Downtown Ridgeway store a hotspot for Pokémon action
January 12, 2025 at 4:14 AM
Pokémon is a hobby people enjoy “the same way people play hockey or basketball.”
That’s according to Christian Kentie, the owner of the Frugal Dutchman store in downtown Ridgeway, a venue for buying and trading cards on any given day during business hours, but also for tournaments sanctioned by The Pokémon Company International.
One was held on Friday night with eight players players, a basic league challenge, which the store is approved to host once a month.
The Frugal Dutchman in downtown Ridgeway holds regular events sanctioned by Pokémon. Credit: Kris Dubé | Fort Erie RadioOnce every three months, the Frugal Dutchman hosts a championship level tournament, which draws close to 40 players.
“It’s a big deal. They come from all over the place for it,” said Kentie, who is also an official national judge for the trading card game who has been a student of the brand and its game since it started 30 years ago.
He said Pokémon has its “ups and downs” with popularity for casual players, and that things really picked up a few years ago when Pokémon GO was a pop culture sensation, a game played on smartphones sending people out into public spaces to catch them all.
Kentie travels all over North America to judge events. Some are as close as Toronto and others are in places like Vancouver and Kentucky.
The events he judges consist of up to 5,000 participants regularly.
“It takes an arena,” he said.
Cousins Poppy Kentie and Anderson Kentie on Friday night. Credit: Kris Dubé | Fort Erie RadioSome Pokémon enthusiasts play the trading card game while others opt to only be collectors, but there are many who dabble in both aspects of the phenomenon that began in Japan in 1996.
Kentie is glad to see younger people get excited about the game and competing at a higher level, noting that high-end tournaments are live streamed with “very professional” broadcasts.
Steve Seburn was a spectator at the tournament on Friday as his son Ayden competed.
He said he was into collecting as a kid, but now that his son has taken an interest in the trading card game, it’s something they do together.
It’s also a great hobby for his 12-year-old because it “gets him out of the house.”
The Frugal Dutchman, located at 304 Ridge Road North, has been in business since 2016.
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About The Author
Kris Dubé
Kris is a veteran journalist who has worked in Niagara for close to 20 years. He is also a lifelong resident of Fort Erie, a place he plans to call home and raise his family for many more years.
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