Pokémon masters from 25 countries gathered in Kona, Hawaii over the weekend to duke it out for the Pokémon World Championships.
Players vied in both videogame and card game duels for the title. Five champions were crowned, including Ray Rizzo (pictured), from Marlton, New Jersey, who defeated Yasuki Tochigi in the senior videogame division.
Pokémon was first created in 1996 by Satoshi Tajiri. The original videogame for the Game Boy spawned a bonanza of spin-off products, including the collectible trading card game that rivals the videogames in popularity.
Kids young and old continue to play the videogame and card game in face to face competitions. This weekend's championship was the culmination of a year's worth of local and regional contests.
Japan, a favorite in the competition, won the junior videogame division. Shota Yamamoto defeated Santa Ito to win the Junior division world championship.
Yuka Furasawa took the junior division Pokémon Trading Card Game championship, edging out Juan Pablo Arenas. The senior division's Jacob Lesage defeated Mychael Bryan. And Yuta Komatsuda was crowned champion in the masters division of the Pokémon Trading Card Game championship.
This year's winners earned prize packages that include scholarships and travel expenses for the 2011 championships, where they will defend their crowns.
Photo courtesy Pokémon World Championships
