Those attending this year’s Pokémon Video Game National Championships in the UK will be able to receive the Electric-type Pokémon Pachirisu through a special distribution. And this isn’t any ordinary Pachirisu! This special Pokémon was part of the successful team used by last year’s Masters Division World Champion.

In 2014, Se Jun Park became the first Pokémon Video Game World Champion from South Korea in the history of the Pokémon Championships. His win shows the ever-increasing expansion of the Pokémon Championship Series to more than 30 countries in all corners of the globe, and comes right on the heels of the 2013 win by Arash Ommati of Italy, the first Video Game World Champion from Europe. Could an English Pokémon Trainer take the crown this year?

Pachirisu played a key role in Se Jun’s victory, and he kept a Pachirisu Poké Doll by his side on stage, which he waved to the crowd after he won the Championship.

Pachirisu is legal in tournaments for the 2015 season. The Level 50 Pokémon offered in this distribution has the moves Nuzzle, Follow Me, Super Fang, and Protect, and the Hidden Ability Volt Absorb.

The free-to-enter UK tournament will take place at EventCity in Manchester on May 30–31, and will determine who will go on to win Travel Awards or invitations to the 2015 Pokémon World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, in August.

The UK Video Game National Championships are open to players of any nationality, while the Pokémon TCG tournament is open only to citizens of the UK.

To compete in the video game tournament, players need to bring a system from the Nintendo 3DS family and a copy of Pokémon Omega Ruby or Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, along with their Player ID. To get a Player ID, please visit Pokemon.co.uk or register at the event. To receive the special Pachirisu, players are not required to take part in the tournament, but will need to bring along their systems.

The final joint European VG and TCG National Championships of the season, will take place at the following location:

• 2015 Pokémon Italian National Championships: June 13–14, 2015, at Mediolanum Forum, Assago

Additional European TCG National Championships and other qualifying video game events will also take place this spring, and information on these events can be found using the event search tool here: www.pokemon.co.uk/play