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ThePokémon World Championships 2023has get and go , but its outcome on the popular enfranchisement will be long - lasting . The three - day event featuredPokémon Unite , Pokémon GO , Pokémon TCG , and thePokémon VGCas major competitive events , on top of a flock of on - site and off - site activation across its host city . That location was also key : despite the brand ’s origin , its World Championships had famously never taken place in Japan until this year ’s jaunt to Yokohama .
While there were some growing pains present in the challenging choice to host an issue in a country that many of its competition had to journey 12 + hours to , the risks ended up outweighed by the wages : an all - comprehend celebration of an ominpresent amusement belongings that has cursorily become a lifestyle mark on top of it all . Yokohama was well and truly transformed into a Pokémon city , with little pop - up artworks supplemented by big trials , like a Matsuri Park - and even a cruise ship docked at Yokohama that was to the full decked out with on - demand flight simulator struggle for both TCG and VGC fans .
tie in : Pokémon World Championships 2023 Made Me Reconsider My TCG Loves
Ultimately , the Pokémon World Championships will be remember for its private-enterprise resultant role , which boast a full sweep from Japan in each bracket of the VGC , as well as a dazzling repetition victory for itsPokémon Uniteworld champs . But it ’s the full consequence of this consequence that should be remember : Pokémoncame place , revitalise its community of interests and its games , and prove it has the power to host these kinds of events outside of the usual North American ( or one - metre European ) options .
Pokémon Unite Solidifies Itself As An Esport Worth Watching
Take thePokémon Unitefinals , for model : Luminosity Gaming trip exactly once in the tournament before complete an incredible streak on itinerary to its back - to - back win . The team proved thatUniteis a executable esport , one which pay back consistency and dedication rather than flash - in - the - goat god jet of salutary phase . That ’s Brobdingnagian forPokémon Unite , and the bunch present at the Saturday final produce some of the biggest roars of the three - mean solar day Championship spectacle . In Yokohama , Unitefinally cemented its place alongside brand stalwart like the TCG and VGC as a viable main consequence contender . A mix of weekend splendor and long - term forecasting made the Yokohama trip a double - success forPokémon .
It ’s also authoritative because , while thePokémon TCGis one of the most well - hump and attended tournament circuits in the genre , it ’s also not exactly the well spectator mutation . Alleviating some of the pressure sensation from the VGC , which has long birth the core of add together some visual style to the World Championships , is necessary in making the Pokémon World Championships feel more like the best esport event on pass . Unitegoes a long way to doing that , while also allowing the TCG to catch one’s breath as the more Bromus secalinus - like championship of the weekend .
The Pokémon TCG’s Return Home Is Worth Its Weight In Gold
Truthfully , it would be worrisome if thePokémon TCGwas pushed towards more of an esports - similar presentation the way some other TCGs have been , and that was avoid in Yokohama . rather , the coverage bosom its more subdued nature and let impressive maneuvers take a breather on - gentle wind . Commentary was excellent , the decklists were exciting ( if not a little predictable ) , and the storyline that hail with a strategical game that reward its competition ' consistency made for an challenging narrative across the weekend .
That aver , it ’s not like thePokémon TCGwas filler . The crowd was hot for the best draws and sport of the weekend , and its mixture of meta deck - aboard some more unique strategies that got reportage while they were still in contention - made for date viewing for those intimate with the secret plan . It ’s also worth noting just how accessiblePokémon TCGcoverage is . As someone less familiar with top - grade militant child’s play , the demonstration and commentary caught me up quickly . Balancing the solicitation to children and adult - who often have very dissimilar require out of a posting biz - remain to be an indicator in the overall health of the TCG .
Pokémon GO Feels Out of Place, But The VGC Makes Up For It
If there was one game that felt like it did n’t necessarily have its identity fully calculate out yet , it was definitelyPokémon GO . The biz has leg to become a solid offering at the Pokémon World Championships , but felt a lot more like it should have been a side outcome rather than a main feature alongside the other three . It ’s indecipherable exactly how to add some more weight to what it see like compare to other claim - the player base is broadly speaking more interested in community events and the like - but perhaps a modified approach , include a bite more buff interaction , could get it feeling like a more natural comprehension .
fortuitously , as far as video games are worry , thePokémon VGCmore than pulled its weight . Operating more like a practical chess - comparable component to the TCG than an action - packed deed likeUnite , the VGC produce some exciting moments . More than that , it was also the most fitting death to the weekend , as Japan swept the three dissimilar categories for the plot and took home the gold in Yokohama . It could n’t have been a adept ending for the Pokémon World Championships 2023 , and it really felt like the VGC player especially fed off the crew ’s energy .
touch on : Pokémon World Championships 2023 audience : " I Know Where The Meta Is Going To Go "
Pokémon World Champions 2023 Succeeded In Uniting Its Community
More than any single plot ’s succeeder , though , the Pokémon World Championships 2023 ’s biggest victory was the way it brought the sometimes disparate elements of its multiple offering together to observe the enfranchisement as a whole . While long assembly line beset the Pokémon Center and the unbearably live weather in Yokohama made some of the outdoor events a hard sell , the residential district remained engaged and happy every 24-hour interval of the issue . Every hall of the Yokohama rule gist was a similar slew : endless groups of player discussingPokémon , and whatever that intend to them .
It ’s an infectious attitude . Plenty of early starts made me less than thrilled to be plod through intense humidity on the way to another day of the convention center , but it never accept long to get excited about what was on offer for the day . Crowds of people just glad to be there will do that you . All across the hall , there were children visibly humming with excitement over a wide-eyed photo op or a meeting with alike - minded friends , and parents decked out in Pikachu merch corroborate them . TCG musician set up a bazaar of barter on each floor , while VGC engagement strike berth in every formerly unoccupied recess of the convention center . People just love Pokémon - and coming home really cemented that feeling , proving that the Pokémon World Championships has a future tense wherever The Pokémon Company make up one’s mind to host it .
As long as the product stay on as fun and inclusive as it felt in 2023 , there ’s no reason to think 2024 and beyond ca n’t go on to ameliorate that sense of a once - a - twelvemonth , can’t - young woman gathering of a brand that ’s long since slough the limitation of just entertainment .
