For a lot of players, VGC is not only about the competition but also about the pursuit of a Worlds invite. From there, the next goal is usually winning it all and making the claim of champion. I’ve been lucky enough to speak to several New England players during my few years in the VGC, coming from an OU player during the Sun & Moon era.

New England has proven to have it’s fair share of notable players, including Stefan “Pengy” Mott, Adrien “ColdingLight” Hurley, Aaron Traylor, and more. I was fortunate enough to speak to a New England player who recently earned his Worlds invite at NAIC.

Sam “LuxioBro” Pletcher is a Boston-based VGC player who started out in the pandemic era of 2020–2021, which was mainly online. His first major achievement came during the Player’s Cup IV, where he achieved top 16 in North America. This season is LuxioBro’s first year competing in the official NA circuit in person, where he got top 32 in San Antonio, top 64 in Pittsburg, and most recently top 64 at NAIC, where he got his qualification for Worlds 2024.

Marco: With NAIC and a lot of big events that TPCi (The Pokemon Company-International) is hosting, there’s been some issues with checking in and connectivity in VGC since last Worlds. How was your experience with that at NAIC?

LuxioBro: For me personally, everything went pretty smoothly. I thought it was really cool that they had the airport option for badge pickup. That really helped cut down on the traffic in the venue. Unfortunately, my flight came in about a half hour after it closed, so I was not able to use that. But I know it was a positive experience for a lot of people. I got to the venue pretty early on Friday.  I would say that the check-in went pretty smoothly for me, but I can’t speak for everybody.

Like Other Major VGC Events NAIC Was Very Meme-able

M: Was there a favorite tweet you saw about the event during NAIC that you felt was kind of funny?

LB: I think it was Nehzzy who posted a black T-shirt that said, “I survived NAIC 2024 Pokemon Center Line.”. I thought that was funny. There were a lot of good tweets about the power outages that happened during the event. There was a game that was going to timer, but they had to replay it because of the outage. There were memes and tweets about that one. There was definitely plenty of material to go around.

M: Do you recall a lot of connection issues throughout the event?

LB: For NAIC, I didn’t have any disconnects personally, but maybe there was one time where it took me a while to connect to my opponent. Besides the power outages, I know that, compared to some other events this year, especially in LA, this event went pretty smoothly compared to others.

M: Do you have any notable matches from NAIC that you want to talk about?

LB: Absolutely! I feel like NAIC was high-level, even from round 1. I played an opponent with a Koraidon mirror, and he was a good player, and it only goes up from there. I think the thing that sticks with you in the end, especially between days 1 and 2, is just being able to play some of the best opponents from around the world. I was super excited that I got to play all these players from different countries. Like Alex Gomez from Spain, Nils Dunlop from Sweden, and Eduardo Cunha from Portugal, and some of the best in the US as well. It was just really cool to be able to play with people from all over and experience their playstyles. I think my favorite overall match was during Day 2 against an opponent who was running a Calyrex-ice team. I was just playing an opponent who also had Calyrex-ice and lost. So I was trying to figure out answers against that team, and I kind of had a fun adaptation in game 3 of that match. I brought Sandy Shocks to a Trick Room matchup against Calyrex-Ice, and I was like, “I don’t think there’s any way this is going to work, but I think this is the right call,” and it ended up working out. 

LB: In Day 1, playing Nils and Alex was incredible. I was able to stall out Nils’ Trick Room with his Ursaluna, which is the play I’m most proud of that I’ve ever made. There are so many great highlights, and being able to play some of the best was what stuck out to me.

M: I know this is your first time qualifying for Worlds. How tough would you say it was to qualify this year?

LB: I mean, it was tough. I think part of it was mentioned in my post on Twitter. I was really trying to kind of balance VGC with other things in my life. I knew going into this season how many events I would be able to attend. So it was kind of on me to make the most out of them. I applied that extra pressure on myself, which made it difficult. Of course, playing in New England is incredible. You just get to play with so many great players on a day-to-day basis. It’s a dogfight for points in every single tournament. For me, the challenge level was quite high, knowing that I could only get so many points during these events. Every event I go to, I play such high-level players. Anybody who puts their mind to it and gets their invite should be proud of putting in the work to make it there. I know I’m proud of mine and all my friends who were able to get their qualifications as well.

High Praise For The New England VGC Community

M: You’ve mentioned New England a lot in both your posts and in this interview. How would you say New England plays a role in your growth in VGC, and how has your experience been in that circuit? 

LB: I moved out here after college and started my first year in the VGC scene in general. I think for me, first and foremost, it’s a social thing. I meeting some great people who were happy to talk about Pokemon or anything else. I’ve met people who were very open, supportive, and just generally nice. Once you get past that initial base of meeting people, really become friends with them, and extend to teambuilding, planning together, regionals, trips together, etc. Having Pokemon in this area of my life is where I can make new friends and really share this interest and passion with other likeminded people who are interested in the game but also interested in being friends. For me, that’s what makes my experience with the region so special.

M: I’m happy to hear that. That’s kind of what the whole game is about. Pokemon is about friends and growing as a person.

LB: Yeah, I agree.

M: I have one more question, and it’s about New England. Who do you think your toughest opponent is in the region?

LB: That’s hard to say. There are so many great players and so many I haven’t ended up playing. My answer is going to be a little incomplete, but I think the person who really pushed me the most from the games we’ve played with each other was Yi Chun. When I played him the first two or three times this season, he just destroyed me. He was playing this very offensive set, which was really good into the balanced stuff I was bringing. For me, it was this uphill battle, and I was learning about how to play against that playstyle. The first time I beat him was actually in San Antonio regionals, and we’ve played a few matches since then.

Sam “LuxioBro” Pletcher had a lot of praise for the New England VGC community. In his thread on Twitter, LuxioBro mentions several New England players he’d like to thank, including Jacob Lintner, Cheeseb0y, Chrus, and many more. DevonCorp wishes LuxioBro good luck on his Worlds run later this year, and looks forward to more interviews with players in the future.

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