Warm up your Bidoofs and polish off your Pawniards, because it's time to start preparing your flock of collectable pocket monsters for the 2012 Pokemon Championship Series! Comprised of a series of battles held across Europe, the top 4 trainers from each tournament will win an all-expenses-paid trip to the Pokemon World Championship in sunny, distinctly non-european Hawaii, USA.

Players are separated into three divisions based on age: Junior, for those born after 2001, Senior, for those born between 1997 and 2000, and Master, for grizzled old Poke-veterans born before 1996. All participants must bring their own (3)DS and must battle using their regions' version of Pokemon Black/White. The latest National Pokedex has been opened for use, meaning that all all 646 Pokemon are eligible for ranked tournament battles, save for a small handfull of legendary and extremely rare monsters. Check out this PDF for the complete rules and jump past the break for tournament dates and locations.