what is pokémon?

pokémon, short for "pocket monster", is a japanese monster-collecting franchise created by gamefreak that started as a video game, but has since expanded to an ongoing anime series, a trading card game, several manga series, and much more. this shrine dabbles specifically into the game series, as that is what i primarily enjoy pokémon for! the first pokémon video games to come out were pokémon red and green for the gameboy in february 27th, 1996 in japan. it would later release to other regions of the world (like north america in september 28, 1998, australia in october 23, 1998, and europe in october 5, 1999) with the titles pokémon red and blue. the games were about the 10 year-old protagonist leaving home to explore the world of pokémon — aiming to collect many different species of pokémon to fill the pokédex (pokémon index), build a team to challenge other pokémon trainers and gym leaders to battle, and more.

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pokémon is a franchise still going today, with the most recent mainline games as of writing this being pokémon scarlet and violet for the nintendo switch, releasing worldwide in november 18, 2022. although the series is often criticized by longtime fans for the quality of the games decreasing, it is still very popular and beloved by the general public, proven by the fact that scarlet and violet sold over 10 million units worldwide during its opening weekend alone.

my history with pokémon!

pokémon games were some of the first ones i've ever played! i became aware of the series by getting a burger king kids meal around when i was 5 years old. i was greeted with a promo card of shinx, this one in paricular. apparently that very card was enough to intrigue me, because some time later, i started playing the games by renting several copies of either diamond or pearl from gamestop. they were all hacked copies, of course, you know how used games are, haha! however, eventually i would own my very own copy of a pokémon game, that being pokémon heartgold. i would get soulsilver some time later. i fell in love with these games, spending all my time playing them, looking up tutorials online for getting certain pokémon species, training on mt. silver for hours upon hours to level up all my pokémon as much as i could, memorizing the routes for all the towns and routes and caves, etc. i would happily stay caught up with the series ever since. in 2017, i would start collecting merchandise for my favorite pokémon species (i promise i will code my collections pages soon, i promise i promise-), and it has easily consumed my life as much as this series itself has been, haha!

how do i feel about pokémon?

pokémon is a very special franchise to me. i honestly don't know where i would be without it. i don't think i would be nearly as much into video games without pokémon. pokémon games are some of my most-played games, even today. i go back to the ds-era of pokémon games so often, especially. heartgold and soulsilver will always be my favorites, i think! they're so near and dear to my heart! even recently, in an era where people are saying the series is going downhill (not gonna lie, i agree), i appreciate plenty of the modern pokémon games! my favorite has to be legends arceus, i really hope gamefreak makes another pokémon game of that quality soon! i do think the decrease in quality of the games has been impacting how much i enjoy this series, but i won't deny that despite it all i still love it! even if i don't appreciate the newer games, i can never get tired of turning on my ds and playing a game like pokémon platinum! so even though my feelings aren't as strong as they were when i was younger, i recognize that this series shaped me into who i am today and i still adore all the concepts that this series still introduces. here's to a better future for pokémon!