Victory Road's June Challenge #3 shows us the VGC metagame going into the 2025 Pokémon World Championships

The Victory Road June Challenge #3, an unofficial grassroots tournament featuring high-level trainers preparing for the 2025 Pokémon World Championships, featured 209 players battling for a prize of $710 USD, with 2021 Trainers Cup Finalist Jeongso Lee taking the victory. They used the popular pairing of Miraidon and Calyrex's Ice Rider form — but continue reading for more information on their team!

The event ran from June 28-29th, 2025, and used the Regulation Set I ruleset, allowing the use of Paradox Pokemon, Legendary Pokemon, along with a choice of two Restricted Special Pokemon per team. To see announcements for future Victory Road events, including the recently announced July Challenge #1, make sure to check them out on X (formerly Twitter)!

The following list shows all players in Top Cut, the teams they used, as well as prize money earned in USD. All teams and rental codes shown below can be used in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's online Ranked Battles while Regulation Set I is running from May 1st to August 31st, 2025.

Standings​

#
Prizes
Trainer
Pokémon
Rental
1st
$710​
Jeongso Lee​
1008 Miraidon.png0898 Calyrex-Ice.png0892 Urshifu.png0727 Incineroar.png0645 Landorus.png0591 Amoonguss.png
—​
2nd
$355​
Kiran Singh​
1008 Miraidon.png0898 Calyrex-Ice.png0892 Urshifu.png0727 Incineroar.png0637 Volcarona.png0591 Amoonguss.png
—​
Top 4
$175​
Joan Garcia​
1008 Miraidon.png0898 Calyrex-Ice.png0892 Urshifu.png0727 Incineroar.png0637 Volcarona.png0591 Amoonguss.png
—​
X Shenlan​
1008 Miraidon.png0792 Lunala.png0892 Urshifu.png0727 Incineroar.png0645 Landorus.png0547 Whimsicott.png
—​
Top 8
$90​
Gabriel Rigo​
1024 Terapagos.png1008 Miraidon.png1013 Sinistcha.png0990 Iron Treads.png0892 Urshifu.png0727 Incineroar.png
—​
Nikolaj Hoj Nielsen​
1008 Miraidon.png0889 Zamazenta-Crowned.png0981 Farigiraf.png0903 Sneasler.png0901 Ursaluna-Bloodmoon.png0641 Tornadus.png
—​
Bruno Lima​
0898 Calyrex-Shadow.png0889 Zamazenta-Crowned.png0892 Urshifu.png0812 Rillaboom.png0727 Incineroar.png0641 Tornadus.png
—​
Masahiro Ito​
1008 Miraidon.png0898 Calyrex-Shadow.png1004 Chi-Yu.png0992 Iron Hands.png0981 Farigiraf.png0547 Whimsicott.png
Top 16
—​
Hsuan-Chih Kuo​
0898 Calyrex-Shadow.png0889 Zamazenta-Crowned.png1021 Raging Bolt.png0812 Rillaboom.png0641 Tornadus.png0235 Smeargle.png
—​
Juan Manuel Santizo​
1008 Miraidon.png0898 Calyrex-Ice.png0981 Farigiraf.png0892 Urshifu.png0727 Incineroar.png0645 Landorus.png
—​
Yoav Reuven​
0898 Calyrex-Shadow.png0889 Zamazenta-Crowned.png0812 Rillaboom.png0727 Incineroar.png0641 Tornadus.png0235 Smeargle.png
—​
Amin Lehna​
0898 Calyrex-Shadow.png0889 Zamazenta-Crowned.png1021 Raging Bolt.png0812 Rillaboom.png0641 Tornadus.png0235 Smeargle.png
—​
Flavio Del Pidio​
1024 Terapagos.png1008 Miraidon.png1013 Sinistcha.png0990 Iron Treads.png0892 Urshifu.png0727 Incineroar.png
—​
Madeline Tynan​
0898 Calyrex-Shadow.png0889 Zamazenta-Crowned.png1017 Ogerpon-Cornerstone.png0876 Indeedee-F.png0641 Tornadus.png0235 Smeargle.png
—​
Samuel Thompson​
0888 Zacian-Crowned.png0382 Kyogre.png1005 Roaring Moon.png0992 Iron Hands.png0892 Urshifu.png0591 Amoonguss.png
—​
Sebastiano Trinchitelli​
1024 Terapagos.png1008 Miraidon.png1013 Sinistcha.png0990 Iron Treads.png0892 Urshifu.png0727 Incineroar.png
Top 18
—​
Mattia Cognetta​
0898 Calyrex-Shadow.png0889 Zamazenta-Crowned.png1021 Raging Bolt.png0812 Rillaboom.png0641 Tornadus.png0235 Smeargle.png
—​
Guillermo Castilla​
1008 Miraidon.png0250 Ho-Oh.png1013 Sinistcha.png1002 Chien-Pao.png0990 Iron Treads.png0892 Urshifu.png
—​

We can mainly see two pairings of Restricted Pokémon dominating the results. Calyrex Shadow Rider and Zamazenta appear on six teams in Top Cut, alongside Miraidon and Calyrex Ice Rider appearing on four overall and three out of the Top 4. This isn't unexpected, as these two combinations have seen a dramatic amount of success lately — Shadow Rider and Zamazenta won the 2025 Bologna Special and Japan Championships as well as reaching the finals of the 2025 Utrecht Regionals and North America Internationals, whereas Miraidon and Ice Rider won the 2025 Utrecht and Santiago Regionals, Pokémon Trainers Cup, and 2025 Singapore Master Ball League alongside reaching the finals of the 2025 Milwaukee Regionals and the Thailand and Hong Kong Master Ball Leagues.

The top three teams are all very similar, featuring Miraidon and Ice Rider alongside Urshifu, Incineroar, Amoonguss, and either Landorus or Volcarona. According to finalist Kiran Singh, these teams are inspired by 2023 Worlds Finalist Michael Kelsch's performance at the 2025 North America Internationals. Kelsch is known for their incredible achievements as well as their amazing teambuilding skills, with the latter being on display in this event. Kelsch recently teased their 2025 World Championships team on X (formerly Twitter), stating that they have "built another top team."

The only other combination of Restricted Pokémon to feature more than once in Top Cut is the unlikely combination of Terapagos and Miraidon, referred to as "doppia zuppa" by Italian player Sebastiano Trinchitelli. These two haven't seen as much success as other pairings, but many Italian players have adopted the team, with Francesco Pio Pero using it to reach the Top 8 of the 2025 Bologna Special and North America Internationals. While the results are impressive, the team still hasn't seen much mainstream success. However, this event does arguably feature the team's best performance yet with three placements in Top Cut. With time for fine-tuning and practice, it could end up being a top threat at the 2025 World Championships.

Despite Miraidon and Lunala being one of the best performing pairings in the format, winning the 2025 Milwaukee Regionals, Grand Challenge IV, and North America Internationals, it only appears once in Top Cut with X Shenlan's impressive Top 4 finish, with only one other placement in Day 2. It's possible this team has seen too much success, becoming predictable to experienced players who have practiced extensively against it. Underestimating this team could spell disaster for any player in the 2025 World Championships, however. After Andrew Ding won the Milwaukee Regionals with the composition, Federico Camporesi changed it slightly to make it faster and hit harder, relying less on Light Screen, Reflect, and Miraidon's Assault Vest — switching Grimmsnarl out for Whimsicott and giving Miraidon the Choice Specs. Other players could make similar adjustments at the World Championships, leaving their opponents confused and unprepared, especially if they underestimated Miraidon and Lunala.

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