A Pokemon prime-timer: Frankfort teen eyes national championship

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David (left) and Ryan Arnold, of Frankfort, are regulars in Pokemon video game competitions held throughout the country. | Megan Piotrowski~For Sun-Times Media

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Updated: February 6, 2012 8:10AM

To some, a Pokemon is nothing more than a strange, animated creature, and the Pokemon franchise is just a combination of a television series, trading cards, video games and toys.

But to the Arnold family, of Frankfort, Pokemon is a way of life. It has given them a unique reason to travel, compete and even spend quality time together.

Ryan Arnold, his twin brother, David, and younger sister, Grace, compete in Pokemon video game competitions across the country. They’ve been to New York, Seattle, Atlanta, San Diego, Orlando, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn., and St. Louis, to name a few cities.

A trip to Fort Wayne, Ind., on the second weekend of November was most fruitful: Ryan took first place at the Pokemon Autumn Regional Championship and now is looking forward to the national competition later this year.

“It felt great to win,” Ryan said, “I was really excited about the tournament, and I was happy that I finally won a regional.”

In an interesting twist, Ryan had to face David in the final match.

“We were really nervous (beforehand). David was tough competition, and it was a really close game,” he said.

There was no hint of bad blood between the two brothers, however, as the family sat down recently to talk about the various tournaments they’ve participated in, the players’ practice habits, and how they make good use of their travel time.

Linda Arnold, the kids’ mother, said the family uses time in the car to practice, strategize and help each other out for tournaments.

And for the uninitiated, playing Pokemon does require strategy. Before each tournament, a player must create a team of six Pokemon creatures, who must be trained in the video game to improve their battle skills.

Of the six Pokemon, a player must select the four he or she thinks have the best skills to match up against the opponent’s Pokemon.

“Battling is definitely my favorite part of competing,” Ryan said.

While Ryan and his siblings have been very successful in tournaments so far, their parents are adamant that school comes first.

“We don’t usually let them play during the week because of school and extracurriculars,” said their father, Glenn Arnold.

Ryan, who recently completed his first semester of high school at Lincoln-Way North, said Pokemon doesn’t interfere with his studies.

“It’s not hard at all to balance playing with school,” he said.

With his win at the Autumn Regional, Ryan qualified for and earned travel accommodations to the Pokemon U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis from June 29 to July 1.

The next step would be a chance to compete against the best players from more than 25 countries at the Pokemon World Championships in Hawaii from Aug. 10 to 12.