The History of Competitive Pokemon TCG Guide

[Tapp]

Welcome to the Competitive History of the Pokemon TCG

Below you can find links to various articles detailing North American, International and Japanese competitive Pokemon TCG seasons and events by year.

You can check in with this guide to see public articles, articles that are currently in progress, and eventually (hopefully) more direct links to specific events you are interested in learning more about! Large articles with an entire competitive season’s worth of information take a large amount of time to write, so please be patient as newer competitive seasons may take awhile to come to fruition. Like all good educational content, multiple collaborators greatly impact the speed in which articles can be written and published, and help is always welcome! Enjoy reading, and hopefully scrolling through these great resources inspires more people to dip their toes in the writing waters!

For purposes of continuity, European, Australian, South American, and Asian tournaments (excluding Japan) have been grouped together under the “International” umbrella. This is due to the relatively low number of these events in general compared to events in the US and Japan.

If you have a great article you think should be added to this guide, either PM me or comment below!

Wizards of the Coast (WotC) Competitive Events (1997-2003)

1997

Japan

• The First Competitive Pokemon TCG Tournament (June 1997)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

1998

Japan

• Lizardon (Charizard) Mega Battle Tournaments (Nov 1997 - April 1998)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Kamex (Blastoise) Mega Battle Tournaments (July - September 1998)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

1999

Japan

• Challenge Road Summer & Battle Road Autumn (1999-2000)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Super Secret Battle “Best in Japan” (1999)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

North America

• Wizards of the Coast Pokemon League (Year 1 & 2)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

International

• Tropical Mega Battle (1999)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

2000

Japan

• Champion Road (2000)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Champion’s League (1st & 2nd)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• World Challenge Spring & Summer (2000)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

North America

• Wizards of the Coast Pokemon League (Year 1)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Wizards “Pokemon TCG Tours” (2000-2001)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

International

• Super Trainer Showdowns (2000)
  *Although held in the U.S., these were Int’l events
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Tropical Mega Battle (2000)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

2001

Japan

• Champion’s League (3rd & 4th)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Pokemon Card Battle Neo Spring & Summer (2001)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

North America

• Wizards “Pokemon TCG Tours” (2000-2001)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Wizards of the Coast Pokemon League (Year 2)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

International

• Tropical Mega Battle (2001)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

2002

Japan

• Champion’s League (5th)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Battle Road (2002)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

North America

• Wizards Pokemon League (Year 3, Jan - Oct 2002)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

International

• Tropical Mega Battle (2002)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

2003

Japan

• Battle Road (2003)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Champion’s League (2003)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Japan Official Pokemon Card Gym Events (2003-2007)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Pokemon Players Club Rewards (2003-2007)
  *Not events, but rewards from competing in Japanese competitive events
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

North America

• Wizards Pokemon League (Year 4, Nov 2002 - June 2003)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

Pokemon Organized Play (POP) Era Competitive Events (2003-2010)

2004

Japan

• Battle Road (2004)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Japan Official Pokemon Card Gym Events (2003-2007)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Pokemon Players Club Rewards (2003-2007)
  Pokemon Daisuki Club (2004-2010)
  *Not events, but rewards from competing in Japanese competitive events
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

North America

• Pokemon Organized Play 2003-2004 (North America & International)
  (Credit: @Tapp)

International

• Pokemon Organized Play 2003-2004 (North America & International)
  (Credit: @Tapp)

2005

Japan

• Battle Road (2005)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Champion’s League (2005)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Japan Official Pokemon Card Gym Events (2003-2007)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Pokemon Players Club Rewards (2003-2007)
  Pokemon Daisuki Club (2004-2010)
  *Not events, but rewards from competing in Japanese competitive events
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

North America

• Pokemon Organized Play 2004-2005 (North America & International)
  (Credit: @Tapp)

International

• Pokemon Organized Play 2004-2005 (North America & International)
  (Credit: @Tapp)

2006

Japan

• Battle Road (2006)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Diamond & Pearl Battle Festa (2006)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Japan Official Pokemon Card Gym Events (2003-2007)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Pokemon Players Club Rewards (2003-2007)
  Pokemon Daisuki Club (2004-2010)
  *Not events, but rewards from competing in Japanese competitive events
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

North America

• Pokemon Organized Play 2005-2006 (North America & International)
  (Credit: @Tapp)

International

• Champion’s League (2006, Taiwan)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Pokemon Organized Play 2005-2006 (North America & International)
  (Credit: @Tapp)

2007

Japan

• Battle Road (2007)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Winter Challenge 2007 (Nov 2007 - Jan 2008)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Champion’s League (2007,)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Japan Official Pokemon Card Gym Events (2003-2007)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Pokemon Players Club Rewards (2003-2007)
  Pokemon Daisuki Club (2004-2010)
  *Not events, but rewards from competing in Japanese competitive events
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

North America

• Pokemon Organized Play 2006-2007 (North America & International)
  (Credit: @Tapp)

International

• Pokemon Organized Play 2006-2007 (North America & International)
  (Credit: @Tapp)

2008

Japan

• Battle Road (2008)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Japan Official Pokemon Card Gym Events (2008-2009)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Challenge Hiroba (Plaza) Events (2008-2010)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Pokemon Daisuki Club (2004-2010)
  *Not events, but rewards from competing in Japanese competitive events
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

North America

• Pokemon Organized Play 2007-2008 (North America & International)
  (Work in Progress)

2009

Japan

• Pokemon Battle Challenge (2009)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Pokemon Battle Tour 09
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Japan World Championship Representative Tournament (2008-2009)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Challenge Hiroba (Plaza) Events (2008-2010)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Japan Official Pokemon Card Gym Events (2008-2009)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Pokemon Daisuki Club (2004-2010)
  *Not events, but rewards from competing in Japanese competitive events
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

Play! Pokemon Era Competitive Events (2010- )

2010

Japan

• Japan World Championship Representative Tournament (2009-2010)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Challenge Hiroba (Plaza) Events (2008-2010)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Pokemon Daisuki Club (2004-2010)
  *Not events, but rewards from competing in Japanese competitive events
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

2011

2012

International

• Korean World Championships Series (2012)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

Japan

• Champions League (2017-) Prizes & Promos
  (Credit: @rabby250)

2018

Japan

• Champions League (2017-) Prizes & Promos
  (Credit: @rabby250)

2019

Japan

• Champions League (2017-) Prizes & Promos
  (Credit: @rabby250)

2020

Japan

• Champions League (2017-) Prizes & Promos
  (Credit: @rabby250)

2021

Japan

• Champions League (2017-) Prizes & Promos
  (Credit: @rabby250)

2022

Japan

• Champions League (2017-) Prizes & Promos
  (Credit: @rabby250)

International

• Chinese Pokemon TCG “Elite 4” Finals Tournament (Taiwan, Hong Kong)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

2023

Japan

• Champions League (2017-) Prizes & Promos
  (Credit: @rabby250)

Misc. Threads (Competition Records, Prize Tournaments, Documents, etc.)

• Archives of Japanese Documents, Advertisements, Trainer Magazines, Event Details, etc.
  (Credit: @prochaos)

• Pokemon Card Gym Umbreon Night Battle (2015)
  (Credit: Pokumon.com)

• Eevee Evolution VMAX Promo Tournaments & Lotteries (2021, Japan & International)
  (Credit: @rabby250 @kranz @HumanForScale)

[pocketmonsterdan]

as someone who is primarily a collector but enjoys playing TCG Online casually, this is a super interesting. thanks for compiling this all together!

[mrmilk]

This is incredibly informative! Do you think you’ll slowly build out the more recent years’ history?

[rabby250]

Although I’m still slacking on shrinking the tables…

Champions League Promos in Japan (SM Era and Beyond)

[Champions League Logo] What is the Champions League? At the start of the SM era, TPC reformed organized play system in Japan and introduced Champions League (CL) as a tier of the newly-formed Championship Series system. Champions League is the Japanese equivalent of Regional Championships in Play! Pokémon, which is held 4 times per season in different major cities in Japan and allows up to 2000 or more players to compete for prizes and chances to participate in higher-tier tournaments inc…