Older members: Have you become less of a Pokemon fan?

[Hikamaru]

I used to collect the cards and merchandise, but I don't do it as often as I used to. Now I focus on the video games and the anime.

I do the same as him, however I never collected cards.

Games and Anime are my main points of Pokemon.

 

[Guest123_x1]

I used to be a big enough fan to be playing the games and watching the anime a lot, but in the past several years lost interest, and even gave up the games altogether. Whatever's left of my fandom, is pretty much limited to posting here and looking on Bulbapedia for information mostly pertaining to the first two Generations. (I admit, that's all I'm really familiar with.)

 

[Alley Cat]

I use to watch it all the time, I stood in a line at the movie theaters that went out the door to see Pokemon 2000. I bought all the games, and would get together with my brother and two cousins using or 4-way link and we'd battle it up and trade. I also collected cards for a while, but I never really played the battling game. I'm definitely not as big of a fan now. But that is mostly because I don't have the time to watch Pokemon(and I think the anime is utter crap), I don't have money to buy the games, and I don't see the point in wasting my money on the cards. :/

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

Definitely. The anime fell out of favor with me halfway through Johto. But I was a big fan of the games until recently. The downward spiral started with HG/SS. Good as those games were, there were several frustrations I had with them that made them not as good as the likes of Platinum. Then the ball dropped with B/W. Those games were just so disappointing and underwhelming that for the first time, I sold a Pokemon game back to GameStop.

Some of the changes made in B/W (the experience system, for example) really ruined the game for me and doesn't bode well for future Pokemon games...

About the only aspect of Pokemon I'm still passionate about is my constant pursuit of Leaf fan-art.

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

I'm definitely much more of a casual fan nowadays, as opposed to the die-hard fan of youth. That being said, my interest has mainly stayed with the games. Apart from a cursory glance at the anime when Poke-mania was at its peak, it never really interested me the way the games did. I guess my interest has been reduced not in the 'amount' of Poke-stuff that I consume (as that was always just the games), but the amount of fandom stuff that I keep involved with. I used to have Serebii as a Bookmark in case any breaking news was reported and didn't want to miss it; I had strategy guides and knew about EVs; I even joined this place! But nowadays, I just play the games as a form of relaxation... for fun.

 

[Kikaito plush]

I used to collect the cards, watch the anime, play it every day but yeah I guess it for me has died down.

 

[Dawn]

Nnno... There was a period of time where I started hating the games on a competitive level because switching out looks over nine thousand levels of lame to me as a concept around the release of Diamond and Pearl. That and I realized I was a casual player who couldn't battle for crud. However, when Black and White came out my love for the series has probably grown stronger than it was to begin with and has not since died down. The future is a mystery.

 

[Trainer Galza]

I've never really been a "fan" of it, if that makes any sense. I keep it more casual, than something I keep close to my heart. I'm probably far too old to still be playing this thing, but I do. Like, R/B/Y came out when I was in High School. It was kind of the hidden thing around campus, so many of us were playing it but didn't want to admit it. It was kinda funny and kinda awesome at the same time. I watched the Anime, and I liked it up to a certain point - Kind of presently feel it's utter garbage now, production looks cheap, the writing is dumb.. Team Rocket was really the only reason I'd watch it at some point.. but they're not even funny anymore. Show needs to go, but I know it won't. At least the movies can still capture my interest.. most of the time.

I'm not so much a die hard fan, as much as I am a tactical RPG nut.. since Pokemon are infinity more customizable than they were in the old days, its more of an improvement to me.. so I keep playing!

 

[Darthbane2007]

Sadly, i mut throw myself into this category here..

 

[FreakyLocz14]

Has anybody's fanship grown over the years? I'm curious.

 

[Shiny_Espeon]

When I was a child back in 1998, I played Pokemon Red but didn't watch the anime or collect Pokemon cards. I got Silver and Gold and finished the game but wasn't obsessed with it. I stopped playing Pokemon when Crystal came out.
I got back into Pokemon about a year ago when I found my Gameboy Advanced buried in my closet. I started playing it and became hooked. I eventually got a Nintendo DS and Pokemon Black. Today I play it in the exact same way as I did as a kid. I battle (Nimbasa), collect Pokemon, and beat the gym leaders.

 

[solaris knight]

Unfortunately, yes. I no longer watch the anime or get the cards, I no longer replay my old pokémon games and I'm struggling to motivate myself to finish my B/W pokédex (but I'm getting there...slowly).

Pokémon will never leave my life completely, though. I refuse to let that happen. Its a big defining factor of my childhood.

 

[chella182]

I was big into it until Generation II. I didn't get into Generation III or Generation IV initial games (DPPt). I got back into it with SoulSilver and now I'm big into it again. Buying cards and other misc merchandise.

 

[Thrash]

Like mostly everyone else in this thread, I too used to be big on card and merchandise collecting, as well as pretending to be Pokémon/trainers with my friends back in grade school. I watched the anime pretty religiously for a while, as well, and even went as far as to dress up as Ash Ketchum for Halloween (despite ridicule from a lot of people for being a girl Ash Ketchum).

Whereas those days are long gone and now I see the more technical side of Pokémon, such as natures, IVs/EVs, etc., my love for the games and the franchise has not changed. Sure, it's a bit annoying to have to soft-reset for a starter with a superior nature each time I start a new game, or have to ditch Pokémon with less-than-favorable IVs. But it's not about how you play, but rather, as long as you're having fun playing it.

 

[Waffle-San]

Since this is my first visit to PC since March...yes. :P

I loved Pokemon as a child, you know, show, cards, etc. I completely forgot about it and didn't rediscover it until Diamond and Pearl came out. That then was probably the peak of my...fanness. 2007 was when I joined PC, got the majority of my posts here and became obsessed with competitive battling.

Now I tend to play the games and battle casually but it isn't a mainstay of my everyday life. I've been dying to play Soul Silver again but I don't think I've had a battle in at least a month. That being said, I had a chance to go to the Pokemon Centre in Osaka this summer and I went CRAZY. :P Spent way too much yen there!

 

[Larvesta]

I've been a fan my whole life (i am only 16 btw) I only watch the anime when my little brother or cousins want to watch it, I never really played the cards but I still play the games, I have taken a month break from White before I start over. And I hate competitive battling it is no fun and way too serious..

 

[Melinda]

I was a big fan as a kid. I had to get new cards every weekend and traded cards with my cousin everyday. I stopped for a long while until Diamond and Pearl. That's when I really got into Pokemon. I've been off and on since then. Currently though, I'm really into Black and White. I don't know how long I'll be into it, but I'll enjoy it while I am. :)

 

[lacella]

if you're talking age, then i'm jumping in! xD

i'm more of a casual fan for sure - i don't even really know too much about strategic battling. i just enjoy the game storylines and catching all different types of pokemon. i stick to the main games but would still play pokemon snap :3

when i was younger though... i was into pretty much everything pokemon except the movies (i think i only watched the first two). the anime was convenient to watch because it was on every morning but i actually got into it (i recorded a few tapes haha). i even borrowed my friend's pokemon CD for a while and had the whole pokemon rap down LOL. also was into the cards, but more for collecting the pretty/cool looking ones.

 

[alisaie]

I am definitely a casual fan these days. I used to watch the anime, collect cards, and play the games (there are many family jokes that in the past all I did was spend my time playing Game Boy, which for the most part is Pokemon since that was the only games I had back then) much more. However, these days I just tend to pick up my games whenever I'm really bored, and I don't really play competitively. I've dabbled in it a few times, but that's basically it. As for the anime and cards I never watch the anime anymore, and I did go back into the cards for a few months earlier in the game, but that has died down as well.

There was also when I was obsessed with the Pokemon Special manga. That has died down, and I haven't read any of it for months now as well.

So yeah, I suppose I've become less of a "fan". I used to be more obsessed, but now I am just a casual fan.