Amid the global turmoil caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many sectors found themselves forced to reinvent to survive, and the competitive Pokémon world was no exception. As the world isolated itself, the Pokémon universe underwent a remarkable metamorphosis, with the competitive community finding new ways to thrive and innovate. In this article, we will closely examine how The Pokémon Company (TPC) capitalized on this moment of isolation, steering the competitive Pokémon world to new heights of success and adaptation.
In early 2020, specifically on January 28, TPC decided to introduce the experimental season (preseason) of the “GO Battle League,” thus paving the way for competitive play in their well-known app originally designed for catching Pokémon “in the real world” using augmented reality (AR) and geolocation.
Users immediately showed interest, and the GO Battle League quickly became a new discipline in the competitive Pokémon scene.
With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the primary activity in Pokémon GO involved physically moving around to catch Pokémon, conquer gyms, and participate in group raids to capture powerful Pokémon, TPC had to make significant changes.
Thus, remote raids were born. Initially easy to obtain, remote raid tickets allowed users to take on large Pokémon, often legendary or special ones, from the comfort of their own homes rather than having to be physically present as was necessary before.
The hype quickly built up, especially considering the lack of activities and social interaction during the intense lockdown period.
This new form of user interaction, mixed with the adrenaline of the competitive world, gave Pokémon GO a new form, making it much more engaging.
Regarding the TCG (Trading Card Game) world, the cornerstone of the Pokémon brand and the origin of the beloved cards since 1996, the situation was slightly different. Often underestimated and sometimes considered a niche discipline in the gaming world, the collectible card game has continued to captivate people of all ages over time.
TPC promptly demonstrated that they had an action plan for the competitive world of the collectible card game: in four distinct periods during the COVID-19 pandemic (May-August 2020, September-December 2020, January-April 2021, and April-July 2021), The Pokémon Company introduced the Players Cup (I, II, III, IV). These series of tournaments replaced in-person competitions, which were unfortunately prohibited by the laws in force during those periods.
These tournaments were not only for the card game but also for the video game (VGC) on Nintendo Switch Pokémon Sword and Shield, as well as for the fighting game Pokkén Tournament DX (Pokémon Tekken) developed by Bandai Namco, creator of the famous fighting game series “Tekken”.
The tournaments consisted of a series of qualifiers for each region (Europe, Oceania, North America, and South America), followed by a final phase with 16 players (only 8 for Pokkén) broadcast live on Twitch, which then determined the champion. TPC also gave space to team competitions at a time when being close to one another was very difficult, and the lack of sociality suddenly reigned. Thus, the Team Challenge was born.
This tournament, exclusive to the online card game, was structured so that each store in eligible areas (Europe, North America, Latin America, and Oceania) could organize four qualifying tournaments, where the four winners would then form the team participating in the next phase. The next phase consisted of a true “team world championship,” where each four-player team, each representing their nation, would compete to reach the top of the world rankings, all streamed live on Twitch. For this competition too, there were four seasons, the last of which concluded on April 8, 2022.
In short, the world of the Trading Card Game and video games, thanks to international online competitions, have suddenly (re)ignited a large user base following the Pokémon brand, giving everyone the chance to shine in their competitions during a very delicate historical moment when human contact was heavily compromised.
This latter factor, personally, I believe was the engine that brought many users, many of them new, back to the Pokémon brand. At that moment, TPC made it clear that they had no intention of abandoning their beloved players and fans.
On July 21, 2021, The Pokémon Company, in collaboration with TiMi Studios (Tencent Games), released Pokémon Unite. Launched somewhat by surprise, it was a brand new concept for the franchise with mechanics never seen before in a Pokémon game; it is indeed a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena).
In full sync with the hype for this branch of the competitive world, an absolute example being the title League of Legends, this 5v5 competitive game instantly gained huge success, entering the MOBA world with a bang.
The game quickly attracted well-followed players and streamers, many of them coming directly from the world of League of Legends and therefore often already experts in MOBAs and their mechanics, which certainly helped its initial boost.
Within about a year, more precisely on August 19-20, 2022, the first world tournament of Pokémon Unite took place in London, with a total prize pool of $500,000.
The 2022 world event was a huge return for The Pokémon Company, with a surge in registrations for each of its disciplines: Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG), Pokémon Sword and Shield (VCG), Pokémon GO, Pokémon Unite, and Pokkén Tournament DX.
The event was one of the largest and most important in Pokémon history, and certainly the event that has relaunched the brand in recent years like never before.
The total prize pool for all disciplines exceeded one million dollars.
Today, following great successes, people like Tord Reklev (multiple international champion and current world vice-champion and European champion), Vance Kelley (current world champion), Azul Garcia Griego, and other personalities now considered prominent in the Pokémon world can almost be said to make a living from it.
They travel around the world to participate in tournaments, win prizes, accumulate Championship Points to qualify for the World Championship every year, and meet (and be known by) more and more people, all pursuing a great shared passion.
Some of them also perform live streaming on Twitch, providing coaching, playing and explaining various decks, and creating content related to the Pokémon brand.
In conclusion, after a more or less careful analysis, it can be easily deduced that The Pokémon Company, leveraging its community, positively exploited a pandemic that brought the world to its knees, giving people the opportunity to feel close to each other when it was not allowed to do so.
Today, Pokémon events can boast a huge influx of users at all their tournaments, the latest great example being the European International Championship held in London from April 5-7, 2024, which counted a record 2,605 registrations just for the master category of the card game (18 years and up).
Pokémon has set a great example for the world of how one can adapt to any situation, even the most drastic, without ever losing hope in our inventiveness and ability to create and evolve in any condition we are experiencing.
This could provide food for thought regarding the historical period we are living in, a period where the fear of being replaced one day by artificial intelligences is starting to take root, where a dualism is already emerging between those who say “they will take our jobs” and those who trust that they will be a good means to help us evolve for the better, with less and less margin for error.
Perhaps it is time to start thinking about it because I believe sooner or later we will all have to come to terms with it, and falling into a dualism will certainly lead to nothing good.