Come, let's sit around the fire.

Hello, I am new to PokeCommunity.. in a way. I've spent a long time browsing this site as a guest, but never actually made an account until now, and I am so glad I did.

Enough about that. I'm a PokeVeteran of nearly 17 years, starting my craze before I even owned any merchandise. When I was five years old, anyone who was anyone in my elementary school had a Gameboy Color and a copy of Red or Blue version. This was before Pokemon Yellow hit the scene, at least in my school. Day after day, I would watch the kids, link cables and all, play Pokemon together, and I was always gravitating towards them because of how cool I found it. This went on for quite some time..

Fast forward two years. At the age of seven, my mother surprised me on Christmas with a Gameboy Color.. and a copy of Pokemon Blue. Both were used, and I never asked her where she got them. I didn't care. It was a joy that, to this day, cannot be described in any human language. I didn't even bother resuming the opening of the rest of my presents until a solid twenty minutes later, after I had already started my OWN file (<3), chose my Pokemon (Charmander, I think.. because who didn't?), and made my way to Viridian City.

By the time I was ten years old, I owned Pokemon Blue, Red, Yellow, Silver, Gold, Crystal, guidebooks for all six, a Japanese Red, a Japanese Crystal, Pokemon Pinball, Pokemon Stadium, Pokemon Stadium 2, Pokemon Trading Card Game, over a hundred toys, and easily 2,000+ cards. Now of course by this time, I had forged a new love for Final Fantasy (VII, in particular), Zelda (Ocarina of Time, in particular), and a metric ton of anime. But it all started with Pokemon.

Fast forward eleven more years. I am now twenty-one years of age, and I've taken my PokePassion to astronomic heights. I now buy & sell new and used Pokemon memorabilia, whether cards, games, or otherwise. In the past two years, I have successfully sold over 200,000 cards, 500 figurines, 150 games, and over 100 miscellaneous items bearing the Pokemon name. And yes, I shed a tear every time it comes time to ship out such items. This is only the start. I also have taken to modding/hacking my favorite game series, and in particular, Pokemon. I have my first Pokemon project nearing completion, with many more Pokemon projects planned for the future. And that endeavor is what brought me here.

This is my story.

That is.. pretty amazing, really. Goes to show how much one franchise can do. :) I've been a Pokemon fan for about as long myself, having started with R/B and still heavily into it with OR/AS. Getting close to 200 hours in the game and counting!

Welcome to PC, Valknarok; it's awesome to meet you. n~n Your collection is looking pretty awesome from what you've written so far and it would be great if you could perhaps post some pictures in the show & discuss your collection thread. We'd be totally down to take a look! I own all of my cards from when I was a kid and still buy new packs as well as other merchandise like stuffed toys and keychains. Geesh, it's really hard to pull away with how awesome everything is made to look.

And if you've your eye on hacking you're very much in the right place given how extensive the hacking forum is here. Overall I'm sure you're going to fit awesomely here with how big a Pokemon fan you are so please do stick around! Enjoy your time.

I have to say, that truly is quite the story of a dedicated Pokemon fan if I say so myself. It was about time you finally decided to join because there's so much to PC. Glad to see you and welcome, Valknarok!

So, you're Icelandic? I don't think I've seen a PC member from over there yet although I have heard of the interesting culture over there, but it shows that PC is a very culturally diverse community and you'll see soon enough just how different everyone here is individually. Getting all those Pokemon games before your 10th birthday must show how dedicated you are to Pokemon, and it also looks like you recently branched in ROM hacking and you'd be surprised that exactly happens to be what PC is most famous for. We have a massive ROM Hacking section which covers all the basic stuff when it comes to hacks, but we also have various Pokemon sections to dig your teeth into, so there's lots to keep you entertained right now. But, I do wonder which Pokemon game is your all-time fave and why?

Either way, no matter which sections you decide to explore I hope you have an amazing time here and who knows, maybe I might cross paths with you again as you continue hanging around. Good luck with everything and enjoy your stay! The staff team are always around if you need their assistance, and I'm sure they won't hurt you ever.

- Hikamaru

Hello and thank you for the warm welcomes, Sheep, Hikamaru, and Dragon (whom welcomed me via PM) .

I am planning to form a dedicated thread for my project once I have it "ready enough" for promotion, which is drawing closer and closer to being the case. Yes, I'm Icelandic. Thank you for your kind words. It's always a great feeling putting my country out in the fold.

My favorite generation is Gen II. My favorite game, specifically, is Crystal version. Coming off of Red, Blue, and Yellow, my first adventures in Johto were in Silver version. Not long after that, I got a copy of Gold, and eventually, Crystal. Playing Crystal version brought the same joy that Yellow version did; to experience the same game world, but in a visually and mechanically-improved way. There isn't a single thing about Gen II I don't like. Everything from the art design of the Gen II Pokemon, to the music, to the lore and happenings of the Legendary Pokemon, was absolutely unmatched before and after, in my opinion. In my eyes, it represents the pinnacle of Pokemon, and the generations thereafter just seem to have taken a nosedive. But again, that is my opinion. I love all the generations.

I've been traversing the ROM hacking section for well over a year now, and I credit Danny-E 33's work with Gen I hacking for being my inspiration to begin ROM hacking. In fact, my first project, codenamed "Pokemon Xil Version", utilizes his Gen II graphics/music patch, so it's really of the utmost quality as a result. I'm filled to the brim with excitement to officially unveil the project (and the futures ones as well!) to the PokeCommunity. It's going to be epic.

Hey there again, good buddy~! Yeah I agree about Crystal; I had real much fun with the game since it was the first to introduce Pokemon animated during battle, which I thought it was neat haha. And yeah, I really miss those days; the artwork from the games was appealing, while I loved to Play Pokemon Stadium 2.. those days were awesomeeee. <33

Anywho, I hope you enjoy it here so far! You know you can always message me if you have any questions or concerns! And y'know, I'll be always here to help out whenever you need me! And take care; have an awesome week. :3