Shohei Kimura Wins VGC 2023 Pokémon World Championship

In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's first Pokémon World Championship, Shohei Kimura takes the win in his home country.

Shohei Kimura has been competing for multiple Pokémon generations, but now his name will be recognized around the world.

It's a 🇯🇵 Japan sweep at the 2023 #PokémonWorlds!

▶️ Japan has won the finals for all three VG divisions this year
▶️ Japan has now won Masters Worlds for 5 times (2009, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023), becoming the region with most wins ever

Congratulations! おめでとうございます！ pic.twitter.com/Ly4KnUXIwy

— Victory Road (@VGCVictoryRoad) August 13, 2023

Shohei Kimura

As usual, it wasn't a perfect road. Shohei came off of Day 2 with a 5/2/0 record, being seeded 19th heading into top cut. Using some of the most popular Pokémon in Regulation D, he showed mastery of the meta and team he was running. His Grand Finals match showed that he, without a doubt, is the best in the world.

Team

Landorus-Therian @ Safety Goggles  
Ability: Intimidate  
Level: 50  
Tera Type: Flying  
Adamant Nature  
- Stomping Tantrum  
- Tera Blast  
- U-turn  
- Protect  

Urshifu-Rapid-Strike @ Mystic Water  
Ability: Unseen Fist  
Level: 50  
Tera Type: Water  
Adamant Nature  
- Surging Strikes  
- Aqua Jet  
- Protect  
- Taunt  

Flutter Mane @ Choice Specs  
Ability: Protosynthesis  
Level: 50  
Tera Type: Grass  
Timid Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Shadow Ball  
- Dazzling Gleam  
- Moonblast  
- Energy Ball  

Chien-Pao @ Focus Sash  
Ability: Sword of Ruin  
Level: 50  
Tera Type: Ghost  
Adamant Nature  
- Icicle Crash  
- Sacred Sword  
- Sucker Punch  
- Protect  

Amoonguss @ Sitrus Berry  
Ability: Regenerator  
Level: 50  
Tera Type: Water  
Bold Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Pollen Puff  
- Spore  
- Rage Powder  
- Protect  

Iron Hands @ Assault Vest  
Ability: Quark Drive  
Level: 50  
Tera Type: Water  
Adamant Nature  
- Wild Charge  
- Volt Switch  
- Drain Punch  
- Fake Out  

Congratulations Shohei!

Going into the 2024 season in only a month, Shohei is going to have a lot of steam behind him. Perhaps we'll see him at NA or EU regionals, or dominating the Japanese scene. No matter where he is, it'll be exciting to see his results in the upcoming season, and how he performs at next year's World Championship with his automatic Day 1 invite! It'll be just as exciting to see which of his Pokémon will get a distribution event in the future! Congratulations to Shohei Kimura, the VGC 2023 Pokémon World Champion!