Note: If you want to read a story about how I epicly made it into top cut, look somewhere else.
However, if you want to read the story of a day that was spent in an epic manner, keep reading.
~~~
So yeah. I'd just had my birthday on the previous Sunday, and now the next thing on my radar is the SoCal Regionals - as usual, on the Queen Mary in Long Beach. I get there about 8.15am or so and quickly fill out a registration slip, and then go to survey the area. I heard from one of my judge friends that someone was looking for me (who I later found out was Festizzio), so I kept my eyes open. I found him later in the day, and I swapped him my shiny Rayquaza for a Deoxys ex (Def) and a Power Spray. A few times over the course of the day, I also said hi to Danny (esperante). I'm not sure how he did. I'll ask him later.
There were 190 Masters this time around (less than States, as I expected), and much to my surprise (and glee) we actually started on time. I felt comfortable running RegiAwesome, since I can attack effectively from 3 different angles, and although I didn't have any time to see where I could add Skuntank + Ruins of Alph to my deck (to take care of Gengar), I at least could neutralize Gengar's Fainting Spell another way (Crobat), and I did, quite a few times that day.
I take my place at table 20 for the first round, and the tournament began.
(Note, I probably won't remember everything from every match, but I'll try and give you the highlights.)
~~~
Round 1: Paul M (Sablelock + SPs)
His start was a single Luxray GL, so I figured he was playing some sort of SP deck. I start getting set up, choosing to power up Regigigas, as he's got the best chance against SPs. I think my starting active was Jirachi, so I use it start getting set up a bit. The next turn, he sends up Sableye and Impersonates for Cyrus' Initiative. I test myself, as I have bragged to other people that I can make it flip double tails just by staring at it. He only got 1 heads, and although there were a few cards in my hand he could have gotten rid of, he got rid of my Cyrus' Conspiracy - probably the best choice, since it was the only Supporter in my hand. (There was Premier Ball for Regigigas LV.X, which was probably the second best choice.)
My turn comes around and I don't draw into a Supporter. I just continue to power up Gigas, and then he plays Judge to get rid of our hands. I draw into: Collector, Poke Turn, Warp Point, and Regigigas LV.X. I could not have gotten a better hand. After that point it was basically all downhill for him from there, and although he used Bright Look on a few things, all I needed to do was Warp Point them and accelerate my attacking. The match ended up going to time regardless (mostly because he was a new/slow player), and we were each down to 4 prizes. I couldn't Sacrifice under Time+3 as he would win, but since he was at a marked disadvantage anyway, the win was not that hard to pull off.
1-0
---
Round 2: Andy C (Vilegar)
Oh dear. A Vilegar matchup - this is what I feared the most, since I would need to get DGX out as soon as possible to stand a chance. Fortunately, my opening hand was good, having both Jirachi and Dialga G, plus pretty much everything needed to set him up. We both have relatively bad opening hands; he starts with Spiritomb and Mr Mime (Trick Reveal), and I've got just the two. On both our first turns (I went second), we draw and pass. After that we basically start setting up at about the same speed, and when he gets his Gengar out, he Poltergeists my Jirachi, letting me Final Wish for DGX. (After the match, I told him how he messed up here and how he should have used Shadow Room instead. I could have searched for it regardless via Bebe's, but Jirachi just made it faster.) After that I have quite a solid setup, using my trainers as fast as possible, using Deafen, then Remove Lost, and then a Flash Bite to get rid of his first Gengar. After DGX gets hurt a bit, I Poke Turn it and send up Drag Off Gigas to get rid of his troublesome Vileplume. Again, the match went to time, but with skillful use of Crobats and Mesprits, I prevent Level-Down/Fainting Spell being used against me. All in all, a great game.
2-0
---
Round 3: Kevin S (Kingdra)
This was the only bad match I had all day. I end up going first (the only time I went first all day, as well), and I start with a lone Crobat - except for him being the only basic, my hand was perfect for setting up Regigigas LV.X, who was already in my hand. I see his active Crobat (I think), plus a Horsea on his bench. I fear the donk coming for my Crobat, and sure enough, he Seekers/Pokemon Communication to get his Kingdra Prime out and donk my Crobat (Spray Slash + Flash Bite + Dragon Steam).
Just to see if I could get set up after that, I look at my top deck the next turn - it was Gigaton Punch Regigigas. Then I look at my prizes and see that 1 of my 2 Uxies, plus 2 of my 3 Cyrus' Conspiracy, are waiting there. Even so, if I had the Gigas benched, he had played Seeker, so it wouldn't have stopped him. Ah well.
2-1
---
Round 4: Tony T (Mewdos)
I know Tony, and I know that the decks he plays are pretty phenomenal. As soon as I see his Mew start, I think either Mewdos or Mewperior. He Collectors for a Magikarp plus some other things, and then Sees Off a Gyarados - therefore, I know it's Mewdos. I know this would be a pretty frustrating match, as the easy prizes would be from the Mews, yet Mew mid-game was doing 120 damage a pop. I end up having to Psychic Bind quite a lot, due to the Regice waiting on his bench (he played Seeker a few times, which helped me pick up Mesprit again), and although I got a couple easy prizes off the Mews, he just kept hitting. In the very end after time was called, he Regi Moves my Gigas X out of the way, and I send my Dialga G w/one Special Metal. He uses Mew Prime's Tail Revenge to KO me...
...and then after I sign the match slip, the judge pointed out I forgot my Special Metal. Dialga G would have survived with 10 HP left. Even so I doubt it would have helped - he had to draw 1 prize, and I had to draw 2. After I KO'd the Mew, all he needed to do was to get out another Mew or Gyarados, or even just Flash Bite me. I still feel a bit silly for missing it, but not very much, as it happened at the very end and wouldn't have affected the match very much. I'm also a bit glad I lost this game, as you'll see later.
2-2
---
Lunch break happened after round 4, since the tournament ended up going very quickly. I didn't do a whole lot during lunch break...except, of course, going to the Entralink to raid people and do missions to help my Entree grow. Most people, though, had White version, and by the end of lunch break, my White level got to 25 (from about 5), while my Black level got to 5 (from about 1). As such, I was struggling to find someone who had Black Version, and farm their worlds for missions as much as possible. Oh, yes, and setting up a timed survey where the time was "8 hours or more". Thank goodness I got THAT out of the way.
Throughout the course of the day, between rounds I was watching a few fights done on PBR (two guys connecting their DSs up to a Wii system and fighting lv50 double battles, 4 Pokemon each). One guy had a Lucario and was hitting a Raikou, and every time he attacked it he said "Stupid dog; you made me look bad." Watching Chansey use Seismic Toss was also hilarious.
And then, at 1.30pm, we begin again and get set up for round 5.
---
Round 5: Steven T (Vilegar)
Another Vilegar. Phooey. Yet, Steven's a pretty good player, and during the game we have quite a few laughs. Again, I get a great opening hand, with Jirachi and Dialga G start. He mulligans 4 times (one of which I see has a Blaziken FB LV.X, which I thought he was running), and I take the draw for each one (one of which was a Snover, which I set), and when he finally does get a basic, it's just Blaziken FB, with barely anything else with it. He goes first, and attaches a Rainbow to start using Luring Flame. I get set up and end up taking 2 prizes pretty quickly - one of which was the Blaziken, which I knew would be the biggest threat, so I get relieved. (The other was a Gloom on the bench.) However, after that, he starts getting rolling pretty quickly, playing like Vilegar usually does...except without the Vileplume. (I find out both of his Vileplume are prized, which hurt him quite a bit, yet despite that, he played amazingly.)
At one point, I decide to be a little unorthodox - I wanted his Gengar dead before it could attack again for 120, so I go for the throat and drop a Pluspower to kill his Gengar, not waiting to drop a Crobat. He uses Fainting Spell and gets tails, and then uses the Rescue Energy on it.
After that I played much like the second round - using some Flash Bites and Mesprit drops to prevent the dreaded Level-Down for a few turns. He had decided to Shadow Room my Uxie, Regice, and then Mesprit in the meantime, instead of going for an outright Poltergeist on DGX (probably because I had a small hand at this point). I didn't end up killing his Gengar, but tried to take some prizes from his bench, since I couldn't prevent his Fainting Spell. (I tried to draw into a Pluspower a few turns ago, as since Gengar had 50 HP left, I could bring up Uxie, belt it, and tack the Pluspower on for Psychic Restore. Unfortunately, I only had 1 Poke Drawer, and it drew into DGX...which did help, but it wasn't the Pluspower.)
...I realize he's trying to go for a Compound Pain win; he has 3 prizes left to my 2. As a precaution, I drop Snowpoint Temple to protect Regice, and when he plays Seeker (before he SR'd Mesprit), I pick up the Crobat instead of my damaged Uxie or Mesprit. I did this on purpose, since I wanted to try and kill his Gengar by avoiding Fainting Spell again. About when time is called, he drops his BTS, eliminating my Snowpoint, and Compound Paining my Regice and two pixies for a win.
Again, I didn't get annoyed, and I'm also glad that he won, since he was at such an incredible disadvantage at the start of the game (his Blaziken was gone and his Vileplumes prized), letting me get rolling pretty fast, but still managed to make a comeback and pull off an amazing win. He then mentioned to me that I was the first good match he had all day, since in previous matches he either couldn't get enough basics or Vileplume out, or couldn't draw into his BTS, so I'm glad that Gigas and I gave him a run for his money.
2-3
---
Round 6: Ulysses S (Lost World)
I know Ulysses, and I know the decks he plays aren't exactly spectacular. I knew he was fond of Gengar, and was probably playing it today too, so I planned accordingly. My start is less than brilliant - Jirachi and Snover, yet despite that, I still manage to power Snover up and get Abomasnow out relatively quickly. Thing is, he got his Gengar out quickly as well. I end up drawing into BOTH my Pluspowers and double Poke Drawers, so I use them to get Abomasnow out with an Expert Belt on it, and drop both my Pluspowers to Below Zero him for 100 + Paralysis (I hold the Bat in my hand for Fainting Spell negation). He instead starts powering up a benched Giratina (Strafe) with his own belt, and passes the turn. I Bite his Gengar, and start Snow Playing repeatedly, piling up damage on his benched Pixies and Mime. He keeps Strafing me, while I use the opportunity to get my second Bat and both my Poke Turns out, and keep using Snow Play to pile up damage on his bench like crazy. I didn't notice, though, that his Broken Space Blow would be a KO on Abomasnow (so he RFPs it and takes 2 prizes), but by then my lead is so huge it doesn't even matter. I start Biting his pixies (that have 10 HP left), and then send up my DGX to Remove Lost his Giratina (belted) for the game.
3-3
---
Round 7: Rico M (Charizard)
Right before the match started, some Random Goodness prizes were given out. They were given out at every round starting with round 3, and this round, the prizes were mats. Two of the people that get them are both players on the table adjacent to Rico and I. BOTH of them. At the SAME TABLE. I called shenanigans (as did most other people around us) and drew my 7 cards.
As usual, Rico's running Charizard. The last time I fought him was at Cities, and I ended up killing his only basic (a Blaziken FB) with Floatzel UL. I tell him that I'm running something different today, and that the match should go a lot differently. He still has a terrible start, and I have an amazing one.
I lead with Jirachi and start powering up Gigas + Regice (Call Energy), since I knew Dialga G would be worthless in this fight, and my Abomasnow (or was it my Snover?) was prized...and I think my Azelf was too. His start is good except for the fact that he has no energy whatsoever - up until the point where he Impersonates for Interviewer's Questions, and pulls 3 Fire Energy. I am relieved at this point, because now I know I'm getting a good match.
It doesn't help him much, though. I send up Regigigas LV.X, and have used Cyrus' Conspiracy enough that I can go for the T2 Giga Blaster. However, due to Regi Move, he sent up something weaker, so I just Gigaton Punch it for KO, and pop the Charizard for 20. The Charizard, however, is fully powered up, and as he sends it up, he realizes Burning Tail will do a whopping 130 damage...which is exactly 10 HP away from KOing my Gigas X. He does it anyway, and I opt not to Sacrifice (even though my Gigas is not Belted), and Giga Blaster his Charizard, discarding a Ninetales and something else. Then I basically start killing things left and right, because after his Charizard vanishes, he's out of energy to Roast Reveal, so after that it was an easy win.
Oh well. At least it wasn't like Cities.
4-3
---
Round 8: Rudy C (Gengar+Garchomp)
As we're setting up, he calls the flip, and the flip result is that he goes first. Then he reveals his Sableye, and I say "Why'd you make me do that flip!?"
This match, though, was played a lot like round 1. He mentioned he didn't play Luxray, which relieves me - however, he spent most of the time using Blaziken FB and occasionally Gengar. I played much the same way as round 1. Two times during the match, I used Giga Blaster, and the first time, I discard a Cyrus topdeck plus a Garchomp CX in the hand. The very next turn (he used Warp Point), I use Giga Blaster again for another prize, and discard a Power Spray (I think) topdeck plus the Garchomp C in the hand. So I basically ended up getting super lucky with 2 Giga Blasters, and getting rid of 1 Cyrus + a 1-1 GCX. I say "WOW" in total amazement at my incredible luck and we keep playing.
At one point, he gets out Gengar LV.X, and Levels Down my Belted Gigas. We're tied on prizes at this point (3-3), and I start to panic a bit. Were he to use Poltergeist, it would do 120 damage (since I'd just drawn my Palmer's from my prizes, which I shouldn't have), which would KO my Gigas (that had 4 energy on it), and he'd take 2 prizes. Since I didn't have a whole lot on my bench, if he Poltergeisted he would have had the game, so I tried my best to make my face look as normal as possible. It worked, fortunately, and he Shadow Roomed a pixie instead - probably because my hand only had 6 cards in it, and there was probably no way he would have known that 4 of those were T/S/S. I keep playing, Level-Up again (I run 2-2 Gigas, and I kept the second LV.X in my hand), get rid of the Palmer's and a Pluspower in my hand, and Giga Blaster his Gengar, getting rid of some other cards. At this point, the Gengar has 10 HP, and I have 2 prizes to his 3. Time is called, and he starts thinking of how he can win - he realizes he's in a losing situation, and I know I have the game (again, I have a Bat ready in my hand to KO Gengar, and none of his bench has more than 80 HP, so even Belted Gigaton Punch+tails would be a KO), since he can't OHKO my active belted Gigas anymore, even with Level-Down. He apparently read my face, and he knew I had it too. He just Shadow Rooms a benched Pixie instead. I reveal the Bat in my hand and say "good game".
5-3
---
The top cut is a top 32. I look at the tree they posted, and I find out that four of the 5-3 people will make it into top cut. When they finally post the standings after round 8, I find out I'm in 53rd place, out of 190 players. I didn't make top cut, but even so, going 5-3 in Regionals (3 matches against Gengar, which is annoying to play against) and lasting all the way to the end is a bit of a feat for me. Plus, if I had gone into top cut, I probably would have stayed there almost all night, and I didn't want to get home too late.
While I was waiting for my ride, I decide to try and max out my Entree before I go home. My Entree level at this point is B15/W28, so I take a seat and scout for people. Fortunately, one of the judges left his DS on at the trade station (with the C-Gear active), and as such I did a few missions in his world. He had Black version, thankfully, and I managed to max out my Black level just by doing the Poke Ball-placing mission. All the people with White version, though, had left. I talk to the guy next to me and ask what version he has, and he replied "White"; however, his 3DS has almost no power left, so asking him to turn on his C-Gear would probably be out of the question. Fortunately, his friend had brought a charger, and after he'd plugged it in, I asked if he could turn his C-Gear on so I could do 2 more missions in his world. He said yes. The first time I talked to him and gave "Breeding Power S", after he had apparently been breeding Pokemon for over an hour earlier that day. I said I was sorry as I couldn't control what the Entree gave me. The second time, though, I did a mission involving him talking to me, which gave him "Exp Up Power S"...which was great, since he was about to go train in Nimbasa's sports arenas. That maxed my Entree out completely, and after that I went home.
All in all, a great day overall. I'm glad I went to Regionals. Wish you were there, dmaster.
Props:
-Gigas doing so much better than Blastoise did at States (2-5)
-My opponents for being such great sports
-Giga Blaster for discarding crucial cards pretty much all day
-Tony T for giving me my most difficult match all day
-Steven T for me giving him his best match of the day
-Paul M for using Judge and giving me my best hand of the day
-Festizzio for swapping me a Deoxys ex and a Power Spray (I wanted his Flareon *, but he said no)
-Going 5-3 in general
-Maxing out my Entree completely over the course of a day (I got somewhere around 55 level-ups for the Entree just at Regionals)
-The tournament organizers/staff for making Regionals go so quickly (round 8 was finished at 5.30pm)
-PBR hilarity with Courage references
Flops:
-Kingdra for donking me in round 3
-Giratina for catching me off-guard by killing my Belted Abomasnow
-Gengar for being really annoying to play against
-Having to wake up early and take half an hour to get to Long Beach just to sign up
-My cellphone which kept giving me low-battery warnings
However, if you want to read the story of a day that was spent in an epic manner, keep reading.
~~~
So yeah. I'd just had my birthday on the previous Sunday, and now the next thing on my radar is the SoCal Regionals - as usual, on the Queen Mary in Long Beach. I get there about 8.15am or so and quickly fill out a registration slip, and then go to survey the area. I heard from one of my judge friends that someone was looking for me (who I later found out was Festizzio), so I kept my eyes open. I found him later in the day, and I swapped him my shiny Rayquaza for a Deoxys ex (Def) and a Power Spray. A few times over the course of the day, I also said hi to Danny (esperante). I'm not sure how he did. I'll ask him later.
There were 190 Masters this time around (less than States, as I expected), and much to my surprise (and glee) we actually started on time. I felt comfortable running RegiAwesome, since I can attack effectively from 3 different angles, and although I didn't have any time to see where I could add Skuntank + Ruins of Alph to my deck (to take care of Gengar), I at least could neutralize Gengar's Fainting Spell another way (Crobat), and I did, quite a few times that day.
I take my place at table 20 for the first round, and the tournament began.
(Note, I probably won't remember everything from every match, but I'll try and give you the highlights.)
~~~
Round 1: Paul M (Sablelock + SPs)
His start was a single Luxray GL, so I figured he was playing some sort of SP deck. I start getting set up, choosing to power up Regigigas, as he's got the best chance against SPs. I think my starting active was Jirachi, so I use it start getting set up a bit. The next turn, he sends up Sableye and Impersonates for Cyrus' Initiative. I test myself, as I have bragged to other people that I can make it flip double tails just by staring at it. He only got 1 heads, and although there were a few cards in my hand he could have gotten rid of, he got rid of my Cyrus' Conspiracy - probably the best choice, since it was the only Supporter in my hand. (There was Premier Ball for Regigigas LV.X, which was probably the second best choice.)
My turn comes around and I don't draw into a Supporter. I just continue to power up Gigas, and then he plays Judge to get rid of our hands. I draw into: Collector, Poke Turn, Warp Point, and Regigigas LV.X. I could not have gotten a better hand. After that point it was basically all downhill for him from there, and although he used Bright Look on a few things, all I needed to do was Warp Point them and accelerate my attacking. The match ended up going to time regardless (mostly because he was a new/slow player), and we were each down to 4 prizes. I couldn't Sacrifice under Time+3 as he would win, but since he was at a marked disadvantage anyway, the win was not that hard to pull off.
1-0
---
Round 2: Andy C (Vilegar)
Oh dear. A Vilegar matchup - this is what I feared the most, since I would need to get DGX out as soon as possible to stand a chance. Fortunately, my opening hand was good, having both Jirachi and Dialga G, plus pretty much everything needed to set him up. We both have relatively bad opening hands; he starts with Spiritomb and Mr Mime (Trick Reveal), and I've got just the two. On both our first turns (I went second), we draw and pass. After that we basically start setting up at about the same speed, and when he gets his Gengar out, he Poltergeists my Jirachi, letting me Final Wish for DGX. (After the match, I told him how he messed up here and how he should have used Shadow Room instead. I could have searched for it regardless via Bebe's, but Jirachi just made it faster.) After that I have quite a solid setup, using my trainers as fast as possible, using Deafen, then Remove Lost, and then a Flash Bite to get rid of his first Gengar. After DGX gets hurt a bit, I Poke Turn it and send up Drag Off Gigas to get rid of his troublesome Vileplume. Again, the match went to time, but with skillful use of Crobats and Mesprits, I prevent Level-Down/Fainting Spell being used against me. All in all, a great game.
2-0
---
Round 3: Kevin S (Kingdra)
This was the only bad match I had all day. I end up going first (the only time I went first all day, as well), and I start with a lone Crobat - except for him being the only basic, my hand was perfect for setting up Regigigas LV.X, who was already in my hand. I see his active Crobat (I think), plus a Horsea on his bench. I fear the donk coming for my Crobat, and sure enough, he Seekers/Pokemon Communication to get his Kingdra Prime out and donk my Crobat (Spray Slash + Flash Bite + Dragon Steam).
Just to see if I could get set up after that, I look at my top deck the next turn - it was Gigaton Punch Regigigas. Then I look at my prizes and see that 1 of my 2 Uxies, plus 2 of my 3 Cyrus' Conspiracy, are waiting there. Even so, if I had the Gigas benched, he had played Seeker, so it wouldn't have stopped him. Ah well.
2-1
---
Round 4: Tony T (Mewdos)
I know Tony, and I know that the decks he plays are pretty phenomenal. As soon as I see his Mew start, I think either Mewdos or Mewperior. He Collectors for a Magikarp plus some other things, and then Sees Off a Gyarados - therefore, I know it's Mewdos. I know this would be a pretty frustrating match, as the easy prizes would be from the Mews, yet Mew mid-game was doing 120 damage a pop. I end up having to Psychic Bind quite a lot, due to the Regice waiting on his bench (he played Seeker a few times, which helped me pick up Mesprit again), and although I got a couple easy prizes off the Mews, he just kept hitting. In the very end after time was called, he Regi Moves my Gigas X out of the way, and I send my Dialga G w/one Special Metal. He uses Mew Prime's Tail Revenge to KO me...
...and then after I sign the match slip, the judge pointed out I forgot my Special Metal. Dialga G would have survived with 10 HP left. Even so I doubt it would have helped - he had to draw 1 prize, and I had to draw 2. After I KO'd the Mew, all he needed to do was to get out another Mew or Gyarados, or even just Flash Bite me. I still feel a bit silly for missing it, but not very much, as it happened at the very end and wouldn't have affected the match very much. I'm also a bit glad I lost this game, as you'll see later.
2-2
---
Lunch break happened after round 4, since the tournament ended up going very quickly. I didn't do a whole lot during lunch break...except, of course, going to the Entralink to raid people and do missions to help my Entree grow. Most people, though, had White version, and by the end of lunch break, my White level got to 25 (from about 5), while my Black level got to 5 (from about 1). As such, I was struggling to find someone who had Black Version, and farm their worlds for missions as much as possible. Oh, yes, and setting up a timed survey where the time was "8 hours or more". Thank goodness I got THAT out of the way.
Throughout the course of the day, between rounds I was watching a few fights done on PBR (two guys connecting their DSs up to a Wii system and fighting lv50 double battles, 4 Pokemon each). One guy had a Lucario and was hitting a Raikou, and every time he attacked it he said "Stupid dog; you made me look bad." Watching Chansey use Seismic Toss was also hilarious.
And then, at 1.30pm, we begin again and get set up for round 5.
---
Round 5: Steven T (Vilegar)
Another Vilegar. Phooey. Yet, Steven's a pretty good player, and during the game we have quite a few laughs. Again, I get a great opening hand, with Jirachi and Dialga G start. He mulligans 4 times (one of which I see has a Blaziken FB LV.X, which I thought he was running), and I take the draw for each one (one of which was a Snover, which I set), and when he finally does get a basic, it's just Blaziken FB, with barely anything else with it. He goes first, and attaches a Rainbow to start using Luring Flame. I get set up and end up taking 2 prizes pretty quickly - one of which was the Blaziken, which I knew would be the biggest threat, so I get relieved. (The other was a Gloom on the bench.) However, after that, he starts getting rolling pretty quickly, playing like Vilegar usually does...except without the Vileplume. (I find out both of his Vileplume are prized, which hurt him quite a bit, yet despite that, he played amazingly.)
At one point, I decide to be a little unorthodox - I wanted his Gengar dead before it could attack again for 120, so I go for the throat and drop a Pluspower to kill his Gengar, not waiting to drop a Crobat. He uses Fainting Spell and gets tails, and then uses the Rescue Energy on it.
After that I played much like the second round - using some Flash Bites and Mesprit drops to prevent the dreaded Level-Down for a few turns. He had decided to Shadow Room my Uxie, Regice, and then Mesprit in the meantime, instead of going for an outright Poltergeist on DGX (probably because I had a small hand at this point). I didn't end up killing his Gengar, but tried to take some prizes from his bench, since I couldn't prevent his Fainting Spell. (I tried to draw into a Pluspower a few turns ago, as since Gengar had 50 HP left, I could bring up Uxie, belt it, and tack the Pluspower on for Psychic Restore. Unfortunately, I only had 1 Poke Drawer, and it drew into DGX...which did help, but it wasn't the Pluspower.)
...I realize he's trying to go for a Compound Pain win; he has 3 prizes left to my 2. As a precaution, I drop Snowpoint Temple to protect Regice, and when he plays Seeker (before he SR'd Mesprit), I pick up the Crobat instead of my damaged Uxie or Mesprit. I did this on purpose, since I wanted to try and kill his Gengar by avoiding Fainting Spell again. About when time is called, he drops his BTS, eliminating my Snowpoint, and Compound Paining my Regice and two pixies for a win.
Again, I didn't get annoyed, and I'm also glad that he won, since he was at such an incredible disadvantage at the start of the game (his Blaziken was gone and his Vileplumes prized), letting me get rolling pretty fast, but still managed to make a comeback and pull off an amazing win. He then mentioned to me that I was the first good match he had all day, since in previous matches he either couldn't get enough basics or Vileplume out, or couldn't draw into his BTS, so I'm glad that Gigas and I gave him a run for his money.
2-3
---
Round 6: Ulysses S (Lost World)
I know Ulysses, and I know the decks he plays aren't exactly spectacular. I knew he was fond of Gengar, and was probably playing it today too, so I planned accordingly. My start is less than brilliant - Jirachi and Snover, yet despite that, I still manage to power Snover up and get Abomasnow out relatively quickly. Thing is, he got his Gengar out quickly as well. I end up drawing into BOTH my Pluspowers and double Poke Drawers, so I use them to get Abomasnow out with an Expert Belt on it, and drop both my Pluspowers to Below Zero him for 100 + Paralysis (I hold the Bat in my hand for Fainting Spell negation). He instead starts powering up a benched Giratina (Strafe) with his own belt, and passes the turn. I Bite his Gengar, and start Snow Playing repeatedly, piling up damage on his benched Pixies and Mime. He keeps Strafing me, while I use the opportunity to get my second Bat and both my Poke Turns out, and keep using Snow Play to pile up damage on his bench like crazy. I didn't notice, though, that his Broken Space Blow would be a KO on Abomasnow (so he RFPs it and takes 2 prizes), but by then my lead is so huge it doesn't even matter. I start Biting his pixies (that have 10 HP left), and then send up my DGX to Remove Lost his Giratina (belted) for the game.
3-3
---
Round 7: Rico M (Charizard)
Right before the match started, some Random Goodness prizes were given out. They were given out at every round starting with round 3, and this round, the prizes were mats. Two of the people that get them are both players on the table adjacent to Rico and I. BOTH of them. At the SAME TABLE. I called shenanigans (as did most other people around us) and drew my 7 cards.
As usual, Rico's running Charizard. The last time I fought him was at Cities, and I ended up killing his only basic (a Blaziken FB) with Floatzel UL. I tell him that I'm running something different today, and that the match should go a lot differently. He still has a terrible start, and I have an amazing one.
I lead with Jirachi and start powering up Gigas + Regice (Call Energy), since I knew Dialga G would be worthless in this fight, and my Abomasnow (or was it my Snover?) was prized...and I think my Azelf was too. His start is good except for the fact that he has no energy whatsoever - up until the point where he Impersonates for Interviewer's Questions, and pulls 3 Fire Energy. I am relieved at this point, because now I know I'm getting a good match.
It doesn't help him much, though. I send up Regigigas LV.X, and have used Cyrus' Conspiracy enough that I can go for the T2 Giga Blaster. However, due to Regi Move, he sent up something weaker, so I just Gigaton Punch it for KO, and pop the Charizard for 20. The Charizard, however, is fully powered up, and as he sends it up, he realizes Burning Tail will do a whopping 130 damage...which is exactly 10 HP away from KOing my Gigas X. He does it anyway, and I opt not to Sacrifice (even though my Gigas is not Belted), and Giga Blaster his Charizard, discarding a Ninetales and something else. Then I basically start killing things left and right, because after his Charizard vanishes, he's out of energy to Roast Reveal, so after that it was an easy win.
Oh well. At least it wasn't like Cities.
4-3
---
Round 8: Rudy C (Gengar+Garchomp)
As we're setting up, he calls the flip, and the flip result is that he goes first. Then he reveals his Sableye, and I say "Why'd you make me do that flip!?"
This match, though, was played a lot like round 1. He mentioned he didn't play Luxray, which relieves me - however, he spent most of the time using Blaziken FB and occasionally Gengar. I played much the same way as round 1. Two times during the match, I used Giga Blaster, and the first time, I discard a Cyrus topdeck plus a Garchomp CX in the hand. The very next turn (he used Warp Point), I use Giga Blaster again for another prize, and discard a Power Spray (I think) topdeck plus the Garchomp C in the hand. So I basically ended up getting super lucky with 2 Giga Blasters, and getting rid of 1 Cyrus + a 1-1 GCX. I say "WOW" in total amazement at my incredible luck and we keep playing.
At one point, he gets out Gengar LV.X, and Levels Down my Belted Gigas. We're tied on prizes at this point (3-3), and I start to panic a bit. Were he to use Poltergeist, it would do 120 damage (since I'd just drawn my Palmer's from my prizes, which I shouldn't have), which would KO my Gigas (that had 4 energy on it), and he'd take 2 prizes. Since I didn't have a whole lot on my bench, if he Poltergeisted he would have had the game, so I tried my best to make my face look as normal as possible. It worked, fortunately, and he Shadow Roomed a pixie instead - probably because my hand only had 6 cards in it, and there was probably no way he would have known that 4 of those were T/S/S. I keep playing, Level-Up again (I run 2-2 Gigas, and I kept the second LV.X in my hand), get rid of the Palmer's and a Pluspower in my hand, and Giga Blaster his Gengar, getting rid of some other cards. At this point, the Gengar has 10 HP, and I have 2 prizes to his 3. Time is called, and he starts thinking of how he can win - he realizes he's in a losing situation, and I know I have the game (again, I have a Bat ready in my hand to KO Gengar, and none of his bench has more than 80 HP, so even Belted Gigaton Punch+tails would be a KO), since he can't OHKO my active belted Gigas anymore, even with Level-Down. He apparently read my face, and he knew I had it too. He just Shadow Rooms a benched Pixie instead. I reveal the Bat in my hand and say "good game".
5-3
---
The top cut is a top 32. I look at the tree they posted, and I find out that four of the 5-3 people will make it into top cut. When they finally post the standings after round 8, I find out I'm in 53rd place, out of 190 players. I didn't make top cut, but even so, going 5-3 in Regionals (3 matches against Gengar, which is annoying to play against) and lasting all the way to the end is a bit of a feat for me. Plus, if I had gone into top cut, I probably would have stayed there almost all night, and I didn't want to get home too late.
While I was waiting for my ride, I decide to try and max out my Entree before I go home. My Entree level at this point is B15/W28, so I take a seat and scout for people. Fortunately, one of the judges left his DS on at the trade station (with the C-Gear active), and as such I did a few missions in his world. He had Black version, thankfully, and I managed to max out my Black level just by doing the Poke Ball-placing mission. All the people with White version, though, had left. I talk to the guy next to me and ask what version he has, and he replied "White"; however, his 3DS has almost no power left, so asking him to turn on his C-Gear would probably be out of the question. Fortunately, his friend had brought a charger, and after he'd plugged it in, I asked if he could turn his C-Gear on so I could do 2 more missions in his world. He said yes. The first time I talked to him and gave "Breeding Power S", after he had apparently been breeding Pokemon for over an hour earlier that day. I said I was sorry as I couldn't control what the Entree gave me. The second time, though, I did a mission involving him talking to me, which gave him "Exp Up Power S"...which was great, since he was about to go train in Nimbasa's sports arenas. That maxed my Entree out completely, and after that I went home.
All in all, a great day overall. I'm glad I went to Regionals. Wish you were there, dmaster.
Props:
-Gigas doing so much better than Blastoise did at States (2-5)
-My opponents for being such great sports
-Giga Blaster for discarding crucial cards pretty much all day
-Tony T for giving me my most difficult match all day
-Steven T for me giving him his best match of the day
-Paul M for using Judge and giving me my best hand of the day
-Festizzio for swapping me a Deoxys ex and a Power Spray (I wanted his Flareon *, but he said no)
-Going 5-3 in general
-Maxing out my Entree completely over the course of a day (I got somewhere around 55 level-ups for the Entree just at Regionals)
-The tournament organizers/staff for making Regionals go so quickly (round 8 was finished at 5.30pm)
-PBR hilarity with Courage references
Flops:
-Kingdra for donking me in round 3
-Giratina for catching me off-guard by killing my Belted Abomasnow
-Gengar for being really annoying to play against
-Having to wake up early and take half an hour to get to Long Beach just to sign up
-My cellphone which kept giving me low-battery warnings