Amateur esports platform PlayVS has announced a new partnership with The Pokémon Company, which will bring Pokémon UNITE to its scholastic leagues.
According to PlayVS, this partnership marks the first time The Pokémon Company has collaborated with a third party to host a league catered toward middle and high school students.
PlayVS will now operate as the official Scholastic League Partner for Pokémon UNITE, bringing the game to students across the US and Canada.
The news follows a pilot season in the past spring run by PlayVS, which aimed to prepare schools and academic teams for the inaugural season.
“Bringing Pokémon UNITE into the classroom through structured competition is a meaningful step forward for PlayVS and scholastic esports as a whole,” said Jon Chapman, CEO of PlayVS.
“Pokémon has inspired generations of players, and we’re proud to help students connect with the franchise in a new and competitive way.”
Schools that win the Fall Championship will qualify for the PlayVS Cup, the national event, to compete for scholarship prizes and be recognised at the ‘highest level’ of scholastic esports.
Pokémon Unite is a MOBA free to play game that launched in July 2021 and is available on mobile devices and Nintendo Switch systems.
It becomes the latest title to join PlayVS’ portfolio of competitive titles. In it’s college-tier esports ecosystem, called the PlayVS College League (PCL), it features games such as League of Legends, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six Siege and more.
Upcoming PlayVS and Pokemon events
PlayVS will hold its Inaugural Championship for the PCL at the University of Akron from December 13th to 14th, 2025. This tournament will feature games such as Overwatch 2, Rocket League, and VALORANT, among others.
Pokémon Unite will also be featured at the upcoming Pokémon World Championships 2025 in Anaheim, California, running from August 15th to 17th. Anyone can register as a team to participate, so long as they have a functioning Nintendo Switch system or a tournament-legal mobile device.
