The 2023 Japan National Championships event was a VGC Tournament held in Chiba, Japan from June 10~11 2023! The Masters Division was one by Kaito Arii of Japan. Read on to find out more about the champion's team, as well as details of possible future Mystery Gift Pokemon!

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

Kaito Arii's Talonflame

Talonflame
Level	50
Ability	Gale Wings
Held Item	None
Moveset	・ Acrobatics ・ Tailwind ・ Protect ・ Quick Guard

Kaito Arii's Talonflame has been getting a lot of attention in the Japanese Pokemon community due to the fact that it had no held item! This was actually a clever tactical decision, as Acrobatic's Power doubles when the user has no held item, making it almost as powerful as Brave Bird, without the recoil damage!

This will likely be distributed at the 2024 Japan National Championships.

2023 Japan National Championships: Champion Kaito Arii's Team

Kaito Arii's Team Breakdown (Movesets and Held Items)

Talonflame - MVP	Maushold	Annihilape
Ting-Lu	Grimmsnarl	Iron Hands

No Item Talonflame (MVP)

Talonflame is a popular choice in VGC. What sets Kaito Arii's Talonflame apart is that it runs Acrobatics over Brave Bird and has no Held Item. Tail Wind is a great support move that it gets access to, which allows his teams speed to double, which slower Pokemon such as Iron Hands and Ting-Lu appreciate.

Talonflame Movesets and Best Builds

Beat Up Maushold

Maushold forms an important part of the Mausape combo with Annihilape. It uses Beat Up to build up Annihilape's Rage Fist, and provides support with Follow Me and Taunt. Maushold's Ability Friend Guard also allows its allies to take 25% less damage from attacks!

Maushold Movesets and Best Builds

Rage Fist Annihilape

Annihilape can be a very dangerous Pokemon to deal with if you do not have an option to OHKO it. It can build itself up with Bulk Up, and recover HP with Drain Punch. Each time it takes a hit the power of its Rage Fist intensifies making it quite difficult to handle.

Annihilape Movesets and Best Builds

Leftovers Ting-Lu

Ting-Lu functions as both a Wall and a Physically offensive threat. Heavy Slam allows it to effectively handle Fairy Types which would threaten it otherwise, and Ruination allows it to halve the opposing Pokemon's HP, giving it an answer to opposing walls.

Ting-Lu Movesets and Best Builds

Light Clay Grimmsnarl

Kaito Arii's Grimmsnarl's main purpose is to provide support for the rest of the team in the form of Screens. Misty Terrain is a non-standard addition which protects Kaito's Team from status conditions during the active duration.

Grimmsnarl Movesets and Best Builds

Sitrus Berry Iron Hands

Sitrus Berry Iron Hands relies on boosting its Attack with Swords Dance, completely foregoing its Quark Drive Ability and instead opting for recovery through Sitrus Berry. Once Iron Hands has gotten a Swords Dance Up, it can apply massive offensive pressure with its Thunder Punch or Drain Punch.

Iron Hands Movesets and Best Builds

Team Cores and Strategy

Talon Flame + Iron Hands

Talonflame

Iron Hands

Talonflame provides speed support for Iron Hands with its Tail Wind. It's Fire Typing also allows it to tank hits from Fairy Types which Iron Hands is weak to, while Iron Hands can apply offensive pressure to Water Types which Talonflame is weak to.

Maushold + Annihilape

Maushold

Annihilape

Mausape is a very popular core in VGC. Maushold can attack Annihilape multiple times with Beat Up, immediately powering up its Rage Fist. Additionally it has a great Supporting moveset with redirection through Follow Me, and Taunt to shut down opposing tactics.

Annihilape runs a standard attacking set with Rage Fist and Drain Punch as its main offensive options.

2023 Japan National Championships Details

Tournament for Best Players in Pokemon Games

The 2023 Japan National Championships is a National tournament where players could compete for Championship points, which can help players qualify for the 2023 Pokemon World Championships to be held in Yokohama, Japan.

The top 150 Japanese Players during the Global Challenge I, Global Challenge II and Global Challenge III were eligible to participate.

Separate tournaments were held for Pokemon TCG, Pokemon UNITE, Pokemon GO, and Pokemon Video Game Championship, through Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Pokemon World Championships 2023

2023 Japan National Championships Date and Location

This season's 2023 Japan National Championships event took place at Chiba, Japan, on June 10~11.

Event Registration

Invitations to the event were sent out to the top 150 Japanese Players for players in all age divisions, namely Juniors, Seniors, and Masters, following the 3 online Global Challenges.

Championship Point System

Points Awarded from Regional and International Tournaments

CP, or Championship Points are points awarded to players who participated in this National tournament. Points vary depending on the tournament, and the players placement.

Japan has a separate CP system to Pokemon International, as such the below points table does not reflect Japanese Tournaments.

International Championships Point System

2023 Japan National Championships Eligible Pokemon

Regulation C

Treasures of Ruin Permitted in Regulation C (Series 3)

The four Treasures of Ruin are now eligible to use in Regulation C (Series 3)!

Treasures of Ruin
Wo-Chien Best Build	Chien-Pao Best Build	Ting-Lu Best Build	Chi-Yu Best Build

Best Treasures of Ruin Builds for Ranked Battle

Koraidon and Miraidon were Banned

Koraidon and Miraidon are also banned from competitive play in Regulation C (Series 3).

Koraidon

Miraidon

Non-Paldean Dex Pokemon and Regional Variants

Regional variants of Pokemon not found in the Paldean Region are also banned from competitive play. Even though some of these Pokemon share a Pokedex Number with their legal counterparts, they are all banned from online play.

Previous starters who appeared in 7-Star Tera Raid Events are also banned from competitive play as they are not part of the Paldea Pokedex.

Charmander	Charmeleon	Charizard
Scorbunny	Raboot	Cinderace
Froakie	Frogadier	Greninja
Rowlet	Dartrix	Decidueye
Oshawott	Dewott	Samurott
Sobble	Drizzile	Inteleon
Wooper	Quagsire	Galarian Meowth
Perrserker	Hisuian Zorua	Hisuian Zoroark

Walking Wake and Iron Leaves

Although Walking Wake and Iron Leaves are Paradox Pokemon, they are banned from the current Ranked Battle Series as they are not part of the Paldea Pokedex.

Walking Wake

Iron Leaves

Pokemon HOME Transferrable National Dex Pokemon

Any Pokemon which can only be obtained from Pokemon HOME is also banned from competitive play in Regulation C.

All Pokemon HOME Transferable Pokemon

All Legal Pokemon

Almost all Pokemon in the Paldea Pokedex are available to use for Ranked Battle Regulation C (Series 3), including Paradox Pokemon and Treasures of Ruin but still excluding Koraidon and Miraidon and Pokemon not included in the Paldean Pokedex.

Complete Paldea Pokedex

Next Major Pokemon VGC Tournament

2023 Fresno Regional Championships

The next major VGC event was the Fresno Regional Championships, which was also held on June 10~11, but in America, meaning June 9~10 for Japan (one day later).

It was played with Regulation C rules, which means that the Four Treasures of Ruin, as well as Paradox Pokemon will be legal. Koraidon and Miraidon, Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, 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 Regulation C (Series 3): Rules and Banned Pokemon

Related Guides

Latest News and Game Info

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

Current & Upcoming Online Competitions