It appears that The Pokémon Company is looking to make competitive Pokémon more accessible to casual fans by including some of the official Play! Pokémon tournament matches on the Pokémon TV app.
Since its implementation on web browsers in 2010 and in app form in 2013, Pokémon TV has gone through several forms. The main use of the Pokémon TV app has always been allowing users to watch episodes of the Pokémon anime and some of the Pokémon movies for free on a weekly rotation.
As part of the most recent update to the app and website in the United States, viewers will now be able to watch select competitive Pokémon events directly on the Pokémon TV platform. This will be a gradual rollout, starting with the most recent Pokémon World Championship and International Championship matches from 2019.
Here are the events that are currently available for U.S. viewers, with TCG and VGC matches available for each.
- 2019 Pokémon World Championships
- 2019 Pokémon North America International Championships
- 2019 Pokémon Europe International Championships
- 2019 Pokémon Oceania International Championships
- 2019 Pokémon Latin America International Championships
There are currently no details available on if previous World Championship, Regional, or other Play! Pokémon events will be added any time soon or if this is just an experiment that TPCI is testing with its audience on the app. Based on it currently only being available in the US, however, it is likely the archives for at least the last several World Championship events will be included at some point.
