Former TCG World Champion Christopher Kan was near the top of the VGC standings all weekend long. Many of the top-performing teams this weekend were built to grind down opponents using Toxic and Will-O-Wisp, and Christopher was well-prepared to combat such teams. He could return fire with his own Toxic, and his Snorlax’s Facade gave him an edge in matches between similar lineups. Including two Pokémon with the Intimidate Ability further enhanced his odds of coming out on top in long matches.

Opponents looking at Paul Chua’s lineup during team preview probably expected it to be straightforward, but familiar Pokémon concealed several tricks. The combination of Electrium Z and Thunder gave his Tapu Koko some truly intense offensive power, while Celesteela’s Wide Guard and Ninetales’ Roar gave him options for throwing a surprise wrench into his opponents’ plans. Paul’s team featured a couple of trends that proved successful for many Trainers this weekend—teaching Snorlax Facade and giving Garchomp a Choice Scarf to hold.

Sean Bannen’s team choice was commendable because so many other Trainers chose to forego some familiar Pokémon he selected. He was one of the few competitors who stuck with Tapu Lele in Indianapolis, and he was one of the only Masters Division Trainers who brought the combination of Pelipper and Golduck. Unlike most other top-performing Metagross, his held a Choice Band instead of a Weakness Policy.

The Mimikyu and Belly Drum Snorlax combination didn’t make the same impact in Indianapolis we’d seen at most Regional Championships, but César piloted the pairing in style. The potential for Z-Destiny Bond makes it tough to knock out his Snorlax, and even a burn from Will-O-Wisp won’t slow it down much thanks to Facade. The rest of César’s team ramps up the offense even further—the combination of Groundium Z and Swords Dance enables Garchomp to deal devastating damage, while his Tapu Koko’s Choice Specs lets him dish out heavy damage without spending a turn to set up.

Sebastian Escalante proved he was among the best at the 2016 World Championships, and he has continued to impress ever since. He again brought a team built around his trusty Persian and the unique combination of Fake Out, Parting Shot, Feint, and Foul Play. His Pokémon were trained a little differently than his competitors’—Sebatian’s Snorlax, Kartana, and Tapu Koko are on the aggressive side compared to those of many other Trainers.

Fans were enthralled by Nick Navarre’s Chansey team choice, and it proved extremely effective even at such a tightly contested event. The Egg Pokémon is nearly impervious against special attacks, and with two Pokémon that have the Intimidate Ability on its team, knocking out Chansey with physical attacks isn’t much easier. Nick was also part of this weekend’s Weakness Policy Metagross movement, but his choice of Buzzwole to use Bulldoze was much less telegraphed than the more-common Salamence and Arcanine.

The team Nils Dunlop brought to Indianapolis features several fun tricks that were sure to make him an extremely challenging opponent. Facing both a Nihilego holding Choice Scarf and a speedy Persian that knew Quash, opponents expecting to have an advantage in Speed were likely to find themselves sorely disappointed against Nils. But the tricks didn’t stop there—Tapu Koko’s Sky Drop, Nihilego’s Acid Spray, and Mimikyu’s Swords Dance gave his team even more ways to score knockouts that his foes probably weren’t expecting.

Markus Stadter was one of the few Trainers that used Smeargle—a choice that was made more interesting because of the rarely-seen Mat Block. While most Trainers used their Z-Crystals to fire off one powerful attack, Markus instead gave his Porygon-Z a Normalium Z to hold, enabling it to increase its own power using Z-Conversion. His Tapu Bulu that knew Bulk Up, Arcanine that knew Bulldoze, and Hariyama were also choices that went against the mold most of the field was cast in.

Neither Mudsdale nor Muk were popular choices among the top Trainers in Indianapolis, but Tyler Miller took both to an impressive finish. He was also the most successful Trainer to use a Ninetales that held Light Clay instead of Focus Sash, giving him the option to setup some extremely long-lasting Aurora Veils. His team is a little light on damage, so he taught Arcanine Helping Hand to dish out some bigger hits in a pinch.

Diego Ferreira’s team featured several Pokémon with powerful and unexpected attacks. He was particularly tricky with his distribution of Z-Crystals—neither Nihilego’s Poisonium Z or Celesteela’s Groundium Z are among the first items his opponents probably expected them to hold. Gastrodon can’t learn Earth Power any longer, but Diego found one that was still able to deal Ground-type damage by using Hidden power.