The Pokémon Scarlet and Violet 2024 Charlotte Regionals was the biggest in-person Pokémon tournament in VGC history, and it was 2016 World Champion Wolfe Glick who came out on top among 845 competitors. His winning team included a certain Pokémon he dreads—Incineroar.
On Jan. 21, Wolfe Glick earned his eighth regional title in Charlotte, North Carolina, adding to his long resume of achievements over the years. The popular pro player and content creator has won regionals, internationals, and the 2016 World Championships, but this specific win was historic, being the largest Pokémon VGC tournament so far.
With nearly a thousand players competing this weekend, Charlotte Regionals beat out the 2023 Orlando Regionals which saw 780 competitors. In fact, Glick had won that event in Orlando, too. Glick’s win here means the former world champ has now won the two largest VGC events ever.
Glick posted an impressive 17-1 record for the weekend, only dropping a single set during the Swiss rounds. And although he was known for using off-meta picks like Scream Tail and Tinkaton last season, he decided to take a different approach in 2024. This time, he opted for a team of six Pokémon that were “proven to be strong”: Flutter Mane, Urshifu (Rapid Strike), Farigiraf, Ogerpon (Hearthflame), Rillaboom, and Incineroar.
The Pokémon that stands out the most on the team is Incineroar, who’s been a hot topic in the VGC community as of late. Incineroar has been one of the best-performing Pokémon in competitive play, and Glick even called the Fire Starter, “way too strong, way too oppressive,” to the point where he doesn’t even like the ‘mon. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna use it,” he said in a post-match interview on day one of the event.
What makes Incineroar so good is its ability to effectively cycle in Fake Out and the stat drops with Parting Shot and its Intimidate ability. Oftentimes, you’ll just see the cat constantly being swapped in and out as it gives the player better positioning and weakens the ‘mons on the other side of the field. Even if it’s not the one always dishing out damage, Incineroar’s role on the team is so valuable.
Despite this, other players weren’t feeling the same hype about Incineroar, especially after it couldn’t pull out a win at Portland Regionals, the first Regulation F event where Incineroar made its return. It seemed as though the cat had fallen off for a second, but we may see more players getting behind Incineroar again after witnessing Glick’s dominant performance with it.
“Incineroar is the king, and I think he’s back baby,” Glick said even before winning the event. Looks like the cat isn’t the only one who’s back.
