Making smart financial choices is one of the most important parts of playing VGC– Pokemon tournaments can be fun to travel to, but travel can be expensive, and you’re not guaranteed to make your money back. This is a guide to understanding the costs of travel to VGC tournaments so that you can prepare for your season as best as possible. All costs in this guide are going to be in US dollars and assume that the reader lives in the USA-- we apologize if that doesn’t cover readers from other nations, but we’re only speaking from our own experience.

The most important thing to keep in mind is not to expect to make your money back from the tournament, no matter how well you think you’ll do. Even the most seasoned VGC experts can’t expect to make money at a tournament, as there are a lot of factors that go into a tournament result, many of which are outside a player’s control. Do not factor prize money into your financial analysis-- if you do end up winning prize money, you can save it or put it towards a future tournament. 

Switch

If you don’t have a Nintendo Switch and a copy of Pokémon Sword / Shield, you’ll need one. A Switch Lite retails for $200 and Pokémon Sword or Shield costs 60$.

Entry Fees

For smaller tournaments-- Premier Challenges and Midseason Showdowns-- the tournament itself may cost between 5$ and 20$ to sign up.

For larger tournaments-- Regionals and Internationals-- an entry fee will run you between 50$ and 70$. This covers everything for the actual tournament. 

There is no entry fee for the World Championships.

Transportation

If you’re not able to stay at your own home for an event, you’re going to need to figure out how to get to the event. 

Driving

Driving is the cheapest option, especially if you’re able to carpool with players from your local region and split gas. Depending on the distance from the event and the mileage of your vehicle, you might not actually need that many tanks of gas. Plan to arrive the day before and leave the Sunday of finals.

Airplanes

Airplanes are sometimes the only option, and are certainly the most expensive. If you’re going to fly to a Regional or larger event, be as smart about booking your tickets as possible. Book early and don’t wait until prices go up. Alberto Lara, seasoned VGC player, wrote an extensive guide to flying to Regionals here. Preferably, you would book your flight in for the day/night before an event (Friday for a Regional, Thursday for an International, or Wednesday for Worlds, and leave on Sunday, but these can be peak times and the tickets may cost more than if you do some smart searching. 

Buses

A Greyhound bus (or similar) is a good low-budget option for crossing the country. Make sure that you’re able to get to the bus station from the event easily, as not every convention center is easy to get to. 

Trains

In America, it’s pretty hard to get to most events using the Amtrak train network, and although taking a train can drastically reduce your carbon footprint, if you’re worried about cost, it might not be much different than taking an airplane. 

Boats

Don’t take a boat to an event.

Lodging

If cost isn’t an issue, we recommend staying as close to the tournament as possible. The difference between a 15 minute walk to your hotel and a 45 minute drive can drastically affect your tournament experience. However, cost is often an issue, and commuting to a convention center (which is often in the middle of a city) can save a lot of money.

Splitting lodging is a great way to save on money at events. Many players split hotel rooms with other players that they know. If you intend on splitting a hotel room, we have two requests: first, make sure you trust every person in your hotel room. Second, don’t sleep on the floor (unless you want to). This will wreck your sleep and is generally not worth saving a buck on your hotel room as it will significantly impact your tournament run.

Homestay

If you have a friend or relative’s home to stay near the event, your lodging will cost very little. However, it’s most likely that you will need to be further from the event, and you’ll need to factor in time and cost of transportation. 

Hotels/AirBNBs

Hotels are a big part of the tournament expense. Many convention centers are attached to hotels, which can be convenient but expensive. Budget options are further out, but you might need a car or a rideshare such as Lyft or Uber to get to the tournament, which adds an extra step to the tournament. If you want to save money on food, an AirBNB will often come with a kitchen, which can allow you alternatives to pricey restaurants.

Food

If you’re travelling to an event, you’ll be eating out most of the time, and this expense can add up. Have a rough idea of the restaurants you’ll be going to and how much they’ll cost. Expect to get quick takeout lunch and to eat at a restaurant for dinner every night that you’re there. Convention center food can be expensive, and is usually not very healthy, so we recommend making other plans.

You’ll also want snacks or something to keep you afloat during the tournament.