Pokemon at 20, A Personal Retrospective.

 

When it comes to Pokemon, this series and I go all the way back to the beginning. In late Feburary of 1996, I was well into my first year of High School. For whatever reason, I was able to freely use the family Gameboy and could actually buy my own games for it. I'd been an avid gamer throughout my life, but this was about to change things. This was a series that had begun in my teens and something that would accompany me through the two decades that followed.

 

Having read some of the Pokemon comics in Nintendo Power Magazine, I was intrigued by the game and thought about training my own 'pocket monsters'. I didn't know about IV's, EV's, how any of that worked, and wouldn't for a long time yet (not until Diamond and Pearl). I just saw a game that looked fun to play. I got it and started playing it with friends. I also made some new friends while I was at it. I organized a tournament with them and we duked it out. In time, I was one of the better Trainers on my High School Campus. I'd win far more often than I lose. This was also where I was introduced to my favorite Pokemon, Eevee. I actually got my Red cartridge later so I could start building a team with Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon (my favorite Eevee Evolution - Eeveelution) on it without having to convince friends to trade me theirs.

 

I named my first Pidgey “Pergy”. I tended to mispronounce the name of this Pokemon because that's how I remember it been shown in the comic. We all have that one strange Pokemon that we can't pronounce the name of … right? Right?

 

I was ecstatic when Nintendo Announced the first Pokemon Training Tour. This was also the very first time that you get Mew (legally). The thought of a Pokemon with the ability to learn any TM or HM move was too tempting to pass up. One of my friends and I actually got 6 Mews from one of the vendors. We were very polite kids and very enthusastic. I still have them on my cartridge. They never did see combat for whatever reason. Just felt unfair to bring in Mew.

 

This was one of the first public events featuring Pokemon. Compared to today, the rules were very simple. You merely had to have a team of Pokemon at the same level. No repeats was the only thing you had to worry about. No evade clause, no tiers (Ubers weren't a thing just yet). The only tiers were level based. I participated in the Level 100 groups with my friends who also attended the event.

 

Some friends and I got together, got rides out to the closest venue hosting, and we all participated. We had little trouble getting through the qualifying round. I went through these rounds at least 3 times. I had no problem getting through my opponents with my Mewtwo, Venusaur and one of Articuno, Zapdos or Moltres. I rarely lost Pokemon against my opponents and could get a sweep without much effort.

 

The problem, for me, came in the form of the “Gym Leader” battle you had to participate in after. They had very well trained Pokemon. I remember a Zapdos and Mewtwo were my all-stars. The one that let me claim the win was my well-trained Zapdos. Between Drill Peck and Thunder, I finally took home the win. For my efforts I was awarded a Baseball Cap. I still have it, and it still fits thanks to its adjustable strap in the back. I doubt it is worth anything aside from sentimental value, but it is something that I earned through a lot of work.

 

Pokemon Yellow should get mentioned in here. This was the first game that actively got me to hack it. This is because unlocking the Pikachu with surf through Pokemon Stadium was a little outside my time frame. Getting the Pokemon that way meant having a Pikachu on my team each round and having to make it through with 2 Pokemon. It did unlock a fun surfing game in Pokemon Yellow that was a great reward. This one actually saw me through a trip to England and back!

 

The Second Generation: Gold, Silver and Crystal held my attention for a little while. I got a copy of Silver. Played through it, beat it and had fun hunting down and capturing the legendary dogs. Still, that was the last time for quite a while I would really be into Pokemon. I didn't get too involved with Crystal and just let things go from there. Still, Pokemon Silver kept me busy through several long plane rides. It saw me through at least one trip down to South America and a lot of travel about that area. This is also the only Pokemon game that I lost.

 

The Third Generation was the first time that I didn't immediately jump into Ruby and Sapphire. I didn't have the money to afford a Gameboy Advance. It wouldn't be until much later that I got the game. Even then, I got it because my then-girlfriend found it when she was cleaning up a movie theater at work. That and I bought my first GBA for $25 bucks and a few cans of whipped cream (don't ask). I played through the game without much difficulty aside from finding Feebas. That damned fish. I had fun and started to look forward to the next game. I did just let Fire Red and Leaf Green go for a few years before I picked up one of them. Even then, it was more for its connectivity between the fourth generation of Pokemon games.

 

We got to the Fourth Generation of Pokemon Games: Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Heart Gold and Soul Silver. This is where I got back into Pokemon in earnest. I haven't completely stopped playing since. I'm not nearly as competitive as before, but some of that is lack of opporunity. I learned more about EV training and about IV's at this point. Once again, I found a group of people who liked to play against each other. This was refreshing to do and it was good fun. Once again, I was one of the better players. Also, there was the interact between the last generation of Pokemon and this one. By having the GBA cartridge in your DS you unlocked different Pokemon in different places. Plus you could move the Pokemon forward as well from the third to the fourth generation of games.

 

This was also the first time that I started writing walkthroughs for the games. This meant I could consider Pokemon a business expense for the first time. Score! I took to this with a fervor and got through the first guide at a very good pace. A few routes/towns a day. Mind you, I was working 7 days a week between 2 jobs. This left little time for other projects but the trade off was worth it.

 

The Fifth generation: Pokemon Black and White (1 and 2) was where I started to slack off again. This time, though, I kept up with the various collectible Pokemon that I could get through special means. While it did introduce some new Pokemon, there was no new Eevee form and there were times it just felt too easy. A lot of my friends lost interest around this time. It was also the first time I didn't complete a game before setting it down.

 

This is where I stopped doing walkthroughs for the games. They got handed off to someone else in our company. After that, they just wrapped up after we finished the series for Black and White 2. We haven't published much on Pokemon for a whole generation of the game. Just as well though. They were very time consuming. This is especially true in the era where walkthroughs and wikis exist. Still, it is easy to miss doing something like that.

 

At last we come to the present generation: the Sixth with X, Y, Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby. This is where we stand presently. Seeing the changes from the last generation were quite nice. The introduction of Super Training has just been wonderful. I can finally raise the Pokemon properly from the start. This does slow my progress through the story, but I have much better Pokemon backing my trainer as I work my way through it. It also makes the grinding part of putting together a tourament team that much easier.

 

As of today, Pokemon Sun and Moon have been announced. These two games at the start of the Seventh Generation of Pokemon Games. I do look forward to seeing just where this will go. We know the number of Pokemon is very likely to go up. Will we see another type added in, maybe one removed? Where will the meta game go with what is happening? Also, just how advanced is this game going to be? Is it going to be formatted for the New 3DS XL? Right now, all any Pokemon trainer has are questions. There are no answers that can be given. We just know too little.

 

I have yet to max out my team, even with all the time I have had. Writing and other games have just been taking so much time. Still, I remain hooked on the series. Every generation now I make an Eevee team. It doesn't get the same stories as the others did. Still, they are the most likely games I will bring on any plane ride or a long (or short) car drive. I will keep playing them for a while yet. I just wonder when the next Eeveelution will be introduced and what it will be like.