Pokémon TCG: Tournament Report - Belo Horizonte Regional (October 2025)

This Pokémon TCG competitive season is flying by! The first major Latin American event was just held in Belo Horizonte on October 11th and 12th: the Pokémon TCG Belo Horizonte Regional Tournament. Over a thousand players competed at this event, which marked the beginning of a new, rather unknown, and relatively unexplored meta. All of them were anxious to either put their great decks from the previous meta to the test or explore new strategies at a high level.

When the new set, Mega Evolution, was announced, one card stood out to me: Lillie's Determination MEG 119. In my view, other people weren't seeing its true potential and how it made several decks more consistent, including one of my favorites. So, I spent a long time thinking, training with it, and studying how I should build my list. Then, it was time for this regional!

Well, if you read any of my past articles, then you know I am a proud Gardevoir ex sv4pt5 29 player, but I have also written about another deck I really enjoy: Dragapult EX. This deck moves at a great pace, can control how many Pokémon your opponent gets to Knock Out, and sets up essential turns to turn the course of the match and win. This time, I picked this deck simply because I was comfortable playing it. It felt nice to play, I didn't struggle with any matchups, and I had a lot of fun. However, I still had to play around a few things.

First, there was the new Psyduck (whose ability prevents you from Knocking Out your own Pokémon to use their abilities). It completely prevents us from using Dusknoir PRE 37's ability, which is quite powerful against this list. At least we have a few ways to play around it. We can Knock it Out with Phantom Dive and Hawlucha sv1 118's ability. However, I rather prefer doing the opposite, that is, leaving Psyduck with 10 HP for a turn, then Knocking it Out with Hawlucha on the following rounds and using our abilities. This won't be possible if the opponent uses Mist Energy TEF 161: in that case, you're better off Knocking Out Psyduck directly.

Then, the elephant in the room: Gholdengo ex sv4 139. Because of Lunatone MEG 74, this deck is now a lot more aggressive than before and even more consistent. In the end, I decided to improve this matchup with 2 Jamming Tower TWM 153. I only had 1 card slot, so I considered Professor Turo's Scenario PRE 121 and Shaymin DRI 10 as well, but eventually settled on the Tower.

This time, though, I was a lot more anxious about the tournament because I had traveled to another state to compete, and I really wanted to do well. Only 10% of players who used this deck made it to Day 2, and I wanted to be one of them.

Round 1: Gardevoir Jellicent (Win)

This matchup is arguably the most difficult of all for this deck, and I wasn't expecting to face it so soon. One of the simplest ways you can beat it is by attacking with Budew PRE 4 again and again until you have set up your entire board. Then, just try to Knock Out 2 enemy Ralts at once.

I was a bit lucky and managed to prevent my opponent from using items, which is why I ended up winning this round by 2-0. Gardevoir EX didn't show up on the board throughout the entire round.

Round 2: Gardevoir Jellicent (Tie)

Well, besides what we mentioned above, another way to beat this matchup, particularly against inexperienced players, is to make them "overcommit" to their bench. That is, fill their bench in a way Lillie's Clefairy ex svp 195 can't enter play afterward.

This was precisely what happened. My opponent couldn't put Lillie's Clefairy ex svp 195 in play, and I tried my best to deal as much damage as possible to them without Knocking anything Out.

Afterward, on a single turn, I got 6 Prize cards at once. As for game 2, my opponent's Clefairy EX was already in their Prize card pile, but I ended up making a very silly mistake. I didn't see they had the opportunity to get 3 Prize cards on a single turn, and we ended up tying.

Overall, I was quite glad that I practically beat such difficult matchups so early on.

Round 3: Tera Box (Loss)

I picked the wrong tech cards for this matchup and was heavily punished for it: my opponent was using Wellspring Ogerpon and I didn't have a Shaymin to protect my bench. To make matters worse, they managed to attack with Lillie's Clefairy ex svp 195 in both matches, which cost me the round.

I also played a few weird lines during the matchup, and only later on did I figure out how I could have avoided them and played a bit better. Sometimes, particularly in regional tournaments, we can see some strategies in our decks that we couldn't before because we hadn't played it at a high level.

Round 4: DragaZard (Win)

I don't really have much to say about this matchup because my opponent was heavily punished by bad openers in both games. Meanwhile, I started out pretty well and managed to be super aggressive. I believe that, in both games, they didn't manage to put any Stage 2 Pokémon in play, and I won by a large margin - 4 Prize cards.

Nonetheless, this can happen, particularly with a less consistent list like DragaZard.

Round 5: Raging Bolt (Tie)

My opponent was Chilean and was super nervous, so I played this matchup a little differently. We also spoke in English to make communication easier. Once again, I was punished for bringing the wrong tech cards: they were playing Raging Bolt EX with Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex PRE 27 and managed to lock my support Pokémon in the active spot in both games.

If it weren't for that, I'd find this matchup relatively easy. I could have gotten 6 Prize cards on a single turn quite easily, always targeting Hoot Hoots.

Round 6: Charizard Pidgeot (Win)

I can't stress enough how important Budew PRE 4 is in this matchup: it practically won game 1 for me, even though I didn't put any Dreepy in play for the first 6 turns. Both games were pretty balanced, and my opponent played super well.

I managed to win after a crucial turn in which my opponent was waiting for me to attack, and I once again decided to go for Budew PRE 4. They were 2 Prize cards away from winning. This decision completely unraveled their plan and gave me the lead.

Round 7: Gholdengo (Loss)

Well, though I was prepared to face this matchup, I wasn't prepared for all my cards to hide at the bottom of my deck. Jokes aside, I didn't draw well and didn't see Jamming Tower TWM 153 at all this round. Furthermore, as my opponent managed to use all their Turos correctly, this matchup felt impossible to win.

Round 8: Alakazam (Tie)

I often tell my friends the last round in regional tournaments tends to be the most difficult, particularly in terms of predicting how each player will perform. This time, as I was already eliminated, I was more relaxed. After all, having fun is always the goal.

We ended up tying, my opponent and I. Please note that Alakazam does a lot in each turn, which takes time. As a result, I don't believe it is an appropriate choice for regional tournaments, and that's why I believe my opponent was eliminated, like me.

I might not have made it to Day 2 like I wanted, but it was a fun experience, and fighting for my dreams is always a great experience. I was highly rewarded for my skills several times, and the mistakes I made didn't actually disappoint me. I can't wait to play in the next regional tournaments!

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!