>>36168558You're severely underestimating the power PokeMania had by comparing it to other fads.
For a solid 4-5 years, the whole fucking planet was bonkers for Pokemon and you couldn't go anywhere or hear anything without Pokemon being crammed in it somehow.
There was merchandise out the ass of all kinds, just about everyone was scurrying to get a deal to have Pokemon on their box, old fucks who didn't understand videogames or Japanese things presumed it was some satanic plot because of how out of the blue it was but thought it would be another TMNT, Pokemon was the ONLY subject you'd ever hear or discuss among your friends and peers, the anime was the hottest fucking thing, tech savy kids started dicking around online and ingame and started spreading rumors about PokeGods, Mew under the Truck, Bill's Secret Garden, all that shit, and everyone collectively lost their fucking minds when there was going to be a goddamned movie starring that motherfucker Mewtwo that only the baddest of the bad were able to obtain in the games. And then they lost their minds AGAIN when they saw Marill, Snubbull and Donphan, completely new Pokemon with no indication of their existence unless you knew someone from Japan who knew about the fabled "Pokemon 2" that would later blow our minds one last time when they turned out to be Gold and Silver.
The electric rat's image was permanently ingrained into EVERYONE'S mind, and he became the most iconic character in the world.
PokeMania wasn't just a fad, it was a fucking once-in-an-eternity miracle the universe spat out, and GameFreak's been trying to recreate it ever since with minimal success.
People and kids alike these days are too busy hopping from one short-lived thing to the next, and nothing has lasting power anymore no matter how hard you try. Hype something up for months, maybe years on end? Great, it did good enough, but in a few weeks the masses will have already forgotten it as they're already focused on the next new thing.
