Experience: I’m a world champion Pokémon player
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Chile’s president invited me to the palace and asked to see some of my cards. I started playing the Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) around 10 years ago, when I was seven. My older brother, Marco, had already been playing with my dad for years. At first, the three of us just played at home. For me, Pokémon TCG is a family activity – it keeps us close. I think that’s important, especially nowadays when everyone is on their phone.
I’m from Iquique, a city in the north of Chile. We have a strong Pokémon community here, and several local shops host tournaments. The game is two-player, and involves each person preparing a deck of 60 cards – each card represents one Pokémon, with different abilities and powers. You then battle your opponent with your cards; whoever has the more powerful combination of cards is the winner.
Across Chile, Japanese culture has become ingrained in our own – anime, Pokémon and manga are very popular here. There were a lot of Japanese shows on TV when I was growing up. I watched Naruto, Dragon Ball and, of course, Pokémon. I travelled to Santiago for my first tournament when I was 10. I got to the final. Before I started playing Pokémon TCG, I’d not travelled much; now, I’ve been to tournaments in São Paulo, New Orleans, Buenos Aires and, most recently, Hawaii, where the 2024 world championships took place.
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