Pokémon in the UK
It's only been around the UK since April '99, but already I'm sensing that Pokémon's
popularity is fading away. You can easily find someone hanging inside a
mall asking if you want to buy their cards, and rarely other toys. Ask
them why and they'll shrug nonchalantly, saying that they need the money for
something else. Being a fan for a number of years I sincerely hope that
Pokémon won't become a lost puppy without a home.
The TCG was released a year ago, and the last set was Team Rocket. TR
isn't the best of sets, but fans of all ages would want them just because it is
a set. The problem was that when it was launched a couple of months ago,
relatively few were buying packs compared to the stampede that rushed to
exchanged mom and pops money for Base, Jungle and to a lesser extent, Fossil.
Part of the problem was shops cashing in on this craze and importing from the
US. When a set was released across the 'pond', just a couple of days later
packs and boxes would land over here with the not-so-rare 1st edition packs.
For Ł3.50 to Ł7 ($5+), you can become the owner of a pack of Gym cards.
I used to wince everytime I looked through a kids collection filled with
imported cards, thinking 'that much money could probably buy me enough games to
keep me occupied for a couple of years'.
Wizards have to take part of the blame for this and-- hopefully-- speed up the
release of future sets in the UK. The quick release of the Gym sets and
very soon Neo, really doesn't help anyone, not only in the UK but the US too.
Collecting the cards is one thing, however, and playing the game is a different
thing altogether. A surprizing amount of young card collectors look
blankly at you if you ask them if they know how to play, even if you spot them
holding on to a Poké magazine like Pojo as if it was a life preserver.
They ask where to play, and the best place is the Pokémon League, where they
can gain promo cards without spending Ł2.50 (for a non-holo Mew) plus.
At the shop I go to play, I'm the oldest by a hefty margin, 19, with the next
oldest being 15/16 and the majority being 8-12 year olds. I still find it
slightly shocking, and amusing, that I am the oldest when I know that others
much older than me play in other countries (and testament to the fact that
people here see Pokémon for children only). And the Warner store hosting
the League is the *only* place to play in my area.
For such a big shop, the area we had to play was a table that could stage three
games, so only six could play at the table and everyone else was relegated to
the floor. Strangely though it was the same people taking up four of the
six seats :P. As for the deck types being played well... no-one is really
playing a archetype, a few Wigglies can be spotted but 'the wave' is never
accompanied with a full bench so the pink balloon isn't really threatening when
it is barely tickling you, and the two who did played with a Raindance deck
don't come anymore.
Predictably, the gals are outnumber by the guys as only a few a week come.
I'd say that one tenth of the people who turn up for the league are female, not
including myself. I cannot comment on the type of decks the girls play
because they're never sitting at the table so I never have the chance to play
them.
I played in possibly the longest and closest games at the League. I was
playing a deck I built for a laugh just to prove that base Haunter was playable
and useful for something other than propping up tables with (It also had Snorlax,
TR Drowzee and the Dark 'Duck in it). His deck, something I call 'Team
Mewtwo' with six-- ugh-- Mewtwos including-- again, ugh-- TR Mewtwo. At
one prize remaining for the both of us I pasted a defender on Dark Golduck and
attacked Dark 'Kazam to leave it with 10 HP. He won by Gusting in my sad
little Drowzee.
I learned a couple of valuable lessons from that game. Firstly that
Bellsprout Temple is a fantastically annoying card. Secondly, that the
match is not over until it's over. I could have won that game if I had
Oaked to try and find a Lass which would have saved Drowzee. My opponent
later described that match as the "best game [he] ever played."
That 'Team Mewtwo' deck is still undefeated at the end of the Poké League for
this year... with a little assistance from cheating in the rematch ^_^.
Anyway, everybody enjoyed the League and the way in which it brought people
together. Playing the game taught strategy and trading taught them the
basics in haggling. Actually there was another place to play the TCG... it
was earlier in the year with the STS Qualifiers and Finals. Sadly though
few at my League had heard of it, but were willing to go to the finals-- at the
Dome-- if the possibility of paying a nasty Ł10 entrance fee had not existed.
(Funnily enough someone said afterwards that we wouldn't have had to pay if we
showed them our DCI number. Oh well.) Somebody who did go to compete
called it "a shambles" and never specified why.
To sum up the Poké League (where I go to at least) in one word: uncompetitive.
Before the League stopped for Christmas, people I asked to play decline my
challenge as they didn't want to "get whipped," by my shabby Fossil
Zapdos electric deck. The younger players all have decks based on good
ideas but they can never, ever, take advantage of a good situation. In the
end I sometimes feel that I'm the one taking advantage of them just for extra
points in my book. To top it all off the shop workers still insist that
they were never sent the Dark Gyarados pre-release... (O_o)
There are no tourneys in my area. One shop that tried didn't get anywhere
close to the 32 participants that it needed to start it off. Another was
very reluctant and the manager said, "I'm not sure there is that much
interested in the game... Most kids do not know how to play..."
Ironically when I thought I could change his mind and offer to run a tourney at
his store myself he told me that he was closing his shop in favor of a market
stall! If you know of any Pokémon events in the London area please mail
me about it.
The vast majority of players, boys and girls, are either totally oblivious to
P15/C3 or have no opinion on it at all (which makes a nice change from any Pokémon
message board!!) and rely on magazines. I haven't seen the Pojo magazine
around for a while but everybody seems to view it as *the* magazine.
Topdeck is the other magazine more people have been discovering due to the pack
of Poké cards that come with it. Both have been changed for the UK
market. Pojo has certain things removed for the sake of more posters--
apparently-- and Topdeck's inserts and 'W' cards are months old (The Topdeck UK
September issue had a Pokémon League guide insert instead of the Gym Heroes
guide and came with the 'W' Wartortle that I'd received way back in the March
copy). If Pojo's 'dumbing' down is true, I don't quite know what to make
of it, perhaps it is just reflecting most players in the UK. As for
Topdeck, they can change they insert as much as they like to keep it relevant to
the UK m!
!
arket, but it means little when the articles swoon over the Gym cards.
Anyway, with the second movie to open before Christmas (I'm glad they called it
P2000 as it forced the distributors to release the movie this year), new
episodes of the anime to be show soon (all the ones after Charizard Chills), and
Gold/Silver somewhere on the horizon, Pokémon isn't quite ready to fade away
into the distance.
2001 *IS* going to be a good year for Pokémon!
Meia.
<a href="mailto:meia@iname.com">Email
me</a>
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