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As over 10,00 visitors descend on London’s Excel exhibition centre for the Pokémon European International Championships, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’d entered an anime convention.
With banners depicting Gengar, Pikachu, and Pawmot welcoming you into the bustling concourse, a sea of excitable children and misty-eyed millennials gleefully covet pricey plushies alike. But nestled behind The Pokémon Centre pop-up shop lies an arena-worthy esports stage.
While Pokémon probably isn’t the first franchise you’d link to competitive gaming, the Pikachu-branded esports scene has grown exponentially since the pandemic.
With over 4,500 competitors at London’s Excel battling it out across the trading card game, Pokémon GO, Pokémon Unite and the core video game (currently Scarlet and Violet), trainers make the Poke pilgrimage from across the globe in the hopes of qualifying for the World Championships, held this year in California.
With up to 2 million dollars on the line in prize money, Pokémon battles are no longer just fought to determine playground bragging rights. Whether it’s the team-based League Of Legends inspired Pokemon Unite matches, or the classic one-on-one card and video game battles, competitive Pokemon has come a long way since 1999.
Yet, despite Pokémon’s cute and cuddly exterior, taking your first steps into the world of competitive ‘mon can be surprisingly intimidating.
In order to help you make the jump from plushie collector to Pokémon master, we picked the brains of the greatest minds in competitive Pokémon.
From pro players and commentators, to creators of the trading cards and the Pokémon Company itself, here are 5 simple starting tips to help you begin your IRL Ash Ketchum journey...
1. How to start building your deck
According to... Pokémon EUIC 2025 Trading Card Game first-time competitor, Brian Deveza
Image Credit: Getty
“I'm from Chicago, and I compete in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. This year’s European International Championships in London was my first International Event to compete in, and it's just a cool experience.
"Whether you do well or not, it's a great time being able to travel somewhere completely new, see a completely different culture, and do it for a game that you really love playing.
“For your first deck, pick a Pokémon that you like, and build your deck around it. So a lot of your normal archetypes that you'd find at other card games are just based around one type of Pokémon.
"It's the same with [phone app version of the trading care game] Pokémon TCG pocket – which is a good place to start. There's usually one good archetype, usually a popular Pokémon, and If that still happens to be your favourite one, build your deck around it and just have fun that way!
2. It's not just about having one strong card
According to... TCG Battle Director, Creatures Inc, Atushi Nagashima — the rule maker
Image Credit: Getty
“I do enjoy watching people compete, it is the most exciting and inspirational place to be! The actual ground rules and mechanics for the Pokémon trading card game has not changed throughout the past 25 plus years. And so, by using those ground mechanics and rules and adding to them, it really allows the different generations to continue to play throughout the years.
"[TCG] Players want to make sure that it's not just one strong card but that there's certain decks that contain basic Pokémon that can become a pretty competitive deck as well.
"We want to make sure that it's not a single mechanic or gimmick dominating, but that you can really use whatever you like. We continue to test and adjust cards constantly in order to make sure that there will be lots of decks that will be competitive.
"I don't necessarily want or think that everyone should be a strong competitive player though, as long as they can enjoy playing with their friends. If Pokemon cards are the means to connect with people, then I would be extremely happy.”
3. Head to your local Pokémon event to test your skills
According to... Official Shout Caster, Lou Crombie
Image Credit: https://x.com/the_one_gio
“I moved to a new city, and I knew nobody, I had no friends — and there was this gaming event for Pokémon. And I was like, I like Pokémon as a casual game, I'll go see what this competitive side is all about.
"Literally from that one event, I made friends that are here with me still today. We just went on this kind of world tour in 2017, travelled to all the international championships and just got really, really involved with the competitive side of things.
"I'd watched the broadcast for a couple of years, but had never competed myself. And then after that one event in person, meeting new people, learning from them, making friendships, alongside the competitive edge, I couldn't stay away! I was a player for a couple of years, and I really enjoyed it.
"I wasn’t the best necessarily, but I just really enjoyed playing and then it kind of snowballed into me talking about the games - and now I'm here commentating at the World Championships!
"If you come to these events, they put on something for all these people that are fans of Pokémon. I think that's one thing that's very healthy and positive about Pokémon is that everyone is there because it's not just about winning, it's because of the joy and love of Pokémon.”
4. The beauty of Pokémon is: the battle begins before it even starts
According to... Pokémon EUIC video game Masters 2024 finalist, Tim Edwards
“The video game is a game that you can play if you're a kid, and it's a game that you can play if you're an adult, it's a game that feels so simple but so complicated at the same time — that on a surface level looks very basic, but has so much depth to it at the same time.
"The best way I've heard it described, from [pro player] Wolfe Glicke, who was a big inspiration to me getting into competitive, is that competitive Pokémon VG is like chess, but you can choose your chess pieces.
"The beauty of Pokémon is that half the battle happens before it even starts. It's what Pokémon do you choose? And how do they compare it to the teams that you're going to match up again? So it's a game that takes a lot of thinking, but I think it's extraordinarily rewarding at the same time.”
5. Become a champion and make a ton of Pokepals
According to... director of esports The Pokémon Company, Chris Brown
Image Credit: Getty
“Everyone's journey starts where you just play the game, you kind of get into it or you’ve simply got a brand interest. But maybe at some point you're going to make that step of finding a local community at hobby stores – and we have thousands that are part of our play Pokémon program.
"Many people just play at the hobby shops, and that's their local community, and don’t take the next step — and that's okay. But I think some people just have that itch to be competitive.”
“If that's something that is interesting to you, each of our Regional Championships now is being broadcasted, and we're holding one of those once a month. We've spread them across Europe, to try to get one that's accessible to most of Europe at least once a year.
"So we may not be right in your backyard, but you should feel, hopefully, that there's an event that comes somewhat close to you at least once a season, that's one of our big premiere events.
"I used to play different competitive games growing up, so I know the feeling!
"If that itch to be competitive is something that you're now chasing or thinking about, go to a regional and see what it's all about.”
