World Championships
- If you were looking for the anime competition known as the "Pokémon World Championships" in Japanese, see World Coronation Series.
The Pokémon World Championships (Japanese: ポケモンワールドチャンピオンシップス Pokémon World Championships) are an annual event held by the Play! Pokémon organized play division of The Pokémon Company International. The first ever World Championship event was run by Wizards of the Coast, a division of Hasbro, in August 2002 in Seattle, WA[1]. Due to the transfer of the licensing of the Trading Card Game from Wizards to Nintendo, neither company staged a World Championship in 2003. Nintendo resumed World Championships in 2004, and have held them each year since then. Prior to the start of the World Championships tournament structure, the best players from around the world competed at the Tropical Mega Battle between 1999 and 2001, as well as at several Super Trainer Showdown events held in the US in 2000 and 2001.
The events are held in August of a given year. Players must qualify based on overall ratings, national champions, and past performances in the previous year's World Championships (see Championship Point).
Trading Card Game
The championships are staged utilizing that year's Standard format, previously referred to as Modified Format prior to the 2014 season. The 2015 season introduced the Expanded format.
Standard/Modified Format Sets
- 2004 — Expedition to EX Hidden Legends
- 2005 — EX Ruby & Sapphire to EX Emerald
- 2006 — EX Hidden Legends to EX Holon Phantoms
- 2007 — EX Deoxys to Diamond & Pearl
- 2008 — EX Holon Phantoms to Majestic Dawn
- 2009 — Diamond & Pearl to Rising Rivals
- 2010 — Diamond & Pearl to Unleashed
- 2011 — HeartGold & SoulSilver to Black & White
- 2012 — HeartGold & SoulSilver to Dark Explorers
- 2013 — Black & White to Plasma Freeze
- 2014 — Next Destinies to Flashfire
- 2015 — Boundaries Crossed onward
- 2016 — XY to Phantom Forces
- 2017 — Primal Clash onwards
- 2018 — BREAKthrough onward
- 2019 — Sun & Moon to Unbroken Bonds
- 2020 — Ultra Prism onward
Expanded Format Sets
- 2015 — Black & White onward
World Championship decks
- Main article: World Championships Deck (TCG)
World Championship decks are purchasable non-tournament-legal prints of 60-card decks used by World Championship players.
Video games (core series)
The core series Pokémon games were first featured at a World Championship event at Pokémon Video Game Showdown 2008 (VGS). Starting in 2009, the events were renamed the Video Game Championships (VGC).
All battles use the following rules:
- The format is Double Battles. A player must bring between 4 and 6 Pokémon and select 4 of them just before the battle. In games that use Team Preview (Generation V onward), this selection is made after viewing the opponent's 6 Pokémon.
- Two Pokémon may not have the same Pokédex number. Mythical Pokémon (and Ash-Greninja) are disallowed. Special Pokémon are disallowed most of the time but certain years instead allow a limited number per team.
- The Soul Dew was disallowed until Generation VII, where its effect changed.
- In games that use origin marks (Generation VI onward), all Pokémon must have an origin mark matching the games used for the competition. This may be substituted with the battle-ready symbol.
- Two Pokémon may not have the same held item.
- Pokémon cannot battle above level 50. In most years, Pokémon above level 50 are auto-leveled down to 50. In some years[clarification needed], Pokémon below level 50 are also auto-leveled up.
- Two Pokémon may not have the same nickname. A Pokémon may not be nicknamed the name of a different Pokémon, and nicknames and Trainer names may not be inappropriate.
Year-specific formats
- 2008 — Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
- For at least the semifinals onward, players connected their Nintendo DSes to Pokémon Battle Revolution. No Battle Revolution-specific clauses were set.
- For this year only, players were only allowed to bring exactly 4 Pokémon, instead of bringing 6 and choosing 4 just before the battle.
- Any Pokémon above level 50 was disallowed and there was no auto-leveling. Dragonite and Tyranitar were also specifically disallowed, preventing players from using the (at the time) Japan-exclusive level 50 Dragonite event. (It was not possible to obtain Tyranitar at or below level 50 until a Generation VI event.)
- The Japan-only (at the time) Micle Berry, Custap Berry, and Sketching Seed Flare were disallowed.
- 2009 — Pokémon Platinum
- Players connected their Nintendo DSes to a modified, unreleased version of Pokémon Battle Revolution for at least the semifinals onward. The modified game featured Platinum outfits for Dawn and Lucas as well as no region- or language-locking.[2]
- Any Pokémon above level 50 was disallowed and there was no auto-leveling. (Event-exclusive level 50 Dragonite were allowed this year.)
- All forms of Rotom, including the normal form, were disallowed.
- The Japan-only (at the time) Jaboca Berry, Rowap Berry, and Sketching Judgment were disallowed. Custap Berry was also disallowed despite having the same distribution as the now-legal Micle Berry.
- 2010 — Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
- Up to two Special Pokémon were allowed. Uniquely for this year, a player's team of 6 could list up to 4 Special Pokémon, as long as no more than 2 were chosen before battle.
- (The Jaboca Berry was allowed this year despite still being Japan-only at the time.)
- 2011 — Pokémon Black and White
- Only Unova Pokédex Pokémon were allowed. Sky Drop was disallowed due to the Sky Drop glitch.
- 2012 — Pokémon Black and White
- Sky Drop and Dark Void were both disallowed.
- 2013 — Pokémon Black 2 and White 2
- Sky Drop and Dark Void were both disallowed.
- 2014 — Pokémon X and Y
- Only Kalos Pokédex Pokémon were allowed. Dark Void once again became allowed.
- 2015 — Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
- 2016 — Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
- Up to two Special Pokémon were allowed in a team of six.
- 2017 — Pokémon Sun and Moon
- Only Alola Pokédex Pokémon were allowed. Kantonian form counterparts to Alolan forms were not considered to be part of the Alola Pokédex. Mega Stones were disallowed.
- 2018 — Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
- 2019 — Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
- Up to two Special Pokémon were allowed. In addition, the season was split into three series:
- Sun Series (Sep 4 - Jan 7): Mega Stones, Primal Reversion, Rayquaza with Dragon Ascent, and Z-Crystals were all disallowed.
- Moon Series (Jan 8 - Apr 1): Mega Stones, Primal Reversion, Rayquaza with Dragon Ascent, and Ultranecrozium Z were disallowed.
- Ultra Series (Apr 2 - Aug): All Mega Evolution, Primal Reversion, and Z-Moves are allowed.
- 2022 — Pokémon Sword and Shield
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 World Championships were cancelled and the season was eventually extended to last three years with several different series:
- Series 1 (Nov 19 - Dec 31, 2019): Only Galar Pokédex Pokémon were allowed (although the only obtainable Pokémon outside of the Galar Pokédex would have been Mew). Kantonian Meowth, Persian, Mr. Mime, and Unovan Yamask and Cofagrigus were also allowed due to being obtainable in-game. All Gigantamax Pokémon were disallowed.
- Series 2 (Jan 4 - Feb 29, 2020): Gigantamax Pikachu, Eevee, Butterfree, Drednaw, Corviknight, Sandaconda, and Centiskorch became allowed. Gigantamax Charizard became allowed, but only with the Ability Blaze. Gigantamax Meowth and Snorlax also became allowed despite being event-exclusive at the time.
- Series 3 (Mar 1 - Apr 30, 2020): Due to the release of Version 1.1.0 and Pokémon HOME, the Kanto and Alola starters, and Kantonian and Galarian Slowpoke became allowed. All regional forms of Galar Pokédex Pokémon also became allowed, except for (indirectly) Alolan Raichu and Kantonian Weezing (since at the time it was impossible to obtain them with the Galar symbol). Gigantamax Coalossal, Lapras, Flapple, Appletun, Alcremie, Kingler, Orbeetle, Grimmsnarl, Hatterene, and Solar Power Charizard became allowed. Gigantamax Toxtricity also became allowed despite being event-exclusive at the time.
- Series 4 (May 1 - Jun 30, 2020): Gigantamax Machamp, Gengar, Garbodor, Copperajah, and Duraludon became allowed. (This encompasses all non-Mythical Gigantamax Pokémon available at the time.)
- Series 5 (Jul 1 - Aug 31, 2020): Isle of Armor Pokédex Pokémon, Gigantamax forms, and non-Galarian forms became allowed. Alolan Raichu, Kantonian Weezing, Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion became allowed due to the introduction of the battle-ready symbol.
- Series 6 (Sep 1 - Oct 31, 2020): The most used Pokémon from the previous series were temporarily disallowed: Venusaur, Gyarados, Porygon2, Tyranitar, Torkoal, Hippowdon, Magnezone, Togekiss, Excadrill, Whimsicott, Incineroar, Mimikyu, Rillaboom, Cinderace, Indeedee, and Dragapult.
- Series 7 (Nov 1 2020 - Jan 31, 2021): The above 16 Pokémon became re-allowed. All non-Special and non-Mythical Pokémon and non-Galarian forms introduced in The Crown Tundra expansion became allowed, including those that do not have a Crown Tundra Pokédex number.
- Series 8 (Feb 1 - Apr 30, 2021): Up to one Special Pokémon became allowed.
- Series 9 (May 1 - Jul 31, 2021): Identical to Series 7 (Special Pokémon no longer allowed).
- Series 10 (Aug 1 - Oct 31, 2021): Up to one Special Pokémon became re-allowed, but Dynamax and Gigantamax became disallowed.
- Series 11 (Nov 1, 2021 - Jan 31, 2022): Dynamax and Gigantamax became re-allowed. (One Special Pokémon was still allowed.)
- Series 12 (Feb 1 - Aug 2022): Up to two Special Pokémon became allowed.
In the games
In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, the top four competitors from each division of the Video Game Championships from the 2012 World Championships were featured in the World Championships Tournaments in the Pokémon World Tournament. In the Generation VI games, unused text exists for the top three competitors as opponents in the Battle Maison.
In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, several NPCs at the Battle Resort mention the Pokémon World Championships.
In the anime
- Main article: World Coronation Series
Trivia
- While Mythical Pokémon have never been allowed, event-exclusive moves and items have nearly always been allowed, and event-exclusive Hidden Abilities have never been disallowed. In addition, Zorua and Zoroark were allowed in 2011 and 2012 despite being event-exclusive at the time.
- The first half of 2020 is the only time that non-event Pokémon have been disallowed because of rarity. Specifically, Gigantamax Pokémon that were rarely available normally in-game did not become allowed until the start of the first Wild Area News event that temporarily made them more common. This would become moot with the release of The Isle of Armor, which would make all relevant Gigantamax Pokémon available without relying on rarity.
- Between approximately October 2020 and March 2021, the published rulebook mistakenly implied Regigigas was disallowed (by omitting its National Pokédex number from the list of allowed Pokémon that do not have a Galar/Isle of Armor/Crown Tundra Pokédex number).[3][4][5] This was fixed sometime on or before February 2022.[6]
Pokkén Tournament
Games used
- 2015 - Pokkén Tournament (arcade version, invitational only)
- 2016 - Pokkén Tournament
- 2017 - Pokkén Tournament
- 2018 - Pokkén Tournament DX
- 2019 - Pokkén Tournament DX
Pokémon GO
- 2019 (invitational only)
- Junichi Masuda and Shigeki Morimoto were among the exhibition opponents.
Scheduling and matchups
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The Championships are set over three days with a last chance qualifier (known to players as "The Grinder") on the Friday to fill seats left vacant for various reasons (no travel, local qualifiers) until all seats are filled. The second day is limited to Swiss Pairings over a set number of rounds, and the top players (16 each in the Junior and Senior Divisions, as well as the top 32 in the Masters division) move onto the Sunday rounds. The format for this final is single elimination, until the finals, which are a best two matches out of three to decide the World Champion. There are three divisions: Junior (known as the 10 Years Old and Under Division until 2006), Senior (known as the 11 to 14 Year Old Division until 2006) and Masters (called the 15 Years and Older Division until 2006). In 2010, a Last Chance Qualifier was held on Friday to fill all vacant spots. In 2011, a Masters age Division was added to the VGC to parallel the TCG. The event format consists of Swiss rounds, followed by a single elimination tournament. In 2009, the top two advanced to play the finals on Sunday, whereas since 2010, the top eight advance to play in a head-to-head single elimination event to decide the World Champions.
In other languages
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See also
References
- ↑ First-Ever Pokemon Trading Card Game World Champion Titles Won by Dylan Austin, 14 of Ann Arbor, Michigan and Mindy Lambkee, 10 of Kent, Washington
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICRdjvaUQM8
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20201027152813/https://assets.pokemon.com//assets/cms2/pdf/play-pokemon/rules/play-pokemon-vg-rules-formats-and-penalty-guidelines-10232020-en.pdf
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210126052431/https://assets.pokemon.com//assets/cms2/pdf/play-pokemon/rules/play-pokemon-vg-rules-formats-and-penalty-guidelines-01252021-en.pdf
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210511201450/https://assets.pokemon.com/assets/cms2/pdf/play-pokemon/rules/play-pokemon-vg-rules-formats-and-penalty-guidelines-03292021-en.pdf
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220309173223/https://assets.pokemon.com//assets/cms2/pdf/play-pokemon/rules/play-pokemon-vg-rules-formats-and-penalty-guidelines-02152022-en.pdf
External links
