We all know how well Pokémon took off, and where success is found, many will follow. So, of course, any wannabe Pokémon formed. So, as the world becomes filled with these, I decided to gather them all together for you!
The most infamous of them all, "Digimon". Could it be more obvious? People go around, followed by cute monsters (can you say "Pikachu syndrome"?) and try to get the enough experience to "digivolve". Great fun to watch and name the Pokémon they ripped-off! Some fans claim it's based on Tomagotchi. But guess where those stole the concept from… (Since I mentioned that here, I won't bother giving Tomogatchi their own section) It's shows Weekday afternoons and Saturday morning on Fox Kids, as well as Sunday mornings in a so-called "Anime Block" on Fox Family
This is the best rip-off I've ever seen. It shows weekday mornings on the
Sci-fi Channel, and is VERY GOOD. The basis comes from the Playstation game, (same name) in which your goal is to "Unlock" all 400+ monsters. I haven't had the chance to play the game myself, but I've heard some pretty good reviews. The anime, I know. There's this kid who plays the game and one day finds himself in that world and becomes friends with Holly (and her monster Suezo) and he hooks up with the ever-hungry monster Moochie. Later they pick up the monsters Golem, Tiger, and Hare. Suezo is a giant eyeball, Moochie looks like a demented duck, Tiger is a dog-type creature (You know how Growlithe is the puppy- pokémon, even though it's a tiger?) and Hare is a walking-talking Rabbit. Unlike Pokémon, these monsters speak English and have an actual conflict. There's this evil monster named Moo, who leads a bunch of other evil monsters, and our heroes (Holly & company) are trying to find the Phoenix so they can turn all the bad monsters into good ones. Very good, I highly recommend it, especially if you're a big otaku (like me!) But if you're REALLY obsessed with Pokémon you'll probably like it a lot.This was a pirate cart in China that caused a pretty big uproar in the Pokémon community. Ever played "Smurfs" for Gameboy? Same game, only instead of a Surf, they hacked in a little Pikachu.
In an episode that aired Wednesday October 6, 1999 they began with a hilarious Pokémon spoof. I couldn't stop laughing! It started with Norm talking to this kid all who's all dressed like Ash, I'll see if I can remember the dialogue:
Norm: "So, Matt, your mom tells me you've been watching this show called Pokémon, and now you spend all your time running around trying to catch these monsters"
Kid: "My name's not Matt, it's Ash, and I gotta catch 'um all!"
Norm: "Well, 'Ash' you need to learn the difference between fantasy and reality"
::The kid goes across the room and turns his hat backwards then calls out his "Pikachu" a.k.a. "Guy in suit that looks like Pikachu"::
Norm: "haha! Little did you realize, I too am a Pokémon trainer!" ::Pulls Pokeball out of desk:: "Okay, Squirtle, I choose you!"
Kid: "Ha! You choose a water-type! He's no match against my electric-type"
Norm: Come on Squirtle! Remember all my training!
Squirtle: What training? We sat around and drank coffee?
Norm: You said you'd work out on your own!
So it goes on, eventually introducing Pikachu, Squirtle, Charmander, and Butterfree. Along with an entrance by Team Rocket, it finally ends with Pikachu roasting Norm. If you saw this, you were lucky! But there's always reruns for those poor souls who missed it… It was pretty good, but the kid DID call Pikachu out of a Pokeball, bad form, Norm!
You all know
Big Dog and their parodies. Well, Pokémon finally became a target! There are 2 shirts, one with a canine-style Pokémon cast (Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu) and the second is a " Pokémutt Peekachew" the "Peekachew" is too cute! I plan on getting one myself. The one with the whole cast on it is just plain eerie looking. I havn't seen the in the store, but I got the catalouge the other day and saw the in there. I'm pretty sure that if you don't have a Big Dog store where you live they also sell Big Dog stuff at JC Penny I think... I may be wrong!