By Joshua “ZOINKS” Hiebert, Contributing Writer

Pokémon UNITE is returning to the EUIC stage for the second year in a row—and the competition is bigger and better than ever. This year, the Aeos Cup will be an international event with teams from all around the globe competing to win. It’s different from last year’s Aeos Cup in the following ways:

• It’s the first ever in-person open bracket for Pokémon UNITE.

• Teams from every Pokémon UNITE Championship Series region have been invited to compete, as well as the top two Japanese teams.

• A $100,000 USD prize pool is up for grabs.

Be sure to tune in at Twitch.tv/PokemonUNITE on Friday, June 30, from 6:00 a.m. to noon PDT and again on Saturday, July 1, 2024, from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PDT for the conclusion of the Losers’ Bracket and Grand Finals match. You won’t want to miss the action as teams from across the world clash in an international Aeos Cup for the first time. Now, let’s dive into what you can expect from the event!

2024 Aeos Cup Format

The EUIC will be the first Pokémon UNITE tournament to feature an in-person open bracket. It will also be the first to use the Swiss format, have a group stage, and conclude with an elimination bracket all in one event.

Let’s start at the beginning: the open bracket Swiss stage. Here, registered teams will compete against each other in five rounds of best-of-1 Swiss games. The top eight teams from this phase of the event will move on to the group stage.

In the group stage, the teams who qualified from the open bracket Swiss stage will be placed into four different groups. There, they will be joined by the eight teams that have earned invitations to the EUIC, who will be jumping straight into the group stage. These teams are the Aeos Cup Play-In winners from each region and the top two Japanese teams from the Asia Champions League. After this stage of double-elimination matches concludes, the top two teams of each group will move on to day two of the event.

On day two, the top eight teams will compete in a double-elimination bracket. In the end, the winning team will earn a grand prize of $30,000 USD and a guaranteed spot at this year’s World Championships in Hawai’i! The Aeos Cup may be a gauntlet of a competition between the best Pokémon UNITE players in the world, but the prize that everyone is battling for is well worth it.

The Metagame

One of the most exciting things about international tournaments is seeing regional playstyles clash against each other. And with the EUIC bringing teams from all around the globe, that is exactly what’s on the docket. Teams will also have to contend with the biggest shakeup to competitive Pokémon UNITE thus far: the introduction of two bans per team in draft pick.

This change has been a massive curveball for how teams play the game. At last year’s World Championships, the bans from both teams were simultaneous, and each team could ban only one Pokémon. That meant that in some cases. a game could proceed with only one Pokémon banned if both teams chose the same one.

This new format ensures that there are always four bans in a game, and it forces teams to get creative with their picks. We have already seen this in action during the first Pokémon UNITE Championship Series tournaments of the year, and it’s been incredibly exciting. Popular Pokémon like Leafeon or Buzzwole tend to get banned early, but as a game goes on, teams get more comfortable “target banning” Pokémon that the other team rely on. With two bans per side, teams no longer feel forced into obvious bans based only on power, allowing for more diverse strategies.

There are a lot of popular Pokémon to look out for at the EUIC. Here are a couple from each role that will make a big impact in matches where they appear.

Defenders

The Defender role right now is ruled by three Pokémon: Umbreon, Crustle, and Trevenant. All three are fantastic picks for teams and have a ton of impact on the game thanks to their skill at locking down targets. A Defender’s job in this metagame tends to be hindering where enemies can go while enabling the rest of their team to get KOs. Umbreon’s Mean Look, Crustle’s Rock Tomb, and Trevenant’s Wood Hammer are all excellent tools for this job.

Attackers

Attackers are strong in the current metagame and often find themselves either solo in the central area or paired with a Defender on the bottom path. Two Attackers that are doing quite well right now are Inteleon and Espeon; both of these choices tend to be played on the bottom path due to their early-game damage output and ability to knock out wild Pokémon quickly.

Mid-game is where Inteleon truly shines. After learning Snipe Shot at Lv. 7, Inteleon becomes the most threatening long-range damage dealer in the game. As soon as this move is unlocked, the enemy team must play extremely carefully.

Espeon, on the other hand, spikes in power a little earlier when it evolves into Espeon at Lv. 4. Unlike Inteleon and its high-damage skill shots, Espeon opts for consistent offense using Stored Power. Stored Power is a sure-hit move that deals great damage—a fantastic complement to Espeon’s defensive Unite Move, Psychic Solare.

Supporters

The Supporter role has the smallest roster of Pokémon in the game, so they tend to be early draft picks for teams. Two Pokémon that will see a lot of play in the Aeos Cup are Hoopa and Blissey, although all the Supporters are sure to make an appearance considering the variety of teams that are attending the event.

Hoopa has been a competitive favorite ever since it entered the fray in Pokémon UNITE. With the ability to instantly teleport its entire team to its location, Hoopa will always be viable. Blissey is also a Pokémon highly regarded for its Unite move. Bliss Assistance can change the course of a team fight when timed correctly. Shields, attack speed increase, and damage redirection are a powerful combination when sent to the right target.

All-Rounders

Some All-Rounders, like Urshifu, show up in the central area, but for the most part the top path is an All-Rounder’s home. The goals being closer on the top path than on the bottom path makes it easier to “stack”—scoring early and increasing the stats of powerful items like the Attack Weight and Aeos Cookie. The most common Pokémon to watch for on the top path are Buzzwole and Blastoise. But with four bans in draft pick, we’ve seen more variety in All-Rounders lately—Gyarados, Blaziken, Metagross, and even Lucario have been making a splash in this role.

Speedster

Speedsters are in an exciting spot in the current meta. One of the most popular strategies for central area players lately on the Theia Sky Ruins map has been to choose a Speedster, knock out only Xatu and Escavalier, and head onto the top path extremely early. The Pokémon enabling this strategy is Leafeon. Evolving at Lv. 4 is a huge boon in the early game, and it makes the top path very difficult for opponents to control.

The other Speedster Pokémon that are likely to be highly played at EUIC are Meowscarada and Dodrio. Neither are as strong in the early game as Leafeon, but they make up for it with hugely impactful Unite Moves in the team fights that happen later in matches.

Plenty of Pokémon will be showcased throughout all stages of this year’s competition, but where it gets truly exciting is when teams from different regions start going head-to-head. Teams from the Asia region tend to put a strong emphasis on dominating the early game, and they invade the enemy’s central area quite often. Latin America region teams tend to favor smaller skirmishes rather than full-on team fights and utilize high skill Pokémon like Dodrio to win those smaller battles. It’s a blast seeing these different approaches to the top level of competitive Pokémon UNITE!

Teams To Watch

Over 30 teams will be competing in the Aeos Cup at the EUIC this year across various stages of the event. The teams who will be playing in the open Swiss rounds are still a mystery, but the eight invited teams that are moving directly to the group stage are already locked in. Those teams are:

• Alter Ego (North America Aeos Cup Play-In winner)

• For Free (Europe Aeos Cup Play-In winner)

• Legacy (Brazil Aeos Cup Play-In winner)

• Antic Esports (Oceania Aeos Cup Play-In winner)

• Fusion (Latin America South Aeos Cup Play-In winner)

• Rework Respawn (Latin America North Aeos Cup Play-In winner)

• UNITE Holic (Japanese invited team)

• Kabichans (Japanese invited team)

These teams are all incredibly skilled and have proven themselves in their respective regions. And while they’ve all earned their spots in the second stage of the tournament, they cannot rest easy, because they’re up against some fearsome competition. Here are a few teams to keep an eye on in the group stage in London.

Fusion: The champions of the Aeos Cup Play-In in Latin America, South are no strangers to the championship podium. The majority of this roster have been competing together for the last few years and have won a multitude of tournaments. In fact, last year this roster did not lose a single tournament in the UNITE Championship Series season. They also impressed by qualifying for day two of the World Championships in Yokohama last year. A history of success and a strong start in the latest season make Fusion one of the most exciting teams to watch in the Aeos Cup.

Alter Ego: This team won the North America Aeos Cup Play-In by defeating the former two-time World Champions Luminosity Gaming in a bracket-reset Grand Finals. And while that is already impressive, they did it by playing Machamp, a Pokémon that has not seen very much competitive play in over a year. This team uses more popular Pokémon with great success, but they can get creative, too. Machamp, Sableye, and even Wigglytuff have found new life with this roster. Alter Ego is an excellent competitor for the worldwide stage.

Kabichans: Everyone should be keeping an eye on Kabichans, one of the two Japanese teams invited to this competition. The first time this roster played together was in the Japan Winter Tournament, where they finished in second place. After that, they went on to win the East Asia Champions League Qualifier as well as the Asia Champions League main tournament! This roster is stacked with talent, and their Defender player Tomato tends to steal the show using Pokémon we hardly see—like Lapras—to great success. Kabichans will demonstrate how well Japan stacks up against the rest of the world this year.

Antic Esports: This team is the newest powerhouse out of the Oceania region, but despite their fantastic performance in their Play-In, they’re still considered the underdogs. The Oceania region tends to get this reputation because of its small size. If any team is going to change that perception, it’s going to be Antic Esports. Antic’s best traits as a competitive team are their creativity and team play. And if you want to watch a team that will surprise the opposition in draft pick, watch Antic. Expect the unexpected with teams from Oceania—Pokémon like Azumarill or even Zeraora can appear in their lineup.

For Free: The EUIC being held in London makes this team the hometown heroes! The representatives for the EU in this event, For Free are a very strong team. All the players competing in this roster have a long history of success, but what makes this team special is their flexibility. Two of their damage carry players, Ghatlue and Sareyu, play a ton of Pokémon well, and they’ll swap between paths and the central area depending on how draft pick goes. For example, in the Play-In Grand Finals, Sareyu played multiple All-Rounders, Attackers, and Speedsters. Meanwhile, their Defender player, Chelvin, is a former central area player.

All these teams, as well as the open bracket teams participating, are poised to make this Aeos Cup the most exciting event in competitive Pokémon UNITE history. The teams will be competing for regional pride, cash prizes, and—of course—a spot at the World Championships later this year. Be sure to tune in to Twitch.tv/PokemonUNITE on April 5–6, 2024, to see the best teams in the world clash during the Aeos Cup at the EUIC!