Poking Fun

As if the holiday toy race weren't crowded enough with Furby and the Teletubbies, enter Pokemon — Nintendo's new videogame and nominee for Next Big Thing. Unfortunately for most of us over 15, understanding the cultural detritus that surrounds the game is like trying to decipher the lyrics of Michael Stipe. Herewith, EW's 10-step guide to Pokemon literacy.

WHAT THE HECK IS IT? Pokemon (pronounced POH-kay-mahn) is the American version of Pocket Monsters, a videogame from Japan for the Game Boy, which has sold a mind-boggling 8 million copies there.

SO WHY ISN'T IT CALLED POCKET MONSTERS IN THE U.S.? When Nintendo tried to register the name in this country, it found that a similar name was already trademarked by another company. It settled instead on a combination of pocket and monster. Which is just fine; to us, Pocket Monsters sounds like the title of the next Farrelly brothers movie.

HOW DO YOU PLAY? Gameplay is a hodgepodge of elements from Beanie Babies, Tamagotchi, and MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch: Players roam the game environment, trying to find as many of the beasties called Pokemon as possible to train and evolve. Frequently, you'll encounter computerized trainers who challenge you in Wild West, Pokemano-a-mano shoot-outs; you can also duel with your buddies by linking two Game Boys together.

WHAT DO POKEMON LOOK LIKE? They're adorable, bug-eyed creatures, each with its own name and superpowers. There's Krabby, with a ''vise grip'' attack; Tauros (''tail whip''); Squirtle (''hydro pump''...We could go on; part of the game's demented fun is that there are dozens and dozens of them.

WHAT'S A PIKACHU? Gesundheit. Pikachu is a yellow catlike creature with a lightning-bolt-shaped tail that's far and away the most popular monster. More on it later.

OKAY, YOU'RE SCARING ME: JUST HOW MANY OF THESE THINGS WILL I HAVE TO BUY? There are 150 Pokemon, but they're all to be found on either the blue or red game cartridges, so you need buy only two versions of the $29.95 game. Then it's up to your kids to find all of the critters.

WILL THERE BE POKEMON TOYS AND MERCHANDISE? Do the Rugrats wear diapers? Expect to see everything from figurines to plush Pikachus, and — surprise! — beanbag versions that manufacturer Hasbro will retire every few months to enhance their collectibility (sound familiar?). Be thankful you're not in Japan, where an entire Pokemon store thrives with an even wider variety of swag: CDs, trading cards, even snacks.

DIDN'T I HEAR SOMETHING ABOUT A POKEMON CARTOON THAT ONCE MELTED KIDS' BRAINS IN JAPAN? Last December, a scene in one episode of the animated Pokemon series caused seizures in 700 young viewers. An investigation traced the problem to a short explosion sequence that used a technique called ''transparent light filming.'' The cartoon series debuted in U.S. syndication in September — sans these petit mal special effects.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE POKEMON GAMES AND POKEMON PIKACHU? Not to be confused with the Game Boy cartridges, Pokemon Pikachu is a stand-alone, Tamagotchi-like fob that's a virtual pet, alarm clock, and pedometer (walk and generate ''watts'' for Pikachu or it gets angry) rolled into one.