JAA Cincinatti (Chalkey and jeps)

Introduction

Our story begins with the infamous chakka khan (Chuck), who made his first appearance last year in the 2005 National Pokémon Tournament in Seattle. We had decided that Chuck and I would make the trip to Cincinnati so he would have another chance in a JAA. Our departure time was set at 7:00 am the morning of the JAA in order to reach Cincinnati in time for registration at 1:00 pm. We arrived at the tournament site at about 12:00 pm, giving us a chance to check out the youngsters fighting for a spot in the 2006 Pokémon National Tournament. As expected, the competition was at a very low level and there were no kids in this division worth mentioning. After, the 12-and-under tournament signups began and this is where we ran into our problem. Chuck had qualified as an alternate for Cincinnati, but it seemed that almost everyone who was of the original 64 qualified was in attendance. When the line died down I asked if they were going to take any alternate, and they told me that there were three spots open. This meant that three of the fifteen alternates would be randomly selected for a chance to compete in the JAA Cincinnati. With the help of a little luck, Chuck managed to get picked out of those fifteen alternates.

After a quick rejoice, Chuck went into tournament mode. Chuck used almost the exact same team as mine, except he had time to level up a Jumpluff whereas I hadn't. I had used a Cradily as filler instead of the oh-so-amazing Jumpluff. For those of you who aren't familiar with the lineup, here it is:

Chuck's Team

  • Mewtwo
  • Rayquaza
  • Snorlax
  • Groudon
  • Jumpluff
  • Kyogre

(Chuck comments, "For the sake of my pride, I would like to point out we mutually came to this team before Detroit—I didn't steal his or anything. We helped each other make both teams, and with exception to Jumpluff replacing Crobat and Kyogre replacing Shiftry, it's the same as before.")

Battles

Round One: Buzz Cut Boy

This match was pretty much a breeze for Chuck. The kid used Pokémon such as Tyranitar, Charizard, Zangoose, and Mewtwo. This match quickly ended with a 3-0 result.

Round Two: Legend of Zelda Shirt

This kid was one of those stereotypical gamer types. He actually proved to be one of Chuck's hardest matches, since he had a couple of unexpected Exploders and irregular movesets, along with your usual ubers. ("Somehow I ended up in the exact scenario I was in when I lost Detroit—Groudon and Rayquaza against a Kyogre and Mewtwo. I saw this and nearly crapped my pants.") Despite the tricks, Chuck was able to pull off this match as a 1-0.

Round Three: A Girl Named Cassy

Cassy actually knew what she was doing and had a decent team that consisted of the average ubers (Mewtwo, Rayquaza, Kyogre, etc.). Chuck had somewhat of a hard time with this match, since his Mewtwo was frozen on the first attack. Unfortunately for her, Chuck happened to outplay her luck. It came down to her Groudon versus Chuck's Rayquaza and Groudon, with her killing Rayquaza, then losing to Chuck's Groudon right afterwards.

Round Four (Quarter-Finals): Explosion Guy

When I took a glance at this guy's Pokémon and it was completely obvious all he would be doing is Exploding. He led with a Gengar and Golem, while Chuck led with the amazing Jumpluff and Groudon. When his opponent saw that he had sent out Jumpluff, he had remarked "That was not a smart move", to which Chuck responded "I'm not a very smart person". Apparently Chuck isn't very smart since he ended up winning 3-0 by throwing a Sleep Powder on the Golem and a Swords Dance with Groudon. After that, Gengar took out Jumpluff with an Ice Punch and Mewtwo came out to take care of the Gengar while Groudon swept the rest of the team.

Round Five (Semi-Finals): Guy with Diamond Earrings

This guy was wearing a hat and had two diamond studded earrings in his ear. He used Groudon, Rayquaza, Mewtwo, and Snorlax. Funny... the same team as Chuck's. Anyway ,both of them started with Mewtwo and Rayquaza. Both Chuck and his opponent Protected on their Rayquazas, but Chuck sent his Mewtwo's Ice Beam at the opposing Mewtwo, rather than his opponent who sent his at Chuck's Protected Mewtwo. Chuck switched out his Rayquaza for Snorlax in order to suck up his opponent's Ice Beam, while Chuck's Mewtwo shot another Ice Beam at the opposing Mewtwo. His opponent; s Rayquaza sent a Dragon Claw at Snorlax. To make it short, Chuck outplayed the guy, leaving Chuck with Rayquaza and Groudon versus his opponents lone Groudon... and yet another victory for Chuck.

Round Six (Finals): Trainer Name Alex

Alex's lineup consisted of Mewtwo, Snorlax, Rayquaza, and Kyogre. Alex started with Rayquaza and Mewtwo while Chuck started with Snorlax and Mewtwo. After a jumble of Protects and switching wars Alex had Kyogre and Mewtwo out while Chuck had Mewtwo and Snorlax still in play. Chuck's Mewtwo went for a Thunderbolt on Kyogre but Alex withdrew the Kyogre for Rayquaza, who ate theThunderbolt for about one third of its HP and paralyzing it. Alex's Mewtwo shot an Ice Beam at Chuck's, bringing it to about three fifths of its health while Snorlax Protected. Next turn both Mewtwos shot down a Protect while Alex's Snorlax Selfdestructed to take out Chuck's Snorlax. Alex sent out Kyogre to replace his Snorlax while Groudon takes the place of Chuck's Snorlax. The rest of the battle from here is mostly a blur, but basically a Swords Danced Groudon activated Salac Berry and swept Alex's entire team. The end results were Chuck 3 – Alex 0.

Yet another person to add to the NYC list... congratulations, Chuck!