Flutter Mane has consistently dominated the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet VGC meta since its introduction back in Regulation B, but its day-two usage rate at the Europe International Championships (EUIC) is only a fraction of what it once was.
Day one of EUIC offered few surprises when it came to popular meta picks, but day two was a different story. The biggest story on the EUIC usage chart is Flutter Mane’s drop from second place to seventh, dipping from 42.7 to 32.2 percent between the first two days of competition. This means that while it’s the second-most common Pokémon in the entire tournament, Flutter Mane isn’t performing as well as you’d expect. To be fair, the Ghost/Fairy Paradox Pokémon is still incredibly good, and any spot in the top 12 is proof of that. It’s just alarming to see a Pokémon as consistent as Flutter Mane finally drop to the lower half of the usage chart, since this is unheard of for it.
But what does Flutter Mane’s fall mean for the rest of the Regulation F meta? Looking at the top 12, we’re seeing more special attackers on the rise. Raging Bolt has overtaken Flutter Mane as the most-used special attacker on day two of EUIC, with a good typing, lots of bulk, and Thunderclap on its side. Similarly, Landorus Incarnate now sits two spots ahead of Flutter Mane while also continuing to outshine its fellow genie, Tornadus Incarnate. Gholdengo, who shares Flutter Mane’s role as a hard-hitting Ghost-type special attacker, also snuck into the top 12.
We also have to talk about Incineroar and Urshifu. Over half of all competitors on day two brought Incineroar, keeping the Fire/Dark Starter at the top of the usage chart for the weekend. This isn’t surprising at all, unlike Flutter Mane’s decline. Meanwhile, Urshifu’s Rapid Strike form shot up from 30.8 percent to 44.8 percent. Between Urshifu’s two forms, the Legendary menace is on 60 percent of the day-two teams. That technically means there are more Urshifu than Incineroar, which just goes to show how strong the bear continues to be.
In addition to these popular meta staples like Incineroar, Urshifu, and Flutter Mane, we’ve also seen a bunch of off-meta picks featured on the EUIC stream this weekend. Perhaps the most bizarre ‘mons we’ve seen are two of the Loyal Three from The Teal Mask DLC—Okidogi and Fezandipiti. The two villainous Pokémon have managed to find a niche in the Regulation F meta after failing to yield results in the previous ruleset when they were first introduced. Seeing unusual picks like Okidogi at EUIC is proof that you don’t need to be at the top of the usage chart to make an impact in the competition.
