“PLATINA” A Day 2 Knoxville Regionals Warstory
Hello everyone, my name is Adit Selvaraj (@wellspringmask) and I recently made my first day 2 at a modern era regional.
Making Day 2 at a regional has been something of my own personal white whale since returning to play VGC when Scarlet and Violet VGC commenced in 2023.
Now, I don’t consider myself to be a well decorated player or even particularly good compared to my friends. My only VGC accomplishment was getting top 8 at a 2015 regional (back when entry was free and everything was bo1). If you used Thundurus and Terrakion like me, you definitely tend to skew luck in your favor and can possibly ameliorate any bad matchup you may be faced with.
In 2023, I put a lot of time and effort into re-learning the fundamentals of VGC. This growth was accelerated after Oliver Valenti (@smith_und) added me to group chat, Boiler Room, which at the time contained some old VGC veterans (Blake Hopper, Jake Muller, Oliver Valenti), veterans still competing actively in the circuit (Caleb Ryor, Toler Webb, Collin Heier), and rising stars of VGC (Raghav Malaviya, who has 3x Internats Top 8s, and multiple regionals top 8, and Kazuki Kanehira (who has gone on to have some amazing finishes at regionals).
After whiffing Orlando with a hastily-put together team, I attended NAIC, where I used Luka Trejut’s Top 4 Ft. Wayne team to a very mediocre result, but beating Justin Burns round one was a huge boost to confidence and knowing I had potential going into next season.
In 2024, I decided to give playing a full season of VGC a full chance since I had disposable income from starting a new job. This also meant working with coaches to play teams and archetypes I liked.
In Pittsburgh, I used Hirofumi Kimura’s team of Chien-Pao / Hisuian-Arcanine / Flutter Mane / Tornadus / Rillaboom / Urshifu-Rapid to go 6-3, my best results at a regional since 2015.
My losses were to eventual top 32 finisher Brendan Zheng, Kazuki Kanehira, and eventual Charlotte 2nd place Nicholas Donnelly. I ended up bubbling top 64 points at 65th.
After Pittsburgh, I worked on attending the local scene in Florida. My first event after Pittsburgh was the first Regulation E event held in America, a MSS hosted by TJ Digiacomo (PsyJ). That result was quite pitiful x-3.
The next event was a Premier Challenge in Miami, where I used Michael Zhang’s team of Arcanine-Hisui / Iron Bundle / Rillaboom / Tyranitar / Flutter Mane / Kommo’o. I made top 4.
Frustrated at my ability to not even win a local, something I used to be able to easily do in 2015. I began booking coaching in earnest with Chuppa Cross. I’ve known Chuppa since I started in 2014, and his breakout season in 2023 was a real motivation to me to try to do well.
After his amazing regional win in Toronto using Hirofumi Kimura’s team (also known as Sanvy six), I began working with Chuppa to learn how to master Torn + Urshifu. I ended up winning a PC with his team.
The following day, I bombed a PC, losing to Hard Trick Room teams (a trauma that is evident in my my prep for Knoxville).
Intending to use Sanvy 6 for San Antonio Regionals, I booked a session with Victor Medina, a top 8 finisher at the recent Latin American Internationals, in which he shared with me the virtues of Tera Ghost Rillaboom.
After Gadansk regionals, I booked one final coaching session with Oliver Eskolin (@OweVGC)
fresh off his regional win and decided to use his team for San Antonio.
San Antonio was a disaster in every sense of the word: from losing to Jeudy Azzarelli’s (@SoulSur) Jolly Urshifu that outsped my Timid Gholdengo, to missing Bleakwind three times on a Low HP Rillaboom in a game 3. This was the worst I’ve ever done at a regional ever with a 3-4, drop result.
The following week, still burnt out on mons, I made the foolish decision to drive 3 hours to Tampa for a sparsely attended MSS (likely due to Xmas Eve being the day after).
I used Raghav’s 2nd place San Antonio of Kingambit / Clefairy / Arcanine-Hisui / Landorus-Incarnate / Rillaboom / Ogerpon-Wellspring and went 2-2, losing to a Ting-Lu Hail team, and Brady Smith.
The following week I attended a larger MSS near my home, with about 30 registrants. I used the same team as last week’s MSS, beating the winner of the Tampa MSS, Kyle Ayala (@KairoshiiTV) in the mirror during Swiss and then winning in the finals against Don Czech (@drczech): a highly decorated Florida player who finished t32 at Charlotte with a Hail team featuring Magmar. I was happy I could end Regulation E with some modicum of success.
-January Onwards-
I initially hated Reg F. I hated Incineroar before in other formats and as an average Arcanine enjoyer, I was worried that I would be forced to eschew Arcanine for Incineroar or even Entei.
Granted, I would use them if I had a better chance of winning, but it definitely would feel hollow for me.
There was a glimmer of hope for me when Ryan Haig (@z0mogvgc) made top 8 in Portland with a team of Latias / Ogerpon-Wellspring / Landorus-Incarnate / Kingambit / Flutter Mane / Arcanine-Hisui.
Ryan kindly gave me his spreads, and I got to work testing the team when I had free time.
The team felt okay, but I noticed its weaknesses to Dondozo, and the fact that the Dragonite - Chien-Pao felt super difficult. Compounded by the fact Latias is a very BAD Pokemon, I decided to drop testing this team.
-The Double Rock Theory-
The following week, Eric Rios posted a screenshot of a rental team he was using.
Curious about the Tornadus + Glimmora core, I decided to do what I always do when I have a problem, throw money at it.
I subbed to Eric Rios’s Twitch Channel, and got access to an edited version of the team as well as a document with relevant calcs.
Note: The edit was that Eric Rios decided to use Entei over Hisuian Arcanine
Looking at the current meta after Portland, I realized double Rock Types were very good into Alex Underhill’s Portland Champion team and that Glimmora was very good into Chuppa’s 2nd Place Dondozo team.
In the context of Glimmora vs priority spam teams like Alex Underhill’s, Chien-Pao and Dragonite attacking into my Glimmora meant that my opponent would have to accept that they would be dealing with at least one layer of Toxic Spikes on the field.
Leading with Tornadus + Glimmora, I could typically set up Tailwind and go for a big Meteor Beam to deal massive damage into Dragonite, sometimes even OHKOing it depending on the investment.
If they decided to double into Glimmora, I had enough bulk invested to have a chance to survive combination of 252 Jolly Chien-Pao Sucker Punch and Tera-Normal Choice Band Extreme Speed from 252+ Adamant Dragonite.
252+ Atk Choice Band Tera Normal Sword of Ruin Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 188 HP / 4 Def Glimmora: 83-98 (45.6 - 53.8%) -- 44.9% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Sucker Punch vs. 188 HP / 4 Def Glimmora: 82-97 (45 - 53.2%) -- 32.4% chance to 2HKO
For Admanant Versions of Chien-Pao, I always had Hisuian-Arcanine in the back for Intimidate.
Against Chuppa Dozo, their Glimmora does not have access to Earth Power, meaning that the matchup is heavily in my favor. If they decided to lead the Chien-Pao/Dragonite lead, I would always be able to set up a layer of Toxic Spikes and their Non-Leftovers Dondozo would slowly die to the residual damage.
In tandem with the ability to always have the speed advantage with my Tornadus’s Tailwind, I felt confident in my Dondozo matchup.
While Eric Rios decided to go for Tera-Ghost on Tornadus, I decided to use Tera-Steel to resist attacks such as Ice Spinner from Chien-Pao instead of taking neutral damage.
Jolly Arcanine was recommended to me by Ryan Haig, and when testing with Arcanine, I liked the ability to naturally outspeed bulky Ogerpon and Timid Glimmora without even having to set up Tailwind.
With this six in mind, I decided to take this team to a Premier Challenge.
Arcanine-Hisui @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk /252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flare Blitz
- Head Smash
- Rock Slide
- Extreme Speed
Ogerpon-Wellspring (F) @ Wellspring Mask
Ability: Water Absorb
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 164 HP / 28 Atk / 156 Def / 4 SpD / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spiky Shield
- Follow Me
- Horn Leech
- Ivy Cudgel
Flutter Mane @ Choice Specs
Ability: Protosynthesis
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 212 HP / 76 Def / 20 SpA / 4 SpD / 196 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Shadow Ball
- Dazzling Gleam
- Icy Wind
Tornadus @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 228 HP / 244 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
- Bleakwind Storm
- Taunt
- Tailwind
- Protect
Urshifu @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unseen Fist
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 244 Atk / 84 SpD / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Detect
- Wicked Blow
- Close Combat
- Sucker Punch
Glimmora @ Power Herb
Ability: Toxic Debris
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 188 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 60 Spe
Modest Nature
- Meteor Beam
- Sludge Bomb
- Earth Power
- Spiky Shield
My hypothesis about the team’s positive matchups were proven at the Premier Challenge. I was able to decisively win 4 games out of 5 against Kyle Ayala and his Chuppa Dozo team, to take the victory.
The following day, I got Top 4 at another Premier Challenge, losing to Kyle’s Hard Trick Room Team with Gallade and then in against (@Parawings) Brent Caughey in top 4 (+12)
Tuesday evening, I decided to enter Tom Hayden’s weekly Tommy’s Tuesday Practice Tour, getting Top 8, my first time ever cutting a Limitless Online Tournament.
It was after this point I knew I had to book Knoxville, I was reaching heights I haven’t ever reached as a player, even at my peak in 2015.
So with bated breath, I camped out on rk9 and got in on the final wave of registrants for the Knoxville regionals with some other talented players like Rajan Bal and Fiona Syzmkiewicz.
The success Ryan Haig (@z0mogvgc) also had with the six in VGC Victory Road Winter Tour, further bolstered my confidence in this team.
I felt really good about this team going into the Charlotte meta, and my recent successes with the team inspired two of my friends Andrew Whitman (@colossalkoala) and Anthony Kissoon (@Ant_ATK) to inquire about the team to use at Charlotte.
Anthony decided to stick with the Arcanine-Hisui version, and it unfortunately did not seem to work out for him in Charlotte. He did mention that Jolly Arcanine missed him some crucial KOes, so I kept that information in mind when building for Knoxville.
Andrew decided to pivot toward the Chi-Yu version that Kyle Livinghouse and Stephen Mea used to great success at Charlotte. Chi-Yu seemed to be a meta call on Glimmora teams to counter the return of the all-mighty building group colloquially known as the “Church'' who brought Iron Crown Psyspam to wreak havoc on Charlotte.
Andrew went 6-3, losing to Justin Tang and Chuppa Cross in a 6 mon mirror (he told me their faster Tornadus was detrimental), and then losing to Mia Gray’s Iron Crown team (@MooneMaus) for the win and in.
Looking at the standings I was dismayed that the H-Arc version I was theorying with had little to no representation in Day 2.
Dashiell Murphy (@thedashiell) was the only one who used the six I was working with to reach Day 2, so I decided to reach out to him to compare notes.
I was surprised about some of his team building choices such as using Timid 252/252 Glimmora. While I did not decide to use his variant of Tailwind H-Arc/Glimmora for Knoxville, I did book a coaching session with Dashiell’s coach Federico Camporesi (@FedeCampo) in hopes I could achieve a Day 2 with that six.
My coaching session with FedeCampo consisted of figuring out lines against common archetypes and updating my EV spreads to be more meta relevant.
And while Fede did tell me to use Chi-Yu, I was able to convince them that Arcanine-Hisui was on my team for a reason other than it being my favorite.
My other prep consisted spammed practice games against my friends Alexa (@stuffuloflove), Shane Gaffney (@DDyarados), Patrick Connors (@pat_con5), and Jason Tang (@PlasmaVG).
By the time the regional came around, I felt pretty proficient with the team, and was confident in my play and ability.
I also want to share this advice by Zhe Zhang (@HupuMetapod) that he gave me (he had just broken his streak of multiple 6-3’s to make two consecutive top 16 finishes at Portland and Charlotte).
My mindset was ruined at San Antonio because I kept thinking about what went wrong in my previous matches instead of working hard to find new solutions to keep my tournament life alive. Zhe’s advice about Murphy’s Law helped me realize that I needn’t think about what goes wrong, because that will only set me back.
The SQUAD
“ I want to find my dream... I want to make it come true...
There is nothing that I can't overcome
if I only believe.
Just like singing, just like miracles,
"feelings" can change everything!
Without a doubt... Without a doubt...
It's almost surprising!” -
Platina by Maaya Sakamoto
platina🎶 (Flutter Mane) @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 220 HP / 132 Def / 36 SpA / 4 SpD / 116 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Shadow Ball
- Protect
252+ Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 220 HP / 132 Def Flutter Mane: 132-156 (83.5 - 98.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Speed: 170. Faster than base 102s and below. Slower than Jolly ogerpon if they have almost max speed
This Flutter was very bulky. There were times during Swiss where its bulk saved me, but also times where its low speed (170 Spe) ended up losing me the game.
In Game 2 against Leonard Craft (@DaWoblefet), I thought I had locked game 2 up against him, but his Ogerpon-Wellspring was able to outspeed my Flutter Mane in the endgame and take us to a Game 3.
“Every night, I endure the pain that visits me on top of the squeaking, creaking bed.
Did I get something wrong? Thinking about this and that, I wallow in feelings of regret.
"The way it is now, it's no good." I don't know who said that anymore.
With the thought that all I can do now is live on alone, I gaze at the burning wasteland.
Like a wolf that endured its wounds, yeah, I don't want to disappear” -
Run With Wolves - LiSA
RunwWolves🎶 (Arcanine-Hisuian) (M) @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
Level: 50
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 4 HP / 244 Atk / 12 Def / 4 SpD / 244 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rock Slide
- Flare Blitz
- Extreme Speed
- Head Smash
Ah, Arcanine, my favorite Pokemon on this team. Arcanine was my Day 1 Swiss MVP, because TOM matched me up into so many into Fire-heavy teams, teams that were packing both Incineroar and Gouging Fire, and Torkoal / Ogerpon-Heartflame. Essentially, Protosynthesis Sun Spam.
The moveset is standard. Head Smash is my only real Hard Trick Room answer and my opponents during Swiss didn’t seem to recognize that was my win con.
Rajan Bal (@blaramons) told me that an 80 - 20 matchup into Trick Room is actually “pretty darn good”, and hearing those words from a player I respect so much placated me.
The spread has just enough Attack investment to OHKO max defense Indedee-F, and after being bullied by Kyle Ayala’s Hard Trick Room team at Premier Challenges, I knew I couldn’t leave that roll to chance.
Adamant vs Jolly
244+ Atk Choice Band Arcanine-Hisui Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Indeedee-F: 180-213 (101.6 - 120.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Arcanine-Hisui Head Smash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Indeedee-F: 165-195 (93.2 - 110.1%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
Hard Trick Room Teams typically don’t carry Intimidate, so Arcanine was given carte blanche to smash his head into pesky Indeedees.
Ghost Tera on Arcanine was something that was suggested to me by my friend Devon Singh (@TeenSpiritVGC). DeVon used an Archalduon team with Banded Tera Ghost Hisuian-Arcanine to make Day 2 at Charlotte.
Going Tera Ghost gave me the option to dodge Fake Out from Incineroar and go for a combination Head Smash + Booster SpA Flutter Mane Moonblast to deny Trick Room Farigiraf + Fake Out leads. This combination of attacks in testing was typically enough to delete most Farigiraf.
Unfortunately, this combination never got to pan out at the regional, as in my game 3 with Joshua Lorcy in Day 2, I had no reason to believe he’d lead Girrafe + Incin game 3 as he steadfastly lead Iron Jugulis + Ursaluna in the first 2 games.
In the end, I am proud of myself that I recognized Tera Ghost’s applications for my team and deciding to stick with it.
“Despite my hesitation, despite my worries, despite my regrets, I should make a decision
With one word you've given me, my bewilderment vanishes”
COLORS - FLOW
COLORS🎶 (Urshifu Single-Strike) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unseen Fist
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 244 Atk / 84 SpD / 180 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Detect
- Wicked Blow
- Close Combat
- Sucker Punch
172+ SpA Quark Drive Iron Crown Tachyon Cutter (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 84 SpD Urshifu-Single Strike: 146-174 (83.4 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Quark Drive Iron Crown Tachyon Cutter (2 hits) vs. 0 HP / 84 SpD Urshifu-Single Strike: 152-182 (86.8 - 104%) -- approx. 12.5% chance to OHKO
244+ Atk Tera Dark Urshifu Wicked Blow vs. 236 HP / 76 Def Gallade on a critical hit: 180-212 (104 - 122.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
This Urshifu is a bit of a deviation from what standard Urshifu run. The EV spread is from Eric Rios’s original paste, and the investments are tailored to beat PsySpam, which I was terrified of due to the Church’s strong performance with it in Charlotte.
Additionally, Urshifu is 1 point slower than my Arcanine, so I can go for Head Smash and Tera Dark Wicked Blow into Indeedee + Gallade leads.
I’m not sure if having the slower Urshifu was the call, considering its uptick in usage on opposing teams. On the other hand, knowing that speed interaction between Arcanine and Urshifu and having that knowledge to make the aforementioned play against the dreaded Hard Trick Room matchup was worth it.
“If we can’t understand each other no matter what, then I’ll see you off to the end like a river
It’s okay no matter who or or what you blame; just don’t sully the fact that I loved you”
Last Kiss - BONNIE PINK
last kiss🎶 (Glimmora) (F) @ Power Herb
Ability: Toxic Debris
Level: 50
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 124 HP / 4 Def / 236 SpA / 4 SpD / 124 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Meteor Beam
- Sludge Bomb
- Earth Power
- Spiky Shield
236+ SpA Glimmora Meteor Beam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Hatterene: 162-192 (98.7 - 117%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 140 HP / 4 Def Glimmora in Grassy Terrain: 153-181 (86.9 - 102.8%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
116+ Atk Sword of Ruin Urshifu-Rapid Strike Close Combat vs. 140 HP / 4 Def Glimmora: 148-175 (84 - 99.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Raging Bolt Draco Meteor vs. 140 HP / 4 SpD Glimmora: 150-177 (85.2 - 100.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
-Outspeeds Neil Patel’s Roaring Moon in my own Tailwind after opponent uses Dragon Dance
-Optimized for HP Recovery in Grassy Terrain
-Outspeeds Max Speed Choice Scarf Adamant Urshifu in my own Tailwind
The original team had a very slow Glimmora (60 EVs in Spe). I then found out the hard way that this Glimmora gets outsped by Modest Pelipper, as I lost in top 8 in the Tommy Tour to Caleb Ryor’s Archaludon Rain team. I then decided to bump Glimmora’s Speed to outspeed Modest Pelipper by 1 (92 EVs in Spe)
After Wolfe Glick won Charlotte regionals with Choice Scarf Urshifu-Rapid Strike, my friend Dominique Johnson (@428_dom) created this EV spread that outsped Adamant Choice Scarf Urshifu when I paired Glimmora with Tornadus’s Tailwind.
Glimmora was pretty awesome during Day 1 Swiss, and Toxic Debris was pretty incredible tightening up some endgames, especially against Leonard Craft (@DaWoblefet).
No lyrics, just Tornadus’s name in German (leftover from Pittsburgh team)
Boreos (Tornadus) @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 196 HP / 236 Def / 76 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Bleakwind Storm
- Taunt
- Tailwind
- Protect
Tailwind Bot. Taunt was clutch. One thing I liked about not running the Chi-Yu variant is that I didn’t need Sunny Day to increase my damage, and could use Taunt instead.
Chuppa told me hitting a 155 Speed stat was a good benchmark for Tornadus to hit, and I decided to just use that.
The reasoning for Steel Terra was explained above, and I saw no reason to have changed it.
Steel Tera was okay on the day, but was exploited by a very talented opponent in Swiss.
“With a youthful smile, she flaps her wings wearing the demon mask of sunset
After you cry out "I need my face, I need my face!" to your reflection in the mirror
The festival will begin and the flames will disappear once again
In the deep forest of lamentations, the sound of cicadas crying…”
Nageki no Mori - Ayane
NagekiNoMori (Ogerpon-Wellspring) @ Wellspring Mask
Ability: Water Absorb
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 236 HP / 76 Atk / 28 Def / 12 SpD / 156 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Spiky Shield
- Follow Me
- Horn Leech
- Ivy Cudgel
Outspeeds Adamant 252 Urshifu,
252+ SpA Choice Specs Tera Fairy Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. +1 236 HP / 12 SpD Tera Water Ogerpon-Wellspring-Tera: 124-148 (67 - 80%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
This spread was okay. I think if I were to run Ogerpon again, I’d make it Jolly to outspeed Landorus-Incarnate and other faster Ogerpon
Matchups - Flowcharts
I apologize if this section is not highly detailed. I am primarily going off my hastily taken notes from my coaching session with Federico Camporesi.
Some matchups will have text accompanying them, while others will just suggest leads and backlines.
Warstory
Knoxville Regionals evokes weird feelings for me. Last year, one of my closest friends Angel Miranda passed away during Knoxville, and it left a hole in the heart of many in the Pokémon community.
This unexpected passing hurt even more and felt hard for me to comprehend, especially since I saw him earlier that month at Orlando Regionals.
There are certain things that I still enjoy like Fire Emblem, and the Fate series that just aren’t the same without him. And of course, I will always remember his kindness to me, even when I felt like I wasn’t deserving of it.
I will always miss you friend, see you eventually.
Because of the juxtaposition of Angel’s passing and Justin Tang’s historic regional win, I consider Knoxville 2023 to be the end of an era due to such a veteran member of our community passing, but also the beginning of a new era where new players like Justin Tang were able to show that they were dominant forces in the VGC circuit and would continue to dominate the circuit.
My complicated feelings about Knoxville aside, let’s get on to the war story.
Thursday
I left work early around 3:30 p.m. and took a nap with my 7-Month old kitten Ky. It’s the best feeling to have a cat purring softly next to you while you sleep. I guess petting him made me too sleepy, because I woke up later than I wanted to.
I hopped in the shower, gathered my things, and ate a nutritious dinner of rice with spinach and okra. I was then off to Knoxville.
My dad dropped me off at the Brightline Station, where I would get off the train in Orlando to be driven up to Knoxville with a couple of Florida players.
The Brightline was a great experience, all the rail staff was super nice and I enjoyed the experience much more than flying.
I will probably use this method to get to Orlando Regionals in April.
I ordered a Mimosa from the service cart and tried to settle my nerves by listening to music.
I mainly settled for listening to a song that I’ve been listening to a lot earlier that week, “Unyielding Wish” by Naomi Tamura.
“Confronting hurdles that I always fail to conquer
I’ll remain an undying spirit until I’ve succeeded
But whose fault is it that I couldn’t show all I’m capable of?”
The lyrics feel very apt to making it through the Swiss rounds of a regional, don’t you think? I closed my eyes and let the alcohol and sounds of 90s anime music wash over me.
Around 10:00 p.m, I arrived in Orlando where Brendan Nussear (ChoirBoy) graciously let me stay in a guest room while I was waiting for my ride.
Brendan was supposed to come to Knoxville but got Bronchitis earlier in the week. Luckily by Thursday, he was feeling much better (he still decided not to come with us). He was very good about wearing a mask, and provided me with a fully disinfected guest room.
I also got to pet his Maine Coon cat, Gideon, who is such an friendy, adorable, and very fluffy kitty.
Friday
Early Friday morning, Brendan drove me to meet Alex Ortega (PayDayVGC) and Emily Golub (EmiiLavaburst14) and we began the journey to Knoxville in Alex’s Honda.
The trip was pleasantly uneventful, except for me stressing out in DM’s with Dominique about my Glimmora’s EV spread.
Emily (who finished top 32 at San Antonio Regionals) also helped me EV train my Pokémon, and taught me how to breed for 0 Attack IVs.
We also stopped at Buc-ee’s (my first time there), and I was surprised at how big it is.
I ate a very mediocre Chicken Tender wrap. Sadness.
Around 6:00 we arrived at Knoxville, and Alex dropped me and Emily off at the convention center to register.
I then saw Donghun Youm (@Playmaker798) who was rooming with me, Rajan Bal, and Robbie Moore (Rakom). I registered, and then made my way to the event hall.
We sat near the VGC Premier Challenge going on, and I saw my friend Norah Bowman (@bubspkmn) and spent 20 mins not remembering if the person I was sitting across from was my friend Kazuki Kanehira (@jumpluffTCG). Luckily I worked up the courage to ask, and I’m glad I could indeed confirm it was Kazuki I was sitting across from.
I also met other people like Courtney (@Wiggliar), who is super funny and positive, Jesse Romolo (@VGCJesse) who was very kind and a joy to talk to throughout the weekend, and other Glimmora players like Kyle Livinghouse (@AnimusVGC) and Siddarth Singhal (@Ink_VG).
Donghun wanted Asian food, so him, Siddarth, and I decided to walk to the Main Street to find food. We came across a group of people that included caster Joe Brown (@Xeminan), Adam Dorricott (@Dozzalon_) and Rahul Reddy (@thefleeee) who recommended a bar that served ramen.
The menu was limited, with no chicken or shrimp options, and I don’t eat red meat. As a result, I ordered the lone vegetarian option, a vegetarian ramen bowl with miso broth, house pickled soy ginger shiitakes, kimchi, pickled carrots, scallions, tomato, and poached egg.
All of it was delicious, except I avoided eating the tomatoes, because I don’t really like them except in marinara sauce.
I then went back to the hotel, met Rajan and Robbie and after talking with them a bit, I filled out my rk9 form and took a shower to wash away the grime.
I ended up sleeping next to Donghun, and apparently had night terrors (I do sleep talk, but I guess my nerves were fried for the next day, need to look into that).
Saturday
Robbie, Rajan and I went down to the hotel lobby to eat breakfast. I had one of those mediocre hotel waffles that you pour into a skillet from a cup.
I snagged a couple of bananas that I kept eating throughout the day for fiber, potassium, and electrolytes, choosing to skip getting food from the food trucks during the lunch break.
We got to the venue, and the game was on.
Round 1 - Kendall Lux (WW)
Ugh, this wasn’t the way I wanted to start the tournament. This was the same hard Trick Room Stuff that I kept losing to. My only lines into this team was hitting Head Smash and/or stalling Trick Room turns.
Game 1 - I lead Arcanine-Hisui and Glimmora into her Hatterene / Indeedee
I hit Head Smash and OHKO her Indeedee immediately, her Hatterene chose to Protect so Glimmora’s Meteor Beam whiffed.
From there it was a matter of +1 SpA Glimmora and H-Arc cleaning up the rest of her team
Game 2- The game played out more or less the same as game 1. I don’t think my opponent respected that Choice Band Arcanine always OHKOs Indeedee-F.
She might have brought Okidogi, but I used Tera-Ghost to innoculate Arcanine-Hisui from any damage.
1-0, win
Round 2 - Ashton Cox LL
This wasn’t the pairing I wanted to see in round 2. Ashton is a good friend of mine, and I stayed with him and his family during my trip to Worlds 2014. His accomplishments in VGC have only doubled since my VGC hiatus, and the friend I once knew who was using strange Pokemon like Sawk, Diggersby, and Mega Absol (to good effect, mind you) was now a 2-time International Champion.
I knew he was hot off a top 32 finish at Charlotte, and was using the team that his team building partner Luka Tregut used to Top 4 Charlotte.
Game 1 - I lead Ogerpon-Wellspring and Glimmora into his Chien-Pao and Kingambit. I decided to go for the line I discussed with FedeCampo and double into Kingambit.
Chien-Pao used Icicle Crash into Ogerpon and caused it to flinch, wasting its turn. Glimmora’s Earth Power did massive damage to Kingambit but it was not nearly enough to OHKO it, proccing Defiant with a Special Defense drop to boot. Kinggambit then OHKO’s Glimmora with Kowtow Cleave.
I remember the game ending in a 1v1, but it was clear Ashton would be the winner.
Game 2: Ashton clearly had my number in this game. He lead Rillaboom and Chien-Pao into my Tornadus + Flutter Mane lead.
All I remember is Terastalizing my Tornadus into Steel and getting cleanly OHKO’d by Chien-Pao.
I’ve never felt this out of depth in a match before. What a difference in skill level, and it was obviously so apparent here.
I remember feeling kind of dejected after this match, but Ashton told me he knew he could beat me because I was a good player, and that he would see me in Day 2. I was determined to keep my promise
1-1, lose
Round 3 - Jose Torres (WW)
Unbeknownst to me, I actually knew my opponent. He goes by charpie, and is in a mutual server of mine created by a friend.
Games 1+ 2
This matchup is what Glimmora was made for.
In both games I was able to lead Torn + Glim pretty safely and once I eliminated Urshifu-Rapid Strike off the board, Arcanine-Hisui and Glimmora had a field day with this team.
2-1, win
Round 4 - Carly Daniel (WW)
I liked their Entei plush.
Games 1+2
This was a pretty favorable matchup for Arcanine-Hisui and Glimmora.
They had Life Orb Chien-Pao which made getting it off the board much more easier.
I don’t really remember much about this match but their Ogerpon was named They/Them, and I appreciated the non-binary representation.
3-1, win
Round 5 - Jered Hunn (LWL)
I knew my opponent was pretty good, I’ve seen his name in multiple Day 2s at regionals and a Day 2 at 2023 NAIC. Judging from this and the team I was presented with, I knew this was a tough match.
Game 1: I floundered trying to adjust to the weird modes of his team, mainly afraid of leading Glimmora because of the presence of Walking Wake.
Game 2: Arcanine-Hisui was really good here at dealing with his Fire-laden team.
Game 3: I led Arcanine figuring it would be good into his team and wanting to prime it for action right away.
Intimidate triggered his Torkoal’s Eject Pack, and allowed him to switch in Farigiraf. Between the Protosynthesis SpA boost and the Magnet his Raging Bolt was holding, in addition to his Fagiraf’s Helping Hand, there was nothing I could do to stop it from decimating my entire team with Thunderclap. Damage modifier stacking is fun, kids.
3-2, lose
At this point, I was stressed out. Dropping to 3-2 this early in the tournament was not ideal, any mistake would mean all my hard work was for nothing.
I retreated to a quiet corner to decompress and a pep-talk from my good friend and VGC dad Edward Glover (Minchi) helped me get into the mindset for the next 4 rounds.
Round 6 - Phillip Cohen (WW)
I knew my opponent was pretty good, he got top 8 at a New York / New Jersey MSS, which means he was better than average to make it that far in one of those stacked locals.
Games 1+2
Double Rock theory reigned supreme here, as Glimmora and H-Arc were instrumental in dismantling his Rock-weak team. Urshifu-Single was also useful for forcing his Kinggambit to Tera, and I think I caught his Tera-Dragon with a Wicked Blow.
Spiky Shield was also very useful here against his physical heavy team and helped with chipping his mons down to get kills.
Phillip ended up winning the MSS the next day. Major props to him.
4-2, win
Round 7 - Leonard Craft III (WLW)
When I saw I had been paired with Leonard, my heart sunk. This was not the name you wanted to see at x-2. Leonard is a veteran of the VGC scene and is a talented player and analyst. I had the pleasure of watching him play against Wolfe Glick at NAIC on the side stream, and being very inspired by the match.
Leonard has had a good amount of accomplishments this last year with a top 16 finish at NAIC and a Top 8 finish at Peoria. I knew this would be a real uphill battle.
This team was a bit odd to comprehend, but even I understood that this team was tailored to try getting a Protosynthesis boost off with Whismicott’s Sunny Day. I rationalized that Double Rock theory would prevail here to deal with his Fire-heavy team.
Game 1: I led Tornadus + Glimmora into his Ogerpon / Flutter lead. He opts not to Tera Ogerpon, and Meteor Beam nets a clean OHKO.
The rest of the game was won by dealing with his mons with Glimmora and my other heavy hitters in Tailwind
Game 2: This match was much tighter, I got it down to my Flutter Mane vs his Ogerpon, I thought I was about to win, but his Ogerpon outsped my Flutter Mane. My jaw quite literally dropped.
Game 3: We disconnected when the game started so we made a gentleman’s agreement to use the same leads.
I was a bit worried Leonard would renege on the leads because my lead was favorable, but he was luckily a player with a strong moral character.
This match I led Torn + Glimm into his Ogerpon-Wellspring and Flutter Mane. I knew since Meteor Beam threatened a knock out on Ogerpon that he would opt to Tera it. I decided to just go for Meteor Beam into Ogerpon, and let his Ivy Cudgel into Ogerpon set up the layer of Toxic Spikes to cripple his backline. His Tera was wasted, and I had carte blanche to use a more offensive Tera on any of my mons since he couldn’t Tera to mitigate damage.
He had Whimsicott and Raging Bolt in the back, and the residual Poison damage did wonders for softening up his AV Raging Bolt and breaking Whimsicott’s Focus Sash.
I believe I had Urshifu-Dark in the back. I remember being worried if Tera Dark Wicked Blow would do good damage into the Fairy-type Whimsicott, but when I saw it did over 60% percent, I knew the game was mine.
5-2, win
After this I was feeling a bit better. I beat an opponent I respected highly, and I knew if I dug deep, I could make day 2.
Round 8 - Michael Pope (WLW)
What was up with all of these Protosynthesis Sun teams? I didn’t recognize my opponent until I saw his trainer name: Wide.
I asked him if he was the host of the Saturday Night Wide League Tours, and he said yes. I said the tours were very helpful to me, even though I couldn’t really participate in them (I typically do something fun for myself on Saturday night instead of playing mons), but the data from the results were useful.
Game 1: I led my typical anti-TR lead of Arcanine-Hisui and Glimmora. I Head Smashed his Indeedee and Meteor Beamed his Hatterene. I won pretty decisively as I denied him setting up Trick Room.
Game 2: I expected him to lead with his faster mons, so I led Ogerpon + Flutter Mane into his Walking Wake + Flutter Mane. I Terastalized my Ogerpon, but a crit from his Tera Fairy Flutter Mane OHKO’d my +1 Special Defense Ogerpon, with my defensive options neutered, I could not find footing to remain in the game.
Game 3 : I more or less expected him to do the same thing as in Game 2 since it worked out well for him.
I decided to play defensively with Ogerpon from turn one, and use his lack of defensive moves on Walking Wake and Flutter Mane to sweep through his team within Tailwind.
The endgame was close, and I was a bit worried about my Ogerpon vs his Walking Wake, but apparently Horn Leech does over 60% to the half Dragon-type
6-2, win
With the win against Michael, I was in my first ever win and in scenario. The pressure was really on, and I was starting to feel sick.
I decided to message Chuppa, the coach I’ve worked with the most for some last minute advice.
Then the final round’s pairings were announced, I was down-paired, but the person I was facing was not going to be an easy opponent.
R9 - Arbin “Jun” Tumaneng (WLW)
Arbin is a very strong player, and he was using the same team that carried him to a top 4 at the biggest Pokémon regional ever.
Even though this was a pair-down, I knew Arbin came to Knoxville for points to qualify for his first World Championships. Arbin has a very strong history as a trainer, making top 32 at 2013’s US Nationals, and multiple Regional Top 8 in the years after that.. Despite his accolades, I knew him living in the stacked New York / New Jersey area meant that getting points meant he had to be on top of his game every single time. Riding the momentum from his Top 4 Charlotte finish, the pressure was on for him to get points at every event he went to.
By the way, if you’re ever in a situation where you’re paired down, don’t ask your opponents to scoop. You will be clowned on Twitter, and you will lose credibility as a player and be the butt of jokes for years to come.
With me wanting to make my first day 2, and Arbin wanting points to qualify for the World Championships, this would be an intense battle.
I knew his Urshifu was strong, because my friend Kazuki Kanehira played him in Day 2 of Charlotte and mentioned his Archaludon was OHKO’d by Arbin’s Urshifu’s Tera-Dark Wicked Blow.
Game 1: Choice Band Arcanine-Hisui did work here. Banded Rock Slide OHKO’d Arbin’s Tornadus immediately, and with the speed advantage gone, I was able to take the match.
Game 2: Arbin led more aggressively with Urshifu-Dark and Tornadus into my Tornadus + Hisuian-Arcanine. He was able to get the Pokémon advantage quickly by Terastalizing his Urshifu , and taking knockouts on my Pokémon.
In the late-game, Arbin leveraged the flexibility of his Assault Vest Arcanine-Hisui by being able to go for Extreme Speeds to break my Urshifu’s Focus Sash and allow it to get knocked out by Flutter Mane.
Game 3: I believe I led Flutter Mane + Tornadus and had Arcanine-Hisui and my own Urshifu in back.
I don’t really remember what happened in this game except for knocking out his low HP Tornadus with Extreme Speed from my Arcanine, and his Choice - locked Urshifu-Single against my Flutter Mane and Tornadus.
When I saw the Moonblast animation take his lone Urshifu out, I started tearing up.
After signing the match slip, I ran up to Ed (who was watching the match from the sidelines) and he gave me a big hug. Making Day 2 at a regional was a goal of mine ever since they introduced the tournament structure.
It took a decent amount of money in coaching to improve my fundamentals, and 3 regionals attended, but I finally did it.
It felt so good making it into Day 2 and seeing so many friends congratulating me.
My idols like Chuppa and Aaron Traylor, who I could only hope to reach in skill level, were messaging me on Twitter with their congratulations. I felt overwhelmed with joy and excitement.
Then, it happened. The thing that would sour the mood of the entire night. The staff called Donghun over the loudspeaker and we then found out he was disqualified from the tournament.
To be honest, I was livid for him. I knew how hard he worked to make it to Day 2, and I personally am of the belief that Pokémon should be played based on the player’s skill, not how a Pokemon was obtained.
I was glad he had the support of his good friends like Justin Tang, Luka Tregut, and Nicholas Donnelly to help him through this time.
Their group decided to go to Raising Cane’s but I decided against going with them because I did not drive all the way to Tennessee for any chicken that was not Nashville Hot.
Sometime later, Ed, Holly, and I decided to go get dinner to celebrate my first Day 2.
We went to a place called Not Watson’s Kitchen and Bar.
Unfortunately they did not have the authentic Nashville Hot style chicken I desired on the menu, so I ordered a Shrimp Po’boy with extra remoulade sauce on the side. A glass of Vodka Lemonade was the perfect chaser. It was pretty tasty, and the food was appreciated since I barely ate anything substantial during the day.
When I got back to the hotel, I took a shower to wash the day’s grime off of me, and went to bed.
Sunday - Day 2
Rajan and I woke up early to play in Day 2. I didn’t really feel like eating much at the hotel because I was expecting today to be a bit more forgiving and shorter.
Round 10 - Joshua Lorcy (WLL)
Lorcy is a friend of mine and a player I highly respect, so I was excited to get to play him. I’ve practiced with him quite a bit, so I decided to treat this as one of our bo3s on Showdown.
I tried my best not to let Lorcy’s largesse of accomplishments (especially his Top 8 at LAIC) intimidate me.
I recognized his team as the Babbytron team that a bunch of top players like Aaron Traylor and Aaron Zheng decided to take to this regional.
Iron Jugulis was definitely more versatile into my team than Tornadus and unlike my match with Arbin, I could not use my own Tornadus to prevent it from setting up Tailwind.
Game 1:
Lorcy leads Iron Jugulis and Ursaluna-Bloodmoon into my Arcanine and Glimmora (a duo I chose to resist Normal attacks)
I decided not to Terastalize Glimmora just in case Lorcy read the Terastalization into Grass and could punish me with a Tera-Normal Hyper Voice. I decided to lock in both Flare Blitz from Arcanine (the first time I clicked it this weekend) and Meteor Beam from Glimmora into his Iron Jugulis.
Lorcy calls my bluff, and uses Earth Power into Glimmora, knocking it out.
Arcanine’s Choice Band Flare Blitz does a significant amount of damage to Iron Jugulis and gets a burn.
I knew I could win the game if I could stall out Tailwind (because I had no reason to believe he brought Farigiraf). Compounded by the fact I was able to catch Lorcy’s double targets with Blood Moon and Air Slash with a well-timed Spiky Shield from Ogerpon, I was able to gain a strong momentum that would take me the first game of the set.
Game 2:
Lorcy leads the same as before, and just genuinely adjusted better, using his damage mitigation tools like Iron Jugulis’s Snarl into my adjustment to Flutter Mane over Glimmora.
This is where Booster Energy started to show its weakness. I was unable to switch it out for fear of it losing its boost and becoming useless the rest of the game. As such, I let my Flutter Mane take multiple Special Attack drops, hoping that even still, it could at least soften up Lorcy’s team for the rest of my mons.
That gambit clearly failed.
Game 3
I expected Lorcy to lead the same as before because it worked out good for him in the last game.
To my dismay I saw Incineroar and Farigiraf take the field instead of Iron Jugulis and Ursaluna-Bloodmoon.
I was kicking myself, I had a lead perfectly tailored to countering that, and I did not lead it. Tera Ghost -1 Arcanine’s Head Smash and Booster Energy Flutter Mane’s Moonblast could have easily knocked out Farigiraf and deny Lorcy’s Trick Room.
Because of my inability to recognize his switch up, I couldn’t find footing in this game, and ended up getting soundly defeated.
Loss, 7-3
Round 11 - Austin Le (LL)
Ah Edu/Toler team, I thought this was a pretty okay matchup in testing.
Games 1+2
I don’t even want to talk about this round, so many things went wrong from my Tornadus getting crit from full with Ivy Cudgel, Arcanine and Glimmora missing multiple Head Smashes and Meteor Beams.
I now was cognizant that I didn’t really have a good way to hit Assault Vest Raging Bolt without severely chunking it with moves like Head Smash or Meteor Beam.
Loss, 7-4
Well, with that all my chances of making the Top 8 cut were gone. I mainly came into Knoxville hoping I could make Day 2, but on the day of competition you just become more hungry for success you know?
Round 12 - Dalton Kizer (WW)
My opponent didn’t show up. I probably could have won since I have a good matchup into Chuppa Dozo, idk.
Win, 8-4
Round 13 - Drew Brown (LL)
Kasty/Justin Tang 6, actually the team I would have brought to Knoxville if I was comfortable with it in time for the regional.
I did not know this at the time, but despite not hearing his name before, my opponent had gotten top 32 at Charlotte Regionals using the Chi-Yu / Glimmora team popularized by Animus.
Game 1 -
I believe the 4 Pokémon he brought were Raging Bolt / Ogerpon / Urshifu / Landorus-Incarnate
I had to play really aggressively to have a chance, but Head Smash kept repeatedly whiffing into his Assault Vest Raging Bolt.
It was a close game that could have been won by me if my Head Smash connected earlier.
In the end, it came down to a damage roll.
His 70% Landorus-I vs my lone Flutter Mane.
36+ SpA Protosynthesis Flutter Mane Shadow Ball vs. 60 HP / 0 SpD Tera-Steel Landorus-Incarnate: 103-123 (59.8 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Possible damage amounts: (103, 105, 106, 108, 108, 109, 111, 112, 114, 115, 115, 117, 118, 120, 121, 123)
With a sliver of red HP, Drew took the game.
Game 2 -
Drew didn’t seem to deviate from his game plan from game 1, leaving his own Flutter and Arcanine on the bench like before.
I tried going for the same plays as game 1 because I felt confident I could have won if my moves connected a bit more. Unfortunately this meant my plays were too telegraphed, and able to be exploited for my loss.
Loss, 8-5
Round 14 - Marcos Perez (LL)
In a reversal of what happened in my round 9 where I was down paired against Arbin, I was up-paired into Marcos Perez, a content creator known as MoxieBoosted on YouTube.
Marcos and I sat at the same table during a post-regional dinner at San Antonio, so it was nice to actually get to play him after getting to know him a bit more.
Like me, Marcos had been trying to make Day 2 at a regional for a while. Unlike me, Marcos actually came pretty damn close multiple times.
I honestly was super tired at this point, and I kinda just wanted to throw so Marcos would get guaranteed Top 32 points (maybe top 16 if his resistance was good). But I remembered I wanted to win at least one honest game in Day 2, and not win off a technicality like an opponent dropping.
Games 1+2
I don’t really have much to say except I got clobbered. Game 2 could have been won, depending on damage rolls (Single Target Band Rock Slide from Adamant Arcanine-Hisui did not KO Marcos’s Gouging Fire from 75%)
It was a well deserved victory from Marcos, and I’m looking forward to his continual success in both content creation and dominating the VGC circuit.
loss, 8-6
So with that, my first Day 2 ever at a regional ended. I honestly felt dejected and felt like I squandered this opportunity. My only win on the day was to someone who didn’t show up.
I kept thinking to myself, “Was this all I could do?”. I sat in a corner, just trying to process what had just happened. I spent the better half of a year trying to make this happen, and I couldn’t even make my mark.
I assessed my own motivations for wanting to make Day 2 in the first place:
-Increased Championship Points
-Make Day 2 with a team I enjoyed, and Pokémon I liked (Arcanine-Hisui and Glimmora)
-Prove to myself I can have the mental acuity to make Day 2 and get a deeper run in the future.
In the end, knowing that I tried my best with a team I enjoyed, worked hard on and it getting me over the Day 1 hump for the first time made me content.
I know I can do better in the future, and if I keep my head down, work hard, and not get complacent with this result, I can maybe even make top 16 at a regional and reach the same heights as my contemporaries.
I unfortunately did not get to stay around for Top 8, but I was super happy for friends, Norah Bowman (@bubs) and Justin Tang (another H-Arc user) who made it into Top 8. In hopes Justin would win his top 8 match, and make it on stream, I let him borrow my Hisuian-Arcanine plush and wished him luck.
Then I was on my way to meet my long-time Twitter mutual Jaz, a Knoxville resident who I may have not even gotten to meet if I didn’t post about me making Day 2 on my main Twitter.
Jaz and I have been mutuals on my main Twitter account since 2018-2019. We play the same mobile game Granblue Fantasy, and have similar interests (pretty much hot fictional anime men) and Jaz was telling me how much I needed to get into the anime Blue Lock with them.
They took me to have a great lunch at a place they frequent. I ordered the blackened Cajun chicken Alfredo, and it was pretty satisfying.
Random bumper stickers we saw in the parking lot
We spent a good hour just chatting, and being excited that we were Twitter mutuals getting to meet up in person for the first time.
This kind of circles back to why I decided to come back to VGC, is that while you can talk to online friends everyday about whatever you like, without common events like Pokemon tournaments, the chances you’ll ever meet them is much lower.
I then went back to the venue to see James Evans beat Enrique Grimaldo, and then the final match between Toler Webb and James Evans.
I was happy for Toler when he won. I know he works super hard at Pokémon and his other endeavors. I’m glad he could earn that auto-Worlds Invite and regional champion finish.
I know James is also super talented at Pokemon and things like art and cooking. So I definitely believe his creativity and strong play will earn him a regional (or repeat International) championship title.
There is always something to be learned when watching these players, and I hope one day I can reach that level.
And with that the Knoxville Regional Championships ended.
-After The Regional-
Since I was staying an extra night, Rajan asked me if I had room for a friend of a friend in the hotel room I was staying that night.
That person ended up being Drew Brown, my round 13 opponent. Since he had a flight at 3 a.m. he needed somewhere to crash. I had no problem with him staying with us.
Drew is a really nice person, and he fit in just fine with me and the rest of the Florida players I was staying with. It was great getting to know his history with Pokémon, and I hope to see him at future events.
I also ended up discussing my match with him, and confirming that the endgame I had against him in game 1 of our set came down to a damage roll.
I also learned that I played super aggressively in my game against him, and that aggression made my moves in game 2 all the more telegraphed. The objective analysis was much appreciated.
Later that night, my friend Jaz took me to a barcade called Token in a strip mall 25 minutes away from the convention center.
I then proceeded to get my ass kicked at all matters of games such as Mario Kart and Jenga. My low hand-eye coordination is why I play VGC instead of Smash or FPS games.
For the final game of the night, me and Jaz decided to play Jubeat, a rhythm game. The song I picked for my turn was the opening theme to Caleb Ryor’s (@CableVGC) favorite anime Gurren Lagann, Sorairo Days. Even after thinking I did well, I was met with the failure screen at the end. Jaz ended up faring much, much better, picking a song from a Vocaloid producer.
In the end, I was happy I got to spend time with a friend.
-Monday-
Me, Emii and Alex made the drive back to Florida. We stopped by Bucces again, paying our respects to our new beaver friend.
We got to Orlando quite early, and after I was dropped off, I had 2 hours to kill before I had to board my train home to Fort Lauderdale.
Orlando’s Brightline station is connected to the airport, and I saw that a restaurant I really wanted to eat at was in one of the terminals.
I had my sights going to a Tex-Mex restaurant my family frequented in the past that had closed down all locations in South Florida, On The Border.
Regretfully, the restaurant was located past the security checkpoint, and I was not buying a flight ticket to eat.
I settled on going to the Macaroni Grill in the main terminal outside of security.
Macaroni Grill is known for having paper tablecloths that you can draw on, so I decided to draw my MVPs of the weekend, Arcanine-Hisui and Glimmora.
I ate a nice dinner of their ubiquitous crusty bread dipped in fruity olive oil, and a creamy Shrimp Alfredo I could not stop twirling my spoon in.
A bit saddened I couldn’t get a margarita at On The Border, I ordered a Limoncello Vodka Lemonade in hopes for a similar taste.
It was then time for the 3-hour train back to Fort Lauderdale, and back to my regular mundane life.
The ending of the weekend felt bittersweet, and while it stung doing so badly on Day 2, I can only hope that I feel this good with a team and my play (at least on Day 1) again.
-Warstory End -
Thanks:
The High Rollers: Chance Alexander (@MagicManChance), Grant Weldon (@VelocityVGC) Andrew Whitman (@Andrew_Whit_), Edward Glover (@justMinchi), Jason Tang (@PlasmaVG), Joshua Lorcy (@lorcylovesyou) Andy Anderson (@TwiddleDeeVGC) and Alex (@ab0ve)
Thank you for all the practice sets and motivating me to do better by being inspired by your VGC successes.
The Boiler Room: You know who you are. Being surrounded by such incredible people is something I’m so thankful for. I’ve known most of you since I was a starry eyed new player in 2014, and getting to bear witness to all your successes and share in this general community has been so valuable to me.
Chuppa Cross (@ChuppaVGC)
You’ve been such an inspiration to me for such a long time. Your support throughout the weekend was so helpful and the multiple coaching sessions we’ve had have helped me so much and have helped me in my transition back into VGC.
Federico Camporesi (@FedeCampoVGC)
Highly recommend booking a session with Fede, very helpful for going over lines and game plans.
Zhe Zhang (@HupuMetapod)
I’ve only gotten to know you very recently, but I’ve been a huge fan since your regional win back in 2022. You are so humble and kind, and I’m so thankful for the advice you gave me. I look forward to seeing more of your victories this year!
Dominque Johnson (@428_dom)
I’m so glad to have met you, and I want to thank you so much for your help with EV Spreads. Your Top 8 finish at Hartford was inspiring and I’m excited to see you reach that success again.
Anthony Kissoon (@Ant_ATK)
Anthony, Thank you so much for reaching out with your interest in my team, I was able to get so much data from your willingness to use it. Thank you so much for all the support, and we’ll cook for future regionals!
Dashiel Murphy (@thedashiell)
It was so nice to get to know you , and I want to congratulate you for your Day 2 at Charlotte. Comparing notes with someone who used the same six as me was so helpful, and I hope some of the changes I suggested for the six have been helpful in your own testing too!
Nishant Joshi and the rest of Team India:
Being surrounded by players of their caliber has been so beneficial, and I’ve absorbed a lot of knowledge about Pokémon and the scene in general.
Thank you for inviting me to the server, and being one of my biggest cheerleaders of this regional weekend, Nishant.
Robbie (@rakom) and Rajan (@blaramons)
Thank you for letting me stay with you! Was nice to get to know you both a bit more!
Alexa Perez (@stuffuloflove), Patrick Connors (@pat_con5), Jason Tang (@Plasma_VG)
The practice battles were so helpful and helped me so much in learning lines into tricky matchups!
Dani (@allj4ckedup), Summer (@zilchcloud), Kenny (@kwisdumb), Christina, Sam (@fruitstandowner), Holly (@raisedwright), Jon Hu, Santino (@supahsanti), Ed (@justMinchi), Nic (@playonbirds)
I love our little peanut gallery, I appreciate all of the moral support over the weekend! Can’t wait to hang out at NAIC.
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