FEATURES | Pokémon Day 2020: What Makes Pokémon Playable Nearly 25 Years Later
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, February 27, 2020 - To grow and evolve, those words perfectly sums up the Pokémon experience as a whole. In 1996, the world was swept up in the Pokémon craze, while gamers in Brunei was just waking up to the fact that there's more to the Game Boy than just playing Tetris and Mario.
By the time I purchased my very first Game Boy Pocket, a yellow one from a shop that sells prescription glasses (go figure), I only bought a copy of the Japanese version of Pocket Bomberman, a game which I played consistently. It wasn't long before perusing my copy of Electronic Gaming Monthly that I started reading up on the burgeoning popularity of Pokémon.
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| I still have the copy of the issue. |
That article and subsequent publications piqued my interest, so when a copy of Pokémon Blue (a bootleg no less at full price) arrived on our shores, I snatched one up and I was hooked.
Now, having never fully experienced an RPG, asides from dabbling random games here and there, I approached the game by brute forcing my way through the gyms. Just constantly leveling up my Rattata and Pidgey only to went as far as Brock before I got stuck on how "tough" this guy was. So, I went back to level grinding in Viridian Forest.
It was there I encountered my very first Pikachu which I over-excitedly declared to everyone nearby screaming out "Pokémon! Pokémon! I CAUGHT POKEMON!". Only to feel embarassed moments later when I realise the actual name of this plump electric mouse in the PokéDex.
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| #icaughtpokémon |
As I plod along through the adventure, I missed out on catching all the Legendary Birds, Snorlax and Mewtwo because I totally fainted all of them. I constantly level grind Haunter in hopes that the next level up would evolve him into Gengar, only to reach level 100 in disappointment. Tried to capture another trainer's Pokémon only to be called out as a thief. I barely remember what Pokémon I captured using the Master Ball. It was definitely wasted on the first run.
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| We get only ONE of these?! |
Eventually, I won my first Pokémon League and became the Kanto's Champion with the help of my trusty Sandslash, the lone survivor of my hilariously under-level Pokémon team. I had won through sheer desperation by powering through each Elite Four with the Dig move and a bag full of whatever Potions I can afford. It was an achievement for a kid in his teens.
The decades went by and eventually I learned more about the nuances of the game, advantage type, hidden secrets and glitches to exploit. Don't get me started with the frustration of obtaining Mew and the euphoria of trading and battling another Trainer (mostly with my brothers), it was all part of the experience.
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| Ulimited everything and one Mew later. |
While I had sold off the bootleg copy, it wasn't until the early 10s that rekindled the need to replay old games that I eventually bought an original complete copy of Pokémon Blue from a seller in Game Gavel, a site that used to exclusively sell retro games, and have since continued to collect every main line series whenever it releases.
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| Battered up but its all good |
At the same time, many other monster capture series emerge and gain popularity from Digimon, Monster Rancher, and even Dragon Quest made a return to the genre with DQ: Monsters for the Game Boy Color. While Pokémon continues to churn out more games with remakes, re-releases and the subsequent mainline series that came after that.
In the end, it all boils down to your first time experience playing the game.
As for me, even after nearly 25 years, I keep coming back for the wonder and excitement of every new Pokémon encounter, witnessing your Pokémons evolve, the battles between trainers and the journey that takes you through the trials and tribulations of a youngster as you enter each Pokémon Gym Leaders, Island Challenges and Stadiums for the chance to proudly declare, say it aloud now, #icaughtpokémon.
Happy Pokémon Day 2020!
Geeks Republika
