The ONOG Invitational just concluded and all eight trainers put in a spectacular performance. With eight of the best trainers gathered in one spot to do battle, the ONOG Invitational promised to be a Pokémon tournament to remember. It did not disappoint.
While there was no shortage of talent, one trainer rose above all others in a masterful show of command over his Pokémon. Shoma “SHADEviera” Honami crushed foe after foe on his way to claim the championship in this GEICOGaming sponsored invitational tournament.
Shoma ran a unique team including a Rain Dance packing Drifblim support, slow and bulky Tapu Lele, and a fan favorite Magnezone. While somewhat unorthodox, Shoma showed he was in total control each step of the way.
A first game sweep against Alex Ogloza would see Shoma move on to the Group B Winner’s match. A place he earned after revealing Rain Dance tech’d onto his Drifblim to counter Alex’s Torkoal, a play that sent the audience into shock. With Shoma’s expert reads and unexpected strategies, Alex had little chance at victory.
Although easily securing himself a spot in the Group B Winner’s match, Shoma would find himself against a fierce competitor for Group B’s title. Enosh Shachar, commanding a powerful AFK core, coming off a victory against Markus “Yoshi” Stadter, promised to give Shoma a difficult challenge.
Three games later, Enosh’s AFK core proved too powerful for Shoma to overcome. Enosh earned his will deserved place in the semi-finals, while Shoma resolved to make a comeback in Day 2’s deciding match.
With the dawn of Day 2, Shoma found himself staring down the great Markus Stadter for one last chance to progress to the semi-finals. Like Enosh before him, Markus was using an AFK core. Though unlike Enosh, Markus would fail to overcome the onslaught Shoma had waiting for him. Markus tried valiantly to withstand Shoma’s might, but between the crushing blows from Gyarados and the psychic blasts from Tapu Lele, Markus’s Pokémon found themselves broken and shattered.
Markus defeated and victory claimed in his deciding match, Shoma marched fearlessly onto the semi-finals. Post Group play matches where to be best of five, and for his match, Shoma would be facing the fan favorite.
Dan “aDrive” Clap, The Shiny Pokémon Hunter, had broken all the odds and found himself face to face with one of the greatest VGC trainers on the planet. Although aDrive gave it his all, in the face of Shoma’s gathering fury, Dan “aDrive” Clap could not weather the growing tempest. Three matches in a row aDrive would fall, fans silent in their remorse as their hero picked himself up. aDrive would not make it to the finals, but he had proven his position at the top of the VGC.
Countless opponents littered the field as two trainers prepared to face off for the finals. Shoma and Aaron “Cybertron” Zheng both readied for what would be one of the greatest matches in VGC history. In five short rounds, the world would bear witness to the culmination of GEICOGaming’s expertly crafted competition.
Shoma only needed three rounds. His spirit swelling into a maelstrom, Shoma mercilessly ran through each one of Aaron’s Pokémon. One after another fell as the crowd went wild, and soon after the series started it was quite apparent who the winner would be. Shoma “SHADEviera” Honami proved in the face of all odds, that he is truly one of the best Pokémon trainers playing in the VGC. He is also one of the most entertaining trainers to watch.
GEICOGaming should be extremely proud of the tournament they sponsored. Congratulations to Shoma for an expert display and masterful victory. Also a humongous thank you has to go out to ONOG, GEICOGaming. As well as each of the eight amazing trainers, and every person who contributed to putting the broadcast together. The competitive Pokémon community thanks you from the bottoms of our hearts. Now lets do it again!
All images courtesy @ONOGesports
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