| Event | Pokémon Japan Championships 2025 (PJCS2025) (ポケモンジャパンチャンピオンシップス2025) |
|---|---|
| Location |  Yokohama, Japan |
| Date | 21–22 June 2025 |
| Capacity | 64 qualified players (MA) + 64 SR + 64 JR 64 in attendance (MA) + 64 SR + 61 JR |
| Videogame | Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet |
| Season | 2024 Season – VGC Regulation Set I |
| Format | Double-elimination bracket, Bo1 before Top 8, Bo3 from Top 8 onwards Closed team lists before Top 8 Open team lists (incl. Nature) from Top 8 onwards |
| Organizer | The Pokémon Company (TPC) |
Table of Contents
Teams and results
Day 2 rounds (Top 4)
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Yuma Kinugawa (スカーレット) | 2025 Worlds Travel Award |       |  |
| 2 | | Shohei Kimura (ナンス) | 2025 Worlds Travel Award |       | |
| 3 | | Haruki Sato (スカーレット) | 2025 Worlds Travel Award |      | |
| 4 | | Ayumu Iwasaki (ちゃぐま) | 2025 Worlds Travel Award |   | |
Only the Top 4 players would advance to the Day 2 rounds.
Day 1 rounds (Top 8: OTS Bo3)
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | | Chiharu Yasukawa (ぜろ) | 2025 Worlds |    | |
| 5 | | Tomoki Kinoshita (バイオレット) | 2025 Worlds |   | |
| 7 | | Hirokazu Sue (スカーレット) | 2025 Worlds |    | |
| 7 | | Hidetsuna Shimizu (スカーレット) | 2025 Worlds |  | |
The Top 8 players would continue playing in Day 1 with open team lists and in best-of-three matches.
Day 1 rounds (CTS Bo1)
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | | Ryo Nonami (ミササギ) | 2025 Worlds |  | |
| 9 | | Naoto Kishida (シャーベット) | 2025 Worlds |  | |
| 9 | | Hiroki Kimura (きむら) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 9 |  | Wang Yuxiang (SG★) | 2025 Worlds |  | |
| 13 | | Takumi Okuo (Va) | 2025 Worlds |  | |
| 13 | | Haruto Maekawa (Vanity♥colon) | 2025 Worlds |  | |
| 13 | | Ryoma Okamoto (りょうま) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 13 | | Katsuhiko Minami (スカーレット) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 17 | | Yuto Masuda (マイ) | 2025 Worlds |   | |
| 17 | | Kiwamu Endo (バイオレット) | 2025 Worlds |  | |
| 17 | | Hiroshi Onishi (こ) | 2025 Worlds |  | |
| 17 | | Koji Kanamori (カナエル) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 17 | | Yuta Ishigaki (パラガス) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 17 | | Kota Uchiyama (スカーレット) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 17 | | Yoshitaka Izawa (カタクリ) | 2025 Worlds |    | |
| 17 | | Takahiro Ishida (テングマン) | 2025 Worlds |  | |
| 25 | | Wataru Kawashima (〆_saba) | 2025 Worlds |   | |
| 25 | | Kaoru Ueki (かおる) | 2025 Worlds |    | |
| 25 | | Shunsuke Minami (Érizabeth) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 25 | | Yuki Ishikawa (whiz) | 2025 Worlds |   | |
| 25 | | Yuki Tanaka (Onion_) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 25 | | Shohei Asakura (バイオレット) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 25 | | Hiroki Kusafuka (Q) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 25 | | Yuta Uehara (うえシナ) | 2025 Worlds |   | |
| 33 | | Kazuya Shiraishi (ライラック) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 33 | | Satoru Nishigai (さとるんご) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 33 | | Ginjiro Shiraki (スカーレット) | 2025 Worlds |  | |
| 33 | | Mao Harada (バイオレット) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 33 | | Kazuki Ogushi (ミオリア) | 2025 Worlds |  | |
| 33 | | Munenori Okumura (バイオレット) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 33 | | Seiya Koyasu (Bruno boy) | 2025 Worlds |   | |
| 33 | | Atsushi Namba (ばるなん) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 33 | | Kenya Kodera (aokbab) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 33 | | Hirofumi Kimura (スカーレット) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 33 | | Kentaro Matsumoto (スカーレット) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 33 | | Shonosuke Ikari (ノア) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 33 | | Kenichi Yanagitani (さぶ) | 2025 Worlds |   | |
| 33 | | Takuya Yonemura (ふらっと) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 33 | | Ko Tsukide (バイオレット) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 33 | | Takuto Notohara (スカーレット) | 2025 Worlds |  | |
| 49 | | Ryotaro Kimura (りょうたろう) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Ryosuke Kosuge (もりたフミ) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Takahiro Futamura (ラン) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Takumi Kamisugi (バイオレット) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Hirotoshi Mori (GNO) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Kimitake Ikarashi (はむ) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Kazuma Sobashima (バイオレット) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Kuninori Tanaka (くにのり) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Shoma Honami (スカーレット) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Kazuki Hatakeyama (スカーレット) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Hiro Mitamura (！ぶラん？) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Naoto Kiriyama (Kirito) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Keisuke Koga (ケロすけ) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Yuki Fujii (みそのみか☆) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Yoshimasa Hayakawa (ささみん) | 2025 Worlds | | |
| 49 | | Kota Higashino (バイオレット) | 2025 Worlds |  |
Teams and results - Seniors & Juniors
Senior Division
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Kosuke I. | 2025 Worlds Travel Award |  | |
| 2 | | Hayato S. | 2025 Worlds Travel Award | | |
| 3 | | Genki E. | 2025 Worlds Travel Award | | |
| 4 | | Kenshi K. | 2025 Worlds Travel Award |  | |
Junior Division
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Hideo U. | 2025 Worlds Travel Award | | |
| 2 | | Kengo T. | 2025 Worlds Travel Award | | |
| 3 | | Naoyoshi S. | 2025 Worlds Travel Award | | |
| 4 | | Sosuke A. | 2025 Worlds Travel Award | |
Participating players
The live stage of the 2025 Japan Championships is open only to the players that qualified through the following criteria:
- Top 64 players in the Japan Championships Main Tournament
This tournament is also invite-only: players needed to qualify to it by placing top 120 amongst the players in Japan in Japan Championships Qualifiers #1, #2, #3 or #4 (known as Global Challenges outside Japan).
Streaming
The event is broadcast live on YouTube and Niconico by TPC, in Japanese, with Kosuke Hiraiwa, Shohei Taguchi, Refu, Hakushu Takeuchi and Motochika Nabeshima as casters.
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| WR1 | Ko Tsukide | vs | Satoru Nishigai |
| WR2 | Katsuhiko Minami | vs | Mao Harada |
| LR2 (Top 48) | Takumi Okuo | vs | Kenichi Yanagitani |
| WR1 Recorded | Katsuhiko Minami | vs | Haruto Maekawa |
| WR2 Recorded | Yoshitaka Izawa | vs | Kiwamu Endo |
| LR2 (Top 48) Recorded | Yuta Uehara | vs | Kazuki Ogushi |
| WR3 | Katsuhiko Minami | vs | Ryo Nonami |
| LR4 (Top 24) | Ayumu Iwasaki | vs | Kota Uchiyama |
| WR4 | Chiharu Yasukawa | vs | Wang Yuxiang |
| LR6 (Top 12) | Hirokazu Sue | vs | Ryo Nonami |
| WR3 Recorded | Hirokazu Sue | vs | Naoto Kishida |
| LR4 (Top 24) Recorded | Koji Kanamori | vs | Hiroki Kimura |
| WR4 Recorded | Yuma Kinugawa | vs | Hidetsuna Shimizu |
| LR6 (Top 12) Recorded | Naoto Kishida | vs | Shohei Kimura |
| WR5 | Yuma Kinugawa | vs | Tomoki Kinoshita |
| WR5 Recorded | Chiharu Yasukawa | vs | Haruki Sato |
| LR8 (Top 6) | Chiharu Yasukawa | vs | Shohei Kimura |
| Round | Player 1 | vs | Player 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winners Finals | Yuma Kinugawa | vs | Haruki Sato |
| Losers Finals | Shohei Kimura | vs | Haruki Sato |
| Senior Winners Finals | Kosuke I. | vs | Genki E. |
| Senior Losers Finals | Genki E. | vs | Hayato S. |
| Junior Grand Finals | Hideo U. | vs | Kengo T. |
| Senior Grand Finals | Kosuke I. | vs | Hayato S. |
| Masters Grand Finals | Yuma Kinugawa | vs | Shohei Kimura |
| Masters Grand Finals Reset | Yuma Kinugawa | vs | Shohei Kimura |
Venue and schedule
The tournament is held in Exhibition Halls B, C and D of the following location:
PACIFICO Yokohama
パシフィコ横浜
1-chōme-1-1 Minatomirai, Nishi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0012
〒220-0012 神奈川県横浜市西区みなとみらい１丁目１−１
Players must be in the venue by 21 June at 9:00 JST (00:00 UTC) for the players meeting.
Players will be seeded in a 64-player best-of-1 double-elimination bracket with closed team lists. All rounds will be played until only 8 players remain (this is after winners’ round 4 and losers’ round 6). Afterwards, the 8 remaining players will face in best-of-3 matches with open team lists including Natures.
Day 2 players must be in the venue by 22 June at 8:30 JST (21 June at 23:30 UTC) for Junior players, and at 9:00 JST (00:00 UTC) for Senior and Masters players.
Prizes
This event is an official tournament and is part of the 2025 official circuit in Japan.
Qualified players are guaranteed invites to the 2025 World Championships as long as they attend the event, with the highest-placed players earning Travel Awards.
| Placement | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1st to 4th | Invite to the 2025 World Championships + Travel Award Trophy + Pokémon HOME commemorative medal + PJCS cap + PJCS T-shirt |
| 5th to 32nd | Invite to the 2025 World Championships PJCS cap + PJCS T-shirt |
| 33rd to 64th | Invite to the 2025 World Championships |
Overview
The Pokémon Japan Championships, also known as PJCS, is the most important VGC competition for players in Japan, where TPC is responsible for the circuit, and is the only tournament through which players in Japan can earn invites to the World Championships.
It is the 15th edition of the Japan National Championships since its inception in 2009, and the 9th edition under the “Pokémon Japan Championships” name in use since 2016. It has been celebrated every year except in 2011 (due to the Fukushima disaster) and 2020 (due to the COVID-19 pandemics). See the previous editions:
- 2009, won by Takahiro Akai
- 2010, won by Ryo Tajiri
- 2012, won by Satoru Masukata
- 2013, won by Ryosuke Kosuge, eventual 2013 Worlds finalist
- 2014, won by Yosuke Isagi, eventual 2015 Worlds semifinalist
- 2015, won by Shoma Honami, eventual 2015 World Champion
- 2016, won by Hideto Kotake
- 2017, won by Ryota Otsubo, eventual 2017 World Champion
- 2018, won by Hirofumi Kimura, eventual 2019 Worlds finalist
- 2019, won by Hirofumi Kimura for the 2nd time
- 2021, won by Kohei Fujita
- 2022, won by Kentaro Matsumoto
- 2023, won by Kaito Arii
- 2024, won by Hyuma Hara
Previous editions of the Japan National Championships have featured different formats and qualifying systems. In the last few years qualification has been through in-game ladder qualifiers. Last year’s edition featured a first main stage online, also as an in-game ladder competition, before the live stage. The format of a best-of-1 double-elimination bracket with closed team lists before Top 8 + best-of-3 with open team lists from Top 8 onwards is maintained from 2024.
The ruleset is VGC Regulation Set I, with closed team lists up until Top 8, and open team lists (including Natures) from Top 8 onwards.
It is the first official tournament worldwide to allow the Nintendo Switch 2!
A little bit of history
Japan has been a part of the official TPC circuit since its inception. It has hosted multiple major events, including old-era Regionals and National Championships, and is particularly successful in the online competitions. As the most successful country in VGC, Japan’s greatest trophies have been brought home by 5 World Champions (Kazuyuki Tsuji in 2009, Shoma Honami in 2015, Ryota Otsubo in 2017, Naoto Mizobuchi in 2019, and Shohei Kimura in 2023), as well as the 2008 VGS Champion (Izuru Yoshimura) and other 10 in the Senior and Junior divisions throughout the years.
The most recent tournament held in Japan was the 2024 Japan Championships, also played in Yokohama, Japan with the VGC Regulation Set G in June 2024. The finals saw Japanese Hyuma Hara defeat 2018 Worlds top cutter Kiwamu Endo to win his first major title!
American James Evans, the 2018 Senior Division World Champion, defeated Brazilian Gabriel Agati in the NAIC finals.
