The Pokémon Company has finally announced the dates and venue for the 2024 World Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii. Get ready for a summer vacation of intense Pokémon battles.
The 2024 Pokémon Europe International Championships (EUIC) wrapped up on April 7 after a long weekend of tough competition across four different games—Pokémon Scarlet and Violet VGC, TCG, Go, and Unite. After the winners were crowned, The Pokémon Company shared a new trailer for the World Championships, the biggest event of the season, to reveal exactly when trainers from around the world will gather in Hawaii to fight for that coveted title. All the action will take place on Aug. 16 to 18 at the Hawai’i Convention Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
We already knew we would be headed to Honolulu ever since the location was announced at last year’s World Championships, but now players can officially begin to plan their flights and arrangements for the big weekend. After all, many top players have already locked in their Worlds invites, either by collecting enough Championship Points or winning a regional or international event this season. Players who have yet to earn their invitation still have a few more opportunities with the upcoming regionals held across the globe in cities such as Orlando, Stockholm, São Paulo, and Perth.
However, the biggest event between now and the World Championships is the North America International Championships (NAIC), which will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana, from June 7 to 9. If EUIC’s record-breaking attendance is any indication, NAIC should be another international event packed with the best players from their respective games. That will be the players’ last chance to earn Championship Points from a major event to claim their ticket to Honolulu.
On top of the Worlds dates, we also got to see the summer vacation-inspired artwork for the August event. Fittingly, the artwork features Pikachu and friends sporting adorable snorkel masks and flippers. You might even notice the Palafin (or Finizen) silhouette right above the Honolulu logo. Palafin was a fan-favorite ‘mon and a major threat for much of the 2023 season, and it would be awesome to see the dolphin hero make its grand return at Worlds despite falling off in the meta. It’s unlikely, given Worlds will use the upcoming Regulation G ruleset, which allows the use of one restricted Pokémon per team. This opens up the door to many powerful Legendary Pokémon, including Water-type ones like Kyogre, who unfortunately outpace poor Palafin.
