SATOSHI:*Ahem* Hi, people! It's me (again) with s'more stuff to talk about.
I will call this article...Mini Rant!(BAD JOKE...BAD JOKE)

1-Collectors
Okay, I hate pure collectors just as much as anyone, but ya know, I just
figured something out. We just have to wait, and they'll destroy themselves.
Let me explain.
Collectors collect just because they want to "catch 'em all," right? Well,
pretty soon, the Pokemon TCG will get into full swing here in the good ol'
U.S. of A, and be just about as intense as Magic:The Gathering. When that
happens, no one will want to collect the cards, 'cause by then it will have
fully evolved into a strategy game. I mean, come on. You don't see many
people collecting Magic cards, do ya? All it takes is patience, my friends.
Wait them out.

2-Decks That "Don't Win"
<<laugh, laugh>>Okay, I just got finished reading an article about how
raindance decks "don't win tournaments anymore." Man, I wish someone would
have told me, 'cause I just killed at a tournament saturday with my
raindance deck.<<laugh, laugh>>Silly me.
Which brings me to another point. I have noticed when people say that card
is "for rookies" or "broken," that the card is doing EXCEEDINGLY well and is
very popular. Look. Promo Mewtwo, Energy Removal, both of these great cards
have been considered "broken," or "for rookies."

3-Seaking
Alright. Frankly, I don't see why people dis seaking. I've used seaking
before, and it is a decent card. Yet we have these people that get all
hooked up on scyther and conclude that seaking is bad because it's a stage
one. Well whoppee. Try it out. You'll be surprised.

4-Team Rocket
"To protect the world from devastation..." these words begin the infamous
Team Rocket motto. But, unlike others, I do not believe that the Team Rocket
expanison will bring "devastation" to the playing field in the form of Evil
Vileplume.
Think for a second. When fossil came around, people stressed the fact that
muk and areodactyl would ruin the popular decks, yada yada, yada. Did it
ever happen to that extent? No. The reason? People wanted to evolve their
own pokemon and use their own pokemon powers. This, I believe, will be the
same with Evil Vileplume. People will want to use their own trainer
cards(duh), so he will not be a big thing. Beisdes, he's a stage two. Evil
Gloom or Oddish could get gusted and killed. Think about it.

5-Poke-Haters
Okay, sad thing. I know someone that participated in his last tournament
saturday. His mom thinks(wrongly) that pokemon is evil, so he is restricted
to play, and even hang out with anyone that does!!! How mean is that?!?
Another thing. I was at a friend's house, and was showing a little kid some
pokemon cards. I asked innocently, "Do you like Pokemon?" He, about 4-5
years old, replied, "They're bad." Thinking he meant it in a good way(you
know, "man, that skateboard is soooo bad!"), I asked "Oh, really? You like
'em?" He replied, "No, they're BAD. You like the devil?"
I simply cannot believe that this little child's parents have told him that
pokemon is a tool of satan. These people should(like I've said before) take
a looooooong look at the contrast between the Pokemon and Magic:The
Gathering creatures, and THINK. They cannot(or chose not to) comprehend that
it is an innocent hobby. These are the type of people that "Tunnel Vision,"
or only see what they want to see.

SATOSHI: Well, that's that. Glad I got that off of my chest. That's all for
now! C'ya!
-SATOSHI
paulheid@temecula.com