What We Need To Do

Hi. My name is Trevor Brum. Some of you know me, and some of you don't. Knowing me is not important. I sit here today, and type of this article I'm writing about the future of Pokémon. I really think that the Pokémon TCG is going to die out in a matter of 3-5 months from now. Let me take you back to the past...

When I was 11 years old, I got involved with Pokémon from a friend. The first thing that got me hooked was the TV show. Hey, even if you don't watch it now, you've got to at least remember the enjoyment of Ash & Pikachu and the Team rocket anthem. Later on, the Red and Blue versions came out for Game Boy. I was one of the first to get it, and I've spent countless hours playing it. (I think I've actually lost sleep from playing it!) I finally beat the game after some time, and set it down. I moved on since then to computer gaming. Now I'm in 6th grade and these kids in my school start to collect and play the Pokémon trading card game. So I head down to my local card collecting store one weekend and buy 2 starter decks as well as some boosters.

Days go by, and more cards were being produced... I then entered the Pokémon League and did fairly well. I became obsessed with Pokémon. I watched the show, and bought Pojo magazines [ :) ]. I find out there is a huge tournament called Pokémon STS. I really wanted to join and I couldn't because my parents don't believe in going to events like this so I couldn't go until I was at least 18! Did you hear me? 18!
I tried playing as many local events possible but people began to leave and go play Magic. So in the 9th grade, I put my cards in the closet and picked up another hobby. I still play Pokémon games occasionally, but watch the show rarely. I haven't collected any cards since Neo Genesis. Then, I woke up one day and had an urge to play the game again. The trading card game, that is.

I go to my computer and look up the old Pojo site. There, I find out that basically nobody plays anymore. I've talked to Ness and he tells me that WoTC has given him a bad reason why there are no more great tournaments for the people ages 15+. But, there is this new program called "The Professor Program." I'm really fed up; I'm now 15 years old and turning 16 on March 16th. I know have a closer chance of going to STS or another great event and WoTC does this not only to me but others. I have realized that Pokémon TCG is going to die (Don't blame the Yu-Gi-Oh! Players; it's not their fault ;/). If we want to keep it alive we have to do something.

Now, I have put a lil' something together to get Pokémon at least better than we are now.

1. Try to get your friends to play the card game again.
2. Call your local card game store, and try to convince them to start holding tournaments again.
3. Attend as many events as possible. (If more people show up, they're going to hold more events.)
4. Play another card game, such as Magic or Yu-Gi-Oh!, and make the players of that game give Pokémon a try.

These methods are not full-proof methods, but they could possibly help. Hey, I'm just a card gamer that wants his old enjoyment back. Well, these are just my views on what we need to do to give Pokémon a little more life. I'll be sure to write a better and more in-depth article very soon. Let me just leave you with this, Pokémon will die unless we do something, or if Sapphire & Ruby don't bring it abck to the spotlight. For now, I'm outtie. Peace.

-TB