As someone with more of an interest in socialization than competition, I typically spend most of my time at Pokémon events playing in side events away from the main tournament. This year’s NAIC was no exception, and I wanted to share my experiences.
Side Event Generals:
As usual, side events were in the back part of the tournament area, away from the main stage. Registration was handled via OpenTable (for ad-hoc events) and RK9 Labs (for scheduled everts). No physical event tickets were used for registration.
For ad-hoc events, players would check in at a set of desks and would then be directed to a set of tables to wait for the event to fill up, at which point a judge would come over and have all the players for the event gather to be led to the appropriate table. This process worked fairly well, but I think it could have been improved by making sure that the person reading the list announces the kind of event being started and by making sure each name has at least a first name and last initial.
Scheduled events were considerably simpler. The event would be announced along with its location, and any pairings or standings would be posted in paper and on RK9 Labs itself (this was actually my first experience with getting my pairings on the website, since prior events had only really used them for the main competition).
TCG Raid:
These were run as standard four-person pods against a judge using a jumbo card as their attacker. I played three of these over the weekend (two against Toxtricity and one against Galarian Rapidash). Rather than using my Vivillion/Marowak deck (nicknamed “Spinal Tap”) as I had in prior TCG raids, I brought out my expanded “Round” deck with Seismitoad. The raids went more or less as expected, and the only thing I really wanted to mention is that using a die to keep track of shared supporter usage and the number of cards the judge has left to play during their turn (also, I recommend the judge only use their die to count the overall number of natural cards to be drawn, rather than increasing the number when a draw card is used, as it reduces the risk of losing count). We won all three encounters.
TCG Build & Battle:
I played in several of these, all of which used the Twilight Masquerade set (great aesthetic for New Orleans, by the way). At this point, this is a well-known format, and my only suggestion is that since this set contains Ace Specs, the judges should mention that the one-per-deck limit still applies, unlike the four-of-a-card limit that is waived. I was 5-1 across the two events.
TCG Ditto Draft:
Technically, this is “sealed” rather than a draft, as you are given cards to use instead of taking a card and passing the rest along. Also, the first round uses a 20-card deck, so you end up using all the cards in the pack and adding basic energy (as opposed to a pack battle, where you typically select a cards from your pack and build a 10-card deck). If you make it to the second round (this event was single-elimination), you get an additional pack and expand to a 30-card deck. I was able to make it to the finals, where I was clobbered by a Greninja ex.
VG Chaos Cup:
In this event, each seat had a rental team listed on it, and a code for retrieving that team (one participant noticed the actual in-game team differed slightly from what was on their sheet). We played three rounds, and used a different team each time (on the chance that we got the same team again, we were given the option to use a team from an adjacent table instead). The biggest difficulty I had with this was actually procedural, since I’ve never competed in VGC, and since this event was on Saturday, we were able to use some VGC docking stations, which I had seen but never used. I’m happy to report the other players were more than willing to help me with the process, which I quickly got accustomed to. I went 2-1 in this event.
VG Booster Draft Cup:
No, you’re not misreading it. This is a new side event the combines aspects of the TCG and VGC. Prior to round one, players are placed into groups (typically of four, though ours had five), open a pack of cards, take a card, then build a team based on the cards they drafted. The exact rules are too detailed to list in full (and not completely firm), but basically you were able to use any Pokémon you had a card for, its immediate evolution (FYI, Twilight Masquerade does have Eevee), or if the Pokémon doesn’t exist in Scarlet & Violet (including the DLC) and you don’t have access to Home, you can substitute a tournament-legal Pokémon of the same type. Any non-Pokémon cards you draft allow you to attach a held item to one of your team members.
I didn’t have much trouble drafting cards to create a team of six (as well as four items), thanks in part to my collection from various raids, but I soon discovered I was at a disadvantage not having that deep a knowledge of the competitive VGC field, as well as not having trained a large number of my boxed Pokémon in IVs or EVs. As a result, I went 0-3 in this event, though I still like the overall concept, and may consider it again once it is more fine-tuned (provided I have time to build up a stable of better Pokémon).
Go Scavenger Hunt:
At this point, Go scavenger hunts have been pretty well figured out, though I do have to note that one of the tasks was somewhat awkward. You could either evolve a Vigoroth with a visor (which I never saw), or get the fully-evolved Goodra from the community day (which was Sunday afternoon, near the closing time of the event). Also, it would be nice if we could get something besides wristbands and pop sockets for those intermediate rewards-I think I have more of the former than I have limbs.
Ticket Redemption:
When redeeming tickets, I make a conscious effort to pick something for myself, as well as some things that can be given away for door prizes at future league events. For myself, unfortunately the incubator I wanted was picked up by someone else while I was in line, so I got a Rapidash-themed dual deck box and a booster pack. For the league, I picked up one of all five of the playmats on offer, so look forward to that if you play at Pegasus Games in the near future.
-As with Orlando regionals, I cosplayed as “Michael Hutchence as a Pokémon Trainer” all three days, with some interesting reactions. I do plan on diversifying the musicians I cosplay as, though finding the right combinations can be difficult.
-The Pokémon Center store was about what I expected. I picked up some apparel and some sleeves.
-Being able to pick up my spectator badge at the airport was a nice bonus that I hope continues for other events.
Overall, I had a great time at NAIC 2024, and look forward to other events in the future. The additional space compared to Columbus seems to have been used to good effect, and the staff was great as always.
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