Tag: pokémon contests

Lanette! I was wondering, what’s your favorite contest category?

It’s a tie between tough and cute, actually! I’ve always loved watching cute contests, even now, as an adult. Who can say no to a parade of adorable pokémon, right? Every single cute contest is just a whole hoard of cute pokémon like skitty or clefairy doing their absolute best to show off through tricks and a lot of pink, and who can say no to any of that? Imagine a solid afternoon of nothing but cat videos, and you’ll have a cute contest.

As for tough contests, that comes more from my background as a coordinator. I have a lot of fond memories preparing for those because they’re not just a bunch of musclebound pokémon flexing for the judges, contrary to popular belief. No, there’s a certain level of creativity and skill to it: you need to know how to use the stage, your pokémon’s strength, and your entire arsenal of moves in the perfect combination to show off your pokémon’s physical abilities. What that means varies from pokémon to pokémon too. While some may excel in showing off fighting techniques and breaking entire slabs of concrete with precision strikes, others may be better suited to lifting boulders and tossing them across the stage with ease. You needed to incorporate everything into your contest strategy, and once you get on stage and face opponents who also have come armed with brilliant contest strategies … let’s just say it’s like being in a well-choreographed kung-fu movie. (Of course, kung-fu movies aren’t really my favorites, and I can’t say I enjoy watching a tough contest as much as I enjoy participating in one, but at least being in them was a lot of fun.)

In case anyone’s wondering, I can also answer what my least favorite contest is: smart. You may think that’s odd, given that I’m, well, of a certain subculture that enjoys things generally associated with intellectuals, but really, proving that your pokémon is smart is neither fun to do nor exciting to watch. What’s more, the participants in such contests can be … more than a little obnoxious, especially the male coordinators towards female competitors. I’m sorry, gentlemen, but I know what I’m talking about when it comes to pokémon. And anyway, I only have enough room in my life for one passionate and intelligent gentleman who won’t shut up if you paid him once you got him started, and I make an exception with him because he also respects me, treats me like an equal, and hits my soft spot for cute things by having the innocence and enthusiasm of an overexcited eevee.

Well, I hope to meet this gentleman someday. —Bill

Do you enjoy going to contests? Whats one of the most creative uses of a move youve seen?

While I admire the concept of contests as well as the artistry and general pokémon handling skills that are involved with them, I admit that don’t exactly follow them as avidly as, say, my partner. Still, occasionally, Lanette sends me clips that she thinks might interest me. Of these, you would think that a clip starring an eevee or one of its evolutions would pique my interest the most, and to be fair, yes, quite a few coordinators have wielded eevee in contests quite creatively. (More than one incorporate evolutions into their routines, for example.)

However, the most creative use of a move I’ve seen might have come out of a Sinnoh contest, wherein a young lady has her meowth use Fury Swipes to make ramen. Who would have thought of using food as a prop for a performance? Or at least food that the pokémon themselves don’t eat!