The official Japanese Pokémon website has announced two tournaments that will be taking place. The first one is the 2012 International Challenge (2012インターナショナルチャレンジ) which is a Pokémon Global Link Wi-Fi Tournament that allows all players from around the world to participate in it. Registration for the tournament will be from March 15th, 2012 until March 21st, 2012 and the actual tournament will be held from March 22nd, 2012 until March 26st, 2012.

50000 participants will be able to compete in this tournament but 25000 of those will be from Japan and the remaining 25000 will be from countries around the world. Tournament registration is on a first-come first-serve basis, so registered early if you wish to participate. The results of the tournament will be announced on April 4th, 2012 at 13:00. Players require a copy of Pokémon Black or White that has been linked up to a Global Link account.


Mew, Mewtwo, Lugia, Ho-oh, Celebi, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Phione, Manaphy, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus, Victini, Reshiram, Zekrom and Kyurem are all banned from the tournament.

The official English Pokémon website has also announced the 2012 International Challenge and they posted the following news article on their website.

Press Release - Start Training for a New Challenge!

Registration for the Global Battle Union 2012 International Challenge begins March 15th.


Another exciting event is on the way in the Global Battle Union! Take part in the 2012 International Challenge, a tournament open to Pokémon Trainers around the world. Following last year’s successful Autumn Friendly Tournament, the 2012 International Challenge will give Trainers a chance to demonstrate their awesome battling skills in Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version. With the additional participation of Japanese and Korean competitors, the 2012 International Challenge will truly be a global event!

All you need to participate is a Pokémon Trainer Club account and a copy of either game with its Game Sync ID registered at the Pokémon Global Link. The top players will earn a special avatar for their Pokémon Global Link account to signify their success!

When creating your battle party, you can select from nearly every Pokémon in the National Pokédex. Train hard and develop smart strategies to reach the top of the tournament leaderboards! The rules for selecting Pokémon and their moves match the rules for the Video Game Championship Series, including the recent changes regarding the Dark Void move.

Japan Cup 2012 Spring (ジャパンカップ2012スプリング)

A Japan only tournament was also announced. The Japan Cup 2012 Spring (ジャパンカップ2012スプリング) is also a Pokémon Global Link Wi-Fi Tournament and is a World Championships 2012 qualifying event. Topped ranked players in this tournament could represent Japan in the upcoming 2012 World Championships that will be held in Hawaii in August of 2012. The Japan Cup 2012 Spring tournament will be a double battles tournament.

Tohoku Pokémon Center - Master Ball Event

The Tohoku Pokémon Center will be distributing the Master Ball from February 28th, 2012 until March 16th, 2012. The previous Pokémon Center Master Ball event took place at the Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and Sapporo Pokémon Centers from November 19th, 2011 until December 3rd, 2011 which was just before the Tohoku Pokémon Center opened.


Sources: http://ja.pokemon-gl.com/about/sp/ic2012/page2-1.html, http://www.pokemon.co.jp/info/2012/02/120210_p03.html and http://www.pokemon.co.jp/ex/wcs2012/itn/