Tale of Frustration: A Philadelphia Masters Warstory

The Knights of Wario Land · Apr 16th, 2012, 5:18:47 PM

Hey, it's Ryan G, aka The Knights of Wario Land, and here's my warstory from the Spring VGC Philly Nationals.

A bit of history about myself and VGC: I started playing it at the Newark regional last year.
I lost. Bad.
I had EV'd and IV'd almost none of my Pokes, just thinking that having their natures right was the only thing that mattered.
So, seeing as I wanted to majorly improve, I started preparing ever since Smogon announced the dates last September. I was originally going to run a Trick Room team, but I realized after playing a lot with it, I could never get the last slot right and it was just really boring to use. Discouraged, I decided then to hand-raise a goodstuff team. Here it is, and how they all did:

...

The problem with all of them is that I don't think they were "absolutely perfect", they were "close to perfect" 'cause I hand-bred them. In all honestly again I could've put in Cresselia and Thundurus over Durant and Tornadus, unfortunately I did not ask any RNGers to get one for me :(

--
Saturday- Pre-game
I had an art class on Saturday in the city, so I decided after it to hang out for a few hours at the TCG tournament, and to get a good feel of my surroundings. I got TONS of Streetpass (I think like 40 or so :O), and I got to meet Cybertron, Babbytron and Sapphire Birch, they're all really really nice people. During the games I faced these two guys on the sidelines who apparently hated Cybertron and Team Seniors, and when I went back to Mr. Zheng he just said:
"Dude, I'm only 14"

After that, I headed home, and got some early sleep for THE NEXT DAY BABEH.

--
SUNDAY- DAY OF THE TOURNAMENT

So since my body was soooooo hype for this, I couldn't get ANY sleep. Seriously, every two hours my body got me up until I just said "Screw it" and got up at 5 in the morning. I then had to wait two more hours until I could walk to the station, and it STARTED RAINING D:

(Can't really see it there but it was WET)

Here's my face, freshly-showered before I headed out:

Train arrived at 7:53, took me about 25 minutes to rest at the Market East station, then I got to the Convention Center directly from there at about 8:25.

This is me the second I got in line, the Master line had just started I think:

The aformentioned line, with me and my Munchlax waiting:

Girl cosplaying Dawn, got to talk with her later:

MY BOY Drifblim, in the Seniors line (awesome hat btw):

A shot of the line by the window:

Got in line with these two (Omar Left, Terrick Clark Right), I told them that they could use non-Unova Pokemon, and they were SHOCKED yo. I then drill-serganted them a good team, gave them good moves for their pre-existing Pokes and items, and probably saved them a bit from some embarrasment on the battlefield.

Best thing I saw all day: guy in a Diglett costume started walking around. Everyone loved him:

The start of the line (Guy in the green Unown shirt was Civ, I found out later when I faced him at R3):

Shot from out the window:

THIS is how big the Master line was. Damn, I think there was like 400+ of us D:

My armband, I was in the green section:

'cause I thought we wouldn't get a lunch break, me, Omar, and Terrick decided to go get some Popeyes.
LOOK AT HOW GOOD THAT SLAM BASKET IS

And this is the basket after me and Munchlax. Spicy, it was.

Had to take a pic I got of InfiniteParalysis, he had SWAGGIN necklaces:

Beautiful shot out the other window:

I think Munchlax agrees:

Kinda dark image but this guy had the third-best costume I saw all day as a Rocket Grunt:

Decided to get a nice profile image of me in front of the Tyranitar. I was wearing a Girlchan shirt, I was surprised at how many people recognized it:

'Cause those Seniors were taking so long with their teams of Stunfisk and Dig Umbreons (yes, I saw a match like that), we had to wait an extra THREE HOURS until we started playing. So we did get a lunch break after all :/

Three hours of chit-chatting with people later, we formed a line, for...no reason:

FINALLY, the list goes up. Mass chaos and rushing in line ensues:

(I'm Ryan Gadea btw)NUMBER 69 BABEH:

Finally, some dudes from Smogon before I started playing. From left to right: StormFront, Solace, The Gr8, and the last one still unknown.

With a ton more confusion from the staff, we FINALLY start playing... not before I go to the wrong side of the room D:

--
Well, here's what you've been wanting to see: the matches.

ROUND 1: Guy from Smogon

He leads with I think ZapTop, I go with Infernape and Durant. He had a standard VGC goodstuff team. It was a really close game, but even with his Hitmontop getting paralyzed 3 TIMES IN A ROW and me outlasting his Trick Room, I fall 0-1. Really GG.
0-1 record

ROUND 2: Me vs. Servah

...just watch it here:
88-74443-63546
I get off FOUR Rock Slide flinches and put the burn on his Metagross. I felt bad for all that haxs, but overall GG.
1-1 record

ROUND 3: Me vs. Civ

When I start to realize my Pokemon weren't perfectly IV'd. I loose a speed tie with my Durant to his Terrakion, but I was able to KO his Latios. Another standard team, the third so far that fell to Zapdos' wrath. And that was the last standard team I saw all day... still GG though.
1-2 record

ROUND 4

This guy was obviously new to the game, using a Floatzel and Inner Focus Dragonite, and asking mid-match if Porygon2 has Levitate. Easy victory, still GG for a newer player.
2-2 record

ROUND 5

This match.

This match is what I think ruined my entire day.

We're both 3-3, third turn. His Jolly Dragonite and my Chomp protect, no speed was lost at all, no Tailwind, and the Dragonite could not obviously be scarfed. I outspeed Jolly Dnite by over 20 points, easily.

So guess what happens next turn...

HE OUTSPEEDS MY GARCHOMP WITH A DRAGON CLAW AND KOS ME

After the match, I head over to Cybertron and some others and we run the calcs, seeing it was impossible for that to happen. He says I should try to call for hacks, so I do.

Both me and my former opponent go up to some 50 or 60-ish guy who obviously doesn't understand VGC and puts our carts in the Pokecheck, sees we're both clean, and tells us to go play next round.

2-3

I. Was. Pissed.

(I actually find out later that the Dragonite was 100% legit, but I was more pissed with the hack checking job in general, I felt like I at least should've had a rematch or something)

ROUND 6: This obnoxious kid

Seeing with what happened last round, this kid's stupid battle phrases and "taunts" just made me wanna shove my 3DS in his mouth. He ends up winning by outstalling my team with a non-Trick Room Dusclops (???????) and an Umbreon. I probably could've won that, but my frustration over last match was just too high.

2-4

Even though you can't see it in my face, I angry:

Round 7:

Paired against a guy with an Evire, Thundurus, Mienshao, and the Birthday Togekiss. I know his team isn't at all EVed cause his Kiss' Aura Sphere does 15% on my Porygon2. I sweep his entire team.
3-4

So the final rankings come up.

3-4, at 74th place :/

I felt like with the bad way that hey handled the 5th round controversey, I probably could've gotten into the Top 64.

So with the announcer lady pissed off at us she says, "Alright, if you aren't in the Top 4, come again next year.", basically saying "If you lost, GTFO and go eff yourselves."

Since I missed the latest train, I stick around to watch the top 8 with Cyber, Birchy, Babbytron, and a bunch of others from Smogon. I was glad to see that 6 out of 8 of them were Smogonites, but just everything was...anticlimactic, with the staff cleaning up and nearly everyone gone. In between the Top 4, after seeing kindergang roast another soul, I decided to head out, saying bye to all of them.

Mr. Sapphire Birch gave me some of the best going-away advice ever:

"Hey, don't say that about yourself. I was terrible two years ago but look at me now."

At the time I was disappointed with my losses and the hacks, but when I look back to this, getting 74th place in the hardest VGC ever (as said by most of the Smogonites there) in a group of over 400 people isn't really that bad. Sure, I did have improvements to do, but it was worth my time.

CONS:
-Bad management
-Final rankings for Swiss were run on both your and your opponent's win-percentage, which was really balls.
-Everything was anticlimactic, again. No music, no TVs, no announcer, no side events. Sure, the VGC doesn't get any funding near the level of TCG, but this was just piss-poor.
-The judge had no idea what he was doing.
-Waiting for four hours after registration was torture.
-That Round 6 jerkhole.
-My Pokes not being perfect this year, I need to ask for RNGer's help next year. It's impossible for me to perfectly hand-breed myself.
-I was massively Zapdos weak, I found that out the hard way.

PROS:
-If they improve the Swiss method a bit more next year, I would love it. I really didn't like the single-elimination style of last year, but the Swiss method has potential to be awesome. It's not there yet, though.
-Getting to meet all the awesome people from Smogon. Seriously, you guys are some of the nicest people on planet Earth. Socializing with my two friends I made and other Pokefans was also fun, it was the only place in the world where I could talk about EVs and IVs and not look like a total weirdo.
-Finally, and again the best part, DAT DIGLETT

--
I probably can't make it to Nationals this year due to how far away it is, so this is probably the end of my VGC 2011 season. It was fun while it lasted and well worth my time and if they heed to improve it next year, I'll definitely do it again.

Lucien Lachance · Apr 16th, 2012, 5:36:30 PM

For your first year at the toughest regional this year, I'd say you did pretty well! Just don't get discouraged and keep playing and you'll do better next year!

DeepSpeed · Apr 16th, 2012, 5:53:29 PM

Don't worry about it man, things like that happen all the time. It's the nature of the game, don't get discouraged.

Chilebowl · Apr 16th, 2012, 6:13:02 PM

Sorry to hear about the hacker, that must have really sucked =/
I didn't get to meet you but i probably saw you in-between rounds. Don't worry next time you'll probably do a lot better and 74th isn't that bad considering how huge this regional was with all the tough competition!

Dozz · Apr 16th, 2012, 8:19:12 PM

Ah, cheers for NNing your Durant after me! Props for using it, I fear the ant still doesn't get enough credit :(

Don't get put off though! Keep at it, even after sundays results. Nice warstory to read as well

Cybertron · Apr 16th, 2012, 8:29:23 PM

still loling about this "During the games I faced these two guys on the sidelines who apparently hated Cybertron and Team Seniors," I'd really like to know whether these guys are on Smogon or not

great meeting you though!

The Knights of Wario Land · Apr 16th, 2012, 9:20:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat Cybertron

still loling about this "During the games I faced these two guys on the sidelines who apparently hated Cybertron and Team Seniors," I'd really like to know whether these guys are on Smogon or not

great meeting you though!

They were SkarmBliss guys I believe.

Thanks, you too :D

Sapphire Birch · Apr 16th, 2012, 9:38:54 PM

Yeah don't sell yourself short. There is always room for improvement. Everyone starts somewhere you just have to keep practicing and improving. If you need help with things don't hesistate to ask. Myself and others are always willing to help. :) hopefully we'll see eachother gain next year(or even at nats if you can find a way to get there)

CalzoneCannon · Apr 16th, 2012, 9:43:50 PM

You guys shouldve pushed diglet over and looked at his feeties. ;)

CalzoneCannon · Apr 16th, 2012, 9:45:19 PM

Also remember this, you atleast did not get OHKO hax in a match that mattered very much to the whole tourney because the kid got lucky with one of the worst teams EVAR!
I think you did well and were lucky to have even gone.

ncsbert · Apr 16th, 2012, 10:12:35 PM

Keep your head up man, you'll do better next year.

I think one of the biggest changes this year was the fact that instead of one main team from TPCi being there to do hack checking, it was all up to the coordinators for each event, and it was totally new to them. They had the tools, but it does sound like you might have gotten shafted here.

I do want to say one thing about your criticism of the swiss format rankings though. The ranking is sorted descending by W/L record, then opponents' win % (basically same as the first category, just more precise) and finally by opponents' opponents' win %. It has to be that way; it's really the only thing that makes any sense. It does kinda suck when you see yourself ranked lower than other players with the same record, and you have zero control over how well the opponents you get matched with will do overall, but the whole system is designed to systematically sort the stronger players up to the top so they can be paired up against each other. The reality is that a round 2 loss in swiss format is far more likely to have a larger negative impact on your ranking than a loss in round 6 would. That's just the way the numbers are.

Either way, good luck next time. Stick with it!

Drifblim · Apr 16th, 2012, 10:13:37 PM

Interesting warstory. A decent run for your first time, sounds a lot like my 2011 experience. Then, I had semi-meh Iv'd Pokes, and a big ol' weakness to Amoonguss. Thanks a ton for being willing to trade, and finding me! Had Garchompzilla not done it you would have been the one to help. In that pic you have of me, the kinda old dude nearby is my father, man to design the Drifloon hat!

arbitraryletters · Apr 16th, 2012, 11:21:54 PM

Fun Fact: I'm Sam Taylor. We both shared #69. I'm sorry you got screwed over by a hacker.

*Edit* When I first wrote this, I thought that there was indeed a case of an unchecked hacker. Later on in this thread, the accused showed up to state their case. This edit is serving as an apology to the one hacking, because I should wait to hear both sides before stating an opinion. Carry on, folks.

TheGr8 · Apr 16th, 2012, 11:31:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat The Knights of Wario Land

Finally, some dudes from Smogon before I started playing. If you know who they are, I would like to know, 'cause I'm REALLY bad with names D:

From left to right: StormFront,Solace, myself TheGr8

It was nice to meet you though and like Birch said we are all here to help if you ever need it!

InfiniteParalysis · Apr 16th, 2012, 11:44:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat The Knights of Wario Land

Had to take a pic of this kid. I forget his name but he had SWAGGIN necklaces:

lol theres me posin' awkward for the camera.

Sucks about your losses and Dnite hax, and sorry for not talking to you much during the event. Hope to see you at Nats if you attend, I'll definitely say hi there!

**Ninahaza** · Apr 17th, 2012, 2:54:04 AM

you may not have done so well but from the pictures (and i love the pictures by the way) it looks like you had a fun weekend anyways :)

also You met Solace? God i am so jealous right now, you should see my face

come to worlds Solace. do it SOLANCCEEEEEEEEE!

Cassi · Apr 17th, 2012, 5:08:29 AM

I find this very interesting, even if it was shaky with that alleged hacker round!

Seeing how both Dragonite and Garchomp protected that same turn, if Dragonite protected first, it has a chance of being solidly faster. If Garchomp protected first, the two were speed tied. May I ask for curiosity's sake?

Granted, the only way for a Jolly Garchomp to be slower/speed tied is if it was also improperly speed EV invested.

Unfortunately, knowing how the checkers work, one of the first things it checks is for impossible stats. If this Dragonite was indeed impossibly fast, the fact that it got by two checks (one from registration) is nothing short but a miracle. In which case, that is... the worst luck in the world.

I'd suggest throwing a jolly Nomp into team builder in PO and matching it to your Garchomp's current level and giving it the EVs you think it should have, and comparing the stats. At least for some closure!

The Knights of Wario Land · Apr 17th, 2012, 5:57:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat Drifblim

Interesting warstory. A decent run for your first time, sounds a lot like my 2011 experience. Then, I had semi-meh Iv'd Pokes, and a big ol' weakness to Amoonguss. Thanks a ton for being willing to trade, and finding me! Had Garchompzilla not done it you would have been the one to help. In that pic you have of me, the kinda old dude nearby is my father, man to design the Drifloon hat!

Wow, your dad designed that? That's really generous of him! :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat arbitraryletters

Fun Fact: I'm Sam Taylor. We both shared #69. I'm sorry you got screwed over by a hacker.

Aaah so you're Sam Taylor.

TrollFreak · Apr 17th, 2012, 11:37:25 AM

The Diglett guy is just amazing (sounds like something I would do :P)

Anywho, sorry for how the actual event turned out, but it sounds like you had fun

Civ · Apr 17th, 2012, 1:35:51 PM

I was the "guy in the green shirt" that played you round 3. That durant you had really surprised me. I had some luck on my side the entire tourny until I made it to top 8 and had to play Wolfey. That match could have used some hax by me but sadly I didn't have any. See you next year!

The Knights of Wario Land · Apr 17th, 2012, 2:10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat Civ

I was the "guy in the green shirt" that played you round 3. That durant you had really surprised me. I had some luck on my side the entire tourny until I made it to top 8 and had to play Wolfey. That match could have used some hax by me but sadly I didn't have any. See you next year!

Oh wow, you went Top 8? I didn't recognize that was you Civ! D:

Yeah that Durant takes a lot of people by surprise, that match was a bit lucky too with Rock Slide missing that one turn I think.

If I can, I'll make sure to make it next year yes :)

Civ · Apr 17th, 2012, 11:48:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fat The Knights of Wario Land

Oh wow, you went Top 8? I didn't recognize that was you Civ! D:

Yeah that Durant takes a lot of people by surprise, that match was a bit lucky too with Rock Slide missing that one turn I think.

If I can, I'll make sure to make it next year yes :)

Yeah its me :P (also known by some as the guy with the PWND unown shirt).

**Expert Evan** · Apr 18th, 2012, 7:55:16 AM

Don't recall if we met or not though you got some great pictures and made a great effort as well. Cheers.

Fitzy · Apr 19th, 2012, 8:11:07 PM

Hey Ryan, its me. The round 5 guy. There is obviously something wrong with your Garchomp because my Dragonite has exactly 145 speed at level 50 with a jolly nature. Perfect EVs and IVs. The reason I got past the hacking check was because I wasn't hacking. Besides, if you rewatch the video, even if your garchomp had gone first, my Dragonite still had it's multiscale active. So your dragon claw would not have killed it and then dragonite would have gone and done in your garchomp. Simply put, if your garchomps' speed was 999, it still would have gone down. The battle would not have been altered. You still lost. With a metagross still in my party after that hadn't even been damaged with an attack stat of 202 at level 50, it would have had no trouble taking down your Porygon2 and your milotic with help from my vaporeon. You saw my metagross 2HKO your Porygon2 even after it traced multiscale so I wouldn't be complaining.

YataKazooie · Apr 19th, 2012, 9:06:52 PM

hey ryan its the guy from round 5's friend, just want to let you know, that dragonite's 100% legal,im sure of that, we were as baffled as you were about how it outsped that garchomp, so stop saying he hacked.

Apr 16th, 2012, 5:18:47 PM	#1
The Knights of Wario Land Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 818 Philadelphia	Tale of Frustration: A Philadelphia Masters Warstory Hey, it's Ryan G, aka The Knights of Wario Land, and here's my warstory from the Spring VGC Philly Nationals. A bit of history about myself and VGC: I started playing it at the Newark regional last year. I lost. Bad. I had EV'd and IV'd almost none of my Pokes, just thinking that having their natures right was the only thing that mattered. So, seeing as I wanted to majorly improve, I started preparing ever since Smogon announced the dates last September. I was originally going to run a Trick Room team, but I realized after playing a lot with it, I could never get the last slot right and it was just really boring to use. Discouraged, I decided then to hand-raise a goodstuff team. Here it is, and how they all did: ... Apu (Tornadus) @ Flying Gem Ability: Prankster Nature: Quiet (That was the best I could get, when I tried to RNG it wouldn't give me any other nature than that. Its IVs were good anyways) EVs: 4 HP / 252 Attk / 252 Spe -Acrobatics -Tailwind -Taunt -Protect Tornadus was meant to be my main utility Pokemon, able to set up Taunt and Tailwind well. However, he really didn't do much seeing as I faced so many Terrakion and Zapdos, I think Thundurus would've done a bit better. Chomper V2 (Garchomp) @ Yache Berry Ability: Sand Veil Nature: Jolly EVs: 4 HP / 252 Attk / 252 Spe (The Speed issue will come into play later) -Dragon Claw -Earthquake -Rock Slide -Protect This was a well-trained one and he saved my butt Round 2 with a later-mentioned hax fest, but also fell victim to what crap happened Round 5. Dozz (Durant) @ Focus Sash (Shoutout to Mr. Durant man himself Dozz) Ability: Jolly Nature: Hustle EVs:4 HP / 252 Attk / 252 Spe -Hone Claws -Iron Head -X-Scissor -Rock Slide I tried to go for a Durant sweep this year, but unfortunately it only scored some rare KOs. I probably should've just went with Scizor this year, being ballsy is only for people who are really really good. Swirlicus (Milotic) @ Sitrus Berry Ability: Marvel Scale Nature: Bold EVs: 4 HP / 252 Sp. Attk / 252 Sp. Def -Scald -Ice Beam -Recover -Protect One of my stars mostly 'cause she was a tank of epic proportions. I was really glad I brought her along, she scored a lot of haxs also. Rafiki (Infernape) @ Life Orb Ability: Blaze Nature: Hasty EVs: 140 Attk / 116 Sp. A / 252 Spe -Fake-Out -Close Combat -Overheat -Protect He was meant to be my Fake Out lead, but unfortunately I should've run a Naive instead of Hasty nature, he could've lived one of the physical moves that hit it. TROLLygon2 (Porygon2) @Eviolite Ability: Trace Nature: Bold EVs: 252 HP/4 Def/ 252 Sp.A -Thunder Wave -Thunderbolt -Ice Beam -Protect The star of the show, and also the last one I raised, it was able to tank SO MANY hits and take most Trick Room teams by surprised. Most people were surprised that it wasn't running Trick Room, and it did better that way. Nice show, I might bring you along next year. The problem with all of them is that I don't think they were "absolutely perfect", they were "close to perfect" 'cause I hand-bred them. In all honestly again I could've put in Cresselia and Thundurus over Durant and Tornadus, unfortunately I did not ask any RNGers to get one for me :( -- Saturday- Pre-game I had an art class on Saturday in the city, so I decided after it to hang out for a few hours at the TCG tournament, and to get a good feel of my surroundings. I got TONS of Streetpass (I think like 40 or so :O), and I got to meet Cybertron, Babbytron and Sapphire Birch, they're all really really nice people. During the games I faced these two guys on the sidelines who apparently hated Cybertron and Team Seniors, and when I went back to Mr. Zheng he just said: "Dude, I'm only 14" After that, I headed home, and got some early sleep for THE NEXT DAY BABEH. -- SUNDAY- DAY OF THE TOURNAMENT So since my body was soooooo hype for this, I couldn't get ANY sleep. Seriously, every two hours my body got me up until I just said "Screw it" and got up at 5 in the morning. I then had to wait two more hours until I could walk to the station, and it STARTED RAINING D: (Can't really see it there but it was WET) Here's my face, freshly-showered before I headed out: Train arrived at 7:53, took me about 25 minutes to rest at the Market East station, then I got to the Convention Center directly from there at about 8:25. This is me the second I got in line, the Master line had just started I think: The aformentioned line, with me and my Munchlax waiting: Girl cosplaying Dawn, got to talk with her later: MY BOY Drifblim, in the Seniors line (awesome hat btw): A shot of the line by the window: Got in line with these two (Omar Left, Terrick Clark Right), I told them that they could use non-Unova Pokemon, and they were SHOCKED yo. I then drill-serganted them a good team, gave them good moves for their pre-existing Pokes and items, and probably saved them a bit from some embarrasment on the battlefield. Best thing I saw all day: guy in a Diglett costume started walking around. Everyone loved him: The start of the line (Guy in the green Unown shirt was Civ, I found out later when I faced him at R3): Shot from out the window: THIS is how big the Master line was. Damn, I think there was like 400+ of us D: My armband, I was in the green section: 'cause I thought we wouldn't get a lunch break, me, Omar, and Terrick decided to go get some Popeyes. LOOK AT HOW GOOD THAT SLAM BASKET IS And this is the basket after me and Munchlax. Spicy, it was. Had to take a pic I got of InfiniteParalysis, he had SWAGGIN necklaces: Beautiful shot out the other window: I think Munchlax agrees: Kinda dark image but this guy had the third-best costume I saw all day as a Rocket Grunt: Decided to get a nice profile image of me in front of the Tyranitar. I was wearing a Girlchan shirt, I was surprised at how many people recognized it: 'Cause those Seniors were taking so long with their teams of Stunfisk and Dig Umbreons (yes, I saw a match like that), we had to wait an extra THREE HOURS until we started playing. So we did get a lunch break after all :/ Three hours of chit-chatting with people later, we formed a line, for...no reason: FINALLY, the list goes up. Mass chaos and rushing in line ensues: (I'm Ryan Gadea btw)NUMBER 69 BABEH: Finally, some dudes from Smogon before I started playing. From left to right: StormFront, Solace, The Gr8, and the last one still unknown. With a ton more confusion from the staff, we FINALLY start playing... not before I go to the wrong side of the room D: -- Well, here's what you've been wanting to see: the matches. ROUND 1: Guy from Smogon He leads with I think ZapTop, I go with Infernape and Durant. He had a standard VGC goodstuff team. It was a really close game, but even with his Hitmontop getting paralyzed 3 TIMES IN A ROW and me outlasting his Trick Room, I fall 0-1. Really GG. 0-1 record ROUND 2: Me vs. Servah ...just watch it here: 88-74443-63546 I get off FOUR Rock Slide flinches and put the burn on his Metagross. I felt bad for all that haxs, but overall GG. 1-1 record ROUND 3: Me vs. Civ When I start to realize my Pokemon weren't perfectly IV'd. I loose a speed tie with my Durant to his Terrakion, but I was able to KO his Latios. Another standard team, the third so far that fell to Zapdos' wrath. And that was the last standard team I saw all day... still GG though. 1-2 record ROUND 4 This guy was obviously new to the game, using a Floatzel and Inner Focus Dragonite, and asking mid-match if Porygon2 has Levitate. Easy victory, still GG for a newer player. 2-2 record ROUND 5 This match. This match is what I think ruined my entire day. We're both 3-3, third turn. His Jolly Dragonite and my Chomp protect, no speed was lost at all, no Tailwind, and the Dragonite could not obviously be scarfed. I outspeed Jolly Dnite by over 20 points, easily. So guess what happens next turn... HE OUTSPEEDS MY GARCHOMP WITH A DRAGON CLAW AND KOS ME After the match, I head over to Cybertron and some others and we run the calcs, seeing it was impossible for that to happen. He says I should try to call for hacks, so I do. Both me and my former opponent go up to some 50 or 60-ish guy who obviously doesn't understand VGC and puts our carts in the Pokecheck, sees we're both clean, and tells us to go play next round. 2-3 I. Was. Pissed. (I actually find out later that the Dragonite was 100% legit, but I was more pissed with the hack checking job in general, I felt like I at least should've had a rematch or something) ROUND 6: This obnoxious kid Seeing with what happened last round, this kid's stupid battle phrases and "taunts" just made me wanna shove my 3DS in his mouth. He ends up winning by outstalling my team with a non-Trick Room Dusclops (???????) and an Umbreon. I probably could've won that, but my frustration over last match was just too high. 2-4 Even though you can't see it in my face, I angry: Round 7: Paired against a guy with an Evire, Thundurus, Mienshao, and the Birthday Togekiss. I know his team isn't at all EVed cause his Kiss' Aura Sphere does 15% on my Porygon2. I sweep his entire team. 3-4 So the final rankings come up. 3-4, at 74th place :/ I felt like with the bad way that hey handled the 5th round controversey, I probably could've gotten into the Top 64. So with the announcer lady pissed off at us she says, "Alright, if you aren't in the Top 4, come again next year.", basically saying "If you lost, GTFO and go eff yourselves." Since I missed the latest train, I stick around to watch the top 8 with Cyber, Birchy, Babbytron, and a bunch of others from Smogon. I was glad to see that 6 out of 8 of them were Smogonites, but just everything was...anticlimactic, with the staff cleaning up and nearly everyone gone. In between the Top 4, after seeing kindergang roast another soul, I decided to head out, saying bye to all of them. Mr. Sapphire Birch gave me some of the best going-away advice ever: "Hey, don't say that about yourself. I was terrible two years ago but look at me now." At the time I was disappointed with my losses and the hacks, but when I look back to this, getting 74th place in the hardest VGC ever (as said by most of the Smogonites there) in a group of over 400 people isn't really that bad. Sure, I did have improvements to do, but it was worth my time. CONS: -Bad management -Final rankings for Swiss were run on both your and your opponent's win-percentage, which was really balls. -Everything was anticlimactic, again. No music, no TVs, no announcer, no side events. Sure, the VGC doesn't get any funding near the level of TCG, but this was just piss-poor. -The judge had no idea what he was doing. -Waiting for four hours after registration was torture. -That Round 6 jerkhole. -My Pokes not being perfect this year, I need to ask for RNGer's help next year. It's impossible for me to perfectly hand-breed myself. -I was massively Zapdos weak, I found that out the hard way. PROS: -If they improve the Swiss method a bit more next year, I would love it. I really didn't like the single-elimination style of last year, but the Swiss method has potential to be awesome. It's not there yet, though. -Getting to meet all the awesome people from Smogon. Seriously, you guys are some of the nicest people on planet Earth. Socializing with my two friends I made and other Pokefans was also fun, it was the only place in the world where I could talk about EVs and IVs and not look like a total weirdo. -Finally, and again the best part, DAT DIGLETT -- I probably can't make it to Nationals this year due to how far away it is, so this is probably the end of my VGC 2011 season. It was fun while it lasted and well worth my time and if they heed to improve it next year, I'll definitely do it again. __________________ Newark VGC 2011: First round loss Philadelphia VGC 2012: 3-4 74th place Philadelphia VGC 2013: 5-3 29th place Art Thread Last edited by The Knights of Wario Land; Apr 20th, 2012 at 4:18:25 PM.

Apr 16th, 2012, 5:36:30 PM	#2
Lucien Lachance Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 669 HIAL UNREALCOMMIE!!!!1	For your first year at the toughest regional this year, I'd say you did pretty well! Just don't get discouraged and keep playing and you'll do better next year! __________________ Aaron Traylor (Unreality) is in a relationship with Jenny Berman (Solace). <Unreality> like i just ooze asexuality or something <JRank> guys more people from smogon posted on fb than irl people <JRank> like a lot more <JRank> what does that say about me

Apr 16th, 2012, 5:53:29 PM	#3
DeepSpeed Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 65 Bay Area	Don't worry about it man, things like that happen all the time. It's the nature of the game, don't get discouraged. __________________ When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose. - Bob Dylan

Apr 16th, 2012, 6:13:02 PM	#4
Chilebowl Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 127 New York City	Sorry to hear about the hacker, that must have really sucked =/ I didn't get to meet you but i probably saw you in-between rounds. Don't worry next time you'll probably do a lot better and 74th isn't that bad considering how huge this regional was with all the tough competition! __________________ Philly VGC Spring 2012 5th place Newark VGC 2011 Participant Newark VGC 2010 Top 32 Philly VGC 2009 Participant NYC VGS 2008 Participant

Apr 16th, 2012, 8:19:12 PM	#5
Dozz Has anyone in this family ever seen a chicken? Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 523 England	Ah, cheers for NNing your Durant after me! Props for using it, I fear the ant still doesn't get enough credit :( Don't get put off though! Keep at it, even after sundays results. Nice warstory to read as well __________________

Apr 16th, 2012, 8:29:23 PM	#6
Cybertron Stay classy. Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 2,922	still loling about this "During the games I faced these two guys on the sidelines who apparently hated Cybertron and Team Seniors," I'd really like to know whether these guys are on Smogon or not great meeting you though!

Apr 16th, 2012, 9:38:54 PM	#8
Sapphire Birch Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 333 Chode Island	Yeah don't sell yourself short. There is always room for improvement. Everyone starts somewhere you just have to keep practicing and improving. If you need help with things don't hesistate to ask. Myself and others are always willing to help. :) hopefully we'll see eachother gain next year(or even at nats if you can find a way to get there) __________________ <3Csmugs. One of New York's finest and cutest Chodesmugglers. 2011 Newark VGC top 16. 2012 northeast philly VGC 14th place

Apr 16th, 2012, 9:43:50 PM	#9
CalzoneCannon Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 80 Virginia	You guys shouldve pushed diglet over and looked at his feeties. ;)

Apr 16th, 2012, 9:45:19 PM	#10
CalzoneCannon Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 80 Virginia	Also remember this, you atleast did not get OHKO hax in a match that mattered very much to the whole tourney because the kid got lucky with one of the worst teams EVAR! I think you did well and were lucky to have even gone.

Apr 16th, 2012, 10:12:35 PM	#11
ncsbert Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 232 GA	Keep your head up man, you'll do better next year. I think one of the biggest changes this year was the fact that instead of one main team from TPCi being there to do hack checking, it was all up to the coordinators for each event, and it was totally new to them. They had the tools, but it does sound like you might have gotten shafted here. I do want to say one thing about your criticism of the swiss format rankings though. The ranking is sorted descending by W/L record, then opponents' win % (basically same as the first category, just more precise) and finally by opponents' opponents' win %. It has to be that way; it's really the only thing that makes any sense. It does kinda suck when you see yourself ranked lower than other players with the same record, and you have zero control over how well the opponents you get matched with will do overall, but the whole system is designed to systematically sort the stronger players up to the top so they can be paired up against each other. The reality is that a round 2 loss in swiss format is far more likely to have a larger negative impact on your ranking than a loss in round 6 would. That's just the way the numbers are. Either way, good luck next time. Stick with it!

Apr 16th, 2012, 10:13:37 PM	#12
Drifblim Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 549 Brooklyn	Interesting warstory. A decent run for your first time, sounds a lot like my 2011 experience. Then, I had semi-meh Iv'd Pokes, and a big ol' weakness to Amoonguss. Thanks a ton for being willing to trade, and finding me! Had Garchompzilla not done it you would have been the one to help. In that pic you have of me, the kinda old dude nearby is my father, man to design the Drifloon hat!

Apr 16th, 2012, 11:21:54 PM	#13
arbitraryletters Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 12 Port Jervis	Fun Fact: I'm Sam Taylor. We both shared #69. I'm sorry you got screwed over by a hacker. Edit When I first wrote this, I thought that there was indeed a case of an unchecked hacker. Later on in this thread, the accused showed up to state their case. This edit is serving as an apology to the one hacking, because I should wait to hear both sides before stating an opinion. Carry on, folks. Last edited by arbitraryletters; Apr 21st, 2012 at 1:13:35 AM.

Apr 17th, 2012, 2:54:04 AM	#16
Ninahaza You'll always be a part of me Moderator Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 1,253 And I'm part of you indefinitely	you may not have done so well but from the pictures (and i love the pictures by the way) it looks like you had a fun weekend anyways :) also You met Solace? God i am so jealous right now, you should see my face come to worlds Solace. do it SOLANCCEEEEEEEEE! __________________ ~ Always Be My Baby ~

Apr 17th, 2012, 5:08:29 AM	#17
Cassi Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 3 Massachusetts	I find this very interesting, even if it was shaky with that alleged hacker round! Seeing how both Dragonite and Garchomp protected that same turn, if Dragonite protected first, it has a chance of being solidly faster. If Garchomp protected first, the two were speed tied. May I ask for curiosity's sake? Granted, the only way for a Jolly Garchomp to be slower/speed tied is if it was also improperly speed EV invested. Unfortunately, knowing how the checkers work, one of the first things it checks is for impossible stats. If this Dragonite was indeed impossibly fast, the fact that it got by two checks (one from registration) is nothing short but a miracle. In which case, that is... the worst luck in the world. I'd suggest throwing a jolly Nomp into team builder in PO and matching it to your Garchomp's current level and giving it the EVs you think it should have, and comparing the stats. At least for some closure!

Apr 17th, 2012, 11:37:25 AM	#19
TrollFreak (╮°-°)╮┳━┳ (╯°□°)╯ ┻━┻ Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 1,249 New York born, New York proud	The Diglett guy is just amazing (sounds like something I would do :P) Anywho, sorry for how the actual event turned out, but it sounds like you had fun __________________ Work Ever wanted to contribute to Smogon? Visit the Contributions and Corrections forum! ~SNOVERS~

Apr 17th, 2012, 1:35:51 PM	#20
Civ Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 13	I was the "guy in the green shirt" that played you round 3. That durant you had really surprised me. I had some luck on my side the entire tourny until I made it to top 8 and had to play Wolfey. That match could have used some hax by me but sadly I didn't have any. See you next year! __________________ Top 8 Philly VGC Regionals Masters 2012 with Goodstuffs

Apr 18th, 2012, 7:55:16 AM	#23
Expert Evan every battle has a smell! Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 3,791 Southwestern Connecticut	Don't recall if we met or not though you got some great pictures and made a great effort as well. Cheers. __________________ EE's Official trade thread: G.O.A.T. EE - Mark 2 4th gen trade = 4383-6929-7278 \| 5th gen trade = 2493-9641-2031 \| 5th gen battle = 4126-7225-2545 Also be sure to join #smogonwifi on IRC for faster communication If you want to be cool, read and obey the rules especially the ones for WiFi.

Apr 19th, 2012, 8:11:07 PM	#24
Fitzy Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 3 Fitzpatrick	Dragonite Hey Ryan, its me. The round 5 guy. There is obviously something wrong with your Garchomp because my Dragonite has exactly 145 speed at level 50 with a jolly nature. Perfect EVs and IVs. The reason I got past the hacking check was because I wasn't hacking. Besides, if you rewatch the video, even if your garchomp had gone first, my Dragonite still had it's multiscale active. So your dragon claw would not have killed it and then dragonite would have gone and done in your garchomp. Simply put, if your garchomps' speed was 999, it still would have gone down. The battle would not have been altered. You still lost. With a metagross still in my party after that hadn't even been damaged with an attack stat of 202 at level 50, it would have had no trouble taking down your Porygon2 and your milotic with help from my vaporeon. You saw my metagross 2HKO your Porygon2 even after it traced multiscale so I wouldn't be complaining.

Apr 19th, 2012, 9:06:52 PM	#25
YataKazooie Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 1	hey ryan its the guy from round 5's friend, just want to let you know, that dragonite's 100% legal,im sure of that, we were as baffled as you were about how it outsped that garchomp, so stop saying he hacked.