To celebrate the release of the new Diamond & Pearl video games and TCG series, Battle Road 2006 replaced its autumn regional tournaments with the “Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Battle Festa ★ 2006”.
The events were held for 2 days at each of four venues across Japan.
- Kansai tournament: Kobe International Exhibition Hall on November 25 – 26, 2006
- Tokai tournament: Port Messe Nagoya on December 2 – 3, 2006
- Kyushu tournament: West Japan General Exhibition Center on December 9 – 10, 2006
- Kanto tournament: Pacifico Yokohama on December 16 – 17, 2006
Entry into the tournament at each venue was first-come, first-serve. The tournament ran from 9:00 to 17:00, with player registration cutting off at 14:00 or if the event filled to capacity.
In addition to the TCG tournament, there were many other activities and festivities for attendees.
Battle Road Stadium DP
The main official tournament at the venue was known as “Battle Road Stadium DP”. While technically not an official Battle Road Tournament, it borrowed the same “stadium” tournament structure seen in the Battle Road Autumn 2005 tournament the year prior.
Players were instructed to bring a 30-card deck to compete in the 3-stage stadium tournament. They were divided into 2 age groups: Junior league (born after April 2, 1994), and Seniors + Masters League (born before April 1, 1994).
In the “stadium” tournament structure, there were multiple stages that players had to progress through to win prizes.
All players started at the 1st stage, and would advance by winning. If a player lost, they would have to “leave” the stadium and were allowed to queue up again starting from the 1st stage.
Since players could attempt as many times as they could within the tournament’s hours, players were incentivized to play quickly to maximize chances of winning prizes.
Battle Road Stadium DP featured 3 stages:
- 1st Stage: Players play against each other and had to win 2 consecutive battles to proceed to the next stage. Battles were played with 30-card decks, 3 prize cards, and a 10 minute time limit.
- 2nd Stage: Players who made it to the 2nd stage played against each other. Players had to win 3 consecutive battle in this stage to progress to the third and final stage.
- 3rd “Final” Stage: Upon making it to this stage, players played against a Pokemon Card Laboratory (PCL) “researcher”. PCL is the Pokemon TCG’s development team for the game, so their decks were finely-tuned and piloted by skilled employees of the Pokemon Company.
All participants would receive a promotional Manaphy card. Those who managed to make it to the Final Stage and defeated the PCL staff member would receive a cosmos holofoil Championship Arena with new DP-themed artwork.
Side Events (Corners)
Like the Battle Road events earlier in the year, the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Battle Festa 2006 also featured side events, also known as corners, at the venue.
Entry Battle Corner
This side event was meant for players who were new to the Pokemon TCG. Participants (including parents) would be taught how to play using a preconstructed intro deck prepared for the side event. This intro deck featured cards from the new Diamond & Pearl series.
Participants would each receive a copy of “Pokemon Card Game DP First Book” that explained how to play the TCG. Winning 3 battle would also award them with stickers.
Pokemon Card Game Panel Corner
This corner was an exhibit about the Pokemon TCG’s history, as well as information about the recently-concluded 2006 World Championships and Champion’s League 2006. Visitors could also take part in a fun quiz activity at this corner to get a free gift.
Pokemon Card Game Information Center
This corner was home to the Pokemon Players Club at the venue. Members could get 50 EXP for visiting this corner, and new players could sign up for the club here.
This corner was also where players could obtain an exclusive Lucario promo card. In the December 2006 issue (released November 2006) of CoroCoro Comic, a promo Riolu card was distributed. This Riolu was the first card in the new DP promo series.
If a player brought the Riolu promo from the magazine to this corner, they could trade it for the Lucario card.
Sources
- https://web.archive.org/web/20070219040858/http://www.pokemon-card.com/event/061020_1_2.html
- http://makorin.txt-nifty.com/nantonaku/2006/12/2006_6d02.html
- https://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/mihopika/diary/200612050000/
