Catch up on the Final Standings from the 2025 Pokémon Lille Regional Championships VGC (2024)

The 2025 Pokémon Lille Regionals have concluded! Everything you need to know about the results of the streamed VGC matches and the most popular Pokémon used are featured within this article.

This event uses the Regulation Set H ruleset. This format bans the use of any Restricted Legendary Pokémon such as Miraidon, as well as banning every other Legendary Pokémon such as Ogerpon and Urshifu, and Paradox Pokémon such as Flutter Mane or Iron Hands. This offers a drastic change from the 2024 Pokémon World Championships!

Final Standings
Nils Dunlop wins the 2025 Lille Regionals, taking a victory in a dramatic battle against Víctor Medina in the Finals.

2nd place is taken by Víctor Medina, and the next high-placing trainers include Joan Garcia and Giuseppe Musicco in the Top 4, followed by Fabian Kuhl, Eduardo Cunha, Mark Cotter, and Max Waterman in the Top 8.

More notable placements include Marco Silva in the Top 16, being defeated by Max Waterman, and Michael Kelsch placing in the Top 32, having just missed out on the Top Cut.

Most Popular Pokemon

Sneasler holds on to its 1st place, appearing on 51.1% of teams.

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 both utility and priority. 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.

Sneasler appears on a popular team composition featuring itself, Dragapult, Kingambit, Rillaboom, Primarina, and either Electabuzz or Magmar.

Kingambit places 2nd, appearing on 39.1% of teams.

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.

As mentioned above, Kingambit appears on a popular team composition featuring itself, Sneasler, Dragapult, Rillaboom, Primarina, and either Electabuzz or Magmar.

Rillaboom sticks to 3rd place, appearing on 38.0% of teams.

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.

As mentioned above, Rillaboom is also a key member of a popular team composition featuring itself, Sneasler, Dragapult, Kingambit, Primarina, and either Electabuzz or Magmar.

Gholdengo places 4th, appearing on 31.5% of teams.

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. 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.

While very flexible, Gholdengo features prominently on a team used by Toler Webb to place in the Top 4 of the 2025 Baltimore Regionals. This team features itself, Flamigo, Incineroar, Amoonguss, Ursaluna, and Porygon2.

Incineroar places 5th, appearing on 27.2% of teams.

Despite some players doubting its potential in Regulation Set H, Incineroar proved itself in a handful of tournaments by appearing on many high-level trainers' teams. With Intimidate, Parting Shot, and Will-O-Wisp, it can severely weaken opposing Pokemon, and can disrupt its opponents with Fake Out.

Incineroar is another very flexible Pokemon, proving its dominance by winning the 2025 Baltimore, Joinville, and Louisville Regionals as well as the 2025 Lima Special Event.

Primarina places 6th, appearing on 22.8% of teams.

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 from set-up Pokemon like Annihilape or Archaludon with Haze.

Primarina misses out on the Top 8 of this tournament, but is used by high-placing trainers like Juan Manuel Odriozola and Mattia Cognetta.

Marcato's team revolves around a powerful harsh sunlight core. Torkoal sets the sun with its ability Drought and benefits from its Fire-type attacks being boosted, Hisuian Typhlosion's Eruption attack becomes deadly in the sun, even with resisted hits, and Jumpluff gets its Speed doubled with its Chlorophyll ability. A Double Dragon core also appears on the team, with the common combination of Garchomp and Dragonite. While the former is using a standard Life Orb set, Dragonite is using a Loaded Dice set which has dramatically picked up in popularity, with Scale Shot having a guarantee to hit at least four times. The final Pokemon on the team is Kingambit, a very powerful Pokemon with a high Attack stat, powerful attacks, and priority in Sucker Punch.

While it doesn't appear in this battle, Medina's team also has a weather option in Alolan Ninetales. While not as effective as rain, this gives the team an option to shut down the opposing Torkoal from setting up the harsh sunlight. Another Double Dragon core appears here, with the aforementioned Life Orb Garchomp paired with a more common Lum Berry Dragonite set with a Flying-type Terastallization. Kingambit appears on this team as well, and remains a very powerful attacker. The final two Pokemon are Amoonguss and Incineroar, providing countless forms of support.

As mentioned earlier, the weather war could be a part of these battles. Marcato's Torkoal wants to set up the harsh sunlight to boost Typhlosion's damage and Jumpluff's Speed, but Medina's Alolan Ninetales can switch in to shut it off, replacing it with snow. The downside is that Alolan Ninetales, as an Ice-type, is weak to Fire-type attacks. If it switches in while Torkoal or Typhlosion are readying a powerful Fire-type attack, even with the snow being set up, it likely wouldn't survive. Ninetales also has another advantage, however, with three of Marcato's team being 4x weak to Ice-type attacks. On top of that, although Medina's team has three weaknesses to Fire-type attacks, it also has three resistances. It also has many forms of priority to counter both Marcato's Eruption attack on Typhlosion and Dragonite's Multiscale.

The round results in Víctor Medina's victory. Although threatened by incredibly powerful Pokemon in Hisuian Typhlosion and Torkoal, Medina masterfully manoeuvres around both the Tailwind and harsh sunlight set up on the battlefield with well-timed Protects.

Swiss Round 11 takes place between Giovanni Piscitelli and Alberto Baldi.

Piscitelli's team is a slightly modified Balance team, swapping out the more common Dragapult for Dragonite. Another notable change is the introduction of the Volcarona, which has the ability to boost its Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed stats with Quiver Dance, and deal huge damage with Heat Wave. The last four Pokemon are fairly standard for this composition, with Rillaboom being a good support Pokemon that still hits incredibly hard, Electabuzz being a great Follow Me user with incredible bulk thanks to the Eviolite, Sneasler as another powerful and threatening support Pokemon, and Kingambit as a dangerous attacker.

Alberto Baldi has an incredibly interesting team core with Galarian Weezing and Slaking. The former's Neutralizing Gas ability shuts off Slaking's Truant ability, allowing it to move every turn. It has an incredibly high Attack stat to hit hard with attacks like Double-Edge and High Horsepower, boosted even further by its Choice Band. Gholdengo appears with another choice item, specifically the Choice Specs, hitting hard as it typically does. Talonflame appears with the option of a priority Tailwind thanks to its signature ability Gale Wings, and Garchomp appears with the Life Orb. Interestingly, this team includes an Archaludon with a Power Herb set which is slowly picking up in popularity.

The round ultimately results in Giovanni Piscitelli winning. The first game is a testament to the power of Volcarona after it sets up its stat boosts with Quiver Dance, helping to knock out the entire enemy team with Piscitelli not losing a single Pokemon. The second game was a close match, however, with Volcarona fainting early, but Piscitelli effectively used their advantages in priority and super-effective damage to win.

The first streamed battle in the Top 32 is between 2024 NAIC Finalist Aurélien Soula and 2023 EUIC Senior Champion Mattia Cognetta. Whoever loses is knocked out of the competition, and the winner moves on to the Top 16.

One of the most notable Pokemon on Soula's team is the Bloodmoon Ursaluna with the Assault Vest held item, instead of the more common Life Orb. It features common attacks in Blood Moon, Hyper Voice, and Earth Power, but also features a less common priority attack in the Fighting-type Vacuum Wave. The team features more heavy-hitters, with the Loaded Dice Dragonite set seen often in the 2025 Lille Regionals, Gholdengo, Quiver Dance Volcarona as seen in the previous round, and Annihilape. Grimmsnarl appears on the team as well, supporting these Pokemon with Reflect and Light Screen, given priority thanks to its Prankster ability. It also has Foul Play, giving some utility against powerful physicall attackers.

Cognetta's team is a fairly standard Dragapult Balance team. Sneasler is a very valuable member of this composition, however, with incredible utility in its signature attack Dire Claw threatening sleep, paralysis, and poison status conditions, as well as its ability Poison Touch. It pairs incredibly well with Kingambit too, since it hits Ghost-type Pokemon for super-effective, which Sneasler can't match at all. Magmar is an important support member of the team too, with Follow Me being a valuable redirection move paired with the Eviolite item greatly boosting its defense stats. Rillaboom is a great example of a super powerful Pokemon with supportive utility thanks to Fake Out and its Grassy Surge ability. Primarina provides a similar role, not hitting as hard, but threatening opponents with powerful Fairy-type attacks which become better and better as more Dragon-types thrive in Regulation Set H.

Soula's Ursaluna won't appreciate the incredible super-effective damage coming out from Rillaboom and Primarina, with the former also having priority in Grassy Glide. As seen in the game, Soula's Grimmsnarl has great utility in Foul Play, dealing great damage to the physical attackers like Rillaboom, as well as dealing super-effective damage to the powerful Dragapult and the Tera Ghost Kingambit.

The game is ultimately won by Mattia Cognetta, with an intense endgame in the 2nd game. Soula is left with their Grimmsnarl against a low health Magmar and Tera Ghost Kingambit. Foul Play is able to knock out the Magmar as the Grimmsnarl is brought down to low HP, and Soula is left to predict whether or not Cognetta will go for Sucker Punch to knock it out, or if the Kingambit would be free to get knocked out by a super-effective Foul Play. With one mistake made in where Grimmsnarl focused their attack, Cognetta won the game.

The first streamed battle of the Top 16 takes place between 2019 Harrogate Regional Champion Jonathan Marston and Joan Garcia. Whoever loses is knocked out of the competition, and the winner moves on to the Top 8.

Marston's team features a slightly modified version of a Dragapult Balance team. The main two differences are the introduction of Dondozo as the main Water-type, being a threatening bulky Pokemon with Fissure, and Volcarona, a set-up Pokemon we've consistently seen throughout this tournament. With Leftovers along with passive recovery from Rillaboom's Grassy Terrain, Dondozo can very easily heal damage it takes, boosting it further by using Protect to avoid taking damage that turn.

Garcia's team is almost identical in terms of Pokemon, with the main difference being Dragapult being swapped out for Baxcalibur. With the Loaded Dice, it can hit Icicle Spear and Scale Shot at least four times, and Ice Shard provides incredibly useful priority. Its Ghost-type Terastallization option gives it immunity to Normal-type attacks like Fake Out, and Fighting-type attacks like Close Combat from Sneasler. The team also features Kingambit over a Follow Me user like Electabuzz or Magmar, giving Garcia more offensive options, but less support.

Pokemon that can break through the defense of Dondozo could have a nice advantage here. For example, Rillaboom resists Wave Crash and can deal super-effective damage before Dondozo terastallizes. Garcia's Baxcalibur could have a slight advantage, dealing super-effective damage against Dragapult, as well as having the opportunity to outspeed it with Speed boosts from Scale Shot, on top of being able to knock out Rillaboom, a key member of the opposing team.

The game wins with Joan Garcia triumphing against the incredible defensive wall of Jonathan Marston's Dondozo.

The first Top 8 match is between 2022 World Champion Eduardo Cunha and 2024 EUIC Champion Nils Dunlop. Whoever loses is knocked out of the competition, and the winner moves on to the Semi-Finals.

As described during coverage of Day 1 of this event, Cunha's team features some more niche picks, most notably in the Hisuian Samurott. There are key support Pokemon, like Magmar and Sneasler, as well as Alolan Ninetales. It also brings powerful heavy-hitters with Gholdengo and Dragonite. The Samurott features powerful Dark-type attacks in Knock Off, threatening Pokemon that benefit from their item, as well as Sucker Punch for priority. It boosts its lackluster Special Defense with the Assault Vest held item, quickly making it much more of a long-lasting member of the team. Notably, the Dragonite is using a set with the Loaded Dice item, making sure its attack Scale Shot hits at least four times. With support from Sneasler with Coaching, Dragonite can quickly build up its stats, reset its Defense drops, and threaten the rest of its opponents.

On the other side of the battle, Dunlop's team features a very interesting team core. Tyranitar is able to set up a sandstorm with its ability Sand Stream, which activates Excadrill's Sand Rush ability, doubling its Speed. This allows it to hit incredibly hard with attacks like Earthquake and Iron Head. Tyranitar can also hit incredibly hard on its own, with Rock Slide, Knock Off, and the option of a Flying-type Tera Blast. Corviknight is a great Pokemon to use alongside these two, since it won't take any damage from the sandstorm, allowing it to stay around for longer. It also has the Psychic Seed item, which boosts its Special Defense by one stage when the Psychic Terrain is set up by the male Indeedee on the team. This Pokemon is holding a Choice Scarf, allowing it to move fast and hit the opponents with a powerful Expanding Force. It also has the option of Trick, giving it the ability to lock an opponent into one move. The following two Pokemon are Magmar and Sneasler, which offer support with Follow Me and Fake Out respectively. This allows the set-up Pokemon on the team, Excadrill with Swords Dance and Corviknight with Bulk Up and Power Trip, to quickly run away with the battle if left unchecked.

The game concludes with Nils Dunlop's victory, successfully taking advantage of the incredible combination of Tyranitar and Excadrill. In the first game, they demonstrated the utility of Tyranitar's Flying-type Terastallization, making it immune to its teammate Excadrill's Earthquake.

T

he first Top 4 match is between 2024 EUIC Champion Nils Dunlop, featured in the earlier Top 8 round, and 2018 Stuttgart Regional Champion Giuseppe Musicco. Whoever wins moves on to the Finals, and whoever loses is knocked out of the tournament.

As mentioned above, Dunlop's team has a strong core with Tyranitar setting up sandstorms with its ability Sand Stream, Excadrill gets its Speed doubled from its ability Sand Rush, and both it and Corviknight are immune to the sandstorm damage thanks to them being Steel-types. Corviknight is also holding the Psychic Seed, which is activated by Indeedee's Psychic Surge, an ability that also allows Indeedee to use the powerful attack Expanding Force, outspeeding many of their opponents thanks to the Choice Scarf. The following two Pokemon are Magmar and Sneasler, which offer support with Follow Me and Fake Out respectively. This allows the set-up Pokemon on the team, Excadrill with Swords Dance and Corviknight with Bulk Up and Power Trip, to quickly run away with the battle if left unchecked.

On the other side of the battle, Musicco's team features powerful attackers like Ursaluna Bloodmoon, using a more niche set with the Assault Vest item and having the opportunity to use a priority attack in Vacuum Wave, Loaded Dice Dragonite which has picked up in popularity in the 2025 Lille Regionals, and a classic Life Orb Gholdengo set. This team features support from Incineroar, who can provide useful utility with Intimidate, Fake Out, Parting Shot, and Knock Off, Sneasler, who not only has Fake Out, but has a chance to shut down its opponents with Dire Claw, and Clefable, who can use Follow Me for redirection.

Notably, Musicco's Incineroar is a great counter to the many physical attackers on Dunlop's team. However, this Pokemon is weak to the powerful Ground-type attacks coming out from Corviknight. Additionally, Tyranitar has an advantage against Musicco's powerful special attackers, with its Special Defense being boosted by both its Assault Vest and the sandstorm.

The round ultimately concludes with Nils Dunlop winning in a third game that seemed to be lost for him. The combination of Tyranitar and Excadrill didn't get to shine as much as it had in previous games, but they still managed to clutch the round.

The next Top 4 battle is between Víctor Medina and Joan Garcia, both players featured in earlier rounds of Day 2. Whoever wins moves on to the Finals, and whoever loses is knocked out of the tournament.

For a reminder, Medina's team also has a weather option in Alolan Ninetales. Another Double Dragon core appears here, with the Life Orb Garchomp paired with a more common Lum Berry Dragonite set with a Flying-type Terastallization. Kingambit appears on this team as well, and remains a very powerful attacker. The final two Pokemon are Amoonguss and Incineroar, providing countless forms of support.

Garcia's team is very similar to standard Dragapult Balance teams, with the main difference being Dragapult being swapped out for Baxcalibur. With the Loaded Dice, it can hit Icicle Spear and Scale Shot at least four times, and Ice Shard provides incredibly useful priority. Its Ghost-type Terastallization option gives it immunity to Normal-type attacks like Fake Out, and Fighting-type attacks like Low Kick from Dragonite and Kingambit. The team also features Kingambit over a Follow Me user like Electabuzz or Magmar, giving Garcia more offensive options, but less support.

Garcia will appreciate the addition of Baxcalibur, being able to make advantage of Ninetales' snow, as well as dealing super-effective damage to three of Medina's Pokemon. However, it's unable to hit Ninetales without dealing not very effective damage, leaving it open to a super-effective Moonblast. It also struggles to hit Kingambit, another Pokemon that can deal super effective damage to it.

Víctor Medina ultimately wins the game. Although struggling in the first game, they quickly adjust and win the second and third games, with the latter being much closer.

The Finals of the 2025 Lille Regionals take place between Víctor Medina and 2024 EUIC Champion Nils Dunlop.

As discussed in earlier games, Medina's team also has a weather option in Alolan Ninetales. Another Double Dragon core appears here, with the Life Orb Garchomp paired with a more common Lum Berry Dragonite set with a Flying-type Terastallization. Kingambit appears on this team as well, and remains a very powerful attacker. The final two Pokemon are Amoonguss and Incineroar, providing countless forms of support.

For a final reminder, Dunlop's team has a strong core with Tyranitar setting up sandstorms with its ability Sand Stream, Excadrill gets its Speed doubled from its ability Sand Rush, and both it and Corviknight are immune to the sandstorm damage thanks to them being Steel-types. Corviknight is also holding the Psychic Seed, which is activated by Indeedee's Psychic Surge, an ability that also allows Indeedee to use the powerful attack Expanding Force, outspeeding many of their opponents thanks to the Choice Scarf. The following two Pokemon are Magmar and Sneasler, which offer support with Follow Me and Fake Out respectively. This allows the set-up Pokemon on the team, Excadrill with Swords Dance and Corviknight with Bulk Up and Power Trip, to quickly run away with the battle if left unchecked.

These finals feature a weather war, with both Ninetales and Tyranitar wanting to set up their respective weather conditions. However, Ninetales wouldn't want to find itself on the same field as both Tyranitar and Excadrill. In fact, it struggles against a number of Dunlop's Pokemon, like Magmar and Sneasler, who can both deal super-effective damage. Garchomp on Medina's team is a key member, however, being able to deal super effective to these four Pokemon mentioned earlier, Tyranitar, Excadrill, Sneasler, and Magmar. The only answers that Dunlop has to this Pokemon are Corviknight, who's immune to Ground-type attacks and resists Dragon-type attacks, and the Tyranitar being able to terastallize into the Flying-type.

Nils Dunlop wins the 2025 Pokémon Lille Regionals! Although it seemed like they were on the back foot for a lot of this game, with their Corviknight being frozen twice by Ninetales' Blizzard, Dunlop masterfully uses their Pokémon knowledge to win, with their male Indeedee clutching the third and final game with a critical hit.