Episode Summary
What does it take to build a brand that keeps creating superfans for 30 years?
In this special episode of the Creating Superfans podcast, Brittany welcomes her youngest guest ever: her 9-year-old son, Kadoh! And they’re diving into one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time: Pokémon.
As Pokémon celebrates its 30th anniversary, Brittany and Kadoh explore what makes the franchise so special to millions of fans around the world. From trading cards and collector conventions to Pokémon GO and exciting brand collaborations, they discuss the experiences, communities, and connections that have helped Pokémon remain a cultural phenomenon across generations.
Kadoh shares some of his favorite cards, memorable encounters with Pokémon voice actors, and what he loves most about being part of the fandom. Plus, the two open Pokémon card packs together on camera!
Whether you’re a lifelong Pokémon fan, a parent of an enthusiastic collector, or a business leader curious about what creates lasting brand loyalty, this episode offers a fun look at the power of fandom through the eyes of a true superfan.
Want to see the cards Kadoh and Brittany open? Watch the full episode on YouTube!
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Transcription
[00:00:00]
Brittany Hodak: Welcome to the Creating Superfans podcast. I’m your host, Brittany Hodak. Today, we are talking about a very fun subject, one that you have probably seen all over the place, whether you follow this fandom or not, because it has absolutely blown up in the past few years. And this year, there is an extra special reason, which we are gonna talk about.
I am joined by a very special guest, the youngest guest we’ve ever had on the podcast, who’s been begging to come on the show, my son, Kadoh Hodak. Kadoh, say hi. Hi. What are we talking about today? We’re talking about Pokémon. That’s right. We are talking about Pokémon. And for those of you who are not in the know, Pokémon was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most profitable media franchise in the world.
As of 2024, they have sold over $147 billion, with a B, [00:01:00] $147 billion- Wow … on the Pokémon franchise. In addition to that $147 billion, just a few other numbers that kind of blew my mind, there are odor- over 85 billion Pokémon cards that have been created in the world. They produce them in 16 different languages. You can buy them in nearly 100 countries.
We’re gonna talk about what all of that means, but I just want you to know this is a huge franchise. Mm-hmm. This is a big deal, and people who love it love it. Isn’t that right, Kadoh?
Kadoh Hodak: Yep.
Brittany Hodak: What do you love- Uh- What do you love most about Pokémon?
Kadoh Hodak: I don’t know, the cards, getting them autographed, collecting cool cards.
Brittany Hodak: Well, let’s talk a little bit about autographs. Who would autograph a Pokémon card? Aren’t most of them characters?
Kadoh Hodak: Well, the voice actors would.
Brittany Hodak: The voice actors. So one of the things that I have learned as a PokéMom, uh, you know, I don’t know if that’s a real term or not, we should trademark that and call me PokéMom, is the card shows.
So Kadoh and, usually his dad [00:02:00] and brother, but sometimes mom is there, too, um, we’ve been to, how many card shows do you think you’ve been to this year so far, Kadoh?
Kadoh Hodak: Uh, probably like- 58,000
Brittany Hodak: 58,000. I was thinking maybe, like, eight to 10 card shows. And at these card shows, people from all walks of life come together to showcase, sell, and trade their Pokemon cards.
It’s such a fun communal thing. And at many of these cards, they have special celebrity guests, including people who are the voice actors that voice these characters in the show. Who are some of the cool voice actors that you’ve had a chance to meet this year?
Kadoh Hodak: Uh, I’ve met the voice actor for Meowth. That one I sent off to Beckett, get it authenticated.
But my favorite has got to be Mark Thompson.
Brittany Hodak: Mark Thompson. Tell me a little bit about Mark Thompson.
Kadoh Hodak: He voices Gengar, and I have two autographed cards here with me right now.
Brittany Hodak: He is the voice actor from Gengar. And Mark Thompson actually did something really, really cool for you. What did Mark [00:03:00] Thompson do?
Kadoh Hodak: He called me on the phone.
Brittany Hodak: He FaceTimed Kado- … to say hello to him, because… And that was a card show that we weren’t at, but my brother was at, and Mark Thompson took the time to call Kado to say hello, which was very, very cool of him to do
Kadoh Hodak: All right, uh, if you’re watching this right now, I’m gonna show you a card.
But if you’re not, you’re just listening to this before bed or something like I do, then you can maybe watch it later.
Brittany Hodak: Yeah. So that’s right, Kado. You love to listen to podcasts before bed, don’t you?
Kadoh Hodak: Yeah, love it.
Brittany Hodak: What are some of your favorites?
Kadoh Hodak: Okay, so my favorite is either this or Everything Everywhere Daily.
Brittany Hodak: We love Everything Everywhere Daily. In fact, if you go back to the third season of Creating Superfans, you can listen to the interview that I did with Gary Arndt, the host of Everything Everywhere Daily, but it is one of the best podcasts that you can listen to, and it’s great for people of all ages. I love it, Kado loves it, and everyone I’ve recommended it to loves it too because every day [00:04:00] you get a really short synopsis of a really interesting fun fact.
Okay. So Kado, let’s talk a little bit about some of the Pokemon experiences this year. This is a really special year for Pokemon. What are, what are some of the things that are happening this year specifically for Pokemon?
Kadoh Hodak: 30th anniversary. They’ve been around for 30 years.
Brittany Hodak: That’s right, three decades, 30 years.
What do you think it is about this brand that has given it three decades of staying power?
Kadoh Hodak: Uh, probably just the cool Pokemon cards, like some people spend millions.
Brittany Hodak: Some people spend millions of dollars on Pokemon cards?
Kadoh Hodak: Yeah.
Brittany Hodak: Wow.
Kadoh Hodak: Beckett 10 Charizard Black Label, it’s worth like a couple mil.
Brittany Hodak: A couple million dollars on a Pokemon card.
If Pokemon cards had no monetary value, like if you could just get any Pokemon card you wanted for free, would you still wanna keep and collect them?
Kadoh Hodak: Mm-hmm, yeah, they’re cool. But I might lose interest-
Brittany Hodak: You might- …
Kadoh Hodak: later, like a couple years [00:05:00] later.
Brittany Hodak: Do you remember when you first got into Pokemon cards?
Kadoh Hodak: I think so.
Okay, so it was kind of at a mall. I was like walking kinda. It was like- Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. Oh, that’s a cool shop. And then, I was like, “Ooh, Pokemon cards. I heard there was like a new trend where you like, you collect Pokemon cards. I’m gonna get some.” And then I got ’em, put, put it in a binder. Best card I got then was either this EX, like $8 maybe, and I bent it somehow and it ripped.
And then there’s this like radiant dude. It was like $4 maybe, and I still have it. Not the Toxtricity, though.
Brittany Hodak: Awesome. Okay, so those are all different types of cards. Um, Kadoh, what… For those of you who are watching right now, Kadoh, can you explain what is this?
Kadoh Hodak: This is a ETB from.
Brittany Hodak: What is this called?
Kadoh Hodak: 30th [00:06:00] anniversary.
Brittany Hodak: This is called an ETB, which stands for what?
Kadoh Hodak: Elite Trainer Box.
Brittany Hodak: It’s an Elite Trainer Box, meaning what? I don’t know, it’s just like a pack of a bunch of cards together?
Kadoh Hodak: Yeah, nine packs and one promo card.
Brittany Hodak: Okay. Well, I thought it might be cool if me and you could both rip a pack of Pokemon cards. I know that if you’re listening right now, you’re not gonna be able to see what we’re doing, but for everybody watching it on YouTube, um, you can, and we’ll maybe post it on socials, too.
So Kadoh, I’m gonna let you choose one pack for you and one pack for me from this ETB, okay?
Kadoh Hodak: Okay.
Brittany Hodak: Do you
Kadoh Hodak: want…
Brittany Hodak: Oh. Oh, I just dropped them all on the floor.
Kadoh Hodak: Oh.
Brittany Hodak: You can tell I’m not used to opening these. They’re usually- Okay, wait … opened by our kids.
Kadoh Hodak: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and then there’s nine.
And then here’s nine. Okay. Okay, I feel like that’s a lucky pack and this is.
Brittany Hodak: Okay.
Kadoh Hodak: So wait, here. I open this one. All right.
Brittany Hodak: Okay, so here’s what we’re gonna do. First, we’re gonna hold them up to the camera.
Kadoh Hodak: Yeah.
Brittany Hodak: And then what? We’ll just open the packs?
Kadoh Hodak: I guess.
Brittany Hodak: [00:07:00] Okay
Kadoh Hodak: All right. Ooh, Espeon EX and a Pikachu All right. So this was a lucky pack.
Brittany Hodak: So that’s pretty cool. Yeah. So you got some cool cards in there. Okay.
Kadoh Hodak: I like it. I like it a
Brittany Hodak: lot. Now let’s see what mom got. A Lucario. Uh- What is this?
Kadoh Hodak: Uh, m-, I don’t know.
Brittany Hodak: Gim- Gin- … Gimminghowl?
Kadoh Hodak: Gimbombaul
Brittany Hodak: Okay And then another Pikachu And a cute
Kadoh Hodak: Pikachu.
Brittany Hodak: Okay. So how do we know when a Pokemon card is worth a lotta money versus just something with really cool art?
Kadoh Hodak: You look it up.
Brittany Hodak: You, where do you look it up?
Kadoh Hodak: Well, uh, um, I don’t know.
Brittany Hodak: Oh, like on price charting- Yeah … and some of those apps that Dad uses?
Kadoh Hodak: eBay maybe.
This one’s cool.
Brittany Hodak: That is
Kadoh Hodak: really cool. I think it’s, uh, at least a dollar or two maybe.
Brittany Hodak: So Kadoh, can we talk a little bit about Pokemon Go? So for [00:08:00] anybody who is unfamiliar with the Pokemon brand, there are lots of different parts to the brand. There are the trading cards, which is what started it all 30 years ago.
They’ve licensed that IP for things like video games, and movies, and TV shows, and tons and tons of merchandise, like I said before. But then there’s also this game called Pokemon Go. Kadoh, can you talk a little bit about Pokemon Go?
Kadoh Hodak: So basically, where you, like, go around. If you walk in real life and you have your phone out, you’re, you can s- find Pokemon.
Like, it shows that you’re walking. And then you can capture them. And there is something called, like, AR mode, and if you do it, like, the Pokemon around you in the game, like, look real, and it’s, like, your surroundings. It’s like there’s Gengars, every Pokemon. I think there’s, like, 1,000.
Brittany Hodak: Yeah, so augmented reality m- augmented reality mode.
This is a game that’s been around for 10 years. And as I said before, I think it’s, like, 800 million [00:09:00] people have played it in the past few years, or its past 10 years all over the world, which is insane. And what Kadoh is talking about, the way that you, like, catch a Pokemon, over a trillion Pokemon have been caught by players walking around in the real world.
So Kadoh, what are some of the fun things about being able to play Pokemon Go on your phone?
Kadoh Hodak: Uh-
Brittany Hodak: And when I say your phone, it’s my phone because you don’t have a phone because you’re nine. But when you’re playing on mom’s phone, what are some of the things that make it unlike other games, like maybe a, I don’t know, like a Minecraft or a Roblox or something?
Kadoh Hodak: Uh, you get to keep the Pokemon and it’s kind of just cool to have. Like, I have Gengar. You can, like, interact with friends. Uh, and there’s a bunch of PokeStops where you can get items to g- catch more Pokemon and heal more Pokemon, and raids when you’re beating them, and that gets you more Pokemon.
Brittany Hodak: And it’s a really cool way to interact with the real world, right?
Like, you have to walk around. You can’t just stay at your house and play Pokemon Go. It’s [00:10:00] while you’re on the go out in the real world, right?
Kadoh Hodak: You can play it at your house, it’d just be very boring- … and no Pokemon would spawn.
Brittany Hodak: There wouldn’t be Pokemon. So let’s talk about some of the opportunities you had this t- uh, this summer and fall.
Kadoh Hodak: In DC.
Brittany Hodak: That’s right, we just got back from Washington, DC. Do you wanna talk a little bit about our trip to Washington, DC?
Kadoh Hodak: Uh, ask me questions.
Brittany Hodak: Um, what was your favorite PokeStop- Poke- … which is what they call it in Pokemon Go, where you can find Pokemon- Uh- … in Washington, DC?
Kadoh Hodak: So there’s this thing, I- a PokeStop where there’s a Lick Leon, I’m pretty sure.
But I nicknamed some- him something, ’cause you can do that.
Brittany Hodak: That’s a particular type of Pokemon.
Kadoh Hodak: Yeah. So I caught him on one PokeStop, and he’s pretty good. You wanna be some battles?
Brittany Hodak: That’s awesome. Um, let’s talk about another fun adventure that we had this summer. Our family went to the Field Museum in Chicago, and there is an actual Pokemon [00:11:00] exhibit at that museum, a real-life fossil exhibition that mixes, like, fossils from the real world with Pokemon.
I think, did you actually bring some fossils with you- Oh, yeah … to show on the show today? ‘Cause you really like fossils, right?
Kadoh Hodak: Yeah, and I also like fossil-type Pokemon. And I like to say this trilobite here that’s, like, 200 years old maybe.
Brittany Hodak: Uh- You mean, like, 200 million?
Kadoh Hodak: I mean, yeah.
Brittany Hodak: 200 million. I was gonna say, he’s a lot older than 200 years old.
Kadoh Hodak: Yeah, I like to say it’s, like, a Pokemon, IRL Pokemon.
Brittany Hodak: An in real life Pokemon?
Kadoh Hodak: Yeah.
Brittany Hodak: I love it. Okay, so talk to me a little bit about some of the different classifications of Pokemon. Like, what does fossil type mean and what are some of the other types?
Kadoh Hodak: So, like, let’s say you see this right here. Like, you probably can’t see it if you’re just listening to it, but it’s, like, always at the corner of a Pokemon card, top corner.
And there’s a type. Like, if there’s an I it’s called I. A lightning bulb, it’s called, um, [00:12:00] electricity or electric. And then if there’s, like, a hand, it’s fighting, and all kinds of stuff.
Brittany Hodak: Yeah, so there’s different classifications and types. One of the things that I think is really cool about Pokemon is a lot of times after a brand comes out, if you’re not in, like if you’re not an insider, if you don’t get it, if you’re not like a fan right away, it feels inaccessible or difficult to get in.
But one of the really cool things that I think is very smart about what the Pokemon company does is they make it really accessible. They’re constantly putting out new series of cards, so even people who don’t understand how to play the card game, which I do not, can still admire the artwork, collect the packs.
Uh, there’s something called master setting where you try to collect all of the cards that are in a certain pack, and you’re gonna have to buy like lots of different packs from that series to put it together. So Kadoh, what are some of the things that you think are really smart about the way Pokemon attracts new fans?
Because you haven’t been a fan for all that long.
Kadoh Hodak: Uh, I’ve been a fan for pretty long.
Brittany Hodak: [00:13:00] Well, you’ve been a fan for what? Two years, and the- No … they’ve been around for 30 years.
Kadoh Hodak: Way more than two.
Brittany Hodak: Way more than two. What? Way more. Like three, four?
Kadoh Hodak: Like three. So right now I am nine. I’ve been a fan for like four and a half years.
Brittany Hodak: Oh my gosh. So half your life you’ve been a fan of Pokemon. Let’s talk about if you have invited any friends into the Pokemon fandom. Like people who- Yeah … maybe weren’t fans of Pokemon before and you changed their mind. Tell me some of those stories.
Kadoh Hodak: My best friend, so I, he was like, he was like, uh, “I don’t really like Pokemon.
Well, I have this one Pokemon card. It’s a Charizard. I’ll give you it for that Christian McC- Christian McCaffrey,” ’cause his favorite team is 49ers, and that Arceus or Arceus. I don’t know
Brittany Hodak: So you guys traded a football card for a Pokemon card?
Kadoh Hodak: Yeah, pretty much.
Brittany Hodak: And then he, you got him into Pokemon?
Kadoh Hodak: And, yep.
And then there’s my other friend, and he was kind of like a sports [00:14:00] guy, wanted his, like, Blake Corum, ’cause I’m a Michigan fan, but he’s like, “No.”
Brittany Hodak: So Kadoh, what is your dream Pokemon card? My dream Pokemon- Regardless of, like, what it costs, what, if, if you could have any Pokemon card, which one would you want, and why?
Kadoh Hodak: Uh, I’d probably want the Sun and Moon, I’m just gonna… I don’t really have one right now, but if I got to pick any, it’d probably be, like, Sun and Moon Gengar and Mimikyu GX.
Brittany Hodak: Ooh, that sounds cool.
Kadoh Hodak: Right now I do have a Sun and Moon, I think it’s Sun and Moon, maybe Team Up.
Brittany Hodak: Yeah, I was gonna say, do you wanna share some of your favorite cards
Kadoh Hodak: with us?
Okay, let me look at it. Yeah, Team Up.
Brittany Hodak: So this is a card- Yeah, I think it’s
Kadoh Hodak: Team Up … that you got with your birthday money, right? Yeah. This is a card that you bought at the store? I think it’s Team Up, yeah. There’s this, it’s Pikachu from Team Up. [00:15:00] And also it’s Team Up Gengar.
Brittany Hodak: One of the things that I think is really cool is that you can find Pokemon stuff just about everywhere.
The cards are sold at so many retailers, many more than you might think. It’s not just the mass retailers, it’s all kinds of specialty retailers as well. But there’s also been a lot of really cool Pokemon collabs this year, including, uh, a Lego Pokemon collab and an Adidas Pokemon collab. So I know you really loved both of those.
Let’s… Uh, oh, and then also a Funko collab. So we’ll talk about all three of those. Let’s talk about the Lego collaboration first. Okay. What do you love most about the partnership between Lego and Pokemon? ‘Cause I know you love Lego bricks, too.
Kadoh Hodak: Gengar.
Brittany Hodak: Gengar.
Kadoh Hodak: And also, it is actually, um, Pikachu that I just showed you, but it is a Mimikyu on the card, and Pikachu.
Brittany Hodak: Oh, okay. So what are r- what do you think is super cool about the fact that Lego and Pokemon are doing a collab?
Kadoh Hodak: Uh, I think it’s cool that, like, you could build your favorite Pokemon, like play with them. There’s [00:16:00] something called the Smart Brick, where you could just, like, battle them.
Brittany Hodak: Oh, a real, like a real life Pokemon ba- battle?
Kadoh Hodak: Pretty much.
Brittany Hodak: That is very cool. Okay, what about the Adidas collab?
Kadoh Hodak: Oh, I like- Uh, today is wearing a Rayquaza shoes
Brittany Hodak: Rayquaza, is that a Pokémon?
Kadoh Hodak: Yep. That’s- I’m sharing a card right now.
Brittany Hodak: Awesome.
Kadoh Hodak: Can I rip one pack, see if I can get a Rayquaza?
Brittany Hodak: Uh, maybe not right now. Yeah. Um, I wanna know about, uh, what was the other collab that we were gonna talk about?
The third… Oh, the Funko Pop collab. What? Do you wanna show your, your Funko?
Kadoh Hodak: Yeah. So again, if you’re on just listening, you won’t see this, but r- again, later you could see it, but there’s this super cool thing. It’s me, Kado Hodak. And then I have the glasses on. Same glasses, actually. Uh, the same hair. Same…
Well, not same shirt or pants or shoes. But I do have two Pokémon right [00:17:00] here.
Brittany Hodak: So for anybody who is not familiar, Funko Pops are these, like, pop culture vinyl figurines, and they have something called Pop Yourself where you can make a version of yourself as a little, they call them Funko Pop, like these little vinyl figures.
So that is Kadoh’s, uh, basketball one.
Kadoh Hodak: A long time ago.
Brittany Hodak: That he made a long time ago, and- But I mean, I still like the Bulls … this year they did a
Kadoh Hodak: collab
Brittany Hodak: with Pokémon
Kadoh Hodak: I still like Chicago Bulls
Brittany Hodak: Okay, so we loved the Funko Pop, the Adidas, the Lego collab. If Pokémon could collab with any brand, what would you want it to be, and why?
Kadoh Hodak: Uh, a brand that makes… Not the, like, government, so, like, they can make Pokémon money.
Brittany Hodak: G- the government- Special edition … so they can make special edition Pokémon money? Or,
Kadoh Hodak: like, whoever makes money.
Brittany Hodak: I feel like-
Kadoh Hodak: Or whatever that is …
Brittany Hodak: I feel like I saw a story on social media that they were gonna maybe make a commemorative Pokémon money thing in Japan, but I don’t know if it was real or not.
I didn’t click on the story to see. My algorithm on Instagram is pretty much only Pokémon stuff- Yeah … [00:18:00] because of the amount of Pokémon content that my husband sends me or I send him, because you gotta stay on top of things with kids, uh, if you wanna get the Pokémon. So- Same
Kadoh Hodak: here …
Brittany Hodak: that’s the one thing I would say, um, there are a lot of scalpers, and there’s a lot of secondary market, uh, stuff happening, because people buy up the Pokémon cards, like, the minute they go on sale.
Kadoh Hodak: Pokémon, gotta scalp ’em all, so true. Our courage can throw a, pull us through. Pokémon, oh, you’re the best thing that can make me money. Pokémon, gotta scalp ’em all, so true. I can make 100 bucks or two. Pokémon, don’t leave ’em for the kids, because we need them.
Brittany Hodak: Did
Kadoh Hodak: you just- That’s like a scalper Pokémon song
did
Brittany Hodak: you just make that up, or you
Kadoh Hodak: heard
Brittany Hodak: that- Yeah … online somewhere?
Kadoh Hodak: Out of my head. Like, I was throwing the words out of my head at the camera.
Brittany Hodak: Well, um, uh, there is a big scalping problem with [00:19:00] Pokémon. Uh, there’s been a lot of, um, news lately about how Pokémon the company is trying to produce, like, billions and billions and billions of cards from this 30 anniversary set in an attempt to artificially lower the price of some of the early cards on the secondary market.
Okay. Kadoh, where can people follow you and find out more about you? YouTube. On YouTube. And they can watch you open packs of Pokemon cards. And they
Kadoh Hodak: can watch me, uh, and, and I can watch them subscribe and like my videos.
Brittany Hodak: You want them to subscribe. Okay. What’s your YouTube handle? Please. Where can people find you?
Kadoh Hodak: KBandit23.
Brittany Hodak: Thank you so much for tuning in for this very special episode of the Creating Superfans podcast.
We’ll be back next week with an all-new episode where I will be talking about all things customer experience. I hope you enjoyed this very special episode as much as I did.
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