Sep28
2025 Pokémon Dortmund Regional Championships Day 1 VGC Results
This event is extremely noteworthy due to it being the second official event using the brand new Regulation Set H ruleset. This new format bans the use of any Restricted Legendary Pokemon such as Miraidon, as well as banning every other Legendary Pokemon such as Ogerpon and Urshifu, and Paradox Pokemon such as Flutter Mane or Iron Hands. This offers a drastic change from last month's 2024 Pokémon World Championships!
The 2025 Dortmund Regional Championships are also the first Regulation Set H tournament to take place in the EU region.
Trainers to Watch Out For
With 710 players in this tournament, it's important to know which players to keep an eye on. A powerful trainer to take note of is Michael Kelsch, 2024 Stockholm Regional Champion and 2nd place winner at the 2023 Pokemon World Championships. Kelsch is running a very popular team composition, characterized by Sneasler, Rillaboom, Primarina, Kingambit, and Dragapult. However, their final Pokemon differs from the usual choice of Electabuzz, instead choosing Magmar. This allows Kelsch's team to have a better matchup into Amoonguss in their own words, "Electabuzz can still not hit Amoonguss."
Additionally, it's worth keeping an eye on the former Dortmund Regional Champion from 2024, Florian Temme. This trainer is running a similar team to the player above, choosing Electabuzz over Magmar. During last year's Regional Championship in Dortmund, Nick Schrott won second place, and Sergio Ramirez took a Top 4 placement, as well as in the 2024 Stuttgart Regional Championships.
Talking about the 2024 Stuttgart Regional Championships, Eloy Hahn is a player that took a Top 16 placement in that tournament, and is also participating in the 2025 Dortmund Regional Championships. This trainer is bringing an interesting team core in Politoed and Gothitelle with the combination of Shadow Tag and Perish Song, often referred to as "Perish Trap." More Pokemon that thrive in rain appear on this team with Archaludon and Basculegion, supported by Rillaboom and Incineroar.
The official stream also took notes of Markus Stadter's appearance in the tournament, a player who has won the 2023 Bochum Regional Championships, the 2017 Leipzig Regional Championships, and the 2015 United Kingdom National Championships.
Other notable players from last year's Dortmund Regional Championships include Francesco Luigi Pardini, and Victor Medina, and the winner of Wolfe Glick's 2020 Champions Cup tournament Fevzi Ozkan
Players Moving On To Day 2
The only three players to have a record of 8 wins and 0 losses after Day 1 are Joan Garcia, 2023 Pokemon Worlds Finalist Michael Kelsch, and Koen van Cann.
The rest of the Top 8 placements after Day 1 feature Ross Stewart, Davide Carrer, Longyu Lin, Faaiz Ashfaq, and Mattie Morgan, all players with 7 wins and 1 loss. Following these, notable players making it to Day 2 include 2024 Liverpool Regional Champion Antonio Sánchez, 2020 Cologne Regional Champion Hippolyte Bernard, Fevzi Ozkan, 2017 Europe and Oceania International Championships Finalist Nico Davide Cognetta, Sergio Ramirez, 2024 Dortmund Regional Champion Florian Temme, and many more.
Despite some players doubting its potential in Regulation Set H, Incineroar proved itself in the previous Baltimore Regional Championships by taking 1st and 2nd place on Nicholas Morales' and Paul Chua's teams, as well as appearing on 4 more teams in the Top 8. With Intimidate, Parting Shot, and Will-O-Wisp, it can severely weaken opposing Pokemon.
Notable players bringing Incineroar to this tournament include 2024 World Championships Top 32 player Víctor Medina, 2019 Europe International Finalist Davide Carrer, and Marius Franke.
This Pokemon is always incredibly valuable on almost any team. Its ability Grassy Terrain allows it to support its team with healing, Grassy Glide allows for strong priority, and Wood Hammer deals very valuable amounts of damage. Fake Out is also a great utility move, as similarly demonstrated by Incineroar.
Notable players bringing Rillaboom to this tournament include 2019 Harrogate Regional Champion Jonathan Marston, 2023 Perth Regional Champion Taran Birdee, and Rafael Sadowski.
Another commonly high-placing Pokemon, Gholdengo is very straight-forward. Its ability Good as Gold blocks strong status moves from Pokemon like Amoonguss, and its base Special Attack stat of 133 paired with a powerful spread move in Make It Rain and another threatening attack with STAB in Shadow Ball. Gholdengo can also run Nasty Plot to boost its Special Attack stat even further. Steel and Ghost-type Pokemon also have a terrifying type combination with many resistances and immunities. With terastallization, Gholdengo can block damage from the few types that would otherwise be super-effective.
Notable players bringing Gholdengo to this tournament include 2023 World Championships Top 16 player Luca Lussignoli and Davide Carrer.
The Mushroom Pokemon is another example of a Pokemon that is almost always competitively viable. Spore helps to shut down opponents by putting them to sleep, Rage Powder is a great redirection move, Pollen Puff allows it to heal its teammates, and Clear Smog can clear stat boosts from Pokemon like Dondozo or Annihilape. Its hidden ability Regenerator heals one third of its maximum health every time it switches out too, boosting its bulk even further.
A notable players bringing Amoonguss to this tournament is 2024 World Championships Top 32 player Víctor Medina.
A newcomer in the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet competitive scene, Primarina can use its signature ability Liquid Voice to turn the attack Hyper Voice into a Water-type move boosted by STAB. It also deals high amounts of damage with Moonblast, and can remove stat boosts with Haze.
Notable players bringing Primarina to this tournament include 2023 Perth Regional Champion Taran Birdee, 2023 World Championships Top 16 player Luca Lussignoli, and Rahim Farzan.
Despite being a new Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet, Kingambit has more than proved how powerful it is. Its base Attack stat of 135 paired with a powerful offensive typing in the Dark and Steel-types along with a priority attack in Sucker Punch, not many can stand in its way. Its main weakness is clearly its 4x weakness to Fighting-type attacks, but terastallization can often fix this problem.
Notable players bringing Kingambit to this tournament include 2024 World Championships Top 32 player Víctor Medina, Joan Garcia, and Longyu Lin.
With the Poison Touch ability and its signature attack Dire Claw giving a chance to poison, paralyze, or put the opponent to sleep, Sneasler can be a very frustrating opponent. Focus Sash helps with its underwhelming defenses, and Fake Out is a great option for utility. Some players instead choose to run the Unburden ability, doubling its Speed stat after it loses its item. This allows Sneasler to outspeed almost every Pokemon in the format.
Notable players bringing Sneasler to this tournament include 2019 Harrogate Regional Champion Jonathan Marston, 2023 Perth Regional Champion Taran Birdee, and 2023 Pokemon Worlds Finalist Michael Kelsch
Many players deemed Archaludon a top threat before this month's first Regulation Set H tournament in Baltimore. The Assault Vest held item paired with the ability Stamina make it terrifyingly bulky, and the attack Body Press can benefit from these Defense boosts. It has a good utility option in Snarl, powerful options for damage in Dragon Pulse or Draco Meteor, and a great signature move in Electro Shot. Some players have also been bringing alternate sets recently. The Power Herb item allows Electro Shot to fire in one turn, the Sturdy ability gives it a built-in Focus Sash, and the Stalwart ability provides a rare counter to Follow Me.
Notable players bringing Archaludon to this tournament include 2022 Bremen Regional Champion Maurice Uteg, 2023 London Open Champion Andrea Olea, and Marius Twardowski.
Often paired with Archaludon and strong Water-type Pokemon like Basculegion, Pelipper is a remarkable support Pokemon. Its ability Drizzle sets up the rain, Wide Guard blocks spread moves from Pokemon like Gholdengo or Primarina, and Tailwind doubles its team's Speed. Despite filling a supportive role, it can also deal great amounts of damage with Hurricane and Weather Ball.
Notable players bringing Pelipper to this tournament include 2022 Bremen Regional Champion Maurice Uteg, and Marius Twardowski.
With redirection in Follow Me and the ability Vital Spirit, Electabuzz is a great counter to Amoonguss, blocking Spore from hitting its teammates. More generally speaking, Electabuzz also gets great speed control in Electroweb, and great utility in Taunt with more options in Helping Hand or Eerie Impulse.
Notable players bringing Electabuzz to this tournament include 2019 Harrogate Regional Champion Jonathan Marston, 2024 Lille Regional Champion Simone Sanvito, and a player with two Top 32 placements in the 2024 Dortmund and Stuttgart Regional Championships, Selahattin Sturm.
With the Life Orb held item, Garchomp deals incredible amounts of damage with Earthquake and Dragon Claw. Ground-type attacks are incredibly valuable against popular Pokemon like Incineroar, Gholdengo, and Kingambit, and Dragon-type attacks are great for coverage, or super-effective damage against Dragon-type Pokemon like Dragonite.
Notable players bringing Garchomp to this tournament include 2024 Liverpool Regional Champion Antonio Sánchez, and 2024 Gdansk Regional Champion Oliver Eskolin.
With Eviolite, Porygon2 is one of the bulkiest Trick Room Pokemon in Regulation Set H compared to others like Farigiraf or Indeedee. Even without terastallizing, Tera Blast can deal great amounts of damage with STAB, and Ice Beam is great coverage. Both of these attacks can also be taken further with a potential Special Attack boost from its ability Download. Porygon2 is notably most effective when paired with slower Pokemon that can dominate in Trick Room. These Pokemon mainly include both Ursaluna forms, but can also help out slower Pokemon like Kingambit, Primarina, and more.
A notable players bringing Porygon2 to this tournament is 2023 World Championships Top 16 player Luca Lussignoli.
The first round takes place between 2022 Bremen Regional Champion Maurice Uteg and 2019 Harrogate Regional Champion Jonathan Marston.
Maurice Uteg's team includes two powerful cores. One is rain, with Pelipper and Archaludon, and the other is a core known as "Mausape", with Maushold and Annihilape, with the former's Beat Up attack allowing it to boost the damage from Annihilape's Rage Fist. The team also features Grimmsnarl, and a less popular choice in Sinistcha. On the other side, Jonathan Marston uses a very common team composition in Rillaboom, Dragapult, Primarina, Sneasler, and Kingambit as strong attackers, as well as Electabuzz as a powerful support Pokemon with Follow Me for redirection, Electroweb for speed control, and the Vital Spirit ability to counter Pokemon using Spore, like Amoonguss.
The first round is an incredibly close back-and-forth. Immediately, Uteg's Annihilape gets to use Bulk Up twice, with its Attack boosted even further with a sharp Attack boost from Defiant, activated by Electroweb from Marston's Electabuzz. Sneasler managed to paralyze Uteg's Maushold, put the Sinistcha to sleep, and poisoned Annihilape, showing the versatility of its signature move Dire Claw. Marston's team positions itself well against the powerful Annihilape, dealing great amounts of damage with Outrage from Dragapult and Moonblast from Primarina, but thanks to its Water-type terastallization, Uteg overwhelms their opponent, securing a win in the first round. Marston changes their opening in the 2nd game, immediately knocking out the opposing Maushold with an Outrage boosted by Dragapult's Dragon Tera Type. Maurice Uteg retaliates with some great positioning. Although Primarina threatens to deal super-effective damage or remove the stat boosts from Annihilape, Matcha Gotcha from Sinistcha allows it to deal great amounts of damage, protecting Annihilape and eventually defeating its counter in Primarina. With these great plays, Maurice Uteg manages to win the second game, and the first round overall.
In a post-match interview, Maurice Uteg describes their team's matchups. "Everyone expected [Jonathan Marston's] team to be everywhere [...] so I prepared against that really well, but it's still so hard. Everyone plays this team because its so good.
Antonio Sánchez is bringing a team with powerful attackers in Garchomp, Dragonite, Kingambit, and Alolan Ninetales. It also features powerful and popular Pokemon with supportive roles in Amoonguss and Incineroar. On the other end of the field, Flavio Del Pidio is notably bringing a Dondozo without its common partner Tatsugiri. Other attackers on this team includes Kingambit and Volcarona, as well as support in Clefable and Rillaboom. Sneasler also appears, using an Unburden set with the Grassy Seed held item boosting its Defense in Grassy Terrain, doubling its Speed in the process.
The first game is characterized by the terrifying presence of Pidio's Dondozo. With an Attack and Defense boost from Curse, it barely misses two knock-outs on the opposing Garchomp and Dragonite. After taking recoil damage, however, Dondozo is quickly dealt with after taking a Flying-type Tera Blast from the Dragonite it had just failed to defeat. With Pidio's Kingambit and Dondozo fainted, the remaining Rillaboom and Clefable fail to defeat the rest of the opposing team, giving Antonio Sánchez the first game. Pidio's team continues to be bulky and frustrating in Round 2, with Clefable redirecting damage, Rillaboom reducing the damage from Earthquake, and Dondozo threatening lots of damage. However, it takes a similar route with Dondozo falling after a number of turns, leaving less offensive Pokemon to attempt to deal with the strong Pokemon on Sánchez' team. Antonio Sánchez takes another win, taking the round overall.
In a post-match interview, Antonio Sánchez reflects on his team, and its similarity to another team from the 2025 Baltimore Regional Championships piloted by Paul Chua, reaching 2nd place overall. "I reached out to Paul [Chua] because the team looked very interesting to me, [...] and Paul Chua was very friendly discussing everything, so thanks to him. [...] I just get to spam Earthquake and Tera Flying Tera Blast, which I've been doing the whole tournament so far!"
Yoel Ramirez has many less common picks on their team. Two Grass-type Pokemon are featured with Amoonguss and Tsareena blocking priority with the Queenly Majesty ability. The rain core of Pelipper, Archaludon, and Choice Band Basculegion are supported by Gallade. On the other side, Alex Soto is running a strong Trick Room team, with Indeedee, Armarogue, Hatterene, Torkoal, and Ursaluna. The final Pokemon is Choice Scarf Annihilape with Final Gambit. Notably, Armarouge is holding the Power Herb item, allowing it to use Meteor Beam in one turn.
Despite getting Trick Room up early, Soto has the disadvantage of not being able to deal enough damage in the first round. With Archaludon resisting Psychic-type attacks from Hatterene and Indeedee, it's free to run Snarl and drop the Special Attack of these Pokemon. With support from Amoongus and Pelipper, Ramírez clearly has the upper hand, winning the first game. Soto adjusts in the second game, bringing Ursaluna to deal super-effective Ground-type damage into Archaludon, and great neutral damage into everything else with Facade boosted by Guts and a burn from its Flame Orb. While Ramírez' Gallade threatens to reverse Trick Room, Ursaluna quickly deals with it thanks to its monstrous damage output. With extra damage from Hatterene's Expanding Force, Alex Soto wins the second game, forcing the round to a third game to decide the winner.
The third game opens with Annihilape immediately getting a knock-out on Ramírez' Archaludon with Final Gambit. Hatterene then switches in to replace the Indeedee, reflecting Tsareena's Taunt with Magic Bounce. Without Archaludon, Ramírez doesn't have a way to block damage from Hatterene's Expanding Force. With Ursaluna switching in to replace Indeedee after it faints, Ramírez loses Pelipper and Tsareena to Expanding Force, and they forfeit, allowing Alex Soto to win the round.
Michael Kelsch is using a standard set of Rillaboom, Dragapult, Primarina, Sneasler, and Kingambit, a team core seen earlier with Jonathan Marston's team. Instead of Electabuzz, however, Kelsch is running Magmar. With Vital Spirit and Follow Me, it still plays a similar role, however. Matteo Spadaro has a strong team core in Porygon2 and Ursaluna, often referred to as "P2 Ursaluna." This core is supported by Tyranitar, Grimmsnarl, Volcarona, and Annihilape.
With their Trick Room core, Spadaro makes sure to set up Trick Room early in the first game with added bulk from Grimmsnarl's Light Screen. Despite this, Spadaro fails to do enough meaningful damage to the opposing team. Primarina whittles down Ursaluna and Porygon2 with the Water-type Hyper Voice thanks to its signature ability Liquid Voice, eventually defeating both of them, even through Porygon2's insane defensive capability. Tera Dragon Volcarona is taken down by Dragapult, and Michael Kelsch wins the first game. Kelsch then opens the second game with Dragapult and Sneasler. These two Pokemon have such a powerful offensive presence, and they take advantage of that by immediately defeating the opposing Volcarona. In the next turn, Porygon2 and Annihilape are left on very low health. Kelsch's advantage is clear. Trick Room is set up, Porygon2 is able to use an incredibly fast Recover to support itself, but once again, there's not enough damage on Spadaro's side. Michael Kelsch wins the second game, and the entire round overall.
In a post-match interview, Kelsch is asked about his team. "I know how to play with Dragapult, and it has a very special place in my heart, so I wanted to build something around Dragapult. [...] I think Magmar is better [than Electabuzz] just because people think 'Okay, I have Electabuzz on my team, now my team is good into Amoonguss' which is not the case, because Electabuzz can still not hit Amoonguss."
Eloy Hahn is bringing an interesting team core in Politoed and Gothitelle. The latter blocks Pokemon from switching out with Shadow Tag, and Politoed's Perish Song forces all Pokemon on the field to faint after three turns. More Pokemon that thrive in rain appear on this team with Archaludon and Basculegion, supported by Rillaboom and Incineroar. Longyu Lin on the other side of the battle runs another strong rain composition with Archaludon, Pelipper, and Basculegion. Extra damage is added to the team with Kingambit, and Incineroar and Amoonguss are there for support.
The first round is ultimately decided by the Archaludon mirror match. Hahn's Archaludon goes for a terastallization into the Bug-type, as Lin's becomes a Grass-type. Notably, the Bug-typing allows it to resist Body Press while still dealing neutral damage in return. Hahn's Archaludon threatens the opposing Lin's Basculegion with an Electro Shot outside of rain. This protects their own Basculegion as it won't have to worry about a super-effective attack from the faster Basculegion, as the opponent is forced it to switch into Kingambit, which faints to the attack. Eloy Hahn's brave strategies allows them to defeat the rest of the team, getting him the first win. In the next game, Lin gets a good, consistent advantage. Healing up with Amoonguss' Pollen Puff, the Tera Grass Archaludon threatens great amounts of damage with Body Press boosted by many Defense boosts. Hahn's Rillaboom is quickly defeated, followed by their Incineroar getting knocked out in one hit. This leads into Eloy Hahn forfeiting the second game, forcing the round into a third and final game.
After taking a Body Press, Incineroar opens the final game by burning the opposing Archaludon, reducing the damage it deals with the aforementioned attack. Deviating from the last two rounds, however, Hahn instead terastallizes their Incineroar into the Fairy-type, once again reducing the damage from Body Press. Knock Off boosts Lin's Archaludon's Defense thanks to Stamina, but gets rid of its Assault Vest, opening it up to special attacks. Despite this strong opening, Hahn is still unable to knock out any of Lin's Pokemon. The opposing Kingambit threatens Hahn's team, defeating both the Rillaboom and Basculegion, and Longyu Lin takes the win in the third game, and the round overall.
The sixth round is between Top
Yvar Vlieger is running a very avant-garde team, with less popular choices in Corviknight and Kilowattrel. The team also takes notes from a different team popularized by former World Champion Wolfe Glick, bringing Toedscruel, Galarian Weezing, and Hisuian Typhlosion. The team is finished out with a heavy-hitter in Garchomp. On the other side, Giulio Tarlao goes for a fairly standard team with a Mausape core. The team is filled by strong offensive Pokemon in Gholdengo and Dragonite, and supportive Pokemon in Whimsicott and Incineroar.
With the threat of Maushold boosting the damage of Annihilape's Rage Fist on the other end of the battle, Vlieger opens the first round by harshly lowering the Maushold's Special Defense with Acid Spray, and then knocking it out in one hit with Choice Specs Dazzling Gleam from the Galarian Weezing. This puts Vlieger in an immediate advantage as Tarlao's Whimsicott switches in. Dazzling Gleam continues to knock out Whimsicott and deal absurd amounts of damage to Annihilape. WIth only two Pokemon left, Giulio Tarlao forfeits the first game. The second game opens with Vlieger's Kilowattrel getting a Special Attack boost thanks to its ability Competitive. This immediately put Tarlao at a disadvantage, since it can't match the fast-paced damage output of Kilowattrel's Discharge. Annihilape is knocked out in one hit, Incineroar taken down by Sludge Bomb, and Giulio Tarlao forfeits, giving Yvar Vlieger the win.
In a post-match interview, Yvar Vlieger speaks on the inspiration from Wolfe Glick's team. "I thought Weezing was really good this format, [...] then I was watching Baltimore, and I saw the team, and I was like, I can give it a try. [...] So then I played it, and I was like, okay, this team is actually really good, so why not try to work on it some more?" For further coverage on Wolfe Glick's team, check out Bulbagarden's coverage of the 2025 Baltimore Regional Championships here.
Federico Camporesi is running a team with a relatively popular yet still unorthodox pick in Vivillon. With Compound Eyes, it can use a very accurate Sleep Powder as an alternative to Amoonguss using Spore. Vivillon is supported by heavy-hitters in Primarina, Garchomp, and Gholdengo, with support Pokemon in Porygon2 and Incineroar. On the other end of the battle, Anthony-Christopher Manolache is using a team with a Porygon2 and Ursaluna core. These two are supported by Amoonguss, Incineroar, Flamigo, and Gholdengo. With Scrappy, Flamigo can hit Ghost-type Pokemon with Close Combat while also blocking Intimidate from Incineroar. This is a team composition that was very common during the 2025 Baltimore Regional Championships.
The first game is full of many switches and pivots from both sides, constantly cycling through Incineroar's Intimidate. Camporesi is the first player to defeat the opposing team's Incineroar, allowing their own Pokemon to lower the damage that Manolache's Ursaluna can output. Gholdengo's Make It Rain defeats Ursaluna, and Incineroar takes down Porygon2, leaving Manolache with one Pokemon left. This allows Federico Camporesi to win the first game. The second game appears to be a battle to determine the most effective Gholdengo. Camporesi's Tera Dragon Gholdengo takes a powerful Shadow Ball from Manolache's, but retaliates with powerful attacks to knock it out in return. Despite its low health, Camporesi's Gholdengo strongly threatens the rest of the opposing team with the Metal Coat. It gets defeated by Incineroar, but not before defeating one Pokemon and bringing two others down to below half health. Despite the early lead, Camporesi barely misses a knock-out on Incineroar, leaving their Primarina to have their Special Attack dropped. After being face-to-face with a Water Tera Amoonguss, Camporesi understands their defeat, forfeitting the second game to give Anthony-Christopher Manolache the win.
In the third and final round, Manolache manages to win the speed-tie and opens with an immediate knock-out on the opposing Gholdengo with their own Shadow Ball. Following this knock-out, Manolache's Gholdengo goes for a terastallization into the Dragon-type to boost its effective bulk even further. Despite Primarina threatening super-effective damage on the other end of the battlefield, Gholdengo clearly has the upper hand thanks to Nasty Plot. Camporesi's Vivillon switches in, and gets an incredibly important confusion on to the Tera Dragon Gholdengo. After hitting itself in confusion, this allows Camporesi to knock out Amoonguss and threaten the Gholdengo with yet another knock-out. After this back-and-forth, Manolache predicts Vivillon to terastallize into the Ghost-type, and knocks it out with a Close Combat from Flamigo, notably hitting the Ghost-type thanks to its ability Scrappy. They follow this up by predicting a Hyper Voice, and uses Wide Guard to block it. With two Flare Blitz and one Dual Wingbeat, Anthony-Christopher Manolache defeats the Primarina, and wins the final game.
After this win, Anthony-Christopher Manolache moves on to Day 2! Make sure to return tomorrow to see Bulbagarden's coverage of Day 2 of the 2025 Pokémon Dortmund Regional Championships!
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