As I mentioned last week, today I’m diving into my experience at the Pokémon TCG Regional Championships in Atlanta. Buckle up—this one might get long.
Regionals are the highest level of competition I’ve ever faced—and honestly, probably ever will. These massive events bring in thousands of players from around the country, all chasing that sweet $10,000 prize (plus, an absurd number of booster packs, which is sick). I was one of those thousands. With the Pokémon TCG growing like crazy, each regional seems to set a new attendance record. This time, 3,600 people registered, making it—once again—the biggest regional of all time.
Since Ancient Box is fully out of the meta, I had to finally put on my big boy pants and commit to a 2-Prize deck. Raging Bolt was something I played on and off while Ancient Box was still viable, but now I had to go all in. Raging Bolt is a powerhouse Basic EX Pokémon that can KO anything in the game. Its attack, Bellowing Thunder, deals 70 damage for each energy you discard from your Pokémon. This synergizes perfectly with Teal Mask Ogerpon EX, whose ability Teal Dance lets you attach a Grass Energy from your hand and draw a card.
The deck has remained strong post-rotation, though losing Radiant Greninja and PokéStop definitely hurt. Most players now opt for the Noctowl engine, which lets you search out any two Trainer cards (as long as you evolve Hoothoot with a Tera Pokémon on the field). It’s flexible, sure, but in my opinion, it kills the deck’s core identity. Raging Bolt wants to be hyper-aggressive. Turn 1 KOs are the dream—and with Noctowl, you’re basically punting your first turn like every other deck. Evolution lines are fine and all, but if you’re playing Raging Bolt like that, you're just a worse version of the other top decks. So I cut the owls. (Feel free to ignore my take, since everyone else is running owls.)
Day 1 – Let’s Get Into It
I’m only covering the Pokémon part of my weekend in Atlanta, so let’s jump right in. Day 1 of a Regional Championship consists of 8–10 “Swiss” rounds of best-of-three matches. Translation: a long-ass day playing with shiny cardboard encased in colorful plastic.
I woke up at 6:30 a.m., took a shower, and enjoyed a latte that Lizzie graciously made for me (shoutout Lizzie). I arrived at the Georgia World Congress Center at 7:30 on the dot, fully locked in. My goals for the day were simple:
Win at least a few rounds and finish with a positive record.
Meet Chip Richey aka Trainer Chip, co-host of the niche-but-excellent Pokémon TCG podcast Uncommon Energy, which Lucas and I listen to weekly. (The other host, AzulGG, a cracked player we both love watching, didn’t attend this event—which was a bummer. But if I could meet Chip, that would already be 50% of my goals checked.)
Round 1
Pairings were posted at 8:30 a.m. and I was READY. I weaved through the crowd of thousands to my table and—surprise!—ran into Bryan, a friend I play with back home in Tampa. We exchanged a few words before my actual opponent showed up.
This guy seemed cool, but his playmat was... a choice. Anime girl with massive boobs, cowboy hat, American flag background. Bold. The judges didn’t say anything, so I guess it was allowed.
He was running Gholdengo, a Stage 1 EX that, like Raging Bolt, dishes out damage based on energy. The key difference? Instead of discarding attached energy, you chuck it from your hand—50 damage per energy. Not a terrible matchup for me, but I wasn’t expecting any turn 1 KOs since he likely wouldn’t bench any basic 2-Prize Pokémon.
Game 1 was smooth sailing—he had a slow start and I capitalized.
In game 2, my draw wasn’t awful, but it was weak. He secured the first 2-Prize KO, which is a death sentence in the prize trade. I scooped once I missed the return KO and he went up 4–2.
Game 3 was more of the same: he struck first, and I couldn’t recover.
A tough start.
Record: 0–1
Round 2
My next opponent sat down and immediately started blabbering about how he should’ve won his last round and how the guy who beat him was "really bad" and stood "no chance." Instant red flag. He was playing Tera Box, a deck brewed up by none other than the GOAT himself—Tord Reklev. It’s a flexible toolbox deck filled with various Tera Pokémon and powered by the Noctowl engine. It’s got answers for everything and solid matchups across the board. Personally? I think it’s a little overrated, but in the hands of a good player (like Lucas), it’s terrifying.
In game 1, I had a slow start. Couldn’t get much energy on board and couldn’t draw cards to dig out of it. He repeatedly blew me up with Pikachu EX, which I have a counter for—but it was chilling in my prize cards.
Game 2, same story. I was stuck using Burst Roar, Raging Bolt’s alternate attack that lets you discard your hand and draw six. He took the first 2-Prize KO again, and I never recovered. A quick 0-2 round.
After the match, he launched into a monologue about every regional he’s ever played and every “big name” he’s played against. I was checked out. Hit him with a few “Damn, that’s crazy” lines hoping he’d wrap it up, but he kept going. Too nice to walk away.
Anyway—bad vibes, bad round. Time to lock in.
Record: 0–2
Round 3
Welcome to the shitter bracket. At this point, I’m hoping for a softer matchup to regain some confidence.
My opponent sits down—also from Tampa, though we hadn’t met before. He’s playing Tank Terapagos, an archetype I like. It uses Bouffalants and Bravery Charms to push Terapagos EX up to a whopping 340 HP. Back when I played Ancient Box, this would’ve been a nightmare. But with Raging Bolt, I can deal as much damage as needed.
In game 1, we both had slow starts. A few turns in, after a second back-to-back Burst Roar, he had the chance to attack but just... didn’t. That gave me time to build energy on my Ogerpons and grab a Boss’s Orders to take the first KO. He let me build for too long, and I rolled to a win.
Game 2, same deal. He played super passive, letting me do whatever I wanted. Another easy dub. Pros of the shitter bracket, baby—LFG.
Record: 1–2
Round 4
Paired against Gregory Hirsch (yes, not the Succession character, this one’s real), who was an extremely nice guy from Washington. He was playing a Feraligatr deck—a super fun concept, not super viable. It’s a single-prize deck that can hit big numbers, but the problem for me was Mimikyu. This annoying little dude is immune to damage from my Raging Bolts and Ogerpons.
In game 1, I tried gusting around Mimikyu to KO other Pokémon, but he didn’t bench enough for me to win before I ran out of steam.
In game 2, I switched things up with Mew EX, whose attack Genome Hacking lets me copy Mimikyu’s attack. Since Mimikyu places damage counters (not “damage”), Mew can hit it back. But then he slapped a Lux Cape on it, meaning Mew would need three attacks to take a KO. Mimikyu struck first, so the trade was in his favor.
Eventually, I went back to gusting around it. In the final turn of time, I snagged my last prize card with Raging Bolt. Huge. Tied the match 1–1. I should’ve lost, but my Mew plan worked well enough. Hope for Day 2 was still alive—I just had to win five in a row.
Record: 1–2–1
Round 5
Bathroom break, hand wash, all fresh. I walk out and there he is—Chip Richey in the flesh. The Trainer Chip. He was chatting with someone post-interview since stream matches hadn’t started yet. I waited a second, then went up and told him my brother and I were big fans. Asked for a quick photo—he said yes. 50% of my goals, were achieved.
Time for Round 5. The deck I was most worried about: was Dragapult. It’s easily the best deck in the format and the most played one, too. Lucas helped me practice the matchup a ton, so I was feeling okay.
In game 1, I did everything right—avoided KOing Budew (the most annoying card ever printed), and attached Bravery Charms to Mew EX and Squawkabilly EX to avoid giving up six prizes at once. (I won’t go into detail, but trust me, Dragapult can do that.) Took Game 1 easily.
Game 2, same result. Hit 320 damage when I needed to, and even when he played Unfair Stamp, it didn’t slow me down. Turns out, the owl-less build is better into Dragapult. Learned something new.
Record: 2–2–1
Round 6
At this point, I felt confident. I knew that if I kept playing clean, kept my pace steady, and cracked open another Red Bull, I could make Day 2.
My opponent was playing another Tank Terapagos deck, but in Game 1 his start was so bad I couldn’t even tell what he was running. I thought it was some weird janky version of Tera Box. I took Game 1 without breaking a sweat.
Game 2, he finally benched some Bouffalants, and it clicked—this was, in fact, Terapagos. He built a super strong board while I floundered, so I scooped early to leave time for Game 3.
Game 3 went my way. My draws were solid, and he never disrupted my hand after Turn 3—which is crucial. If you let me hold my hand past Turn 3, it’s usually game over.
Another win in the books, and another dream of Day 2 crushed by Raging Bolt.
Record: 3–2–1
Round 7
Hello again, Gholdengo. A fun deck for sure—but it’s got a big problem: not enough Basics.
In game 1, my opponent opened Lone Gimmighoul and just attached an energy and passed. If I could get the Turn 1 KO, I’d win instantly. With the help of Crispin, I did exactly that. Two-minute game. Wild.
In game 2, he chose to go second but still didn’t find an Arven, Buddy-Buddy Poffin, Nest Ball, or any extra Basics. Once again, it was lone Gimmighoul vs. my Turn 1 setup. Crispin was back, and boom—another instant win.
A six-minute round total. Bless. Got some extra time to breathe, re-center, and realize that if I win two more rounds, I’m in. I did feel bad for the guy I donked twice—but hey, that’s the game.
Record: 4–2–1
Round 8
Out of my seven rounds so far, only one had been against Dragapult, which felt suspicious. I knew I was due for another—and yep, that’s what I got. My opponent seemed familiar, but I was too locked in to care.
Game 1 was a total blowout in my favor. He never even got a Dragapult on the board. I hunted his lone Drakloak every time, and he scooped quickly.
Game 2 was smoother than Game 1 for both of us, but I had my Bravery Charms in place and played around Unfair Stamp like a champ. He got the Dragapults online this time, but couldn’t deal with my setup. The Charms on Squawkabilly and Mew completely messed up his math, and he couldn’t find a way around it.
And just like that, I was 2–0 against Dragapult. Four wins in a row.
Record: 5–2–1
Round 9 – The Win & In
Confidence? Through the roof. I felt untouchable. My brothers were hyping me up, I was strutting through the venue with “Cherry Bomb” in my ears, praying for a favorable matchup.
Then I saw it—my opponent flipped over their starter and a chill went down my spine: Gardevoir. The absolute last thing I wanted to see. If my opponent was even half decent, this would be a nightmare.
Game 1 went weirdly well for me—he bricked, and I took it cleanly. I just needed one more win to make Day 2.
Game 2 dragged forever, and once I saw he had a clear route to victory, I scooped to save time. Game 3 started with about 12 minutes on the clock—not ideal.
The constant Iono spam wore me down, and my hand kept getting reset to 2–4 cards. Deep into Game 3, time was called. I was turn 0, so I had one last full turn to take the final two prize cards. I KO’d his Clefairy, leaving me two short.
Then, he did exactly what I hoped he wouldn’t: took out my active Raging Bolt. Easy for him. Just like that, my Day 2 dream died.
Record: 5–3–1
After the loss, I told my brothers I didn’t make it—but I was still proud. Starting 0–2 and clawing my way to a win-and-in was something I never thought I’d do. I hit both of my goals: I met Trainer Chip, and I ended the day with a positive record.
I’m super happy with my performance. I trusted the owl-less Raging Bolt build, and it trusted me back. Thanks for coming along with me through a 9-round, 12.5-hour marathon of shiny cardboard and colorful plastic.
Below are all of my matchups and my decklist if any of you are interested
5-3-1
606th
