Poké What?

Eamon loves all things Pokémon. It started when he began reading a few of the comics. His interest grew as the library acquired more comics. He read all the books again and again. He would talk about the characters endlessly. 

Then we went camping with a group of friends. A few of the boys his age played Pokémon video games and had a Pokédex. Eamon had not known about this world as he doesn't have a Nintendo DS. All his play came from what he read and his imagination. The group talked and reenacted Pokémon for the duration of our trip. They discussed levels and did a bit of card trading. One of the kids forgot his Pokédex when he left, giving Eamon extra time to peruse it. He studied each page carefully committing it all to memory.

Eamon recently decided he wanted to buy a trading cards. A few weeks ago he used his spending money to buy a set. He read them all, memorizing the various attributes. He could tell you about each Pokémon, how it evolves, its power, its speed and anything else you might need to know. At any given moment he would spout information about Pokémon combining his knowledge from the Pokédex and his cards.

 

With all this passion, we decided to check out the Pokémon group in our homeschooling community. Armed with his paying cards and little knowledge of the game, we met at a local park. First everyone did a bit of trading. A few games were set up and the battles began. Eamon watched at first, and then one of the veteran players showed him how to play. One of the moms explained the basic rules to me as well. She also gave me information on sets and trading. Eamon set up his bench, used his energy cards and worked his way through a game. He had so much fun.

When you are passionate about something, you want others to be. Eamon always wants to play Pokémon. He now has a group that meets once a month that can speak his language. For a long time, I had no idea what this language entailed. I listened, watched, and now I think I understand. This description from Wikipedia sums up my knowledge:

Players of the games are designated as Pokémon Trainers, and the two general goals (in most Pokémon games) for such Trainers are: to complete the Pokédex by collecting all of the available Pokémon species found in the fictional region where that game takes place; and to train a team of powerful Pokémon from those they have caught to compete against teams owned by other Trainers, and eventually become the strongest Trainer, the Pokémon Master. wikipedia.com

You can now find us all running around outside capturing invisible Pokémon. Eamon is the leader. He orchestrate battles between the characters and creates fantastic role-playing games. He has his sister and brother on board with the play. They also are becoming experts. We work together trying to gather as much knowledge as Eamon. He likes his role as teacher and will tell anyone who listens all about his current passion.