Meet the Managers of the NPA and Player Registration
Sign ups have ended with 10 of the previous managers and 23 new users signing up to manage for this season of the National Pokémon Association. Only 6 spots were open and lots of thought was put into the managers chosen. It was tough to make the final calls, but these are the managers and teams that will be playing in this season.
Returning Managers
Zach, Fortree Brave Birds
Zach was the manager of the Brave Birds in the second season of the NPA. He has a large community presence, is a moderator on Nugget Bridge, and has organized many tournaments and kept track of their stats. He won three Regionals in 2013 and barely needed to attend US Nationals that year in order to clinch his Worlds invite. He is committed to victory and knows how to work hard to clutch out.
DrFidget, Goldenrod Gamblers
DrFidget has been a much-loved member of the community after being the only person to stream Worlds in 2010. He is also the organizer of The Lava Pool, a highly informative podcast about the Video Game Championships, usually featuring many powerful trainers sharing advice and strategy. In 2013, he placed 3rd and 7th at two different Regionals. The Gamblers finished 4-4 in NPA 2, and are hungry for an even better placing this season.
Ray, Hearthome Holy Spirits
The three-time World Champion Ray Rizzo. There is not enough space in this brief article to cover his Pokemon successes. In the first NPA, he managed the Cleveland Escavaliers, which finished seventh. Last season, he led the Holy Spirits to a 6-2 final record, losing in the Final Four to the Sunyshore Chargers. He is known for drafting star player DeagleBeagle every season. As always, expect the best.
PrettyLittleLiar, Sunyshore Chargers
PrettyLittleLiar experienced a brief stint as a player in the first NPA before returning as a manager in NPA 2, leading the Sunyshore Chargers to a 6-2 finish in the regular season and 2nd place overall. He has placed at Worlds himself, losing in the Top 4 in 2011 to eventual champion Ray Rizzo. He is an active poster, player, and threat.
Huy, Castelia Cones
Huy has had an incredibly strong presence in the online competitive Pokemon community since the early 2000s. He has also been mighty on the battlefield, with back-to-back Top 8 finishes at Worlds in 2009 and 2010. In the original NPA, the team he co-managed with Darnell Washington, the Chicago Afrobulls, reached the finals, losing to the Sacramento Slakings 2-3. His team, the Cones, went 4-4 last NPA season with a strong comeback at the end of the season. Expect big business from this manager.
Tan, Celestic Stars
Tan has been a member of the VGC community since 2012. The Stars have been known to flood the forum with not only their team spirit but also their good cheer. In NPA 2, he led the stars to a mediocre 4-4 finish. However, the Stars were the only team to take a week away from the Seafoam Islanders all tournament. If they can recreate that success, Tan’s Stars will definitely be a top tier team.
TalkingLion, Fuchsia Ninjas
TalkingLion returns to manage the Fuschia Ninjas, which made the Final Four in NPA 2 with a 4-4 record losing to eventual champions, the Seafoam Islanders. TalkingLion has been a member of the VGC community since 2011 with several high placings in offline tournaments in both the Senior division and the Masters division. He is active as a moderator on Pokemon Showdown and although one of the youngest managers, has shown he knows how to lead.
feathers, Fallarbor Flames
feathers returns to manage the Flames for NPA 3! The Flames finished 3-5 in NPA 2 with strong team players like Fish, gene, and PROFESSORLABCOAT. feathers is a powerful player herself, with an undefeated Swiss run at Oregon Regionals in 2013. She is one of the artists who regularly creates artwork for Nugget Bridge and also the only Canadian manager.
theamericandream38, Seafoam Islanders
theamericandream38 is the player who perhaps has had the most success in the NPA. In the first NPA, he played for the winning team, the Sacramento Slakings. In NPA 2, he led the Seafoam Islanders to a nearly undefeated victory. theamericandream38 and his Islanders are definitely the team to beat this season.
makiri, Mistralton Jets
Like Huy, makiri has been integral to the online Pokemon community for many years. He has had many first place Regional finishes and played in the World Championships. Last NPA season, he managed the Jets and in the eyes of many “won” the draft, emerging with an extremely powerful roster. Although the Jets had a mediocre performance in NPA 2, ending the season at 4-4, Makiri has led several teams in Pokemon tournaments to victory, as well as being a winning player on the Sacramento Slakings in the first NPA. You can never count him out!
And the Newcomers
benjitheGREAT, Goldenrod Rollouts
benjitheGREAT, while a relatively unknown player until the start of the 2011 season, has picked up considerably since, winning multiple Regionals in 2013 and 2014. He is replacing Smith as the manager of the Goldenrod Rollouts. Last season in the NPA, benjitheGREAT went 6-2 playing for the Stars and has shown he knows how a successful team runs in the league.
CT MikotoMisaka, Lavarre Pixies*
CT MikotoMisaka, although sometimes partaking in the oft-forgotten Trading Card Game section of official Pokemon tournaments, has been a longtime member of the online Pokemon community. He joins his Sacramento Slakings teammates makiri and theamericandream38 in the ranks of managers for NPA 3. He played for the Mossdeep Rockets in NPA 2, but otherwise has won every Pokemon team tournament he has participated in.
jio, Lilycove Cruisers*
Jio began his VGC career in 2011. Although he was unable to attend Regionals for the first year, he continues to be an active teambuilder and breeder for many high-level players. When he finally attended a Regional in 2012, he placed Top 8. He is one of the most powerful trainers active in the breeding scene.
Dubulous, Viridian Forest Hornets*
Dubs managed in the first NPA, but took a year off before returning to the scene. His team, the Golden State Wartortles, reached the Final Four before losing 3-2 to the eventual champions, the Sacramento Slaking. He has been a member of the competitive Pokémon community since around 2009.
Alaka, Olivine City Splashes*
Alaka is the second manager to return from the original NPA to manage in NPA 3 without managing last season. He led the Orlando Magikarp to a 5th place finish out of the 8 teams present, drafting a strong roster featuring current Regional champion mattj and first NPA 2 draft pick skarm. Alaka has shown intelligence in both managing and operating a team, and he will not disappoint this season.
Dim, Ever Grande Elite*
Dim has been an active user in the VGC community since 2010, and achieved success in the Senior division in 2012 by winning the World Championships. He didn’t stop there, with high finishes at Regionals, US Nationals, and especially at Worlds in 2013, barely losing in the last round to Cybertron who would go on to make Top 4. Dim continues to be a strong player in the 2014 season, and has clinched his Worlds invite.
Thank you again to everyone who took the time to sign up, sorry if you missed the cut.
*These are new teams and their logos are currently being worked on.
Player Sign-ups
To sign up as a player you must post the following in the comments thread:
Timezone:
Tell us about yourself:
Notable accomplishments (Optional):
Now, signing up won’t put you on a team by itself. The NPA draft will take place at some point after the 2014 Pokémon World Championships. The registrations will make up the pool of players that the managers will bid on. You can keep an eye out for managers doing try out sessions in this thread, but please keep in mind that spots are limited and not everyone will be drafted! We will be working to ensure the NPA is as entertaining for spectators as well as the participants themselves. Sign ups will last until August 17th! We look forward to seeing who will sign up this season to be drafted onto one of these 16 teams!
Related Posts
Nugget Bridge Update →
GS Cup Announced as Pokémon’s 2016 Ruleset →
2016 Pokémon World Championships Date & Location Surfaces →
Timezone: GMT+10
Tell us about yourself:
I don’t really know how to pronounce my own username, but I enjoy the exotic appeal of the letter ‘j’
Notable accomplishments (Optional):
I played two people with the exact same name during Swiss at nats
Timezone: GMT -5
Tell us about yourself: Attorney, VG player since 2011
Notable accomplishments :
2011 First place at nats (Ecuador)
2013 First place at regionals (Ecuador)
2013 First place at nats (Ecuador)
2014 Second place at regionals (Ecuador)
2014 Second place at south american challenge (Chile)
NB achievement: 2014 Top four in Dodrio Cup
Congrats to all the Managers.
Timezone: US Standard Pacific
Myself: I have been playing pokemon for the last 10 years. I started competetive on Smogon OU back in 2010 and by 2011 I placed top 5 in the smogon ladders in terms of ou. For the last 2 years I started playing vgc and this year dedicated countless hours and I feel I am at the level of the best players rite now. I know every part of the game and my years of competitive experience give me a big edge.
Notable Achievements: I could attend any events till this summer due to a tough academic year. This summer I went to US nationals and finished 6-3 barely missing top cut. After that I have continued to spend hours each day and on the smogon ladder reached a 8th place on the VGC ladder.
Thank You
Timezone: CET (Central European Time)
Myself: Playing VGC since 2012.
Notable accomplishments: Top 16 at Germany Nationals in 2013 (Senior Devision)
Timezone: EST
Tell us a little about yourself: Have been a casual player since RSE started competetively in XY
Timezone: GMT -8 Pacific Standard Time
Tell us about yourself: aka Supe. Old man extraordinaire. Longstanding member of the LGF community. Despite a height disadvantage, I’m good at snagging rebounds and can get pretty crappy on the bball court.
Notable accomplishments : This one time, I went to Worlds and got punched in the face by the world champ and lived to tell the tale. This other time, I went to a regional and met David Koechner. That grimer was dope, yo!
Timezone: EST
Tell us about yourself: http://nuggetbridge.com/forums/user/6003-kirito/
Notable accomplishments (Optional):http://nuggetbridge.com/forums/user/6003-kirito/
Time zone: GMT
About myself: chilled guy going into second year of uni doing engineering, loves videogames, competitive and ambitious. Been playing pokemon since b/w and been playing vgc since x and y
Notable achievements:
69th in the world for thinknfast online comp
438th in may international online comp
Timezone: GMT
Tell us about yourself: I live with Zog.
Notable accomplishments (Optional): – 5 – 3 uk nationals with Aggron, mega Aerodactyl and Exploud
– I live with Zog.
Zog will Confirm.
Time zone: EST
About myself: My name is sonic the hedgehog. By day, I run at the speed of sound. At night, I turn into a werehog that fights evil and saves vgc players from being woken up at night by all the howling I do.
Accomplishments: Before nationals, I was tied with Kirito for 1st in the world in play! points. I also got 129th place at the Battle of Legends tournament, and got 263rd in the eevee friendly.
Time zone: EST
About myself: My name is sonic the hedgehog. By day, I run at the speed of sound. At night, I turn into a werehog that fights evil and saves vgc players from being woken up at night by all the howling I do.
Accomplishments: Before nationals, I was tied with Kirito for 1st in the world in play! points. I also got 129th place at the Battle of Legends tournament, and got 263rd in the eevee friendly.
Time zone: PST
About myself: I’ve been playing pokemon since RBY and have just recently started playing VGC this year.
Accomplishments: Placed 10th, at the SoCal Regionals in Long beach. I was also in top 32 in the Utah regionals. Lastly, I won the Nuggetbridge major
Timezone: EST
Tell us about yourself: scrub, good at choking
Notable accomplishments (Optional): 8th Philadelphia 2013 Regionals, 7th APEX 2013, 17th(3rd in my pool) APEX 2014, Lost Round 1 of the NuggetBridge Invitational
Timezone: GMT +10
Tell us about yourself: Yo, I’m Base (AKA Martin L) I’ve only been playing competetive for under a year, but ai think I’ve been doing quite well being my first year. I typically don’t sleep very much on weekends, so I don’t see timezones being a huge issue with this sort of thing. And I have lots of experience playing at rediculous hours.
Notable Accomplishments: I’ve only been playing for one year, so I wont have many.
5th at Sydney Regionals (250~ people)
36th Aussie Nats (400 or so people)
1906 and 10th ww at the time on the battle spot special ladder (VGC)
1786 (I think) on JIC.
Not sure whether the last 2 are actually considered accomplishments, but I need to make myself look good, don’t I?
Mario Kart 8 (MK8): I’ve been playing competetive mario kart since early 2011 with Mario kart Wii. Now with MKW servers having shut down, I transitioned into MK8 bringing all my competetive and general MK knowledge with me to the new game. I currently have a VR of 6048 but if I played more I can go much higher. *nudge* ray *nudge*
Timezone: EST
Tell us about yourself: I have been playing VGC since 2010. I constanly play in online,but I have not played in a regional. I look forward to the next one in Georgia.
Notable accomplishments (Optional): Pokemon beta coon: #34
Timezone: EST
Tell Us About Yourself: Since 2011, I have been on a quest to defeat offensive male gamers including, but not limited to, WORST MOD NA Cypher and Simon, who both happened to be on my NPA team last year
Notable Accomplishments: Obviously carrying offensive male gamers like WORST MOD NA Cypher and Simon to NPA victory with the Islanders last season.
Timezone: EST
Tell us about yourself: I’m a ginger. Yes I have no soul. I’m a Sophomore in High School. I play in the schools Marching Band. I really enjoy going into the paint section of any store, taking as many of the little paper paint samples as I can, making it rain, and leaving the store quickly before anyone notices. Music is love. Music is life. I live to hear that bass drop that leaves me speechless. I started playing Pokemon when I was 8 years old. I started playing competitive Pokemon late 2013. I also give my Pokemon some of the weirdest nicknames you’ll ever see.
Notable Accomplishments: Realizing that Shiny Gengar is secretly Michael Jackson. When Shiny Gengar megas, He goes from black, to white!
Timezone: EST
About myself: I’m Alex from Quebec. I’m 18 and starting my 2nd year at college in programming right after Worlds. I’ve been involved in competitive Pokemon since 2011. I started following VGC in the early 2013 season but started playing this year. I haven’t been able to go to an event this year, mainly due to timing and location/travelling issues, but really looking forward to attend next season!
I’m the kind of person who would do anything in my power to contribute to the success of the team, but also be learning a lot from it. I’ll be available every night, so I’ll be very active.
Notable accomplishments: 5-3 in the NB Major (nice comeback after a disappointing 1-3 start) and Top 8 of the Dodrio Cup, as well as decent finishes in the live tournaments I’ve played in (SF and QF).
I’ll be looking forward to prove what I can do in this tournament!
Also, I’m available all week for managers who want to test me.
Timezone: EST
Tell us about yourself:
I’m Jake, I turn 22 tomorrow and I’m hung over af right now.
I’m a huge weab, I run an anime blog with over 2.3k followers. THE ONE AND ONLY TOQUILL follows me. *blushes
I’m new to VGC, just started in December of last year and I’ve only played in one regional so far. I plan on hitting 2-3 next “season”.
I’m very competitive and I have a lot of experience playing games under high pressure and for a lot of money from my past with Magic the Gathering.
I work full time and unfortunately find myself with very little time to really do anything besides sleep and see my friends/gf, however I’m very interested in improving my play and being more involved with the community.
#onoderanation
Notable accomplishments (Optional):
I met lunar once. <33333
Finished 6-2 MA Regionals.
Timezone: EST
Tell us about yourself:
My first Pokemon game was Emerald and I got into competitive, VGC play back in 2012 when the Canadian VGC circuit was introduced. I was pretty busy in an enriched high-school program so I decided to focus on teambuilding for my brothers. I created a hyperdefensive trick room team for my youngest brother, Ayaan (pokemonmaster/lionstar) and he did great with it! He won both the Toronto Regionals back in 2012 and the Canadian Nationals in 2012 in the Juniors division, earning us a trip to Hawaii! The World Championships in Hawaii were the most wonderful experience, the community was had so much spirit and support, it was unreal. I ended up discovering Nuggetbridge through Worlds so here I am now! & my brother placed 6th! He eventually lost to Babbytron with sucker punch dealing the killing blow.
Currently a 2nd-year Management student at the University of Toronto and when I can I try to be active on the forums and weekly online tournaments. I didn’t get picked last year but so didn’t a 100-or-so others and this year, the turnout is amazing!
As a player, if you were to pick to me for your team, I would be a super duper valuable asset in terms of optimizing EV’s (not tylee level but close); teambuilding; breeder (I’ll try); and overall, I love working on teams and would be very dedicated to helping all my other team members play at their best!
Notable accomplishments (Optional):
Haven’t had the greatest VGC track record due to the lack of VGC events in Canada/Ontario but back when we did have Regionals & Nats:
– I coached my brother to a Toronto, ON Regionals victory (Junior) in 2012, Canadian Nationals victory (Junior) in 2012, and 6th place World Championships in 2012
– Mediocre finishes at Toronto Regionals, Canadian Nats, but I’m a star
– Coached my other brother (Gorigenos) to a 4th place finish in 2013 Toronto Regionals
Timezone: GMT
Tell us about yourself:
I’m Lee Watson, Pokémon player from the UK and long time Nugget Bridge lurker. I’ve been playing Pokémon on and off since the early days, but became interested in the competitive scene around about 2008ish (playing singles pretty much exclusively). I first started playing VGC in 2013, taking part in the UK Nationals as my first major tournament. League of Legends is second on my list as far as head-to-head video games go, allowing me to work on my competitive attitude as part of a five man team on a regular basis (I play as part of a full seven man team with rotating lineups, which is taking a break from the game at present). For an insight in to how I view the game of Pokémon, see my interview with Red Bull about competitive Pokémon External and a Nugget Bridge article I wrote about my 2014 Nationals team http://nuggetbridge.com/reports/keys-top-cut-2nd-place-pokemon-uk-battle-tournament-top-16-uk-nationals-team-report/.
I’ll be starting an MSc in Biotechnology at the end of September, so I’ll be free pretty much every evening and weekends to put time in to the game where needed.
Notable accomplishments (Optional):
2013 UK VGC Nationals: 6 – 3 in Swiss (49th place according to pokemon.com)
2014 UK Battle Tournament: 2nd Place
2014 UK VGC Nationals: Top 16
Timezone: Japan Standard Time (UTC+09:00)
Tell us about yourself: Cindy “Nene” Nakamura. Nene is fine. Female. 25 years old. I can speak English, French, and Japanese. I double major in CS and graphic design/media arts. My favorite pokemon are Yveltal, Togekiss, and Regice.
Notable accomplishments (Optional): None. I rarely participate in official events due to lack of time for travel and preparation.
Time Zone: Eastern
Tell us about yourself: Played pokemon since gen 4 started competitive this past year. Also met Ray Rizzo a few months ago at orlando regionals in Fl.
Noticeable Accomplishments(optional): top 25% of orlando regionals
Timezone: Pacific
Tell us about yourself: I will use anything people hate. Perish Trap, Dark Void, T-wave + Swagger. Whatever it takes to win, I will use.
Accomplishments:
SoCal Regionals 5-4 (My 1st regionals)
Utah Regionals 6-2 (Missed Top Cut)
Lost to some noob in the Invitational.
2.09 K/D in Black Ops 2 (Get in my level)
Timezone: EST
Tell Us About Yourself: I’m a 17 years old dude that got into VGC by watching the 2013 worlds stream while dicking around on twitch. I’d like to consider myself funny, but who doesn’t think that about themselves? I’m also good looking. I have good knowledge of street lingo. I have a pretty good ratio of followers to following on both twitter and Instagram. I have a varicocele on my left testicle.
Notable Accomplishments: asides from placing 91 out of like 350 people at Orlando’s VGC, which isn’t impressive at all, I won against Wolfe Glick on the first round, causing him to not make top cut and probably killing his confidence for the rest of the tournament and perhaps the rest of the season. Sorry dude.
Timezone: GMT+10
Tell us about yourself:
My name is Mitch, people may know me as wildheart90 on pokemon showdown. Started playing seriously this season.
Notable accomplishments (Optional):
3rd in Sydney Regionals [Masters] (defeated one of Australia’s 2013 worlds attendees)
T16 in Australian Nationals [Masters] (defeated winner of Sydney regional in swiss)
Timezone: GMT+2 (South Africa)
Tell us about yourself: Based in South Africa and would like to have more of an international challenge. Started playing competitively this year.
Notable accomplishments (Optional): 3rd at South Africa Gauteng regionals, was undefeated in Swiss. 11th at South African Nationals
Timezone: PST
Tell us about yourself:
My goal is to gain experience from this tournament. Having the privilege to work with the best would allow me to put a lot of time and dedication into this. I will make sure to support the team while also strive to achieve further in my own abilities.
Notable accomplishments (Optional):
– 2010 NorCal Regionals Top 16
– 2014 SoCal Regionals 20th place
– Beta Competition USA 1st place
– 2014 Premier Challenges 2nd & 4th place losing to DarkAssassin and King of Mars respectively
– Got $20 bill signed by Ray Rizzo
– 2014 Nationals Top Cut
Time zone: Dst -8 ( west coast)
Tell us about yourself: got into vgc during during mid 2013 playing competitive since 2010
Notable accomplishments: went to my first live event this season in long beach 🙂 went 6-3 getting 25 in my flight and 50th overall in the tournament 🙂
Timezone: Central Time Zone USA
Tell us about yourself:
My real name is: Brian Jens
Showdown Name: TStorm
Notable accomplishments (Optional):
– Top 8 Atlanta Regional – 2009-2010 VGC Season
– Top 4 Madison Regional – 2013 VGC Season
– Top 16 Fort Wayne Regional – 2014 VGC Season
– Top 16 Orlando Regional – 2014 VGC Season
– Top 16 – International Challenge – June 2014 – USA
– US Nationals 2014 – Top 32 – 8-1 Day 1 & 3-3 Day 2