We host a Pokémon club at the library three times per month (once at each location; normally in-person, but virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic). In this blog post, I will share links and resources for various activities that we have done for Pokémon club over the past few years. There is also a recording available from the American Library Association’s Games & Gaming Round Table of a Pokémon Programming webinar (slides, handout) from April 2021.
Official Pokémon Games and Activities
While hosting in-person clubs, kids can play the physical Pokémon Trading Card Game together. The library owns several theme decks that are easy for new players to start using and are great for kids who don’t own their own decks. We also have teen volunteers who can teach the game. We use a hole punch on every card to mark them as library-owned cards. The trading card game can also be played for free online (though you can also purchase cards for the online game; physical theme decks and booster packs also come with online codes so you can add those decks to your online collection).
Some kids also like to bring their Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo Switch to play the various Pokémon video games together.
Our library locations have Gyms and Stops for Pokémon GO. We held a successful Pokémon Go Lure Party at one of our locations that is next to a park that also has several Gyms and Stops. Players need their own devices (phones, tablets) to play.
We have iPads available with Pokémon Quest on them. Pokémon Quest is a free-to-play adventure game.
Pokémon Unite is also available for free (with optional in-game purchases) on Nintendo Switch, as well as on Google Play and Apple’s App Store for tablets and mobile devices.
There are a lot of great activities on the Pokémon Club Resources, page as well, including games, crafts, and other activities that change over time.
There are also quizzes and other activities on the Pokemon.com website. And here’s a cute Pokémon personality quiz on the Play Nintendo website.
Trivia
Kahoot! – Search for existing quizzes or create your own. Our club leaders have created a handful of quizzes that are publicly accessible. My quizzes can be found here and my coworkers’ can be found here and here.
Crafts
Our Pokékids also have a lot of fun constructing their own card game playmats and designing their own Poké Balls.
Other Activities
One of my fellow Professors loves to create punny polls (photos coming later once I find the screenshots!) and choose-your-own-adventure scenarios when we’re running the club on Zoom.
Card pack opening! Open up a pack of cards over Zoom, show off the cards, and then raffle them off to attendees!
Pokémemory – A series of Pokémon-themed memory recall games that I created
Pokémon Cries – Guess the Pokémon by its cry
Pokémon Fusion Generator – Create new Pokémon by combining two Pokémon. Kids loooove doing this. We have kids take turns choosing two Pokémon to combine. We’ve also setup Zoom polls ahead of time with various fusion combos to have kids vote on their favorite smashup.
Pokémon Hangman Game – This game doesn’t use hangman imagery, but has familiar letter-guessing and spelling rules. Players must find the correct Pokémon name in order to catch the Pokémon. We have kids take turns guessing letters. If a letter is guessed correctly, then you get a chance to guess the Pokémon.
Pokémon Anagrams – Unscramble the words and phrases to catch Pokémon
PokéWho – Like 20 Questions and Guess Who with Pokémon. Secretly choose a Pokémon and see if others can guess who it is using the information on the game board.
Guess the Pokémon Card – similar to Guess Who or 20 Questions, but showing an assortment of Pokémon cards instead!
Pokémon Art Challenges: Potato Pokémon, Pokécats, Pokémon Mix-up, Pokémon Art Identification,
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