Hey! I am Michael Kelsch, also known as MichaelderBeste, and am the finalist of the 2023 Pokémon World Championships in Yokohama.
As some of you already know, I started playing VGC in December 2022. The reason I started playing was to meet online friends in the Bochum Regional in February 2023. This was the very first event I participated in and I immediately fell in love with the game and event overall. I got to Top 8 and was able to meet a lot of people I wanted to meet. That’s why I decided to go to other events too, such as Utrecht Special Event, EUIC in London and Malmö Regional.
At first I couldn’t really afford the trip to Yokohama because I am in the 2nd year in college, but my friends and family encouraged me to do it and helped me out wherever they could. I am so happy I took the opportunity to go to Japan and show what newer players can be made of.
Table of Contents
Teambuilding process
Six weeks before the World Championships would start, there was another big tournament, the North American International Championship (NAIC) in Columbus, OH, United States. Àlex Gómez was able to win the tournament with a very strong core of Chien-Pao and Dragapult.
I always wanted to play Ghost-Tera Type Dragapult since Justin Tang won the Fort Wayne Regional back in April. So, after Dragapult and Chien-Pao had a huge success in Regulation Set C, I made the call to master a team around that core.
I tested different versions in the big grassroots to make sure that I can go into my biggest tournament with no regrets.
I added Heatran to the team because I had a huge success with another team I made in Regulation Set D before the ruleset was officially released.
After realizing that Chien-Pao is very strong in the format, I decided to add the star in my team, Farigiraf, to be able to deny Sucker Punch for Dragapult. It also helps against other priorities like Fake Out or Extreme Speed which is obviously super useful. Farigiraf also provides a Trick Room mode and in the same time can deny the Trick Room with Imprison. It was a perfect fit.
I really wanted a Spore immunity and Fake Out in one slot. I first had Safety Goggles Iron Hands on the team, but I
quickly realized that Rillaboom felt better on my team, so I decided to pick the Galarian starter.
The final slot was a Flutter Mane for a very long time. You cannot go wrong with adding Flutter Mane on your team. Funnily enough, Flutter Mane was the Pokémon I brought the least to the practice tournaments.
I looked into alternatives and saw Rapid Strike Style Urshifu. It also synergizes very well with Chien-Pao, so I tried it and it felt very good.
The team was finished, three weeks before the tournament even started. I didn’t make any changes since
then and I am very happy I approached the whole teambuilding process the way I did.
The Team
Get the team’s paste here!
Dragapult @ Choice Band
Ability: Clear Body
Level: 50
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Dragon Darts
– Phantom Force
– Tera Blast
– Sucker Punch
As I said earlier, I was super excited to try out Dragapult and the damage output it deals still blows my mind. Because it is often paired with Chien-Pao, the damage can be super devastating. Clear Body is such a good ability because you don’t get any stat drops from Icy Wind, Charm or Intimidate.
Dragapult has three very powerful STAB moves with Phantom Force, Tera Blast and Dragon Darts. Dragon Darts especially is such a great move with its smart targetting and Phantom Force breaking Protects is also super helpful. The last move can be either Sucker Punch or U-Turn. I decided to play Sucker Punch since I don’t have any form of speed control besides Trick Room on Farigiraf, so having another priority just felt very good.
The surprise I mentioned in my interview before the Finals against Shohei Kimura was the PP of Sucker Punch. I played exactly 6 PP on my Dragapult throughout the entire tournament and I had a specific reason for that. When a Pokémon wants to stall out Sucker Punch because they are in range of it otherwise, it might spam Protect. The opponent can count the uses of Sucker Punch and then attack in the 9th turn. If a Protect fails in the 7th turn though, I would be able to get off two Choice Band Struggles to KO the opposing Pokémon. You can beat a 1 HP Chien-Pao with this technique as well. When this thought crossed my mind, I decided to add this little gimmick. I can’t put the damage output from Dragapult into words, so just look at the calcs below and make a picture yourself.
252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Tera-Ghost Dragapult Tera Blast vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 172-204 (98.2 – 116.5%) — 87.5% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Tera-Ghost Dragapult Phantom Force vs. 228 HP / 156+ Def Amoonguss: 192-228 (88 – 104.5%) — 31.3% chance to OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Tera-Ghost Dragapult Tera Blast vs. 100 HP / 252 Def Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane: 146-172 (102 – 120.2%) — guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Tera-Ghost Dragapult Phantom Force vs. 148 HP / 100 Def Tera-Water Gholdengo: 182-216 (100.5 – 119.3%) — guaranteed OHKO
252 Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Tera-Ghost Dragapult Phantom Force vs. 108 HP / 4 Def Iron Hands: 180-214 (74 – 88%) — guaranteed 2HKO
Chien-Pao @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sword of Ruin
Level: 50
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Icicle Crash
– Crunch
– Sucker Punch
– Protect
Chien-Pao was a very important Pokémon on the team because, with its ability Sword of Ruin, it provides a huge damage boost to partners like Dragapult or Urshifu. I decided to run Adamant Chien-Pao with a Dark Tera Type to be able to maximize the damage output from Sucker Punch. The common Tera Type choice is Ghost to block Fake Out or Extreme Speed, but since I have a Farigiraf on my team I didn’t need it.
Crunch was very useful to pressure Water-Tera Type Amoonguss, Indeedee and Cresselia. It also helps against Gholdengo, which can otherwise setup on you since Sucker Punch won’t have an effect on Nasty Plot. I decided to play Icicle Crash over Ice Spinner to avoid contact against Rocky Helmet Pokémon. It would also destroy my own Grassy Terrain. Together with an Adamant Nature, I am able to OHKO almost every Flutter Mane: Icicle Crash for Fairy-Tera Type Flutter Mane and Crunch or Sucker Punch for Water-Tera Type ones.
Funnily enough, the 4 remaining EVs should be always put into Defense because then a Choice Scarf Adamant Urshifu’s Surging Strikes never OHKOs, and if the Urshifu is the Mystic Water Jolly variant, the roll also drastically changes from a 81% roll to OHKO to a 25% roll.
252+ Atk Sword of Ruin Tera-Dark Chien-Pao Sucker Punch vs. 116 HP / 124 Def Flutter Mane: 146-174 (100.6 – 120%) — guaranteed OHKO
(Flutter Mane invested to withstand a Jolly Chien-Pao’s Icicle Crash)
252+ Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 228 HP / 156+ Def Amoonguss: 200-236 (91.7 – 108.2%) — 50% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Sword of Ruin Tera-Dark Chien-Pao Crunch vs. 252 HP / 180 Def Cresselia: 200-236 (88.1 – 103.9%) — 25% chance to OHKO
252+ Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Indeedee-F: 180-212 (101.6 – 119.7%) — guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Rillaboom: 218-260 (105.3 – 125.6%) — guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tornadus: 182-216 (97.8 – 116.1%) — 87.5% chance to OHKO
Heatran @ Assault Vest
Ability: Flash Fire
Level: 50
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 244 HP / 4 Def / 236 SpA / 12 SpD / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Heat Wave
– Flash Cannon
– Earth Power
– Tera Blast
The next slot in the team is Heatran. I recommend to play 0 Attack IVs on Heatran to reduce Foul Play and confusion self-hit damage, but I played 13 IVs in the tournament because I had no time to catch a 0 IV one.
Heatran with an Assault Vest is very good into the offensive special core of Chi-Yu paired with Flutter Mane. Assault Vest also gave me the option to run all 4 coverage moves on Heatran. This is very good because there is no switching into all of these moves. I decided to almost max out the Special Attack because you can get some really sick calcs with it, shown below.
252+ SpA Beads of Ruin Chi-Yu Dark Pulse vs. 244 HP / 12 SpD Assault Vest Heatran: 66-78 (33.5 – 39.5%) — guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Beads of Ruin Flutter Mane Shadow Ball vs. 244 HP / 12 SpD Assault Vest Heatran: 97-115 (49.2 – 58.3%) — 98% chance to 2HKO
252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Ice Spinner vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Tera-Grass Heatran: 164-194 (83.2 – 98.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Life Orb Sword of Ruin Tera-Water Basculegion Wave Crash vs. 244 HP / 4 Def Tera-Grass Heatran in Rain: 169-199 (85.7 – 101%) — 6.3% chance to OHKO
236+ SpA Tera-Grass Heatran Tera Blast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Tera-Water Basculegion: 188-224 (95.9 – 114.2%) — 81.3% chance to OHKO
236+ SpA Tera-Grass Heatran Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Heatran: 216-256 (109 – 129.2%) — guaranteed OHKO
236+ SpA Tera-Grass Heatran Tera Blast vs. 236 HP / 116 SpD Tera-Water Amoonguss in Grassy Terrain: 204-240 (93.1 – 109.5%) — 50% chance to OHKO
236+ SpA Heatran Heat Wave vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus: 79-94 (50.9 – 60.6%) — guaranteed 2HKO
Farigiraf @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Armor Tail
Level: 50
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 HP / 236 Def / 4 SpA / 4 SpD / 12 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Psychic
– Dazzling Gleam
– Trick Room
– Imprison
Next, we have my favourite on the team, Farigiraf. With its Ability Armor Tail, it is able to prevent priority attacks for the own side. This helps a lot against Chien-Pao, Dragonite and Urshifu. I chose Fairy as my Tera Type to resist Dark- and Fighting-type moves and have a Dragon-type immunity for Outrage Dragonite especially, since I have no other Fairy types on my team.
Fairy Tera Type pairs well with Dazzling Gleam. Dazzling Gleam is also useful to get the KO on Chien-Pao after a Dragon Darts hit. Psychic was the other attacking move to kill most Rapid Strike Style Urshifu variants. It is also the strongest move into Ursaluna and Amoonguss. Speaking of Ursaluna, I expected many people to run the combination of Ursaluna and Cresselia. That’s why I decided to put Imprison on my Farigiraf. It also makes the almost unwinnable hard Trick Room matchup super winnable. Another neat interaction is that you can block Flutter Mane using Dazzling Gleam, which also won me some games.
In general, Farigiraf was the main option against teams with speed control. Against Tailwind teams, I set up the Trick Room myself, and against Trick Room teams, I deny it with Imprison. I am very happy with the pick and it always provided value with the Rocky Helmet as well.
252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Icicle Crash vs. 252 HP / 236 Def Farigiraf: 93-109 (40.9 – 48%) — guaranteed 3HKO
252+ Atk Mystic Water Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 236 Def Farigiraf on a critical hit: 180-216 (79.2 – 95.1%) — guaranteed 2HKO
156+ Atk Iron Hands Wild Charge vs. 252 HP / 236 Def Farigiraf: 84-100 (37 – 44%) — guaranteed 3HKO
4+ SpA Farigiraf Psychic vs. 44 HP / 4 SpD Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 182-216 (100.5 – 119.3%) — guaranteed OHKO
4+ SpA Farigiraf Psychic vs. 236 HP / 116 SpD Amoonguss: 128-152 (58.4 – 69.4%) — 67.2% chance to 2HKO after Sitrus Berry recovery
Rillaboom @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Grassy Surge
Level: 50
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 116 Atk / 76 Def / 52 SpD / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Wood Hammer
– Stomping Tantrum
– Fake Out
– Protect
The fifth slot on the team is the Grass type of my choice, Rillaboom. Rillaboom works very well on my team because Fake Out pairs incredibly well with Phantom Force Dragapult. The Grassy Terrain also helps Heatran a lot. I added Stomping Tantrum next to the strongest STAB Rillaboom has, Wood Hammer. Stomping Tantrum is good to pressure Fire, Poison and Steel types like Gholdengo or Heatran.
Since my Heatran already had the Assault Vest, I had to figure out another item choice on Rillaboom. Sitrus Berry was a great option because it gives Rillaboom a bit more longevity, especially with the recoil of Wood Hammer. The last move of choice is Protect because all the other options were not needed and having a second Pokémon with Protect is very good to stall out Tailwind or create mind games.
In hindsight Water Tera Type might have been a bit better, but Poison Tera Type works great against Iron Hands and Flutter Mane as well. Rillaboom works really well in the Trick Room mode and against Dondozo teams.
252+ SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 76 SpD Rillaboom: 165-195 (79.7 – 94.2%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
236+ Atk Urshifu-Rapid Strike Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 52 Def Rillaboom: 115-136 (55.5 – 65.7%) — 1.6% chance to 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery and Sitrus Berry recovery
252 Atk Sword of Ruin Chien-Pao Ice Spinner vs. 252 HP / 52 Def Rillaboom: 176-210 (85 – 101.4%) — 6.3% chance to OHKO
116+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 116 HP / 244 Def Flutter Mane in Grassy Terrain: 145-172 (100 – 118.6%) — guaranteed OHKO
116+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Chien-Pao in Grassy Terrain: 154-183 (98.7 – 117.3%) — 93.8% chance to OHKO
116+ Atk Rillaboom Wood Hammer vs. 100 HP / 4 Def Iron Hands in Grassy Terrain: 120-142 (49.5 – 58.6%) — 69.5% chance to 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Unseen Fist
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 28 HP / 156 Atk / 4 Def / 68 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Surging Strikes
– Close Combat
– U-turn
– Aqua Jet
The last piece on the team is Rapid Strike Style Urshifu. Urshifu is just so good. Denying Protect and being faster and able to OHKO the most common threats like Chien-Pao or Flutter Mane is a huge merit. It forms a very good offensive core with Dragapult and Chien-Pao and also helps a lot in Tailwind and Dondozo match-ups.
With Choice Scarf and U-Turn, you can lead Urshifu + Dragapult and still get the damage boost with Sword of Ruin for Dragapult after the U-Turn into Chien-Pao. Overall there a lot of options with Choice Scarf Urshifu on this team. The bulk helps it to survive certain Flutter Mane combinations.
252 SpA Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane Moonblast vs. 28 HP / 68 SpD Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 150-178 (83.7 – 99.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO
196+ SpA Choice Specs Tera-Fairy Flutter Mane Dazzling Gleam vs. 28 HP / 68 SpD Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 150-178 (83.7 – 99.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Sword of Ruin Tera-Normal Dragonite Extreme Speed vs. 28 HP / 4 Def Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike: 153-180 (85.4 – 100.5%) — 6.3% chance to OHKO
156+ Atk Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Chien-Pao on a critical hit: 168-198 (107.6 – 126.9%) — guaranteed OHKO
156+ Atk Sword of Ruin Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 116 HP / 252 Def Flutter Mane on a critical hit: 153-180 (105.5 – 124.1%) — guaranteed OHKO
[Also works with Terastallization]
156+ Atk Sword of Ruin Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 4 HP / 4 Def Dondozo on a critical hit: 84-99 (37.1 – 43.8%) — approx. 100% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
156+ Atk Sword of Ruin Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Urshifu-Single Strike on a critical hit: 180-216 (102.2 – 122.7%) — guaranteed OHKO
156+ Atk Tera-Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tornadus on a critical hit: 180-216 (96.7 – 116.1%) — approx. 93.8% chance to OHKO
How to use the team
Click on the tabs to see some notes!
Lead +
Back
Now the opposing player has to make a decision. Do they lead with Tornadus and click Tailwind and open up the Heatran in Trick Room, or do they not Tailwind and let Urshifu wreck the team, as these teams usually can’t deal against Choice Scarf Urshifu without Tailwind?
It is important to deny the Trick Room option, so Farigiraf lead is the best option here. Depending on the team structure, I would bring either Heatran or Urshifu.
Lead 1 +
Back 1
Heatran is better against hard Trick Room teams because Armarouge and Torkoal have a tough time to deal with Assault Vest Heatran.
Lead 2 +
Back 2
Against semi Trick Room teams like the team from Federico Camporesi I prefer this second option.
Lead 1 +
Back 1
Against bulkier teams, you should burst through those with the help of Choice Band Dragapult. Try to maximize the damage output as soon as possible because slower teams can’t stop Dragapult from burning big holes into the team.
Lead 2 +
Back 2+
The second option is better against bulkier teams with Chien-Pao in the team, like the team from Shohei Kimura. Dragapult is still able to deal a lot of damage but it gets a bit harder. In this match-up you have to play clever with Phantom Force Dragapult and bring in Rillaboom to Fake Out Amoonguss or use Chien-Pao to maximize Dragapult’s damage.
Lead +
Back
Against Dondozo teams, Dragapult is able to deal a lot of damage in the beginning. When Tatsugiri hits the field, you should position yourself to get Chien-Pao and Rillaboom on the field. Dondozo is not able to kill either of them and has to take a big Wood Hammer instead. If it decides to Terastallize into a Grass type, Icicle Crash deals a lot of damage and you should be able to clean the endgame with Urshifu.
Tournament run
Day 1
Click on the tabs to see some notes about my matches!
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | WTW |  Kotaro Okada (せむべる) |     |  |
My first opponent had a very interesting team with Galarian Zapdos and Garchomp. Before the start of game 1, I felt so insecure because I needed to know how much damage Zapdos deals to my Terastallize Urshifu with Chien-Pao on the field. These are a lot of modifiers but I knew that it would come down to that sooner or later.
After a good game 1 from my side, we had a disconnect in game 2. He was probably winning the game but we can’t say for sure, it was counted as a tie. The third game was super close because I survived two attacks barely. Farigiraf ate the Crunch from Chien-Pao with 3 HP left, which was the highest roll possible, but I still got a heart attack back then, and then the moment happened. My Urshifu, which is Terastallized, has to take Zapdos’s Brave Bird. The problem is that it also got Rocky Helmet chip from the Maushold before. The Brave Bird targetted Urshifu and… it survived with 4 HP and I win the game.
It was a very nervewracking Round 1 and I finally realized where I was, the Pokémon Worlds Championship in Yokohama.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R2 | WLW |  Enrique Grimaldo (EGrim) |    | |
Next round I faced a Dondozo, which is not the best match-up for me. To make things worse, my opponent also has screens to make it even tougher for me.
In game 1, I was able to defeat the Grimmsnarl in turn 1 with a Fake Out + Flash Cannon combo from Rillaboom + Heatran. I won the game. In game 2, he made a smart play by using the Terastallization on Grimmsnarl to get the screens up. I was not able to win the game. In the third game, I decided to go for Icicle Crash with my Chien-Pao. Crunch doesn’t deal a lot of damage against +2 Dondozo behind a Reflect. I used Icicle Crash 6 times, missed once and got one flinch. I tried to maximize the Chien-Pao value by going for the flinch and I was able to get a second Wood Hammer off with Rillaboom finishing the Dondozo and, with that, the game.
Again, a very tight series but another win in my pocket.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R3 | WLW |  Bhushan Thumsi (Freezai) |   | |
In round 3 I faced a friend I hang out with days before the tournament. I played him in an online tournament a few weeks ago and he played super aggresive and got some crucial turns right back then. This time he had another trick on his sleeve, Abomasnow.
I lost game 1 because Abomasnow, thanks to its Sitrus Berry, was able to live a combination of Ghost-type Tera Blast from Dragapult + Icicle Crash from Chien-Pao. In game 2, I decided to lead with the same two, so did he. This time I targeted the Iron Hands and it dropped to the aforementioned combination. He got Trick Room up, but I was able to stall it out and win the game. Game 3 I predicted him to lead with Cresselia, so I led with Farigiraf; he indeed led Cresselia. I was in a very good spot immediately and won game 3 without big trouble.
I, again, had to go into a third game but I felt very confident to make Day 2.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4 | WLW | Ryoma Okamoto (まひる) |  | |
In Round 4 I faced a team I won’t forget so fast. It has slightly different sets from Shohei’s, though.
I won the series with Grass-Tera Type Heatran in Trick Room. Farigiraf also had a star moment when it survived the Water Tera Type-boosted Surging Strikes with Sword of Ruin with exactly 1 HP. Chien-Pao also did its work with OHKOing Amoonguss in game 1.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R5 | LWW | Taro Okada (さなみ) | | |
I now was one win away from qualifying for Day 2. I played Taro, who also made it into Top Cut in Day 2. I faced the same 6 as in Round 4 but with different sets.
I unfortunately cannot remember a lot of the first two games, but in the third game I decided to go all out. I led with Heatran + Farigiraf while he led with Urshifu + Amoonguss. I knew that he had to respect the Grass-type Tera Blast from Heatran, so I predicted him to Protect with Urshifu and switch Amoonguss out to Chien-Pao. I clicked Heat Wave without using the Terastallization + Dazzling Gleam. The Chien-Pao fainted in turn 1 and Heatran was able to win the game with no more problems.
After going into game 3 so many times, I finally made it to Day 2 of the World Championships, the goal I set myself was achieved and I was super happy.
Day 2 Swiss rounds
Click on the tabs to see some notes about my matches!
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | WW |  Hugo Nascimento (Labacedo) | | |
The next day started with a Tailwind team. Dark-Tera Type Chien-Pao put in a lot of work since his Flutter Mane had Water Tera Type. Farigiraf also shone again setting up the Trick Room for Heatran and closing out both wins.
A relaxing start into Day 2 but I knew it was getting tougher and tougher.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R2 | WW | Zackary Thornberg (Zack) |   | |
The next opponent was Zackary, who got a Day 2 invite by being the 7th best player in North America. I talked with him a bit before the round started and he was one of the players I feared playing against.
Game 1 started very good. I led with Urshifu + Heatran and he led Amoonguss + Flutter Mane. I was able to defeat Flutter Mane with a Surging Strikes and get a lot of damage on the Amoonguss. My Heatran had to take the Spore. He sent in his Single Strike Style Urshifu. I decided to switch out Heatran to Chien-Pao and Terastallize my Urshifu as well to OHKO the Urshifu and seal the game. Game 2 I started a bit different. I realized that his team really struggled against Heatran. Especially if I didn’t target the Talonflame, it was not able to touch Grass-Tera Type Heatran once Farigiraf hit the field. Together with these two and Urshifu, I was able to win the game.
After winning a series against a player I was really scared of, I knew I can get into the top cut, this is what I told myself.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R3 | WLW |  Hippolyte Bernard (☆AllySwitch☆) | |  |
In Round 3 I got a downpair into Hippolyte. I heard some stuff about him. He is a good player, at least that was what I was told. Good is way too less credit for this guy tho. He is marvelous.
There was one turn where his Dragonite would die to a Surging Strikes with Sword of Ruin active. He had a full life Chien-Pao and his 50% Dragonite on the field while I had my 1 HP Chien-Pao and full HP Urshifu on the field. I switched my Chien-Pao, so did he and my Urshifu was not able to pick a KO and fainted to the Outrage in return. In the third game, we had a game-deciding 50/50. His Dragonite just entered the field and I had my Heatran and Dragapult on the field. The Dragapult was locked into Phantom Force and I hadn’t used my Terastallization yet. I decided not to Terastallize and he clicked Outrage, hitting into nothing cause it targetted the invisible Dragapult. Even if it hit Heatran, I would have won the game.
It was a great set against an insanely good player. Now I was only two wins away from the top cut.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R4 | WLL | Emilio Forbes (Emily) |  |  |
My next opponent was Emilio. I got a downpair back to back against two very strong players. Emilio was the one I always looked up to. He was the first person I saw in a World Championships final and I was so happy teaming with him in a Smogon tournament, called SPL. And now I was sitting right in front of him, playing against him. It was a very nice atmosphere though, we laughed with each other and even talked during the game. I was feeling super relaxed, maybe a bit too relaxed.
He was able to win game 1 with a Chi-Yu + Tornadus lead and Urshifu in the back. In game 2 I tried to make a crazy read against his Chi-Yu and Tornadus. I clicked Grass-type Tera Blast with my Heatran and he switched the Chi-Yu into Urshifu. Sadly, I predicted the other slot to switch into Urshifu, so my predict didn’t work out. I then used Heat Wave into his incoming Brambleghast, losing the game. I made a huge misplay in the first game because I thought I couldn’t defeat the opposing Chi-Yu with Aqua Jet at 40% as he had Sunny Day on his Tornadus. That’s why I also didn’t want to lead Farigiraf which I usually do against Tailwind teams, because he could just use Sunny Day + Overheat into the Farigiraf.
After the set, Emilio told me he didn’t have Sunny Day. I was so upset and frustrated with myself because I didn’t read his teamsheet correctly. I had to calm down fast though, because keeping the correct mindset is super important in the long run.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R5 | WW |  Alister Sandover (スカーレット) | |  |
Next, I had to face one of the best Australian players, Alister. Unfortunately, I can’t recall anything of this match. As far as I remember, Heatran and Dragapult put a ton of work, securing my 4th victory on that day
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R6 | WW |  Tang Shiliang (20亮亮) |  |  |
Tailwind. Farigiraf’s time.
I decided to lead Farigiraf + Rillaboom to safely set the Trick Room up against his Tornadus + Urshifu lead. I knew he had to respect a Fake Out + Dazzling Gleam combination, so I made a super risky play in the first turn. I switched my Rillaboom into Heatran and used Trick Room, without using my Terastallization. It worked out, he switched out his Urshifu and I got the board I wanted to create and won the game without any trouble. In the second game, I used Fake Out on the Urshifu and this time he stayed in, using his Terastallization. The next turn he switched the other slot into Landorus to get an Intimidate off, but Wood Hammer was still able to KO after the Dazzling Gleam chip.
I won the game again and secured my spot in the top cut. I was so happy but I also knew that the tournament isn’t over just yet.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R7 | WW | 
Víctor Medina
(Torviv) | | |
Top Cut
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 26 | Bye | – | – | |
| Top 16 | WTLW | Kenji Miura (サファイア) |   |  |
| Top 8 | WW |  Nikolaj Høj Nielsen (Nikolaj_H) | |  |
| Top 4 | WW |  Federico Camporesi (FedeCampoVGC) | |  |
| Finals | LL | Shohei Kimura (ナンス) | |  |
Click on the tabs to see some notes about my matches!
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 16 | WTLW | Kenji Miura (サファイア) | | |
After waiting almost 3 hours, it was time for my first top cut match. I knew I would face either Joseph Ugarte or Kenji, so I tried to prep a bit during my break. Kenji won the game, so I had to face a very interesting team around Zapdos and Magma Storm Heatran.
In the first Game, Dragapult was able to break huge holes into his team, granting me the first win. The second game took a while and, with a Pokémon count of 3 vs 4, the game disconnected. Despite having fewer Pokémon, I was still in the lead, according to Kenji. The game counted as a tie and we went on to the third game. I predicted him to bring Choice Scarf Gholdengo to deal with Dragapult and used Heatran to counter it. He missed two Magma Storms on my Dark-Tera Type Chien-Pao in game 2, but this time I got pretty unlucky. My Heatran got confused by Hurricane and hit itself 3 turns in a row, losing me the game. After all what happened in games 2 and 3, I still tried to keep my head up and go into my first-ever sudden death match.
Quickly explained, the player who has more Pokémon on the field at the end of a turn wins the game. Since my team is very offensive, I thought I had a good match-up going into the game, leading Urshifu + Chien-Pao against his Gholdengo + Urshifu lead. I made a very big mistake in turn 1. I could just Surging Strikes + Icicle Crash the Gholdengo slot and get a kill. I was thinking that his Gholdengo was faster though, hence I Terastallized and used Sucker Punch + Aqua Jet into the Gholdengo slot to make sure I got the KO against it. He switched the Gholdengo into Amoonguss and got a huge Surging Strikes off against my Chien-Pao. I couldn’t switch into Heatran and I was locked to Heat Wave, without Terastallization available. In the next turn, I switched Chien-Pao to Rillaboom while he Terastallized Amoonguss and clicked Rage Powder to get a safe Swords Dance off with his Urshifu. My Aqua Jet barely tickled the Amoonguss. I knew it would be game if he had Zapdos in the back, because he could switch Amoonguss to Zapdos and use Protect with Urshifu. I used Aqua Jet + Wood Hammer on Urshifu and just hoped that it didn’t used Protect with it. He switched his Amoonguss as expected, but surprisingly Heatran came in and his Urshifu used Surging Strikes on my Urshifu, so Rillaboom was able to get the KO.
This was the most stressful game I had on the entire weekend and I was so incredibly happy to pull another win off.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 8 | WW | Nikolaj Høj Nielsen (Nikolaj_H) | | |
My next opponent was Nikolaj. I had played against him in some online tournaments but he used a team I hadn’t seen before. He had a very strong team with a fast and a slow Trick Room mode at the same time.
I decided to lead with Urshifu + Farigiraf with Chien-Pao and Dragapult in the back. My spread on Urshifu was key because I knew that the Flutter Mane couldn’t KO my Terastallized Urshifu without a crit. I took advantage of that and won the first game because Dragapult was pressuring his Iron Hands in the end. In game 2, I decided to switch Dragapult for Rillaboom to be more secure against the Single Strike Style Urshifu. Once again, Urshifu was able to kill the Flutter Mane. I was thinking to target the Dragonite and switch Farigiraf to Chien-Pao to OHKO the Dragonite, which was going to Terastallize. I didn’t go that route because I had a Chien-Pao in the back and assumed Flutter Mane to be a bigger problem than the Dragonite. Using Rillaboom was key because, this time, the last Pokémon was the Urshifu, so I was able to win the set 2-0 and go on to the semifinals.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 4 | WW | Federico Camporesi (FedeCampoVGC) | | |
It was time for my first stream match. I had to play against Federico, another European. I didn’t go on stream though, because it was very late already and Federico had just been on stream, so I had to play on the side stream instead. You can find the video here.
He had the same team as my Top 8 opponent, which was very convenient to me. Nikolaj never brought Ursaluna or Cresselia against me, so did Federico. I did the same thing again by leading Urshifu + Farigiraf and OHKOing the Flutter Mane turn 1. In the end of game 1, I had to win a 50/50. Do I double Sucker Punch the Flutter Mane, or do I use Sucker Punch on Iron Hands + Icicle Crash on Flutter Mane? I did the latter one and he stayed in with his Iron Hands, so I won game one. This is a good example where Sucker Punch Dragapult comes in handy. Game 2 was nothing spectacular, Urshifu and Farigiraf did what they had to and Chien-Pao cleaned the game.
I have to admit that I had a very good match-up against the team, and facing it back to back was lucky, but here I was, I reached the finals.
| Round | Result | Opponent | Opponent’s team | List |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals | LL | Shohei Kimura (ナンス) | | |
My opponent was Shohei, also known as Zeen. He is a very well-known player while I showed up out of nowhere. As you can see, he had a team I was able to win against twice in Day 1. I was confident that I had good chances winning my first-ever World Championships.
Game 1 starts rough because I predicted him to Spore my Farigiraf slot. Otherwise he would faint to Phantom Force after a Psychic, even through the Terastallization. I was able to get back into a winning position but got flinched by Icicle Crash. I was not mad at all because he got me in turn 1, so he deserved the win. Game 2 started the same, I could click Ghost Tera Type-boosted Phantom Force to get into a great position. I know that he wouldn’t Sucker Punch this turn but I predicted an Icicle Crash instead. With the Sword of Ruin active, I would be able to KO the Amoonguss, but he made a clever switch and clicked Spore into Dragapult once again. I tried my best coming back, but it was just not possible and he won very deservedly with a 2-0.
Conclusion
I still can’t believe that I have made it this far. I’m so proud of myself and happy that I achieved my goal to show what newer players can be made of!
Huge shoutout to the whole Tub Nation group, Goblin group and the German elite. I wouldn’t have been able to come this far without you. You supported me the whole time and I am really grateful to call you my friends. Also a huge thank you to my family for the support and trusting me in what I do and supporting me wherever you can.
I am looking forward to the 2024 season. My goal is to run it back but become the champion this time. See you in Hawaii!
