Pokemon: Rookie Mom Dominates Tournament, Becomes Social Media Sensation

A tweet about a Pokemon TCG tournament has gone viral thanks to the surprising performance of a mom named Pam (via ComicBook.com). The tweet thread from @CarolineDirectr tells the story of how she invited her mother Pam to join in on her weekend Pokemon tournament at Core TCG in Pasadena, CA -- a pre-release for the new Sword and Shield set. Pam sheepishly asked her daughter if it was okay for her to watch the Pokemon tournament, but Caroline went one further and taught her how to play so she could be a part of the competition. What Caroline likely didn't expect was for her mother to not only beat her when they were pitted against each other in the third round of the tournament but to continue doing well enough to finish in the Top 8. The tournament had upwards of 40 competitors. The final photo shows Pam alongside the other top finishers gleefully holding up her prizes. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=pam-the-pokemoms-pokemon-journey&captions=true"] The story is incredibly sweet in how it shows Pam as just a mom who wants to have fun joining in on her daughter’s game but isn’t too familiar with Pokemon -- “She was calling Raichu ‘Rikkuhchu’ and Salandit ‘Sizzle’ all while owning her opponents,” Caroline tweeted -- yet that didn’t stop her from stomping the competition and coming away from the tournament with a handful of booster packs. Clearly, Pam is a natural. The tweets caught on with Pokemon fans and earned Pam a heap of praise and admiration. Much was made of Pam’s smiling competitive game-face, the last thing her opponent’s saw before their ultimate defeat. The new Sword and Shield expansion is ushering in some big rules changes for the TCG, including the removal of Fairy typing from the game. The Sword and Shield video games are expanding with two DLC packs, which will bring numerous Pokemon to the Galar region. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/10/how-pokemon-sword-and-shield-dlc-affects-dexit-ign-now"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joshua is Senior Features Editor at IGN. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.