The 19th Pokémon World Championships just finished up, and players and spectators both have a lot to think about. From the games played and teams and decks that won to news about upcoming Pokémon games and events, this Worlds was packed full of content, so let’s break it all down. (Excerpt also needed?)
Pokémon Worlds Information
The 2024 Pokémon World Championships were held at the Hawai’i Convention Center in Honolulu, Hawaii from August 16th through the 18th. This was the fourth time the event has been held in Hawaii, but the first time that Waikoloa Village wasn’t the host.
Over 3,000 people from around the world competed for the title of World Champion across four different games – Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG), Video Game (VGC), Pokémon GO, and Pokémon Unite – making this the largest Pokémon World Championships to date. All of these games had live streams, which you can watch on the Pokémon Official YouTube Channel.
Pokémon Events and Exclusives
On top of the competitions, Pokémon had an array of other events set up in and around the convention hall. There were drone shows held on the beach; a Trading Card Game Illustration Contest Gallery where the top 100 entries were displayed; a Collect and Trade Corner; autograph sessions with big names in the Pokémon industry like Tsunekazu Ishihara, Junichi Masuda, Akira Egawa, and Atsushi Furusawa; side events that spectators could participate in all weekend for exclusive goods; and so much more.
As they do each year, a pop-up Pokémon Center store was available for people to shop for all sorts of Pokémon goods. The store was full of exclusive merchandise such as a Bear Walker skateboard, a ukulele, TCG accessories, plushies, apparel, and more. A full catalog of what was on offer by visiting the PokéBeach website.
Large areas in and around the convention center were decorated with Pokémon themes, providing tons of photo ops as well as hosting meet-and-greets. Pokémon also worked with local groups and organizations to bring some of Hawaii’s culture to the forefront of the event. For example, there was a Genki Ball activity hosted by the Genki Ala Wai Project where people could make genki balls (a sort of mud ball full of microorganisms that safely and effectively clean up waterways by digesting built up organic materials), with a ball toss ceremony afterward where people could toss genki balls into waterways together.
Hula dancers could also be found throughout the weekend performing in and around the venue. The opening ceremony to the tournament showcased traditional music and dancing, which paid special homage to Hawaii’s gods, especially Pele, the goddess of volcanoes and fire who created the islands of Hawaii.
Pokémon Tournaments
Throughout the weekend, players from around the world who worked all season to get their Worlds invite competed to see who could be named Champion. The games were divided up as such: Pokémon GO (one division), Pokémon Unite (one division), Pokémon TCG (juniors, seniors, and masters), and Pokémon VGC (juniors, seniors, and masters). Here’s the breakdown of how each tournament played out.
Pokémon GO
Pokémon GO utilizes a Double Elimination bracket to determine who makes it to the finals. All players start in the Winners bracket. If a player loses a game, they move to the Losers bracket where they play until they lose their second game. The winner of the Winners bracket and the winner of the Losers bracket then compete in the Grand Finals. This year, Yekai0904, who was the winner of the Winner’s bracket, defeated Inadequance, the winner of the Losers bracket, after a hard fought battle. Yekai is the first Pokémon GO champion from Asia.
The winning team list is: Altaria, Skarmory, Lickitung, Charjabug, Shadow Quagsire, and Annihilape
Pokémon Unite
Pokémon Unite is a 5v5 Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (or MOBA) game that pits teams against each other in an all-out brawl. Day One of the tournament had teams playing in a best of three single round robin bracket until the top 16 teams were determined. From there, Day Two consisted of those teams playing best of three matches, single elimination. For the Finals, the remaining two teams had a best of five match.
This year, the finals was between the Korean team XoraTigersGaming and Japan’s FENNEL. FENNEL swept the match, going 3-0 against the Tigers and won the Championship.
Pokémon TCG
In Pokémon TCG tournaments, players go against each other in 50 minutes, best of three Swiss games. Each win awards the player 3 match points, a tie gives 1, and a loss gives 0. For Day One, players must reach a minimum amount of match points to proceed to Day Two. During Day Two, players continue playing a set number of Swiss rounds. From those points, the Top 8 players are determined. This year, there was an asymmetrical Top Cut, which meant that if the 9th placed player had the same amount of points as the 8th placed player, the 8th place player and the 9th placed player competed to see who would get into Top 8. This structure allows players who would normally not make Top Cut because of an internal tie-breaker to have a chance of continuing on if their record is the same as 8th place.
Juniors TCG
Juniors consist of ages 6-12, and among those who made it to Top 8, three were from the United States, three were from Japan, one was from Germany, and one was from France. In the Finals, Logan Bailey from the US and Sakuya Ota from Japan faced off, with Sakuya Ota winning 2-1.
The winning deck list is:
Pokémon: 12
4 Roaring Moon TEF 109
4 Flutter Mane TEF 78
2 Great Tusk TEF 97
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
1 Radiant Greninja ASR 46
Trainers: 42
4 Nest Ball PAF 84
1 Ultra Ball PAF 91
1 Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146
4 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
4 Pokegear 3.0 SVI 186
2 Night Stretcher SFA 61
1 Super Rod PAL 188
1 Superior Energy Retrieval PAL 189
2 Dark Patch ASR 139
2 Pal Pad SVI 182
2 Counter Catcher PAR 160
1 Secret Box TWM 163
4 Ancient Booster Energy Capsule TEF 140
1 Defiance Band SVI 169
4 Professor Sada’s Vitality PAR 170
4 Explorer’s Guidance TEF 147
1 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
3 PokeStop PGO 68
Energy: 6
6 Darkness Energy
Seniors TCG
Seniors (ages 13-16) Top 8 this year consisted of three players from the US, two players from Canada, one from Japan, one from Italy, and one from Brazil. The Finals had Haruku Umehara from Japan face off against Evan Pavelski from the US. Evan Pavelski won the match 2-0.
The winning deck list is:
Pokémon: 19
4 Regidrago V SIT 135
3 Regidrago VSTAR SIT 136
3 Teal Mask Ogerpon ex TWM 25
2 Dragapult ex TWM 130
1 Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR 136
1 Giratina VSTAR LOR 131
1 Fezandipiti ex SFA 38
1 Mew ex MEW 151
1 Squawkabilly ex PAL 169
1 Kyurem SFA 47
1 Hawlucha SVI 118
Trainers: 31
4 Professor’s Research PAF 88
3 Iono PAF 80
2 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
4 Ultra Ball PAF 91
4 Nest Ball PAF 84
4 Energy Switch SVI 173
4 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
1 Prime Catcher TEF 157
1 Switch SVI 194
1 Superior Energy Retrieval PAL 189
1 Super Rod PAL 188
1 Canceling Cologne ASR 136
1 Temple of Sinnoh ASR 155
Energy: 10
7 Grass Energy
3 Fire Energy
Masters TCG
There were some well known names in the TCG world in Top 8 this year like Ian Robb, though there were other notable names that didn’t make the cut, such as Tord Reklev, Rahul Reddy, Andrew Hedrick, and more. Out of those who did make it to Top 8, four were from the US, one was from Japan, one was from Israel, one was from Australia, and one was from Chile. There was a shake up in the matches to determine Top 4. Ian Robb was paired against Fernando Cifuentes and defeated him 2-0 in a stunning 20 minutes, locking in his Top 4 spot. However, when it came time for Top 4 matches, it was revealed that Ian Robb had been given a retroactive match loss against Fernando for unsportsman-like behavior, leading Fernando to face Jesse Parker in Top 4 instead. Fernando went on to win both of his next matches, securing the World Championship title and becoming the first person from his country to win the title.
The winning deck list is:
Pokémon: 4
4 Iron Thorns ex TWM 77
Trainers: 45
4 Arven OBF 186
3 Professor’s Research SVI 189
3 Judge SVI 176
3 Boss’s Orders PAL 172
2 Colress’s Tenacity SFA 57
1 Iono PAL 1851 Penny SVI 183
1 Giovanni’s Charisma MEW 161
4 Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186
4 Crushing Hammer SVI 168
4 Pokémon Catcher SVI 187
2 Techno Radar PAR 180
2 Canceling Cologne ASR 136
1 Prime Catcher TEF 157
1 Earthen Vessel PAR 163
1 Energy Loto ASR 140
1 Lost Vacuum LOR 162
3 Future Booster Energy Capsule TEF 149
1 Technical Machine: Turbo Energize PAR 179
3 Lost City LOR 161
Energy: 11
7 Lightning Energy
4 Double Turbo Energy BRS 151
Pokémon VGC
VGC is similar to TCG in that players are paired up in best of three swiss matches and must reach a certain number of match points to continue into Day 2. Players train a team of six Pokémon and go head-to-head with other players in a double battle, which is when each trainer sends out two Pokémon at the same time. For each game, players use only four of their six Pokémon and lose when all four have been knocked out. They are allowed to swap their four Pokémon out between each game for others from their other six locked-in options.
Juniors VGC
This year’s Top 8 had five players from Japan, two players from the US, and one player from Germany. The final match pitted Kevin Han from the US against Tatsuomi Shimanuki from Japan against each other, with Kevin Han winning 2-1.
The winning team list is: Calyrex (Ice Rider), Incineroar, Raging Bolt, Urshifu (Rapid Strike Style), Rillaboom, and Farigiraf
Seniors VGC
Top 8 for seniors had three players from the US, two players from Japan, one player from Canada, one player from the Netherlands, and one player from South Korea competing. The finals were between Luke Kroll from the US and Ray Yamanaka from Japan. Ray Yamanaka won the match 2-1.
The winning team list is: Rillaboom, Amoonguss, Raging Bolt, Calyrex (Shadow Rider), Incineroar, and Urshifu (Rapid Strike Style)
Masters VGC
Top 8 for masters VGC had the most diverse makeup of any of the other games’ Top 8 with two players from China, one player from Australia, one player from Germany, one player from Japan, one player from Italy, one player from Canada, and one player from South Korea. The finals had Yuta Ishigaki from Japan face off against Luca Ceribelli from Italy. In the end, Luca Ceribelli won 2-1.
The winning team list is: Miraidon (Ultimate Mode), Ogerpon (Hearthflame Mask), Urshifu (Rapid Strike Style), Iron Hands, Whimsicott, and Farigiraf
More Information
The CEO and President of The Pokémon Company, Tsunekazu Ishihara made some announcements at the closing ceremony surrounding upcoming Pokémon games and products. Pokémon TCG Pocket had a trailer revealing some of the content the app will have. Pokémon Unite is getting three new Pokémon later this year: Armarouge on September 12th, Darkrai in October, and Psyduck in November. The Pokémon TCG’s reveal centered around Trainer’s Pokémon returning to the game. Some of the trainers revealed in the trailer video included Lillie, Marnie, and N. It was also hinted that Team Rocket Pokémon will be returning to the TCG as well.
It was announced at Worlds that the 2025 World Championships will be held August 15th-17th in Anaheim, CA. Breaking from the formula, it was also revealed that the 2026 World Championships will be held in San Francisco, CA from August 28th-30th, though this second reveal may be because the location had already been leaked by the venue.
If you’re interested in learning more about any of the Pokémon games or finding a place to play, check out the Event Finder on the Pokémon website to find local leagues near you. With the 2023-24 season having ended and the 2024-25 season officially starting, now’s the best time to start your own Pokémon journey!
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