A trainer won an important tournament of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet with an unusual team. He forwent some meta Pokémon because he pursued a specific strategy.
Which player is it about? Joseph Ugarte is a professional Pokémon player from the USA who participates in competitive Pokémon tournaments in the VGC format. He is currently competing in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
What kind of tournament was it? Last weekend, Joseph participated in a regional Pokémon tournament in Portland and made his way to the finals over two days. There, Joseph faced Zishuo Ding.
For the victory, the US-American received, besides a prize money of 2,000, also 200 Championship Points (CP). These are points that Pokémon players collect to qualify for the Pokémon World Championship.
Winning 200 CP is thus an important step on the way to becoming the best trainer in the world.
Joseph relies on sunny weather
What was Joseph’s plan? Joseph played a so-called sun team at the tournament in Portland, centered around the Pokémon Qurtel and Papunga. Additionally, he had the two Paradox Pokémon Flatterhaar and Riesenzahn, the legendary calamity monster Baojian, and Gladimperio in his team.
Qurtel is supposed to create sunny weather with its ability “Drought”, which in combination with the ability Paleo-Synthesis of Flatterhaar and Riesenzahn further enhances the strongest value of both monsters.
Furthermore, Papunga benefits from its ability Chlorophyll, which doubles the ability of the grass-flying monster in sunshine, making it a fast support Pokémon. Joseph plays this with the moves Leaf Storm, Sleep Powder, Endure, and Tailwind.
Joseph deviates from the meta
Which Pokémon does Joseph forgo? Because Joseph relies on Papunga and Qurtel in his sun team, he forgoes two Pokémon that are strongly represented in the current meta and were among the 12 most played Pokémon at the tournament in Portland. Although Gladimperio is a very strong monster and often played, it is also not in the top 12 of the tournament.
While both Flatterhaar and Riesenzahn and Baojian are played strongly in the current meta, Pokémon like Arcanine, Dragonite, the combination of Heerashai and Nigiragi, Delfinator, or Hutsassa are completely missing from his team.
What advantages does the unusual team bring? A similar role as Papunga takes Hutsassa in the current meta of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The mushroom-like grass-poison monster is usually played with the moves Rage Powder and Spore.
Spore can put opposing Pokémon to sleep, thus serving the same purpose as Joseph’s Papunga’s Sleep Powder. Although Sleep Powder has a lower accuracy and can miss, due to the ability Chlorophyll, Papunga is significantly faster than Hutsassa. Thus, he was able to put the opposing Pokémon combination Heerashai and Nigiragi to sleep in the finals of Portland.
Additionally, Papunga, which is relatively rarely played, can use the move Tailwind due to its flying type, further doubling the speed of all Pokémon of the user – a strategic advantage that Hutsassa cannot offer.
How important is strategy in Pokémon? In competitive Pokémon matches, trainers have to make many strategic decisions.
It starts with the choice of the six Pokémon that a player includes in their team. But the four moves that a Pokémon learns, the abilities played, items, or the stat distribution are also crucial.
At the tournament in Portland, three Pokémon that were considered very strong shortly after the release of Scarlet and Violet, Delfinator, Iron Bundle, and Flatterhaar were played on both days:
In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, there are 4 overpowered monsters that you would never expect
