In a surprising twist, Ray Rizzo, a three-time Pokémon World Champion, got disqualified from the 2023 Pokémon World Championships. This marks the second time this season he faced disqualification. After winning his titles back in 2012, Rizzo took it easy, almost stepping away from the competitive scene. But this year, he came back full force.
A Shocking Setback
Sadly, Rizzo’s hard work this season was all for nothing. The Pokémon Company took back his invitation to the World Championships, not once, but twice. Despite earning his spot righteously, his efforts went unrewarded.
A Simple Mistake
On June 22, Rizzo shared a video explaining a small misunderstanding that cost him his Worlds spot for good. He thought his Worlds qualification, earned from online Japanese tournaments, was linked to his Nintendo account. This wasn’t the case. His and every other Japanese player’s invitation was actually tied to their game cartridge, specifically the save file they used in the online tournaments.
The Cost of Starting Over
Players had to use this same save file to sign up for more tournaments like the World Championships. If they started a new game file for a fresh run, they would lose all their qualifications for big tournaments, including Worlds. This is just what Rizzo did. He overwrote his old save file to start a new run of the Generation IX Pokémon games, losing his 2023 Worlds invite forever.
In his YouTube video, Rizzo explained he set his original game’s save file to Japanese. He did this to keep other players from recognizing him online, as he was the only one with a game set to English. This helped prevent his team from being scouted.
Rizzo also mentioned that although he knows some Japanese, there were times he didn’t understand his opponent’s moves. At home, he could use his phone to translate the in-game text. This wouldn’t work at in-person events like the World Championships. Thus, keeping his save file in Japanese for these tournaments made no sense.
Moving Forward
Under the impression his qualifications were linked to his Nintendo account, not his save file, Rizzo chose to delete his save file. He wanted to start a new file in English, a misunderstanding many Asian players also had.
Towards his video’s end, Rizzo shared mixed feelings about competing in Japan’s circuit. However, he ended on a positive note, expressing a newfound motivation to become Japan’s National Champion. It was his way of standing up to The Pokémon Company.
ESN.GG has reached out to Rizzo for more comments on the situation.