I’m Writing Another Pokémon Book!
Once upon a time I was sitting at home in my favorite chair, eating cold pizza and watching Pinky and the Brain on TV. That’s what we big-time important writers do all day. We watch cartoons, eat cold pizza, and wait for the phone to ring.
Anyway, the phone did ring and when I picked it up, this guy said, “Hey, want to write a Pokémon book?”
“Uh, but I just wrote a Pokémon book,” I said.
“Well, there’s a lot more Pokémon stuff out there now,” he said. “And besides, the kids really loved the last one and they want another.”
“Really?” I answered. “Really? Really? They really liked it?”
“Yeah, really, now get to work!”
“I mean, did they like it better than all the other books in the world? Or did they just sorta kinda like it?”
“They liked it a lot,” the guy said. “They thought it was funny. I don’t know why they thought it was funny, but they did. Now please, start writing.”
“Funny, ha-ha-ho-ho-ho or weird funny?” I asked. “Did they think it was more fun than shoving beans up their nose, or just kind of funny?”
“Please, get to work,” the guy said. “You know, I don’t even know why I call you.”
So that’s how I started writing this book. And that’s what I’m doing now. Right now! I’m working on the Big Deal Introduction.
Hey, how do you like the book so far?
* * *
If you read How to Become a Pokémon Master, I hope you liked it. I tried to make that book as much fun as I could and I’ll try to make this book fun, too. A lot has happened since the first book was published. For one thing, Pokémon has gotten even more popular than when I started writing the first book. And all the adults started going a little crazy, because they can’t really understand it.
I was in the supermarket one day and I heard one mom say to another mom, “It’s a yellow electric mouse. A mouse!” So what could I say, except to sneak up behind her and in my best Pika voice go, “Pikachu!” That really scared her, but her kid liked it.
Why is Pokémon so popular? Who knows? They’re kids! When I was a kid there was a guy who used to pick his nose and save the boogers in a pencil sharpener. Why? Nobody ever asked him, but today he’s a lawyer. So you never can tell. I just mentioned that because sometimes it’s really hard to know what kids think. I do know one thing, though: Kids will not keep playing a game unless it is fun!
Who would want to play a game that wasn’t any fun, right? And Pokémon is definitely fun. So I suppose you could say that Pokémon is more fun than a box of snot.
Today everyone is playing Pokémon. And it seems all the kids are collecting the cards. Not only that, but you can also watch Pokémon in movie theaters, on television, and even on the VCR. You can wear Pokémon T-shirts, color in a Pokémon coloring book, and read Pokémon stories. You can put Pokémon stickers on your school backpack and listen to a Pokémon CD. You can go Pokémon crazy!
In fact, sometimes it’s like the whole world has gone Pokémon crazy. In Japan, there are more than 1,000 Pokémon products for sale! They even have a Pokémon breakfast cereal in Japan.
If you read the first book, then you know that I had kids talk about the games pretty thoroughly. I tried to be funny and interesting, too. Hopefully the book made you laugh. Since a lot has happened since the first book, I’d like to write about stuff that wasn’t included in the first book. That means stuff like Pokémon Pinball, Pokémon Snap, and the trading cards. I won’t be including a bunch of strategies for the Red or Blue versions, since that was pretty much taken care of in the first book. But I will try to cover the new games as best as I can. And I will try to include some jokes and other stuff.
Who Are All Those Kids in the Book?
If you read the first book, then you know that I used a lot of kids to talk about the Blue and Red cartridges. They wrote out stuff for me about Pokémon or they talked to me about the game. Then I took what they wrote and said and used it in the book. I thought it was a pretty good idea, much better than just having me go on and on and on about the games. The kids also gave me a lot of ideas for chapters and what to talk about.
So who were these kids? Hey, they’re kids just like you. They are kids who like playing the game. Some of them finished the game and some of them didn’t, but all of them love Pokémon.
Some of these kids lived in my neighborhood. Some of them were kids whose parents I know. And two of them—Maxwell and Willy—keep following me around. Not only that, but they eat all the food in the fridge, play my CDs, and mess up the house. I can’t even walk out of the house without them following me. It’s weird the way they keep yelling, “Dad, wait up! Wait up!” A couple of times I threatened to call the cops, but they said, “Hey, don’t mess with us, we know where you live!” That really scared me.
Still, Maxwell and Willy are pretty good kids. I love them a lot.
Anyway, in this book I have even more kids helping me out. When word spread that I was writing another Pokémon book, soon kids from all over the country wanted to be in it. So what could I say? I said, “Sure!”
That means there are a lot more kids in this book than in the last book. And that’s a good thing.
1) This book will not make you a better Pokémon player. The only thing that will make you a better player is playing the game.
2) Pokémon is a great game, but it is still only a video game. That means there are a lot of things more important than Pokémon. Homework is one. Helping your parents is another. And being good to your friends is yet another. If Pokémon—or any other video game—is getting in the way of these things, then you should take a moment out to think about it. Hopefully, you will come to the right conclusion.
3) Pokémon cards and video characters are fun to collect and save. Actually, they are a lot of fun to collect and save. But they are not worth cheating for, or hurting someone’s feelings.
4) Everyone can enjoy Pokémon in their own way. Some kids like playing the video game. Some kids like collecting the cards. And some kids like playing the card game. Even in the video game there are different ways to enjoy it—some kids just like collecting Pokémon, while others want to “finish” the game. There is no right or wrong way to enjoy it. So you should respect other kids’ opinions and the way they enjoy the video games and cards.
5) Different schools and different families may have different rules about video games and collector cards. You should respect the rules set down by your parents and teachers that involve video games and collector cards, but also respect those rules set down by your friends’ teachers and parents as well.
6) If this is the only book you have read in a long time, then you should be reading more books. And I don’t mean more books about Pokémon and video games.
7) Collect the cards because it is fun to collect and trade, not because you want to make money.
“I know it’s not true, but my friend’s brother who is six or seven years old told me that since Pokémons are so popular he believes that they can come to life.”
—Katie
For a large percentage of parents, Pokémon has become a fact of life. Although only a little more than a year old, Pikachu, Squirtle, and the rest of the Poké gang have more than worn out their welcome for many parents. For a large number of parents, Pokémon is inescapable. It’s played on the home video game console, broadcast on the television, and played on the family stereo system. To date, Pokémon is a $5-to-$6 billion industry that crosses over into virtually every entertainment medium and licensed product that can be imagined.
Pokémon had been hailed as wholesome entertainment and proclaimed an evil. However, in the end, it really is just a video game.
Why have these oddly named, crudely rendered video game characters captured the imaginations of children? The answer is, I believe, simple. Pokémon was the first sophisticated video game designed for the under-12 age group in mind—an age group that has been largely neglected by the video game industry for some time.
It is true that Pokémon was aggressively marketed and sold, but all the marketing in the world will not sell a product to kids if the product is not fun. Pokémon was enthusiastically embraced by an entire generation because it held their attention and challenged their skills as no other video game had in a long time.
“I like the idea of Pokémon. I like how they create them and how they come up with the characters and the names. It’s cool. Most of my girlfriends are into Pokémon. Everyone I know really likes the idea of trading the cards. I have no idea why, but it’s just caught on.”
—Allie
Pokémon is a deceptively complex game. The word used within the video game industry is “depth.” It appeals to kids of a certain age on a variety of levels. Pokémon combines collecting, trading, exploring, and nurturing to create a game that challenges youngsters. Regardless of the relative skill of a youngster at playing video games, he or she can become expert in one or several of the game’s features. This, I believe, is an absolutely vital aspect of the game. A child does not have to master every skill or aspect of the Pokémon game in order to thoroughly enjoy it.
Is Pokémon educational? In my inexpert opinion, maybe. The case could be made, quite strongly, that the video game and cards teach basic math and classification skills as well as problem-solving and reasoning. There is also an aspect of commerce involved in the trading and collecting of cards. Of course there is nothing new in this. Children’s games have always included these elements in one form or another. Countless boys have improved reading and math skills by studying the backs of baseball cards. Insect and butterfly collections have traditionally led youngsters into fields of science. The whimsical world of Pokémon may just provide some of the same skills.
I have also seen it build confidence in kids by allowing them to complete tasks at their own rate of speed. And it does provide an introduction to video games that is, above all, non-violent. In the entertainment medium of video games, this stands as a significant achievement. Kids who are introduced to video games through Pokémon and other games that include nonviolent themes probably understand that video games don’t have to be violent to be fun. Again, this is my inexpert opinion.
Nintendo, to its credit, has a long history of offering a significant number of non-violent video games. In an industry long dominated by games themed on martial arts, shooting, and other forms of violence, Nintendo has consistently catered to young audiences with games whose appeal was based on the innovative approach to gameplay and not the graphic depiction of violence.
The success of Pokémon—as annoying as it can sometimes become—is a hopeful sign for the video game industry and parents. No doubt other game manufacturers will follow in creating challenging, nonviolent games suitable for younger kids.
And for those times when the Pokémon craze seems too much—again, in my inexpert opinion—think of how you have already survived a purple dinosaur, ninja kicking teens in latex jumpsuits, and the fads linked to a hundred other oddly shaped characters, some of which even had television in their tummies. A yellow electric mouse should be easy. Pikachu!
“I collect Pokémon stuffed animals. I collect Pokémon pencil sharpeners and any Pokémon stuff—any toy that has to do with Pokémon. I have a Pikachu stuffed animal and I have a plastic Pikachu and when you squeeze its tummy it squeaks. I also like collecting stickers and key chains.”
—Katie
Things You Will Sooner or Later Regret—No Matter How Much You Like Pokémon
1) Getting a Bulbasaur tattoo on your butt.
2) Investing your entire college fund in “really valuable” Charizard Holos.
3) Trading your little sister or brother for a Mewtwo.
4) Letting your parents take a picture of you in a bubble bath wearing your Pikachu mask. This photo is destined to be either displayed framed in the living room or reappear on prom night when your date arrives.
5) Not studying for the big math test because you are almost to Victory Road.
Much has been made of the violence included in video games over the past year. As I have mentioned in previous books, video games are a fact of modern life and one of the many entertainment choices available to children of all ages. In this, video games are no different than movies, home videos, and music.
To their credit, the video game manufacturers have acted responsibly in instituting a ratings system for their video games. Just as movie, music, and other entertainment media have done, they are acknowledging that not all of their products are suitable for all age groups. Pokémon, for example, is rated E (for Everyone) under the ESRB rating system. Other games may be rated T for teen audiences or M for mature players.
However, the final responsibility does fall on the parents. As a parent, it is your job to monitor the video games your child plays. We’ve come a long way since Space Invaders or Centipede, just as we’ve come a long way in terms of music, movies, and television. In video games, technology and audience demand have pushed the limits of what many parents would consider appropriate content for their child. And only a parent can make the final determination of what is appropriate for their child. That requires not only reading the rating on the box, but previewing the game as well.