Official Pokémon Competitions

Last night, I signed up for the 2012 Autumn Friendly almost as soon as the Pokémon Global Link site was updated. Just the day before, I had been thinking about when the next competition would be; lo and behold, it is happening sooner than I thought!

I enjoy these Pokémon Competitions very much. I have actively participated in two of the competitions so far (it would have been three, but my college's internet was not DS-friendly), and have greatly enjoyed the seamless Wi-Fi battling that these games offer. Though the personal touch of having both battlers in the same room is lost, it is still quite a lot of fun.

During the 2012 Spring Friendly, I placed at 772 out of 3022 active participants, which is right about the 25th percentile. I won 13 battles and lost 7 battles. Not bad for a first-timer who was only familiar with battling among friends, I think.

During the 2012 International Challenge, I placed at 1482 out of 9020 active participants, which is about the 16th percentile. I won 19 battles and lost  8 battles, which definitely helped my percentage.

Unfortunately, during these competitions, I experienced a lot of rage-quitter battles. I would have a higher score had the other person not disconnected their game right when I was about to win. This is frustrating to me, but what can you do? I just had to keep trying my best.

My only previous experience with battling "competitively" was with my two good friends from college. They were like masters when it came to EV training and IV breeding, and everything that I know about raising good Pokémon was learned through their tutelage. I have them to thank for my performance in these competitions. One of them actually explained to me the perfect "Rain Team" for generation five to me, and I am now using his team. He cannot compete in the competitions due to not having a wireless connection that he can get working with his DS. He battles vicariously through the videos I upload for him, and tweaks the team according to the difficulties I have faced with battling this particular team.

With the new competition next week, I hope to be more prepared than ever. I am going to spend the off-hours during this week tweaking various movesets and perhaps adding two more Pokémon to the bench so that I can throw off other battler's expectations when they get a quick glimpse at my team.  I am hoping that I can get within the 10th percentile this year.

As a Pokémon trainer, I feel a sense of pride in my performance as a battler. Yes, it is ultimately just a game, but it is MY game. These are MY Pokémon. I am proud of my hard work, as irrelevant as it might be to the rest of the world and to its grand influence on my life.  Because it is my accomplishment. It is my skill. It is my hard work.

I want to be the very best, like no one ever was.