Still trying to figure out how to start this, but here goes. When you think of Pokemon, what are the things that come to mind? Pikachu? The Pokeball? Charizard? Mewtwo? Ash Ketchum? I'm bringing this up because the company will release its new game, Pokemon: Scarlet and Violet, in a few days. How long has Pokemon existed? 25 years. Twenty-five years includes about 20 video games, an animated series with over eight seasons, a manga, a trading card game, a handful of movies, a theme park, and a diehard fan base with arguably the most beloved mascot in the world. (Pikachu) As great as this company has been, one thing plagues this franchise; it hasn't aged well. I say all this to explain, for there are many things about Pokemon that have turned off young adults, grown adults, and even children. Sit tight, and grab some snacks cause we gone be here for a while. This is Onbiased, and I'm putting you to my perspective.
The Animated Series
The premise of Pokemon is to catch, tame, and train monsters to become your companions and battle other monsters on your road to fame and glory. The television series began in April of 1997 and followed a 10-year-old boy named Ash Ketchum who dreams of becoming a Pokemon Master. In the pokemon universe, at age ten, you can leave your parents and set out on a journey to capture these monsters. Ash pursues this dream, and for the last 20+ years, he's still pursuing this dream. Is this dedication or just a made-up, unattainable goal created by the writers? To become a "Pokemon Master," you must have captured every Pokemon from every respective region and be ranked as the top trainer in every region. In Pokemon, they have tournaments called the Pokemon league where once a trainer completes eight gym battles (8 challenges that are administered from the Pokemon League) they can compete in this tournament and fight other trainers to be declared the strongest. Ash Ketchum has been competing in these tournaments from 8 different regions for the last 20 years and has only won once. Think about that; out of eight tournaments, he's only won 1. His record is abysmal. He's been to the finale six times and won 1 time. In sports logic, his NBA Finals/Superbowl/World Series record is 1-6. In his first tournament, he reached the top 16, which is compared to losing in the first round of the playoffs so we'll excuse that. Not only that, once you win the Pokemon league, you receive an invite to challenge the elite four. The elite four are a group of higher echelon trainers; defeating them allows you to challenge the Pokemon champion of that region, who is ranked number 1 in that region. You can see the mountain you would have to climb, which Ash Ketchum has failed several times.
Now yes, there have been other mini-tournaments throughout the series in which he has won, but if you look at the big picture, Ash Ketchum is the main character in this story, and he has achieved little to nothing. He's only won one Pokemon League tournament, and the one single win you can argue was the worst tournament out of them all because it was a region that was brand new to the rules. Now in the pokemon universe, it is more complex; there are mysteries about how the world became the way it is. People with evil intentions aspire to exploit the secrets of Pokemon to their liking. There is such a thing as legendary Pokemon, who are monsters that helped create or played a role in the pokemon universe; some are dead, some are not, and these villains wish to capture the power of these legendary Pokemon. Throughout the series and in movies, Ash has encountered these villains and has defeated them, but that doesn't change the overarching mission to be "the very best". With 20+ years of traveling the pokemon world, Ash has repeated the same cycle; New region-catch and train new, pokemon-complete the gym, challenges-defeat the new villain-enter the pokemon league-lose-start over in the following region.
What makes this cycle even more painful is the little to no growth Ash has received throughout the years. Yes, the boy is listed as ten, traveling around and befriending other 10-year-olds to travel with him. In modern-day Ash Ketchum would be about 35 years old. (STRANGER DANGER). But not only has Ash not aged, but the guy still makes the same mistakes from year 1 and relies entirely on the power of friendship to overcome his opponent. What does this teach to young children? Does that friendship conquer everything? That it's ok to lose consecutive times and never learn from your mistakes? That you can become independent at age 10? That animal cruelty exist? Well, the last one is true, but that's a whole other story. Why is Pokemon like this? Some theorized early in the first episode when Ash was struck by lightning he fell into a coma and has been dreaming of everything, others say its the legendary Pokemon that Ash has interacted with in the past that are controlling various outcomes behind the scenes. But to be honest, its because the writers keep Ash the way he is to fit their audience, which are ten-year-olds who are just diving in. That's why they reboot Ash every 3-5 years.
The Video Game
The TV Show has its issues, but the money maker for Pokemon are their games. Pokemon releases a new video game about every 3-5 years. They basically follow the progression of the tv show and when the season is on its final arc they begin preparing their next game. But what's their money maker is also a cash grab that baits everyone. The routine is Pokemon will release two versions of the same game and lure consumers to buy both games in order to collect all the Pokemon that are in the game. I'm not even counting the dlc you have to purchase. Just collect more Pokemon with a subpar side story. This dates back to the Gameboy era with generation 1: Pokemon Red and Blue. 25 years later and we'll be receiving generation 9: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Nine generations of more of the same premise. Sure there are new Pokemon and subtle gameplay changes but the story and graphics have remained the same, which has caused fans to in a way, leave; besides the monsters and characters, nothing is new. In recent years, Pokemon is trying to step away from tradition and try something new with various games like Pokemon Go, Pokemon Unite, Pokemon Cafe, Pokemon Legends, and Pokken Tournament. Hopefully, these new ideas and creative projects will translate into better content for mainstream projects.
The Trading Card Game
Now, trading cards have become an underrated moneymaker for them. The trading card game started simple; buy packs of cards to collect different Pokemon and build your collecting. An innocent hobby, but Yu-Gi-Oh is still better in the trading card department. What's surprising is the resale value of trading cards, which Pokemon has capitalized on whether they knew it. If you told me that if I save my old pokemon cards, wait 20-30 years, and sell them in Japan for thousands of dollars, I wouldn't believe you. But people are selling pokemon cards for thousands of dollars and making a living doing this. It also highlights how marketable Pokemon has become, from cards to figurines to clothing to video games. Now Pokemon is trying live-action movies with detective Pikachu, but hey, their net worth is 95 billion, so they could try anything and put their names on it, and it'll sell.
After going on a tangent about the pros and cons of Pokemon, my final verdict is. It's a love/hate relationship. Those who grew up on it will have moments. Do I play their games? Yes… Will I purchase their games in the future? Probably… Do I watch the show? No, and I don't plan to because Ash will never grow up and will keep doing the same thing. The writers will continue to keep Ash the way he is because Pokemon targets a specific age group. Those around the franchise's beginning or who were born during the late 90s and early 2000s have outgrown Pokemon. Will Pokemon ever catch up to other (more mature) animated series? Probably not; we'll probably have an anime about Greek mythology before Ash Ketchum grows up. (Foreshadowing)
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