By Amanda Lundberg, Contributing Writer

The 2024 Pokémon GO Championship Series is nearing its finale, with the 2024 Pokémon North America International Championships (NAIC) as the last opportunity for Trainers to win enough Championship Points to hit the leaderboards and qualify for the 2024 Pokémon World Championships taking place in Honolulu, Hawai’i, on August 16–18, 2024. With 500 Championship Points awarded to the winner of the NAIC event, many Trainers are getting their teams prepared and scrimmaging against their friends in the hopes of bringing home that first-place trophy or maybe earning a Travel Award or Travel Stipend to Honolulu. Pokémon GO fans and friends, get ready to let the good times Roggenrola at the 2024 Pokémon North America International Championships taking place in New Orleans, Louisiana!

The 2024 NAIC will also be one of the largest Pokémon GO events of the season, with many big names and well-known competitors signed up to participate and test their mettle. With that in mind, who are some of the players you should be keeping an eye on?

North American Players to Watch

One Trainer to consider is Doonebug97. A two-time Worlds competitor already, Doonebug97 has spread his wings and flown higher than any player, winning four total Regional Championships, three of them during this season alone! Doonebug97 also competed at the 2024 Pokémon Europe International Championships (EUIC) and took home a second-place finish, narrowly missing out on what would have been his first International Championships title. The NAIC will be his last chance of the season to become an International Champoin this season, but his impressive accolades have put a rather large target on his back—many competitors are hoping to squash the (Doone)bug.

Doonebug97 shares an iconic rivalry with Reis2Occasion, a North American battler, caster, and well-known Pokémon GO content creator. These two have consistently battled head-to-head in local tournaments and regional competitions, with neither Trainer firmly establishing themselves as the better battler. Reis2Occasion just won the 2024 Los Angeles Regional, making him the only competitor who has won a Regional every season. He is currently sitting at third place on the North American leaderboard, and the NAIC event could be the competition where he makes the push to be even closer to being number one.

The 2023 Pokémon GO World Champion, ItsAXN, had his breakout performance at the 2022 North America International Championships, winning first place and becoming the first Trainer to win an International Championship, a Regional Championship (the 2023 Portland Regional Championships), and a World Championship. The NAIC event in New Orleans can expect to see many of the Pokémon, attacks, and strategies that will be used in the 2024 Pokémon World Championships, and ItsAXN will be battling and studying the competition to determine who might take his crown this year in Honolulu, Hawai’i.

Some other notable North American Trainers who are bound to thrill are Arrohh, a player known for unique team compositions, and OutofPoket, who has been playing out of his mind lately, most recently securing a third-place finish at the 2024 Indianapolis Regional. Mamaclimbs, a well-known Trainer within the circuit and in the women’s battling community, is just 143 points away from qualifying for Worlds; the 2023 Baltimore Regional Champion, HouseStark93, is right ahead of her, only needing 127 for his own qualification.

But those are just the North American Trainers! After so many battlers from the area travelled to London for the 2024 EUIC, many Latin American and European competitors are now seeing if they can take the NAIC champion title back to their home countries. Let’s start by breaking down some of the top Trainers coming in from Latin America.

LATAM Players to Watch

As mentioned in the 2024 Pokémon GO Latin America International Championship preview article, Trainers with the letters “LNDs” at the start of their in-game name are part of the “GBLindos,” a well-known, well-trained team of players from Brazil. A few battlers from this team are making their way to New Orleans, anxious to get in some last real-world competition before Honolulu. LNDsTSteinar is on an absolute tear this season, getting fourth place at the LAIC, second at the 2024 São Paulo Regional Championships, and being crowned the winner of the 2024 Goiânia Regional Championships.

Other Latin American champions who are competing in New Orleans are Desinked (2024 Buenos Aires Special Event Champion) and JavierV20 (2024 Mexico City Qualifier Champion).

European Players to Watch

After Doonebug97’s amazing performance at the EUIC event, many European Trainers are watching to see if any of their own battlers will have an equally good run across the pond. The 2024 Utrecht Special Event Champion, Inadequance, was quoted in the awards ceremony as saying he was coming for the NAIC title. With his record of consistently top cutting event after event, many believe he may just be the player to do it. Barcelona Special Event Champion Zzweilous recently hit number one on the global leaderboard in the GO Battle League and has proven time and again that he has noteworthy skill in the “show six, pick three” format utilized in the Pokémon GO Championship Series. Other top cut performers joining the ranks in New Orleans are Maxy1000000P, Triptando, Aerobubble66, emslieboy98, and Samy85.

Take to the Shared Skies!

Not only is the NAIC the final open event of the season, it’s also the first event to take place during the new Pokémon GO Shared Skies Season. This makes it a great opportunity for players to test the Pokémon and attacks that will be used by many Trainers in the 2024 World Championships.

Whiscash dominated the metagame (or “meta”) during the World of Wonders Season, mainly because it can learn the Water-type Charged Attack Scald. With Scald’s 50 energy cost and a 50% chance of dropping your opponent’s attack stat by one stage, the Water- and Ground-type Whiscash took to the arena and went toe-to-toe (or fin-to-toe) with the many Lickitung, Gligar, and Annihilape being played. But now that the chance for Scald to debuff has been slightly decreased in the new season, Whiscash may sink back into the mud, at least for the time being.

Additionally, the Fast Attack Spark got a power reduction, meaning that Lanturn, a popular user of the attack, will not be as potent as it has been for the last few seasons. With the changes to Scald and Spark, this may be an opportunity for a new Water-type Pokémon to take center stage in the new season’s meta.

Fringe-favorite Fairy-type Pokémon can now learn a new Charged Attack: Swift. Clefable and Wigglytuff have made a few appearances on top teams throughout the 2024 Pokémon GO Championship Series, though the jury is still out on whether players will turn to this Normal-type attack or if they will stick to the more standard move sets.

Regardless of who you will be cheering for, the 2024 Pokémon GO North American International Championships is an event you definitely don’t want to miss! Not only will viewers have a chance to see the action, they will also have a chance to get the Altaria that MEWeedle, the 2024 European International Champion, piloted to success in the competition! When you watch on Twitch.tv/PokemonGO and enable Twitch drops, you can gain access to a Pokémon GO Special Research task that will award Swablu candy, an Altaria, plus stardust and charged and fast TMs when completed!

So grab your popcorn if you’re watching online—or your event ticket if you’re playing in person—and get ready for some incredibly exciting battles!