The Pokémon Company International announced today the full lineup of twelve top finalists from the 2012 Pokémon World Championships. Players can battle with these finalists by participating in three very special Pokémon World Tournament distribution events via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Beginning October 22, 2012, players of Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 can receive the first Pokémon World Tournament distribution, the 2012 Junior Division Challenge, featuring in-game Trainers based on the 2012 Pokémon Junior Division World Champion, Abram Burrows, Junior Division Runner-Up, Brian Hough, Junior Division Finalist Brendan Zheng, and Junior Division Finalist, Kippei Takaki. Players will be able to battle these elite Pokémon Trainers and the exact Pokémon team they used at this year's Pokémon World Championships.

Dates for all three distributions, including the 2012 Senior Division Challenge and the 2012 Masters Division Challenge, can be found in the press release below.

POKÉMON REVEALS ELITE PLAYERS FEATURED IN UPCOMING POKÉMON WORLD TOURNAMENT DISTRIBUTIONS

Battle Top 4 Finalists from Each 2012 Pokémon Video Game World Championships Age Division in Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2

BELLEVUE, WA-October 15, 2012 - The Pokémon Company International announced today that the Top 4 finalists from each 2012 Pokémon World Championships age division will be the basis for Pokémon World Tournament distribution events beginning October 22 via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. In these events, Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 video game players will have the opportunity to battle the Pokémon teams used by Masters Division World Champ Ray Rizzo, Senior Division World Champ Toler Webb, Junior Division World Champ Abram Burrows, and other top finalists who competed at the 2012 Pokémon World Championships, held in Hawaii in August.

The Top 4 Junior Division finalists will be distributed as the basis of in-game Pokémon Trainers starting October 22. Once players reach the Pokémon World Tournament in the Unova region's Driftveil City, they will be able to access the "2012 Junior Division Challenge" distribution and battle against the Pokémon teams of 2012 Pokémon Video Game World Champion Abram Burrows, Junior Division Runner-up Brian Hough, and Junior Division finalists Brendan Zheng and Kippei Takaki. Two weeks later, on November 5, the "2012 Senior Division Challenge" distribution will be accessible, and players will be able to access the "2012 Masters Division Challenge" distribution starting November 19.

Below is the full list of finalists from the 2012 Pokémon World Championships who will be featured in the upcoming Pokémon World Tournament distribution events, including each finalist's in-game Trainer name:

2012 Junior Division Challenge (Distribution begins October 22 via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service)

• Junior Division World Champ Abram Burrows as World Champ Abram
• Junior Division Runner-up Brian Hough as World Runner-up Brian
• Junior Division 3rd Place Finisher Brendan Zheng as World Finalist Brendan
• Junior Division 4th Place Finisher Kippei Takaki as World Finalist Kippei

2012 Senior Division Challenge (Distribution begins November 5 via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service)

• Senior Division World Champ Toler Webb as World Champ Toler
• Senior Division Runner-up Jaime Martinez Alonzo as World Runner-up Jaime
• Senior Division 3rd Place Finisher Nitesh Manem as World Finalist Nitesh
• Senior Division 4th Place Finisher Henry Maxon as World Finalist Henry

2012 Masters Division Challenge (Distribution begins November 19 via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service)

• Masters Division World Champ Ray Rizzo as World Champ Ray
• Masters Division Runner-up Wolfe Glick as World Runner-up Wolfe
• Masters Division 3rd Place Finisher Abel Martin Sanz as World Finalist Abel
• Masters Division 4th Place Finisher Joe Polkowski as World Finalist Joe

To participate in each of the Pokémon World Tournament distribution events, you must have a copy of Pokémon Black 2 or Pokémon White 2, a system in the Nintendo DS™ family or the Nintendo 3DS family , and wireless broadband Internet access. You'll also need to travel to the in-game Pokémon World Tournament in Driftveil City before you can participate. Players can have up to three Pokémon World Tournament distribution events saved in their game at one time.