Melbourne To Host National Pokémon Championships Next Month

You may have long discarded Pokémon X and Y, but the professionals are still hard at work trapping innocent digital creatures inside super-tiny balls and bending them to their will. A great many of them will be descending on Melbourne mid-next month, as the city’s town hall plays the role of person-container for the games’ national championships.

Nintendo sent out the announcement yesterday, which mentions the specific date — 13 July — and the fact that entry and registration will be free for all and sundry.

The event is off the back of the regional championships held last month, with the winners receiving flights and accommodation to attend these nationals. Following suit, July’s victors will earn themselves a ticket to the world competition in Washington, DC.

The statement included a few important points for those looking to attend:

Players must bring their own system in the Nintendo 3DS family, Pokémon X or Pokémon Y Game Card or downloadable version, with the following formats utilised to determine Champions on the day:

• Age Modified Swiss pairings, attendance permitting
• A cut to a Top 16 single-elimination finals, attendance permitting
• Single-elimination finals will be run as best-of-three games

Players who place in the top two of their age division will win flights, accommodation and invitation, and players who place 3rd and 4th in their age division will win invitation to the Pokémon Video Game World Championships, hosted by The Pokémon Company International in Washington, D.C. on 16th -17th August, 2014.
The following age divisions will apply:

• Junior Division: Born in 2003 or later
• Senior Division: Born in 1999, 2000, 2001, or 2002
• Masters Division: Born in 1998 or earlier

Finally, if you need to check up on all the rules, Nintendo has kindly provided them in online form.