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E13 // Reis2Occasion: The man RISING to the Challenge!!!
124 Plays7 months ago
Join us for this episode of Tap Tap Cast where we chat with one of the most well-known PvPers in the Pokemon Go community, Reis2Occasion! Reis is the only competitor who has won a regional title every season so far in the Pokemon Go World Championship series and recently has also become a Pokemon Go caster! The crew talk about memorable moments through the seasons, Reis2Occasion's content creation career and his epic rivalry with Doonebug97!
Follow the crew! Amanda // www.twitter.com/Lundberger
Martijn // www.twitter.com/InadequancePOGO
Special Guest // www.twitter.com/Reis2Occasion
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Transcript
Travel Adventures of Amanda and Co-host
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome back to Tap Tap Cast. It's <unk> been a while of our time. um I'm glad to see you. It's been a while, Amanda. I believe the last time I saw you was in New Orleans. we've It's been a while. We've been on some trips. I had myself first Bologna, then I went to New Orleans to see you. and there just yeah Just to see me. yeah and And there was a toilet or something. um Then I went to Madrid and then ah I went with Pogwash around Nellis and Belgium, where we saw you again, actually. with dinner it's true We did we see each other one more time, but we forgot to grab a photo, which was kind of a bummer. But yeah, it was it was a a lot of fun. A busy Pokemon Go summer for the most part. I could not believe that you were in New Orleans. And then like basically two days later, yeah, you were in Madrid. I don't know how you sleep.
00:00:51
Speaker
I don't think I did. I was awake for about 30 hours straight. um but But the same was with when I arrived in New Orleans, when I just arrived, I already had like 20 hours of travel. And then, you know, I met up with you guys, right? With with some, with you and, I think it was Spragels? Yeah, yeah, Spragels, yeah. And Feve as well. We just had at another dinner and stuff. I was, it it was exciting, I guess. Well, let's kind of go over some of the stuff that happened in the
NAIC Competition Highlights
00:01:20
Speaker
meantime. You competed at NAIC. You were a day two competitor. You did well. Fortunately for EU and for my top pick, you didn't make it all the way. Hey, hold up. What about the other picks?
00:01:32
Speaker
That is true. The only one of <unk>ers who had their pick on today too. So yeah, I was pretty happy about that. I was happy for ah Out of Pocket who ended up winning the tournament. Really, really fantastic job by him playing ah fun and kind of funny in the awards money thing called the Anna Sur. And then corrected him. So I didn't need to call you sir. Let's call everyone that. I feel like he was a little bit down because a couple of times he didn't really manage to live up to his expectations. And then winning NAIC, you know, following up with Dash, his good friends who's now... I don't think he's playing much anymore. I think he did a stream a couple of weeks ago, but that's about it.
00:02:16
Speaker
But I mean, like I want to say that out of pocket yeah pocket was sad about his not so stellar run. But one of those not so stellar runs was like a third place finish in Indianapolis. So it's not like he was doing horrible. yeah That's still like really, really impressive. But yeah, now saying that hes he's won an international championship that that does give him a little bit more clout. It's, ah yeah, you had high expectations. And then, yeah, we had the Go Fest Madrid. I caught 75 shiny at that event. And it was warm again. yeah um We both didn't go to New York, but I heard it was super hot there as well. Did you go to New York last year?
00:02:54
Speaker
No, no, I mean, like, honestly, usually I'm traveling or doing something for work during the actual go fest this year. I'll be in Malta. So I'm kind of missing a majority of it again, which is this weekend. and Yeah, this week. Oh, man, you're missing on global as well. I know. I know. I know. Oh. Putting your personal life above book. I couldn't I couldn't Yeah, so those were to go fest we have with with shiny Django you at least you can hatch them I guess they had to get that so you could spend on incubators um I do that anyway, I hatch eggs like crazy I think like really one of the few people that have like I think over a hundred I
00:03:33
Speaker
ah of the you know the purple ones and also over a hundred of the regular ones. So I'm constantly hatching at least three eggs at a time. Okay, that's pretty good. That's pretty good, yeah. And then I have another exciting thing to tell you, Amanda.
Achievements in Go Battle League
00:03:48
Speaker
I have hit Legends! The highest rank in the Gold Battle League! And you know what I got? Tell me. A shiny Pikachu lever. No, you didn't. It is my first one. There's a Twitch live reaction even. Okay, okay. And I made a video about it as well. That's why I was late. That just shows how not up to date I've kept on you. Well, congratulations on hitting Legends. I don't want to brag my time, but...
00:04:11
Speaker
I hit a hit veteran. Wow. You're doing better than Crimson. No, I thought he hit it, but then he ah ended up like going back down or something like that. Listen, remix is wild. Do you have a gear, Tina? No, I don't. I do have one, but it's got to super cringe IVs. I think it's like 1461 or something like that. And then the next power up is 1503 or something, you know, something that's like right above the mark. So I played against an opponent to use a mirror team yeah and he had a 1459. So his gear probably went to 1501 then.
00:04:49
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Oh, that it hurts. Yeah. I mean, but I ask you truthfully, would you use it if you had that IV spread? Or would you just try to hold off and somehow wait until you can get a better one? I mean, the entire past three months would have been different if I had a word here at Tina, right? So um maybe I would have an ANC then. yeah Yeah, if only, if only. Yeah, actually, Guillotine was pretty good at NES. I mean, to be fair, today I had a really good day. I hit like, I think I was night won games. so Oh, out of 25. Out of 25. Okay, easy. Yeah, yeah. Next step, competing at our arena. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If I do that, ah like we talked about, ah we're we're doing like a fun like Caster's
00:05:35
Speaker
challenge and I have to admit I just kind of threw together some Pokemon like oh I know this did good in a tournament and I didn't look at the team really and then afterwards when I'm playing against people I'm like this is four times a week to Bastiodon. This is four times a week to charge a bug. And there were a couple. I know you're talking about it. This is not my tournament but that just it means I'm getting all my losses out of the way before I compete next season. Yeah, of course. um What about locals? Are you gonna go to any of them soon? Yeah, I will hope so. Like, we gotta get something started back up. um I know for sure that Schmon, the guy who does it a lot of times around the Antwerp region, he's a VG caster.
00:06:17
Speaker
he yeah He's doing a couple. I'm going to try to make it to those. I have to talk to Outpost again, see if they're wanting to host us in Antwerp. And maybe I'll come beat up some Dutchies in the Netherlands if I hear there's a good tournament nearby. You should come to, I think it is Leiden next week. I invited Leo as well. You could even stay over at my house for a night if you wanted to. so all right all right i got a I got a microphone for my phone now, right? yeah Because I want to do this vlogging thing, but I'm going to try it out with my phone first. It's kind of where I want to start. I'm not sure about Wednesday. We haven' we we have a ah local this Wednesday, but there's also Dutch football, right? So I'm just going to do three rounds real quick and then rush home. But Friday, maybe I'll i'll try some more Amanda style video.
00:07:01
Speaker
OK, yeah, I'll make sure to see how that will go for you. If anyone can do it, it's you. I think you have an engaging personality and people want to see the behind the scenes of this PvP legend. How do I record when I'm playing? Yeah, it is. ah yeah kind That's usually why you need a secondary camera for this sort of thing, because, ah yeah, a lot of times if you're actually using the phone or if you're doing like vlogging style stuff where you want to show that you caught a shiny or you caught something cool. Yeah. Then how are you going to record that as well? Cause you have to screen record and.
00:07:35
Speaker
yeah unless you really do it very inauthentically and pretend that you got it in the moment. Very, that that will work very well. it's It's just tough, right? Because like, if I look into equipment, it's all adding up to like 1000 euro. Yeah, yeah, it it it ain't cheap. Yeah, it's it's a lot for what's probably a hobby. And I'm not even sure if I'm going to continue that a lot. So that's why I'm just still starting with. Yeah, that's fair. Um, yeah, we can continue this conversation afterwards, but I think I might have an extra camera microphone for you. I'll see what I see if I have any anything. you I'll see. Okay. But in the meantime, we talked about some winners that have gone on. We talked about out of pocket. We talked about how good you did, but there is another competitor who made a record this year. It's not June book. He also made a record of winning three regionals one season, but this person.
00:08:25
Speaker
Guess it if you're able, audience, is the first competitor to win a regional championship every single season. Who is it? Yeah, well, take a guess.
Meet Chris Reisner aka Rise 2 Occasion
00:08:37
Speaker
No need to ask. It is Rise 2 Occasion. Whoa!
00:08:42
Speaker
Welcome in the Rise 2 Occasion. Thanks for being with us here on Tap Tapcast. Good to see you, Rice. Yeah, how are you doing? I'm great. I'm having a good day. Thanks so much for having me. ah Yeah, glad to be here. Are you having a good day because we asked you to join us? Yes, I've been looking forward and all weekend. I just couldn't stop smiling. Well, we're smiling to have you as well. For those who maybe don't know who you are yet, which would be kind of incredible at this stage, but give a small introduction of who the man, the myth, the legend really is.
00:09:18
Speaker
Um, my name is Chris Reisner. I go by rise to occasion to plan words with my last name. Um, I got into PVP. Well, I played since launch, like a lot of people took a hiatus from the game, uh, got into PVP 2020 started a YouTube channel, um, got kind of addicted to like self tournaments and stuff and played a lot, improved that PVP started winning tournaments and, um, Fast forward to today. I've been able to have some success in the play Pokemon circuit. I do YouTube and Twitch and also casted for the first time this season with with play Pokemon.
00:10:00
Speaker
there's There's a lot, you're already going through half the topics and I wanna ask you there. um But let's start at the beginning. Rice, I just wanna point out, I think you have almost no catches, but you say you've been playing since the beginning and you're like really good at PvP and you have actually a lot of so subscribers considering um you have 78k catches. I was like, how'd he get so big? He has like no Pokemon, but how did you do it? And when did you start doing like YouTube, Twitch and stuff? So I graduated college in the spring of 2020 and that was when the pandemic just started. So we went remote in my last semester of school and I had a lot more time on my hands. so
00:10:44
Speaker
part of what i did in school was like digital media so i already had some editing skills and that's when i also just happened to get into pvp and i started watching people like zionic and fp sticks and i was like huh like you know i could i could do these types of videos too so i just started doing it myself and honestly it was like my fifth video i hit like number 35 on the GBL leaderboard. When I didn't even really know what I was doing, to be honest, I just got kind of lucky. I think I was running a wiggly tough, toxicroke lantern or something.
00:11:19
Speaker
its a good book so and And I got like a thousand views on that video. And then like once you get some momentum on YouTube, like it helps kind of build that. So I got pretty lucky that like my fifth video already got some momentum and then it started picking up pretty quickly. Um, so yeah, 2020 is when I started YouTube and then I started Twitch right after that and kind of the same thing. Once I already had like a little bit of a following on YouTube Twitch, you can kind of like instantly get ah a little bit of a headstart. Um, so yeah, that's when I, that's when I started.
YouTube vs Twitch for PvP Content
00:11:53
Speaker
If you had to make a choice between Twitch and YouTube, which one do you think is better for you? Like as a creator or actually better for you just as a PPP player yourself, who wants to kind of expand your audience?
00:12:06
Speaker
For me, definitely YouTube, because um in terms of a financial standpoint, YouTube is where like I make most of my revenue. Interesting. Yeah. YouTube, I make, um for me, maybe it's more so just because I have a bigger following on YouTube. But in terms of like ad revenue, i for me, it's a lot more um profitable from like a ah financial standpoint. So if I had to choose one, it would be it would be YouTube.
00:12:37
Speaker
Makes sense. Yeah, as you name FP6 and Kingdae. I believe both haven't really been doing a lot of content creation. um Do you have anyone like that you look up like from someone? You're in one of the, how do I say this? Content creators that have been lasting longer than the others have right now, right? You consider yourself being a veteran right now, despite still a ton of gate catchers. I will name this repeatedly throughout the podcast. Yeah, well, I didn't play for a good two, two and a half years from like 2017 to mid 2019. Not that that makes up for all the other years of playing for 78K. But yeah, it's kind of it's kind of funny now that I'd be considered a veteran because I felt like for a while I was kind of like the new guy on the block in terms of content creation and competing like this rise guy, he's like climbing the sofa leaderboards.
00:13:31
Speaker
um but and But now it's kind of come full circle where it's really cool where people like Potto man for example like he gave me a shout out once where he said like I was one of the people that helped him learn PvP, and now he's like one of the best players in the world. So it's it's crazy how, once upon a time, I was learning from the FP sticks, the kings of the world. And now there's players that have have learned from me that are going to probably beat me at Worlds in a month. you know we we We have to stop them. We can't we can't have those new players defeat the players. That's not a lot. Did you play Silk from the start?
00:14:13
Speaker
No, it was like midway through season two is when I started. What what did you think of it? It was like my introduction to... Competitive PvP so I had already goofed around and to go battle league a little bit But I remember FP sticks making a silk video So that's what I think where I first found out about it and I looked on the little local map and I was like hmm What can I like actually find a tournament near me? So I went to two in-person silk tournaments before the lockdown happened and And I remember in my first ever CILF tournament in person, I went three and one and I was like the new guy that no one had ever heard of. Didn't really know what I was doing, but I knew my typing. So I knew if they swapped Scrafty, I swapped Willy tough.
00:15:02
Speaker
and By doing that, I went three and one, and I remember at the end of the tournament, um the tournament organizer was like, all right, it looks like we have a two-way tie at 3-1. This person and this person, congratulations, you guys. And then I had to raise my hand. I'm like, I think I also went 3-1. And then they're like, oh, yeah, look, it was actually a three-way tie for 3-1. So I tied for 3-1, and then ah I think I went two and two in the next in-person tournament against some ah some good players. I'm like Madison, Wisconsin. um And then it all went remote. And then I just was like kind of addicted. I was grinding still tournaments, pretty much doing a remote one every single day. Oftentimes doing draft tournaments, there was a small Discord server called the Osmo PVP server based out of Illinois.
00:15:52
Speaker
And we would do, we would hop in a Discord voice chat and we would do drafts. So like there'd be 10, 12 of us. And we would just draft like a fantasy draft teams of six Pokemon and do rounds. And then we would do a live tournament and we would do those all the time. And I just got it in a lot of reps and played a lot. And um I think that helped me improve pretty quickly at it. Yeah, I think that's one thing that a lot of people don't think about, especially in-game itself, right? Because there's in the actual Pokémon GO, it's a blind 3 format for GO Battle League, but in the Play Pokémon circuit, it's Show Six Pick Three, which was also what Sylph was.
00:16:31
Speaker
So, I mean, yeah, if we say you got addicted and you really got into this show six pick three format, ah thinking about that kind of format versus what we're doing in play Pokemon, which do you prefer? Do you like this open great league meta or would you prefer if what we we're doing in the the play Pokemon circuit was also more like silk, like every month is a different meta or maybe not even every month, cause that might be too quick, but every couple months or there's certain Pokemon now that are banned from using or even a different format altogether. My initial gut reaction is instantly to say restricted meta because that's always been what I enjoyed so much was going from meta to meta, being creative with team building and discovering those niche picks and trying to figure things out in Silph because I always considered myself like a Silph battler as opposed to like an open great league battler. And I think SJ said the same thing when y'all had him on.
00:17:28
Speaker
so i've yeah I've always considered myself like a restricted format type battler. But the other side of the coin is that's a lot of pressure, I feel like, to put on who makes the meta and is if it ends up being what if it ends up being a restricted meta where like it's everyone runs the same six, you know? So there is um there's a lot of nuances there, but if they could make it happen with ah with like restricted formats, I think that would be amazing.
00:18:07
Speaker
Yeah, it sounds like you already had kind of a local scene before we even had like these actual official local tournaments in their eyes. Is that still around to your local scene? You do a lot of locals, right? Well, you're also you also move, of course. I moved. So, yeah. Well, now I'm in Dallas, Texas, so it's pretty active. We have almost like ah its almost like a plug. But in a couple of weekends, we at the last weekend of July, we have like three cups, four challenges in a single weekend, um, for the play Pokemon upcoming season, like the points will count for the next season. So it's pretty active here. So a lot of amazing trainers, um, doing bug, bopper, arrow, mango, just to name a few. And.
00:18:52
Speaker
Back in Wisconsin, it was a little bit more sparse. I think I would normally have to drive to Chicago for locals, which is like an hour and a half from me or a little bit north towards like Green Bay, which is like hour and a half, two hours. So um it wasn't as active in Wisconsin um where I was, but yeah, Dallas dallasa is pretty crazy.
00:19:16
Speaker
So let's actually jump into, before you move there, even the first season of Play Pokemon, what were your, like, how did you even hear about it first, get connected with it, and then kind of give us the summary of how you did in that 2022
Play Pokémon Season Experiences
00:19:29
Speaker
season? What was that Milwaukee, the first one you played? um It wasn't the first tournament I played, but the first season, yeah, i I did all, there was three North American regionals that season, so it was Indianapolis, it was Indianapolis, Vancouver, Milwaukee, I did all three. And Indianapolis was the first one I drove down. How I heard about it, I'm not sure. I i don't remember exactly. I think just social media probably. I think it was like EYC that really hyped it up first, right? Because it was know like the first time it was a broadcast, and then it continued from there in NA to a broadcast.
00:20:03
Speaker
Right, because Lurgan won the first in Liverpool, and it wasn't like officially streamed or anything. So we all just kind of heard about it. And then EYC had the first like big production hype broadcast. So Indianapolis was the first one I competed. I was the first, I was actually the first streamed match, I think, of that tournament. And it was... i played a I played a girl who was um i newer. Yeah, she was like newer to the game. So she had like a pretty spicy team of like Machamp and Gengar. And I was able to win. And I think they had the graphics mixed up. So it was funny because the casters were like, wow, Ryze, spicing it up with Gengar and Machamp.
00:20:47
Speaker
And, uh, no, he's just boring with meta champ. Nevermind. Yeah. It's like, Oh no, he's just running wall rain. and tre and Um, but, uh, yes, I won. And then I lost to a player named Dan, the man off stream round two, who actually ran a Lucario. Uh, so his Lucario like totally core broke my team and he lined it up against Regis Steel in both of my losses. I remember. So then I had to go through a ah loser's gauntlet where I played Doonbug and then I beat him. I played Kevin Saludaris, Pranav, um, and a few more before eventually losing to a party Marty and and losers finals.
00:21:26
Speaker
And then I go to Vancouver, where I lost to Wild Susan Boyle around one on stream, went three and two overall, lost to King Duxpool, who actually beat both Doonbug and I running in Obstagoon. And Obstagoon totally core broke both Doonbug and I's team. So Doonbug and I, No discussion between the two of us in terms of team building both ran the obstacle and for Milwaukee thinking like this thing core breaks everybody. Everybody's running Lickitung, Registeal, Gfisk, Sableye, Trevenin. Yeah, the Walrein Trevenin medal.
00:22:04
Speaker
ah People are like, everyone's like three, four times a week to Obstagoon. So I ran a, I thought it was a pretty clever team of Obstagoon and then a bunch of things that beat Medicham. It was Obstagoon, Charm9, Sableye, Trevenant, Azumarole, and then Gfisk. So I had four like- I was saying, I dare you. Yeah. So like no one brought Medicham against me and the Obstagoon was just pretty free. So it worked really well. I got all the way to the grand finals. had a tough matchup against Doonbug because his a Shadow Nidoqueen was really tough for my team. My Sableye was really my only answer and Gfisk, I guess. um But like Obstagoon breaks those two against me. So it was like a really tough matchup. um I got swept. I went down one, two. So I lost five out of six games. I tied it up.
00:22:56
Speaker
And then we tied in the decisive game five, and then I was able to win in the next game. So that was like, to this day, probably my ah my proudest ever moment in PVP is that Milwaukee Regional from that first season. And then after I lived 20 minutes away, so my family's cottage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. So I hosted a big after party, and we got to like celebrate. And that was like one of the best days ever. So that was the highlight of of the first season. And if a Doon Bug ended up winning, then you just wouldn't have invited them. Everyone but Doon Bug is allowed to this party. Yeah, right. yeah Did you go to the NAIC as well, Lo, that season? I did. So I was already registered, but.
00:23:41
Speaker
Back then, I think it would have been more like frowned upon for me to compete since there were so few spots. um and It was like ah didn't cascade? it It did cascade, but right it it like if I had gone that far, right it would have cascaded. yeah But I think back then it was a little bit more frowned upon since there were so few tournaments. it wasn't as accepted like if I had just gotten my invite and then if I had like competed again right away I don't I think it I don't think back then it was as like socially acceptable to like win and then compete again so I i decided not to compete but I still attended
00:24:21
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, that's fair. No, I remember that season very well, because indeed that was what I found the obstacle obstacle season. Yeah, that was where it was the most viable. And he went to the world championships. I think he went down pretty early, right in 2022. But then a sick loser's run. Am I right? Yes. So round one, I play a trainer who I'd never heard of named Godan Hada. And he, uh, yeah, yeah. And he sits down next to me and he's like, like, hello, rise. Like, nice to meet you. Like, he's like, I'm a fan of your videos. Like I watch your channel. I'm like, hi, nice to meet you, man. And we sit down and dude.
00:25:02
Speaker
I just got completely outplayed. I think I won lead both games and he just completely outplayed me like played perfectly to a tee, baited me. I remember he wins the series by baiting my swamper with a weather ball on his ah on his shadow canto nine tails and then landing the overheat to knock me out. And cheese yeah yeah, and then so I lost round one and and obviously he went on to finish as the second place finisher to Rob. So just an amazing trainer. um But then.
00:25:39
Speaker
I did. And you know losing round one, I think I was proud. I was able to like keep my composure. And it almost took the pressure off a little bit where it was like, OK, I lost round one. The expectations are kind of out the window. Just play the best you can. And I think I took down Zephimaster, or no, ah sorry, not Zephimaster, Zygomatic, and then Doonbug, and then a couple other trainers from APAC. And then eventually, so I've made day two and then I lost to Lurgan rocket day two. So, uh, still a nice loser's run, which I think made me tied ninth finish. Yeah. I remember cause you guys were playing, but it was.
00:26:23
Speaker
off stream because most of the loser's bracket was going to be streamed. But I like I just remember because there's like ah there was a big screen there and everyone's sitting in the audience, of course, kind of watching. And ah Lurgan Rocket, of course, he went on this. ah His bragging point of worlds the first year was that he was the person who knocked out all of the Americans like near the end of the time. I think he i knocked out and then also accent. Yeah. So yeah. And I was a little bit salty because I literally like Because I made day two, I went back to my Airbnb, got a good night's sleep, scrimmed, and Lurgan, let's just say, yeah I don't think did that as his preparation. oh And he beat me anyway, so what you gonna do? I think that's what he's as strong as when he has a few drinks before. I think so too.
00:27:15
Speaker
Yeah, I was just looking up your opponents at Worlds. Your fifth opponent, Danki, is his name. He did play a pretty dank team with the Araquanid-Makargo core. yeah Yeah. Yeah. It was kind of scary, too, for my team. I can't imagine, especially when he gets that far with that, right? Yeah. No, yeah iraq the Araquanid was pretty scary against my team. But I think I had to kind of get the Charm Nine against it to to do well. Or maybe Nidoquine as well, I had. Yeah, yeah, exactly. um Okay, that was a pretty solid 2022 season. um That was the first time you won a regional championship. I already want to spoil to those who don't know yet, Rice is the only player right now who has won a regional championship every season. So, to the 2023 season now. um Let's see, where where did that start again? Because I think you had a couple strong performances there.
00:28:09
Speaker
But it took a little while before you won, right? um Yeah, I took a little bit of Arlington. that's all Yeah, also Texas. yeah texas Also, we have we have to remind everyone too, like this was before championship points as well. So to be able to qualify in these early years, you needed to get first or second at a tournament or place below that, but it would cascade down if the winners had already placed. So I mean, there was a little higher stakes in general, because it's like you had to rely not only on your skill, but also a little bit of luck facing the right teams and just yeah being on point with your with your whole game. Not a lot of room for error, I think, in the first couple of years. Yeah. Yeah. As as we said, ah Arlington, right? That was one of your
00:28:53
Speaker
the first one in 2023. And I believe this led up to your good friend Doombuck again.
Arlington Tournament Reflections
00:29:00
Speaker
Yes, so I took some time off. I took quite a few tournaments off because it was a bit of a grind, right? Doing all three of the first season regionals and then worlds. So there was there were several regionals I didn't participate in and then I decided to make my first appearance in Arlington and had a really good run. I believe I lost on day one, actually like
00:29:27
Speaker
relatively early to Major Bowman, and then I had a deep losers bracket run, started day two losers side, got all the way to losers finals where I played Doonbug, and I had a favorable matchup this time where my obstacle was pretty much free. and I win game one convincingly, I win game two convincingly, I was in a favorable spot game three and I threw the game pretty bad and it was a little bit unlucky because I got a little bit unfortunate with some of the game mechanics where sometimes if you wait,
00:30:03
Speaker
It doesn't visually update to see your opponent swap. So I actually broke it down on my recap video where you can slow it down where I'm expecting him to potentially catch. So I wait a turn and I. if if you so If you pause it, you see on my screen, I still see a Trevenant. And Dune has already done an entire counter with his Obstagoon that he's already swapped in. So then I Night Slash and he catches. And it's unfortunate because that pivotal point kind of flips the game for him.
00:30:37
Speaker
um If I'd like been able to cross chop instead or like save the energy instead ah so he's able to flip that game three and that pivotal point um ah he And he just can't afford those types of mistakes and to give a player the caliber of Dunba like a free game like that. And then he was able to reverse sweep the series, which was pretty devastating because like you said, Amanda, like at that point, it's top two get that world's invite. So um the difference between second and third is pretty massive. And to be up 2-0 especially was,
00:31:16
Speaker
Was was tough and up until that point I you could say I kind of had dunes number because I beat him in indie I beat him ah in Milwaukee and then I beat him in worlds So he got his revenge there and ended up beating biblicious in the final and and won the arlington
00:31:35
Speaker
Yeah, but that wasn't your only tournament because like we said, spoiler alert, you, uh, ended up winning a regional that season as well. Um, are there are there any other tournaments that you wanted to recognize before we actually talk about your regional win? Or should we skip right through it? We can't skip over Orlando, right? We we we have to mention Orlando. it please yeah we But, I mean, the only significant thing is the, uh, the shadow ball. We have to mention it. Oh man. Up to this day. Yeah. I heard it on the stream earlier as well. Yeah. Yeah. It's a memorable, memorable, you know? Oh yeah. I mean, it's memorable only because it's like, yeah, you're a very good player. Noctowls were everywhere and it's just one of those typing catch situate. I don't know. It's yeah.
00:32:24
Speaker
I think it only shows how human you are. and you sure you are exactly exactly yeah yeah it happens right the The nuance of it was um Jay Mills had two sky attacks and I had one sky attack and he won CMP. So if I don't throw immediately, it's like I had ah had my knocked out with a move bank. So if I don't throw immediately, I lose because he would like get off a move and then he would win CMP. So I had to throw immediately and I just forgot which side it was on. It wasn't like
00:32:58
Speaker
It wasn't like, I'm throwing on this side. It was like consciously aware, I forget which side it's on, and I'm guessing which side. um and then And then, yeah, so that's how you shadowball a knockdown that situation. one credit And I want to credit Jay Mills, because I think a lot of players would have like celebrated and like rubbed it in in that situation. But he was very like courteous and it was like, oh, dude, that sucks. like I'm sorry that happened. So, credit to J-Mills, he was like a really good sport about it. Unlike that inadequance guy. You know if it would have happened against him, you never would have heard the end of it. The thing with J-Mills is I would rather rub it in his face because he also has chandeliers like his mascot now. so Yeah, you guys are like the chandelier chandeliers. He was like, this guy's your chandelier? It's mine now.
00:33:53
Speaker
I like James, he's a very good baller, very humble. um But then your win, Knoxville, I think that i was during
Victory at Knoxville Regional
00:34:00
Speaker
the... Was it during Hoenn tour? I think it was one was one of them, because Bohan was on the same date, I think. And we expected less players to go there. e j Yeah, yeah. And you took that opportunity as well, right? But I think Knoxville still had like 85 players, I think. Yeah. That's pretty big, yeah. So that was a good run. um I ran the shadow Swampert shadow a nine core and shadow a nine had only been like recently introduced. So it was still kind of unique and it was super safe in the meta. Honestly, most teams best answer was like lantern or Galarian stunfisk and shadow a nine could make those match ups uncomfortable. Um, I remember playing with Dodge like loot, like winners semis day one and pocket.
00:34:48
Speaker
was like, whoever wins this is going to win the whole thing. And i and then I was able to beat Wadaj in a close series. And it was ah it was just one of those days where um things just fell into place. I felt like I was able to make a lot of good reads. And if you if you watch back that run, I feel like I maybe lost like two leads all tournament, was just making a lot of good team reads, I guess. and um And the team was very flexible. So it was like a really, it was a really. It was a really dominant run, because I think I only lost two games. I lost one to Wadaj and one to Onion Frank and and that was an old tournament. Yeah, I remember this is the tournament where you caught on your Frank on that ABA. ABA to Trev. Yeah. Yeah. And you know what he did the next game? He did it again. Again. Yeah. I remember that was that was an onion Frank classic. Yeah. But you won three one there. Yeah.
00:35:46
Speaker
and yeah And you were one of few trainers at that point, to the one two regionals in like one in each season. which was not something that a lot of people could make a claim for. And also I kind of joked around with, you said EJB won that same weekend as well, because he theoretically can fall into that category because he won Bocum and he also won one of the last chance qualifiers, but that doesn't technically count as a regional or a special event. So I'm not sure where to place it for that, but he did get a first place in the the first two seasons.
00:36:18
Speaker
Yeah, and it was cool. It was cool because the previous two losses I had come pretty close. So to like kind of I felt like it it showed a little bit of mental toughness to come back from getting reverse swept and then getting a situation where I pretty much threw the game in embarrassing fashion. um to then just win in like an 18 and two tournament run to kind of like put that behind me um and then just play play well so and then I i tease the casters sometimes uh I tease like Speedy about it because there was this narrative when I won Knoxville like rise to occasion he's
00:37:05
Speaker
fought. He's been to so many tournaments but for he's he's competed all season long. He tried so many times and finally he broke through but like it was my third of the season. I think it seemed like I had like gone to a ton because I had gone really far in the previous two. um But I just thought it was kind of funny because like it was my third one. um So yeah, I kind of teased them about that. like They made it sound like I had been to like like six in a row or something. but yeah
00:37:38
Speaker
Question rise. You said that in 2022 it was a little bit frowned upon to go to more regionally if you won one. But in 2023 you did do this, right? I think you got second place at NAIC. What changed there? You got jealous of Mason's title? I think the precedent changed a little bit. I think a lot of other players that were already qualified started competing again. and Also, the it's kind of the norm in the other games. Granted, the norm in the other games, like they were already on the championship point system.
00:38:13
Speaker
but I don't know. I think it was a little bit more accepted in terms of, you know, if you're going to qualify for worlds, right? You're going to have to beat these players anyway. Um, or if you're going to try and win worlds, you're going to have to beat these players anyway. So I think it was a little bit more accepted at that point. So, uh, yeah, I decided to go to NAIC and plus at that point I had never competed at an international. So I wanted to do that as well. and Yeah, that makes sense. And you are wearing a Japan shirt for those who watch the video versions. And that is where Worlds was at that year. So you have ah you come up with a pretty great IC run right after you won a title. How confident are you feeling about ah World Championships that year? I was feeling pretty good. um But, you know, I think in hindsight, I over compensated, I over corrected because I think
00:39:08
Speaker
If I had just run back my NAIC team, I think I would have potentially performed a lot better at Worlds because I felt really confident comfortable with that team and I felt like It showed in my gameplay in NAIC where I was making a lot of neutral, great plays with like over farming and stuff and um and dancing around with energy. But I had this thought where like since Wadaj and I both ran Shadow Charizard at NAIC and got to the finals,
00:39:40
Speaker
I thought like everyone was going to either copy our teams or try to counter our teams. So I totally changed up my team to something that was like good against Shadow Charizard and um good against teams that would counter Shadow Charizard. And I don't know. It was just a team that maybe I wasn't as comfortable with. So I think I kind of overcorrected. and that maybe did me over a little bit with a team I wasn't as comfortable with for for Worlds. Yeah, that makes sense. and And instead of getting, well, I think you got ninth right the first year, someone else in this chat got... I believe ninth overall at Worlds that year, my old but,
00:40:26
Speaker
um with many more competitors in that year too. There was a lot of, cup I mean, I think that's the cool thing about, uh, I mean, we saw how small it was the first year. It's only gonna hopefully, you know, fingers crossed, continue to grow and get more popular, but yeah. but what I don't want to rub it in or anything. ri But do you remember your placement, or do you want to say, or should we just move on to the next season? It was two and two, whatever that was. So like tied 64th. It's not 0 and 2. Yeah, it's not 0 and 2. You didn't go negative. There you go. Yeah, I be i beat Vani round one in a really, it was a really crazy game. um He ran the same line, three games in a row. And then I lost two.
00:41:09
Speaker
Kindness Dark, yeah. It's an APAC player? APAC player. Kindness Dark is now Charming Chinda. Oh, oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know that name. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I won a match. Also an APAC player, YY Pawn. Yeah. And then I lost to Hettiness from Thailand. And he just completely outplayed me, to be honest. I remember I led Frost last into Medi both games and somehow lost. So that was pretty bad. I have a question for you with this because do you feel
00:41:42
Speaker
that they have a slight advantage in terms of the fact that you're quite a recognizable player. Not only do you play on stream often, but you are a content creator. People can analyze your play style and your moves and stuff. And then you're, cause I mean, if you think about the losses that you've had, a lot of them are to players that you don't really know as much about and you don't know if they're an aggressive player or, you know, if there's someone who likes to bait often or, you know do aggressive swaps or play more defensively. Do you think that that comes into play at all? Or if you even could watch it, do you think that you would attempt to study those those matchups? I would say maybe there's something there to some extent, because if if I'm playing someone I know well, like Arrow or maybe um other North American players, like maybe I know some of their tendencies that could factor in, but
00:42:37
Speaker
We don't know each other. But for I would say it more could come into play if it's like a day two scenario where I don't know anything about them really, but they know they're playing me and they could look into me because I've I've competed a few times. I've been invited to like just for fun, a pack tournaments like invitationals and um And people have said like they they studied my gameplay and stuff and that like it like helped them I don't know. I don't know how much there really is to that. I don't I don't think I am necessarily a I have a particular play style, you know, that's like predictable in that sense. um So you know of because it's your play style. But if someone is analyzing a lot of your videos, even tendencies you don't even know about.
00:43:30
Speaker
i I think in the grand scheme of things, there's so many players. It's not realistic or feasible for someone to like prepare for one individual player, you know? trues true So and in that grand scheme of things, I don't think I'm really at any sort of disadvantage. It was kind of funny because Not to spoil maybe a future question, but when I won a tournament recently and Then I had a bad performance in the next tournament I got a question in my chat like right you think you're at a disadvantage because like people watch your videos i'm like im like dude like it It's a very ah I feel like that's a very ah Recency biased question considering like I had just won a previous tournament two weeks ago. So yeah yeah exactly That's kind of my thoughts on it
00:44:17
Speaker
ah one thing i One thing I do actually do recently is I don't, if so I normally have IV graphics in my videos, and if it's Pokemon that I think I might be using in like a tournament, I might not have accurate IVs on those Pokemon. You're preparing for for if you face Logan Rockets, very good. And sometimes you get detectives in the comments like, Ryze, those IVs don't have the correct CP. That doesn't add up to this. Yeah. No, but I agree, though. Like I should say, I think for my locals, sometimes I feel like a player like Trypton does prepare a little bit for my kind of playstyle because then it's a smaller skill, right? But for like a regional, there's no way you prepare for specifically playing one player, right? No. No, it wasn't like that more. I just didn't know if you felt like you had a disadvantage because we can't even really watch the streams of these different regions to be able to
00:45:13
Speaker
see how different the play styles are. Because a lot of times you see how the teams are even quite different that people are qualifying with. I think the only time I had that personally was when I played against Maxi in Utrecht and he called Bodyslam bait on his talent flame. He was like, yeah, I would no shield with everyone, but with you. Or I would shield with everyone, but against you, I no shield because you always bait. And like, I don't, i I don't always bait. I don't always bait, but I say that, but mad man. um Yeah, OK, the 2023 season. Let's lead up to the first season. We had championship points. How were you going to approach this new system? I saw you went to a lot of more regionals here than in the previous one. Yeah, went to more regionals. um I also went to quite a few locals before I moved. I went to some. In the Chicago and Wisconsin area, so I was able to get some a little bit of a head start with championship points there and.
00:46:11
Speaker
I kind of timed to my move, where I was able to go to some that were closer to Wisconsin in some regionals there. And then once I moved to Dallas, I was able to like drive to San Antonio. um So yeah, geographically, I was able to do that. And I guess just i guess I feel like i've I've normally been a pretty consistent battler, where I've normally been able to ah finish um at least towards the top eight. so I felt like that was was well suited for me in in terms of the championship point system. Were you trying to go for the travel award in general? For sure. For sure, yeah. I felt like I was ah i felt like i was capable of of getting the travel award for top eight. So that was that was something on my mind for sure. Really? Because it took you a while before you actually won a regional again. How did you feel throughout the whole season? That's true. um
00:47:06
Speaker
Yeah, uh, started in Pittsburgh. Didn't do that. Great. Lost the dune. Uh, that guy again, that guy again, hes just going everywhere you go. And after Pittsburgh though, I had a nice string of top eights, but for whatever reason I kept top aiding. And then as soon as I got to top eight, I would just like, I would like melt for whatever reason. It was like, I would get to top eight and then I would, uh, I would just get crushed. um I don't know if it was like a lapse in focus, a lapse in concentration, if it was like, oh, I got here to top A, it's like a hundred points, it's a nice run, and then maybe I lost that. Maybe now that it was like a championship point system and it wasn't that, maybe I lost that like, ah that focus where like that that killer instinct where you're like trying to go all the way. I don't know what it was, but um it was something that,
00:48:00
Speaker
was not was I was aware of and also in terms of the casting that was something that I found out about in February and kind of had to keep on the down low for a while. So that was something that was on my mind and I had a couple of competitions when that was kind of in the back of my mind and I don't know maybe subconsciously like I was so anxious and so excited for that it was like ah subconsciously affecting my ah my gameplay a little bit because I had Knoxville and an UIC during that time. And then once that was out of the picture, my next competition was was L.A. where where things kind of fell into place. And not only that, it was the it was the last regional for North America for the season. Right. So I mean, was it wasn't even in your head at that point. Like if I don't win this, um um I can no longer be a part of that.
00:48:58
Speaker
club of you know winning a regional every season? Or did you even have that thought? um I didn't really have that thought of if I don't win, I can't be a part of that club. But I did have the like the more positive thought of like if I do win, I could be like someone that has won a regional every season. And that would be a cool thing to try and and manifest. So that's something I've i've tried to do, is I've i've tried to like visualize and imagine um myself you know like on the stage, like winning. And back when I played sports and in high school, that's something we would talk about. It's like on the bus ride there, like just visualizing yourself, like scoring, you know playing good defense, making shots and stuff. so
00:49:46
Speaker
and It was definitely something I thought about and and tried to like visualize ah and and yeah, it came together. And I talked a little bit about it in like my recap video. For some reason, I just felt super calm and at ease that whole that whole weekend. And it it felt like it really, yeah, maybe it's that SoCal vibe. And and it just it it seemed like it just translated into into the the gameplay. but At what point did you decide you were going to do that tournament? Because I think for a lot of people, it was a surprise that you were there. Because we talked about it in Indianapolis. He kept a secret from me, Amanda. I was making this graph, and then I was like, wait, Bryce, you're on the list. what Are you actually going? And he's like, keep it a secret, for please. I'm like, ugh. I knew for a long time I was going.
00:50:34
Speaker
I was registered for like a month or two, but no, I kept it on the down low for a few reasons. I have family in Southern California that I was going to visit and I had, I literally haven't seen in like a decade. Like I haven't seen them since I think I was 13 years old. So I was going to spend the day with them on Friday and I wasn't sure like if I was going to be able to hang out with people much. So that was one reason cause I was going to like be with my, ah my cousins and also just from like a mental aspect is I'm really um'm really lucky as like a content creator. And in and like this tight-knit pond of a PVP community, like I have a lot of people that
00:51:19
Speaker
will message me like you're going to win this tournament rise, like you're going to do great. like i Like you got this, but it's tough, right? It's tough to win a regional to to do well at these tournaments. So sometimes I do feel like I have a little bit of an expectation, that pressure. And I thought it might just be fun to have people not know I'm going. And I actually like lied on my street. like I would say I wasn't going to L.A. And and one of the casters actually messaged me ah and on Discord, like, Excuse me, like do you have any plans this weekend? I'm like, no, I think I'm ah like visiting a park or something. and um like so Is this a false positive that you're on the the competitor registration list for LA? and I'm like, oh, you know what? I think I did register like in case it filled up, but yeah, I'm not actually going. and They're like, how dare you? What are you trying to do to me here?
00:52:10
Speaker
yeah so So that was kind of the reason it was, it was like, I'd be visiting family and I was, and I was leaving Sunday night as well. So I wasn't sure if I was going to get to hang out with people really. And then also just like, I thought it'd be kind of fun just to like show up and compete versus like, uh, having that like expectation, you know? Yeah. No, I don't think it was like a lack of folks or anything. Sometimes you might just get caught off by surprise. All right. I remember we screened for Knoxville and we were like, oh, he's definitely going to be at your Obama Snow with that Gligar say switch. So you swap in Dragonair and then they had a really good Gligar and they just got three arrays and a whole plan just. Right. um Yeah. But before you want L.A., you you cast it.
00:52:56
Speaker
I want you to get to that. I think you also did like sports commentary before, right? do You even have like a redemption on your channel. Yeah, the sports commentary redemption is more of like a funny thing. We just kind of have fun with it. But um that was sports. Broadcasting is something I wanted to do from a relatively young age. I wanted to go into like the sports media sphere. And I went to Marquette University for college. I studied digital media broadcasting. And by my sophomore year, I started commentating basketball, volleyball, soccer. And my senior year, I did some lacrosse, which I didn't know at all. So I i remember pulling like an all-nighter, watching two lacrosse games, just trying to like understand lacrosse.
00:53:41
Speaker
um But yeah, sports broadcasting was pretty much what I wanted to go into as a career. And then, like I said, when I graduated, COVID had just started. So sports were kind of gone for a while. And I got into this whole thing as a hobby. Um, but yeah, casting from that first inaugural season of, of the play Pokemon champion tips, when go got out of the circuit was something from the
Journey to Pokémon Commentary
00:54:03
Speaker
get go. Like I wanted to, uh, to get into, I remember asking Speedy, like like, who can I talk to? Who can I email? I was like, I made a reel. I was sending it in. Um, and I was messaging, I was probably annoying Daniel when he got hired in his position and, uh, followed up probably like five times and.
00:54:21
Speaker
Eventually after about two years, when I, uh, when I found out I was finally getting a shot, it was a, it was a really cool moment for me. So, so that was really exciting. Yeah, that's awesome. Now I do have to ask though, what does it mean for the future of you as a competitor? Because a lot of players, obviously they, they, they, they do both. There are some really good trainers who do both. Um, do you have one that you. are looking for more than, I mean, right now you are the only person who has a certain record of winning a regional every season. And again, maybe you're thinking it from the positive side of it would be cool to remain the only ah trainer, but that of course gets a little more difficult if you end up splitting things, right? If you end up casting versus playing versus, ah you know, a whole lot of different accolades could end up changing.
00:55:12
Speaker
Yeah, it's definitely something I've I've been thinking about a little bit more lately. And um first of all, like I'm someone that's very um I try to be like what's in front of me, you know, so I'm still awaiting as we have worlds and we get more information for next season like if I'll get more opportunities next season so I'm still hopeful for that but if I do get more opportunities next season I'd I love to cast as much as they're willing to have me and um I think so Caleb had me on his podcast ah like right after I casted and I at that point I think it was still like
00:55:51
Speaker
I was like, I don't know. it was My mind was still so like, i i I just felt so appreciative for that one opportunity. It was like, I don't know, split it. But I think my passion in terms of like career and and goals, in terms of my long-term future, would would lean and trend more towards the casting side of things. um So in terms of my immediate future and and competition, right like I still like competing. The competitor in me like still feels like I can compete with the best. I feel like I can be a contender at Worlds. i know Yeah, you're right.
00:56:28
Speaker
i don't I know how, I'm also realistic. I know how difficult it is to win and I know how good everyone is. So um i'm I'm realistic in that regard that it's by no means easy, but like um I still think i I can compete with the best of them. But in terms of my long-term future, I love to cast as much as they're willing to have me. And and in the long-term, yeah, I'd i almost lean towards towards casting in that regard. i will I just want to give you a big compliment with it too. of I was also casting Indianapolis, so I couldn't hear as much of it, obviously, right when it was going on, because that's when you know we were either doing interviews or doing other stuff. But listening back on it, I think for your, quote, first time casting, at least in the official capacity, you did absolutely incredible with it. And it really showcased that not only are you a good player, but you you know what you're talking about and you can keep the the stream going and everything. It was very entertaining.
00:57:26
Speaker
thank you i appreciate you when rice came up the volume also went up for me um just kidding that doesn't mean that i put all all the laws down but i think i was doing a no uh interesting interesting gonna have to make a note of that um oh yeah
00:57:46
Speaker
What do I want to say? it Yeah. Worlds. Worlds. So, last year was tough, right? How do you feel about worlds going into Worlds this season in Hawaii? Do you have that West Coast advantage now? Hawaii is not really West Coast. It's like like middle of nowhere. I consider it closer to it closest to West Coast. Yeah, well, it's it's very west. Very west of the West Coast. Still vi a five-hour flight through. Um, honestly, I haven't prepared much for it yet. So that's something I still have to do. And I will put some, some time and effort into, into team building and prepping. And we have one challenge this weekend locally. And in a few weekends we have that, that weekend I mentioned of a ton of locals here. So I think that'll be a good, a good feel out and test of like a team and maybe make some adjustments. Um, so how am I feeling right now? A little bit.
00:58:42
Speaker
unprepared behind the eight ball, but, uh, we'll try and figure it out. All right. Makes, uh, makes sense. Yeah. rights yes it yeah but ah it If you had to face an adequately at worlds, who do you think is going to win that? Inadequance is really good. i feel like I feel like he beats me more often than I beat him, for sure. The stats mean nothing, though. let Let me emphasize that. Tho also won always against stone collection in any format, and then you face him once and play Pokémon, and you get swept. Like, the stats mean nothing.
00:59:21
Speaker
So from my side, I wouldn't know. If you run Wigglytuff like you did in l LA, I'd probably lose because I'm not good against Wigglytuff. You also run Wigglytuff. What are you talking about? I am the RPS. If other people play RPS, it turns against me.
00:59:37
Speaker
Speaking of statistics and battling rivalry, we talked about a little bit earlier, ah but you played Dunebug quite a bit. And you guys are known as the iconic rivalry of Pokemon Go. I think you know this, right? But um what what are your thoughts on the the this friendly rivalry that you have between you and Dune? Well, honestly, that's the biggest compliment you can give to me and because I consider Doonbug the best player in the world. So to be considered his rival, I mean, would be and it at least means I'm in the same sort of.
01:00:12
Speaker
ah stratosphere, same or conversation. So like to be considered a rival to Doonbug as a player is a big compliment. People can, I take that as a compliment. um And you know, he has been so dominant this season with three regional titles, which is just ridiculous. He's been so dominant with three regional titles that you almost forget about like second place EYC. And then also, I think he was, it was third or fourth in Sacramento. Like you just forget about that.
01:00:43
Speaker
Um, so if it wasn't one other cool thing about l LA winning that regional is like, I feel like maybe it kind of kept the rivalry alive, you know, because if, if I hadn't been able to to win that regional, I don't know if we could really still call it a rivalry with how dominant he's been. Um, but maybe that, uh, that kept it alive a little bit. Mm-hmm. Yeah, exactly. um Before going into our final question, I want to ask you how do you feel about the changes to the qualifications for the next season? Do you know them at the top of your head?
01:01:23
Speaker
Yeah, so it's top 75 for North America as opposed to like a 500 point threshold. And then it's 50 for Europe, right? Correct, yeah. And LATAM. Yeah, I've seen mixed opinions on it online. And then lesser points for, or it's best four for locals. ah So yeah, I've seen mixed opinions. I i do think, the decrease in locals probably is for the best just because for certain regions, it does seem maybe a little bit overpowered if you could rack up like 390 points from locals to qualify for Worlds. um I guess, well, now that it's like a top, now that it's not like you couldn't strictly qualify for Worlds just based off locals, maybe it's a little bit different, but I think the
01:02:17
Speaker
Regionals and internationals getting more credence over the locals is probably for the best. And then also internationals being included in the best six might be a little bit better just because getting, if someone goes to all three internationals, that's just, that seems like very overpowered, uh, and a little bit more pay to play, which there's always going to be ah a little bit of that in this format. Right. But. Um, I think in terms of that, I, I see where they're coming from. And I know some people have some issues with it. I think Axon expressed some concerns with it. Yeah. Um, basically you don't know for some players, you don't know until the, the last moment of the season, if you qualify or not. Well, I think that'd be a lot of players, right? Because if someone does really good at one of the, i like NAIC that changes the whole script.
01:03:13
Speaker
potentially that knocks a lot of people down farther. Yeah. yeah One thing I do ah wish maybe they ah communicated a little bit more to us was if if there is a LAIC travel award now, because now GO is going to be added to the international travel awards. which is awesome. If if there is an LAIC travel award given out for Go, I wish they would have communicated that to us maybe um to make us of aware of how that would have worked if it's based off how the latter third of last season played out because I think
01:03:50
Speaker
if If our speculation is correct of how it's going to work out, I think Pocket and Elam pretty much have it secured for NA. So they're going to get travel awards to LAIC, which is awesome for them. So that's pretty insane ah because like Elam, who's a super cool dude, he's he ah basically his top four in NAIC not only snuck him into eighth place to get the travel award for Worlds, but also is potentially clinching him a 3,500 travel award to LAIC, which is like insane. Yeah. It also changes people's strategy, right? So it's like, Oh, do I, like, when am I going to try to make the the regional competitions? If you are choosing to travel to more of them, right? Because it starts over after LAIC and then it's the next ones for travel award for EUIC and for NAIC after that, for those.
01:04:43
Speaker
who maybe aren't super familiar with that as it's going to be new for us. Something else that's new this year, I think this is confirmed, but so in the past, it people from India or like the APAC regions, they couldn't even get championship points. But now if they compete in NA or in Europe or a lifetime or whatever, and they win the tournament, they still secure their world's ticket off of that win, which would not have happened before. So it's kind of cool. Yeah, very cool. And I could change things. Yeah. Yeah. I could definitely, I could definitely see them making a trip over and especially if they go on a vacation, you know, to the States and plan it around maybe a regional that happens to coincide. That could, that could be pretty cool. So one more question on, I guess that sort of topic. If you don't get the LA I see regional and you don't end up casting it.
01:05:41
Speaker
Knowing this new championship point system, are we going to see you at LAIC competing? I don't think so. i Yeah, I don't think I'm in contention for LAIC travel award because I would only have, I say only, but I would have the l LA Regional win, but that would be pretty much it because I didn't do very well at NAIC. Um, so yeah, I don't think I'd be in contingent for it because pretty much everyone that top cut, right at NAIC would have like the equivalent as my LA win, just cause the, the, uh, international points are so much more. yeah Um, so, so yeah, I don't plan on attending LAIC. I guess I'll never say never, but, um, but yeah, I don't, I don't plan on it.
01:06:28
Speaker
okay All right, then we are going into our final question race. Are you familiar with this? Yes, I've watched before. Yeah, he's ready. Very good. Very good. I'm going to ask you, what do you think is considered a crab roller? Someone who is really good, but not super well known because still, you know, people might not know they're qualified even, but they could actually win it. And then who's i a champion? Some of you do know, someone everyone knows and could also win it.
01:07:01
Speaker
You know, I know this question, but I, I didn't prepare answers for you. So, um, someone who's not as well known. Do these, do these have to be world's qualified players? No, it doesn't have to be. Okay. Um, might even be asked someone at a local, you're like, whoa, I didn't realize that, uh, this can take on these big names or I think he only has big names at his local. Right. Right. ah let's go with Let's go with SS Thorn, the youngster.
01:07:39
Speaker
recent addition to our team. I mean, he had that one nice run in Toronto, right? But other than that, hasn't had a whole lot of like air time. He recently started streaming and, uh, it's just consistently on the leaderboards and has, has a whole lot of potential. So I'll give thorn a shout out. And then someone who is known who could who could go all the way. I don't want to pick someone like too obvious. Let's see. um Can pick me.
01:08:18
Speaker
I need some Jeopardy theme music. I'll add it in in post. What about Potts O Man? Yeah, it's a good one. Give a shout out to the to the youngsters. Yeah, Pasto Man. That's the second time you named him. did Did he beat you before or something? No, it was ah he was the one that I mentioned how like originally I felt like I was one of the newer people that was rising in the ranks. And then he shouted me out, and now he's like one of the best. And you shot him out. Okay, return to favor. Makes sense. He's he's pretty good. He's Muy bien.
01:09:02
Speaker
Pretty consistent. And I liked, cause he had, was it two second place finishes before he won? Yep. And I just thought that was a really cool moment. When we look back at like the history of, uh, the play Pokemon championships, him like the emotion after he beat Tonton, um, that was, that was a really cool moment. Yeah, I was like, whenever people really show like a lot of emotion, it it makes me sometimes like tear up too, but you could see it in his face and he was like pumping his fist. And I was like, Oh man, I would have been so happy for Ton Ton as well. But you know, you just kind of get swept up in the moment when you see people really caring about something. Yeah. Yeah. You just see how much it means to them. Um, like.
01:09:45
Speaker
Like my first my first regional win against Dune is when i like I like jumped out of my chair and like pumped my fist. Cause especially it was like, It was like I was in a situation right where I'd lost five out of six. The game came down to the wire. I didn't know if I was going to win to be honest. So it was just like the the culmination of all that versus um normally I'm like very stoic and you very seldom see me like celebrate. um But then there there are those certain moments where it just kind of like it it comes to you and it's and you just it just kind of comes out. Yeah, yeah.
01:10:25
Speaker
No, maybe we'll see it at Worlds again. Maybe, hopefully. We'll have to see that finals or something. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you Ryze for making time ah for us today to come on and walk us through your your impressive journey through all three seasons. Perhaps continue your win streak every year ever again. um Yeah, thanks so much. And I hope ah maybe we can cast together sometime this year. That would be pretty darn cool. Yeah, and I would love that. you again Yeah. So that then maybe Martine would actually listen to me cast instead of turning the volume down. Oh, come on. But yeah, well, yeah, we're sorry. We're so inconsistent for the listeners. Uh, we the attempt is every Thursday. We don't quite always get to it, but we always want to have quality guests on like rise. And so to ensure that we do that, it might not be as often. I'm really happy. This one ended up going through. Thanks again for your time and we'll get you all in the next one.
01:11:25
Speaker
See you next month. Bye.