Is there really any of us who doesn't suddenly feel nostalgic, with countless memories invoked, at the slight muttering of the words, "I want to be the very best, like no one ever was"? For those who lived in a cave, those are the first two lines of the theme song to the awesome anime, Pokemon. Most of us just remember the original Kanto Pokemon (Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pikachu...), as the franchise's popularity embarked on a steady decline come the Jhoto Pokemon. Although still relatively popular today, let's face it-- Pokemon was, essentially, a fad.
If you were like me, your life was pretty much based on Pokemon at the height of it's popularity. On the bus ride to school, you'd talk to friends about how you were able to catch Missingno. the following night and how your Charizard leveled up to 58. You'd hide your Gameboy in your bookbag during SSR (sustained, silent reading) or free time and play those games. At recess time, It was a rare occurrence you'd hear plain English speak on the playground... it sounded more of a zoo of "pika-pika!" and "meowth!" that we all just seemed to comprehend. While at home, you'd avidly tear open endless packs of Pokemon cards, then smuggle them to school, as they were illegal, and trade them on the blacktop, drug-dealer style. On the bus ride home from school, you'd secretly do a few more last-minute trades before racing home to catch the Pokemon anime series on the now-defunct Kid's WB. Glued your eyes would be to the television screen, even though you've seen the same episode numerous times and even had it on videotape. You'd eat Pokemon cereal, wear a Pokemon bathing suit, and you jumped for joy upon release of Pokemon: The First Movie. You obviously raced to the theater to watch it, and, of course, loved every second of it.
Somewhere after that movie; however, your love disintegrated.
Mentality drifted from "you're a freak if you don't like Pokemon," to "you're a freak if you do like Pokemon". Pokemon cards were handed down to younger siblings, thrown away, or sold; videos were ripped out and used as streamers; plushies were gifted to the family dog; and the games slowly lost their battery life sitting in your drawer. In many people's eyes, Pokemon were a thing of the past. Others stayed loyal to the franchise.
This show/franchise totally needs a comeback. I don't know what's wrong with it now, but a reinvigoration of the craze would be awesome and totally interesting. Ash, Brock, and Misty need to ditch whatever lame friends they have now and just stick together, and Jessie and James need to become again a force to be reckoned with, not just the comic relief characters they are currently. I want to see Pokemon card booster packs being way over priced (I'm talking' 7.99, people!) and impossible to find due to popularity, not lack thereof. No matter how cool you think you are, you know you're at least somewhat interested in this craze making a comeback.
The games are great, merchandise is readily available, and there's not much to improve about the cards-- I wonder if the problem lies in the show?
