Who is Shohei Kimura? Exploring Pokemon Worlds 2023 VGC champion and his team

The 2023 Pokemon World Championships is in the books, bringing the peak of Pocket Monsters competitions to a close for another year. Across GO, Scarlet and Violet, Unite, and the franchise's trading card game, the victors have been crowned as the best players in the world. For Scarlet and Violet's video game championship (VGC), in particular, the champion was Japan's Shohei Kimura.

It seemed quite apt that the Pokemon championship taking place in Yokohama would eventually result in one of the nation's native sons hoisting the trophy for the Masters Division of the VGC. However, the longtime veteran had a tough road to reach the pinnacle of the first world championship of the Scarlet and Violet era of Pocket Monsters games.

So, who is Shohei Kimura? And how did his team help him secure the World Champion title for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet VGC?

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Who is Shohei Kimura? Examining the Pokemon VGC veteran's competitive history

Shohei Kimura is certainly no stranger to Pokemon VGC competition, as he has battled competitively in sanctioned events dating back to the Sun and Moon titles for Nintendo 3DS. He has placed high or outright won Japan's VGC national championships dating back several years, and this year marks his first Worlds win in his career.

Dating back to 2017, Kimura has participated and placed in multiple World Championships and has also traveled to compete in the Oceania and North American International Championships. Even in 2023, Kimura hoisted the trophy for Japan's national championships, setting the stage for what would come during Worlds 2023.

After cutting his teeth at previous World Championships, Kimura had the experience and the team to make a huge difference as he climbed the final brackets and took the top spot as the best VGC player across the globe.

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What was Shohei Kimura's team for the Pokemon World Championships 2023?

Kimura's team for Worlds 2023 wasn't particularly unconventional as far as Pokemon VGC lineups for Scarlet and Violet go. Plenty of meta picks like Amoonguss, Urshifu, Flutter Mane, and more were seen and had been noteworthy throughout Worlds 2023 and Regulation D VGC as a whole.

Shohei Kimura's Worlds 2023 VGC Team

• Flutter Mane
• Urshifu
• Chien-Pao
• Iron Hands
• Therian Landorus
• Amoonguss

Although newcomer Michael Kelsch had certainly defied the odds to make it to grand finals, Shohei Kimura's skill was a clear defining factor in the final bout of Worlds 2023. Although Kimura's team was fairly standard meta fare, his command of his Pokemon and luck with attack RNG led to early momentum that he never relinquished.

Of all of Kimura's team members, his Amoonguss was an incredibly invaluable asset to the battles undertaken. It managed to apply status effect spores to 75% of Kelsch's team and put the upstart trainer at a heavy disadvantage.

Moreover, Kimura's Chien-Pao managed to land an early flinch by using the move Icicle Crash on Kelsch's Rillaboom, which came in particularly clutch.

In the second match, Kimura's Amoonguss became even more pivotal as it continued to put Kelsch's Pokemon to sleep, particularly his Dragapult, while Chien-Pao and Urshifu powered their way through the battle. Flutter Mane also popped in to provide solid support, as it is known to do.

Ultimately, although Kelsch did his best to claw back into the set, the continuous specter of Amoonguss being able to incapacitate half of his team during the doubles battles was one of the biggest factors in Kimura's victory.

Shohei Kimura's masterful use of status effects and safe switches, combined with his years of experience, ultimately resulted in him becoming World Champion for Scarlet and Violet VGC in 2023.