Pokemon: The Rise, The Fall, and The 15+.

Well, I noticed yesterday that Pojo wrote on the site that Pokemon finally fell out of the Lycos top 50. We knew it would happen someday. But does that mean it’s dead? No way!

Pokemon started out as a fad. Remember, before Pokemon came here, America was obsessed with Gigapets and Tamagotchis. We were ripe for another fad. Just as those annoying beeping 15 dollar things were going out of style, in comes Pokemon, ready to be a fad. This one got big. I mean HUGE! Everyone heard of it. You couldn’t go into any store without seeing Pokemon packs, t-shirts, or games. This was about 3 years ago, 1999.

2 years ago, in 2000, Pokemon was at its peak. There was a movie, more expansions, (Expansions in CCG’s represent a long-term card game.) and hundreds of online sites including pojo. Most of the people that play now competitively were sucked into it here. But, there were signs of the fad dying out. A new thing called a “Furby” was going to try and own.

1 year ago, in 2001, Pokemon was no longer a fad. Many people would consider it babyish, and you wouldn’t be able to tell your friends that you played it. This is a shame. People don’t realize that the game goes so far beyond the pictures. I’ve even heard Magic being made fun of. The people that do this are ludicrously insane. Obviously, they don’t see a world outside themselves.

Now, Pokemon is down to its final stage. It’s core fan base. The people that play Pokemon now will always play it, until Wizards stops producing it. And no sign of that happening any time soon. Many people that play Pokemon also play Magic, and a lot of people thought that was Wizards whole idea. They “wanted people to get into Magic by excluding the 15+”. I think that statement is false. Magic and Pokemon are the two most played card games in the country. (TCG’s, not card games like poker. We ALL play poker.)

Wizards didn’t ask us to choose, they wanted us to play both! You see, people can put all this blame on Wizards and call them “the big bad meanies”. Why? Because it’s really easy. But Wizards treats its customers royally. Most people overlook this, but Wizards didn’t have to give out trips. If they would’ve never mentioned the word “trip”, most of the 15+ that were complaining earlier this year (and some 13 and 14 year olds) wouldn’t be. But they were NICE enough to give us such a privilege.

I’m turning 15 this January. Am I worried? No way. I’m not worried about winning any more trips. Wizards has already given me two, not to mention tons of packs. Why should I ask for more? And why should the fan base ask for more? And guys, this is just a year. Many people think that 15+ will be excluded forever, which is dumb. Wizards is testing this idea, and if it works, there will be regional championships. And National Championships. It just gets bigger.

Now, if we choose not to accept all this that they are giving, yes, Pokemon will eventually die. If we accept what we’ve been given, and I mean ROYALLY given, (most of us don’t deserve what we’ve received. We can win trips, and easily. Name another way to win trips easily without buying a credit card.) it will survive as long as Magic does.

So to some people’s comments about Wizards being run as poorly as a blind boy in a box, I =/. At the time, I was one of the people who agreed. But I don’t anymore.

Wizards, whether you call me a suck-up or what, owns.

~ RaNd0m

rand0m_for_life@hotmail.com