Reports

Published on September 3rd, 2014 | by Evan Falco

21

What’s Protect? A US Nationals 1st Place Report

Hey everybody, my name is Alex Ogloza (Evan Falco) and I’m the 2014 US National Champion. You may know me from my YouTube Channel (in fact, you can also check out this report in video form!) but my other “accomplishments” include a 2nd and a 3rd place Regionals finish, a top 4 and a top 8 Nugget Bridge Major finish, and a 13th place Worlds finish in 2010.

I’m afraid this report isn’t going to be nearly as detailed as Adib’s finalist team report, but since I read literally every article published here on Nugget Bridge, I couldn’t go and not give the wonderful staff here at least something for the website.

One note before I continue: As much as this looks like R’s rain beatdown team, or even Ray Rizzo (Ray)’s or Sejun Park (pokemontcg)’s rain teams, I built this team completely separately from all outside information. I don’t know when the UK and Korean Nationals fall in terms of being before or after US Nationals, but I had no idea rain won either of those tournaments, let alone that R had a similar team that was circulating around the community. This team took me months to put together, and I built it from scratch with the help of Alex Stempe (Stempe) and a tiny bit of inspiration from SumoNinja (even though he kept telling me I sucked and the fact that I mostly ignored all of the changes he made to his very similar team on Showdown).

I’ll start with a quick overview of my team, and I’ll present them in the order each member was added.

Fun Facts: I only have 2 different natures between all six of my Pokemon (Modest and Jolly) and I don’t run the move Protect on any of my team members (you may or may not count King’s Shield as a “Protect” since it doesn’t stop status moves or attacks like Taunt).

The Team

Politoed @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Drizzle
EVs: 12 HP / 12 Def / 236 SAtk / 4 SDef / 244 Spd
Nature: Modest
– Scald
– Ice Beam
– Hydro Pump
– Rain Dance

Politoed was the first member I added to my team, and I chose him for two reasons:

1. I didn’t want to have to fight in my opponent’s weather of choice, and
2. I wanted a Pokemon that could outspeed and OHKO Garchomp.

During the period of time I was building this team, there were a lot of sun teams running around so I opted for a rain team in order to help counter them. I also knew that a fast rain mode could deal heaps of damage to unprepared players, carving a path for my Mega Kangaskan to clean up.

Hydro Pump gave me an option to deal OHKOs on a number of Pokemon that I wouldn’t otherwise with Scald, such as Mega Lucario. Rain Dance may seem like a weird choice on a Choice Scarf Pokémon, but it allowed me to keep the rain up against opposing Mega Charizard Y and is actually my personal favorite move on the set.

The EVs allowed Politoed to survive every form of Talonflame’s Brave Bird except for the Adamant, Choice Banded version. I used this spread in conjunction with my own Talonflame (which was Jolly) so that I could either survive an opposing Brave Bird, or outspeed and have a high chance to OHKO with my own Talonflame instead. As you may have realized, Talonflame gave my teams a lot of problems. Every match I lost throughout the tournament was to a person with a Talonflame (and none of their sets were the 4/252/252 I was expecting). There was only one exception to this rule, and it was to Gavin Michaels (kingofmars) who I lost to by literally 1 HP on a 3/16 dice roll. Aside from that, I lost 2 games in the first day of Swiss and then to Manoj Sunny (MangoSol) in three games on Day 2 — all of whom were running Talonflame. Curses.

The speed puts me at 181, which is one point faster than Mega Lucario, sacrificing the ability to outspeed 252 speed neutral-natured Mega Gengar, Crobat, Aerodactyl, Jolteon. Also, sometimes players will Scarf their Tyranitar, but still EV it to underspeed max-speed Choice Scarf Politoed by 1, so having less speed was useful in keeping my weather up in such scenarios.

Ludicolo @ Assault Vest
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 76 HP / 236 SAtk / 196 Spd
Nature: Modest
– Giga Drain
– Scald
– Ice Beam
– Fake Out

I added Ludicolo to the team in order to abuse Politoed’s ability, Drizzle. Having two fast Pokemon on the field turn 1 gave me a very effective fast mode option against opponents not ready for rain, or just more inexperienced players in general.

I chose Ludicolo over say, Kingdra, because of its ability to hit Rotom-Wash for super effective damage and for the very important fact that Assault Vest Ludicolo can operate well even without the rain. I never felt pigeonholed into bringing Politoed if I wanted to bring Ludicolo to a particular match. If your team forces you into certain playing situations, you’re probably gonna have a bad time. Also Ludicolo’s typing is really helpful in dispatching Rotom-W as well as Azumarill, even if they’re next to a Rage Powdering Amoonguss.

Fake Out was great for the sheer fact that if my opponent led with Kangaskhan, I could lead Politoed and Ludicolo and outspeed their Fake Out. I could also lead Ludicolo next to another party member and apply early offensive pressure.

My speed puts me pretty solidly over 0 investment Rotom, so unless the player really invested a decent chunk of EVs into speed, I would outspeed their Rotom out of rain. In rain, Ludicolo is faster than Neutral +1 252 speed base 100s, such as Salamence, Staraptor, and Zapdos.

Talonflame @ Choice Band
Ability: Gale Wings
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Speed
Nature: Jolly
– Brave Bird
– Flare Blitz
– U-Turn
– Taunt

Honestly, I originally added Talonflame to help deal with opposing Talonflame. That’s why its nature is Jolly (to outspeed other Talonflame) and holds a Choice Band (to help OHKO other Talonflame). Because I don’t have any status moves, I had to rely on finishing off any of my opponent’s Pokemon that had set up with priority Brave Birds.

U-Turn allowed me to switch Talonflame out and kind of operated as a more offensive “Protect” in the sense that I could switch in a different Pokemon to handle an incoming Thunderbolt or Hydro Pump.

Taunt is there solely to deal with Smeargle. Thankfully I never ran into one, but I still used Taunt more than I used Flare Blitz.

The spread’s aim was to do as much damage as possible while still hoping to outspeed all of the other Talonflame I was going to encounter while at Nationals. Jolly Choice Banded Talonflame has a 75% chance to OHKO 4 HP Talonflame, so I figured that was better than the 50% of a speed tie and went with it.

Kangaskhan @ Kangaskhanite
Ability: Scrappy -> Parental Bond
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spd
Nature: Jolly
– Return
– Fake Out
– Sucker Punch
– Power-up Punch

I really needed something that could deal consistent damage at a quick speed and who better than one of the most overpowered Pokemon a VGC format has ever seen!

To be honest, I mostly used my Kangaskhan to help damage other Mega Kangaskhan, Mega Venusaur, Gyarados, Hydreigon and Rotom-W — or I’d use it to switch into Thunderbolts and just cross my fingers that I wouldn’t get paralyzed. The thing is, my rain-mode had a pretty decent way to trade damage, especially at the start of a battle (with the speed from Choice Scarf + Swift Swim and the power boost of being in the rain itself). I could chunk an opponent’s team and then bring in Kangaskhan to clean up later.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 236 HP / 252 SAtk / 20 Spd
Nature: Modest
– Shadow Ball
– King’s Shield
– Flash Cannon
– Substitute

Probably my least used Pokemon throughout the tournament, Aegislash was originally put on the team so that I could switch into a Mega Kangaskhan’s Return without losing a Pokemon. Aegislash is honestly my only good switch option and on a team without Protects, I don’t know what I would have done without its Ghost/Steel dual typing.

I’ve always liked the Leftovers/Substitute Aegislash set because of its ability to stall out Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Mawile. Also, throwing up a Substitute on turn 1 next to a Fake Out from either my Kangaskhan or Ludicolo created early game momentum. Having the rain up helps Aegislash by eliminating it’s Fire weakness and most of the popular ground types in the format (read Garchomp) are outsped and OHKO’d by my rain members, so Aegislash’s synergy on rain teams in general is pretty good.

Hydreigon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 84 HP / 12 Def / 236 SAtk / 4 SDef / 172 Spd
Nature: Modest
– Dark Pulse
– Draco Meteor
– Flamethrower
– Earth Power

I wasn’t aware that Earth Power had to be bred from a previously traded-up Hydreigon from Black and White 2, so I got to the event and freaked out just a bit. I happened to have two Hydreigons in my box, and thankfully the second one had Earth Power so I was alright.

Dark Pulse and Draco Meteor are the standard STAB moves on Hydreigon, and, equipped with Choice Specs, deals crazy amounts of damage. I really needed the Dark-type move in order to deal with opposing Aegislash and Draco Meteor OHKOing 4HP Mega Khangaskhan 75% of the time didn’t hurt either.

I never used Flamethrower in the actual tournament, but it was put on the set in order to deal with Ferrothorn just so I wouldn’t be limited to Talonflame in order to knock it out.

The only reason I even stood a chance against Ray’s rain team was thanks to Earth Power and its ability to deal super effective damage to Mega Mawile and Aegislash in the rain. The differences between our two teams was his pick of Mega Mawile instead of my Mega Kangaskhan, and his Zapdos over my Talonflame. When I realized this in team preview I became jealous that I didn’t think to go that route, since I had really wanted to fit Intimidate on the team somewhere.

Tournament Report

I decided my team was ready when I was able to put 3 different Pokemon Showdown accounts in the top 10 of the VGC 2014 ladder. Making the team consisted of leaving different pairs of Pokemon in the Daycare center for hours on end while I biked around Lumiose Tower using a Quickly’s frequent buyer card tucked underneath the joystick. Yes I had a level 73 Poliwag. No I don’t regret it.

Day 1 – Swiss (X-2 advance)

Round 1: I pulled Jeudy Azarelli (SoulSurvivor) who went on to top 8 the event and make finals of Worlds a month later. We’re both running 5 of the same Pokemon (I have Aegislash for his Amoonguss), but bulky Rocky Helmet Will-o-Wisp Talonflame proved to be too strong. [Loss]

Author’s Note: Losing round 1 is not the illest.

Round 2: Guy with Goodra #1 [Win]

Round 3: Guy with Goodra #2 [Win]

Round 4: ??? (Sorry!) [Win]

Round 5: A very sweet girl running Roserade and Weavile. She told me last year she used a full Eevee team (minus Leafeon), but since she was currently 3-1 I was freaking out because who knows what she had in store. She was probably my favorite opponent of the whole tournament for the sheer fact that it was clear she was playing for the enjoyment of the game and showed it. Thankfully Sir Peddlesticks never surfaced. [Win]

Round 6: Guy with a Talonflame who’s Brave Bird was slower than my Mega Kangaskhan’s Sucker Punch so I thought he was Flame Body. He got me in the end with a priority Brave Bird. [Loss]

Round 7: I played Max Douglas (starmetroid) this round. We had the same 6 Pokemon. I don’t remember much but I’m sure it was close. [Win]

Round 8: I played I Am A Rookie – a super swell dude with a boss Heliolisk. Thank God for Choice Scarf Rain Dance or else I would have been in some serious trouble. I know it’s this guy’s first year, and he started off the day 5-0 so be careful of this man in the future. [Win]

Round 9: Cool guy with Trick Room Gothitelle. [Win]

So I ended up 7-2, having lost my first and sixth matches of the day — both against some pretty interesting Talonflame sets. I knew Talonflame gave my team problems, but I couldn’t take care of the bulkier versions with my own Talonflame and I think that really aided in my downfall. Since all X-2s made cut, I was guaranteed to move onto the next day.

After doing some calculations the night before, I knew I needed a top 16 finish in order to get my invite to Worlds. I was sitting at 212 CP and the projected minimum number of CP needed to qualify was, at the time, 303. A Top 32 finish would have put me at 302 points. 

More calculations revealed that only those who went 4-2 in Top Cut (or better) could finish in the Top 16, so I definitely felt some pressure here. In a field of only those who went 7-2 or greater, I knew there weren’t going to be any “easy” matches.

Day 2 – Top Cut (Top 8 Advance)

Note: If any of the following games didn’t actually go like I detail, well, I dunno, I’m sorry I guess.

Round 1: Jason Fisher-Short (Fish) [3-3]

Game 1: The game comes down to the last turn or two. I have a Talonflame and a Ludicolo, he has a Mega Venusaur and something else. I thought the Mega Venusaur would Protect (PS: it didn’t have Protect) and I double into the partner, losing Talonflame and the match. [Loss]

Author’s Note: Losing Game 1 of Round 1 is not the illest.

Game 2: He misses 4 Draco Meteors and a Sleep Powder while I double Critical Hit his Salamence with Power-Up Punch. A strong game for the rain.

Game 3: I believe we got into a similar situation as in Game 1, but this time I realized that he probably wasn’t running Protect on his Venusaur and Brave Birded it instead. [Win]

Score: 1-0

Round 2: Michael Lanzano (JiveTime) [4-2]

This dude had some scary Pokemon that I was not excited to play against, and he definitely knew how to play the game.  I 100% would not want to repeat our match because he would probably win the second time around. He dresses nice too.

I know this series comprised of 2 insanely close games. The only thing I really remember is that my Assault Vest Ludicolo was paralyzed and at about full health against his under half health Hydreigon (which I believe held Choice Specs). All I had to do was hit one Ice Beam, but he was using Dark Pulse so I was kind of freaking out. I thought I would be able to take the Dark Pulses fine, but after JiveTime’s first Dark Pulse did almost half to my Ludicolo, I realized I would only have two chances to get an attack off to win. The first Dark Pulse flinched me. The second Dark Pulse didn’t, and I didn’t get fully paralyzed so my Ice Beam connected. This was a close one. [Win]

Score: 2-0

Round 3: Manoj Sunny (MangoSol) [4-2]

Game 1: He wins (I think). [Lose?]

Game 2: I win (I think). [Win?]

Game 3: He freaking hid Quick Guard on his Talonflame until the final turn of this game and it destroyed me. Great player with a skillful decision to take all of my Brave Birds and Fake Outs in games 1 and 2 to save his ace in the hole for the very end. [Lose]

Score: 2-1

Lunch Time!

I got the fattest strawberry-banana smoothie, drank about 2 sips of it, and that was that. I was way too nervous to eat anything substantial. I might have had part of a sandwich, but I don’t remember because I knew I needed another 2 wins to secure my invite and not bubble out of Worlds. Did I mention that I was 16th place in CP in North America last year, just to not go to Nationals because I was in Japan for a school study abroad program?

Rushan (Firestorm), a man sent by the devil himself, happened to be in the food court along with Alex Stempe and me and so we all decided to walk back together. Well, thanks to Mr. Previously Specified, we got lost in the Moon Garage and almost didn’t find our way back to our seats in time. Dammit Rushan. On the plus side I found a quarter on the way up the escalator.

[Editor’s Note: I definitely did not get them lost and it’s because the author wandered off in a direction I did not tell him to go. Alex won’t have a chance to edit this before I publish so I get the last word.]

Round 4: Jackson Hambrick (Hambrick) [2-4]

This guy was really cool even if the curse of the lunch break hit him hard. Props for running Choice Scarf Moltres and Crobat. [Win]

Score: 3-1

I needed one more win to secure top 16 and my invite, but at 3-1, I knew I’d be playing somebody tough. What’s worse is that a couple of all-star players, such as Omari Travis (BadIntent), were hovering underneath me, so even if I lost I could still find myself staring down a skilled player at 3-2 and thus risk my invite.

One of the players I really didn’t want to play against was Simon Yip. I had heard he was running Pokemon like Amoonguss, Mega Blastoise, and Assault Vest Tyranitar — all of which are Pokemon I definitely don’t picture as my ideal match-up. To top it all off, apparently he was on some crazy win streak since Day 1. However, he was 4-0 and I was 3-1 so we wouldn’t be playing each other this round.

Round 5: Simon Yip (Simon) [5-1]

Yams. I got paired up against Simon. Since I was only looking for a win and not a strong opponent’s win % at the time, getting paired up was pretty unlucky.

Simon’s a fantastic player and his record shows it. I know he had just missed Worlds the year before (sitting just on the bubble tied with renowned Worlds bubbler Duy Ha), so I know he was really looking for a top cut finish.

All I have to say is thank God for Assault Vest Ludicolo. I don’t remember these matches very well, but I remember them being very close. I realized that the less I remember a match, the more intense it was and I think my brain is just trying to suppress it. I’m glad you won the next match and made it into the top cut, Simon. [Win]

Score: 4-1

I did it. I had my invite. I remember that after this game, I kind of just relaxed. I didn’t really care about my next match, and I didn’t really consider top cutting again anyways. I went into my next match to have fun.

Round 6: Gavin Michaels (kingofmars) [5-1]

God, every single time I play Gavin, I lose. We played at Arizona, where we finished 0-0, but I think he fainted to Life Orb damage so he won (and knocked me out of Top Cut and into 9th place).

This time, I won Game 1 and in Game 2 it’s looking really good. It comes down to my Politoed versus his Rotom-W. I’m locked into Ice Beam, which I had fired off at the washing machine the previous turn, dealing 17 damage. He has 17 HP left and so I Ice Beam him… which leaves him with 1 HP! He’s able to Thunderbolt me on that turn and knock out my Politoed to win Game 2. We did a damage calculation later and found out that 16 is my minimum damage roll against his Rotom-Wash (he had a 3/16 chance of surviving that turn). I think it’s just fate. Game 3 wasn’t nearly that close. [Lose]

Every time we play each other it seems like we have a great set, and since I had Top 16 locked down, I was alright with the result. In hindsight, I’m extremely thankful for that minimum damage roll, since who knows how the rest of the Top 8 matches would have played out if I wasn’t the 8th seed going into it. I know there was a Gyarados + Light Screen Zapdos user on the other side of the bracket that I wanted nothing to do with.

Note: I’m going to keep beating this into the ground, but Gavin was the first and only person of the tournament to win the match against me without a Talonflame on his or her team. EDIT: I just realized that Gavin was most certainly using a Talonflame. I lost every match to a Talonflame.

Final Score: 4-2

I was happy. I had my invite to Worlds. I had some great matches with great people (except Fish, he’s a thief). I kind of just puttered around until the results went up. I knew I had had some tough opponents, so I had a chance at making Top 8, but who could know for sure. In the past year alone, I had at least two or three actual 9th place finishes at tournaments with a Top 8 cut, and a Top 8 whiff due to my Metagross missing Paul Hornak (makiri)’s Latios on the final turn of Pleasanton’s Regional Championships (which gave Paul enough points for the free trip to Nationals and kept me in the $700 grant range).

However, I guess I had bubbled enough and once the results were posted, Aaron “Cybertron” Zheng told me I was in 8th. Honestly I thought he was lying and almost choked the stuffing out of him right there in broad daylight. But, lucky for him, he was telling the truth! I guess I was in Top Cut.

I want to give a HUGE thanks to all of my opponents. You guys and your win percentage gave me a chance to fulfill a childhood dream of mine. I know I thanked all of you in person for your performance at the tournament, but I really can’t thank you all enough. Also, both Adib and my opponents’ win percentage is only beaten by #1 seed Ray Rizzo himself. Gavin had a 48% (what the heck).

Top 8 vs Ray Rizzo (Ray)

God, when I looked at Ray’s team on team preview I pretty much soiled myself. We had 4 of the same Pokemon, but he had Zapdos against my Talonflame and Mega Mawile over my Mega Kangaskhan. I definitely believe his adjustments to the team were stronger than mine, especially in the mirror. I couldn’t even bring Talonflame against his team and my Kangaskhan got Intimidated every time it stepped out onto the field. Intimidate was the one thing I really wish I had found room for on the team, and I was definitely worried about the match-up.

Game 1: Mega Mawile Play Roughed every single thing, forever. It was ugly. [Lose]

Game 2: I figured, hey I have nothing to lose. Neither of us had brought any piece of our rain mode in game 1, so I decided to lead with Politoed and Ludicolo. This game Ray lead Mawile and Zapdos (I believe). I freaking hate Zapdos, so I Scalded and Hydro Pumped into it T1. Mawile switched to Hydreigon and Zapdos fell to the ground. The only other thing I can remember from this game was my Hydreigon coming on to the field and Earth Powering his Mega Mawile and Aegislash for basically the OHKO on each. I knew I would need to do the same in Game 3 if I wanted any chance of winning the set. [Win]

Game 3: I figured I still had nothing to lose and led with the same Pokemon. Ray led Zapdos and Hydreigon. I freaking hate Zapdos so I Scalded and Hydro Pumped into it T1. Ray’s Hydreigon Draco Meteored my Politoed, which survived with 1 HP. Note: His Choice Specs Hydreigon was faster than my Choice Specs Hydreigon, which does not lead to a good time. He must have taken out some Special Attack for speed, but in the mirror it’s definitely worth it. I don’t remember a whole lot from the rest of this match to be honest. I know I Dark Pulsed into his Hydreigon twice in a row, fishing for a switch which I did not get. The final turns of this game were basically Ray Draco Meteoring everything his Hydreigon could get his hands on, going down to -4 or -6 while staying on the field the whole time. I won this game because his 3rd or 4th Draco Meteor missed my Hydreigon, which had survived a Sucker Punch from his Mega Mawile with 12 HP at the start of that turn. My Ludicolo was able to knock out Ray’s Hydreigon with an Ice Beam and my Hydreigon knocked out his Mawile with Earth Power. His only Pokemon left was a full health Aegislash, which went down to another Earth Power. [:( Win]

This was slightly ironic because before the match, we had been talking about the Draco Meteor miss he had had in Top 8 of the 2012 World Championships, which he had only needed due to the fact that he respectfully refused to win on time against his opponent in game 2. It comes at no shock to anybody that Ray is an incredibly strong player (almost inhumanly so…) and that Draco Meteor miss was a gift from the RNG. I’m sorry Ray — I know you wanted that Nationals win because you’ve already won every other tournament that’s ever existed, ever, like three times. I think the coolest part about this match was how well he can shrug off hax. “That’s Pokemon,” he said. This quickly became my favorite quote of the weekend. No wonder you win all the time.

Top 4 vs Jon Hu (JHufself)

The dude with the hat. What a great guy. Playing on stage was nerve-wracking and the random little kid asking for birthday cake over and over again on the headset didn’t really help. This battle was streamed so here it is:

What you really need to know is that the only reason I didn’t get 4-0’d the first game is because Jon Earthquake’d his own Lapras and fainted it on the final turn. Not missing Hydro Pump in games 2 and 3 didn’t hurt either.

Jon’s a great guy with a great attitude. He knew people were raging at his team and he even prefaced our match with a “feel free to rage if you want — I understand”.

Now, I’m of the opinion that any strategy is viable so long as it’s winning. I don’t care if it’s Attract, Confuse Ray, Swagger, Thunder Wave, etc. While making my team, I had the ability to dedicate a slot in my party towards a Prankster Safeguard Pokemon if I had wanted to. There are ways to get around confusion and other moves that rely on dice rolls, so if I didn’t want to dedicate resources to stopping it cold, then I better be prepared to face the consequences. My team literally had no status moves (or Protect for that matter), so my game plan is to try to do as much damage as possible as fast as I can (while also healing Jon’s Lapras from time to time). I got lucky with some good dice rolls, and I’m really hoping I never have to face that team again.

Jon piloted his team all the way to the Top 4 of US Nationals. Major congrats man.

Finals vs Adib Alam (Adib)

To tell you the truth, I didn’t realize that my match with Jon was my Top 4 match. I thought I still had to play again that day, so just imagine how surprised I was when I learned that I was going to the finals the next day (I think Justin Flynn told me during my interview, actually).

Honestly I was just happy to be able to take a break. We had played so many games that my head was starting to become fuzzy. I also hadn’t eaten practically all day. If there’s one thing I learned, trying to keep playing your best after having finished 20 incredibly tough matches already that day is not an easy task. If you watch players towards the end of a long tournament, please don’t judge them too hard on their misplays. Under the pressure of being watched by the audience, coupled with a short in-game timer and the fatigue of having played a ton of tough opponents, your brain doesn’t operate at 100%. Taking a break was something I had been looking forward to.

All I remember doing the night before the finals was grabbing some Mac and Cheese from Noodles & Co. (I got a bowl of it every day of the tournament #newmeta), going back to my hotel room, and preparing with Gavin and Stempe for the next day until I passed out. I also want to add that Jeudy (who beat me round 1 of day 1 with a Talonflame) gave me some pro tips as well over Facebook messenger. Thanks guys!

I was so nervous, I didn’t really get a good night’s sleep, but then again, when your room is colder than Rotom-Frost and you’re sleeping on a carpet harder than blacktop, sleep isn’t really a luxury you can expect.

I wanted to brand my shirt with my YouTube channel before going up on stage just so I didn’t waste the opportunity of being on stream again. Stempe and I walked at least a mile and a half in the humid Indianapolis weather trying to find an arts and crafts store. Newsflash, Indianapolis doesn’t have any arts and crafts stores. We ended up at a hardware store where I bought two jenky $5 markers that were supposedly “going to work.” I took the pens outside, took off my $3 Forever 21 v-neck and tried to draw on it. This was the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life. First, the ground was all bumpy so drawing straight lines was out of the question. Second, one of the pens I bought (and mind you, it cost $5) BROKE after drawing a square. Yes, just one square. We somehow finished the job, even though it looked super ghetto, and started walking back. As dumb as that whole excursion was, it really helped me calm down before the match and I’m grateful we did it. In case you are wondering, I am never going to wear that mess ever again (except maybe to the gym occasionally).

Edit: Nope, I’m definitely never going to wear it again.

I show back up to the arena and immediately get stuck to Chris, one of the judges for VGC. He literally chaperones me until it’s time to play. Funny story, at one point before the final matches started, I realized I didn’t have my game card. Like,holy crap, probably the most important Pokémon match of my life is about to happen and I lost my game card. Chris had to walk all the way back to my hotel with me, where I found it in the pocket of the shorts I was wearing the other day. Cue major sigh of relief. Whatever they’re paying you Chris, I’m sure its not enough (it’s probably not anything…). Thanks for following me around!

A couple hours later and finally it’s time to play.

These matches were definitely streamed, so I’m hoping to keep this article under 5,000 words by not having to describe them (PS I failed).

I will say that the night before, Gavin, Stempe and I decided that no matter what, if Adib led Gyarados + Kangaskhan, I would Dark Pulse into Gyarados, fishing for the switch into Aegislash. NO MATTER WHAT. That’s what my pointing is all about in game 1. I easily could have Draco Meteored in that position, attempting the OHKO on his Gyarados, and I think without having talked it over first that’s exactly what I would have done. In that scenario, switching to Aegislash would have put me at a serious disadvantage and, with my lack of switching potential, probably given Adib game 1.

What’s really tough in Pokémon is trying to decide where to stop the prediction game. I’m sure Adib thought, hey, he’ll probably Draco to get the OHKO, so I’ll switch. I thought that’s what Adib would think so I Dark Pulsed instead. However, you have to realize that it would be just as easy for Adib to realize that I might Dark Pulse expecting the switch and stay in to get up a Dragon Dance, or for me to have used Draco Meteor into Aegislash thinking that he would expect me to expect him to switch. Either play on either player’s part could have been great, it just all depended on what the opponent decided to do in that one moment. Oh my, what a game that we play.

Adib not only has great nicknames for his Pokemon, but he was a great guy and clearly a talented Pokemon player. We talked quite a bit leading up to the match, and even before that. Back when we had to fill out team sheets in Top 8, we sat next to each other at our own table because we were seeds 7 and 8. I know he needed Top 4 to make it to Worlds, and I’m really glad he got it. I remember reading about his double snake team (Steelix + Gyarados) in a report here on Nugget Bridge and thinking to myself “who is this guy?” Well, it was Adib.

There were a lot of mind games surrounding this match; not only during the game itself, but before hand as well. When you’re playing in front of an audience like that at the end of a long weekend consisting of nothing but Pokemon, who knows what kind of decisions you’re going to make while playing. I do want to point out that Adib’s Return into my Talonflame switch game 2 destroyed me from the inside out. Great call there man.

Adib’s report has got a ton of great stuff in it — not only information regarding our match, but our discussions as well as basically a play-by-play of the whole weekend. His team report makes mine look like it was written by a 1st grader.

Adib, thanks for being such a cool guy and thanks for the matches. They had me on the edge of my seat.

Final Thoughts

Here are just some of my final thoughts.

1. Thanks to an AMAZING staff at the event! Nationals went so smoothly. We had plenty of time for lunch both days, and we still finished all of our matches in great time. I don’t know how you guys do it, but everything went perfectly.

2. Thanks to all of my opponents throughout the whole weekend – days 1, 2 and 3. Whether you were helping me make Top Cut with your opponents’ win percentage, a loss, or just teaching me how to play my team better by defeating me, I couldn’t have done it without all of you. If I forgot your name or some details from our match, I’m really really sorry. I honestly don’t remember most of what happened that weekend, and I refuse to watch any of my streamed matches just because I’m afraid I’ll lose if I do. All of you guys were so supportive, and even cheered me on throughout the rest of the tournament (except you, Fish. You’re still a thief in my book).

• SoulSur – You kicked my ass round 1 and got me into shape for the rest of the tournament. You also helped me prepare for my finals match. Thanks a bunch man.
• Glaceon Girl – Your attitude reminded me of why I even started playing Pokemon in the first place. I never picked up the game for status, or to win a tournament. I played because I loved Pokemon, and I carried that with me throughout the rest of the tournament. Thanks.
• Max Douglas – Our match prepared me for the rest of the rain I was going to face in the tournament, and we talked some strategy on the team since we basically had the same 6 Pokemon. Thanks for keeping me alive in Swiss.
• I Am A Rookie – It’s hard to find such a friendly guy, especially when elimination’s on the line. It helped remind me why I play the game. Thanks for keeping me alive in Swiss.
• Fish – Even though you’re a thief and I had to give you paper before our match, you’re a great guy. Thanks for dropping me off at the airport after the Arizona Regional, and thanks for missing every move possible in game 2.
• Manoj Sunny – Thanks for playing a guy that went 1-5. You’re the best <3
• Gavin Michaels – Could you please stop beating me? But seriously, thanks for making your Rotom-Wash so dang specially defensive, because who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t been the 8th seed.
• Ray – “That’s Pokemon”. You’re absolutely right. Sorry anyway. Good games man.
• Jon – I promised you I wouldn’t rage, and even though I basically got 4-0’d during the first game ON STREAM, I hope I kept my promise. Good games man.
• Adib – I’ve never been so scared to play a match of Pokemon in my entire life. Thanks for being a great finals opponent. Good games man.

3. Thank you Pokemon as a company for hosting these events and caring about your players. From the commentators (who did a great job!) to the live stream, you really helped make it feel like playing Pokemon is a big deal. All I could think about all weekend was Ash in the Indigo Plateau Conference, and how I juxtaposed myself into the same position, reliving the excitement and stress I felt back when the episodes were first airing on television (Gavin I guess that mean’s you’re Richie). You’ve inspired so many of us, and since that weekend in Indy I can’t help but feel as if a childhood dream of mine has finally come true.

4. Thanks to Mr. Raichu (the judge who got stuck chaperoning me before the finals). You literally staff over half the tournaments I attend, and I’m sorry I somehow forgot to bring my game card to the finals.

5. Thanks Mom and Dad for buying all of those plane tickets and hotel rooms over the past 4 years. I finally get one for free this time, imagine that.

6. Thanks to everyone who hung out with me this weekend! These events wouldn’t be the same without all of you. Not only because you guys were cheering me on during my matches, but because we went out and competed at glow golf, ate at the food court, played board games, accused Randy and Mark of being spies (correctly I might add), or even chatted up JK at Scotty’s. We got to eat Noodles & Co. (I swear I went three times and got Mac and Cheese all three times), we got to watch fireworks and we managed to get lost in the Moon Garage together. You all really made this trip special. Tom, thanks for the victory pint.

7. Thanks to Gavin for coming to my hotel room and helping me test the night before the big game. Without our prep, I don’t think I could have won. I’m glad to keep it in California, buddy.

8. Thanks to Duy Ha, not only for letting me stay in your Rotom-Frost room for free, but for the hug they played on stream like nine times. I know when I told you my team had three Choice items and no Protect before the tournament started, you said, “I hope you lose so I don’t have to commentate for you,” and well, in the end I guess you got your wish. I didn’t lose but you never had to commentate for me either.

9. Thanks to DeagleBeagle and Metabou. Back in 2010, when I was still a failing TCG player, you guys hooked me up with a team that carried me through the VGC LCQ and into a pretty decent 4-2 finish. Deagle, I doubt you’ll read this but you basically taught me all of the foundations of competitive Pokemon battling I know today. Metabou, you have bred me so, so, so many Pokemon it’s absolutely ridiculous. I don’t know how you do it, but you’ve always come through for me when I needed you. Both of you guys made all of this possible for me, and I couldn’t have won without you two. Thanks.

10. A big big big thanks goes out to Alex Stempe. I remember when I first came to Davis four years ago — it was following the summer I qualified for Worlds in 2010. I taught a bunch of you guys from the dorms how to play competitively, but you’re the one that really excelled and stuck with it. Even though it sucked to drive you all the way to Oregon Regionals this year only for you to beat me in the finals, I found it pretty amazing. If we didn’t live together and talk about Pokemon basically every single day, I’d probably be scrubbing it up right now with 10 CP. Instead, here we are, Regional and National champions, walking to a hardware store 2 miles away, 30 minutes before the final match on Sunday in disgustingly humid weather. If I went back to 2010 and told my past self about all this, I’d think future me was crazy.

11. And finally, a huge thanks to my team. I think Mr. Ninahaza put it splendidly:

“Alex Dylan Scott O’Glaza! So, you won! Congratulations! You’re the new Pokémon League champion! You’ve grown up so much since you first left with <starter>! Alex, you have come of age! <rival>! I’m disappointed! I came when I heard you beat the Elite Four! But, when I got here, you had already lost! <rival>! Do you understand why you lost? You have forgotten to treat your Pokémon with trust and love! Without them, you will never become a champ again! Alex O’bazooka! You understand that your victory was not just your own doing! The bond you share with your Pokémon is marvelous! 

Now please, Alex, Come with me to my bedroo, err, the hall of fame.”

I honestly couldn’t have done all of this without my team. For the first time in my history as a Pokémon player, 5/6 of my team had my OT, and the 6th one is from a close friend of mine, Stempe. I don’t think I missed a single Draco Meteor or Hydro Pump all tournament.

Now what are the odds of that?

About the Author

Evan Falco

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