Announcing the AI Agent Development Contest to Compete in the Pokémon Trading Card Game!

HEROZ Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Takahiro Hayashi, hereinafter referred to as 'HEROZ') announces the launch of the AI agent development contest 'Pokémon Trading Card Game AI Battle Challenge' (Japanese abbreviation: Pokéka ABC; English abbreviation: PTCGABC) on Kaggle, the world’s largest data science platform, co-hosted with The Pokémon Company (Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Satoshi Ishihara), which produces Pokémon, and Matsuo Laboratory Inc. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Tofuku Kawagami).

Promotional Video: https://youtu.be/EXOEDkPNoGI

This competition is an AI agent development contest focused on battles in the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG), 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 their creations against those of other participants to compete for strength and strategic superiority.

The goal is to provide a new way to experience the deeply strategic 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. Prize money 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 World of Pokémon TCG

Games such as chess, shogi, and Go—classified as 'perfect information games'—have long served as critical benchmarks for proving AI capabilities and have played a pivotal role in AI development.

In contrast, the Pokémon Trading Card Game is an example of an 'imperfect information game,' where elements such as the draw deck and the opponent’s hand remain hidden.

Beyond type matchups, the game features profound strategic depth arising from combinations of over thousands of different cards. Expert players make decisions while considering countless possibilities. The interplay of random elements such as card draws and coin tosses further complicates the environment, making it a significant challenge for AI to determine optimal strategies.

This contest aims to explore how submitted AI agents handle these complex challenges faced during actual gameplay, opening up new ways to enjoy the Pokémon TCG.

Key Features

Hosted on the 'Kaggle' Platform

We welcome participation from AI developers, researchers, engineers, and students worldwide, including those unfamiliar with the Pokémon TCG.

Round 1 will be hosted on Kaggle, a leading data science and machine learning platform.

Support from Three Organizations

Round 1 on Kaggle is organized by Kaggle Inc., with The Pokémon Company, HEROZ Inc., and Matsuo Laboratory Inc. serving as co-hosts, jointly planning and managing the event.

Prizes and Development Support

To support participants’ passion and technological innovation in exploring Pokémon TCG strategy, prize money will be awarded in both 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 each (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 posted on Kaggle’s official competition page. In case of discrepancies between this summary and the official rules, the rules shall prevail.

Comments from Organizers

Matsuo Laboratory Inc.

Technical Advisor

Yutaka Matsuo

This project represents a novel and challenging initiative: enabling AI to learn decision-making within the Pokémon TCG.

While AI learning in decision-making has been widely explored in games like Go and shogi, applying AI to games with 'imperfect information,' diverse card effects, and randomized elements—like the Pokémon TCG—is extremely rare on a global scale.

We aim to leverage the fun of the game to provide AI developers and researchers with an opportunity to explore how cutting-edge AI technologies can be applied, allowing fans worldwide to experience the Pokémon TCG in a completely new way.

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 intelligence as entertainment.

Please pay close attention to how AI reads the cards and formulates its strategies.

Competition Format

The contest 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/

< Rules > All matches in 'Pokéka ABC' follow the official Pokémon TCG battle rules (https://www.pokemon-card.com/howtoplay/) with custom 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 of playtime; exceeding this time results in a loss for that match.

Round 1

Round 1 consists of two divisions: 'Simulation Division' and 'Strategy Division'.

Simulation Division

Duration: June 16, 2026 (Tue) 20:00 JST – August 17, 2026 (Mon) 08:59 JST

In the Simulation Division, teams submit their developed AI agents to Kaggle. Each AI agent will engage in continuous automated battles on the Kaggle platform. 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-battle

Strategy Division

Submission Period: June 16, 2026 (Tue) 20:00 JST