A Wimbledon teenager has won a trip to Japan using his Pokémon gaming skills at a grand final.

Oliver Reilly was crowned the Ultimate Pokémon Expert by gaming his way to the title after spending up to 100 hours preparing for the event.

Mr Reilly, of Edge Hill, Wimbledon, battled it out against dozens of others on Nintendo 3DS handheld devices at the live final in Mayfair hosted by comedian Johnny Vegas.

The 18-year-old A-Level student said: "I have been playing Pokémon for about ten years.

"They were having an event and I went along and did really well accidentally.

"I did some research after that about how to win and then it happened very quickly.

"I guess I am proud that I have got something out of playing Pokémon for ten years."

He said his parents would have preferred him to be studying for his impending A-Level exams in maths, further maths, physics and economics.

They were not in the audience at the National Pokémon X and Pokémon Y Battle Tournament 2014 Grand Final on Saturday, April 26.

He said: "Depending on how far this goes, I could make a career out of it.

"I am trying to focus on revising but when I have breaks I work on strategies.

"I have spent 100 hours on building a team.

"It takes a long time to feel comfortable with it."

As part of his prize, he will be jetting to Japan - the home of the game - in September for a week to visit the Pokémon Centre and sights such as Mount Fuji.

Poke-what?

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Pokémon are colourful characters of all shapes and sizes who first appeared in 1998 in a Nintendo Game Boy game.

According to the Pokémon website, in most games the player takes on the role of a trainer whose journey involves travelling from place to place, catching and training Pokémon, and battling against other trainers’ Pokémon on a quest to become the Pokémon League Champion.

Mr Reilly is hoping for even more success at the next stage - the National Championships being held in Manchester in late May.