Tournament: Raid Group Ferocious Cup

I've already detailed about the Ferocious Cup of the Silph League Arena, so now it's time to put it into action. That would be by way of a tournament with the format, and what better than one hosted by my local raid group. This tournament would be considered to be hot on the heels of the previous tournament, and it's designed to get as many as possible competing and having fun. That said, I've chosen to participate as well, not only to fulfill this premise, but also to test my mettle.

This tournament takes place in the food court of a mall, which notably was also the former space where a certain two-day cosplay competition was held. Last time, the tournament was held in a campus cafeteria. Perhaps it is worth noting that quite a few people in my raid group like cafes, cafeterias, food courts, and so on, possibly due to proximity to food. But really, due to tournaments, it becomes understandable why this is so: all of these places can and may provide tables and seats of some kind, which are essential to facilitate smooth battling, based on my tournament experience. And if the area is majorly and commercially linked, the proprietors may just be willing to aid with its organization, as was the case with this one. In any case, everything is beneficial.

At the start of the tournament, there were 31 participants, which fortunately stayed the same until the end. The number of (local) participants seems to always be a variable thing; the first tournament I participated in had 39 participants, while the previous one had 24. It might really seem to depend on the whim of the participants to join; that first one was likely driven by the excitement of PvP being a newfangled thing, while the one prior to this one was driven by the restart of the competitive season. For both of the latter, there were even some public participants not from the raid group proper, which added flavor to the tournaments. Now the venue change makes a bit of sense, so that more people can take part.

As for me taking part, it was mostly down and not much up. In the first round, I received a bye due to the odd number of participants. I proceeded to lose all battles in the second and third round, followed by a win streak in the fourth round and back to losing in the fifth. It may have been possible for me to win a couple more battles had I not out-predicted myself, and while the bye "win" is OK, it only artificially inflated my position; another participant losing all prior rounds, the only one left by the fifth, automatically received a bye, ensuring that everyone won at least once, with a bye or otherwise. As well, everyone also received a souvenir in the form of a Ferocious Cup pin that looks neat, if nothing else. Overall, there were also surprises in that there were a few "resurgent competitors", while others fell somewhat short.

The Ferocious theme with its wild stipulations is opportunistic, as today's tournament has demonstrated. It brings something new to the table, while letting everyone bring something new of their own - which may or may not always work - to the table. Given today's reception, there may be a possibility of everyone bringing more new things to the table should a second Ferocious Cup be held, within this month certainly, before the theme turns over to something else next month. This too would be a great opportunity to be taken advantage of, whether by me, the rest of my raid group, and/or other Pokémon Go Trainers.

One year ago: 3D Printing and Pokémon
Two years ago: (Mid-)Generational Updates