Mola Mira! — Team Report & Warstory from the 2024 World Champion

Header artwork by Liz (kamihada).

Hi, it’s Luca Ceribelli, aka ceree! It still feels weird to write that I’m the 2024 Pokémon World Champion, but I guess there are worse feelings around. I usually write down reports and tournament runs for fun in my spare time, though I am always too shy to publish them out. Still, I don’t think I can get away with leaving this one in the drafts, so here goes my experience at the 2024 Pokémon World Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii.

About me

I’m a 21-year-old uni student from Bergamo, near Milan in Italy. I have been playing VGC since 2017, where I managed to win the Treviso Special Event in the Senior Division and subsequently the Turin Special Event in the Masters Division at 14 and a bunch of months (to push my delusion, I say to myself that I’m the youngest ever Regional winner in the Masters Division, so even if it’s not true let me believe it).

Since after that I had a long streak of underwhelming results, I will let you believe I took a long break until 2022 (you won’t find me in any tournament standings anyways, I was too low to be noticed), where I managed to make Day 2 at the Pokémon World Championships for the first time in my life. This achievement gave me a huge confidence boost and I was able to capitalize off of that, making Day 2 at every event I attended in the Scarlet & Violet era and getting some nice results such as top cutting the Europe International Championships and placing second at the Bologna Special Event.

Now that the boasting is over we can get to the main part.

Table of Contents

Teambuilding process

Deciding on the Restricted

I wanted to settle on which Restricted to run at least a month before Worlds. Though I think the recent power creep made a lot of non-Restricted mons act as pseudo-ubers (Raging Bolt, Urshifu, etc.), the Restricted of choice usually shapes the team’s composition and playstyle, thus I wanted to have a clear idea on what type of team I wanted to master even if I had not decided yet on the 5 supporting cast.

I will quickly detail the reasoning behind the Restricted I considered going into Worlds:

Koraidon

Koraidon: its ability to power up already strong Pokémon such as Raging Bolt and Flutter Mane was tempting, but its reliance on weather and overall non-optimal match-up against Ice Rider Calyrex made me decide against it. Also, I did not like how its strongest attack, Flare Blitz, required both the usage of Terastallization and consistent recoil with no options for recovery on the Restricted, something I found way too demanding for what it was giving back.

Groudon

Groudon: I liked the ability to deal spread Ground-type damage a lot better, but it also felt like I had fewer ways to snowball due to having a slower Restricted, let alone its Precipice Blades’ shaky accuracy. Much like Koraidon, I found its drawbacks too heavy to allow myself to run an already sub-par Restricted.

Zacian Crowned

Zacian: I initially found Zacian to be an interesting pick due to the good match-up spread it had on the metagame, but its lack of a spread move made it so that I would have fewer times where I could just button-smash my way out of matches, something I was not ready to accept if it meant learning an entire archetype anew. Side note: I also disliked Zacian’s inability to hit Fire types, which in turn made Rapid Strike Style Urshifu mandatory in a lot of selections.

Zamazenta Crowned

Zamazenta: I find Zamazenta to be kind of like a Zacian on steroids when it comes to match-up spread. In general, any friend I was talking to had some kind of bad match-up against it. I believe it was the Restricted I was playing better with among the ones I ended up discarding, but a lot of problems made me decide against it: its reliance on forcing out Terastallization, necessity of correctly guessing Protects, using sub-par Pokémon such as Entei, Ditto, etc…

Kyogre

Kyogre: the first Restricted considered to have an actual access to strong spread moves. I discarded it almost immediately since I did not like running Kyogre + Tornadus for its unstable playstyle and necessity of a priority-blocking Pokémon in nearly every game. Assault Vest Kyogre felt way too lackluster, and Calm Mind Kyogre felt like a Calm Mind Terapagos with the added malus of not having a 100% accuracy spread move.

Calyrex Shadow

Shadow Rider Calyrex: going into Worlds, the Psychic/Ghost-type Calyrex felt like the strongest Restricted due to its versatility in building (mainly item choice) and gameplay, along with a proper unfair move in Astral Barrage. I discarded it as I felt it had a way too big target on its back, coupled with its extreme limitations on Terastallization and EV spread due to the mirror’s demands.

Calyrex Ice

Ice Rider Calyrex: The Psychic/Ice-type Calyrex has the strongest move of the game in Glacial Lance, and the ability to bulk through the majority of the metagame on its own. I discarded it because: a) its playstyle of getting value out of multiple Glacial Lances was very different to mine, which usually favours fast Pokémon to force out plays rather than playing reactively; b) I thought Calyrex’s success would be decided by the effectiveness of its companions, and I was unsure I could find the call in time for the event.

Terapagos Terastal

Terapagos: Terapagos is a weird Pokémon as it functions completely different based on its set. I did not want to run Calm Mind as it was way too slow of an approach for me, but I found Choice Specs way too difficult to use due to the amount of Fake Out users slowing it down. The set I found more appealing to me was Power Herb with Meteor Beam (admittedly, its Stellar-type Meteor Beam animation is so cool that it almost sold me on the idea), but its main problem was that to get the most out of Meteor Beam, you needed to Terastallize it early, usually wasting Tera Shell and the early-game utility of single-target Tera Starstorm. To counteract it, I tried running Calm Mind again as the 4th move to have a way to power yourself without needing to Terastallize early, while still keeping its offensive-paced playstyle, but it ended up working badly in both directions: I had a Calm Mind Terapagos without neither Leftovers or Covert Cloak, and an offensive Terapagos that needed too much time to get into the game.

Miraidon

Miraidon: after all, the choice had to fall onto Miraidon, which already featured in my Bologna Special Event 2nd place team. I had my doubts about Miraidon due to its reliance on getting turns right, the rise of Iron Hands, and in general the increasing number of people preparing for it. The first two problems were partially solved by the introduction of the Fairy Tera Type and Dazzling Gleam on Miraidon. As for the latter, I wasn’t able to find some way to counter the soft-counters, but given how I found myself playing other compositions way worse, I settled on playing what I was most comfortable with and rely on my ability (or rather, hoping the muscle memory of 300 Pokémon Showdown best-of-3 sets would be enough).

The Supporting Cast

Settling on Miraidon, I knew that I was already restricting my choices to 3 slots, as Farigiraf and Iron Hands were mandatory.

MiraidonFarigirafIron Hands

Miraidon relies way too much on controlling the tempo to allow your opponent to slow you down with Fake Outs, and passing out on the stat behemoth that is Iron Hands under Electric Terrain is criminal.

MiraidonFarigirafIron HandsWhimsicottUrshifu SingleChi Yu

My first attempt, using Bologna’s exact squad, was unconvincing, though I don’t know how much of it was due to running Electric Tera Type rather than Fairy on Miraidon. I’ve seen it do pretty good at Worlds, so it probably wasn’t that bad of a call if updated properly.

MiraidonFarigirafIron HandsGrimmsnarlOgerpon HearthflameUrsaluna Bloodmoon

After witnessing what I believed to be Frederik and Nikolaj Høj Nielsen’s alt on Pokémon Showdown using a composition of Miraidon + Grimmsnarl + Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon + Bloodmoon Ursalununa + Farigiraf + Iron Hands, I wanted to look more into Grimmsnarl: not only was the added Reflect support looking really cool (allowing for more breathing room against Zamazenta, Chien-Pao, Iron Hands and so on…), especially on Iron Hands, the ability to spam Thunder Wave at the slightest inconvenience was very tempting. I tried to run the aforementioned 6, with a peculiar Calm Mind Ursaluna (trying out Zee Costagliola’s NAIC idea), but in the end I found Ursaluna to be useless as I was often skeptical to commit heavy on the Trick Room mode, usually favouring a softer Iron Hands and Farigiraf late-game mode. I did like the quartet of Miraidon, Grimmsnarl, Farigiraf and Iron Hands though, and I wanted to experiment on it.

MiraidonFarigirafIron HandsGrimmsnarlUrshifu RapidEntei

Taking inspiration by both Frederik’s success at the Victory Road to Honolulu #1 and a similar composition gaining track in Italy, I tried using Entei and bulky Rapid Strike Style Urshifu with Mystic Water and Poison Tera Type. I brought this 6 to a Midseason Showdown (you will never catch me calling them League Cup) in Milan and finished 2nd, dropping only 3 games out of 8 rounds.

Still, I had found a important problem: I was way too easy to read on my team selection, which against strong opponents could equal a death sentence. Granted, you are usually expected to lead Miraidon anyway due to how much pressure it applies from the get-go, but Grimmsnarl is also often lead-bound, with the back usually being easily identifiable in Iron Hands and Farigiraf. I found the problem in the fact that both Entei and Mystic Water Urshifu were very match-up specific, and thus it was very difficult to bring them in a vacuum, rendering my selections predictable.

Honestly, I didn’t really like Entei in the first place (as it felt underwhelming both offensively and defensively), so I didn’t mind dropping it, but I had a harder time doing so with Urshifu (as I found Poison Tera Type to be extremely good against Zamazenta, which I struggled immensely against otherwise).

MiraidonFarigirafIron HandsWhimsicottUrshifu RapidChi Yu

In the end, I decided to drop Grimmsnarl because its shortcomings in terms of predictabilty were too big for me. Putting Whimsicott back in, I tried out Andrea Olea’s version which featured Choice Scarf Chi-Yu (which I already had a good experience with after Bologna) and Choice Band Rapid Strike Style Urshifu. I initially liked this set as it could overwhelm slower compositions, with the added benefit of KOing Rillaboom with Helping Hand + U-turn, but in the end the same problems began to manifest (i.e. both Urshifu and Chi-Yu needed Farigiraf); and the grand amount of zero Protects made the team way too unstable to my liking.

MiraidonFarigirafIron HandsWhimsicottUrshifu RapidOgerpon Hearthflame

I continued to scramble around with minor tweaks, but after talking with Simone Sanvito (Sanvy), he convinced me to give a deeper try to Hiroto Hayasaki‘s (Arubega) version, which was doing well both in ladder and Japanese tournaments, featuring Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon.
Admittedly, I am a sucker for Firepon, as it carried me in both Regulation Sets E and F, but I felt like it was past its prime due to the higher firepower both outclassing it and threatening it way too much for my liking, but Sanvy talked me into reconsidering, stating how Incineroar’s drop in usage meant it would be unintimidated for the majority of games, and how it was the most solid Fire type available either way. I tried it out again as the offensive core was very similar to the one I used to top cut EUIC (Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon + Rapid Strike Style Urshifu + a strong Electric/Dragon + a speed-controlling Fairy type).

I can’t say I was completely sold on the idea, but I found myself more comfortable than with other compositions, and my winrate improved too. I settled on Whimsicott + Rapid Strike Style Urshifu for their good defensive synergy with the rest of the team, and I temporarily selected Ogerpon as the designated Fire-type.

While on the plane, I started theorizing about Fire-Tera Type Choice Scarf Chi-Yu, which looked to add a very oppressive lead from the get-go next to Farigiraf, but did not manage to test it out. Talking it with Sanvy and Davide Cognetta, they both agreed it looked good on paper but made the team way too unstable.

After discussing it with my friend Marco Silva while at the Pokémon Center, he jokingly pulled a Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon plush and said “after all she has done for you, are you still leaving her behind?” Dumb as it may seem, I took it as convincing enough and kept Ogerpon as the last slot.

The Team

▶️ Get the team’s paste here!

Normal Sprite

Miraidon @ Choice Specs
Ability: Hadron Engine
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 44 HP / 4 Def / 244 SpA / 12 SpD / 204 Spe
Modest Nature
– Electro Drift
– Draco Meteor
– Volt Switch
– Dazzling Gleam

I don’t think there is much to say about Miraidon other than it is fast and hits very hard. I really like its simplicity on that aspect.

The Fairy-Tera Type Dazzling Gleam set has grown on me, giving it access both to a spammable spread and a way to avoid the type chart trap (where locking into Electro Drift paved the way for Raging Bolt, or using Draco Meteor both dropping firepower and risking running into a Fairy Tera Type). One of my main errors using Miraidon was overplaying Volt Switch, even in situations where I would be required not to, but I feel like I improved on it. Maybe the Fairy Tera Type improving its staying power helped easing up the decisions.

Its main innovation was the “slow” spread: after running Timid for the majority of the time, I started despising its slight decrease on damaging output, especially since Modest allowed to pick up knockouts where it wasn’t supposed to (i.e. it OHKOd mid-bulk Shadow Rider Calyrex with Draco Meteor without the Hadron Engine boost most of the times). After talking it out with Sanvy, I decided that Modest was the right choice. As at this point max Speed Modest wasn’t looking very useful, I invested in a little bulk to ease up some rolls (such as 252 SpA Life Orb-boosted, Helping Hand-boosted Astral Barrage, or 252+ Atk Sword of Ruin-boosted Body Press from Zamazenta), while keeping enough Speed to outpace 252 Spe Impish Zamazenta. Expecting myself to be slower than other Miraidon, I also developed a plan in the mirror involving using Light Screen to easily survive a Fairy-Tera Type Dazzling Gleam and safely Volt Switching into what I was mostly comfortable with unscathed.

Funnily enough, multiple people ran a similar spread following a similar train of thought, including Arubega himself and Seongjae Jeong.

Normal Sprite

Whimsicott @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Dark
EVs: 236 HP / 164 SpD / 108 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Moonblast
– Tailwind
– Light Screen
– Encore

Despite its lack of firepower, Whimsicott’s ability to support both offensively (Tailwind) and defensively (Light Screen) has been immensely useful, even more if coupled up with its good defensive synergy with Miraidon and Rapid Strike Style Urshifu. Moreover, the access to Encore enabled multiple shenanigans far more threatening than whatever Tornadus were to offer through its attack.

Although usually brought in lead, I sometimes brought it in the back either as a switch-in or as a surprise mixup inbetween games.

The spread allows to survive two Timid Miraidon’s Fairy-Tera Type Dazzling Gleams behind Light Screen and non-Terastallized Choice Specs Calyrex’s Astral Barrages, while outpacing up to Jolly Urshifu.

As it could be of use as a mixup in the Shadow Rider Calyrex + Weezing matchup, and in general I could scare away Encores or faster Prankster Taunts, I used Dark Tera Type: I never ended up using it in the tournament, but on paper it was way more useful than Fire or Water (even though they were better defensive types, the few times I would Terastallize it in testing was just to get rid of its weaknesses, something that Dark was able to do anyway).

Normal Sprite

Farigiraf @ Electric Seed
Ability: Armor Tail
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 204 HP / 164 Def / 4 SpA / 108 SpD / 28 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 6 Atk
– Psychic Noise
– Foul Play
– Helping Hand
– Trick Room

Disclaimer: not a huge fan of Farigiraf. A most-times do-nothing mediocre-stats Pokémon wasn’t something I ever expected bringing to Worlds, but its selling points were so useful it would have been insane not to use it. Despite its shortcomings, the usual Foul Play / Psychic Noise / Helping Hand / Trick Room set was good enough when I was to bring it.

The spread was made to hit the bump on Defense and have an additional extra point to make it even, and have enough special bulk to survive Draco Meteor from Booster Energy Raging Bolt.

The additional points were dumped in Speed to have a general higher pool of Iron Hands to hit with Psychic Noise before they could Drain Punch.

Water is a general good Tera Type which maximizes its staying power in front of Ice Rider Calyrex, the main Pokémon it is supposed to wall.

6 Attack IVs because it’s the lowest amount I got before having a mental breakdown (can you imagine Arash Ommati managed to get a 0 Atk IV Farigiraf at the first try?).

Normal Sprite

Iron Hands @ Assault Vest
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Bug
EVs: 76 HP / 180 Atk / 12 Def / 236 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
– Drain Punch
– Wild Charge
– Fake Out
– Low Kick

The second Restricted of the team. Iron Hands‘s stats alone make it a great asset even in a Restricted format, but the support of Electric Terrain and Light Screen really push it to the next level, to the point where it can truly win games on its own. I made some calculations and, under those conditions, Iron Hands acts as an item-less, Ability-less Pokémon with 772 BST (keep in mind, one is Special Attack and another is Speed which is deliberately set to lowest). Throw in the fact you can just play it as a reliable Fake Out or damage-sponge support and there is really nothing you can say against using it.

I used Low Kick + Wild Charge as complementary moves because I really liked having a 120 BP no-drawback STAB move against the majority of Restricteds (in particular, it worked wonders against Ice Rider Calyrex) and other Iron Hands, and while not as flashy as a Heavy Slam, Wild Charge allowed to get out of some otherwise uncomfortable situations with a reliable 90 BP STAB move (i.e. Low Kick + Heavy Slam has a hard time beating Fairy-Tera Type Miraidon, which I did not want to happen).

The EV spread allows to keep as much Attack as possible, while getting 3HKOd by non-boosted Surging Strikes and Fairy Tera Type-boosted Dazzling Gleam from a Modest Miraidon behind Light Screen.

I initially wanted to run a Speed in order to underspeed usual Ice Rider Calyrex while outpacing Raging Bolt in Tailwind, but that situation wasn’t ever happening, and being able to underspeed the other Iron Hands and at least speed-tying 0 Spe IV Calyrex (which is very popular in Asia) was more useful, so I ended up using a flat 0 Spe IVs Brave set. Thanks to Mattia Cotoletta for getting me one after I filled a Box with non-0 Spe IVs Area Zero dwellers.

Bug Tera Type was in discussion up until the day of the tournament. In the end, I sacrificed gaining an immunity to Amoonguss (which was important since it couldnt touch it at all without Heavy Slam) and gaining a resistance to Water, in order to have a better matchup against Zamazenta (though I didn’t end up using it against it in the tournament) and to be able to Terastallize against Ursaluna + Ice Rider Calyrex.

Normal Sprite

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Focus Sash
Ability: Unseen Fist
Tera Type: Stellar
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Surging Strikes
– Close Combat
– Aqua Jet
– Protect

There is no way to sugarcoat it: Urshifu is way too strong not to play it. Whereas Single Strike Style Urshifu was more popular due to the lowering amount of Fairy-Tera Type Shadow Rider Calyrex, I decided to run the Rapid Strike Style both for comfort and to have a better defensive synergy, granting me a much needed Glacial Lance switch-in (to be honest, the worse Shadow Rider Calyrex comps had Clefairy, so I didn’t really find Single Strike Style Urshifu that strong anyway…).

Following what I said earlier in the report, I chose Focus Sash because it allows for more flexibility in team choice: it is way harder to take down before it attacks, so you’re way more likely to get value out of it. I was very scared of the popular Rocky Helmet Incineroar, but in the end I was able to deal with it either via Miraidon or with Stellar-Tera Type Close Combat.

A couple days before the tournament, I tried Coaching as a last slot to allow Iron Hands and (had I made it slower) Ogerpon to bulk through some specific matchups, but it ended up being too gimmicky, so I just stuck with Aqua Jet.

Despite not changing much in relevant calculations, I decided against running Jolly out of comfort: I was way too used to Adamant Urshifu and I did not think outpacing other Urshifus would prove to be important.

Stellar Tera Type is incredibly important, because it allows to “sandwich” Fire-Tera Type Ice Rider Calyrex with Farigiraf, while also being able to KO Rillaboom and Raging Bolt with Helping Hand support. In general, Stellar-Tera Type Close Combat does so much damage that a little chip such as Volt Switch usually puts both of them into KO range.

Normal Sprite

Ogerpon-Hearthflame (F) @ Hearthflame Mask
Ability: Mold Breaker
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 188 HP / 76 Atk / 52 Def / 4 SpD / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
– Ivy Cudgel
– Wood Hammer
– Follow Me
– Spiky Shield

What has been my signature Pokémon throughout the season was very close to not making it to Honolulu, but overcame its alternatives and I am glad she did. Whereas not as strong as other candidates (funny, considering she’s like a miniature Zacian), Ogerpon proved to be the most balanced out of all the Fire types, allowing me to play out match-ups that would have been terrible without her.

Ogerpon is most times an Ivy Cudgel bot, aiming to remove Rillaboom and then offer some support with Follow Me. I noticed that I used Wood Hammer very little during the run, and in one game its recoil even cost me the game… had the run ended in Top 8, I would curse myself for not running Power Whip like at EUIC, but all’s well what ends well and Wood Hammer was generally a safer choice, even if sometimes it chipped Ogerpon’s HP down where she would rather not find herself in.

The spread, courtesy of Marco, allows to OHKO Rillaboom with non-Terastallized Ivy Cudgel nearly all times, while surviving Water-Tera Type Urshifu’s Surging Strikes; non max Attack +1 Calyrex’s Glacial Lance; +2 Spell Tag Calyrex’s Astral Barrage behind Light Screen; and Timid Miraidon’s Draco Meteor behind Light Screen. Seeing how many Miraidon opted out of Timid, I would probably change the spread to a bulkier one, but I found the comfort of outpacing Urshifu and Modest Landorus cool at times.

Tournament run

Day 1

I think it’s pretty uncommon, but I like having a long walk to the venue before the tournament, partly because I need something to do to avoid getting to the venue while still braindead.

The 30-something minute walk from our apartment was really cool and I also got to try malasadas on my way.

Once I get to the venue, I can meet up with everyone and cool down my usual tournament anxiety as we wait for the opening ceremony. Except pairings are already out, so we are all stressing about our opponents to properly enjoy it, and the usual Worlds screw-up postponing it as well doesn’t help…

Either way, after a long wait, it’s finally game on as we are all called to the playing tables.

Day 1 summary: 6-2 (12-5) — Advancing to Day 2!

I had made it to Day 2 of the World Championships for the third straight year, but it didn’t feel as good as I thought it would, as I felt like I was blessed by the match-up roulette nearly all day long. I knew that, to go further in the tournament, I would need to up my game to face stronger opponents and harder matchups.

Still, I went home feeling like I was given a second chance at life, an opportunity I did not want to go to waste (despite my usual pessimistic approach).

Day 2 Swiss rounds

I think the new tournament format is way too hard on 6-2 players, giving them no margin of error whatsoever to keep their run alive, but it also meant I was only three wins away from the Worlds top cut, my main goal for the season after coming so close in 2022 and so far (sic) in 2023.

Day 2 Swiss rounds summary: 3-0 (6-1)
Final Swiss result: 9-2 (18-6)
— Advancing to Top Cut!

Top Cut

Making it to the Worlds final bracket is the coronation of a player’s season, and as my goal for the tournament I was overwhelmed with joy by this achievement. After the dust was settled, it came to mind that I actually had more to show in the tournament, so I was quick to snap back to reality and started thinking about players I would rather face and which I wouldn’t (as I said, the whole match finished in the blink of an eye as I had a lot of time to spare). After all the matches were finished and the bracket was finalised, I finally stepped back to the playing area for my first game in cut. I was trying to play it cool but I was so nervous that I ended up dropping my Switch and breaking the screen right as I made it to the playing table…

Top Cut summary: 4-0 (8-1)
Final Swiss rounds + Top Cut record: 13-2 (26-7)
— Advancing to the Finals

Making it to the Finals

After an exhausting set of shooting content for the Finals, I was finally let free to join my friend group. I had made it to the Worlds Finals. That meant that I could become the World Champion the next day. Me. World Champion. That sounded way too strange to be true. I realized that I was in the Worlds Finals. Like, the actual Worlds Finals. I could not believe it.

This could have easily been the time I passed out right on the main streets of Honolulu. I should have practiced for the next day, but I was so anxious that I decided to do all I could to go to sleep without thinking about it.
I am happy that I managed to achieve anyone’s secret desire to be able to afford to treat all your friends to dinner first. We went to a nice Korean BBQ and had an amazing time that I am glad to have immortalized by the goat Justin Cerioni.

Surprisingly, I was so tired from everything that happened that I fell asleep immediately once we finally went back home.

The Actual Finals Behind the Scenes

I set up the alarm to ring at 7 am so I could properly test at once.

One good advantage was that both my friends Arash Ommati and Davide Cauteruccio had tested a variant of Yuta Ishigaki’s team like a month prior to the tournament, so we had some starting ground to work on.

The match-up at first looked very rough, with Landorus putting immediate pressure on my Miraidon to Terastallize and chip it into Calyrex’s range. Despite Pelipper’s rough time staying on the field, the Rain was incredibly annoying as well as it turned Ogerpon, which otherwise looked to be very good, pretty lackluster.

I usually started out with Miraidon + Ogerpon while bringing two of Farigiraf, Iron Hands and Urshifu in the back, each selection yielding major drawbacks:

  • Without Urshifu, I was left without a priority to finish off Landorus after Dazzling Gleam, so I had to Draco Meteor on turn 1
  • Without Farigiraf, I had a very hard time dealing with late-game Amoonguss
  • Without Iron Hands, I had troubles stalling out Trick Room.

The main things I noticed from my part were how good Draco Meteor was, as only Iron Valiant resisted it, and how -2 Draco Meteor still dealt important damages to both Amoonguss and Calyrex.

The first hour was rough, with me losing several times, but as time went on I got a little bit better against it (I think there is no shame in admitting that, had we been made to play the very same day, I would have most likely lost). After replaying it countless of times, I can say that with this much preparation the match-up was at worst even and at best favourable to me.

I want to point out that all of our testing was made against Pelipper + Landorus with Calyrex and Amoonguss in the back, as it seemed the most obvious gameplan, but I was trying to lead Ogerpon every game because I wanted to cover for Iron Valiant.

After around 2.5 hours of testing, I left the apartment, not without many doubts. I must thank Arash for helping me deal with all the stress I was experiencing on our way to the venue, and as I got there, I was promptly brought to the staff area to do a round of interviews (as if the day before weren’t enough…) and be briefed by the judges about the Finals setup (I also had to play on my Switch Lite for the Finals, so I had to request controllers as well ._.). I joined back with my friends by the playing area and got back to testing.

After another round of beatdowns where I Protected Ogerpon and Fairy-type Terastallized only to get deleted by Helping Hand + Sludge Bomb, I started losing faith in Miraidon + Ogerpon. One thing I realized was that keeping Miraidon healthy to throw off more than one Draco Meteor was way more important than any other Pokémon’s HP, but at the same time the only Pokémon aside from Miraidon able to OHKO Landorus was Urshifu, which was easily beaten by an Amoonguss switch-in. I came up with the idea of leading Miraidon + Urshifu to bait my opponent into getting fast damages off into Miraidon to ensure it would stay in and be knocked out by Urshifu. I tested it out and it turned out I could afford eating a Helping Hand-boosted Sandsear Storm with Urshifu and Iron Hands if it meant knocking out Landorus, and I would also have Fake Out support the following turn to ensure Miraidon could come back in safely on the next turn. I texted Marco about it and he actually managed to predict the whole Game 1.

Luca
I tried Miraidon + Urshifu + Hands + Farigiraf

Do you think he is forced to attack if he leads Landorus + Pelipper? I was thinking of switching Iron Hands and using Surging Strikes, if I make Landorus faint I should be good even if I have both Pokémon at 2%

Marco
Looks good
If he uses Helping Hand + Sludge Bomb you completely screw him even if it’s unlikely he does that

We talked about on what to do next and we agreed that in case of a successful Game 1, Yuta would have most likely switched out of Landorus + Pelipper, so I could go with Miraidon + Ogerpon to have a more solid composition in a vacuum. I also settled on the fact that Iron Hands and Farigiraf would be the best late-game pick in most scenarios, so I would only switch up the pick next to Miraidon (including Whimsicott who I thought of as a hail mary against Landorus + Pelipper. I was really close to bringing it in Game 3 but luckily decided not to ☺).

I managed to spectate the Junior Finals with my friend (congratulations, Kevin!) before getting yanked into the backstage, where I got to watch the Senior Finals with Yuta and Hyuma Hara (we got a photo as well! Thanks for building my EUIC team!).

Yuta has been a phenomenal sport from the very first time we briefly spoke the previous day and I’m glad we got to share some small talk before the big match.

By the time the Seniors were approaching the end of the match, anxiety skyrocketed, as expected. I took a deep breath and when we were called off, I walked into the stage. The time had finally come.

Finals

RoundResultOpponentOpponent’s teamList
FinalsWLWJPN
Yuta Ishigaki
(パラガス)
Calyrex IceAmoongussIron ValiantUrshifu RapidPelipperLandorus Incarnate

I think I yapped enough about the match-up, so I will only add that the headphones did not connect to the console so I was left without my sweet Kieran 3 soundtrack until Game 3 where I was brought mine…

Game 1:

  • Me: MiraidonUrshifu RapidFarigirafIron Hands
  • Opp: Landorus IncarnatePelipperCalyrex IceAmoonguss

This game turns out exactly how I intended it to be if not even better due to the (accounted for) Sludge Bomb call of Yuta. After that, I just need to not Surging Strikes the Amoonguss like a fool and send Miraidon back in safely to take home an early win.

Game 2:

  • Me: MiraidonOgerpon HearthflameFarigirafIron Hands
  • Opp: Landorus IncarnateIron ValiantCalyrex IceAmoonguss

The lead game was kind to me yet again. I decide this time to play it very safe (maybe way too safe) by going for Volt Switch and Follow Me (watching it now, Yuta could have even gone for Amoonguss over Iron Valiant and not even waste the Booster Energy, even if it was an insane commitment) to avoid taking too much damage to Sandsear Storm, trading Ogerpon for Iron Valiant and getting a Fake Out in. Calyrex comes in as Miraidon goes back and I use Fake Out and Draco Meteor to OHKO Landorus (side note: had I not Terastallize before, I could have survived Glacial Lance later on with Miraidon).

Only two Pokémon left between me and the World Championships.

At this point I can say I make the possibly biggest blunder of my career. In testing, I usually found myself in this situation, but with some remaining Pokémon on Yuta’s side that changed how I needed to manage the board in the next turn so that I would double up Amoonguss. Due to Yuta Terastallizing Calyrex the turn before, I would have always won (and by always I mean 90% of the time, but I probably would have had a better time had I missed anyways) by switching Farigiraf and using Draco Meteor, so that I could then comfortably knock out Amoonguss with Farigiraf and cycle Fake Out to reverse Trick Room or whatever. Instead, the nerves get once again the better of me as I try to KO Amoonguss with the double-up (around 71% chance), failing.

I could still win at this point, but I don’t switch Farigiraf fearing Yuta using Clear Smog into Miraidon’s slot, which would chip Farigiraf and remove its Defense boost, making Glacial Lance a 2HKO, resulting in him swiftly calling me onto that by using Clear Smog and High Horsepower, knocking out Iron Hands. Farigiraf can’t do the impossible and I lose the most important game of my career from a winning position.

Game 3:

  • Me: MiraidonOgerpon HearthflameFarigirafIron Hands
  • Opp: Calyrex IceIron ValiantPelipperAmoonguss

At this point, everything goes haywire. All my planning was relying on soft reading Yuta’s approach, but now that it’s truly the final showdown, I don’t know what to do. I just trust my guts that Yuta won’t lead Landorus + Pelipper and lock in Ogerpon again.

Now, I never tested against this specific lead. There are like 200 ways this turn 1 can go and I don’t have a precise understanding how any one of them is gonna play out. I once again decide to go for Follow Me and Draco Meteor Calyrex, since as long as Draco Meteor knocks out there is no better play. As I see Coaching come out, I pray to whatever Pokémon God there is, Draco Meteor connects… and misses the knockout. That’s it. I relied way too much on Miraidon’s Draco Meteor and incorrectly assumed Calyrex to not have any Special Defense and paid the maximum price for it.

HOWEVER! Yuta tried to read into me using Volt Switch and Ivy Cudgel, and not wanting to be left stranded on the field with a weakened Calyrex, decided to use Trick Room. Game on.

Still, I have to fight for my life against Calyrex. I protect Ogerpon and send in Iron Hands as Calyrex uses Glacial Lance while switching to Pelipper (I probably should have used Ivy Cudgel straight away, as it was confirmed at this point that Calyrex wasn’t max Attack, but now checking all the spread would have opened to a 12.5% roll to faint). With Fake Out active, I have a slight advantage to push while trying to stall Trick Room. I decide that Yuta won’t risk everything on Helping Hand, and I Fake Out Pelipper and use Ivy Cudgel onto Calyrex to slow down, while he sends in Amoonguss and Protects.

Now, there is another whole lot of mind games incentivated by not knowing a very specific calc: I assume that, at +1 in Rain Calyrex would survive Low Kick + non-boosted Ivy Cudgel after being healed with Pollen Puff (which instead was almost a guaranteed knockout), while also fearing Calyrex winning the speed tie as Amoonguss Pollen Puffs Ogerpon to put it into Glacial Lance range as I don’t Terastallize. I decide thus to Terastallize Ogerpon, and luck is by my side as Yuta uses Rage Powder and Glacial Lance, Iron Hands faints but Amoonguss does as well. 3v3. I send in Farigiraf just to sponge the last Trick Room turn (I assumed Pelipper to be slower than Farigiraf, allowing Yuta to knock it out before it could attack), Miraidon and Ogerpon are already enough to win the game on their own. Ogerpon protects itself as Farigiraf surprisingly underspeeds Pelipper, allowing itself to do the only job it was supposed to do for the first time in three games, and sealing the deal for everyone except myself.

I know that I won at this point, but you can understand me that it didn’t feel real. I just needed to use Follow Me and Electro Drift Iron Valiant, really there are probably a billion other plays that win either way as well, but just one is enough. After several blunders, I am terrified of missing something else again, so I take all the time possible to ensure I was not screwing up.

The most obvious play ever finally comes out as I take those 20 seconds of animation to see Miraidon soar through the skies and roll down onto Iron Valiant to give me the game, the set, the World Championships, the dream I never once thought could be possible.

Finals summary: 1-0 (2-1)
Final total record: 14-2 (28-8)
World Champion

After the Finals

The fireworks scattered across the stage that feel way too close to a danger hazard for comfort go off, but I don’t even notice them as I jump into the crowd to get swallowed by the embrace of the friends that accompanied me through my journey till here.

Looking back at the recording, it breaks my heart to see my dumbass, too exhausted to process anything, glide past Yuta before giving him the sendoff he deserved, but he truly is way too much of a sportman to care and we even manage to hug each other and share some confused talk once I come back on the stage.

Finally, we are taken backstage once again for the closing ceremony. I have some time to think about some kind of a big entrance, but I have wasted it all by facetiming those friends that stayed home and watched in voicechat the match at 5 am in the morning, so the best I can come up with is that weird double peace sign again. I think I pulled it back with the trophy kiss though?

Doesn’t matter. I want to say this is the ending scene of the tournament, but apparently the World Champion’s throne is full of duties and one of them is being yanked back again backstage to shoot yet another interview while I’m probably at the lowest IQ of my entire life. Don’t know when that one is coming out, I had one in Bologna as well and it still hasn’t come out either…

I am released from my shackles around 1 hour after the closing ceremony, walk through the now empty venue to retrieve all the Worlds loot and the trophy. The walk outside is pretty comical with me wearing hoodie, cap and two shoulder bags with a cardboard box in my hands as a judge has to help me out with the trophy, but luckily there aren’t enough people to notice.

In the end, I like this one scene to be the final one better. The trophy may be hidden by four layers of cardboard and polystirene, but it’s best to have your friends who got you since you were just a kid playing Thursday locals in Milan after school surround you, isn’t it?

(To Marco: don’t book the flights back for Sunday next time…)

Final Words

Even though I’m a very pessimistic person, I am happy I was able to keep going in face of all the difficulties, ultimately winning 11 straight matches to claim the title. In Bergamo, there’s a popular phrase in “mola mia”, which roughly translates to “never give up”. I was never one to take to heart such a motto, but I’m starting to see the beauty in that now.

Once again, I never thought I would be able to write this report, and as such having to ask “what now?” is an eerie feeling this many weeks after.

You probably noticed from my perspective of the matches, but I am very critical of my abilities, which I think has helped me improve through my journey. I hope that peaking this high at such an unexpected notice won’t change my approach and I will be able to improve my skills further than where I am today. I like to think that, even if I may not be able to top this moment ever again, this won’t be the end of my path through this wonderful world.

I think I gave my shoutouts a hundred times already, but just to be sure:

  • Thanks to my family for always supporting me in my passion
  • Thanks to the friends of Il Server for all the memories we’ve made and the ones we’ll make from now on
  • Thanks to all the people that supported me, even if they were as far away as a 12-hour timezone difference
  • Thanks to everyone who took their time to read through this infinite yapping of mine

See you in Anaheim!

You might also like...

Sebastián Rodríguez is the 2025 Lima Special Champion!

2024 Lima Special Event finalist Sebastián Rodríguez has won his first major title! He defeated 2023 Lima Special Event Champion Matías Díaz in the finals of this 2025 season’s Lima Special Championship, giving Flamigo his first-ever win!

Victory Road