I'm going to resist writing a shitpost review just this once to point out how comically bad this game is. To this day, I remain absolutely appalled how this somehow got greenlit and still sold 380,000 copies. I'm trying to visualize how the pitch must have gone:

"Hey, let's make a Pokemon Game that's actually about watching shows!"

"So... the Pokemon anime?"

"Well yes... but also no! Let's also throw in RNG based card collecting mechanics, time stalling tactics such as the need to completely rely on Pikachu to complete simple tasks AND ask for permission for every task, have 1 minute screen transitions between each area as you wait for Pikachu to run on over and then dab on you, and make it so if you don't zoom in on the screen, Pikachu can fiddle with your touch screen television and answer questions incorrectly for you AND buy expensive shit off the shopping channel using your own money!"

"holy SHIT you absolute mad lad this sounds like the greatest video game ever made with tons of immersive and gripping gameplay let's head to the races and make the big bucks :DDDDDDDDDD"

The subliminal messaging is what really kills me. As the name suggests, everything in your life revolves around the television. Pikachu gets pissed if you turn the television off, and asks you at some point to learn how to turn the television on with this dumb smile on its face every time it succeeds. There's even an unlockable channel that tracks how long you've been watching TV and how much money you've spent buying things, and makes fun of you if you're considered sub-par in either category! It's hilarious how this almost seems like a critique of 21st century commercialism and sedentary lifestyles... but then they play it straight and earnestly so it's actually part of the problem itself.

Honestly, the biggest problem is that it's super, super tedious. Which you'd already kinda expect from Pokemon, but it's somehow even worse because the draw is watching television (you know, while playing a video game) and everything is so drawn out; imagine Animal Crossing but the main activity is waiting instead of collecting resources or building new things. (Oh, and speaking of Animal Crossing, to progress the story, you'll often have to wait til the next day after submitting a full report. Might just want to change the GC console time instead.) Just to change the weather, you have to wait a solid few minutes for Slowpoke to walk on and off the screen until it decides to jab its tail onto a sign. Fishing is complete RNG watching Pikachu struggle to pull up a catch, just for that extra card. And if you want to immediately travel to a place that's not Viridian Forest, you're gonna have to wait at least a minute for the buses to change at the bus stop. And those are just three of the many examples of straight padding forced upon you in Pokemon Channel!

But hey, at least you get to make untold millions through selling Jirachi by playing Pokemon Channel over and over again (assuming you bought the PAL version; if you didn't, lmao)!