Joystiq

Pokémaniacs will soon have the opportunity to find out who among them is best at the cultivation and production of pocket monsters for battle, and dare we say, delicious cuisine. This summer both Pokémon USA and Japan's The Pokémon Company will host the Pokémon Video Game Showdown 2008, which promises to pit the regions' best poké-trainers against each other in a multi-round tournament to discover once and for all who has the best poké-chops.

On August 16, 32 Pokémon aficionados from the US will make the trek to Orlando, FL to throw down against 32 of Japan's best poké-players, using the series' latest flavors, Diamond and Pearl. The contest will be divided into two different age brackets, with those trainers born on or before 1995 making up the "senior" set. And there's more than just poké-pride at stake, as the top finisher in each group will walk away with a Nintendo Wii package and a shot at a grand prize that includes a 6-day vacation for four to either NY, Honolulu, or Tokyo. However, we should tell you that interested players must first survive a qualifier round, and that registration has already closed. Even so, organizers note that additional players may be randomly selected from those in attendance at the events, so if you fancy yourself a poké-maestro, check out the dates below before you book fare on Air Pokémon.