Kyoto Rist Members Win Gold, Place 8th and 11th in Pokémon TCG AI Challenge

Two members of Kyoto-based Rist have won gold medals in the Pokémon Trading Card Game AI Battle Challenge Simulation, an international Kaggle competition hosted by The Pokémon Company. The Rist Kaggle Team members placed 8th and 11th with their respective teams.

Held online from June 16 to August 17, 2026, the competition challenged participants to build autonomous AI agents capable of playing the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The project combined the strategy of a trading card game with hidden information, random card draws, coin tosses, changing board conditions, and opponents with different strategies.

Kohei Ozaki’s team finished 8th and Satoshi Mifune’s team finished 11th among 6,807 teams. The competition attracted 14,081 applicants and 8,085 participants, with both Rist members earning gold medals.

About the Pokémon TCG AI Challenge

Kohei Ozaki

Kaggle Grandmaster Kohei Ozaki was a member of the Rist team that placed 8th and won a gold medal in the Pokémon TCG AI Challenge.

Satoshi Mifune

Kaggle Grandmaster Satoshi Mifune was part of the Rist team that placed 11th and earned a gold medal in the Pokémon TCG AI Challenge.

Participants used a dedicated software development kit that simulated Pokémon Trading Card Game matches. Unlike chess or shogi, where all information is visible, the card game requires agents to estimate future outcomes while adapting to unknown cards, probability, card effects, and opponents’ decisions.

Highlights

• Rist Kaggle Team members Kohei Ozaki and Satoshi Mifune each won a gold medal.
• Ozaki’s team ranked 8th, while Mifune’s team ranked 11th.
• The competition had 14,081 applicants, 8,085 participants, and 6,807 teams.
• Mifune’s team progressed from rule-based play to imitation learning and reinforcement learning.
• The competition explored AI decision-making in an uncertain and dynamic environment.

Competition Details