The Pokémon World Championships is an annual, invite-only esports event organized by Play! Pokémon, where players compete in the Trading Card Game, video games, Pokémon Go, and Pokémon Unite for scholarships, prizes, and the World Champion title. It began in 2004 with the TCG, expanded to include the Video Game Championships in 2008, and later added Pokkén Tournament (2016–2022) and Pokémon Unite (2022). The 2020 edition in London—planned as the first outside North America—was cancelled due to COVID-19, and the 2021 event was postponed to 2022. The 2023 championship made history as the first held in Japan (Yokohama) and Asia, while the 2025 event took place in Anaheim, California. Players earn invitations through seasonal qualifiers and compete in age divisions (Junior, Senior, Masters), with most events historically held in the United States, making the 2023 Japan event the first actual occurrence outside North America.