When Pokémon found its way to the United States in the late 1990s, it wasted no time becoming an obsession, especially for elementary and middle school-aged children.
Game Boy Color helped start the craze, followed by trading cards, a cartoon and movies. Pikachu, one of the main characters, became a coveted icon among the younger generation.
Now, those children are parents and want to pass down the torch.
Pokémon fan Tristan Beers, 8, paints his own Poké Ball on Feb. 28 at the Fort Worth Public Library’s Meadowbrook Branch, 2800 Stark St. Beers wore a Charmander backpack, a Pikachu shirt and Bulbasaur socks. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Aaron Benavides, left, and his daughter Veremice Meza, 8, paint a do-it-yourself Poké Ball on Feb. 28 at the Fort Worth Public Library’s Meadowbrook Branch, 2800 Stark St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Guests Aaron Benavides, left, his daughter Veremice Meza, center, and library assistant Rogelio Alvarado fiddle with arts and crafts on Feb. 28 at the Fort Worth Public Library’s Meadowbrook Branch, 2800 Stark St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Instructions for how to create a 3-dimensional Pokémon portrait sit on a table on Feb. 28 at the Fort Worth Public Library’s Meadowbrook Branch, 2800 Stark St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
William Brady and Rain Brady grew up on the franchise and now – two children later – they piqued their children’s interest in the world of Pokémon through a Fort Worth Public Library Pokémon Day arts and crafts event on Feb. 28.
“I was born in 1993,” William said. “I got to grow up on Pokémon Red and Blue. Catchable dinosaurs? This is awesome.”
William Brady said his son Noah, 3, is getting into it. He plays the Pokémon Go app, which reignited the craze in 2016, William Brady said.
William Brady and Rain Brady weren’t the only parents trying to capture their children’s interests.
Aaron Benavides succeeded. His daughter, Veremice Meza, 8, is already a big fan.
Meza, wearing a Pikachu hat, sat at the table and painted her own Poké Ball, a device used to catch Pokémon. Next to her, Tristan Beers, 8, wore a Pokémon shirt, a Charmander backpack and Bulbasaur socks — all different Pokémon characters.
“She’s super into Pokémon right now,” Benavides said. “You have to start them with the first season and she took a while to take, but now we watch it all the time. I’m into it big time.”
The Pokémon Day event is just one way the Fort Worth Public Library reaches residents through special programs. In the next few months, the library will host events for Saint Patrick’s Day, Women’s History Month, Romanian culture and more, said Todd Overman, a spokesperson for the library.
“That’s what we’re about is any way we can get people to come in and enjoy stuff,” Overman said. “We have something for everybody.”
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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