2009 Pokemon Video Game Championships

Okay, well, I don't know if you guys heard of this tournament, but here it is.

Website:
www.pokemonvgc.com

Rules and Regulations

Pre-Qualifications:
Players may only use North American versions of Pokémon™ Platinum Version.

Players compete in one of two age divisions based on their date of birth.

Junior Division: Born in 1997 or later
Senior Division: Born in 1996 or earlier

Registering for the event:
Exactly 128* players per event, per age division, will be randomly selected on-site the day of the event. Senior registration will take place 7:30 A.M. – 8:30 A.M. and Junior registration will take place 10:30 A.M. – 11:30 A.M.

During registration, each player will be required to fill out a Team Information Sheet. All potential players should arrive on-site with a complete Team Information Sheet.

Each player must enter 4–6 Pokémon on his or her Team Information Sheet.
Each player must enter 4–6 held items on his or her Team Information Sheet.
Players may only use Pokémon and held items listed on their Team Information Sheet during the tournament.
The Pokémon and held items listed on a player’s Team Information Sheet may not be changed once the player has registered for the event.
Players may change which held item a Pokémon is using between matches so long as both the Pokémon and the held item are listed on the player’s Team Information Sheet.
*One competitor spot will be reserved for a VIP attendee at the San Francisco event. Up to 127 participants will be selected for the Senior Division at this event.

Battle Rules:
Each match is played using the Pokémon Link Club Colosseum, found on the top floor of the Pokémon Center in Pokémon™ Platinum Version. The tournament will use the Double Cup rules set, with some additional restrictions.

Each match will use the 2-on-2 format.
Each Pokémon on a player’s team must be Level 50 or lower. The Pokémon Link Club Colosseum does not have an auto-level feature, so Pokémon that are Level 51 or higher cannot be adjusted down to Level 50, and are ineligible for this competition.
A player’s team may not contain two of the same Pokémon.
Each Pokémon on a player’s team may use held items, though no 2 Pokémon on a team may hold the same item. Allowed items include held items from Pokémon™ Platinum Version, and earlier video games, including Berries 1–61. The Soul Dew item may not be used.
Players may not enter two Pokémon with the same nickname.
Players may not enter a Pokémon nicknamed with the name of another Pokémon character (for example, a Lucario nicknamed “Spiritomb”).
Players found to have inappropriate/offensive Trainer names or Pokémon nicknames, as determined by the event staff, will be disqualified from the event.

Pokémon Restrictions:
Players may use Pokémon found in the Pokémon™ Platinum Version National Pokédex, between 001 and 492, including those Pokémon imported from earlier video games, with the exception of those Pokémon listed below.

The following Pokémon are ineligible for use in the tournament:

150 – Mewtwo 386 – Deoxys
151 – Mew 479 – Rotom
248 – Tyranitar 483 – Dialga
249 – Lugia 484 – Palkia
250 – Ho-Oh 487 – Giratina
251 – Celebi 489 – Phione
382 – Kyogre 490 – Manaphy
383 – Groudon 491 – Darkrai
384 – Rayquaza 492 – Shaymin
385 – Jirachi

Move Restrictions:
Pokémon may only use moves (including those learned in an earlier video game) which have been learned through one of the following methods:

By leveling up
By TM or HM
As an Egg move, through breeding
From a Move Tutor
Already learned by a Pokémon, which was received at an official Pokémon event or promotion
Already learned by a Pokémon, which was received from another Pokémon game (such as the Pikachu that knows Surf, from Pokémon Battle Revolution)
By Smeargle’s “Sketch” move (limited to the above moves learned by Pokémon between 001 and 492)

Tournament Operation:
The Qualifier Tournament is a Single Elimination event. Each match will consist of a single game, and will result in the winner advancing to the next round and the loser being removed from the tournament.

A player wins by knocking out his or her opponent’s final Pokémon.
If an attack knocks out both players’ last Pokémon, the player that used the attack loses the match and is eliminated from the event. This includes attacks such as Explosion, Selfdestruct, and Destiny Bond.

Preliminary Rounds
Players in each age division will be randomly paired throughout the preliminary rounds. Players will be required to win 3 matches to advance to the elimination rounds.

Each match during the preliminary rounds is untimed, though players are expected to maintain a lively pace during game play. Matches will be played using special Nintendo DS Lite systems, located at the event.

Players who are found to be intentionally delaying the pace of their match will be disqualified from the event.
Players who are tardy to their match for any reason will be disqualified from the event.

Elimination Rounds
The top 16 players in each age division will be randomly paired throughout the elimination rounds. Winning players advance to the next round; losing players are eliminated from the event.

Each match during the elimination rounds is untimed, though players are expected to maintain a lively pace during game play. Matches will be played using special Nintendo DS Lite systems, located at the event.

Players who are found to be intentionally delaying the pace of their match will be disqualified from the event.
Players who are tardy to their match for any reason will be disqualified from the event.

Other Information
The use of external devices to alter the Pokémon in a player’s party is expressly forbidden. Random checks will be performed throughout the tournament to determine whether or not an external device has been used to modify a player’s party. Players found to have Pokémon that have been tampered with will be disqualified from the event, regardless of whether the player tampered with his or her game or received a Pokémon or item that was tampered with by someone other than the player. It is the player’s responsibility to have legal Pokémon. Event officials have the final determination regarding the legality of a Pokémon.

A player should notify the staff immediately if he or she believes that there is a problem with an opponent’s Pokémon. At the end of the round, all match results become final. Issues that go unreported until after the round has completed will not change the result of that match, regardless of whether there is a problem with an opponent’s Pokémon.

Players and spectators are expected to demonstrate proper sportsmanship over the course of the event. A player may be disqualified from the event based on actions taken by friends or relatives who disrupt the operation of the tournament.

By the way, here's a list of the legendary Pokemon that you can use:

Articuno
Zapdos
Moltres
Suicune
Entei
Raikou
Regirock
Regice
Registeel
Latias
Latios
Uxie
Azelf
Mesprit
Heatran
Regigigas
Cresslia


Okay, so, I'm gonna be entering into this tournament. But the only thing is that I'm having trouble coming up with a good team of Pokemon or strategy. And it's going to be especially hard since now I'm 13, I'm going to be in the Seniors division. But I really want to win. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up too high since it really is going to be hard, but I at least want to get to Nationals. At least. Seriously!! So, can you guys give me some suggestions of strong teams of Pokemon or strategies? And also can you explain what IV's are? (I understand EV training, but I don't really get IV's. It's really confusing...:sad:) Also, can you guys tell me what the Seniors division is like and what to expect? Because I've heard that Seniors division is really, REALLY hard and that's it's really impossible to win. But I don't know...*sigh*...competitive battling is so hard. So, yeah... :huh:

Also, here are some teams of Pokemon/strategies that I found on other websites, forums, and past tournaments. Can you guys tell me if they're good or not? Thanks, I really appreciate everyone's help and advice. :talking:

1. Jolteon, Bronzong
Bronzong skill swaps with Jolteon
Jolteon gets levitate ability
Bronzong gets volt absorb ability
Then use earthquake and discharge constantly


2. Azelf, Electivire
Azelf skill swaps with Electivire
Electivire discharges
Azelf gains speed boosts
Then they destroy everything in existence

3. Trick Room Team
Bronzong @ Lumberry
Lv.50
-TrickRoom
-LightScreen
-Explosion
-Gyroball

Smearlge @ FocusSash
Lv.1
-FollowMe
-FakeOut
-DarkVoid
-Endevear

Metagross @ Shucca Berry
Lv.50
-RockSlide
-BulletPunch
-Explosion
-Psych up

Snorlax @ Sitrus Berry
Lv.50
-Return
-FirePunch
-Protect
-Bellydrum

4. RainDance team
Vaporeon
Ludicolo
Lapras
Kingdra

5. A random team of Pokemon
Zapdos
Garchomp
Metagross
Gengar

myeh... EV training and the like take too long, I'll stick to the TCG!

IVs are predetermined values for a pokemon. They essentially determine what the minimum and maximum stat can be after training. If you were to level up your pokemon using only Rare Candies, chances are you will get the minimum. If you, however, EV train, that allows you to get the maximum in 2 stats. You can have an IV of 0-31 in every stat, including HP.

Of course, that is a compressed version, leaving out a bunch of other stuff. Serebii has a guide on IVs and an IV calculator for the 4th Gen. Gamefaqs might also have a guide there, but your best bet would be a site about competitive battling.

Superyoshi888 did a pretty good job summing up IV's, but I might add:
IV training may get very annoying, and requires an extreeme amount of patience. If you want to IV train, here is how you do it...


First, this will be a bit different if you are catching your Pokemon in the wild or if you are breeding. If you are catching your Pokemon, your results will be more accurate (the higher your Pokemon's level, the more accurate the results) but you may want to breed to get specific moves for your Pokemon.

If you are breeding, you must hach a huge amount of eggs. Of the ones that have your preffered nature, (give the mother an everstone and it will be more likely to inherit hers) save the game, use as many rare candies as you have on it without saving, check its stats, and enter them into an online IV Calculator. Choose the one with the best stats for your particular strategy (the role that Pokemon will play in your team).

If you are catching your Pokemon, it works basically the same way. Catch a bunch of Pokemon, (more is always better) save, use all your rare candies on one w/ preffered nature (have a Pokemon w/ synchronize at the front of your party and wild Pokemon are more likely to have its nature), enter stats into an IV Calculator, choose the best.


Another comment on the Tournament... I'm a bit frustrated with how it will work; this year you do not register online, you just show up, give them a form filled out, and they will randomly select 128, so there is no guarantee you will get in after you have traveled so far to get there:sad:

Oh, one more thing to add to aruseusu7's comment: If you have Wi-Fi, you can get in the Wi-Fi club(not the Wi-Fi Plaza!!!) with a friend and battle at either Level 50 or 100, or no limit if you want. You can check you stats at Level 100 and enter them in the IV calculator(be sure to put Level 100 where it requests Level!) to get more acurate results.

Man, that ban list sucks. Expected no less.

Not going myself because none of the locations are near me, and random selection means that even if I manage to get to one of them, I could easily be denied the chance to play anyway.

However, to address some of the questions you asked:

So, can you guys give me some suggestions of strong teams of Pokemon or strategies?

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At the moment, the primary teams to beat are trick room, rain dance, and "goodstuff." The first two are fairly self-explanatory, being centered around the attack of the same name. The last refers to teams that consist of powerful pokémon that tend to win through aggression rather than a set-up-and-go strategy.

Common pokémon to expect include gyarados, zapdos, metagross, latios and latias, snorlax, bronzong, smeargle, and infernape. This site has a lot of information that you should know about the Showdown metagame.

Also, can you guys tell me what the Seniors division is like and what to expect? Because I've heard that Seniors division is really, REALLY hard and that's it's really impossible to win.

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Playing in the seniors division without any real background in competitive pokémon will be extremely difficult. There are people in the juniors division who know their stuff, certainly, but nowhere near as many as there are in the senior division. People in the seniors division are also less affected by distance constraints than the juniors, since they can arrange transportation for themselves, meaning that more competent people can show up at any given event. Granted, drawing is random, so if there are a lot of people there you could get lucky and end up in a pool where most of the good players have been excluded simply by chance. You never know.

As for the teams--how are they supposed to win? I know, because I've seen them posted around or in action, but I don't know if you know. If you're just copying and pasting somebody else's stuff without understanding, you're flat out not going to win with it no matter how brilliant it is. So, tell me how you would use the teams that you've posted, and then I'll tell you whether they're good or not.

As a side note, it really bothers me when people talk about "IV training." Because the IV's of a pokémon are set when it is generated, it is impossible to "train" IV's. Just a pet peeve of mine.

1. Jolteon, Bronzong
Bronzong skill swaps with Jolteon
Jolteon gets levitate ability
Bronzong gets volt absorb ability
Then use earthquake and discharge constantly

Click to expand...

I'd go for something more along the lines of a slow Fire-type with Flash fire. Not to mention that a lot of the 2v2 teams out there start with a pokemon who knows fakeout. It might be an idea to work a strategy around "fakeout starters" to get you a step ahead from the earliest point in the match.

The problem with these two is that someone can just earthquake the bronzong freely, bronzong is too fat to move fast enough, and jolteon can't stop a ground-type, unless it was a bolt-beamer, (which I doubt seeing as you didn't know what IV's are.

It doesn't get bigger than this! Pokémon Trainers from around the globe will gather in sunny San Diego, California

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We will..? They should have made this one a Wi-Fi Competition, with an online spreadsheet.

can you explain what IV's are?

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Honestly, If you don't know then chances are you're fairly new to competitive battling and you'd have to come up to speed fairly quickly; because i'm assuming there's nerdy 25-year-olds in that tournament who do nothing but battlebattlebattle. ,,xD

If you need help just PM me or add me to msn, or something.

Negrek said:

As a side note, it really bothers me when people talk about "IV training." Because the IV's of a pokémon are set when it is generated, it is impossible to "train" IV's. Just a pet peeve of mine.

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Well technically it's "IV breeding" (ironic, it's just missing the H) But as long as people understand it doesn't really matter. Essencially it's the same thing as training; Wasting your time so that the pokemon has higher stats. xP

We will..? They should have made this one a Wi-Fi Competition, with an online spreadsheet.

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That would be awesome. I can see why they don't do that, though. Without some way to have the tournament organizers monitor battles, people could get up to all kinds of shenanigans. The perpetually shaky NWFC would also make it a real drag, what with people not being able to connect/getting dropped all the time.

Well technically it's "IV breeding" (ironic, it's just missing the H) But as long as people understand it doesn't really matter. Essencially it's the same thing as training; Wasting your time so that the pokemon has higher stats. xP

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I know. It's the principle of the thing. :P

Okay, okay, people. Now i get what everything is. You guys don't have to be so hard with the criticisim...:sad:...but yeah, I'm fine now. And anyway, I'm just gonna do my best in this tournament. Yeah, I'm probably gonna lose but whatever. I have nothing to lose! So, yeah...thanks for all the info and advice. You can keep on discussing this if you want to.

San Diego? I'm not going all the way over there for a frigging Milotic.

Anyway, even if it was close, I don't have Platinum, so :|

that ban list is retarded. Rotom? Tyranitar? Phione? The hell?

Tyranitar makes sense. Phione makes sense given Nintendo's obsession with banning event legends.

surskitty said:

Tyranitar makes sense. Phione makes sense given Nintendo's obsession with banning event legends.

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But why TTar and not Dragonite? or Cresslia? or Metagross..? Dragonite and metagross give me a hell of a lot more trouble than any single tyranitar ever has.
They should have just stuck to their regular UBER-restrictions, imo.

..and I see about 3-4 Metagross in various teams, for each 1 tyranitar I come across. ><

Probably because Tyranitar is everywhere and it's common enough that assuming that Sandstorm is in effect is necessary.

It'd be nice if they banned Cresselia, too, but why the hell would they ban Metagross?

surskitty said:

Probably because Tyranitar is everywhere and it's common enough that assuming that Sandstorm is in effect is necessary.

It'd be nice if they banned Cresselia, too, but why the hell would they ban Metagross?

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Yeah but Metagross is everywhere too, like I said, I see 3-4 metagross for every 1 tyranitar; they both have the same base-stat total, and Metagross is much harder to kill in my eyes.

Dragonite has a 4x ice weakness and TTar has a 4x fighting weakness?
What's Metagross got?.. A shiny, metallic rind that boasts 130 ATK which you can hardly dent. And by the time you get our your fire-type (which are usually rather flimsy), it's already used agility and is very much ready to quake your butt.

Plus Tyranitar doesn't: Agility > Explosion > Wipe out 2 pokemon - when it's about to die(which I assume would happen a lot in a 2v2). Tyranitar is just so fat and slow that you punch it and it drops. Also, i'm fairly confident that a Metagross would literally stomp a Tyranitar every single time.

Why they'd ban one single pokemon in the same tier as a bunch of others, and then allow a bucketful of legendaries in the competition, is beyond me.. Especially if it's just because of sandstream. (which again, doesn'taffectMetagrosswhatsoever. Surprise*cough*surprise).

Guys, they banned tyranitar because it evolves over level 50. You cannot use pokémon over level fifty at all in this tournament (there is no de-leveling option because battles are conducted over a local connection). Dragonite, on the other hand, evolves at lv. 50, so it's fine. It has nothing to do with power--you literally would not be able to use tyranitar the tournament.

Negrek said:

Guys, they banned tyranitar because it evolves over level 50. You cannot use pokémon over level fifty at all in this tournament (there is no de-leveling option because battles are conducted over a local connection). Dragonite, on the other hand, evolves at lv. 50, so it's fine. It has nothing to do with power--you literally would not be able to use tyranitar the tournament.

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Ah ok, didn't realize it evolved at 55... Why the hell would they make level 50 the limit when they have no auto-adjust feature.... Might as well make it a level 10, baby-pokemon-tournament; I'd much rather battle with my 100's.

For some reason I find it more fun battling with max-level pokemon, I personally hate the lvl 50 feature on PBR.
But I suppose that's just me, so don't pay it any heed.

Damn, i'd end up in the senior division even if I could enter. Maybe I really should bite my lip and get platinum after all. (I don't even have Diamond or Pearl.)

Muse said:

Damn, i'd end up in the senior division even if I could enter.

Age: 19

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Yup, sure sucks ass, we just barely slipped over that junior line into the senior division. </3 -lolbigkid-

I figured i'd skip platinum, because it would be the same kinda thing as emerald; but I bit my lip about 3 or 4 days ago and ordered it online. >> If you don't have D/P then i'd definately get Platinum. (assuming that you like playing).


--

On a side note, does anyone know if the frontier thing in Platinum has any new online WiFi features? Because that would make it all the more worth buying.

Negrek said:

Guys, they banned tyranitar because it evolves over level 50. You cannot use pokémon over level fifty at all in this tournament (there is no de-leveling option because battles are conducted over a local connection). Dragonite, on the other hand, evolves at lv. 50, so it's fine. It has nothing to do with power--you literally would not be able to use tyranitar the tournament.

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... oh right. /o/

Why didn't they include an auto-level feature for local connections, anyway?


Er technically it evolves at level 55 but there's that one promotional Dragonite that's level fifty. :(