VGC Tournament Results: 2023 Oceania International Championship (OCIC)

The 2023 Oceania International Championship (OCIC) has just concluded, crowning Gavin Michaels as champion. Read on to learn about the Champion's team, as well as the top cut teams, as well as details on the next major offline VGC Tournament!

VGC Tournament Results
Oceania International		European International		Portland Regional
Hartford Regional		Milwaukee Regional		Fresno Regional
Japan Nationals		North America International		Yokohama Open (Canceled)
VGC World Championships			2024 Championship Series

Possible Next Champion Mystery Gift Pokemon

Gavin Michaels' Palafin

Palafin
Level	50
Tera Type
Ability	Zero to Hero
Held Item	Mystic Water
Moveset	・ Jet Punch ・ Wave Crash ・ Haze ・ Protect

We believe Gavin Michaels' Palafin may be featured in a future Mystery Gift Code distribution, as it was clearly the MVP in Gavin Michaels' final match, as well as throughout the tournament.

2023 Oceania International Championships: Champions Team

Team Breakdown

Palafin	Dragonite	Iron Hands
Pelipper	Baxcalibur	Amoonguss

Team Cores and Strategy

Palafin and Amoonguss

Palafin

Amoonguss

Having Palafin out early lets Gavin switch it out immediately so that it can come out in its Hero Form later on. Amoonguss is there to put opponents to sleep with Spore, or protect its partner using its Rage Powder redirection.

Pelipper and Baxcalibur

Pelipper

Baxcalibur

Pelipper and Baxcalibur were good Pokemon to have in the back, as Pelipper could set up Rain for Palafin, allowing it to wreak havoc when it comes back in Hero form, with Baxcalibur posing as a threat that is difficult to knock out thanks to Tera Poison.
Competitive Team Building for Doubles Ranked Battle

Teams Strengths

The team allowed Gavin Michaels flexibility in his decision making, letting him play reactionary as to not tire him out over the course of the game.

It had easy answers for difficult solutions, such as Palafin using Haze against an omni-boosted Dondozo, using Rain-boosted Wave Crash on Pokemon who resist it and using Priority Moves on speedier Pokemon.

Champion's Pokemon's Moveset and Held Items

Physically Offensive Palafin (MVP)

Ability	Zero to Hero
Tera Type
Nature	Adamant
EVs	252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Held Item	Mystic Water
Moveset	・ Jet Punch ・ Wave Crash ・ Haze ・ Protect

Gavin Michaels' Palafin broke through walls, dealing massive damage even to Pokemon who resisted Water with boosted Wave Crash. Jet Punch was an effective way to 'outspeed' quicker Pokemon, and Haze was effective in the Dondozo matchup.
Palafin Movesets and Best Builds

Lum Berry Dragonite

Ability	Multiscale
Tera Type
Nature	Adamant
EVs	252 HP / 204 Atk / 20 Def / 4 Sp. Def / 28 Spe
Held Item	Lum Berry
Moveset	・ Extreme Speed ・ Tera Blast ・ Ice Spinner ・ Protect

Dragonite had access to Priority in Extreme Speed, which could deal decent damage to quicker Pokemon like Iron Bundle. Lum Berry allowed Dragonite to shrug off Talonflame's Will-O-Wisps and Dragonite's natural Flying typing and Tera Flying allowed it to wall Great Tusk and hit it with super-effective Ice Spinner, which gave the champion an edge against the popular Great Tusk + Talonflame core.

Tera Flying Tera Blast was also great for picking up KOs on neutral hits against physically frail Pokemon like Flutter Mane, as well as dishing out huge damage against Flying-weak Pokemon like Amoonguss.
Dragonite Movesets and Best Builds

Assault Vest Iron Hands

Ability	Quark Drive
Tera Type
Nature	Adamant
EVs	140 HP / 76 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Sp. Def / 36 Spe
Held Item	Assault Vest
Moveset	・ Fake Out ・ Close Combat ・ Wild Charge ・ Volt Switch

Gavin Michaels made use of a reliable Iron Hands with Assault Vest. Fake Out is one of many Priority options in this team, which the opponent always had to be ready for. Iron Hands' low speed paired really well with Volt Switch, which often allowed a teammate to enter the field unharmed.

Close Combat and Wild Charge were Iron Hands' STAB moves of choice, with Close Combat taking the place of Drain Punch for the additional damage at the cost of incremental health recovery.
Iron Hands Movesets and Best Builds

Focus Sash Pelipper

Ability	Drizzle
Tera Type
Nature	Modest
EVs	4 HP / 252 Sp. Atk / 252 Spe
Held Item	Focus Sash
Moveset	・ Hurricane ・ Hydro Pump ・ Tailwind ・ Protect

Pelipper was a reliable support Pokemon, who had the team's sole form of Speed Control in Tailwind. It would Terastallize on occasion when Gavin needed it to deal more damage with Hurricane, which was 100% accurate in Rain.

One of Pelipper's main jobs, however was to set up Rain for Palafin, to make its Water-type Moves absurdly powerful. Rain also protected Amoonguss from taking meaningful damage from Fire-type Attacks.
Pelipper Movesets and Best Builds

Tera Poison Baxcalibur

Ability	Thermal Exchange
Tera Type
Nature	Adamant
EVs	84 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 108 Sp. Def / 60 Spe
Held Item	Dragon Fang
Moveset	・ Glaive Rush ・ Ice Shard ・ Icicle Crash ・ Protect

Tera Poison Baxcalibur was difficult to take out thanks to its natural resistances, and the resistances that its Tera Typing gave it. Gavin chose to give it Dragon Fang most likely to increase Glaive Rush's burst damage. Ice Shard was another Priority option in this team, and was great for picking up KOs on low HP Pokemon.
Baxcalibur Movesets and Best Builds

Support Amoonguss

Ability	Regenerator
Tera Type
Nature	Calm
EVs	244 HP / 108 Def / 156 Sp. Def
Held Item	Sitrus Berry
Moveset	・ Spore ・ Rage Powder ・ Pollen Puff ・ Protect

With Palafin damaging itself with Wave Crash, and Iron Hands doing the same with Wild Charge, Amoonguss' Pollen Puff was immensely useful for keeping its teammates healthy. Pollen Puff was also great against opposing Brute Bonnet who took increased damage from it because of its x4 weakness to Bug.

Spore and Rage Powder are standard moves on Amoonguss, which Gavin Michaels used to great effect throughout his tournament run.

Sitrus Berry coupled with Amoonguss' Regenerator Ability made it so Amoonguss would always be on the field to offer its support to its team, and disruption for its opponents.
Amoonguss Movesets and Best Builds

2023 Oceania International Championships Dates and Details

Start and End Dates

Day 1 Swiss for the Masters Division began on February 17 (Friday), with Day 2 Swiss and Top Cut played on February 18 (Saturday). The final match was played on Championship Sunday on February 19th.

Location

The 2023 Oceania International Championships was held in the Melbourne Convention and Activity Centre, Australia.

Events and Size

The VGC tournament had 282 Masters (Ages 16 and up), 27 Seniors (Ages 13-15), and 16 Juniors (Ages 12 and under).

The prizes included 500 CP for the champion, with $5000 in Prize Money.

Next Major Pokemon VGC Tournament

2023 Knoxville Regional Tournament

The next major VGC event will be the 2023 Knoxville Regional Tournament, which will be held on February 24th - 26th, 2023.
It will be played with Series 2 rules, which means that the Four Treasures of Ruin, Koraidon and Miraidon, and Pokemon which are not in the Paldea Dex such as Quagsire, Perrserker, and raid event Pokemon such as Charizard, Cinderace, and Greninja and their pre-evolutions will not be usable in this tournament.
Ranked Battle Series 2, Season 3: Rules and Banned Pokemon

Oceania International Championships Palafin Mystery Gift Code Distribution

Similar to San Diego Regional Champion, Jiseok Lee's Garganacl which was given out via Mystery Gift Code during OCIC, it is likely that we will get a competitive Pokemon Mystery Gift on this tournament as well. This will most likely be one of OCIC Champion, Gavin Michaels' Pokemon. As Palafin was the MVP of the Oceania International Championships final, it is likely that Palafin will be the next Mystery Gift distribution.
Competitive Garganacl Mystery Gift Distribution

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All Ranked Battle Series (Regulations)

Event	Description
Ranked Battle Regulation H [LIVE]	Ruleset: Paradox, Legendary, and Mythical Pokemon are banned in Regulation H!
Ranked Battle Regulation G	Ruleset: Legendary Pokemon will finally be available in Regulation G!
Ranked Battle Regulation F (Series 6)	Ruleset: New and Returning Pokemon from Indigo Disk DLC will be available in Regulation F! Regulation F Duration: 01/04/2024 ~ 04/30/2024
Ranked Battle Regulation E (Series 5)	Ruleset: New and Returning Pokemon from The Teal Mask DLC will be available in Regulation E! Regulation E Duration: 10/1/2023 ~ 01/02/2024
Ranked Battle Regulation D (Series 4)	Ruleset: Pokemon transferred from Pokémon HOME except Restricted Pokemon will be available in Regulation D! (Regulation D) Regulation D Duration: 7/1/2023 ~ 9/30/2023
Ranked Battle Regulation C (Series 3)	Ruleset: The Four Treasures of Ruin are available in Regulation C! Regulation C Duration: 4/1/2023 ~ 6/30/2023
Ranked Battle Series 2 (Regulation B)	Ruleset: Paradox Pokemon can now be used in Series 2 (Regulation B)! Duration: 2/1/2023 ~ 3/31/2023
Ranked Battle Series 1 (Regulation A)	Ruleset: Paradox and Legendary Pokemon are banned from competitive play! Duration: 12/1/2022 ~ 1/31/2023

Ranked Battle Rules and Banned Pokemon

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