What is Pokémon? Battles Over Pokémon Battles Pokémon and Prejudice Pokémon in the Classroom The Idiot's Guide to Pokémon Pokémon: the Best (Animal) ShowYou're Not Watching Human-Pokémon Bond Protecting Pokémon There are no Bad Pokémon In Defense of Pokémon For the Love of Pokémon Pokémon Ripped From the Headlines Pokémon, Outside the Box Pokémon, Then and Now Home Battling for Peace Past, Present, and Future Visitor Support: E-mails Guestbook AAP Help Affiliate/Link Back Site Q & A E-mail me Old Affs/Links/Rings Past Layouts Splash Past Splashes About Kimberly Seaside Pokémon Shaymin by Snip / Ho-Oh by Miss Calico Fan Art Animé Hate Hurts Diamond & Pearl Black & White Tour Pokémon Ranger Gray text = Original content (this page; 2004) (+ related ep. updates, notes) Blue text = Additional content (2004-12) Pokémon, Then and Now...(Let a fan tell this one, Emma¹) All right, maybe you no longer see Pikachu's cute face and electric yellow body every time you walk into a toy store. While still a strong presence, the comparatively smaller amounts of Pokémon items that appear nowadays is still enough to create a thrill (my eyes light up like James' when he sees Weepinbell ["I Feel Skitty!"]), while also serving as a reminder of the changes throughout Pokémon's history. The 'Pokémon fad' that many adults wished to have gone away by now has...but only the fad. Since Ash, Misty, and Brock first headed into the Johto region in late 2000, many Pokémon items left store shelves just as our heroes left Kanto. But after surviving more than two years of prejudice and criticism from parents, teachers, movie & TV critics, U.S. censors, preachers, and just about everyone else who couldn't get past the ambiguous early U.S. tag line "Gotta Catch 'em All" whenever a new set of trading cards came out (including VH-1's "I 'Love' the 90s" C-list celebs, who still think it's 1997/99 in segments that ironically aired hours before the premiere of the the newest Pokémon movie "Destiny Deoxys" [1/21/05]), Pokémon is still going strong for the only people whose opinions really matter - the fans, who no longer have to deal with such outside problems every time the TV Guide comes in the mail or a toy segment comes on a talk show (wait...VH-1 just figured out that Pokémon is short for "Pocket Monsters"...in 2005!). With the controversy behind us, Pokémon has not only proved its worth to us but to the most unforgiving of judges - time. In the era of Ruby & Sapphire, (2003-2007) Pokémon had 'advanced' to a whole new level, while also having come full circle back to Kanto in Fire Red/Leaf Green. When Ash and Pikachu started over in the Hoenn region, Pokémon continued to take us a long for the journey as well; and having since passed the tenth anniversary mark (2006-07), the world of Pokémon has gotten even better, but more importantly, so has the world around it. When watching an episode from first season or seeing an old Pokémon item in a collectible store, the memories are bittersweet and a reminder of what we had to go through in order to have come this far. Fortunately, each new era for Ash and Pikachu is also a new era for those of us who stood by Pokémon through rough times and changes; finding joy in both the past and the present and always looking toward the future, Pokémon continues to be far from just bygone memories of the late 1990s. The journey goes on, our loyalty rewarded in the era of Diamond and Pearl (2007-12) as we, along with a new generation of fans, followed Ash while making our own way through the space/time legends of Sinnoh, as well as the long-awaited return to Johto (HeartGold/SoulSilver; 2010) and a new beginning in Black and White (U.S. 2011). It's an exciting time to be a Pokémon fan...as it should have always been. "Pokémon are by our side, always. I hope you will understand the meaning of those words." -Professor Rowan (Pokémon Platinum) ¹VH-1's "I Love the 90's Part Deux" feature "Then and Now", hosted by former Baby Spice inaccurately listed Pokémon as merely a part of the past ('Then', 1999) as opposed to 'Now' (2005) Text and artwork copyright © 2000-2012 by Kimberly (RageOfInnocence) Pokémon © Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo/Creatures, Inc./Game Freak, The Pokémon Company International The beautiful screenshots of Ash, Pikachu, and their friends and Pokémon are from various themes and episodes from Pokémon (Kanto/Orange Islands/Johto series), Advanced Generation, Diamond & Pearl, and Best Wishes!/Black & White kimsites.net Dream Valley | Oak Branch Woods | We All Live in a Pokémon World | Kimberly's Attic The Cave of Dragonflies The Pokémon Tower Sneasel Plushie! Ultimate Pokémon Pikachu Region Nick & Kevin's Pokémon Site Pokémon Rebirth Floatzel.Net Shocktail Team Rango Pokémon Battle Dome Nidorina's Aqua Bunny Pokéreview Dream Cave Studio-Revolution.net Goldenrod City Groudon's Cave Absol's Underground Sora (A Moltres site) Raichu's Web Page Vulzam's Cave Takharii's Stuff Lunar Wing PokéMew PokéSora Pokémon Trainer Fakemon Dex Altered Origin PokEdit Don't see your link? Check here. We All Live in a Pokémon World... @ Bulbapedia