After the Pokémon World Championships made its lengthy-awaited return in London final 12 months, it was introduced that the 2023 Championships could be happening on the Pacifico Yokohama in Japan.
This could be solely the second time the match has been held exterior of North America, making this really a monumental announcement — in some way, even with Pokémon being big in Japan, the Championship Series had by no means been held there. Many felt that this was really going to be one thing particular. The query is, did the 2023 World Championships reside as much as the hype?
In this function, we’ll recap all of the occasions and highlights of the World Championships in Yokohama in 2023.
What are the Pokémon World Championships?
The Pokémon World Championships have been going since 2004 when it began with the Trading Card Game (TCG). The sequence added the principle line video video games (VGC) in 2009, Pokkén Tournament in 2016 and Pokémon GO & UNITE in 2022.
To earn an invitation to the World Championships, you might be required to fare properly at Regional, International and native competitions all year long. This 12 months, the Championships returned to a 3-day occasion with all 4 classes at present performed on Friday & Saturday, and finals for GO, VGC and TCG happening on Sunday.
It really is a spot the place individuals can show they’re one of the best Pokémon trainers on this planet.
What is there to do?
Outside the occasion
In earlier years, exterior of the principle match, there was hardly ever that a lot to do exterior of the occasion. This 12 months, it appears like there was an excessive amount of.
The Pokémon Company hosted many exhibits alongside the standard Pokémon Center Worlds Store, however all required a ticket to entry and the tickets had been acquired, a lot as every part in Japan, by a raffle system which means lots of people did find yourself disillusioned and unable to enter them.
There had been two nighttime exhibits: Imagination! Into the Next was a dance present that includes quite a lot of Pokémon mascots; We Move!! featured the largest quantity of Pikachu and was adopted by a drone present. Both of those might be discovered on the official YouTube channel if you happen to want to test them out.
The day earlier than the World Championships, a particular live performance was held that includes orchestral renditions of Pokémon music, in addition to music from the host nations of the World Championships.
There was additionally a Pikachu parade for everybody to observe on daily basis of the match, with a full-ticketed Pokémon Parade rounding off the whole weekend on Monday.
Pokémon Matsuri Park was one other ticketed function. Much just like the Worlds Square of the 2022 World Championships, you would play quite a lot of video games with a purpose to earn factors to redeem for prizes. These ranged from hooking a Magikarp in a fishing recreation, feeding a Dondozo numerous Tatsugiri plush utilizing a catapult and rolling a Voltorb by means of a maze. It additionally featured the standard dances that includes Pikachu, Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly.
Finally, there was the Pokémon Trainer Cruise. Mimicking the S.S. Anne from Vermillion City, you would go on the boat and do quite a lot of issues together with battle and commerce with different gamers in VGC and TCG in quite a lot of totally different lounges. You might even test the bins to search out numerous gadgets. There was a stamp rally to ensure you had seen every part and a stunning picture spot on the deck of the ship. It really was a surreal expertise
Outside of those occasions, the whole thing of Yokohama had been taken over by Pokémon. In all the shops there have been photos of Pokémon playing cards, with massive card artwork shows being held all through the realm. Buses and practice stations had been lined within the Pokémon World Championships imagery. There had been a number of pop-up Pokémon Center shops throughout the shops as properly and there have been screenings of the Championships in every single place.
There was additionally PokéGenic imagery, numerous bits of paintings on partitions that includes Pokémon so that you can take photographs with. It really felt like Pokémon had taken over town and it was simply surreal to see big strains of individuals only for these photographs.
Inside the occasion
If you weren’t competing on the World Championships, it felt like there was rather less to do on the occasion itself.
There had been the standard facet tournaments for TCG, VGC and GO you would play with a purpose to get factors to redeem for gadgets, together with the Paradise Resort promo card, on the Prize Wall. There was additionally the GO Scavenger Hunt the place you needed to full quite a lot of duties Otherwise, it was simply lots of seating the place you would watch the varied matches in entrance of the beautiful fundamental stage.
Next to the principle constructing, you would view the match livestreams in a particular auditorium referred to as the Pokémon Activity Zone, which included an space for battling and buying and selling within the video games. This can also be the place lots of Pokémon spin-offs showcased themselves. There was a nook selling Pokémon Masters EX, in addition to an space to play the arcade recreation, Pokémon Mezastar.
The Pokémon TCG Play Lab additionally returned to show gamers the TCG and — for the primary time — you would have a look at the approaching Pokémon Trading Card Game Classic set. Finally, you would have a look at the Pokémon Local Acts, a marketing campaign in Japan the place numerous prefectures have a Pokémon ambassador. You might even meet these ambassadors.
Lastly, an area Pokémon GO occasion was held for individuals who had a cross to enter the World Championships, which was a change in comparison with earlier years the place it was open to everybody. This allowed for extra spawns of varied Regional Pokémon and higher shiny probabilities for getting Pikachu and the opposite Pokémon together with Farfetch’d, Pansage, Pansear and Panpour. This was completed by means of the varied distinctive PokéStops and Gyms working
Pokémon Center
The fundamental Pokémon Center retailer on the Championships was the largest they’ve ever completed. Like many different occasions this 12 months, entry was decided by lottery, however this time all spectators and rivals had been assured to get inside ultimately.
There was lots of room to maneuver and two massive merchandise strains: one that includes the Pokémon World Championships imagery and one other centered round Yokohama that includes a sailor Pikachu and Lapras. The retailer included t-shirts, hoodies, chopsticks, Switch circumstances, magnets, pins and a lot extra. There was really a lot you would doubtlessly get. We might have had to purchase an additional suitcase to convey issues all of those additional goodies residence.
The match – All of the winners
Pokémon UNITE
Pokémon UNITE was the primary last to air. This is simply the second time the MOBA has featured on the World Championships, and the reigning champions Luminosity battled by means of and ended up being the victors with out dropping as soon as.
The concept of a bracket reset for the finals meant nothing to them as they simply dominated the opposite workforce and received a 3-0 victory. It really was a sight to behold how they merely dominated and managed the sphere, particularly within the last match
Winners:
Pokémon GO
Like UNITE, Pokémon GO returned for less than its second 12 months on the World Championships. This 12 months the finals ended up between ItsAXN and xxRubixMasterxx.
Some of the mainstays in aggressive Pokémon GO groups returned — itsAXN ran a workforce of Noctowl, Shadow Alolan Sandslash, Purified Sableye, Lanturn, Medicham and Shadow Swampert in opposition to RubixMaster’s extra conventional although barely different Registeel, Defense Forme Deoxys, Shadow Quagsire, Altaria, Umbreon and Azumarill.
With itsAXN having lots of Championships expertise beneath his belt, notably within the Top 8 or increased, and this being RubixMaster’s second occasion the place he has positioned extremely, the battle was tense. RubixMaster managed to carry his personal and get one battle win however ultimately, itsAXN took the ultimate match to win and turn into the 2023 World Champion
Winner:
Pokémon TCG
This 12 months was the primary 12 months of the Pokémon Scarlet & Violet sequence of the TCG; this added Pokémon ex again to the fold alongside the Paldea Pokémon. As a outcome, there was lots of selection between the varied decks. Mew VMAX, Origin Palkia V, and Gardevoir ex all confirmed up in quite a lot of sturdy decks.
The finals, nevertheless, got here all the way down to Vance Kelley and Tord Reklev. Tord, who’s all the time one of many favourites to win, has racked up each single title aside from World Champion beneath his belt; Vance, alternatively, had a number of Top 16s. This was a match in opposition to two of the strongest TCG gamers.
After every of the gamers took one win, the third match was arguably probably the most tense Pokémon TCG match to ever take the World stage, with a to-and-fro between the 2 gamers, it will definitely went to time and the ultimate turns, however Tord couldn’t fairly get the playing cards he wanted main Vance to take out Tord’s Pokémon deck and declare the title
- Masters: Vance Kelley
- Seniors: Gabriel Fernandez
- Juniors: Shao Tong Yen
Pokémon VGC
With Pokémon Scarlet & Violet releasing late final 12 months, this was the primary 12 months for the Gen IX Pokémon video games on the World Championships. However, in a wierd flip of occasions it’s the first, and solely, occasion of the season to utilise Regulation D guidelines. These guidelines allowed so that you can use not solely the Pokémon from Scarlet & Violet however Pokémon transferred in from earlier video games, together with numerous Legendary mainstays reminiscent of Landorus, Cresselia and extra.
The VGC a part of the competitors did have just a few controversies, with plenty of gamers being disqualified because of hacked Pokémon violating the foundations and a router concern that precipitated all matches to disconnect throughout the Top Cut. This meant that many matches had been restarted in a Sudden Death method which angered lots of gamers and arguably meant some who had been on observe to win their match ended up dropping. Whether this state of affairs will likely be resolved for future competitions, to keep away from Sudden Death and simply repeat the match, is unclear however the neighborhood has positively been outspoken about these points. Where do you facet with them?
In the finals, nevertheless, it turned out to be a Japanese sweep with the house turf taking all three of the titles. The Masters finals had been very tense with Shohei Kimura dealing with off in opposition to Michael Kelsch, a participant who solely began enjoying the sport initially of the 12 months proving that you simply don’t must have years of expertise to be participant. Michael got here in with a really distinctive workforce together with Pokémon reminiscent of Farigiraf however the workforce sadly couldn’t overcome the uncooked energy of Shohei’s workforce, and the assist of his Amoonguss.
Winners
- Masters: Shohei Kimura
- Seniors: Tomoya Ogawa
- Juniors: Sora Ebisawa
Next 12 months — Returning to Hawaii in 2024
At the closing ceremony, there have been plenty of reveals, as there all the time are. Blaziken, Mimikyu and Meowscarada are coming to Pokémon UNITE; the introduction of Paradox Pokémon mechanics to the Pokémon TCG; and, quite a lot of aggressive strikes and the return of starter Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’s DLC. However, on the finish of the ceremony, they introduced the situation of the 2024 Pokémon World Championships — Honolulu, Hawaii.
Having gone to Hawaii in 2010 and 2012, the World Championships will make a protracted-awaited return to the state in 2024. Though, as a result of current information, Tsunekazu Ishihara additionally confirmed a donation to assist these displaced and damage by the wildfires in Maui.
Was it one of the best World Championships?
It actually relies upon. There was a lot to do in Yokohama, however most occasions you would solely attend by lottery, so if you happen to attended, you’d extra seemingly than not have one or not one of the actions in your listing, which is unlucky. Sadly, it is a necessity contemplating how massive Pokémon is in Japan, with hundreds of thousands going to Yokohama annually only for the Pikachu Outbreak alone previous to 2020.
It was fairly overwhelming — whereas it felt like there was loads to do at the occasion, there was additionally not sufficient to do at sure occasions. However, the extent of play on the occasion was excessive, and the decor and theming was off the charts. It really was superb to be in attendance and to see a lot love in the direction of Pokémon.
The query is, can it’s topped? We actually don’t know. It’s arduous to say if this degree “city takeover” is possible once more, and so they want to verify extra issues can be found for extra individuals to do, but when it is a new customary being set then the subsequent few years are actually ones to observe for the Pokémon World Championships.
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