Pokemon enthusiasts show their hand in tournament play

By Jan Kaus, Lawrence County Journal | Saturday, January 06, 2007

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RAPID CITY -- The typical quiet environment one imagines in a library was not the scene Saturday upstairs at the Rapid City Public Library.

There were monsters and energy sources and threats of being “knocked out” by other monsters in a Pokemon trading card tournament that attracted nearly 30 players.

Energy levels were high among players as well, each hoping to get their Pokemonsters powered up enough to “knock out” the opponents and earn the top tournament standings.

The group represented only about one-third of the number that comprises the South Side Pokemon League of Rapid City, which currently has 85 active members.

League owner and tournament coordinator Adam Klynsma said Saturday’s event was unusual because it was a premier event with Pokemon U.S.A. -- one that requires, or prohibits, specific cards in the 60-card playing deck.

“Mostly everyone in our league is new to premier events,” Klynsma said. “I expected a bigger turnout, but I think a lot of players couldn’t enter because they didn’t have a legal deck.”

The trading cards are bought in decks, individually or in random packets of nine. And for premier events through Pokemon Organized Play, the regulations are very specific, prohibiting some of the newer players who may not have built up complete decks.

“Battle” was the verb of the day Saturday as players waited between rounds to see who they would be paired with next.

Then came Klynsma’s directive of “Go!” and the next 30-minute round would begin.

By the end of the day, three winners came out on top in their divisions.

At the master’s level, Jeffrey Hirth earned first.

Benjamin Hirth took first in the senior level, and Tom De Long earned first in the junior division.

As the only local tournament coordinator for Pokemon Organized Play, Klynsma doesn’t get the chance to play.

“So I travel,” he said. “I have to drive eight hours to get to the closest competition, and that’s in Westminster, Colorado.”

Klynsma said even the people he competes with out of state are surprised at the size of his league membership.

“I have more people playing here in Rapid City, South Dakota, than in Westminster, Colorado,” he said. “That’s really surprising.”

The other sites he has played are Lincoln, Neb., and Colorado Springs, Colo.

Klynsma, who is days from turning 21, started the local league in June. He started playing the game at age14 when Toys R Us of Rapid City hosted a league. When that ended a few years ago, Klynsma got away from the game -- until he was old enough to travel to towns that offered a chance to play the game, he said.

Then, he decided to start his own league.

“I do it because I really like playing the game,” he said. “It’s fun.”

And what started with about 20 people in June has grown rapidly, by 10 to 20 new members a month, he said.

The Saturday league that Klynsma operates is how he spends his one day off each week. It’s in addition to being a full-time college student and working at a full-time job.

“I’m providing a way to keep kids off the street and away from drugs and alcohol,” he said. “I’m really against those things, and I want kids to have something else to do.”

Bert Bodensteiner, another Pokemon enthusiast who plans to start a Tuesday league this summer, said: “I always tell the players that it’s not about winning or losing, because it really isn’t. It’s about having fun.”

Fourteen-year-old Wolfgang Kelly of rural Rapid City, buys into that theory, but he likes the competition as well.

Wolfgang started playing the game about a year ago after getting some Pokemon trading cards for his birthday.

“I heard about the league and came to the library to learn how to play the game,” he said. “I had to borrow some cards to build a deck at first, but now I’ve been building up a pretty good deck.”

He described the purpose of the game, after saying it’s “fairly easy” to learn.

“In order to win, you have to get all the prize cards. You use energy cards to power up your Pokemon, and then there are certain attacks that knock out opponents. But attacks require energy that you get by drawing cards.”

So there’s strategy, but there’s also luck of the draw, he said.

Kelly said he was excited to enter his first tournament, and as of the third round, he had three wins and “zero losses.”

Prizes, provided by Pokemon U.S.A., were awarded to the top four winners in each age division.

Klynsma said players can progress up to world championship tournaments and earn scholarship money.

Contact Jan Kaus at 642-8822, ext. 11, or jan.kaus@lawrencecountyjournal.com