Celebrating Pokemon Day and Where the Franchise Will Go Next

Happy Pokémon Day everybody!  To help celebrate Pokémon's 20th anniversary, Nintendo released a minute long advertisement during the Super Bowl earlier this month.  Unfortunately, the commercial didn't reveal much about upcoming products, but it does leave viewers with something to think about regarding how the Pokémon franchise might evolve over the next 20 years. 

The commercial begins with a young boy approaching a crowd who is apparently watching a Pokémon battle.  We see the glimpse of a wing and a flamethrower attack through the surrounding audience.  The boy, clearly inspired, whispers out loud, "I can do that," and begins training.  Footage of the boy running along a mountain is seen on television by a girl who afterwards says to herself, "I can do that."  She then goes on to win a series of chess games.  An internet video of the girl is seen by a football player.  He later gives an inspirational speech to his team, ending with a battle cry of, "We can do this!"  A news reel of the football player is seen by a young Japanese man who also says, "I can do that."  He then enters an arena that is shown to be a Pokémon battle field.  After seeing his opponent's Charizard, Gyarados, Magneton, and Mega Lucario, he throws out a Poké Ball of his own.  Before we can see what Pokémon he chooses, the image cuts to a father and son watching the match from home with their Pikachu.  The father whispers to his son, "You can do that," and the final shot lingers on the son's wide eyes before transitioning to the Pokémon 20th anniversary logo. 

It is the end of the commercial that raises the most interesting possibilities.  I think the idea of live action Pokémon is fantastic.  It would be a great direction for the franchise that would really shake things up.  Does Pokémon have the courage to do something like that?  Probably not, but they have taken small steps outside of their comfort zone before. 

I'll close by giving my thoughts about the final scene of the commercial, that being the father and son watching the Pokémon battle on TV.  I know I am not the only one who thinks that the father is meant to be Ash Ketchum.  For one thing, the man has dark hair, like Ash.  He is also wearing a blue shirt.  Blue has been a traditional color of Ash's outfits every season.  The boy sitting next to him looks almost exactly how I would imagine a real Ash Ketchum to look, especially with his dark, messy hair.  The Pikachu next to them is pretty much the final confirmation of this theory.  I know that the Pokémon anime is really pushing Ash and Serena's relationship.  This commercial would appear to be a look into the future of their family, with Ash getting their son ready to be a Pokémon trainer someday.

That being said, this is my challenge for Pokémon moving forward: After Generation Six concludes with Ash winning the Kalos league, he will start a serious relationship with Serena.  Several years later, they will have one or more children who are interested in becoming Pokémon trainers.  I would like Pokémon to make a movie or TV series following those children on their journey, while their parents provide wisdom and encouragement to help them along. 

The Pokémon franchise is now twenty years old.  An entire generation grew up with Pokémon, and is now of the age where they would be looking to have children of their own.  What better way to keep Pokémon in the family than to have a series that shows an older generation help a new one feel the rush that Pokémon brought to them many years ago.

Remembering Scion

A selection of Scions at the 2009 Boston Auto Show

I remember when I saw my first Scion on the road.  The model in question was an xB, and my initial reaction was something along the lines of, "What on earth is that?"  A boxy car was not a complete revelation at the time.  In 2003, Honda was also selling its Element small SUV; but this car took the straight edged two-box concept to a new level.  My first close look at one revealed this new mystery car to be a Scion, a name I had never heard before.  Some research on my part revealed that this was an entirely new brand created by Toyota in an effort to appeal to a younger demographic.


Today I learned that as of August 2016, the Scion brand will cease to operate.  All existing and upcoming products will be folded into the Toyota lineup.  Scion's demise was predicted by many pundits in the automotive industry, citing slumping sales and middling products, but the official announcement still comes as a shock.


The business plan for Scion was shrewd.  Scion dealers promised a haggle-free buying process for budget minded young car purchasers.  Many models were offered in one specification with a wide variety of aftermarket accessories available for those looking to personalize their car.  At first, the brand was successful.  Scion customers were indeed younger than average.  Even today, the average age of a Scion buyer is 36.  The tC coupe average buyer age is 29, and half of iA sedan and iM hatchback buyers are under 35. 


Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz looks at the whole situation positively.  "This isn't a step backward for Scion, it's a leap forward for Toyota.  I was there when we established Scion and our goal was to make Toyota and our dealers stronger by learning how to better attract and engage young customers.  I'm very proud because that's exactly what we have accomplished."


Lentz has a point.  Scion, for its part, made Toyota relevant again.  Over 70 percent of Scion customers were new to the Toyota family.  At the time of the Scion's introduction, Toyota was a dowdy purveyor of soulless appliances.  The Supra was a distant memory, and the Celica and MR2 Spyder were on their way out.  In recent years, however, Toyota has given its cars sportier appearances with the J-Playful design language, and invested heavily in marketing cars like the Yaris and Corolla to younger audiences.  Bob Carter, senior vice president of operations for Toyota Motor Sales told Automotive News today that the time was right to close Scion.  "Today, youth buyers are in a completely different position than they were 13 years ago."  He acknowledges that Toyota has now become an aspirational brand for many, meaning that the reason for Scion to exist doesn't apply anymore.


The consolidation of Scion will have little impact from a consumer standpoint.  The iA, iM, and FR-S will wear Toyota badges for the 2017 model year, and the tC was on the chopping block after 2016 anyway.  The upcoming C-HR compact crossover will be sold as a Toyota, too.  What will be interesting to see is whether the model names themselves will change as well.  The iM is badged as a Toyota Auris in overseas markets, and the FR-S is also known as the Toyota GT86.  People could probably care less about the Auris, but I'm sure the prospect of the return of the legendary 86 name will have a good number of fanboys squealing.