The slight problem with Pokemon go

[shiguregure]

Hiya!
Guys, does it ever bother you, just a little when people who only play pokemon go consider themselves as pokemon fans? I mean, lots of us have (or at least attempted to) watch the entire anime series and tried to play all of the pokemon games. But when random internet people and I are discussing Pokemon, well, guess what? The first thing they ask about after I bring up the topic is "are you on team instinct/mystic/valor?" No? Doesn't it bother you? Even a bit?
Also, I also dislike it when people start getting into the anime after they start playing pokemon go. Like, come on. It's been around for, like, 23 years already. You had a long time to get yourself into it, and you pick now? Like, srsly?
On a totally relevant note, Grammarly is dumb sometimes.

 

[Teapot]

Personally, it doesn't bother me at all – lots of people I know played the first generation Pokémon games years ago, but never really got back into the franchise until Pokémon GO came out. The fact that so many people are back in the community, and finding enjoyment in a franchise I hold very dear to my heart, makes me very happy. Who cares if they don't know the exact EV spread you should give a competitively-trained Talonflame, or the precise plots of every single Pokémon game?

When Pokémon GO came out, I suddenly had something to talk about with my entire team at my current client – some of whom I didn't have much in common with before. Some of them were very interested in catching up with what they'd missed in what was sometimes a 15 year or more absence from the series, and some of them just wanted to play a silly mobile game because everyone else was. Either way, none of them are breaking any rules or being bad people for liking a mobile game – and indeed, I know at least two people on my team who went out and bought 3DSes and Pokémon games after GO came out.

Whether you play every game in the series, or just Pokémon GO, or just the TCG, or don't even play any Pokémon games at all, you can still be a Pokémon fan. I know there are regular members of our community who don't own 3DS systems, for example. There's no rules and no minimum requirements for calling yourself a fan. "Policing" the fandom, by saying "you're not a real fan unless you play the main-series Pokémon games," or "you're not a real fan if you only just started watching the anime," just turns people away, and makes us seem like a hostile, insular group of trufans who shun anyone not exactly like us.

If you like Pokémon, you can be a Pokémon fan. That's all there is to it.

 

[shiguregure]

@Teapot I guess I agree with you? Sorry, I was a bit angry when I wrote that. Because, well, someone just told me they didn't know what a Glaceon was. Sorry for overreacting a little. Well, okay, fine. A lot. What I meant to say was that if you just played pokemon go, you didn't know what the original anime was like. You won't know what satosere is, and worst of all, you won't have any idea what a Glaceon is. So you'd be slightly clueless about the fandom, and fitting in might be a bt hard. That's what I meant.
Really, really, really, sorry for overreacting.

 

[Teapot]

The thing is, does any of that really matter? There's so many hardcore fans, even competitive players, who joined up long after the first generation that I don't think the notion that you have to have been in the fandom for years to fit in really applies. And, of course, if it were true, that'd be terrible! When it comes down to it, not knowing something isn't an issue – there are enough resources out there to quickly find out something you don't know in Pokémon – for example, if I didn't know what Glaceon was, a quick Google would tell me everything I needed to know about it.

We were all new once – and some of us dropped out of the community for a while. I, for example, played Yellow but didn't get any other Pokémon games, or indeed pay too much attention to the series, until Platinum was nearly out in the West. So when I came back in, I had three generations worth of knowledge to reabsorb... and I think it'd be hard to argue that I didn't fit in

As a case in point:

You won't know what satosere is

I had to Google what that term meant, as I hadn't heard of it...

I guess I just don't really understand why someone not knowing what a Glaceon was made you feel so angry, to be honest ^^;

 

[shiguregure]

I guess I just don't really understand why someone not knowing what a Glaceon was made you feel so angry, to be honest ^^;

Okay, so Glaceon is my favourite pokemon and eeveelution and ice type, and I tend to get a bit upset if people don't know what a glaceon is, so yeah

 

[Shiny Motley]

Adding on to what Teapot said...

Plenty of people weren't even born when Pokemon first came out, or were very young when it did. Being introduced to Pokemon via Go is actually pretty normal, and it can easily be a gateway to playing other Pokemon games/watching the anime/playing the TCG/etc. Or, you could be like how I was back in 2008-2013; I couldn't play the games due to lack of a console, and I'm don't follow the anime nor do I have any interest to play the TCG. But I enjoyed Pokemon for what it was and considered myself a diehard fan, because the designs were cute and fun!

I mean, seriously, Pokemon's expanded to several areas now so it would be difficult to be involved in every aspect of the franchise.

• The main games
• The main anime
• Pokemon Generations
• Pokemon Origins
• The movies (which tie into the anime but can count separately)
• The TCG
• Pokemon Adventures (manga)
• Pokemon Special (manga)
• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (roguelike RPG, seperate from the main games)
• Pokemon Conquest (I believe this is a Nobunaga's Ambition/Pokemon crossover, someone correct me if I'm wrong)
• Pokemon Go (mobile)
• Pokken Tournament (Wii U and arcade fighting game)

Just to name a few of the things people can enjoy about Pokemon!

While it's understandable that someone not sharing your exact same interests in an area could be frustrating, that's no reason to call them "not a real fan" or anything similar. People enjoy things differently, just let them be.

 

[Keleri]

Haha I definitely understand that feeling, especially when it's something that maybe people have been ribbing you for liking in the past. All of a sudden pokemon is cool again and all these people come out of the woodwork and act like they're hot shit because they're playing this spinoff with only the first 151. Seventeen years I've been a pokemon trainer! Never have I given up on pokemon!

But it's important not to chase away new fans-- their ignorance can be tiresome, but any fandom can die if it doesn't get new blood. Pokemon Go's absurd, runaway success has guaranteed the continuation of the main series for many more generations and propelled Sun/Moon to be one of the most-sold generations. It's better to look at new fans as opportunities to share your knowledge and experience rather than fakers to be exposed and chased out. I'm glad that my friends told me how great a series Fire Emblem is rather than scorning me for not having already played it since the NES era, and I discovered a really great series of games with their recommendation.

 

[Retr.0]

Just gonna add to what @Shiny Lyni said (the list of Pokémon games) there is also the three Pokémon Ranger games

• Pokemon Rangers (the original game)
• Pokemon Rangers: Shadows of Almia
• Pokemon Rangers: Gaurdian Signs

 

[PopeyPenguin]

Just adding something to this old and dead thread.
I like Pokemon GO, but this game is the fault of many, many stupid kids coming to the fandom, which I really hate about this game. And, people saying:'I LIEK POKEMAN GO FRANCHISE' no. This is bad. Now I don't see people saying this anymore, but I really hated them.

 

[shiguregure]

Yeah, I agree. It made Pokemon more popular, but it also caused quite a lot of idiocy.