The esports scene from the Pokémon video game is illustrated at the World License Championships. A competitive practice that is growing, but which is still far from what it could be.
There is an air of recovery. The Pokémon community has been waiting for the organization of these World Championships for three years now, put on hold since the start of the pandemic. They are now back. Organized from August 18 to 21, 2022 in London, these Championships (broadcast on Twitch) bring together the best players in the world from five very distinct tournaments, all from the license: Pokémon Go, Pokémon Unite, Pokkén Tournament, the game competition cards — the most popular — and video games. These different successes of the license have here their own competitive scene, their rules, their stakes, their winnings.
In a corner of the room, the players of the VGC are concentrated. The VGC, for “Video Game Championships”, is the official circuit of video game battles, organized by The Pokémon Company. Clashes on Sword and Shield, the last game of the main branch, where the mechanics are much more subtle, complex and developed than the adventure of the game first suggests. For them, this event is the climax of a season started in March 2020, frozen and then resumed a few months ago, where each tournament allowed them to grab qualification points for this precise moment. It took 300 for European players, just that, to pocket the famous ticket.
Thomas Gravouille, known as Hari, player and content creator, qualified directly for the second day of competition. It is the prerogative of the best players from each continent, those who have won the most points – 1,205 for the player concerned. The Frenchman notably won the Regional tournament of Lille and reached the final of that of Liverpool. His best season. “I think four of my results this season alone would make a mockery of everything I’ve done, he pointed out a few days before the tests. I consider my competition successful because I qualified for the second day. But, of course, we can go for more. » There is no objective, because the competition is tough, but the tone is serene. “Somewhere, we have never been so close, we are several French players to be able to go to the end, whether in the head, the preparation, we know that we have brought together all the elements. Now we have to repeat that. »
A scene that does not use its full potential
As one of the best players in his category, Hari is one of the few to benefit from a travel allowance on this event. This has not always been the case, and participating in tournaments on a regular basis requires a strong financial commitment. “We have French players who invest their lives in the game”says Axel, known as Redemption, Pokémon strategy streamer and designer of Critical Strike, an information site on the subject.
He is currently commenting on the World Championships on his Twitch channel, the organizers having only planned a global broadcast for English speakers. “They travel to all countries to take part in the Championships. It’s a huge investment, you have to be able to go there, invest days, weeks and months in the game to not even be sure of succeeding in the end. And, in the end, they find themselves in competitions that are difficult to find out about, with few people knowing the VGC. It creates an imbalance, because most French players invest a lot of time and money. »
This is the whole paradox of this Pokémon esports scene: it is growing, of course, is driven by an active community, but remains a niche competition and is clearly not up to what it could, or even should be. Quentin Gervasoni is a PhD student at the Experice laboratory and at the Labex ICCA and works in particular on the reception of the license. He reminds us that Pokémon is still perceived as a game for the general public. “The competitive aspect remains a relatively niche subject. Designers are starting to introduce competitive elements again in the latest games, but otherwise it’s not the main aspect. »
The competition is also the community of fans who first seized it in the 2000s. They quickly realized that many hidden mechanics, not very useful in the adventure, could offer a brand new gaming experience. “Historically, other than maps where there were physical supports, the game didn’t have any competitive supports anyway”, underlines Reynald Brion, researcher in Management Sciences. The competition is then built online, on a simulator, created its own rules, its forums. The official tournament organized by The Pokémon Company is launched a few years later (2009, according to fans, the company remaining vague on this subject). The two mediums are different, and while they both use the universe in question, they each have their own system.
A small example among others, the game format: on the official scene, the fight is played in a 4v4 duo, and the dynamics of double fights bring a totally new way of competing (even sometimes destabilizing new players accustomed to to fight with a single Pokémon, the format being little developed in the games), where the Smogon community scene evolves with the 6v6 used in the adventure. Everyone has their own preferences, but the subject is huge. “If we understand esport as a professionalization, with a gain of money for the players, we will talk about the official scene and the VGC, continues Reynald Brion. Smogon is community and amateur, but it’s not professional. It doesn’t take anything away from all these players who are otherwise very strong. “Esports can mean a lot of things, tempers Redemption, which evolves on Smogon and recently also started VGC. For me, it’s Pokémon competition, whether it’s official or not, this Pokémon esport exists. »
A still cautious editor
Around each medium, different actors are growing: creators of content, Discord rooms, Twitter communities… Proof that the community is there, even if it does not always agree, and that actors are mobilizing to promote the competition . “This is where we relativize this point of view that it is the community of a game that makes an electronic sport, analyzes Samuel Vansyngel, also a doctoral student at the Experice laboratory. It also depends on whether or not the publisher willingly opens this game to this competitive practice. » Pokemon is a good example. “It is progressing little by little, initiatives are being taken, Hari notes. We see that they want to grow, but it lacks evidence.
Despite progress and ever-increasing World Championships, the company remains cautious. “It’s a bit like the snake biting its own tail, continues Redemption. Since they do very little for competition in general, most people who are going to buy the game aren’t necessarily going to be interested in it. (…) They know there is a target, that’s why there are Championships and why they invest money, but they will not do it rigorously as long as we are the niche . And, as long as they don’t invest, we will be the niche. »
There are many ways to continue to grow this esports scene, and sketches are flowing, even if the debate is quite complex. This can go through details of media coverage, first, such as the simple fact of indicating in the game the existence of competitions. “It would make discover the existence of the scene for so many people, they miss out on an audience”, supports Hari. Or even simplify team creation in the game, an essential and particularly long passage, even if the mechanics have already been improved. In any case, the community expects an even greater investment from its publisher.
“There’s so much potential in this game to make it into something huge, breathes Reynald Brion. The company should just say ‘ok here we go’, and not groping. There is always a sort of in-between. » And, perhaps in this way, encourage other esports players to follow the movement and invest in turn, such as sponsors or structures. The ninth generation arrives in a few months and, with it, a new set of rules for the VGC as well as a new potential audience. Whether it’s there or in a few years, the Pokémon scene awaits its evolution.
Asked by Numerama, The Pokémon Company “could not answer” our questions.