The 2012 Pokémon TCG and Video Game World Champions concluded on August 12th, 2012 and all the world champions for the year were crowned. It was announced at the end of the event that the 2013 Pokémon TCG and Video Game World Champions would take place in Vancouver, Canada, making it the first time that the event will be held outside of the United States. A special Flying Pikachu was also distributed at the World Championships and full details for that Pokémon have been added to our Event Database.

Press Release

Bellevue, WA - August 13th, 2012 - The 2011-2012 Play! Pokémon season came to a thrilling conclusion this weekend at the 2012 Pokémon World Championships in Waikoloa, Hawaii. Six battle-tested champions walked away as the world's best Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) and video game players, rising above hundreds of other Pokémon players that came to the Big Island from more than 30 countries, including the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Representing their nations proudly in paradise, each player's journey began nearly a year ago, battling in events over the course of the Play! Pokémon season sanctioned by The Pokémon Company International. The hard work and dedication to their craft lead all players to Pokémon's premiere competitive event.

The 2012 Pokémon TCG and Video Game World Champions are:

• 2012 Pokémon TCG Junior Division World Champion, Shuto Itagaki from Japan.
• 2012 Pokémon Video Game Junior Division World Champion, Abram Burrows from the United States of America.
• 2012 Pokémon TCG Senior Division World Champion, Chase Moloney from Canada.
• 2012 Pokémon Video Game Senior Division World Champion, Toler Webb from the United States of America.
• 2012 Pokémon TCG Masters Division World Champion, Igor Costa from Portugal.
• 2012 Pokémon Video Game Masters Division World Champion, Ray Rizzo from the United States of America.

Winners of the invitation-only tournament earned the title of Pokémon World Champion, received a special Pikachu World Championships trophy, and earned collectively more than $100,000 in scholarships. Additionally, The Pokémon Company International will choose a select number of Pokémon World Championships video game finalists and their Pokémon teams to be distributed as a Pokémon Trainer avatar in the upcoming Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 video games via the Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection service. Players of the games, and who have wireless Internet access, will be able to battle these Pokémon World Championships finalists and their teams in the Pokémon World Tournament, a new battle arena featured in the games. Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 launch globally the week of October 7th. The Pokémon Company International will announce details of the distribution later this year.

"The Pokémon World Championships not only showcase some of the best Pokémon TCG and video game players from around the world, they also celebrate an international community that is unified by the fun, friendship, and mutual respect that the Pokémon spirit embodies," said J.C. Smith, director of Consumer Marketing for The Pokémon Company International. "We are incredibly proud of all the players who competed this weekend and want to extend a big congratulations to the 2012 Pokémon World Champions who represented their nations proudly. "