Pokemon, Anyone?

Ever heard of Pikachu, Squirtle, Dragonite, Magnemite and their gang of more than a hundred of pocket monsters with strange sounding names called Pokemon?

I never knew Pokemon existed until I went to Canada four months ago for a much-needed vacation. Nicholas, my twelve-year old nephew and his seven-year old brother Julian introduced me to these monster-like creatures. I could not understand then (and even until now) why they go gaga over this game, but they do. They watch the show on television every week and they are familiar with the video games and other pokemon materials like soundtracks, cards, action figures, stickers, stuffed pokemon, board games and other stuff like that.

My nephew Nicholas has a binder, which he shares with his little brother where they keep all their cards. They spend a lot of their school allowance buying pokemon cards. Nicholas even came up with a creative solution of increasing his allowance by selling newspapers on weekends so he could buy more cards. (The two boys have already stopped collecting cards since their parents put their foot down, because they have been spending too much money on them.)

The cards have different prices defending on their availability. Some cards are difficult to find so they become expensive. I remember when the two boys asked me to accompany them to the mall to look at pokemon cards. I asked my nephew how much those cards cost and he nonchalantly said, “one-dollar a piece.” Feeling generous, I told the two: “Okay, pick out the cards you want and I’ll pay for it.” The little one started to point his finger here and there until I heard the store assistant saying: “Oh, you want that one. That’s a rare kind.” I looked at the store assistant suspiciously and asked: “What do you mean?” He went on to explain. “There are only few cards of this kind in circulation, so they are expensive.” He pointed at two sets of cards. “This kind is $40 dollar a piece, while that one is $20 dollar a piece.” Oh God! I nearly fainted when I heard the amount. I couldn’t believe it! There’s no way I will spend $40 dollars, or $20 dollars on a piece of card, even if it is a collector’s item. The little one, sensing my shock, perceptively moved his finger down to a set that sells for $2 dollars a piece.

There are officially 150 species of pokemon, and each one goes with a strange name you and I (who belong to a different generation) would probably find difficult to remember. But the kids familiar with this game can rattle off their names (all 150 of them) without even blinking an eye.

Pokemon is the latest fad that has invaded the world of children in Japan (where the game originated) and United States. It is not surprising that Manila would soon pick up the craze. At present, the game is not very popular yet as it is in the United States because the cards are expensive. But it only takes a local franchise to manufacture the game locally to make it affordable to its target audience, the children.

Why is pokemon so popular among kids? A child psychologist interviewed by Time Magazine believes that “Pokemon appeals to children’s desire for mastery.” My 15-year old niece Gabrielle gives a different view. She thinks, “the reason Pokemon is more popular than any other cartoon, is that there are 150 pokemon. With such a large number of character kids these days have a wide variety of choices for their favorite character (rather than dwelling on just two or three). Each of this pokemon has different personalities and abilities, so they are all unique. The 150 pokemon are only the pokemon that are ‘discovered’ and there are many more that have not been discovered.”

Julian, the youngest, thinks pokemon are cooler than the Power Rangers and also boasts that pokemon will last forever.