The Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Milwaukee Regionals saw two Pokémon blow away the competition in the final stages of the tournament this week, and it wasn't the usual suspects.
By now, we're used to hearing about the dominance of Flutter Mane and Amoonguss-who are both still very popular Pokémon in the format-but it was a different Paradox 'mon and status inflicter who really stole the show in the top eight in Milwaukee: Iron Hands and Gyarados. In fact, the electrifying duo even outshined the Flutter Mane and Amoonguss teams.
The new Milwaukee Regional Champion, Brian Youm, showed off the true power of Iron Hands and Gyarados, taking them all the way to the finals and earning his title. He wasn't the only player in the top eight running the pair either. Justin Tang, who's already won two regionals this year, and Europe International Champion Paul Chua both ran the same Iron Hands/Gyarados team as Youm. Funny enough, Youm had to eliminate Chua in the semifinals with their mirror matchup, leaving it up to who could make the better plays.
In a Twitch stream after the tournament, the champ stated, "Iron Hands and Gyarados were definitely the ones pulling the team together."
To speak more about the Pokémon, Iron Hands' spectacular performance in Milwaukee highlights its rise back into the meta after briefly falling in usage during Regulation C. The amazing part is there were more Iron Hands in the top eight than Flutter Mane, who's been the most consistent Pokémon in the format since its introduction in Regulation B. Flutter Mane was still the most-used Pokémon in the entire tournament at 66.4 percent, but Iron Hands' strong presence in the final stages of the competition might be even more impressive.
Meanwhile, Gyarados had the pleasure of outshining multiple Pokémon with relatively similar supportive roles-Arcanine and Amoonguss. As many fans might recall, Arcanine and Amoonguss were both two essential members of the "Palafin balance" core that dominated the earlier part of Regulation C.
Based on usage stats from Milwaukee, Gyarados and Arcanine were practically interchangeable at around 20 percent each. Both are the two most viable Pokémon who have access to Intimidate, one of the most valuable Abilities in VGC. As seen in the top cut matches from Youm, Tang, and Chua, Gyarados' Intimidate can be cycled in and out to constantly lower the Attack stat of the opposing Pokémon. This is especially effective against common physical threats like Iron Hands, Dragonite, and Chien-Pao.
In addition to Intimidate, Gyarados was seen spamming Thunder Wave in Milwaukee, effectively making it more of a nuisance than Amoonguss this time around. While Amoonguss' Spore can reliably put foes to sleep, Gyarados' Thunder Wave provides speed control in addition to possible free turns if the affected 'mon is fully paralyzed. Gyarados also has a lot more power behind it than Amoonguss in the event it needs to go on the offensive.
As an added bonus, both Iron Hands and Gyarados are stealing a spot away from the mighty Palafin, who has gone from hero to zero in these past few tournaments. Iron Hands has replaced Palafin as the most dominant physical attacker in the meta, while Gyarados is Palafin's Water-type substitute on many teams.
Many pro players were initially concerned the Regulation C format would go stale with all of the Palafin Balance teams running around, but this shift in the meta is a great sign that things are still changing.
With Fresno Regionals and the North America International Championships right around the corner, we're excited to see how the meta will keep adapting.