Since February, Paradox Pokémon have dominated the competitive scene at every major tournament under Regulation B rules. With high base stat totals, these past and future ‘mons shifted the meta drastically after their VGC introduction.
No matter what’s been thrown at them, Flutter Mane, Iron Bundle, Iron Hands, and Great Tusk have continued to be at the top of the pack throughout the current format.
This was true at this weekend’s Charlotte Regionals as well. Once again, the big four Paradox Pokémon were running around everywhere you looked. No one is surprised at this point. In fact, Justin Carris’ winning Scarlet and Violet team had three of those four, only leaving Iron Hands behind. Meanwhile, his final opponent, Joseph Ugarte, was rocking with the reliable Iron Bundle and Great Tusk.
Seeing a lot of mirror match-ups can get a bit repetitive, but these are ultimately some of the best Pokémon in the format and not running them would likely put you at a disadvantage right from the start. That being said, a lot of players still found success by throwing in one or two less-obvious picks in this final tournament before the format turns to Regulation C, which will finally include the terrifying Treasures of Ruin.
For example, Justin Carris brought Tyranitar with the sand—a much less common weather option than sun or rain. Tyranitar has been seen in Scarlet and Violet VGC with Lycanroc as its partner, but Justin opted to use the pseudo-Legendary alongside the likes of Talonflame, Iron Bundle, and Flutter Mane.
In addition, Tyranitar’s Flying-Tera Type allowed it to avoid Ground-type attacks and resist Fighting-type attacks that otherwise destroy it.
On the other side of things, Joseph Ugarte had Mimikyu with Curse, which is anything but normal. By using Curse, Mimikyu was able to effectively put Justin’s Tyranitar on a timer to help Joseph take Game One of the finals.
World Champion Wolfe Glick also gets an honorable mention for making it to the event’s Top 16 bracket with a team he referred to as an “abomination.” With Tinkaton, Espathra, Gyarados, Ceruledge, and Sandy Shocks, there was nothing meta about this team except for (of course) Flutter Mane. This was no doubt a fun team to end Regulation B with as everyone starts to look ahead at Regulation C.
With the four Treasures of Ruin making their VGC debut next weekend at Fort Wayne Regionals, everything is about to change.
Flutter Mane and its Paradox friends will need to make room for Chien-Pao, Chi-Yu, Ting-Lu, and Wo-Chien. The Legendary quartet comes with meta-altering Abilities that lower offensive and defensive stats on the field, so players will need to find a way to use that to their advantage along with the naturally high stats of the Treasures of Ruin.
The hard-hitting offensive threats, Chien-Pao and Chi-Yu, seem like the early go-to picks in Regulation C, but players might have something cooking for Ting-Lu and Wo-Chien, too. Players better come prepared to handle all four.
