Meet the Irish Pokemon trainer

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Pokemon have been around for fourteen years now and still the interest in the computer games and television shows is strong.

Created by Satoshi Tajiri, the series of games has spawned a multi billion dollar franchise and as of May this year, sold more than 200 million copies.

Even now fans eagerly await the next instalment of the gaming series, due out in 2011.

In Ireland, there has been a cult following of the series, with popular Irish online discussion site Boards.ie adding a Pokemon forum earlier this year.

Mairéad Crowley is like any other regular Irish girl in her twenties, except Mairéad is a Pokemon trainer. She grew up in the small seaside town of Youghal in Cork, which had a part to play in her love of gaming.

“Youghal is great if you like long walks on the beach and can get a suntan in the summer. Unfortunately I am not one of those people, burning to a crisp in any contact to the sun. One of my brothers introduced me to Mega Drive and Sonic the Hedgehog and from there my life as a gamer began.”

She has been playing the Pokemon games for eleven years, again, introduced to them by her brother, who bought her the first game for her birthday. She had previously read about the game in a magazine and had seen an episode of the popular cartoon tie-in, but it wasn’t until she got her hands on the Gameboy classic that she fell in love.

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In more recent times, she has discovered the Competitive Gaming Scene.

“I have attended the Video Game Championships (VGC) last year at both the London and Paris Qualifiers. Yes, you did just read Paris! I do travel to attend special Pokémon events.”

More recently, she attended the tournament in Birmingham and plans on flying to Madrid to take part in more battles.

At the Birmingham event she made it to the top thirty two, by no means an easy feat.

“I didn’t know whether to cry tears of joy or scream in sheer pleasure as I’d just beaten my fear and progressed to the Winner’s Lounge!”

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Mairéad has found some great friends through her gaming and online presence. Accompanying her on her quest were members of the newly created Boards.ie forum, where she is known as her online handle Buzzthebatgirl.

Her experience in the game and her helpful nature have made her a popular person, as she helped guide some of the players in their choices for the tournament.

At the moment, she is setting up a Pokemon club for Dublin, already their Facebook page having 75 members.

When asked about the type of people that play, she says there are people of all ages and types, from men and women, to teenagers and children. And when asked about female Irish players she says “I’ve met a few, but to the best of my knowledge I’m the most experienced female player in Ireland. I’d love to be proven wrong though!”

As for the future, this champion from Cork seems to be in for more battles and adventures, as she heads to Madrid at the end of the month.

“Who knows, I might win back a win with my sunburn!”

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Originally posted @ NerinOnline.com

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