Oak Forest Gamer Wins 'Pokkén' World Championship (VIDEO)

OAK FOREST, IL — To the casual observer, "Pokémon" is a card and video game series that hinges on collecting and role-playing with a menagrie of colorful creatures. But the franchise has a fast-paced, fighting-based component, too, and its current world champion hails from Oak Forest.

Last month, Jacob Waller, a 17-year-old Oak Forest High School student, became the first non-Japanese player to compete in and win the best-of-five-matches final of the "Pokkén" tournament that has been a part of the "Pokémon" World Championships for the past three years. "Pokkén," for the unintiated, lets players use Tekkén-style combat moves with popular "Pokémon" characters.

Waller — whose screen name is ThanksALot —defeated Kota Aragaki, of Japan, in the masters division of the "Pokkén" Tournament DX Grand Finals on Aug. 25 in Nashville, Tennessee. The victory earned him $6,000.

"Usually I get a bit nervous, and I don't even eat breakfast," Waller said in an interview before competing in July's North America International Championship, which won him an invitation to the world finals. "But by the time the tournament actually starts, I feel a lot better and confident. The more I win, the more confident I get, and in the process, I start playing better and better. It doesn't calm the nerves all the way, but when I do well, I think that I could take the whole tournament."

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Winning might breed confidence for Waller, but skill is needed to breed winning, especially against an opponent like Aragaki, who only competed with Gengar, a bulbous, purple Pokémon that's all face and smile. One "Pokkén" commentator called Aragaki the world's best Gengar player.

Waller's daily, three-hour training regime paid off in the final, though. So did his skill with Spectrile, the reptillian Pokémon resembling a slimmed-down Godzilla that the teen used for most of his matches against Aragaki.

"I picked up 'Pokkén' three years ago when I was only 15 or 14, and I did not think I would get this this far," he said after the tournament, according to IGN, a video game and entertainment news website. "I'm so happy, especially since I got to do it with my favorite Pokémon."

If All-Star Cubs second baseman Javier Baez needs his favorite mitt when he takes the field and tennis powerhouse Serena Williams only feels comfortable serving with a certain type of racquet, then it shouldn't be surprising that Waller would have an affinity for a particular Pokémon. The high-schooler even displayed a plush Treeko — Sceptile's pre-evolution form — during the final.

"[Sceptile] was my first Pokémon, so I’ve always had a special connection with it," he told "Pokémon" blog Poké Press in July. "No matter what, I was determined to get good with the character, and luckily, it was a cool 'ninja' with a moveset that I liked and enjoyed playing with."

Next up, Waller will compete in November in a "Pokkén" tournament in New Jersey, his first since becoming a world champion. He also hopes the competitive drive he's demonstrated as a "Pokkén" champion impresses an engineering college as he pursues a career in video game design.

“They’ll see my determination and that I try my best and succeed,” Waller told the Daily Southtown. “I feel like that’ll help me out.”

Oak Forest teen Jacob Waller competes in the masters division of the "Pokkén" Tournament DX Grand Finals on Aug. 25 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Screen shots from video via The Official Pokémon YouTube channel | YouTube)