VGC Tournament Results: 2023 North America International Championships (NAIC)

The 2023 North America International Championships event has now concluded in Columbus, Ohio, USA! Read on to learn the event dates, location, results, and more!

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

Avery Vehlewald's Oranguru

Oranguru
Level	50
Tera Type
Ability	Inner Focus
Held Item	Sitrus Berry
Moveset	・ Psychic ・ Instruct ・ Trick Room ・ Encore

Avery's Oranguru who doesn't do any damage was the standout performer during the Juniors Division Finals match of the North America International Championship.

Oranguru would continuously support its team with Instruct, letting its partners dish out consecutive attacks. It would also lock Pokemon into Encore, punishing defensive Protects, while tanking multiple hits of damage.

Alex Gomez Berna's Dragapult

Dragapult
Level	50
Tera Type
Ability	Clear Body
Held Item	Choice Band
Moveset	・ Dragon Darts ・ Phantom Force ・ U-turn ・ Tera Blast

Dragapult was the MVP of Champion, Alex Gomez Berna's team. It boasts amazing natural speed, and with Choice Band, it is also enormously strong on the physical side.
Dragapult's teammates were able to support it in all of its matches, allowing Dragapult to deal huge damage and decisive KOs througout the tournament.

Its effectiveness in all of its matches make it a great potential Mystery Gift giveaway in the future.

All Mystery Gift Codes and How to Get

2023 North America International Championships: Champion's Team

Team Breakdown

Dragapult	Chien-Pao	Iron Hands
Dondozo	Ting-Lu	Flutter Mane

Team Cores and Strategy

Dragapult and Chien-Pao

Dragapult

Chien-Pao

Dragapult immediately becomes even more menacing when Chien-Pao is on the field, with Chien-Pao's Sword of Ruin reducing the field's Defense stat. Tera Ghost Tera Blast is able to take OHKOs on most Pokemon, even threatening 90% on a Pokemon as bulky as Amoonguss.

Dragapult and Iron Hands

Dragapult

Iron Hands

Iron Hands works as a solid partner for Dragapult in the lead position, as it can flinch opponents with Fake Out. This strategy was seen in Alex's second match against Raghav Malaviya, where Iron Hands flinched Amoonguss before it could spore Dragapult.

Iron Hands' Fake Out support also comes in handy for setting up advantageous turns for Dragapult using Phantom Force, which delays it for one turn.

Competitive Team Building for Doubles Ranked Battle

Team Strengths

The team features many ways to dish out offense, most notably through the core of Dragapult, Chien-Pao and Iron Hands.

Dragapult's speed and power makes it a powerful addition to the team, being able to outspeed most Pokemon in the format. Iron Hands can flinch Pokemon with Fake Out, while Chien-Pao's Sword of Ruin reduces everyone's Defense by 25%.

Champion's Pokemon's Moveset and Held Items

Choice Band Dragapult

Ability	Clear Body
Tera Type
Held Item	Choice Band
Moveset	・ Dragon Darts ・ Phantom Force ・ U-turn ・ Tera Blast

Choice Band Dragapult mowed through its competition, shredding through even bulky Pokemon like Arcanine and Amoonguss.

Phantom Force is in the set for extra power, at the cost of being delayed a turn. While Tera Blast is a quicker option that can deal damage immediately.

Dragapult Movesets and Best Builds

Focus Sash Chien-Pao

Ability	Sword of Ruin
Tera Type
Held Item	Focus Sash
Moveset	・ Protect ・ Ice Spinner ・ Sucker Punch ・ Sacred Sword

Chien-Pao makes an appearance in this team, possibly because of its powerful Sword of Ruin Ability, which enables the team's physical attackers to deal even more damage thanks to its defense debuff.

Chien-Pao Movesets and Best Builds

Assault Vest Iron Hands

Ability	Quark Drive
Tera Type
Held Item
Moveset	・ Heavy Slam ・ Fake Out ・ Drain Punch ・ Wild Charge

Iron Hands is a strong and consistent offensive tank, made even more effective with teammates that benefit off its Fake Out support. Heavy Slam is a strong inclusion due to its effectiveness in KOing Flutter Mane.

Iron Hands Movesets and Best Builds

Tera Normal Dondozo

Ability	Oblivious
Tera Type
Held Item
Moveset	・ Wave Crash ・ Yawn ・ Protect ・ Heavy Slam

Dondozo makes an appearance without its usual partner, Tatsugiri in this team. Tera Normal is elected as its Tera type to let Dondozo have few weaknesses and an immunity to Flutte Mane's Shadow Ball.

Dondozo Movesets and Best Builds

Tera Fairy Ting-Lu

Ability	Vessel of Ruin
Tera Type
Held Item	Sitrus Berry
Moveset	・ Taunt ・ Sand Tomb ・ Ruination ・ Stomping Tantrum

Ting-Lu is a strong addition to the team, reducing the field's Special Attack, and improving the team's overall Special bulk with its Vessel of Ruin Ability. A Fairy Tera is chosen to give Ting-Lu a resistance to Fighting. Sand Tomb can deal consistent incremental damage, while Ruination can consistently take out 50% of an opponent's HP.

Ting-Lu Movesets and Best Builds

Booster Energy Flutter Mane

Ability	Protosynthesis
Tera Type
Held Item	Booster Energy
Moveset	・ Protect ・ Substitute ・ Shadow Ball ・ Moonblast

Flutter Mane would get a Speed boost from its held Booster Energy, which allows it to often be the fastest Pokemon on the field. It is able to punish passive turns by setting up Substitute, making it even more difficult to take out.

Flutter Mane Movesets and Best Builds

2023 North America International Championships Details

Tournament for Best Players in Pokemon Games

The 2023 North America International Championships is a Regional/International 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.

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 North America International Championships Date and Location

This season's 2023 North America International Championships event took place at Columbus, Ohio on June 30 to July 2, 2023.

Event Registration

Registrations for the event were from May 17 to 18, for players in all age divisions, namely Juniors, Seniors, and Masters. Spectator Badges were made available by the tournament organizers, but with limited availability.

Side Events

VG Standard 8-Player Pod

An eight-player tournament using the current ruleset. Play will begin as soon as eight players are ready.

Malamar

A tournament using the current ruleset. Nintendo Switch systems and controllers must be inverted 180 degrees so that the game is played upside down.

Catch Cup

Battle three opponents in a tournament where all Pokemon and Moves available in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet games are allowed. Participants won prizes based on their final tournament score!

Juniors 4-Player Pod

No entry fee. A tournament using the current ruleset. Junior Division–aged players only. Play will begin as soon as four players are ready.

Chaos Cup

Players were given random rental teams filled with Pokemon selected by a featured Pokemon Content Creator! These teams featured Pokemon that don't often see competitive play!

Championship Point System

Points Awarded from Regional and International Tournaments

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

International Championships Point System

2023 North America International 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

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 Pokemon World Championships

The next major VGC event will be the 2023 Pokemon World Championships, which will be held on August 11 - 13, 2023.

It will be played with Regulation D rules, which allows for all Pokemon in the Paldea Pokedex, Paradox Pokemon, the four Treasures of Ruin, as well as Pokemon from Pokemon HOME, except for Koraidon, Miraidon, Walking Wake, Iron Leaves and other Restricted Pokemon.

Pokemon World Championships 2023

2024 World Championship Series

The 2024 World Championship Series was announced during the North America International Championship event, with the first tournaments of the season taking place in September and October, after the World Championships have wrapped up.
2024 Pokemon Championship Series Details

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