Road to Worlds Travels Through More Than 30 Pokémon National Championships Events

Pokémon Video Game and Trading Card Game Competitors across the Globe Battle for a Place in the 2014 Pokémon World Championships in Washington, DC - London, UK—April 2, 2014—The road to the 2014 Pokémon World Championships heats up as more than 30 countries across the globe are set to host Pokémon National Championships over the next few months. These national tournaments provide Pokémon X and Pokémon Y video game players and Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) players an opportunity to earn an invitation to the most prestigious Pokémon event of the year: the 11th annual Pokémon World Championships, held August 16–17, 2014, in Washington, DC.
“Our vibrant Pokémon community loves a good Pokémon battle,” said J.C. Smith, director of Consumer Marketing, The Pokémon Company International. “The Pokémon National Championships will bring out the best players and biggest fans in each country.”

Three European cities will host the 2014 Pokémon European National Championships, featuring both Pokémon video game and TCG tournaments. The video game tournaments are open to all Europeans, while the Pokémon TCG tournaments are open to citizens of the host countries.

• 2014 Pokémon German National Championships: May 3–4, 2014, in Bochum, Germany
• 2014 Pokémon UK National Championships: May 24–25, 2014, in Manchester, UK
• 2014 Pokémon Italian National Championships: May 31–June 1, 2014, in Milan, Italy

Indianapolis, Indiana, will host the US 2014 National Championships on July 4–6. More than 2,000 Pokémon video game and TCG players from across the country are expected to compete at the open event. Canadian video game players are also eligible to compete at the US National Championships, while the Pokémon TCG Canadian National Championships begins June 28, 2014, in Kitchener, Ontario.

Additional Pokémon National Championships will be held in Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, North America, and South America. Top finishers will move on to the 2014 Pokémon World Championships held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC.

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