As I have stated before, I believe in keeping up with all the trends kids of today are in to.  This includes music, TV and video games.  Besides just knowing what my children playing, I’d love to be able to be a part of the experience and play with them.   I was looking into games to purchase for my Wii and my husband sent me a link that said that the most recent release of Pokémon Platinum sold almost 1 million units in just 2 days in Japan.  I remember Pokémon from over a decade ago,  when I was looking at (the now extremely valuable) trading cards with my nephew when the craze began.  The Pokémon series is the second most successful  and lucrative video game in history, only behind Nintendo’s other creation, Mario. 

I wanted to know more about this, so I contacted Nintendo’s resident Pokémon expert, Seth McMahill. Seth has been with Nintendo of America for more than eight years.  In his role as a localization specialist for the Pokémon series, he’s responsible for giving the Japanese-created games a more American feel. That includes everything from naming new Pokémon titles to writing game text and instruction manuals.

I told Seth that I have every intention of keeping my cool mom title, and asked for a quick overview into the game and what I need to know to be able to keep up with my children as they become more interested in playing the 30-plus Pokémon games created throughout the years.

Seth started by telling me the basics.  Pokémon is primarily a role playing game.  Much like one would collect baseball cards, the same is done with the characters of the game.  There are 493 characters that range from a cute fluff character like a mini penguin to powerful legendary characters.  He said the main thing I’d want to know is the core of characters, and that each character is one of 17 types.  He said I’d want to familiarize myself with the 17 types of Pokémon, how they interact and who the player favorites are.

I asked Seth about the stigma surrounding the game.  I’ve heard through other parents I’ve talked to that the game is bad for children.  When I mentioned this, Seth told me he believes that is because the premise of the game is to collect the characters by obtaining, training and doing ‘battle’ with other characters.

The game has you start off as a 10 year old trainer. The two general goals (in most Pokémon games) for such Trainers are: to complete the Pokédex by collecting all of the available Pokémon species found in the fictional region where that game takes place; and to train a team of powerful Pokémon from those they have caught to compete against teams owned by other Trainers, and eventually become the strongest Trainer, the Pokémon Master.   Every game starts with a comprehensive tutorial that will walk the player around the town and explain it.

Seth pointed out that even though the characters do battle, there is no bloodshed or death.  The losing team simply retreats back to rest.  He pointed out that this is a game of strategy.  There is a lot of reading involved, and that kids also learn the value of team work.

To be successful at the game, you have to learn how the characters interact and determine the strength of each.  This gets the children not only reading the stories, but using their brain to recall which of their characters would be best to use and what moves that character should perform to win.

Since the typical age range for players of the game falls between the ages of 6 and 14, many of the children will require the help from their parents, allowing some family bonding as the parent reads the storyline to the child.  Together, they can figure out the strategy and see how to make the fictional world a better place.

Seth has 2 children himself, and he often plays the game with them.  He stresses that the game promotes team work, strategy, good sportsmanship and respect for the environment.  He suggests that anyone who wants to learn more about the game check out the Pokémon website.  There, you can take a more comprehensive look at the available games and characters.

I sat down with my son this past weekend and we played for over an hour.  I read the story to him as it appeared on the screen and together we worked out our strategy.  When I told Seth I was new and needed his suggestion for the best game for me to “jump into”, he suggested I download Pokémon Ranch from the WiiWare available for the Nintendo Wii. The characters in this specific game have a different look from the rest of the games, but it is designed so you can import your own Mii into the game and learn more about the characters in a “vacation” setting, making it ideal for younger children.

After talking at length about the Pokémon series, and playing it for myself, I absolutely agree.  Of all the games available for our children, this is a game that can be extremely beneficial for them to learn.  I even found myself having to really think about what moves to utilize and I got quite wrapped up in playing.  It provides a challenge that never ends.  With so many characters to collect and with the latest release of Diamond and Pearl games, enabling players to trade and battle with other players throughout the world using the Nintendo online Id called the Pal Pad, this is a game that will challenge players for years to come.