Better than a Pokémon in the eye
Ten years and 14 billion trading cards after its debut (enough to circle the Earth nearly 40 times), the Pokémon phenomenon is still going strong. The cutesy-yet-combative critters are celebrating the anniversary with a 24-city Pokémon Journey Across America national mall tour (www.pokemon.com), making stops through July 22. Chad Young, a 23-year-old Pokémon "professor" from St. Louis who is making some stops on the tour, brought us up to date on the beasties' evolution.
So, how many Pokémon cards do you own?
I can't count that high. I have thousands and thousands of cards easily.
Better card game: Pokémon or poker?
I don't know! It's all in what a kid likes. But a lot of kids play Pokémon.
Better card game: Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh (another character combat game/cartoon)?
Yu-Gi-Oh is nothing like Pokémon. When you lose a fight in Yu-Gi-Oh, that card is destroyed. You can't use them again. In Pokémon, the [card characters] just faint, but they can rejuvenate.
What's your best tip for kids just starting to play Pokémon?
Try to have a 20-20-20 mix. You have to have a deck of 60 cards to play. So you should start off with 20 Pokémon, 20 trainers, and 20 energy cards. If you have way too many Pokémon, but not enough energy, you can't attack. So you're just sitting there with a really cool Pokémon [creature] card, but you can't do anything. Once you get used to the game, you can mix your deck to suit your style, so maybe you'll play with six Pokémon [creature] cards, seven energy cards, and 47 trainer cards.
What's the most memorable moment from the Pokémon events you've attended?
I was a judge at the qualifier tournament for the Pokémon World Championships last year. There was this little girl who battled her way all the way to second place, and she won a trip to the championships. The look on her face was amazing.