I first discovered Pokemon when I was at school in the late 90's, just a few weeks before the entire world did too. You know, to this day I have still not seen a craze catch on at the level that Pokemon did for the year or so when it first exploded. It was everywhere: you couldn't walk down the street without seeing other kids trading cards or seeing a shop with a poster of a Pikachu in their window.
I became hooked instantly. I think my obsession with it lasted for around two years, and I enjoyed Pokemon so much for that short period of time that even now, all these years later, I still find myself drawn back to the franchise no matter how long I've been away from it. It was my first love no doubt. 10 years old and I was smitten.
The anime introduced me to Pokemon - who the characters were and what it was about. Then came the Pokemon cards, which took my fandom to a whole new level. We had a Pokemon roadshow (you know the ones) come to town and show us how to battle properly and from then on I would play at every given opportunity. But more than the anime or cards was my love for the Gameboy games. Hours and hours I'd spend on them, completing and restarting. I'd hate to think how many batteries I went through back then. My best friend as a child shared my enthusiasm for Pokemon which made it perfect. I still hold such a warm, fuzzy, nostalgic feeling for those couple of years.
