As crazy as it may seem, Pokemon is an actual competitive game with prizes at stake. Yes, the game that was the childhood for many people is a competition. In Pokemon games, you battle trainers, but in these tournaments, you battle other people in real life for prizes.

This year, a Regional Championship contest will be held in Vancouver at the Vancouver Convention Centre. This isn’t the first time that the Pokemon competition has been held in Vancouver. The biggest of them all was the Pokemon World Championship which was held at the Vancouver Convention Centre back in 2013. I actually went to that event and still everything clearly. I didn’t compete at the competition, but I attended it as a fan.

It’s not just the games though. There’s a good possibility that you’ve heard or collected Pokemon cards in the past. Whether it was when you were a child or got back into collecting because of the COVID-19 pandemic when trading card collection peaked, it is also a competitive game that people engage in. 

After all, the Pokemon cards do say “Pokemon Trading Card Game” on them, but most people don’t play the TCG game, they just collect the cards. For what it’s worth, I also collected them and didn’t know how to play the game.

This event is taking place from Friday, March 10th to Sunday, March 12th, and if you still don’t believe me that there’s big prizes at stake, they are offering up to $65,000 in prizes, scholarships, and gift cards. You see, Pokemon isn’t just a video game you played as a kid or cards that you collected as a kid. It’s an actual competition for prizes, so it’s essential an e-sport in a way. If you’re a fan of Pokemon or would like to re-live your childhood, take a moment to go visit the Convention Centre and meet some of the best Pokemon players.