Indianapolis Regionals was the first official Regulation G tournament in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and no one expected Miraidon to blow the competition away, let alone win the entire event. Now everyone is finally acknowledging the power of the Gen IX Legendary dragon.
Going into Scarlet and Violet’s first restricted format, Regulation G, Pokémon VGC pros had a list of Legendary ‘mons to watch, with Calyrex seen as the biggest threat. To no one’s surprise, Shadow Rider and Ice Rider Calyrex topped the restricted Legendary usage charts on both days of the event. Meanwhile, Miraidon was only sitting at 9.09 percent usage on day one and 6.56 percent on day two. Still, the Violet Legendary mascot found a way to outshine Calyrex and all the other Legendaries by winning its first legal major.
Throughout its impressive run at Indianapolis Regionals, everyone was shocked by the power behind Miraidon’s Electric attacks. By the time Rajan Bal’s Miraidon team took home the trophy, the VGC community was already apologizing for underestimating the purple dragon. Former world champ Wolfe Glick, who made his casting debut in Indianapolis, even filled out an apology form, promising to respect Miraidon from now on. “I am sorry I have ever called Miraidon a terrain and Quark Drive bot. I was not familiar with its game,” fellow caster Rosemary “Nekkra” Kelley admitted.
Other Pokémon VGC players shared the same sentiment, wondering how they all overlooked Miraidon’s power in the first place. “How did we as a community gaslight ourselves that Miraidon was a B-tier restricted?” Pokémon pro Joseph Ugarte posted on X. “[Its] damage output is absurd.” Indeed, Bal’s Miraidon proved it can deal meaningful damage to anything that stands in its way—including Pokémon that resist its Electric attacks. For example, Miraidon cut down over half of Amoonguss’ HP in a single hit despite having the type disadvantage. That’s thanks to boosts from the Legendary dragon’s Hadron Engine, Electric Terrain, and Choice Specs on top of its 135 Special Attack.
“There’s no true resistance against Miraidon,” Aaron “Cybertron” Zheng stated while casting the exhilarating finals. “That’s what I’ve learned after this weekend.”
Given how impressed everyone was by Miraidon in Indianapolis, it’ll be interesting to see how the meta shifts from here. Will more players add the powerhouse to their teams, or will new threats emerge to counter it? This restricted format is set to cover the rest of the season, so a lot can change between now and Worlds in August.
