Hunting for Physical References

In the 20+ years that Pokémon has existed, its world has dramatically expanded from just games to a host of many things. It can be a tough thing to keep track of each of those things, so in this regard, references are needed. I've explained part of my ordeal in making my own set of references in the specific area of VGC in another post, and it's a tough thing. That is why I also like to seek (physical) Pokémon references that others have made, from different places. This is sometimes a practical and neat thing to do.

Online references are great, of course, but they have their own issues at times. BulbaPedia is great and informative, but sometimes for me personally it may be a bit too informative. Online strategy guides are neat and each one is unique, but they may not be very illustrative. Even other Pokémon-related things on the Internet may be good enough but the text, images, and structure may be off; in the case of my blog, I'm sure some people perceive it to be that way, even though I've done the best I can to avoid this situation. The point is that every fan can use some really great physical references in the form of books.

That leaves the question of where to find them. My local town is a good town for finding books, but not necessarily Pokémon ones or the ones that I want to read. The most recent Pokémon-related books I've obtained didn't come from my local town, but from places further away. It seems it may not be popular enough in my local town. On the other hand, in some faraway places, I can find places that readily sell books I want to read, including - yes - but not limited to Pokémon. Sometimes, the book fairs there are sufficiently large and also allow for Pokémon books to be sold, which means it becomes a matter of getting there, finding the desired books, and coming back with the "spoils".

It just so happens that one of these book fairs has recently been opened, and I actually had the chance today to see if I can bring back some Pokémon "reference" books for myself. Earlier, however, one of my figure fellows, and the top one at that, had obtained a really nice Pokémon reference book, which also was the last of its kind being sold; I can testify that I did not find the book in question. I did, however, come away with something that may not be quite a reference through and through, but it seems to be quite a reference nonetheless. This latter book will surely be on this blog in due time, though the former may or may not.

It's hard to deny that any Pokémon fan could use the services of physical references. They're meant to serve as alternatives to easily-obtained online references that may vary in quality. If they're good enough, then they may be worth to be a keeper in one's collection and to be shown off to fellow Pokémon fans. With that, I'm sure that like me, they'll really make the distance to end up with something that demonstrates how far Pokémon has come today and what are involved, as the function of the reference.

One year ago: What Pokémon Eat
Two years ago: Pokémon Jigsaw Puzzle