The tournament in numbers
The Puebla Regional was played on 24 and 25 October with 332 players, according to Liquipedia. Victory Road explained the format: Swiss in two phases and a single-elimination top cut.
American Kyle Livinghouse won at 13-2, beating Peruvian Renzo Navarro in the final. Mexican Arthur Mosca reached the semifinals, and Luis Pérez fell to Navarro in the quarterfinals.
| Placing | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Livinghouse | United States |
| 2 | Renzo Navarro | Peru |
| Semifinals | Arthur Mosca | Mexico |
Most used
Pokémon Zone collects the tournament's teams and gives usage as a share of all slots: each team has six, so 7.1% of slots is about four in ten teams. Garchomp, with 142 appearances, was the most used, tied in percentage with Rillaboom.
Behind them come Sneasler, Incineroar and Raichu. All five are on more than a third of teams, a high concentration for a format with so many Pokémon available.
| Pokémon | Slots | Teams (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Garchomp | 7,1 % | 43 % |
| Rillaboom | 7,1 % | 43 % |
| Sneasler | 7,0 % | 42 % |
| Incineroar | 6,2 % | 37 % |
| Raichu | 5,8 % | 35 % |
The biggest winners
In Pokémon Zone's table, Pelipper and Kingambit won 53.8% of their games and Charizard 52.9%. Sneasler stayed at 51.1% and Garchomp, the most used, at 50.5%.
Garchomp winning just over half its games does not mean it is weak. When a Pokémon is on four in ten teams, many of its games are against another team that also runs it, and in those games one wins and the other loses. That is why the win rate of the most used Pokémon always gets close to 50%. The least used ones show the opposite: with few games, a handful of results moves the number a lot.
The useful reading is to cross both columns. Pelipper and Charizard set rain and sun, and Kingambit won in a tournament full of Intimidate: with Defiant, each opposing Intimidate raises its Attack by two stages. This is our reading, not something the data say on their own.
| Pokémon | Wins |
|---|---|
| Pelipper | 53,8 % |
| Kingambit | 53,8 % |
| Charizard | 52,9 % |
| Sneasler | 51,1 % |
| Garchomp | 50,5 % |
Why Garchomp is rising
In Nice, the two most used were Rillaboom and Incineroar. In Puebla, Garchomp catches up with them, and types help explain it. Garchomp is Dragon and Ground type: Earthquake deals double damage to Incineroar, a Fire type, and to Raichu, an Electric type, and Raichu's Electric attacks do not affect it.
It also punishes Sneasler, Kingambit and other Steel or Poison types, common in the format. The price is that Earthquake also hits its partner, so the team needs an immune Pokémon or one that can take it alongside. This is our reading based on types and usage.
What to expect in Gdańsk
The Gdańsk Regional, on 31 October and 1 November, arrives with a very concentrated meta: Garchomp, Rillaboom, Sneasler and Incineroar will be on many teams and it pays to have an answer to all four. All five Reg M-C Regionals have been won by a weather team, and in Puebla Pelipper and Charizard are among the biggest winners.
On the meta page you have up-to-date usage from online tournaments, to see whether these numbers hold or change after Puebla.
