Pokemon World Championships to take place outside of North America for the first time

For the first time ever, the Pokemon World Championships will be held outside of North America. The 2020 event will take place in London, England, from August 14th to August 16th at the ExCeL event centre. Fans will likely remember that this venue has previously hosted the Europe International Championships.

The World Championships will take place over three days and is "expected to be very popular", meaning it'd perhaps be wise to get yourself organised well in advance. To cut down on the faff of finding decent accommodation, the organisers have put together a page where you can book nearby hotels. It's apparently updated with the best rates going.

"The very best Pokemon Trainers will be vying for the title of World Champion, but that's only the beginning of the fun", says a blog post on Pokemon.com. Fans can also check out side tournaments, special events, and other such exciting activities over the 3-day event. What's more is that invited players won't have to pay an entry fee to participate. That said, there will of course be a "nominal fee" for spectator badges.

One of the event's major draws is that it'll house a Pokemon Center store, where you'll find all manner of items themed around the tournament. 

If you're up for competing in the Pokemon World Championships, you can make a start by finding an event near you and earning some Championship Points to hopefully then receive a Worlds invite.

More info on the event is set to arrive closer to August. In other Pokemon news, Niantic recently announced several real-world events for Pokemon GO. Last year's events were a tremendous success, drawing in tens of millions of players and massively boosting tourism spend in the areas/cities where they took place. Events during the first half of the year are set to happen in St. Louis, Liverpool, and Philadelphia.