What: Pokémon Club is a new group that provides a space where casual fans, competitors, and newcomers alike can come together and share the fun of enjoying the Pokémon world. This semester, the club aims to build a consistent base of regular attendees to see how each event is received by Pokémon fans.
Meetings are typically divided into two parts: Pokémon League (a competition on the main franchise games via handheld platforms like the Nintendo 3DS), and a main event which cycles every week between TV/movie, battle, and party nights. Battle nights feature competitions—in which players connect wirelessly to one another using their 3DS and choose a multiplayer option to battle with their best teams of Pokémon—while party nights can contain a mix of interesting activities like karaoke, Pokémon spin-off games, and arts and crafts.
Who: Cooro Harris ’19, Stephanie Widzowski ’19, Ian Brastow ’17, and Daniel Lugano ’17 are all co-heads of the club.
When: Harris came up with the idea for the club last year when thinking about the other unique gaming clubs that exist on campus. “There’s a club for every sport imaginable, even League of Legends, so I thought that it was a shame that there wasn’t one for Pokémon, since there are so many people on campus that love it,” she says. Harris then officially established the club this semester with the help of fellow Pokémon fans and co-heads Widzowski, Bristow, and Lugano. The club currently meets on Friday nights from 6:30–7:30 p.m. in Stokes 018.
Did you know: The co-heads all had different entry points into the franchise. Lugano’s first game was Pokémon Silver (initially released for the Gameboy in 1999) while Brastow’s first was Pokémon Ruby (released for the Gameboy Advance in 2002). The main series titles include 14 different installments across six generations of Pokémon species, with the 15th installment and seventh generation, Pokemon Sun and Moon, to be released for the 3DS next month. Pokémon Go, which you may be more familiar with after it made headlines upon its release this past summer, is considered a spin-off mobile game that utilizes augmented reality and geolocation technology. Players have to physically move around their surroundings with the app open in order to catch Pokémon near them and battle at local markers designated as Pokémon gyms.
Get involved: Check the club’s page on the Havertivity app for more information, or email Harris (kjharris@haverford.edu) and Widzowski (swidzowski@haverford.edu) to get involved.
-Jenny Ahn ’17
Photos by TK