Crazy about Pokemon
Recently I acquired a new addiction thanks to my son. I got to know about the world of Pokémon and the more I research about it, the more there is know about these fantasy creatures, the more I am amazed and amused by the ingenuity of Nintendo’s marketing strategy.
Pokémon started its roots in 1998 as a video game on the handheld Gameboy console. It was a RPG where players take on the role of Red and is tasked with the responsibility of filling up a Pokedex with all the known Pokémon in the region of Kanto. In the midst of his journey, he battles eight gym leaders, foil the evil plans of Team Rocket and then take on the elite four on Indigo Plateau to emerge as the Master Pokémon trainer.
The storyline is simple and foolproof enough but what makes the game enjoyable is the hunting, capturing and training of each and every Pokémon so you gain the satisfaction of completing your Pokedex. Except that it is quite difficult to complete without either another Gameboy console or a friend who is also playing the same game and the companion version of the game.
Since then the popularity of Pokémon never looked back. The reason why the franchise has remained so successful and prevalent in my opinion is accredited to its marketing strategy. From the video game emerged anime cartoons, comic books, figurines and the trading card game. And every two to three years, Nintendo releases the next generation of Pokémon with a new game, cartoons, books, toys and cards to accompany them. It is currently in its sixth generation after 16 years.
They have made Pokémon collectable not just in the video games but also through the trading cards, and the stories in the anime and comic books cement the user’s relationship and understanding of the trainer and Pokémon so they seem almost real. There is so much to learn about the world of Pokémon that it seems quite impossible for a newbie like me to absorb, which is why it is addictive.
I’ve even gone to the extent of drawing up an excel sheet to track the link between each generation of Pokémon with the game release, cards, anime, movie and comic books, as well as found free online sources to access them. Here is my list if you’re new to Pokémon too.
Generations
Generation 1: Red, Green, Blue, Yellow – presumably named after the basic starters – Charmander (fire), Bulbasaur (grass), Squirtle (water) and Pikachu (electric)
Generation 2: Gold and Silver – Ho-oh and Lugia (presumably from this series onwards, the title of the games were based on the main legendary* Pokémon featured in that generation)
Generation 3: Ruby and Sapphire – Groudon and Kyogre
Generation 4: Diamond and Pearl – Dialga and Palkia
Generation 5: Black and White – Zekrom and Reshiram
Generation 6: X and Y – Xerneas and Yvettal
*Legendary Pokémon are rare Pokémon that have strong/unique powers and represent the various elements that make up the world, e.g. life and destruction, yin and yang, time and space
Video Games
If you do not own a Gameboy or Nintendo DS, you can download the emulator and the playable ROMs from generation 1 to 5 from coolrom. You don’t have to download any software (just decline all the way) or do any survey to get the games. The latest Pokémon X & Y and the remake of the Ruby and Sapphire is/will be released on the Nintendo 3DS of which there is no playable emulator for it currently. If you’re keen to play them, you’ll need to buy the console and game, cheapest I’ve found is about $260 selling on Hardwarezone Marketplace.
Anime/Movie
You can stream online all 830+ episodes of past Pokémon cartoons from Generation 1 to 6 (17 seasons in total) on pokemonepisode. Each episode is about 20 – 25 minutes in duration so if you start now you can finish watching them all in about 2.5 years assuming you watch them in 24-hour cycles @_@. The anime are all based on the main lead Ash and his best friend Pokémon Pikachu as they travel through various regions to battle and become the Pokémon league champion in each region. Along they way they meet new friends, new Pokémon but are always challenged by the same villains Team Rocket’s Jesse and James. The villain part could really do with some refreshing because they are lame and always lose.
It might be more worthwhile to catch the Pokémon movies which usually introduce the various legendary Pokémon and the storyline has more depth and the villains more sinister. I mean you actually might think that Ash and his company are in danger. There are altogether 16 movies available currently, with the 17th one already released in Japanese. You can download the whole movie collection from piratebay or alternatively most of them are available on YouTube.
Comics
There are many versions of the Pokémon comics but my favourite would be the Pokémon Adventures series which is based quite closely to the storyline of the video games and for a change, it is not always about Ash. There are currently a total of 51 known volumes covering up to events in generation 5 Black and White. However translated volumes to English are only available up to volume 41 because the local company Chuang Yi who did the translations has gone under. Not sure if anyone else would take up the task and continue the work. Meantime, you can actually read the comics online at mangareader. I’ve been using them as bedtime stories for my children for the last couple of months (we’re only at volume 7 currently) and they love it. Like I said storyline has more depth, though some aspects about battling strategies can go over our heads. The app is also available on App Store for more seamless reading.
If you prefer them in physical form, you can purchase the comics from most Popular bookstore under the Comic section. Each volume costs about $8 – $10 depending on the publisher. Lest you say I am a cheapo, I’ve bought four volumes myself based on the movies.
Trading Card Games (TCGs)
The whole interest in Pokémon started when my brother in law passed his deck of Pokémon cards (the very first edition) to Joel. His purpose was to encourage Joel to think strategically through games. Ended up his mother got enticed instead. There are about 64 versions of the TCGs that I am bit confused and overwhelmed myself. It would quite an impossible task for me now to try and collect all the cards at this stage so I am only going to concentrate on generation 6 onwards. If you want to know all the available cards, you can check out the official Pokémon website or download this fan app called Pokellector from the App Store.
From front left: Serperior, Xerneas, Yvettal ex!!, Pikachu, Sableye, Ursaring
Actually I am amused myself that even though more or less the same Pokémon are featured in all the variations of the TCGs, people are still willing to collect them, for different artwork, statistics and skills I guess. Each booster pack containing 10 cards costs about $4.50 and you can buy them at all Comics Connection outlet. Each booster pack also allows you to unlock a booster pack on the online card game which you can download from the official website. If you have no idea how to play the TCGs, this is a good platform to learn and pick up the skills, as well as build your own online deck to compete with other players around the world. It is also probably easier to get the rarer cards online than in physical form.
If you prefer to have a ready starting deck (at least 60 cards making up of Pokémon, Trainer/Supporter, and Energy cards), you can purchase a theme deck instead which has it all configured for you already. You can then later change and substitute the cards with those you get from your booster pack. Each theme deck costs between $18 to $24 depending on the version and comes with the cards, a coin, damage counters and a game mat.
Toy Collectibles
As with all franchises, there is the accompanying collectible toys – from plush toys to capsules and PVC figurines. You can purchase the plush toys from Comic Connection, the capsules can be found in some Toy R Us outlets (about $3 – $4 per turn) and the figurines are sold in loose pieces in China Square. We were at China Square one Sunday to pick up some loose Pokémon toys at $1 a piece. After spending 30 minutes choosing, I realised that we have burst our budget so I asked Joel to put back half of what we have shortlisted.
The shopowner was either annoyed or amused by us so he then offered to sell me the whole box of Pokémon for $20 which I promptly agreed. After we brought the box home, washed and counted them, I found out there were a total of 130 Pokémon in there. What a loss he made but then perhaps he was just glad to be rid of the toys that is moving too slow. Since then we have been building on that collection from other shops.
From front left: Pangora and Pancham, Mega Garchomp, Mega Charizard
Just last Sunday, we were at OG in Chinatown and my jaw dropped when I saw their entire collection of the latest X & Y Pokémon figurines under the Moncolle brand by TakaraTomy. Each toy was packaged nicely in its own wrapping, in mint condition and excellent artwork. Although they were a lot more expensive even after 20% storewide discount, I couldn’t resist them and got myself an additional 6 to add to our collection. Am proud to you my collection here – $5.50 for the smaller one and $12 for the mega-evolution version.
And there you have it. All about Pokémon here. Will update with other stuff I get along the way.