London, ONT (3/27/99) - From the land that brought you Godzilla and Sailor Moon comes the latest toy-joy craze.   The newest Japanese import is known as Pokemon (pronounced poke-ee-mahn), short for "pocket monster" and beloved of Grade 3 kids everywhere.
The Pokemon fad is based on a combination of successful toy trends of the recent past. It worked for the Nintendo game people in Japan and it's working here. Think virtual pets, Beanie Babies and intricate trading-card games all rolled into one wild world of strange-looking little creatures with even stranger names, such as Pikachu, Butterfree, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Weedle, Kabuto and Jigglypuff.  Nathan Moore knows all about the 150 Pokemon, their friends and foes. Buddies tape the YTV series for the London eight-year-old and he's watched every episode so far, he says.  When the TV show isn't enough, Nathan also has a talking Pokemon toy and a game that allows a small rubber ball on a string to bowl over little Pokemon figures.  Nathan's toys are based on the Pikachu character. Along with the 149 other pocket monsters, Pikachu, a bright yellow bundle of bug-eyed and lovable mischief, is capable of amazing feats.  "He puts his tail right in the ground. Thunder can't affect him," Nathan says.  Nathan has his own answers for anyone who wonder if the PokΘmon are too harsh for kids' TV.  "It's not violence, it's magic," says the future computer scientist. "They don't die, they faint.".  And after all, other Japanese products in the cartooning style known as "anime," such as Sailor Moon, were watered down for North American audiences.  Not every Pokemon fan rates Nathan's hero, Pikachu, as the No. 1 pocket monster. Seven-year-old Kendall Rowe , a buddy of Nathan's and owner of a couple of toys and the Nintendo Game Boy hand-held video game, says his favorite is the "really cool" Butterfree.  Ainsley Underhill , 9, another pal, says her favorite is "Ditto . . . it's one of a kind. It's a morphing Pokemon.".  Many children also express a fondness for Ash Ketchum , the cartoon kid involved in the Pokemon quest. Just like all the kids on the other side of the screen, young Ash is out to bring the power of the Pokemon into line -- and fight the bad guys, such as Team Rocket, who would poison the pocket monsters' skills.  Nathan, Ainsley and Kendall are three of the hundreds of thousands of Canadian kids tuned in to the Pokemon on the YTV hit shows.  The Pokemon craze also pulls in even younger children for trading cards and plush, Beanie Baby-type toys. Older kids get their Pokemon fix via the Nintendo game or comic books imported from Japan.  Not every one who gazes on the Pokemon is a fan.  "If you want my opinion, I object to the consumerism behind the show. The Nintendo people are using it to sell," says Nathan's mother, London musician Susan Moore. She says it follows the unfortunate example of other toy- and marketing-connected cartoon shows such as Rainbow Brite and Care Bears. "There's no educational value whatsoever in the show.".  Still, she doesn't mind Nathan's fascination with Pokemon or his toys. She also helps her son look for Pokemon sites on the Internet.  The toys range in size from small Pokemon figures in clear plastic balls to oversize 40-centimetre plush doll figures.  They're all hot.  "The minute we ship it, it's sold," says Hasbro of Canada marketing director Sandy Sinclair.  The Pokemon tidal wave started rolling across Canada Sept. 20, when the kids-oriented YTV network began airing the cartoon on Sunday mornings. Eight days later, Nintendo of Canada launched the video game for its hand-held Game Boys.  In early November, Hasbro unleashed the first of its toys, licensed from Nintendo, and the rush was on.  Pokemon is now airing virtually wall-to-wall. It's on six days a week, with showings at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, as well as the Sunday show at 8:30 a.m.  The phenomenon began as a Japanese television cartoon in 1996. (In a widely reported incident two years ago, 700 children suffered seizures from watching an episode of the Pokemon show that featured strobe lights. The scene was cut for North American TV audiences.  The show's concept was then parlayed into a video game for Nintendo.  The object of the game is relatively simple: A player assumes the role of a human character (often Ash Ketchum), then must search for, capture and train Pokemon monsters.  Each pocket monster is based on natural elements, such as water or fire. Once trained, they can evolve into bigger, meaner and more powerful versions of their former selves. A player captures more monsters by pitting those he's trained against others.  Once you've captured all 150 monsters, you're proclaimed "the world's greatest Pokemon trainer.".  There is one major hurdle to overcome before achieving that lofty level -- there are two versions of the Game Boy cartridges, with only 139 characters that are unique to each.  That means either buying both cartridges -- at about $40 each -- or trading monsters with friends by connecting Game Boy consoles with a cable to capture all the characters. The basic Game Boy units sell for $70 to $100.  "The trading aspect of the game," answers Lesley Short of B.C.- based Nintendo of Canada when asked to explain Pokemon's popularity, second only to the Legend of Zelda. That's tied to the way it's played.  "You need a friend," Short says, and that helps move those PokΘmon.  In Pokemon's future are more games, more cards, more toys.  Then there's the movie, due out this summer.  It's tentatively titled Mewtwo Strikes Back. Mewtwo is Pokemon No. 150, the last one in the wave.  The Internet word on this baby is that Mewtwo is an artificial monster, genetically altered to be the strongest Pokemon ever.  You have been warned.