Pokémon VGC Players Torn Over Sacramento Regional Ruling That Left a Trainer With One Less Pokemon
Over the weekend, competitor Brian Collins was given a harsh penalty for something that many trainers felt wasn’t a big deal. On Day 1, Collins qualified for Day 2 with a record 8-1-0, making him a top finisher. His roster was checked the following day and judges quickly took notice of one of his Pokémon’s nicknames.
Pokemon
Collins had a Gallade on his team that was nicknamed Ceruledge. While written in quotation marks and clearly some sort of inside joke, judges pointed out that it’s against Pokémon’s regulations to name a Pokémon after another Pokémon due to the confusion it may cause.
In response to seeing the broken rule, judges ultimately ruled that Collins had to remove the ‘mon entirely from his roster for the rest of the day.
(This tweet aged poorly)
Despite the major setback, Collins was able to make it to the Top 8 with just five Pokémon on his team. Even though Collins defied all expectations, the community was not happy with staff for the very harsh judgment.
While some players felt it was a “major issue” and a possible cheating attempt, most trainers were frustrated with how harsh the punishment was. Last season, a similar incident with a regulation-breaking Arcanine nickname ultimately led to a warning. This time around, a ‘mon was taken away from Collins’ team.
Nobody argued that it was against the official rules but wondered why it resulted in such a game-breaking and possibly regional-shattering result.
“Very lame to make a player lose a Pokémon just for having a questionable nickname. Just have them change it. If it's not affecting gameplay (and doesn't even show up on stream) why is it worth a Pokémon disqualification?” one player wondered.
Another felt that Pokémon was trying to make an example out of Collins.
One trainer even pointed out that Collins only changed the nickname for the screenshot he shared on Twitter and then immediately changed it back.
Still, the ‘mon community felt that it was easy to just stick to the guidelines and avoid punishment altogether. Pokémon is known for its inconsistent and harsh punishments, so why take the risk, some noted.
