Our story begins in early 2011, no longer driven by the need to compete, our hero, Coach Bombay of the Mighty Psyducks, has decided to throw in the towel and retire from the Pokemon Video Game Championships. After months of urging from the other Ducks he still tried to remain committed to retirement. The VGC season started in Seattle without the Ducks' coach at the helm and after an exciting and impressive finish from the other Ducks, the fire was once again lit in Bombay's heart.
The Coach didn't know what to expect in the current metagame anymore, his limited experience was from utilizing gimmick teams to have some fun while he was bored and he only had a week to prepare for the tournament in San Jose. His great longtime friend and fellow Duck Synre stepped up to the challenge and gave him a crash course on the VGC metagame. But that wasn't enough, he needed actual Pokemon to do battle. Carl and CO ever vigilant, were able to procure the Pokemon Bombay required for his comeback.
"Hmm, Thunderus, Scrafty, Whimsicott, Vanilluxe, Terrakion, and Ni- Hydreigon. I have a quality team that covers my bases and should be ready for anything, truly a standard Bombay style team," he thought to himself. The journey is just beginning though, after a short plane flight from Los Angeles to San Jose, Ducks Huy and Duy give him a place to sleep for the night before the tournament and the ever grateful Bombay thanks his hosts.
The next morning arrives and nerves are at a high level, Bombay doesn't know what to expect today. There is pressure as a former champion to do well but with his limited training he isn't sure what is in store for him. After some detours to pick up Kaphotics, OmegaDonut, and WildEep, Bombay and the rest of the Ducks arrive at the tournament site in downtown San Jose. The group scopes out the Masters competition and watches one of the younger Ducks qualify for Nationals in the Senior divison. It is during this pre-tournament gathering that Bombay and the other Ducks meet other prominent online community members, including but not limited to supe, hoiboy, Age of Kings, Masha, and Picklesword.
The group finally decides to join the ever growing Masters line and end up at around spot 270 of over 500 total tournament participants. As the time comes closer to register for his comeback tournament, Bombay begins his ritual pre-tournament pump-up music, zoned out from the rest of the world, Coach Bombay is ready for anything thrown at him today. As the Ducks make it to the competition zone, they are paired off with other trainers.
Bombay and Duy are sent together to battle two trainers side by side, when they arrive to their station, one of their opponents takes a glance at their shirts and remarks "you guys must be pros." The two Ducks let out a chuckle and the tournament gets underway. For his first match Bombay faced a very competent opponent who knew what he was doing, but Bombay's experience and endgame planning trumped his opponent's slight team advantage. His opponent let out a long sigh when the final kill went through and wished Bombay luck in his future rounds.
With the first round in the books, Bombay has already done better than he expected with his one week training program, but the competition has also been really stiff already, how far can he advance. Round 2 was very similar to the first round, a tough opponent but one unable to plan for the game plan the Coach created for his team. Round 3 continued the trend of opponents who knew what they were doing, this was starting to become one of the more difficult tournaments he had participated in. Bombay excelled in reading his opponent and was able to once again pull out a win and advance to the finalist's lounge. Finally free, at least for the moment from the rigors of battling, Bombay took this chance to update the Ducks at home on what was going on in the tournament.
The participants were all gathered into the Finalist's Lounge, 54 players had made it through 3 rounds and as such 10 byes were given out to make the rest of the tournament end nicely. None of the Ducks received byes and had to fight for a spot in the top 32. Returning to battle Bombay set his sights on a top 4 finish, he made it this far and maybe his diet of Del Taco Breakfiestas could help power him to the end. His 4th round opponent had a whole contingent of people cheering him on, used to adverse situations, Bombay pulled out all the stops and rallied to beat his opponent the quickest of the round. He shook his opponents hand and made his way to the next area to fight for top 16 and an invite to the National Championships.
On the cusp of an invite to Nationals, Bombay faces an extremely worthy opponent. During the endgame of this battle, Bombay notices Duck rival Deagle make his way to the next section. As the Coach of the Ducks Bombay took it upon to himself to defeat Deagle and summoned all he had to quickly finish his current battle. Bombay secured his invite, but now set his sights on Deagle, the self-proclaimed Duck Hunter.
The battle started, both competitors absolutely silent, the arena was deafening with the cheers surrounding them. Bombay again found himself in a precarious position, but like a true Duck he never gave up and set about setting up a game winning plan. With some perfect predictions the Coach finishes Deagle off and celebrates with fellow Duck Huy. After the match Bombay was paired with ShinyPachirisu, but the tournament organizers weren't having it and moves ShinyPachirisu to battle Duck Duy and Bombay was paired with another Duck instead, former champion Huy.
It was a good game both teams played hard.
Exhausted from another difficult battle with such a close friend, Bombay was once again taken aback by his next opponent, ANOTHER Duck, this time Duy.
It was another good game both teams played hard.
Our hero had overcome all odds and made it to the finals, he had been here before, a finalist/winner in 3 other regionals in 3 different years he knew what to expect. One more win and Coach Bombay would accomplish one of the most difficult achievements in competition, a Threepeat. But his opponents weren't ready, Bombay got a break to meditate and reflect on a long and difficult road to get here. Just a week ago he had given up on Pokemon and now ready to do the unthinkable.
When the other battles had finally settled, another finalist had emerged, Deagle's brother and another great competitor, Metabou. The arena was excited, the announcer got everyone pumped and it was time to settle who was best in the west.
Bombay instantly recognizing a flaw in his opponent's team decided to use his trusty Vanilluxe to try to grab a quick win. But this game plan would not come to fruition, not utilizing his Vanilluze properly caused it to pass out and be benched for the remainder of the game. Bombay would not be deterred however, he set about another gameplan to finish his opponent. As fate would have it, timely criticals put Bombay in a precarious position and soon became a huge underdog. But like any true Duck, he engaged in one last ditch effort, the Flying-V, also known as Terrakion. Bombay was down 1-3, and needed this to work to win. Terrakion proved to be a winner, finishing Metabou's final 3 Pokemon, sealing the Threepeat and joining an exclusive group of Pokemon such as Metagross and Hitmontop as a champion playing for Coach Bombay.
What is next for our champion? Only time will tell, Indianapolis and the National Championships are next in his sights and retirement will have to wait another year.
THE END
Credits
Synre - Getting the coach out of retirement and instilling a training program to prepare him
Fish + caffwin - Getting the coach out of retirement
Carl and CO - Getting the Pokemon needed for this adventure
Huy and Duy Ha + family - Awesome hosts
Age of Kings, hoiboy, supe, Jeremy, OmegaDonut + everyone else who cheered for the Coach - Supported the Coach when he needed it most
The Ducks at home - Supported the Coach despite not being present
The Coach didn't know what to expect in the current metagame anymore, his limited experience was from utilizing gimmick teams to have some fun while he was bored and he only had a week to prepare for the tournament in San Jose. His great longtime friend and fellow Duck Synre stepped up to the challenge and gave him a crash course on the VGC metagame. But that wasn't enough, he needed actual Pokemon to do battle. Carl and CO ever vigilant, were able to procure the Pokemon Bombay required for his comeback.
"Hmm, Thunderus, Scrafty, Whimsicott, Vanilluxe, Terrakion, and Ni- Hydreigon. I have a quality team that covers my bases and should be ready for anything, truly a standard Bombay style team," he thought to himself. The journey is just beginning though, after a short plane flight from Los Angeles to San Jose, Ducks Huy and Duy give him a place to sleep for the night before the tournament and the ever grateful Bombay thanks his hosts.
The next morning arrives and nerves are at a high level, Bombay doesn't know what to expect today. There is pressure as a former champion to do well but with his limited training he isn't sure what is in store for him. After some detours to pick up Kaphotics, OmegaDonut, and WildEep, Bombay and the rest of the Ducks arrive at the tournament site in downtown San Jose. The group scopes out the Masters competition and watches one of the younger Ducks qualify for Nationals in the Senior divison. It is during this pre-tournament gathering that Bombay and the other Ducks meet other prominent online community members, including but not limited to supe, hoiboy, Age of Kings, Masha, and Picklesword.
The group finally decides to join the ever growing Masters line and end up at around spot 270 of over 500 total tournament participants. As the time comes closer to register for his comeback tournament, Bombay begins his ritual pre-tournament pump-up music, zoned out from the rest of the world, Coach Bombay is ready for anything thrown at him today. As the Ducks make it to the competition zone, they are paired off with other trainers.
Bombay and Duy are sent together to battle two trainers side by side, when they arrive to their station, one of their opponents takes a glance at their shirts and remarks "you guys must be pros." The two Ducks let out a chuckle and the tournament gets underway. For his first match Bombay faced a very competent opponent who knew what he was doing, but Bombay's experience and endgame planning trumped his opponent's slight team advantage. His opponent let out a long sigh when the final kill went through and wished Bombay luck in his future rounds.
With the first round in the books, Bombay has already done better than he expected with his one week training program, but the competition has also been really stiff already, how far can he advance. Round 2 was very similar to the first round, a tough opponent but one unable to plan for the game plan the Coach created for his team. Round 3 continued the trend of opponents who knew what they were doing, this was starting to become one of the more difficult tournaments he had participated in. Bombay excelled in reading his opponent and was able to once again pull out a win and advance to the finalist's lounge. Finally free, at least for the moment from the rigors of battling, Bombay took this chance to update the Ducks at home on what was going on in the tournament.
The participants were all gathered into the Finalist's Lounge, 54 players had made it through 3 rounds and as such 10 byes were given out to make the rest of the tournament end nicely. None of the Ducks received byes and had to fight for a spot in the top 32. Returning to battle Bombay set his sights on a top 4 finish, he made it this far and maybe his diet of Del Taco Breakfiestas could help power him to the end. His 4th round opponent had a whole contingent of people cheering him on, used to adverse situations, Bombay pulled out all the stops and rallied to beat his opponent the quickest of the round. He shook his opponents hand and made his way to the next area to fight for top 16 and an invite to the National Championships.
On the cusp of an invite to Nationals, Bombay faces an extremely worthy opponent. During the endgame of this battle, Bombay notices Duck rival Deagle make his way to the next section. As the Coach of the Ducks Bombay took it upon to himself to defeat Deagle and summoned all he had to quickly finish his current battle. Bombay secured his invite, but now set his sights on Deagle, the self-proclaimed Duck Hunter.
The battle started, both competitors absolutely silent, the arena was deafening with the cheers surrounding them. Bombay again found himself in a precarious position, but like a true Duck he never gave up and set about setting up a game winning plan. With some perfect predictions the Coach finishes Deagle off and celebrates with fellow Duck Huy. After the match Bombay was paired with ShinyPachirisu, but the tournament organizers weren't having it and moves ShinyPachirisu to battle Duck Duy and Bombay was paired with another Duck instead, former champion Huy.
It was a good game both teams played hard.
Exhausted from another difficult battle with such a close friend, Bombay was once again taken aback by his next opponent, ANOTHER Duck, this time Duy.
It was another good game both teams played hard.
Our hero had overcome all odds and made it to the finals, he had been here before, a finalist/winner in 3 other regionals in 3 different years he knew what to expect. One more win and Coach Bombay would accomplish one of the most difficult achievements in competition, a Threepeat. But his opponents weren't ready, Bombay got a break to meditate and reflect on a long and difficult road to get here. Just a week ago he had given up on Pokemon and now ready to do the unthinkable.
When the other battles had finally settled, another finalist had emerged, Deagle's brother and another great competitor, Metabou. The arena was excited, the announcer got everyone pumped and it was time to settle who was best in the west.
Bombay instantly recognizing a flaw in his opponent's team decided to use his trusty Vanilluxe to try to grab a quick win. But this game plan would not come to fruition, not utilizing his Vanilluze properly caused it to pass out and be benched for the remainder of the game. Bombay would not be deterred however, he set about another gameplan to finish his opponent. As fate would have it, timely criticals put Bombay in a precarious position and soon became a huge underdog. But like any true Duck, he engaged in one last ditch effort, the Flying-V, also known as Terrakion. Bombay was down 1-3, and needed this to work to win. Terrakion proved to be a winner, finishing Metabou's final 3 Pokemon, sealing the Threepeat and joining an exclusive group of Pokemon such as Metagross and Hitmontop as a champion playing for Coach Bombay.
What is next for our champion? Only time will tell, Indianapolis and the National Championships are next in his sights and retirement will have to wait another year.
THE END
Credits
Synre - Getting the coach out of retirement and instilling a training program to prepare him
Fish + caffwin - Getting the coach out of retirement
Carl and CO - Getting the Pokemon needed for this adventure
Huy and Duy Ha + family - Awesome hosts
Age of Kings, hoiboy, supe, Jeremy, OmegaDonut + everyone else who cheered for the Coach - Supported the Coach when he needed it most
The Ducks at home - Supported the Coach despite not being present
