Recently, the North American Pokémon International Championships 2024, abbreviated as NAIC, took place. We spoke with one of the few German players on site, who likes to cause confusion with his “European play style.”
What kind of event was it? The NAIC was the third and final International Championship of the 2024 season. Over three days, numerous Pokémon players competed against each other.
- Competition was held in the categories Pokémon Video Game (Scarlet and Violet), Pokémon TCG (Trading Card Game), Pokémon UNITE, and Pokémon GO.
- A total of over 4300 players participated.
- Out of them, 11 were from Germany.
The best players are not only awarded attractive cash prizes. They also receive so-called Championship Points, with which they can qualify for the upcoming World Championship.
The Pokémon World Championship will take place this year in Honolulu, Hawaii:
“I like to give people a puzzle to solve.”
Who is it about? Cedric “Zzweilous” Voigt is a German Pokémon GO player.
- He has already played in several tournaments and, for example, took first place at the “Pokémon Go Special Event” in Barcelona last year.
- He is also very successful in the GO Battle League. Recently, he reached first place on the global leaderboard.
Since Pokémon GO became part of the international competitions in 2022, Zzweilous has been involved. He shares his first experiences in America:
The first NAIC in 2022 felt almost like a national competition among Americans. That made life a bit harder for me.
Because not all Pokémon trainers play the same way. Although there is a certain uniform meta, play styles vary by region:
It is often said that Europeans are a bit more risk-taking and experimental, while Americans tend to be more conservative. Therefore, one could say that my play style fits the European meta game a bit better.
Because Cedric loves to surprise with unusual game decisions.
Since this is common in Europe, I always ask myself: Which weird Pokémon will I put in my team? I see it as a bit of a challenge to not play exactly what everyone else is playing.
Does that work? While Cedric’s play style is significantly riskier than that of many of his competitors, he has often been able to prove that he can be very successful with it.
“I would almost argue that it can actually be an advantage,” he explains. Many are not familiar with Pokémon that are not commonly played in the GO Battle League. The opponent often does not know what to do against them. And that is exactly what he finds appealing. “I like to give people a puzzle to solve.”
At the NAIC, Cedric finished in 16th place. He was not only the only German but even the only European to make it into the top 16 in Pokémon GO.
Internationality is not a given
As a Pokémon GO player, being able to experience these international differences is something very special.
- Even though Pokémon GO was released in 2016, it only became part of the regional and international championships in 2022.
- Especially in comparison to the formats Video Game (VG) and Trading Card Game (TCG), Pokémon GO is still very young.
“That’s why it is not a given that players will actually travel for the game and that these large communities develop, which then also have international contact,” Cedric explains. “That’s why I think it’s great that there are still a few other Europeans here.”
Because especially meeting other players, with whom you otherwise only have online contact, is what makes competitions like the NAIC special for Cedric.
While Pokémon GO players can meet many new acquaintances, the situation with new Pokémon in the wild has been different lately. We asked the director of Pokémon GO why that is: Director explains why Pokémon GO brought hardly any new Pokémon in the wild in 2024.
