Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
And before I move on to videos of other things (actually, I still have a couple more videos from Season M-A), here is the first of the Online Competitions, the Grand Challenge 2026-I. You will receive no Championship Points for this one, but the later ones will, showing that they’re going to be serious about thse events. I still would’ve liked the novelty ones like “Jump! Magikarp,” where you’re required to use Magikarp. Maybe they’ll still come to Pokémon Champions.
00:00 - Battle #1
Type: Double Battle
Opponent: pudding
Battle Court: Battle Arena
Music: Battle Arena
My Pokémon: Rigel (Manectric), Rosalyn (Roserade), Mac (Mudsdale), Paolo (Quaquaval)
Opponent’s Pokémon: Whimsicott, Tsareena, Chandelure, Gallade
My opponent’s rating was about 1,536, meaning they’ve gotten a few wins under their belt by the time I began (a few hours after this event got started!). And I can see why: Whimsicott setting up Tailwind makes Tsareena very hard to stop, as Queenly Majesty blocks all priority moves. I used Tsareena in Generation VII to fight Mimikyu, but it was for single battling—I had forgotten that Queenly Majesty also stops priority moves done to Tsareena’s partner too.
Pokémon Champions also boosted the power of Tsareena’s Trop Kick from 70 power to 90 power, which hurts a bunch when paired with Tsareena’s 120 Attack.
05:08 - Battle #2
Type: Double Battle
Opponent: Matt
Battle Court: Battle Arena
Music: Battle Arena
My Pokémon: Mac (Mudsdale), Rigel (Manectric), Lamar (Aurorus), Rosalyn (Roserade)
Opponent’s Pokémon: Mitzy (Jolteon), Slade (Gengar), Maestro (Incineroar), Jelly (Azumarill)
One thing I’m not used to seeing: Gengar actually inflicting Poison despite being a Poison-type. And it’s been 30 years since I started seeing Gengar.
You can also see how it’s important I keep Mac (Mudsdale) to whenever Incineroar shows up. Most often, it’s at the beginning, but they’ll sometimes save Incineroar for later. He can really put Incineroar in a tough spot.
Though I’m unclear on some of the other nicknames, Gengar’s nickname of Slade is most likely named after Deathstroke, the DC villain, who also goes by “Slade” in the Teen Titans animated series (as well as Teen Titans GO!). Azumarill’s nickname of “Jelly” may be named after the country singer Jelly Roll.
8:36 This is where I peaked at this event: 1,060th place out of 210,759. I would not reach that rank for the rest of the event, but I did come close.
06:29 - Battle #3
Type: Double Battle
Opponent: Twitch16
Battle Court: Battle Arena
Music: Battle Arena
My Pokémon: Rigel (Manectric), Mac (Mudsdale), Lamar (Aurorus), Paolo (Quaquaval)
Opponent’s Pokémon: Dragapult, Aerodactyl, Venusaur, Bandit (Kingambit)
Normally, if I see someone whom I’m guessing has Fake Out, I’ll begin with Mac (Mudsdale) and someone with Protect. All of the most common Pokémon for Fake Out (Incineroar, Sneasler, Lopunny, Kangaskhan) are weak to one of Mac’s moves, though I have to watch out for Tinkaton, who has Mold Breaker and CAN inflict flinch. This time, I selected him because of the threats of Tyranitar and Aerodactyl, who are often used to start matches: Tyranitar for Sand Stream, Aerodactyl for Tailwind. Tyranitar did not show up for this battle at all, though Aerodactyl DID appear at the start.
This one was not for Tailwind though, but as a general attacker. Aerodactyl is super fast and one of the fastest non-Prankster Tailwind users, but Mega Manectric is faster. A keenly timed Wide Guard and switching into Kingambit after me using Snarl gave them the advantage though.
15:09 - Battle #4
Type: Double Battle
Opponent: Titokapote
Battle Court: Battle Arena
Music: Battle Arena
My Pokémon: Mac (Mudsdale), Paolo (Quaquaval), Lamar (Aurorus), Rigel (Manectric)
Opponent’s Pokémon: Hopkins (Sableye), Heavy Floe (Floette) (Eternal Flower), Francis (Incineroar), Cha-Cha (Polchageist)
This was a very long, drawn out battle, despite the quick knockout of Mega Floette, and the last one I played in this Online Competition. It’s due to a combination of a lot of healing coming from Poltchageist, inflicting Burn on Mac (Mudsdale) to slow him down, and use of Incineroar’s Intimidate (not that that’s particularly noteworthy).
Mega Floette is one of the most feared new Mega Evolutions, despite her tiny size, due to a sky high Sp. Attack of 155 and Garchomp’s Speed of 102, boosted further by Fairy Aura, which increases the power of Fairy attacks by 30%. Heavy Slam on Mac (Mudsdale) has a maximum power of 120 when done to Mega Floette, 240 due to weakness. This is barely enough to one-hit KO Mega Floette, and while this was a critical hit in this match, I can confirm in some other ones that the move can inflict a knockout from full HP without a critical hit (though probably not with Reflect).
Sableye is named after the Hopkinsville Goblin, a cryptid that Sableye may be based on.
And before I move on to videos of other things (actually, I still have a couple more videos from Season M-A), here is the first of the Online Competitions, the Grand Challenge 2026-I. You will receive no Championship Points for this one, but the later ones will, showing that they’re going to be serious about thse events. I still would’ve liked the novelty ones like “Jump! Magikarp,” where you’re required to use Magikarp. Maybe they’ll still come to Pokémon Champions.
00:00 - Battle #1
Type: Double Battle
Opponent: pudding
Battle Court: Battle Arena
Music: Battle Arena
My Pokémon: Rigel (Manectric), Rosalyn (Roserade), Mac (Mudsdale), Paolo (Quaquaval)
Opponent’s Pokémon: Whimsicott, Tsareena, Chandelure, Gallade
My opponent’s rating was about 1,536, meaning they’ve gotten a few wins under their belt by the time I began (a few hours after this event got started!). And I can see why: Whimsicott setting up Tailwind makes Tsareena very hard to stop, as Queenly Majesty blocks all priority moves. I used Tsareena in Generation VII to fight Mimikyu, but it was for single battling—I had forgotten that Queenly Majesty also stops priority moves done to Tsareena’s partner too.
Pokémon Champions also boosted the power of Tsareena’s Trop Kick from 70 power to 90 power, which hurts a bunch when paired with Tsareena’s 120 Attack.
05:08 - Battle #2
Type: Double Battle
Opponent: Matt
Battle Court: Battle Arena
Music: Battle Arena
My Pokémon: Mac (Mudsdale), Rigel (Manectric), Lamar (Aurorus), Rosalyn (Roserade)
Opponent’s Pokémon: Mitzy (Jolteon), Slade (Gengar), Maestro (Incineroar), Jelly (Azumarill)
One thing I’m not used to seeing: Gengar actually inflicting Poison despite being a Poison-type. And it’s been 30 years since I started seeing Gengar.
You can also see how it’s important I keep Mac (Mudsdale) to whenever Incineroar shows up. Most often, it’s at the beginning, but they’ll sometimes save Incineroar for later. He can really put Incineroar in a tough spot.
Though I’m unclear on some of the other nicknames, Gengar’s nickname of Slade is most likely named after Deathstroke, the DC villain, who also goes by “Slade” in the Teen Titans animated series (as well as Teen Titans GO!). Azumarill’s nickname of “Jelly” may be named after the country singer Jelly Roll.
8:36 This is where I peaked at this event: 1,060th place out of 210,759. I would not reach that rank for the rest of the event, but I did come close.
06:29 - Battle #3
Type: Double Battle
Opponent: Twitch16
Battle Court: Battle Arena
Music: Battle Arena
My Pokémon: Rigel (Manectric), Mac (Mudsdale), Lamar (Aurorus), Paolo (Quaquaval)
Opponent’s Pokémon: Dragapult, Aerodactyl, Venusaur, Bandit (Kingambit)
Normally, if I see someone whom I’m guessing has Fake Out, I’ll begin with Mac (Mudsdale) and someone with Protect. All of the most common Pokémon for Fake Out (Incineroar, Sneasler, Lopunny, Kangaskhan) are weak to one of Mac’s moves, though I have to watch out for Tinkaton, who has Mold Breaker and CAN inflict flinch. This time, I selected him because of the threats of Tyranitar and Aerodactyl, who are often used to start matches: Tyranitar for Sand Stream, Aerodactyl for Tailwind. Tyranitar did not show up for this battle at all, though Aerodactyl DID appear at the start.
This one was not for Tailwind though, but as a general attacker. Aerodactyl is super fast and one of the fastest non-Prankster Tailwind users, but Mega Manectric is faster. A keenly timed Wide Guard and switching into Kingambit after me using Snarl gave them the advantage though.
15:09 - Battle #4
Type: Double Battle
Opponent: Titokapote
Battle Court: Battle Arena
Music: Battle Arena
My Pokémon: Mac (Mudsdale), Paolo (Quaquaval), Lamar (Aurorus), Rigel (Manectric)
Opponent’s Pokémon: Hopkins (Sableye), Heavy Floe (Floette) (Eternal Flower), Francis (Incineroar), Cha-Cha (Polchageist)
This was a very long, drawn out battle, despite the quick knockout of Mega Floette, and the last one I played in this Online Competition. It’s due to a combination of a lot of healing coming from Poltchageist, inflicting Burn on Mac (Mudsdale) to slow him down, and use of Incineroar’s Intimidate (not that that’s particularly noteworthy).
Mega Floette is one of the most feared new Mega Evolutions, despite her tiny size, due to a sky high Sp. Attack of 155 and Garchomp’s Speed of 102, boosted further by Fairy Aura, which increases the power of Fairy attacks by 30%. Heavy Slam on Mac (Mudsdale) has a maximum power of 120 when done to Mega Floette, 240 due to weakness. This is barely enough to one-hit KO Mega Floette, and while this was a critical hit in this match, I can confirm in some other ones that the move can inflict a knockout from full HP without a critical hit (though probably not with Reflect).
Sableye is named after the Hopkinsville Goblin, a cryptid that Sableye may be based on.
