Australia and New Zealand have always had a somewhat unique position within the Pokémon Championship Series since their entry in 2013. With heavy involvement from Nintendo of Australia & New Zealand, the events have not been under the Play! Pokémon umbrella like other regions. This year, Nintendo will continue to carry out the bulk of the organization of these events but the structure of the tournament series will more closely mirror North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Qualifying
As announced earlier in the year, players in Australia and New Zealand are a part of the Asia Pacific rating zone. This region does not include Japan or Korea but does include many countries in that area including Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The top 18 players in each age division (10 in the Junior Division) from this zone will receive invitations to the 2015 Pokémon World Championships. Players will earn points by competing in tournaments at the same levels as found in the rest of the world: Premier Challenges, Regional Championships, National Championships, and the online International Challenges. The two two players from each age division at the end of the season will receive a full travel award in addition to their invite.
Regional Championships
Only one set of Regional Championships will take place. They will happen over the course of April and May with five locations in Australia and one in New Zealand. The top two players from each event will receive a full travel award to the National Championships for which news is not yet available.
Brisbane
Saturday 11th April
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
South Bank
Sydney
Saturday 18th April
Paddington Town Hall
Paddington
Perth
Sunday 26th April
Perth Arena
Perth
Melbourne
Sunday 3rd May
Collingwood Town Hall
Collingwood
Auckland
Saturday 9th May
Aotea Centre
Auckland
Adelaide
Saturday 16th May
The Ellington
Hackney
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