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How did you get into Pokemon?

EmeraldSky

EmeraldSky

Make the Colors in the Sky!
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    With this year marking the 30th anniversary of Pokemon, I'm curious to know--how did you get into Pokemon? Was it the games? The show? The TCG? The comics? Something else? Share your memories here!
     
    It was pretty popular my fourth grade year. Saw others with cards, toys, etc., and we watched some of the eps in class. Recalls annoying classmates into giving me stuff (I was poor, okay), like an Artbox Poliwag sticker and Burger King Butterfree card. I was already intrigued by "Japanese cartoons" thanks to my aunt pointing them out when I was flipping through channels one day (Sailor Moon was on), so maybe that factored in?

    Anywho, it wasn't much longer until Dad landed a decent job and I was able to start getting my own stuff, largely from the BK promotion that was still going on. I also remember him getting me and my sister each a Pokémon coloring set that came with stickers of the original 150 (no Mew). I stuck mine all over a folder and had one of my sister's friends write their names under them since I only knew a handful at that point.
     
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    I got into it purely because of Ash and Pikachu, all the way from first episode of Pokemon. That made me interested into playing the games too.
     
    If I remember correctly, a year ago or so i am not sure. i was staying up one night testing out emulators and stuff cause i had nothing else to do. So i tried a 3ds emulator. and the first game idea that came to my mind to try it was Pokemon:UltraMoon. Did I have any knowledge of the game? No, i just thought it would be a good idea, and it was!
     
    A sticker book I proceeded to take from my brother with the Kanto Pokemon in it. Yes, that's seriously how I got into Pokemon. I have no idea where that sticker book is nowadays, though..
     
    Here's my memory...

    The Time: Fall/Winter 1998

    The Place: My house

    I had just received my newest issue of Disney Adventures (may it rest in peace) in the mail. The ad on the very last page depicts a bunch of weird creatures about to be caught in a giant net. One of the creatures stands out to me--a mouse-like creature with a thunderbolt tail. I keep the little guy in mind as I put the finished magazine on the shelf with all my other back issues.

    The next day, at school, I ask one of my friends at the time what was this "Pokémon" thing taking the school (a middle school, mind you) by storm. He then shows me a figurine of the mouse creature, and tells me its name is "Pikachu".

    I see the famous bus commercial (you know the one) on TV later that afternoon, and that was it--I ended up getting Blue the weekend Red and Blue arrived in the USA.

    The rest, as they say, is history.
     
    I was actually around when Pokemon Blue was first released back in 1996. I was extremely young but I remembered how goofy everything looked but also the 8-bit soundtrack in my tiny mind and how utterly cool Blastoise looked, really wanting one. Pikachu looking cute but badass (and fat, lol) was another seller for me - especially when I was gifted a fat Pikachu plush from an uncle that'd go "I love you! I love you!" when you hugged it or pushed its stomach.

    Then the Pokemon anime came out and I'd watch it with my mom a lot (she introduced me to a lot of anime, so I was kind of spoiled as a kid with that: 1980's Astro Boy being the first anime I ever saw, then Pokemon and Sailor Moon were the next ones along with Kimba and Dragon Ball). As I grew older, Pokemon was an interesting thing because many kids were quite into it and getting Gameboys to play Gen I-Gen III but it also started to become the thing for the "nerds" and "geeks" which I proudly saw myself as. Gen III was when I was very madly into the Pokemon series - especially with Pokemon Colosseum and XD: they were the coolest things to 10-year-old me (Wes, Snagging, Shadow Pokemon, Cipher, the whole Orre region, Shadow Lugia...), and even now where I'm not as crazily into it as I was when I was much younger, I still would love to see a third addition to the Genius Sonority Orre region games.

    Nowadays, I'm not really into the official mainline games as I used to be. Scarlet/Violet being the last ones I got and getting admittedly disillusioned. I suppose it's because I've just become old. However, it's been replaced with my growing admiration and appreciation to Pokemon fangames. There's so many interesting and lovely ideas the community has conjured up, and it's been only recently that I started posting more on this account and wanting to know more about various projects and ideas others have.
     
    My Mom used to work at a video rental store. It wasn't a Blockbuster, but a local chain that was basically like one. Apparently I saw the Pokémon anime being played on one TV and I was very into it. I say "apparently" because I don't have any memories of my first exposure to the series. Then my parents bought me VHS tapes of the show and eventually a GameBoy Color with Gold/Silver (I forgot which one that I initially got). I remember watching the anime a lot and seeing ads for Studio Ghibli's "Spirited Away" and being equally as excited by it as by Pokémon. I wasn't able to watch that movie until I was an older child, but I can thank Pokémon for getting me into both video games and anime! As well as a general interest in animation.
     
    People started trading stickers at school. And then a little bit later I started watching the anime. The games came later.
     
    I got into the series via the anime around 2011, when I was 4 years old. At the time, my parents had a bulky Windows 7 laptop that was always sat on this glass desk, and I remember my dad showing me the first episode through an piracy website. I stopped watching after a few seconds since the intro was too overwhelming / scary for me, but I ended up giving it a chance after some encouragement and enjoyed the show, which became the gateway for me to get into the rest of the franchise.
     
    The card game because it was just taking off. Then started watching the Anime. I believe I was in 5th grade when it first came out. I just remember the cards were being hardcore traded on the playground till the school band them all together. But that's where I learned how to play the card game too. The games came a bit later with Red being my first.
     
    My brother was subscribed to Nintendo Power from the mid 1990's until the magazine quit publication. For a few months before the games released, they had a series of pullout inserts dedicated to Pokemon - it had a basic walkthrough of the game with maps, a "Professor Oak Q&A" section that also had reader-submitted fanart, and a comic adaptation of the first few episodes of the anime. That was my first exposure to the franchise.

    Up until Pokemon, I had not played an RPG of any kind, and it was that premise of a long adventure with exploration, building a team of party members in general, and planning out specific strategies for battles that attracted my attention more than the actual creatures. I don't know which aspect that drew my brother into the series, but he also wanted to play it.

    My brother actually got the game first and I watched him play through it (using the Super Game Boy accessory that let you play them on the TV through the SNES) before I decided to get a copy for myself.

    tl/dr: I blame Nintendo Power magazine for the rollercoaster, love/hate relationship I've had with Pokemon over the years, lol
     
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