Indianapolis Regionals was the first official Regulation G tournament in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and no one expected Miraidon to blow away the competition, let alone win the entire event. Now, everyone is finally recognizing the power of the Gen IX Legendary dragon.

Going into Scarlet and Violet’s first Limited format, Regulation G, Pokémon VGC pros had a list of Legendary ‘mons to keep an eye on, with Calyrex seen as the biggest threat. Unsurprisingly, Shadow Rider and Ice Rider Calyrex topped the Limited Legendary usage lists on both days of the event. Meanwhile, Miraidon sat at just 9.09 percent usage on day one and 6.56 percent on day two. Still, the Violet Legendary mascot found a way to outshine Calyrex and all the other Legendaries to win its first legal Major.

During its impressive run at Indianapolis Regionals, everyone was shocked by the power behind Miraidon’s Electric attacks. By the time Rajan Bal’s Miraidon team took home the trophy, the VGC community was already apologizing for underestimating the purple dragon. Former world champion Wolfe Glick, making his casting debut at Indianapolis, even filled out an apology form, promising to respect Miraidon going forward. “I regret ever calling Miraidon a terrain and Quark Drive bot. I was unfamiliar with the game,” admitted fellow caster Rosemary “Nekkra” Kelley.

Other Pokémon VGC players shared a similar sentiment, wondering how they all overlooked Miraidon's power in the first place. "How did we as a community convince ourselves that Miraidon was a B-tier restricted?" Pokémon pro Joseph Ugarte posted on X. "[Its] damage output is absurd." Indeed, Bal's Miraidon proved that it can deal meaningful damage to anything in its way, including Pokémon that resist its Electric moves. For example, Miraidon cut off over half of Amoonguss' HP in a single blow despite its type disadvantage. That's thanks to boosts from the Legendary dragon's Hadron Engine, Electric Terrain, and Choice Specs on top of its 135 Special Attack.