VGC: Luca Paz Wins Liverpool Regional Championship

Luca Paz continues to be a dominant NA force in the EU.

In the second VGC Regional of the season, another player from outside the region takes home the gold.

liverpool regional champion. finally broke my second place curse when it mattered most. i knew this team had what it took to win at san diego so i stuck to it with some changes and am glad it went well. love my fish 🐟🍣

paste: https://t.co/BjLnCwYTQV https://t.co/P0gXHlzCM9 pic.twitter.com/dWnuSGsUgK

— luca (@icebergvgc) January 23, 2023

Contents

1 Luca Paz
2 The Team
3 Congratulations Luca!

Luca Paz

Finishing second place twice in Senior Division made Luca a formidable up and comer for the next Generation of Pokémon. After finishing in the Top 8 of the London open at the end of 2022, it became very obvious that he was going to live up to expectations. Now, he is finally a Regional Champion in the top division, and will be a player to look our for this entire season, especially since he has qualified for the World Championship! Even with having qualified, we may see more of Luca still across Regional and International tournaments. After all, a player needs to continue competing through the season as the Series' change.

The Team

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Dondozo @ Leftovers  
Ability: Unaware  
Level: 50  
Tera Type: Dragon  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 36 SpD / 212 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
- Wave Crash  
- Substitute  
- Order Up  
- Protect

Tatsugiri-Droopy (Tatsugiri) @ Choice Scarf  
Ability: Commander  
Level: 50  
Shiny: Yes  
Tera Type: Water  
EVs: 100 Def / 172 SpA / 236 Spe  
Modest Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Draco Meteor  
- Muddy Water  
- Icy Wind  
- Sleep Talk

Gholdengo @ Choice Specs  
Ability: Good as Gold  
Level: 50  
Tera Type: Steel  
EVs: 68 HP / 52 Def / 132 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe  
Modest Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Make It Rain  
- Shadow Ball  
- Thunderbolt  
- Power Gem

Murkrow @ Eviolite  
Ability: Prankster  
Level: 50  
Tera Type: Ghost  
EVs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 212 SpD  
Calm Nature  
IVs: 0 Atk  
- Tailwind  
- Foul Play  
- Quash  
- Haze

Dragonite @ Assault Vest  
Ability: Inner Focus  
Level: 61  
Tera Type: Flying  
EVs: 196 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 4 SpD / 52 Spe  
Adamant Nature  
- Extreme Speed  
- Stomping Tantrum  
- Tera Blast  
- Low Kick

Pawmot @ Focus Sash  
Ability: Natural Cure  
Level: 50  
Shiny: Yes  
Tera Type: Electric  
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe  
Jolly Nature  
- Double Shock  
- Fake Out  
- Close Combat  
- Revival Blessing

A lot of implications come with the success of Luca's team. Not only has Dondozo/Tatsugiri proven itself as a winning duo, but Murkrow, Dragonite, and the ability to revive a Pokémon using Pawmot's Revival Blessing have all gone from being top ideal strategies, to proving their ability to win major tournaments!

As strange as it is, the Dragonite used on Luca's team is not a Normal Tera Extreme Speed based Pokémon. It is instead a Flying Tera Dragonite with an extra STAB boosted Tera Blast! This makes it especially effective against the likes of Meowscarada, Tauros, and Grass Tera Pokémon like Gargnacl that used Grass as a defensive typing.

Congratulations Luca!

Luca has earned his way to this point for multiple years now. He's been waiting since the start of COVID to finally be able to take a shot at a major tournament, and he didn't let it go to waste. It would be great to start predicting his placement in the World Championship, but there are still plenty of tournaments and challengers to take on before we get to that point!