By Ashley McLeod, Senior staff writer
Jul 1, 2016, 14:48
COLONIAL HEIGHTS — In today’s world, people have a vast array of activities to get involved in. From music lessons, to sports, and everything in between, everyone has something that they enjoy doing and also excel at.
Christian Ortiz, 27, of Colonial Heights, found his activity as a child, and has now performed well enough to be on his way to the world championships. His niche? The Pokémon card game.
Ortiz was recently named the Pokémon Spring Regional Champion held in Georgia, and also has claimed the title of state champion of Maryland and New York, and will soon be on his way to compete in the Pokémon World Championship in San Francisco in August.
Ortiz has come a long way to earn these coveted titles.
In the late 90s, Pokémon became popular amongst kids in America and abroad, and quickly rose as one of the hottest crazes amongst kids, teens, and adults. Along with the TV show, there are also numerous video games, the card game, and a vast amount of other merchandise with the brand.
Ortiz began his journey to becoming a Pokémon master at the age of 8, when his brother introduced him to the Pokémon cartoon. After getting into the cartoon, Ortiz began to play the card game that was newly released.
“We just went to the video game store and we bought the starter deck and taught each other how to play,” said Ortiz.
He’s been playing ever since.
At the time, Ortiz and his family lived in New York. One day Ortiz and his brother saw an ad on a telephone pole about a Pokémon center opening in the city. Of course, they had to go.
After begging their mother to take them, the boys entered the center, which was filled with Pokémon items. In the store, the two noticed an advertisement for something called a Pokémon league and were interested at once.
The league was an opportunity for fans of the card game to come and meet up and battle each other, earning rewards, and having a friendly competition. After meeting with the league for a while, they started having tournaments, which Ortiz quickly became a part of.
Placing in the tournaments gave prizes, such as packs of cards and other Pokémon gear.
Ortiz recalled a tournament he entered at 14, where he came in second place. He won card packs and a carrying case for his cards.
“I thought, ‘This is awesome,’ and my mom encouraged us to keep playing. She was very supportive,” said Ortiz. “After the league, and playing in tournaments, we just got hooked.”
Ortiz says he began playing the game competitively in 2004 and began winning competitions at the age of 16.
The competitions include three different age groups, ten and under, 11-14, and 15 and older.
Ortiz has entered numerous tournaments for the card game and said he’s won more than 30 tournaments, but has lost count of exactly how many he has won.
Winning in the tournaments, Ortiz has gotten some nice prizes, including scholarships for college.
Recently, the franchise began awarding championship points to tournament winners, which add up and could possibly gain a player entrance into the World Championship Tournament.
According to Ortiz, a player needs 300 championship points to be eligible to play in the world championship, a feat that he has achieved for the fourth time this year by winning state and regional tournaments. Ortiz also placed in the top 16 players in Virginia.
At the Pokémon Spring Regional Championships, which were held in Athens, GA on May 21st and 22nd, Ortiz won the title of Spring Regional Champion, and joined an elite group of only eight masters division champions to claim the title.
Ortiz attended the World Championship Tournament in 2006, which was held in San Diego. Because of his placing, Ortiz earned a paid trip to the tournament for himself and his brother.
The experience was one to remember, as Ortiz was able to meet players from all over the world.
“I got to meet other players that I would talk to outside of the country,” said Ortiz. “I’ve met a lot of great people from this game, and I’ve met a lot of people from out of state and outside of the country.”
The tournament welcomes players from all over the world, but Ortiz said that in his opinion a majority of those attending were from the United States.
“You have Japan, Korea, Chile, every different section of Europe and other nations, it’s really diverse,” said Ortiz.
Players from other countries also bring a slight challenge along with them – a language difference. Ortiz said the language barrier isn’t usually a problem though.
“Everybody that plays the world championships almost always knows what every card does. If you don’t know what a card does, and it’s in Japanese or another language, there are translators that walk around that are on the floor to help you,” said Ortiz.
There are also card sheets for the players, which show what other countries cards mean for those who need help. Ortiz said if there was still confusion, judges were available to help players.
The world championship tournament lasts three days, and a typical match lasts approximately 20 minutes.
Each player is allowed a deck of 60 cards which they build themselves, and which include different Pokémon, trainer cards, and energy cards. Each card holds a specific purpose for the player. When new video games are released, new sets of cards are also released to include new Pokémon.
Ortiz said he begins to prepare for tournaments weeks in advance, testing his deck by playing others and seeing what works and doesn’t. His brother still plays, and Ortiz also has his girlfriend to practice with or get suggestions from.
For now, Ortiz continues to compete in tournaments and has the opportunity to compete in the U.S. National Championships in Columbus, OH this July, before traveling to San Francisco in August to compete in the world championships, which awards more than $500,000 in prizes to those competing.
