Philadelphia VGC Warstory

Jonathan · Jun 7th, 2009, 5:24:06 AM

For the past week I'd been arguing with myself on whether I should go to the Philly VGC. I knew the odds I'd be chosen were small (though I didn't expect them to be as small as they were) so I saw little point in properly preparing for the event. Not to mention I knew I wouldn't be able to attend Nationals in St. Louis even if I did well, as I'd be back home by then (I live in Europe, but I got to college in Philly). On the other hand, Switzerland doesn't exactly have many Pokemon events, (read: zero) and the only people I knew irl before today who played Pokemon were my friends back in elementary school. At 1:30AM on Saturday morning, I finally decided to go, seeing as this was really a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, and I only live 30 minutes away.

Anyway, I spent the whole night reading and learning about Double Battles and putting a team together. Long story short, I decided to use zerowing's team at around 3AM, as it seemed reliable and rather easy to use. I feel really bad for practically copying his team, but seeing it all over the place at the event made up for it a bit. Not to mention I found out TTS had zerowing's very Pokemon in his party. In my defense I had 4 hours to come up with something effective and this seemed like my best bet.

Zapdos @ Chestro Berry
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Nature: Serious
- Discharge
- Heat Wave
- Detect
- Thunderbolt

Best I could do with on short notice. It has 22 / 19 / 29 in HP, SAtk, and Speed respectively. Lol.

Garchomp @ Lum Berry
Ability: Sand Veil
EVs: 6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Jolly
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Crunch
- Protect

I actually have a very good Jolly Garchomp so I figured I wouldn't waste time going for an Adamant one.

Metagross @ Occa Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Spd
Nature: Adamant
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Bullet Punch
- Protect

Had to breed this guy.

Abomasnow @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Nature: Timid
- Blizzard
- Energy Ball
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast

This guy too.

I think everyone knows how this team works by now so there's no need to go into it.

I leave campus at 8:15, get there a little before 9. After queuing for 30 minutes I'm presented with wristband # 513. I don't even get a Pokemon :(
Clearly they didn't expect nearly this many people as my wristband wasn't even printed out.

While I'd been waiting I saw a group of people I was sure were from Smogon (Expert Evan really stands out in a crowd) so I headed over and introduced myself. I met EE and his son, Carl, TTS, and hnh. By 10:15 there was a group of about 12 of us. That's when the numbers come up. I have to wait a long time as the screen progresses through the numbers, but finally towards the very end I see 513 come up! As you all have probably heard by now, very few people from Smogon got in, which was disappointing. I headed over to the registration area, and after a bit of waiting my first match was beginning:

Round One:

Turn 1:
My opponent sends out Garchomp and Weavile as I send out Zapdos and Garchomp. Not the greatest matchup by a long shot. Zapdos is pretty much deadweight as it can't touch Garchomp and Weavile poses quite a threat to it. Without a Dragon move, I feel extremely vulnerable risking my Garchomp against his, as I have no idea what he could be running. I decide to Detect with Zapdos and I switch Garchomp out for Metagross to eat the expected Dragon attack. Sure enough, Weavile Ice Punches my Zapdos and Garchomp uses Dragon Rush against Metagross, which doesn't do too much. So far so good.

Turn 2:
I Bullet Punch Weavile with Metagross and decide to Thunderbolt Weavile as an added security measure. It's not like I can do anything to Garchomp anyway. Bullet Punch brings Weavile to the brink of death. Garchomp Dragon Rushes Zapdos, taking out half its health easily. Weavile then Night Slashes and scores a Critical Hit on my Metagross, bringing me into the red too. Having gotten absolutely no sleep the night before, I miss the implications of Garchomp moving before Weavile... Zapdos finishes Weavile off with Thunderbolt, and he switches in Dusknoir.

Turn 3:
Garchomp once again Dragon Rushes Zapdos, this time killing it. Metagross uses Meteor Mash on Dusknoir taking about 75% out, but it has Sitrus Berry so by the end his Dusknoir has over 50% health left. Dusknoir KOs Metagross with Payback thereafter.

Turn 4:
I switch Abomasnow and Garchomp in. I know Abomasnow can outspeed + Natured base 110 Pokemon, so I'm not worried about a Speed tie with our Garchomps. I'm not sure Blizzard can knock out his Dusknoir though, so I opt for Crunch to finish it off just in case. But before Abomasnow can even move, his Garchomp OHKOs mine with it's fourth fucking Dragon Rush of the game. I kick myself then, realizing he had a Choice Scarf all along. Blizzard then proceeds to finish off both his Pokemon.

Turn 5:
It all comes down to his last Pokemon, and I'm praying it's something I can take on with relative ease. That's when he sends out...

Latios!

I wish.

In reality he sends out Empoleon, at which point I know it's over. I manage to score two Blizzards on him before Flash Cannon finishes me off.

I wish him luck in the next round and move on to collect my Milotic (for which I didn't have to wait in a long line for as there was a separate one for those who actually battled). Not much of a consolation prize but whatever.

Overall I'm not too disappointed I went out so early. I mean, at least I got to play right? My opponent did get a good bit of luck (4 Dragon Rushes hitting and the Critical on Metagross) but I had two turns where I could have deduced his Garchomp had a Choice Scarf. In hindsight I should have used Detect with Zapdos on Turn 3 and/or Protect with Garchomp on Turn 4, but I feel I had justifiable reasons for doing what I did at the time.

Anyway, I pretty much hung around until after the finals were over. I battled TTS (won one, lost one) and a few other people. I came across a dad and his 7 year old son who I spoke with for a bit. I traded them my Garchomp for theirs (his son was gonna play in the upcoming Junior matches). Lol mine had like 40 more speed and 50 more attack. They were telling me about some guy on EBay who can give you all the Pokemon Shinies and 999 rare candies etc. etc. and it only cost them $70! Seriously you have to be a real asshole to rip people off that way. I also hung out with Vash a little towards the end. I thought he'd be pissed about having lost the way he did but he was an extremely good sport about it, so that was nice to see. We were about to start trading but his ride was leaving right as we were about to trade :(

That's pretty much everything. All in all I had a great day. It would have been nice to go a little further, but honestly I'm happy I even got to play. And it was also nice to meet a few people from Smogon.

Zexy Boxers Union · Jun 7th, 2009, 5:46:55 AM

Glad you had fun. Shame you faced an experienced player first round XD

And about that $70 guy, he is an absolute asshole, ripping people off like that >>

Revolution.Z · Jun 7th, 2009, 9:03:45 AM

Screw the asshole ripping people off. Unlucky that you lost to a dragon rush chomp. Bit of a strange moveset on your opponents moveset. Payback? No STAB lol.

ChiboSempai · Jun 7th, 2009, 2:25:18 PM

You said your still on college campus and ur about 45 minutes away... do you go to Drexel? That's the only school I can think of that's still in session. That's where I go!

Jonathan · Jun 7th, 2009, 3:18:06 PM

UPenn actually. Summer courses :(

But we should meet up sometime, we're like 5 minutes apart!

fuzzman · Jun 7th, 2009, 3:56:48 PM

hey congrats for getting in! you are luckier then most people.

VashTheStampede · Jun 7th, 2009, 4:16:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat fuzzman

hey congrats for getting in! you are luckier then most people.

This is true.

Sucks that you had a decent team and were taken out in such a lame way.. Who uses Flash Cannon anyway? :(

ChiboSempai · Jun 7th, 2009, 4:19:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat Jonathan

UPenn actually. Summer courses :(

But we should meet up sometime, we're like 5 minutes apart!

awesome stuff, just pm me whenever u find some free time. im just kind of busy this week and next (finals this week, term break next), then im back to regular school. year round school ftl :( lol

Asylum Evermore · Jun 7th, 2009, 5:45:35 PM

Thanks for the warstory, your details were really helpful. I was at the tourney too, but I didn't have a team ready to participate. It didn't matter though, my girlfriend started having some side pains and I left before the numbers were even called.

You said you prepared your team the night before, did you get them all up to 50?

Jun 7th, 2009, 5:24:06 AM	#1
Jonathan Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 612	Philadelphia VGC Warstory For the past week I'd been arguing with myself on whether I should go to the Philly VGC. I knew the odds I'd be chosen were small (though I didn't expect them to be as small as they were) so I saw little point in properly preparing for the event. Not to mention I knew I wouldn't be able to attend Nationals in St. Louis even if I did well, as I'd be back home by then (I live in Europe, but I got to college in Philly). On the other hand, Switzerland doesn't exactly have many Pokemon events, (read: zero) and the only people I knew irl before today who played Pokemon were my friends back in elementary school. At 1:30AM on Saturday morning, I finally decided to go, seeing as this was really a once in a lifetime opportunity for me, and I only live 30 minutes away. Anyway, I spent the whole night reading and learning about Double Battles and putting a team together. Long story short, I decided to use zerowing's team at around 3AM, as it seemed reliable and rather easy to use. I feel really bad for practically copying his team, but seeing it all over the place at the event made up for it a bit. Not to mention I found out TTS had zerowing's very Pokemon in his party. In my defense I had 4 hours to come up with something effective and this seemed like my best bet. Zapdos @ Chestro Berry Ability: Pressure EVs: 6 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd Nature: Serious - Discharge - Heat Wave - Detect - Thunderbolt Best I could do with on short notice. It has 22 / 19 / 29 in HP, SAtk, and Speed respectively. Lol. Garchomp @ Lum Berry Ability: Sand Veil EVs: 6 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd Nature: Jolly - Earthquake - Rock Slide - Crunch - Protect I actually have a very good Jolly Garchomp so I figured I wouldn't waste time going for an Adamant one. Metagross @ Occa Berry Ability: Clear Body EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 6 Spd Nature: Adamant - Meteor Mash - Earthquake - Bullet Punch - Protect Had to breed this guy. Abomasnow @ Choice Scarf Ability: Snow Warning EVs: 6 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd Nature: Timid - Blizzard - Energy Ball - Shadow Ball - Focus Blast This guy too. I think everyone knows how this team works by now so there's no need to go into it. I leave campus at 8:15, get there a little before 9. After queuing for 30 minutes I'm presented with wristband # 513. I don't even get a Pokemon :( Clearly they didn't expect nearly this many people as my wristband wasn't even printed out. While I'd been waiting I saw a group of people I was sure were from Smogon (Expert Evan really stands out in a crowd) so I headed over and introduced myself. I met EE and his son, Carl, TTS, and hnh. By 10:15 there was a group of about 12 of us. That's when the numbers come up. I have to wait a long time as the screen progresses through the numbers, but finally towards the very end I see 513 come up! As you all have probably heard by now, very few people from Smogon got in, which was disappointing. I headed over to the registration area, and after a bit of waiting my first match was beginning: Round One: Turn 1: My opponent sends out Garchomp and Weavile as I send out Zapdos and Garchomp. Not the greatest matchup by a long shot. Zapdos is pretty much deadweight as it can't touch Garchomp and Weavile poses quite a threat to it. Without a Dragon move, I feel extremely vulnerable risking my Garchomp against his, as I have no idea what he could be running. I decide to Detect with Zapdos and I switch Garchomp out for Metagross to eat the expected Dragon attack. Sure enough, Weavile Ice Punches my Zapdos and Garchomp uses Dragon Rush against Metagross, which doesn't do too much. So far so good. Turn 2: I Bullet Punch Weavile with Metagross and decide to Thunderbolt Weavile as an added security measure. It's not like I can do anything to Garchomp anyway. Bullet Punch brings Weavile to the brink of death. Garchomp Dragon Rushes Zapdos, taking out half its health easily. Weavile then Night Slashes and scores a Critical Hit on my Metagross, bringing me into the red too. Having gotten absolutely no sleep the night before, I miss the implications of Garchomp moving before Weavile... Zapdos finishes Weavile off with Thunderbolt, and he switches in Dusknoir. Turn 3: Garchomp once again Dragon Rushes Zapdos, this time killing it. Metagross uses Meteor Mash on Dusknoir taking about 75% out, but it has Sitrus Berry so by the end his Dusknoir has over 50% health left. Dusknoir KOs Metagross with Payback thereafter. Turn 4: I switch Abomasnow and Garchomp in. I know Abomasnow can outspeed + Natured base 110 Pokemon, so I'm not worried about a Speed tie with our Garchomps. I'm not sure Blizzard can knock out his Dusknoir though, so I opt for Crunch to finish it off just in case. But before Abomasnow can even move, his Garchomp OHKOs mine with it's fourth fucking Dragon Rush of the game. I kick myself then, realizing he had a Choice Scarf all along. Blizzard then proceeds to finish off both his Pokemon. Turn 5: It all comes down to his last Pokemon, and I'm praying it's something I can take on with relative ease. That's when he sends out... Latios! I wish. In reality he sends out Empoleon, at which point I know it's over. I manage to score two Blizzards on him before Flash Cannon finishes me off. I wish him luck in the next round and move on to collect my Milotic (for which I didn't have to wait in a long line for as there was a separate one for those who actually battled). Not much of a consolation prize but whatever. Overall I'm not too disappointed I went out so early. I mean, at least I got to play right? My opponent did get a good bit of luck (4 Dragon Rushes hitting and the Critical on Metagross) but I had two turns where I could have deduced his Garchomp had a Choice Scarf. In hindsight I should have used Detect with Zapdos on Turn 3 and/or Protect with Garchomp on Turn 4, but I feel I had justifiable reasons for doing what I did at the time. Anyway, I pretty much hung around until after the finals were over. I battled TTS (won one, lost one) and a few other people. I came across a dad and his 7 year old son who I spoke with for a bit. I traded them my Garchomp for theirs (his son was gonna play in the upcoming Junior matches). Lol mine had like 40 more speed and 50 more attack. They were telling me about some guy on EBay who can give you all the Pokemon Shinies and 999 rare candies etc. etc. and it only cost them $70! Seriously you have to be a real asshole to rip people off that way. I also hung out with Vash a little towards the end. I thought he'd be pissed about having lost the way he did but he was an extremely good sport about it, so that was nice to see. We were about to start trading but his ride was leaving right as we were about to trade :( That's pretty much everything. All in all I had a great day. It would have been nice to go a little further, but honestly I'm happy I even got to play. And it was also nice to meet a few people from Smogon. __________________ What, you don't think Lanturn can 6-0 a team of Blissey, Latias, Rotom-h, Swampert, Jirachi, and Foretress? Visit my profile for the log or check out the analysis! Diamond FC: 1376 4713 5893 My Trade Thread Last edited by Jonathan; Jun 7th, 2009 at 5:33:32 AM.

Jun 7th, 2009, 5:46:55 AM	#2
Zexy Boxers Union Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 57 Perth, Australia	Glad you had fun. Shame you faced an experienced player first round XD And about that $70 guy, he is an absolute asshole, ripping people off like that >> __________________ Shoddy Account: BulbaFTW We need VGC in Australia! Perth to be exact.

Jun 7th, 2009, 9:03:45 AM	#3
Revolution.Z Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 262 In the Eye of The Tornado	Screw the asshole ripping people off. Unlucky that you lost to a dragon rush chomp. Bit of a strange moveset on your opponents moveset. Payback? No STAB lol. __________________ Took a hiatus haters now I'm back to cause trouble?

Jun 7th, 2009, 2:25:18 PM	#4
ChiboSempai Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 72 South New Jersey / Philadelphia, PA	You said your still on college campus and ur about 45 minutes away... do you go to Drexel? That's the only school I can think of that's still in session. That's where I go! __________________ Part of the SmashBoards Community Developer, SMod, BBR, BBRC, Elite 4 Member, DGames MVP++, Power Ranked, Top 10 Poster

Jun 7th, 2009, 3:18:06 PM	#5
Jonathan Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 612	UPenn actually. Summer courses :( But we should meet up sometime, we're like 5 minutes apart! __________________ What, you don't think Lanturn can 6-0 a team of Blissey, Latias, Rotom-h, Swampert, Jirachi, and Foretress? Visit my profile for the log or check out the analysis! Diamond FC: 1376 4713 5893 My Trade Thread

Jun 7th, 2009, 3:56:48 PM	#6
fuzzman Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 93	hey congrats for getting in! you are luckier then most people. __________________ Diamond FC: 1634 3523 7758 Take a look at my thread: Swim Fuzzy Shyguy! Swim!

Jun 7th, 2009, 5:45:35 PM	#9
Asylum Evermore Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 66	Thanks for the warstory, your details were really helpful. I was at the tourney too, but I didn't have a team ready to participate. It didn't matter though, my girlfriend started having some side pains and I left before the numbers were even called. You said you prepared your team the night before, did you get them all up to 50?