Who can play a Regional
According to Play! Pokémon's own site, Regionals have no qualification or residency requirements: you can play one in another country without ever having played an official tournament. What does limit you is capacity, because spots sell out, and we'll get to that in part two.
The first thing to know is which division you play in, because each one is a separate tournament with its own prizes and its own Worlds invites. Your division depends on your birth year, not your age on tournament day, and it shifts every season.
| Division | Birth year (2027 season) |
|---|---|
| Junior | 2015 or later |
| Senior | 2011 to 2014 |
| Masters | 2010 or earlier |
Two exceptions: Germany and Brazil
The game's age rating changes things in two countries. Serebii reported that there is no Junior division in Brazil and that in Germany players under 12 can't use the standard version of the game.
The Stuttgart Regional registration page spells it out: anyone who will be under 12 on the first day of the event has to play the whole event with the Junior version of Pokémon Champions for Nintendo Switch, released on September 9, 2026. If that's you, have it installed and tested weeks ahead.
The console and the game
The official VGC Tournament Handbook, in its September 1, 2026 version, allows the Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite, Switch OLED and Switch 2. The mobile version of Pokémon Champions works at store events, but not at Regionals or anything above them.
Your console has to be unmodified, with the latest system and game updates downloaded before play starts: playing without the latest version can get you penalized, up to disqualification. The handbook also warns that an active Nintendo Switch Online membership may be required and that parental controls can't block anything the tournament needs. And bring your own charger: battery is your responsibility.
The account and the Player ID
Regional registration happens on RK9, and its profile asks for your name, date of birth, country and Play! Pokémon Player ID, the number shown on the Play! Pokémon screen of your Pokémon account. Without that number you can't sign up.
The team list you'll submit for the event asks for your Player ID again, together with your name, date of birth and the Trainer name you use in the game. Our take: create the account and your RK9 profile as soon as you decide to go to a Regional, not on the day registration opens, because on that day every minute counts.
A quick checklist before moving on
If you can tick all of these, you're ready for part two: you know your division, you have an eligible Switch with an updated copy of Pokémon Champions, an active Nintendo Switch Online membership in case it's needed, and an account with a Player ID plus an RK9 profile with the right details.
In the meantime, it pays to play the format your Regional will use. In Reg M-C, the regulation for the autumn 2026 events, the meta and the most played sets are in our stats, taken from real tournaments.
