I want that full art Landorus promo.
In regards to the incident with the UK VGC...I was the guy who discovered the scene. The gaming media has stretched it somewhat - there was one (maybe two) pieces of poo, partially wrapped in toilet roll, in the hotel hallway. My older brother informed the staff and it was quickly removed. Considering the distance of where it was in comparison to the room, if it had been thrown there, it would have had to have come from the complete other side of their room (the rooms were fairly small).
For those asking what the VGC and hotel have to do with each other, it's quite simple:
1) Other Pokémon players were staying at the hotel - some (such as myself) in the same hallway as the incident. It's highly disrespectful to not only other competitors, but other guests (note, this was not some hotel in the middle of nowhere - it was in Birmingham's International Airport, so there would be a lot of guests staying there for flights in the early hours).
2) He travelled there for a Pokémon event. If it got out (which it did), the entire situation would be
very embarrassing for The Pokémon Company International, especially considering the child-friendly nature of the franchise. Especially as now whenever you google about the UK VGC, you hear about the poo event.
I think his punishment fits the crime. I have heard rumours though that he's also received an indefinite Play! Pokémon ban; which if true, even I would have to say is pretty heavy handed. I would have supported him being banned for the rest of the 2012 season, but not indefinitely - he is a fantastic player (as his previous National and Worlds records have shown) and it is a shame to lose someone over something so silly.
Storm_Front said:
As immature as Ruben's pranked might have seemed. It doesn't warrent any stripping of titles in my eyes. Its just an excuse to give the championship to UK player instead, due to the dislike of foreign nationals being able to compete.
I'm sorry, but why does it instantly become a supposed race issue just because the person involved isn't from the United Kingdom? If an English player had done this, they would have received the exact same penalty.
If anything, suggesting that the people of the United Kingdom (or TPCi) as a whole are racially motivated in their decisions is a
very heavy and serious allegation. We in the UK are proud to welcome players from all across Europe - you'll notice that during this year's qualifiers alone, our Senior division winner is Turkish, with an Italian runner-up and our Master's 3rd place is German - and those are just the competitors who managed to make it that far. During past events, we have had teams come from other European countries (such as Belgium and Spain) participate and we always welcome them.
EDIT: I just remembered one awesome thing - the new winner (Ben) used a team comprised of Pokémon that Gary used in the anime and Blue used in the games.