First of all, thanks to Mark for organizing this, his events are always a blast. I made a day trip to Victoria with Eraddd, Team Rocket Elite, TRE's brother R Inanimate, Chinese Dood, and Sally, Chinese Dood's girlfriend.
18 people participated in the tournament. We had 5 rounds of swiss and then the top 16 (yeah, all but 2) played in a best of 3 single elimination playoff. See the original thread here.
After getting lucked out in Round 1 of Indy LCQ, I was glad to have another chance to try out the team I'd lovingly assembled. Thanks to Carl, Ditto, OmegaDonut, muffinhead, and skarm for RNGing these mons!
Whimsicott @ Mental Herb
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
- Grass Knot
- Encore
- Safeguard
- Protect
Safeguard immediately takes out half of what makes Amoonguss threatening, and with Prankster it even gets up before enemy Thundurus can T-Wave. But the real purpose of Safeguard on this team only becomes apparent when you look at my Thundurus.
Thundurus @ Charti Berry
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
- Thunderbolt
- HP Ice
- Swagger
- Protect
Once Whimsicott puts up Safeguard, Thundurus can use Swagger on any physical partners to boost their attack without the side effect of confusion. If I can pull it off, it creates a huge advantage for the rest of the match. Swaggering the opponents can be pretty clutch as well.
Scrafty @ Chople Berry
Ability: Moxie
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 172 HP / 236 Atk / 100 Spd
- Fake Out
- Crunch
- Drain Punch
- Protect
This is my favourite Swagger recipient. With Fake Out, he can buy a turn for Thundurus to use Swagger. If he can get a Moxie boost on top of that, things just get out of hand as Scrafty makes short work of the other team.
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Quick Attack
- Protect
Pretty simple and standard. Another great Swagger recipient.
Haxorus @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 76 HP / 180 Atk / 252 Spd
- Dragon Claw
- Outrage
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
Can take a Swagger and sweep. Haxorus didn't work out for me quite as well as I hoped, partly because of the circumstances of what I faced, and partly because I just didn't play him right I think. I used him the least out of my 6.
Chandelure @ Kasib Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 76 SAtk / 44 SDef / 4 Spd
- Shadow Ball
- Heat Wave
- Overheat
- Protect
I added this one last to balance out my team's weaknesses. Kasib Berry to win the mirror match with other Chandelures and to take on Golurk, Cofagrigus, etc. I love the defensive EVs on this thing. He can survive Earthquakes, Sucker Punches, and Dark Pulses and still hit back hard enough.
Swiss Round 1 vs Max
The tournament organizer (Mark) also ran a Pokemon League competition earlier this year, in which I placed 2nd among the challengers, and Max placed 1st, so I thought it was amusing that Max and I were facing off first thing here.
I go with my standard Whimsicott/Thundurus lead, while Max leads Whimsicott/Terrakion. Knowing that I have Encore if he goes the Protect/Tailwind route, I double attack Terrakion with Grass Knot and Thunderbolt, hoping to get the jump on it. But to my surprise, it's got a Choice Scarf. Thundurus survives with Charti and manages to weaken Terrakion with Thunderbolt, but Whimsicott flinches and can't finish him. This allows his Whimsicott to get off the Beat Up, leaving me in a precarious situation. I see only one option here so I go for the hail mary: I swagger his Terrakion.
Swagger hits, and his Terrakion is now at +6 attack. This will either go very well or very badly. It ends up going very well as his Terrakion KOs himself in confusion. The rest of the match was basically me repeatedly Encoring his use of non-attack moves (for some reason), and once he saw what was happening there, he forfeited. 1-0
Swiss Round 2 vs Eraddd
Once again I play somebody I know, a trend that would not stop until Round 5. In this match, Eraddd got a lot of paralysis on me, but I didn't FP until the end when it was too late. I don't remember a whole lot of how I won, just that I started attacking right away and Eraddd never caught up after his T-Waves. 2-0
Swiss Round 3 vs Sally
I don't think Sally plays much pokemon, which is why I was a little surprised that she seemed to know exactly what she was doing. I'm still a little confused about that actually. I don't remember much about this match, but I won, heh. 3-0
Swiss Round 4 vs R Inanimate
I knew Randy was a top 16 competitor at US nationals this year, so I felt my streak would likely end here. He used a team of mostly slow and bulky mons with a Zoroark thrown in to great effect. It was a hard fought match that saw me with an advantage midway through because of a CH Drain Punch that I scored on his Conkeldurr. He returned the favour though with a special defense dropping Shadow Ball on the 2nd last turn that turned the tide just enough in his favour. 3-1
Swiss Round 5 vs Nozomi
My first battle against someone I didn't know, Nozomi is a Japanese exchange student. This would have been a closer battle, but I got an edge when he switched his Hydreigon into a paralyzing Thunderbolt from my Thundurus. His Whimsicott set up a Tailwind which I managed to stall out with a Fake Out and some Protects. Before I was about to win, he mentioned that the paralysis on Hydreigon was crucial. Though I was thinking that I HP Iced it to death on the next turn anyway, so unless it was Scarfed it wouldn't have mattered. This got me wondering about his Hydreigon's item, which would turn out to be very important in the playoff! 4-1
Nobody went 5-0 in swiss, with 4 players going 4-1. Due to my strong opponents, I came out as the 1st seed, which is the first and last time that will ever happen.
Playoff Round 1 vs Vicky
Vicky was mostly using her favourites it seemed, so these matches weren't terribly close. In the first match, I switched my Chandelure into a Flamethrower from her Eelektross, and rode the Flash Fire boost all the way to the end with multiple Heat Waves. In the second match, I pulled off my Swagger combo on Scrafty and with help from Moxie he tore his way through. 2-0
Playoff Round 2 vs Chinese Dood
I knew Tony was a great player and that I'd have my work cut out for me. His team was fairly slow and strong, based on using Thunder Wave to give him the edge. In the first match I led Whimsicott/Thundurus and put a stop to his plans with Safeguard. With T-Wave out of the equation, we both switched around a bit and attacked when we had a chance. I managed to get a Swagger on Scrafty and he led the way again here.
In the second match, I didn't lead with Whimsicott for some reason, so his status effects gave me trouble this time, including his Reuniclus that Tricked Flame Orb onto Scrafty. After this match, I was pretty certain that Safeguard would be the key to my chances of winning the 3rd match. I went with a strategy similar to the 1st match and got Scrafty Swaggered again for the win. 2-1
Playoff Round 3 vs Team Rocket Elite
We're in the final 4 now, so only one person remaining will go without a medal. Like his brother, TRE also competed at US nationals this year, so this would be tough. Also like his brother, he used a Zoroark that gave me trouble. But the thing that gave me the most trouble on his team was Scarf Jellicent. I managed to Swagger Scrafty at one point while he protected both mons from Fake Out, but Scrafty was Water Spouted to death before he could have a big impact. I had a shot at the end as I Swaggered his Jellicent, but that effort didn't pan out. I brought my Scarf Haxorus in the second match to try to stop Scarf Jelly, but he played around it and seemed to have an even easier time winning game 2. 0-2
The Kwa brothers were in the finals, so now I had to battle for the bronze medal with a rematch against my last swiss opponent!
Bronze Medal Series vs Nozomi
After I battled Nozomi in swiss, I was wondering about the item on his Hydreigon. I was informed by one of Nozomi's earlier playoff opponents that his Hydreigon indeed had a Scarf. I knew this would be a big problem for me, as my Scarf Haxorus is one point slower and could certainly be OHKOed.
Game 1
I wasn't sure what to do exactly, so I went to my go-to leads Whimsicott and Thundurus. He leads Amoonguss and Hydreigon, showing me he's figured out exactly what I was worried about. I set up Safeguard with Whimsicott while Thundurus protects from a Draco Meteor. On turn 2, I switch Whimsicott into Scrafty whom I intend to Swagger. I knew Amoonguss might foil this with Rage Powder (and he did), but I didn't mind facing a confused mushroom either. Nozomi took this opportunity to OHKO my Thundurus with Draco Meteor.
Knowing I need to take advantage of the opening left by Hydreigon's halved special attack, I bring out Terrakion. The details are hazy from here, but I Rock Slide to get some damage on him and I think he Draco Meteors Terrakion for decent damage. I expected him to switch Hydreigon so I didn't bother with Fake Out and just Crunched Amoonguss.
All I remember from the rest of this match is that it ended up with his Chandelure against my Scrafty and Whimsicott, with everyone at full health. I double protect just so that I can have Whimsicott Encore whatever attack Chandelure uses before Whimsicott dies, but he actually uses protect too for some reason (a move he kept regretting later on), so I just encored that and Crunched for the kill. 1-0
Game 2
We both go with the same leads. I don't remember this match as clearly, but I remember at one point that his Chandelure OHKOed my Scrafty with Fire Gem Overheat, which was a major turning point. I didn't play this one quite as well, and I lost because of it. 1-1
Game 3
This is the battle that I saved on my DS so I can recall the details exactly.
It seems neither of us felt comfortable with the lead choices we made in the first two matches (which makes sense as we'd done the same thing twice with different results each time). This time, I led with Whimsicott and Scrafty while he led Amoonguss and Terrakion. His Terrakion blocks Fake Out with Quick Guard and Amoonguss draws away Grass Knot with Rage Powder. Then, amusingly, I switch Scrafty to Thundurus and he switches Terrakion to Hydreigon, so we end up with the same combos we each led in the previous match. I also used this turn to Safeguard, rendering his Spore attempt useless.
Knowing I need to find a way to kill Amoonguss while keeping Hydreigon at bay, I switch Whimsicott into Scrafty while Thundurus protects. This works perfectly as Hydreigon tries to Draco Meteor Thundurus while his Amoonguss Protects. Next turn, I Fake Out Hydreigon to give Thundurus a chance to wear down Amoonguss with HP Ice for about 40% damage.
Given how protective I had been of Thundurus at this point, I predicted he'd target Scrafty this turn, so I used the opportunity to try Swaggering his Hydreigon (knowing it might hit Amoonguss anyway). I called it right, as Amoonguss takes my Swagger and Scrafty tanks the Draco Meteor (hitting Amoonguss with Drain Punch in the process to bring it to about 50%).
Now that his Hydreigon is at half special attack and can't OHKO Thundurus, I sense my opportunity. Knowing the only kill he can make next turn would be on Scrafty, I have Scrafty protect while Thundurus HP Ices Amoonguss. Scrafty protects the Draco Meteor while the combination of HP Ice and confusion damage KOs Amoonguss. Nozomi brings out Chandelure in replacement.
I could weaken Chandelure with Thundurus next turn, but his Chandelure will surely finish Scrafty and at least heavily damage Thundurus with a Fire Gem Heat Wave. I really need to bring out Terrakion so that I can double target Chandelure and prevent it from getting that hit in. Knowing I could either sacrifice my low health Scrafty or full health Whimsicott to get Terrakion in, I decide to sacrifice Whimsicott (because even though anything he has left can kill Scrafty, Scrafty's offensive abilities at least force them to target him). I switch Scrafty into Whimsicott this turn while Thundurus protects. This works perfectly as Hydreigon Draco Meteors my protecting Thundurus while his Chandelure OHKOs Whimsicott with Fire Gem Heat Wave.
I bring out Terrakion and go with the plan. Thunderbolt and Rock Slide kills Chandelure, while his Hydreigon misses a Draco Meteor on Terrakion. It's now 3-2 for me as he brings out his own Terrakion.
Next turn, I expect to take a Draco Meteor, but Hydreigon... struggles. Draco Meteor had no PP ups. Of the 5 Draco Meteors used, 1 hit, 1 missed, and 3 were protected. His struggle breaks my Terrakion's sash before he is finished off by HP Ice. His Terrakion then wins the speed tie against mine and Close Combats mine for the KO.
I'm now up 2-1 and as I bring out Scrafty, I feel I've won. He protects my Fake Out. I then know that I can either finish him with two Thunderbolts or one of each T-bolt/Drain Punch, depending on what move he chooses this turn (I don't think even a CH Rock Slide would have killed my full health Charti Thundurus). But then I get a CH Thunderbolt on him anyway to win in style, and win the series 2-1.
I don't play a lot of pokemon, but I felt these were some of the best games I've ever played, if not the best. The day was great just for the hanging out with people, but the pokemon made it even better. After this, the Kwa brothers had their finals match with Randy winning 2 games to 1. Being the nice guys they are, they also decided to give one of their pokemon hat prizes to Nozomi, who can be seen wearing the Snivy hat below.
Left to right: Me, R Inanimate (Randy Kwa), Team Rocket Elite (Jimmy Kwa), Nozomi Kitani
Mark wants this to become an annual tournament, so I'll be looking forward to next year's as well. Hope to see more of you there!
18 people participated in the tournament. We had 5 rounds of swiss and then the top 16 (yeah, all but 2) played in a best of 3 single elimination playoff. See the original thread here.
After getting lucked out in Round 1 of Indy LCQ, I was glad to have another chance to try out the team I'd lovingly assembled. Thanks to Carl, Ditto, OmegaDonut, muffinhead, and skarm for RNGing these mons!
Whimsicott @ Mental Herb
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Timid
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
- Grass Knot
- Encore
- Safeguard
- Protect
Safeguard immediately takes out half of what makes Amoonguss threatening, and with Prankster it even gets up before enemy Thundurus can T-Wave. But the real purpose of Safeguard on this team only becomes apparent when you look at my Thundurus.
Thundurus @ Charti Berry
Ability: Prankster
Nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
- Thunderbolt
- HP Ice
- Swagger
- Protect
Once Whimsicott puts up Safeguard, Thundurus can use Swagger on any physical partners to boost their attack without the side effect of confusion. If I can pull it off, it creates a huge advantage for the rest of the match. Swaggering the opponents can be pretty clutch as well.
Scrafty @ Chople Berry
Ability: Moxie
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 172 HP / 236 Atk / 100 Spd
- Fake Out
- Crunch
- Drain Punch
- Protect
This is my favourite Swagger recipient. With Fake Out, he can buy a turn for Thundurus to use Swagger. If he can get a Moxie boost on top of that, things just get out of hand as Scrafty makes short work of the other team.
Terrakion @ Focus Sash
Ability: Justified
Nature: Jolly
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
- Close Combat
- Rock Slide
- Quick Attack
- Protect
Pretty simple and standard. Another great Swagger recipient.
Haxorus @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
Nature: Adamant
EVs: 76 HP / 180 Atk / 252 Spd
- Dragon Claw
- Outrage
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
Can take a Swagger and sweep. Haxorus didn't work out for me quite as well as I hoped, partly because of the circumstances of what I faced, and partly because I just didn't play him right I think. I used him the least out of my 6.
Chandelure @ Kasib Berry
Ability: Flash Fire
Nature: Modest
EVs: 252 HP / 132 Def / 76 SAtk / 44 SDef / 4 Spd
- Shadow Ball
- Heat Wave
- Overheat
- Protect
I added this one last to balance out my team's weaknesses. Kasib Berry to win the mirror match with other Chandelures and to take on Golurk, Cofagrigus, etc. I love the defensive EVs on this thing. He can survive Earthquakes, Sucker Punches, and Dark Pulses and still hit back hard enough.
Swiss Round 1 vs Max
The tournament organizer (Mark) also ran a Pokemon League competition earlier this year, in which I placed 2nd among the challengers, and Max placed 1st, so I thought it was amusing that Max and I were facing off first thing here.
I go with my standard Whimsicott/Thundurus lead, while Max leads Whimsicott/Terrakion. Knowing that I have Encore if he goes the Protect/Tailwind route, I double attack Terrakion with Grass Knot and Thunderbolt, hoping to get the jump on it. But to my surprise, it's got a Choice Scarf. Thundurus survives with Charti and manages to weaken Terrakion with Thunderbolt, but Whimsicott flinches and can't finish him. This allows his Whimsicott to get off the Beat Up, leaving me in a precarious situation. I see only one option here so I go for the hail mary: I swagger his Terrakion.
Swagger hits, and his Terrakion is now at +6 attack. This will either go very well or very badly. It ends up going very well as his Terrakion KOs himself in confusion. The rest of the match was basically me repeatedly Encoring his use of non-attack moves (for some reason), and once he saw what was happening there, he forfeited. 1-0
Swiss Round 2 vs Eraddd
Once again I play somebody I know, a trend that would not stop until Round 5. In this match, Eraddd got a lot of paralysis on me, but I didn't FP until the end when it was too late. I don't remember a whole lot of how I won, just that I started attacking right away and Eraddd never caught up after his T-Waves. 2-0
Swiss Round 3 vs Sally
I don't think Sally plays much pokemon, which is why I was a little surprised that she seemed to know exactly what she was doing. I'm still a little confused about that actually. I don't remember much about this match, but I won, heh. 3-0
Swiss Round 4 vs R Inanimate
I knew Randy was a top 16 competitor at US nationals this year, so I felt my streak would likely end here. He used a team of mostly slow and bulky mons with a Zoroark thrown in to great effect. It was a hard fought match that saw me with an advantage midway through because of a CH Drain Punch that I scored on his Conkeldurr. He returned the favour though with a special defense dropping Shadow Ball on the 2nd last turn that turned the tide just enough in his favour. 3-1
Swiss Round 5 vs Nozomi
My first battle against someone I didn't know, Nozomi is a Japanese exchange student. This would have been a closer battle, but I got an edge when he switched his Hydreigon into a paralyzing Thunderbolt from my Thundurus. His Whimsicott set up a Tailwind which I managed to stall out with a Fake Out and some Protects. Before I was about to win, he mentioned that the paralysis on Hydreigon was crucial. Though I was thinking that I HP Iced it to death on the next turn anyway, so unless it was Scarfed it wouldn't have mattered. This got me wondering about his Hydreigon's item, which would turn out to be very important in the playoff! 4-1
Nobody went 5-0 in swiss, with 4 players going 4-1. Due to my strong opponents, I came out as the 1st seed, which is the first and last time that will ever happen.
Playoff Round 1 vs Vicky
Vicky was mostly using her favourites it seemed, so these matches weren't terribly close. In the first match, I switched my Chandelure into a Flamethrower from her Eelektross, and rode the Flash Fire boost all the way to the end with multiple Heat Waves. In the second match, I pulled off my Swagger combo on Scrafty and with help from Moxie he tore his way through. 2-0
Playoff Round 2 vs Chinese Dood
I knew Tony was a great player and that I'd have my work cut out for me. His team was fairly slow and strong, based on using Thunder Wave to give him the edge. In the first match I led Whimsicott/Thundurus and put a stop to his plans with Safeguard. With T-Wave out of the equation, we both switched around a bit and attacked when we had a chance. I managed to get a Swagger on Scrafty and he led the way again here.
In the second match, I didn't lead with Whimsicott for some reason, so his status effects gave me trouble this time, including his Reuniclus that Tricked Flame Orb onto Scrafty. After this match, I was pretty certain that Safeguard would be the key to my chances of winning the 3rd match. I went with a strategy similar to the 1st match and got Scrafty Swaggered again for the win. 2-1
Playoff Round 3 vs Team Rocket Elite
We're in the final 4 now, so only one person remaining will go without a medal. Like his brother, TRE also competed at US nationals this year, so this would be tough. Also like his brother, he used a Zoroark that gave me trouble. But the thing that gave me the most trouble on his team was Scarf Jellicent. I managed to Swagger Scrafty at one point while he protected both mons from Fake Out, but Scrafty was Water Spouted to death before he could have a big impact. I had a shot at the end as I Swaggered his Jellicent, but that effort didn't pan out. I brought my Scarf Haxorus in the second match to try to stop Scarf Jelly, but he played around it and seemed to have an even easier time winning game 2. 0-2
The Kwa brothers were in the finals, so now I had to battle for the bronze medal with a rematch against my last swiss opponent!
Bronze Medal Series vs Nozomi
After I battled Nozomi in swiss, I was wondering about the item on his Hydreigon. I was informed by one of Nozomi's earlier playoff opponents that his Hydreigon indeed had a Scarf. I knew this would be a big problem for me, as my Scarf Haxorus is one point slower and could certainly be OHKOed.
Game 1
I wasn't sure what to do exactly, so I went to my go-to leads Whimsicott and Thundurus. He leads Amoonguss and Hydreigon, showing me he's figured out exactly what I was worried about. I set up Safeguard with Whimsicott while Thundurus protects from a Draco Meteor. On turn 2, I switch Whimsicott into Scrafty whom I intend to Swagger. I knew Amoonguss might foil this with Rage Powder (and he did), but I didn't mind facing a confused mushroom either. Nozomi took this opportunity to OHKO my Thundurus with Draco Meteor.
Knowing I need to take advantage of the opening left by Hydreigon's halved special attack, I bring out Terrakion. The details are hazy from here, but I Rock Slide to get some damage on him and I think he Draco Meteors Terrakion for decent damage. I expected him to switch Hydreigon so I didn't bother with Fake Out and just Crunched Amoonguss.
All I remember from the rest of this match is that it ended up with his Chandelure against my Scrafty and Whimsicott, with everyone at full health. I double protect just so that I can have Whimsicott Encore whatever attack Chandelure uses before Whimsicott dies, but he actually uses protect too for some reason (a move he kept regretting later on), so I just encored that and Crunched for the kill. 1-0
Game 2
We both go with the same leads. I don't remember this match as clearly, but I remember at one point that his Chandelure OHKOed my Scrafty with Fire Gem Overheat, which was a major turning point. I didn't play this one quite as well, and I lost because of it. 1-1
Game 3
This is the battle that I saved on my DS so I can recall the details exactly.
It seems neither of us felt comfortable with the lead choices we made in the first two matches (which makes sense as we'd done the same thing twice with different results each time). This time, I led with Whimsicott and Scrafty while he led Amoonguss and Terrakion. His Terrakion blocks Fake Out with Quick Guard and Amoonguss draws away Grass Knot with Rage Powder. Then, amusingly, I switch Scrafty to Thundurus and he switches Terrakion to Hydreigon, so we end up with the same combos we each led in the previous match. I also used this turn to Safeguard, rendering his Spore attempt useless.
Knowing I need to find a way to kill Amoonguss while keeping Hydreigon at bay, I switch Whimsicott into Scrafty while Thundurus protects. This works perfectly as Hydreigon tries to Draco Meteor Thundurus while his Amoonguss Protects. Next turn, I Fake Out Hydreigon to give Thundurus a chance to wear down Amoonguss with HP Ice for about 40% damage.
Given how protective I had been of Thundurus at this point, I predicted he'd target Scrafty this turn, so I used the opportunity to try Swaggering his Hydreigon (knowing it might hit Amoonguss anyway). I called it right, as Amoonguss takes my Swagger and Scrafty tanks the Draco Meteor (hitting Amoonguss with Drain Punch in the process to bring it to about 50%).
Now that his Hydreigon is at half special attack and can't OHKO Thundurus, I sense my opportunity. Knowing the only kill he can make next turn would be on Scrafty, I have Scrafty protect while Thundurus HP Ices Amoonguss. Scrafty protects the Draco Meteor while the combination of HP Ice and confusion damage KOs Amoonguss. Nozomi brings out Chandelure in replacement.
I could weaken Chandelure with Thundurus next turn, but his Chandelure will surely finish Scrafty and at least heavily damage Thundurus with a Fire Gem Heat Wave. I really need to bring out Terrakion so that I can double target Chandelure and prevent it from getting that hit in. Knowing I could either sacrifice my low health Scrafty or full health Whimsicott to get Terrakion in, I decide to sacrifice Whimsicott (because even though anything he has left can kill Scrafty, Scrafty's offensive abilities at least force them to target him). I switch Scrafty into Whimsicott this turn while Thundurus protects. This works perfectly as Hydreigon Draco Meteors my protecting Thundurus while his Chandelure OHKOs Whimsicott with Fire Gem Heat Wave.
I bring out Terrakion and go with the plan. Thunderbolt and Rock Slide kills Chandelure, while his Hydreigon misses a Draco Meteor on Terrakion. It's now 3-2 for me as he brings out his own Terrakion.
Next turn, I expect to take a Draco Meteor, but Hydreigon... struggles. Draco Meteor had no PP ups. Of the 5 Draco Meteors used, 1 hit, 1 missed, and 3 were protected. His struggle breaks my Terrakion's sash before he is finished off by HP Ice. His Terrakion then wins the speed tie against mine and Close Combats mine for the KO.
I'm now up 2-1 and as I bring out Scrafty, I feel I've won. He protects my Fake Out. I then know that I can either finish him with two Thunderbolts or one of each T-bolt/Drain Punch, depending on what move he chooses this turn (I don't think even a CH Rock Slide would have killed my full health Charti Thundurus). But then I get a CH Thunderbolt on him anyway to win in style, and win the series 2-1.
I don't play a lot of pokemon, but I felt these were some of the best games I've ever played, if not the best. The day was great just for the hanging out with people, but the pokemon made it even better. After this, the Kwa brothers had their finals match with Randy winning 2 games to 1. Being the nice guys they are, they also decided to give one of their pokemon hat prizes to Nozomi, who can be seen wearing the Snivy hat below.
Left to right: Me, R Inanimate (Randy Kwa), Team Rocket Elite (Jimmy Kwa), Nozomi Kitani
Mark wants this to become an annual tournament, so I'll be looking forward to next year's as well. Hope to see more of you there!
