ORAS Na! To be a Pokemon Trainer

I have reacquainted myself with Pokemon recently. Well, it is not new actually, I did play Pokemon Fire Red and Pokemon Emerald years ago. But the new features of Pokemon X got me hooked once again. Though the story plot bored me, the variety of Pokemon included within made me curious.The game focused more on Pokemon and made it more complex in terms of skills. Oh let me stop myself before this post turns to a full review of Pokemon X. Hahaha~ 

Among my peers, I am somewhat alone in this Pokemon venture and I want to meet new friends who are into this game, as well. 

So, in my quest to find friends, I searched for "Pokemon Philippines" in Facebook and it directed me to PKMN-ph page with a link to a launch day meetup of Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. The event would also have a Pokemon X and Y send off tournament. Call me crazy but I decided to join the battle right then and there. And yep, even if I had work on Saturdays, I took my last vacation leave of 2014 for this event! I just knew it would all be worth it! 

Honestly, I would call myself a newbie in terms of Pokemon battles. I don't really understand IVs and EVs. Not to mention, you also need to consider Nature and overpowered Abilities! Gosh! Is Pokemon really a mere child's game? Sheesh~ 

But even so, my main goal of joining the tournament was to meet new friends who also love Pokemon. So on the 22nd of November, I went to a Pokemon event for the first time. I was very excited! Yay! It was held in SM MegaMall Function Room and a lot of people attended. Yes, this means more Miis in my Mii Plaza! (^_^)

The theme was ORAS Na! Translating it to English, Oras means Time; and Na would be "It is". Yep, It's Time. Of course, it was an apt title to adapt as ORAS is the acronym for the latest Pokemon versions of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. 

I registered right away for the tournament. And the organizers told me that I was the first female to ever compete. (^_^) So I suddenly got shy. Hehehe~ So Uhm, you might be shocked... I went there not in cosplay but in my normal geek attire. Hehehe~ And even if I only had few photos, the event had their own official photographer. Some of the photos in this post are courtesy of Ricky's Photo Lab. 

That's me at the registration booth! Hehehe~ (Photo by Ricky's Photo Lab)

I was given a name tag and on it was written "Competitor". Oooh~ All of a sudden I felt the gravity of the pressure that this is indeed a tournament. 

A cute commemorative pin was given out as well.

The venue was filled with fans, both competitors and visitors, who love Pokemon! (^_^) Sorry for the blurry photos, guys, I was feeling a bit excited and nervous for my first ever battle! Hehehe~

People filling up the place

More players gathered around...

Then finally! It was time to fight! We had a tournament adapting VGC rules, best of five. Ahehehe~ My first battle was like... what happened? I didn't get the chance to even hit my opponent. But anyway, he shared his tips on how to raise Pokemon for battle. Well, it was not only him.. but all of my 5 opponents did. (^_^) And for that, I thank you all.

Me with my first opponent. Photo by Ricky's Photo Lab

Me with my third opponent. Photo by Ricky's Photo Lab

My fifth opponent and I are battling it out. Photo by Ricky's Photo Lab

Woah~ I know I looked like concentrating really hard as if I'm taking an exam. Hehehe~ Well, Pokemon battles are complicated like that! And you know what made it cooler? Pokemon theme songs were playing the whole time! It felt like really being in the game, except that now, it's not your game character in battle, but you yourself! (^_^)

Well, it wasn't at all a total loss for me. I won once! Yay! I think it was all a stroke of beginner's luck. But even if I didn't win the tournament, I got lucky in the raffle. My ticket number 128 won a Pokemon Battle Disc game sponsored by DataBlitz. Yay! 

The Pokemon Battle Disc game I won in the raffle

After battles, I walked around the hall to take pictures of the happenings aside from the tournament... 

A tarpaulin of the latest Pokemon versions

The DataBlitz booth had Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire games for sale. On display were the Pikachu 3DS, Kyogre and Groudon figurines, and Cosplay Pikachu stickers. So cute!

The DataBlitz booth

Pokemon X, Y, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, and Cosplay Pikachu stickers

Cosplayers also graced the event! I took a few shots of them. However, most of my photos were blurred. (T_T) 

As Team Aqua Grunt

The cosplayers of the event. Photo by Ricky's Photo Lab

It was an unforgettable experience! Win or lose, Pokemon battles are fun and it gives that never-ending feel to the game. After this, I think I like to go into more battles after playing the story of Pokemon Alpha Sapphire. Hahaha~ Hmmm... now lemme breed that perfect Pokemon...

Mudkip or Dedenne? Cuteness overload! Photo by Ricky's Photo Lab

I would like to thank the organizers, PKMN-ph and the sponsors, for coming up with this event. I finally found a community where I can share my obsession with Pokemon. Hehehe~ I hope that there will be more events like this in the future. (^_^)