Pokemon VGC World Championships 2025 Winner and Strategy: Giovanni Cischke Clinches the Title

Giovanni Cischke defeated James Evans in a Koriadon mirror match to become the 2025 Pokemon VGC World Champion.

Giovanni Cischke is the 2025 VGC World Champion! (Image via TPC)
Giovanni Cischke is the 2025 VGC World Champion! (Image via TPC)

It was Finals Day of the 2025 Pokemon World Championships on August 17, 2025, and American player Giovanni Cischke became the VGC champion. It was Giovanni’s first Worlds win, defeating James Evans in the Grand Finals.

What makes this more impressive is that Giovanni had been using the exact same team throughout this Regulation, including staples like Koraidon and Lunala. While he didn’t win any tournaments with it during that time, that experience certainly helped him take the crown at Worlds 2025.

Giovanni Cischke’s Pokemon VGC Worlds 2025 Team and Strategy

Giovanni Cischke's 2025 Worlds winning team (Image via TPC)
Giovanni Cischke’s 2025 Worlds winning team (Image via TPC)

Here’s the Pokemon that Giovanni used to win VGC Masters Finals:

PokemonAbilityTeraItemMoves
LunalaShadow ShieldWaterPower HerbMoongeist Beam, Meteor Beam, Wide Guard, and Trick Room
KoraidonOrichalcum PulseFireLife OrbClose Combat, Flare Blitz, Flame Charge, and Protect
Chi-YuBeads of RuinGhostChoice ScarfDark Pulse, Overheat, Heat Wave, and Snarl
Flutter ManeProtosynthesisStellarFocus SashShadow Ball, Moonblast, Icy Wind, and Protect
Brute BonnetProtosynthesisWaterSitrus BerrySpore, Rage Powder, Sucker Punch, and Seed Bomb
UrsalunaGutsGhostFlame OrbFacade, Headlong Rush, Earthquake, and Protect

Pokemon VGC: Which Pokemon Did Giovanni Cischke Bring to Worlds 2025?

Giovanni used a Restricted core of Koraidon and Lunala, which has a nice mix of offense and defense. However, he never actually ended up bringing Lunala to any of his matches in the final. In his first two games, his team was Flutter Mane, Brute Bonnet, Chi-Yu, and Koraidon. While we never get to see his fourth Pokemon in his last match, the fact that he brought the first three indicates that Koraidon was his fourth choice as well. Additionally, this means he won his last game without using any of his Restricted Legendaries.

As for the Pokemon he did pick, Flutter Mane has terrorized the meta thanks to its high Speed and Special Attack. While it is frail, Giovanni overcame this issue by using it as his lead and having it hold a Focus Sash. This lets it survive one hit from full HP.

Brute Bonnet, a dark horse to do well at Worlds, had a similar role to Amoonguss. It used Spore to put a Pokemon to sleep and Rage Powder to redirect the opponent’s moves. However, it has a more offensive playstyle, using STAB priority Sucker Punch to deal damage.

Finally, Chi-Yu was given a Choice Scarf to boost its Speed. While it could only use one move at a time, thanks to Beads of Ruin dropping all other Pokemon’s Special Defenses, any move from it would hurt. This included Heat Wave, which it used to great effect to win the last match.


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