By Aiyana Hunter, Staff Writer 

Ready your balls, everyone—VSU’s new Pokémon Club is gearing up and getting ready to catch ‘em all. 

 You may have heard of this club through either email, word of mouth, or the many fliers advertising their interest meeting in September, but now they’re fully up and operational. 

With a heavy interest in the franchise and a love for the community fostered by it, the club is open to everyone (both veteran fans and those who don’t know anything about it). 

Those who want to meet with others who share their interest through any medium or aspect are welcome—be it people who just want to look at art, world conquerors who want to build up an army of ultra-rare cards, fans who like the anime, the games, or anything else. 

Membership is requested through the university’s student organization program (BlazerLink), and “active” or “inactive” membership depends on a student’s participation in club meetings—which are held on a less linear schedule than most. 

The club is relatively new and was originally planned to be exclusively for Pokémon GO players, but the staff soon realized there wasn’t a club for the greater franchise itself. 

“The hobby is growing and it’s more popular than ever, so we decided that it would serve more students and overall just be a better experience if we had a club that could cater to all aspects of Pokémon,” said Dr. Kristin Kirchner, one of the faculty advisors for the club and an a assistant professor in the Department of Psychology. 

Among other ranking club members are the club’s president, Tyler Horne, a sophomore computer information systems major, and Dr. Meagan Wood-Hopkins, the club’s second faculty advisor. 

The Pokémon franchise is all about community and friendships, and that goal is only exemplified inside the club. No matter what background you have or what major or classification you are, you’re welcome in the club—provided, of course, you have the minimum 2.0 GPA or above for the semester to participate or 2.5 to run for a leadership position as set by the university. 

In terms of the club itself, however, the leading members plan to structure it with a mostly casual theme that helps to cater to all interests possible. 

“Since it is a special interest club, we’re hoping to have a lot of informal, you know, meetups, little group sessions where we meet outside of campus,” said Horne. “For example, with Pokémon GO, we’d have a raid day. We’d have a group meet-up. And then there’ll be times where we’d have to reserve a room for  tournaments. If it calls to a formal meeting the whole club, we’d have that. For the most part, the meetings will branch off into informal meetings where then people will go off and do their own thing and socialize.” 

There is also a currently unnamed Fuecoco plush that serves as the club’s mascot (and will likely be named by the members), as well as a pile of cards open to members to take from and add bulk cards to.

Though the club meetings are on more of an every-two-weeks basis, plans for the next meetings (and many other possible events) are already underway. 

 On the week of Halloween, for example, there is a planned spooky themed event. It is a Halloween party, where members will watch spooky-themed episodes of the Pokémon anime, make “make-and-take” crafts, and enjoy snacks.

For more information about the club (or an invitation to their Discord server), you can contact Dr. Kirchner (kkirchner@valdosta.edu) or Horne (tylhorne@valdosta.edu).