Computer science sophomore Alex Hill goes through a deck of Pokémon cards before a tournament Feb. 5, 2014, at Hollow Mountain Comics, 611 East Grand River Ave. Hill is a part of a Pokémon club consisting of 15-20 members.
Nostalgia for a distant childhood and familiar characters triggered a desire in three MSU students to turn an old hobby into a club to catch ‘em all.
During the 2011 fall semester, a group of students decided to turn their game of trading and battling Pokémon cards into an official, registered MSU student group: the MSU Pokémon Club.
The club meets once a week for two hours. Which are spent bouncing strategies off each other, giving advice on their decks and playing practices matches to help improve skill.
Members who are not as interested in the trading card game can also focus on the Nintendo 3DS Pokémon video games.
When the members met Wednesday night, the atmosphere remained playful. As one member ripped his fresh pack open, he yelled, “You guys are about to get rickrolled!”
Comparative cultures and politics senior Matthew Frankovich said the club has 10 to 12 regular members, but also has about 30 members from across the state who compete with them in tournaments.
“It started out as just an MSU club, but Pokémon is so popular that it has just grown past that entirely,” he said. “People from all around Michigan come by once every couple of weeks when they’re free.”
Frankovich joined the club during his sophomore year because his roommate’s persistence — he hadn’t even touched the game since he was a kid.
Now the vice president of the club, Frankovich said the friendly and welcoming nature of the members was what convinced him to stay.
“A lot of people just come to hang out,” he said. “I (joined the club) for the game and stayed because of the friends I made.”
Music performance and music education senior JW Kriewall said it was the “nostalgia factor” that initiated his return to the trading card game in high school. After coming to MSU, he sought out the club and has stuck with it through his college career.
“I can’t even pinpoint a favorite memory I’ve had with them,” he said. “We have our own dialect. … I definitely plan on staying in contact with the people I met even after I graduate.”
Since its start, the club has continued to prosper. Members travel to many states to compete and have hosted official Pokémon Trading Card Game tournaments with other dedicated players.
Founder, club president and MSU alumnus Andrew Adams said the club’s growing success has been great to watch. He said he tends to play more casually now, but he is satisfied in staying involved with the club even after graduation.
“Everything’s come full circle,” Adams said. “The first time we hosted a tournament, the guys and I were just like ‘This is where we got started, and now we’re doing this for ourselves.’ It’s a really cool community that gets people involved.”
The club’s members meet from 7 to 9 p.m. every Wednesday at the newly-opened Hollow Mountain Comics on Grand River Avenue.
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