(Hey this is GymLeaderPhil from the Pojo Message Boards. This artical was not
written by me yet a very inteligent player on the boards called Skywolf1. I
found this in TCG Gossip and deservse to be posted in here. Hope you Enjoy it
as much As I did)


Upon reading the slew of posts to Gyrados_Lord's "How much longer can Pokemon
last?" topic, let me offer a complete answer to that and the state of Pokemon
in general, as I see it.
1. The Trading Card Game - This is probably one of the most fun TCG's I
personally have ever played. I enjoy M:TG as well, but Pokemon holds more
interest for me now. While the game of Pokemon is a broken one, one has to
keep some very important things in mind when comparing the game with the
likes of M:TG.

1a. Time in release - Compare M:TG's 9 or so years with Pokemon's 2, well I
think it is pretty self-explanitory why M:TG has more of a card pool than
Pokemon does, or why, at least currently, their are more "serious" players in
M:TG. Keep in mind, when M:TG was first introduced, WotC broke new ground
with this concept where people actually can not only trade cards amoungst
others but also have a game to play with those cards as well. Also, when M:TG
started out, there were no "organized touraments" or anything like that, this
was a game that WotC had initially created to be for entertainment. Well, the
North American TCG playing crowd demanded more, they wanted this game to be
competitive, kind of like football so to speak, so M:TG over the period of
about 9 years "evolved" into the game it is today. I see Pokemon suffering
the same fate now, as M:TG did then. That being, a slew of broken cards, a
lack of original decks, and a game, that at the time, was riddled with
imbalance. Like Pokemon is experiencing now, the "Naysayers" came along and
said, "Oh yeah, Magic will be dead in two years". That was 7 years ago mind
you. M:TG is still around and is a strong as ever. Naysayers of the Pokemon
TCG, said that the Pokemon TCG was "dead" a year ago. Funny thing is, at
least according to WotC, Pokemon still DOES still more than M:TG does. These
same Naysayers also say, that there is no strategy involved in the game, and
that the game doesn't have any solid coheasion to it. Well, I find it really
peculiar that a game with so little "strategy" and "coheasion" manages to
attract older players like me, and new older players, at least this was the
case last week at league for me. There is only as much strategy in a game as
a person wants to put in to it. For those of you, that are getting irritated
with seeing all the same decks all the time, here is a suggestion for you,
"CHANGE YOURS". I don't play Wiggly, sponge, raindance or any of those types.
Why? Because there are too many "sleeper" cards (those that really haven't
been discoved yet), that I want to try. Hence, these "sleeper" cards may just
be another archtype. One never knows, unless one tries to experiment.

1b - Neo. Three letters that are music to my ears. New pokemon, new
mechanics, new trainers, and new ideas, new strategies, new challenges. Isn't
that what makes a TCG so appealing? I think so. M:TG does it, so does Pokemon.

1c - Legal Issues. - I have never liked lawyers (no offense to anyone who is
who posts on this board), for one very simple reason, they always tell you
things you CAN'T do, rather than telling you things you CAN. The biggest and
possibly most damaging aspect of the Pokemon TCG right now, is that WotC only
leases the rights from Creatures/Media Factory. So, with that in mind, until
WotC gets full control, bannings, errata, restrictions on cards in pretty
much out of the question. I would like to see nothing more that SER, Wiggly,
Jiggly, BANNED from the game. Period.
This will FORCE people to actually use the space that God gave them that is
between their ears, and put about 80% of the challenge back into the game.
Part of the reason M:TG is so successfull is, aside from being owned by WotC,
WotC has also instutied bannings accross the board for M:TG. I believe only
"series 2" cards are legal now.

1c - Advertising. - Lets face it, Pokemon was aimed at the very young, and
the very young tend to have a very short interest in things that are popular
(hence the term "fad"). Being as how this is the case, I anticipated the TCG
to suffer sharp declines in sales, long before now. So, I like to look at
this as a "cooling off" period, as someone put it, in regards to Pokemon.
Pokemon isn't dead, but it isn't outrageously popular either. I think this is
healthy, for the game in general, the reason being is because it gives the
TCG a strong and solid base to build on. Hopefully, and I do mean hopefully,
WotC will one day get their head out of their rear end, and realize what this
game's true potential is.

2. The Anime - Well, I have noticed that people either love the anime or
loathe it. Honestly, I like the anime, why? Because it is a story about life,
about lessons learned, about making mistakes, about understanding what it is
to be human and that it is human nature to err. While critics of the series
state the show's lack of story or "kiddish" appeal, I look at Pokemon in a
much more deeper sense. Yes, the show may not be the best animated, but I
know that it is far superior to what I could ever produce at least from an
artistic standpoint. Is Ash Ketchum stupid? No. Naive? Yes. There is quite a
big difference between the two. This series has brought to life many things,
that we older folks tend to forget amougst the rigours of everday life, those
being, how to dream, how to be happy, and most importantly how to have fun.

In closing, Pokemon for me has been an adventure. One where I have met new
friends, embarked on new challenges and learned how to "have fun" and relax
again, and as far as I am concerned, Pokemon is one of the best things out
there in a society filled, with hate and violence.

I can only hope that many others see the magic that Pokemon brings.

Skywolf1
Contact Skywolf at:
skywolf1@prodigy.net