Havak's VGC Report - London

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Havak

I'm the Best. You're a Towel.
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Well, here's my take on things.

Day One

So, I got my dad to drop me and Kirsty (girlfriend) off at the train station at about 4pm, we wanted to get there early just in case. The train station was annoyingly busy and the information for our train wasn’t available yet. What do you do at a time like this with over an hour’s wait ahead? That’s right, pub! We went for a few drinks as it was incredibly warm, and then made our way to the train. When we got there, it was announced that due to a fault with the computer system, no seat reservations were allowed, which sucked. So we had to settle for shitty seats on the way to London and it was really annoying. The train ride was quite boring; there weren’t really many sights to see other than the City of Manchester Stadium, the Britannia Stadium and Wembley Stadium (three football, or ‘soccer’ grounds).

We arrived at London Euston some time after 8pm IIRC, then had to get on the tube twice to finally reach London Liverpool St Station, where we met Kinneas. From there, we got a taxi to Old Street and saw a famous building called ‘The Gherkin’ on the way. We were staying at a hotel called ‘The Express Holiday Inn’ which was quite nice and situated directly behind the Circus Space (where the event was being held) so we had the shortest of walks to the tournament in the morning. Only later on Saturday did we find out that most of the staff for the event had stayed in the same hotel as us, along with a few of the competitors I believe?

Once in the hotel room, I dived on the bed and got ready to catch the end of Britain’s Got Talent, because I’m sad. We watched that and organized our belongings, then went for a quick walk around. We made sure the Circus Space was where the map said, then went to a take away and got some kebabs. London was pretty shit, so we went back in soon after. After the food, we went down to the bar and had a few more drinks. Discussing a lot of Pokemon, wrestling, and other stupid things you’d never see anyone talking about at a bar. After this, we sorted out our team sheets and made sure all of our Pokemon were correct, and then went to bed while watching something else on television; though I forget what. I’d set my alarm, ready and eager to compete the next day.

Day Two

I woke up before my alarm (must’ve been 20 to 8 or so) and went for a shit. Everyone was awake before 8:30am, so we got our entire belongings together ready to check out. We skipped breakfast and walked outside, viewing what seemed like a large queue outside the venue; and it wasn’t even 9:00am yet. Before we waddled over, we went to the shop and got some drinks and snacks for while we were inside. We then waited in the queue as they wouldn’t let anyone inside until sign-up time; which was at 9:30am.


The line.


Kinneas and myself lining up, looking mighty cool obviously.



I think this would be the ideal time to discuss my team, so I'll post it here:


Jolteon @ Focus Sash
#Timid nature
~ Rain Dance
~ Protect
~ Thunder
~ Shadow Ball

I couldn't be bothered breeding for Hidden Power Ice, and I just picked Jolteon because it was quick. Standard, sets up Rain Dance most of the time and can abuse Thunder.


Ludicolo @ Lum Berry
#Modest nature
~ Protect
~ Fake out
~ Hydro Pump
~ Energy Ball

Helps to get Rain Dance in play, then does the buisness. Lum Berry so I can take a Dark Void if needed and hopefully KO Smeargle back.


Kingdra @ White Herb
#Modest nature
~ Protect
~ Hydro Pump
~ Draco Meteor
~ Toxic

Pretty standard Kingdra I'd imagine: I'm Protect heavy but I feel it's required, and it goes well with Toxic which was used so I wasn't walled by Shedinja as much if it came out in the late game. White Herb helps against Icy Wind, and can allow me to Draco Meteor twice at full power.


Metagross @ Shuca Berry
#Adamant nature
~ Protect
~ Bullet Punch
~ Meteor Mash
~ Explosion

Metagross might just be the best Pokémon for doubles as it can do so much; this is just another pretty standard set.
--
These two were just back-up Pokémon really, but I'll list them anyway:


Kabutops @ Chesto Berry
#Naughty nature
~ Swords Dance
~ Waterfall
~ Rock Slide
~ Aqua Jet

Kabutops is another of my rain abusers, and has a Chesto Berry just in case I felt like switching the item over to something else. Rock Slide for flinching, Naughty because I couldn't be bothered breeding for a good Adamant one anymore.


Garchomp @ Yache Berry
#Jolly nature
~ Protect
~ Earthquake
~ Dragon Claw
~ Rock Slide

This was Negator's Latios, but I didn't want to risk it in a hack check, so I switched it to Garchomp. The plan was that if I came up against the likes of Kinneas or Giant Enemy Crab, I'd switch these two in to abuse dual Rock Slide and hope for flinches on the likes of Dusknoir so they couldn't Trick Room.

So, I just used a basic Rain Dance team that I thought of a while back, tested on PBR and had a lot of success, and it was too late to change around so close to the time so I just settled with this. I knew relying on Hydro Pump would be a little silly, but I thought it'd be worth it, so I took the risk. (Yeh, I was wrong lol).


Kirsty and me with Pikachu!

Anyway, we got in and signed up, my wristband was number 27 - we didn't get Pokémon on ours in the UK, just numbers because obviously Nintendo don't care about us as much [sad face]. While inside waiting for Kinneas and observing the sign up room, I saw someone who I thought to be Giant Enemy Crab, but I didn't go over to say hi right away. Kinneas finally got in, with number 59 I believe. We were just standing around when I noticed someone I knew off a few different forums, called 'Pokerob'.

He was easy to spot as he had his username on his t-shirt.. We got talking to him, then went over to Giant Enemy Crab and spoke to him for a while. Now we had a little group together as he had brought along his friend Josh. I spotted two people I knew from a tournament in Manchester the previous weekend (players who myself and Toothache had knocked out in the quarter finals, so I spoke to them for a while to see what they were running). At this time Kinneas had an interview, then we just stood around for a bit longer. I then met Akira_SquirtleSquad and spoke to him for a while, he's a really nice guy and we're hoping to meet again if I can get a Manchester tournament together. We all just stood around for a bit longer and kept checking everyone's wristband do see how many had signed up. I also spoke to one of the staff who I remembered from two previous events, he plays the role of Ash / the mysterious Pokémon trainer at UK Events and is a cool guy. Sign-ups closed and the number of players entered was 132 - so we had a really good shot at getting picked.


Giant Enemy Crab, Kinneas, Myself, Josh, Pokerob

The draw began, only four players would miss out on their chance to compete. Giant Enemy Crabs number was picked really early on, so he went to line up. The rest of us eagerly waited for our numbers to appear. They were done in sets of 32, one number at a time. None of us were in the second bracket of players, so we were all starting to get a little bit nervous. I was picked in the third bracket, while Pokerob, Josh and Akira were all also picked in either late bracket three or early bracket four. Kinneas was one of the last to be picked, which was great as we'd all made it in. IIRC, Froggy (who'd travelled from France) didn't make it into the tournament, which was really quite harsh. I think they should've capped this tournament at 128 and not allowed further sign-ups to be honest, since it was obvious they weren't getting that much more than 128. Four people missing out is a bit of a joke.

So, here's where the tournament began. I joined the queue and began talking to someone behind me, who was also with his girlfriend. I walked over to my station for my first match, then my opponent turns out to be the guy I was talking to.. so that sucked that we had to play in round 1.

Round One

I lead with Jolteon and Ludicolo, while he leads with Togekiss and Kangaskhan, which I found quite an odd combo. I wasn't sure what to expect from those leads, so I assumed I was playing against someone who didn't really know all that much - I was wrong. I Fake Out his Togekiss with Ludicolo, fearing Air Slash. But then, his Kangaskhan uses Fake Out as well! Preventing Jolteon from using Rain Dance. The next turn, I believe I used Protect with Ludicolo to stop Air Slash, while setting up Rain Dance with Jolteon. It starts to Rain, and he'd Sucker Punched with Kangaskhan, which obviously had no effect. His Air Slash also failed due to Protect on Ludicolo. I'm pretty sure I managed to take down both of his Pokémon in this turn, despite what I think was a Quick Claw activation on Togekiss at some point. I forget his third Pokémon, but he managed to take out Jolteon, and I finished it off. His last Pokémon was Shuckle, which Poisoned Kingdra, but both my Hydro Pump's hit Shuckle for the KO and my first round victory: 3-0. All six of my Hydro Pumps hit, so I was thinking it could be my lucky day.

Round Two

I advanced to the next area, and played a guy called Daniel IIRC. He led with Garchomp and Salamence I think, while I picked my usual duo. I hit Salamence with Fake Out, then Rain Danced with Jolteon. He used Earthquake with Garchomp so that put Jolteon on 1 HP. The next turn, I Hydro Pump Garchomp for the KO, and Thunder Salamence for big damage, whom Dragon Claws Ludicolo and puts me in low yellow / red health. I can't remember what he brought in next, but I KOed whatever it was, and Salamence also fell. His last Pokémon was Gyarados, which I Thundered and won the match 4-0 I think.

Round Three - vs McSpam

So, I met a Smogon member just before the finals. We wished eachother good luck and he seemed like a really nice guy, I was expecting a tough match. He led with Infernape and Weavile, while I stuck with my regular leads. My plan failed as I was outplayed in the first turn, I think Jolteon was down by turn two, as I competely forgot about Mach Punch, thus had no Rain Dance. Infernape was also on 1 HP after surviving a Hydro Pump through Focus Sash. I think I had Metagross in next, which did all it could in KOing Infernape, Weavile, and taking away half of Gengar's HP after McSpam switched it in. I can't remember how the match went from here exactly, but it came down to McSpam's Gengar and Metagross (both below half HP) and my full HP Kingdra and really low HP Ludicolo. I Protected with Ludicolo to prevent being KOed by Bullet Punch, while targetting Metagross with Hydro Pump. I took the Bullet Punch, and Gengar used Shadow Ball on Kingdra. This was the moment, if Hydro Pump hits Metagross, I have a chance to win the match next turn, if it misses, I'm out. I stand back and hope, but alas, Hydro Pump doesn't connect and my chance to advance goes out of the window. I still would've had to have relied on Hydro Pump or Draco Meteor the next turn anyway, so there's no sure fire way of me saying I would've won, but I definitely could have. It was a great match and I cheered on McSpam, Akira, and Josh for the remainder of the tournament.​

Getting to round three maybe wasn't so bad, but I felt like I'd let down Smogon and the UK by not making it to the top 16.

McSpam's quarter final and semi final matches were on the big screens, both of which I managed to film. He got a few crits in the first game, but would've probably won anyway, and in his semi final match vs Sadman, he really messed up on the last turn and ruined his chances to win - I was so gutted for him. His Metagross was faster than Sadman's Swampert, but he still opted to Bullet Punch the low HP Swampert instead of using the safer Earthquake. Bullet Punch didn't KO, so Sadman got his shot in the final and managed to win the whole thing.

After all the battles, I got some pictures with the likes of Kinneas, Akira, GEC, McSpam, Pokerob, Josh and maybe a few others, I also spoke to a lot of other players and then started talking with ZystraL as well, who tagged along with us all for the mile walk to McDonald's in London Liverpool Street station. We had some more Pokémon discussion there, over lunch and I had a battle with ZystraL which ended in my victory. We then went our seperate ways after a look around and a bit more shopping. Kinneas got his train to another station to go home, while we had a much longer wait. So, we went to the pub again for a few drinks and more food, before our train finally arrived.


Akira_SquirtleSquad, Giant Enemy Crab, Havak, Kinneas, Pokerob, McSpam, Josh. (Sorry for the poor quality here!)

I got home, then went straight a party at my friends and got drunk, then had a bbq there the next day. It was a great weekend really.

I'll be willing to clone my shiny Milotic for anyone who wants it, once I've SRed for a good one (it has to be Timid btw). I'll try to sort out videos eventually, but I can't be bothered to do that right now.
 
Nice photos.
you didn't let smogon down if you lost to another smogon member. And well done for competting and battling. I hope like you enjoyed it, sounds like you did.
 
I woke up before my alarm (must’ve been 20 to 8 or so) and went for a shit.
Worth 5 stars on it's own.

Very detailed write up, maybe too detailed in some places :P Sucks about Hydro Pump though.

Oh and I slept in too late to make it -_-
 
I love this warstory, sad to hear you lost in the 3rd round itself. I was sure that you'd snag Champion there.

Anyways, nice pictures. I never knew you had red hair!
 
This has got to be one of the better VGC writeups, even if you didn't make top 16. It's so detailed and has decent pics to boot. No one likes looking at a wall of text, and the pictures broke it up.
 
Giant Enemy Crab, you have the coolest hair due I have ever seen. :>

Nice write-up, good to see smogon doing well in these tournaments!
 

gec

pharos
is a Forum Moderator Alumnus

Kinneas and myself lining up, looking mighty cool obviously.
I thought the guy on the right with the gelled back was Kinneas, so I started following him a little and that freaked him out D:

Nice write up Havak, was great meeting you guys ;D
 
Very nice warstory, probably one of the few that I have read all the way through. A shame about Hydro Pump, too bad that miss couldn't have came in the first or second battle where you were cruising.

also, I must admit you look pretty badass, along with Kinneas. :p
 
Wish i'd had more nerve to go up and say hi to you guys, but I always find it hard going up to people I don't know and just starting conversation, and I didn't know for certain if you were who I thought you were... At least now I know what you look like for next year ;)
 

EspyJoel

Espy <3
is a Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
Nice warstory, if only hydro pump had hit but you have to take that risk with 80% accuracy. I'm guessing they are doing it next year so I may bother to actually go, I live in Watford so its not exactly very far at all compared to how far you had to go.
 

Havak

I'm the Best. You're a Towel.
is a Top Tutor Alumnusis a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Moderator Alumnus
That's quite nice Jimmy31428, any chance of a clone?

And thanks everyone!
 

ΩDonut

don't glaze me bro
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If you're looking for a cloned VGC Milotic, I've got mine 30\14\30\31\31\30 (HP Electric 70), through PRNG abuse. It's pretty easy to do it for wondercard Pokemon with set natures.
 
Well, sure, I was soft resetting it for quite a while to try and get max speed and Special attack. Hoping I may be able to put some Specs on this as it's always timid nature. I'll never get a decent hidden power along with good IVs though unless I soft reset for months. And 3 days is enough D= 31 Speed, 29 Special attack is final =D

EDIT:
If you're looking for a cloned VGC Milotic, I've got mine 30\14\30\31\31\30 (HP Electric 70), through PRNG abuse. It's pretty easy to do it for wondercard Pokemon with set natures.
I basically just failed.
 

ΩDonut

don't glaze me bro
is a Programmer Alumnusis a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top Researcher Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnus
PRNG abuse, for the uninitiated:

1) Save in front of the Mystery Gift guy in the Pokemart in the Fight Area, immediately after the moving character finishes taking a step.

2) Turn your DS off and first change the date to May 26, 2039. Have a timer ready to count down from one minute, and start it the moment you press A to change the time to 07:57.

3) Turn your DS back on and start the game the moment the timer counts down to zero. Don't soft-reset.

4) Button mash to get through the opening sequence and hit Continue as soon as possible.

5) When the journal pops up, look for a page that says "Captured [Pokemon]" or "Defeated [Pokemon]". Each time you land on a page that has at least one of these on it, count 1. Flip pages back on forth until you count 11.

6) Get out of the journal and grab Milotic from the man as quickly as possible.

7) Repeat until the Milotic clearly has 30\14\30\31\31\30 IVs.

These are just the mindless instructions, though. You'll need RNG Reporter to figure out if you're hitting the right seconds, or if you're starting the game too early or too late. Future questions should be taken to the research thread, not here.
 
This is Pokerob BTW

If you're looking for a cloned VGC Milotic, I've got mine 30\14\30\31\31\30 (HP Electric 70), through PRNG abuse. It's pretty easy to do it for wondercard Pokemon with set natures.

I so want that. O.O Mine is horrible, I was dumb enough to save it when I received it. I'd seriously would like that Omega. :O

Anyways a pleasure meeting you Havak and the same to all of you. Hoping for regionals next year and to be fair I spoke to mike liesik whilst he was there and he seems pretty keen on boosting VGC much more here in the UK. So that's pretty much a good sign from the boss! :)

Cya next year, I'll post here a bit on VGC or Double Battle related topics, I've lost my spark for singles now since I love doubles now for it's concept of your whole team cannot be standard sets but has to be totally unique for what you must pull off. Sure, you could debate with me over that and probably 6 months into SD2 we will then see many sets appearing!

Anyways yeah Omega if I could do a deal with you on that it would be swell, got a nice idea on how to use a milo in doubles. :)

Again, a pleasure.
 
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