Urshifu Single Strike first Gen 9 win at Pokemon Dortmund Regional

Urshifu has been putting on a stellar performance in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, ever since its inclusion with the Teal Mask DLC. Both Urshifu forms have been staple choices. Urshifu Rapid Strike, the powerful water and fighting-type attacker has seen its fair share of victories but has petered out with the newest inclusions in Regulation F.

Raging Bolt, a Paradox Pokemon based on Raikou, has been on of the adjustments to the meta that has slowed down Rapid Strike, and enabled Urshifu Single Strike. Urshifu Dark, and its signature Wicked Blow, has seen a huge uptick in usage. Often playing second fiddle, a Regional or higher level win has eluded it until now.

Germany defends the home turf at Pokemon Dortmund Regional 2024

In the Day 2 finals we saw surprising runs to their top cut. The Germans, Florian Temme and Nick Schrott came in as lower seeds to top 8 of the Masters division with X-3 records. Just barely scraping through. This placed them in the crosshairs of previous champions in their round 1 of Top 8.

Both would push through to the semis, where each would put on a masterclass. Going 2-0 into the finals, guaranteeing a German victor at Dortmund. The first match of the finals would be the closest of the two. Nick’s Gouging Fire (Paradox Entei) vs Florian’s Urshifu Single Strike would be the main focus for each team. Nick using their smart positioning and aggressive “Howl” to boost their team’s physical attack to overcome resistances. Florian opting for spread pressure on Fluttermane and cleaning up targets with Urshifu Dark and Incineroar.

Urshifu Dark vs Urshifu Water in Regulation F

Regulation F has not been kind to Urshifu Rapid Strike. The mon has dropped from almost 40% usage and frequent top 8 appearances to being largely replaced by its wicked blow counterpart. The reason for this is multifold.

Rocky Helmet Amoongus causes Urshifu to take 3 instances of damage in recoil from hitting it with its signature “Surging Strikes”. Which it also resists.
Raging Bolt quad resists Surging Strikes and has strong Electric-type coverage. It is also very fast and has priority electric type move “Thunder Clap”
The most popular Ogrepon form is Wellspring instead of Heartflame like Regulation E. Wellspring is a defensive support focused Grass/Water-type pokemon with “Follow Me”. This allows for redirections into it, limiting Urshifu Water’s offensive.

With nearly 40% representation at Dortmund, it’ll be interesting if the tables turn once again as people scramble to deal with the dark bear and maybe level the playing field once again for Rapid Strike. Either way, Urshifu is here to stay.

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