Kicking Up the Cards

Well, for those who follow soccer, the European Championships (Euro) ended over a week ago on a high note... at least for certain people. Those who thought it didn't hit a high note may still have some fun with soccer and of course Pokémon, or even both. This is (or was) neatly demonstrated by England's FA. Prior to the big soccer competition, the FA along with Pokémon, certainly as part of the Master the Ball campaign, had a little fun with some of England's rising star players in two minigames or challenges that involve soccer and Pokémon, specifically its Trading Card Game or TCG. Effectively, they were able to kick up balls, as well as "kick up the cards".

One of those minigames or challenges is something called the "Kick Up Challenge". In this challenge, the players have to juggle a soccer ball - with their feet, certainly - while also opening up booster packs of cards for the Pokémon TCG. While doing so, they must present the cards they obtain from the packs, and each card counts as 1 point. The challenge ends as soon as the ball hits the ground, and while the number of kicks are counted, the number of cards is the primary scoring determinant. Three players participated in this challenge: Jesse Lingard, John Stones, and Phil Foden, all of which are presented on YouTube for viewing pleasure. Lingard won the challenge with 12 cards presented and 98 kicks made, Stones was second with 11 cards and 123 kicks, and Foden was third with 8 cards and 127 kicks; there is evidently an inverse relationship between the two. The players are evidently masters as well, being able to keep this up for over one and a half minutes.

The other minigame or challenge is what is called the "Shootout Challenge". This one is a little more intricate, as it also directly uses TCG elements. Two players play against each other with a selection of random Pokémon cards as well as a ball and a half field. Turn by turn as in a Pokémon battle, players kick the ball toward the goal. Kicking a ball into the goal activates the "basic attack", the one with the least Energy amount on the card; hitting the goalpost activates the "special attack" with the higher Energy amount; hitting the crossbar fully restores HP; and missing the goal entirely causes self-damage by 50 percent. For the second challenge, Jesse Lingard battled John Stones and Phil Foden battled Luke Shaw. The first battle was basic, while the second battle was a little more dynamic; Lingard and Foden came out on top, respectively. The full story and progressions can be seen, as with the prior challenge, on the YouTube videos featuring both battles.

Even with the European Championships ending up the way they ended up, it cannot be denied that soccer is an activity that has to be fun as well as athletic. Both qualities can be taken care of on the field in the actual matches with many players to a side, as well as the practices for those matches. And while there may not be room for Pokémon on actual matches except as a form of support off the field, at the least it can make things even more fun behind the scenes (especially with Master the Ball) while still keeping the athleticism. If anything, the two challenges above demonstrate just that, and that should mean plenty of room for kicking up balls and kicking up (Pokémon) cards.

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