Results[]
Ulti's Analysis[]
Division | 6 |
---|---|
Match # | 23 |
Match Date | Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 |
Oracle Expectations |
Tidus - 36.02% Pikachu - 28.27% Serge - 18.84% Isaac - 16.71% |
GameFAQs Expectations |
Pikachu first place (2pts) - 58.75% Pikachu second place (1pt) - 23.02% Tidus second place (2pts) - 55.00% Tidus first place (1pt) - 23.35% |
Advancing Prediction |
Pikachu - 81.77% (30,029) Tidus - 78.35% (28,773) |
This was the second match in a row with a Square character completely crapping the bed, though in Tidus's defense here this wasn't entirely his fault. Given how bad Pokemon was contest-wise for years and years on this site, the rise of the series took everyone by storm. Specifically, the rise of Pikachu himself totally shocked people (<_<).
There was also the issue of who Pikachu and Tidus were dealing with. Isaac may be Nintendo, but he's more "JRPG" than he is "Nintendo". He may have actually hurt Tidus in this poll more than Pikachu, and yes I'm aware Pokemon is technically a JRPG. Then you have Serge in there, another Square JRPG lead, and on top of all this is the fact people don't like Tidus very much. The stew was all there for Tidus to underperform badly, and Pikachu just grabbed the torch and ran with it. It was the second time in as many matches where people were expecting Square > obvious second place but instead got the Square character sucking it up in second place. But at the very least, Tidus had several excuses. Balthier had zero. It's also easy to remember Pikachu winning three matches two years in a row and realize he's legit, but at the time people were freaking out over him having this crazy good luck.
Remember, Leon Kennedy and Vivi were guaranteed to get through the match right after this. Vivi and Tidus in a poll together? Ouch, maybe Pikachu could advance again! See a lot of people weren't yet warmed up to the idea of Pikachu being strong, and people didn't fully come around on him until he slayed the dragon (L-Block) in 2008. Until then, lots of people were annoyed with his run here.
Stats and Analysis[]
- Pikachu overperformed by +8.35%, the #8 most impressive performance of 2007
- Serge underperformed by -4.91%, the #18 most disappointing performance of 2007
about five minutes before this match, I got an awful feeling in my stomach that Pikachu was going to win this with ease, and he did. completely unexpected given Pikachu's pathetic history, but if you've seen Pokemon's rise from anti-vote magnet to legit series over the past five years, you'll believe it. Pikachu came out, starting whooping Tidus and never looked back. boring match.
the interesting part was how to explain this - Tidus getting held down by Serge (and Isaac, to a lesser extent)? Tidus sucking ass? Pikachu being legit? there was no way to tell, but one thing was certain - people were pissed. Pikachu had gone from anti-vote magnet to a very likely possibility to place second thanks to Tidus and Vivi splitting votes next round. people were scared to death because of this possibility.