If we're debating over whether or not Pokemon has died out in the public's eyes, I really can't see anyone arguing that it's still alive.
You can show sales charts, tell me how many people still visit forums like these, and the like, but the openness of Pokemon is gone. That's what I'm saying.
No, I don't just mean in teenage/highschool/middleschool settings, either. In elementary schools there has even been a serious decline. I was a 5th/6th grader when Pokemon Red and Blue hit US shelves, and when it reached it's peak popularity. I was part of it. Back in those days, you'd be hard pressed to find a kid who didn't play. I'd see kids in resturaunt lobbies playing, I'd look out the window and see kids playing in the backseats of the cars, I'd go to my local toy store, and see signs saying "Sorry, we are out of stock of Pokemon cards. Shipments come in on Tuesday," and the next Tuesday morning see kids in line waiting for it to open. And it wasn't just around my small town home, either. I'd go on vacation and hang out with other kids from across America. I only met one kid who didn't own Pokemon. Everyone else played. Everyone. It wasn't just a fad for my generation, it was a way of life. Everyone was going to be a master.
But then it disappeared, almost without notice. I grew up, went to highschool, and never heard mention of Pokemon from anyone beside me and my one other die-hard friend in school, who eventually dropped it as well. Before I even knew it, the one thing I probably had in common with more kids than anything in the world, had become "uncool" to a large amount of people, a majority of them ex-trainers.
I'm not arguing that Pokemon isn't still big. The sales prove that, as do sites like these. However, its monsterous status has vanished. I am now the only person I know personally who plays Pokemon, and I know people from all sorts of age groups. Pokemon might not be dead, but it's in one heck of a coma in comparison to its history.
