Well, it has been a LONG weekend for us all. everyone is tired and wants to go to bed and enjoy either the fact that they made Worlds or were luck haxed sometime in some place. Well, once again this Nationals proved that this game is based on both luck and skill, and that players must have BOTH in order to succeed. In the words of Glenn Arnold: "No one can get to Top 16 in Nationals and then on to Worlds with luck alone." And naturally, one needs skill in this game, so that's what this game is - luck and skill. So, I'm tired and I can't remember stuff, but let's see what I can do.
Thursday, July 7th, 2011 (Friendship is Magic)
I would like to start out by summarizing Newark in a paragraph. At Newark, my team of my friends and I went to compete in the Seniors division, and it's safe to say that we did partially successful, with Phillip Codio (as you might know as Codios341 on Pokemon Online) getting Top 26 (or whatever it was), Jon-Jon (Jun Infinity/Infinity Cypher) getting Top 16, and me getting Top 4, losing to Jonathon Hiller. I got the $600, which was VERY important, because that was what convinced my parents to let me attend Nationals.
So, everything started crazy. I had barely changed my team from Regionals, had epically failed at RNGing Thundurus, and I spent the three weeks with my friends not doing anything about Pokemon. So early in the morning, my dad and I left our house to pick up Phillip, who lives in the same neighborhood. Phillip came with up to attend the Last Chance Qualifier to hopefully get into Nationals, while I of course would be going for the $600 and because I got an invite. So in short, we drove the 13 hours from Bellerose, New York to Fishers, Indiana.
Brooklyn Bridge in the morning
So what do two boys do in a 13 hour car ride besides talk to the driver? RNG, with a laptop that only has three hours of battery. RNGing Thundurus was being a pain thanks to PIDRNG (it would NEVER be a Timid nature), so Phillip and I tried once last chance - try as many different spreads with HP Ice as possible, hoping to get Timid randomly. About four hours in and with 10 minutes of battery left on the laptop (which at that point, we were stuck trying the 10 or so spreads we wrote down), I finally got a Timid Thundurus, on his game. He used the same spread to get one on my game (we used the same DS, so same MAC Address), so it was all cool. We also played chess, battled some, EVed our Thundurus, gem farmed, watched the scenery, worked on our team, etc. Because of traffic in Brooklyn, we arrived in Fishers, Indiana an hour later than expected. In order to save on money, we stayed at my dad's best friend's house, who lives in Fishers. That's why you guys never saw me in the hotel if you were wondering. Anyhow, that night we got little sleep because of excitement (also because most of Indiana is EST/EDT, which sucks because the sun sets almost an hour later than in New York).
Friday, July 8th, 2011 (One Last Chance)
On Friday, we left my dad's friend's house to go to the LCQ. We arrived at 7:45ish, and there was a bit of a line there, but it was shorter than Newark. The convention center was huge, and I was amazed at this whole thing. The astonishment that occurs to a first-time participant at Nationals. On the line, we met this guy named Aaron Grubbs who placed 7th at Worlds in Juniors last year. His mother was Filipino, so of course my dad and her started talking to each other in Tagalog. The line moves forward, and soon the Juniors and Seniors register for the LCQ.
Seniors and Juniors Grinders
So anyhow, this is how Phillip's LCQ went:
Round 1 (vs. ???)
"Easy. The girl used level 30s to fight me, and I have a team of three legendaries. I easily defeated her, and my Pokemon barely lost any HP. Cobalion didn't manage to KO Scrafty because it was level 42."
Round 2 (vs. Drew)
This match was on TV, and I managed to record it on my camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrH9gGYOGRg
"When I first saw the team, I was sorta worried, but when I started battling, it kind of all came to me. It wasn't one of the hardest matches I faced, but it was still difficult nonetheless. Thank God he didn't use Explosion on Landorus [because of Substitute]."
Round 3 (vs. ???)
"He was the most difficult. He had a team close to mine. He was impressive, had two genies (like most players). It wasn't that bad because one of them was Landorus. My Thundurus outsped his, so I don't think he RNGed it. I asked him if he knew what RNG was, and he didn't know."
After that, the LCQ was over for him after that, so he moved on to Nationals.
Registration for Top 16 at LCQ.
After that, we hung out for a bit, and we managed to see chalkey and the rest of Team Magma in the Open Gaming Room. Chalkey traded us both Chople Berries (which we DESPERATELY needed since Newark), and he told us "Don't worry about it." He also gave me a Pomeg Berry so I could re-EV train my Scrafty (THIS IS NOT IMPORTANT LATER). We went to eat at the food court, and came back to play some Pokemon TCG with decks we just bought. Soon we watched the Masters grinders, where we saw the epic chalkey match in Round 3, only for chalkey to lose Round 4. Sometime along the way, we saw Jonathon Hiller, the Newark Seniors Champion, and we got our free starter hat and had lots of pictures taken of us by my dad (Asian parent). Last but not least, we picked up my travel allowance, which is REALLY important for the rest of this warstory.
lolChalkey
So after the Masters grinders, there was not much left. We did encounter Serendipity/Cybertron (Aaron, I will forever call you Serendipity o.O) and a bunch of others in Team Seniors (you guys fail at Mafia :D) and of course there had to be a fateful encounter with a wild Enosh Shachar. Phillip and I registered for Nationals, and pretty much left after that (after seeing the pushup challenge).
Wut?
That night, I was unprepared, missing a Life Orb because I lent it to a friend and forgot to ask for it back, had a Terrakion with Sacred Sword and not Close Combat, and had a Scrafty that was way too slow. So I got into a panic attack and started doing everything last minute, just like with Newark (where I didn't have Thundurus ready and went in with 5 trained Pokes and a filler). I got the Life Orb and got the Terrakion after maybe two hours, but Scrafty was being annoying, so I got Phillip to help me breed for it.
Saturday, July 9th, 2011 (Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke)
I started my morning breeding for Scrafty, followed by breeding for Scrafty, and then more breeding. It's all my fault for not EV training properly, but it was also due to the fact that I didn't know they changed the mechanics of EV-reducing berries (using one at past 100 EVs no longer reduces the EVs to 100 in that stat). So as such, rebreeding for another few hours until I took a break to webcam with my friend. During that time, I got a Scraggy with 02/31/30/28/28/31, so I took it since I was REALLY tired (with three hours of sleep the previous night). I accepted it and immediately fell asleep around 2:45 AM.
I woke up the next morning at 6:15 AM to remember that I didn't train Scrafty yet. I rushed to take a shower and then EV trained it at my dad's friend's house, and then leveled it up to 50 in the car ride. That was possibly one of the worst mistakes I have ever had to correct in my life, and I regret doing things like this. We arrived at 7:45 AM and looked for Team Seniors, to find them with Metabou, Duy, and some others. Natalie (maski) was wearing her epic Chandelure hat and everyone was really hyped up for the tournament. We entered and eventually went to register, where I met a dad and his son on line. The four of us (Phillip, the kid, the dad, and I) talked about RNG, which I found surprising considering the boy's age. I don't remember if it was Sanke or not, but anyhow, knowledge is power! We eventually register, and this is the part where I reveal my team (FORESHADOWING).
Nicknames are after my friends and classmates in my school that have a 99 average or above o.O Very standard and basic Tailwind team that have designed months ago. It works very well and I'm quite attached to it. One important thing (this is VERY important, cause you will all hate us for this): Phillip had almost my EXACT team. Of course, we bred and caught different Pokemon (no cloning), but aside from the IVs, the only differences in stats between our Pokemon were:
-Phillip ran Electric Gem on Thundurus, I ran Lum Berry
-Phillip's Scrafty ran a more speedy spread, while mine ran a bulky spread. Because my Scrafty's horrible 2 IV in HP, it all evened out with his being better
-Phillip's Jellicent ran a more speedy spread than my Jellicent
That was it! He copied my team because he couldn't think of anything else and for ease of breeding. This meant that we could find ways for our team to defeat others more easily, but this also meant that anyone we faced twice would know what to do as well.
We were seated at tabled in ABC order, and I sat across from a girl named Lauren Metcalf, whose twin brother made Top 8 in Juniors at Worlds last year. She was cool, and so was another girl named Malison (I believe she was mingot's duaghter, right?). Everyone payed attention to Natalie for her accident, but leave that alone. So the pairings went up, and we got started on our matches:
Round 1 (vs. Collin Wayne [ShadeCloud)
Tornadus/Thundurus/???/???
This match I don't remember so well, but I DID get some hax with a full paralysis. I ended up winning the match 3-0, but if it weren't for that FP, I'm sure it would have been closer and he might have actually won.
Mosquito vs. Collin Wayne
Kristian: 1-0
Phillip: 1-0
Enosh: 0-1 (lost to Aaron)
Aaron: 1-0
Natalie: 1-0
Eujin: 1-0
Brandon: 1-0
Round 2 (vs. Sawyer Gardner?)
Alright, so we were paired incorrectly. Apparently the staff accidentally marked me as last match's loser and Collin as the winner, so we were paired against the other's real opponents. They fixed the problem and switched us
Round 2, for real (vs. Ryan Brooker)
???/???/???/???
Call me an amnesiac, but I honestly forgot this battle. All I remember was that I did a nice prediction (the so called prediction hax) and ended up winning from there with I forgot how many Pokes.
Kristian: 2-0
Phillip: 2-0
Enosh: 1-1
Aaron: 2-0
Natalie: 2-0
Eujin: 2-0
Brandon: 2-0
Round 3 (vs. Natalie Kaspszak [maski])
Thundurus/Tornadus/Eelektross/Conkeldurr
In round three, I hoped to God that I didn't face Cybertron, Phillip, Brandon, or Natalie (all who were 2-0), but I told myself that it would be scary and funny at the same time if I got paired against Natalie. Well, it just so happens that.... Well yeah, she was REALLY nice and hyper, despite her accident about 45 minutes previously. I was nervous to face her, but she figured out who I was, so she alerted everyone in Team Seniors whom I was >.< In the battle itself, there was no luck hax whatsoever - but there was the so called "prediction hax" that occurred maybe three times. Natalie misclicked once, and I believe she made a few mistakes, or maybe I outpredicted her. It could have been due to her state of heath at the time, but who knows? I ended up defeating the Atlanta Champion 2-0 I think.
Mosquito vs. maski
Kristian: 3-0
Phillip: 3-0
Enosh: 2-1
Aaron: 3-0
Natalie: 2-1
Eujin: 3-0
Brandon: 3-0
Round 4 (vs. Aaron Zheng [Cybertron])
Tornadus/Terrakion/Amoonguss/Thundurus
(dude, you won Nationals. Great job man, and I'm sorry for not being able to watch it).
So I told myself, no Cybertron, no Brandon, no Phillip. Well, when the Round 4 pairings were put up, Phillip told me that I was facing Cybertron, and at that moment I got worried. I told Aaron that we were facing each other and our table, and we went to battle.
I believe I sent out Tornadus-Terrakion against his Tornadus-Terrakion. He used Scarf, and I remember an Earthquake somewhere, but I don't remember too much. I remember getting a "prediction hax" and setting up Substitute with my Tornadus along the line, but honestly, I don't remember too much. There was a point where he was in the lead, and he could most likely pull it off so long as I didn't wake up (my Hydreigon was asleep). Well, as Fortuna decided to be a bitch, she let me wake up first turn o.O I took out Amoonguss and moved on from there. He eventually was down to Thundurus vs. Tornadus and Hydreigon, and he managed to stall out Tailwind with a Triple Protect. Thankfully, I predicted and set up Substitute on the third Protect, which guaranteed me the game. I honestly would have lost that match had it not been for the one-turn sleep, but then again, only God knows. People got upset that I beat him, and I got upset because I won due to luck. However, a woman who I believe was Hitmonrocker's mom gave me a whole lecture and speech that raised my confidence and cheered me up, so thank you Mrs. Taylor!
Mosquito vs. Cybertron
Kristian: 4-0
Phillip: 4-0
Enosh: 3-1
Aaron: 3-1
Natalie: 3-1
Eujin: 4-0
Brandon: 4-0
Round 5 (vs. Phillip Codio [Codios341])
(If/you/don't/know/the/team/that's/too/smurfing/bad/loljk)
Tornadus/Terrakion/Scrafty/Thundurus
Alright, so my dad got really upset when this match came up. Seriously, he actually didn't take a picture for a second time. In this match, Phillip and I asked Marriland if there was a way to draw, but under the rules, the only way to draw required stalling or a LOT of Protects, Substitutes, and the such. So we just battled and didn't try for the draw. I don't remember much of this battle, but I remember I got a flinch, but he some other form of hax. I got prediction hax this match again and ended up winning the match, which was unfortunate, but it's Swiss - a tournament style that has worked for about 150 years and will continue to work, at least in chess.
Kristian: 5-0
Phillip: 4-1
Enosh: 4-1
Aaron: 3-2
Natalie: 4-1
Eujin: 4-1
Brandon: 5-0
Round 5 (vs. Brandon Mitchell [Brandon])
Terrakion/Amoonguss/Whimsicott/Druddigon
Alright, so I was 5-0, along with Brandon and I believe one other person. We were paired against each other, and I was scared yet thrilled. The thing that really sucked was that Tornadus fell asleep from Effect Spore, which cost me the game. Still, he was a tough foe, as was everyone else in this tournament. Seriously, this tournament was NOTHING like Newark - EVERYONE was good, and I honestly have respect for everyone who made it here.
Mosquito vs. Brandon
Kristian: 5-1
Phillip: 5-1
Enosh: 5-1
Aaron: 4-2
Natalie: 5-1
Eujin: 5-1
Brandon: 6-0
Round 7 (vs. Enosh Shachar [Human])
Musharna/Thundurus/Scrafty/Terrakion
Alright, this, along with with Cybertron, was the person I wanted to avoid MOST in this tournament. Ahhh well, I faced him and his Mythbusters-named team, and I will say this - I was playing at my best, and he was SANDBAGGING (he used TR with Thundurus out o.O), and it was still a close game o.O Good game Human, it was an honor to face you and your Mythbusters. Oh, and when he lost, he screamed right in my face "I REJECT YOUR REALITY AND SUBSTITUTE MY OWN!" which got a few stares. With that, the Swiss rounds were over and everyone got to be relived for the day.
Mosquito vs. Human
Phillip Codio (Codios341): 6-1
Eujin Jang (kiwidawg): 6-1
Natalie Kaspszak (maski): 6-1
Brandon Mitchell (Brandon): 6-1
Kristian Mosquito (Mosquitox216): 6-1
Enosh Shachar (Human): 5-2
Aaron Zheng (Cybertron): 5-2
VGC 2011 Nationals Seniors Division Swiss Results
To my surprise, Phillip managed to beat Brandon o.O Because of that, we had 5 people with 6-1, but because of the way Swiss works, I ended up FIRST SEED o.O
Mosquito (lost to Brandon, a 5-0)
Brandon (lost to Codio, a 5-1)
Codio (lost to Mosquito, a 4-0)
Kiwi (lost to Brandon, a 4-0)
maski (lost to Mosquito, a 2-0)
So that was the end of our tournament, where unfortunately Jonathon got 4-3 and didn't make Top Cut due to an Overheat miss >.< Wow, there were
-0 7-0's
-5 6-1's
-9 5-2's
-19 4-3's
-16 3-4's
-9 2-5's
-3 1-6's
-0 0-7's
The top 16 were registered in and gave in their game cards, and then came... the pictures.
From left to right: Codios341, Brandon, Mosquitox216, Human, maski, Hitmonrocker, Cybertron, blitznburst, kiwidawg, Anthony Tran, Unreality, Ben Hickey, kingofkongs
And that was it! Afterwards Phillip, my dad, and I went out to eat lunch at the food court again, called family and friends and described everything, then Phillip and I played some more VGC until the Masters started. We watched of course, did some other things, more pictures, talked with some people some more, discussed brackets (we found out it was seeded, so I believe kingofkongs and I were the ones that made them and figured them out for the next day), and stuff. Once the masters were over, we went back "home". I remember someone asking to go with Team Seniors to the movies, but my dad didn't let me, so sorry guys :(
Halordain vs. darkmaster491
=) <3333333
So I was really nervous the night before and I didn't believe I could get to Top 4 and I was depressed and all. But my dad encouraged me to win. Psychologically, I was destroyed for the night, even with a long sleep.
Sunday, July 10th, 2011 (How to Get People to Hate You Without Really Trying)
Alright, so don't be offended by the title of this day, but that is how I honestly felt about this day. I woke up and left my dad's friend's house. We arrived soon and signed in. we watched a Huy vs. staff member match, but soon all the competitors signed in and we had to sit in our assigned sets. Of course, Natalie came in last because of her dress, or more likely from something else (she promised she would wear a dress if she made Top 16). Anyhow, the brackets were posted up, our seats were assigned, and we were to start battling.
Just as we had predicted it.
Round 1 (vs. Gavin Michaels [kingofkongs])
Samurott/Conkeldurr/Amoonguss/Mienshao/Haxorus/Chandelure
You may as well call this battle HAX vs. kong.... Honestly, this match was barely my work and was mostly luck's doing. In Game 1, he pretty much outplayed me and brought it down to his slower Samurott that could take a hit from my Hydreigon and OHKO it back with Ice Beam. I knew that, so we wished each other good game, and selected our moves. It went on and on, but the damage kept going on, so we both thought, "Crit?!?" Sure enough, the screen said "A critical hit!" (no, not "¡Un golpe critico!"), and I think I screamed here. I honestly would have lost that battle. Game 2, there was little hax, and he outplayed me, simply. As for Game 3... that was a ridiculous game. His Overheat 90% missed my Scrafty, and I was able to win the game when later Scrafty helped Jellicent setup and finish his team. That game was just hax, because had I not avoided the Overheat, I would have lost. In one of the three games, there was a flinch, but I don't remember which game. If it were in Game 2, it wouldn't have mattered, but if it had been in Game 1 or 3, then it probably would have mattered.
Here's the math:
If flinch didn't matter:
0.0625*0.1=0.00625=0.625% chance
If flinch did matter:
0.0625*0.1*0.3=0.001875=0.188% chance.
All luck o.O Had it not occurred, I wouldn't be going to Worlds. "Thankfully" kong can go to LCQ, but seriously? I cheated him off an invite, which could have mattered in convincing his parents whether he could go to LCQ or not (as with my parents, I could have only gone if I got an invite). He does live in California, but still....
Round 1 finished like this
Mosquito beat kong (!)
Unreality beat Darkpenguin
Brandon Tang beat maski (!)
David Arnold beat kiwi
Codio beat blitznburst
Human beat Hitmonrocker
Cybertron beat Casiano Atienza
Brandon beat Reuniclusking
As such, the US Worlds 2011 Senior participants will be:
Mosquitox216
Unreality
Brandon Tang
David Arnold
Codios341
Human
Cybertron
Brandon
And with that, TWO upsets occurred. According to maski, she lost because of times out due to her opponent taking too long. That was REALLY bad, because everyone, even myself, was cheering for her. It was this bad: When Brandon Tang won and walked past by the Finalists Lounge, no one cheered or even clap for him. You have to give him SOME credit - he still played well, and honestly, I don't think he was stalling - he was ACTUALLY thinking. This tournament is too upsetting.
Round 2 (vs. Aaron Traylor [Unreality])
Terrakion/Eelektross/Thundurus/Druddigon/Amoonguss/Krookodile
My next match was against Unreality, and although I made my mind that I would win this match, I'll just say - he outplayed me - WELL. A really good player, and I give him props for that. He got a crit Rock Slide on me which KOed my Thundurus, but honestly even without it, he probably would have won the match. In Game 2, his Druddigon, expecting a Tailwind, used Snatch, but I used Sub so he SNATCHED my sub, which I didn't even know it could do at the time. The match was on the TV screen, so my dad saw me lose :( Looking back on it, I feel if I weren't psychologically stressed from the night before, I would have played better, but I had the pressure of winning and my dad on me, so I don't think I played my best. With that, my free ride to San Diego was taken, but THANKFULLY I won those $600 (I told you it would be important!), which will help me pay for my flight in August. But more on that later....
With my match against Unreality done, I registered and got my invitation to Worlds, which looks pretty neat. I came back to watch the Seniors matches, and I saw Phillip done. I asked him something like "How much did you disappoint me?" or something, and he was like, "What? I won!" I went all excited and all, and I asked him how he did it. He said it was from like paralysis and some flinches, and I was like, "Oh". Apparently he got lucky, but I needed information from the other party too. I asked Human (if you didn't check the brackets, check them) how Phillip beat him, and he said it was something like 2 crits and 3 flinches (can't do the math fast enough in your head? 27/256000 o.O). That was really bad. I don't know if it's exaggerated or not, but I would assume that it was definitely something with a less than 5% odds of occurring, because, no offense to Phillip, but I doubt he could have beat HUMAN on pure skill. Human then ragequit.
Fortuna is a bitch
The Top 4 matches were David Arnold vs. Unreality, Cybertron vs. Phillip. Everyone watched the Unreality match because it was cooler, Zheng was almost assured a win, and well, people now hate Phillip. Eujin and I watched as Zheng did massive damage to Phillip with Spore, simply outspeeding him and winning on speed. Well, there's one advantage to having a friend in Top 4 - I get to crash in his hotel room at Worlds! Besides, he sorta owes us for us bringing him to LCQ and Nationals.
If next year's rules are like VGC 2009's, Sleep Clause BETTER be enforced
And with that, the story almost comes to an end. We stuck around for a little bit, but since we had to go home soon (it was around 11:45 and it would be a 13 hour car ride), so I said my goodbyes and wished luck to everyone, especially those going to LCQ (like kingofkongs and maski). I wished good luck to the Zhengs for their finals, since I couldn't stay to watch. And yeah, we left.
Epic shirt much?
Alright kong, that's enough
OMG WOMMINS IN MY POGEYMANS? WITH A DRESS? loljk, I thought that was awesome Natalie. I'm totally going to wear a suit to Worlds. Oh, and look at Jonathon :D
We left and started the drive home. The drive home on roadtrips is usually NEVER fun, unless you hated the destination THAT much. Phillip and I called our friends and family, got congratulated by my father, and other things. Yet, in some spare time while Phillip played Megaman for the GBA, I looked out the window at the scenery and thought to myself as I always do:
-This was a bittersweet victory. I won, but it's not too exciting for me. I mean, I'm excited to go to Worlds to compete, to be able to see my relatives in California, but I'm not excited with my win against kingofkongs
-I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I was thinking of losing the match to Unreality. My father is right, I went here for myself, not others. It's nice however if everyone benefits
-The cost to go to Worlds is most likely going to go over $600, so that cuts into my family's money supply (which is not much mind you)
-How messed up is this metagame that two upset matches occured in the Top 16 and one in the Top 8? Is it the metagame or the tournament style that causes it?
-This game is luck AND skill. In the words of Glenn Arnold: "I doubt anyone could make Top 16 and get to Worlds on luck alone. You need skill to do that."
-I play this game because it's fun and exciting, and I'm sure you guys reading this do too. Yet, the price we pay is the imfamous word called "luck". It will ALWAYS exist in this game, and there's NOTHING anyone can do about it (until people learn and are able to abuse the in-battle RNG, which I doubt is humanly possible)
And with that, we went home back to New York. We hit traffic in Pennsylvania and ended up getting home at 2:30 AM. Phillip is currently sleeping in my room, and I'm typing up this story in the wee hours of the morning (not tired because of sleep in car). And that is that - a bittersweet "victory".
Monday, July 11th, 2011 (Final thoughts)
Props
-All the competitors were VERY strong and were all skilled. Everyone deserves credit for attending and battling
-The tournament was, for the most part, efficient and smooth. There was no problem with the tournament system that I can think of
-Prediction hax
Slops
-Not spending enough time with Team Seniors
-Luck hax
-Luck hax
-Maski losing Top 16 (hax?)
-Eujin losing Top 16 (hax!)
-Hax
-Me getting hax o.O
-I would first like to give a HUGE shout-out to my family, especially my father and sister. Without them, I wouldn't be into video games. Without my sister, I wouldn't be into Pokemon, and without my father, I wouldn't have gone to Nationals. So a huge thanks to them! My other relatives, such as my aunts, uncles, and cousins in California also deserve some thanks, because I went to win this for them.
-Special thanks to God for creating this universe, blah blah blah, other Christian crap because I'm Catholic, but my family members prayed to You, so You deserve some credit, yes? (inb4atheists inb4agnostics inb4Human :P)
-Thanks to my Pokemon friends Liam, Manvinder, Corwin, and most especially Phillip, for encouraging me to play Pokemon and get better at this game. If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't want to play this game competitively, and if it weren't for Phillip, well, I wouldn't have a team because I'd be too lazy to breed one, I wouldn't have a free hotel ride, and I wouldn't have a great friend to go to Indiana with
-Thanks to the Dacanay family for letting us stay in their house. Arianna, at Worlds I'll name a Pokemon after you ;)
-Thanks to the whole Skarmbliss staff, including BlueCookies, PBB, Vash, BadIntent, and so many others. You guys helped me get better at VGC for the past two years, and you've dealt with my immaturity. Thanks guys, and see you at Worlds!
-Thanks to chalkey and Team Magma for being awesome, getting Phillip and me Chople Berries, and encouraging us to continue playing Pokemon even though we're getting older
-SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME (lolYGOTAS) shoutout to all of Team Seniors, including (BUT NOT LIMITED TO) Zheng, Enosh, Natalie, Gavin, Aaron T., Eujin, Jonathon, Anthony, Brandon, Eujin, Eujin, Eujin, Eujin (lolwut, your name is just SO awesome, I can keep saying it over and over and over again), and whomever else there is! If I forgot anyone, I'm sorry, but honestly you guys are AMAZING. It's one thing to talk to people over the internet, but it's another thing to meet you guys IN PERSON and know you. You once were just names, but after meeting you guys, I now feel like those names we use online are attached to a person, with a living, breathing person behind it. So good luck to all of you, Natalie and Gavin, DESTROY LCQ and the Japanese, and Human, honestly, I feel sympathy for you, but this game sucks. If you want a game without luck, play chess (idk how old this saying is). Hopefully you can come to Worlds, because we NEED you.
-Thanks to EVERYONE ELSE I've met over these past four days, along with everyone who has helped me with my Pokemon life, with my school life (because I wouldn't be playing Pokemon if I weren't doing well in school :P), in my home life, in EVERYTHING. Everyone, everywhere has shaped me into who I am today, and all those people deserve credit for shaping me into the person you see today (where that be a good thing or a bad thing).
-A form of gratitude for the girl who stole the stars.
Et c'est fini!
~Kristian Mosquito (Mosquitox216)
Thursday, July 7th, 2011 (Friendship is Magic)
I would like to start out by summarizing Newark in a paragraph. At Newark, my team of my friends and I went to compete in the Seniors division, and it's safe to say that we did partially successful, with Phillip Codio (as you might know as Codios341 on Pokemon Online) getting Top 26 (or whatever it was), Jon-Jon (Jun Infinity/Infinity Cypher) getting Top 16, and me getting Top 4, losing to Jonathon Hiller. I got the $600, which was VERY important, because that was what convinced my parents to let me attend Nationals.
So, everything started crazy. I had barely changed my team from Regionals, had epically failed at RNGing Thundurus, and I spent the three weeks with my friends not doing anything about Pokemon. So early in the morning, my dad and I left our house to pick up Phillip, who lives in the same neighborhood. Phillip came with up to attend the Last Chance Qualifier to hopefully get into Nationals, while I of course would be going for the $600 and because I got an invite. So in short, we drove the 13 hours from Bellerose, New York to Fishers, Indiana.
Brooklyn Bridge in the morning
So what do two boys do in a 13 hour car ride besides talk to the driver? RNG, with a laptop that only has three hours of battery. RNGing Thundurus was being a pain thanks to PIDRNG (it would NEVER be a Timid nature), so Phillip and I tried once last chance - try as many different spreads with HP Ice as possible, hoping to get Timid randomly. About four hours in and with 10 minutes of battery left on the laptop (which at that point, we were stuck trying the 10 or so spreads we wrote down), I finally got a Timid Thundurus, on his game. He used the same spread to get one on my game (we used the same DS, so same MAC Address), so it was all cool. We also played chess, battled some, EVed our Thundurus, gem farmed, watched the scenery, worked on our team, etc. Because of traffic in Brooklyn, we arrived in Fishers, Indiana an hour later than expected. In order to save on money, we stayed at my dad's best friend's house, who lives in Fishers. That's why you guys never saw me in the hotel if you were wondering. Anyhow, that night we got little sleep because of excitement (also because most of Indiana is EST/EDT, which sucks because the sun sets almost an hour later than in New York).
Friday, July 8th, 2011 (One Last Chance)
On Friday, we left my dad's friend's house to go to the LCQ. We arrived at 7:45ish, and there was a bit of a line there, but it was shorter than Newark. The convention center was huge, and I was amazed at this whole thing. The astonishment that occurs to a first-time participant at Nationals. On the line, we met this guy named Aaron Grubbs who placed 7th at Worlds in Juniors last year. His mother was Filipino, so of course my dad and her started talking to each other in Tagalog. The line moves forward, and soon the Juniors and Seniors register for the LCQ.
Seniors and Juniors Grinders
So anyhow, this is how Phillip's LCQ went:
Round 1 (vs. ???)
"Easy. The girl used level 30s to fight me, and I have a team of three legendaries. I easily defeated her, and my Pokemon barely lost any HP. Cobalion didn't manage to KO Scrafty because it was level 42."
Round 2 (vs. Drew)
This match was on TV, and I managed to record it on my camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrH9gGYOGRg
"When I first saw the team, I was sorta worried, but when I started battling, it kind of all came to me. It wasn't one of the hardest matches I faced, but it was still difficult nonetheless. Thank God he didn't use Explosion on Landorus [because of Substitute]."
Round 3 (vs. ???)
"He was the most difficult. He had a team close to mine. He was impressive, had two genies (like most players). It wasn't that bad because one of them was Landorus. My Thundurus outsped his, so I don't think he RNGed it. I asked him if he knew what RNG was, and he didn't know."
After that, the LCQ was over for him after that, so he moved on to Nationals.
Registration for Top 16 at LCQ.
After that, we hung out for a bit, and we managed to see chalkey and the rest of Team Magma in the Open Gaming Room. Chalkey traded us both Chople Berries (which we DESPERATELY needed since Newark), and he told us "Don't worry about it." He also gave me a Pomeg Berry so I could re-EV train my Scrafty (THIS IS NOT IMPORTANT LATER). We went to eat at the food court, and came back to play some Pokemon TCG with decks we just bought. Soon we watched the Masters grinders, where we saw the epic chalkey match in Round 3, only for chalkey to lose Round 4. Sometime along the way, we saw Jonathon Hiller, the Newark Seniors Champion, and we got our free starter hat and had lots of pictures taken of us by my dad (Asian parent). Last but not least, we picked up my travel allowance, which is REALLY important for the rest of this warstory.
lolChalkey
So after the Masters grinders, there was not much left. We did encounter Serendipity/Cybertron (Aaron, I will forever call you Serendipity o.O) and a bunch of others in Team Seniors (you guys fail at Mafia :D) and of course there had to be a fateful encounter with a wild Enosh Shachar. Phillip and I registered for Nationals, and pretty much left after that (after seeing the pushup challenge).
Wut?
That night, I was unprepared, missing a Life Orb because I lent it to a friend and forgot to ask for it back, had a Terrakion with Sacred Sword and not Close Combat, and had a Scrafty that was way too slow. So I got into a panic attack and started doing everything last minute, just like with Newark (where I didn't have Thundurus ready and went in with 5 trained Pokes and a filler). I got the Life Orb and got the Terrakion after maybe two hours, but Scrafty was being annoying, so I got Phillip to help me breed for it.
Saturday, July 9th, 2011 (Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke)
I started my morning breeding for Scrafty, followed by breeding for Scrafty, and then more breeding. It's all my fault for not EV training properly, but it was also due to the fact that I didn't know they changed the mechanics of EV-reducing berries (using one at past 100 EVs no longer reduces the EVs to 100 in that stat). So as such, rebreeding for another few hours until I took a break to webcam with my friend. During that time, I got a Scraggy with 02/31/30/28/28/31, so I took it since I was REALLY tired (with three hours of sleep the previous night). I accepted it and immediately fell asleep around 2:45 AM.
I woke up the next morning at 6:15 AM to remember that I didn't train Scrafty yet. I rushed to take a shower and then EV trained it at my dad's friend's house, and then leveled it up to 50 in the car ride. That was possibly one of the worst mistakes I have ever had to correct in my life, and I regret doing things like this. We arrived at 7:45 AM and looked for Team Seniors, to find them with Metabou, Duy, and some others. Natalie (maski) was wearing her epic Chandelure hat and everyone was really hyped up for the tournament. We entered and eventually went to register, where I met a dad and his son on line. The four of us (Phillip, the kid, the dad, and I) talked about RNG, which I found surprising considering the boy's age. I don't remember if it was Sanke or not, but anyhow, knowledge is power! We eventually register, and this is the part where I reveal my team (FORESHADOWING).
"Spataro"/Tornadus@Flying Gem
Jolly | Prankster | 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Speed
Acrobatics, Tailwind, Protect, Substitute
"Valenzuela"/Thundurus@Lum Berry
Timid | Prankster | 4 HP, 252 Sp Atk, 252 Speed
Thunderbolt, Hidden Power Ice 68, Protect, Thunder Wave
"O'Reilly"/Terrakion@Focus Sash
Jolly | Justified | 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Speed
Rock Slide, Close Combat, Protect, Earthquake
"Mosquito"/Scrafty@Chople Berry
Adamant | Moxie | 164 HP, 252 Atk, 92 Speed
Drain Punch, Crunch, Detect, Fake Out
"Blaszczak"/Jellicent@Water Gem
Modest | Cursed Body | 156 HP, 252 Sp Atk, 100 Speed
Water Spout, Shadow Ball, Protect, Ice Beam
"Decolongon"/Hydreigon@Life Orb
Timid | Levitate | 4 HP, 252 Sp Atk, 252 Speed
Dragon Pulse, Dark Pulse, Protect, Flamethrower
Jolly | Prankster | 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Speed
Acrobatics, Tailwind, Protect, Substitute
"Valenzuela"/Thundurus@Lum Berry
Timid | Prankster | 4 HP, 252 Sp Atk, 252 Speed
Thunderbolt, Hidden Power Ice 68, Protect, Thunder Wave
"O'Reilly"/Terrakion@Focus Sash
Jolly | Justified | 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Speed
Rock Slide, Close Combat, Protect, Earthquake
"Mosquito"/Scrafty@Chople Berry
Adamant | Moxie | 164 HP, 252 Atk, 92 Speed
Drain Punch, Crunch, Detect, Fake Out
"Blaszczak"/Jellicent@Water Gem
Modest | Cursed Body | 156 HP, 252 Sp Atk, 100 Speed
Water Spout, Shadow Ball, Protect, Ice Beam
"Decolongon"/Hydreigon@Life Orb
Timid | Levitate | 4 HP, 252 Sp Atk, 252 Speed
Dragon Pulse, Dark Pulse, Protect, Flamethrower
Nicknames are after my friends and classmates in my school that have a 99 average or above o.O Very standard and basic Tailwind team that have designed months ago. It works very well and I'm quite attached to it. One important thing (this is VERY important, cause you will all hate us for this): Phillip had almost my EXACT team. Of course, we bred and caught different Pokemon (no cloning), but aside from the IVs, the only differences in stats between our Pokemon were:
-Phillip ran Electric Gem on Thundurus, I ran Lum Berry
-Phillip's Scrafty ran a more speedy spread, while mine ran a bulky spread. Because my Scrafty's horrible 2 IV in HP, it all evened out with his being better
-Phillip's Jellicent ran a more speedy spread than my Jellicent
That was it! He copied my team because he couldn't think of anything else and for ease of breeding. This meant that we could find ways for our team to defeat others more easily, but this also meant that anyone we faced twice would know what to do as well.
We were seated at tabled in ABC order, and I sat across from a girl named Lauren Metcalf, whose twin brother made Top 8 in Juniors at Worlds last year. She was cool, and so was another girl named Malison (I believe she was mingot's duaghter, right?). Everyone payed attention to Natalie for her accident, but leave that alone. So the pairings went up, and we got started on our matches:
Round 1 (vs. Collin Wayne [ShadeCloud)
Tornadus/Thundurus/???/???
This match I don't remember so well, but I DID get some hax with a full paralysis. I ended up winning the match 3-0, but if it weren't for that FP, I'm sure it would have been closer and he might have actually won.
Mosquito vs. Collin Wayne
Kristian: 1-0
Phillip: 1-0
Enosh: 0-1 (lost to Aaron)
Aaron: 1-0
Natalie: 1-0
Eujin: 1-0
Brandon: 1-0
Round 2 (vs. Sawyer Gardner?)
Alright, so we were paired incorrectly. Apparently the staff accidentally marked me as last match's loser and Collin as the winner, so we were paired against the other's real opponents. They fixed the problem and switched us
Round 2, for real (vs. Ryan Brooker)
???/???/???/???
Call me an amnesiac, but I honestly forgot this battle. All I remember was that I did a nice prediction (the so called prediction hax) and ended up winning from there with I forgot how many Pokes.
Kristian: 2-0
Phillip: 2-0
Enosh: 1-1
Aaron: 2-0
Natalie: 2-0
Eujin: 2-0
Brandon: 2-0
Round 3 (vs. Natalie Kaspszak [maski])
Thundurus/Tornadus/Eelektross/Conkeldurr
In round three, I hoped to God that I didn't face Cybertron, Phillip, Brandon, or Natalie (all who were 2-0), but I told myself that it would be scary and funny at the same time if I got paired against Natalie. Well, it just so happens that.... Well yeah, she was REALLY nice and hyper, despite her accident about 45 minutes previously. I was nervous to face her, but she figured out who I was, so she alerted everyone in Team Seniors whom I was >.< In the battle itself, there was no luck hax whatsoever - but there was the so called "prediction hax" that occurred maybe three times. Natalie misclicked once, and I believe she made a few mistakes, or maybe I outpredicted her. It could have been due to her state of heath at the time, but who knows? I ended up defeating the Atlanta Champion 2-0 I think.
Mosquito vs. maski
Kristian: 3-0
Phillip: 3-0
Enosh: 2-1
Aaron: 3-0
Natalie: 2-1
Eujin: 3-0
Brandon: 3-0
Round 4 (vs. Aaron Zheng [Cybertron])
Tornadus/Terrakion/Amoonguss/Thundurus
(dude, you won Nationals. Great job man, and I'm sorry for not being able to watch it).
So I told myself, no Cybertron, no Brandon, no Phillip. Well, when the Round 4 pairings were put up, Phillip told me that I was facing Cybertron, and at that moment I got worried. I told Aaron that we were facing each other and our table, and we went to battle.
I believe I sent out Tornadus-Terrakion against his Tornadus-Terrakion. He used Scarf, and I remember an Earthquake somewhere, but I don't remember too much. I remember getting a "prediction hax" and setting up Substitute with my Tornadus along the line, but honestly, I don't remember too much. There was a point where he was in the lead, and he could most likely pull it off so long as I didn't wake up (my Hydreigon was asleep). Well, as Fortuna decided to be a bitch, she let me wake up first turn o.O I took out Amoonguss and moved on from there. He eventually was down to Thundurus vs. Tornadus and Hydreigon, and he managed to stall out Tailwind with a Triple Protect. Thankfully, I predicted and set up Substitute on the third Protect, which guaranteed me the game. I honestly would have lost that match had it not been for the one-turn sleep, but then again, only God knows. People got upset that I beat him, and I got upset because I won due to luck. However, a woman who I believe was Hitmonrocker's mom gave me a whole lecture and speech that raised my confidence and cheered me up, so thank you Mrs. Taylor!
Mosquito vs. Cybertron
Kristian: 4-0
Phillip: 4-0
Enosh: 3-1
Aaron: 3-1
Natalie: 3-1
Eujin: 4-0
Brandon: 4-0
Round 5 (vs. Phillip Codio [Codios341])
(If/you/don't/know/the/team/that's/too/smurfing/bad/loljk)
Tornadus/Terrakion/Scrafty/Thundurus
Alright, so my dad got really upset when this match came up. Seriously, he actually didn't take a picture for a second time. In this match, Phillip and I asked Marriland if there was a way to draw, but under the rules, the only way to draw required stalling or a LOT of Protects, Substitutes, and the such. So we just battled and didn't try for the draw. I don't remember much of this battle, but I remember I got a flinch, but he some other form of hax. I got prediction hax this match again and ended up winning the match, which was unfortunate, but it's Swiss - a tournament style that has worked for about 150 years and will continue to work, at least in chess.
Kristian: 5-0
Phillip: 4-1
Enosh: 4-1
Aaron: 3-2
Natalie: 4-1
Eujin: 4-1
Brandon: 5-0
Round 5 (vs. Brandon Mitchell [Brandon])
Terrakion/Amoonguss/Whimsicott/Druddigon
Alright, so I was 5-0, along with Brandon and I believe one other person. We were paired against each other, and I was scared yet thrilled. The thing that really sucked was that Tornadus fell asleep from Effect Spore, which cost me the game. Still, he was a tough foe, as was everyone else in this tournament. Seriously, this tournament was NOTHING like Newark - EVERYONE was good, and I honestly have respect for everyone who made it here.
Mosquito vs. Brandon
Kristian: 5-1
Phillip: 5-1
Enosh: 5-1
Aaron: 4-2
Natalie: 5-1
Eujin: 5-1
Brandon: 6-0
Round 7 (vs. Enosh Shachar [Human])
Musharna/Thundurus/Scrafty/Terrakion
Alright, this, along with with Cybertron, was the person I wanted to avoid MOST in this tournament. Ahhh well, I faced him and his Mythbusters-named team, and I will say this - I was playing at my best, and he was SANDBAGGING (he used TR with Thundurus out o.O), and it was still a close game o.O Good game Human, it was an honor to face you and your Mythbusters. Oh, and when he lost, he screamed right in my face "I REJECT YOUR REALITY AND SUBSTITUTE MY OWN!" which got a few stares. With that, the Swiss rounds were over and everyone got to be relived for the day.
Mosquito vs. Human
Phillip Codio (Codios341): 6-1
Eujin Jang (kiwidawg): 6-1
Natalie Kaspszak (maski): 6-1
Brandon Mitchell (Brandon): 6-1
Kristian Mosquito (Mosquitox216): 6-1
Enosh Shachar (Human): 5-2
Aaron Zheng (Cybertron): 5-2
VGC 2011 Nationals Seniors Division Swiss Results
To my surprise, Phillip managed to beat Brandon o.O Because of that, we had 5 people with 6-1, but because of the way Swiss works, I ended up FIRST SEED o.O
Mosquito (lost to Brandon, a 5-0)
Brandon (lost to Codio, a 5-1)
Codio (lost to Mosquito, a 4-0)
Kiwi (lost to Brandon, a 4-0)
maski (lost to Mosquito, a 2-0)
So that was the end of our tournament, where unfortunately Jonathon got 4-3 and didn't make Top Cut due to an Overheat miss >.< Wow, there were
-0 7-0's
-5 6-1's
-9 5-2's
-19 4-3's
-16 3-4's
-9 2-5's
-3 1-6's
-0 0-7's
The top 16 were registered in and gave in their game cards, and then came... the pictures.
From left to right: Codios341, Brandon, Mosquitox216, Human, maski, Hitmonrocker, Cybertron, blitznburst, kiwidawg, Anthony Tran, Unreality, Ben Hickey, kingofkongs
And that was it! Afterwards Phillip, my dad, and I went out to eat lunch at the food court again, called family and friends and described everything, then Phillip and I played some more VGC until the Masters started. We watched of course, did some other things, more pictures, talked with some people some more, discussed brackets (we found out it was seeded, so I believe kingofkongs and I were the ones that made them and figured them out for the next day), and stuff. Once the masters were over, we went back "home". I remember someone asking to go with Team Seniors to the movies, but my dad didn't let me, so sorry guys :(
Halordain vs. darkmaster491
=) <3333333
So I was really nervous the night before and I didn't believe I could get to Top 4 and I was depressed and all. But my dad encouraged me to win. Psychologically, I was destroyed for the night, even with a long sleep.
Sunday, July 10th, 2011 (How to Get People to Hate You Without Really Trying)
Alright, so don't be offended by the title of this day, but that is how I honestly felt about this day. I woke up and left my dad's friend's house. We arrived soon and signed in. we watched a Huy vs. staff member match, but soon all the competitors signed in and we had to sit in our assigned sets. Of course, Natalie came in last because of her dress, or more likely from something else (she promised she would wear a dress if she made Top 16). Anyhow, the brackets were posted up, our seats were assigned, and we were to start battling.
Just as we had predicted it.
Round 1 (vs. Gavin Michaels [kingofkongs])
Samurott/Conkeldurr/Amoonguss/Mienshao/Haxorus/Chandelure
You may as well call this battle HAX vs. kong.... Honestly, this match was barely my work and was mostly luck's doing. In Game 1, he pretty much outplayed me and brought it down to his slower Samurott that could take a hit from my Hydreigon and OHKO it back with Ice Beam. I knew that, so we wished each other good game, and selected our moves. It went on and on, but the damage kept going on, so we both thought, "Crit?!?" Sure enough, the screen said "A critical hit!" (no, not "¡Un golpe critico!"), and I think I screamed here. I honestly would have lost that battle. Game 2, there was little hax, and he outplayed me, simply. As for Game 3... that was a ridiculous game. His Overheat 90% missed my Scrafty, and I was able to win the game when later Scrafty helped Jellicent setup and finish his team. That game was just hax, because had I not avoided the Overheat, I would have lost. In one of the three games, there was a flinch, but I don't remember which game. If it were in Game 2, it wouldn't have mattered, but if it had been in Game 1 or 3, then it probably would have mattered.
Here's the math:
If flinch didn't matter:
0.0625*0.1=0.00625=0.625% chance
If flinch did matter:
0.0625*0.1*0.3=0.001875=0.188% chance.
All luck o.O Had it not occurred, I wouldn't be going to Worlds. "Thankfully" kong can go to LCQ, but seriously? I cheated him off an invite, which could have mattered in convincing his parents whether he could go to LCQ or not (as with my parents, I could have only gone if I got an invite). He does live in California, but still....
Round 1 finished like this
Mosquito beat kong (!)
Unreality beat Darkpenguin
Brandon Tang beat maski (!)
David Arnold beat kiwi
Codio beat blitznburst
Human beat Hitmonrocker
Cybertron beat Casiano Atienza
Brandon beat Reuniclusking
As such, the US Worlds 2011 Senior participants will be:
Mosquitox216
Unreality
Brandon Tang
David Arnold
Codios341
Human
Cybertron
Brandon
And with that, TWO upsets occurred. According to maski, she lost because of times out due to her opponent taking too long. That was REALLY bad, because everyone, even myself, was cheering for her. It was this bad: When Brandon Tang won and walked past by the Finalists Lounge, no one cheered or even clap for him. You have to give him SOME credit - he still played well, and honestly, I don't think he was stalling - he was ACTUALLY thinking. This tournament is too upsetting.
Round 2 (vs. Aaron Traylor [Unreality])
Terrakion/Eelektross/Thundurus/Druddigon/Amoonguss/Krookodile
My next match was against Unreality, and although I made my mind that I would win this match, I'll just say - he outplayed me - WELL. A really good player, and I give him props for that. He got a crit Rock Slide on me which KOed my Thundurus, but honestly even without it, he probably would have won the match. In Game 2, his Druddigon, expecting a Tailwind, used Snatch, but I used Sub so he SNATCHED my sub, which I didn't even know it could do at the time. The match was on the TV screen, so my dad saw me lose :( Looking back on it, I feel if I weren't psychologically stressed from the night before, I would have played better, but I had the pressure of winning and my dad on me, so I don't think I played my best. With that, my free ride to San Diego was taken, but THANKFULLY I won those $600 (I told you it would be important!), which will help me pay for my flight in August. But more on that later....
With my match against Unreality done, I registered and got my invitation to Worlds, which looks pretty neat. I came back to watch the Seniors matches, and I saw Phillip done. I asked him something like "How much did you disappoint me?" or something, and he was like, "What? I won!" I went all excited and all, and I asked him how he did it. He said it was from like paralysis and some flinches, and I was like, "Oh". Apparently he got lucky, but I needed information from the other party too. I asked Human (if you didn't check the brackets, check them) how Phillip beat him, and he said it was something like 2 crits and 3 flinches (can't do the math fast enough in your head? 27/256000 o.O). That was really bad. I don't know if it's exaggerated or not, but I would assume that it was definitely something with a less than 5% odds of occurring, because, no offense to Phillip, but I doubt he could have beat HUMAN on pure skill. Human then ragequit.
Fortuna is a bitch
The Top 4 matches were David Arnold vs. Unreality, Cybertron vs. Phillip. Everyone watched the Unreality match because it was cooler, Zheng was almost assured a win, and well, people now hate Phillip. Eujin and I watched as Zheng did massive damage to Phillip with Spore, simply outspeeding him and winning on speed. Well, there's one advantage to having a friend in Top 4 - I get to crash in his hotel room at Worlds! Besides, he sorta owes us for us bringing him to LCQ and Nationals.
If next year's rules are like VGC 2009's, Sleep Clause BETTER be enforced
And with that, the story almost comes to an end. We stuck around for a little bit, but since we had to go home soon (it was around 11:45 and it would be a 13 hour car ride), so I said my goodbyes and wished luck to everyone, especially those going to LCQ (like kingofkongs and maski). I wished good luck to the Zhengs for their finals, since I couldn't stay to watch. And yeah, we left.
Epic shirt much?
Alright kong, that's enough
OMG WOMMINS IN MY POGEYMANS? WITH A DRESS? loljk, I thought that was awesome Natalie. I'm totally going to wear a suit to Worlds. Oh, and look at Jonathon :D
We left and started the drive home. The drive home on roadtrips is usually NEVER fun, unless you hated the destination THAT much. Phillip and I called our friends and family, got congratulated by my father, and other things. Yet, in some spare time while Phillip played Megaman for the GBA, I looked out the window at the scenery and thought to myself as I always do:
-This was a bittersweet victory. I won, but it's not too exciting for me. I mean, I'm excited to go to Worlds to compete, to be able to see my relatives in California, but I'm not excited with my win against kingofkongs
-I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I was thinking of losing the match to Unreality. My father is right, I went here for myself, not others. It's nice however if everyone benefits
-The cost to go to Worlds is most likely going to go over $600, so that cuts into my family's money supply (which is not much mind you)
-How messed up is this metagame that two upset matches occured in the Top 16 and one in the Top 8? Is it the metagame or the tournament style that causes it?
-This game is luck AND skill. In the words of Glenn Arnold: "I doubt anyone could make Top 16 and get to Worlds on luck alone. You need skill to do that."
-I play this game because it's fun and exciting, and I'm sure you guys reading this do too. Yet, the price we pay is the imfamous word called "luck". It will ALWAYS exist in this game, and there's NOTHING anyone can do about it (until people learn and are able to abuse the in-battle RNG, which I doubt is humanly possible)
And with that, we went home back to New York. We hit traffic in Pennsylvania and ended up getting home at 2:30 AM. Phillip is currently sleeping in my room, and I'm typing up this story in the wee hours of the morning (not tired because of sleep in car). And that is that - a bittersweet "victory".
Monday, July 11th, 2011 (Final thoughts)
Props
-All the competitors were VERY strong and were all skilled. Everyone deserves credit for attending and battling
-The tournament was, for the most part, efficient and smooth. There was no problem with the tournament system that I can think of
-Prediction hax
Slops
-Not spending enough time with Team Seniors
-Luck hax
-Luck hax
-Maski losing Top 16 (hax?)
-Eujin losing Top 16 (hax!)
-Hax
-Me getting hax o.O
-I would first like to give a HUGE shout-out to my family, especially my father and sister. Without them, I wouldn't be into video games. Without my sister, I wouldn't be into Pokemon, and without my father, I wouldn't have gone to Nationals. So a huge thanks to them! My other relatives, such as my aunts, uncles, and cousins in California also deserve some thanks, because I went to win this for them.
-Special thanks to God for creating this universe, blah blah blah, other Christian crap because I'm Catholic, but my family members prayed to You, so You deserve some credit, yes? (inb4atheists inb4agnostics inb4Human :P)
-Thanks to my Pokemon friends Liam, Manvinder, Corwin, and most especially Phillip, for encouraging me to play Pokemon and get better at this game. If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't want to play this game competitively, and if it weren't for Phillip, well, I wouldn't have a team because I'd be too lazy to breed one, I wouldn't have a free hotel ride, and I wouldn't have a great friend to go to Indiana with
-Thanks to the Dacanay family for letting us stay in their house. Arianna, at Worlds I'll name a Pokemon after you ;)
-Thanks to the whole Skarmbliss staff, including BlueCookies, PBB, Vash, BadIntent, and so many others. You guys helped me get better at VGC for the past two years, and you've dealt with my immaturity. Thanks guys, and see you at Worlds!
-Thanks to chalkey and Team Magma for being awesome, getting Phillip and me Chople Berries, and encouraging us to continue playing Pokemon even though we're getting older
-SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME (lolYGOTAS) shoutout to all of Team Seniors, including (BUT NOT LIMITED TO) Zheng, Enosh, Natalie, Gavin, Aaron T., Eujin, Jonathon, Anthony, Brandon, Eujin, Eujin, Eujin, Eujin (lolwut, your name is just SO awesome, I can keep saying it over and over and over again), and whomever else there is! If I forgot anyone, I'm sorry, but honestly you guys are AMAZING. It's one thing to talk to people over the internet, but it's another thing to meet you guys IN PERSON and know you. You once were just names, but after meeting you guys, I now feel like those names we use online are attached to a person, with a living, breathing person behind it. So good luck to all of you, Natalie and Gavin, DESTROY LCQ and the Japanese, and Human, honestly, I feel sympathy for you, but this game sucks. If you want a game without luck, play chess (idk how old this saying is). Hopefully you can come to Worlds, because we NEED you.
-Thanks to EVERYONE ELSE I've met over these past four days, along with everyone who has helped me with my Pokemon life, with my school life (because I wouldn't be playing Pokemon if I weren't doing well in school :P), in my home life, in EVERYTHING. Everyone, everywhere has shaped me into who I am today, and all those people deserve credit for shaping me into the person you see today (where that be a good thing or a bad thing).
-A form of gratitude for the girl who stole the stars.
Et c'est fini!
~Kristian Mosquito (Mosquitox216)
