Local Pokemon Champs Set Sights On World Title

Ten-year-old Wesley Hollenberg is on a winning streak.

In the competitive world of the Pokemon trading card game, Hollenberg has taken first place in five of the last tournaments he’s competed in, and second in the sixth. With a round of wins under his belt, he’s well on his way to achieving his goal—making it to the world championships of Pokemon in Hawaii this summer. 

A little more than a year after he picked up a trading card for the first time, the fifth-grader is on a roll.

“This season I have been winning a lot,” says Wes. “Last season, not a lot, because I was just beginning.”

With the help of a couple of friends, Wes taught himself to play Pokemon after he found some of the trading cards at a yard sale on the two summers ago. While most people think of Pokemon as simply swapping cards, the game itself is much more nuanced—each card has complex rules associated with its use, and cards can be played with one another to varying effect. Players choose their own decks of 60 cards from among several hundred to make the most competitive combination.

Wes’ father, Phil, compares the game of Pokemon to chess, but Wes has a simpler explanation:

“It’s thinking, and you have to invest a lot of time to get really good at it.”

That’s exactly what Wes has done since he first picked up the trading cards. After he learned how to play, he wanted to compete, and begged his dad to find a tournament nearby. His first competition whetted his appetite for more, and this year, Wes has his sights set on the trip to Hawaii—meaning he has to win enough tournaments to be among the top 40 players in his age group. 

Tournaments are held regularly throughout the country; depending on their timing and the number of players involved, they are worth different values. At this point, Wes and his father drive one to two hours to a tournament almost every weekend, according to Phil. 

“There are some kids that actually go on Pokemon tour,” Phil says. “It can become like travel soccer or travel hockey.”

But, Phil says it’s well worth the travel — and not just for the glory.

“It’s a great opportunity to bond with your kids,” he says. In fact, Wes taught his father how to play Pokemon, and now Phil competes in the tournaments himself. 

“I enjoy playing games, but Pokemon … it’s at a different level,” Phil says. “It can really burn you out mentally after a day of playing it.”

Beyond Wes, the north suburbs are a hotbed for Pokemon talent, as it turns out. The reigning national champ, Xander Pero, 10, lives in Deerfield. After a disappointing performance at worlds last year, he, too, has his sights set on worlds. He and his father, Carlos, met the Hollenbergs at their first tournament a year and a half ago, and soon took them under their wing. Xander and Wes are now close friends and get together regularly for practice.

When Xander started playing two years ago, there weren’t a lot of competitive leagues in the area, Carlos says. So he and his son founded their own group, called “The League of Extraordinary Trainers,” which meets on Sundays at in Deerfield.

“I started playing because he needed someone to practice on,” adds Carlos — all part of what it means to be a “Pokedad.” 

“First you watch your child play, you’re taking him to these events, its three to four hours out of your day,” Phil Hollenberg explains. “You can’t really do work, it’s thirty minute games, there’s three to four minutes in between games, and they want to talk about how they’re doing.”

“Then you look up and see other people playing — all ages.”

Last weekend, Phil took second place in the adult division at the same tournament where Wes took first.

“You could say that that was the influence my son has had on me,” he says.

Meanwhile, Wes says he’s learned, too, from playing his dad (and from researching the game on the Internet.) 

He’s also got a secret strategy. 

“My favorite Pokemon is Zekrom,” says Wes, referring to the dragon character. “Every deck that I have ever won with has had Zekrom in it.”