meanwhile, in Pokemon...
It's an exciting week in the world of Pokemon: the release of a new set and the prerelease tournaments that go with it. That's something that happens four times a year, so this is the fourth one we've seen since we started playing with any seriousness at the beginning of 2018. Each time we've been a little more confident, a little more fully involved with what's going on, and this go-round was no exception. Harvey played his second prerelease event of the week this past Sunday—the first time he's ever done two for one set. I would have played too but I couldn't, since I was judging. It was fun.
playing with the new cards
I've become a volunteer "League Leader" at Omar's, a store in Lexington with a relatively new Pokemon League. This was the first prerelease they've done, and coming into it I was a little nervous about turnout: on the one hand that nobody would show up and we wouldn't be able to run the event, on the other that it would fill up and all my children and their friends wouldn't be able to play. As it turned out it was perfect, with plenty of eager players and room for everyone who wanted to play (Zion decided to just watch; he still isn't confident enough about his reading to want to play with brand-new cards).
I was happy enough with my judging—nothing went egregiously wrong—but Harvey wasn't happy at all with his play. It just wasn't happening for him: he had a chance to come back in his first game but didn't quite make it, then he conceded his next two when he just couldn't draw the cards he wanted. He got a win in the final round but still felt pretty discouraged. I told him never mind: the real purpose of the afternoon was to get a first crack at the new cards, and in that regard Harvey finished near the top of the tables.
the good stuff
This new set also marks the first time I've felt good about building decks with the new cards right away, and two of those cards Harvey pulled were just what we wanted to get started. Of course, that means I had to drop a little too much money this week to order the rest of the cards we need, but that's OK... Harvey'll make it all back in prize money when he gets famous. Or we'll just have fun with our hobby; that'll make it worth it too!