Raging About Rage Quitters

It's a normal day in Pokemon X. I hatch some eggs, Wondertrade, battle online, and hatch some more eggs. Just as I'm about to grab more eggs to hatch, I get a challenge from Andy, a person I recently Wondertraded with. My main team was built for doubles, but I usually don't get challenges so I say what the heck and accept his singles challenge.

It was a back-and-forth match and I'm about to deliver the final blow to his Gyarados. Right before my Conkeldurr lands the final Mach Punch, I get this:

Yep, Andy couldn't handle the loss and disconnects on me. I spent 20 minutes in a battle only to have some jerk disconnect on me. Now, I've had my fair share of disconnects from trainers in the past, but this particular match infuriated me.

First off, why the heck are YOU initiating the challenge if you're just going to quit before the match officially ends? That's like someone challenging you to a game of chess and knocking the board over after a checkmate.

Not only that, but you had Darkrai on your team! I hate how some trainers assume that an Uber

legendary will carry their whole team. All Pokemon have weaknesses that can be played around. If you knew Darkrai was going to be your key to victory, you should have taken care of it. I knew that Conkeldurr was a key player in taking out your team, so I kept him in the back until the opportune moment. I'm sorry I played around your Dark Void shenanigans.

And don't go crying to me that I won due to hax. Greninja waking up the turn after Dark Void hit was lucky, but you my friend had a great amount of luck on your side again. My Charizard's Heat Wave missed 4 times in a row against your Aegislash WITHOUT King's Shield up. Immediately after, my Venusaur gets off a Sleep Powder, and you wake up the next turn. Did I disconnect after that stream of bad luck? In Pokemon, there's a factor of luck. Deal with it. If I really wanted to quit, I could have ran and formally gave you the win. You could have easily done the same.

It's right there! How hard is it to hit "run"?!

It's aggravating that players think it's ok to act like a poor sport just because it's a video game. Every competition has a code of respect. Whether that's shaking hands before and after a match or see a match through, you owe it to every player to facilitate a fun environment. I felt that disconnect was a spit in the face. Andy of New Mexico, you should be ashamed of yourself. It's players like you who take the fun out of online battles. But you can be a better player than that. Take your losses in stride, learn from mistakes, and become stronger. Pokemon's a game, and part of that is accepting defeat gracefully. Quitters never win and winners never quit.