The New Normal - 16-6 - Interlude - Pokenet Reactions

The New Normal – 16-6 – Interlude – Pokenet Reactions

[The World Tournament’s preliminary stage is over! Who moved on to the next round, and who were eliminated? Did your favourite teams make it through?] By Battlecast

[A gallery of images all portraying the teams and their fighting. Some look happy, others are upset or disappointed]

For those of you living under a rock and/or somehow didn’t have your eyes glued to the screen for the Pokémon World Tournament – the preliminary stage is finally over, paving the way for the elimination stage to begin! And we’ve already got so much to talk about!

First of all, as in any competition, there are always going to be winners and losers. For those who missed the battles, here is a summary of the win/loss records of all the participants in the preliminary stage:

[Graphic showing the win and loss records for all the participants, organised so that the ones with the cleanest record are shown at the top, while those eliminated are placed at the bottom]

As you can see, there were six teams that managed to achieve a perfect 3-0 record. However, an interesting observation to note is that amongst these teams, all but one had at least one member from Unova – with that exception being Tate/Lisa and Lorelei. Does this potentially mean that our compatriots from Unova are a step above our own Gym Leaders and Elite Four? Or do you think this is nothing more than a lucky coincidence due to their assigned pairings?

On the other hand, we must also unfortunately say goodbye to the teams that didn’t manage to achieve their 3 wins. To what should be little surprise, all those teams that were eliminated consisted solely of double Gym Leader pairings. Perhaps this is proof that having a stronger/weaker partner pairing is better than having two partners at an equal strength level…[Click here to continue reading]

Comments

ANormalFan

LET’S GO JOHN! NO SURPRISES THERE WITH THE 3-0! THIS TOURNAMENT IS HIS TO WIN!

ElesaFan

WOOOOOO!! YOU’RE DOING SO WELL ELESA! KEEP IT UP!

ILoveGoldenRod

Man, anyone else disappointed with Clair’s performance? To think that someone who is supposed to serve as the 8th Gym Leader of Johto is out just like that. And it wasn’t like it was a narrow loss either – her fights with Maylene were so lacklustre compared to the rest of the competition. It was like they weren’t even trying to win.

Maybe I’m being a bit too harsh, but I feel like someone in Clair’s position and strength should have done a lot better than that.

FlyingHigh

No, that’s actually exactly how I’m feeling now as well. People on the Pokénet have always said that Clair deserves to be in the Elite Four from her strength alone, and that the only reason she isn’t in the Elite Four already is because Lance is Champion. I used to agree with such sentiments, but after this Tournament I’m starting to see the cracks in Clair’s strength.

Specifically the fact that she is as arrogant and as prideful as you would expect from a Blackthorn – and she doesn’t quite have the strength to back it up. In her fights, she clearly refused to fight alongside Maylene and always looked like she wanted to win the fight by herself. Quite frankly, such methods are stupid, and she paid the price for it.

If she doesn’t take care of that arrogance, I fear that she’d be considered one of the weaker Gym Leaders in truth.

SlugmaBalls

So you mean charging forwards with your Gyarados by itself and trying to take on a 2v1 without thinking about your partner at all DOESN’T win you matches?! Who could have known?!

GeneralistGeneral

In fairness, that strategy probably worked if Clair’s opponents were your regular ol’ trainers. But against people stronger or as strong as her? No way. There’s a reason this tournament emphasised teamwork.

FearTheRat

Honestly, I feel bad for Maylene. Even though she was so much weaker in the first Tournament, her teamwork with Koga really allowed her to punch above her weight. But now, even as she got so much stronger, Clair’s unwillingness to cooperate with her has really crippled her ability to perform.

And now she’s out of the tournament already. What a fucking shame.

TangelaThoughts

I agree. Poor Maylene. And I can’t believe I’m saying this about Pryce, but to his credit, despite how much he and Roark do not mesh together, they seem to have at least formed some kind of working relationship. They did… reasonably well.

But man, it looks like the two of them absolutely despise each other. I doubt they’d make it too far into the elimination stage because of that.

LoveIsEterna

Did you see the recording of Roark visibly trying to hold himself back from punching Pryce in the face while the man lectured him? And this was after Roark and Pryce had won too. I think it’s a miracle that they’re even winning battles, considering.

FlyingHigh

Despite his very unlikable personality, Pryce is a professional. Everyone knows how much Candice hated the man last time too, but they still made it to the Top 3. So I think people are looking down on Pryce too much. His interpersonal relationships might be a disaster, but as a trainer, he’s certainly formidable.

FutureAce

Is it just me or does anyone else think that all four Leagues are wiping the sweat from their brow to see that at least all of their Elite Four made it through the preliminary stage? It would have been embarrassing if one of them had been knocked out already.

The Sinnoh Elite Four not making it very far last time was pretty disappointing to see.

TangelaThoughts

I think the addition of the preliminary rounds really helped with that. It’s easy to slip up and make a mistake that will lose you the fight. But it’s harder to do so three times in a row. So those who had trained up well and were well-prepared were more likely to make it through to the elimination stage than those who didn’t. In other words, ‘luck’ was less of a factor here.

DragonPower

Was there REALLY not a single Dragon specialist who managed to win 3-0?!? Are you FUCKING kidding me?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE THESE IDIOTS DOING!?

PunchingBag

THIS IS WHY FIGHTING TYPES ARE THE BEST TYPES. LET’S GO MARSHAL! I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE BUT YOU MUST BE A SMART GUY IF YOU’RE A FIGHTING SPECIALIST! GO SHOW THESE LOSERS WHAT’S UP!

Iris4Champion

Oh who cares about the others?! Karen and Iris are unstoppable! Trust me – they’re going to be the ultimate victors!

Amoogus

Nah, my money’s on Crasher Wake and Marshal. Did you see how those two swept through the preliminary stages? They didn’t break a sweat in any of those fights.

GeneralistGeneral

Well that’s because they were matched up against ‘easier’ opponents. Not to diminish their achievement, but Clair and Maylene were one of their opponents, and we all know how disastrous that pairing turned out to be.

In the meanwhile, you have other pairs like John and Elesa who were matched up against three Elite Four pairs back-to-back-to-back. It’s not the same.

SlugmaBalls

Eh. The randomness is part of the fun. Not every battle has to be fair.

UnovaNo1

So glad that Unova has been doing so well in this Tournament! Shows that we aren’t any weaker than you lot. In fact, it’s quite the opposite! Unova is always going to be number one in the world! You’ll see!

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[PLASMA MAKES A CHALLENGE TO OUR LEADERS! THEY WANT TO PROVE THAT THEIR MESSAGE IS RIGHT!] by Sinnoh News

[Picture of Zinzolin making his declaration]

It seems like PLASMA’s back at it again! Even after being publicly lambasted by Elite Four last time, it looks like they aren’t giving up just yet. This time, they seem to be taking things one step further than just making speeches and are really looking like they’re going all-out to try to prove the validity of their message.

They have made a direct challenge to any of the Elite Four or Gym Leaders from all regions, stating that they fully intend to show off the strength and potential of ‘truly freed’ Pokémon and how much capable they are compared to their ‘trapped’ counterparts.

As Zinzolin, one of the leaders of PLASMA, puts it:

“One of the main arguments that those in favour of such barbaric practices like to use is the claim that all Pokémon want to become stronger, and that they willingly shackle themselves to a trainer in order to ‘unlock their true potential’. However, we here at PLASMA have always stated that such statements were malicious falsehoods – and now we have the opportunity to show the whole world just why that is. Therefore, we will be waiting with open arms to challenge any one of your Gym Leaders or Elite Four, to prove that you don’t need to trap Pokémon in Pokéballs for you them to be able to become strong. We will show the world that our very own Pokémon, the ones that are free and truly happy, are able to overpower and defeat your so-called ‘strongest’ Pokémon.”

Those were some very combative words from one of PLASMA’s leaders. And while the Gym Leaders and Elite Four have yet to make an official response, we doubt they would allow such a blatant provocation to go unanswered.

What do you guys think of PLASMA? Do you think that this challenge from them is a desperate, last-ditch attempt to salvage a bit of their lost reputation? Or do you think that they legitimately have a chance of winning these fights? Let us know in the comments!

Comments

Amoogus

Not more of this PLASMA nonsense again… I thought they were done after that Elite Four humiliated them in public. Why are they still trying to convert people to their delusions when everyone knows that all they’ve been spouting are lies?!

ElesaFan

No… I think they have a point. Besides, they wouldn’t have made such a challenge if they weren’t confident they could win. We’ve never seen their Pokémon in a proper fight before, and they must have something up their sleeve. I mean, it kind of makes sense, no? Happy Pokémon train harder, and therefore get stronger. Everyone knows this, so I think PLASMA might be onto something.

DetectivePikachu

I KNEW THAT THE POKÉBALLS WERE A SECRET CONSPIRACY! PLASMA IS DOING THE RIGHT THING EXPOSING THESE LIES TO THE WORLD!!

WAKE UP PEOPLE! THE LEAGUE IS GETTING YOU TO USE POKÉBALLS IN ORDER FOR THEM TO CONTROL YOU! THEY MUST BE ABLE TO SECRETLY MAKE YOUR POKÉMON WEAKER/STRONGER WITHIN THOSE BALLS SO THAT THEY CAN CONTROL THE OUTCOME OF A FIGHT! FREE YOUR POKÉMON NOW!

AlluteNinja

PLASMA are as delusional as always if they think they can win with Pokémon that they’ve just plucked out of the wild like that.

Speaking of delusional, ^this guy right here.

IceColdSimp

Come on Lorelei, this is the perfect opportunity for you! If your stupid colleagues aren’t going to step up to the plate, then you should bravely do so in their place! Stomp these idiots and show the world why you’re the best!!

TangelaThoughts

I’m torn about this declaration. On one hand, I genuinely think that PLASMA have no chance of winning this. But on the other, I don’t think they’d be stupid enough to call the League out like this if they didn’t think they would at least put on a good showing. It would be utter stupidity otherwise.

I’m going to be looking at this battle with keen interest. Who knows? If PLASMA gives off a good showing, then perhaps there’s something to their words after all.

FlyingHigh

Yeah, agreed. Right now, despite the grand claims that they’ve made, PLASMA have not actually done anything but spout words. But if they win or put on a good showing in the upcoming battle, then they’re finally able to back up their words with definitive evidence.

SeaDrake (Verified POG)

Funniest joke I’ve seen all year.

A.N. Just a short Pokénet Interlude for now as we wrap up the preliminary stage and get ready for the next stage of the Tournament. As you can see with the PLASMA bit, not everyone’s so keen on PLASMA’s chances. And John’s previous humiliation of them has definitely had an effect on the public perception of them. Hope you enjoyed!