Pokémon’s Birthday
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The children’s television show and video game Pokémon marks its 10th anniversary this month, and fans will be celebrating the “pocket monsters” today at the Pokémon Party of the Decade at Bryant Park. Whether onstage at a live show, on paper at coloring booths, or on screen at an exclusive preview of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon video game, the little critters will abound at this birthday celebration.
Supporters of the phenomenon include Mayor Bloomberg, who has declared today “Pokémon Day”: “The mark Pokémon has made on our city and throughout the country in its first decade is evident in our movie theaters, our video game shops, and on the lunch boxes our children bring to school,” the mayor said in an official proclamation.
Among those who might agree are the 64 regional contestants of the Pokémon Video Game National Championship, the youngest of whom are 9-year-olds Nate Bunderson from Salt Lake City, Utah, and Daniel Allavella from Atlanta, Ga. Another notable pair is the mother-and-son duo of Wesley Morioka, 12, and Miroslawa Morioka, 50, both from Chicago. Competitors in two different age categories will put their skills to the test by playing the video game “Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness,” vying for national honors and an all-expenses-paid trip to Japan.To compete, players select one of over 380 characters to duel against one another. Losing a match means losing a character to the opponent: The winner ultimately amasses the entire menagerie of miniature monsters.
“It’s kind of like a rock-papers-scissors game,” the vice president of marketing for Pokémon USA, Bruce Loeb, explained about the game’s tactical appeal. His own favorite characters include the monsters Lucario and Deoxyx because “they’re strong characters.”
Spectators will have plenty of opportunities to commemorate Pokémon. Throughout the day,”passports” will be distributed at an information desk, which can be stamped at each vendor for prizes.
The show’s creators, Satoshi Tajiri and Tsunekazu Ishihara, traveled here to celebrate with their fans, along with Hulk Hogan, who is the host of the event. “He has so many of the qualities that Pokémon tries to teach — team work, hard work. He cares about kids,” Mr. Loeb said. Not surprisingly, “even his son was a fan.”
Today, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Bryant Park, 42nd Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 646-497-0400, free.
