Gotta catch ’em all! 10-year-old going to Hawaii for Pokémon World Championship

The Pokémon card game has been compared to the game of chess, which, on the surface, sounds absurd — but both are strategic, competitive games that depend on players using attacks or moves to try to defeat their opponent.

It takes skill to create a top-tier Pokémon card hand with an assortment of trainer, energy and Pokémon cards, and 10-year-old Lleyton Chan has become so adept at it that he keeps winning battles and championships. His latest accomplishment has won him a trip to Hawaii to compete in the three-day 2024 Pokémon World Championships.

He, his parents and his sister are Honolulu-bound in August so he can compete for the title of Pokémon World Champion. Lleyton currently is ranked 94th in the United States and Canada, and to earn the top title, he must beat 2,862 other contestants in the Junior Division.

GETTING TO THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The 2024 Pokémon World Championships is the capstone event of the 2024 Championship Series season, and players from all around the world will battle for the title of World Champion. Main events at the Pokémon World Championships are by invitation only.

Competitors qualify for Worlds by earning championship points at events throughout the championship series season. There are league challenges, league cups, regionals and internationals prior to the ultimate championship match. The number of points is based on both geographical rating zone and age division.

At the beginning of the gaming season, battles are played at various stores, such as West Orange Comics and Video Games in Ocoee.

“That was our first venture into Pokémon and learning about the card game and … learning how to play,” Jenni Chan, Lleyton’s mother, said.

That was in 2021, and stores weren’t engaging in play because of the pandemic. So Lleyton and his mother played at home. He became competitive last September, joining the Junior Division for 6- to 12-year-olds.

To qualify for Worlds, Lleyton had to accumulate 450 points; he earned 500. Contributing to his qualification were six previous wins in which he earned a champion mat worth 50 points apiece, as well as two regional matches in Orlando and Charlotte, North Carolina.

In his first regional matchup, Lleyton won multiple games and placed 37th out of 197 contestants. At the Orlando match, he placed 30th out of 182.

“These regionals are so intense; they’re different than the league cups and the little ones they do all the time,” Chris Chan, Lleyton’s father, said. “Everyone is there at 8 a.m. checking in, and it starts at 9 a.m. and they go until 7 at night. He gets in there and plays round one of the eight rounds. Up to three rounds, best of 3. Then it’s back-to-back all day long, one hour per round and a 10-minute break.”

In the tournament, a computer program randomly pairs two people for the first round. Players who win that round are matched for the second round. This continues for eight rounds.

“You can put me in a random deck, and I feel like I would know how to play,” Lleyton said. “It’s just memorizing and knowing what to do. That’s a strategy.”

Chris and Jenni Chan are proud of how far he has gotten in the card game.

“I’m so blown away by his dedication and work ethic to accomplish his goals,” Chris Chan wrote on Facebook. “Jenni and Lleyton are making waves in the Pokémon space, and each of these events they become the hub for all his Pokémon friends. So cool to walk by tables and hear them talking about Lleyton and the deck he’s playing and just loving on him.”

Jenni Chan explained why the Pokémon trading-card game is similar to chess:

“I always compare it to chess because … you have to concentrate, it’s so strategic, you have to do a ton of math, reading the cards is very important, learning and memorizing what each one does,” she said. “It’s like if you have a chess game and one side does a certain set of rules and then your opponent has a different set of rules. You have to learn what all your pieces do to know your strategy but also have to know what your opponent has and their strategy.”

Lleyton set up a GoFundMe account (with his parents’ help) to assist him in getting to the match:

“Playing Pokémon is my biggest dream, and this World Championship is a super big deal!” the page reads. “It's where all the best players from around the world come together, and I'm so excited to have a chance to show what I can do. I've been working hard and dreaming about this ever since I started playing. … Thanks a bunch for supporting my Pokémon journey!”

To make a donation, visit bit.ly/3VKmFTY.

If Lleyton places in the top 32, he wins a cash prize of between $5,000 and $50,000.

BUILDING A DECK

The key to winning is to build a 60-card deck with three different kinds of cards: trainers, energy and Pokémon. Lleyton has created a successful deck, and it’s hard to keep up as he explains his strategy.

“You have to have a 60-card deck with at least one basic Pokémon,” he said. “You can only have four of each card besides basic energy. My strategy is you just want to get a bunch of energy cards in your hand and to use (the Pokémon) Gholdengo. … It’s really good because there are a lot of Pokémon that have a lot of hit points, and you have to do equivalent or more damage, and it can do a lot of damage.

“I have four of Gholdengo, the max,” Lleyton continued. “I play 10 energy because it’s a good number of it and it’s easier to draw into them. Every turn, when you start your turn, it’s by drawing. You start with seven cards, you draw seven; each turn you draw one card until the Pokémon has an ability and you can draw more. I could go for hours talking about this — I was trying to keep it simple.”

Lleyton has created several different decks, and those sometimes need to be updated when Pokémon issues new cards with new characters. So new packs must be purchased to try to get all the new Pokémon.

Lleyton and his mother play the game frequently, and if he doesn’t yet have all the new characters, they print black-and-white versions of those — proxies — with which to practice.

Getting more card packs means spending money, so to afford them, Lleyton will perform extra chores, sell a few of his quality cards or make trades with other card collectors.

Of the more than 1,000 Pokémon species, Lleyton has three favorites.

“I like Snorlax because in the anime there’s a really funny episode about him,” he said. “Mew was always my favorite because it was really cute and it also can transform into others. And Tatsugiri because she’s just a cute fish.”

He has binders full of cards and an assortment of plushies, many of them Snorlax. He wears Pokémon sneakers, and his Crocs have multiple Pokémon shoe charms called Jibbitz.

There’s always room for more Pokémon clothing, stuffed characters and cards, and if Lleyton wins one of the big prizes, there likely will be more in his future. The competition is Aug. 16 through 18.