February is over and the weather is starting to heat up. So too are the Pokémon VGC tournaments. This weekend is the latest installment in the 2017 Regional series. This match is scheduled to take place in Collinsville, Illinois, 10 miles outside of St. Louis, Missouri.
Registration for the tournament closed yesterday and organizers are saying the turnout should be amazing. With only a limited number of events left before the World Championship, many aspiring Trainers are scrambling to collect Championship Points and win a spot at Worlds.
As we move deeper into the season, there are some key things to keep an eye on. Understanding how the meta is settling is one of the most important factors moving into the second half of the season. A great example of this is VGC 15, where an amazingly diverse pool of Pokémon were suddenly upset by the rise of CHALK.
For one, there is Porygon2. This guy has been a staple of a huge majority of VGC 17 teams up to this point. Will he dominate the regional tournament? It seems likely considering Gavin Michael’s success with hard Trick Room teams.
Then there is Tapu Fini. After a slow start, Fini has slowly become a VGC favorite. Combining her excellent bulk and ability to nullify status effects, with a strong answer to the likes of Arcanine. Can Fini continue a strong showing, or is a new Tapu ready to claim the top spot?
Finally, what impact, if any, will Shoma’s victory at the recent ONOG Invitational have on the metagame. Up to this point, the de facto strategy has been speed control in the form of Trick Room. Shoma proved that there is another way to be successful however, and it will be interesting to see if any trainers have any luck mimicking him at the regionals.
Image courtesy of gatewaycenter.com
With the ONOG Invitational’s fiery conclusion in recent memory, the Collinsville regional has a lot to live up to. Matches will be streamed on Pokémon’s tournament site, and luck has it that Collinsville has done a great job with its streams in the past.
Masters Division will begin play around 11:00 am, Saturday morning. Following that, on Sunday at 10:30 am, the Top Cut will take to the field and compete for a winner. Up to $50,000 will be on the line, so everyone is sure to do their best. Make sure to check it out!
All images courtesy of Game Freak unless otherwise noted
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