Author: crawdaunt

NCPA Champions: The University of North Texas

Congratulations to the University of North Texas, who toppled the University of California San Diego by a score of 3-2 in the finals. It came down to the 5th game of the 5th set, with Evan Bates going down 0-2 to start his best of 5 series. But 3 games later, UNT were crowned the National Collegiate Pokemon Association’s first champions!

A huge thank you to UCSD for hosting the stream of that final match, and to every institution that participated this year! Without all of you, this never would have happened.

Presenting the championship roster: (more…)

What is Momentum in Competitive Pokemon?

Hey there Hat Lovers,

Today’s article will be a topic that I think confuses many people (including myself). You hear a lot of players talk about the momentum of a game, saying things like “I was able to take back the momentum” or “I couldn’t stop their momentum.” But what is momentum? If you asked people this, I’m sure they could answer, but it might come out a bit rambly and unfocused. I only really got a clear idea of how to convey momentum thanks to my experience with the TCG, where the game is highly predictable turn after turn. So today’s post is short and sweet. I’m going to put forth a definition for momentum, and discuss how it can change through the game. After that, I really just want to hear back from you guys, the readers, about whether you think I’ve hit the nail on the head or if my definition needs adjustments. Here goes:

(more…)

5 Reasons why Milotic isn’t Bisharp

Hey there Hat Lovers!

Today is a discussion on Milotic vs. Bisharp as the two most common Pokemon you’ll see trying to put pressure on Intimidate users. While one Pokemon is proudly Defiant in the face of Intimidate, the other pretends like it’s Competitive, and hopes the opponent won’t notice the reality of the situation; the reality being that Milotic isn’t very good.

Why isn’t Milotic very good? Why isn’t it just an alternate Bisharp? Well… here are 5 reasons why Milotic isn’t Bisharp: (more…)

How to learn to play Pokémon

Hey there Hat Lovers,

I wouldn’t consider myself an elite player by any means, but I do think the topic of today’s article is something I can weigh in on. Since my two articles on maximizing your EVs (Developing Speed Tiers and Bulking Up), I’ve been wanting to add a disclaimer of sorts. A recent topic on the Nuggetbridge.com forums has inspired me to finally sit down and write this thing.

Doing well at VGC requires a combination of skills. First and foremost is an understanding of the game and the Pokemon you expect to play against. After that comes the ability to build a coherent team that accomplishes your goal of winning games. Last is the subtle development of player skill through experience; this impacts your success at all levels of play. Individual player skill is also something that increases as you have an understanding of the game, and is able to develop better when you have a coherent team and have the option of making winning decisions every game.

The most important part of your development as a player is to take these steps in order. It is really damaging for a player to avoid playing because they don’t understand how to do well. Today I’ll argue that the most important thing you can do is to just play, but hopefully I can guide players in how to learn better from their testing experience.

  1. Developing a base understanding (studying)

  2. Building a team

  3. Gaining experience

  4. Conclusion

For your development as a player, it’s best to take these steps in order. It is really damaging for a player to avoid playing because they don’t understand how to do well. (more…)

Introducing Rapha!

Hey there Hat Lovers,

VGC with Hats has another author to get excited about! Joining the VGC with Hats crew is Raphael “Rapha” Bagara, a local player from BC. Despite a short VGC career, Rapha is the proud owner of a toque, and has started 2015 with 158 Championship Points in a very competitive area for Premier Challenges, filling his Best Finish Limit with a 2nd, 4th, 4th, 4th and 16th. He also has 40 Championship Points from bubbling out of Oregon Regionals at 9th place, for a Top 16 finish.

Despite often settling on the same team, Max and I usually take a different approach to VGC with Hats. Max tends to write about his testing results, while I like to post about concepts in my approach to the game. With a third author, the content on this blog can only improve as a new perspective is brought to the front page.

Plus, he uses Togekiss.
#TogekissNation

Cheers,

The VGC with Hats team

p.s. There is an Azumarill in Rapha’s box that hasn’t seen battle since 2014