# (1)Sora vs (9)Pokemon Trainer Red 2018

_source: (1)Sora vs (9)Pokemon Trainer Red 2018 (revid 84050)_

## Ulti's Analysis

I know Charizard looked weak in round one, but after what Pikachu had just done the writing was kinda sorta on the wall for this upset to occur. Most of us saw it coming pre-contest, but the main point in Sora's favor was the Kingdom Hearts 3 hype. Remember, Kingdom Hearts the original was the game that everyone credited for the 2003 contest being so heavily weighted toward Squaresoft results. Yet 15 years later, and here we are with Sora unable to beat a mute Pokemon trainer right after getting a hype video. Not that he didn't try, so let's get to the actual match. I have a thing to explain here anyway.

The final score looks close, but the early parts of the match were not. After a few small hiccups early with either small gains or random Sora pushes, Red started taking off in a flash and got a 250 vote lead. Then just as quickly, it looked like things were wearing off and the night was kicking in. Pokemon has these random spots where it's awful at night -- one of the few trends where our old JUST WAIT TIL THE KIDDIES WAKE UP 2002 meme still applies -- and it looked possible here. Sora blasted over 100 votes off that lead in under an hour, and it legitimately looked like he might win the match.

So I rallied the Pokemon subreddit. Fuck it. Don't care. I made one topic around 9:30 when Sora was making his push, and I made another for the morning vote. Both were deleted eventually, but they were both viewed a few thousand times and it clearly made the difference. Could Sora have won otherwise? Would someone else have rallied? Don't know, don't care. Red is a better character from a better series. I don't dislike Sora, but I'm over having to choke on Tetsuya Nomura's vomit any time I play a Kingdom Hearts game these days. Had that series stopped at 2, we're good. But it didn't, so I give no fucks. Justice done, justice served. The final score of this poll was close, but Sora was never in contention of winning. The best he could manage is shaving off 150 votes, but you can believe I was ready for more Pokemon subreddit topics with throwaway accounts just in case. Sora was not winning this match.

What's extra hilarious about this is all the people who whined over that rally were all over hentai subreddits asking for Tifa votes later on in this contest, or the people not doing that were supporting the people doing it. You either support rallying or you don't. You don't get to have two standards and only like rallies when it benefits a character or game you like. Don't be a hypocritical douchebag. I support rallies, so I like all of them. Hearthstone or Shadow of the Colossus could win a contest tomorrow with rallies and I would support it, because I'm not a punk.

This would mark only the third time a 1 seed has lost to the 8/9 winner. Before the 2015 games contest, it had never happened. In that contest, it happened twice. Pokemon Red Blue Yellow Green Teal Orange Mauve Off-White Neon Beige Subtitle Psychic Olive ver 1.3x \#RReload Socket beat Mario 3, and Mario RPG beat GTA5: Casual Gaming is Bad Edition. Add Red beating Sora to the list. All three involve Nintendo pulling the upset, though in only one of those matches (Mario 3) did the 1 seed actually deserve their seeding and eat a legitimate upset. Sora and any GTA are just undeserving of that spot, as we've seen multiple times.

## Safer777's Analysis

KH 3 boost man! Yeah I am jesting of course. Well this match was somewhat debatable. We thought that with KH 3 hype Sora would win because who cares about Human Pokemon characters? Seriously. But as you see Red won even though the match was close. I know in the previous contest Sora lost to a Pokemon character again but there were rallies back then. Red had a big lead but Sora started fighting back and was either cutting or stalling. Man after all these years and KH still can come back with ASV.  If that thing even exists anymore. Kiddies have smartphones now from what people told me. So Sora was dissapointing again. Also he is the first 1 Seed to lose and in  Round 2 too! Come on now!

I guess if KH 3 was out he would win for sure. But at least the match was good. Also Pokefear baby! Pokemons always win! Except when they don't. Also for Sora he always has a high seed in these things. I guess people really like KH series? Plus Sora has  NEVER won a division! Seriously! And he is always overseeded. Guess when KH 3 comes out he is bound to gain some power for sure.

## Tsunami's Analysis

This was another match where the registered and unregistered voters went in different directions, but Red would've still narrowly won without the registered vote bonus. Very narrowly.

Sora 10508 Red 10566

Yeah that's narrow. Still, this wasn't exactly a wide margin, either.

Sora was the Guru favorite to win this division, which seems wrong to me. Though there weren't really any proven winners in the group. Nearly half the division had been to Round 3 of a contest at least once prior to this year. Based on the huge drop in prediction percentage, along with some other extrapolating based on the prediction percentages for Red in Round 3 and Alucard in Round 4, he was probably the casual favorite, too.

...Huh. Sora's record is better than I thought it was. He's never been to Round 4, but this is the earliest he's exited since *2003*, his first year in the contest. It's been Round 3 exits ever since--and for once, I don't have to say "not including Rivalry Rumble" because he and Riku made it to Round 3 in that as well. Nearly upset Squall/Seifer, too; it's the closest Sora's ever come to Squall (though they've never met in a true 1v1, Sora having advanced in second place behind Squall in Round 2 of *both* fourway contests to allow for four total matches in those two years.) If Bacon ever decides to do another gimmick contest like that one, Sora might actually win in a couples contest; I'm almost certain that Rinoa would hold Squall back even more than Seifer and Kairi actually reached Round 2 in the Female bracket, and not by beating some other fodder that only made the bracket because of the gender segregation. She beat Claire Redfield, who regularly makes the bracket when it's not gender-balanced and made it to Round 2 this year.

Red has quietly amassed a rather impressive resume himself. He's never lost in Round 1 and it usually takes nothing short of a Noble Niner or the equivalent thereof (yes, I'm still sticking with the X ≈ Mega Man theory) to finally take him out. Of course, quietly is the only way Red knows how to do anything :)