By Joshua “ZOINKS” Hiebert, Contributing Writer

The penultimate battleground for the Pokémon UNITE Championship Series will play out live in New Orleans on June 7 and June 8 alongside the Pokémon TCG, VGC, and Pokémon GO North America International Championships. What’s special about Pokémon UNITE is there will actually be two events taking place: the North America Regional Finals and the Final Stretch. These tournaments will run concurrently, with the former featuring top teams who have qualified through events in their Regional Zones and the latter being run as a last chance open-bracket competition.

Both the North America Regional Finals and the Final Stretch offer awesome prizes as well as a coveted invitation to the Pokémon World Championships in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, this August! With so much on the line, the action will be second to none. Fans around the world can watch both days of battles at Twitch.tv/PokemonUNITE.

Get a closer look at the competitions, the players, and the Pokémon to watch for when the battles begin on June 7!

Let’s begin with the format for the North America Regional Finals. Teams battled their way through the Group Stage—which took place online May 11 and 12—with the Top 8 teams earning invitations to battle live at the North America International Championships in New Orleans. These teams will compete in a double-elimination bracket over two days. The North America Regional Finals will award US$50,000 in prize money, and the champion will earn a spot at the World Championships. The four teams who finish in first place in their groups will start with the advantage of being on the winner’s side of the bracket, and the second-place teams will begin on the loser’s side of the bracket.

More than just prize money and regional pride are on the line at this event. The two teams with the most Championship Points from North America will earn invitations to Worlds. This means that teams need to perform well to hold on to the lead they have earned throughout the season or to capitalize on this final opportunity to displace the top teams.

After the Regional Finals conclude, there will be three teams confirmed for the World Championships: the winning team and the two teams with the most Championship Points. However, the remaining five teams who did not qualify can still keep the dream alive—any team that did not qualify for the World Championships via the Regional Finals will have a chance to compete in the Final Stretch.

The Final Stretch is Pokémon UNITE’s second open tournament at an International Championship tournament this season, with the first being the Aeos Cup in London earlier this year. This tournament, however, is slightly different. All teams who signed up will participate in a double-elimination bracket with only one prize on the line: a spot at the World Championships in Hawaiʻi. This tournament is open to any team who registers and attends the event, not just North American players, so fans can potentially look forward to seeing some exciting international competition!

It’s an exciting time for all kinds of Pokémon fans in Pokémon UNITE these days because so many Pokémon are showing up at the top level of play. Across the Regional Finals in many regions, we have seen new Pokémon become champions: Scizor in Oceania, Greedent in Europe, and many more surprising choices that have kept the Pokémon UNITE Championship Series an exciting show to witness. The North America Regional Finals is looking like it will be no different. Viewers can look forward to a huge variety of Pokémon and strategies in this tournament.

One of the biggest changes in tactics since the EUIC took place only a couple months ago will be how much teams focus on strength early in the game. Throughout almost all of this season, Eevee and all of its Evolutions in Pokémon UNITE (Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon, and Sylveon) have been extremely popular among top teams. But recently, a few Pokémon that become especially powerful in the late game have spiked in popularity, particularly Tyranitar and Metagross. While it is not a shift that has affected every region, it will certainly bring new elements for both competitors and spectators to keep an eye on.

Here are some popular picks for each role that fans can look forward to seeing.

Defenders

Defenders often become the centerpiece of strategies in Pokémon UNITE due to their game-changing Unite Moves. That—along with being responsible for initiating fights or defending their back line or goal zones—means Defenders have a lot to focus on. As a result, giving Defenders move sets suited for any situation tends to be the most popular choice.

At the NAIC, the highest-picked Defender will most likely be Trevenant. Whether it is stunning opposing Pokémon with Wood Hammer or dealing their own damage back to them with Pain Split, Trevenant is a Pokémon fit for any scenario. Other Defenders that will most likely be popular at the NAIC include Blastoise, Umbreon, and Crustle.

Attackers

Attacker is currently one of the most interesting roles in Pokémon UNITE. Recent balance changes have brought the role a lot of variety; in the past, Mew and Inteleon have dominated this role, but now we are seeing other Pokémon steal the spotlight. One of the most interesting new Attackers is Cramorant. It has not seen a lot of action since the first season of Pokémon UNITE competition, so seeing the Water- and Flying-type special attacker return is very exciting. Dive and Air Slash tend to be the popular moves for high burst damage, but some players have started to play Surf and Hurricane for their potential to hinder and deal high damage.

Other popular Pokémon in this slot tend to be chosen based on what opponents are playing. And since these days All-Rounders are extremely popular, Attackers with good matchups against melee Pokémon tend to be seen more. Chandelure and Delphox are two of the most powerful Attackers, locking down opponents and hindering their abilities. Expect these Pokémon to be quite popular.

Supporters

While the Supporter options may seem limited at first, there are a surprising number of interesting picks rising up recently. Hoopa and Eldegoss tend to be the most popular, with Blissey as a close third. However, other options even outside the Supporter role have started to take up their duties; for example, Umbreon is a Defender but possesses exceptionally good healing in the form of its Wish move.

At the NAIC last year, one of the most impactful Pokémon—especially in the Grand Finals—was Comfey. It provides a unique strategy by attaching itself to another Pokémon and becoming dedicated support to that ally while avoiding being targetable. It becomes extremely powerful in the hands of top players because it allows teammates to take risks they normally would not thanks to its focused healing. Comfey always seems to make an appearance on big stages, and this year’s NAIC will most likely be no exception.

All-Rounders

Next, we come to the champions of the top path: All-Rounders. At the EUIC, this role was heavily dominated by Buzzwole. And while Buzzwole is still powerful, it now has competition. This may be the role this year that sees the most variety now that Falinks has joined the fray. This will be the first tournament that Falinks will be eligible to participate in, and it is already turning heads on the ranked ladder.

Falinks has the potential to be the most powerful damage dealer in any match. However, it comes with its own unique weaknesses. Each of Falinks’ troopers take damage, meaning that any Pokémon that wants to hit multiple enemies (for example, Venusaur with Petal Dance or Lucario with Extreme Speed) becomes a natural counter to Falinks. That does not mean this Pokémon will see no play; teams will just have to consider their lineups carefully and save Falinks for later in the draft pick phase.

In North America, there are two Pokémon that will most likely see the most play: Gyarados and Blaziken. Both Pokémon have everything a competitive Pokémon UNITE player could ask for: good team fighting moves, powerful attacks to secure wild Pokémon, and moves that allow them to get out of danger. The duels between Gyarados and Blaziken in the top path are sure to be epic.

Speedsters

At the beginning of this metagame discussion, we talked about how Pokémon focused on the early game could struggle. One Speedster who may defy that line of thinking is Leafeon. It has been one of the most popular Pokémon to ban all season long, and it is doubtful that will change at the NAIC. That opens up the possibility for seeing more Speedster Pokémon hit the battlefield!

The two Speedster Pokémon expected to be seen the most at the NAIC are Zoroark and Meowscarada. Both have unbelievable damage potential when used by top players—especially in a lag-free environment like the NAIC. Players like Overlord and TrainerLGC from North America have proven time and time again that Zoroark and Meowscarada can dominate a battle if played perfectly.

The North America Regional Finals are expected to feature more homegrown teams than the EUIC did, but that does not mean the competition will be any less thrilling. North America has always been fiercely competitive, and that will make for an exciting Top 8! The three teams leading the pack in North America are Luminosity, Nemesis, and Orange Juicers. These three teams stand atop the Championship Points leaderboard and therefore are the most likely to punch a ticket to Worlds via Championship Points. However, they’re certain to face some tough challengers this year.

The teams looking to upset the “Big Three” are Gee, Ignorance, Ni Hao, Exile, and Brave Birders. Some of these teams—like Brave Birders and Exile—are old favorites, but the new teams Ni Hao and Gee have a good shot at stealing the show. Ni Hao features a brand-new roster that formed before the North America Regional Finals and has performed incredibly in the group stage—so much that they are beginning their run at the NAIC on the winner’s side of the Top 8. Meanwhile, Gee’s roster was formed by a lot of players with success on various teams. The biggest game of the season for them was when they defeated Luminosity in the group stage of the North America Regional Finals.

Luminosity, Orange Juicers, and Nemesis are the top teams in North America because of their consistency throughout the season. But it will be the North America Regional Finals at the NAIC that will be the real test of whether they can live up to their own standards. Nemesis performed extremely well at the EUIC earlier this year with a Top 4 finish and flawless performance in the group stage. And since they are starting this tournament on the winner’s side of the bracket, many would consider them to be the favorites of the event.

Once the NAIC draws to a close, the roster of teams headed to Worlds will be decided at last. Every region around the world will have locked in their representatives, and only the World Championships will remain. The NAIC is not only an exciting event for North America—it’s the perfect appetizer for what we can all look forward to in Honolulu later this year!