Gotta catch 'em all: Oregon Convention Center to host Pokémon Regional Championships

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The game of Pokémon was first introduced in 1996. Since then, it has become one of the world’s best-selling video game franchises, been adapted into its own cartoon series, and gained a loyal following of people passionate about trading cards, collecting merchandise and competing against other players.

Many of those loyal followers will gather at the 2023 Pokémon Regional Championships held in the Oregon Convention Center from Saturday, May 6, to Sunday, May 7.

Between Pokémon GO competitors, trading card game players and spectators, event organizers David Nelson and Chris Clanton are expecting nearly 2000 attendees this weekend.

The duo has been hosting Pokémon tournaments throughout the Pacific Northwest for about 26 years. They say their children are who inspired them to learn how to play the game, and they’re amazed at how it’s withstood the test of time.

“It wasn't like a fad,” Clanton said. “We have people that are playing this tournament that have been around since they were six and now they're in their 30s. We got people bringing their kids and they used to play with us when they were a kid.”

There are three competition divisions for each generation of Pokémon players, called juniors, seniors and masters. Nelson says that although the franchise is considered a children’s game by many, the oldest “masters” division is actually the most popular.

The regional championships also consist of three different tournaments, including one for trading cards, one for the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet video game, and one for Pokémon GO person-versus-person competitions.

Participants are competing for the title of Pokémon Regional Champion, which could earn them a spot in the World Championships held in Yokohama, Japan this summer. But even if they don’t go home with the fancy title, players can still earn points, cash prizes, scholarships, gift cards, competition points, booster packs and more.

Despite players being in direct competition with one another, Nelson says there is still a sense of community at the championships.

“There's a lot of camaraderie,” he said. “In Pokémon, everyone is generally friendly, willing to loan or trade or borrow cards. That's one of the things that's kind of amazing is we might be rivals, but [if] he needs a card for his deck, I'll go ahead and loan it to him and he may beat me with that card later in the day.”

Casual fans, or even strangers to the Pokémon world, can still show up to the event to learn how to play the game, watch the tournament and buy merchandise from the vendors. All they need is a spectator pass, more of which will be made available on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Competitor spots for the Pokémon Regional Championships are still open.