Pokemon VGC Regionals: Nashville

June 15, 2009 | 9 Comments

This past weekend, The Pokemon Company International made a stop in Nashville, Tennessee for their final Regional stop in the Pokemon Video Game Championships. The event was held inside the historic Gaylord Opry in Opryland, just north of Nashville. There, more than 350 players from around the nation signed up for the Senior Division early Saturday morning. Of those who registered only 128 were chosen in each age division so 256 players were chosen and of those 8 will be going to National Championships in St. Louis.

Forum members Taterbud and I(MissingNo.) arrived late Friday night. It was quite a long trip from Northeastern Indiana. Both of us were exhausted, yet excited about being in Nashville. We picked our spot for the night, and then went out for some food and exploring. The area we ended up in revolved completely around the Opryland. Hotels and restaurants were the only places around, besides a few small shops. However, inside the actual Opryland was a mall, movie theater, and of course the large hotel and convention center.

Nashville was also hosting its large Country Music Festival this past weekend. Each hotel was booked, and the city was full of people. Downtown on Saturday, there were multiple tents set up with live music. Many of the streets were closed off, and every parking spot was taken.

Back at the hotel, Taterbud and I were both exhausted. She took a short swim in the hotel pool, then we both packed it in for an early night, knowing we’d have to be across the street at the Gaylord by 8:30 in the morning. That next morning, Taterbud found out that I took no chances of sleeping in. First the hotel alarm clock went off, followed by my DSi alarm clock, followed by a wake-up call, and then my constant nudges. We got a quick breakfast free of charge from the hotel, checked out, then headed on over. I hadn’t realized how big the place actually was until I found myself lost. We spotted a group of people that we suspected were Pokemon fanatics…. the Ash costume was a dead giveaway. Inside, there was a guide standing near the entrance wearing a green Pokemon Staff t-shirt. He directed us to follow the previous crowd around the inside of the Gaylord to the area where Nintendo had set up their event.

When we got there, we found ourselves at the very back of a long long line of registrants. The line moved quickly, and we were both eventually registered and given a number and a matching wristband with the number and corresponding Pokemon. Inside there were multiple balloon representations of D/P/Pt Pokemon.  We also saw some characters as costumes walking about and taking pictures with children.  There was a snack bar set up, which we avoided.  We wandered a bit observing some of the convention center as we waiting for the selections to be posted.  Around 10am, the group was all called to take a massive picture, followed by a dance competition.  Pikachu was seen getting his groove on.  And then, the selections were posted on the screens scattered about the hall.

Neither Taterbud or I were selected to participate.  It was a very disappointing feeling.  I had spent a couple of months breeding and training for this event.  In fact, as soon as the event was posted on the forums, I gave Taterbud a call and told her that we were going, and I started planning right then and there.  Yet, the trip wasn’t a total waste.  As soon as we found out we weren’t accepted into the competition, we immediately got in line for the main reason on why we went…. Shiny Milotics!  These were given out via a GBA slot device.  This way, no one could pick up more than one.  Once you recieved your Milotic, your wrist band was cut so that they knew not to give you another.  We saw brief glimpses of a couple of battles on the screens while we stood in line.  Immediately the first person was eliminated, and I was just happy it wasn’t me.

We received our Milotics and proceeded out of the Nintendo area and back out into the rest of the Opry.  It was a beautiful place, with shops and restaurants and hotel rooms, with balconies that allowed the residents to observe the people below.  We found our way back to the car after exploring and taking pictures.  It was an awesome experience, and I can’t wait until next year when I can try again.  At least now I have a team already bred and trained.  Plus we both ended up with VGC09 Shiny Milotics, which less than 1500 were estimated to have been given away total at all the events combined.  We started our journy back home, waving goodbye to Nashville, and eventually Tennessee.

More pictures can be seen here: MissingNo.’s Photo Album

Editor’s note: A few minor corrections were required after posting. It was The Pokemon Company International and not Nintendo that held the event and the 128 number applied to each age group and was not a total count. We apologize for the mistake and those who made the mistake have been sentenced to five minutes in a room with a hungry Munchlax whilst covered in Honey and sprinkled with Poffins.

Posted by MissingNo. | Filed Under News