Nicholas Kan's strategy focused on reliability. Instead of getting damage from frail, offensive Pokémon, he taught several of his stout Pokémon moves that could increase their damage output. Garchomp's Swords Dance, Gigalith's Curse, and Tapu Fini's Calm Mind gave Nicholas several ways to pull away in games without having to sacrifice defense.

Phillip had the most Championship Points in North America when battles began in Indianapolis, and he was able to add to his total with another impressive finish. His team featured several unexpected ways to deal massive damage to single opponents—Mudsdale, Araquanid, and an Arcanine holding Electrium Z.

The ultra-offensive team Zachary Lazaroff brought to Indianapolis put tons of pressure on his opponents every turn. Xurkitree, Pheromosa, Nihilego, and Tapu Lele are all among the most offensively powerful Pokémon in the format, and between them they represent a wide range of types. All of them are also weak on the defensive side, so Zachary included a Smeargle that knew several supportive moves to buy more turns for his attackers.

The team Tiara Yeung brought to Indianapolis specialized in shutting down enemy strategies. She decided to teach two of her Pokémon Roar and another Taunt, ensuring that she’d have the upper hand against strategies built around Eevee’s Extreme Evoboost and Snorlax’s Belly Drum. The Toxic move Tiara taught her Celesteela was sure to cause similar consternation for more-defensive teams.

Heath channeled the humid Indianapolis heat by using a team built around Torkoal's Drought Ability. Lilligant gave the team burning Speed—its Chlorophyll Ability made it extremely fast under harsh sunlight. When high Speed wasn’t the right trick, Oranguru let Heath go slow in Trick Room. It could also use Instruct on Torkoal, allowing the Coal Pokémon to use Eruption or Flamethrower twice in the same turn.

Corey’s team didn’t feature any speed control moves, but his mix of fast and slow Pokémon let him deal with whatever his opponent threw at him. Most Trainers used their Celesteela defensively, but Corey used the Launch Pokémon very differently—it looked to send its opponents into orbit using a full set of four special attacking moves.

Ethan's team featured the Arcanine/Tapu Fini/Kartana combination that was very popular around the midpoint of the season. His team also had its tricks—two different Pokémon knew Trick Room, Tapu Fini knew Haze despite holding Choice Specs, and Arcanine's Helping Hand enabled its teammates to score surprise knock outs.

The standout Pokémon on Calum Bruce-Cartwright's team was definitely Vanilluxe. With the Hail Warning Ability, Blizzard, and its Choice Scarf held item, Vanilluxe can deal devastating damage to most opponents. The rest of Calum's team featured the familiar Arcanine, Tapu Fini, and Kartana core, alongside the trendy Snorlax.