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Home Page > Pokemon : Pokemon's not dead - The Red Blimp

Is Pokemon over?

I’ve often been told, as a Pokemon fan, that Pokemon is over. Finished, kaput, gone. The people telling me this say that Pokemon is just not popular anymore, or that the show isn’t as well known amongst its target audience, or that the games are just pathetic attempts to hold onto a dying series. They look at me like a sort of interesting oddity: “Wow, I can’t believe you’re still a Pokemon fan.”

I used to think that Pokemon was over, too. I mean, the crazy of 2002 is long gone. Telling people that you like Pokemon often results in taunting and assertions that you should grow up. Even elementary school children find themselves annoyed by other kids who say that Pokemon is “old”. Anyone looking in on this must think that Pokemon is dead.

I don’t think that anymore, however. Pokemon is not dead; far from it, in fact. How can it be dead if it continues to make such a ridiculous amount of money, if it is Nintendo’s second best selling series, if the games continue to be popular amongst fans and non-fans alike? The Pokemon games are consistently praised across gaming magazines and sites for being good fun (though there is always a jab about how Pokemon is ‘the same thing). I doubt that there is a Nintendo fan, or even a video game fan, who has never heard of Pokemon. Indeed, within the video game community, Pokemon is thriving, selling more games than when it was just a fad.

What about ‘normal’ people? Does Pokemon leave a mark on those who don’t like video games? The craze a few years earlier is still resonant in the minds of parents. Often, when I go out to eat, I see a kid playing Pokemon Diamond or Pearl, playing away eagerly in a way that reminds me of younger-me, and I can’t help but feel giddy – even after so many people declared it a fad, the games remain hugely popular amongst new fans! Advertising for Pokemon is, of course, still strong – the movies, which no longer air in theaters, have extensive advertising on the channels on which they air, and the posters of the latest games are plastered over every game store when the release date approaches. If Pokemon were truly dead and no longer profitable, why would it have such an extensive marketing campaign?

Perhaps the strongest point that Pokemon is not ‘over’ is the fans themselves. Once Pokemon the fad faded away, the people who really liked it were the ones who remained; as such, the Pokemon community is quite unified in liking Pokemon (it’s split over practically everything else, but all Pokemon fans can agree that the community is quite active). The most active Pokemon forums get an ungodly amount of traffic, and even smaller ones have dedicated communities.

After looking at all this, I feel that no, Pokemon is not over. Pokemon is more alive than ever. I always smirk a little on the inside when I hear someone declare that Pokemon is dead.