So, this year the USA National Tournament was in my home-state of Indiana, and our capital, Indianapolis!!! I play in Seniors, and come from a small town called Winamac. I left home at 3:30 in the morning, and gotg there exactly when registration opened at 8:00. Of course, we went to eat breakfast at Cracker Barrel first, and then went to the hotel room to drop off my stuff. So, I head to the tournament through a few skywalks and a mall and a parking garage (which took 16 minutes, not 39 seconds like mapquest said!) to get to the Convention Center. (Later I found out it was because mapquest uses street directions, and I was using the skywalk.) I got there just in time to get the T-Shirt and register. For this tournament, I was playing Dark DialgaChomp. So, let's move on to the rounds!
Round 1: VS Gardevoir/Gallade
So, I start with a Honchkrow G and he starts with a Ralts. I get to the point at which I can snipe T1 since I went 2nd, and I instantly use Honcho's Command to get set up. He uses Pokemon Collector to get more basics, and uses Future Sight. I snipe things continuously and he can't set up. I then Dragon Rush his active Claydol that I forced him to send out, being his only Benched Pokemon when it was 3-6. He used Collector to get more Basics, and I Power Sprayed his Cosmic Power. I continue to use my Cyrus's Conspiracy to get more Power Sprays while I snipe around his Claydol. When we were 1-6, he scooped.
1~0
Round 2: VS LuxChomp
My opponent went first, and I got a T2 Deafen Lock going, which I held for 23+ turns(I wasn't counting to begin with, then I started counting), literally, doing 30 per turn, and using Power Sprays and Dialga G Lv.X to further the lock. I picked up around 3 Prizes this way, before I started using Remove Lost for 100 per turn, and sniping things off with Garchomp C Lv.X to win 0-6.
2~0
Round 3: VS GenGarchomp
This game was very bad, because he kept using Shadow Room to kill pixies, but I had accidentally left 4 cards in my deckbox, including a Power Spray, Energy Gain, Special Metal Energy, and my Unown G!!! Since I couldn't stop Shadow Room, I lost, only to discover this right after the game.
2~1
Lunch Break!!!
Round 4: VS GenGarchomp
This round was much, much better! I destroyed Gengar with Honchkrow G's and Dialga G Lv.X. He couldn't stop me, no matter what he did, since I had a -20 resistance. If he ever brought up Garchomp C Lv.X, I would attach a DCE to retreat to Garchomp C of my own, then attach E-Gain and use Bronzong G to send the other DCE to it. Then next turn, I woud level up to heal Dialga G Lv.X and retreat for free to Dialga G Lv.X to tank again. I tanked through him, doing 100 per turn and sending all of his energies to the Lost Zone. He lost by 4 Prizes.
3~1
Round 5: VS JumpRay (He said his username rhymed with "Colts8729". *hint* *hint*)
This round honestly disgusted me. I shuffled and asked him if he'd like to cut. He shuffled my deck, looking at ever card. *Infraction 1* Then, he cut after his shuffle. *Infraction 2*. I was then told by he and the kid next to him that I couldn't cut afterwards. *Infraction 3.* I started with azelf, and he got a "perfect hand". Donk. (As you can tell, I was unenthused. Obviously, it was very unfair. I didn't say so then, and I could tell he thought he had made it without me noticing, but I knew. If you ever play this guy or Danniel (Danny) Galvan watch it.)
3~2
Round 6: VS LuxChomp
My opponent was about 5 minutes late, so if time was called, the judges said I would auto-win. We didn't even take a prize until halfway through the time, but then things went fast. He'd Dragon Rush, i'd kill back with another Garchomp C, he'd Bright Look and KO, I'd Revenge kill, and on and on and on, until we were 1-2, my favor. I get a Belted Dialga G Lv.X with 2 Special Metal energies on it out, and draw another. I attach it, and look to see that he has a Garchomp C Lv.X with only 10 damage on it. I belt it, and use Team Galactic's Wager to try to find a Poke'Turn to get an extra 10 damage from a Flash Bite for the KO. I win the RPS game, and I draw a Power Spray, Azelf, Energy, and a couple other things, then... Poke'Turn!!! Yes!!! I Flash Bite and Second Strike for the final prize, only to find out that if I had found a way to stall for 17 more seconds I would have auto-won anyways!
4~2
Round 7: VS JumpRay
Don't you love the variety of my matchups? Another JumpRay. We both get set up well, and he takes a two-prize lead for the entire game, until we're 3-1, his favor. I finally set up a belted Dialga G Lv.X with some special metals and a DCE and 60 damge on it. I hit his belted Jumpluff with 80 on it with Deafen for the KO, and we're 1-1. He only has a Shaymin Lv.X (with two energies), Hoppip, and Skiploom benched. He sends up the Shaymin Lv.X and attaches an energy to hit for 60, just20 out of KO range. I draw, Flash Bite (just because I wanted to), and hit for 100 for the game.
I finished the first day of Nationals 5~2, while everybody else I came with or even knew there dropped already. I would have two games to win the next day,otherwise I was sure I wouldn't make Top Cut.
The Next Day...
Round 8: VS LuxChomp
So, I get a T2 Deafen lock going and keep him Deafened for a while. This stalls out a lot of time for me. But, eventually, I ran out of stalling time when he had built up three energies on his Luxray GL. He levels up and Bright Looks to take a prize. I broke the lock for a couple turns in order to anhilate all of his in-play energies, then locked again. I kept him playing in slow motion by disrupting, sniping, and locking the entire game, and we're down to 2-3, my favor, when time is called. I quickly send up Garchomp C Lv.X, attach a DCE and an Energy Gain, to Dragon Rush his Uxe for the game. He tried to call stalling, but everything I did was legal and effected the game's outcome, and there was no slow-play. Good Game.
6-2
Round 9: VS LuxChomp
This game, I couldn't get set up. I had a horrible hand and prizes, and he kept using Poke'Turns, Bright Looks, and Dragon Rushes to pick up cheap KO's. Eventually, I have nothing left for this game and I lost.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Loudspeaker: "Trading Card Game Players! The standing are up! Those people in the top sixty-four please bring their decks to the deck-check area."
Him: "Should you go check those?"
Me: "Nah, I went 6-3. I couldn't possibly have made it."
Him: "Okay."
And we continued our game. Five minutes later, our League Leader runs up to me.
Leader: "Congrats!"
Me: "For what?"
Leader: "Top cut!"
Me: "What top cut?" (<<< Yeah, I felt pretty dumb...)
Leader: "Didn't you even check? You made the Top Cut! You had resistance off the charts! And you only have a minute and a half to get in line and have your deck sorted out!"
Shakespeare: "Yeah, go kick the butt we failed to kick!"
So, naturally, I shove my deck and as much of my stuff as I could carry and shove it in my pockets, then take off like a bat from heck, charging across the room with a gigantic bag on rollers trailing behind. I felt like a complete idiot, but hey, making Top Cut made it all better!
Round 1: VS 2nd Seat, Plox with AMU
I hated the method they used for pairing people up, because I end up playing the 2nd seed, with, of course, Plox with AMU. I lost fairly badly the first game, but I ended up coming down to the last prize on the second. Oh, well!
I still got a cool Giratina Hat, free Giratina Pre-Release Sleeves, and 10 packs. Hey, I can still say I'm one of the best Seniors in the country, and nobody can take that away from me. So, here's my Props & Slops:
Props:
+Making Top Cut
+Tucker J. (The Leader's son) for alerting his father I made Top Cut just in time
+Getting 2nd in the 30-Card Collector's Cache Tournament
+High Resistance!!!
+Going to the biggest Mutant Booster Draft ever. (Literally!)
+Playing Pokemon until 4 in the morning.
+J-Wittz for being cool even though I saw him at every thing I went to.
+J-Wittz Lv.X (Got it signed!)
+Meeting Nes for the 2nd time... in the Restroom.
+grassmaster239 for surrendering his shiny turtwig coin.
+Prizes were great!
+Trading two commons for two packs.
+Making some great deals.
+Rolling with Julie's crew!
+Most of my opponents were good sports.
+As far as I know, I'm the only Indiana Senior to make Top Cut.
+Getting a T-Shirt even though I didn't come a day early.
Slops:
-Hot
-A 16 minute walk to get there.
-Cheated out of Round 5 by Colts8729.
-Having all of my final evolutions prized in the final round of the Collector's Cache 30-Card.
-Troll and Toad for having rip-off buying prices.
-Collector's Cache wasn't much better.
-Mutant Booster Draft organizers for sucky set, 3 different technical difficulties, taking forever, keeping us up til 4 in the morning, giving us our packs an hour late! Worst side event I've ever been to!
-More than 200 people dropped from the Mutant Booster!
-Taking a wrong turn in downtown Indianapolis.
-Being followed by a drunk, half naked man all the way back to the hotel.
-Plox.
-grassmster239 ATE MY SHINY TURTWIG GL!!! NOOOO!!!!!
-The Omni Severin Hotel had efficient and polite people working there, but they need a sign on each side so people can find it and our room wasn't the greatest.
Over all, a great experience, and I hope Pokemon USA will have it in the same place next year! The reason I say I went from "Zero to Hero", is because I was the only one in my group that didn't drop, and was the only one out of us all to make Top Cut. So, really, this wasn't only a great victory for me, but a victory for our entire small-town team. Good job, Team Poke'-Warriors. I couldn't ask for better teammates.
Round 1: VS Gardevoir/Gallade
So, I start with a Honchkrow G and he starts with a Ralts. I get to the point at which I can snipe T1 since I went 2nd, and I instantly use Honcho's Command to get set up. He uses Pokemon Collector to get more basics, and uses Future Sight. I snipe things continuously and he can't set up. I then Dragon Rush his active Claydol that I forced him to send out, being his only Benched Pokemon when it was 3-6. He used Collector to get more Basics, and I Power Sprayed his Cosmic Power. I continue to use my Cyrus's Conspiracy to get more Power Sprays while I snipe around his Claydol. When we were 1-6, he scooped.
1~0
Round 2: VS LuxChomp
My opponent went first, and I got a T2 Deafen Lock going, which I held for 23+ turns(I wasn't counting to begin with, then I started counting), literally, doing 30 per turn, and using Power Sprays and Dialga G Lv.X to further the lock. I picked up around 3 Prizes this way, before I started using Remove Lost for 100 per turn, and sniping things off with Garchomp C Lv.X to win 0-6.
2~0
Round 3: VS GenGarchomp
This game was very bad, because he kept using Shadow Room to kill pixies, but I had accidentally left 4 cards in my deckbox, including a Power Spray, Energy Gain, Special Metal Energy, and my Unown G!!! Since I couldn't stop Shadow Room, I lost, only to discover this right after the game.
2~1
Lunch Break!!!
Round 4: VS GenGarchomp
This round was much, much better! I destroyed Gengar with Honchkrow G's and Dialga G Lv.X. He couldn't stop me, no matter what he did, since I had a -20 resistance. If he ever brought up Garchomp C Lv.X, I would attach a DCE to retreat to Garchomp C of my own, then attach E-Gain and use Bronzong G to send the other DCE to it. Then next turn, I woud level up to heal Dialga G Lv.X and retreat for free to Dialga G Lv.X to tank again. I tanked through him, doing 100 per turn and sending all of his energies to the Lost Zone. He lost by 4 Prizes.
3~1
Round 5: VS JumpRay (He said his username rhymed with "Colts8729". *hint* *hint*)
This round honestly disgusted me. I shuffled and asked him if he'd like to cut. He shuffled my deck, looking at ever card. *Infraction 1* Then, he cut after his shuffle. *Infraction 2*. I was then told by he and the kid next to him that I couldn't cut afterwards. *Infraction 3.* I started with azelf, and he got a "perfect hand". Donk. (As you can tell, I was unenthused. Obviously, it was very unfair. I didn't say so then, and I could tell he thought he had made it without me noticing, but I knew. If you ever play this guy or Danniel (Danny) Galvan watch it.)
3~2
Round 6: VS LuxChomp
My opponent was about 5 minutes late, so if time was called, the judges said I would auto-win. We didn't even take a prize until halfway through the time, but then things went fast. He'd Dragon Rush, i'd kill back with another Garchomp C, he'd Bright Look and KO, I'd Revenge kill, and on and on and on, until we were 1-2, my favor. I get a Belted Dialga G Lv.X with 2 Special Metal energies on it out, and draw another. I attach it, and look to see that he has a Garchomp C Lv.X with only 10 damage on it. I belt it, and use Team Galactic's Wager to try to find a Poke'Turn to get an extra 10 damage from a Flash Bite for the KO. I win the RPS game, and I draw a Power Spray, Azelf, Energy, and a couple other things, then... Poke'Turn!!! Yes!!! I Flash Bite and Second Strike for the final prize, only to find out that if I had found a way to stall for 17 more seconds I would have auto-won anyways!
4~2
Round 7: VS JumpRay
Don't you love the variety of my matchups? Another JumpRay. We both get set up well, and he takes a two-prize lead for the entire game, until we're 3-1, his favor. I finally set up a belted Dialga G Lv.X with some special metals and a DCE and 60 damge on it. I hit his belted Jumpluff with 80 on it with Deafen for the KO, and we're 1-1. He only has a Shaymin Lv.X (with two energies), Hoppip, and Skiploom benched. He sends up the Shaymin Lv.X and attaches an energy to hit for 60, just20 out of KO range. I draw, Flash Bite (just because I wanted to), and hit for 100 for the game.
I finished the first day of Nationals 5~2, while everybody else I came with or even knew there dropped already. I would have two games to win the next day,otherwise I was sure I wouldn't make Top Cut.
The Next Day...
Round 8: VS LuxChomp
So, I get a T2 Deafen lock going and keep him Deafened for a while. This stalls out a lot of time for me. But, eventually, I ran out of stalling time when he had built up three energies on his Luxray GL. He levels up and Bright Looks to take a prize. I broke the lock for a couple turns in order to anhilate all of his in-play energies, then locked again. I kept him playing in slow motion by disrupting, sniping, and locking the entire game, and we're down to 2-3, my favor, when time is called. I quickly send up Garchomp C Lv.X, attach a DCE and an Energy Gain, to Dragon Rush his Uxe for the game. He tried to call stalling, but everything I did was legal and effected the game's outcome, and there was no slow-play. Good Game.
6-2
Round 9: VS LuxChomp
This game, I couldn't get set up. I had a horrible hand and prizes, and he kept using Poke'Turns, Bright Looks, and Dragon Rushes to pick up cheap KO's. Eventually, I have nothing left for this game and I lost.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After the Swiss Rounds
I end the Swiss rounds 6-3, and I go to the League Play area to play Shakespeare. (The mod on PokeBeach.) We're sitting there playing a game, and I listen to the loudspeaker call out that the final standings are up.Loudspeaker: "Trading Card Game Players! The standing are up! Those people in the top sixty-four please bring their decks to the deck-check area."
Him: "Should you go check those?"
Me: "Nah, I went 6-3. I couldn't possibly have made it."
Him: "Okay."
And we continued our game. Five minutes later, our League Leader runs up to me.
Leader: "Congrats!"
Me: "For what?"
Leader: "Top cut!"
Me: "What top cut?" (<<< Yeah, I felt pretty dumb...)
Leader: "Didn't you even check? You made the Top Cut! You had resistance off the charts! And you only have a minute and a half to get in line and have your deck sorted out!"
Shakespeare: "Yeah, go kick the butt we failed to kick!"
So, naturally, I shove my deck and as much of my stuff as I could carry and shove it in my pockets, then take off like a bat from heck, charging across the room with a gigantic bag on rollers trailing behind. I felt like a complete idiot, but hey, making Top Cut made it all better!
Round 1: VS 2nd Seat, Plox with AMU
I hated the method they used for pairing people up, because I end up playing the 2nd seed, with, of course, Plox with AMU. I lost fairly badly the first game, but I ended up coming down to the last prize on the second. Oh, well!
I still got a cool Giratina Hat, free Giratina Pre-Release Sleeves, and 10 packs. Hey, I can still say I'm one of the best Seniors in the country, and nobody can take that away from me. So, here's my Props & Slops:
Props:
+Making Top Cut
+Tucker J. (The Leader's son) for alerting his father I made Top Cut just in time
+Getting 2nd in the 30-Card Collector's Cache Tournament
+High Resistance!!!
+Going to the biggest Mutant Booster Draft ever. (Literally!)
+Playing Pokemon until 4 in the morning.
+J-Wittz for being cool even though I saw him at every thing I went to.
+J-Wittz Lv.X (Got it signed!)
+Meeting Nes for the 2nd time... in the Restroom.
+grassmaster239 for surrendering his shiny turtwig coin.
+Prizes were great!
+Trading two commons for two packs.
+Making some great deals.
+Rolling with Julie's crew!
+Most of my opponents were good sports.
+As far as I know, I'm the only Indiana Senior to make Top Cut.
+Getting a T-Shirt even though I didn't come a day early.
Slops:
-Hot
-A 16 minute walk to get there.
-Cheated out of Round 5 by Colts8729.
-Having all of my final evolutions prized in the final round of the Collector's Cache 30-Card.
-Troll and Toad for having rip-off buying prices.
-Collector's Cache wasn't much better.
-Mutant Booster Draft organizers for sucky set, 3 different technical difficulties, taking forever, keeping us up til 4 in the morning, giving us our packs an hour late! Worst side event I've ever been to!
-More than 200 people dropped from the Mutant Booster!
-Taking a wrong turn in downtown Indianapolis.
-Being followed by a drunk, half naked man all the way back to the hotel.
-Plox.
-grassmster239 ATE MY SHINY TURTWIG GL!!! NOOOO!!!!!
-The Omni Severin Hotel had efficient and polite people working there, but they need a sign on each side so people can find it and our room wasn't the greatest.
Over all, a great experience, and I hope Pokemon USA will have it in the same place next year! The reason I say I went from "Zero to Hero", is because I was the only one in my group that didn't drop, and was the only one out of us all to make Top Cut. So, really, this wasn't only a great victory for me, but a victory for our entire small-town team. Good job, Team Poke'-Warriors. I couldn't ask for better teammates.
Last edited:
