File this under 'ngawww' because this is the cutest victory I've seen today. 7-year-old Singaporean Simone Lim captured hearts worldwide with her sheepish grin after knocking out her older opponent with a perfect read.
Check out her winning moves (and winning smile) below:
Simone was facing a tough match against experienced competitor and former winner Justin Miranda-Radbord, who was 5-0 throughout the event leading up to the finals. She was down to her last Pokemon - a half-health Tyranitar, while Justin had the upper hand with a full-health Dusclops and the star of his team - Rhyperior - albeit with little health left.
While Tyranitar was capable of knocking either opponent out on its own, facing down a 2v1 is never ideal. In the end, Simone predicted that Justin would use Protect on Rhyperior and chose to KO Dusclops with a Crunch instead. This left her to finish off the Rhyperior with Superpower on the next turn, clinching the title of 2020 Pokémon Oceania International Junior Champion for herself.
And if you skeptics think it was simply luck that she chose the right target, her post-victory interview proved otherwise. When asked how she knew she made the right play, she simply responded:
"Because I knew he was gonna Protect the Rhyperior"
That's massive champion energy right there, folks.
