Pokémon was a huge part of my childhood. I stumbled upon it on accident when my grandmother, a schoolbus driver, brought me a game that was left on her bus by a student and never reclaimed. I played Pokémon Crystal on a Gameboy Color and while I was at first confused about the game dynamics, as a whole it grew on me quickly. My first Pokémon was a Totodile and it is forever one of my favorite Pokémon, out of starters and non-starters.

Since my very first Pokémon game, a lot has changed about the hugely popular franchise. The game graphics, for one, have improved immensely. From Ruby and Sapphire to X and Y the game world has become more detailed and lifelike. There have also been several added features that have given more depth to the overall game experience.

With Pokémon Go being released Australia and Japan this week, I thought it would be fitting to write about the thought I sometimes have that will get to be simulated on my phone very shortly. Sometimes, I wish that the lovable creatures called Pokémon were real. Don’t get me wrong- I LOVE animals so so so so much. However, they can’t very well communicate how they feel about me. And for the most part, only dogs seem to form some sort of personal relationship with their owners.

The Pokémon universe seems to be a much more peaceful place than the real world, minus Team Rocket and their counterparts. A place where “trainers” can competitively battle their pets and simultaneously form bonds with them sounds pretty cool to me. Plus, Pokémon look really awesome. I mean, they’re basically more colorful versions of already existing animals, but they are still cool.

One of my favorite features of Pokémon games is the storylines. They all somehow explain how certain Pokémon are tied to the peace and balance of the world and you must prevent Team (Galactic, Plasma, Aqua, Magma, etc.) from screwing that up. This, to me, parallels real-world issues that, unfortunately, don’t have so simple a solution. I believe that while God gave humans free domain over the earth, it is also our job to take care of it. And it seems we have done the opposite.

I also am a little obsessed with the culture of Japan, the place where developers often base the games off of. And since it is also the creator’s homeland, it is definitely reflected heavily in the games. The love of the natural world and the mystery and folklore are all generally not as prevalent in the Western world. Pokémon seems to be much bigger overseas, and I’m sure there are differences in game dialogue and play on the official games released for each country.

All in all, Pokémon is just a nice alternate reality that I can escape to at will. The time and effort poured into the digital creatures makes you feel a certain pride and affection for them- even if they aren’t real. I’m so very excited for Pokémon Go. If you haven’t heard about it, it will be an augmented reality game for smartphones. Using the phone’s camera, you can “catch” Pokémon in real-world locations. I’m predicting that if this game is a success, then many people who were not originally fans of the Pokémon franchise will play, and it could be very popular with the mainstream population. So, if you’re curious about a cool new game, step into the magic of Pokémon. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.