You've probably heard of Pokemon. It was pretty big a few years back with a kid's TV show that everyone watched. Well, the show is still on the air and the games are doing better than ever. After it's first offering on the Nintendo DS, Pokemon is heading back to Nintendo's amazing handheld system for another run. This time, it's a blast from the past with Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver. These DS cartridges are remakes of the first Pokemon installments for the Game Boy Color ten years ago in 2000. As these games approach, this writer's Pokemon Fever has reached an all-time high, and it's high time the Pokemon franchise got its due from casual players everywhere.

For those that haven't heard of the Pokemon games, the concept is simple. Pokemon is short for Pocket Monster, animals that live in this virtual world that have special powers. Many humans capture these monsters and train them as fighters. As a young boy or girl, players journey out into the world from a tiny town to defeat the eight Pokemon masters in their region and forge their destiny as a Pokemon master. From there, the game throws players into a world where they can customize a team of six from almost 500 different monsters with a bevy of moves of different types.

The most important part of the game is that there are a number of different ways to play it depending on what you hope to get out of the experience. Since Gold and Silver hit the Game Boy Color, there have been a bevy of options beyond simple battle. While players can focus on perfecting their team to interact and fight with others online to see who reigns supreme, there are so many other ways to play Pokemon in this new generation of gaming.

Training
All Pokemon have two types of statistics - those you can see and those you can't. These invisible statistics are what make Pokemon unique. It makes their eventual maximum visual statistics different in every way. When you train Pokemon and have them fight others, it increases these hidden statistics more than if you had increased their level by cheating. The result is a monster that is totally and completely yours that comes with the satisfaction of a job well done. The experience is akin to the feeling of satisfaction when solving a particularly challenging puzzle in Bejeweled's puzzle mode.

Trading and Collecting
The catch phrase of Pokemon used to be "Gotta Catch 'Em All," which is incredibly appropriate. With 493 different individual monsters in the franchise, it is nearly impossible to get every single monster on one play-through. In order to collect every monster and complete your Pokedex, you must find other players and trade with them. There are even some Pokemon that can only be obtained through trading. This interaction creates a virtual community the likes of which other games cannot boast. Message boards and websites are available to players to complete their collection. In addition, there are special events on certain dates where players can obtain limited edition versions of difficult to obtain Pokemon.

Breeding
Yes, Pokemon can breed and it's one of the most interesting and complex systems in gaming today. While it's impossible to explain it all here, suffice it to say that breeding is a whole game in and of itself. There are websites online that specialize in breeding tips and monsters that pop out of an egg with a specialized moveset that's perfect for plowing through the game. Sometimes, breeding a particular Pokemon with a particular moveset and statistics is a point of pride with players, and they play through the entire game just so that they can spend all their time breeding. Learning this system and the strategies of breeding isn't comparable to any experience that you can find online, and that is truly what makes it interesting.

Beauty Contests
Yes, you read that right. You can feed your Pokemon certain types of food to increase their intelligence, beauty and any other number of qualities and enter them into Beauty Contests for ribbons and item bonuses. Moves also have a quality that can be used during these contests and Pokemon can even be dressed up to your satisfaction to add more flair for the judges. It's just another example of the depth and level that the game goes to have a little something for everyone.

Minigames
Since Pokemon began back in the '90s, minigames have worked their way into the franchise. With the DS generation of handhelds, they have even gone online using the DS touchscreen and stylus. The games have changed from installment to installment, but at their core, they are Mario Party style games that can be played with friends on the internet for bonuses within the game itself.

If you haven't yet, give Pokemon a chance when HeartGold and SoulSilver hit shelves in March. You might just find that you have a flair for one of the categories listed above and become a Pokemon Master in your own right and in your own way.