The Pokemon Company International created an interesting promotion this year when they promised to digitize the winners and runner-ups of the Pokemon World Championships and add them to Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 for players to battle themselves.
The special battle distribution began in late October, and recently Ray Rizzo, the champion himself, was added to the game with his team of dragons and heavy hitters. Accessing the battle with virtual Rizzo in Black 2 or White 2 is as easy as heading to the Pokemon World Tournament in Driftveil City, but defeating him might not be so simple.
Luckily, Rizzo came up with five tips to beat himself in the game, which The Pokemon Company was kind enough to send over. So if there are any aspiring champs out there who want to take on the best of the best, you might want to take a look:
1. Be prepared for Dragon Types—My team features two Dragon-type Pokémon, Hydreigon and Garchomp, so there’s a good chance you will be facing off against at least one of them, if not both. Ice-type Pokémon, such as Abomasnow or Weavile, should help take down the Dragon types with ease. Steel-type Pokémon are also an option as they resist Dragon-type attacks, but watch out for Garchomp’s Earthquake and Hydreigon’s Flamethrower. Those moves can both hit Steel-types for a lot of damage.
2. Bring Pokémon that thrive under Trick Room—Once the two fast Dragon-type Pokémon are defeated, there is also a slow Trick Room portion to my team. Cresselia will set up Trick Room while Tyranitar and Metagross move first due to their low speed and will deal heavy damage with their high Attack stats. Bring along your own slow Pokémon, such as Conkeldurr or Ferrothorn, to use my own Trick Room against me, or prevent my Cresselia from setting up Trick Room altogether using the move Taunt, and bring a lot of fast Pokémon to defeat my slower ones.
3. Withstand the initial attacks—If you can withstand the initial attacks from Hydreigon and Rotom, you’ll be in a prime position for a counterattack. Hydreigon’s item Dragon Gem lets it boost the power of the first Draco Meteor it uses. If you can withstand this attack, you will now be facing a Hydreigon with no item and a lowered Special Attack. Rotom has the item Choice Specs, which boosts the power of all its attacks. However, once it uses its first attack, it is locked in to that attack, until it switches out or is knocked out. If you survive that first boosted attack, switch in Pokémon that resist the attack, since it cannot change moves. Because these attacks will be very powerful, I recommend Pokémon with high Special Defense, such as Cresselia or Blissey, or Pokémon that can recover their HP with moves like Rest or Recover.
4. Be prepared for attacks that hit multiple Pokémon—Both Garchomp and Metagross have the move Earthquake, which will hit all Pokémon on the field unless they are immune to it. My team has three Pokémon immune to Earthquake, Cresselia, Rotom, and Hydreigon, so be prepared for an attack that will hit both of your Pokémon but none of mine. Tyranitar has the move Rock Slide, which will also hit both of your Pokémon. Try not to have two Pokémon that are weak to Ground or Rock out at the same time, or they will both be hit by a supereffective attack.
5. Watch out for the multiple uses of Swagger—Cresselia has the move Swagger, which raises the target’s Attack but also causes Confusion. Metagross has the item Lum Berry, which will cure any status condition, so Cresselia might target it with Swagger to give it a free Attack boost. Swagger can also be used on the opponent’s Pokémon that attack with Special Attacks. Pokémon that only use a Special Attack don’t get any benefit from having their Attack stat raised, so they will receive only the negative aspect of Swagger—the confusion. Give one of your Pokémon a Lum Berry, teach one of your Pokémon the move Safeguard, or bring a Pokémon with the ability Own Tempo if you want to defend against Swagger being used on your Pokémon. Bring a Pokémon with the ability Unnerve if you want to prevent my Cresselia from using Swagger on my Metagross.
If you could understand all of that, then you might have a chance. Who knew Pokemon was so in-depth? (Answer: anyone who's played it). Will you take Rizzo on?
