Rochester Professor Draft – West Coast Stadium Challenge
-OR-
“The Lucky Jersey” by Derek “Satoshi” Heid
West Coast Stadium Challenge
San Diego Convention Center
San Diego, CA
June 8th, 2002
30 Participants
Good lord…I don’t even know where to begin! I just got home from the West Coast Stadium Challenge at the San Diego Convention Center, and it was a royal blast. There’s no other way for me to describe it. It. Was. FUN.
-Pre Game Show
The day started off with Team Temecula (LOL) – my brother, and my best friend Jeff aka “Hitokage v2” and myself arriving at the site around 8:00 that morning. My little brother needed to get registered for the 11-14 Age Grouping, and Jeff and I figured we’d just chill and whatnot until our shindig started.
Well, we get up the escalator, and almost immediately I meet two people I knew from the WizPOG and Pojo Message Boards, respectively: TR Cassidy and Martin Moreno. Cassidy caught me as I was stepping off of the escalator, and I took that time to ask her if the Professors had to sign in yet. She said no, and soon after Jeff and I began to make our way to the actual conference room.
This is when I hear a voice shout “DEREK!” I turn around and there’s this short kid in a bright yellow Nike hat walking over to me. Sure enough, turns out to be Martin. We talked for a bit, then he headed off to somewhere and Jeff and I went on inside.
We played a few practice games with Kid Karnage, and I learned from Martin that there was a small chance that Criminal might make it after all. I was pretty glad to hear this; Crim’s a cool guy and we didn’t get to talk much at the WCSTS in December. Halfway through my second practice game, someone grabs my shoulders from behind and shakes me around. I look to my side and see Martin, so I figure it’s him. But then he says “Look man, Crim!” and sure enough, Crim is the one doing the shaking. Crim had made it after all! Yay! We also ended up hooking up with Dallas “Strike” Dalton, another great guy I’d met at the WCSTS. Jeff and I play a few more practice games, and I end up having everyone sign a promo Cleffa. Crim writes that it “wants to be just like Bill” and I finish the job by giving it an Afro, LoL. After a bit more screwing around, the give the announcement that it’s time to go get registered for the Professor Draft!
-Registration
So we get in line, and after a while we finally get ourselves checked into the draft – with like, 45 minutes to spare. I go to the vendors and check prices, buying two Genesis Steelix and a Metal Energy, then trading for a third Genesis Steelix. I played another practice game, and then end up meeting coolrunnings93 on my way over to the Draft Area. Pretty cool guy, but awful quiet. He tells me that the Water Season promo is a Pokémon with a Pokémon Power…as much as I’d like to believe it’s Base Blastoise, I have a feeling it’s going to be like, Fossil Omanyte or something. =\
By this time I’m feeling pretty darn happy, and thus am being my usual idiot self; making bad jokes, slapstick, the whole nine yards. Crim and Martin get into an argument over who gets to wear my Pojo Jersey and for how long. They’re convinced it’s lucky or something, and I have to choose between the two of them. I make a deal with Martin to wear for Round One of his category and try to take his hat as collateral. He screams and runs off. =/ Then it’s off to the Professor Area. It’s Drafting time.
-The Draft
We take out seats and Master Trainer Mike beings to explain the Rochester Rules. Before long, we’re shuffled into our Pods and we begin to draft. Jeff is in my pod, and Crim, Strike, and Kid Karnage are in two of the others. Two of the Pods – ours included - end up being slower than the other two, but pretty soon we’re all set. After a half hour of decking prepping, I come up with this:
Pokémon (17)
3 Blaine’s Charmander (lv16)
1 Blaine’s Charmander (lv18)
2 Blaine’s Charmeleon
1 Blaine’s Ponyta (lv11)
1 Blaine’s Ponyta (lv13)
2 Blaine’s Rapidash
1 Sabrina’s Venonat
2 Sabrina’s Slowpoke
1 Sabrina’s Slowbro
1 Giovanni’s Nidoran F
1 Sabrina’s Abra (lv12)
1 Erika’s Clefairy (lv16)
Energy (17)
7 Psychic Energy
10 Fire Energy
Trainers (6)
1 Cinnabar City Gym
1 Sabrina’s Gaze
1 Misty’s Wrath
1 Good Manners
1 Rocket’s Secret Experiment
1 Blaine
I knew it looked fairly good, but with people like Crim and Strike playing, I didn’t know exactly how far I’d get. I talk with Crim and he lets me see his deck, some kind of Water/Electric monster that he doesn’t seem very happy with. I tell him it’s not that bad, and then Mike posts the pairings.
Round One: Bye
Yup, what a way to start out the Professor Draft, eh? Two of the Pods were seven people, and since we were playing in Pod for the first 5 rounds, myself and another player had a bye. Spent the time watching Dallas square off vs. Mel Borchardt, and due to some fancy Rocket’s Hitmonchan moves, he eventually lost, which surprised me. I’d be going into Round Two with a better record than an STS placer? Whoa.
Record: 1-0
Round Two: Erika’s Pokémon (?)
Well, I finally get to play, LoL. I started out with my Erika’s Clefairy up front and a Blaine’s Ponyta in the back. I play an Energy to the fairy and let it become a personal punching bag for my opponent while I pump up the Blaine’s Ponyta I have in reserves. Finally, I score a flip on Lunar Power and evolve Blaine’s Ponyta to Blaine’s Rapidash, and due to previously placed energy, I can bring it up and do enough damage with Stamp to get rid of his 60HP Erika’s Gloom. From there, it’s smoothing sailing – with some help from Blaine’s Charmeleon.
Record: 2-0
-Lunch
At least I think it was after Round 2…sad, isn’t it? =/ Anyways….
Yay! Lunch break! I meet up with Crim, Jeff, and Marty and we all somehow end up walking through the streets of San Diego looking for a place to eat. Actually, since Jeff and I had eaten pretzels at the Convention Center, it was more of Marty and Crim looking for a place to eat. They finally find some weird Starbucks wannabe café place and get some sandwiches. We make our way back to the Convention Center, all the time trashing on either Crim or Marty…in good nature, of course. =P
On our way back, IPGeek and Crisbo are walking out – apparently they had the same idea we did. IP totally surprises me by remembering my name (I’d met the guy a whole once) and I get a high five from Crisbo, LoL. Right on, man! =D
We get back to the Convention Center with ten minutes to spare until Round Three. Good times, good times.
Round Three: Colorless Rampage!
That’s sadly all I remember about this matchup. I saw a lot of Blaine’s Tauros and other colorless critters, but an early prize yielded a Blaine’s Rapidash, whose Stamp’ing was enough to plow through the defenses of my opponent. Sorry I didn’t catch names!
Record: 3-0
Oy vey, I’m feeling pretty good about now. Cassidy won her game as well, and we spend the rest of the time joking around with all the other players that had finished. I find out that Cassidy willingly drafted a 30HP Misty’s Goldeen and had won a game with it. Both have the same record, she and I figure that sooner or later we’ll be playing each other.
Marty tried to come over to the Professor Area to get water from the cooler, but since he’s not a Professor, he wasn’t allowed to get in. I had to get the water for him, in which time I pretended to be a TV evangelist for some reason.
Me: “And I shall
pre-SENT this boy-ah with-uh the water he so de-SIRES!”
Marty: “…”
It got a laugh out of DMTM and SD Pokémom, so it’s all good. =) On to Round Four…!
Round Four: TR Cassidy and Misty’s Pokémon
Yup, I knew it. Sooner or later I’d have to combat my weakness – water. Luckily, I got off to a pretty okay start. Erika’s Clefairy up front grabbing me an early Blaine’s Rapidash, only to have it killed later on by…you guessed it…Misty’s Goldeen. Great.
Things are looking good for me, though. I had one prize left and a Sabrina’s Abra fully charged. Misty’s Goldeen had two damage counters on it, but only one energy attched. I was SO close to passing my turn at this point it wasn’t even FUNNY. Then, I realized, Sabrina’s Abra has Pound! It was as simple as that. Turns out Cassidy had noticed the Abra’s attack too and hoped that I didn’t…and it almost worked. =/ Good game, Cass. =D
Record: 4-0
Oh. My. God. Undefeated going into the last round before T8. I’ve never been ANYWHERE near this close to placing in a large scale tourney in my life! Unfortunately, Nick15 is also undefeated, and it’s him I have to battle.
Round Five: Nick15 and his Colorless Assault
Ouch…I started out on the defense, and it never got better. A Pulled Punch left my active on death’s doorstep, and without Energy to retreat it I could do nothing but hope he didn’t draw anything new to play. I was 20 hit points away from a loss…and he drew a Lt. Surge’s Spearow. Energy, Drill Peck, Good game.
Record: 4-1
Ah well. Nick15 is a great guy, and I didn’t mind at all losing to him. Nick is now 5-0, a very impressive feat indeed, and I’m fairly sure that I’ve made Top 8. I check in with Crim, Jeff and Strike, and then go over to where DMTM had posted the Top 8 of the tournament.
I’m second.
-Top 8?! OH MY GOD, TOP 8!
I cannot believe I’m here. Seriously. We discarded our old decks now, and began to draft a new one. Not before getting our five seconds of fame, however. One of the WotC guys read the Top 8 aloud, and Strike and I try to make a Mosh Pit. It doesn’t work, and I end up tripping over the table. =/ Anyways, time to draft.
After a VERY intense drafting session – Erika’s Jigglypuff, MADNESS – I’m left with this monster:
Pokémon (21)
4 Sabrina’s Gastly (lv16)
1 Sabrina’s Gastly (lv10)
2 Sabrina’s Haunter (lv20)
2 Sabrina’s Haunter (lv29)
1 Sabrina’s Gengar (lv42)
1 Giovanni’s Meowth (lv17)
2 Sabrina’s Slowpoke
2 Sabrina’s Slowbro
1 Giovanni’s Nidoran F
1 Sabrina’s Venonat
1 Koga’s Ditto
2 Brock’s Likitung
1 Lt. Surge’s Magnemite (lv12)
Energy (14)
14 Psychic Energy
Trainers (5)
1 Blaine’s Quiz #3
1 Saffron City Gym
1 Blaine’s Last Resort
1 Sabrina’s Gaze
1 Blaine’s Quiz #2
After seeing this deck, Strike half jokingly told me that I “had the trip.” I wasn’t as sure as he was, but it seemed pretty darn solid to me.
Top 8 Round One: Electric! Argh!
This started out SUCKING for me. All I had was a Sabrina’s Gastly down, a Brock’s Likitung and Sabrina’s Slowpoke benched, and a hand of two lv29 Sabrina’s Haunter, two lv16 Sabrina’s Gastly, a lv10 Sabrina’s Gastly, a lv20 Sabrina’s Haunter, and a Blaine’s Last resort. It SUCKED. By turn two, my opponent – thanks to an Erika’s Clefairy – had a Lt. Surge’s Raichu AND Magneton ready to be charged. With no other choice, I drew my card, a Psychic Energy. I played it on my active Gastly and evolved to the lv20 Haunter, retreating to the bench for Likitung. I also played the three Gastlies I was holding onto my bench. Jokingly, my opponent says “Oak, right?” I respond with “close enough” and play Blaine’s Last Resort, drawing five. He sends up Lt. Surge’s Raichu to kill the Likitung and do 20 damage to himself and draws his prize.
I draw my card, and look up to find DMTM watching our match. Great, no pressure here. =P I had drawn a few Psychic Energy earlier with Blaine’s Last Resort, and down it goes onto the lv20 Sabrina’s Haunter, and up to active he goes. My opponent asks to read the card and I give it to him. He reads over Night Spirits, and I can see the surprise appear on his face when he’s finished. I use Night Spirits, flipping for massive damage on the Raichu, Magneton, and the Erika’s Clefairy. Good game, man.
T8 Record: 1-0
Oh. My. God. I’m in the T4. I’m in the T4? Yowza. I am literally spaced out from excitement at this point, and have to actually close my eyes and calm my nerves. Looks like I’m playing Strike next…eep.
Top 4 Round One: Strike and his Erika’s Victreebel Monster
Urgh. This game never gave me a chance, I tell ya. I was having a massive energy drout, and by turn three Strike had Erika’s Victreebel up and running. He plows through my bench for the win. He would later go on to win the whole thing. Good game, man. You deserve it.
T4 Record: 0-1 = ELIMINATED
Well, I tied for third place with Nick15, which means more to me than any prize ever could. Man! What a rush. Crim almost knocks the wind outta me with a giant slap on the back / hug thing, and Martin is just like “What happened?” I run back over to where y2ace and Strike and fighting it out for the trip, and it’s a GREAT game. In the end, Strike plays an Erika’s Victreebel and a Warp Point to get rid of the Smokescreen effect from y2’s Misty’s Horsea and wins it with Razor Leaf. It looks like Strike is going to Worlds. After the game and saying goodbye to everyone, I leave with my dad, brother and Jeff.
-Looking Back
As we were driving home from the Stadium Challenge, I realized that this event was even more fun for me than the West Coast STS; For one, I already knew some of my online friends in real life, so it was more of a “Hey, how ya been” than a “Hey, nice to meet you.” I think the biggest thing, though, was the Draft. So many people are still a bit irritated that we don’t get to have what the 14 and under crowd has, but personally I like it better this way. I can honestly say that I feel the Draft is the best format for the Pokémon TCG.
Now it’s everyone’s favorite part! Props and Slops! =D!
-Props and Slops
Props To:
-Criminal for making it out to San Diego (Wouldn’t have been as much fun without ya, man!)
-Martin Moreno for making Top 8 in his category (It’s all because of the Jersey, man! ;D “I don’t get it.”)
-Dallas “Strike” Dalton for taking the whole thing (Again, congrats man. But no Mosh Pit next time. =P)
-TR Cassidy for winning with a Misty’s Magikarp (=/) and for signing my Sabrina’s Abra with “^&*#!ing Abra!” (LoL!)
-To everyone on the WotC staff for organizing and running the whole thing. You guys rule! ;D
-To DMTM for not killing me when I knocked over those little red rope things. =/
-To all the players keeping the game alive. WHAT?! ;D
-GeneralRaikou for not showing up to pWn me. =/ (There, I mentioned you, happy? ;x)
Slops To:
-What, like I’m going to give Slops? Don’t think so.
That’s about it, folks…Good luck and happy gaming, and see ya the next time they have something on the West Coast! =D
~Satoshi