| Event | Pokémon Japan Championships 2023 Main Battle |
|---|---|
| Location | Online |
| Date | 14 May 2023 |
| Capacity | 450 qualified players |
| Videogame | Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet |
| Season | 2023 Season – VGC Regulation Set C |
| Format | In-game ladder competition |
| Organizer | The Pokémon Company (TPC) |
Table of Contents
Teams and results
A more complete list of teams can be found here, thanks to our colleagues from Liberty Note!
Anomalies
The results were communicated to the participating players on 15 May.
However, due to unexpected circumstances, about which players found out after playing their first match, no break was allowed between matches and players were forced to play all 20 battles in a row, unless entering sleep mode on the Nintendo Switch or disconnecting from internet. This caused several rematches in a row and confusion amongst players. Also, points and win/loss record could not be seen during the tournament, and the results published on 15 May only included an overall standing.
15 May: An email was sent to the players acknowledging the faulty behaviour of the game in this competition and apologizing for it. According to TPC, an investigation is under way and additional measures may be taken.
17 May: A new email was sent to the players to communicate a fix is coming to the game and a new online event will take place on 28 May for the players that did not qualify to the live stage through the 14 May tournament. Top 64 players from each online stage qualify to the live stage for a total of 128 players. Only top 64 of those players will earn a Worlds invite.
25 May: Version 1.3.1 of Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet was released to fix the problems with invite-only Online Competitions, in time for the 28 May event.
A similar issue also happened at the main stage of Korea’s Trainers Cup, played concurrently.
Platform and schedule
The tournament is held online, in your Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet game, at the Online competitions section of the Poké Portal’s Battle Stadium.
The tournament starts on 14 May 2023 at 9:00 JST (00:00 UTC). You are able to play up to 20 battles until 15:00 JST (06:00 UTC).
You need to complete at least 10 battles to be eligible for prizes.
Prizes
This event is an official tournament and is part of the 2023 official circuit in Japan.
As a participation prize, any player that finishes at least 10 battles in the main stage will receive 100,000 League Points.
Additionally, the highest-placed players earn invites to the live stage of Japan Nationals. Given the anomalies that happened during the tournament, all players ranked 65th or below or unranked are invited to the new event on 28 May.
It was initially announced that the players qualified to the live stage would also have a guaranteed Day 1 invite to the World Championships, but after the restructure of the tournament it is not the case anymore.
| Placement | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st to 64th | Japan Nationals live stage invite |
Overview
The main stage of the 2023 Japan National Championships is an official Online Competition featuring double battles, and is region-locked. It is the fifth Online Competition in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet games for players in Japan, and the fourth one relevant in the VGC circuit for them.
Online Competitions have been featured in the official circuits for some years now. Region-locked Online Competitions are something new to Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, and they have been chosen to act as qualifiers to the National Championships in South East Asia or even as National Championships themselves.
Previous editions of the Japan Nationals have featured different formats and qualifying systems, but in the last few years qualification has been through in-game ladder qualifiers to a live event. The 2023 edition’s main stage is the first since 2021 to be played as an in-game ladder competition itself before the live event.
The ruleset is VGC Regulation Set C.
A little bit of history
Japan has been a part of the official TPC circuit since its inception. It has hosted multiple major events, including old-era Regionals and National Championships, and is particularly successful in the online competitions. As the most successful country in VGC, Japan’s greatest trophies have been brought home by 4 World Champions (Kazuyuki Tsuji in 2009, Shoma Honami in 2015, Ryota Otsubo in 2017 and Naoto Mizobuchi in 2019), as well as the 2008 VGS Champion (Izuru Yoshimura) and other 7 in the Senior and Junior divisions throughout the years.
The most recent tournament held in Japan was the 2022 Japan National Championships, played in Chiba, Japan with the Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield VGC Series 12 ruleset in June 2022. The finals saw Japanese Kentaro Matsumoto defeat fellow countryman Sho Ito to win his first major title.
American James Evans, the 2018 Senior Division World Champion, defeated Brazilian Gabriel Agati in the NAIC finals.
Sign-up instructions
The tournament is open only in the cartridges that qualified through any of the following criteria, and only available if the Online Competition settings are configured to Japan:
- Top 150 among players in Japan in the Japan Nationals Qualifier #1 (Global Challenge I)
- Top 150 among players in Japan in the Japan Nationals Qualifier #2 (Global Challenge II)
- Top 150 among players in Japan in the Japan Nationals Qualifier #3 (Global Challenge III)
Sign-ups for the event are done through your own Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet game, starting on 11 May 2023 at 9:00 JST (00:00 UTC). To register, enter the Poké Portal → Battle Stadium → Online competitions → Search for a competition (in the Official Competitions column).
You will need to register and lock a team at the time of registration.
Sign-ups close on 13 May 2023 at 20:59 JST (11:59 UTC).
