(Courtesy photo/KYTX CBS19)

A Pokemon trading card game tournament can attract hundreds, if not, thousands of people to spectate. There are championship matches players from around the world participate in.

To be able to play a professional level, one has to start small. There are two locations in East Texas where an establishment follows tournament rules. One of them is in Longview.

Randall Mick and his wife are the owners of Three Suns Unlimited, a board and card game shop that sits by the busy street of Gilmer Road. Mick says every tournament they hold has to have a certified judge.

“We’re going to teach you the right ways to play the game to keep the game going,” Mick said.

Tournaments are tallied by a point system. When Pokemon tournaments are held there, a player aims to achieve 15 to 20 points. The goal is to reach 400 because that is when a player can proceed to a regional tournament. These games can progress from local to national championships.

Pokemon, the Nintendo game, took over Japan in 1996. It was embraced by Americans two years later. The franchise has a television series that’s aired for more than a decade as well as multiple movies and video games. The trading card game has since shipped more than 21.5 billion cards to 74 countries in 10 languages.

To people like Mick, having a small community of people playing games such as card games like Pokemon keeps the card and board game culture alive. Mick said when there are major events, people from different parts of East Texas including people from Shreveport get involved. Mick described Three Suns as a safe space for young people who wish to learn more about the game.

The owner says Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic and “Dungeons & Dragons” events are held there as well.