The championships were about watching the franchise itself move forward in real time.
Em Londres, entre os dias 18 e 21 de agosto de 2022, o Campeonato Mundial Pokémon reuniu treinadores e espectadores de todo o planeta em torno de algo maior do que a competição em si: a celebração coletiva de uma franquia que continua a se reinventar. Por quatro dias, torneios, estreias e anúncios se entrelaçaram para lembrar que jogos competitivos raramente são apenas sobre vencer — são sobre pertencer a algo que cresce junto com seus participantes.
- Cinco formatos competitivos simultâneos — do card game ao Pokémon GO — criaram uma maratona de disputas que exigiu atenção constante dos fãs desde as 5h da manhã no horário de Brasília.
- A estreia mundial do anime Pokémon: The Chronicles of Arceus elevou o evento além do esporte, transformando o campeonato em um lançamento cultural de peso.
- O prazo apertado para resgatar o lendário Victini — válido apenas até 21 de agosto — injetou urgência real na experiência dos jogadores em casa.
- Anúncios de novos personagens para Masters EX e Pokémon Unite sinalizaram que o campeonato era também uma plataforma de negócios disfarçada de celebração.
- A cerimônia de encerramento prometia revelar o futuro da franquia, mantendo a tensão narrativa acesa até o último momento do evento.
O Campeonato Mundial Pokémon 2022 chegou a Londres com a promessa de ser mais do que uma série de torneios — e cumpriu. Por quatro dias, de 18 a 21 de agosto, a cidade sediou o maior momento competitivo da franquia, transmitido ao vivo pela Twitch para espectadores em todo o mundo.
A estrutura competitiva era densa: cinco formatos diferentes, incluindo o jogo de cartas, o videogame, o Pokkén Tournament DX e o Pokémon GO, cada um com seu próprio caminho até o campeão. As rodadas suíças dominaram quinta e sexta-feira; os eliminatórios de dupla eliminação chegaram no sábado; e o domingo foi reservado para as grandes finais — três divisões no card game, três no videogame — antes da cerimônia de encerramento ao meio-dia.
Mas o evento reservava surpresas além das batalhas. No dia 19, o presidente da The Pokémon Company, Tsunekazu Ishihara, subiu ao palco para anunciar novos personagens em Masters EX e Pokémon Unite, além de um novo mapa para este último. Na mesma ocasião, foi exibida pela primeira vez em inglês a série animada Pokémon: The Chronicles of Arceus, baseada no jogo lançado em 2022 — uma estreia que chegaria ao Netflix apenas em 23 de setembro.
Para os jogadores em casa, havia ainda um incentivo com prazo: o Pokémon lendário Victini podia ser resgatado gratuitamente em Sword ou Shield pelo menu de Presente Misterioso, mas somente até o último dia do evento. Quem deixasse passar, perderia.
A cerimônia de encerramento carregava o peso das expectativas: anúncios sobre o próximo grande jogo da franquia eram aguardados como o capítulo seguinte de uma história que, para milhões de pessoas, nunca realmente termina.
The Pokémon World Championships arrived in London this week, and for four days starting Thursday, August 18th, trainers across the globe could watch the sport's biggest competitive moment unfold live. The event was more than just tournament brackets and final matches. It was a showcase—a place where the company behind one of the world's largest entertainment franchises gathered to announce what comes next, premiere new content, and hand out digital prizes to anyone watching from home.
The championships ran through Sunday, August 21st, with live coverage streaming continuously on Twitch from The Pokémon Company International's official channels. The schedule was dense and layered. On Thursday alone, the opening ceremony kicked off at 5 a.m. Brasília time, followed immediately by Swiss-round matches across five different competitive formats: the video game tournaments, the trading card game, Pokkén Tournament DX, and Pokémon GO. Each format had its own bracket, its own timeline, its own path to a champion. The video game rounds ran until 6 p.m. that day. The card game went until 7 p.m. By Friday, the structure shifted—Swiss rounds gave way to double-elimination brackets. By Saturday, only the top competitors remained, fighting through single-elimination matches. Sunday was reserved for the finals: three divisions in cards (Junior, Senior, Master), three divisions in the video game (Junior, Senior, Master), and a closing ceremony at noon.
But the tournaments were only half the story. On August 19th, during the event in London, The Pokémon Company premiered a new anime series in English for the first time: Pokémon: The Chronicles of Arceus, based on the 2022 game Pokémon Legends: Arceus. The full series would arrive exclusively on Netflix on September 23rd, but attendees and livestream viewers got the first look. That same day, the company's president and CEO, Tsunekazu Ishihara, took the stage during the opening ceremony to announce new characters coming to Pokémon Masters EX and Pokémon Unite, along with a new map for Unite. These were not minor updates—they were the kind of announcements that shape how players would spend their time in the weeks ahead.
The company also distributed a legendary Pokémon called Victini to anyone who wanted it. The process was simple: open Pokémon Sword or Shield, go to the Mystery Gift menu, enter a code, and claim the creature. But there was urgency built in. The distribution window closed on August 21st—the final day of the championships. Anyone who waited too long would miss it entirely.
As the event unfolded, the closing ceremony on Sunday promised more revelations about the franchise's future. The company had signaled that major announcements about the next mainline Pokémon game would come during that final moment. For fans and competitors alike, the championships were not just about crowning winners in London. They were about watching the franchise itself move forward in real time, with new stories, new games, and new reasons to keep playing waiting on the other side.
Citas Notables
The Pokémon Company president and CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara welcomed participants and shared special news about Pokémon Masters EX and Pokémon Unite during the opening ceremony.— Tsunekazu Ishihara, Pokémon Company president and CEO
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a trading card game tournament need to run for four days? That seems long for just deciding a winner.
Because there are thousands of competitors across different age divisions and skill levels. You can't crown a champion in a single day—you need Swiss rounds first to sort everyone by strength, then elimination brackets to narrow it down. And the card game isn't the only thing happening. There are five different competitive formats running simultaneously.
Five? What are they competing in besides cards and the video game?
Pokkén Tournament DX, which is a fighting game. Pokémon GO, the mobile game. Pokémon Unite, which is a team battle arena game. The main video game—Sword and Shield. Each one has its own tournament structure, its own finals.
So the company is using this one event to crown champions across five different games at once?
Exactly. And while that's happening, they're also premiering a new anime series, announcing new characters for two other games, and handing out a legendary Pokémon that only exists for four days. It's not really a tournament. It's a festival where the tournament is the centerpiece.
Why premiere the anime there instead of just releasing it on Netflix?
Because the people at the event—the competitors, the fans, the press—they're the ones who care most. You give them the first look, you make them feel like insiders. By the time it hits Netflix weeks later, those people have already told everyone else about it.
And the Victini distribution—that's just a marketing tactic to keep people watching the streams?
It's more than that. It creates a deadline. If you want the Pokémon, you have to engage with the event before August 21st. It turns passive viewers into active participants. You're not just watching; you're claiming something.