What Happens Here?

Our Pokémon League provides a place for you to get together with other fans of both the Pokémon Trading Card Game and the Pokémon video games, and have some fun. Using your own cards and Pokémon DS games, you can play, trade, and even earn cool prizes! The best part is that you can do all this with other Pokémon players who love collecting and playing just as much as you do.

Even if you don’t know all the rules of the game, at a league you can learn game basics and, in no time, perfect your strategy! Joining our league is the best way to hone your skills to compete in Pokémon tournaments from Battle Roads all the way up to the World Championships. Leagues are held in our safe, spacious gaming area and is run by official League Leaders.

How Does the League Work?

League cycles last approximately one full year, usually ending in August and starting in September. Each cycle generally contains eight seasons, and each time you get together to play scheduled league games is a league session. Because fun and participation are the focus of a Pokémon League, players earn the same stamps and awards no matter whether they win or lose the games they play.

League seasons generally last between a month and six weeks. It's not required to play in every league day, players can just jump right in whenever they want!

What do I need to bring to a league?

Players should bring their own deck of Pokémon TCG cards or their Nintendo™ DS and Pokémon DS games to play. Many players bring extra cards along to trade. Players will also need a POP ID, which are available at the register.

What Does it Cost to Play?

It's free! We believe that by providing free game space, we are helping promote the industry as a whole and that our loyal patrons will support that playing space by purchasing their games in our store.

Are There Prizes?

Pokémon Organized Play supplies prizes such as promotional cards and patches to be awarded to players that participate in games throughtout the seasons and league.

In addition to prizes that are awarded at the league for participation, players also earn points that can go toward our Player Rewards program. The more you play, the more you can earn!  Find out more about player rewards.

What are Pokemon?

Pokémon are creatures of all shapes and sizes who live in the wild alongside humans. For the most part, Pokémon do not speak except to utter their names. Pokémon are raised and commended by their owners (called "Trainers"). During their adventures, Pokémon grow and become more experienced and even, on occasion, evolve into stronger Pokémon. Some Pokémon, such as Pikachu, Piplup and Charizard, play prominent roles in the video game series, Trading Card Game, and television shows, but these are just a few of the nearly 500 creatures that inhabit the Pokémon universe.

In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, players build decks around their favorite Pokémon and then play against each other, sending their Pokémon into battle to prove who the best Pokémon Trainer is. Players can begin with theme decks—pre-constructed decks designed to cover the basics of the game. Then, they can augment their card collections with booster packs that provide more cards, letting players develop more diverse decks. With thousands of cards to choose from, the game is never the same twice. The Pokémon Company International releases four sets of cards, called "expansions," each year, so the game continues to evolve and expand for both players and collectors.

In the video games, the player takes on the role of a young Trainer, whose journey involves traveling from town to town catching and training Pokémon, and battling against other Trainers' teams of Pokémon on a quest to become the Pokémon League Champion. An additional goal is to catch and catalog all of the many Pokémon within the game's world. All Pokémon have one or two innate element types that reflect the Pokémon's strengths or weaknesses. For example, Water-type Pokémon have a natural advantage over Fire-type Pokémon, who in turn have an advantage over Grass-type Pokémon, and so on. Despite this battling aspect of the games, the Pokémon games avoid explicit violence; Pokémon never die during the course of the game. Trainers are invited to take part in many peripheral activities when playing, including talent and beauty contests, tournaments, and fishing (for Pokémon, of course!).

What is a TCG?

A trading card game (TCG), also called a collectible card game (CCG), is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards. While trading cards have been around for longer, CCGs combine the appeal of collecting with strategic gameplay.

What is a DS?

The Nintendo DS (abbreviated to DS or NDS) is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design. The Nintendo DS also features a built-in microphone and supports wireless standards, allowing players to interact with each other within short range, or online with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service.