AMERICA'S ELITE POKÉMON PLAYERS

TAKE ON THE WORLD IN HAWAII

Finalists to Battle for Special Prize

at the 2012 Pokémon World Championships

Bellevue, WA - July 2, 2012 - Three days of intense Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) and video game competition at the 2012 Pokémon U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana culminated in the crowning of six U.S. National Champions and the formation of an elite group of finalists ready to battle against the world's best this August at the 2012 Pokémon World Championships in Hawaii. From a group of thousands, only 36 American Pokémon TCG and video game players will travel to the Big Island of Hawaii with one goal in mind, becoming a Pokémon World Champion.

As a special incentive for the Pokémon video game players advancing to Hawaii, The Pokémon Company International will choose a select number of top players and their Pokémon teams who are participating at the 2012 Pokémon Video Game World Championships and distribute them via the Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection service into the upcoming Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 [1] video games (launching in the U.S. October 7). Once distributed, players can battle these elite Pokémon World Championships participants and the Pokémon they trained in the Pokémon World Tournament, a new battle arena debuting in the Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 games. More information about the Pokémon World Tournament is coming soon, and the 2012 Pokémon Video Game World Champion player distribution details will be announced later this fall.  

Below is a complete list of U.S. Pokémon TCG and video game finalists that earned invitations to the 2012 Pokémon World Championships taking place August 11-12 in Waikoloa, Hawaii. For more information, news, and images from the 2012 Pokémon U.S. National Championships visit www.pokemon.com.

MASTERS DIVISION - Born 1996 or Earlier

Pokémon Video Game Finalists

1^st place - Wolfe Glick (16) - McLean, Virginia

2^nd place - Joe Pulkowski (20) - Stockton, California

3^rd place - Danny Zollner (24) - Edgewater Park, New Jersey

4^th place - Manoj Sunny (16) - Des Plaines, Illinois

Pokémon Trading Card Game Finalists

1^st place - John Roberts II (23) - St. Louis, Missouri

2^nd place - Kevin Nance (22) - Trinity, North Carolina

3^rd place - Jay Hornung (23) - Madrid, Iowa

4^th place - Christopher Murray (23) - Woodbridge, VA

5^th place - Ashon Haswell (22) - Fayetteville, North Carolina

6^th place - Tom Dolezal (24) - Akron, Ohio

7^th place - Breton Brander (19) - Colorado Springs, Colorado

8^th place - Carl Scheu IV (17) - Middleburg Heights, Ohio 

SENIOR DIVISION - Born 1997 to 2000

Pokémon Video Game Finalists

1^st place - Aaron Zheng (14) - New York City, New York

2^nd place - Jonathan Hiller (13) - Parkesburg, Pennsylvania

3^rd place - Toler Webb (14) - Apex, North Carolina

4^th place - Paul Chua (13) - Union, New Jersey

Pokémon Trading Card Game Finalists

1^st place - Ty Wheeler (15) - Dayton, Ohio

2^nd place - Jason Martinez (13) - Glendale, California

3^rd place - Brandon Smiley (15) - Dallas, Texas

4^th place - Sean Hipp (15) - Mesquite, Texas

5^th place - Jeremy Gibson (13) - Morris Plains, New Jersey

6^th place - Alan-Luc Nguyen (14) - Renton, Washington

7^th place - Seth Hanslik (12) - Uhrichsville, Ohio

8^th place - Kaitlin Young (15) - Greenwood, Indiana

JUNIOR DIVISION - Born 2001 or Later
Pokémon Video Game Finalists

1^st place - Abram Burrows (11) - Santee, California

2^nd place - Brian Hough (11) - Ann Arbor, Michigan

3^rd place - Devon Roth (10) - New Hyde Park, New York

4^th place - Gerardo Gonzalez (11) - Fremont, California

Pokémon Trading Card Game Finalists

1^st place - Ian Robb (9) - Warwick, Rhode Island

2^nd place - Jonathan Croxton (11) - Charlottesville, Virginia

3^rd place - Daniel Sargent (11) - Roy, Utah

4^th place - Natalia Routhier (11) - Coppell, Texas

5^th place - Morgan Davies (11) - North Olmsted, Ohio

6^th place - Michael Catron (11) - Frederick, Maryland

7^th place - Shane Kittelson-Burke (10) - Monticello, Minnesota

8^th place - Anthony Menchaca (10) - Frisco, Texas

About Pokémon

The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children's entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit www.pokemon.com.

[1] Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2 will be playable in 2D on the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS systems