You missed it by a few years then. Pokémon didn't hit the U.S. until...gosh, 1998? The video games are actually pretty cool if you ever enjoyed playing RPGs, heavy emphasis on the actual battles and using types to your advantage. (Water being good against Fire, Electricity is good against Water, etc.) The games are pretty simple but very addictive. And more than a few adults play them, so you'd not be a total freak if you ever decided to look into the games. ^_-