| Event | 2024 Pokémon Dragon King Battle (ポケモン竜王戦2024) |
|---|---|
| Location |  Tokyo, Japan |
| Date | 25 February 2024 |
| Capacity | 8 qualified players + 8 invited players |
| Videogame | Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet |
| Season | 2024 Season – Single battles, custom format |
| Format | Single elimination Top 16 & Top 8: Best of 1; Semifinals and Final: Best of 3 Open team lists |
| Organizer | The Pokémon Company (TPC) |
Table of Contents
Custom format
This competition features single battles, bringing a team of 6 Pokémon and selecting 3 in each match. It is mandatory to select a Pokémon with the Dragon Tera Type amongst the 3 selected for each match, although you may Terastallize a different Pokémon.
Any Pokémon that can be used in Regulation Set F are allowed for this competition.
The tournament is played in a single-elimination bracket, with Top 16 and Top 8 as best-of-1 matches, and Semifinals and Final as best-of-3 matches.
Teams and results
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Mizuki Adachi (Adams) | Pokémon Dragon King |       |  |
| 2 | | Tanake (たなけー) | – |     |  |
| Top 4 | | Choku (ちょく ) | – |    |  |
| Top 4 | | Ryza (のぞみ) | – |      |  |
| Top 8 | | Iroha (バイオレット) | – |      |  |
| Top 8 | | Oroshiponzu (スカーレット) | – |  |  |
| Top 8 | | Bannbee (バンビー) | – |  |  |
| Top 8 | | Kazuki Ogushi (わとり) | – | |  |
| Top 16 | | Hirofumi Kimura (スカーレット) | – |    |  |
| Top 16 | | Keisuke Takai (たかい) | – |    |  |
| Top 16 | | Kuroko (くろこ) | – |   |  |
| Top 16 | | Jiri-san (じりさん) | – |  |  |
| Top 16 | | Setsunai (せつない) | – |   |  |
| Top 16 | | Ryota Otsubo (ナミ) | – |    |  |
| Top 16 | | Miruku (ミルク) | – | |  |
| Top 16 | | Osamu (Saikyo) (かつ りくつ) | – |    |  |
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | List | Exp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12-2 |  | Abdullah Mohayyuddin (sempra) | 200 CP $3000 |     |  |  |
| 2 | 11-3 | | Ryan Loseto (SableyeVGC) | 160 CP $2000 |  |  | |
| 3 | 11-3 |  | Dylan Salvanera (Dylan) | 130 CP $1000 |     | | |
| 4 | 11-3 | | Aaron Zheng (CybertronVGC) | 130 CP $1000 |   | | |
| 5 | 12-2 | | Zackary Thornberg (Zack) | 100 CP $500 |     | | |
| 6 | 11-3 | | Neil Patel (Neil) | 100 CP $500 | | | |
| 7 | 11-3 | | Gavin Michaels (HUH?!!) | 100 CP $500 |    | | |
| 8 | 11-3 | | Demitrios Kaguras (DEMITRI) | 100 CP $500 |  |  | |
Check here to see the seeds for top cut from the Day 2 Swiss standings!
| # | Swiss | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | TL | Exp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 105 | 7-3 |  | Ian Roberts (76) | 40 CP |   | |
Streaming
The event is broadcast live on YouTube, X and Niconico, hosted by Kosuke Hiraiwa and AKB48’s Orin Muto, with Refu as an additional VG caster. The stream is shared with the TCG and Pokémon UNITE competitions.
- Stream starts on 25 February at 00:00 UTC
- Part 1, at 00:20 UTC: VG Round 1, TCG Top 8, UNITE Semifinals
- Part 2, at 03:00 UTC: VG Round 2, TCG Semifinals, VG Semifinals
- Part 3, at 08:00 UTC: UNITE Finals, TCG Finals, VG Finals
- Winners ceremony at 11:25 UTC
There is also a secondary stream in Niconico with a professional shogi player.
The VG stream will feature for the first time ever the Pokémon Battle Scope (PBS) technology, an AI specialized in Pokémon battles that uses techniques already developed for shogi AIs. Its purpose is to predict the actions with highest winning probability.
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 16 | Keisuke Takai | vs | Oroshiponzu |
| Top 8 | Ryza | vs | Kazuki Ogushi |
| Top 4a | Tanake | vs | Choku |
| Top 4b | Mizuki Adachi | vs | Ryza |
| Finals | Tanake | vs | Mizuki Adachi |
Venue
The tournament is held in the following location and nearby halls:
Cerulean Tower Noh theater
セルリアンタワー能楽堂
B2F, 26−1, Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya City, 150-0031 Tokyo, Japan
〒150-0031 東京都渋谷区桜丘町26番1号 地下2階
Prizes
This event is an official tournament, but is not a part of the 2024 official circuit in Japan. This means that it does not reward anything related to earning a Worlds invite.
Participating players
The 2024 Dragon King Battle is open only to the players that qualified through the following criteria:
- Top 8 players in the Dragon King Battle Qualifier
- Even though this edition is focused on single battles, the list notably includes 2017 World Champion Ryota Otsubo and 2019 Worlds finalist Hirofumi Kimura amongst the qualified players!
Other powerful players are invited. The following invitees were confirmed on 9 February 2024:
- 2020 Dragon King Kazuki Ogushi, winner of the 2020 edition and finalist in the 2014 edition
- Celebrity Keisuke Takai, from the comical duo Girly Record.
- Singles player Bannbee, 1st place in Ranked Battles Season 1
- Singles player Tanake, 1st place in Ranked Battles Seasons 2, 9 and 10
- Singles player Miruku, 1st place in Ranked Battles Season 3
- Singles player Kuroko, 1st place in Ranked Battles Seasons 4 and 14
- Singles player Ryza, 1st place in Ranked Battles Season 6
- Singles player Osamu (Saikyo), 1st place in Ranked Battles Season 8
Overview
The Pokémon Dragon King Battle is a VG, TCG and, since 2024, UNITE competition for players in Japan, where TPC is responsible for the circuit. It is sponsored by the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun and the Japan Shogi Association.
It is the 5th edition of the Dragon King Battle since its inception in 2014. See the previous editions:
- 2014, won by Rin Terasawa
- 2015, won by Kota Tashiro
- 2018, won by Keisuke Sunaoshi
- 2020, won by Kazuki Ogushi
The first two editions of the Dragon King Battle were aimed for Junior and Senior players, but all ages are welcome to participate since the 3rd edition in 2018. Previous editions have featured different formats, generally with some kind of restrictions regarding the mandatory use of Dragon-type Pokémon. They have also featured different qualifying systems, including in-game ladder competitions and dedicated live qualifier events, as well invitees from amongst the top players in Japan Nationals or the World Championships.
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, National Championships and the 2023 World 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 5 World Champions (Kazuyuki Tsuji in 2009, Shoma Honami in 2015, Ryota Otsubo in 2017, Naoto Mizobuchi in 2019 and Shohei Kimura in 2023), as well as the 2008 VGS Champion (Izuru Yoshimura) and other 9 in the Senior and Junior divisions throughout the years.
The most recent tournament held in Japan was the 2023 World Championships, played in Yokohama with the VGC Regulation Set D in August 2023. The finals saw Japanese Shohei Kimura defeat German Michael Kelsch to be crowned as the 2023 World Champion.
The last time the Dragon King Battle was held was the 2020 edition, hosted in Tokyo in May 2021, and played in Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield with the single-battles Series 8 ruleset. The finals saw 2014 Dragon King Battle finalist Kazuki Ogushi defeat 2019 World Champion Naoto Mizobuchi to be crowned as the 2020 Pokémon Dragon King.
American James Evans, the 2018 Senior Division World Champion, defeated Brazilian Gabriel Agati in the NAIC finals.
