GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL! If you played Pokémon in the 90s at school, you knew it was practically an underground economy. 10-year-old card slingers, if they were smart and savvy, operated like drug kingpins. Except instead of illicit drugs, they were trading pieces of cardboard. And it was so much more than a game - it was a community, a unifier, a way of life.

Even if you didn’t play Pokémon - and even if you know NOTHING about Pokémon (like me, Sarah) - you will TOTALLY enjoy this episode with our friend Julien, comedian, Pokémon trader, professional poker player, and my good friend from my Political Science days at UC Davis more than a decade ago.

Did you play Pokémon? Let us know:

• What was your favorite part of Pokémon — the show, the OG games, the spinoff games, the card game?
• Who was your favorite and who was your starter? What’s your favorite type? How did you build a team — was it all one type like a gym leader, or was it more strategized like your Rival?
• What do you think Happened to Gary’s Ratticate on the SS Anne?
• Did you ever get a full Pokédex?
• Did you ever catch ‘em all?

You can find Julien on Instagram at @esfplayer.

SOURCES

https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/History_of_Pokémon

https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/Z7zHxltyWtFNzcoXPZAbjI/A-brief-history-of-Pokmon.html

https://youtu.be/cH6dWY86GmE