Pokémon! Darts! What do they have in common? Well, not much really, but I think that should change. In fact, I feel that so deeply that I've come up with a list of four suggestions that I think competitive Pokémon, be it in the VGC, TCG, or Pokémon Go, can and should learn from the professional darts scene.
If you're reading this anywhere outside of the UK, you might be thinking, "Darts, really?" Well, yes, really. In the last five years or so, thanks to talented competitors such as Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen, key events like the World Darts Championship, and plenty of other factors, it's flourished into becoming one of the country's most popular sports. The runaway success of Pokémon games means the competitive format is already pretty popular, but I think the four suggestions below could lift it further still and make it the dominating esport I long for it to be.
1. Walk-on music
If you've never watched Stephen "The Bullet" Bunting walk out to a packed audience, darts in hand, to the sound of David Guetta's Titanium, you simply haven't lived. It's entertainment at its peak. Why does Pokémon need walk-on music? Well, to quote Will Ferrell's character in Blades of Glory, "It's provocative; it gets the people going." Give me that energy.
Okay, I was having a bit of fun there, but the real benefit of walk-on music is that it adds a sense of depth to the character and gravitas to every competitor and an extra touch of spectacle to the whole event. Imagine, if you will, former VGC World Champion Wolfey walking out to Duran Duran's Hungry Like the Wolf. That's the sort of thing that I think would only further build the anticipation in the build-up to a final bout, plus there's nothing like a bit of music to lift the room.
2. A league tour
The weekend of Pokémon Worlds is great, but outside of that, there isn't enough to look forward to. While the highlight of the darts calendar falls around the holidays with the World Darts Championship, there's also the Premier League, a touring format consisting of multiple events over the course of multiple weeks. It's here that rivalries are formed, competitors take their revenge, and legends of the game emerge from the pack. Right now, there's no real equivalent in the world of competitive Pokémon.
Just imagine something like a Summer Series, where the top eight competitors from the most recent Worlds event take part in a two-week international tour through the US, Europe, and Asia. It'd develop narratives between players, set up revenge and redemption arcs, and give fans of the formats more than just a couple of weekends a year to watch the cream of the competitive crop take each other on in the flesh. Plus, it'd probably make a bunch of money, especially if each event had some unique merch. I don't know much, but I know Pokémon fans love merch.
3. The dark arts
Okay, so this might be a controversial one, but at the time of writing, it's also pretty relevant. I want competitive Pokémon to have a bit more edge. I still want it to be approachable and inclusive, but that doesn't mean everyone has to be nice to each other, especially in the final rounds. Darts is full of sore losers and even sore winners, and it adds a sense of drama. I want to see the next generation's Ray Rizzo, three-time Pokémon World Champion, completely lose their composure after missing a Blizzard in a semifinal game. I want it messy.
I mentioned that this is relevant, as I'm typing this up a week after some controversy in competitive Pokémon. Following the Pokémon Go format of the recent Orlando Regional Championships, Aaron Kaplan, a.k.a. Firestar73, was stripped of his title win on the grounds of unsportsmanlike celebration. You can watch the clip online to make up your own mind, but considering that Kaplan shakes hands with his opponent within 15 seconds of taking victory, it doesn't make much sense to me. Compare that to darts, where you've got characters like Littler and Gerwyn Price giving it beans to the audience and their opponents while still taking home the win, and I know which I'd rather watch.
4. Press conferences and post-match interviews
Press conferences sound boring as a concept - nobody loves a conference - but they deliver drama, not just in darts, but in boxing, soccer, and plenty of other sports. I want to see the same thing in competitive Pokémon. I'm not talking about a cozy interview in a back room after a big game; I want a build-up. I want the tournament favorites with cameras and reporters in front of them, talking up their game before it all kicks off. And no, I'm not just saying this because I'm part of the press and I want to get invited to a conference - though if any decision-makers are listening, I won't deny it would be nice.
Just a couple of weeks ago, following a match between Luke Littler and his latest rival, Gian van Veen, Littler engaged in the dark arts we mentioned in the last paragraph, prompting van Veen to call him out in the post-match interview. You just don't get that in Pokémon. It's not all negative either. These press conferences allow participants to highlight both their characters and their passion for the game. It's become a bit of a recurring theme in this article, but that's what I'm looking for. I want passion.
All this isn't to say I don't love competitive Pokémon, because I do, even if I'm nowhere near as good at it as I wish I were (which I found out the hard way while writing our Pokémon Champions review). Funnily enough, that's one thing these two wildly different spectator sports do have in common. They're the sort of thing people watch and think, "I could do that," before discovering the endless nuances and challenges of going pro. I just think that there's scope, especially on the back of the launch of Pokémon Champions, to make competitive Pokémon a real spectacle. For me, there's no better example of how it can be done than by copying the example of darts.