About Us
This page is an introduction to what the MIT Pokémon League does and how to participate. Please read this before emailing further questions to us!
What We Do
At League meetings, you can battle fellow trainers in the Trading Card or Video game, simulate battles on our Pokémon Showdown server, trade to complete your Pokédex in the video game, collect trading cards, or just hang out and chat with fellow fans. We also have dinner and tournament events throughout the semester!
If you sign in at a meeting, we have exclusive promo cards for you. If you participate in any leagues during the month, you’ll get Play! Points that can qualify you for tournaments. See the official Play! Pokémon website for details.
A Typical Day
- Averages 15 people, ranges 10 to 35
- Mostly young adults (18-25) and 1~5 kids (under 18) in attendance.
- Free snacks and promo cards
- 2~4 TCG matches ongoing, usually playing the current format (Standard or Expanded)
- A few VG players practicing on Pokémon Showdown (laptop) and chatting strategies
- Several TCG players trading cards
Facilities
We are located in the MIT Stratton Student Center. Our rooms are spacious and can hold up to 100 people for tournaments and 40 people for regular meetings. The Student Center itself has many food options, a 24/7 convenience store, seating spaces and wifi for a Poképarent to quietly work at, and more.
Gameplay
You can play Pokémon through the Trading Card Game (TCG), the Video Game (VG), and Pokémon Showdown (an online, fan-made, and free battle simulator). You can bring your Switch, copy of Pokémon Sword/Shield, Pokémon trading cards, older handhelds and games, a Nintendo Switch, and more. Players can choose the rules to play by, but they should agree to rules ahead of time. If we have a high attendance day, we give prizes like a booster pack or cool keychains/figures away to people who win friendly matches!
Prizes
We receive items from the Pokémon Company international (TPCi) to give to you for free! This includes exclusive holographic promo cards as well as Trading Card Game Online (TCGO) code cards. We typically receive a new promo card every month, so check us out every month to collect them all! We distribute these promo cards to all players who sign in. Depending on the supply, we uncommonly receive other items like phone charms or iron-on patches for distribution.
Who We Are
Play and discuss Pokémon in a casual setting at MIT Pokémon League! We play the video game, trading card game, Pokémon Go, and more. In addition, we have experts to help newcomers learn all there is to the Pokémon games, ranging from beginner TCG decks to advanced video game prep and tactics (breeding, soft resetting, VGC metagame, etc.)
MITPL exists to promote an MIT community that plays and enjoys Pokémon together. We're open to the public and to all ages too! MIT undergraduates, graduate students, staff members, alumni, and Cambridge community members have joined our league, will you?
Other Leagues and Opportunities
Located in Somerville, the Comicazi Pokémon League meets on the first and third Saturdays of the month, typically 3pm - 5pm. See their official listing here!
We host officially sanctioned tournaments every month for the TCG and VG. Check out our upcoming schedule here.
You can search for leagues and events like ore-releases, Regional tournaments, and more with this tool.
Recognition Status
MITPL is an officially recognized Pokémon League. See our Play! Pokémon listing.
We are an ASA-approved, MIT-funded student group. Read our constitution here.
Pokémon is ©1995-2018 Nintendo, Creatures, and GAMEFREAK.
MITPL is an official Pokémon League and is not a representative of or affiliated with The Pokémon Company in any other way.