First Pokémon League in South Africa

Pokémon video games and trading card games (TCG) are growing from strength-to-strength in SA. For the uninitiated, it may be interesting to learn that the cutesy Pokémon creatures and colourful presentation disguises a complex and challenging game.

Core Group, perhaps better known among gamers for being the official distributor of Nintendo products in South Africa, is also our country’s official Pokémon product distributor, and the company has been lending support to budding Pokémon leagues.

We caught up with Brian Murdoch, founder and operator of First Pokémon League in South Africa, to learn more about this pastime and where it is heading for the South African faithful and early adopters.

MyGaming: What is the league’s full official name? When was the league formed?

Murdoch: The league that I run is called the FPLSA (First Pokémon League in South Africa), but there are 3 other leagues in Gauteng and 9 other leagues in South Africa. Pretoria Pokémon League, Port Elizabeth League, Cape Town South Africa League, East London, Pokeworx, Pokémon TradeStation Challenge, Pokémon Durban, Riverside Pokémon League and Master Quest League.

More will follow soon as there are lots of people around the country that are interested. There were other leagues when Pokémon first came out and Cape Town has been running since then unofficially by importing their stock, but the league I started was the first of the new launch of Pokémon in South Africa.”

Brian Murdoch

MyGaming: What are the goals for the league?

Murdoch: The league’s goal is to have fun. Play Pokémon on the DS, bring your own cards to play, trade and even earn cool prizes. Do this with others that share your interest.

All the leagues are free to attend and the league owners will only charge if they need to pay for the venue or get more equipment for the league’s benefit, such as getting more tables and chairs to cater for growth.

MyGaming: How was your first event received?

Murdoch: It was hard to start because there were only 6 of us in the first meet-up. It was okay because we were still learning how these things worked. That was in the beginning of the year. The league now has over 30 players that meet every 2nd week. In Pretoria they have seen great growth. They started February with 5 people and are now 25 players meeting every week with the players requesting to meet twice a week.

MyGaming: What sort of support do you get from Core?

Murdoch: Core help a lot. They give most of the prize support that we receive and also facilitate the league materials coming into the country. They pick up the bill for shipping it in and couriering out to the league owners. This prize-support is given for free to the players as they achieve the number of games required. Free special promo cards and eventually a Pokémon Season badge, just like in the animé.

MyGaming: What do people need to do to become involved?

Murdoch: Buying one of the starter theme decks is a good idea. There is also ‘Trainer Starter’ that can teach two people how to play at the same time, and then you can combine the two 30-card ‘Trainer Starter’ decks into one playable 60 card deck.

Both of these packs have the basic rules in them. After this step or before, register on Pokémon.com and go to the Pokémon website to find a tournament or league in your area. The search only needs your Country and Postal code. Take a look at the league closest to you.

MyGaming: Do you have a web presence where interested Pokémon gamers can find more info?

Murdoch: Pokémon.com is the official site and caters for almost all the needs of a Pokémon player. Here are some of the links for convenience but all of them can be navigated through the site:

Pokémon in action

MyGaming: We hear you are a certified Pokemon Professor. What does that mean or imply?

Murdoch: It’s not a fan club like most people think, but all the professors are dedicated fans. These are the people that have a thorough knowledge of the Pokémon TCG world, its rules, how things run, and are dedicated to make it fun and an enjoyable experience.

To qualify you need to write the online test annually and actively participate as a professor. If you don’t write the test every year or do not run a league or judge in a tournament for 3 months, your professor qualification is deactivated. You can have it reinstated by writing the test again.

Don’t think that you can’t run a league or be a tournament organiser if you are not a professor, but it will help. I just ran a report to check and there are currently eight Professors in South Africa. We are training and helping more players to be professors and judges to prepare for better and more official tournaments.

Official tournaments are available in South Africa but not as many as other countries around the world – it’s looking good for the 2013 session. Players can earn “Play Pokémon!” points and with some events, Championship points. The Championship points can qualify you to go to the World Championships. South Africa is doing well and we have confirmed a National Tournament next year.