Don’t Be the Pokémon Community Mean Girl - It’s So Not Fetch

By Pinky Pogo - Editor of The Crown and Card Co.

The Pokémon community is full of incredible people - collectors, creators, players, artists, traders, educators, and pure hobby enjoyers. It’s one of the friendliest fandoms out there…

unless a mean girl wanders in.

And every community has one.

In ours?

We’ll call her Regina - inspired by the legendary Regina George, of course.

Let’s talk about why “Regina energy” doesn’t work here… and why kindness wins every time.

💖 Regina Treats Pokémon Like a Popularity Contest

Pokémon was built on adventure, strategy, storytelling, and collecting.

Regina acts like it was built so she could feel important on Instagram.

If her generic posts don’t hit the numbers she expected, she spirals.

If someone else gets attention, she panics.

If a new collector shows up, she becomes territorial faster than a Mimikyu with boundary issues.

Pokémon is not a cafeteria table hierarchy.

You don’t need Regina’s permission to sit with us.

💖 She Doesn’t Collect Pokémon - She Collects People

While everyone else is trading cards, building decks, and showing off binder pages, Regina is out here collecting followers like they’re gym badges.

Her focus isn’t:

• sharing the hobby

• celebrating others

• uplifting creators

It’s:

• controlling group chats

• dictating who “counts”

• following and unfollowing

It’s giving “You can’t sit with us” vibes.

But the Pokémon community?

We sit with everyone.

💖 Her Engagement Is Farmed By False Promises

Regina is the Queen of Engagement Groups.

What are engagement groups?

They are chat groups created for the sole purpose of gaining engagement. The groups can have hundreds of members who all share their content directly to this space where each person is expected to like, comment, share, save, and whatever else they can do to boost each other’s post or reel.

Sounds cool right?

The algorithm doesn’t show us our friend’s content so it seems like a great way to support each other -WRONG.

These large groups are exclusive to a certain level. And they are a secret. Nobody wants you to find out they are cheating the system. They want to look like these hundreds of likes, comments, and shares came naturally from the admirers of their content.

Within these engagement groups there are cliques and “cool people.” It’s the same as sending someone a candy gram -the creator of the group and the popular people are most likely going to receive the most engagement from the members in hopes they are welcomed into the clique.

So naturally these groups are stuffed with people that mean nothing to the group leader. They just want more engagement.

Does Regina reciprocate the engagement to the lower ranking members? NO! Remember, Regina doesn’t send candy grams - she just receives them.

It’s sad really - they find new members of the Pokémon Community and invite them to these groups only to fluff their numbers. Using people who don’t know any better - that’s why these groups are exclusive.

So all those big numbers under Regina’s basic Pokemon Post? Not authentic.

💖 She Uses Drama Like It’s a Rare Candy

Regina will:

• start chaos

• deny chaos

• act innocent

• and then be shocked - SHOCKED - that people talk about the chaos

It’s very:

“Why are people so obsessed with me?”

…while holding a flamethrower.

Pokémon battles belong in the games, not in DMs.

💖 Her Group Chats Are the Plastics of the Pokémon World

Regina runs her chats like she’s the CEO of North Shore High:

• “Block this person.”

• “Report that person.”

• “Don’t talk to them.”

• “Screenshot what they say.”

It’s exhausting.

Pokémon is supposed to be fun - not emotional cardio.

💖 Her Online Persona Changes Faster Than She Can Say ‘Poké Ball’

Every post has a new sus vibe.

New beauty filter.

New personality patch update.

If Regina showed up at an in-person event?

No one would recognize her.

Not because she looks bad - but because she has 12 different online versions and we don’t know which one is canon.

Consistency is kind of important when building real influence.

💖 She Thinks Pokémon Will Notice Her

Regina imagines she’s this close to being sponsored or invited to events.

Meanwhile, Pokémon is over here:

• printing sets

• running tournaments

• managing a global brand

• not thinking about Regina at all

Pokémon does not reward drama.

They reward professionalism, positivity, and genuine contribution.

Being feared in a group chat doesn’t get you a sponsorship.

Being a good human does.

💖 So… Don’t Be Regina

The Pokémon community doesn’t need mean girls.

It needs:

• supporters

• friends

• collaborators

• creators

• leaders

• people who genuinely love the hobby

There is space for everyone here — unless someone tries to turn the space into a cafeteria clique.

Be kind.

Be welcoming.

Be someone people look forward to seeing - online and offline.

Because in the Pokémon community?

Good energy evolves.

Mean girl energy… faints.

xoxo- Pinky Pogo