Pokémon announces first official India tournament for global championship

MUMBAI: India’s Pokémon trainers are finally getting a seat at the battle table. The Pokémon Company has announced the country’s first official Pokémon tournament, giving Indian players a route from in-game battles to the global Pokémon World Championship.

The Pokémon Champions India Series will form part of the Pokémon Champions: Championship Series 2027 Season. The competition will begin with six in-game Global Challenges, followed by an online qualifier and an offline Grand Finals tournament, with the eventual India Series winner earning the opportunity to represent the country at the annual Pokémon World Championship.

The six Global Challenges will take place between September 2026 and April 2027. Players will compete across three age divisions, with the top 30 eligible Indian players from each division in each challenge advancing to the next stage.

Across six challenges, that means 540 players will progress to the Online Qualifier.

The first Global Challenge is scheduled from September 25 to 28, 2026. Registrations opened on September 18 through the Pokémon Champions app or game.

Players based in India who previously selected another region will need to change their region setting to India to compete in the India Series pathway.

The Online Qualifiers are scheduled for May 2027, with the specific dates yet to be announced. The strongest performers will then move into an offline Grand Finals tournament planned for June 2027.

The Grand Finals will determine which players receive an invitation to the Pokémon World Championships in Singapore. The number of India Series players who will receive invitations to the World Championships has not yet been announced.

Players who qualify for the offline Grand Finals and the World Championships will also be eligible for travel support for the respective tournaments.

The new pathway opens a door that has historically been difficult for Indian Pokémon players to walk through. Competitive Pokémon video game tournaments have traditionally been tied heavily to consoles, while Nintendo’s consoles have not been officially released in India, limiting opportunities for players to enter the global competitive circuit.

Pokémon Champions changes that equation by being a cross-platform game available on mobile and console, creating a route for Indian players to compete through the new India Series.

For aspiring trainers, the road to Singapore now starts much closer to home and the first battle is only days away.