| Event | PokĆ©mon Japan Championships 2025 (PJCS2025) (ćć±ć¢ć³ćøć£ćć³ćć£ć³ććŖć³ć·ććć¹2025) |
|---|---|
| Location |  Yokohama, Japan |
| Date | 21ā22 June 2025 |
| Capacity | 64 qualified players (MA) + 64 SR + 64 JR 64 in attendance (MA) + 64 SR + 61 JR |
| Videogame | PokƩmon Scarlet and PokƩmon Violet |
| Season | 2024 SeasonĀ āĀ 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 PokƩmon Company (TPC) |
Table of Contents
Teams and results
Day 2 rounds (Top 4)
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Yuma Kinugawa (ć¹ć«ć¼ć¬ćć) |
2025 Worlds Travel Award |
      |
 |
| 2 | |
Shohei Kimura (ćć³ć¹) |
2025 Worlds Travel Award |
      |
|
| 3 | |
Haruki Sato (ć¹ć«ć¼ć¬ćć) |
2025 Worlds Travel Award |
     |
|
| 4 | |
Ayumu Iwasaki (ć”ććć¾) |
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 (ćć) | 2025Ā Worlds |    | |
| 5 | | Tomoki Kinoshita (ćć¤ćŖć¬ćć) | 2025Ā Worlds |   | |
| 7 | | Hirokazu Sue (ć¹ć«ć¼ć¬ćć) | 2025Ā Worlds |    | |
| 7 | | Hidetsuna Shimizu (ć¹ć«ć¼ć¬ćć) | 2025Ā 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)
Teams and results - Seniors & Juniors
Senior Division
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Kosuke I. | 2025Ā Worlds TravelĀ Award |    | |
| 2 | | Hayato S. | 2025Ā Worlds TravelĀ Award | | |
| 3 | | Genki E. | 2025Ā Worlds TravelĀ Award |  | |
| 4 | | Kenshi K. | 2025Ā Worlds TravelĀ Award |   | |
Junior Division
| # | Flag | Player | Prize | Team | OTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Hideo U. | 2025Ā Worlds TravelĀ Award | | |
| 2 | | Kengo T. | 2025Ā Worlds TravelĀ Award | | |
| 3 | | Naoyoshi S. | 2025Ā Worlds TravelĀ Award |  | Ā |
| 4 | | Sosuke A. | 2025Ā Worlds TravelĀ Award | | Ā |
Participating players
The live stage of the 2025 Japan Championships is open only to the players that qualified through the following criteria:
- Top 64 playersĀ in theĀ Japan Championships Main Tournament
This tournament is also invite-only: players needed to qualify to it by placing top 120 amongst the players in JapanĀ inĀ Japan Championships QualifiersĀ #1,Ā #2, #3 or #4 (known as Global Challenges outside Japan).
Streaming
The event is broadcast live onĀ YouTubeĀ andĀ NiconicoĀ 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 DĀ of the following location:
PACIFICO Yokohama
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1-chÅme-1-1 Minatomirai, Nishi Ward, Yokohama, Kanagawa 220-0012
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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 winnersā round 4 and losersā 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 tournamentĀ and is part of theĀ 2025 official circuitĀ in Japan.
Qualified players are guaranteedĀ invites to the 2025 World ChampionshipsĀ 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 + PokƩmon 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 PokƩmon 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 “PokĆ©mon 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 Ā Takahiro Akai
- 2010, won by Ā Ryo Tajiri
- 2012, won by Ā Satoru Masukata
- 2013, won by Ā Ryosuke Kosuge, eventual 2013 Worlds finalist
- 2014, won by Ā Yosuke Isagi, eventual 2015 Worlds semifinalist
- 2015, won by Ā Shoma Honami, eventual 2015 World Champion
- 2016, won by Ā Hideto Kotake
- 2017, won by Ā Ryota Otsubo, eventual 2017 World Champion
- 2018, won by Ā Hirofumi Kimura, eventual 2019 Worlds finalist
- 2019, won by Ā Hirofumi KimuraĀ for the 2nd time
- 2021, won by Ā Kohei Fujita
- 2022, won by Ā Kentaro Matsumoto
- 2023, won by Ā Kaito Arii
- 2024, won by Ā 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 TsujiĀ in 2009,Ā Shoma HonamiĀ in 2015,Ā Ryota OtsuboĀ in 2017,Ā Naoto MizobuchiĀ in 2019, andĀ Shohei KimuraĀ 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 theĀ 2024 Japan Championships, also played in Yokohama, Japan with the VGC Regulation Set G in June 2024. TheĀ finalsĀ saw Japanese Hyuma HaraĀ defeat 2018 Worlds top cutter Kiwamu EndoĀ to win his first major title!
AmericanĀ James Evans, theĀ 2018 Senior Division World Champion, defeated BrazilianĀ Gabriel AgatiĀ in the NAIC finals.
