By now, most people have heard of the popular anime “Pokémon,” or have at least downloaded the virtual reality game, “Pokémon Go.”
It might shock readers to find that even in this digital age, the Pokémon trading-card game is thriving more than ever, selling approximately 2.1 billion Pokémon trading cards last year.
The trading-card game derives from the Pokémon television show that originally premiered in Japan in 1996. The show features an enthusiastic Pokémon trainer, Ash Ketchum accompanied by his endearing Pokémon, Pikachu, with ambitions of becoming a Pokémon master.
Although Ketchum is a fictional character, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more accurate human counterpart than Connor Finton.
Finton is a junior music education major at KSU, seventh-ranked Pokémon master in the U.S. and 13th-ranked Pokémon trading card player in the entire world.
Traveling all across the globe, Finton competes internationally and has been invited to the World Championship the past three years.
“I’m at a point that I never thought I’d ever be able to get to,” Finton said. “If you asked the three-year-old Connor what he wanted to be when he grew up he might have said ‘a Pokémon master,’ and I’m kind of at that point right now.”
The 2017 Pokémon World Championship took place in Anaheim, California, in August. Finton placed 29th among roughly 300 competitors in the year’s most competitive Pokémon trading card competition.
Pokémon keeps Finton pretty busy as he has a packed scheduled heading to Connecticut this weekend, Daytona Beach the next and Vancouver, Canada, after that, all for Regionals.
“It’s a little exhausting, but you have to schedule yourself around it, keep yourself disciplined — sleep on the airplane,” chuckles Finton when asked how he balances school and being a Pokémon master.
Although he has gained much success and popularity in the Pokémon world, he still works on his craft almost every day. It’s not unusual to find Finton casually playing with friends at Win Condition Games here in Kennesaw.
The popularity of the Pokémon trading card game can be attributed to a target audience that seemingly encompasses every age group. Finton also attributes a lot of the trading card game’s success to the Pokémon trading card online platform.
“The card game has grown a lot recently,” Finton said. “I think that has to do somewhat with the digital age. There’s more spread of information and you can play the game online.”
If you want to see what Finton is up to, follow him on Twitter @ConndorTCG for updates on his performance in tournament play.
