This is the best play ever made

[@kicked6916]

And then he sacrifices.. THE ROOK!

[@justanormalname3747]

Goddamn that fits so well here

[@thundergamespt99]

Thats the best comment ive read this week, ty. Its such a great joke....

[@FreebieGamingRBLX]

This is a certified GothamChess moment

[@KirmpiBeLike]

Facts

[@eljefedagoat]

this is exactly what I was thinking when I saw this

[@Anthony-eg3qd]

Stakataka was prolly pissed tho

[@beeniecat9411]

Traitor

[@_-Dante-_]

funniest comment 🏆

[@Synoh]

Stakataka is a steel type🤐

[@KirmpiBeLike]

Can't be mad when your dead

[@anujsingh333]

A pissed off winner

[@wizzzard999]

Kaiba: "Now I sacrifice Obelisk to summon Blue eyes!"

[@yuno-hx3he]

"I TRIBUTE GOD TO SUMMON BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON" "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK-"

[@JB-om9pb]

​@@yuno-hx3he It's the best play 😂😂😂

[@extensivity29]

Yessss this should be the top comment!

[@blueinky9052]

“IM SACRIFICING GOD!”

[@Coolthings246]

I remember the anime for the fact they had a card game over his little brothers life or something like that💀💀

[@MrSirFluffy]

Kartana: "Sorry, paper beats rock."

[@druid_zephyrus]

Underrated comment

[@thecoconutman2646]

lmao

[@dednoodl6356]

Yujiro: are you sure rock beats scissors?

[@mr_inconspicuous]

Kartana is scissors though

[@thecoconutman2646]

@@mr_inconspicuous paper scissors

[@s.e.n3264]

So.... he faked out a fake out, so he can fake out.

[@Warlord_Megatron]

truly one of the fake outs of all time

[@BadFriend145]

👏 🎯

[@maxrodriguez889]

@@Warlord_Megatrontruly THE fake out of all time

[@EwanPlaysGames-np8br]

💀💀💀💀💀

[@haydeniskander5306]

Yo dawg, I heard you like Fake Outs!

[@Axelpvz2030]

For reasons like this is why being able to attack your own pokemon in doubles actually adds to the format

[@Tchnfrq]

id give it 50/50 odd thatgamefreak put it in on accident, didnt fix it and the player base turned it into a feature making game freak look genius.

[@ProfessorThinker-zv5vt]

​@@Tchnfrqnah. It was intended. They are on the record talking about it. You are mad jealous simply said.

[@nousername191]

@@Tchnfrq No, it was always intended. There were abilities as far back as Gen 3 like flash fire where it's worth hitting your own ally to give them the boost.

[@CrypticNazo]

It's also just easier to code it like this since there's moves like helping hand to buff your teammate. Just give everything the same targeting code. Saves slightly on cartridge space, while simply just being less work. They had no reason to do anything different.

[@dandylion4037]

Heal Pulse exist

[@kosco1151]

If you ever feel like your life is hard, remember Stakataka had to fight a 5v1.

[@Tree511]

4v1 actually

[@raphaelsouza8234]

4 bro

[@samdomingo.]

6v1 add both trainers

[@Blade.5786]

​@@Tree511Nah he had to fight himself too, internal conflict

[@theflamingarrowgaming7254]

@@Blade.5786So, with that, plus everything that’s been said, plus the total number of viewers, because they also root against him, 309,007 v 1

[@nuttmann]

"some of you may die. but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make." - Lord Farquaad

[@gamesterd5360]

"As a friend, you are...replaceable. Farewell." - Kartana Pokemon

[@Erikk_is_Tired]

Kartana then sacrifices the rest of its team for extra beast boosts to only then lose to a 4% crit in true Excelemblem fashion

[@chrisc4208]

Tommy himself dies from a 1% crit brain aneurysm in true excelblem fashion

[@phoeinxdrop2300]

If you want to be lore accurate type that in reverse and then it’s perfectly accurate

[@swordspace2000]

you're proposal is acceptable.

[@womanofdemise1661]

"Sa a dneirf, uoy era elbaecalper. Lleweraf."-🟠⚪✂️

[@29shrek8]

imagine he makes that insane play and he double protects both his pokemon

[@garvchaturvedi1018]

This

[@mahapatrasohamm]

The level of rage and disappointment he must feel if it happens , words can’t explain it

[@notster7114]

you dont need to imagine it thats literally what happened??

[@symawi312]

​@@notster7114 Nono if he had done it again and gotten the 1/9 odds

[@PoorEdward]

@@notster7114double protects as in for a second turn

[@samthebagman4643]

Straight up Kaiba sacrificing Obelisk the Tormentor for Blue Eyes moment

[@Jreaddy]

That’s a high IQ play, I don’t watch comp Pokemon but this seems like dude deserved that win for sure, predicted the opponent perfectly.

[@celestialdemon5726]

If a trainer did this in the Pokemon anime, I can imagine the outrage.

[@Monty2289]

That would have been hype af. This is why Paul was good pre league defeat because bro was literally us. Catching Starlys and if he didn't like their move sets he let them go, Harming his own mon to activate Blaze. That's literally what this guy did here.

[@mashur4880]

@@Monty2289i think paul is one of the few people to beat team rocket on screen without ash’s help. Too. They are admins and good at their jobs off screen.

[@Svue071]

It wasn't exactly the same but I think of Ash's Pikachu Swellow thunder combo. It was so bs and so unexpected lol

[@llominous3495]

Irl competitive Pokemon players would just be abusing their mons if Pokemon was real

[@SoftwareLearningify]

Either that or the crowd would get angry, but kartana and stakataka are buddys so they chill

[@bailysmith9398]

That's actually an insane play

[@enchilada7765]

grammar police

[@ultra_5488]

...

[@xTiddi]

*writes ticket.. "an" *drives away

[@bailysmith9398]

Lol I'll fix it officer I swear

[@xTiddi]

@@bailysmith9398 I'll let this one slide. But please be careful next time.

[@brandongalvan6603]

Kartana: "Again! Again! I cut a worthless object!" Stakataka, its friend: "Dafuq?"

[@baeruttgaming4779]

This is a LEGENDARY play. I've seen it so many times and I never get tired of it

[@shayonmitra8337]

Pokemon is like chess if chess had a 1000 pieces and eating your own pieces was an option. Insane

[@veenadayma6514]

This description fits Pokémon so well, especially the VGC format.

[@shayonmitra8337]

@@veenadayma6514 IKR? Who would have thought a game with electric mice would be this complex

[@ramanahveljeyaseelan5406]

It also allows you to customize your peices.

[@veenadayma6514]

@@shayonmitra8337 Yep, so many insane strats, and so insane predictions, and yet many of my friends say that Pokémon is a children's game.

[@shayonmitra8337]

@@veenadayma6514 everything is a children's game if you are bad enough

[@nathiebear]

Bro literally sacrificed the rook

[@dragoniteisbased]

And then, he brings out, THE PAWN

[@Vexnatos]

no, he sacrificed THE ROOOOOOOOOOOOOK!!

[@basedduck224]

Stolen comment

[@snowshadow6598]

​@@basedduck224 you cant be named based if you break basic bro code.

[@anidiotusingyoutube]

Bro literally stole a comment, what a joke

[@TornadoHyenyaku]

This is why double is levels beyond single.

[@acramos6473]

love how pokémon battles is chess sometimes

[@enzoTHEferrari]

OMG Stakataka! I can’t believe my favourite Pokémon finally made it to pro pla- **instant knockout by own team**

[@hirokoaki]

lmao

[@danieljohnson9917]

Stakataka be ballin. I always name mine Henry.

[@colm7396]

@@danieljohnson9917my stakataka is named henry as well

[@firetornaddo9485]

Man that’s nuts, killing your own Pokémon is something that always amazes me

[@matthewhafner962]

Mario_sacrifices_Yoshi.jpg

[@AloIan_Vulpix]

Itachi moment

[@SuperLifestream]

being able to summon, recall, summon a new pokemon, and then resummon the first pokemon in 1 turn is proof the game has turned to shit

[@pi5927]

​@@SuperLifestream@SuperLifestreamt he first summon happened in the previous turn when another one of his Pokémon got knocked out. So this turn Is just recall, summon, knockout.

[@teen17]

@@SuperLifestream that stakataka had to die for the switch too occur it wasn’t a single turn.

[@jiandumanon7502]

Stakataka be punching air rn

[@samle9131]

That is god level chess right there sacrificing your own piece for the checkmate

[@ThatoneLlama]

Attacking your own team is probably the best feature for big brain competitive players

[@7oy]

My dumb kiddie brain used to wonder why I’d ever let my Pokémon hold an item that self inflicts itself with a burn/poison. Then I discovered professional plays.

[@SemiHypercube]

I love how they just let you attack your own Pokemon like this even though it usually ends up being useless, just in case something like this scenario happens

[@THEpicND]

I has some uses beyond this niche. For example hitting your own Pokémon with weaknesses policy to get a stat boost

[@crispyfries2454]

beat up terrakion is another possible use also works with weakness policy annihilape and froslass using icy wind on fire paldean tauros to activate anger point for +4 attack

[@Roman_the_black_cat]

​@@crispyfries2454 you mean frost breath, icy wind hits both opponents and lowers speed, it cant even hit ita allies with icy wind😅

[@chronosite]

I always remember Wolfey would pull off Aqua Jet on his own Coalossal to proc the steam engine ability and weakness policy in one go

[@jaxryz_380]

@@chronosite such a cool trick

[@FrostDzNz]

I will forever regret not getting into pokemon and competitive pokemon earlier. Its just so interesting!

[@niichiee]

man i just audibly gasped at what went down as you explained it. truly a 200 IQ moment

[@clarambrosia9834]

the awareness to even see this as an option is insane

[@Orangeninja5000]

Even worse because I think you only have like 60 seconds to decide, that man took those 60 seconds and was like "I'm about to end this other guy's whole career"

[@shiny_pigman4174]

@@Orangeninja5000 it’s actually 45 seconds so it is even crazier

[@aricodorado]

If I could, I would let this guy take every single choice I had in my life

[@LawsofPaul]

Tommy: knock out your own father for the insurance cash out.

[@sluna6434]

@@LawsofPaul I LAUGHED SO HARD

[@ZekuChanU]

Yeah if your life is turn base 😂

[@jasonstarrising]

He gonna invest your life savings into pokemon trading cards

[@Rose-yx6jq]

Now that's what I call a fake out.

[@jacksonholt4594]

He really gave em the Gamora treatment 💀

[@dfloriza]

i do wonder how many other pros would have seen this opening. that's truly a genius play

[@El_Kanto]

God damn. I would've already accepted my L in this situation, but it takes a professional to see that out in this moment.

[@takomut9200]

You sound like a 5:00 quitter in Pokemon Unite.

[@Warlord_Megatron]

​@@takomut9200 That's truly one of the insults of all time.

[@celestrius9197]

​@@Warlord_Megatron going to put that quote on my wall. Thank you Ghandi

[@TalkingVidya]

Pokémon is a lot like Fighting games, you may *think* you are in an un winnable situation, but the truth is the set is not over until all 4 mons are down.

[@faezzalhasyiemiealhasyier3582]

its my 3 against his 2,i wouldnt even know im on the unwinnable side 😂 😂

[@jackpottigertcg]

That's why Pokemon is a real e-sport! The IQ the game allows you to build in plays while also staying true and simple for beginners is the same as putting a basketball into a hoop.

[@SoraQuill]

True and simple? Ivs, evs, held items, multiple abilities, 1000+ pokemon, too many moves for me to bother remembering how many there are… physical special split, type advantages, stats, natures, mints, hyper training…

[@Vivi-xn9iz]

@@SoraQuill simple as in simple to get into the game. Any kid can pick up a pokemon game, press a move and more or less understand types, etc... It's a game that's simple to play but difficult to master

[@SoraQuill]

@@Vivi-xn9iz _Like Othello_

[@kazekizero]

feels like yu gi oh, sacrifice one to summon another well played

[@pyromaniac000000]

Yeah, no, agreed. Best play of all time. The hard read on his opponent, the brilliant sack, like that was clean, and turned a nearly sure fire loss into a clean dub!

[@pabloquinonez8679]

I love the creativity in professional pokemon, it's like goddamn, who would've thought? And under crazy amounts of pressure

[@bobjoe8182]

Would have been funny if the other guy just clicked flamethrower or whatever with charizard, not knowing incineroar got fake out

[@AutisticAl]

That's actually a goated play 😂 Like a damm chess player

[@boop53]

man, i miss kartana and all the ultra beasts. they were such cool pokemon in singles and doubles

[@shi-chan5779]

Another reason why gen 7 is my favorite gen

[@marioramirez6068]

They will return not this Gen but in the future. They always return. Megas will return too.

[@avaluggglazer445]

​@@marioramirez6068 Ultra beasts will definitely return of course. The copium to believe mega's will return after already having two gens is crazy though

[@boop53]

@@shi-chan5779 fr, one of my fave parts abt Gen 7 and 8 was just spamming choice scarf Blacephelon. It picked up one kill and it got beast boost, and it was basically game over

[@roulant694]

Idk for doubles but nah i don't want kartana in OU i tried it for a moment and victories felt undeserved (not at super high ladder tough)

[@jerrygoodman1943]

To quote fret from neo twewy, "galaxy brain, activate!!!"😂. That is a phenomenal play

[@DanielYuStar_Pachirisu_Feet]

noice reference fellow twewy fan

[@jerrygoodman1943]

@@DanielYuStar_Pachirisu_Feet why thank you. It was my goty for 2021

[@charlesruteal9062]

Fret took [spoiler]'s advice and focused.

[@stupidioeg855]

He legit just played the best uno reverse card in VGC

[@Pensive_Scarlet]

Definitely one of those "I read your book" moments.

[@koelee]

Yugi: "I cannot afford to lose. I switch my Kartana to Attack mode!" Mako: "Attack mode?! But why?! He cannot attack my Pokemon while they are protected!" Yugi: "But his target isn't your Pokemon. I'm having him attack a Pokemon I put on the field myself. Stakataka!" Mako: "No!" Yugi: "Now Kartana, destroy Stakataka!"

[@daemonmoreno9456]

死 (death)

[@highwaystar4518]

holy cow lmao

[@davidellett9316]

Man I had a game on Showdown once where I made a galaxy brain play to knock out my own pokemon which was just sitting on the field and I couldn't switch out because my opponent had a Gothitelle or Wobbuffet or something. Probably the best I've ever felt about winning a game.

[@Beeznuts-real]

Bro was like “YOU FOOL YOU FELL RIGHT INTO MY TRAP”

[@SrSamuerto]

In 2014 (or 2015?), in the great era of VGC, my friend had a Kangaskhan and an Aegislash. The opponent predicted a fake out from Mega Kangaskhan, and an attack from Aegislash, but my friend predicted that, and he didn't mega evolve his Kangaskhan and instead attacked his own Aegislash with a power up punch (thanks to regular Kan's ability to hit ghost types), which gave him a single attack boost, and Aegislash had Weakness Policy and was in shield mode, so it got little damage, a x2 in Attack and another x2 boost with a Sword Dance. He got to do that play on the stream/proyector on Barcelona's Manga con that year. It was really awesome.

[@KiyoshiroClips]

Stakataka: "i'll sacrifice for the team!"

[@knownevildoer]

bro really said "call an ambulance, call an ambulance! BUT NOT FOR ME"

[@bestpokemonplayerofolltime]

👎

[@Tomer4105]

​@@bestpokemonplayerofolltime למה ככה

[@jasonstarrising]

Well… his stsckatacka might need one.

[@thatonetriangularguy4560]

He stak He atak But most importantly He got your bak

[@SavageGuyYT]

Damn, that guy's a genius.

[@LufDem]

And he sacrifices... THE ROOOOOOOOKK

[@CratthewF]

wow that’s genuinely incredible

[@Leto85]

Wow, what a strategy. Very impressive.

[@mrhalfsaid1389]

Bro literally just ass pulled like Ash Ketchum, real big brain gambit

[@CommodoreMudkip]

Imagine if he did all of that only for charizard to pull off a double protect ☠️

[@huynhken3763]

But it is two to one so it is impossible to win

[@CommodoreMudkip]

@Huỳnh Ken it depends on the incineroar's moveset charizard would 1 shot the kartana

[@timob1681]

​@@CommodoreMudkipand then incin would just kill it afterwards

[@homerdough5389]

Tailwind would probably run out and he'll lose regardless

[@timob1681]

@@homerdough5389 even if it didn't run out, charizard couldn't have one hit killed incin, and he had 8 hp left

[@fezthedracky8468]

I saw this in the twitter thread asking for people's best plays. Genuinely my favourite sequence of all time. Nothing will match the ingenious of this to me

[@pyrodime1149]

That is genuinely the coolest play

[@nutmegdoesstuff1339]

"Now stone soldier! Attack the moon!"

[@Bambani-tr7jw]

Is there a link for the set?

[@whoknowswhocares8892]

This reminds me of smash doubles when somebody attacks their falling teammate to give them another chance to recover

[@saginur4380]

Ahh, yes. The gotham chess of pokemon.

[@trollkachu3744]

Imagine getting chosen by your master to be in a championship and getting knocked out by your own mate the moment u touch the field

[@sargentzero1904]

damn that realy was an outstanding way of finding an out ❤

[@piplup2884]

This is an omega brain play

[@OzzyTheGiant]

Galaxy Brain moves!

[@malachishaner690]

That's some of what makes pokemon so great.

[@JCInfIncTVGAMING]

Love the ace attorney dual destinies music as well as that play

[@papapineapple]

Just my thought. Went searching through comments to find a fellow attorney

[@matthewkal5010]

That is a fantastic play holy shit

[@nedcurfman3486]

I like to think Stakataka and Kartana recreated the Wrath fight from FMA, with Stakataka blocking their line of sight so Kartana can stab the enemy through him.

[@PaldeanWoopa]

Whenever i watch competitive i make the right calls and predictions perfectly but when im the one playing i fumble every turn lol

[@Y0G0FU]

that was some next level play! Daaaaamn. He did read his opponent like a book :D

[@gaminggrunt6340]

These are the kind of moves that seperate your average competitive player from the competitive champions.

[@slimtopher]

RIP alien cinder block man 🫡

[@Caspin_1]

That is beyond spectacular, it's like the same thought pattern that a monkey has when it's trying to escape the zoo.

[@VcentChips]

When you are a Chess Grandmaster but decided to play Pokemon

[@Kannonandconnor]

No one Gotham Chess (Levy): AND HE SACIRFICES.......THE ROOOOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

[@romannnggg]

LEVY ROZMAN MENTIONNEDDDD

[@Agedude]

Why can I never find a video of the match in these shorts.

[@jnati0n_97]

I miss mega evolution, but I remember seeing that and thinking to myself: "holy fuck, that was a big brain move"

[@spacewiz163]

That looked like a brilliant move under pressure 🙂

[@Gold-Dango]

That play is so damn unexpected. Using a mon that doesn't really serve much purpose in that match up to waste a turn and basically give a plus 1 boost to a mon who required it

[@myguymonolo101]

That’s a brilliant move, he sacrificed the rook!

[@_trashvis_]

that is amazing. i would've never have thought to sack off my own pokemon.

[@nicholascain1899]

I remeber watching this live, only time ever watching a pokemon event and i saw an amazing play. Honestly blessed

[@GravityIsFalling]

Is there a video link to it?

[@Qamer_Vr]

Imagine staktaka lived the attack

[@TempestDacine]

Probably the coolest thing about vgc is the way the resource dynamic changes compared to singles. Like yeah singles have throw away switches for safe plays but almost nothing on the level of this haha. Galaxy brained move

[@NoobEnzo625]

"I sacrifice my alive building to summon the black cat with glowing eyes 🔥"

[@CajunSoda]

Victory cannot be achieved without sacrifice.

[@GamingWithLuigi]

The beauty of VGC!

[@nategwright]

he sacrifices THE ROOOOOOK

[@sunnyside7369]

Woahhhhh!! Amazing!!! Moments like this exicte me about competitive play 😁

[@farmtomeme6265]

This is the type of strats i was expecting Ash to be doing instead of hitting water types with fire type moves until they faint 😂

[@dbzfanart1]

Ash is way better in pokemon journey

[@metalmario1231]

...you mean the trainer that cares about his pokemon?...yeah abusing them for a win totally sound like something he'd do

[@dbzfanart1]

@ahmadadnan4773 not in journey ash is a savage lol

[@ezfnw]

So he faked him out with fake out?

[@jacobvandenbeukel589]

It also lets Incineroar get another Intimidate ability down so both the opposing pokemon have lowered attack

[@TheWorldsLargestOven]

And then he sacrifices... THE STAKATAKA!!!

[@AbigailMarsolee]

I so appreciate the ace attorney music here 😍

[@spaceonisorceress4406]

I really wish Gamefreak made Doubles the standard in all the games, too. Seriously, it's SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING than singles

[@mismagiusicho]

"Trainer used Mind Reader" "A critical hit"

[@ephramnelson5567]

That's incredible I would have attacked the snorlax

[@paleolithicmanofthecave]

I invoke the fifth and I want a lawyer.