That's "Professor John" to you!

I'm probably the only one that really cares, but I'm really happy to have finally passed the incredibly difficult exam required to become a part of the Pokémon Organized Play Professor Program - which means I am now qualified to judge tournaments and receive cool bonuses for participating as a judge or organizer for Leagues and events.

Well, I'm excited anyway! :D

Session organized for the 2nd!

Just a quick post to bring attention to the updated sessions in the sidebar of the webpage - the session on the 2nd is a Monday just so we get a session before the 8th! :)

Hope to see you all there!

League Session of December 18th

Our last league session of the year brought us (as ever!) a ton of enthusiastic players, and even more competitive Pokémon video game players! It was lovely to see all the new players that we had, and watching our collective game improve. I think every week the League participants become noticeably better at the games, and that's delightful to see.

I'm going to try and organize a session for the 2nd so we can have some post-Christmas new deck action up ins, and hopefully Cameron Toll Food Court will be okay with that. I'm looking forward to seeing the awesome new strategies and decks everyone builds in the New Year!

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to you all!

Cumbernauld City Championship Report

Today Neil, Julia and I competed in the City Championships in Cumbernauld. It was my first time at the Cumbernauld Pokemon League, but I had met Gordon, the organizer previously when he and a couple of other league members visited our League. It was incredible to see so many players trading, preparing, and practicing for a competition. I also spoke with Gordon about organizing pre-release events and tournaments in Edinburgh, which I'm sure you'll agree is very exciting.

I would give a round-by-round recap of my personal experience of the tournament, but I suspect it would be tedious. I had a bunch of tense games, losing in the first round but eventually winning all my remaining games in the tournament. Neil was dealing with a largely new deck and had a few losses, but I was lucky enough to watch his final match against David and his Chandelure deck, and it was pretty gripping stuff. Unfortunately I never got to witness any of Julia's matches, though I know she had a win or two as well by the end. Overall, Edinburgh players made a fantastic showing!

Tomorrow is our last League Session of the year - I hope to see you all there!

League Session of December 11th

After two weeks since the last League Session it was very nice to be back at Cameron Toll - and the new League members didn't disappoint! A number of new sign-ups joined us today, and some of the skills we saw at both the trading card game and the video game were very impressive.

I will be competing in the Cumbernauld City Championships next Saturday at the Cumbernauld Pokemon League, and any players with a POP ID and a deck are able to enter for a five pound entry fee. This will be my first sanctioned tournament, and I look forward cheerfully to being thrashed in the first round. :)

Next week's session is double points again, so I expect to be awarding Basic Badges left and right after this week's progress! Next week is also officially the final session of the Basic Badge, and as we have no League on Christmas Day, the first session of the Insect Season will be on New Year's Day from 11-3. I hope to see you all there!

Double Points Sessions - back-to-back!

A quick update to say that not only is the League session of the 11th going to be double points, but the session on the 18th will also be double points, as there will be no session on the 25th! A great opportunity for all League members!

League Session of November 27th

A slightly shorter session this week, but no less exciting for it. I was lucky enough to be able to observe and help with rules on a few matches before enough players arrived that I got a game. Our first player received their Basic badge (Congratulations to Julia!) and others are getting closer by the session.

Because we have no League next week (on the 4th) The session on the 11th will be the final session of the Basic season before we dive into the Insect season. Trainers will want to attend on the 11th, as we will have a double points session, so it's a great opportunity to get your promo cards and badge!

For all those players that have yet to register on the Pokemon website with your Player ID, please do so as soon as possible - it allows accurate reporting, and the more players that are registered the less hassle there will be with materials for the next season.

League Session of November 20th

Wow, a very busy, fast, and furious session at the League today! Many new faces coming to join us (Daniel, Neil, Robin, Bryden, and Tom!) who brought a great array of skill levels and enthusiasm along with them. A few of our players are well on their way to the Basic Badge, and more than a few Watchogs were won in the course of the day.

The session next week is only from 11AM - 2PM due to unusual work obligations from myself - please take note!

League pins and kits have arrived!

The Basic season is upon us, and promo cards for the season have finally arrived, along with scorecards and pins for both Trio and Basic seasons. I look forward to awarding Trio badges to the trainers that are waiting for them tomorrow!

Welcome Trainers!

Welcome to the Edinburgh Pokemon League blog! We've only been going for just over a month now, but we have a great little group of committed players and want interested kids and adults to join us. We have members of a range of ages and skill levels, admission is free, and we meet on a weekly basis at Cameron Toll Shopping Centre's food court. Stop by if you can!