Pokémon Black 2 Giveaway Contest

[Ekaru]

Once upon a time there was a shiny Pikachu. It was living an innocent life in Viridian Forest. However, one day it was hunting Caterpie when a trainer appeared.

The trainer was clearly a madman. "AT LAST, I WILL MAKE ASH LOOK LIKE A LOSER!" the trainer exclaimed. He started viciously chucking pokeballs at poor Pikachu. When will this hell end? the Pikachu thought. Eventually it went, "Screw it," and let itself be caught.

"YES!" the trainer yelled, "Ash's Pikachu is a loser compared to mine!"

Then the shiny Pichu event came and the trainer shot himself, freeing poor Pikachu.

[Ness21]

My absolute best experience has got to be when I managed to get Darkrai! I had originally heard of the movie coming out, alongside the Eigakan Darkrai Event, and I just fell in love with the darn thing! xD

I spent an entire summer trying to find someone to trade it. Due to searching for someone to trade, I noticed most people would only do so for Events, so that's how I slowly started my Event collection. Then when I actually got that blessed Darkrai, not only was I absolutely ecstatic, he also became my first ever EV Trained Pokémon!

[LordPenguinFan]

A drop of sweat rolled down my brow furrowed in concentration. I had just gotten back into competitive battling after a two year hiatus. It was an entry hazard team vs a Trick Room competitor. I predicted a key switch and roasted a levitating Bronzong with a Fire Blast getting rid of the last trick-roomer. Best decision I made because I am now a proud contributor to smogon and a battler again. I have been playing pokemon since and the pain of having missed the black and white games was really felt. Please let it not be this time.

...

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[Seeaka]

Back on my first playthrough of Pokemon Diamond, I could not beat Cynthia, no matter how hard I tried. I went on vacation on Cape Cod, and my family went to see Bourne Ultimatum at a drive in. I really didn’t want to watch, so I played Diamond with the brightness on full because I had NO CLUE how to turn it down (everyone was pissed at me). And then, it happened. A complete sweep of Cynthia with my Infernape. I was overjoyed. My family wasn’t as thrilled as I, unfortunately. I was a little too loud in my celebration.

[Emceecracken]

It was August, 2007 and my Dad was taking me to Hawaii for the Pokemon WCTCG. I wasn't a contestant; My Dad's company was hired to set up the event and he brought me along. During the event, my Dad joked about me entering the last chance qualifier and winning the entire tournament. That didn't happen. But I ended up with something equally as good: The check awarded to the first place winner.

...

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Apparently they had left without it. I'm sure it's not the real check, and the real winner has his 7.5 grand. But my friends don't know that...

[Quanyails]

Competitive battling was just a fringe part of the Pokémon fandom, I once thought. The math behind the metagame deterred me away, as I couldn't comprehend it then. I had grown to understand stat calculation and exact effects of moves, but I still wondered how people become engrossed in this.

I had my revelation at an anime convention. College students organized a Pokémon tournament, and I and my friends could battle to win actual, high-quality badges. Sure, this event lacked the perfection expected on simulators, but I understood why competitive battling had its worth—and it was fun, too!

[Death Phenomeno]

I got Colosseum right when it came out, having been out of touch with Pokémon for some time, and without a GBA. After finishing the game, getting Ho-Oh was next. A misunderstanding made me believe that not only I had to go through 100 horrible battles, but also that I had to do it without ever saving. In spite of having continues, several battles were too much for my team, and I even thought that it was impossible. But when I finally did it, the word "joy" can't even describe it. I even cried.

[roflsplat]

It was Diamond and I had just been introduced to competitive battling. I started ev training my first pokemon. Like most kids I chose the most over-powered thing I could think of, which was garchomp, but I wanted to be different, so after defeating half the regions bidoofs, and dominating countless geodudes, I had done it, I had made a bulky, stealth rocking garchomp! Tears of pride went raining down my face as I stared at that ribbon… Needless to say he then immediately went uber… but it was worth it!

[Black Wing]

I first got a Pokemon game from my friend. It was Pokemon Red. My friend had gotten half-way through the game and deemed it "Boring", so she gave it to me. I started a new game and played all the way through it with just 1 main battling Pokemon: My starter, Charmander and it's evolutions. That was probably the most fun experiance I've had.

[Birkal*]

Alright, the contest is now over! The six judges that I mentioned in this post have now gathered and begun reading all your stories. We'll be going through each experience and choosing our winner as a group. You will see a post from me tonight again in this thread. If we have reached an agreement, I'll declare our winner and we'll get them their copy of Pokemon Black 2. If not, I will let you know that our judging will continue into tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone who participated! I hope you enjoyed these stories. Make sure to read them if you haven't already; they are a lot of fun.

[Birkal*]

Goodness, I'm sorry I didn't post last night. This was a lot of reading for all the judges; we spent multiple hours just sifting through all of them. We have not yet decided on a winner. Stay posted for tonight when we reveal the winner! Thank you for your patience.

[Birkal*]

The judges have reached their conclusion!

After two nights of sifting through every single story and discussing them, the judges and I have finally agreed upon a winner. The road to this point was filled with conversations, debates, and lots of thought. I hope you guys all enjoyed this contest as much as we did. There were some awesome stories out there, from the ones that touched our hearts to the ones that smacked our funny bones. Thank you all for participating in this joyful event. Without further delay, I'd like to present our champion...

And the winner is...

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Bintog!

Congratulations! We were all touched by your story and believe that it is truly inspiring. It featured the heartwarming relationship between a boy and his grandfather bonding over something as simple as a video game. The tale also talked about how Pokemon has the ability to transcend generations. Hopefully we can all have fond memories of Pokemon as we grow older and share the joyful experience of this franchise with those we meet. Thanks for sharing this gem of an experience, friend.

For those of you who missed it, check out the full story below:

Originally Posted by Fat Bintog

My grandpa used to love playing video games with me when I was a kid. He got sick one day and had to stay at the hospital for a long time. I thought that he must have been really bored so I gave him my blue GBC and red version to pass time. When he got out, he came back with two gifts for me; a silver GBC with a pikachu and pichu on it plus the new silver version. These two things are my most valued possessions to this day since they remind me of my grandpa.

As a prize, we're going to be sending Bintog a brand new copy of Pokemon Black 2 for his incredible tale. I want to thank each and every one of you that participated in this competition. It was truly an honor to host this; I hope we can have more events like this on Smogon in the future. Thanks for playing.

But wait, there's more! Since the judges and I had so much fun reading these stories, we each selected a personal favorite to share with you in this thread. Each judge will be posting one of the stories that really struck them in a memorable way. I hope you all enjoy as we reveal our personal selections~

[Oglemi*]

For my judge's honorable mention I choose VentusVictory's entry. The reason being that it really stuck with me personally, as I actually experienced almost the exact same thing my freshman year of college. I was so distraught my first couple nights while in the dorms, and I soon came to realize that college was a time to restart my life and that I would see my friends and family again. I never thought to relate it back to Pokemon, but it's really cool how you were able to do so. Thank you for your story and your entry!

Originally Posted by Fat VentusVictory

A few months ago, I was depressed about leaving behind my family and friends for college. The day before my flight, I stumbled upon the episode of Pokémon where Ash, Misty, and Brock separated on Youtube. The episode made me cry, but then I realized something. No matter where I would go, I’d always see my family and friends again, much like how Misty made cameos and Brock would return. These episodes were always the most special, much how reuniting with my loved ones would be. This touching Pokémon episode gave me the strength to leave home the next day.

[Zracknel*]

Stepping up to say that david stone's post is my personal runner-up:

I am a programmer. In a field where everywhere has a bachelor's or master's degree, I have an associate of arts degree (with a low GPA). My prior work experience is a $10 / hour job at a car / trunk rental company. I have no connections in the industry and only one source of experience to speak of.

That experience is writing Technical Machine, a program that plays Pokemon.

I now work at a great company and get paid to do something I love.

I know what it feels like to see life grind to a halt, working a job that isn't in tune with your personal passions. I was particularly touched that is wasn't from a university or a connection that david stone found his way onto his career track, but rather from his efforts in trying to make something amusing for competitive battling community. If you haven't seen david stone's project, consider giving it a look.

That this project has put you somewhere, david, is mind boggling and truly a testament to your skills.

My deepest thanks to all those who took the time to share their experiences with us; these were a true pleasure to read. It warms me that this game-- and community-- has reached others in such profound ways.

[Jellicent*]

CodyB200H is my honorable mention. His story was just the perfect cocktail of innocence and vice for me. What started off as a love of seagulls transcended into an impulse Pokemon tattoo. Solid work with that level 100 Pelipper, mate. Wear that tatt with pride ^.^

Originally Posted by Fat CodyB200H

I played Pokemon Ruby for the first time in 2010. I didn't know what any of the new Pokemon were, and I was beyond excited when I saw my first Wingull. I live on the coast of Maine, so I'm pretty fond of Seagulls as it is. When that thing evolved into Pelipper I was the happiest guy on Earth, mostly because it's one of the goofiest looking Pokemon I have ever seen. I decided to train that beast to level 100 and beat the whole elite four with it. Soon after I did this, my friend texted me and asked for a ride to the tattoo parlor. She said that if I bring her, she'd buy me a tattoo. Completely impulse, but I got a nice big Pelipper on my arm. And to this day I still love it.

[Zebraiken*]

There were a ton of excellent submissions, and it was hard to narrow down our choices to only one! As for my runner-up selection, I picked Villi's submission. Villi's in particular struck a chord with me, as I did just the same thing when exploring my hometown zoo (and so did many others who had Pokemon when they were younger, I'm sure!). It's hard to hear about the damage natural disasters have done, but at the very least you'll always have your memories of Route 1 to fall back on. :)

Originally Posted by Fat Villi

Pokemon had a massive impact on my childhood, but my fondest memory is probably when I was about 6 years old, and I would go with my father to the New Orleans nature center in the bayous. Each time we went, we would walk along the boardwalks and imagine I was a Pokemon trainer, catching Pokemon from Butterfree (really just a butterfly) to Squirtle (a turtle). We would walk for hours with me amassing a team of imaginary Pokemon.

That nature center never recovered from Katrina, but it will always hold a place in my memory as my Route 1.

Anyway, thanks again to everyone for their submissions! It was a blast reading through them all.

[Solace*]

Sorry I'm so late school is a BIG pain!

Rodan's post is my honorable mention. I think it's incredible that Pokemon and Smogon can have such a positive affect on people. I think everyone really underestimates the impact of a video game community, but as Rodan says, knowing you belong somewhere can make a big difference.

Originally Posted by Fat Rodan

about 2 years ago i was suffering through a deep depression, i was honestly close to comitting suicide. i had really nothing; no friends, nothing to do with my time. it was around then i rediscovered smogon and its community - i felt like i belonged somewhere, and i went to my parents for help and now im an incredibly happy individual, im still on antidepressants but thats beside the point

tl;dr i would probably be dead without smogon

It was hard to narrow down the entries, with so many touching stories and funny tales! Thanks for participating!

[Birkal*]

And time for my pick. Just so you all know, there were some stories out there that were absolutely hilarious. I laughed at multiple of your stories and I really appreciated the humor that went into many of them. Most of those stories were my favorites, haha. However, I decided to choose a more sentimental story as my honorable mention because I relate to it so closely. It was by new user Thor; check it out:

Originally Posted by Fat Thor

My best experience is probably an emotional one for me. Twas the year of the release of the Limited Edition Pikachu GBC w/ Yellow version. Growing up, my family didn't have very much money and it was Christmas morning. Everyone had their presents to open, except for me. I figured that I probably wouldn't be getting anything that year. I was Ok with that because I knew our situation. My mom reached behind the tree saying, "OH! WHAT'S THIS?!" Words cannot explain the smile on my face when I unwrapped that Blue and Yellow Game Boy box.

I know the feeling of thinking you aren't going to get something. Although my story was much less emotional then yours, I still remember my absolute surprise at receiving my own Gameboy and Pokemon Blue from my parents for my birthday, after they had strictly told me I'd never own a video game. I love that Pokemon is something that brought you closer to your family. Thanks for sharing =)


And that wraps things up! Again, I want to thank everyone who participated. This really was a lot of fun and I hope we can do it again in the future. Over the next week, Smogon is going to be offering a plethora of new features in this forum (Smogon Metagames main forum), so keep on the look out for our newest additions to Smogon. Thanks again; I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did.