Pokémon Trading Card Game AI Battle Challenge: AI Agent Development Contest Announced

The Pokémon Company (headquartered in Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Tsunekazu Ishihara), in collaboration with Matsuo Laboratory Inc. (headquartered in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Nobutomi Kawakami) and HEROZ Inc. (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Takahiro Hayashi), is pleased to announce the launch of the AI agent development contest 'Pokémon Trading Card Game AI Battle Challenge' (English: Pokémon Trading Card Game AI Battle Challenge; Japanese abbreviation: Pokéka ABC; English abbreviation: PTCGABC) on Kaggle, the world’s largest data science platform. Trailer: https://youtu.be/EXOEDkPNoGI This competition is an AI agent development contest focused on battles in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, played in 16 languages across over 90 countries and regions. Participants will develop and build AI agents capable of battling in the Pokémon TCG, pitting them against agents developed by other participants to compete in strength. The goal is to provide a new way to experience the strategically rich Pokémon TCG. Round 1 will begin on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, at 20:00 Japan Time, with Round 2 scheduled for late 2026 or later. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 8 teams in the Strategy Division of Round 1 and the top 2 teams in Round 2. AI’s New Challenge: Entering the Pokémon TCG Games like chess, shogi, and Go—known as 'perfect information games'—have played a crucial role in AI development, serving as key benchmarks for proving AI capabilities. In contrast, the Pokémon Trading Card Game is an 'imperfect information game,' where elements such as the draw deck and opponent’s hand remain hidden. Beyond type matchups, the game features deep strategic complexity arising from thousands of possible card combinations. Skilled players consider every possibility when playing cards. With random elements like card draws and coin tosses intricately intertwined, finding optimal solutions presents a significant challenge for AI. This competition aims to explore how submitted AI agents handle these complex challenges faced by human players, opening up new ways to enjoy the Pokémon TCG. Key Features ■ Hosted on the 'Kaggle' Platform We welcome participation from a broad range of AI developers, researchers, engineers, and students worldwide, including those unfamiliar with the Pokémon TCG. Round 1 will be hosted on 'Kaggle,' a machine learning and data science platform. ■ Support from Three Organizations Round 1 on Kaggle will be organized and operated by Kaggle Inc. as host, with The Pokémon Company, HEROZ Inc., and Matsuo Laboratory Inc. serving as co-organizers. ■ Prizes and Development Support To support participants’ passion and innovation in Pokémon TCG strategy research, the following prizes will be awarded in Round 1 and Round 2: < Round 1 > Simulation Division ※ No prize money is awarded in the Simulation Division. Strategy Division 1st to 8th place: $30,000 (per team) Top 8 teams qualify for Round 2 ※ Participation in the Strategy Division requires prior participation in the Simulation Division. < Round 2 > Champion team: $50,000 Runner-up team: $30,000 All Round 2 participants: $3,000 Google Cloud coupon per individual ※ Please carefully review the full terms and conditions on Kaggle’s official competition page. In case of discrepancies between this summary and the official rules, the rules take precedence. Comments from Organizers Matsuo Laboratory Inc. Technical Advisor Yutaka Matsuo This project is a novel and challenging initiative where AI learns decision-making within the Pokémon TCG. While AI learning in games like Go and shogi is well-established, applying AI to games with 'imperfect information'—like the Pokémon TCG—with diverse card effects and randomized elements—is extremely rare worldwide. We aim to provide an opportunity for AI developers and researchers to explore how cutting-edge AI technologies can be applied, allowing fans worldwide to experience the Pokémon TCG in a completely new way. Yutaka Matsuo, Technical Advisor, Matsuo Laboratory Inc. HEROZ Inc. CEO Takahiro Hayashi The 'Pokémon Trading Card Game AI Battle Challenge,' co-hosted with The Pokémon Company and Matsuo Laboratory, is a stage for researchers and developers worldwide to experience the new possibilities born from the fusion of AI and entertainment. We aim to go beyond a mere technical competition, creating an exciting event where spectators can enjoy the clash of AI and human intellect as entertainment. Please pay close attention to how AI reads the cards and formulates its strategies. Takahiro Hayashi, CEO, HEROZ Inc. Competition Format The competition consists of two stages: 'Round 1' and 'Round 2'. For detailed formats, please visit the official Pokéka ABC website: https://ptcg-abc.pokemon.co.jp/ All matches in the 'Pokéka ABC' follow the Pokémon TCG battle rules (https://www.pokemon-card.com/howtoplay/) with unique adjustments made specifically for this competition. Only cards from the official list provided by the organizers may be used. Each player has a maximum of 10 minutes; a player who exhausts their time loses the match. Round 1 Round 1 consists of two divisions: 'Simulation Division' and 'Strategy Division'. Simulation Division Period: June 16, 2026 (Tue) 20:00 JST – August 17, 2026 (Mon) 8:59 JST In the Simulation Division, each team submits their developed AI agent to Kaggle. The AI agents will engage in continuous automated battles on Kaggle. Rankings are determined in real-time on the leaderboard using Kaggle’s proprietary rating system. Detailed rules can be found on the Kaggle Simulation Division page: https://www.kaggle.com/competitions/pokemon-tcg-ai-batt