Pokémon players get game face on for regional contest at Exhibition Hall

The hundreds of kids who packed into Seattle Center Exhibition Hall on Saturday morning to compete in the Pokémon Regional Video Game Championship came prepared with backpacks, energy drinks, a lucky talisman and their own special language.

Cade Rowan, 8, of Lynnwood, said he won the tournament last year by using the classic combination of "blizzard, blizzard, explosion, ghost, levitate and earthquake," but he was knocked out of the final round this year when his opponent "ice-beamed" him, "water-spouted" him and wiped out his Smeargle.

"Basically, I used 'Follow me' (a move) when I should have used 'Fake out,' " Cade said thoughtfully after the final battle.

Cade was one of the nearly 800 or so Pokémon players, or trainers as they are called in game parlance, who gathered at the exhibition center for a chance to compete in the national and world Pokémon championships later this year.

The Nintendo video game was created in 1998 and remains the company's second most popular after Mario games.

It is essentially a sophisticated and intricate version of rock, paper, scissors, according to JP Shields, a spokesman for Pokémon.

According to Shields, there are more than 400 Pokémon characters, each with its own strengths, weaknesses and special skills.

The challenge to trainers is to assemble a team of six Pokémon characters who can together block all potential threats from opponents.

The game is nonviolent, says Shields. When characters are overcome, they faint, not die.

The person with the last Pokémon character standing wins.

The most difficult parts of the game, say players, are memorizing all the characters, knowing which characters to use when, and thinking on your feet in the heat of battle.

"It takes a lot of concentration and focus," said Cade's father Bob Rowan, who taught his son to play. "The possible combinations are infinite."

This year's winner of the junior division, kids 12 and younger, was 7-year-old Christopher Kopkas, of Bellevue.

"He's not just a Pokémon trainer, he's my brother," said Jonathan Kopkas, pumping his arm in victory.

Their family is a Pokémon family, including their mother, Teresa Kopkas, who was signed up to compete in the senior division in the afternoon.

Kiana Weinschenk, of Tacoma, was among the parents who didn't understand the language but were glad to be there anyway.

"When my kid talks to me about this, I have no idea what he's saying," she said. "But he doesn't play any sports, and this is my one chance to root him on. This is a whole little tribe of kids that are his peeps."

There were still other parents there who said seeing all the smart, serious kids at the tournament made them feel better about the amount of time their kids spent playing video games.

"It does develop their minds, and they do have to work for it," said Julie Labbe, of Redmond, whose 7-year-old son Alex made it into the quarter-finals.

Zion Miller, 11, of Everett, said he has told his parents the same thing to earn more video-game playtime. "I've told them it sharpens the mind and creates imagination."

Kevin Nguyen, 11, of Seattle, who came in second place after a spell of some sort froze his Pokémon, said he didn't think that would work for him.

"They're still going to say I should be studying more."

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com