I started playing the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) around 10 years ago, when I was seven. My older brother, Marco, had already been playing with my dad for years. At first, the three of us just played at home. For me, Pokémon TCG is a family activity – it keeps us close. I think that’s important, especially nowadays when everyone is on their phone.
I’m from Iquique, a city in the north of Chile. We have a strong Pokémon community here, and several local shops host tournaments. The game is two-player, and involves each person preparing a deck of 60 cards – each card represents one Pokémon, with different abilities and powers. You then battle your opponent with your cards; whoever has the more powerful combination of cards is the winner.
Across Chile, Japanese culture has become ingrained in our own – anime, Pokémon and manga are very popular here. There were a lot of Japanese shows on TV when I was growing up. I watched Naruto, Dragon Ball and, of course, Pokémon.
I travelled to Santiago for my first tournament when I was 10. I got to the final. Before I started playing Pokémon TCG, I’d not travelled much; now, I’ve been to tournaments in São Paulo, New Orleans, Buenos Aires and, most recently, Hawaii, where the 2024 world championships took place.
We began saving up for Hawaii a year before the competition. My brother came first in a tournament in Brazil and won some money, and as one of the top players in Latin America, he was also awarded funds to go to the world championships.
My dad, Marco and I set off to Hawaii in August last year – it’s the furthest we’ve ever travelled. On the first day, we had to wait three hours to check in to the tournament, then we queued again at the Pokémon centre, which sells merchandise. I got some plushies, including a scuba-diving Pikachu exclusive to Hawaii. Then we concentrated on watching games and strategising against our opponents.
Marco is a better player than I am – he’s one of the best in the world. But the game also involves luck. I didn’t feel overly emotional during the three-day championships – I was just having so much fun. My dad taught me not to worry about winning or losing, but instead to concentrate on playing well and sharing great experiences with my opponents.
I took part in 15 games throughout the competition – each can last up to 50 minutes. In the final, I hadn’t really prepared a good deck, so never expected to win. But my opponent made a mistake, I gave it my best shot, and it worked. My dad would say I’m being too humble.
We didn’t have time to celebrate my victory as I had a flight to catch – I was just given the trophy and then rushed to the airport. But when I got back to Chile, we arranged a barbecue and had about 30 friends over – of course, we played some Pokémon. A few weeks later, we received an invitation to the presidential palace. Athletes get invited to meet the president – even ones who play niche sports!
I wasn’t too interested in going, but saw it as an opportunity to encourage younger kids to play. I was the first Chilean to win the Pokémon championships. We don’t win many things as we are such a small country.
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When my dad and I got to the palace, we were told Chile’s president, Gabriel Boric, had to attend an emergency meeting and couldn’t make it. Instead, we chatted to the secretary general, the foreign affairs minister and the ambassador of Japan, who were interested in the social impact of the game.
Suddenly the door opened and Boric walked in, and said: “Hey cabros (guys), how are you?” He asked to see some of my cards, and suggested we take a few selfies. It didn’t feel as if I was talking to a president, but just hanging out with another card player – he plays the Magic the Gathering card game, which is similar in format to Pokemon TCG.
I don’t care about defending my title – no one has ever won it consecutively. I just play to have fun. Anyone with a bit of luck can win. If you have a good deck, and it’s your day, who’s to say you can’t become the next Pokémon champion?
As told to Charis McGowan
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