History WebAnimation / ThePokemonGameShow

* '''Round 1''' is one of several games. Usually, the first three players to earn one or two points move on. Players earn points by playing the board, but to play the board they have to correctly answer a jump-in question (general trivia, identify a Pokémon from its Pokédex entry, or a series of clues to something related to the franchise). Games used in this round have included:
** ''Super Effective'' - Given a Pokémon, find a move on the board that in the games is, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin super effective]] against that Pokémon. First three to do that twice move on.
** ''Who's Whose?'' - The first question is always to identify a Pokémon by its silhouette ([[AudienceParticipation cue audience shouting "Who's that Pokémon?" in unison]]). Then, given that Pokémon, find its trainer on the board (four different ones, each showing up roughly the same number of times). First three to get two move on.
** ''The Fast Track'' - Six Pokémon appear in each of the five rows of the board, with each instance of the same Pokémon connecting either vertically or diagonally with the previous. Find all five of the same Pokémon once to move on.
** ''Make Your Move'' - Find two words that, together, create the name of a Pokémon move. First three to do that twice move on.
** ''Voltorb Sweeper'' - Essentially ''Minesweeper'' in reverse: in up to two picks, try to find one of seven Voltorbs. Blank space ends your turn; a number indicates how many Voltorbs touch it orthogonally (but not diagonally) and gives the contestant one more chance to find a Voltorb. First three to find two Voltorbs move on. (Unlike in other games, the board will remain open until a Voltorb is found; when a Voltorb is found, ''all'' squares opened to that point are locked off.)

** ''Movin' On Up'' - A variation on the ''Super Effective'' game. Each space hides a Pokémon type. The contestant picks two spaces; if the first type is super effective against the second, the contestant can either accept one point or continue their turn by selecting another space; in the latter case, if they find a type that the second one beats, they earn two points; if not, they earn no points and all the doors are closed. First three to three points move on.

* '''Round 2''' is always ''Evolution Match''. As before, buzzing in with a correct answer to a question allows that person to play the board. In this round, 25 Pokémon are on the board, all in groups of their evolution chains: five chains of two Pokémon and five chains of three. Within each evolution chain, all Pokémon touch either horizontally or vertically on the board (so a group of three can also be in an L shape). While playing the board, that player keeps picking so long as they continue matching Pokémon in the same chain, and upon completing the chain captures those Pokémon. The other five squares contain the Team Rocket "R" symbol, which costs that player a Pokémon if they have any. The first two to get six Pokémon move on.

* '''Round 3''' has the last two players challenge the Elite Four. The right to begin for each bout is determined by a question. The object is to find moves that are super effective against each of two Pokémon (in order). The players alternate turns until someone manages to do that, winning the bout. The first player to win three bouts wins free admission to that convention next year, and plays the Championship for the right to be programmed into the game software.

* The '''Championship''' is played by the last remaining player. The board now contains 23 moves and seven K.O. squares (originally 24 moves and six K.O.'s). The Championship takes the form of a mock Pokémon battle, three-on-three. Finding a move either does 1 HP of damage to the Champion's current Pokémon (if it's not super-effective against that Pokémon) or [[OneHitKO beats that Pokémon outright]] (if it's super effective; seven of the moves on the board will be super effective against at least one Pokémon, and each Pokémon will have at least one move on the board that will deal them a OneHitKO), with each of the Champion's Pokémon having 4 HP. Finding a K.O., however, removes one of the challenger's Pokémon. The first side to K.O. all three of the other's Pokémon gets or keeps the championship — and in the case of the challenger, that person got his/her likeness programmed into the game software for that convention, complete with their own selection of three Pokémon for the next challenger to face. (Originally, if a convention did not have a champion as of yet, Iris from the Unova arc in the anime was the default champion; Greggo later updated his software to the ''X & Y'' era, which meant the default champion was Diantha, and still later updated it to the ''Sun & Moon'' era).

!!'''GameShowTropes, I choose you!'''

* BonusSpace: In Round 2, Pikachu appeared on the board. If a player fonds him ''and made a match on the same turn'', that player was protected from his or her next Team Rocket selection (however, Pikachu didn't count towards the requisite six). While Pikachu was active, the player he was protecting would have a crocheted Pikachu doll next to him or her. Pikachu debuted at San Japan 2015; the first episode uploaded that featured him on the board is Tsubasacon 2015.

** TheAnnouncer: Three-time game show contestant Josh Woo, on at least one occasion.

* RetiredGameShowElement: The Motaku 2014 episode debuted a question type which required the contestants to guess the Pokédex number of a given Pokémon as on ''Series/ThePriceIsRight''. Said questions were retired after Round 1 of that show.

!!'''Trope examples... GO!'''
* BraggingRightsReward: Not for winning the main game, since that had somewhat more immediate value (even if it was a year from then), but winning the Championship Round meant your face got programmed into the game control, and you could pick your own set of three Pokémon to be featured.

** On the first two episodes, the Elite Four round only lasted four bouts, and the player who won the Evolution Match got the option of going first or second to start the round. On the second episode, it ended in a tie, so both players won the convention admission and played a modified version of the Championship Round: the player who K.O.'ed the champion's last Pokémon won, and each player had their own stock of three lives. For the rest of the srries, Now, the right to start each bout was determined by a trivia question, and if the score went to 2-2, Red from the games was the opponent for a fifth bout.
** Early episodes started the Evolution Match round by showing one Pokémon briefly before the first turn.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: What were you expecting from something called ''The Pokémon Game Show'', a soap opera about ''Manga/InuYasha''?

* ObviousRulePatch: When a new Champion picked their three Pokémon for next year's winner to face, each Pokémon had to have at least one weakness (type of move which is super-effective). The very few Pokémon who have no weaknesses were thus disallowed.

** If one box gotsisolated (due to the boxes touching it going across or up-and-down all having Pokémon behind them), Greggo would usually say [[SarcasmMode "Gee, I wonder what's behind #X?"]] (Occasionally, since adding Pikachu to the board, if he hadn't been found yet, he might point out that the isolated box could be Pikachu.)

* UnsportsmanlikeGloating: Danielle, again, [[spoiler:when she won her game, although in fairness she did give her defeated opponent a hug afterwards]]. Seeing as she had been annoying everyone all show long, [[spoiler:seeing her lose the Championship round in the first three picks was quite satisfying]].
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: If you won the Championship Round, then ''you'' became the Champion (each convention had its own) and it's '''your''' face that stared down the next challenger with '''your''' three Pokémon they had to beat.

GameShow created and hosted by Greg Wicker, usually known as "Creator/{{Greggo}}", which debuted in January 2013. It doesn't air on TV, however, but rather is played at {{Anime}}-themed conventions. Various episodes can be viewed on [[https://www.youtube.com/user/gregdasgo/videos Greggo's YouTube channel]], or [[http://gameshows.wikia.com/wiki/User:Daniel_Benfield/Greggo%27s_Game_Shows#The_Pok.C3.A9mon_Game_Show here]] if you'd like to see them in chronological order.

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the name might suggest]], it's a game show themed around ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' (both the anime and the games). Four contestants enter, with three eliminated as the game progresses, leaving one to face the Champion and possibly [[BraggingRightsReward have himself programmed into the game software]].

* The '''Championship''' is played by the last remaining player. The board now contains 23 moves and seven K.O. squares (originally 24 moves and six K.O.'s). The Championship takes the form of a mock Pokémon battle, three-on-three. Finding a move either does 1 HP of damage to the Champion's current Pokémon (if it's not super-effective against that Pokémon) or [[OneHitKO beats that Pokémon outright]] (if it's super effective; seven of the moves on the board will be super effective against at least one Pokémon, and each Pokémon will have at least one move on the board that will deal them a OneHitKO), with each of the Champion's Pokémon having 4 HP. Finding a K.O., however, removes one of the challenger's Pokémon. The first side to K.O. all three of the other's Pokémon gets or keeps the championship — and in the case of the challenger, that person gets his/her likeness programmed into the game software for that convention, complete with their own selection of three Pokémon for the next challenger to face. (Originally, if a convention did not have a champion as of yet, Iris from the Unova arc in the anime was the default champion; Greggo later updated his software to the ''XY'' era, which means the default champion is now Diantha.)

* BonusSpace: In Round 2, Pikachu appears on the board. If a player finds him ''and makes a match on the same turn'', that player is protected from his or her next Team Rocket selection (however, Pikachu will not count towards the requisite six). While Pikachu is active, the player he is protecting will have a crocheted Pikachu doll next to him or her. Pikachu debuted at San Japan 2015; the first episode uploaded that featured him on the board is Tsubasacon 2015.
* {{Lifelines}}: In the ''Hot Potato'' game in Round 1, each player is allowed one "free pass", where they may pass their turn with no penalty. In addition, seven additional free passes are hidden on the board; the player selecting one then picks again until they get a question.
* LuckBasedMission: Quickly becomes a test of memory, but at the beginning of each round there's little or no information known. More prominent in the Championship Round, where once a box is opened it ''stays'' opened since its effect happens immediately.

** GameShowHost: Greggo, who wears a white coat for these shows and was quickly nicknamed "Professor Wicker". Not too surprising, since the anime/game Professors' last names (Oak, Birch, Elm, etc.) have a tree/wood theme to them.

* RulesSpiel: The round explanations, which are likely the first time the contestants are told about the rules.

** The Team Rocket "R" in Round 2 (which makes you lose a point).
** "Miss" symbols in Round 3 (which makes you waste your turn).
*** Starting with the Japan Expo 2013 episode, Round 3 also features a "Splash" symbol with a Magikarp. Basically, it's a re-skinned "Miss" since Splash is never super effective.

* BraggingRightsReward: Not for winning the main game, since that has somewhat more immediate value (even if it's a year from then), but winning the Championship Round means your face gets programmed into the game control, and you can pick your own set of three Pokémon to be featured.

** On the first two episodes, the Elite Four round only lasted four bouts, and the player who won the Evolution Match got the option of going first or second to start the round. On the second episode, it ended in a tie, so both players won the convention admission and played a modified version of the Championship Round: the player who K.O.'ed the champion's last Pokémon won, and each player had their own stock of three lives. Now, the right to start each bout is determined by a trivia question, and if the score goes to 2-2, Red from the games is the opponent for a fifth bout.

** One contestant selected the same Team Rocket square ''three times'' during the Evolution Match. Greggo frequently refers to this occurrence.

* ObviousRulePatch: When a new Champion picks their three Pokémon for next year's winner to face, each Pokémon must have at least one weakness (type of move which is super-effective). The very few Pokémon who have no weaknesses are thus disallowed.
* RunningGag: A few that show up in Round 2.

*** He'll also mention Eevee and its evolutions are never on the Round 2 board, because "we can't/won't be here all day."
** Greggo will usually do an impression of Wobbuffet if it shows up on the board.
** If Rattata is uncovered, Greggo will usually say something to the effect of, "I wonder if it's in the top 10 percent of all Rattata? Is Joey in the audience?"
** If one box gets isolated (due to the boxes touching it going across or up-and-down all having Pokémon behind them), Greggo will usually say, [[SarcasmMode "Gee, I wonder what's behind #X?"]] (Occasionally, since adding Pikachu to the board, if he hasn't been found yet, he might point out that the isolated box could be Pikachu.)
** If a contestant gets to exactly 5 points in round 2, Greggo will usually say that they have "Rocket insurance," since you can still guarantee advancement in one turn even if you find Team Rocket (you'd fall back to 4, but you can only score points two or three at a time).

* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: If you win the Championship Round, then ''you'' become the Champion (each convention has its own) and it's '''your''' face that stares down the next challenger with '''your''' three Pokémon they have to beat.

[[redirect:WebOriginal/ThePokemonGameShow]]

GameShow created and hosted by Greg Wicker, usually known as "Greggo". It doesn't air on TV, however, but rather is played at {{Anime}}-themed conventions. A few episodes can be seen on [[http://www.youtube.com/user/gregdasgo/videos Greggo's YouTube channel.]]

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the name might suggest]], it's a game show themed around Franchise/{{Pokemon}} (both the anime and the games). Four contestants enter, with three eliminated as the game progresses, leaving one to face the Champion and possibly [[BraggingRightsReward have themselves programmed into the game software]].

So how does it work? Well, every round is played on a board of 30 numbered squares:
* '''Round 1''' is one of several games, with the first three players to earn one or two points moving on. Players earn points by playing the board, but to play the board they have to correctly answer a jump-in question (general trivia, identify a Pokémon from its Pokédex entry, or a series of clues to something related to the franchise). Here's what we've seen so far:
** ''Super Effective'': Given a Pokémon, find a move on the board that in the games is, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin super effective]] against that Pokémon. First three to do that twice move on.
** ''Who's Whose?'': The first question is always to identify a Pokémon by its silhouette ([[AudienceParticipation cue audience shouting "Who's that Pokémon?" in unison]]). Then, given that Pokémon, find its trainer on the board (four different ones, each showing up roughly the same number of times). First three to get two move on.
** ''The Fast Track'': Six Pokémon appear in each of the five rows of the board, with each instance of the same Pokémon connecting either vertically or diagonally with the previous. Find all five of the same Pokémon once to move on.
** ''Make Your Move'': Find two words that, together, create the name of a Pokémon move. First three to do that twice move on.

* '''Round 2''' is always ''Evolution Match''. As before, buzzing in with a correct answer to a question allows that person to play the board. In this round, 26 Pokémon are on the board, all in groups of their evolution chains (hence, either two or three Pokémon). Within each evolution chain, all Pokémon touch either horizontally or vertically on the board (so a group of three can also be in an L shape). To start the round, one Pokémon is shown briefly. While playing the board, that player keeps picking so long as they continue matching Pokémon in the same chain, and upon completing the chain captures those Pokémon. The other four squares, which never touch, contain the Team Rocket "R" symbol, which costs that player a Pokémon if s/he has one. The first two to get six Pokémon move on.

* '''Round 3''' has the last two players challenge the Elite Four. The right to begin for each bout is determined by a question. The object is to find moves that are super effective against each of two Pokémon (in order). The players alternate turns until someone manages to do that, winning the bout. The first player to win three bouts wins free admission to that convention next year, and plays the Championship for the right to be programmed into the game software.

* The '''Championship''' is played by the last remaining player. The board now contains 23 moves and seven K.O. squares. The Championship takes the form of a mock Pokémon battle, three-on-three. Finding a move either does 1 HP of damage to the Champion's current Pokémon (if it's not super effective against that Pokémon) or beats that Pokémon outright (if it's super effective), with each of the Champion's Pokémon having 4 HP. Finding a K.O., however, removes one of the challenger's Pokémon. The first side to K.O. all three of the other's Pokémon gets or keeps the championship — and in the case of the challenger, that person gets their likeness programmed into the game software for that convention, complete with their own selection of three Pokémon for the next challenger to face.
----
!!'''GameShowTropes, I choose you!'''
* BonusRound: The Championship.
* LuckBasedMission: Quickly becomes a test of memory, but at the beginning of each round there's no (or almost no) information known. More prominent in the Championship Round, where once a box is opened it ''stays'' opened, since its effect happens immediately.
* Personnel:
** TheAnnouncer: Josh Woo, on at least one occasion.
** GameShowHost: Greggo, who wears a white coat for these shows and was quickly nicknamed "Professor Wicker".
** StudioAudience: Usually consisting of convention-goers.
* {{Whammy}}: Starts showing up in Round 2, and has three different costumes — the Team Rocket "R" (which makes you lose a point), a "Miss" symbol in Round 3 (which makes you waste your turn), and a K.O. symbol in the Championship (three of them, and you lose).
** In the Japan Expo 2014 episode, Round 3 also featured [[spoiler:a "Splash" symbol with a Magikarp. Basically, it's a re-skinned "Miss" since Splash is never super-effective]].
----
!!'''Trope examples... GO!'''
* BraggingRightsReward: Not for winning the main game, since that has somewhat more immediate value (even if it's a year from then), but winning the Championship Round means your face gets programmed into the game control, and you can pick your own set of three Pokémon to be featured.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: What were you expecting from something called ''The Pokémon Game Show'', a soap opera about ''InuYasha''?
* LaserGuidedKarma: The Anime St. Louis 2013 episode had a then-19-year-old girl named Danielle who was cosplaying as Pikachu, and basically annoyed the crap out of everyone in the room. [[note]](By her own admission, she had ADHD.)[[/note]] As the game went on, she tried everyone's patience more and more (Greggo included) by saying random stuff and making sounds into the mic at various times (such as when Greggo was explaining the rules) and generally distracting the other players (she kept hitting one of them in the back of the head with glow sticks). [[spoiler:Much to the consternation of everyone in the audience, she was the day's winner, but then karma came back and bit her ''hard'' in the Championship as she found ''[[EpicFail three K.O.'s]] '''[[EpicFail in her first three picks.]]''''']]
* ObviousRulePatch: On the first episode, the Elite Four round only lasted four bouts, and the player who won the Evolution Match got the option of going first or second to start the round. It ended in a tie, so both players won the convention admission and played a modified version of the Championship Round, where the player who K.O.'ed the champion's last Pokémon won and each player had their own stock of three lives.
** Now, the right to start each bout is determined by a trivia question, and if the score goes to 2-2, Red from the games is the opponent for a fifth bout.
* UnsportsmanlikeGloating: Danielle, again, [[spoiler:when she won her game, although in fairness she did give her defeated opponent a hug afterwards]]. Seeing as she had been annoying everyone all show long, [[spoiler:seeing her lose the Championship round in the first three picks was quite satisfying]].
* [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt You Defeat It, You Become It]]: If you win the Championship Round, then ''you'' become the Champion (each convention has its own) and it's '''your''' face that stares down the next challenger with '''your''' three Pokémon they have to beat.
* XMeetsY: ''Series/{{Concentration}}'' meets ''Pokémon'', with a dash of the 1970s ''[[Series/BreakTheBank1976 Break the Bank]]'' and a hint of Creator/JayWolpert.
----

GameShow created and hosted by Greg Wicker, usually known as "Greggo". It doesn't air on TV, however, but rather is played at {{Anime}}-themed conventions. A few episodes can be seen on [[http://www.youtube.com/user/gregdasgo/videos Greggo's YouTube channel.]]

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the name might suggest]], it's a game show themed around Franchise/{{Pokemon}} (both the anime and the games). Four contestants enter, with three eliminated as the game progresses, leaving one to face the Champion and possibly [[BraggingRightsReward have themselves programmed into the game software]].

So how does it work? Well, every round is played on a board of 30 numbered squares:
* '''Round 1''' is one of several games, with the first three players to earn one or two points moving on. Players earn points by playing the board, but to play the board they have to correctly answer a jump-in question (general trivia, identify a Pokémon from its Pokédex entry, or a series of clues to something related to the franchise). Here's what we've seen so far:
** ''Super Effective'': Given a Pokémon, find a move on the board that in the games is be [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin super effective]] against that Pokémon. First three to do that twice move on.
** ''Who's Whose?'': The first question is always to identify a Pokémon by its silhouette ([[AudienceParticipation cue audience shouting "Who's that Pokémon?" in unison]]). Then, given that Pokémon, find its trainer on the board (four different ones, each showing up roughly the same number of times). First three to get two move on.
** ''The Fast Track'': Six Pokémon appear in each of the five rows of the board, with each instance of the same Pokémon connecting either vertically or diagonally with the previous. Find all five of the same Pokémon once to move on.
** ''Make Your Move'': Find two words that, together, create the name of a Pokémon move. First three to do that twice move on.

* '''Round 2''' is always ''Evolution Match''. As before, buzzing in with a correct answer to a question allows that person to play the board. In this round, 26 Pokémon are on the board, all in groups of their evolution chains (hence, either two or three Pokémon). Within each evolution chain, all Pokémon touch either horizontally or vertically on the board (so a group of three can also be in an L shape). To start the round, one Pokémon is shown briefly. While playing the board, that player keeps picking so long as they continue matching Pokémon in the same chain, and upon completing the chain captures those Pokémon. The other four squares, which never touch, contain the Team Rocket "R" symbol, which costs that player a Pokémon if s/he has one. The first two to get six Pokémon move on.

* '''Round 3''' has the last two players challenge the Elite Four. The right to begin for each bout is determined by a question. The object is to find moves that are super effective against each of two Pokémon (in order). The players alternate turns until someone manages to do that, winning the bout. The first player to win three bouts wins free admission to that convention next year, and plays the Championship for the right to be programmed into the game software.

* The '''Championship''' is played by the last remaining player. The board now contains 23 moves and seven K.O. squares. The Championship takes the form of a mock Pokémon battle, three-on-three. Finding a move either does 1 HP of damage to the Champion's current Pokémon (if it's not super effective against that Pokémon) or beats that Pokémon outright (if it's super effective), with each of the Champion's Pokémon having 4 HP. Finding a K.O., however, removes one of the challenger's Pokémon. The first side to K.O. all three of the other's Pokémon gets or keeps the championship — and in the case of the challenger, that person gets their likeness programmed into the game software for that convention, complete with their own selection of three Pokémon for the next challenger to face.
----
!!'''GameShowTropes, I choose you!'''
* BonusRound: The Championship.
* LuckBasedMission: Quickly becomes a test of memory, but at the beginning of each round there's no (or almost no) information known. More prominent in the Championship Round, where once a box is opened it ''stays'' opened, since its effect happens immediately.
* Personnel:
** TheAnnouncer: Josh Woo, on at least one occasion.
** GameShowHost: Greggo, who wears a white coat for these shows and was quickly nicknamed "Professor Wicker".
** StudioAudience: Usually consisting of convention-goers.
* {{Whammy}}: Starts showing up in Round 2, and has three different costumes — the Team Rocket "R" (which makes you lose a point), a "Miss" symbol in Round 3 (which makes you waste your turn), and a K.O. symbol in the Championship (three of them, and you lose).
** In the Japan Expo 2014 episode, Round 3 also featured [[spoiler:a "Splash" symbol with a Magikarp. Basically, it's a re-skinned "Miss" since Splash is never super-effective]].
----
!!'''Trope examples... GO!'''
* BraggingRightsReward: Not for winning the main game, since that has somewhat more immediate value (even if it's a year from then), but winning the Championship Round means your face gets programmed into the game control, and you can pick your own set of three Pokémon to be featured.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: What were you expecting from something called ''The Pokémon Game Show'', a soap opera about ''InuYasha''?
* LaserGuidedKarma: The Anime St. Louis 2013 episode had a then-19-year-old girl named Danielle who was cosplaying as Pikachu, and basically annoyed the crap out of everyone in the room. [[note]](By her own admission, she had ADHD.)[[/note]] As the game went on, she tried everyone's patience more and more (Greggo included) by saying random stuff and making sounds into the mic at various times (such as when Greggo was explaining the rules) and generally distracting the other players (she kept hitting one of them in the back of the head with glow sticks). [[spoiler:Much to the consternation of everyone in the audience, she was the day's winner, but then karma came back and bit her ''hard'' in the Championship as she found ''[[EpicFail three K.O.'s]] '''[[EpicFail in her first three picks.]]''''']]
* ObviousRulePatch: On the first episode, the Elite Four round only lasted four bouts, and the player who won the Evolution Match got the option of going first or second to start the round. It ended in a tie, so both players won the convention admission and played a modified version of the Championship Round, where the player who K.O.'ed the champion's last Pokémon won and each player had their own stock of three lives.
** Now, the right to start each bout is determined by a trivia question, and if the score goes to 2-2, Red from the games is the opponent for a fifth bout.
* UnsportsmanlikeGloating: Danielle, again, [[spoiler:when she won her game, although in fairness she did give her defeated opponent a hug afterwards]]. Seeing as she had been annoying everyone all show long, [[spoiler:seeing her lose the Championship round in the first three picks was quite satisfying]].
* [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt You Defeat It, You Become It]]: If you win the Championship Round, then ''you'' become the Champion (each convention has its own) and it's '''your''' face that stares down the next challenger with '''your''' three Pokémon they have to beat.
* XMeetsY: ''Series/{{Concentration}}'' meets ''Pokémon'', with a dash of the 1970s ''[[Series/BreakTheBank1976 Break the Bank]]'' and a hint of Creator/JayWolpert.
----

GameShow created and hosted by Greg Wicker, usually known as "Greggo". It doesn't air on TV, however, but rather is played at {{anime}}-themed conventions. A few episodes can be seen on [[http://www.youtube.com/user/gregdasgo/videos Greggo's YouTube channel.]]

So, how does it work? Well, every round is played on a board of 30 numbered squares:

** ''Who's Whose?'': The first question is always to identify a Pokémon by its silhouette ([[AudienceParticipation cue audience shouting, "Who's that Pokémon?" in unison]]). Then, given that Pokémon, find its trainer on the board (four different ones, each showing up roughly the same number of times). First three to get two move on.

* '''Round 2''' is always ''Evolution Match''. As before, buzzing in with a correct answer to a question allows you to play the board. In this round, 26 Pokémon are on the board, all in groups of their evolution chains (hence, either two or three Pokémon). Within each evolution chain, all Pokémon touch either horizontally or vertically on the board (so a group of three can also be in an L shape). To start the round, one Pokémon is shown briefly. When you're playing the board, you keep picking as long as you're matching Pokémon in the same chain, and when you get a complete chain, you capture all of those Pokémon. The other four squares, which never touch, contain the Team Rocket "R" symbol, and finding this costs that player a Pokémon assuming s/he has one. The first two to get six Pokémon move on.

* The '''Championship''' is played by the last remaining player. The board now contains 23 moves and seven K.O. squares. The Championship takes the form of a mock Pokémon battle, three-on-three. Finding a move either does 1 HP of damage to the Champion's current Pokémon (if it's not super effective against that Pokémon) or beats that Pokémon outright (if it's super effective), with each of the Champion's Pokémon having 4 HP. Finding a K.O., however, removes one of the challenger's Pokémon. The first side to K.O. all three of the other's Pokémon gets or keeps the championship - and in the case of the challenger, that person gets their likeness programmed into the game software for that convention, complete with their own selection of three Pokémon for the next challenger to face.

* {{Whammy}}: Starts showing up in Round 2, and has three different costumes - the Team Rocket "R" (which makes you lose a point), a "Miss" symbol in Round 3 (which makes you waste your turn), and a K.O. symbol in the Championship (three of them, and you lose).

'''''The Pokemon Game Show''''' is a game show created and hosted by Greg Wicker, usually known as "Greggo." No, you won't see it on TV, seeing as it only shows up at {{anime}}-themed conventions. [[http://www.youtube.com/user/gregdasgo/featured But you can view a few episodes on Greggo's Youtube channel.]]

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the name might suggest]], it's a game show themed around {{Franchise/Pokemon}} -- both the anime and the games. Four contestants enter, and through the rounds, three will be eliminated, leaving one to face the champion and possibly [[BraggingRightsReward have themselves programmed into the game software]].

So, how does it work? Well, every round is played on a board of 30 numbered squares.

* '''Round 1''' features a rotation of games, with the first three players to earn one or two points wins. You earn points by playing the board. To get a chance to play the board, you have to answer a question correctly - it could be general trivia, or you may have to ID a Pokemon from its Pokedex entry, or you may get a series of clues to something related to the franchise. Here's what we've seen so far:
** ''Super Effective'': Given a Pokemon, find a move on the board that, in the games, would be, well, super effective against that Pokemon. First three to do that twice move on.
** ''Who's Whose?'': The first question is always to identify a Pokemon by it's silhouette ([[AudienceParticipation cue audience shouting, "Who's that Pokemon?" in unison]]). Then, given that Pokemon, find its trainer on the board (four different ones, each showing up roughly the same number of times). First three to get two move on.
** ''The Fast Track'': Six Pokemon appear in each of the five rows of the board, with each instance of the same Pokemon connecting either vertically or diagonally with the previous. Find all five of the same Pokemon once, and you move on.
** ''Make Your Move'': Find two words that, together, create the name of a Pokemon move. First three to do that twice move on.

* '''Round 2''' is always ''Evolution Match.'' As before, buzzing in with a correct answer to a question allows you to play the board. In this round, 26 Pokemon are on the board, all in groups of their evolution chains - either two or three Pokemon. Within each evolution chain, all Pokemon touch either horizontally or vertically on the board (so a group of three can also be in an L shape). To start the round, one Pokemon is shown briefly. When you're playing the board, you keep picking as long as you're matching Pokemon in the same chain, and when you get a complete chain, you capture all of those Pokemon. The other four squares (which never touch) contain the Team Rocket "R" symbol, and finding this costs you a Pokemon if you have any. The first two to get six Pokemon move on.

* '''Round 3''' sees the last two players challenge the Elite Four. The right to begin for each bout is determined by a question. The object is to find moves that are super effective against each of two Pokemon (in order). The players alternate turns until someone manages to do that, winning the bout. The first player to win three bouts wins free admission to that convention next year, and plays the Championship for the right to be programmed into the game software.

* The '''Championship''' is played by the last remaining player. The board now contains 23 moves and 7 K.O. squares. The Championship takes the form of a mock Pokemon battle, three-on-three. Finding a move either does 1 HP of damage to the Champion's current Pokemon (if it's not super effective against that Pokemon) or K.O.'s that Pokemon outright (if it is super effective), with each of the Champion's Pokemon having 4 HP. Finding a K.O., however, K.O.'s one of your Pokemon. The first side to K.O. all three of the other's Pokemon gets or keeps the championship, and if it's the winner of the game, they get their likeness programmed into the game software for that convention, and they also get to pick their own three Pokemon for the next comer to face.

!!'''GameShowTropes... I choose you!'''
* GameShowHost: Greggo.
* StudioAudience: Usually consists of convention-goers.
* {{Whammy}}: Starts showing up in Round 2, and has three different costumes: The Team Rocket R, which makes you lose a point; a "Miss" symbol in round 3, which makes you waste your turn; and a K.O. symbol in the Championship - three of them, and you lose. [[spoiler:In the Japan Expo 2014 episode, round 3 also featured a "Splash" symbol with a Magikarp in the background. Basically, it's a re-skinned "Miss," since Splash is never super-effective.]]

* BraggingRightsReward: Not for winning the main game - that has somewhat more immediate value (even if it's a year from then), but winning the Championship round means your face gets programmed into the game control, and you can pick your own set of three Pokemon to be featured.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: What were you expecting from something called ''The Pokemon Game Show'', a soap opera about ''InuYasha''?
* LaserGuidedKarma: The Anime St. Louis 2013 episode featured a then-19-year-old girl named Danielle who was cosplaying as Pikachu, and basically annoyed the crap out of everyone in the room. [[note]]By her own admission, she had ADHD.[[/note]] As the game went on, she tried everyone's patience more and more (Greggo included) by saying random stuff and making sounds into the mic at various times (like when Greggo was explaining the rules, for example) and generally distracting the other players (she kept hitting one of them in the back of the head with glow sticks). [[spoiler: Much to the consternation of everyone in the audience, she was the day's winner, but then karma came back and bit her ''hard'' in the Championship as she found ''[[EpicFail three K.O.'s]]'' '''''[[EpicFail in her first three picks.]]''''']]
* LuckBasedMission: Quickly becomes a test of memory, but at the beginning of each round, there's no (or almost no) information known. More prominent in the Championship round, where once a box is opened, it ''stays'' opened, since its effect happens immediately.
* ObviousRulePatch: On the first episode, the Elite Four round only lasted four bouts, and the player who won the Evolution Match got the option of going first or second to start the round. It ended in a tie, so both of the players involved won the convention admission, and played a modified version of the Championship round, where the player who K.O.'ed the champion's last Pokemon won. Also, each player had their own stock of three lives. Now, the right to start each bout is determined by a trivia question, and if the score goes to 2-2, Red from the games is the opponent for a fifth bout.
* UnsportsmanlikeGloating: Danielle, again, [[spoiler:when she won her game, although in all fairness, she did give her defeated opponent a hug afterwards.]] Seeing as she had been annoying everyone all show long, [[spoiler:seeing her lose the Championship round in her first three picks was quite satisfying.]]
* [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt You Defeat It, You Bought It]]: If you win in the Championship round, then YOU become the champion (each convention has its own champion) and it's YOUR face that stares down the next challenger, and YOUR three Pokemon they have to beat.

* {{Whammy}}: Starts showing up in Round 2, and has three different costumes: The Team Rocket R, which makes you lose a point; a "Miss" symbol in round 3, which makes you waste your turn; and a K.O. symbol in the Championship - three of them, and you lose.

* UnsportsmanlikeGloating: Danielle, again, [[spoiler:when she won her game, although in all fairness, she did give her defeated opponent a hug afterwards.]] Seeing as she had been annoying everyone all show long, [[spoiler:seeing her lose the Championship round in her first three picks was quite satisfying.]]

* LaserGuidedKarma: The Anime St. Louis 2013 episode featured a then-19-year-old girl named Danielle who basically annoyed the crap out of everyone in the room. [[note]]By her own admission, she had ADD.[[/note]] As the game went on, she tried everyone's patience more and more (Greggo included) by saying random stuff and making sounds into the mic at various times (like when Greggo was explaining the rules, for example) and generally distracting the other players (she kept hitting one of them in the back of the head with glow sticks). [[spoiler: Much to the consternation of everyone in the audience, she was the day's winner, but then karma came back and bit her ''hard'' in the Championship as she found ''[[EpicFail three K.O.'s]]'' '''''[[EpicFail in her first three picks.]]''''']]

* LaserGuidedKarma: The Anime St. Louis 2013 episode featured a then-19-year-old girl named Danielle who basically annoyed the crap out of everyone in the room. [[note]]By her own admission, she had ADD.[[/note]] As the game went on, she tried everyone's patience more and more (Greggo included) by saying random stuff and making sounds into the mic at various times and generally distracting the other players. [[spoiler: Much to the consternation of everyone in the audience, she was the day's winner, but then karma came back and bit her ''hard'' in the Championship as she found ''[[EpicFail three K.O.'s]]'' '''''[[EpicFail in her first three picks.]]''''']]

* UnsportsmanlikeGloating: Danielle, again, [[spoiler:when she won her game, although in all fairness, she did give her defeated opponent a hug afterwards.]] Seeing as she had been annoying everyone all show long, [[seeing her lose the Championship round in her first three picks was quite satisfying.]]

* LuckBasedMission: Quickly becomes a test of memory, but at the beginning of each round, there's no (or almost no) information known.