(Image via forbes.com)
Staff Writer: Brian Galindo
Email: bgalindo@umassd.edu
Wolfe Glick, also known as WolfeyVGC, is the most famous competitive Pokémon player of all time. With over one million subscribers on YouTube, he has the biggest reach of any of them, and there’s a reason for that. Beyond being a charismatic and creative content creator, he’s also quite good at competitive Pokémon.
On April 13th and 14th, a regional competitive Pokémon tournament occurred in Orlando, Florida. Wolfe Glick won the tournament, making for his ninth career regional victory.
The odds are low that you’ve ever heard of the official competitive Pokémon format, VGC, let alone played it. Beyond explaining the circ*mstances of Wolfe’s victory, this article will also provide some basic information about VGC to keep readers up to speed.
There are a number of regional, national, and international championships each year before the World Championship. With his ninth win, Glick has the most regional victories of any competitive player. He also holds two national championship titles, an international championship title, and a first-place finish at the World Championship in 2016.
Unlike traditional gameplay, which consists mostly of one-on-one “single” battles between two trainers, the official VGC format uses a two-on-two “double” battle format. Additionally, while a team comprises six Pokémon, only four can participate in a battle. This adds to the complexity of a seemingly simple game.
One final piece of important information is that the current generation of Pokémon, Generation IX, has a tool in battle known as Terastalization, or simply Tera. By utilizing Tera, a Pokémon can change its type, which can be used either defensively or offensively, depending on the Pokémon and player. Each trainer can only use Tera once per battle.
Wolfe’s team consisted of six Pokémon, though only five took place in the best-of-three final match discussed in this article. His team consisted of the following:
- Flutter Mane is a fast Ghost- and Fairy-type Pokémon with a high Special Attack. Its item, Booster Energy, combined with its ability, Photosynthesis, boosts its Special Attack stat by 30%. Flutter Mane has a Fairy Tera type.
- Tornadus, a Flying-type utility Pokémon, has the ability Prankster, which makes its non-damaging moves always go first. Tornadus has a Ghost Tera type.
- Landorus, a Ground- and Flying-type Pokémon with powerful moves like Earth Power and Sludge Bomb, boosted by its Life Orb item, which raises damage of all moves by 30%. Normally, Life Orb has the drawback of dealing damage to the user, but Landorus’ ability, Sheer Force, ignores this drawback. Landorus has a Steel Tera type.
- Urshifu, a Fighting- and Water-type Pokémon with a strong Attack stat. Its item, Choice Scarf, increases its Speed stat by 50%, but it can only use one move unless it gets switched out. Urshifu has a Water Tera type.
- Incineroar, a Fire- and Dark-type Pokémon. Its ability, Intimidate, lowers opponents’ Attack stat when it switches in. Incineroar has a Grass Tera type.
- Amoonguss, the start of the show, a Grass- and Poison-type Pokémon. Its Spore move can put opposing Pokémon to sleep, making them unable to move for 1-3 turns. Amoonguss has a Water Tera type.
With this team, Wolfe faced down Neil Patel, also known as NeilVGC, in the finals. Though he had a bit of a career on YouTube, this was the furthest Neil had made it in a regional tournament up to this point. Still, Wolfe wasn’t going to take his opponent lightly.
In the first game, Wolfe led his Amoonguss and Incineroar. Neil led his Ogerpon, a Grass- and Fire-type Pokémon, and his Incineroar. Glick and Patel also brought Urshifu; Neil’s team was rounded out with Chien-Pao, a Dark- and Ice-type Pokémon, and Wolfe brought Landorus as his last.
Through using Terastalization to make Amoonguss a Water-type, Wolfe gained a strategic early advantage. However, he lost the game due to a few misplays, and ended up 0-1 to start the best-of-three set.
In the second game, Neil led the same two Pokémon, while Wolfe led Incineroar and Landorus. Neil once again brought Urshifu and Rillaboom, a Grass-type Pokémon. Wolfe’s team in the second game ended up identical to the first, with Urshifu and Amoonguss in the back.
Glick made two incredible predictions in game two, which caused Neil to lose his Ogerpon and Rillaboom within the first three turns. Because of this, Patel forfeited, feeling he couldn’t return from a 4-2 deficit. This meant a third game would be in the set, with both parties tied at one.
In the final game, Wolfe once again led Incineroar and Amoonguss, repeating his lead matchup from game one. Neil led Ogerpon and Rillaboom. In the back, Neil brought Chien-Pao and Urshifu. Wolfe brought Tornadus and Landorus for the first and only time in the series.
Wolfe faced an unlucky miss with an 80% accurate move, Bleakwind Storm, against Neil’s Rillaboom. Neil’s Urshifu also got very lucky, waking up on the first turn of sleep (a 1-in-3 chance) twice in a row. Still, because of a misplay wherein Neil chose to use his Tera on his Chien-Pao while asleep, Wolfe won the battle, the series, and the tournament.
By winning in Orlando, Glick won his second regional this season and his second consecutive Orlando regional victory, having also won the tournament there in 2023.
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