Pokemon is still Super Effective

And so it was deemed that in December 2014, the biggest shop dedicated to Pokemon ever to grace the planet would be opened. Pokemon Center Mega Tokyo is now up and running in Ikebukuro, and, though it's not the first time I find myself in the center of something Pokemon themed in Tokyo, this here isn't a temporary exhibit or fare. It's kind of the real thing, and it's still real crowded. Word was you could hardly get in without waiting in line for hours when the place first opened.

 As it is, this isn't the first Pokemon Center to exist in Tokyo - as a matter of fact, it's the third, with five others spread out across Japan outside of the metropolis. But it is the biggest.
 Let's let a few facts sink in for a little bit. First off, in Japan, and to some extent, the rest of the world, Pokemon is no longer something only children are interested in, as was mostly the case when the franchise was born. Sure, there are children by the school load who are avid lovers of Pokemon, but a very large part of the demographic to still be enthralled by the Pokemon phenomenon are people in their early to late 20's - the very same generation who saw the franchise begin. Young adults account for a major part of goods sales, mainly through the handheld console games.

  I could rave on and on about the games themselves, but I'll try to keep it brief. They're ingenious in a way - simple enough that an elementary student could finish them with hardly any trouble, but with a complex competitive scene for people who are interested in taking their game online and challenging others. Pokemon is the only series I know that requires some degree of knowledge of algebra to fully perfect online competitive play, a level I myself never quite got too, despite having tried.

 But in and of itself, the longevity of the series is kind of amazing, too. Think about it, though! Disney, for example, is widely known and appreciated enough to have its own store - but Disney is a collection of franchises - with multiple stories for both boys and girls. For Pokemon, a single franchise owned by Nintendo, to have achieved such a level of influence as to have stores dedicated entirely to it still baffles me.

More merchandise than you can shake your noodly otaku arms at.

As for the shop itself, it's a full-force blast of nostalgia to the face. Every collection item imaginable, and even those you couldn't imagine prior to entering the shop, exist here. Be it trading cards, video games, DVD's, music, plushies, or even school note books, tableware, towels - it's all here. Basically anything they can print Pikachu's face on exists in this shop.

And by the way, the place doesn't lack for decoration. I walked in with zero intention to spend any money, walked out without buying anything, and still enjoyed the time I spent surrounded by the merchandise, but moreover, looking at the statues of the Pokemon characters set up beautifully around the shop.
 Moreover, for those who own the games, the shop is a thriving place for players to open up their 3DS consoles and download "gift" Pokemon regular given to players by the shop. But on top of that, there being so many people playing the game in one single place allows for a great chance to meet other players, trade Pokemon in-game, battle and so on. It was kind of nice to see such a diversity in community gathered in one place, be it children, geeky otaku, groups of young girls, or anything in-between. Well done, Nintendo.