Also known as "The Once and Possibly Future Gary".
The minute I got my hands Pokémon Blue in 1998, my life was forever changed. Well, that’s not true. At the time I just thought it was really fun traveling around with a giant turtle with cannons who could shoot super-water at rats. I could fight with friends and I had a new reason to wake up before 10 AM on a Saturday. I didn’t pay it any more attention than I did Legend of Zelda or Donkey Kong at the time.
Years passed by and I found out about Pokémon Silver. This is where my Pokémania set in, to be honest. For some reason as soon as I saw Lugia my heart skipped a beat and I knew this was where I was meant to reign supreme. This was the game that made me want to be the very best. I spent countless hours training my Totodile and staring at a picture of Mt. Silver, awaiting the day I could tell my friends that I was the trainer that beat Red! After a good month or so, that day came, and from that day forward, I became a Gary.
What’s a Gary, you ask? Well, he’s that guy who’s always just one step ahead of you. He’s that guy that shows up RIGHT when you think you’re invincible and knocks you down a notch. Granted, he’s not invincible either. In fact, it feels really good when you beat him. You know, a Gary.
At first I didn’t realize I was a Gary. I had beat down my friends with Silver and Gold, but thought nothing of it. I skipped Ruby and Sapphire when they came out (because who cares, really?). When Diamond and Pearl came out, things changed. When I got my hands on that game, I didn’t stop. Without the knowledge of EV training or breeding I rose to the top, beating down everyone around me, the few times I lost at school were days of happiness for the victors. That’s just the way it worked. One day one of my friends caught a Dialga with a Pokéball. I immediately challenged him to a match and destroyed him. It was only after this battle I saw what I had become. I was the guy that challenged people not for the joy of the game, but who fought to be the best. I was still looking at that picture of Mt. Silver.
Well, years passed and I’ve still picked up every new Pokémon game at launch day and beat it within the next couple weeks. I still battle my friends, hell, I try to EV train when I can. But now it’s no longer to prove myself in the world of Pokémon. Now, it’s just for the pure love of the game.
