Pokémon X and Y Update: Twitch Plays Pokémon's US National Championships as Live Stream Confirmed
Months following the phenomenon of "Twitch Plays Pokémon," The Pokémon Company International announced their next national championship tournament will be streamed online via Twitch.
For The Pokémon Company International, it will be the first time streaming their U.S. National Championships, ever. Scheduled for July 4-6 from Indianapolis, fans have the opportunity to compete against fellow players of either the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) or "Pokémon X" and "Pokémon Y" video games.
The Twitch live stream will be on specific time frames in order to cover both trading card and video game tournaments. The live stream will start on July 5 at noon EST with the "Pokémon Video Game Swiss Rounds." The noon program will conclude at 5 p.m. for the "Pokémon TCG Swiss Rounds," which ends at 9 p.m.
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On July 6, the live stream will start early at 9 a.m. for the "Pokémon TCG Top Cut and Finals" and conclude at 2 p.m. The "Pokémon Video Game Top Cut and Finals" will kick-off at 2 p.m. and end at 5 p.m.
The decision to live stream on Twitch may be due to the video gaming broadcast network's rising influence on online broadcasting. According to comScore's Video Metric report, Twitch ranked as the top video website in the video games category in October 2013. Twitch also featured the "Twitch Plays Pokémon" series, a multiplayer stream that allows people to insert demands for the Pokémon franchise's Game Boy and DS system games. The stream has generated over 62 million views since its February debut. According to Twitch, the overall website attracts more than 45 million unique viewers and over 600,000 unique broadcasters per month.
The U.S. National Championships is open to all "Pokémon X" and "Pokémon Y" video game players. The TCG participants in the Junior and Senior Divisions require five Play! Points from the current Pokémon Championship Series season in order to compete, and Masters Division players need 10 Play! Points to participate.
According to a statement from The Pokémon Company International, more than $300,000 was granted to nearly 500 TCG and video game players received either Travel Awards or stipends to attend the U.S. National Championships based on the Championship Points participants received during city, state and regional events throughout the last year.
Participants and even on-looking fans will receive an exclusive Shiny Mamoswine for either "Pokémon X" or "Pokémon Y" video games. The Mamoswine giveaway is in honor to 2013 Pokémon World Championship winner Arash Omatti, who used the Twin Tusk Pokémon during the video game tournament last year. The Level 50 Shiny Mamoswine has the Ability Thick Fat and holds the item Choice Scarf. Mamoswine has the moves Icicle Spear, Earthquake, Icicle Crash and Rock Slide. Fans who want the Shiny Mamoswine must own their own copy of the sixth-generation games and a Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo 2DS system.
The 2014 Pokémon World Championships will also take place in the U.S. with Washington, D.C., taking hosting duties. The Pokémon World Championships will also be streamed live on Twitch Aug. 16-17.
In addition, The Pokémon Company International announced a new pattern for Vivillon will become available to gamers under one condition: hit 100 million Pokémon trades via the Global Trade Station (GTS) on "Pokémon X" and "Pokémon Y." As of late May, approximately 90 million trades were conducted worldwide. Vivillon will become available during a global special distribution event.
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