POKEMON

2001–2006: End of the craze, business reforms

In North America, Pokémania peaked in 1999, slowing down throughout the next year.[342] On April 29, 2000, the anime was bumped off Kids' WB's #1 spot after holding it for 54 weeks. Around the same time, Pokémon was surpassed at Fox Kids by its rival Digimon.[343] In Europe, the craze peaked in 2000.[344][345] On January 20, 2001, The New York Times reported that Pokémon's trading card market had collapsed in the US.[346] A June 2001 survey in the United Kingdom confirmed that Pokémon's popularity was waning there.[347] Tobin (2004) wrote: "By the summer of 2001, Pokémon's shelf space in Japanese and U.S. toy stores was but a fraction of what it enjoyed in the fall of 1999".[348] By the end of 2001, Pokémania was fading globally, and by 2002, the fad was largely over.[349]
From 2000 to 2002, Game Freak developed Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the successors to Gold and Silver, for the newly released Game Boy Advance. Masuda, who was appointed to assistant director during Gold and Silver,[350] was promoted to director for Ruby and Sapphire, with Tajiri making himself executive director.[351] Masuda was concerned that the end of Pokémania indicated the end of Pokémon as a whole: "After Gold and Silver came out, it was a huge hit around the world, but shortly after everyone was saying, 'That's it. The Pokémon fad is over! It's dead!'."[352] Determined to keep the franchise going, GF not only wanted to "prove people wrong" with Ruby and Sapphire, but already started planning their sequels: Diamond and Pearl (2006). They also began planning remakes of older installments, starting with FireRed and LeafGreen (2004), remakes of the original Red and Green.[352]
Ruby and Sapphire were released in Japan on November 21, 2002, and in the rest of the world the next year. The games introduced 135 new Pokémon, bringing the total amount to 386. Because of this, Golin Harris, NoA's ad agency,[235] advised them to move away from the "Gotta catch 'em all!" slogan. They reasoned that if new, younger players were drawn into the franchise with Ruby/Sapphire, they would find the concept of "catching them all" to be a daunting if not impossible task if they didn't also have Red/Blue/Yellow and Gold/Silver/Crystal.[353] Dockery (2022) noted that "from both a marketing perspective and, really, a legal perspective, it would not be to the company's advantage to keep pushing that slogan".[353]
By 2002, the relationship between Pokémon USA (PUSA) and Wizards of the Coast had deteriorated. That year, at least seven high-profile employees were poached from Wizards by PUSA: Wizard's former art director, senior graphic designer, business manager, events marketing director, project management director, and two vice presidents. All employees had signed NDAs.[354][355] In March 2003, PUSA told Wizards that their contract would not be renewed, and that Wizards would not be distributing the new Ruby & Sapphire card set.[356] Later, Wizards was also prohibited from releasing the sets Jamboree and Legendary Collection II.[357] Notably, Jamboree was the first set containing cards designed by Wizards themselves. As considerable time and money was invested into creating them, Wizards was upset when they were barred from putting them out. On October 1, 2003, the day after their agreement expired, Wizards filed suit against Pokémon USA, alleging that the defendant had seized their intellectual property and trade secrets, and illegally tried to gain advantage over them in the competitive trading card market.[354][355] The case was settled out of court.[358] Jamboree and Legendary Collection II have remained unreleased.[355]
In October 2001, 4Kids Entertainment signed a new contract with PUSA, continuing to serve as Pokémon's exclusive licensing agent and anime localizer.[339] On December 23, 2005, it was announced that the agreement would not be renewed and would expire on December 31, with PUSA moving all licensing in-house.[359][360] The localization of the anime would be done by PUSA in cooperation with TAJ Productions. PUSA proceeded to replace almost all of the original English voice actors, who were still under contract with 4Kids.[361] This decision "raised the ire of fans and the actors themselves".[362] According to Stuart Zagnit, who voiced Professor Oak, the recasting was done to cut back on costs.[361]
In March 2003, Pokémon UK was established in London as a British representative of The Pokémon Company.[331]

2006–2012: Generation IV–V, TPCi established

Following Ruby and Sapphire, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl were released for the Nintendo DS on September 28, 2006 in Japan[363] and on April 22, 2007 in North America.[364] A third version, Pokémon Platinum, was released on September 28, 2008 in Japan[365] and on March 22, 2009 in North America.[366] They form the fourth generation (Generation IV) in the Pokémon video game series.[367] Diamond and Pearl were designed based on the DS's various features such as its Wi-Fi capabilities and slot for Game Boy Advance cartridge.[368] Pokémon president Tsunekazu Ishihara dubbed the games as the "ultimate" Pokémon titles because they allowed the player to trade and battle Pokémon including every Pokémon from previous iterations globally through WiFi, as opposed to previously only able to do so locally and with fewer Pokémon.[369] The games' characters are 2D and the environments are rendered in 3D, and it is considerably difficult to differentiate them because Game Freak designed them this way to innovate the graphics while also retaining the traditional game style and feel.[370][371]
In Platinum, the developers focused on changing the most essential elements from Diamond and Pearl to maintain continuity with the previous games. Director Junichi Masuda stated that since they designed Diamond and Pearl as the "ultimate" Pokémon titles, it was only necessary to make Platinum "even stronger" than them. They approached this by designing the "Origin Forme" for the legendary Pokémon Giratina, ensuring that the design would appear significantly different from its regular form in Diamond and Pearl and to express the games' core antimatter and Distortion World concepts.[372] The title Platinum was chosen to reflect a precious material that "shines" and is different from diamond and pearl and their associations of "love" and "happiness" respectively.[373]
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver were released on September 12, 2009 in Japan and on March 14, 2010 in North America as part of Generation IV.[374][375] They are remakes of Gold and Silver,[376] aiming to balance familiarity for the original games' players and new content for newcomers.[377] The titles reflected the theme of the bond between trainers and their Pokémon.[377] The developers faithfully recreated the original story and added elements from the Generation IV games and Yellow, the latter of which was released concurrently with Gold and Silver.[377][378]
In 2009, Pokémon USA and Pokémon UK merged to form The Pokémon Company International (TPCi).[8] This subsidiary of The Pokémon Company (TPC) has since managed the Pokémon franchise outside of Asia.[379]
In Generation V, Pokémon Black and White were released on September 18, 2010 in Japan for the DS[380] and on March 6, 2011 in North America.[381] The games feature enhanced visual effects and increased use of 3D graphics. The developers excluded old Pokémon and strategies, while introducing over 150 new Pokémon to evoke a sense of novelty and to provide new players a more "leveled playing field" against old players.[382] The games seek to attract both new players and returning players through its detailed walkthrough and the addition of C-Gear (a real-time communication tool to improve the trade and battle experiences), respectively.[383]
The games were followed by Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, which were released on June 23, 2012 in Japan[384] and on October 7, 2012 in North America.[385] The games were developed for the DS rather than the more powerful Nintendo 3DS to maintain continuity with the game world in Black and White and they were presented from a different perspective in the storyline.[386] Since the games are their first sequels, director Masuda explained that they have strived to find a "fine balance" to appeal to both newcomers and returning players by implementing introductory explanations, and by placing a Pokémon Center in the first in-game city, they were able to further this approach by providing newcomers with a detailed walkthrough and also returning players with new updates.[387] During development phase, director Takao Unno revealed that they had experimented with a 100-player multiplayer experience via their communication feature Entralink drawing from their vision of players "sharing the same space, same time and same game" but this feature was never implemented due to technical limitations.[388]

2013–2016: 3D, Generation VI–VII

In Generation VI, Pokémon X and Y were released worldwide for the 3DS on October 12, 2013,[389] and they are the first games to be released in this way. The developers focused on the themes of "beauty," "bond," and "evolution," and it is based on these themes that they created the games' core mechanic where Pokémon could achieve a higher form of evolution by strengthening their bonds with trainers; however, to maintain game balance, they limited this feature to a special, temporary phenomenon.[390] The games' shift to fully 3D graphics allowed the player to freely manipulate the camera angles although due to technical limitations objects far away are rendered in lower polygon models, and producer Hitoshi Yamagami addressed to 2D players that "Game Freak [developers are also] big fans of 2D graphics... So there are some elements in there that I [Yamagami] think fans of 2D will appreciate as well."[391] When asked about the Horde battle and Sky battle types, he stated that Horde battles are to supplant the roles of "really strong Pokemon" to help the player more easily progress through the games and also to add "more excitement to the battles and a sense of danger," and that they added the Sky battles to take advantage of the games' 3D camera angels capabilities.[392]
Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were released worldwide for the 3DS on November 21, 2014[393] and on November 28, 2014 in Europe as part of Generation VI.[394] They are remakes of Ruby and Sapphire.[395] The developers adopted X and Y's core game mechanic and added enhanced 3D graphics.[396] According to director Masuda, they reviewed the original mechanic and concept and expressed them using modern hardware, such as replacing the original PokeGear feature for the enhanced versions BuzzNav and DexNav to more effectively provide information enabled by the games' hardware capabilities. They seek to explore the concept of Pokémon coexisting with humans and nature, revisiting the concept behind original games' setting, which translated to "richness or abundance in nature and bonds between people and nature" in Japanese. To appeal to the newer audience in X and Y, the developers decided to connect the story with X and Y by further exploring their core mechanic.[397]
In Generation VII, Pokémon Sun and Moon were released worldwide for the 3DS on November 18, 2016 and on November 23, 2016 in Europe.[398] The developers chose Hawaii for inspiration due to its distinctive warm sunlight and clear moonlight and unique biomes that helped support the games' regional Pokémon variance concept. Ohmori said, as director, he aimed to focus on the concept of "Pokémon as these living creatures, [and really focus] on them being alive." Having the release date on the 20th anniversary of Pokémon in mind, he treated this project as a "celebration of that life, and to really express this respect for life." As he contemplated about life and its origins, Ohmori considered the significance of the Sun, enabling life with its light, and the Moon's impact on certain species' reproduction. He explained how the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth "work [together] to influence [one another], and life as a result grows and flourishes based on [this] relationship."[399]
Ohmori stated that with the innovation to 3D in X and Y the designers decided to examine more minor aspects concerning with the Pokémon themselves such as their motions, such as when they designed the games' first starter Pokémon to capitalize on its owl-like characteristics with its head "twists round and round." With the 3DS technologies, the developers are able to design the characters to be more expressive as themselves including different facial expressions and reactions. In addition to portraying Pokémon harmoniously coexisting with people and vice versa in the games, the developers replaced the traditional Gym mechanic with Island Trials, deepening the players' connection with the story and their Pokémon.[400] The enhanced versions Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were released worldwide on November 17, 2017.[401] The games added an alternate storyline and additional characters, Pokémon, and other features.[402] Developer Shigeki Morimoto revealed that they were developed by the younger staff members and veterans so the more veterans can prioritized on developing more important titles,[403] and the developers considered them to be their culmination with the 3DS.[404]

2016–2017: Pokémon Go

Players during the Pokémon Go Fest in Chicago in 2017
In 2016, the Pokémon franchise spawned a second worldwide fad with the release of Pokémon Go, a mobile augmented reality game. The app originated as a Google April Fools's Day joke in 2014: the "Google Maps Pokémon Challenge". The prank was conceived by Tsunekazu Ishihara and Satoru Iwata.[405] On Ishihara's initiation,[406] the hoax was turned into an actual video game developed by Niantic. Ishihara was a fan of Niantic's previous transreality game, Ingress, and saw the game's concept as a perfect match for Pokémon.[406]
Through in-game purchases, the game generated more than $160 million by the end of July 2016,[407] with App Annie reporting that Pokémon Go had generated around $10 million in revenue every day that month.[408] The same month, Sensor Tower reported that the game had passed more than $200 million in worldwide revenue, beating every existing record set by Clash of Clans and Candy Crush by a wide margin.[409] The average daily usage of the app on Android devices in July 2016 exceeded that of Snapchat, Tinder, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.[410] By September 2, 2016, Pokémon Go had generated more than $440 million in worldwide revenue, according to Sensor Tower.[411] By September 30, it had received 500 million downloads and grossed $470 million in 80 days, according to market research firm Newzoo.[412] Pokémon Go reached the milestone of $600 million in revenue after only 90 days on the market, becoming the fastest mobile game ever to do so.[413]

2018–present: Let's Go games, Generation VIII–IX

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! were released for the Nintendo Switch on November 16, 2018. They are part of Generation VII.[414] Inspired by Pokémon Yellow, the games seek to introduce newcomers and a new generation of players (particularly Pokémon Go players) to the Pokémon series in addition to catering old players. As such, the games feature similar capture mechanics to Go where the player throw Poke Balls to catch wild Pokémon rather than battling them like traditional Pokémon games. In addition, the games feature the same setting and characters with the first generation of games and the original animated series and include exclusively the original 150 Pokémon to further appeal to their targeted audience.[415][416]
Generation VIII[417] debuted with the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield on November 15, 2019 for the Switch.[418] Director Shigeru Ohmori stated that they designed the games based on what they believed of the biggest Pokémon theme of becoming/being "the greatest or strongest," which was expressed in the games' gigantic-size Pokémon core mechanic and the games' increasingly powerful software and hardware capabilities. Ohmori further revealed that through developing the Let's Go games as research projects for the Switch, they were able to gain valuable experiences and knowledge to develop Sword and Shield. He noted that they took advantage of the Switch's high resolution and TV connectivity to implement the games' gigantic-size core Pokémon mechanic. They envisioned the games' setting to be a "wide-open space" that is different from the traditional route systems and is constantly changing where the player can meet and explore with other players.[419]
Prior to the games' release, they drew heavy criticism on their lack of many pre-existing Pokémon, which developed into an intense backlash called "Dexit."[420] Unlike previous games, Sword and Shield were accompanied by a paid downloadable content (DLC) expansion pass which consists of Part 1—The Isle of Armor, and Part 2—The Crown Tundra; they were released on June 17, 2020 and October 22, 2020 respectively,[421] and they include additional storylines, places, Pokémon, characters, and other features.[422]
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. The resulting widespread ennui and excessive leisure time inspired a resurgence in popularity and interest of Pokémon cards,[423] which was further popularized by various YouTube content creators, as well as influencer Logan Paul.[424][425] The craze resulted in severe supply shortages, and customers' inappropriate and obsessive behavior raised safety concerns in many retail outlets. Pokémon cards' values skyrocketed, prompting collectors to submit cards and overwhelm card grading agencies.[426][427] The Pokémon Company responded by reprinting impacted products at maximum capacity to ensure price stabilization and general accessibility.[428]
Remakes of Diamond and Pearl, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were released on November 19, 2021 for the Switch as part of Generation VIII.[429] They are the first core series[h] games to be developed by a third party developer, ILCA, rather than Game Freak.[430] The developers revealed that the games would not assume the anticipated style of the Let's Go Games and feature traditional game mechanics.[431] Pokémon intends to celebrate their 25th anniversary with the release of the remakes by revisiting old games and mechanics, which they faithfully reproduced with enhanced 3D graphics.[432][433]
Pokémon Legends: Arceus was released on January 28, 2022 for the Switch as a prequel to Diamond and Pearl.[434] It is part of Generation VIII.[435] The game "represents a new approach for the Pokémon video game series" as Pokémon transition from traditional RPG mechanics to add real-time elements in their games. Unlike traditional Pokémon games, the player can catch Pokémon by throwing a Poké Ball in real-time rather than triggering a battle; however, they can still choose the latter to weaken it for capture. Many in-game aspects, particularly its landscape, heavily resemble those of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.[436][437][438]
The most recent main installments in the video game series are the Generation IX[439] games Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which were released for the Switch on November 18, 2022. The games are the first Pokémon games to feature an entirely open-world experience as opposed to the partially open-world experience in previous Pokémon games such as Sword and Shield, and it also departed from the traditional gym mechanics and the elite four battles to opt for unique road quests. The games' improved multiplayer experience allowed for up to four players to travel together.[440][441] Their DLC, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, consists of two parts, The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk; The Teal Mask was released on September 12–13, 2023[442] and The Indigo Disk was released on December 14, 2023.[443] An epilogue to The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero was released on January 11, 2024.[444]
On 27 February 2024, TPCI announced Pokémon Legends: Z-A, set to release in 2025.[445][446]

Media

Video games

Main articles: Pokémon (video game series) and List of Pokémon video games
Pokémon video games have been released in a wide variety of genres. The role-playing games (RPGs) developed by Game Freak are considered the core series of the franchise.[447][448][449] Various spin-off games also exist, such as Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, a roguelike RPG series, Pokémon Ranger, an action RPG series, and Detective Pikachu (2018), an adventure game. Pokémon games, in particular the core RPGs, are commonly classified in generations. For example, Junichi Masuda referred to Diamond and Pearl (2006) as Gen 4,[450] and X and Y (2013) as the 6th generation.[451]
Until 2011, Pokémon games were released exclusively on Nintendo's consoles. With the rise of the smartphone, The Pokémon Company also began developing, publishing, and licensing Pokémon titles for the mobile phone market, most notably Pokémon Go (2016), an augmented reality game developed by Niantic that spawned a worldwide craze in the summer of 2016.[412][413]
According to Pokémon's official website, as of March 2023, over 480 million Pokémon game units have been sold worldwide.[452]

Trading card game

Main articles: Pokémon Trading Card Game and List of Pokémon Trading Card Game sets
Palkia, a card from the Diamond and Pearl Base Set
The Pokémon Trading Card Game (PTCG) was one of the first collectable card games (CCGs) in Japan. It was inspired by Magic: The Gathering.[140][141][142] In the card game, the players use a 60-card deck featuring Basic and evolved Pokémon, Energy cards, and Trainer cards to help them knock out the opponent's Pokémon, drawing prize cards and winning the game.[453] Cards are classified into various levels of rarity, ranging from Common to Rare Holofoil with a holographic illustration; rare cards, including limited edition, exclusive cards, and older cards, are highly valued among collectors due to their scarcity.[454][455]
According to the official website of The Pokémon Company, 52.9 billion cards have been produced as of October 2023.[452]

Anime

Main articles: Pokémon (TV series), List of Pokémon films, and List of Pokémon special episodes
As of 2023, the anime consists of over 1,200 episodes across 26 seasons, with the latest, Pokémon Horizons: The Series, premiering in April 2023. The anime originally focused on Ash Ketchum and his travels across the Pokémon world with his partner, Pikachu. They were retired as protagonists after the 25th season,[456] and Pokémon Horizons introduced two new protagonists, Liko and Roy.[457] A total of 23 anime films have been released, the most recent being Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle (2020).[458]
Spin-off series from the anime have also been produced, including a variety show titled Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station (週刊ポケモン放送局, Shūkan Pokemon Hōsōkyoku), which aired on TV Tokyo from 2002 to 2004 and aired in English as part of Pokémon Chronicles,[459][460] as well as three television specials.[461] Many short films focusing on Pikachu and other Pokémon were released, primarily preceding the films,[462] and many animated mini-series were also released.[IX]

Live-action

Detective Pikachu, a live-action/animated film based on the video game of the same name, was released in 2019.[473] A sequel is currently under development.[474]
A live-action television drama produced by The Pokémon Company and TV Tokyo titled Pocket ni Boken o Tsumekonde premiered on TV Tokyo on October 20, 2023.[475]

Reaction to Pokémania (1999–2000)

November 1, 1999 cover of The New Yorker, which depicts a Pikachu carrying away a bag overflowing with money while trick-or-treating. Artwork by Harry Bliss.
In 1999 and 2000, Pokémon was an unprecedented, ubiquitous fad in the Western world. Time magazine described it as "a multimedia and interactive barrage like no other before it".[119] The franchise, primarily aimed at children, elicited mixed responses from parents and teachers, some of them critical. Yano (2004) even claimed that the reactions at one point constituted a moral panic.[476]
The bulk of the criticism on Pokémon was directed at the trading cards,[477] in particular the booster packs, sealed packages of 11[e] randomly inserted cards that were sold separately from the main sets. The cards are of varying scarcity, the most valuable being the "holofoil cards" (also called "holographic" or "foil cards"), in which the illustrations of the Pokémon have a shiny overlay effect. The rare cards can only be found in booster packs, and the rarest ones are very infrequently included. Tobin (2004) notes that rarity in this case is "artificially created", and "effectively a form of gambling" in which children need to repeatedly purchase booster packs to get more rare cards.[478] Brougère (2004) described a cynicism among adults that corporations could apparently, "out of thin air", ascribe value to cards which they saw as valueless, thereby "deceiving vulnerable young consumers and garnering excessive profits".[477]
As the franchise's popularity grew, children began taking their Pokémon cards to school for trading and playing. Soon, the cards were alleged to be "disrupting learning, poisoning playground friendships and causing such distraction that some children forget their homework, tune out in class and even miss school buses as they scramble to acquire one more card".[479] The cards "turn[ed] the playground into a black market",[480] with card swaps sometimes inciting conflicts. Certain children engaged in "aggressive trading",[481] tricking other (often younger) kids into unfair deals, forcing teachers to arbitrate.[X] Some parents expressed their concerns about the craze, but feared that their children would be ostracized if they were to deny them Pokémon products.[486][487][488] In the US, the Pokémon cards ended up "almost universally banned" from school grounds.[489] Similar bans occurred in Canada,[490][491] Australia,[492] New Zealand,[493] and European countries.[488][494][495] In September 1999, US-based law firm Milberg filed a class-action lawsuit against Nintendo of America, Wizards of the Coast, and 4Kids. The suit claimed that the booster packs constitute a form of lottery and promote gambling in kids.[496][497] Susan Estrich noted that similar lawsuits had been filed against trading-card makers in the US, without success.[498] The Pokémon card suit is not known to have gone to court, and is believed to have been settled.[i]
The Pokémon anime series was criticized by some as "cheap Japanese animation"[500] that is "violent"[20][501][502] and has "little educational value".[503] Michelle Orecklin of Time dismissed the TV series as "less a cartoon than a half-hour exercise in Pokémon product placement".[504] Allison (2006) wrote that even those within Pokémon's US marketing team agreed that the anime's visuals were "not especially sophisticated" compared to Disney cartoons.[500] Pokémon: The First Movie premiered in the United States on November 12, 1999, and in European countries in February 2000. While a huge box-office success, the film was received negatively by several Western film critics.[505][506] The Guardian decried it as a "contemptuously cheap animated cash-in on the monster kids' craze".[507] The American adult animated series South Park satirized Pokémon in the episode "Chinpokomon", aired on November 3, 1999. In the episode, the titular media franchise is portrayed as a low-quality line of products that is part of an evil plan by the Japanese government to invade the US. South Park co-creator Matt Stone commented that, at the time, Pokémon was "scary huge".[508]
Kohler (2016) wrote that at the time Pokémon was considered "ruthlessly commercial", and that it "program[med] children to be consumers of anything and everything Pokémon".[509] CNN quoted child psychiatrist John Lochridge as worrying that "Pokémon's creators and marketers deliberately set out to create a fantasy world so compelling that children would quickly become obsessed". He believed that kids were being "brainwashed", and said: "I have had parents tell me that they cannot get their kids to do anything except Pokémon, so this stuff seems to really capture their minds, in a way".[4] These concerns were countered by psychologist William Damon, who told Newsweek that obsessing is in fact a normal part of a child's neurological development. It should concern parents only when the obsession gets dangerous or excessive.[510] An op-ed in the New Zealander newspaper The Dominion Post claimed that the anti-Pokémon sentiment was particularly American: "The backlash, which seems largely confined to the United States, may be no more than the sound of the world's leading cultural imperialist gagging on a taste of its own medicine".[511]
As Pokémania built, Western media started reporting on several crimes associated with Pokémon. These included violence[492][512] (including two reported stabbings),[513][514] burglaries,[515][516] robberies[512][517] (some at knifepoint),[518][519] and shoplifting.[520][521] Almost all these incidents were connected to the Pokémon cards, and the individuals involved were almost always underage. In the US, the incidents peaked in November 1999.[316] In England, Pokémon-related delinquency reached a head in April 2000.[518][522] High prices on the grey market were a motive behind some of the crimes, "posing a great temptation for older kids and bullies to take advantage of weaker children".[523] At specialty shops and online auctions, rare Pokémon cards could be bought and sold for prices of $50 or more (c. $91 in 2023).[524]
Aside from the negative reactions, many media also cited alleged beneficial effects of Pokémon.[525][526][527] It was noted that the video games and the cards require children to read, memorize, calculate, and plan out a strategy.[3][157][528] Both encourage socialization, and trading Pokémon requires negotiating skills.[4][10][16] Stephanie Strom wrote in The New York Times that the Pokémon anime taught children "traditional Japanese values -- responsibility, empathy, cooperation, obedience, respect for elders, humility".[529] Anne Allison interviewed various American parents during Pokémania. She found that while most of them were "utterly mystified" about Pokémon, few were overly worried about it, instead meeting the craze with "befuddled acceptance". Allison also notes that the Columbine High School massacre coincided with the fad, causing violent television, music, and games to be scrutinized. Compared to these media, she notes, Pokémon is in fact rather tame.[530]