>>52159533At some point another kid's franchise will come along that will topple Pokemon for the 6-to-10-year-old demographic. The Millennials will lose interest gradually, just as they've done before and will do again, and the Zoomers will start having families and jobs and won't have time for old hobbies.
Pokemon relies on fresh blood being injected into the fandom every couple of years. Gen 6 brought in the Millennials who had left by appealing to their sense of Gen 1 nostalgia. Yo-Kai Watch threatened Pokemon's dominance during Gen 7, but Game Freak adapted and survived. Gen 8 coasted because the pandemic meant that everybody was stuck at home and had time to play games and rediscover old favourites.
Gen 9 is riding the wave of Gen 8's success, but it's not sustainable. At some point something's gotta give. Whether Gen 10's success is up in the air. Will 10-year-olds care in 2026? Who knows.
