Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s latest North American regional tournament is currently underway in Charlotte this weekend. This is the last VGC tournament before the big switch to Regulation C rules which will allow the use of the four Treasures of Ruin.
With players still battling for their spot in Day 2, many great matches are taking place on stream. So far, one of the most incredible battles of Day 1 featured a clash of two veterans—James Baek and Luca Paz—with one turn in particular that had everyone in shock.
James had his Flutter Mane and Arcanine out against Luca’s Arcanine and Amoonguss. Whenever you see Amoonguss out on the field, the first thing that comes to mind is Spore, a 100% accuracy move that puts the target to sleep for a few turns. To protect his Flutter Mane from falling asleep, James did the unexpected. He had his own Arcanine use Will-O-Wisp to burn his Flutter Mane. By being burned, Flutter Mane could no longer be affected by Spore or any other status condition like Paralysis.
This proved to be the right move for James because it was immediately followed up with a failed Spore attempt from Luca’s Amoonguss. It also shows just how clever players need to be to play against the very popular Spore-using Amoonguss.
In VGC, Spore can be avoided in two main ways: Grass-Tera Type or Safety Goggles. If your Pokémon does not have that Tera Type or Held Item, it will most likely be an easy target for Amoonguss’ Spore. The one out James had was to burn his own Flutter Mane. In his case, it was much better for Flutter Mane to be burned than put to sleep because it’s a special attacker that isn’t punished by the Attack drop from the burn. Plus, it was very unexpected, so it allowed him to gain some momentum in the battle.
When it was all said and done, James won the match 2-1 and is having a fantastic run on Day 1 so far.
