Pokemon is still one of the most popular franchises in gaming, and is taken very seriously by many of its ardent fans. At no time is that more evident than this week, as the massive Pokemon World Championships 2012 are taking place in Hawaii until August 12.

Finalists from more than 30 Pokemon-loving nations have assembled for the tournament, which sees trainers compete in both videogame battles, and card battles using the Pokemon Trading Card Game.

You can watch a live stream of Sunday's final through Pokemon.com at the following link. The stream will be available starting at 8 P.M EST, and will run until approximately 11 P.M EST, and will include commentary of all the action. Better yet, if you're actually in Hawaii, the event is free to attend live at the Hilton Waikoloa Village in Waikoloa.

Not only will you get to watch these great players in action, you'll also be able to take some of them on in the upcoming Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2 for 3/DS, set for release on October 7.

Some of the top players from the tournament will be featured as downloadable trainers in those games; not a bad little perk for the winners, as if the gratification of winning, the trophies, and the admiration of other Pokemon fans wasn't enough. Those downloadable trainers will come equipped with the actual teams of Pokemon they use in the tournament, so gamers will be in for a stiff challenge facing them.

It should make for an exciting event with a lot of talented players and great action. And there aren't many other events where you could possibly see a 10 year old Chinese girl make a grown man cry (one can hope) as she whips his butt (and his Pokemon) all across the battlefield.

Are you a Pokemon fanatic? Or are you one of those Yu-Gi-Oh! fans (not that there's anything wrong with that)? Share your thoughts on all things Pokemon in the comments.