Saaya Irie - Japanese Teen Idol
Pokemon, whether it be TV cartoons, movies, trading cards or one of the more than 1,000 associated products, has generated billions of dollars for its parent company, Nintendo, since its launch as a video game in early 1996. And the phenomenon is not confined to Japan. Led by the hero Satoshi and point man (monster) Pikachu, it swept across the world in just three years. 
Introduced to the US as a TV cartoon in September 1998, Pokemon generated an estimated 700 million dollars in retail sales in the following year. The weekly cartoon became the top-rated kid's TV show and the video 'Pokemon: Seaside Pikachu' topped the bestsellers list. Sociologists engage in serious debate about the educational value of kids' obsession with Pokemon cards. The logistics, tactics and pure arithmetic involved in pitting the various monsters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, against each other certainly make kids use their brains. And the fact that the monsters don't die as a result of their battles - they just faint - is a welcome change from the usual cartoon carnage. But stories of schoolyard fights over cards and the kind of money changing hands - some cards are traded at over 100 dollars apiece - also cause concern. 
5th International London Tattoo Convention
The Convention: Contains images of nudity, extreme tattoos and body piercing. More than 20,000 visitors attended last year's event.
Two men put their tattooed heads together
A woman looks a little shocked at the sight of another woman's tattooed back at the fifth London Tattoo Convention held at Tobacco Dock, London
A Brazilian tattooist takes a break from sketching a design
Tattooist Nikole Lowe catches some sun outside Tobacco Dock
A close-up of some of Spiky Bob's facial piercings
Camilla Caney shows off the paisley design on her shaved head
Tattoo enthusiast 'Troll' poses for photographs at Tobacco Dock
Rie Gomita, 29, from Osaka, Japan, walks through the halls of the London Tattoo Convention
A man grimaces as he gets a new tattoo from Japanese artist Shin Chuey
A masked tattooed man poses for photographers
'Spiky Bob' enjoys a beer on the opening day of the fifth London Tattoo Convention
A tattooist sketches a butterfly on a man's chest
A man shows off his tattooed, shaved head
Two men put their tattooed heads together
A woman looks a little shocked at the sight of another woman's tattooed back at the fifth London Tattoo Convention held at Tobacco Dock, London
A Brazilian tattooist takes a break from sketching a design
Tattooist Nikole Lowe catches some sun outside Tobacco Dock
A close-up of some of Spiky Bob's facial piercings
Camilla Caney shows off the paisley design on her shaved head
Tattoo enthusiast 'Troll' poses for photographs at Tobacco Dock
Rie Gomita, 29, from Osaka, Japan, walks through the halls of the London Tattoo Convention
A man grimaces as he gets a new tattoo from Japanese artist Shin Chuey
A masked tattooed man poses for photographers
'Spiky Bob' enjoys a beer on the opening day of the fifth London Tattoo Convention
A tattooist sketches a butterfly on a man's chest
A man shows off his tattooed, shaved head
Poppy-Moon Hurst and Vila Kula, tattoo and piercing enthusiasts, pose at Tobacco Dock
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