Rochester tween training for Pokemon World Championships in Honolulu

ROCHESTER – Elliot McPike sees more than just a video game when he plays Pokemon. He sees numbers, values, strategies — all kinds of variables that make him one of the world's top players.

The 12-year-old boy steadily trains at his home in Rochester between traveling across the U.S. and parts of Europe to battle in Pokemon tournaments, using his team of lovable creatures to compete against other players his age.

"I kind of like the feeling of battles," he said. "Games and matches are much quicker than they are in other games."

Two years ago, Elliot placed 40th in the Pokemon World Championships in London. He'll return to the world stage in a few weeks, aiming to become one of the top 32 players in the world ages 12 or younger and win major tournament prizes.

Elliot began playing Pokemon when he was 7, following in his parents' footsteps. His parents are Pokemon fanatics — his dad, Daniel McPike, and mom, Tali McPike, competed in Pokemon card game tournaments, which Elliot wanted to attend.

"I told him if he was going to come along, he either had to learn how to play the card game or the video game," Tali said with a laugh. "He chose the video game."

Pokemon has been around longer than Elliot has been alive; the original games came out in the 1990s.

The core concept is simple: Players catch all kinds of interesting creatures throughout the game's world, then train them to battle other so-called trainers. They journey across the land, defeating those trainers before taking on a series of Pokemon masters in a big, flashy tournament.

The formula hasn't strayed much over time as Nintendo has released Pokemon games on an almost yearly basis. But the battles have become far more complicated: The original "Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow" games had about 150 Pokemon; now, a player can chose their team from a selection of more than 1,000 creatures.

It didn't take long for Elliot to master the games, though. On a lark, he played in his first tournament in 2020 and placed eighth, high enough that he became serious about competing. Since then, he's won about $6,000 in prizes, along with medals, accessories and tournament swag.

It's become a bonding activity for Elliot and his parents — Elliot is autistic, and Pokemon helps him express himself in a healthy way. Case in point: His favorite Pokemon used to be Pikachu, but in recent years he's grown to love Slowpoke, a pink, dopey-looking Pokemon often lost in thought and slow to react, according to the game's lore.

"I relate to him a lot," Elliot said. "If I'm having a day where my brain and body aren't working right, I tell my mom, 'I feel like a Slowpoke.'"

That can sometimes affect Elliot's training, but on average he plays for one to two hours a night at least three or four days a week. He also gets online coaching from former Pokemon world champion Paul Ruiz of Ecuador at least once a week.

Elliot had a rocky road to his latest world tournament, however. COVID-19 curtailed tournaments in 2021, and Elliot had to wait a year before entering regional competition. He was ranked eighth in his age group in North America in 2022, earning a berth in the world tournament that year in London (where he stayed on a yacht on a lake near the River Thames using a $5,000 travel stipend he won).

A medical issue sidelined Elliot last year, forcing his family to refocus on playing in enough tournaments to qualify for the world tournament in Honolulu in mid-August.

Unlike last time, Elliot will have to play during the tournament's first day for a spot in the top 50. If he succeeds, he'll face some of the world's best players just like him to get a top spot — which could mean swag, prize money, and even scholarships.

His family is footing the travel bills for now. "We're hoping as we keep moving up and having more experience, this will help pay for college," Tali said.

In the meantime, Elliot plans to continue traveling, seeing new sights and discovering more about the world.

"That's one of my favorite things about competing," he said.