Looking Back: Pokemon

Oh man...I haven't written one of these in a while...So yeah, at the end of my last one, I said I'd be taking a look at a game that involved "a certain yellow rat". I'm sure everyone guessed I meant Pokemon, and I did. In this episode, I'm going to be taking a look back at Pokemon and how it has influenced my life.

Pokemon was one of the first few video games I ever got a chance to play. I did not own a Gameboy back then, but a friend allowed me to borrow his gameboy and his copies of Red and Blue. I remember I would sit and play for hours, just playing that first area (from Pallet to Mt. Moon), trying to catch them all. I always started with Squirtle...ALWAYS.

When I first loaded up Pokemon Blue version (the first version I ever played), it loaded up with Squirtle right there on the screen. I squealed at how cute it was (remember, back then, I wasn't allowed to "enjoy cute things") and immediately jumped into the game. I remember loading the game up and seeing the name selection screen and going "...But I wanna be a girl..." Back then, gender wasn't an option, you only had Red (you) and Green (your rival). I would generally name him "Ash" as I was watching the anime at the time (it was only at like...episode 4 or some such), and would name my Rival "Gary". And to be honest? Who hasn't done that, I mean seriously. I think everyone who played the old Red and Blue games did that at one point or another.

So, I started getting into the game, wandering around the house, trying to figure out what to do, then heading out. I talked to all of the NPCs (a trick I rarely ever do nowadays) and went in all of the houses. I actually EXPLORED the land, finally deciding to move on once I had seen everything. I remember thinking the graphics to the game were absolutely amazing and so realistic, and I'm not kidding either. I loved those games more then anything back then.

So, imagine my surprise when Professor Oak comes running up to you in Red and Blue when you try to leave the town. He led me back to his lab, I grumbled as Gary prattled on and was an annoying jerk, then finally got my Pokemon. Again, I chose Squirtle. And that's when your rival comes in "I'm taking Bulbasaur!" Yeah, whatever, I don't care, I'm starting my Pokemon journey! Then "Hey, let's battle!" UGH! I don't wanna battle! I wanna go! FINE! I fought, I won, I moved on.

I remember starting out and doing the parcel quest. I remember the fact that the game didn't hold my hand, didn't tell me where to go, nothing like that. Yes, it prevented me from moving on when I had something to complete, but it didn't say what. I had to figure it out on my own, and I enjoyed it. I played the game and enjoyed every moment of it, including the times where I had to grind to level my Pokemon. In fact, I loved leveling and watching my Pokemon evolve. So, I finally got myself all the way to Mt. Moon, the entire time making it my goal to "catch them all". I spent HALF AN HOUR in Viridian Forest just walking in circles to try and catch a Pikachu. I needed them all, and I leveled and played them all.

Finally, though, I had to return the games, not getting any further then Mt. Moon. However, the game stuck in my mind. I had loved the game, the graphics, the gameplay, everything about it was awesome. I really enjoyed it, and I wanted to play it more. So what did I do? I worked hard at my chores until I got enough money to buy myself a Gameboy and a Pokemon game, this time Yellow version. Booting it up, getting Pikachu right off the bat was awesome, but I was upset when I couldn't get Squirtle. Imagine my surprise when I later got Squirtle in Vermillion City.

The game really sparked my imagination, though, and I began to create stories around Pokemon. I even began to create my own Pokemon. Then, Gold and Silver came out. I got them almost right away and played them avidly as well. I loved all of the new Pokemon and the new places, and was really surprised when I could even return to Kanto afterwards. This inspired me to think "what if more Pokemon live in more places?" And I began to create my own region with its own unique Pokemon. My imagination exploded and I was all over the place with that.

I even got into the card game, and using that, I began to create my own adventure. I would "level" my Pokemon cards as if they were real Pokemon, and I'd pretend to battle as if those cards were real creatures. My brother and I would even make up stories about how we had "seen real Pokemon". Again, I know I've said it alot already, but my imagination was running wild, and I was coming up with all sorts of amazing things. And then...

The Hoenn Region games came out. I was no longer getting money from chores, did not have a Gameboy Advance, and thus, could not enjoy them. Include with this the fact that Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and a multitude of other things had come out at this point I was into that I stopped caring about Pokemon. I was playing the Zelda games now, playing Mario on my emulators, and even had an N64 where I almost never touched my Pokemon games at all anymore (I had Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon Snap). I had almost completely gotten out of the series, and likely would not have gotten back into it, had it not been for a friend I got at about 17 years old.

He had the Hoenn games and a Gameboy Advance, and as soon as I looked at it, I was right back into the games. Since then, every time the games have come out, I've gotten myself right back into each generation, finding that Pokemon just won't leave me alone. My imagination keeps growing as I continue to play the games, and while I find myself not enjoying the endless grind that I enjoyed as a kid, I still enjoy trying to catch them all, even if it is physically impossible. I've continued to write stories about Pokemon, and have even tried on multiple occasions to create my own Pokemon. Pokemon is a game that has changed my life, and while my loyalty to other games has faltered, Pokemon is the one thing I've always found myself unable to walk away from.

Well...except for Black and White...but that was due to the horrendous mixture of 3D models with 2D sprites, but I won't get into that. Even so, though, I still had trouble leaving the games because I loved Pokemon a lot and didn't want to quit playing. It took something major to make me stop playing the games. And now, with X and Y, I've been refueled and continue to enjoy the games. So, looking back, I can see that Pokemon was what started me on my journey to have an imagination. It made me begin to think and wonder and even create. I owe the majority of my life to it, and it has honestly changed me a lot.

So, the question now is: What will my next one be? I have no idea. Maybe I'll consider writing about my issues with Super Mario 64, or maybe how much I used to play Pokemon Snap. I'll decide that when I write it.