In the year 2000, Pokémon trading cards were banned in my school. It was a cornerstone moment in my moral development; do I obey the law set forth by my headmistress or hustle into the underground, dishing out trades between maths lessons and out of sight from dinner lady patrols?<\/p>\n
Like the majority of kids, a life of crime became my only option. Pokémon had invaded our hearts and daily schedules, from trading cards at school, the anime TV show, and booting up Pokémon Red\/Blue to grind our teams. I was the first person at my school to obtain a shiny Charizard (Pokémon’s equivalent of Willy Wonka’s golden ticket) which elevated my playground status to a god-like degree. I was drunk on power aged nine; pulled aside by friends and forced to entertain their feeble pitches for my Pokémon Master crown.<\/p>\n
Like an ageing Mafia boss, I was acutely aware the heights wouldn’t last. Tamagotchi’s and Yo-Yo’s had been and died, and Pokémon felt like another craze to sweep through my youth. Fast forward 20 years later however and Pokémon is bigger than ever. Sword and Shield sales hit over 16 million within six weeks, a Detective Pikachu movie exists with Ryan Reynolds, and Pokémon GO continues to be one of the biggest mobile apps<\/a> on the market. Pokémon cards have ballooned back into popularity too recently thanks to Logan Paul<\/a>.<\/p>\n