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Pokémon Enters the World of e-Sports on January 24
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
The Pokémon Company is bringing all 720 Pokémon into the arena of e-Sports for the very first time. Dubbed "P-Sports," challengers can face top players, celebrities, and YouTube personalities in every other week on AbemaTV.
Viewers can tune in starting on January 24 and subsequent episodes will air every other Saturday at 9:00 p.m. JST. Celebrity Pokémon trainers will make up the "P-Sports Elite Four" and face challengers for the title of "P-Sports Champion."
The current P-Sports Elite Four includes Hiroshi Yamamoto from the Japanese comedy trio "Robert," a prominent Pokémon trainer named 'Raibarori,' the trainer who placed third for Japanese players at Japan Content Showcase 2016, and YouTuber Pokémon trainer Hajime Shacho.
Japan is currently streamlining the e-Sports entertainment industry by introducing official athlete licenses and work with game publishers. The move has received push back from professional players who see the decision as limiting in its definition of "professional player."
[Via Siliconera (Sato), Hachima Kikō]
