Pocket Monsters had not yet reached the U.S. in full furry when I received this yo-yo in the mail from Japan in Spring, 1997. My kids did not even know what it was, nor had they ever heard of the characters "Pikachu" (shown inside the yo-yo above) or "Mew" (the cat-looking animal on the card). This yo-yo was our very first introduction to what eventually became a huge sensation and fad with young children across North America, one year later: POKEMON.
