The Ultimate Showdown on a Global Scale!

Last weekend, I fought in 70 matches while competing in Pokémon's online tournament, the Global Showdown. Global Showdown was my first online tournament and the last for Black and White 2. With school and moving out of my apartment, I didn't have much time to prepare a team. So I got some old Pokémon, changed a few movesets, and threw this together:

Sheik, Waluigi, Dhalia, Raymond, Bolin and Macho Man "Mewtwo" Savage are ready for battle!

So I know what you're thinking. "Smiles is using a Mewtwo!? Isn't that cheating?" Actually, no. The Global Showdown allows for any Pokémon to be used (except oddly enough Chatot). If I wanted to stand a fighting chance against Kyogre, Arceus, Kyurem, and opposing Mewtwos, I had to pack a Mewtwo of my own. You might also notice that some of my Pokémon come straight from my VGC team. Like I said, I didn't have much time between school and moving out, so I quickly threw them in. They actually performed pretty well.

 The first day of battling went well. I had a few wins here, a few losses there. It was definitely a learning experience fighting against Uber legendaries, but I got the hang of it. My first win against a full legendary team was a huge confidence booster, and I owe my thanks to Sableye.

 

For the most part, I was able to use strategy to get out of tough situations. My most memorable battles however come from Lady Luck. Sometimes, a dose of good ol' fashioned hax is all you need to get out of a sticky situation. I, however, did rely on Lady Luck more than I'd like to admit.

                                  

Lady Luck can be a cruel mistress. Just as easily as she'll flinch your opponent, she'll flinch you right back! This is one of the reasons why I hate the Wishmaker Pokémon Jirachi. I just wish I didn't have to deal with it.

                             

The worst thing that can happen during an online tournament is that your WiFi stops working. The second day of the tournament, my WiFi stopped working. I went insane! I was having so much fun and didn't want to stop competing. I decided to scour the area and bum WiFi wherever I could find it. My search led me to Big Bite, the greasiest place in town. Let's just say their slice of pizza has enough grease to create Muk. I bought the healthiest thing I could find and sat there for five hours playing Pokémon. It was glorious. 

A grilled cheese sandwich with tomato was the healthiest thing available.

Like before, I had my fair share of wins and losses. But that day, I felt that it was easier to pull off  my strategies. It was like the Big Bite grease was a good luck charm or something. Originally, my Volbeat was more of a gimmick that Baton Passed his Tailglow boost to Mewtwo for a clean sweep. Obviously, there's so many things that could go wrong with this, but I was surprised how often I pulled it off. Especially when I faced a full team of legendaries.

Probably my most memorable match was against a really bulky Lugia. I barely scratched it with a Super Effective Ice Beam! It planned to outstall me until I would struggle myself to death. However, a few good hits on Kyogre gave me the advantage as far as health is concerned. So what did I do? I planned to outstall the clock! It was a bloody war of attrition as his Lugia kept on using Substitue, Protect and Roost. Luckily, he gave in when we had 8 minutes left. Still, this was my most difficult match yet. I had to fight him and the urge to use the restroom! This battle took over 40 turns, so I suggest you make some popcorn if you want to watch the match below.

I had a blast competing in my first online tournament. Sure, I had a few disconnects (looking at you Rocky from Texas!), but for the most part I enjoyed the competition. It was great to see all the creative teams and movesets from trainers around the world. And to top it all off, I ended up with a 1547 rating! Basically, that means I won more than I lost. My biggest regret is that I didn't compete in online tournaments sooner. Hopefully X and Y continues the tradition of hosting fun tournaments.

Feel free to watch some of my other battles on YouTube

A Tough Trek through Victory Road

I can't believe a whole year has passed since my last VGC competition. While I've been able to play a little online, I missed the experience only a live competition can bring. Meeting new trainers, catching up with old friends, taking a picture with the guy in the Pikachu costume, I missed it all! This year's VGC though was...different. I still can't fully process this year's experience, but it gave me a new perspective of what it means to be a Pokémon Trainer.

Since my brother won regionals again, we got a free hotel room. It was the same one as last year, but we slept in the train car rooms. Yeah I thought the train car rooms were cool last year, but that's because I didn't sleep in them! If only I knew how claustrophobic they were. To make matters worse, there was a wedding that same weekend and our family was unfortunate to be neighbors with the groom's family. Look, I get that you hate your new in-laws, but SHUT UP! It's 4 in the morning and I have to battle at 9!

QUIET!!!

After a terrible night sleep, me and my family walked into the convention center, ready for a day of battling. We even convinced my sister to play! Seeing the success my brother had with rain, I decided to change up my team and add some new tricks. After some quick playtests and adjustments, this was what I came up with:

Dahlia, Bolin, Toadsworth, Sgt. Calhoun, Slippy and Sheik are ready for battle

This year I decided not to go with an overall theme. My main strategy was to slow down my opponent's momentum with moves like Icy Wind, Spore and Yawn or quickly knock out two of their Pokémon and use Perish Song. Giving up movepool coverage like Ice Beam on Kingdra was a tough choice to make, but in the end the surprise factor gave me a slight edge. Unfortunately, I ended up with a 4-5 record. My sister also ended up with a 4-5 record, which is amazing for her first time battling competitively.

At this time, I was down in the dumps. Going in this competition, I told myself I wanted to walk out with a winning record. My losses were especially crushing; battles ended with my opponent sitting on little health with one Pokémon left. I was the Spurs losing Game 6 to the Heat. I failed to claim victory when it was literally at my finger tips. While it was a lose, this match was the most intense match I had in the competition. Oh yeah, sorry for the bad camera quality.

After me and my sister finished playing, my brother entered the ring. His first win brought a smile to his face, but his next two losses left him disheartened. His battles were close too! My brother's opponent's won by the skin of their teeth. As a coach, I felt bad I couldn't help. My brother made all the right moves in the replays. Could it be that Dragonite needed more Speed EVs? Or maybe Rotom needed Hidden Power Fire over Grass? These thoughts haunted me. Maybe I didn't do all I could to prepare him for competition.

I was pretty depressed leaving the convention center that evening. We had a strong desire to win but fell short of our goal. It took me some time to get over it, but I had to think back to Ash Ketchum. This kid only won a league once, and that wasn't even in the main series! Time after time, he's failed to become the champion. And yet, Ash remains optimistic.

It's been over ten years and he's still at it.

Besides the tournament, we also got to play in some side events. This really helped lift our spirits, especially when we managed to win eight booster packs. Plus, we pulled three Latios EX cards! One was even the full

body artwork!
Here's a match during the side events where I made Perish Song work. It's a pretty good strategy if you can pull it off:

This year's Nationals had its disappointments, but the experience humbled me. As a Pokémon Trainer, you have to deal with defeat. Not every match will end with a win, so you have to grow from it. Does this mean I'm giving up? Of course not! I am now more determined than ever to compete again! My brother has already drafted a new team and my sister even wants to compete again. Nationals let me spend time with Pokémon and family, two of the greatest things in the universe. I wouldn't trade it for anything, not even for another Latios EX.

The picture that sums up what I love about Nationals