The Story of the First VGC World Championships

After the Showdown event in 2008, Pokémon VGC players finally had their own official spot at Worlds in 2009. This was the sixth World Championships held by Play! Pokémon and the very first Worlds to hold a World Championship for the VGC community. Players were craving more competition, but the previous winners from the 2008 Showdown event were not present. Leaving previously defeated players unable to get their redemption.

These World Championships were held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel in San Diego, California from August 13th to 15th. For some strange reason, this was the only time Worlds was held between a Thursday and a Saturday. There was no championship Sunday here! Pokémon Platinum was required to participate in the championships, while the battles were played on Pokémon Battle Revolution for the Wii. This was a similar setup to the 2008 Showdown event, with players importing their teams to the Wii game. Its 3D visuals made the battles more appealing to the audience than the low-resolution DS screen with rough sprites.

This Worlds had some interesting rules, such as Pokémon on each team being able to switch items between them before every battle. There were still no auto-level adjustments, and the rules restricted many legendary and mythical Pokémon, as expected from most worlds going forward. Junior and Senior divisions were still the only age brackets, as a Masters division would not be a thing for VGC until 2011.

The battles at Worlds were announced and commentated by none other than the beloved Nick McCord. Who was the announcer for matches between many nationals, and regionals, from 2009 to 2013. Nick is beloved by the community for his energy, and ability to enthrall the audience. Japanese players were very dominant in this championship, with the top two players being Japanese, and five out of the top eight also being from Japan.

The two Seniors Division finalists for this championship were Kazuyuki Tsuji and Tasuku Mano. The move Self-destruct on Kazuyuki Tsuji’s Snorlax made some surprisingly decisive blows in the first round of the Seniors finals. This was because self-destruct and explosion worked very differently in this generation than in future ones. Before calculating damage, Pokémon affected by this move would have their defense halved. Making Self-Destruct way more powerful back then than it’s considered now.

Tsuji later took home the win in the Senior finals after a game 3 victory. This made him the first Senior Division VGC World Champion with a perfect 7-0 win record. Jeremiah Fan of the USA, who also won nationals that year, became the first World Champion of the Juniors Division with a record of 6-1. In the image below, you can see the winning teams of the Senior division.

This year, a Weavile with Brick Break was distributed, keeping a yearly tradition of having event Pokémon downloadable at each Worlds. The first Worlds for VGC had come to a close, and history was made with our first two VGC World Champions. The following year would come with even more excitement, as a remake of two beloved Pokémon games was on the horizon. This would bring many returning Pokémon back into the format! Be sure to check back here on Devon Corp Press for the history of the 2010 Worlds! Where the VGC legend Ray Rizzo took home his first World Championship title!

Disclaimer: The opinions/stories expressed in the blog post are those of the author and are not necessarily reflective of the platform or its affiliates.

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Every Pokemon that has won Worlds (2009 will shock you...). YouTube. (2022, October 3). https://youtu.be/qi2qSHS-E3g 

Pokemon WCS 2009 World Final (sr.) 1/3. YouTube. (2009a, August 19). https://youtu.be/B5ep7mNsRaY 

Pokemon WCS 2009 World Final (sr.) 2/3. YouTube. (2009b, August 19). https://youtu.be/EZ5H-SFtZKc 

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YouTube. (2020, May 6). How Empoleon won the World Championships (pokemon...). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMZ1HDb4nsM 

(Trista), ryuzaki. (2022, November 16). @ryuzaki_vgc on Twitter. Twitter. https://twitter.com/ryuzaki_vgc/status/1593043448197963776?s=20 

Disclaimer: The opinions/stories expressed in the blog post are those of the author and are not necessarily reflective of the platform or its affiliates.