No one ever imagined how big Pokémon could be, from small Game Boy video game cartridges, it is now a large scale media franchise. This weekend, players gather in Anaheim, CA for the 2017 Pokémon World Championships. It is an organized event where players battle it out through several forms of competition and hope to walk away as champion in these respective categories: Pokémon TCG (Trading Card Game), Pokémon VGC (video games) and Pokkén Tournament. Players hope that all their hard work to get to this event would pay off.
Pokémon TCG
The Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) is a collectible card game with a similar goal to the battles we see in the video game series.
Players assume the role of a trainer and use the cards in their decks to battle their opponents. The player who knocks out a Pokémon will draw a Prize Card, once a player draws all the Prize Cards he/she wins the game. Other win conditions are met by knocking out all of your opponents Pokémon or like in many trading card games if your opponent no longer has cards to draw.
Players who qualified in the Championship Series season will get an invitation to the World Championships.
Pokémon VGC
For the 2017 season, competing players need to bring their own copy of Pokémon Sun or Pokémon Moon and a game system in the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. Just like in the trading card game, players who would like to compete in the World Championship event would need to earn an invite to participate.
Players can earn invites by winning championship points from Premier Challenges, Midseason Showdowns, Regional Championships, and International Championships.
Pokkén Tournament
Pokkén Tournament has a different game style compared to Pokémon TCG and Pokémon VGC, Pokkén Tournament is a crossover between Tekken and Pokémon. Instead of assuming the role of a trainer, players take the role of the actual Pokémon and move relative to each other similar to the Tekken games.
For the 2017 Pokémon World Championships, a Pokkén Tournament LCQ (last chance qualifier) will be held where the top four players from the tournament get themselves an invite to compete in the prestigious event.
It is wonderful to see a game evolve and grow to such a successful franchise. From 151 Pokemon to 802, the number of Pokemon continues to grow as its fan base escalate to great numbers. This success makes fans all the more excited to see what the future holds for our beloved pocket monsters.
