My History with Pokemon

I feel like I have a hard time remembering my childhood at times but my relationship with Pokemon always stuck out like a sore thumb. My earliest memory that I can think of was accidentally tuning into 4kids tv and witnessing the original Pokemon series for the first time on my tiny kitchen tv. I remember pulling up a chair in the middle of the humid July heat and getting amazed at the original pokemon theme song and the anime. I think that is what started my 6 year old curiosity in looking up Pokemon Youtube videos on the family desktop computer. I watched videos for hours ranging from Smosh singing the Pokemon theme to millions of AMVs of pokemon fanart with nightcore in the background.

My parents must of told my family about this new interest in this weird monster show and that is when my Uncle gave me his old pokemon cards and I recieved my first ever Pokemon card which was a Totodile. Ever since then as I grew up my Pokemon interest exploded between playing the games, (my first being Diamond) except since I was so little I didn't get that far so I just liked collecting pokemon. I ended up playing some of the wii games as well like Pokemon Battle Revolution and Pokepark, I remember being so amazed at 3D Pokemon because it felt like the closest I could get to my dreams of having Pokemon irl (which is funny looking back at today.) Every trip that I took with my dad to Walmart I asked for Pokemon cards if I behaved well which started my collection of the cards as well. I also started collecting a little line of figures that I would play with alongside my other toys that they would sell at Toys r us. I specifically remember my excitement about going to a toys r us next to my favorite resturant at the time (called Bugaboo) and getting a Palkia figure.

As I got older I started watching the anime more and the movies as well, my friends and neighbors got into it and I remember having my first pokemon card trade in elementary school. I believe my favorite Pokemon for the longest time was Lugia, I remember how hard it was trying to find copies of the Pokemon movies but I remember finally watching a copy of Pokemon 2000 and being absolutely amazed by Lugia. I also remember the excitement behind Pokemon Black and White, it was my first new Pokemon game release and having a Pokemon game with all new Pokemon was incredibly exciting to young me. Therefore Pokemon White still holds a place in my heart. All of these memories with Pokemon became such fond nostalgic memories of my childhood to look back on that I am so grateful for.

I think my interest in Pokemon dwindled a little as i got older into middle school/highschool but I still played the new games that came out. I kind of just casually liked Pokemon as I started to get interested in other popular media at the time but still managed to tune in to the new games like Y and Pokemon Sun. I remember the excitement of the first Pokemon game on the Nintendo Switch but feeling meh about Sword overall.

Funny enough it wasn't until college that I rediscovered my love for Pokemon. With the release of Legends Arceus at the time my roommates didn't understand why I was so hyped for a Pokemon game that was not like the original formula (or at least in a while). Therefore I accidentally got my roommates into Pokemon for the first time, Theres this amazing feeling that I got inside me of seeing my friends discover Pokemon for the first time almost like I was looking at myself getting into it when I was young so long ago now. The excitement over seeing a Pokemon they've never seen before and creating a team they love to fight with filled me with such joy as they asked me for advice/opinions for this interest that I have had knowledge for most of my life and I finally had people to share it with in my adult years.

Pokemon became such a bonding tool and sense of community for me and my generation that I am eternally grateful for it and the positive memories it has given me. Even though I've had some critiques about the latest games, I still find myself tuning into playing each new game that comes out to fill the excitement of starting a new playthrough that I got from starting Diamond for the first time when I was really young. Something about discovering new Pokemon still 10+ years later and creating a team I love is an amazing feeling I wish I could share with more people as I get older.