| 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 | 192 qualified players (64 MA, 64 SR, 64 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
Participating players
The live stage of the 2025 Japan National Championships is open only to the players that qualified through the following criteria:
- Top 64 players in the Japan National 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 Nationals Qualifiers #1, #2, #3 or #4 (known as Global Challenges outside Japan).
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 (10 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.
Participating players will play for invites to the 2025 World Championships, with the highest-placed players earning Travel Awards. Detailed information about prizes will be known soon.
Overview
The Japan National 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. 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 Nationals 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.
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 National 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.
