I'm borrowing this idea from comic books but I think that it could really generate some interesting articles. How about doing a bunch of "What if?" articles? Like what if the certain game consoles became more popular, trends never took off, or what if shows weren't cancelled, etc.

Here's an example-




1. Handheld video games would be more primitive-
Pokemon games have dominated the market of the top selling games on each new Nintendo handheld system. Without the increase in sales and customers, handheld games wouldn't have advanced so quickly. Today's handheld systems would be technologically inferior and another company might be leading the handheld market besides Nintendo



Pokemon and Gameboy color were almost simultaneously released-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0ahJD7zyn4


2. Lack of anime in the United States (possibly global)-
For many, Pokemon was as stepping stone into the world of anime. We ended up wanting more and the generation that grew up watching Pokemon, has come to appreciate other forms of anime. Without the increased interests, there wouldn't be manga in bookstores or as many anime shows on television.



3. Burger King, Blockbuster, and Toy's R Us become bankrupt-
Each of these companies jumped on the Pokemon bandwagon. Many kids flocked to burger king for the pokemon toys, leading to customer loyalty and the creation of a taste for burger king food. Blockbuster wouldn't have setup the Pokemon Snap sticker stations, and many kids went to Blockbuster jsut to buy pokemon games. Toy's R Us had pokemon everything, without that kind of merchandise, it would have expediated the Wall-Mart takeover

4. Lack of card games-
Pokemon led to a card collecting frenzy and children learned the basics of tv show inspired card games. Without this kind of introduction, many card games such as Yu-Gi-Oh, Chaotic, and other trading card games would not have existed. Also, I'd estimate that children would be less intuitive at math and finances (saving and investing money). Venues that sold card games would no longer be around.



5. Death of Kid's WB-
Without Pokemon as its #1 program, Kid's WB would have shut down, eliminating the existance of many cartoons on television. TV Stations in response, would probably have tried to move away from animated shows, cancelling other cartoons in the process.



6. Loss of friends-
Pokefans made up an entire subculture. Trading, battling, and collecting all increased social interactions. The many people who made childhood friends during the Pokemania would not have developed those relationships.



Fortunately, The Pokemon Craze did happen. People across the world participated in something new, something that changed the course of things to come.



I'm proud of my quest to become a Pokemon master and my efforts to try and catch em all!