A Pokemon Primer

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For anyone who has been out of contact with the world for the last decade, Pokemon games involve catching and training adorable little monsters. First you battle wild Pokemon, then you catch them in a pokeball. If the ball closes and they stay in, they are yours for the keeping.

On the off chance that some of you have spent the past 10 years trapped in an outer space vortex, allow me to take a moment to explain Pokemon and Pokemon games.

Pokemon, short for “pocket monsters,” are friendly creatures that you catch and train to enter in competitions. These sweet little creatures have elemental traits. There are water Pokemon, plant Pokemon, rock Pokemon, fire Pokemon, ghost Pokemon, psychic Pokemon and so on. There are also ridiculous Pokemon, but that is not an official classification.

Some Pokemon fit in two classifications. For example, Gyrados, a fire-breathing fish/dragon, is both water and fire. Water Pokemon are great at fighting rock Pokemon—water dissolves dirt, after all, but aren’t worth a bean against plant Pokemon. Since Gyrados has fire attacks, however, he’s great against rock and plant Pokemon.

The basic gameplay in Pokemon games has not changed much since the beginning. While there are always over 100 Pokemon for you to catch, train and evolve, you can carry only six with you at a time. You place the others in storage until you need them, then you walk around fighting other trainers and entering gyms where you can earn badges and new abilities.

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