India's Exclusion From The 2022 Pokemon Unite Championship Series Is Frustrating

thegamer.com:

Pokemon Unite recently announced its 2022 Championship Series, with its qualifying rounds kicking off on February 19. A total of seven regional zones will battle it out for a prize pool of over $1,000,000. However, despite having a considerable fan base for the franchise and player base for Pokemon Unite itself, India has not been included in the list of countries eligible for the series, leaving fans frustrated and ignored. In fact, the list doesn't include any country from the South Asian region at all.

India has always had a soft spot for Pokemon. Back in the early ‘00s, TCG cards could be found in concealed pockets of every school kid's backpack, with designated trading areas and secret playing spots marked out to avoid the prying eyes of teachers. The Pokemon anime became so popular that it was localized into Hindi to appeal to a wider audience. Fast forward a couple of years and you'll see that India ranks third among countries with the most Pokemon Go downloads, behind only the USA and Brazil. The fanbase is there, but the recognition isn't.

The exclusion from the Pokemon Unite 2022 Championship Series has left a bad taste for fans who've adored the franchise since the days when scoring a regular Charizard in a TCG pack was considered a life goal. Many of them have taken to Twitter, using '#whynot_INDIA' while tagging various Pokemon and Nintendo handles to vent their frustration about not being recognised as a major region despite decades of dedication.

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Besides fans, the snub was a disappointment to esports organizations as well. A handful of these organizations have experimented with Pokemon Unite competitions, but they remain primarily for amateur