I actually learned how to play the card game, and it wasn't that difficult to play and was pretty damn fun. Played in a couple local tournaments, pre-release events (where they give out drawings for prizes like posters and Pokémon plushies and that kind of cool shit) too and learned how to make my own decks and everything.

I got out of it within a couple years though, because you had to constantly buy new, up-to-date cards (older series become illegal to use in tournaments as they age). It was a drain on my money, especially since I was just a junior high kid. They've added a couple new rules too, and it's kind of discouraged me from picking the game back up again.