Pokémon Worlds 2025 was like an anime episode this weekend, and a gripping one at that. At one point during the grand finals, there was a double KO that got the arena erupting in cheers. A Pokémon that’s low-key hated was remarkably absent from one of the teams. But what really sealed the dramatic deal was this: The match-up was fought by competitors named Giovanni Cischke and James Evans. This might be the closest we’ll ever get to having Team Rocket duke it out in the real world.
Longtime fans know Team Rocket from both the original games and the anime, where the nefarious group constantly plot to take over the world and or steal Ash Ketchum’s Pikachu. Team Rocket has had such a legacy that they’re basically woven into Pokémon’s identity at nearly every level. Fans love theorizing whether Giovanni is Ash’s real father. Queer icon James has instrumental in making “Team Rocket’s blasting off again” into a catchphrase. Everyone cried when Team Rocket disbanded. You get it.
While the finalists in this year’s Pokémon Worlds Masters division have zero connection to the fictional characters, the names immediately drew comparisons to the series’ longstanding villains. In part, it’s that Giovanni came in first place, securing a $30,000 cash prize. “This shows that Giovanni is the boss and James is a rocket grunt,” joked one comment on the official upload of the best-of-three fight.
It was a remarkable showdown. For one thing, Cischke wasn’t using Incineroar. The large fire/dark-type cat has been a mainstay in competitive Pokémon over the years, to the degree that previous Pokémon champ Wolfe Glick has dubbed Incineroar as the “best Pokemon ever” whose reign over the meta is best described as a “nightmare” that “changed competitive Pokémon forever.” Much of that hype comes down to the wrestling critter’s use of Intimidate, which lowers both opponents’ physical attack by two thirds. That’s already pretty strong, but smart players can combine that strong ability with other things, like items that copy opponent stat increases. Now, Incineroar has seen some tweaks over the years since its introduction in 2016, and the meta itself has continued shifting with the addition of more monsters and abilities. As such, Incineroar has continually remained a popular pick in competitive battles, to the degree that even players have started to lowkey hate Incineroar’s popularity. Earlier this year, Pokémon celebrated the North American championships by distributing Wolfe Glick’s Incineroar via Mystery Gift, news the personality jokingly shared with an emoji that was throwing up.
Case in point: Cischke’s opponent, Evans, had an Incineroar on his team. But Incineroar wasn’t the only notable absence from Cischke’s team. The champ also eschewed the usage of Amoonguss, another popular pick in the meta. Nearly all teams in the competition had either Incineroar or Amoonguss on their roster, except for Cischke. By this measure alone, the matches were going to be an entertaining watch (even if the double-restricted format still ensured we’d largely see a familiar slate of picks on Cischke’s side). And boy, did the actual fight deliver.
Game one was a defensive duel of attrition, with monsters being put to sleep left and right. But Giovanni clinched that first win by outsmarting Evans at the end, with one well-placed Moonblast evening out the field. In game two, James takes back control and makes a big comeback despite, at one point, having both monsters on his team fall asleep at once. “Can James do anything to be able to claw back into this one?” a commentator exclaims as James’ Incineroar continues to snooze. Soon after, Incineroar goes down — but not without taking Koraidon with it through an item that damages the attacker. The only ‘mon Evans has left standing at this point is Calyrex. That’s enough to secure the win, and the championship goes to its third and final match.
“This was an unbelievable comeback,” a commentator says. “Like it felt like Gio just had the advantage, but James [found] the position.”
Game three did not disappoint. The commentators remarked that the match was a battle of the Brute Bonnets, as the creature packs a strong punch while also providing plenty of supportive capabilities like Rage Powder, which redirects attacks toward the giant mushroom. The star of the show might’ve been Flutter Mane, a ghost/fairy-type that Cischke expertly Terastallizes near the end of the match. This gives the shadowy fighter a power boost, but critically, Giovanni does not use the occasion to change Flutter Mane’s typing. This allows Flutter’s Moon Blast move to KO Evan’s Brute Bonnet, which is made worse by the fact that in that same turn, his Brute Bonnet puts Evans’ remaining Incineroar to sleep once more.
“It’s a disaster for James Evans here,” one commentator says. Evans hangs on with a sudden critical hit, which takes down the remaining Brute Bonnet. Meanwhile, Incineroar keeps catching some Z’s, which only makes the back and forth into more of a nail-biter. Everything seemed to hinge on Evans’ Koraidon surviving the next turn. Cischke shuts down that hope with a single Heat Wave, which knocks out both Incineroar and Koraidon. The crowd goes wild at this point. The match isn’t technically over; Evans still has one contender, Calyrex, with a Focus Sash that will help it stay alive with one HP when and if a move knocks it out. But with two healthy Pokémon on Cischke’s side to counter it, the crowd considers it a done deal. Cischke fires off the last two attacks, and Evans is done for.
Game, set, match. What a clash. Did I mention that this was Cischke’s first and only tournament win in his competitive career? Nothing like taking home $30,000 on your first try on the world stage.
“Guy named Giovanni winning worlds is kind of like Lex Luthor becoming president if you think about it,” one YouTube commentator wrote.
