Now that my son is in elementary school, he’s shunning his former favorite activities and toys for newer things more suited to his age. For example, he’s no longer content to simply kick a soccer ball around in the backyard, but instead wants to play in the local youth league. And forget about collecting stickers or Disney dolls, two hobbies that he assures me are for “babies”. Now he’s really into Pokemon trading cards, just like all the other boys his age.

Pokemon trading cards have been around for ages, so I was a bit surprised that they’re still so popular with kids. Based on a Japanese cartoon series of the same name, Pokemon trading cards feature one of several different “pocket monster” characters, as well as some basic information about the character. This information doesn’t merely serve as a mini biography, however. It’s used to help players determine who wins in head-to-head battles.

Yes, the real purpose to hoarding Pokemon trading cards is to play a complex game with them that only the kids truly understand. I tried listening to my son’s explanation of how the game works, but I was totally lost after a few minutes. Suffice it to say, each card is worth a certain amount of points, so if yours happens to have a higher value than your opponents, then you win. Or something like that. Fortunately for me, my job here is just to buy the Pokemon trading cards, not actually use them!

Speaking of buying Pokemon trading cards, I’ve learned that it’s much better to purchase them online than from a local toy store — especially when you’re after a particular card and aren’t interested in a full pack. My son has been collecting these things for less than six months, but he’s already quite knowledgeable about which ones are worth paying a little extra for and which aren’t. For instance, he’s always after something called holo Pokemon trading cards that have a hologram stamped onto them. A few are pretty rare and can be worth a fair bit of money, so I’ve been on the lookout for these for a while. Online auction sites are a good place to find these items, as are websites run by other collectors.

I have to admit that I had some doubts about how long my son would stick to this new hobby, but it doesn’t seem like he’s going to run out of steam anytime soon. That’s fine by me, as collecting Pokemon trading cards is a fairly harmless hobby that at least gets my son away from the television and into the company of his friends. Anything that can make TV and video games less attractive gets a gold star in my book!

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