Make It So: The Living Pokedex

OK people, it’s time we take this pokemon costume thing all the way and do what must be done.

If you go to any conventions, even ones without an anime or video game theme, you know what goes on in pokecostumes. Some people do disturbingly realistic costumes of our favorite collectable monsters. Others do human takes. Yet others simply wear an appropriate hat.

I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen pretty milkmaid Lopunny*. I’ve seen Oddish hats. I’ve seen realistic Gengar. I’m still processing Samurai God Pikachu.

Pokemon is everywhere. People love it. People play with it. People interpret it. People dress up as their favorite creatures or variants. Go to a big anime con and you know what I mean.  Go to a small anime con for that matter.

So since Nerd Caliber gives me free license to post here, I’m going to take a break from my usual philosophical, career, and ranty posts to suggest a truly daring idea. Also I want to get it out of my head.

It’s time some brave army of souls create a living pokedex at a convention.

Yes. I’m suggesting that someone(s) rise to the challenge and somehow, somewhere, they have people dressed in some form of all 649 (that’s the count now, right?) pokemon at a convention. I don’t care if it’s mostly hats, or realistic, or Sexy Bodybuilder Sandshrews**, or most likely, some crazy combination. Let’s see if a brave group or groups can take pokecostuming to it’s wonderfully wild yet inevitable conclusion.

Imagine it as a triumph of organizing, of costuming, of project management***.

Imagine people lined up in order.

Imagine the photographic proof put online.

Imagine the write-ups in blogs.

Imagine the stories of how it was done.

Imagine What else it will inspire (all the cast of characters in a Suikodengame? Piece of cake!)

Come on people, you know you want to do this. You know you want to see this. oOu know it can be done – if people can pull off conventions with tens of thousands of people, someone can organize a few hundred dressed like pokemon.

There’s my challenge. Anyone up for it?  Anyone try it?  Anyone succeed and make me look redundant?

– Steven Savage
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach for professional and potentially professional geeks, fans, and otaku. He can be reached at http://www.stevensavage.com/.
* No I’m not joking, and it was extremely well done.
** Try erasing that image from your mind.
*** Come on, I have to plug my profession somehow.