LONDON, U.K. — Aug. 19, 2024 — The 2024 Pokémon World Championships, hosted by The Pokémon Company International, concluded yesterday following three days of intense matches and friendly competition in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The best Trainers from around the world attended the annual event to take part in the premier tournament for the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) and Pokémon video games. This year’s event featured the Pokémon TCG, the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet video games, Pokémon GO, and Pokémon UNITE. More than 13,000 players and fans from around the globe gathered at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center for the world’s most prestigious Pokémon event. Winners of each division can be found here:
Pokémon Trading Card Game Junior Division:
1st place: Sakuya Ota [JP]
2nd place: Logan Bailey [US]
Pokémon TCG Senior Division:
1st place: Evan Pavelski [US]
2nd place: Haruku Umehara [JP]
Pokémon TCG Masters Division:
1st place: Fernando Cifuentes [CL]
2nd place: Seinosuke Shiokawa [JP]
Pokémon Video Game Championship Junior Division:
1st place: Kevin Han [US]
2nd place: Tatsuomi Shimanuki [JP]
Pokémon VGC Senior Division:
1st place: Ray Yamanaka [JP]
2nd place: Luke Kroll [US]
Pokémon VGC Masters Division:
1st place: Luca Ceribelli [IT]
2nd place: Yuta Ishigaki [JP]
Pokémon GO:
1st place: Yip Kai Cheng “Yekai0904” [HK]
2nd place: Martijn Versteeg “Inadequance” [NL]
Pokémon UNITE:
1st place: FENNEL [JP]
2nd place: XoraTigersGaming [KR]
In addition to crowning this year’s top competitive Pokémon players, new announcements and experiences were revealed across the brand.
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket Launches October 2024
During the 2024 Pokémon World Championships, The Pokémon Company group announced that the highly anticipated Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, a new app that reimagines the experience of collecting Pokémon TCG cards in an innovative digital format, will be launching around the world beginning Oct. 30, 2024. Trainers can preregister for it now on the App Store and Google Play. Furthermore, Trainers in New Zealand will be able to participate in the soft launch for Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket prior to the global launch.
In Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, players will be able to enjoy the thrill of opening booster packs and collecting cards showcasing special visual effects that can only be achieved digitally. Players will be able to open two booster packs every day at no cost, including cards with nostalgic illustrations as well as new cards found only in the app. Fans can learn more about Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket via a new trailer on the official Pokémon YouTube channel.
Trainer’s Pokémon Coming to the Pokémon TCG in 2025
In 2025, fans can look forward to collecting and playing with new Pokémon TCG cards featuring Trainer’s Pokémon, including Lillie’s Clefairy ex, Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex, N’s Zoroark ex, and an illustration rare card featuring N’s Reshiram.
More details will be shared in the future. In the meantime, fans can watch the announcement trailer for Trainer’s Pokémon, as unveiled during the 2024 Pokémon World Championships, here.
Pokémon GO Reveals Morpeko and Teases Upcoming Features
Morpeko will soon be making its debut in Pokémon GO, accompanied by the new battle-only form feature, allowing Trainers to alter the form of certain Pokémon during battles by using a Charged Attack. Additionally, something big and mysterious is on the horizon for Pokémon GO. Stay tuned for more on this significant update!
500-Point Battles and New Unite Licenses Coming to Pokémon UNITE
A new type of battle is coming to Pokémon UNITE. In this casual battle format, Trainers will lead their favorite Pokémon and team up to defeat wild Pokémon and opponents, collecting Aeos energy to score in the enemy’s goal zones. The first team to reach 500 points wins! Look forward to the launch of this exciting type of battle in spring 2025.
Armarouge, Darkrai, and Psyduck are also set to join the Pokémon UNITE roster. Stay tuned for further updates on their unique abilities and roles in the game. More information about Pokémon UNITE can be found here.
2025 and 2026 Pokémon World Championships Locations Unveiled
The locations for the 2025 and 2026 Pokémon World Championships were revealed during the closing ceremonies on Sunday evening. Trainers from around the globe can anticipate next year’s thrilling Pokémon World Championships in Anaheim, California, scheduled to be held from Aug. 15 to 17, 2025. The following World Championships will then be hosted in San Francisco, California, and are scheduled to be held from Aug. 28 to 30, 2026. Fans can learn more about this unveiling on the official Pokémon YouTube channel.
For more information about the Play! Pokémon program, please visit play.pokemon.com.
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About Pokémon
The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing and marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com.
About Nintendo
Nintendo Co., Ltd., headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, has created franchises that have become household names worldwide, including Mario™, Donkey Kong™, The Legend of Zelda™, Metroid™, Pokémon™, Animal Crossing™, Pikmin™ and Splatoon™, through its integrated hardware and software products. Nintendo aims to deliver unique, intuitive entertainment experiences for everyone, manufacturing and marketing video game devices such as the Nintendo Switch™ family of systems, developing and operating applications for smart devices, and collaborating with partners on a range of other entertainment initiatives like visual content and theme parks. Nintendo has sold more than 5.4 billion video games and over 800 million hardware units globally. From the launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System™ more than 30 years ago, through today and into the future, Nintendo’s continuing mission is to create unique entertainment that puts smiles on the faces of people all over the world. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Frankfurt, Germany, serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in Europe. For more information about Nintendo of Europe, please visit the company’s website at https://www.nintendo-europe.com/
About Niantic, Inc.
Niantic, Inc. builds real-world experiences that foster fun, exploration, discovery and social interaction. Originally incubated within Google, Niantic was founded by John Hanke, who previously helmed the Google Geo team (including Google Maps and Google Earth) after his start-up Keyhole was acquired by Google. The company’s real-world adventure game Ingress has been downloaded more than 14 million times and is played in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. For more information on Niantic, please visit www.nianticlabs.com.
