I feel like if I don't take this spotlight to say something then I've really lost the plot of why I've been involved in competitive Pokémon, so please let me have this:
I never wanted to win an individual. Not because I didn't think it was possible. But because it never felt like something I needed to do, because all I ever cared about was learning how to understand the game better. You can ask a number of people who know me on the site and know I'm just as, if not more happy, to see others win or push new ideas forward in the metagame. And that was emblematic of how I spent my time on the site, I feel. I care way more about learning the game than I ever have about individual accolades. Competitive Pokémon is a volatile game where anyone can beat anyone, and I'm very aware of that. There is no perfect game to be played when rng can twist your entire gameplan with one crit, para, or roll, and yet we do the best we can anyway.
There's definitely a number of games I played in this cup I should've lost, and there were times I lost when I should have won. There exist many possible outcomes for all the various matchups in this bracket where I'm not the one who won this cup. But the beauty of competitive Pokémon is that you need to adapt to whatever the game hands you, good or bad, and make the most of it.
If you had told me when I first started playing competitive Pokémon that my big moment would be in GSC UU of all tiers, I'd first say "I actually bothered to play scheduled matches for six weeks straight?", followed by "GSC is an unserious metagame" and yada yada, you get the picture. This tier is so critically underlooked and undervalued, and while I know it's a longshot, I would love to see both GSC and UU players alike come to recognize just how unique it really is. The GSC UU only tour, I hope, will attract many players and continue to build on the foundations of this tier.
Regardless, I didn't know I needed to prove something to myself until I simply did. And I'm happy that no matter where I go from here, despite it being one small blip on the radar in terms of what happens on the site day by day, I can say that I've won a legitimate individual tournament on Smogon dot com. I don't really believe I was the best in this tournament, and there is a lot more room for me to grow as a player both in this tier and otherwise, but it feels amazing to say that I've finally taken home an individual tournament.
I want to thank a specific set of users who I believe made this possible in their own ways:
First,
pp's splash town : During GSCPL in 2024 I came in with the intent of supporting Ubers but your personality, presence and approach to the Wobbs eventually had me looking into the GSC UU prep channel and offering what I could, where I could - which was not much at the time. Although Bee and you were the ones who mainly did the work there, that laid the foundation for me caring about this tier. I know that you're to thank for this because while I was largely burnt out on GSC Ubers by the end of that tour, I came away with a really heightened opinion of GSC UU and NU that tour. I also have you to thank for the team I brought g1, though I also think I inherited your bad luck during GSCPL 2024 because it got critical hit turn 1. So... I guess we're even stevens?
That leads me to my next s/o:
BeeOrSomething. Despite having supported Bee's GSCPL team in 2024, I actually didn't really get to know him all that well until RBYPL the following year where I again supported him, this time in RBYPL for the Pampu Primeapes. Although it's questionable how much longer we will have you for, I know how much getting to play in SPL meant to you and I'm glad you managed to make that happen. You are one of the people who keep GSC running behind the scenes, and I'm happy to be able to dedicate part of this win to you. I'm honestly not sure I would've even remained involved with the Pokemon scene at large if it wasn't for the fun teamtour experiences I've had alongside you.
DAWNBUSTER: This may come as a surprise to those reading this but I view Dawnbuster to be one of the people I most view like myself on this website. I will leave that up to interpretation. But beyond that, Dawn is also one of my biggest inspirations for this tier as a player. At the risk of being hyper predictable, I brought your Porygon team to 4 out of 6 weeks simply because I believe in how to pilot that team so strongly. (I also brought the Dunsparce one W2.) I've learned a lot from watching your channel and various rants about the tier on forums or discords even though we've not really spoken too much during my time in GSC beyond the last few weeks. Above all else, I appreciate that you are one of the people who keeps the spirit of this tier alive even despite its oft-panned nature. I hope you end up having the UUPL season you deserve and that you continue to put on A Show. Which, speaking of, I expect great things from The GSC NU Movie. I hope to be one of the first people to watch it when it drops. Having mild insider info on the film's plot, I believe it will be magical.
The Strap gastlies aerobee: I think you are the three moldiest people on the site I actually find funny and not tryhard, and that's high praise coming from me because I generally don't care for mold much at all. But I'm not just lumping you three together for the shitposting, but because I hold so much respect for you willing to try new tiers out and not being afraid to make mistakes despite having very established and proven names in the community. I think in some way that led to my own decision to make a real push to win this entire cup, because this is not something I ever saw myself doing. But seeing how hard you've respectively worked to learn new tiers by the seat of your pants was very inspiring. So thanks for making me aware of what was possible for me by proving it to yourselves. You've taught me that it's OK to stick your neck out there and look silly sometimes by looking like a duck out of water, as long as you give it your best effort and come back stronger next time.
THE_CHUNGLER : If you put a gun to my head and asked me what type of player I most wanted to be like, it's you without a question. Having the ability to play a number of Gens 1-3 formats so well(we will not talk about SV) and pick up new ones so quickly is something I admire greatly. It's very rare to see a Pokémon player have a good personality, have actual social skills, and just be willing to be a positive presence both as a teammate and as a leader. I also respect your RNG but that's another story.
PHB11677: I'm putting you here because I have never seen someone so new work so hard to improve in such a short period of time in a variety of formats and it, frankly, reminds me of myself when I first started to play. I've watched you go from aimlessly clicking buttons in RBY PU during RBYPL to putting together real gameplans, even for tiers you don't fully understand. If you can keep that fire going(which I could not) and continue to refine your skills, I see no reason why you shouldn't be an extremely prolific player within the next year. You're already off to a great start with your ADV Monotype win, so continue to build on that. Stay willing to work hard and never stop asking questions, because the wrong people will filter themselves out and the right people will notice it.
Li Xiao Long: Thank you for holding faith in my ability to play this game even when I didn't(and still sometimes don't) have it in myself. I hold you in incredibly high esteem as a player and to know that you have always believed in my ability to play the game even from the beginning is flattering beyond words. I have spent way too much time talking to you about this game in many different ways, but I appreciate that any time I needed to yap about some random tier I had taken interest in, you were always willing to listen to it even if you didn't know a single bit about it. That doesn't begin to cover how much of a sounding board you've also been for all my various ADV Ubers ideas in general, and some of the most fun I ever had on this site was building or discussing that tier with you. I know you'll dismiss this because you always have one foot out the door with this game, but I know you easily have the potential to win an individual yourself if you only cared to do so(I completely get why you don't, this game is demanding in the best and worst ways).
UGG: If you don't recognize this then you aren't meant to understand it. However, if it weren't for being taken under your wing then I would have never gone down the unique path of events that made me a better player Because if I don't get burnt out of ADV Ubers the first time, I never consider going to GSC. If I never go to GSC, I don't meet the people I do there, and I don't end up eventually trying out RBY either. I hope that this tournament win shows that the time you spent talking to me about the game at large was worth something.
Mega Lopunny fan: You remain the single most intelligent Pokemon player I have ever talked to and Pokémon is so much better for your contributions to it. Your willingness to discuss and share what you know about the game so freely is a rarity among people that like to gatekeep resources so they can remain the best. While I did this for myself, about and around the time of the semifinals I became motivated to win this just so I could link it to you and give you the thanks you deserve for your influence not just on me, but so many players and tiers as a whole.
JensenDale: You are the personification of everything that is good about this website and even though you aren't perfect, more people, including some of the best players to ever touch this site, could stand to approach the game with the passion and eagerness that you do. I know for a fact you couldn't care less about this tier and yet you were my biggest supporter and believer throughout this entire run. If this important, yet fleeting moment in the sun has shown me anything, it's that your moment will come one day if you truly want it to. I can say this with confidence because ultimately I know deep down in my heart this game means far more to you than it ever has, or will, to me. On a long enough timeline, there's no way that isn't rewarded. The day you defeat your own worst critic is the day unlimited doors will open up to you as a player, but the cruelty is - as I've learned myself - you can only walk through so many with the limited time we have not just on this website but in life. I hope that through seeing my lowest(and now highest)point in Pokémon, you manage to find, and walk through, whatever door you choose. Because you can, and if anyone knows that, it's the GSC UU 2026 cup winner.
As weird as it sounds, my final dedication is to my mother for so many things, but in a Pokémon related context, it should be known she always did what she could do to make sure I would be able to play the Pokémon games as they came out. When I learned I'd need a 3DS in order to play Dream Radar and XY, she made it happen, no questions asked. When I needed a Link Cable on the Game Boy Advance to trade with friends for Ruby and Sapphire, one suddenly came up maybe two or three weeks later. If anyone has any positive impression of me on this site, at least half of that should be attributed to her pure-hearted nature. I'm so lucky to have her.
Before I hit send on this I want to say to anyone and everyone reading that if my win means anything, it's because it shows what's possible if you just care and take something seriously, even if you don't always play to a perfect standard and just give it whatever you are able to on a day by day basis. Maybe, even to the extent that you would be crushed if it didn't work out. I always figured that to win an individual you needed to be an amazingly super competent builder who knew everything about the tier, and the truth is that I'm a very middling builder at best for this tier who relied on teams I've seen from others and just did the best I could when it was time to play. So my real parting message here is if you want to play, please, just play the game and don't overthink it.
I needed to know what was possible if I did just that, because I have always looked at competitive Pokémon from a detached standpoint and never really understood the need to "prove oneself" to others because, again, I cared about learning the game. I haven't wanted something like this in literal years and I was incredibly nervous going into this, even though it really doesn't change my life either way. And although the moment will pass and life will go on, the lesson I took away from this will not. Individuals come and go, but Smogon is so much more about who you become as an individual while playing in individuals and teamtours.
It has been a pleasure to play this wonderful tier over the last six weeks, and even more of one that I have so many great people to thank for being a part of everything that led up to this.
God bless you if you've made it through all of that. Chef out.
