Lillie’s Clefairy ex Wins NAIC
James Kowalski wins Pokémon NAIC with Lillie’s Clefairy, breaking through a field where Dragapult started at 35.7% and still put four decks into Top 8.
Pokémon NAIC wrapped up with James Kowalski taking the title on Lillie’s Clefairy, defeating Neddy Kosek’s Dragapult in the finals. That is a huge result for the last International Championship before Worlds, especially because NAIC started as a very Dragapult-heavy event.
On Day 1, Dragapult ex made up 35.7% of the field, with 1,334 picks out of 3,736 total decks. It was far ahead of everything else, with Teal Mask Ogerpon ex / Meganium at 6.9%, Alakazam / Dudunsparce at 6.2%, N’s Zoroark at 5.6%, Slowking at 4.4%, and Raging Bolt ex at 4.4%.
The Top 8 mostly backed that up. Four Dragapult variants still made the final bracket, including Kosek in 2nd, Justin Newdorf on Dragapult / Dudunsparce in 3rd, Jon Webb in 6th, and Miguel Angel Marin Herrera in 8th. But the trophy went somewhere else.
Kowalski’s Lillie’s Clefairy deck broke through a field and Top 8 full of familiar threats. Ross Cawthon finished 4th with Slowking, Rahul Reddy placed 5th with Crustle, and Juho Kallama took 7th with Team Rocket’s Mewtwo, but the winning run belonged to a deck that was not part of the Day 1 headline group.
You can find the top 8 decks in our tournament page: https://www.shufflephase.com/tournaments/pokemon-north-america-international-championships-2026.
With Worlds now next on the calendar, NAIC leaves the format in a great spot. Dragapult is still the deck everyone has to respect, but Lillie’s Clefairy just won the biggest event left before the season’s final stage.
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