Roswell’s Nathan Brower, 17, has a unique pastime that has gained him national recognition. It involves cards, strategy and a character called Porygon.

Brower plays in Pokemon tournaments and recently participated in a full day of head-to-head Pokemon Trading Card Game battles and won first place in the Masters Division at the Canton Pokemon City Championships.

In addition to wining both title and trophy from the event, Brower earned Championship Points that count toward a potential invitation to the 2013 Pokemon World Championships in Vancouver, BC.

Brower started playing in Pokemon tournaments after he got hooked on the video games. He said he didn’t do too well at his first tournament but had a lot of fun and stuck with it.

In 2010 he went to the regional championship, earned a paid trip to Nationals and placed Top 32 at Nationals.

The key to success in Pokemon is both in strategy and luck, Brower said.

“I’d say about half of the game is building a good deck,” he said.

Brower is part of a group of Pokemon players who meet every Thursday to play.

“There’s a huge community. I’ve made a lot of friends through it,” he said. “It’s just a fun environment to hang out and practice.”

In addition to Pokemon, Brower is interested in computers and coding. Incidentally, his favorite Pokemon is Porygon, a virtual character made of code.

“He’s a really cool Pokemon,” Brower said.

Aside from Pokemon, Brower and his family breed and show Weimaraner dogs.

“They’re a lot of fun,” he said.

Even though he is just 17, Brower is a sophomore in college and has been taking online classes toward an entrepreneurship degree from Thomas Edison State College.

“I want to own businesses that design and develop video games,” he said.

Brower said he doesn’t anticipate quitting the Pokemon circuit anytime soon.

“I definitely want to keep playing,” he said. “It’s affected my life in many positive ways.”