Summer is here at last! It’s the time to hit the beach, explore new places, and train your brain. But most importantly, it’s time to catch up on some video games that couldn’t be played during the school year since studying, planning out long-term projects, and doing homework needed all of your attention. Most would consider video games to be mindless time-wasters that have no value, but that is not always the case. For instance, most Pokemon games can help keep your brain strong! Most Pokemon games require long-term memory, prioritization, and great processing speed!
Back when Pokemon first came out, there were only 151 of them. Memorizing the names, types, and stats of this many Pokemon is a challenging task for anyone! Today, there are over 700 different Pokemon! In order to become a Pokemon master, one must not only know all the names, types, abilities, and stats of all the Pokemon that exist, but they must also know how each one will be usable in a team dynamic! Pokemon masters have to keep up with the new Pokemon that are being discovered and remember all the ones from years ago! In order to do this, a great Pokemon Master must have strong long-term memory.
Out of the 700+ Pokemon that exist today, a Pokemon trainer can only choose 6, or fewer, to use at a time. This requires some major prioritization. A Pokemon trainer must think about the types, stats, abilities, and moves of his or her Pokemon. Then, he or she must analyze how the Pokemon will work in a team dynamic and determine if a particular Pokemon belongs in a team at all. After a selection for a team has been somewhat narrowed down based on types, stats, etc., a Pokemon trainer must decide what sort of battling strategy is best suited for his or her battling style; some like big Pokemon that can attack with bruit force, some like Pokemon with special abilities and moves that can slowly but surely wear down the opponent, and some like Pokemon that simply look cool. Whichever you decide on, be sure to identify, plan, and prioritize the Pokemon and battling strategies you will be implementing and you will be a Pokemon Master in no time.
Especially when it comes to competitive Pokemon battling, a trainer must have excellent processing speed. A Pokemon trainer must think about all the possibilities of the direction in which the battle could go, then decide which move to make first, all within the 60-second time limit they give you to make your decision! Being able to prioritize and decide what is most important to your strategy plays a role in this timed decision as well.
Pokemon is a much more complex game than some would think. Good Pokemon trainers must plan and prioritize the dynamic of their teams based on many different factors. In order to do this, trainers must also know and remember all of the Pokemon that exist to ensure they are aware of all their options so they can build the best team they can. Lastly, Pokemon trainers must be able to analyze and process the battling situation quickly in order to be successful in competitive battling. Therefore, only those with the highest executive functioning skills can be deemed as true Pokemon Masters. Just make sure to use those newly improved prioritization skills to let your Pokemon rest when papers and homework have to get done.
