How to Organize Your Own Pokemon Hunt

You won’t be surprised to know that my son disappeared in Pokémon Sword on Nintendo Switch during the pandemic crisis. But as we talked about creatures and battles over and over again, it dawned on us how to take his on-screen adventures offline – and so DIY Pokémon Hunt was born.

The Pokémon world revolves around trainers who trap creatures inside the Poké Ball. This is your first task. If you don’t have a Poké Ball, you can make one. I took a black marker and drew a line around the center of the Wiffle ball and then painted the top half of the ball red. (You can use any ball you have on hand that you don’t mind to be thrown into your home or living room.)

The second step is to draw or print images of the Pokémon. If you want to increase the time (and the surprise factor is not important), your children can easily help with drawing and cutting. There are manyonline drawing tutorials that you can follow together.

Next, you’ll want to write a letter that invites your kids to the quest. Adventure is difficult these days, so feel free to come up with it. The letter should indicate the region (the place where the Pokemon live – ours was Bender-O), encourage the children to wear their favorite costumes for the trainers (bonus: everyone should take off their pajamas for a while) and invite them to visit the scarecrow to help in their search (the animal had pokeball ready).

While your kids are dressing, hide the Pokemon images inside or outside your room. Hang the pictures at different heights (flying Pokémon can rise higher off the ground) by attaching some scotch tape to their backs.

After your kids have paired their outfits and assemble their Poké Balls, give them hunting rules. Our eight- and ten-year-olds had to stand six feet away and throw Whiffle balls at the Pokémon images. It took them about 10 minutes to find and “catch” 12 Pokémon by hitting the paper.

When the hunt is over, add a writing exercise or a quick software lesson: Your kids can catalog the creatures they’ve caught in the Pokédex (character file). Use a lined sheet of paper or a quick tutorial in Google Sheets to do this.

Keep entertaining by letting them add to your Pokédex on subsequent hunts – our second hunt took place just hours after the first. And don’t forget to wish them the best in catching them all.