Pokémon VGC expert and Regional Champion Christopher Han has shared advice for preparing for Pokémon Video Game Championships Regional events, covering team building, competitive practice and tournament-day strategies in a new article published Oct. 13, 2026. Han, who has coached Junior and Senior players for four years, recommends building a balanced team of six Pokémon around a Mega Evolution while accounting for the current Regulation M-C metagame, team synergy and speed control strategies such as Tailwind and Trick Room. He highlights Mega Charizard Y, Mega Gengar, Mega Absol Z, Mega Golisopod and Mega Camerupt as options with distinct competitive strengths and encourages players to study tournament results, explore Replica Teams and use Battle Data and Ranked Battles in Pokémon Champions to understand popular strategies and improve their teams. Han also advises practicing specific matchups in Private Battles, reviewing tournament broadcasts and experimenting with unexpected Pokémon, moves and items to counter common opponents. Drawing on recent competition examples, including Baltimore Regional Championship-winning strategies, he emphasizes learning from both victories and losses rather than relying on a single dominant team. For tournament weekend, Han recommends avoiding last-minute cramming, checking team lists for errors, staying relaxed and approaching battles confidently, with the goal of enjoying the competition while working toward a strong Regional Championship finish.
Source: The Pokémon Company and Play! Pokémon
Source: Pokemon
