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20 Years of Pokemon In North America: The Memories

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by Kimberly Keller - September 28, 2018, 10:36 am EDT

Kimberly Keller recalls her memories of Pokémon growing up.

I don't remember what came first for me, but at some point in early elementary school we all had Pokémon cards, watched the series, and played the game. I have distinct memories of bringing my giant notebook full of displayed cards to slumber parties so we could show off our prized assets and maybe do some trading.

My mom was a very shrewd motivator and immediately realized the power of the Pokémon craze. She knew everything about the different versions, the new releases, and of course the coveted holographic cards. She would buy several packs and a couple rare cards, hide them away, and use them as rewards if I did something exceptional. Of course, this explained how the house became sparkling clean without her ever saying a word. On a recent visit home I even found two lingering unopened Pokémon packs, still stashed away from years ago.

My sister only had cards to play the game with me, instead she was more into playing Pokémon Red on her Game Boy. One of the best Christmas presents I ever received (and still have) was the special edition Pokémon Yellow Game Boy Color. It was the first game system I personally owned and Pikachu was my favorite Pokemon. My sister and I played the heck out of Pokémon Stadium, and even gave a valiant effort to try to like Hey You, Pikachu! (every once in a while it makes its way out of storage to see how far we can get before we give up on that poor confused Pikachu).

The top game was always Yellow. I played it constantly... until I lost the cartridge on a family trip to Canada. Losing all that hard work was so devastating that I didn't play another main Pokémon game until Black and White in college. Me and fellow NWR alum Josh Max got matching Ash Ketchum hats and even screened the original Pokémon movie in the student center that year. Based on the turnout and teary eyes at the end, I think it's safe to say Pokémon has had a lasting impression on everyone.

I think my most meaningful Pokémon memory though is a recent one. A couple years ago one of my best friends surprised me on my birthday with some funny Pikachu-themed cupcakes. When I picked up one to eat, I found a Pokémon Yellow cartridge hidden underneath. He had remembered how I lost my favorite games all those years ago and got me a new one, complete with AA batteries to power up my old Pikachu Game Boy.

Talkback

RPG_FAN128September 28, 2018

Because it's bothering me:  "...enough to pique my interest..."

I could write a 50-page essay about my Pokemon memories.  But considering I doubt anyone would even care here is a 2 paragraph version.

The first game I got was Red.  The only way I could play it was a Super Game Boy via my SNES.  In fact the first time I ever bought a Game Boy was my beloved Teal GBC when Gold/Silver were released.  For me the funnest aspects of this franchise are (1) Collecting and (2) Battling.  Here is a sentence containing my opinion for every generation.
1)  Amazing and beautifully broken.
2)  I fell in love with this later in life when I realized it was just as broken as Gen1. (Both Gen 1 and Gen 2 allowed for Arbitrary Code Execution, which ironically is retained in the VC releases so I can transfer as many shiny Mew's and shiny Celebi's as I want to Poke Bank!)
3)  This generation made me fall in love again considering in the 2000's Gen2 was not on my good side.
4)  No.  Just NOOO.
5)  Finally a breath of fresh air, for the first time since Gen 1 I could play an entire game and catch everything I see as I wasn't constantly saying "Oh this is a Gen 1-4 Pokemon and I have it already."
6)  FINALLY the franchise goes into 3D, and these games were great too.  However the fact so few new Pokemon were added it is also kind of a sad disappointment.
7)  FINALLY so many needed fixes such as HM removal, not using the same 8 gym formula, etc.  Amazing games.

Here is my most recent event.  Considering I owned Pokemon Stadium I stored all of my GB critters on the N64 carts.  (Good thing too, as my GB cartridge batteries have died) After replacing said batteries I transferred my Pokemon from Stadium to the GB games, successfully extracted the save data, injected this save data into my 3DS Virtual Console titles, and then transferred my legit Gen1/2 Pokemon into the Pokemon Bank.  (This requires a modified 3DS and Everdrive 64 by the way) I think it is the most epic thing to have my very-first-ever-Pokemon Charizard on my Pokemon Sun cart.  EPIC.

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