Tournament: Local Gym Battle, 8/1/2025

I had almost forgot that a certain happening occurred a couple of weeks ago, and a few things hindered me from being able to cover it earlier as intended. It was only after looking back at an important aspect of it that I was promptly reminded that I hadn't covered it. So it is that a couple of weeks after the fact, I'm finally able to cover it as intended in order to take up space on this blog... but also to broaden my horizons of Pokémon itself.

That happening would be a Gym tournament that is (was) set up by my local group of players, the same one that hosted another nearly a year ago. This time, it was a more casual ("friendly") tournament, so I didn't have to use my TCG account, but the paid entry requirement and what I get in return out of that was still the same - though obviously the cards are different, due to the progressively changing nature of the TCG.

For that, I was also set up with a different deck based on Ethan's Pokémon (who in Japanese is named Hibiki), specifically the Cyndaquil species family, along with other tricks provided by the Gimmighoul family and Fezandipiti, to name a couple. I had seen parts of it by having logged in to TCGL recently, so I was already slightly familiar with it; it took this meetup and the tournament for me to get familiar with the rest of the deck, especially the play mechanisms that the deck very much relied upon - not to mention the local cards.

With that, the tournament proceeded with four Swiss rounds... and I lost twice and won twice. However, of the two wins, one was a bye (by the odd number of competitors), and in the other, the opponent forfeited; as for the losing rounds, they were sound losses due to me not being able to take advantage of some of the parts of the deck due to oversight of my own or technicality not of my own. In fact, in the second of the losing rounds, the Fezandipiti card ended up in the worst place possible, which would of course be the Prize Card pile.

A friend, who graciously set me up with the deck, says that it's one of the simpler decks to deal with at present, and I'm inclined to agree. Even so, with the way of the deck being what it is, I'd still need to deal with its finer points a bit more, and that's a task that the TCGL platform should be up to the task for, especially with regard to collecting the necessary cards. After that, it's the way I play that will make or break a deck - although it always seems more of the latter.

Being that I had two wins (by technicality) and two losses, I was close to the middle of the standings in sixth place, in the middle among those with the same results. That still had no bearing on the booster pack and special card, which were given to me regardless. In fact, these items were indeed the things that prompted (and reminded) me to finally make this post, even a couple of weeks after the fact.

Even with subpar results, I still managed to make it to a meetup of my local TCG player group and play with them after some time. Incidentally, this one had more than a few people who I know very well, who would be some good friends of mine. That may very well be the important thing aside from having a chance to deal with the cards.

Overdue as this post is, it's still a significant Pokémon happening and experience for me, as an infrequent player and collector of the TCG. The understanding I possess at least helps me to scrape through in situations like these while having a good time with friends, which evidently has happened with this Gym battle edition.

One year ago: Eagerly Expected Pokémon Things

Two years ago: Holding Back: Pokémon Presents, 8/8/2023

Three years ago: Transitioning from Shuffle to Café Remix

Four years ago: Trainer Green and Ash XY Pikachu Figures

Five years ago: Into the Myst

Six years ago: Raid Stories

Seven years ago: Evolution Is a Change

Eight years ago: Historical Pokémon

Tournament: Championship Expansion Part 6 #3

I've written up about many tournaments of Pokémon games I've participated in, from earlier forays with VGC to more recent dealings with Pokémon Go PvP. Now, I'm about to add another one: a TCG tournament. After having attended my local group's meetings regularly but not playing, a week ago, I finally participated in one of the regular tournaments, making it my first-ever participation in a TCG tournament as well. Luckily, I had one-half of what I needed to get set up for it, and last week's meeting provided the other half.

This tournament was the third in the sixth part of a series that is called the "Championship Expansion", hence the title of the tournament. The tournaments in this series reward certain cards for the participants, and in this case, it rewards a Dragonite card with a Master Ball background motif. Unlike other tournaments I've participated in, it was also a paid one, but in return for participating, I stood a chance of not only earning the card, but also getting a booster pack of cards that could be used to further my own TCG initiatives.

Back to the things I needed to be able to participate, one of them was a local TCG account, which incidentally was set up by Ash when he was sent to PFJ; thus, something that I didn't think could come in handy over a year ago ended up being as such. The other thing I needed was a deck, of course, and that came courtesy of a generous soul, who set me up with a deck called "Carnival" based on Thwackey and Dipplin. I had seen the deck and playtested it once on a previous meeting, and it was a simple deck I could deal with.

At least, that was the thinking. Through the four rounds of the Swiss round tournament, organized just like for VGC and PvP, I lost three times and was saved by a bye on the last round (there was an odd number of tournament participants). Against two opponents, I was also working against decks with Pokémon that resisted Grass attacks - which was obviously the modus operandi of the deck provided to me - and thus my fate was pretty much sealed, especially since there wasn't much "wiggle room" in my initial deals.

Still, another factor in play could be that I haven't figured out the optimal play of the provided deck, given this was only the second time I've actually dealt with it. Even so, I did realize the core point for the setup involving the Pokémon in the deck, even if I couldn't make it happen as I played. It's a deck I'd love to replicate by myself, though as with the TCG in general, it would take some investment... maybe even less so with the TCGL, and that can serve as the method for making the replication given its contents.

When the tournament ended, I was tied for 13th, kept off the bottom by two other less fortunate participants. I received the focus card of the tournament as well as a booster pack, which didn't appear to have any valuable cards when I opened it - although this may change with further observations. A group photo was taken to commemorate the occasion, and that was it. The proceedings went just like that of the previous meeting, except this time I was really and truly involved in playing the game.

Given the necessities of the tournament and regularly scheduled forthcoming ones, this might not be the last time I'll participate in one - though with the payment restriction, it might be the last one for now as I make other considerations involving payment. For the first time out with a TCG tournament, it seems to not be all bad except for the state of me not knowing my deck fully and having others stack up against it. And that manages to expand my tournament dealings and what I can write about them on this blog.

One year ago: Pokémon Brand Parodies, Third Take

Two years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day Goodies, Round 5

Three years ago: To Be a Snorlax

Four years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 9/20/2020

Five years ago: The Friendly Manual

Six years ago: Pokémon Go Event Rollup, 9/20/2018

Seven years ago: Meeting, Parting with, and Missing Friends

Tournament: Dusk & Dawn Raid Group Open Great League

Me: OK, so this is a tournament, and there are no characters involved - but I'm covering it through a "Let's Talk" because...

Goh: You sent Ash, and you have your reasons.

Me: Indeed I do.

Ash: That's fine. It's not like the faraway tournament, but I'd be glad to battle for you.

Pikachu: Pika pika chu! ["I'm in support!"]

Me: OK, great. So this would be the first time since a bit of a long time ago that my raid group held a PvP tournament - in person, no less. And there was an incentive for me to participate... as well as sending you, due to certain things I can't explain just yet. 

Goh: I'll bet a lot of things had changed since then.

Me: Sure. The method of organizing them has, for one thing, and that's what made an earlier tournament.

Ash: And there's lots of new Pokémon! 

Me: That too, so it's never much the same over time. I've chosen six that could work for that purpose, with this regular all-purpose format

Goh: Let me take a look... it seems varied enough, even if that's the best you can bring out.

Ash: I'll try to make them work!

Pikachu: Chu pika. ["They could work."]

Me: That's always the thing. Now, the place is a little distant, but getting there shouldn't be too hard.

Ash: I did change plans just like you told me to if I needed.

Me: Yeah, sometimes getting to places can be dicey.

Goh: So how many people (Trainers) were in it? 

Ash: When it started, there were 14... but one person - I think? - didn't have a team and got taken out. And then two others didn't show up when they should, so they got taken out too.

Goh: I guess 11 was not bad - the important thing is how you did.

Ash: I thought I'd get a "bye" in the first round since the other Trainer didn't show up, but then that happened, and I got shut out.

Goh: Ouch.

Ash: In the second one, the Trainer really didn't show up - and it was already two rounds now, so the Trainer also got booted out. I got a free win.

Me: In my opinion, that should've happened much earlier.

Ash: Then I shut out someone else in the third. The fourth one was really exciting because I got to meet one of our friend's seniors!

Goh: Wow! How did that turn out?

Ash: I lost, but barely - it was on the last Pokémon, and...

Goh: I see. Say no more.

Pikachu: Pika... ["I'll say..."]

Me: So two wins (one from a "bye") and two losses. I looked it up, and we ended up seventh overall.

Ash: But the first-place Trainer was, um... an "associate" of all of us?

Me: Oh! I know what you mean. In that case, we could consider ourselves to be "sixth".

Goh: OK, I'm looking also, and... you'd have ended up fourth (or a virtual "third") had you won that battle.

Me: In any case, either of us barely missed on the top three. But yeah, this is an OK turnout. We can try to do better next time.

Goh: What did you do after that?

Ash: We just hung out - but we also got into a Shadow Entei raid. The one I caught wasn't too good.

Goh: Interesting! But I guess not much else.

Ash: No, but then our friend suggested me to go somewhere and check out...

Me: ...the original intention of why I sent you instead of just being myself. I'm still trying to figure out how I (we) would address this - and obviously not yet. In the meantime...

Ash: I'm game for another tournament!

Pikachu: Pika chu pi! ["And for the support!"]

Goh: I'm sure there'll be another chance in the future. 

Me: With the way things keep changing even in the most prime of formats, the question is always not "if" but "when".

One year ago: Showcasing Pokémon at PokéStops

Two years ago: Making Sense of Field Research Tasks

Three years ago: Go Fest Gets Musical

Four years ago: Everyone's Go Fest

Five years ago: Cosplay: Konbini Anime

Six years ago: ...However Things Turn Out

Seven years ago: Shiny Stories

Tournament: Retro - Rainbow Cup by AIGA e-Sports

After a very long time, another post on the (Pokémon Go PvP) tournament scene has surfaced, and predictably, it involves me as a participant. Some readers might be asking the question "how?" regarding this predicament, and all I can say for now is that the explanation for that will have to wait. What is important at the moment is that I need to discuss what took place and the results for me personally, and how that reflects my involvement in this branch of competitive Pokémon, especially after a long "sabbatical".

Particularly, the theme has to be gotten out of the way first. It's called Retro-Rainbow Cup because the featured types are the same as for "ye olde Rainbow Cup" of Silph Arena, but the Pokémon are limited to those from the first two generations - and regions, thus Kanto and Johto. This also included forms (which meant none from later regions), as I've found out the day before matches were to begin. Fortunately, they were changed just in time... or rather, the organizers put in leeway for that to happen.

The organizers, meanwhile, are a team (perhaps could also be said to be a collective) of Trainers who also had a Faction also on Silph Arena a long time ago. This is not the first time they organize a tournament, as during the Silph Arena days, they had their own series of tournaments - though for one reason or another, I wasn't able to participate until now. Also, everything was actually due to start on the 22nd last month but was delayed a day, perhaps for the reason above and other matters not known to me.

When it did start, things went on for six rounds, each held within the period of a day (24 hours). At the start, there were 54 participants, but two had no teams registered and were booted out. As the tournament progressed, two more participants either got booted out - due to tardiness - or left on their own accord, leaving 50 as the final tally. And after the dust had settled, I ended up in 35th place (16th from the bottom) with two round wins and four round losses, which is a little (or somewhat) regrettable.

Still, except for one round where I was shut out, I did get at least one battle win in each round, even managing to shut out my opponent in one of the other rounds that I won, for a total of eight battle wins. This performance is pretty much comparable to some of the ones just before the "sabbatical" that I took from competitive Pokémon Go PvP, which means that nothing has changed much since that time... unless if it's considered that my losses here were the results of silly mistakes and that I would be better off without them.

In any case, with my participation in this tournament, my "sabbatical" is pretty much over and I'm likely to participate in other PvP tournaments in the coming days - which might be sooner rather than later. Due to other Pokémon matters and commitments, that still may not be as often as I can, but I can and still have to allot for the possibilities for taking part when it becomes feasible, especially now that the "how" part of it has been established, giving the free means to participate in them once more.

One year ago: A Virtual Cosplay Card

Two years ago: Supporters and Speedsters, Wherefore Art Thou?

Three years ago: It's... Bidoof Day?

Four years ago: The First of Us

Five years ago: Pokémon Go Custom Team Keychains

Six years ago: Cosplay: ENNICHISAI 2018 + CLAS:H/ICGP Nationals

Seven years ago: My Offerings (or, What I Am Not)

Tournament: SWEEP JR vs. Icy Wind (SA Factions)

The first Bout of the King of the Hill tournament for Silph Arena Factions had come and has gone for my Faction, SWEEP JR, and the results are in. For this Bout, my team and I were paired up with a team from the North America conference, Icy Wind. Such is the norm for this tournament (and the Worlds Championship), where any Faction must be prepared to face others from a different part of the world, as I've noted earlier; in this case, the opposing Faction came from halfway around the world, bringing their game over to us - so we had to do the same to them.

A little background is in order. This is a Faction from Canada, although one of its members is from the U.S., and that's just fine, as their people are "neighbor buddies". What isn't quite as fine, at least for us, is that this Faction is one of the contenders in the Diamond tier of the respective conference (and has been as high as Emerald, the highest tier). Furthermore, the Faction is also a senior Faction, having competed in the very first Cycle of the conference. All things considered, they present a formidable challenge for my upstart Faction.

Unfortunately, my Faction and I got to see how formidable that challenge is. All the match battles took place over the course of Saturday and Sunday my time, and uniquely, they all resulted in sweeps (3-0 or 0-3 either way)... though mostly not in our favor. On Saturday, all four of the matches - Almujha vs. DragOns1lk (Echo Field, against the opposing Captain), riman12 vs. davdangg (Open Great League, against the only American), Kucingimutt vs. FreakyBot9 (Echo Field), and RaymondHrtwn vs. EJCC87 (Open Ultra League) - were won by the other team. On Sunday, YukiXCyz vs. x3TheGOAT3x (Ragnar Field) was won by us, while Orioo16 vs. Uberjudgement (Open Master League) and Newsnorlax2020 (a new addition to my Faction) vs. KevinSaludares (Ragnar Field) was won by them. The end result was a crushing defeat, 3-18.

Of course, this means that my Faction is eliminated from the tournament, and our journey ends here. Even the new member addition - the only one we can make, as all Factions can have this and/or two of its previous members for the postseason - couldn't help to turn the tide (and wouldn't have been able anyway, as our fates were already decided on Saturday by the fourth 0-3 loss). It's apparent that my Faction isn't prepared for a higher level of competition by this forced attempt at "punching above our weight", but at least something may be gained for the future of my Faction... yet that will have to wait if Factions can be resurrected in some form after the closure of Silph Arena.

Whatever happens, my Faction has gone through a wild journey in Silph Arena Factions as an upstart, though it was fairly short-lived in both the regular competition and postseason, again due to the closure as above. That wild journey comes to an end early on in the first round of the King of the Hill tournament by way of a senior Faction from the other side of the world, but it may become the progenitor for other journeys, if and when they arise.

Farewell, Silph Arena Factions, and best of luck to those who are still competing (including the above) as well as best wishes for the road ahead.

One year ago: Yoshinoya ID Pokémon Promo

Two years ago: The Floating City Awaits

Three years ago: As In As All...

Four years ago: Nationally Challenged

Five years ago: Before Gold and Silver

Six years ago: Red on a Bike

Tournament: SWEEP JR vs. Budak_Korporat.ID (SA Factions)

The final Bout of the final Cycle of the final season of Silph Arena Factions came and went for my team, SWEEP JR. For others, this final Bout might be the tensest moment yet (depending on how high they are and how they do in the standings), but at least for my team as well as our opponent this time - and possibly others - it might prove to be relaxing instead. That's because my team ended up facing another Indonesian ("local") team, who goes by the name of Budak_Korporat.ID. Translated, the team name means "corporate slave", and that might just describe some of our members' relationships with Pokémon Go as the game we play.

Like my Faction, this is another debutant of the Cycle; it's actually a "splinter" Faction of a previous Faction called Garuda Go, which has since become defunct due to its members going different ways, one of which resulted in the creation of this Faction. Similarly, they hadn't been doing well either. Uniquely, this Faction also "employs outside help" for one of its members - which will be evident shortly - in contrast to most Indonesian teams that prefer "local pride" and thus members from within the country. In any case, one part of the "relaxing" aspect is that I as the Captain don't have to worry too much about making sure that everyone battles, much like that other time my team went up against another "local" team.

For the battle results, they happened to be quite fascinating. On Friday, riman12 vs. Andridwp in the Open Great League started off things with a 1-2 loss, but then RaymondHrtwn vs. Mewonggo (Justicar Field for Ultra League) and YukixCyz vs. SenzseiGo (Catacomb Field) both delivered stunning 3-0 wins, suddenly putting my team well ahead at that point with a total score of 7-2. In most previous Bouts, we were often behind at this point, but this time it was different.

And different it continued to be. There was still the concern that things could turn out to be close again, as Almujha vs. NadhifPutraAbi (Arcana Field) on Saturday and bakalikur vs. OrangVenus (Catacomb Field, against the opposing Captain) on Sunday led to 1-2 losses and the other team inching closer. But then, the deciding point of the Bout came with the Arcana Field match of Kucingimutt vs. GundulmuYurhed, which led to a 2-1 win and a total score of 11-7 at that point, assuring victory for my Faction, as in normal cases 11 points or battle wins will do just that. That meant that the one remaining match of Orioo16 vs. Red5saru (Open Master League, against the "outside help" from Japan) no longer had a bearing on the final results, though it was still played for points anyway and resulted in a 1-2 loss. The final points came to be 12-9, still a satisfying victory.

Effectively, this was the first and (possibly, likely) only time that my Faction was able to clinch victory for a Bout with any number of matches remaining, which at minimum requires four matches, three of which are sweeping victories. The fact that the situation has occurred speaks of the caliber that my fellow teammates have and should have become evident over the course of this Cycle. Unfortunately, there may or may not be further opportunities to display that, with the way that Silph Arena is winding down. As I did near the midpoint of this Cycle, I'll have more to say in this in a post that recaps what has happened, only this time it's for the conclusion of this Cycle and possibly my team's efforts in Silph Arena Factions; everything ought to be made clear in due time.

Something novel at least manifested for this Bout against two teams of (mostly) fellow countrymen, whether or not we may be "corporate slaves" as that team's name might suggest. We did realize some good battles at the tail end of our debut - and unfortunately, only - participation in Factions. It has been a tense moment to be sure, but with the conclusion of the Cycle, there is now at least some moment of peace for all of us.

One year ago: Sensitive Parts of Pokémon

Two years ago: Pokémon SM KFC Toys: The Rest, Part 1

Three years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 5/24/2020

Four years ago: T-Shirts in Distress

Five years ago: Trading Items?

Six years ago: Retro Rendezvous

Tournament: Arcaviary Tournament - Arcana Cup

The Arcaviary series of tournaments return... at least for me personally. There was actually one for Polkadot last month, but I didn't partake in it due to other concerns. With Arcana being this month's themed cup - a derivative from the current Cycle of Factions - I just had to participate in it, moreover with the impending closure of Silph Arena. Both of these are certainly very strong reasons to take part in this tournament (and other tournaments featuring this month's theme), and this happens to be a convenient one in my case.

Like the previous two tournaments, this one was a day-per-day affair for its rounds, with seven rounds in all. It started last week Saturday and just finished up tonight, enabling me to cover it as today's post. Even so, this one had comparatively fewer participants: 83 checked in at the start, but two had to drop for certain reasons, leaving only 81 participants. Whether this was an effect of the theme being part of Factions or some other happenings that I'm not privy to, I cannot say for sure, but at least the chance to participate before Silph Arena's closing (and a retained giveaway from last month) may have played efforts to retain participants.

As for my personal results, this was still not my best one yet. I ended up only winning three matches out of seven, finishing in the lower middle, third from the bottom of those with three match wins. I got swept in the first three rounds and only managed to steal a win in the fourth, before winning the rest. Even then, the fifth round win was because my opponent had to forfeit the match, though the rest were decided squarely with 2-1 wins. If anything, this is proof that Factions is one thing, and the individual competition is another; what happens in one is not necessarily reflective of the other. In my case, it was in stark contrast to my Factions record, which stands at two match wins out of two played.

Since this tournament is tangentially relevant to Factions, mine nonetheless, I have to cover how my specific teammates did. Besides me, there were four others who participated: riman12 (four wins, seventh in the group), YukixCyz (four wins, fourth in the group), Almujha (two wins, fifth in the group), and Kucingimutt (five wins, tenth in the group). My manager, TendouXForce, also participated - knowing that Silph Arena will be no more soon - and had four wins, ninth in the group. It's a bit of a wonder how we came together as a Faction with the range of skill levels we have, mine included.

I have mentioned that the Factions Battlefield doubling as a themed cup has a little bit of "mystery" to it; given the results of this tournament, we (specifically my Faction teammates and I) may or may not have been able to comprehend completely the nature of that "mystery", but at least some efforts have been made. For me personally, through the results of this tournament, there is still some ways to go before I can show thorough mastery of PvP, but even that may still have to be shrouded in "mystery", much like the theme.

One year ago: BJ Podcast: The Varied Nature of Japanese Fans

Two years ago: Reminiscing Pokémon Karaokemon... and More

Three years ago: More "Countermeasures" for Pokémon Go

Four years ago: Performance Critique: Bunkasai 2019 J-Song

Five years ago: Shiny Obsessions... Again?

Six years ago: Oddest Things with Pokémon

Tournament: SWEEP JR vs. Foul Noctowls Elite (SA Factions)

As stated, Silph Arena and The Silph Road are on the verge of closure, but its competitions have to proceed and then wrap up, including Factions. Even with this, my Faction, SWEEP JR, still has to get things going. For this eighth Bout, it was back to being paired up with yet another Indian team from the Elite family, Foul Noctowls Elite [sic]. It too has a funk of its own, not to mention because it adopts the mascot of a "dark" (maybe "Shadow") Noctowl for its representation, and it too is a debutant of this Cycle, likewise with mine.

Like the other Elite teams my Faction has faced, its members come from all over the place on the globe. The only Indian on the team and the Captain of the Faction, chiragcr, happened to not be playing for this Bout, although the Captain had been playing in five other Bouts of this Cycle and previously as part of another Faction. We also had a rather lively communication during coordination, so that was a good thing. Another good thing is that I stepped up to play again for this Bout due to someone else needing time off, in contrast to the above.

The run of matches for this Bout began on Friday my team time. Leading off things in the afternoon was Wina1403 vs. Larry612108 (Catacomb Field, opponent from Taiwan), who had a 1-2 loss that could have become a 2-1 win if it had worked out in our favor. This was followed at night by Almujha vs. 9now (Arcana Field, opponent from the United States), who delivered a 2-1 win to equalize things. One match, that of riman12 vs. MasterNirob (Open Great League, opponent from Bangladesh) was supposed to take place on Friday afternoon before that first match, but got shifted to Saturday instead; it also led to a 2-1 win and a minor lead for us at that point.

My match, PokeMasterBP348 vs. NAVEEN2878 (Arcana Field, opponent from France) came in the evening on Saturday. A few earlier practice sessions with my teammates showed that I may have very good results for this match, but it ended up just being a 2-1 win, good enough to bolster my team's lead. I also did something different for this match: I recorded all the battles just in case issues came up and for analysis purposes later on. The last battle, which was the losing one, received some color commentary from a teammate, and I have reason to believe that my teammate is right. Alas, I did end up losing my perfect record, but that was something to happen eventually (in fact, now).

For the rest of the matches, they turned out over the course of the rest of Saturday and Sunday. RaymondHrtwn vs. Milkodromeda (Justicar Field for Ultra League, opponent from Turkey) battled on Saturday night and led to a 1-2 loss. As night turned into morning, YukiXCyz vs. Kublsuby (Catacomb Field, opponent from Canada) gave a 2-1 win, and that night, Orioo16 vs. AtmokShiny (Open Master League, opponent also from Canada) delivered a 2-1 win and decided things. The end result was a 12-9 minor victory for our Faction, the fourth one overall and the second not to be decided by a one-point margin. It wasn't as impressive as the win from last month, but a win is still a win.

While I wouldn't go as far to say that my participation in this one led to rather good results, it does seem coincidental that this Bout and that previous one turned out great, even with my participation in them. What may be more coincidental is that this Bout only had 2-1 or 1-2 results for all the matches, which rarely happens - but that's not something to complain about. Yet we may still be wondering how we just couldn't convert all those previous times we lost - close as though they may be - into wins. 

One more Bout is left before this Cycle of Factions ends... and unfortunately so does Factions, for many, due to Silph Arena's impending closure. That means one last chance for my team to prove our skills with our current composition and the current format. Whoever our next opponent may be, they may be up to do the same, so the members of my team still need to be on our toes for this last Bout. The results may just prove themselves once we duke it out with the Pokémon we possess and the skills we have.

One year ago: Steering and Nearing with Tsunekazu Ishihara

Two years ago: Pokémon Go Community Day, 5/15/2021

Three years ago: Coming Full Circle

Four years ago: Everything Old Is New Again

Five years ago: 15 Minutes of Fame

Six years ago: Fallen Comrades

Tournament: SWEEP JR vs. Your Storage Is Full (SA Factions)

This Cycle of Silph Arena Factions is down to its home stretch, and my team, SWEEP JR, has to press on. In this seventh Bout, we were paired up with an Australian team with a bit of a strange name, Your Storage Is Full. If my team is what I call the "fledgling" team (or also, "academy team") of SWEEP JR, presently competing in the Diamond tier, then this team is the one for Your Bag Is Full, presently competing in the Emerald tier. It was a fascinating showdown that had to happen, since we both aren't doing too well in this Cycle.

Regarding this Faction and its upper-level brethren, one of their purposes may be to accommodate some influential names in PvP in Australia and beyond. One of them happens to be on the team that my Faction is facing, which will become evident soon enough. The opposing team is made up of all Australians; meanwhile, the upper-level team has a few Trainers not from Australia - even, from the other side of the world - and that takes care of the "beyond" portion. In later Cycles, the members of the two teams will likely change, as with my team and its upper-level brethren, for accommodating others into the "academy".

After early attempts at coordination, battles were definitively scheduled. Only one match took place on Thursday, which was the Open Great League match of riman12 vs. Franedamus and resulted in a 2-1 win. Then, on Saturday, things quickly turned as the Arcana Field matches of Almujha vs. Lidorkork and Kucingimutt vs. NotRandyN3wman resulted in 1-2 and 0-3 losses respectively, instantly putting my team behind. The remaining matches that day, Wina1403 vs. Alo0ali and YukixCyz vs. BuurggittBro - both for the Catacomb Field - only resulted in a 2-1 win and 1-2 loss, and my team remained behind.

One match was actually scheduled to take place between the Field Specialist matches above, but had to be rescheduled for Sunday due to coordination issues, more in a line of them. That match was for the Justicar Field for Ultra League involving RaymondHrtwn vs. Trysty19, and it resulted in a 2-1 win to allow my team to catch up. The tensest moment of this Bout was during the Open Master League match involving Orioo16 vs. bbao2803, as issues came up near its conclusion. Perhaps almost miraculously, the issues were resolved and the match was decided as a 3-0 win, leading to a close 11-10 victory for my Faction.

No disputes were filed for this Bout, making it a rarity in that regard. However, the last two matches above did come dangerously close to that point, before and after respectively. The last match also presented a unique issue that might have become troublesome had it continued and I had full control to make decisions, but thankfully it did not progress and my manager helped to keep things at bay until the miraculous resolution; it's another point of why I'm glad to not have started this Faction from scratch. Regardless, I can only hope that such situations are rarities, as they are admittedly uncomfortable for all those involved.

It was a nerve-wracking Bout against the Australian team, but the battles speak for themselves, as they should for any match of any Bout. Yet, they still also show how shaky my Faction remains, with yet another close result (even as a favorable one), the sixth one yet. There are only two more Bouts left in this Cycle, and that means two more chances to get our act together, if that hasn't already occurred. It would show that my Faction is in fact not shaky at all, but firm in our stead, even with a "full storage" as the other team might suggest.

One year ago: The Wish for (and Caveats of) Time Travel

Two years ago: The Lengths We Go To... T-Shirt

Three years ago: Pokémon Stickers on WhatsApp

Four years ago: Looking from Far Away

Five years ago: (High Noon at the) Local Ex-Raid, 5/8/2018

Six years ago: Ash and Pikachu Keychain

Tournament: SWEEP JR vs. Majestic Tiger Elite (SA Factions)

If the Bout last week for my Faction, SWEEP JR, can be considered a warm-up after a break, this Bout may be considered our "go time". That's because we were paired up with a Faction called Majestic Tiger Elite, which by its name is obviously a compatriot of the second Faction we faced. It also happens to be one of the debutant Factions of this Cycle in APAC, aside from mine and a few others from my country and beyond. The opposing Faction had started on a hot streak, but like us, it fizzled somewhat after that, and so we met up in this Bout.

Like its brethren, it's a Faction from India, but almost all of its members are from anywhere else but. Only three are truly from APAC countries, four are from EMEA (Europe/Middle East/Africa), and the other three are from North America and/or Latin America (NA, LATAM). It's a multinational Faction in the truest sense, so we had to take the initiative and establish battle times on our terms and not theirs, at least for those not from APAC. It's both fascinating and frustrating given the common issues of Factions, which may be amplified with this Faction.

As such, battle times for us in this Bout ran the gamut of all possible days. The Thursday battle involved riman12 vs. RAMPVINIANO17EZ in the Open Great League, the latter being the opposing Captain and the only Indian on the team; this was won 2-1. The Friday battles involved Wina1403 vs. Stuje24 (Catacomb Field, opponent from the U.K.) and Almujha vs. PokeSlowB (Arcana Field, opponent from Greece). Both ended in losses, 1-2 and 0-3 respectively, the latter being somewhat of a shock. Then, there was a Saturday battle involving Kucingimutt vs. CranelLarcade (Arcana Field, opponent from Costa Rica); this one, won 3-0, made things even again, though uncomfortably so.

The rest of the battles took place on Sunday. They started off with YukixCyz vs. jaraxXxus (Catacomb Field, opponent from Bulgaria), which ended up a 1-2 loss. Next came RaymondHrtwn vs. IXIEVOIXI (Justicar Field for Ultra League, opponent from New Zealand), also turning out as a 1-2 loss. The last battle in the Open Master League involved Orioo16 vs. XXBlueNationXX, the opponent being from Canada; this needed a 3-0 win on our side for us to win, exactly like in Bout 1... but it was only a 2-1 win instead, putting the final score at 10-11 and us losing by one point again, also exactly like in that Bout and all other ones where we lost, the fourth time overall.

While it has to be commended that we have never scored less than 10 points a Bout (through that same number of wins) , a loss is still a loss, regrettably and disappointingly all the same, including in their patterns, thus far throughout this Cycle. I can point at a number of things that may have contributed to that - some of which I may have addressed - but I'm not going to do it even specifically for this Bout. That's for me and my team, including my manager, to discuss separately and privately.

Our debut Cycle is now two-thirds over, and there is one-third of it left in the form of three more Bouts over the first three weeks of this month. I had introduced my Faction by saying that we are now taking on the world, and we have done just that so far and specifically for this Bout with an unusual multinational faction. Even if the results are rather unexpected and quite surprising, there's not much we can do but to go on until the Cycle wraps up, at which point we might be able to cool down and regroup for the future.

One year ago: Pokémon Go Mega Evolution Rework

Two years ago: Like a Slowking Without the Shell

Three years ago: Seek and Ye Shall...

Four years ago: Transcending to a Beautiful Harmony

Five years ago: Old Memories, New Memories

Six years ago: Indie Pokémon Stickers

Tournament: SWEEP JR vs. Ferrothorns (SA Factions)

Silph Arena Factions continues after the week-long break, and my team, SWEEP JR, has to continue our struggle in the APAC Open Tier. Perhaps, as a way to lessen the struggle, for Bout 5, we were paired up with another Australian team called Ferrothorns. This is yet another veteran team that has "fallen by the wayside"; it has once ranked as high as the Platinum tier, but since then, its performance has been dismal and it has been bottom-feeding, relegated to Open. But at any rate, we haven't been doing that well either, and thus we aligned to meet up in this Cycle.

Due to last weekend being more or less equal to another "break" (which could have been complemented by the SA Factions break had it lasted for another week or been scheduled for that week instead), two of my regular teammates requested to be off for that break. Coupled with the current situation of my Faction, that meant there were exactly seven people that can and had to play, one of them being me - but that's to be explained shortly. For this, I opted to have my teammates in a position that would minimize change from the previous Bout, which does seem like it would sound. Yet reality can and had the power to speak differently.

Partly because of that "break", most matches took place throughout Friday my team time (plus three hours for the Australians). The run of matches started in the afternoon with the Catacomb Field Specialists, bakalikur vs. Digitor1 and Wina1403 vs. Maddog250189. In order, they both resulted in 0-3 and 1-2 losses, putting my team behind by four points and making me slightly nervous about what's to come, especially my match, which came in the evening and shortly after theirs.

And so it did come, the Arcana Field Specialist match of PokeMasterBP348 (that's me) vs. Shad0wXo. Remarkably, this also became the "captains' derby", as my opponent is the opposing team captain. I had practiced for the match earlier with a couple of my teammates but always lost, so I wasn't sure what results I would get. Amazingly, in my first time out, I pulled off a 3-0 win (a sweep), allowing my team to catch up; there were moments where I thought I would lose, but I managed to turn them around. A piece of advice from my teammates also did the trick and immensely helped out, slightly changing the way I battled - but that was definitely for the better.

With that sweep, things may have been turned around. Aside from YukiXCyz vs. Fantendo in the Arcana Field an hour after mine, which turned out as a 1-2 loss and slightly increased the difference, the rest of the matches turned out as wins. RaymondHrtwn vs. Sygmassacre (Justicar Field for Ultra League) on Friday night, riman12 vs. Crystalzero (Open Great League) on Saturday afternoon, and Orioo16 vs. JaySliceOO4 (Open Master League) on Sunday evening had results of 2-1, 3-0, and 3-0 respectively. After all was said and done, my Faction turned out as the winner with a final score of 13-8, the first win since Bout 2 and the first result that didn't have a margin of one point since the Cycle began. It is a win that we desperately needed for us to show we have the chops.

From this Bout, something that I gained is that the most obvious strategy may not always be the most effective strategy. This applies to me as I practiced for my battle and when it took place, as well as how I set up the player lineup for this Bout. For the latter, I might have been able to set things up in a more intended manner, and the score difference could have been greater, although this seems to be just as fine. For the former, it seems that I can arm myself with all the tools I need to battle, but I also need to make considerations that go beyond that, and in doing so, something like this Bout might just result.

The opposing team adopts as its slogan "every rose [Roserade?] has its Ferrothorn", and so it seems to be true for this Bout as well, as my team encountered theirs in a rather symbolic manner. It was a truly appropriate Bout after the break, and our victory (plus my debut, and a sweet one at that) makes things all the more sweeter. While the next remaining Bouts may not as be sweet-smelling as roses, we ought to be able to find and avoid the thorns.

One year ago: The Flame of Cyndaquil

Two years ago: Days of Friendships Persisting

Three years ago: The Signature Electric Type Species

Four years ago: Partners in Crime, Partners in Time

Five years ago: Pokémon Craft Figures - Mewtwo

Six years ago: Crossovers!

Tournament: SWEEP JR vs. Kingsman (SA Factions)

After the stinging loss in the last Bout, my SA Factions team, SWEEP JR, can't rest on our laurels yet, for the next Bout came soon enough. This time, our opponents were an Indian Faction called Kingsman. Now, some teams from the subcontinent tend to have a bad rap - and one team has effectively been banned because its members were causing a great deal of trouble - so this matchup was somewhat leery for that reason. Yet it turns out we had to be leery for other reasons.

For this Bout, I had to change the player lineup in a slightly deviating manner, at least according to the notes I have made regarding the skills of the Trainers in my team. This turned out to be not the least of my worries, however, as a few challenges (one of them - or two if counted separately - being two Trainers that had to take time off for various reasons) made themselves apparent, and I had to work with them. It was also a rather make-do moment for me and my Faction.

Those make-do efforts began on Saturday with a series of five matches. From midday to afternoon, there were the matches of riman12 vs. Hasnain2804 in the Open Great League, Kucingimutt vs. Casszeuss in the Arcana Field, and bakalikur vs. FABULOUSMANN in the Catacomb Field; in order, their results were 1-2, 2-1, and 2-1, an OK but shaky start - though the last was surprising, given that my teammate had originally played with Arcana in a previous Bout (but terribly). Later in the evening were the matches of Orioo16 vs. AJ23899 in the Open Master League (notably, involving the opposite team's Captain) and Almujha vs. Gagan27chabra in the Arcana Field, both of which resulted in 2-1 wins and a minor lead of 9-6 at the end of the day.

With that, my team only needed two more battle wins to win, just like the previous Bout. The Catacomb Field match of Wina1403 vs. fluffybigbunny accomplished half that goal (1-2 loss), but regrettably, the Justicar Field for Ultra League match involving RaymondHrtwn vs. Naman090 turned out "cursed", also just like the previous Bout's Open Master League match (0-3 loss). Ultimately, it was another 10-11 loss, the second in a row, third this Cycle, and fourth (along with an 11-10 win) result with a similar margin. Though it may not be a surprise that it can happen, it remains regrettable that it does.

It may be because of those "make-do" efforts that the Bout turned out the way that it did. It was also partially attributable to my own judgment (as the team Captain) as it was due to the necessity of things. Worse yet, it also almost led to a dispute due to a minor internal mishap, though ultimately none was filed (as the matter was resolved) and it became another dispute-free Bout, perhaps the only saving grace for it.

Regardless, the next Bout will come next week, as tomorrow is the start of the eagerly expected break week. That will be the time to reflect on what has taken place this Cycle, the very first for my Faction and me, and I've already got a post lined up for that - though the content remains to be realized then. Whatever opportunity for regroup that exists may just need to be used at that point.

One year ago: Pokémon Go Community Day Classic, 4/10/2022

Two years ago: Harkening Back to "Versus Guides"

Three years ago: Let's Get Going Today

Four years ago: Expecting the Detective

Five years ago: Bandai Pokémon Sun & Moon Pokémon Lover Mascot 6 - Wobbuffet

Six years ago: Evolution Revolutions?

Tournament: SWEEP JR vs. Sac and The City (SA Factions)

(I have to admit that it still stings for me to finish this write-up for reasons that will become clear shortly, but I have to do it anyway, sooner if not later.)

And... my Silph Arena Factions team, SWEEP JR, faced an interesting challenge in the previous Bout. We were paired up with Sac and The City, one of the senior teams in the competition; originally called IndoSac, they've been as high as the Diamond tier but has fallen out from there since, and is presently an Open tier denizen. As can be discerned from the original name, it's also an Indonesian faction, meaning that my teammates and I have an easier time coordinating and I get the brunt of it off of me. Yet it also sets up a "classic" showdown, as this team has battled my senior team, SWEEP ID (originally called IndoSweep), and this Bout becomes evocative of that time.

The members of the other team have changed as well several times, spawning other Factions as a result. In fact, my Faction happens to have two of its previous members, which only further deepens the contest (and in that regard, perhaps it slightly mitigates the "junior" aspect of my Faction). Regardless, many members of both sides know the others well, and the majority of us are registered in Arcaviary in addition to the national coordinating group for Factions, so it was a snap to communicate and schedule things. Preparing things, on the other hand, took on a complexity of its own, including setting up the player lineup as needed, which was still my responsibility.

Certainly, after that came the Pokémon roster setup as usual, followed by the battles where the dynamics take place. For that, this one started early: Wina1403 vs. MasLenengue in the Catacomb Field kicked things off on Thursday evening my local time, although this led to a 0-3 loss and an early lead for the other team. But then came a series of 2-1 wins from riman12 vs. PRBKillerbee (Open Great League on Friday afternoon), YukixCyz vs. OneBall02 (Catacomb Field on Friday evening), and Almujha vs. Sabiankeys87 (Arcana field on Saturday morning) that brought momentum and evened things to 6-6, leaving the rest of the matches to take place on Sunday.

On that day, Kucingimutt vs. YopaNN27 (Arcana Field) played in the morning and gave a 3-0 win, putting the score at 9-6. Later that night, RaymondHrtwn vs. EmperorOldDeus (Justicar Field for Ultra League) played but led to a 1-2 loss and the score at 10-8. My team only needed one more win to win... but sadly, the Orioo16 vs. LordFerdyPM match in Open Master League shortly after that led to a 0-3 loss and a 10-11 loss overall, the third straight result with this margin for my Faction and in contrast to the previous Bout. Our Master League Specialist also "lost a little innocence" by being shut out, the first time in a long time, even with preparations to the utmost extent. It's a painful sting.

Some things can still be gained. In this Bout, my teammates took four out of the seven matches, which is still an achievement, and the wins were pretty good as well. For the first time since this Cycle started, I also did not have to deal with filing disputes (although one of the Catacomb Field matches had a threat of a dispute being filed... by the other team, and for battle results rather than coordination). Though this may have been helped by the Bout being a "national derby", that too is an achievement and a relief, as well as assurance that battling remains the way to go, furthermore once we're back to being paired up with a Faction from somewhere outside the country.

Within the next few weeks (and thus the next few Bouts), there will be some challenging times for my Faction, and some minor but sweeping (ahem) changes will be necessary to contend with that. For now, this Bout with a fellow national Faction may just serve as a testament, along with the results of previous Bouts, that we can measure up to the challenge of Factions in general, even if some of the results might not be what we expected. There will always be rough edges - in fact, some of them came out as a result of this Bout - but that's for me and my Faction to file down as they appear. And the challenges may or may not remain interesting... but that's all part of the Factions fray.

One year ago: The Type Is Wild

Two years ago: Cosplay: "How Are You, Communities?"

Three years ago: Subcultures and Specialties

Four years ago: Pokémon and eSports

Five years ago: Fondness for Latias and Latios

Six years ago: A Story of Love, A Story of Passion

Tournament: SWEEP JR vs. Majestic Force Elite (SA Factions)

Cycle 2 of Season 4 for Silph Arena Factions continues, and my team, SWEEP JR, goes along for the ride. In Bout 2, which took place over the previous week, we were paired up with a Faction called Majestic Force Elite; it's a Faction from India, part of a group of similar teams with "Elite" in their names and can be considered closely associated. Even so, although it claims to be an Indian team, its members are mostly composed of Trainers from other countries - 4 from the U.S., 2 from Canada, 1 from Turkey, and the remaining 3 from India. It might suggest to be a real test, and what a test it was.

The first test was for me as the Captain to make substitutes for active players. One of them stated unavailability for the Bout due to certain issues, and another had to be substituted to take time off, as perceived from what happened in the last Bout. Fortunately, that was simple to make as the process takes place in the exact same place where I made the Faction RSVP - the Cycle page. Even so, as it was the first time I underwent the process, I was on edge as to whether I had done it correctly, since it's of a vital importance. Thankfully, as the Bout moved into the "battle phase", the players were set in stone and I knew I had done it correctly.

For that, which took place after the "pairing phase" and "roster phase", the "battle phase" started out on Friday. First up on Friday morning my team time (which also applies for all times below) was the Open Great League match of riman12 vs. Silvieboi (from the United States), again with the first opponent as the opposing team Captain; that resulted in a 3-0 sweeping victory and a good start. Later on in the day came RaymondHrtwn vs. Hausofalex (from Canada) in the Justicar Field for Ultra League and bakalikur vs. Monish6720 (from India) in the Arcana Field, the latter involving one of the teammates I substituted. The results were 1-2 and 0-3 losses respectively, and that put our team slightly behind.

Saturday had a scheduled Go Battle Day, so no matches were supposed to be played that day to focus on the battling event. However, due to another communication mishap (and a dispute being filed), one match took place in the middle of that day: Wina1403 vs. Acklimate (from the United States) in the Catacomb Field, involving the other substitution I made. After a rather protracted process - it was supposed to be played on Friday afternoon - the match was won 2-1, serving as an "equalizer". The results were nice even though the coordination was rather difficult.

Accordingly, the rest of the matches were scheduled on Sunday. Two of them took place in the middle of the day: YukixCyz vs. Yashas2236 (from India) and Kucingimutt vs. Randy345679 (also from India), in the Catacomb and Arcana Fields respectively. The former was also marred by coordination issues and another filed dispute, delaying it from its initial morning schedule. In order, the results were 1-2 and 2-1, putting both teams at a 9-9 draw. Once again, things came down to the Open Master League match, this time between Orioo16 and TurhanAksoy (from Turkey), and again at the end of the day. With some rallying, the match was won 2-1, leading to the final result of 11-10 and the first victory for my Faction.

While I've yet to battle (and by this Bout, everyone else has done so at least once), my real test in this Bout still lay on keeping my team together and synchronizing it with the other team. That includes the two disputes that I was prompted to file. I consider myself a "pacifist", so I'm in favor of them not being filed one way or another - but alas, things happen, so sometimes they just have to be filed to keep things in line, as my manager notes. Further, with or without disputes filed, any real progress can only be gained through battles; this is very important for me, my team, and practically any Factions competitor to keep in mind.

It's been two Bouts so far in the current Cycle, and what has transpired has been enthralling and captivating as well as mind-numbing and nail-biting. That is particularly the case for this Bout, which if it is considered to be presenting a test, then my team and I may have just passed it with an average mark, thanks to the narrow victory that we gained after our narrow loss prior. At this point, the tiers of the current Cycle are starting to shape up, and the challenge that lies in wait might be able to be seen. Having completed the test of our first two Bouts, we might just be due for another.

One year ago: The Irreplaceable Difference

Two years ago: Quickies: Finding Pokémon in Trees

Three years ago: Countermeasures for Pokémon Go

Four years ago: Ingress and Out

Five years ago: Pokémon in Common Terms

Six years ago: Cosplay: CLAS:H/ICGP 2017, Regional Edition

Tournament: Arcaviary Tournament - Ionic Cup

While the team tournament for Silph Arena was progressing for me, so was another tournament utilizing the Silph Arena toolkit. This one was an individual tournament that is the continuation of the tournament from the previous month, but this time certainly with the theme for this month, Ionic. I chose to participate in order to keep my PvP game, and it seems some my fellow Faction members had the right idea, as they were also in this tournament. It was exactly for that reason I participated (or was goaded to) in the previous edition, because it served to prepare me for my Factions dealings.

As with the previous edition, this tournament was held remotely, started Sunday the week before, and ended just this past Sunday. The scale of the tournament was no different either; it started with 91 participants and retained almost everyone, with only one participant dropping out after the first round. One other participant even didn't check in and thus didn't participate, which may have meant different things. Aside from my fellow Faction members, I spotted many familiar names from the previous tournament as well as in local regional PvP in general, which means that everyone had the same idea.

Though I had the same idea of participating as last time, the results were not any different (or even, any better). Over the seven rounds, I only won two of them, one of them with a 3-0 sweep and the other with a 2-1 lead. The rest of the rounds I lost, three of them trailing 1-2  ("stealing a win" from the opponent) and two of them having been swept 0-3. It's somewhat alarming, as it is a drop from the performance in the previous tournament, and it may indicate that I have not been "enlightened" enough in some respects - yet I am in Factions and do possess an important role for which "enlightenment" is practically needed.

One thing that may have driven most everyone to stay in the tournament for all of its rounds is an incentive for doing so: those who stayed were included in a giveaway for something special that is currently present in Pokémon Go and would need to be paid otherwise. Even so, I wasn't aware of the drawing for that giveaway, and I may have missed a couple of social media "hoops" - in addition to participating here - for it, which has never been a strength of mine. Nor are some Pokémon things, even though I still try to get involved in them (and this is tending toward a digression).

Progress in individual tournaments on Silph Arena continues, as does progress in Factions, the latter of which may be said to be my most major involvement at present. Whether the former may help or hinder me in the latter seems to be an open question for my case, however, given the subpar performance from last time and a further dip this time around. As the answer may not be that definitive, it may serve me well to just continue on the PvP path and let the answer define itself wherever it may do so, whether it's in individual tournaments like this one or my continued progress in Factions.

One year ago: The Route Themes of Journey Beginnings

Two years ago: Let's Talk About Waiting Games

Three years ago: Tournament: Raid Group Toxic Cup

Four years ago: Gender Appeal

Five years ago: At a Loss... in Lavender Tower

Six years ago: GSC Nendoroid Series #425: Red

Tournament: SWEEP JR vs. Pallet Town Ruby (SA Factions)

Well, this is the first tournament report that doesn't involve me as a properly battling Trainer, but I'm nonetheless at the helm of it in a way. A week ago, Silph Arena Factions started Cycle 4 of Season 2, and I heralded its start in a post. The next day, the pairings for Bout 1 were revealed, and my team, SWEEP JR, was paired up with an Australian team, Pallet Town Ruby. It seemed to make for a nice start, as it would mean communicating with some native English speakers and having an easier time coordinating. Or so I thought.

Going with the initial lineup established by the RSVP, as the positions were revealed, my team and I ran into the first snag: a member of the other team that seemed to be absent. I contacted the Captain of the opposing team, and I was told that the member was new but would coordinate soon. After what seemed to be a lack of coordination, I was prompted to file a dispute, the first ever for me... through which it was revealed that the member did try to coordinate but my teammate apparently hadn't, to my complete surprise. So it was that a "nightmare" had in fact followed. Still, they did in the end manage to schedule and complete their battles eventually.

After that, there was a lull before the first match, which took place on Saturday morning my team time (closer to midday for the other team). Leading off the pack was an Arcana Field Specialist match, Almujha vs. Lilibear26, the latter being the Captain of the opposing team. That resulted in a 1-2 loss, which in a way was quite "prophetic". The next match, the Open Great League match of riman12 vs. 678Ghost, was to take place just prior to Community Day our time (toward its end for the other team), but due to complications, it was postponed until late night and early morning respectively. Fortunately, it resulted in a 2-1 win as the "equalizer". I was nervous in making the coordination for this as ("nightmarish") communication issues arose, and it almost led to a second dispute being filed through.

The rest of the matches played out throughout Sunday. Catacomb Field Specialists YukixCyz vs. TheSoopNasty led to a 2-1 win, which was followed by Arcana Field Specialists Kucingimutt vs. WhiteChocOOlate and resulted in a 3-0 sweep and our team taking the lead. It seemed that there was a chance we could win this Bout... until RaymondHrtwn vs. JTizzler312 in the Justicar Field for Ultra League and DwiXsa vs. CJohn89 in the Catacomb Field both lost 0-3 as the other team rallied and our lead vanished instantly. The Open Master League match of Orioo16 vs. FishOnAHeater became the deciding match, and it had to be won 3-0 for us to win; after a delay, that ended up not to be, as only a 2-1 win was managed. In the end, our team lost 10-11, which was very close.

Something that may be gained from this first Bout is that we have to be attentive. The coordination efforts that resulted in that first dispute was indeed a result of our collective inattention, which otherwise could have been avoided. The teammates who battled in the matches where they were completely swept also admitted that they didn't exactly battle in the best way, which also may partially indicate inattention; the "prophetic" match (and I'll just leave it at that) could also be regarded to be like that as well. Being that I'm handling a team of "juniors" as our team name suggests, including myself as a Factions "rookie", this is just something that we have to learn.

In the remaining eight Bouts of the Cycle, however they occur and with whoever they involve, there will surely be much to be learned - and possibly changed, as Pokémon Go itself changes all the while our opponents and their Pokémon also change. This tournament report, a special one for Silph Arena Factions, will accordingly change throughout that time as well. And while our first Bout didn't result in a victory, some good things still happened, and it'll continue to be our task of making that happen, true to our team name.

One year ago: ASMR with Pokémon

Two years ago: All I Can Do, with You

Three years ago: Sad Music from Kanto

Four years ago: A Girl and a Fan

Five years ago: The Place to Be

Six years ago: Cosplay: Daisuki Japan 7 - Wanderlust!

Tournament: Arcaviary Tournament - Naiad Cup

Meanwhile, going back to the Pokémon Go tournament scene, there is one that I participated in and just ended, which means that I have to discuss its results for me and how I personally ended up. "Arcaviary" is a series of inter-group national tournaments with its own schedule for things, but still closely following the Silph Arena season. In this case, it uses the Naiad themed cup for this month; last month, the series actually held a tournament for the Ember themed cup, but it was a live tournament in a somewhat faraway place, which doesn't jive with my schedule, making it impossible for me to attend and participate.

This one, however, was a remote tournament, and I could thus stand to participate in it. Actually, I was somewhat pushed to participate for my own good, and this will become relevant very soon - though I digress. Anyhow, this tournament had a massive number of participants (90), although the final tally came to 86 as four participants had to drop for certain reasons. As with some previous tournaments, the one-day-one-round format was in place and so were the "no-show" rules, having started Sunday last week and having wrapped up Sunday yesterday at 9 PM through a grand total of seven rounds.

With that many participants in the tournament, the possibility of more disputes occurring increases, and indeed, a few were filed during the progression of the tournament. Some of the battles in some of the matches were disputed, and rulings were then made to repeat the battles or to let the results stand, after which the results were reported. As for "no-show" Trainers, the rules were not invoked directly, but rather indirectly, as a few Trainers found themselves in certain situations where they absolutely couldn't battle even within the 24 hours of a round, forcing them to forfeit the match. I got paired up with one such Trainer and received the windfall from such a situation.

As for the rest of the rounds, I flunked most of them and only salvaged the last two. The second and fourth rounds were a shutout for me, while I only managed to steal 1 win each in the first and fifth - which meant the third round involved the forfeit situation as above. With the forfeit win, I had three wins and finished 27th from the bottom as well as fourth from the bottom among those with three wins, sandwiched between a masterful Trainer who had to forfeit some rounds and someone who will prove to be a crucial ally soon enough. The turnaround in the last two rounds was effectively helped by an "enlightening" that will also likely assist for other tournaments beyond this one.

It seems that there might be a glimmer of hope for improving my results in Pokémon Go tournaments, if the last two rounds of this one are of any indication. And in a way, the improvement has to occur as such, as the digression that I mentioned above becomes pertinent to this situation. For now, I can consider this tournament as a part of my current introspection as the greater world (literally - as part of the digression above) of Pokémon Go tournaments unfolds before my very eyes.

One year ago: Show Goes On, and On, and On...

Two years ago: Pokémon Go Tour: Kanto

Three years ago: Living with My Buddy

Four years ago: Poké-Tourism

Five years ago: Pokémon "Cover Songs"

Six years ago: Venice and Alto Mare

Tournament: Trainers' Sparring Battleground Ember Cup

The tournament scene continues for me with this one for the current themed cup of the Silph Arena. This one, though, is a little bit different: it's one held by a group of Trainers who span a few different places, including that of my raid group. Since the focus is (mostly) on PvP, the group is appropriately called a "sparring battleground" - and that's all I can say, since the original group name "goes off the deep end", so to speak. That is regardless a digression, so there is this tournament to discuss.

Because the Trainers in the group are in different places, a remote tournament with the usual Swiss system is necessary regardless. Thankfully, there were enough Trainers for the tournament to proceed as such, 19 in all as it started and none dropping out for any reason all the way to the end. Like an earlier Great League tournament, the format was one-round-one-day, with the final round (the fifth of five) having started at 9 PM last night and ended at the same time tonight. All coordination was made through group chat or private messages.

Likewise, the same strict "no-show" rules applied from before, randomly drawing two Trainers who don't show up for a win, or awarding a win to the only one of the two who shows up. Both of these had to be conducted once in the last two rounds of the tournament. As well, one match also raised a dispute and had to be resolved by the tournament staff, creating results that may or may not be favorable for at least one Trainer. Other than that, the tournament proceeded well for the most part...

...except for me. In the first four rounds, I was shut out in the first and only stole one win in the remaining ones. Because of the odd number of participants, I got the "bye" win in the last round, which might be considered to be insufficient consolation in some ways. This is obviously in stark contrast to the previous tournament in which I participated, where I had the best results. Also, it seems that all kinds of the classic problems I faced (over/under-prediction, suboptimal moves, and others) returned for this one, and they come back to haunt me.

Regarding results, this tournament produced a single winner, someone who happens to be a top contender in the country; the "final" match also pitted two Trainers from the same region. I'm also happy to report that a friend of mine, who placed second in the previous tournament, also placed second in this tournament here, though it could have been better in a different way had something unexpected did not occur. As for me, I was saved from the very bottom by virtue of the three battle wins, but second from the bottom is still disappointing.

Interestingly, a few tournament participants had an in-person tournament yesterday, so that became a matter of convenience for tackling on two on-going tournaments. I myself thought that would be the case for me, as there was another tournament scheduled for today, but in the end it wasn't promising in appearance - and effort to get there - and I decided not to go, preferring to take on other errands instead. Whatever will help boost my Silph Arena rank this season will most likely have to come at another (more convenient) time.

After two tournaments for this month's themed cup, along with past performances, it seems that I've been able to determine myself as being "hot" in some ways and "not" in other ways. One of those is that I seem to sizzle in live (in-person) tournaments and fizzle in remote ones, while the qualities seem to vary wildly with the teams I procure for different tournaments and how I deal with them. Further tournaments might demand me to seek solutions to both of these problems whilst I continue my efforts in the current Silph Arena season.

One year ago: Let's Talk About A Fourth Party

Two years ago: I Need Good Energy

Three years ago: After Tournament, Because of Tournament

Four years ago: Keeping Up with VGC

Five years ago: Here Comes an Ex-Raid

Six years ago: Cosplay: AsiA Cosplay Competition, Day 2

Tournament: Raid Group Ember Cup

And of course, the reason why I had to cover this month's themed cup for Silph Arena right away is because my raid group has started to concoct its assortment of tournaments for this new individual competitive season, appropriately beginning with that themed cup. It is to serve as a "launching pad" for group members, as well as others of adjacent communities if possible, to gain rank in the competitive season; that too has always been the case, both in the past prior to the current conditions and in the present competition.

Still, that's just the theory; in practice, no one from outside my raid group signed up by the time it came to hold the tournament today, and the participants were meager as well, almost prompting the tournament to be postponed. However, I suggested that the system of the tournament be changed to one that is more accommodating in order to allow it to go on, and the organizer in my group agreed. Taking my suggestion, the system was changed, and it went on as scheduled for today. This change is another hallmark of what this current Silph Arena season accommodates, for even groups with minor interest.

Usually, tournaments in the Silph Arena are held with the Swiss system, which should be familiar for anyone who deals with competitive play for Pokémon games (and certain other games). However, Factions is an exception, as it uses a "round robin" system (everyone plays against each other) for many of its teams; the same system is in fact also available for use in Silph Arena tournaments for individual Trainers that are held in person and has four to eight participants, less than the "quota" of nine for the Swiss system. This one "checks off all the boxes", so to speak, and so it was the case that the system was changed to that.

This current tournament ended up having just five Trainers, including me, which with the round robin system meant four rounds against the other four Trainers and an extra "bye" round for all (the one Trainer that did not get matched with anyone while the other four battled). By the constraints of the system, it is also in person, and the choice was to hold it in the local park that also hosted some previous editions of Community Day while it is unavailable for such due to the risk of inclement weather. However, since the tournament was scheduled for the late morning, it had to be perfectly fine, and it was.

Regarding results, they weren't too shabby either; in fact, they were very interesting and very good. This is the first Silph Arena tournament where the victory went to... me! Actually, there were three Trainers who won the same number of rounds (three, excluding the bye round), but considering the number of battles won as a tiebreaker, I effectively came out on top with 10 battles won in total: I swept all the battles in the rounds where I won, and in the one I didn't win, I "stole" an extra win. Interestingly, the head-to-head results showed that those top Trainers won and lost against one of the other each. I actually had resigned myself to fate by the last round (specifically after my second round loss) when I was told that if I won the last round, the above results could occur... and it did, and I won the last round outright.

The proud five (and an even prouder middle person).

Following the tournament, we gathered at a local coffee shop and had drinks and talks, as well as a PvP "clinic" of sorts where we discussed its associated theories and practices, and then applied them as a couple of us battled in the Go Battle League in the current available formats. As well, we discussed a few things about the Silph Arena... and established a matter of interest related to its tournaments, which I can't bring up at the moment, but all will become clear in due time. It is something that I will have to keep tabs on - literally.

Years of participation in Pokémon game tournaments have finally produced quite favorable results for me in this particular one, even if the tournament itself was of a limited capacity and almost fell through. Though the circumstances may be different, there is a sense that the effort is still the same. That's something to be maintained in the case that I participate in further tournaments, and that's not "if" but "when", as the Silph Arena season has only started. The efforts have to continue as the tournaments themselves also do so.

One year ago: Quickies: Clapping with Pokémon

Two years ago: The Syntax of Pokémon Names

Three years ago: Locks on Shiny Forms

Four years ago: A Pokémon Case Analytic Scenario

Five years ago: The Three-Count

Six years ago: On the Subject of Go

Tournament: Raid Group Great League, No Restrictions

A few months ago, my raid group held an offline tournament to get things going again in the tournament scene, and that proved to be a minor success - even for little ol' me. This time, my raid group took a bit of a different turn and held a remote tournament instead. Earlier, in the previous tournament, I noted that it would (could) be a prelude to the next Silph Arena season... but it's been three months since the tournament and nothing has come out in the Arena, which suggests a lot of things - though I'll discuss that separately. Regardless, this tournament, much like the last, is hosted through and made possible by the Silph Arena toolkit, which still affirms its workability, even if things are changing or have changed.

The selected format for this tournament is the Great League, and there are no strings attached to it, so it's just a pure open Great League. The tournament title affirms that even further, stating that the format has no restrictions applied to it, unlike last time as above or concurrently in Factions. The "no restrictions" aspect also applies to the participants of the tournament, who are from different places across my resident country, not just those in my raid group. This includes a handful of high-ranking Trainers - even, those "guests" from the last tournament as above - whose caliber I don't quite match but who are still fun to compete with. And since it's a remote tournament, more of them are able to participate, and they did: the tournament started with 44 Trainers, though 6 had to drop out for different reasons as it progressed, leaving 38 at the end.

Regarding the schedule, this is (was) a typical one-round-one-day tournament; it started out with the first round last Saturday at 9 PM and concluded today with the last round, the sixth round, at the same time. In order to keep order, stricter "no-show" rules were applied: two Trainers in a match who don't show up until the end of a round are randomly drawn for a 2-1 win (though in practice it never did come to this), and if either one shows up just before but the other doesn't, the one who shows up gets a 3-0 win. Non-responsive Trainers were also dropped out, which was the case for 4 of the above, with the remaining being for other reasons. Coordination was up to the Trainers as they were matched in order to avoid either circumstance, or to just follow through if it becomes clearly impossible.

Of course, there are the results to discuss, including for me personally. This tournament wasn't so hot for me, as I lost the first five rounds and only managed to win the last one by totally shutting out the other Trainer. The fifth round in particular featured a really close call that could (and maybe should) have been able to result in a second match win for me. The remaining rounds resulted in two shutouts and one-win rounds each. I ended up the best among those with only one win but sixth from the bottom, discounting those who dropped out with no wins. Everyone who stayed also won at least one match, a good thing indeed.

For those who ended up on top, this tournament may be considered the "warm-up" or the "pretest", as the real action and the real "test" is a one-day tournament that is to take place tomorrow in a very specific place, and is therefore in-person. I'll have more details on this separately, but what's important is that the tournament is a big one. For that, I considered this raid group tournament as a partial determinant of whether I should go, and given the results for me, I ought to not be going - and even as I write this, it would be too late to go anyway. The tournament that is about to take place deserves the best of the best, and I'm not in that condition yet, but maybe and eventually, I will be.

With my participation in this tournament and how the results of that are manifested, a few things can be noted. First, my performance is too up-and-down to follow tournaments consistently, though at least I can always try. Those tournaments, meanwhile, are on the up-and-up, even though some things look a bit down. This one in particular, with some of the national elites, may be considered as the "barometer" for how things turn out in them, and if things are of any indication this time, at least some things may be on track for good results, however one takes them to be "good".

One year ago: Casting Out Porygon

Two years ago: Let's Talk About Finding Our Way

Three years ago: A Day (or Year) with Pikachu

Four years ago: To See and See Not

Five years ago: A Pokémon Twist to My Phone