POKÉMON Scarlet and Violet has introduced more players to professional competitive Pokémon than ever before.
Taking down official tournaments is tougher than ever before, but one young player has risen to the challenge.
Avery won people’s hearts at the tournament.
Avery Vehlewald started playing Pokémon professionally this year and has already made thousands attending tournaments.
Finishing second and third at a number of smaller regional tournaments, Avery charmed fans attending the North American International Championship.
It’s one of the biggest Pokémon tournaments of the year, and comes with up to $7.5k (£6k) in prizes for the winners.
While Juniors are usually not shown on TV, by reaching the finals of the huge tournaments, Avery’s final match was streamed to thousands of spectators.
A premature baby, Avery is much smaller than his opponents in the competition.
He’s also younger than the vast majority of his opponents, as the age category goes up to 12 years old, while Avery is just 7.
Avery’s official Pokémon shirt hung below his knees, and he couldn’t barely see over the desk as he sat in the chair for his match.
However, his team was skillfully built, with a hard trick room team created with the help of his dad.
Hard trick room is a difficult team to pilot even by the most experienced players, but Avery managed to use his Instruct Oranguru to lead him to victory.
Running onto the stage to receive his first place championship trophy, Avery was cheered on by the crowd.
Avery had to take down his brother on the way to the top, but his sibling apparently took the loss well.
He plays the team with decision-making skills well beyond his years, and we are sure that he will do well in professional Pokémon for years to come.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
