20/05/2024
So through my journey playing competitive Pokemon, I’ve started to reflect. I discovered VGC during the players cup and became a fan of it. I started to take on the online ranked ladder towards the end of sword and shields life. Highest I got was ultra ball I think and it was due to a series of disconnects. I stopped playing for awhile due to work and the announcement of Scarlet and Violet. Once that comes out I decide to focus on improving my game and started playing the online ranked ladder again. In regulation A, I finally make it to master ball rank for the first time. I then start to consider going to regionals but decided to wait until the next year to get my finances in order. I continue to practice and discover Pokemon Showdown. I have a hard time making it past the 1100s. I consume videos from and at like crazy. In fact I watched them so much my 2 year old son thought that’s what Pokémon was. He started spouting good moves and bad moves from watching them with me. I continue to practice and now making masterball rank wasn’t a big deal but my expectation. Showdown comes out with the Bo3 category and San Antonio gets announced as the regional spot. I get to together with my friends and Joshua and we start team building and they help me practice a ton of match ups. I feel my play improving and I start making it to the 1200s consistently on showdown. Finally the day of San Antonio comes up and my one goal is to not go 0-9. To my surprise I go 5-4 winning Championship Points in my first regional and a ranking of 221 out of 563. In my first match I sit next to a top player and I hear him say Pokémon is really a game where anyone can win. I see a lot of people I follow on Social Media, YouTube, and Twitch but have social anxiety and don’t speak to them. I’m super proud of that performance and now caught the bug. I want to do better. I keep practicing and register for the North American International Championships or NAIC for short. JoeUx9 starts doing live coaching streams and I sit and write as many notes from those streams as I can. And study them to comprehend them. We arrive to now. 2-3 weeks away from NAIC. I now consider myself not playing well if on Pokemon Showdown I dip below 1400 on either ladder or Bo3. If I’m over 7000 on the online ranked ladder in cartridge. I understand team building much more and can make much better teams quicker. The reason I write all this is because I do talk often about how much I’m bad at this game because I compare myself to the greats because I want to achieve what they achieve. But it’s healthy to look back and see how far I’ve come. Heading into NAIC I can set two goals. To not go 0-9 and to try to make day 2. Those two goals are very different but I think I’m capable of both. Either way I’ll keep practicing, keep improving, keep watching, and keep playing this game I love so very much. Thank you for listening!
