On Aug. 13, Tomoya Ogawa claimed the title of 2023 Pokémon World Champion in the Senior Division of the grand finals that took place during the Worlds stage in Yokohama, Japan. What makes this feat even more impressive is that Ogawa pulled this off using a completely ignored Fairy-type Pokémon: Sylveon.
Since the inception of Regulation B where all Paradox Pokémon were allowed in competitive play, Flutter Mane rose to the top of usage charts and hasn’t dropped from the first place since. This made it one of the only Fairy-type Pokémon people consider using as an offensive sweeper on their team.
Ogawa decided to break the rules, however, and added the very unpopular Sylveon, which only has a usage rate of 0.66 percent on Showdown’s Regulation D ladder, compared to Flutter Mane 64.22 percent.
Not only did Ogawa use Sylveon to win the biggest tournament of the season, but he also used it to beat a Flutter Mane on the opposing finalist’s team, directly proving that an Eeveelution can definitely steal the throne of ‘strongest Fairy-type’ from the reigning Fairy.
Apart from this, Ogawa also used uncommon ‘mons like Gastrodon and Zapdos, making his team a real standout from the rest of the field.
Speaking of Gastrodon, this happens to be the little-slug-that-could’s second consecutive Worlds win in a row, with Eduardo Cunha using it to win the 2022 Pokémon World Championships in the Masters Division last year.
This grand win rewarded Tomoya Ogawa with $10,000 in cash prize and an automatic entry as a challenger for the 2024 Pokémon World Championships that is going to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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