| Event | Pokémon Trainers Cup 2023 |
|---|---|
| Location | Online |
| Date | 28 May 2023 |
| Attendance | 150 qualified players (132 in attendance) |
| Videogame | Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet |
| Season | 2023 Season – VGC Regulation Set C |
| Format | In-game ladder competition |
| Organizer | Pokémon Korea |
Table of Contents
Teams and results
* NOTE: 1st place Seunghoon Cha was disqualified by Pokémon Korea on 31 May and his participation in the Final Round was revoked. 5th place Hyungyu Ko was invited to the Final Round in his place, and 17th place Taeseok Ro received a Worlds Day 1 invite.
** NOTE: 2nd place Sangyoon Jeong, 3rd place Sanghyeon Na, 4th place Hyungwoo Shin and 5th place Hyungyu Ko were disqualified by Pokémon Korea on 3 June and their participation in the Final Round was revoked. The Final Round was cancelled.
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 28 May 2023 at 9:00 KST (00:00 UTC). You are able to play up to 10 battles until 15:00 KST (06:00 UTC).
You need to complete at least 5 battles to be eligible for prizes.
This tournament was announced on 17 May 2023 after the Online Competition anomalies experienced in the Pokémon Trainers Cup 14 May event, which required a patch to the Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet games and forced a change in the structure of the Korean circuit. The Online Competition issue was fixed in version 1.3.1 of the game, released on 25 May.
Prizes
This event is an official tournament and is part of the 2023 official circuit in South Korea.
It is unknown if there will be any participation prize.
Additionally, the highest-placed players earn invites to the Pokémon Trainers Cup Final Round and to the 2023 World Championships, as well as a set of Pokémon Trainers Cup goodies.
| Placement | Final Round | Worlds |
|---|---|---|
| 1st to 4th | Pokémon Trainers Cup Final Round invite | Worlds Day 2 invite* + Travel Award** |
| 5th to 16th | – | Worlds Day 1 invite |
* In order to confirm their Worlds Day 2 invites, top 4 players must participate in the Final Round.
** The kind of Travel Award each player receives will depend on the final standings in the Final Round.
Overview
The Pokémon Trainers Cup is the most important VGC competition for players in South Korea, where Pokémon Korea is responsible for the circuit, and is the only tournament through which players in South Korea can earn invites to the World Championships.
The main stage of the 2023 Pokémon Trainers Cup is an official Online Competition featuring double battles, and is region-locked. It is the sixth Online Competition in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet games for players in South Korea, and the fifth 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.
After replacing the 14 May event, it is the main stage for the fourth edition of the Pokémon Trainers Cup, which has been the major tournament in South Korea since the Korean points system with Leagues and a National was abandoned in the 2020 season. The winner of this event will be decided in the live Pokémon Trainers Cup Final Round.
Previous editions of the Pokémon Trainers Cup have always been open to any player in South Korea and played in a double-elimination format, with the main stage played online and the top 4 being played in-person and streamed live. The 2023 edition’s main stage is the first to require qualifying (through a high standing at the Global Challenges) and being played in an in-game ladder format.
The ruleset is VGC Regulation Set C.
A little bit of history
South Korea has been a part of the official Pokémon Korea circuit since the first years of VGC, running in parallel to the TPC and TPCI circuits. It has hosted multiple major events, including Korean Leagues, Trainers Cups and old-era National Championships. South Korea’s greatest VGC success was the iconic victory achieved by Sejun Park at the 2014 World Championships. Juyoung Hong also achieved this feat in the Senior Division at the 2017 World Championships.
The most recent tournament held for players in South Korea was held was the 2023 Pokémon Trainers Cup 14 May event, played online as an in-game ladder competition earlier this month. First place was earned by Junghan Kim, while Korean player Chiyu got second.
The last time the Pokémon Trainers Cup was held was the 2022 edition, with the finals hosted in Seoul, South Korea, and played in Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield with the VGC Series 12 ruleset in May and June 2022. The finals saw 2021 Trainers Cup champion Wonseok Jung defeat fellow countryman Jeongso Lee to renew his title in a rematch from the 2021 finals.
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 South Korea:
- Top 50 among players in Korea in the Global Challenge I
- Top 50 among players in Korea in the Global Challenge II
- Top 50 among players in Korea in the Global Challenge III
Sign-ups for the event are done through your own Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet game, starting on 26 May 2023 at 9:00 KST (00:00 UTC). To register, enter the Poké Portal → Battle Stadium → Online competitions → Search for a competition (in the Official Competitions column).
You need to register and lock a team at the time of registration.
Sign-ups close on 28 May 2023 at 8:59 KST (27 May at 23:59 UTC).
