Man, I've been wanting to post in here for so long, but I've been worried about starting it and making it perfect since this game means so much to me... I'm hoping it's not too late to post in here...anyhow.
I've been a fan of Pokémon for what seems like my whole life. Growing up in elementary school, it was popular among myself and the other kids. We played together, traded, battled, brought books, cards, and other merchandise to the school, among many other things. I went out and had many playdates at my friends' houses to play and watch Pokémon. It was basically my life, back then. I loved everything- the music, the Pokémon themselves, the gameplay, the anime, etc. When I was 11, I got my first Pokémon game, Emerald. It became a big part of my life ever since then. I was thoroughly hooked on the game, and enjoyed socializing with the other kids through Pokémon. I played it quite a bit, and to this day, I hold it closely and dearly to my heart as one of my favorite games ever.
Fast forward to 2011, I was still quite a bit into Pokémon, I'd played LeafGreen, Diamond, Platinum, and HeartGold since then, as well as quite a few spinoff games (Pinball R&S, Trozei, Mystery Dungeon, Rumble, Ranger). I got White version, played through that, but some time after, my love of Pokémon was starting to dissipate. In 2012, I got White 2, but didn't really do anything past the first or second Gym. Pokémon was slowly drifting away from me. A year later, I got a copy of Y, and virtually did the same thing, never played past the first gym. That, more than anything else, was indicative of me being burned out from Pokémon, and/or just moving onto other interests. Right before this burnout started, I was wishing, waiting for the eventual Hoenn remakes, so I could return to my favorite region, my Pokémon home, and relive the memories I had from when I first got into Pokémon. Unfortunately, not having the Hoenn remakes in Gen 5 probably didn't help me losing my interest.
When ORAS was announced, I don't really remember my initial reaction, other than being pretty happy about it, but probably nothing groundbreaking. I know I would definitely get it eventually. Surprisingly, I didn't preorder or get it on launch day; just goes to show how low my interest fell. I got the ORAS demo in November, I barely remember it because I sadly deleted the data for it to make space for a Smash 3DS update, and thus, never got the rewards when I bought the game. To this day, this is one of my biggest recent regrets.
I got AS in January 2015, and I can definitely say I was enjoying it, but looking back, I don't think I was enjoying it as much as I had wished. Truth be told, I wasn't much of a fan of Y, and the Gen 6 visuals and mechanics, and didn't really care for Mega Evolution. I had rarely played Y and I was already sick of it. Unfortunately, the nostalgia wasn't enough alone. By April-ish, I was at the point where you were in Slateport, delivering the Devon Goods, right before your first Archie encounter. For some reason that I'll probably never know, I fell in a funk again and just stopped playing for a long while. I didn't know how to continue or if I wanted to, and Pokémon was starting to fade away from me for real this time.
Fast forward to summer, I had noticed there was a Pokémon concert near me to happen in July. I naturally got tickets as soon as I could. Long story short, it was my first Pokémon-related outgoing social experience (barring the playdates with friends), and it was just indescribably amazing. The various songs throughout the generations, the passion from the fans, the exhilarating electricity in the air; it's probably quite clear that on that day, I was a fully-fledged Pokémon fan again. The concert gained me back my love for the series and pushed me to play AS once again and beat it, as well as start a new file in Y afterwards. I played through the rest of, and was able to more thoroughly-enjoy AlphaSapphire and the nostalgic goodness it brought me, as well as Gen 6 as whole.
The effect AlphaSapphire and that concert had on me was just, unbelievable. In more ways than one, 2015 was not only my 10th year of playing Pokémon, but also the year I fully came back into it. Together, both of those things reminded me of why I loved Pokémon as a kid, brought my many flashbacks from the music, locales, and dialogue (The air is tasty here!), Pokémon cries, etc., and allowed me to appreciate the games today more now than ever. Today, Pokémon is once again my favorite thing.
Throughout playing AS post-burnout, I was constantly remembering moments or periods in my life when Pokémon was involved, particularly from playing Emerald in school and with friends. I realized that AS and that concert together were a love letter from my past self about why I loved Pokémon so much as a kid, and telling me to get a hold of my love for it again and never let go, and that is a promise I hope to keep forever. That is why AlphaSapphire means so much to me, emotionally and spiritually.
I picked Blaziken as my starter, and was given an Eevee egg to evolve into Leafeon (one of my absolute favorite Pokémon) for my journey. I came to love the Gen 6 features, mechanics, and visuals, and I learned much more about Pokémon mechanics in general and the meta. I loved seeing my childhood enhanced with the remixed versions of music I heard a long time ago (most of the new tracks are great, but I think about/hum the amazing Gym Leader theme at least once a day <3), refurbished old locales, once again meeting the characters from the older games, the fluid and sometimes epic cutscenes, and mixing in the new with the old (mega evolution/Kalos elements in the story, as well as Pokémon exclusive to other regions migrating to Hoenn). I have to say, through and through, this game means everything to me and then some. It was a heck of an emotional trip down memory lane, mixed in with everything that's so good about the modern Pokémon games. Needless to say, this was the Pokémon game for me in my current situation. I don't know if I'll ever let go of Pokémon again in my life, but I can guarantee that will not be any time soon.
There were many, many memorable moments I had with this game. Travelling on Latios' back to Southern Island with Steven, meeting, protecting, and falling in love with Latias, who became my favorite Pokémon from that moment on. Watching the age-old mighty beast of Kyogre reawaken, witnessing Hoenn going into turmoil from the torrential rains, travelling the depths of the Cave of Origin to watch the indescribable Primordial transformation in front of my very eyes, then capturing and taming the beast, and saving Hoenn from potential disaster. Proving my worth at the Pokémon league, teaching Steven the many things I have learned about in my journey through my love and connection with Pokémon. Those and many other amazing moments were had, and through all of them I was thinking back to my earlier Pokémon days, and how far I, and the series, have come. And then beating Steven, watching the emotions flow from once again becoming the Hoenn Champion, having learned so much about myself and my Pokémon, and seeing the credits roll and memories go by. Following the mysterious and endearing Zinnia around, getting to learn the age-old lore of Rayquaza, Kyogre, and Groudon; meeting the green dragon of the heavens itself and protecting Hoenn once again. It's all so perfect. This whole game just brings me a sense of...happiness that I doubt can ever be rivaled.
Ever since AlphaSapphire and the concert, I've been getting closer to Pokémon once again in many ways. I've been buying merchandise (plushies, shirts, etc), playing various spinoffs (Battle Trozei, TCG, Shuffle, Super Mystery Dungeon), getting settled in Pokémon communities like Reddit and this place, watching movies and the anime (catching up with XY), finally[i/] learning how to play the TCG, learning more about the game mechanics, getting into competitive, and many other things. I've been bringing up my old friends from Emerald through White to the modern games, so I can see them and battle with them once again. It's safe to say that Pokémon is once again on top for me, and it'll stay that way for a long time. I'll be sure to be here for the ride and all of the future, upcoming adventures, with so many more memories to have and friends to make. :)
I'm sorry if this is too late... >.<