If you are a Pokémon fan, you may think that there is no better destination than Japan to live your passion for this franchise to the fullest. And you are certainly not wrong. We do not have a Pokémon Center in every major city, we have never experienced arcade spin-offs and the little pocket monsters do not invite themselves into our amusement parks. If we do not have the same privileges as Japanese trainers, we easily tend to forget that France is a country that maintains a very special bond with the license.
In addition to the passion that the inhabitants of France have for everything that comes from Japan, our green lands are rather well represented throughout this universe. As Game Freak and The Pokémon Company slowly but surely prepare for the arrival of Pokémon Legends ZA, France is preparing to regain its place of honor in the franchise. These future adventures set in the Kalos region could well be the harbinger of great surprises for French players and fans. While Pokémon games are used to taking inspiration from real countries, ours benefits from one of the most beautiful representations, closely followed by the Alola region which honors the Hawaiian archipelago (where the 2024 World Championships of the license were held).
A return from the X and Y era
Even today, the sixth generation of Pokémon released on Nintendo 3DS in October 2013 remains very popular with players, despite a feeling of unfinished business. With their storyline steeped in particularly interesting lore, Pokémon version X and version Y left too many mysteries hanging. In the absence of a Z opus that seemed obvious, the Kalos region inspired by France did not have the chance to shine at the height of its potential. With the launch next year of Pokémon Legends ZA, it seems that Game Freak and The Pokémon Company are finally ready to finish what they started ten years ago. Since its reveal last February, this episode has still not been shown again, even during the closing ceremony of the Worlds in August.
After a rather criticized journey on Switch, it seems that Pokémon is working hard to regain its letters of nobility. And what better for French players than for this revival to be done through their region. Ten years ago, the release of Pokémon X and Y had proven particularly fruitful for fans in France. Less than a year after the launch of the two versions, a temporary Pokémon Center store opened its doors in Paris from June 4 to 21, 2014. It even offered to discover an exclusive exhibition revealing the research work carried out by the developers to bring France to life in the world of Pokémon. Since Pokémon Legends ZA seems to represent a new beginning for the franchise – as suggested by its longer development time than its predecessors – it is not impossible that our country will once again be the target of operations that will allow us to experience the franchise (almost) like in Japan.
Merchandising fans are still eagerly awaiting the deployment of a European platform for the Pokémon Center e-commerce site. At Journal du Geek, we were also convinced that the next world championships of the license would be held at home, to follow the Olympic Games and pay tribute to the Kalos region. Unfortunately, these will take place in Anaheim, a Californian city also home to the very first Disneyland park in the world. Despite the regrettable absence of the Worlds on our territory, France remains a particularly important country in the field of Pokémon competition. The passion that the French have for these games and the cards pushes them to surpass themselves on the competitive scene.
France hosts championships and is home to professional trainers
Did you know that every year, France hosts one of the biggest competitive formats of the Pokémon franchise? Last weekend, the city of Lille was the scene of a regional championship bringing together passionate players from all over the world. Around video games and the card game, the trainers were able to compete to try to climb the rankings and increase their chances of participating in the world competition next year. This time, the Journal du Geek didn't send a journalist there, but one of them went to experience his first major tournament in a personal capacity.
Our presence in London and Hawaii motivated us to discover the TCG (playing and collectible card game), and after several months of training in local game stores, the author of these lines went to rub shoulders with professional players. Two victories and six defeats later, we were able to see first-hand how Pokémon trainers are not joking around. With nearly 1,600 players on site, rising to the top of the rankings requires gargantuan training and discipline.
But once again, the French community has proven that its passion goes beyond simply collecting games, cards and derivative products. Our country is home to some internationally renowned players, such as Fabien Pujol and Stéphane Ivanoff, whom we had the chance to meet last April. In Lille, French nationality was the most represented in the top 20 (out of 1,311 participants) of the “master” age category (players born in 2005 or before for the 2024 season) with 4 qualifications (Clément Courbois in 2nd place, Anthony Argente in 8th place, Stéphane Ivanoff in 17th place and Yoann Barszezak in 18th place). This dominance could be attributed to the geographical location of this tournament that we hosted at home, but the trend is also found in major competitions.
Last August at the Worlds, we followed Eliot Duclos, a young Rennes player in the senior category (born between 2006 and 2009) who was promising to say the least. The top 16 had narrowly escaped him with a final ranking of 22nd on the world scale. When we found him in Lille, the young trainer had not suffered a single defeat on his first day of competition, ranking 1st against 145 other players. On the second day, a defeat against one of his French comrades – Luka L. – finally made him drop to fifth place in the rankings. France still won the regional title in the senior category following the victory of Luka, equipped with a Charizard/Roucarnage/Noctunoir deck. The French community is talented and encourages you to surpass yourself: so why not give it a try? Maybe the next Pokémon master is you.
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