Photo report from Japan

[Prime]

Oh! The Blue Sleeves. My computer at home is so dull, I almost couldn't make out the symbol. Now that I am on a iMac at school, I can clearly make out the sleeves of both players.

Darn, cool pokemon sleeves are so COMMON in Japan, yet so RARE in America. Why can't PCL or TPC or NoJ work out some kind of deal with POP or PUI or NoA and ship them to America?

 

[supertyranitar]

those people in the video shuffle the deck like crazy!!!!!!

I'd do it too if I wanted consistancy and all.
Great report Tego, it really sounds interesting there, not to mention looks it too.

 

[HornetsBasketballFan]

What was the deck that the JPN National Champ played that day?

 

[Tego]

Nice report Eskil. Nice photos. There are just sooo many players there o_0

I'm going to Japan this summer, any places you would recommend which are good for playing?

Well, the Kansai area was a good place to be for Pokémon events, it turned out. Are you going there, or just to the Kanto area (Tokyo)?

Awesome report! I love Japan everytime I see it.
Any picture of the special sleeves? I'm sure many people on this forum would want to get thei

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

What was the deck that the JPN National Champ played that day?

In one word: intruging. It was a kind of Quagsire d/Kingler d deck with Tools. Slightly reminiscent of RaiEggs (a deck that NEVER sees play in Japan, btw) because of the focus on Stage 1 Delta Pokémon and Cessation Crystal.

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

Awesome report! I love Japan everytime I see it.
Any picture of the special sleeves? I'm sure many people on this forum would want to get their hands on them.

Sorry! For some reason, I never took a picture of them before trading them away. I regret it now, they were really cool.

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

I guess the US isn't the only place with a huge player population. That Bannette ex/Electrode ex deck sounds fun. Is BLS still big?

It was Arcanine ex/Electrode ex, actually. BLS doesn't seem to be big anymore. The current trend seems to be fast Stage 1 decks, not beefy Stage 2 decks like BLS.

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

So they have a format with only EX card backs allowed, and concurrently they have a format with only DP card backs allowed? I couldn't tell from your article.

They have a format with only EX card design allowed, yes. (The backs didn't change for the EX series, just the design, namely by introducing the white card border). The next format is supposed to be FRLG On, I've heard. Don't know what the logic (in terms of card design/looks) behind that decision.

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

Does elitism seem to be an issue there? Did you come across any really good players that barely seem human and are constantly shuffling their hands during your tun, like they want you to hurry up? And how about stalling? Did you see any of that?

I saw less. Due to cultural differences, I guess.

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

A Constructed tournament in which you can only use decks with cards from one set? That sounds fun. I wanna play in one of those.

Could be fun - if you know what format it is in advance so you can bring the right deck. :lol:

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

Brilliant, thanks!

Btw, did you come away bankrupt? I can't pass a Pokémon Gachapon without buying some, and imagine in Japan stuff like that is everywhere.

Bankrupt, you say? Yes, pretty much. :x

 

[DragonairMaster8]

What decks were in teh finals? I couldnt make otu exactly what every card was. Was it the Arcanine ex/Electrode ex VS the banette? btw, thanks! tehse pics are very cool

 

[The_Cheese_Alchemist]

<br><br><img src="http://eskil.vestre.net/pokemon/japanreport/cocoa/P1030639.jpg"><br>

*cough* Aren't those the American Pokemon sleeves with the Aqua Magma pokemon on them! So there legal in Japan but not here accept for in prereleases? *cough*

 

[PunkMonkey]

man, now i want to go live in Japan for a little while.

 

[Prime]

Well I guess TPC doesn't worry about players marking their sleeves. They are fine with spending that time on improving the prizes (see cool sleeves).

 

[Tego]

As I mentioned in the article, the Cocoa Cup was an unofficial event made by a group of Pokémon fans. Also, this picture is from the guest table (not the actual tournament), so I reckoned nobody would mind it if I used those sleeves there.

Back to back posts merged. The following information has been added:

What decks were in teh finals? I couldnt make otu exactly what every card was. Was it the Arcanine ex/Electrode ex VS the banette? btw, thanks! tehse pics are very cool

Actually, I believe it was a mirror match Arcanine ex/Electrode ex VS Arcanine ex/Electrode ex. Yup, it was that strong/popular.

 

[Rulemaster]

in that finals video, the guy shuffles weird. he pulls cards from teh bottom and puts them on teh top, and only does it twice. then his opponent doesnt even cut. that seems like it is hardly a random shuffle...what gives?

 

[dld4a]

Was Pow! legal for this tourney. If not I don't get the synergy between Trode EX and K9 EX.

 

[DragonairMaster8]

Actually, I believe it was a mirror match Arcanine ex/Electrode ex VS Arcanine ex/Electrode ex. Yup, it was that strong/popular.

Wow, i would have that if it was that popular that they would have played it at worlds. Anyway, if you had to pick teh top 5 archtypes of their metagame at the time you were there, what would you say?

 

[Kall-Su master]

Is that arbok/fossils deck popular? and I'm also asking the same things as dragon master

 

[Tego]

Rulemaster: I've seen many people shuffle like that, but replaying the video I see you do have a point. Hm.

dld4a: Yes.

Kall-su master: I don't think Arbok/Fossils is popular. I just saw it once and was really puzzled by it.

DragonairMaster8: I'm wondering the same. Apparently it was already popular ages ago in Japan, and now it still is being played, so why did they never bring it to Worlds? :S Top 5 archetypes is very hard to say. I didn't compete in enough tournament that crowned one ultimate winner. I competed mostly in events where you just play a number of games to win a prize, not events where a best player & best deck is crowned. I would guess, though, that these were the best decks while I was in Japan:

-Gardevoir ex d
-Arcanine ex/Electrode ex
-Team Magma + Cessation Crystal
-Banette ex variants
-Scizor ex variants
-Lati@s

 

[Fireborn]

Wow, thanks for the great report, it was great looking at the pics and reading your report, sounds like you had a great time =)

So you should be the favourite for the first part of the Prof Cup, having experience with half-decks! Do you find playing half-decks very different from playing full decks? Are there completely different archetypes for both variants?

 

[Tego]

Almost completely different. Cards that are strong in 60-card decks might be weak in 30-card decks, or the other way around. For example, I soon learned how powerful cards like Jirachi DX can be when you look at twice the percentage of your deck ... And how weak some Supporter cards can become (Steven's and Admin were unplayable =P).

 

[Archaic]

What kind of Gardevoir ex d decks were they playing in Japan while you were there exactly?

 

[Tego]

It contains several different Gardevoirs, including Gardevoir d (DS), Gardevoir d ex (DF) and Gardevoir (EM). It also had Pidgeot and a Metal Pokémon abusing attacker like Scizor. It will never work in "our" (the world outside Japan) format, though. Without Pidgeot the deck becomes really slow and weak (Nidoqueen d doesn't do the same job IMO), and with Psychic Pokémon running rampant everywhere (Banette ex, Flygon ex d ...), Gardevoir ex's weakness makes it unplayble.