Pokémon Fandom

Pikachu, The Pokémon Mascot

When it comes to childhood nostalgia and games, none are more present in life than the Pokémon franchise. Created by Nintendo in the late 90s, Pokémon has become a household favorite for people of all ages. Most fans make fan art, collect cards and other merch, or travel to the Pokémon cafe in Japan if they have the funds.

Fan Creations

Fan creations are the best way to show passion for a fandom. The most common version is fan art, which, in the case of Pokémon, mostly consists of fan-made Pokémon ideas and art of favored characters. Pokédex Fillers, a popular TikTok page, works with artists to create custom Pokémon. They are currently making an entire fan-made Pokémon region with all-new Pokémon. Another version of fan creation is fanfiction. Ao3 and Wattpad are two of the largest fanfiction sites in the world, with over 100,000 Pokémon fanfictions between them.

The Number of Pokémon Fanfictions found on Ao3 (1)

 Fangames are much fewer in number, though they are still very popular. One such game is Pokémon Infinite Fusion, which has seen an influx of players in the past year or so due to the YouTubers and TikTokers who make videos about it. Another is a fan-made game by Alpharad called Pokémon: Too Many Types, where new types are added to the game to cause chaos.

Jaiden Animations Playing Too Many Types

Collecting.

Collecting Pokémon merchandise is another way to show your enjoyment. Pokémon cards can be found in most stores, and there is a black market for rarer, more expensive cards. Some fans take the time to actually learn how to play the card game and have yearly tournaments. Other merchandise is a bit harder to come by, but any game store will have Pokémon models, plushes, or clothing on display to browse. The Official Pokémon Website has most of the current merchandise and cards for sale. No matter the actual collection, every Pokémon fan has at least one piece of merch.

My personal collection of my favorite Pokémon, Alcremie

Traveling

There are many locations to visit in both Japan and America for Pokémon. The Pokémon Café is a popular spot where Pikachu serves you, and all the meals have a cute Pokémon spin. Many who go to Japan stop in for a treat, regardless of whether they are fans or not. Another is the Pokémon headquarters located in Japan, and by extension, Nintendo headquarters itself.

Closing

Being a Pokémon fan does not mean you need to constantly be involved with it or that you need to follow what is popular. Every Pokémon is someone's favorite, and even if you have no merchandise or games, you can be a fan. Everyone starts out somewhere.

Citations

(1) Pocket monsters | pokemon - all media types - works | archive of ... (n.d.-a). https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types/works

(2)Pokémon wiki. Pokémon Wiki. (n.d.). https://pokemon.fandom.com/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Wiki

(3)The Official Pokémon Website. pokemon.com. (n.d.). https://www.pokemon.com/us