With the release of Pokémon Go, Pokémon has reclaimed its spot as a worldwide phenomenon, a title it had lost in the twenty years since its debut in the late '90s.
When the original GameBoy games, Pokémon: Red & Green, became a hit in Japan, an international release (Pokémon Red Version & Pokémon Blue Version) followed two years afterward. By the year 2000, "Pokémania" had consumed the lives of kids across the world, making headlines and turning the heads of many confused parents. Unfortunately, by the time the third generation of Pokémon games rolled around, Pokémon Ruby Version & Pokémon Sapphire Version, Pokémon had grown obsolete among kids. It was no longer seen as "cool"; if anything, being caught playing Pokémon often left kids feeling isolated.
As I was born in 1997, the year between Pokémon's Japanese and North American releases, I found myself caught in that "recession" period for Pokémon in the mid- and early '00s, when I embarked on my first, real Pokémon journey in Pokémon Diamond Version on my Nintendo DS in 2007. I was in third grade at the time, so there were still a few kids here and there at school who played it, but nobody was as passionate about it as I was. Now, in 2016, these kids are adults who are looking upon the release of Pokémon Go as a nostalgia trip, much like the older generation of fans who had actually lived through the Pokémania of the late '90s/early '00s, while I'm thinking of that nine and a half year old girl who logged over 300 hours of playtime into her copy of Pokémon Diamond Version.
In the years since my journey through the Sinnoh region in 2007, I've stuck with Pokémon. I've played almost every single game released since 2006, I've accumulated a Pokémon collection that consists of approximately 200 stuffed animals (I refer to them as "plushies"), and I've never even considered the possibility of losing interest. Sometimes, classmates and friends would crack a joke about my undying "obsession" or, during these past four years of high school, would stare at me as I walked by playing Pokémon on my 3DS or carrying a Pokémon plushie. Everyone knows, on some sort of level, what insecurity feels like, and though I've been adamant in my love for Pokémon, it's made me anxious about making friends before. Once I'd found my "friend group" freshman year that consisted of others who were passionate in their own, non-conforming activities and interests, I remained introverted until my senior year.
In a way, it's beneficial, because I've learned to build a tough exterior, like the Pokémon ability "Rough Skin" (which will injure your opponent when they attack you in battle), that does not allow criticism to force me in a direction I have no interest in taking. Give up Pokémon because I'm 18 years old? Please. Between the consistent support of my parents, who have never pressured my sister nor me to develop more "mature" interests and hobbies that correlated with our ages, and friends who genuinely accepted my affinity for all 721 Pokémon known to date, I could handle the anxiety that came with showing my true self, in which Pokémon played a crucial role, to the world.
But all of that only mattered until a couple of weeks ago.
Now Pokémon Go has taken the world by storm: everyone who owns a smartphone, from former fans to current fans to completely new fans, is playing it. Suddenly, I'm living in a world where saying, "I like Pokémon!" doesn't result in a form of social suicide for the majority of people. Last month, if I told someone, "I caught a Pidgey!", they would have no idea what I was talking about; now Pidgey is all anyone can talk about, as it's one of the most common Pokémon to catch in Pokémon Go.
On one hand, I'm thrilled, truly and honestly. For the first time in my life, since I was too young to experience the Pokémania of the year 2000, playing Pokémon is a true social experience. I don't have to find people over the Internet for a connection--I can just have to pick up the phone, text my friends, and swap Go info with them.
On the other hand, I'm a little overwhelmed. Admittedly, I'm having a bit of an existential crisis; Pokémon was my thing for so long, something that made me unique from my peers and cheered me up when things looked bleak, and now it's become everyone's thing. I'm seeing former classmates of mine tweeting about playing Pokémon Go in their neighborhood parks or asking for a buddy to hunt for Pokémon and my mind just screams with jealousy and irritation: Why didn't you talk to me about Pokémon before school ended? Since when is this something YOU enjoyed?
Then I take a step back. There's more to it than that, of course. A lot of people have parents who don't tolerate "childish" interests in their kids when they believe they've grown too old. Some people may have been completely deterred from Pokémon after seeing how other kids were treated for playing it ten years ago. For many, Pokémon Go is giving them the chance to experience Pokémon, whether it be for the first time in years or, simply, their first time.
So, what's the verdict? Pokémon was created twenty years ago with the intention to be enjoyed by anyone and everyone, regardless of age, gender, or race. It was crafted with love to enable players to have fun and learn the values of friendship, both through the devotion required to train your Pokémon well and through meeting other players. Pokémon Go is no exception to these sentiments.
And no matter how many people may play the game and crash the servers, that won't change the spot Pokémon has always had and will still have in my life. Maybe millions of people are playing or maybe only hundreds, but, either way, I'm typing this while listening to Pokémon music with three Pokémon plushies sitting on the table beside me, and that's what Pokémon will always be to me.
