With each new mainline Pokémon game, the competitive meta expands with new Pokémon, moves, abilities, and battle mechanics. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet does its part by introducing meta-defining Pokémon duos like Annihilape and Maushold or Tatsugiri and Dondozo along with the Terastal phenomenon. This might not mean much to casual Pokémon players, but competitive VGC players know not to underestimate the tiny sushi or adorable mouse family.
So what happens when you throw eight content creators with little Pokémon knowledge into a competitive Pokémon tournament?
Wolfe Glick, the 2016 Pokémon World Champion and a popular Youtuber in his own right, did just that on Jan. 28 by hosting his own Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Invitational with Ludwig, Sykkuno, LilyPichu, Alpharad, JaidenAnimations, VoiD, Boxbox, and Connoreatspants all battling it out in VGC Doubles.
This is the first time an in-person event like this has happened with creators entering the competitive Pokémon scene, and it couldn’t have gone any better.
Each creator was paired with a coach who taught them the basics of competitive Pokémon before being thrown into their matches. Despite how little experience the competitors had, each match was both fun and intense, receiving praise from pros like Aaron Zheng, who was commentating the streaming event.
In the end, it was the Smash Ultimate pro VoiD who took home the trophy, but that wasn’t the only exciting part of the invitational.
VoiD proves he can master any game he plays
The Wolfe Glick Invitational might have been VoiD’s introduction to competitive Pokémon, but he impressed everyone with big plays using a terrifying team he built himself.
He had a near-perfect run from start to finish, only losing to Ludwig’s high-risk high-reward strategy. VoiD even joked in his postgame interview that Ludwig was the real winner for being the only person who took him down.
VoiD’s excellent performance might not come as a surprise to anyone who knows about his ability to play a variety of games at a high level. In addition to Smash and now Pokémon, he has also won tournaments for games like MultiVerse and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.
After winning the Wolfe Glick Invitational, VoiD expressed interest in playing more competitive Pokémon in the future, so this may not be the last time we see him at a competitive Pokémon tournament.
A Friendly rivalry overshadows the trophy
While competitors like VoiD had their eyes on the prize, LilyPichu and Sykkuno were more focused on beating each other. Neither competitor had prior experience with competitive Pokémon, so the two friends both went into it with a mindset to just have fun and earn some bragging rights over the other.
Going into their highly anticipated rivalry match, LilyPichu was sitting with an impressive 2-0 record while Sykkuno had yet to win a match. That all changed with Sykkuno walking away as the winner of their match. In his postgame interview, Sykkuno joked and said, “I got one win after all these years, and it was the only win I really wanted.”
LilyPichu also poked fun at herself about doing surprisingly well against the other competitors but failing to get the job done against the one person she’d hoped to defeat.
