Pokémon, a game owned by Nintendo, was founded in 1998, and is now the second most popular gaming franchise in the world, behind Mario.

There are 649 fictional species and 18 types of Pokémon.  Each type builds the strategy foundation that the games have as each type has its own strengths and weaknesses.

The Pokémon games, since 1996, have grown to 25 different games that split up into six generations, and each generation has outsold the former.

The majority of Arrowhead Students started playing Pokémon when they were younger, with trading cards.  Arrowhead students use Nintendo DS, GameBoy Advanced SP, phones, and other gaming devices to play Pokémon during their free time.

Arlo Ennis, a senior who has played since he was four, says his favorite Pokémon is Feraligatr, who has been his favorite, “since the beginning.”

Ennis says, “I started playing the Crystal version on the Gameboy Color, but my favorite is HeartGold, a remake of the second generation games, on the Nintendo DS.  I play on my phone, GameBoy, and Nintendo DS.”

Calvin DeVogel, a junior who has played since he was eight, says his favorite Pokémon is Metagross because, “it’s the best.”

DeVogel says, “I started playing with Pokémon Emerald, but my favorite is Pokémon FireRed on my GameBoy.”

DeVogel plays with his friends with a connector or by himself.

Hans Jaeger, a senior who has played since he was very young, says his favorite Pokémon is Ampharos because of how cool it looks.

Jaeger says, “I started playing the Yellow version, but my favorite is the Black version.”

Jaeger says he likes to play alone rather than with friends.

Sam Sellner, a senior who has played since he was nine, started playing Emerald.

Sellner says, “My favorite Pokémon is Blaziken because it was the first one that I played with.  My favorite version is HeartGold.  I play Pokémon on my GameBoy Advanced SP.”

Sellner says he likes to play with his brother.

John Widish, a senior who has played since he was six, says his favorite Pokémon is Chamzard because of how cool it looks.

Widish says, “I started playing with the Silver version, but my favorite is the Ruby version.  I play the Red version on my phone.”

Widish says he usually plays with himself, but he sometimes plays with friends.

Pokémon released their newest version, Pokémon X and Y, October 12th, 2013, and they continue to keep making games.