2024 Pokémon VGC World Championships Roundtable Preview

It’s that time of year once again. Players across the world are putting in countless hours as the 2024 World Championships in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi approaches with a haste intimidating as any Incineroar. Which Pokémon will reign supreme and which Trainer will prove that they’re the master of Regulation Set G? No one can know for sure with all the powerful Restricted Pokémon running around, but some of the brightest minds in competitive Pokémon hazard a solid guess.

We’ve gathered three amazing experts, for an exciting roundtable to talk us through what the metagame has in store for fans at Worlds this year: Joe Ugarte, Lou Akcos-Cromie, and Aaron Traylor, joined by Chris Shepperd from Pokemon.com. From intriguing Pokémon to top players to surprise strategies, the group has it covered. Read on so you’ll be ready to watch all three days of action on Twitch.tv/Pokemon.

Shepperd: OK, let’s get going then! Thanks all for joining. This is going to be fun.

Akcos-Cromie: Can’t believe it’s the last event of the season already!

Shepperd: Worlds is always an interesting time because there aren’t a lot of big competitions to watch leading up to it. So how are you staying on top of the latest strategies and metagame?

Ugarte: A big thing that's been important with this break time between NAIC and Worlds is online competitions, both grassroots tournaments and ranked battles.

Akcos-Cromie: I think grassroots events start to take center stage in the prep for Worlds. It’s a good way to test teams and get a feel for different archetypes. But a lot of testing groups will also be working on developing their secret techs for the Championship, and you don’t want to reveal too much!

Traylor: I’m staying on top of latest strategies by playing lots of games, challenging my friends to practice battles as often as I can, competing in local grassroots tournaments, and chatting with other players preparing for Worlds!

Shepperd: As you’ve been playing and keeping up on these events, have you seen a fair amount of changes since what we saw at NAIC?

Traylor: Yes, in my opinion things are moving a mile a minute as players optimize in order to make the best versions of their teams that they can.

Akcos-Cromie: We do have NAIC to look back on, but I feel like so much time has passed that the meta is outdated here.

Ugarte: Due to the lack of official events between NAIC and Worlds, local events have a lot of influence on meta development since they offer the closest experience to a tournament. Plus they allow people to test new concepts. I know they've been very important for my prep too! Along with what Aaron said, playing other friends is crucial. :)

Shepperd: Is looking back at NAIC even useful from this perspective?

Ugarte: There definitely have been some significant meta changes. One of the biggest trends to note is the continual rise of the big 3 (Shadow Rider Calyrex, Ice Rider Calyrex, and Miraidon); those archetypes by far have had the most attention and development, and are continually getting shifted throughout people's testing.

Traylor: I think NAIC is useful historic data but I think many people who are taking the tournament seriously have done a lot of research to put it in the past.

Akcos-Cromie: Since NAIC, when I’ve been on the online battle ladder, there’s just SO much Miraidon. Terapagos has really dropped in usage!

Ugarte: Not to mention there’s also been a rise in Kyogre usage, having a lot better performances as the meta has progressed more.

Shepperd: Does playing on the ladder provide a randomness, or at least an unexpectedness, that helps in tournament play? Compared to playing against friends, for example.

Akcos-Cromie: The ladder is difficult in the sense it’s BO1 and closed team sheets, which is different to the BO3 and open sheets format played at larger tournaments. But it still can be useful to just try some new teams out and see how you naturally gel with the team.

Ugarte: What ladder helps with a lot is testing out your ideas and seeing how they operate in practice, allowing you to shift from the "I think this could be good" to instead seeing where your idea has strengths and flaws. It also gives you more varied practice immediately, without having to coordinate with friends. That being said, practicing with friends gives you more targeted practice which is useful, too.

Akcos-Cromie: I often take a team and play on ladder, then if I find I’ve connected with it, then I can start working on it further and testing it in a BO3 setting. Then I’ll make adjustments on the team composition with feedback from friends and reflection on my matches.

Traylor: You might spend two days building a team in your head and crush all your friends and then hit the ladder and find out that you have nothing for, say, Shadow Rider Calyrex with Galarian Weezing support alongside Dondozo and Tatsugiri, and then you have a little bit of an existential crisis and need to make a cup of tea.

Akcos-Cromie: Yeah, it can help you find some wildcards—but also inspiration! Sometimes I see a Pokémon and after the match I want to try it on my team.

Shepperd: I like that. It’s not just how to make your team stronger but also to see how you can find a new direction that you hadn’t considered before.

Lou, you kicked off the restricted meta movement discussion, so let’s get back to that!

What do you think has led to you seeing more Miraidon? What is it doing well that players weren’t seeing before?

Akcos-Cromie: Miraidon was epic as soon as it was allowed. There are just so many combined buffs it can get to its spa such as Choice Specs, Same Type Attack Bonus, Hadron Engine Ability boost, Electric Terrain, Tera boost! I think I covered them all…?

Traylor: I think it’s at a position in its development cycle where popular compositions have found a lot of useful partners to really clear up some of its pain points, including when it faces other Miraidon players.

Ugarte: Miraidon has seen the most innovation in terms of archetype as well, between a lot of new partners and concepts being developed.

Traylor: Pokémon such as Shadow Rider Calyrex had pretty obvious partners early on in the format, and that hasn’t changed, but Miraidon has had a bit of a growth trajectory, now often including Pokémon such as Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon and Iron Hands.

It’s really hard to make non-restricted Pokémon work in new ways in this format, so when it works you run with it.

Ugarte: Most Miraidon compositions have started utilizing screens and other unique partners such as Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon, Entei, and Volcarona; Grimmsnarl in general has seen a huge surge in usage since NAIC. One thing I think Miraidon does really well is open up more creative team building choices, so there's more new stuff to find with it.

Akcos-Cromie: That’s the magic though—the synergy between the Pokémon within the team and being able to be flexible against multiple match ups is what will create the most success. A good balance between powerful offense and support Pokémon is essential.

Ugarte: Restricted Pokémon really do struggle if they don't have the right partners around them, especially in a single restricted format.

Shepperd: So instead of talking about restricted Pokémon alone, let’s talk about some pairings we might expect to see if Worlds started tomorrow.

Traylor: Well, the standouts that come to mind first are Shadow Rider Calyrex and its funky bunch band of Fake Out and redirection support Pokémon.

Ugarte: When talking about common pairs and trends, each restricted has experienced its own surge and decrease in usage throughout the format. These are the trends I've noticed with the big 3 utilized right now:

• Shadow Rider Calyrex: the least development but the most popularity, most innovations to this archetype are through specific Tera types and maybe a partner or two. Within grassroots tournaments this also seems to be the most popular meta team at the moment. These teams typically use the standard support options like Incineroar, Raging Bolt, Rapid Strike Urshifu, and Rillaboom.
• Ice Rider Calyrex: although it doesn't get played as much as Shadow Rider Calyrex, it seems to have a very good conversion rate into late stages of tournament. Although these teams still mostly utilize standard Pokémon, we are seeing more differences and the willingness to drop common Pokémon like Incineroar. These teams typically always include Rillaboom and Urshifu.
• Miraidon: This archetype has seen a lot of variety between screens Grimmsnarl usage and Tailwind. [“Screens” refers to the moves Reflect and Light Screen. Kyogre is frequently supported by a Pokémon that can use these moves, such as Grimmsnarl. — Ed.] These teams almost always include a way to accelerate Miraidon’s Speed, and always include iron hands somewhere on the build now.

Akcos-Cromie: I can really see Farigiraf being paired up with Miraidon—it provides good support with Armor Tail to stop fake out, and we also see it running Ground Tera a lot so it takes no damage from Miraidon’s discharge, enabling good synergy!

Shadow Rider Calyrex and Incineroar have been a dream team—there’s such good type coverage and synergy between them. Indeedee also works well with Calyrex to provide redirection support.

Traylor: Miraidon and Farigiraf are best buds for sure. Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon has also been paired with Ice Rider Calyrex more frequently after NAIC. Follow Me and the Sturdy ability makes it really hard to actually get to Calyrex.

Akcos-Cromie: The Fire/Water/Grass core trio is going to be interesting, too. Incineroar and Rillaboom/Amoonguss will be dominant, and no doubt Rapid Strike Urshifu will be there too. I just wonder with the rise of Kyogre whether we might see it fill that spot on the core more.

And yeah, Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon really came into its own towards the end of the season!

Ugarte: Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon has had one of the biggest come up stories of the format. It is such an excellent partner on so many teams. The fact it has a built-in Focus Sash and such strong unique coverage in Ivy Cudgel and Grass-type moves gives it a really unique position in the metagame.

Akcos-Cromie: Plus Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon was the ultimate underdog story. I’m so glad it finally got some time on the podium!

Shepperd: Aaron, earlier on you said you felt like the meta was shifting a mile a minute. Do you feel like it’s typical for this time of year or are things moving faster than normal?

Traylor: That’s a great question, Chris. I feel like we’re seeing the natural progression of the metagame as players work hard for a tournament that they care a whole lot about. Not that they don’t care a lot about every tournament, of course.

The other thing is that Worlds has a two-month run-up after NAIC. So you get to spend two months focusing only on this one tournament, without worrying whether there will be major metagame shifts thanks to another tournament.

Akcos-Cromie: I think this might be the longest break we’ve had from NAIC to Worlds in a while right? I think that’s definitely adding to the fluctuation in the meta right now.

Ugarte: I think one interesting factor to talk about when it comes to the break is what meta trends are more concealed as well.

Traylor: Even the largest grassroots tournaments only cause subtle metagame changes compared to something like a Regional or NAIC, so it’s not as pressing.

Ugarte: Top players typically do their best to hide the strongest new ideas they come up with before Worlds, to have a bit of a surprise factor.

Akcos-Cromie: Players start to overthink or have more time to brainstorm and test—it means more options and possibility come available.

Traylor: So the answer is it’s a normal pace of development but you need to be much more keyed in to the undercurrents to capitalize on it.

Most players don’t hide their strongest ideas for Worlds, choosing instead to use their strongest ideas for each tournament throughout the season, but they will work very hard to make sure that as few people as possible know about what they’re testing between NAIC and Worlds.

Shepperd: While there might be a lot of changes, it doesn’t seem like it’s the time for real “blue ocean” innovation and just a lot of refinement. Or are players taking big leaps still?

Ugarte: I think there are definitely still areas for innovation, actually.

Akcos-Cromie: And there’s definitely still time to find a way to get Gastrodon into your team.

Shepperd: There’s always time.

Ugarte: The key thing for Worlds is striking a balance between trying to find those ideas which allow you to strike the balance between new and old, usually it's nice to have some consistency like Aaron mentioned between your ideas throughout the year going into your "final" team for Worlds.

Traylor: It’s a tough balance to strike, Chris. The more of a leap you take, the less of a chance it works immediately, so the more testing that you need to do. The more testing that you do, if your idea is good, the more of a chance someone notices it and tries it for themselves or devotes serious effort to having a plan for it at Worlds. The ideal way to manage it in my opinion is to take a big leap that you have tested rigorously, but to fly under the radar so that as few people as possible are explicitly prepared for you.

… Aaaaay balance striking buddies!

Shepperd: I want to go back to team construction around Restricteds for a sec. Actually, kinda the opposite. You mentioned that a lot of team construction is in support of your restricted Pokémon. But there seems to always be a need for strong unrestricted Pokémon that don’t serve a support role.

Can we talk about those for a minute? I’d like to hear what other Pokémon are being played based on their own standalone strengths.

Traylor: Having many sources of offense on your team makes your team stronger in general because your restricted Pokémon can only do so many things. For example, Miraidon mostly only ever uses Electric, Fairy, and Dragon-type attacks, and opponents know this very well when they construct their teams. Adding another Pokémon that can threaten offense allows you to challenge their defensive strategies in new ways that feel really rewarding.

So if players mostly use Grass-type Pokémon with high Special Defense to stop Miraidon, adding a physical Fire-type attacker like Entei or Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon can really add a new dimension to your team.

Akcos-Cromie: Ice Rider Calyrex is also being used a lot due its power in Trick Room. It’s a team style a lot of players find comfortable, and to have a restricted that functions so well in the slower paced environment is really good. You can also stack up those boosts with Chilling Neigh and completely overwhelm opponents. Yes, you need Trick Room to be set to correctly but there are plenty of support Pokémon like Farigiraf to help with that, but then Ice Rider Calyrex can just shine!

Ugarte: I think one trend that's been more popular as of late is fast offensive Raging Bolt. It's been one of the more popular damaging options in the format, utilizing items like Life Orb or Booster Energy. Not to mention electric and dragon as a typing, it works with plenty of good restricted Pokémon right now.

Traylor: Raging Bolt is in a great place.

Akcos-Cromie: Yes, Raging Bolt has been very dominant and bulky—honestly Electric-types are all the fashion right now. Miraidon, Raging Bolt, and Iron Hands are all coming back to town. I’d say you have to make sure you have a Ground-type... like Gastrodon... in your team.

Ugarte: I think one thing that might be a big deal at Worlds is the more offensive Life Orb Raging Bolt, since it seemed to be a popular Japanese meta trend and this Worlds will obviously see more unique decisions made due to the size and inclusion of every region.

Akcos-Cromie: I think the Electric Terrain being set up by Miraidon has really paved the way for Electric-types to gain an edge.

Ugarte: I have even seen people using the fastest possible Raging Bolt to get the jump on others in the mirror.

Akcos-Cromie: I wonder if a hyper offensive or balanced approach will reign victorious at Worlds.

Traylor: Electric Terrain also protects your whole team from Amoonguss and other nasty Pokémon that want to put yours to sleep, so it’s a whole degree of stability. However, it also powers up your opponents’ Raging Bolt….

Shepperd: Joe, you wanted to talk about Kyogre. So let’s talk about Kyogre! It seems to always find a way to show up at Worlds.

Akcos-Cromie: Joe talking about Kyogre instead of Groudon feels weird...

Traylor: I agree, Lou. Is it opposite day?

Ugarte: These are dark times, aren't they Lou. Groudon is a tricky Pokémon to justify right now.

Akcos-Cromie: I think sun teams in general struggle right now.

Ugarte: When it comes to Kyogre, I think one new development is screens Kyogre.

Traylor: So Kyogre early on in the format was a more niche choice that made use of Water Spout alongside Tailwind and a priority blocking Pokémon like Tsareena or Farigiraf. Now players are a little more willing to make it work as a defensive setup Calm Mind Pokémon, like some Terapagos sets.

Ugarte: Electabuzz/Kyogre also performed very well at a tournament recently, so it seems to have the most robust directions you can take it.

Traylor: The central issue for Kyogre is, if you’re not clicking Water Spout, are you clicking Origin Pulse, and if you’re clicking Origin Pulse, are you OK with the 85% accuracy?

Ugarte: I've seen a ton of high performing Kyogre teams with so many unique partners. Some examples are Wo-Chien, Overqwil, Electabuzz, and Archaludon. It just feels like there's a lot of cool directions you can take it.

Akcos-Cromie: Honestly bulking up the Special Defense of Kyogre is excellent. It’s such a wall. A lot of Electric-type Pokémon are Special attackers, and even if you have to worry about Rillaboom... well there’s Grass Tera!

Traylor: I think a lot of top players struggle with that gamble. Kyogre might do well at Worlds, but how do I make sure it’s my Kyogre that does well?

Ugarte: I definitely agree that accuracy can present an issue. Ever since Kyogre lost Scald, it hasn't exactly been the pinnacle of consistency when it comes to accuracy.

Traylor: It’s especially difficult to justify because there are so many restricted Pokémon with strong spread moves that don’t rely on accuracy—Shadow Rider Calyrex, Ice Rider Calyrex, Miraidon, and Terapagos.

Akcos-Cromie: That’s true, losing Scald was a shame. But if set up in the right speed control mode, Water Spout can still wash away the competition.

Traylor: So you’re taking on added risk compared to if you made another choice in the teambuilder.

Akcos-Cromie: It actually reminds me of Wide Guard. All these spread type attacks coming from restricted Pokémon have encouraged Wide Guard to come back.

Ugarte: I think that one strength of Kyogre is how it has a little less attention on it compared to the big three of Ice Rider Calyrex/Shadow Rider Calyrex /Miraidon and has so much room for development. A restricted like that always seems rich with potential at Worlds.

Akcos-Cromie: It could surprise a few opponents who aren’t as ready for it.

Shepperd: OK let’s get to the juicy stuff. Who’s going to win Worlds?

Traylor: Me!

Shepperd: I was gonna say, you are allowed to say yourself!

Akcos-Cromie: I’m the EU person here so I’m going to go straight for Aurélian Soula. They have been SO consistent this season and have been a runner-up three times this season (I think I have the math right there!) including at NAIC. I think it’s time for them to get the #1 spot!

Ugarte: So, I think anyone competing at Worlds first answer should be themselves. However, I do think that I could really see a Japanese player take it this year, even though it’s not the usual on the trend of who wins Worlds every year.

This single restricted format really allows for some creative choices which I think benefits Japanese players a lot, since their strengths comes from finding really strong unique teams.

Traylor: I want to start with the Top 4 from last year’s Worlds—Shohei Kimura, Michael Kelsch, Mao Harada, and Federico Camporesi. All of these players have had terrific seasons so far and I know that they’re all practicing hard for this World Championships, so my eye is on them.

I think I’ve said this in previous round tables, but every World Champion since 2011 up until Shohei last year has placed at minimum Top 8 at Worlds a prior year. I think it might have been Top 4, I forget the fact exactly…

Ugarte: Not to mention in one of the biggest recent grassroots tours, Japanese players were in a lot of the top part of that competition.

Akcos-Cromie: Japanese players are always my FAVOURITE players to watch at Worlds. We don’t get to see their meta as much, and then when we do the creativity and composure behind some of their calculated plays is just outstanding

Shohei is not only reigning champ but also I believe finished top 4 this season at Japan Nationals, showing his form is still top tier this season. He has also achieved great positions in previous world championships so someone who brings consistency to the table.

Traylor: He also played at EUIC!

Ugarte: My personal pick is Kiwamu Endo for a player by the way: second place at Japan Nationals, incredible consistent player, and still looking for that high Worlds placement.

Traylor: Kiwamu is an excellent player and researcher of the format. I’ve really enjoyed speaking to him.

 

Shepperd: Despite the wide field, it seems that we always get a Top Cut stacked with great talent. It really is a skill game.

Akcos-Cromie: I think for me the journeyman players will be the ones to win it this year. There’s also this guy called Joseph Ugarte who is pretty good, won Portland Regionals twice and has had some amazing top finishes, but still looking for that big international win. It could be his year too!

Shepperd: Meh. (I kid!)

Ugarte: To touch on that, cutting Worlds is one of the most incredible experiences, but I would absolutely love to take it further if I could!

Traylor: Have you cut the last two years, Joe?

Ugarte: Yeah I top cut both 2022 and 2023!

Akcos-Cromie: Like honestly the players who I’ve seen grind and gain so much momentum but fall short of the final hurdle, they are the ones who will have the real fire in their bellies for this tournament.

Shepperd: Can you throw out some dark horse names that we should be keeping an eye out for?

Ugarte: I think I have to mention Patrick Connors here.

Traylor: Hard to say that the NAIC Champion is a dark horse!

Ugarte: I know it sounds silly to say he's a dark horse but Worlds is very different than NAIC. It'll be his first time competing at this level, so I'm really interested to see how he does. Sometimes players really do take International wins for granted and I do think he has the potential for a monster season.

Akcos-Cromie: I have so many names but I’ll keep it at two more :)

First is Spanish player Antonio Sanchez. He finished in the Top 16 of Europe and is a player who I’ve seen get into the head of his opponents and just control the board state of a match beautifully. He won Liverpool Regionals this season and top 8 NAIC so has what it takes to go far.

Ugarte: Antonio definitely has some really solid performances and a lot of cool teams, so I think if he finds the right team he can definitely take it very far.

Akcos-Cromie: My second choice is Latin American player Sebastian Escalante. I followed his career through 2017 where he finished Top 8 at Worlds before taking a little bit of a break from VGC. I think I said at our LAIC roundtable he was my favorite to watch and win. Although he didn’t make it at LAIC, he has had a bunch of Top 4 Regional and Special event finishes in Latin America this season and depending on how he has prepared and feels going into Worlds, he could be the dark horse for sure!

Ugarte: One name that I think people forget about a lot from Japan is Mao Harada. Top 4 at Worlds last year running the same team as Shohei, and as well was seen running a similar team to him in a grassroots tournament recently. If they both had a hand in the team building process and work together it’s not a stretch to think that he can go even further, building on the trend of people who top cut Worlds doing even better the next year.

Traylor: The players in the Asia Pacific circuit don’t get as much attention as the players in the TPCi or Japanese circuits, so here are some highlights from me:

• Melvin Keh won Singapore Nationals in both 2022 AND 2023. This year he finished 2nd. He will be a threat at Worlds for sure, and the player to finally beat him is Ervin Tan, so I’d keep an eye on that name as well
• Ma Chun Yeung won Hong Kong Nationals with a cool Koraidon team (shoutouts to Choi Yin Fung, the runner up, who rocked Miraidon and Ursaluna (Guts) and Orthworm
• Chaiyawat Traiwichcha won Thailand Nationals, they’re a familiar player at Worlds and I think a lot of Western players would be afraid of sitting across from them
• Same for Narawitch Naenna, Thailand Nationals runner up, who I actually think I ran into on the ladder a few days ago and they cooked me pretty quickly

Shepperd: It’s been really fun seeing the rise of great players from that part of the world.

Ugarte: I honestly think it's one of the coolest parts of Worlds, getting to play against regions and players you typically aren't able to.

Akcos-Cromie: It’s definitely part of the joy of Worlds.

Traylor: It’s so cool!

Shepperd: You’ve already been giving some spicy predictions. Maybe for once we should list off some of the more likely ones? Gimme your coldest takes.

Akcos-Cromie: Miraidon wins Worlds.

Ugarte: Kyogre does well with a new build. Shadow Rider Calyrex, Ice Rider Calyrex, and Miraidon dominate usage. Surprise restricted top cuts and goes very far if not wins.

Maybe that last one is a hot take actually LOL

Traylor: I think that’s a scorching hot take, Joe.

I think it’s a pretty likely conclusion that we’ll see Shadow Rider Calyrex, Ice Rider Calyrex, Miraidon, and Zamazenta do very well.

Ugarte: …A Groudon level scorching hot take?

Akcos-Cromie: As a lukewarm take: I think the Final will match up Europe and North America.

Ugarte: A USA champion is my prediction.

Akcos-Cromie: EUIC and NAIC both featured EU vs NA players in the finals. As much as I’d love to say that there will be a Japanese player in Finals, I predict they will only reach Top 4.

Ugarte: I think us Americans are finally due for win after slacking for a bunch of years, I feel like there are so many strong players from our region. OK, slacking might be a little harsh, but it is crazy that we only have four Champions from two players speaks to the difficulty of Worlds.

Traylor: I feel like restricteds outside of the top few (Ice Rider Calyrex, Shadow Rider Calyrex, Miraidon, Zamazenta, Koraidon, Kyogre, Terapagos) are very uncommon and the only ones I could see doing that are Groudon, Zacian, and at a very distant 10th Lunala.

Full credit: Zacian and Groudon are terrifying if used correctly. But it’s a delicate balancing act and you need to cover a lot of ground in order to stack up to the top players on the top restricted.

Ugarte: What Aaron said. I think Zacian is VERY good right now.

Akcos-Cromie: Is it having a comeback? Zamazenta has been best of the two recently.

Ugarte: My HOT TAKE is that Zacian will place better than Zamazenta.

Traylor: Oh, that’s a good call.

Akcos-Cromie: Ooooh.

Traylor: Whoa… Lou did you feel that? It’s like my computer just caught on fire for a few seconds.

Akcos-Cromie: Yep, piping hot take from Joe there!

Shepperd: Indeed. I’m excited for everyone who’s making the trip to Honolulu! Thanks again for another great discussion. It’s going to be an interesting Worlds for sure. As much as there are frontrunners, there’s still a lot of uncertainty. Great for players and fans!

Akcos-Cromie: PACK SUNTAN LOTION.

Shepperd: What Lou said. OK have a great time in Hawai’i and good luck to all!

For more Pokémon video game strategy and analysis, visit Pokemon.com/Strategy.