We’re excited to begin offering a Pokemon Sword & Shield camp this summer! Given the popularity of Pokemon among kids—and our counselors and staff—we knew it was time to introduce it to our Connected Camps line-up! Kids will have so much fun improving their Pokemon gameplay with the guidance of our awesome counselors.
Camp Overview
Connected Camps will offer programs in the popular Sword & Shield, played on Nintendo Switch. Our camp is designed to help kids enter the world of competitive Pokemon battling. They’ll learn about basic and advanced in-game mechanics to gain an edge over opponents.
Counselors will provide a kid-friendly introduction to competitive Pokemon through simple explanations and visuals that assist with all learning styles. Having a mentor to guide kids through the content and break things down into easier-to-understand core concepts will help campers with learning and retention of the material.
The camp will include all the basic knowledge that is required to play competitive Pokemon. It starts with basics like typings, stats, archetypes, and move choices, then builds up to more complicated topics like team building, Pokemon synergies, battle strategies, and how to create the best Pokemon for your team.
The club will provide an interactive environment so kids can play and talk about Pokemon together in a welcoming environment. There will be casual battles, cooperative activities, and mini-tournaments within Sword & Shield.
Why Pokemon? Strategy and fun
Counselor Sebastian describes his experience growing up playing games in the Pokemon series: “Pokemon Gold was my first video game ever, and the series is what made me want to get into Game Design. I love the fact that the people behind the game have created this unique, creative, and loveable world; every single fan has dreamed at least once about living inside of it. The world is so detailed, and playing any of the games just sucks you in.”
He adds, “There’s a ton of stuff that kids love about it, but I think the biggest is that as curious as it sounds, the game actually helps you form a bond between you and a fictional character—almost like a virtual pet. It’s really fantastic and it’s what I personally loved about it as a kid.”
Another counselor, Tommy, says, “Pokemon games were a large part of my childhood, and I continue to enjoy them to this day. I particularly love the depth that competitive Pokemon has, which at times feels similar to a game of chess where you have to consistently make correct predictions about your opponent’s moves in order to win. On top of that, team building is perhaps one of the areas that I have the most fun with. You can get particularly creative with the Pokemon that you place on your team, even using those that may, in normal circumstances, be considered ‘bad’ and making them work.”
If you want to know more about the game, here’s a quick overview.
Pokemon 101: A Brief Guide for Parents
The Washington Post says that Pokemon is “a game, a world, that is founded upon fun, discovery, exploration, and what it means to wonder, to imagine, and to dream.” For an overview of all games, check out the Parents’ Guide on the Pokemon website.
Sword & Shield takes place in the Galar region, which is based on the United Kingdom. Galar consists of a number of cities and towns, plus an open world area in the center of the region known as the “Wild Area.” Random encounters with wild Pokemon may take place in tall grass or in bodies of water along routes or in the Wild Area. Players travel around the Galar region to take part in the “Gym Challenge,” an open tournament to decide the greatest Pokemon Trainer in the region, dubbed the Champion. Players will work to beat Gym Leaders and earn Badges; then they can part in the “Champion Cup,” where they will face off in a single-elimination tournament against others in a quest to become Champion of the Galar region.
If your kids love Pokemon, we’ll teach them how to think and play like a professional Pokemon battler as they learn about the mechanics and practice the skills necessary to be the very best. What a fun activity for them to learn and build throughout the summer! Find the best time for you on our schedule at Outschool.