Pokémon, a game made back in 1996, is a game based around creatures called Pokémon, that battle. There have been many games in the series. Right now, the 5th generation of major games are preparing for release in America. Pokémon are friendly characters, and they battle for fun. There has been some controversy about whether Pokémon in the games are being "forced" to fight for their trainers, but nonetheless, people around the world love playing the games. Some other issues that have come up are racism and worshiping of false gods. Over the years, people have complained that a certain Pokémon, Jynx, was a racial stereotype because of it's black colored skin, which was later changed to purple. When Pokémon get to a higher level, they will start disobeying their trainers. This has caused people to say that Pokémon "worship" gym badges, the badges given when a trainer has beaten a gym in the Pokémon world, because they let your Pokémon obey you again. Despite all the controversy, Pokémon has some ups and downs.
Some people may criticize the Pokémon games for many reasons. A common reason is that Pokémon is "too childish" for older players. This stems from people that have only seen the anime, and that perceives it to be aimed towards young children in front of a TV. People that have played Pokémon before often find it boring because of the repetition. The basic game play includes walking through grass, running into Pokémon, and battling them. Some people say that the games have lost their touch after all these years. This tends to happen with every game series, as gamers like to pick out things that were better "back in the day." Some people even go to the extreme and say that Pokémon is cruel to animals. Some Pokémon resemble animals, but some aren't even close.
Pokémon has a lot of upsides to playing it as well. For example, Pokémon is very open ended. Once you start your adventure, you can, of course, battle, but you can also partake in contests, hatch eggs, and explore the Underground. You can pretty much have an infinite number of different teams of Pokémon. You can choose 6 for your team, and right now there's 493 different Pokémon, so just imagine the possibilities! One of the major things to do in Pokémon games is completing your Pokédex. In order to do this, you have to see and catch all 493 Pokémon. While this can be a very difficult task, it can be done with dedication. Pokémon is also a very social game. It encourages you to play with your friends to trade, battle, and partake in contests. Some Pokémon you even need to trade to evolve or obtain in certain games.
Despite being thought of as a "simple game", Pokémon is very complex under the hood. There's many things that gamers that play online do that the standard player doesn't know about, such as EV training. EV training allows you to get very strong stats for your Pokémon after battling certain Pokémon over and over. You can also raise Pokémon with certain attacks that are harder to get without going through a large chain of events. Another reason that Pokémon is awesome is because of the large online fan base. If you're looking for a community online to talk about Pokémon, there's a whole bunch. Some of the larger ones have people online every day that you can talk to about the Pokémon games.
In conclusion, Pokémon can be very fun if you have a good imagination and enjoy a good time. As with just about anything, Pokémon games can be fun if you want them to be. Make a challenge for yourself if you got bored of it before. If you haven't played Pokémon yet, pick up a copy somewhere and try it out; you may end up really liking it. If you really don’t want to try it, just don’t criticize the games; some people really like them. Maybe even get some friends together and you can all play it!
