Pokémon Scarlet & Violet - A Bridged Version - Grand Challenge 2025 I #1

We hadn’t had an Online Competition since April, and I guess now that the 2024 World Championships have come to an end, they’re moving straight on to stuff leading to the 2025 World Championships, starting with this, the Grand Challenge 2025 I. This is under Regulation F rules (no Restricted Pokémon allowed, but everything else available in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are alllowed), and, like all events that can lead you to the World Championships, is in a double battles format.

I don’t really care to go to the World Championships, though it’s close enough to me next year that I can spectate, which is what I prefer to do. So it doesn’t really concern me if I win or lose these matches, just that I get some interesting ones to show you and the League Points and the Bottle Caps, standard and gold, as rewards for playing at least three matches. Obviously, with this session being more than three matches long, I played more than that.

I would like to see them bring back the gimmick events though. The Metronome one was the most fun. It seems like they’re so focused on the “Path to the Champion” that the gimmick events have been largely left to the wayside. Trick Magic is the only one that’s turned up this generation so far, not including the “Prologue” series that restricts you to the Pokémon found only in a particular area’s Pokédex.

Type: Double Battle
Opponent: Tomas
Battle Court: Cabo Poco
Music: Reshiram
My Pokémon: Lena (Mightyena), Leonardo (Pyroar) (Male), Hipparchus (Hippowdon), Debra (Zebstrika)
Opponent’s Pokémon: Katapuldra (Dragapult), Briduradon (Archaludon), 炽焰咆哮虎 (Incineroar), Garados (Gyarados)

For this one, I brought in the Safari Team. I don’t know how obvious it is that this team is themed. I’m sure it’s pretty evident that, except for Farigiraf, my entire lineup is made of Pokémon not normally seen in a double battling team, but I can’t be sure if my opponents realize, either during Team Preview or into the match itself, that I follow a theme. Though because it’s that I train these Pokémon to be th ebest they can be that I can think of, maybe my opponents are concentrating on how they can win the battle rather than me being creative with making Pokémon teams.

I thought they were going to begin with Incineroar, and this team is ready to fight that tiger, so I figured I could throw an Intimidate right back and soften this one up with Super Fang. (Leonardo (Pyroar) had no business fighting Incineroar though, due to, ironically, being the only female Pokémon in my oppoennt’s lineup despite having a 7/8 gender ratio towards male. He’s there to fight whomever accompanies Incineroar and use Protect to block Fake Out.)

I think that Dragapult’s strategy is to inflict Paralysis with Thunder Wave, then deal extra damage with Hex. That tells me this is a special-attacking Dragapult, though I’d imagine it would be less complicated and more flexible to just use Shadow Ball. This could be a strategy to deal specifically with Shadow Rider Calyrex, however, but it also means Lena’s (Mightyena) Foul Play does less damage than intended bcause this Dragapult likely has an Attack-reducing Nature, probably Timid.

That complexity and an additional extra turn seems to have not worked out, as my opponent resorted to just straight up using Hex when I started bringing in Pokémon that aren’t affected by Thunder Wave. I did find out it has Will-O-Wisp later on though. Maybe these strategies can work in a single battle, but it doesn’t seem practical in a double battle.

Gyarados, however, went straight to Dragon Dance, which I didn’t expect, considering the added risks of using a stat boosting move in a double battle without protection. Perhaps that’s what they were counting on, though I personally have never had much success with stat boosting moves in double battles that don’t also do damage (like Flame Charge or Power-Up Punch, at least before the latter was removed).

My opponent’s Pokémon names are German, with the exception of Incineroar, which is Simplified Chinese (the default version in mainland China).