Imagine watching a future episode of Jeopardy, perhaps 20 years from now. A poorly-aging Alex Trebek waits to test the contestants’ knowledge about childhood fads.

“This late ’90s phenomenon, complete with video games, a television show, feature films, comic books, a card game and numerous product tie-ins, was essentially a Japanese-Animated Beanie Baby Death Match,” the host says.

What is Pokemon?

That is correct.

Pokemon, short for Pocket Monsters, arrived in America in the form of a television show in September of 1998.

By 1999, the phenomenon would spread to every elementary school and household in the country; wherever there are kids, there’s Pokemon.

It’s now the No. 1 broadcast television series for children ages 2 to 11, according to the Web site for “Pokemon: The First Movie.” The video game followed soon after and Pokemerchandise began to flood stores around the nation.

Burger King’s successful toy and card promotion is just one example of Pokemon power.

“We just got 20 toys in today, and they will probably last one or two days,” Jeremy Schulz, assistant manager of the Campus Town Burger King, predicts.

Low supply has forced the Campus Town Burger King to borrow toys from the downtown Burger King, though they often run out as well.

“Probably around January or February, it just began to explode, and every kid in America knew what Pokemon was,” Robert Josephson, co-owner of Mayhem Collectibles, explains. “And they wanted it desperately.”

The cash cow, contrary to some critics’ opinions, actually has a comprehensible story line. Here’s a breakdown for the Pokemon impaired: Ash Ketchum, the main character of anything and everything Pokemon, is a young boy who decides one day to follow his destiny to become a Pokemon master.

On the day he is to receive his first Pokemon, Ash oversleeps, arriving at Professor Oak’s laboratory to receive the only Pokemon that is left, Pikachu.

With fellow trainers Brock and Misty, Ash travels the world, searching for and capturing new Pokemon, while battling other Pokemon trainers.

In both the card game and the video game, players assume the role of a Pokemon trainer.

When playing the Gameboy games, trainers must wander the land in search of Pokemon, doing battle to either capture Pokemon in the wild or to compete with other trainers for respect.

But what really magnified the craze was the Pokemon collectible card game.

“The early, initial interest was by people who currently play card games, like Magic: The Gathering,” Josephson recalls.

It was collectors who knew about the card game, and children who were generally familiar with only the television show.

“But that changed very quickly,” Josephson says. “Right now Pokemon is one of our top sellers in the store.”

The intense collecting frenzy for the low-printed game has caused minor problems around the nation, and even worldwide.

“In cities, they have lines out the door and almost miniature riots going on,” Josephson says.

New Pokemon are attained by trading with other trainers and by purchasing more cards, similar to Magic: The Gathering.

Just as trainers need to be quick in order to capture Pokemon, card collectors need to be speedy when purchasing packs of the cards. Knowledge of new shipments is also helpful.

“We get calls many times a day,” LaDonna Heath, owner of Hobbytown USA in Ames, says. “These will run out by the weekend.”

The Pokemon card game allows players to place their character in combat, taking game play a step beyond the video game by making the creatures concrete and physically tradable.

Originally, there were 150 different Pokemon — creatures with different names, abilities, and origins. With the new movie, additional Pokemon have been added to the lineup.

Why is there such a wide appeal for Pokemon? Josephson says Pokemon’s diversity has made it attractive to children of both sexes, as well as their parents.

“You’ve got cute-looking animals, which appeals a lot to little girls, then you’ve got this fighting aspect, which seems to appeal to little boys,” Josephson reveals. “And then, mixed in somewhere in the middle is a moral message that helps to reinforce this idea of friendship which also appeals to the parents and the kids.

“You kind of hit all bases with Pokemon, — it teaches a lesson, and it also gives the kids something they can collect, something they can relate to.”

Young children are not the only people who are attracted to the Pokemon phenomenon.

“Obviously, it’s directed at little children,” says Sara Tennessen, freshman in pre-journalism and mass communication. “I think it’s hilarious.”

even the Burger King promotions are not exempt from the interest of older individuals.

“Some college students come in and buy them,” Schulz notes. “Students normally want the cards.”

The aspect of the Pokemon marketing machine that makes nearly everyone over the age of 12 cringe at the mention of “Pikachu” is the cleverly titled movie that was released Nov. 10. The same people who love the TV show have continued to drag their parents to theaters for multiple viewings of the film, causing the movie to gross over $80 million, so far.

Though Pokemon fans loved the movie, reactions to the film from those unfamiliar with Pokemon have been varied, ranging from horrible to worse than horrible.

Choppy animation, a dark beginning and a plot that makes less sense than “episode One” are frequently cited as weaknesses by critics of the film, as they paint it as nothing more than an incredibly long toy commercial.

Not all adult reactions have been so negative, however, and some have identified various positive concepts presented during the movie.

“Although I kind of disagreed with the violence at the beginning, at the end there was the total turnaround to violence is bad, fighting is wrong,” Josephson says. “I understand that they were trying to make a statement.”

Cute characters, the benefits of teamwork between all creatures and genders, and the importance of friendship are all emphasized in the film.

The future of Pokemon is clouded with uncertainty. It might even go the way of Furby and Tickle Me elmo.

“It’s all up to the kids,” Josephson says. “If they decide this isn’t the thing that they want to collect anymore, then something else will become popular for next Christmas. Pokemon is only as strong as its fan following.”

Those who can’t wait for Pikachu to be wiped off the face of the earth and Ash to get a real job still have some time to wait, until a new movie is released in the spring.

However, there is some advice for those who are worried that they will be subjected to Pokemania.

“I think it would be a lot more fun if you were high,” Tennessen says.

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grapic by Carmen Cerra