They seem to have individual Wondercards, so I assume receiving one will not prevent you from getting another.
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Shiny Dogs outside of Japan
- Thread starter RBG
- Start date
It means that you can't download them onto the French versions of the games. As long as you have the English versions you're fine. I live in Quebec myself, but I doubt any of my local EB Games will be offering the download. So far there are only 2 confirmed locations in Canada, and they are both in Ontario, I believe.
Sorry but I don't think my question was definitely answered. I remember reading something awhile back - when this event was for Japan - that you could only download 1 dog per cart. I hope this isn't the case but I really don't want to get 3 raikous and nothing else...
So, can anyone confirm if this is how this event works?
Alright, so you go to a participating store and you do the usual mystery gift process via wireless. You get the wonder card and on it will be a Raikou or Suicune or Entei sprite. You are now able to get the respective beast. Now, return on the next beast's time and you are able to recieve it as well (confirmed by employee I asked when I went to get Raikou today). This means, yes, you are able to get all three "per cart."
No, you don't need the National Dex. I got a Raikou on a copy of Pearl that hadn't cleared the last gym yet.
So, i restarted my extra diamond version and now have a lvl 30 raikou on a trainer with only one badge. (and I grabed one on my main game)
My question is: any ideas of improving the movesets? be it in DPptHGSS or even BW?
My question is: any ideas of improving the movesets? be it in DPptHGSS or even BW?
If you can get all three of these dogs, does that mean that you can activate the Zoroark event three times? Or once you activate it, is that it?
Once only.
I live in Quebec because of school, but I haven't checked yet whether you can get the legendary beasts (in downtown Montreal, nonetheless), but it might be possible since the English versions of HGSS are still pretty common here.
What's probably going to happen, though, is that we don't get the beasts, and in a matter of weeks we hear that Europe is getting them, and Quebec gets them at the same time, to only be downloaded onto the French versions of the games (same for future event distributions) >.< Major, major pissoff. It would be a neat little way for the language cops to encourage people to buy the games in French (I hope you aren't reading this, language cops o_O)
If that happens, I'll just pick up whatever event distributions there are when I'm in Toronto.
Awesome! Thanks! Time to head back to Gamestop...
Thunderbolt, Aura Sphere, Shadow Ball, Hidden Power Ice/Grass. Then when you transfer it to BW you may swap Thunderbolt for Volt Change.
Well at least for Entei we only have to pick up one, because we don't need to worry about Hidden Power. Not having to RNG for Nature is going to make these so easy. My only immediate concern is getting a Jolly or Adamant Mew off my HeartGold Version before the other two events are over so I have room for them.
Then I need to be absolutely sure I have room for a Celebi on all five carts, assuming it's available on DPPt.
WARNING, MIGHT BE OFFENSIVE FOR UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FANS
Hi, all. Name's Everstone. I usually am on irc but my forum activity lately has been pretty much nonexistent except for VGC events. I went to the VGC held in Orlando a few months ago in an attempt to meet new people, but that event was rather lackluster and I only ended up really talking to a couple of people, both of whom aren't Smogon members. I don't really battle much, mainly collect competitive mons, but somehow I managed to finish 7th at Orlando. From looking at the scene in the GA regional thread I saw there were going to be a lot more interesting people going so I decided I wanted to go meet these guys and not repeat what happened at Orlando. I was gonna go all out!
The event was fast approaching and I didn't want to spend all that time Poketransferring a new team and then decide I wanted to change a few members in the end so I decided to just stick with my old team since it got me far last time and change a few things to accommodate for what went wrong at Orlando.
BEFORE VGC
I called up the guy I befriended at the Orlando VGC from Ft Lauderdale who was planning on going to Athens. He organized a league with 4 other people in his area and called it the Miami Heatrans, so I'd be going with 5 other people. Early Friday I got picked up and we reached Savannah and stayed there for a night. For most of the night everyone else played around on random wifi while I played around on the internet. I barely took any pictures that time but here's some I did take
At a Chick-fil-A
ABOUT THE TAILS PLUSH: I went to Toys R' Us last Thursday and bought it because a real life friend, couldn't come for various reasons. She's a diehard Sonic fan, so I decided to bring the plush to have it experience the events in her stead.
Savannah has some weird stores
LET THE TROLLING BEGIN
Saturday is where things get interesting. After a long drive we get to Athens, book a hotel but the rooms only had one bed and reeked of cigarettes (Travel Lodge if anyone's wondering, I do NOT recommend that place) so we had to hightail it and find a new one. After we finally found one we dropped our stuff and headed out to eat. I had promised TheMantyke I would bring a couple of "Beat Georgia" T-shirts since we both go to rival schools of UGA. While I was here now was the perfect opportunity to try them out. Along the way to find a hotel we had noticed this fast food joint
When we came back the whole place was swarming with red shirts. I decided to try taking pictures with me and the restaurant and see what happens. Donning a blue shirt that said "BEAT GEORGIA" in front, I made my way to the front of the place. Eyes were already starting to drift towards me.
Then we decided it'd be interesting to see what would happen if I went inside. Still kinda shaking, from excitement or nervousness I don't know which, I slowly made my way inside. From the moment I entered I saw a sea of red shirts and almost all of them laid eyes on me wondering what I was gonna do. I took a couple of pictures such as
and
and
and left, lest they decide to form a mob to hunt me down
We decided to just head to the mall
to eat. We wondered around and saw a store selling exclusively UGA stuff. I couldn't resist.
I also saw a store selling an assortment of stuff, among them a Knuckles plushie (see above). I got one of those to add to the Sonic plush party since Twilightblade already had a Tails plush but never mentioned having a Knuckles plush.
Finally got something to eat, then we headed back.
I spent the rest of Saturday night picking my team. There were 9 Pokemon I was considering and I had absolutely no idea if it was going to work out but I ended up picking the following
THE TEAM
@Lum Berry
Modest 4 HP/252 SpAttack/252 Speed
-Detect
-Tailwind
-Heat Wave
-Discharge
Because Tailwind was an issue last VGC, I decided I wanted something to get Tailwind up if I thought they might set it up. Heat Wave in case Amoonguss or Abomasnow showed up.
@Rindo Berry
Sassy 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpDef
-Recover
-Rain Dance
-Scald
-Mirror Coat
Gastrodon worked solidly last time so why not? Since special attacks seem to be more common in this metagame I figured I could surprise them with Mirror Coat. Rain Dance was there as a backup in case Politoed fainted and rain wasn't up. Ended up using neither move.
@Leftovers
Sassy 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpDef
-Thunder Wave
-Power Whip
-Gyro Ball
-Leech Seed
Needed a steel type, stuck with it because I lacked grass moves
@Dragon Gem
Timid 4 HP/252 SpAttack/252 Speed
-Psyshock
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Protect
Fairly typical set. Psyshock over Psychic because most of the things Psychic attacks are meant to hit have lower defense
@Sitrus Berry
Quiet 252 HP/252 SpAttack/4 Def
-Surf
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Protect
Kind of the glue for the whole team, made sure the speed was low as possible to get the weather up first turn. Hydro Pump was there in case I needed a strong single target attack, but I never used it.
@Focus Sash
Adamant 4 HP/252 Atk/ 252 Speed
-Low Kick
-Rock Slide
-Waterfall
-Aqua Jet
If I faced a sunny day team, this thing can deal with commonly used Pokemon.
Other Pokemon I considered (Weavile Ludicolo Toxicroak, yes all Fake Out users)
Thank goodness I don't have to worry about this teambuilding crap anymore. Once all 6 were in the Battle Box I would not look at it again for the night.
THE MORNING OF
Woke up at 7:30 am, got ready, checked out and headed to the venue. When we arrived, we saw only one other group of people here, and it just so happened to be TheMantyke and Killah! We introduced ourselves, my introduction literally went something like this, down to the shades.
After laughing our asses off, we headed to the center doors, and got a parking ticket, which was $5, so not too bad. While waiting for the others to get back from placing the tickets, we chatted for a bit. TheMantyke really liked the Miami Heatran shirts, and the Miami Heatrans recognized his name from Pokecheck so there was quite a bit to talk about. I decided to leave the Miami Heatrans for a bit and hang out with the smogon members the rest of the day, but I'd check up with them every now and then.
We arrived at the competition area, and the place was already packed. We got in line to register and waited. I went to the front and grabbed registration slips and gave them to the Miami Heatrans, TheMantyke and Killah, while surveying the scene. I got a few people who recognized my hat which I was pleased about. There were some Ash cosplayers and a Misty cosplayer but I didn't get pictures of them, sorry. A number of people sported some spiffy looking Pokehats, didn't get a picture of those either :/
Finally we got registered. I didn't bother to look up my pop ID the night before because I didn't really care about winning or going to nats, so I had to wait in the long line. Eventually I got registered though. I also got handed another Shelmet card and a Reshiram button to boot.
I looked at my Battle Box after registration and realized I didn't put a Fake Out user, even though I had sworn I'd do that this time. I guess I would just have to play without that advantage.
There was still a lot of time before masters started. A bunch of people started coming up to TheMantyke and greeting him, completely ignoring the rest of us. Eventually, someone comes up and tosses a Lucario plush at TheMantyke, it's lucariojr! We took some pics and goofed around with those Shelmet cards everybody and their mother had. ncsbert slowly approaches us and introduces himself. Cool guy, but overall rather quiet.
How bout dem DAWGS
MAH BOIS, THIS PEACE IS WHAT ALL TRUE WARRIORS STRIVE FOR!
I walked around for a bit looking at the people. Eventually prinnykaze and his friend come up ask me about my hat. An interesting pair those two. It sure wouldn't be the last time I'd talk with them.
After what seemed like an eternity, and initially getting confused by the fact that they posted the participants and ages first, they finally put up the pairings. It was time to get the show on the road!
THE TOURNAMENT
From the Orlando VGC I found out I have a tendency to hax a few choice opponents. Thus I'm going to underline any instance of hax on either side just to see how much I get.
Round 1 vs guy who loves Shuckle
he used
I used
He gets off a helping hand Earthquake with Garchomp which killed Politoed and left Gastro in the red. I scalded Garchomp and it CRIT AND BURNED him, finishing it off. Poor guy got so surprised when that happened. Latios KO'd Swoobat but Gengar managed to KO Latios with Shadow Ball and Gastrodon Recovers. Ferrothorn and Gastrodon beat Gengar (I think I also got a CRIT along the way, he commented on how lucky I was) and he had Shuckle left. He said he only used it because it was his favorite mon. It got off a Power Split but Ferrothorn and Gastrodon finished it off. Won 2-0.
now 1-0
After the battle a judge came and hacked checked us. We both passed, yay!
Round 2 vs some random guy
he used
don't remember
I used
I saw Amoonguss and decided I had to take it out ASAP so I chose Latios and Zapdos first as they had the best chance of doing so. Protected with Latios first turn and dodged the spore while Ambipom Fake Outs Zapdos. He Rage Powders next turn with Amoonguss but I chose Heat Wave and Psyshock which took it out, exactly what I wanted. After that I brought Politoed in and cleaned up his team with Surf. Won 4-0.
now 2-0
I check my opponent's name, sounds familiar, asked TheMantyke if he knew him, he told me it was Crow. Looks like I was in for quite a battle. Talked with him for a bit before we began, He said he was at Orlando and didn't do too hot but had been really preparing his team this time.
Round 3 vs Crow (the winner)
he used
I used
He had a Light Screen Whimsicott and Intimidate Hitmontop which basically screwed my offensive capabilities. His Zapdos also ran HP Flying. Guess he must hate Amoonguss and Hitmontop. I did manage to take out Hitmontop with Psyshock but that was about it. I also blew pretty much the only opportunity I had the whole tournament to pull off Gastrodon's gimmick as I didn't Mirror Coat with Whimsicott Giga Drained, wrecking the Rindo. Lost 0-3.
now 2-1
A Lunch break followed afterwards. TheMantyke, Killah, lucariojr, ncsbert and I had about 50 minutes to find something to eat. We wandered for a bit, humming and referencing over 9000, with TheMantyke occasionally spouting "Gotta go fast!". We hit up a sandwich (?) shop which was empty and we wanted something quick so the lady in front directed us to a taco joint a few blocks down. It took forever for our orders to come that the rest of our group just grabbed their orders and left for the center, leaving me and TheMantyke still waiting. Finally we got our stuff and had about 8 minutes to get back.
TheMantyke and I had to go fast, and we ended up making it in time. TheMantyke finished his food while we were walking, but I decided to hold off until I got seated. By then a majority of people were already seated. I quickly looked at the pairings and met my opponent, and also finished my food in the process.
One of the judges talked to my opponent quite often. I found out later he was his son.
Round 4 vs Nathan (a judge's son)
he used
(?)
I used
Politoed gets the rain up, and the guy was surprised to see it was slower than Tyranitar. I don't remember the exact details of this battle due to the large amount of hax that went against him, but I used Protect with Surf and Discharge occasionally and there were a few switches trying to control the weather. His Tyranitar got BURNED with the first Scald, Zapdos managed to AVOID a Rockslide and his Hitmontop got PARALYZED with Discharge and got FULLY PARALYZED once. On top of that, my Latios WON THE SPEED TIE vs his Latios. Won 2-0 or 3-0 can't remember.
now 3-1
Round 5 vs Trevor
he used
I used
I got the rain pouring at the beginning. The guy had a weird item setup that helped me more than him. Whimsicott Tailwinds while Absol Sucker Punched Kabutops getting a CRIT but leaving it with 1 hp due to the sash. I Rock Slide with Kabutops, activating Whimsicott's Eject Button, and he brings Ninetales in and Politoed Ice Beams it, activating its Red Card, automatically switching it out for Gastrodon. I sent Politoed back in to get the rain up again while Kabutops Aqua Jets Absol for the KO. Ninetales Heat Waves which burns Politoed but Kabutops AVOIDED THE ATTACK. Whimsicott comes back in. For some reason he keeps Ninetales in which gets KO'd by Waterfall and Whimsicott Tailwinds again, which fails since it was already up. Salamence comes in and I Aqua Jet Whimsicott but Protect saved it while Salamence Dragon Pulses Politoed, who lives and kills it with Ice Beam. There was nothing else he could do so he tried Protect stalling with Whimsicott. Politoed did faint from burn and it did get off a DOUBLE PROTECT but it didn't matter as Aqua Jet finished off Whimsicott. Won 3-0
now 4-1
There was a really really long break and the judges started calling out to people to come get their games hack checked -.-
Our smogon group just chilled in the meantime, some of us showed videos of our last battles to each other. prinnykaze and his friend came to talk to us for a bit and we were wowed by his necklace. As he was walking away I saw the shirt he was wearing had a prinny on it. I made a mental note to myself to grab a pic with him and his bud afterwards.
Round 6 vs Andrew (guy wearing sonic shirt)
he used
(?)
I used
Politoed was slower than Tyranitar so it got the weather up first. I figured he was going to switch out Tyranitar so I switched out Politoed for Gastrodon while Latios Surfs and sure enough he switched Metagross in. Surfed with Latios and Scalded with Gastrodon and managed to KO his Tyranitar when he brought it back in while Swampert Ice Beams Latios. Latios switches with Politoed for the permanent rain but Swampert FROZE Politoed with Ice Beam. Metagross and Swampert couldn't really do anything to Gastrodon so he resorted to Thunderpunching Politoed. When Politoed went down Swampert used Scald for some reason raising Gastro's SpAttack. Latios and Gastro cleaned up his team with Surf and Scald from there. He also used Stealth Rock with Swampert for some reason which didn't really make a large impact on the battle. Won 3-0.
now 5-1
After this I believe the judges didn't finish hack checking everyone and started calling individual names
I think some poor guy who just finished battling got DQ'd for downloading his Pokemon directly from Pokecheck (meaning they had ribbons). He was trying SO hard to convince the judge they were legit but
Eventually the pairings went up.
I was sitting at table 4 this time, right next to lucariojr. While I was listening to lucariojr's opponent talk I think around this time a guy at table 1 (that means the guy was undefeated at this point) got called out for a hack check and failed it so he got DQ'd. That was kinda funny but so lame since they should have done it much earlier.
Round 7 vs Jeadu (some Korean guy, finished 4th overall)
had
(?)
I used
Guy said he spent a month preparing his team. I don't remember much here but I think he was running Tailwind. I had to carefully play around Hitmontop with switching and Protecting since it was very annoying this match, OHKOing Ferrothorn and posing a threat with Sucker Punch. Eventually I somehow KO 3 of his mons and the battle went down to a low health Politoed and Latios vs his full health Mamoswine. I should have played it safe and Protected with Politoed while Latios attacked Mamo but I didn't and the Mamo turned out to be sashed and Earthquaked Politoed for the kill. I figured Mamo had Ice Shard and told him he won if he had it, he did and he won with a 1 HP Mamo left. Lost 0-1.
now 5-2
Round 8 vs Nightwalkr
he used
I used
Saw Kingdra and decided not to lead with Politoed first since I didn't want to give it a Swift Swim boost, so I chose my leads with the intention of taking it out. Sure enough he sends Kingdra out first and I get Tailwind up with Zapdos and he gets Rain Dance up with Gardevoir while Kingdra dodges Draco Meteor with Protect. Next turn Kingdra gets KO'd by Draco Meteor even though it had a Haban and Latios gets Thunderwaved by Gardevoir. Murkrow comes in and it sets Tailwind up while I switch Latios for Gastrodon and Discharge with Zapdos, who gets Thunderwaved, but Lum cures it. Next turn he uses Quash with Murkrow on Zapdos while Gardevoir Thunderwaves it again, and I use Scald with Gastro and Discharge with Zapdos, KOing Murkrow. Gengar comes in and Thunders Zapdos but gets KO'd by Discharge and Scald. He forfeited after that because Gardevoir didn't have an attack. Won 4-1.
final 6-2
THE AFTERMATH
So I end up getting 15th, which isn't too bad. The smogon group hung around and gave ourselves a pat on the back for all getting at least 6-2. We took a few group pictures
then said our farewells and went our separate ways. Took a picture with my round 6 opponent also.
and looked around for prinnykaze and his prinny shirt to ask for a picture but he left.
I reunited with the Miami Heatrans. They didn't do as well, most finishing 5-3 or 4-4, but they had a good time regardless. We went to a pizza place afterwards.
The food was decent but when they gave me the change they neglected to give me SEVEN CENTS. I was gonna complain but my companions just told me to forget about it.
The ride back was rather uneventful. The Miami Heatrans dropped me off, we said goodbye, and I promised to keep in touch with them. I don't think this will be the last time I'll be seeing them!
+s
+Finally getting to hang out with smogon users
+TheMantyke, Killah, lucariojr, and ncsbert for making the vgc event a blast
+Getting far again despite no preparation beforehand
+People actually recognizing my hat's origins
+KOing all Hitmontops I encountered
+Twilightblade for cheering me up when I was feeling a bit down
+UGA fans not killing me for having a little fun
+Miami Heatrans for taking me to the event. Sorry I didn't talk that much. I'll try to do better next time. You guys were great to hang with, taking pictures for me and allowing me to have fun with my gadgets. I'll help you guys out if you need it just shoot me an e-mail.
+Tailwind not being a bitch this time
+Trolling successfully irl
+Event was way more livelier than Orlando
+Prinny hat, for being awesome
+Coming back home in one piece
+Gastrodon, for still being awesome despite mainly using Scald
+Not having to beg other people for Pokemon.
+DS not dying on me the whole tournament
-s
-There were apparently more smogon users than I thought at the tournament that I never got to meet, where the hell were you guys?
-Misplaying with Politoed Round 7 which cost me a win
-VGC organizers went backwards regarding hack checking
-Free stuff was rather lacking
-mingot didn't show up
-Did not take more pictures
-Travel Lodge hotel for having some of the worst hotel rooms ever
-Having some moves that I never used on some party members
-Pizza place for ripping me off 7 cents.
-Twilightblade couldn't come
Hi, all. Name's Everstone. I usually am on irc but my forum activity lately has been pretty much nonexistent except for VGC events. I went to the VGC held in Orlando a few months ago in an attempt to meet new people, but that event was rather lackluster and I only ended up really talking to a couple of people, both of whom aren't Smogon members. I don't really battle much, mainly collect competitive mons, but somehow I managed to finish 7th at Orlando. From looking at the scene in the GA regional thread I saw there were going to be a lot more interesting people going so I decided I wanted to go meet these guys and not repeat what happened at Orlando. I was gonna go all out!
The event was fast approaching and I didn't want to spend all that time Poketransferring a new team and then decide I wanted to change a few members in the end so I decided to just stick with my old team since it got me far last time and change a few things to accommodate for what went wrong at Orlando.
BEFORE VGC
I called up the guy I befriended at the Orlando VGC from Ft Lauderdale who was planning on going to Athens. He organized a league with 4 other people in his area and called it the Miami Heatrans, so I'd be going with 5 other people. Early Friday I got picked up and we reached Savannah and stayed there for a night. For most of the night everyone else played around on random wifi while I played around on the internet. I barely took any pictures that time but here's some I did take
At a Chick-fil-A
ABOUT THE TAILS PLUSH: I went to Toys R' Us last Thursday and bought it because a real life friend, couldn't come for various reasons. She's a diehard Sonic fan, so I decided to bring the plush to have it experience the events in her stead.
Savannah has some weird stores
LET THE TROLLING BEGIN
Saturday is where things get interesting. After a long drive we get to Athens, book a hotel but the rooms only had one bed and reeked of cigarettes (Travel Lodge if anyone's wondering, I do NOT recommend that place) so we had to hightail it and find a new one. After we finally found one we dropped our stuff and headed out to eat. I had promised TheMantyke I would bring a couple of "Beat Georgia" T-shirts since we both go to rival schools of UGA. While I was here now was the perfect opportunity to try them out. Along the way to find a hotel we had noticed this fast food joint
When we came back the whole place was swarming with red shirts. I decided to try taking pictures with me and the restaurant and see what happens. Donning a blue shirt that said "BEAT GEORGIA" in front, I made my way to the front of the place. Eyes were already starting to drift towards me.
Then we decided it'd be interesting to see what would happen if I went inside. Still kinda shaking, from excitement or nervousness I don't know which, I slowly made my way inside. From the moment I entered I saw a sea of red shirts and almost all of them laid eyes on me wondering what I was gonna do. I took a couple of pictures such as
and
and
and left, lest they decide to form a mob to hunt me down
We decided to just head to the mall
to eat. We wondered around and saw a store selling exclusively UGA stuff. I couldn't resist.
I also saw a store selling an assortment of stuff, among them a Knuckles plushie (see above). I got one of those to add to the Sonic plush party since Twilightblade already had a Tails plush but never mentioned having a Knuckles plush.
Finally got something to eat, then we headed back.
I spent the rest of Saturday night picking my team. There were 9 Pokemon I was considering and I had absolutely no idea if it was going to work out but I ended up picking the following
THE TEAM
Modest 4 HP/252 SpAttack/252 Speed
-Detect
-Tailwind
-Heat Wave
-Discharge
Because Tailwind was an issue last VGC, I decided I wanted something to get Tailwind up if I thought they might set it up. Heat Wave in case Amoonguss or Abomasnow showed up.
Sassy 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpDef
-Recover
-Rain Dance
-Scald
-Mirror Coat
Gastrodon worked solidly last time so why not? Since special attacks seem to be more common in this metagame I figured I could surprise them with Mirror Coat. Rain Dance was there as a backup in case Politoed fainted and rain wasn't up. Ended up using neither move.
Sassy 252 HP/4 Def/252 SpDef
-Thunder Wave
-Power Whip
-Gyro Ball
-Leech Seed
Needed a steel type, stuck with it because I lacked grass moves
Timid 4 HP/252 SpAttack/252 Speed
-Psyshock
-Draco Meteor
-Surf
-Protect
Fairly typical set. Psyshock over Psychic because most of the things Psychic attacks are meant to hit have lower defense
Quiet 252 HP/252 SpAttack/4 Def
-Surf
-Hydro Pump
-Ice Beam
-Protect
Kind of the glue for the whole team, made sure the speed was low as possible to get the weather up first turn. Hydro Pump was there in case I needed a strong single target attack, but I never used it.
Adamant 4 HP/252 Atk/ 252 Speed
-Low Kick
-Rock Slide
-Waterfall
-Aqua Jet
If I faced a sunny day team, this thing can deal with commonly used Pokemon.
Other Pokemon I considered (Weavile Ludicolo Toxicroak, yes all Fake Out users)
Thank goodness I don't have to worry about this teambuilding crap anymore. Once all 6 were in the Battle Box I would not look at it again for the night.
THE MORNING OF
Woke up at 7:30 am, got ready, checked out and headed to the venue. When we arrived, we saw only one other group of people here, and it just so happened to be TheMantyke and Killah! We introduced ourselves, my introduction literally went something like this, down to the shades.
After laughing our asses off, we headed to the center doors, and got a parking ticket, which was $5, so not too bad. While waiting for the others to get back from placing the tickets, we chatted for a bit. TheMantyke really liked the Miami Heatran shirts, and the Miami Heatrans recognized his name from Pokecheck so there was quite a bit to talk about. I decided to leave the Miami Heatrans for a bit and hang out with the smogon members the rest of the day, but I'd check up with them every now and then.
We arrived at the competition area, and the place was already packed. We got in line to register and waited. I went to the front and grabbed registration slips and gave them to the Miami Heatrans, TheMantyke and Killah, while surveying the scene. I got a few people who recognized my hat which I was pleased about. There were some Ash cosplayers and a Misty cosplayer but I didn't get pictures of them, sorry. A number of people sported some spiffy looking Pokehats, didn't get a picture of those either :/
Finally we got registered. I didn't bother to look up my pop ID the night before because I didn't really care about winning or going to nats, so I had to wait in the long line. Eventually I got registered though. I also got handed another Shelmet card and a Reshiram button to boot.
I looked at my Battle Box after registration and realized I didn't put a Fake Out user, even though I had sworn I'd do that this time. I guess I would just have to play without that advantage.
There was still a lot of time before masters started. A bunch of people started coming up to TheMantyke and greeting him, completely ignoring the rest of us. Eventually, someone comes up and tosses a Lucario plush at TheMantyke, it's lucariojr! We took some pics and goofed around with those Shelmet cards everybody and their mother had. ncsbert slowly approaches us and introduces himself. Cool guy, but overall rather quiet.
How bout dem DAWGS
MAH BOIS, THIS PEACE IS WHAT ALL TRUE WARRIORS STRIVE FOR!
I walked around for a bit looking at the people. Eventually prinnykaze and his friend come up ask me about my hat. An interesting pair those two. It sure wouldn't be the last time I'd talk with them.
After what seemed like an eternity, and initially getting confused by the fact that they posted the participants and ages first, they finally put up the pairings. It was time to get the show on the road!
THE TOURNAMENT
From the Orlando VGC I found out I have a tendency to hax a few choice opponents. Thus I'm going to underline any instance of hax on either side just to see how much I get.
Round 1 vs guy who loves Shuckle
he used
I used
He gets off a helping hand Earthquake with Garchomp which killed Politoed and left Gastro in the red. I scalded Garchomp and it CRIT AND BURNED him, finishing it off. Poor guy got so surprised when that happened. Latios KO'd Swoobat but Gengar managed to KO Latios with Shadow Ball and Gastrodon Recovers. Ferrothorn and Gastrodon beat Gengar (I think I also got a CRIT along the way, he commented on how lucky I was) and he had Shuckle left. He said he only used it because it was his favorite mon. It got off a Power Split but Ferrothorn and Gastrodon finished it off. Won 2-0.
now 1-0
After the battle a judge came and hacked checked us. We both passed, yay!
Round 2 vs some random guy
he used
I used
I saw Amoonguss and decided I had to take it out ASAP so I chose Latios and Zapdos first as they had the best chance of doing so. Protected with Latios first turn and dodged the spore while Ambipom Fake Outs Zapdos. He Rage Powders next turn with Amoonguss but I chose Heat Wave and Psyshock which took it out, exactly what I wanted. After that I brought Politoed in and cleaned up his team with Surf. Won 4-0.
now 2-0
I check my opponent's name, sounds familiar, asked TheMantyke if he knew him, he told me it was Crow. Looks like I was in for quite a battle. Talked with him for a bit before we began, He said he was at Orlando and didn't do too hot but had been really preparing his team this time.
Round 3 vs Crow (the winner)
he used
I used
He had a Light Screen Whimsicott and Intimidate Hitmontop which basically screwed my offensive capabilities. His Zapdos also ran HP Flying. Guess he must hate Amoonguss and Hitmontop. I did manage to take out Hitmontop with Psyshock but that was about it. I also blew pretty much the only opportunity I had the whole tournament to pull off Gastrodon's gimmick as I didn't Mirror Coat with Whimsicott Giga Drained, wrecking the Rindo. Lost 0-3.
now 2-1
A Lunch break followed afterwards. TheMantyke, Killah, lucariojr, ncsbert and I had about 50 minutes to find something to eat. We wandered for a bit, humming and referencing over 9000, with TheMantyke occasionally spouting "Gotta go fast!". We hit up a sandwich (?) shop which was empty and we wanted something quick so the lady in front directed us to a taco joint a few blocks down. It took forever for our orders to come that the rest of our group just grabbed their orders and left for the center, leaving me and TheMantyke still waiting. Finally we got our stuff and had about 8 minutes to get back.
TheMantyke and I had to go fast, and we ended up making it in time. TheMantyke finished his food while we were walking, but I decided to hold off until I got seated. By then a majority of people were already seated. I quickly looked at the pairings and met my opponent, and also finished my food in the process.
One of the judges talked to my opponent quite often. I found out later he was his son.
Round 4 vs Nathan (a judge's son)
he used
I used
Politoed gets the rain up, and the guy was surprised to see it was slower than Tyranitar. I don't remember the exact details of this battle due to the large amount of hax that went against him, but I used Protect with Surf and Discharge occasionally and there were a few switches trying to control the weather. His Tyranitar got BURNED with the first Scald, Zapdos managed to AVOID a Rockslide and his Hitmontop got PARALYZED with Discharge and got FULLY PARALYZED once. On top of that, my Latios WON THE SPEED TIE vs his Latios. Won 2-0 or 3-0 can't remember.
now 3-1
Round 5 vs Trevor
he used
I used
I got the rain pouring at the beginning. The guy had a weird item setup that helped me more than him. Whimsicott Tailwinds while Absol Sucker Punched Kabutops getting a CRIT but leaving it with 1 hp due to the sash. I Rock Slide with Kabutops, activating Whimsicott's Eject Button, and he brings Ninetales in and Politoed Ice Beams it, activating its Red Card, automatically switching it out for Gastrodon. I sent Politoed back in to get the rain up again while Kabutops Aqua Jets Absol for the KO. Ninetales Heat Waves which burns Politoed but Kabutops AVOIDED THE ATTACK. Whimsicott comes back in. For some reason he keeps Ninetales in which gets KO'd by Waterfall and Whimsicott Tailwinds again, which fails since it was already up. Salamence comes in and I Aqua Jet Whimsicott but Protect saved it while Salamence Dragon Pulses Politoed, who lives and kills it with Ice Beam. There was nothing else he could do so he tried Protect stalling with Whimsicott. Politoed did faint from burn and it did get off a DOUBLE PROTECT but it didn't matter as Aqua Jet finished off Whimsicott. Won 3-0
now 4-1
There was a really really long break and the judges started calling out to people to come get their games hack checked -.-
Our smogon group just chilled in the meantime, some of us showed videos of our last battles to each other. prinnykaze and his friend came to talk to us for a bit and we were wowed by his necklace. As he was walking away I saw the shirt he was wearing had a prinny on it. I made a mental note to myself to grab a pic with him and his bud afterwards.
Round 6 vs Andrew (guy wearing sonic shirt)
he used
I used
Politoed was slower than Tyranitar so it got the weather up first. I figured he was going to switch out Tyranitar so I switched out Politoed for Gastrodon while Latios Surfs and sure enough he switched Metagross in. Surfed with Latios and Scalded with Gastrodon and managed to KO his Tyranitar when he brought it back in while Swampert Ice Beams Latios. Latios switches with Politoed for the permanent rain but Swampert FROZE Politoed with Ice Beam. Metagross and Swampert couldn't really do anything to Gastrodon so he resorted to Thunderpunching Politoed. When Politoed went down Swampert used Scald for some reason raising Gastro's SpAttack. Latios and Gastro cleaned up his team with Surf and Scald from there. He also used Stealth Rock with Swampert for some reason which didn't really make a large impact on the battle. Won 3-0.
now 5-1
After this I believe the judges didn't finish hack checking everyone and started calling individual names
I think some poor guy who just finished battling got DQ'd for downloading his Pokemon directly from Pokecheck (meaning they had ribbons). He was trying SO hard to convince the judge they were legit but
Eventually the pairings went up.
I was sitting at table 4 this time, right next to lucariojr. While I was listening to lucariojr's opponent talk I think around this time a guy at table 1 (that means the guy was undefeated at this point) got called out for a hack check and failed it so he got DQ'd. That was kinda funny but so lame since they should have done it much earlier.
Round 7 vs Jeadu (some Korean guy, finished 4th overall)
had
I used
Guy said he spent a month preparing his team. I don't remember much here but I think he was running Tailwind. I had to carefully play around Hitmontop with switching and Protecting since it was very annoying this match, OHKOing Ferrothorn and posing a threat with Sucker Punch. Eventually I somehow KO 3 of his mons and the battle went down to a low health Politoed and Latios vs his full health Mamoswine. I should have played it safe and Protected with Politoed while Latios attacked Mamo but I didn't and the Mamo turned out to be sashed and Earthquaked Politoed for the kill. I figured Mamo had Ice Shard and told him he won if he had it, he did and he won with a 1 HP Mamo left. Lost 0-1.
now 5-2
Round 8 vs Nightwalkr
he used
I used
Saw Kingdra and decided not to lead with Politoed first since I didn't want to give it a Swift Swim boost, so I chose my leads with the intention of taking it out. Sure enough he sends Kingdra out first and I get Tailwind up with Zapdos and he gets Rain Dance up with Gardevoir while Kingdra dodges Draco Meteor with Protect. Next turn Kingdra gets KO'd by Draco Meteor even though it had a Haban and Latios gets Thunderwaved by Gardevoir. Murkrow comes in and it sets Tailwind up while I switch Latios for Gastrodon and Discharge with Zapdos, who gets Thunderwaved, but Lum cures it. Next turn he uses Quash with Murkrow on Zapdos while Gardevoir Thunderwaves it again, and I use Scald with Gastro and Discharge with Zapdos, KOing Murkrow. Gengar comes in and Thunders Zapdos but gets KO'd by Discharge and Scald. He forfeited after that because Gardevoir didn't have an attack. Won 4-1.
final 6-2
THE AFTERMATH
So I end up getting 15th, which isn't too bad. The smogon group hung around and gave ourselves a pat on the back for all getting at least 6-2. We took a few group pictures
then said our farewells and went our separate ways. Took a picture with my round 6 opponent also.
and looked around for prinnykaze and his prinny shirt to ask for a picture but he left.
I reunited with the Miami Heatrans. They didn't do as well, most finishing 5-3 or 4-4, but they had a good time regardless. We went to a pizza place afterwards.
The food was decent but when they gave me the change they neglected to give me SEVEN CENTS. I was gonna complain but my companions just told me to forget about it.
The ride back was rather uneventful. The Miami Heatrans dropped me off, we said goodbye, and I promised to keep in touch with them. I don't think this will be the last time I'll be seeing them!
+s
+Finally getting to hang out with smogon users
+TheMantyke, Killah, lucariojr, and ncsbert for making the vgc event a blast
+Getting far again despite no preparation beforehand
+People actually recognizing my hat's origins
+KOing all Hitmontops I encountered
+Twilightblade for cheering me up when I was feeling a bit down
+UGA fans not killing me for having a little fun
+Miami Heatrans for taking me to the event. Sorry I didn't talk that much. I'll try to do better next time. You guys were great to hang with, taking pictures for me and allowing me to have fun with my gadgets. I'll help you guys out if you need it just shoot me an e-mail.
+Tailwind not being a bitch this time
+Trolling successfully irl
+Event was way more livelier than Orlando
+Prinny hat, for being awesome
+Coming back home in one piece
+Gastrodon, for still being awesome despite mainly using Scald
+Not having to beg other people for Pokemon.
+DS not dying on me the whole tournament
-s
-There were apparently more smogon users than I thought at the tournament that I never got to meet, where the hell were you guys?
-Misplaying with Politoed Round 7 which cost me a win
-VGC organizers went backwards regarding hack checking
-Free stuff was rather lacking
-mingot didn't show up
-Did not take more pictures
-Travel Lodge hotel for having some of the worst hotel rooms ever
-Having some moves that I never used on some party members
-Pizza place for ripping me off 7 cents.
-Twilightblade couldn't come
In every language except English and Japanese, HGSS are known as "Pokémon (Gold in foreign language) HeartGold" and "Pokémon (Silver in foreign language) SoulSilver". So in Mexico they're "Pokémon Oro HeartGold" and "Pokémon Plata SoulSilver.
Also, Quebecers rejoice, the event is in Quebec after all, and it's even still for the English versions! ^o^
This hardly makes it any less ridiculous and shows incredible laziness. 'Heartgold' and 'Soulsilver' easily could have been fully translated the way Leaf Green and Fire Red were.
FFS, I didn't realize there was a full week or nothing between every week of events @_@ I thought they were all in a row. I was looking forward to Entei on Monday.
Well, I guess this just gives me more time to clean out my event wondercards (still have Deoxys...) to make room for all the Celebis I plan to hoard.
Well, I guess this just gives me more time to clean out my event wondercards (still have Deoxys...) to make room for all the Celebis I plan to hoard.
That would be sweet in my case. I went away for Christmas Break and forgot my DS at my dorm...a few days later, lo and behold, the Shiny Dog events were announced -_-
Not to mention I came back by plane at 7 PM on Sunday, the last day for Raikou; by that time, basically all the Gamestops around me were already closed since it was a Sunday -_-
Not to mention I came back by plane at 7 PM on Sunday, the last day for Raikou; by that time, basically all the Gamestops around me were already closed since it was a Sunday -_-