It has been a while since I formed a Pokémon team and considered being part of a doubles team.
Using Klefki, was my first option, since it is the only dual-screen prankster in the whole Meta, as well as the addition of Thunder Wave and Foul Play. Klefki has a calm nature, which boosts his Special Defense and lowers his Special Attack. Lastly, spread his EVs something like 220 on HP and Defense and 64 on Special Defense, and there you go.
That’s what I tell people who say professional gaming is a joke, because it can be as demanding as any other game out there.
While “eSports” may be a pretentious game, competitive gaming can really mean serious business to gamers and can have the potential to become a professional form of entertainment.
Video games have come a long way since their early years, to the point of being considered a form of high art as an effect of their improved graphics, music and storylines. But now, more than ever, their competitiveness comes under debate—which in reality there’s not much to debate. Games such as “World of Warcraft” and “League of Legends,” have grown to earn recognition from the gaming community because of their unique design for replay value beyond the video game itself, and its high competitiveness among the many gamers around the world.
Why should people recognize them? Well, because most of these games do demand extreme analytical thinking and strategy in order to succeed, just as chess does.
Contrary to popular belief, many of these games require prior preparation, meaning that gamers can’t just sit and play “Super Smash Bros,” press some buttons and expect to win. They require you to know the game, form a strategy and know everything about each character or piece.
They are very different from chess, where strategies are pretty much defined by the pieces and can be limited sometimes, or in the case of poker, in which luck plays a huge role.
I’m not trying to demonize chess or poker here, being that I love them both. But competitive gaming can be by far more intense, entertaining to watch and to know about, thanks to its more flashy graphics, its uncertainty, its unexpected results without luck, but mostly skill.
Speaking of which, that’s the beauty of it all: that it requires skill to play competively. It is practically impossible to become a professional by playing one day, all day. It would take more than that; it would take real effort to learn and master—yes I said it, master the game. For those who don’t believe me, I hereby challenge you to a “Super Smash Bros.” brawl match to prove my point.
Sure, gaming has the Internet for streaming, but in order to gain the mainstream recognition it deserves, television streaming is needed. We have big tournaments with big prices already, such as EVO, Apex and the Pokémon Video Game World Championship, but we could have more.
Honestly, I just long for the day when we get see a professional game live on television or maybe even participate in a huge gaming event, it would be nice—right gamers? It is a really great workout for the brain and, hey, some people do need it.
Leonardo Montañez may be reached at [email protected].
