Tucsonan On Quest For World Title in 'Pokemon' Game

The Arizona Daily Star

Web designer Steve Wasserloos thinks he may be the world's best "Pokemon" player, and next month he'll get the chance to prove it.

The 24-year-old will compete in the Pokemon Video Game World Championships in San Diego.

Wasserloos, who has a computer engineering degree from Rutgers University, moved to Tucson earlier this year and does Web design to pay the bills. But his true calling may be manipulating a small army of "pocket monsters" in the Nintendo DS strategy game "Pokemon Platinum."

During the last weekend in June, Wasserloos competed in the national tournament in St. Louis and placed in the top 16 (out of more than 3,000 competitors over the past several months) in the senior age division -- those born in 1997 or later -- qualifying him for an expenses-paid trip for two to the championships on Aug. 14 and 15. There, he and 15 other Americans in the senior division will battle in a 30-player throw-down against rivals from Europe and Japan.

"I think it's possible," Wasserloos said of taking the global title. "You have to think you have a chance of winning. And I think there's a chance."

Wasserloos said it doesn't take hours of practice to become a world-class "Pokemon" player. He said he usually picks up the game for no more than an hour and sometimes will go weeks without playing.

"It's like a card game," he said. "It's just strategy. Hours and hours of practice won't help you."

In tournament play, gamers go head-to-head by selecting four creatures -- each imbued with weaknesses and special powers -- to take on squads selected by the other player, two at a time. Players take turns attacking one another in a virtual dice-based system reminiscent of "Dungeons & Dragons" until one emerges victorious. Matches are capped at 20 minutes.

"I like the strategic aspects of it," Wasserloos said. "There's a lot of strategy involved in all different levels. Initially, there's the pre-battle, where you have to design your team to handle as many threats as possible while still having a coherent team as a whole."

The fact that Wasserloos has made it so far is remarkable, considering he didn't even decide to enter the regional tournament in Phoenix in May.

"I wasn't even planning on going initially," he said. "I had just heard about it and thought it sounded interesting."

Wasserloos placed third in Phoenix, earning him entrance to nationals in St. Louis. But he burned through his $300 travel allowance so quickly that he had to leave the tournament a day early -- after he'd already earned the trip to the worlds -- to take his chances in San Diego.

"The prizes I could have won in St. Louis weren't worth as much as the cost of staying there another day," he said.

The first-place winner at the world championship level will win an invitation to the 2010 world championships, a trophy, trip for four to Tokyo, New York or Hawaii, and a customized Nintendo DSi system. Second through eighth places also win a customized DSi.

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