Gaming Gen

Live event enthusiasts! Visit our site to learn more, or email us: [email protected]

[RTM Pete | Go to Midwest Mixfest @rtm_pete]

Friendship ended with last year's hoodie.
This year's hoodie is my new best friend.
It's baggier, heavier, and warmer than last year's.

[Play! Pokémon @playpokemon]

The #PokemonClub program is now expanding through a new and exciting partnership with @BGCA_Clubs! 🎉

If you're interested in learning more about how to involve your Boys & Girls Club, check out the link below for more on how to get started ⬇️

[RK9 Labs 🐾 @rk9labs]

Hey #PlayPokemon competitors!

🇦🇺 Registration for the Sydney Pokémon Regional Championships opens Wednesday at 7:00 pm AEDT.

🇺🇸 Registration for the Atlanta Pokémon Regional Championships opens Wednesday at 7:00 pm EST.

Note these openings are one week early, to avoid LAIC week.

[Play! Pokémon @playpokemon]

Registration for the 2027 Sydney Regional Championships and 2027 Atlanta Regional Championships is quickly approaching!

Stay prepped with our registration page links below ⬇️

[Gaming Gen @GamingGen]

Hey Trainers! Here are our merchants for the upcoming Las Vegas Regional Championships in December! 🎉

✨ Kayfabe Cards

✨ Ebisu Collections

✨ The Side Deck

✨ Star City Games

✨ Vegas Singles

✨ TCG Empire

✨ Darkside Games

✨ Meta TCG

Event info:
https://t.co/C3G5RToLws

[Katsuhiro Harada @Harada_TEKKEN]

Man, that brings back memories. Combo Breaker is one of my favorite tournaments.

If you want to get a sense of what EVO was like just before it grew into the massive event it is today, I'd recommend checking out Combo Breaker. It gives you a glimpse of what EVO felt like on the eve of its explosive growth.

That said, I've been traveling around the world to attend community-driven tournaments since the 1990s, so compared to what I saw back then, Combo Breaker is already astonishingly huge.

Back in the '90s and early 2000s, we would actually show up at these events with arcade cabinets and copies of our games to lend out, and we'd even help unload and set everything up. Nobody ever imagined that the actual game developers might be there, and we would quietly watch the tournaments, almost as if we were trying to stay undercover.

At Combo Breaker, people would keep playing until late at night—or rather, all through the night—even in the hotel lobby. I remember occasions when, in the middle of the night, people would suddenly break into a chorus of Japanese anime songs.

The official apparel they sell is also pretty nice. A lot of it is stuff you could comfortably wear in everyday life without looking out of place. And there are plenty of fan artists selling their creations, which is always fascinating to see.

Oh, and there's another thing.

This almost never happens to me, even in California or Las Vegas, but for some reason, the Chicago community is different.

I'll just be walking down the street, and someone will roll down their car window and start yelling at the top of their lungs. Or they'll actually pull their car over, stop, and come charging toward me screaming,

"HEEEEEEEY!!!!! HARADAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
(I have to admit, there have been moments when I instinctively ducked my head because I thought I was about to get shot.)

Another thing about the Chicago community is that when you ask for directions, they have this strange habit of explaining everything using people's names, which makes absolutely no sense to me.
They'll say things like "Eisenhower" or "Kennedy," and at first I honestly thought they were giving me some kind of history lesson.

They also constantly use Lake Michigan as a reference point when giving directions.

Now, I used to be a yacht sailor, and I've actually sailed on Lake Michigan, so I know perfectly well which direction the lake is in. But I remember thinking, "How on earth is anyone who isn't from Chicago supposed to understand these directions?"

And then there's deep-dish pizza.

Everyone kept recommending it so enthusiastically that I ended up eating it practically every night. But the funny thing was, none of the Chicago community guys ever showed up at those restaurants.

So I finally asked them, "Wait, don't you guys normally eat this stuff?"

And they told me, "Nah, what we usually eat is something called tavern-style pizza. It's got a thin crust, and it's cut into squares."

I remember being utterly confused.

I mean, what the hell? You guys spent all this time recommending deep-dish pizza to me, and that's not even what you normally eat?!

I guess it's sort of like when tourists occasionally ask us Japanese people, "Where can I find a ninja house?"
(Okay, that analogy doesn't really work at all, but you get the idea.)

Anyway, Combo Breaker is an event that holds a lot of great memories for me, in more ways than one.

[RTM Pete | Go to Midwest Mixfest @rtm_pete]

The Mixfest stuff is starting to arrive bit by bit.
This is my favorite lanyard design yet.
Gamer Train departs in 9 days.
Mixfest starts in 10 days.
Emergency reg ends in one day.

[Gaming Gen @GamingGen]

Attention Pokémon Professors:

Professor Staff Applications are now open for the Pokémon Toronto Regional Championship, which will take place April 2-4.

The deadline to apply is: Nov 15th Midnight EST

https://t.co/RYWIIeUCqN

Please share with any Professors you might know who is interested!

[Gaming Gen @GamingGen]

Hey Trainers! There will be a very limited wave of seats opening for TCG & VGC Masters for The Las Vegas Pokémon Regional Championships this Thursday at 7 PM PDT!

Be sure to check the links to your games, along with any additional event information you may need!

✨TCG: https://t.co/WpIVjvAFjj
✨VGC: https://t.co/0MwVzrMBt8
✨Spectator: https://t.co/Z45gOZCIfh
✨Info:https://t.co/C3G5RTpjm0

#PlayPokemon

[Gaming Gen @GamingGen]

Hey Trainers! There will be a very limited wave of seats opening for TCG & VGC Masters for The Las Vegas Pokémon Regional Championships this Thursday at 7 PM PDT!

Be sure to check the links to your games, along with any additional event information you may need!

✨TCG: https://t.co/WpIVjvAFjj
✨VGC: https://t.co/0MwVzrMBt8
✨Spectator: https://t.co/Z45gOZCIfh
✨Info:https://t.co/C3G5RTpjm0

#PlayPokemon

[Gaming Gen @GamingGen]

Merchants! The Atlanta Pokémon Regional Merchant Application is now open!

We are very excited to hear from every merchant interested in making this event even better!

Location: Georgia World Congress Center
Halls A1 & A2
285 Andrew Young International Blvd NW
Atlanta, GA 30303

Event dates:

January 15–17, 2027

Application form: https://t.co/wRpjpIMggv

[Gaming Gen @GamingGen]

Attention Pokémon Professors: Professor Staff Applications are now open for the Pokémon San Antonio Regional Championship, which will take place February 26-28, 2027.

The deadline to apply is: October 25th Midnight EST

https://t.co/crL2UgmM6E

Please share with any Professors you might know who is interested!

[Gaming Gen @GamingGen]

Attention Pokémon Professors: Professor Staff Applications are now open for the Pokémon Seattle Regional Championship, which will take place February 5-7, 2027.

The deadline to apply is: October 25th Midnight EST

https://t.co/h1HZVKxwtu

Please share with any Professors you might know who is interested!

[Gaming Gen @GamingGen]

Good Morning Trainers! We have some great news! The remaining North American 2027 Regionals have been announced! Please follow the event links for more info and be on the look out for Applications and Registration links in the near future!

SEATTLE: https://t.co/chlzSL8MVj

SAN ANTONIO: https://t.co/lPCVWYg06g

More info on other events: https://t.co/MzPXLqohfi

#PlayPokemon