / Weavile

7. Mustafaa Olomi (@mustytkd)
Mawile / Kyogre / Dialga / Thundurus-I / Landorus-T / Gourgeist

8. Alexander Poole (@thatalexkid5)
Kangaskhan / Salamence / Groudon / Xerneas / Thundurus-I / Smeargle

Top Cut Usage Data and Analysis

5 – Groudon, Thundurus-I

4 – Xerneas, Kangaskhan, Salamence

3 – Kyogre, Rayquaza, Smeargle

2 – Landorus-T, Crobat, Talonflame, Amoonguss

1 – Dialga, Cresselia, Mawile, Sylveon, Ferrothorn, Infernape, Aegislash, Weavile, Gourgeist

Analysis

After the highly centralised top cut in Melbourne, there was some refreshing variety in Perth to remind us all that there are many ways to be successful in this format.

Thundurus-I usage remained high, as did Groudon usage, although both were down from the extremes of Melbourne. Kyogre and Rayquaza made solid returns to form with three appearances each, Rayquaza picking up its first Regional Championship of the season under the piloting of Alister. Indeed, Rayquaza saw success with some unusual pairings, with Ray/Xerneas and Ray/Groudon both featuring, perhaps drawing inspiration from a Ray/Groudon win in an American Regional Championship recently. Salamence usage was also high, tying Kangaskhan as the most used Mega Evolution.

Smeargle usage in top cut decreased somewhat compared to previous weeks, as did Talonflame usage, as many trainers opted for varied niche support options as alternatives. This saw Sylveon, Infernape, Weavile, Aegislash and Gourgeist all featuring once in the top cut. Crobat, which fills a similar role to Talonflame, also featured twice, while Amoonguss, a mainstay of previous formats that has dropped a little in 2016, also featured twice.

As with all Regionals bar Melbourne, we saw no Yveltal make top cut here in Perth – not surprising given those Yveltal players were Melbourne locals, although many top cut teams had solid answers to that legendary Pokémon, which may have been a factor in its lack of follow up success.

Huge thanks to Gabe for attending the event and obtaining team information. Well done to everyone who competed, and congratulations to the finalists and winners. The next stop is Nationals which take place in Melbourne on July 2nd and 3rd!