The 2026 season has come to an end and I've been struggling to write my closing thoughts. It's been a great year for Ethan. He finished in the top 10 globally, top cut in 4 different regions, 2x T8, 2x T4 and 2x finalist. It was such phenomenal experience to have competed all around the world. And yet, it doesn't feel complete. Maybe it's because this was Ethan's last year as a junior. Maybe it's travel withdrawal, or the abruptness of change, or the finality of it all. This year came with a full range of emotions from immense happiness, to disappointment and sadness, to outrage and shock. We're not sure if we're going to continue competing in Pokemon. The circuit demands so much sacrifice out of families and we're feeling exhausted. We're going to take the summer to figure that out. I look back on photos, and to me, Ethan still looks like he did 3 years ago. Maybe my immense sadness is just coming to terms with him growing up. Thank you to everyone that helped us along this season: - @88Cardhouse, @SVCardArt for being the best card shops and teams in the bay - The 88 juniors team, @RanCharles58055 and @JoshuaLeeWarner, all finishing in the top10 of NA and always raising the bar - @rowan_stavenow, @IsaiahBradner, @KianNakano, @SaumitTcg for coaching and guidance - @LynnOono and family for lobby parties, pool days and our intensive travel experiences - All the bay area families and their dedication to the grind. Congratulations to the dozen or so that qualified! - All the other families for your words of encouragement, your support and kindness and your dedication to your children

Devastating to see this happen to a family that is so welcoming and sweet and generous to everyone. These kids need to be celebrated for their hard work and accomplishments, not booed and torn down.

We had a rare and incredible opportunity to compete in the Pokemon Japan Championships #PJCS2026! Ethan started out 0-2, climbed out to 5-2 and lost the final round to end 5-3. Not much in terms of expectations other than to experience and compete in a massive field of 826 juniors! Earned the exclusive stamped Mewtwo promo and learned some Japanese! All of this would not have been possible without the incredible support from the community and friends: - @88Cardhouse, @SVCardArt and @EbisuCollection who provided the majority of playables for us, even the newly released Abyss Eye set. - @KianNakano for HGSS energy and the cool 🍬🍬 - @drapult for additional cards and teaching us the Japanese playing customs 👊✋✌️ - @thefleeee for the Meowths and advice on foreigners competing - @DuelSpecTCG for sleeves - @LynnOono for fueling crazy ideas and Pokemon Center shopping lists Thanks to all the friends we got to practice with and hang out with today, and best of luck to @anxiouspapa @ayapiyo20 and Reo in cut tomorrow! Next up, NAIC! 🛫

Last regional as a junior! Ethan finished 23rd at Indianapolis after a bumpy start. Ran Hedrick's list but didn't hit the spread we were hoping for. Flipped a bit more Minun than Plusle on the Crushing Hammers this weekend 🥲 Next up, a quick detour to PJCS 2026 🇯🇵 before NAIC! Shout out to the @88Cardhouse team, @rowan_stavenow for the coaching, @thefleeee and @RanCharles58055 on their finalist finishes, @DuelSpecTCG for sleeves. #playpokemon

Top 4 in Utrecht with @pokehawkeye’s hammer list! Was quite a misadventure with a missed flight and lost luggage but we made it! Thanks to: - @88Cardhouse and team for support - @rowan_stavenow for coaching - @KianNakano @SaumitTcg for patiently answering all my deck and meta thoughts - @PokeBaughn for the 🔨🔨🔨🔨 - @LynnOono and family for being our crazy travel partners and for our care package when all our luggage was lost - @DuelSpecTCG for the best sleeves Next up, Indianapolis! #playpokemon – at Utrecht, The Netherlands

New challengers have appeared! Somehow we’ve managed to find ourselves in Utrecht 🇳🇱 with @LynnOono! Looking forward to playing some Pokemon with the EU juniors! #playpokemon

Late post. Ethan finished 20th at LA with Pult Dundunsparce. Lost the win & in for cut, but learned a lot through the run. 70% of his rounds were Pult variants! Thanks to @88Cardhouse, @DuelSpecTCG and @rowan_stavenow for the support. On to the next one!

I want to clearly state that Ethan is not going around randomly touching people, patting them on the back or head duck-duck-goose style. I'm not looking for vindication or to prove my son's innocence. Here are some considerations for public transparency: - He had previously played against them at other regionals - He thought this was a friend or acquaintance and had conversations with them at subsequent regionals - He sat next to this person and said good luck to them during phase 1 at Orlando in an amicable fashion - Wanted to say good luck to them for their win-and-in round Ethan was never told or given any indication that this person was not a friend, uncomfortable, or did not want any interaction with them. At least not to his knowledge. This situation could have possibly been addressed through a kid-to-kid or parent-to-parent interaction, e.g. "I'm not comfortable talking to you or interacting with you", or "I do not consider you a friend" or "Please stay away from my child". We had no such warning or conversation between families or even mediation from the judges. My view as a parent is that this outcome has created a massive ripple in the community and for families. This could have happened to any one of the kids we know. We're all having conversations now about who you can trust and who you can or should be friends with. This is creating unintended emotional distress and paranoia about what can or will be considered acceptable or safe interactions. This situation completely erodes the perception of psychological safety, family friendliness, approachability and trust throughout the community. This has severe implications on the weaponization for the standards of conduct vs the spirit of the game and positive intent. Why should I risk and broaden my child's exposure to new people and friendships that could backfire on him? One of the most beautiful things that Pokemon had was that you could meet players from all around the world, discover your love of Pokemon together, compete and establish new friendships. Maybe you'd get to see each other at the next regional or IC or worlds and celebrate each other's accomplishments. It's delightful to see the kids cheering each other on, roaming the halls and eating ice cream together and playing video games and tag or trading plushies. Many people know that I am a strong proponent for the merits of Pokemon and the growth framework that it provides for the kids. It puts them in the driver's seat for their own self-improvement, develops resilience and pushes them to become determined to reach their goals. This could have been a private learning opportunity between families but has escalated to the general community. Ethan has already come to terms with the situation. He accepts full responsibility for touching someone who didn't want to be touched. He accepts that if his actions created anxiety or hurt someone, then his disqualification is appropriate. He understands that this ruling will help to inform the broader community about consent and boundaries, and ideally creates a safer space for all families and participants. I am proud of my son for his character, his integrity, his kindness, and his maturity and willingness to learn from this situation. I hope you all got a chance to witness this in his interview with Pokemon this past weekend.

Lots of mixed emotions for this weekend in Orlando. Ethan was disqualified for unsporting conduct and creating an unsafe environment. At the end of Phase 2, we were called up to the hive and notified that Ethan was getting disqualified. It was reported that E had touched someone on the head or shoulder, and it bothered that person. When we asked what could have transpired, E thinks that it might've been when he walked past someone and tried to pat them on the shoulder to wish them good luck, but accidentally touched them on their head because they turned. He touched someone who didn't want to be touched. Regardless of his positive intent, we were told that this was unwanted behavior and that he had been asked not to do this before (he wasn't aware of this), and determined to be severe unsporting conduct and disqualification. While we don't fully understand the ruling, and we don't know the other child's story, we respect the expectations and the standards of conduct. The judges are just following the rule book and trying to create a safe space. For the family that we have caused distress towards, we are sorry. If you come across this, please feel free to reach out and help us improve our understanding of boundaries, and acceptable interactions. It’s a hard lesson for us and our community about the broadening need for respect, recognizing people's boundaries, and to not assume what might be acceptable to someone else.

FINALIST 🥈 in Merida! Really fun run facing double double trouble -- the @SergioL0L0 brothers and the @LynnOono siblings in swiss! Bracket worked out in a way where Ethan and Kenji got to face each other in finals! Wish the draws were better, but that's just how the game goes sometimes. Incredibly happy to bounce back after Toronto. Thanks to @IsaiahBradner for the coaching and refining our list for the meta, @rowan_stavenow for coaching, and the @88Cardhouse team for the support. Incredible weekend for the Bay Area with showings all throughout seniors and masters too! Also thanks to @DuelSpecTCG for sleeves! See you all at EUIC! +205 CP, 1745 CP / ? #playpokemon

33rd in Toronto -- not quite the run that Ethan was hoping for. Lots of work ahead and room for improvement. It was great to have the friends around for consolation and fun in the snow ❄️. Super excited to see Kenji @LynnOono take home his long-deserved first win 🥇, and Ethan's fellow teammate, @RanCharles58055 with his finalist finish 🥈! Next up, Merida! Thanks to @88Cardhouse and our coaches @IsaiahBradner and @rowan_stavenow for the support! +120CP, 1540CP / ? #PlayPokemon

Top 8 at LAIC with Jelli Garde! Incredible USA showing from @LynnOono @RanCharles58055 @danobri @jh_youn85 @hitman25000 @jennsmitgiff with such a stacked cut! Shout outs to @88Cardhouse team, @IsaiahBradner and @rowan_stavenow for coaching, @KianNakano and @justabrick2 for testing, and all the Bay Area families and friends for their constant support and positive messages. #PlayPokemon #PokemonLAIC