Changing times? Age and Pokemon misconceptions

[Serene Grace]

When I was 14 years old, it was officially "uncool" to like Pokemon. In general, if you talked Pokemon, played Pokemon games, watched the anime, etc. it wasn't something that would bump you up the "social scale". In fact, I've read storied about people who have been bullied because they were "16 and still played childish games." When I first joined up here, I remembered discussions people would hold that said things along the lines of "do you let people at school know you play Pokemon?" and most of the time most people would admit they kept it a secret. I know I did. Some didn't, and I admired them but the general theme at my school? Pokemon = nerd.

But now - it seems times are changing. Now, it seems that Pokemon has moved into the classics theme in which memories of - whatever aspect of the franchise people were involved in - have become quite appealing And, with an almost 360 degree turn, the whole notion of Pokemon being "uncool" is slowly dying. I see more school kids talking about it in public and one of my younger buddies who is quite popular at school says that it's open that he plays Pokemon and nobody cares. He told me that people regard it with a similar fondness that people would regard a Mario game and that hardly anyone gets bullied or taken the mickey (making fond of) due to Pokemon.

Is that true?

Tell me what you guys think. Is the whole notion of Pokemon being uncool slowly dying? Has it already died? Is it still going strong? Or was there no notion in the first place and I'm being an idiot?

This whole thing isn't a huge scientific research; it's just something I've noticed around. So there's no reason why I shouldn't be wrong. I just want your two cents.

Also I'm so tired it's untrue so I may not have typed this correctly or got my message across properly. Feel free to ask me to reiterate parts which you don't understand.

 

[Ghiaccio]

I definitely start to see that nowadays, although for me it was more of going from Middle School to High School. I was just assuming that people were just getting more mature in the latter so they started to drop the bullying over things like that, but it may also be that people are just getting used to it now. Although, sometimes I see it as one of those hipster things (which is kind of weird...) Although very unlikely, it could be that since they are kind of aging the protagonists in BW and presumably in the future, and they're starting to have plots, people are thinking it can now be played by older peoples

 

[Captain Fabio]

Tell me what you guys think. Is the whole notion of Pokemon being uncool slowly dying? Has it already died? Is it still going strong? Or was there no notion in the first place and I'm being an idiot?

I wouldn't say it is dying at all. I think the biggest difference from, say, 6-8 years ago, is that social media and the Internet is a lot bigger. I never hear about Pokemon from people in real life, but online social networking sites like Tumblr, it is all over the place.​

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[Blue Stripe]

Where I live that whole notion started to die out about a year ago
I just stopped caring about what the "cool" kids and played games on an emulator; ironically, then they asked if they could get copies of the emulator and the roms, and now half of my class plays them

 

[voltianqueen]

When I was in late elementary and in middle school, Pokemon was considered "nerdy" and a "baby game" and people would tease for it. Sometimes people would come to me and say, "Hey, do you like Pokemon? I like it too! PIKA PIKA!!" How annoying ~_~ But yeah, it wasn't exactly a secret for me, but it wasn't something I talked about all the time. People generally like me because I'm small and nice, but that also let some people in to make fun of me. Overall, my best friend had it worse as far as bullying for Pokemon and bullying in general. I always told him that the people who made fun of us secretly played Pokemon all night when they got home from school.

I was right ?__?

In high school, it wasn't a big deal anymore, and it turns out a lot more people still liked Pokemon than I thought..including some of the people who made fun of us!! As I started to use the internet more, I discovered that people in college and beyond played, too. It was lovely :D

As for the world in general, I have no idea if Pokemon being uncool is dying out. I just know that loads of friends play it :P

ETA: My little sister in 4th grade says a lot of people at school like Pokemon now. My other sisters in middle school say no, it's still sort of looked down upon.

 

[Ghiaccio]

My little sister in 4th grade says a lot of people at school like Pokemon now. My other sisters in middle school say no, it's still sort of looked down upon.

Yeah I'm now pretty sure in my thoughts that it's just like a late elementary/middle school phase where everyone wants to try and be cool and everything. I mean I've always seen pokemon popular in elementary school, like when I was in 4th grade (2006-2007 i think) pokemon was like an obsession for our grade, but it still became "uncool" in middle school. In High school people just start seeing how stupid it is and stop making fun of people for it. I think it's just a maturity thing now and being able to accept what people do and stuff like that

 

[Vato]

Well, Pokemon = nerd is a concept that had already died in my school.
As an example, just a few hours ago, the coolest guys in my classroom started talking about wich Pokemon would they be if they could be one.
Surprisingly enough, they were all talking about that for anout half an hour (the teacher was absent, lucky us) and saying things like "I'd be Metapod, F**k you all, your doomed.
I'm actually happy that's happening, cause' I still play, and I may be a little geeky, but not a nerd!
BTW I'm in Middle School, and just about to graduate :)

 

[Killjoy]

Lol I love this, and it pretty much sums it up for me.

 

[RedJ]

EDIT: YES, THAT^. I knew someone would end up posting it.

I wouldn't say it's really dead/frowned upon/super popular. At least, not here where I live.

In elementary school, when the whole Pokemon thing started, it was, of course, insanely popular. You literally couldn't go anywhere without seeing it somewhere. Over time, people slowly started to dislike it, as it became "uncool", and then by the time I reached high school it wasn't really discussed anymore- but oh, if you brought it up, you would either be verbally burned and promptly shunned, or you were instantly bombarded with spazzing.

Now, though, people just don't seem to care. I think Pokemon has finally risen to a level of recognition similar to that of Mario or Zelda or any of Nintendo's other franchises- it exists, it's popular, so deal with it. In fact, I often see people on campus with their DS (and on rare occasion a GBA) out, playing- yep, you guessed it- Pokemon.

Seems to me like it's a late elementary-middle school deal, maybe with a touch of environmental and psychological aspects. Buuut that's an essay for another time, methinks :P

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

Killjoy's image has a lot of resonance. While most of my friends offline don't play Pokemon at all, they'll probably remember it with fond nostalgia, as opposed to scorn. Having said that, I don't think many of them would really think about picking up any new games, or watching the anime or anything like that. As a cultural touchstone, Pokemon will probably be remembered fondly by my 'generation' (of, essentially, 20- to 22-year-olds) but they probably won't be looking to actually get back into the franchise if they've severed all ties years ago, unfortunately.

 

[Serene Grace]

There are some pretty interesting ideas coming from you guys. It seems that there is a mixed reaction as to what exactly the current notion towards Pokémon and age is. Some feel that it's still very much looked down upon, while others think that change has happened.

This is pretty much what I expected and I'm very happy to hear that. Why? Because the concept of Pokémon being seen as a socially awkward franchise to enjoy is not the norm anymore; at least not everywhere. Slowly as it may be, some people are coming to the realisation that Pokemon is just a franchise like any other and should only be judged by entertainment not the perceived "coolness" attached to it.

Another quick question: which aspect of the franchise do you think people are judged the most by? The video games? Anime? PokeSpecial (manga)? Let me know what you think.

 

[Archenoth]

I don't actually know what the reaction would have been if people knew that I liked Pokemon in high-school, but not because of the interest itself, but because I swear I must've had down syndrome or something when I first went to that school. I made some horrible first impressions and was terribly overbearing. I look back sometimes and shudder.

But now that I have gained some form of empathy and stopped being so damn overbearing, no one really cares, or if they do, they care because they think it's awesome... I have a Pikachu shirt that has gotten me countless high-fives since I got it last year. I know plenty of people who love Pokemon when I was in college, and many people wanting to give it a shot again. There was no pretentious comments or ostentatious behavior in general from anyone else, even those that are, otherwise, quite verbose about things they don't like...

Pokemon is not considered uncool at all by most people here.

Another quick question: which aspect of the franchise do you think people are judged the most by? The video games? Anime? PokeSpecial (manga)? Let me know what you think.

If anything, I suppose the card game. But that's just because Trading Card Games have always had a negative stigma attached to them.

 

[droomph]

Nobody at our school really cares. Since we're mostly Asian and stoners, we can all agree that some of the stupidest things are cool, and Pokémon is nowhere near the worst, if it was even bad in the first place.

Everyone wears Pikachu hats and shirts and stuff, so I'm pretty sure it's cool with everyone. BUT STILL, GUYS. GROVYLE HATS.

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

Which aspect of the franchise do you think people are judged the most by? The video games? Anime? PokeSpecial (manga)? Let me know what you think.

The games and, to a slightly lesser extent, the anime are often used in my circle of friends as the nostalgia-trip mentioned earlier. The card game, on the other hand, just has a tainted reputation from being banned from my primary school. I can't imagine anyone I know even thinking about the manga... I keep forgetting it exists, for the most part.

Having said that, the above is only really applicable to my circle of friends (and, to a lesser extent, the reputation that Pokemon has in the UK). I imagine different social groups would judge different areas of the franchise differently.

 

[Zeffy]

Pokemon was, and has always been, a cool thing. I don't really know about you guys but in here, when one is playing a Pokemon game people would circle around the player and watch him/her as he/she plays.

'twas quite fun bringing my SP to school. They all insisted on borrowing it because "Pokemon is such a fun game". :)

 

[Serene Grace]

Pokemon was, and has always been, a cool thing. I don't really know about you guys but in here, when one is playing a Pokemon game people would circle around the player and watch him/her as he/she plays.

'twas quite fun bringing my SP to school. They all insisted on borrowing it because "Pokemon is such a fun game". :)

Your school sounds really accepting and lighthearted, which is almost a complete opposite of mine. People who played Pokemon at my secondary school were pretty much shunned to the lowest of the social scale (if they weren't there already). It certainly shows how things differ from place to place.

 

[Yoshikko]

A lot of 90's kids who played Pokémon mostly are still fans now and since they are the current young-adult generation, I think that did have an impact on the way people see Pokémon nowadays. Also, it's like you said - it moved into the classics theme so that makes it more appealing too.

 

[Oryx]

I think it depends which level of Pokemon, at least at my age where most of my friends were caught up in the craze as a kid. If you refer to the original games, you're cool and nostalgic and everyone can related so they like you. But if you go to the same person and talk about the newer ones you end up getting the nerd label. xD Not that being a nerd in my college is a huge deal, since 90% of the student self-label as nerds whether or not they are.

The TCG is definitely the worst rep though. The games you can explain away or hide, the manga will make people think "manga, that's more mature than kiddie stuff", and the anime is nostalgic. Cards can't really be hidden if you're really into it, you have to travel to play with people, so it isn't as accepted/hideable.

 

[ShadowStriatonTriad]

I've somewhat noticed this, but i haven't directly experienced this. I'm 16, a junior in high school. I have a PikachuPack from Hot Topic with me everyday, and I receive compliments on it every week. I even have a Pikachu top I wear sometimes. Now, I see other people with Pikachu tops and I even know someone who went out and bought a Pikachupack. I really made a fashion statement by doing so and even brought back Pokemon a bit more.(:

 

[Joshawott]

Just ignore those type of people, they're just ignorant. Play what you want. There are people in their 30s who still play it!