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I had an epiphany last night
14 years ago
General
Thanks to this song, which made me feel a lot better:
I know it's kind of lame to say, but this song really spoke to me. Of all the things in my life, Pokemon is probably one of the biggest parts of it. Pokemon music also effects me on a level that no other music can do.
I go in and out of pokemon phases, but it's always been with me. Really, when it first came out, there was NOTHING up till that point that brought me as much joy as pokemon did. It gave me a way to communicate with others...something that I was pretty much incapable of doing as a child.
Someone asked on tumblr what fictional world I would live in, and this was my answer: "Pokemon. It’s a world where the helpless (ie. children) actually have power in the world. In that world, bonds with non-human (pokemon) are the norm and they are considered friends. It can be a scary world but is ultimately better than our own."
I believe one big reason why pokemon got so popular is this. In a world where children have no say in what happens to them, where they are powerless and always told what to do and their feelings completely disregarded, pokemon is the complete opposite of that. 10 year old kids can completely take down evil orginizations. They are free to roam the world without constant adult intervention. They have the freedom to choose; wheather it be a starter pokemon or a team. Really, western games are always praised for their customization, but pokemon is one of the most customizable games out there. Sure the plot is linear, and the metagame is full of the same pokemon over and over, but you can beat the game with whatever you want.
Pokemon was a safe place in an otherwise absolutely terrifying and stressful world. (The worst years of my life was my childhood afterall) A world where a child actually has control and choice, and a voice. They learn about friendship, they learn the terms to help communicate and relate to other children, they even learn vocabulary (I've learned a bunch of actual, real words from pokemon). It encourages reading and learning...it's encouraging, in general, something that school is not.
it's really no surprise that I like pokemon as much as I do. It's always been a big part of me even though I'm not obsessed with it 24/7. But I really, really like it. I questioned myself, what is it that I like? my answer is pokemon. Pokemon is what I like. I loved it, I love it, and I always will love it.
(I just wish I had more people to play with...)
I know it's kind of lame to say, but this song really spoke to me. Of all the things in my life, Pokemon is probably one of the biggest parts of it. Pokemon music also effects me on a level that no other music can do.
I go in and out of pokemon phases, but it's always been with me. Really, when it first came out, there was NOTHING up till that point that brought me as much joy as pokemon did. It gave me a way to communicate with others...something that I was pretty much incapable of doing as a child.
Someone asked on tumblr what fictional world I would live in, and this was my answer: "Pokemon. It’s a world where the helpless (ie. children) actually have power in the world. In that world, bonds with non-human (pokemon) are the norm and they are considered friends. It can be a scary world but is ultimately better than our own."
I believe one big reason why pokemon got so popular is this. In a world where children have no say in what happens to them, where they are powerless and always told what to do and their feelings completely disregarded, pokemon is the complete opposite of that. 10 year old kids can completely take down evil orginizations. They are free to roam the world without constant adult intervention. They have the freedom to choose; wheather it be a starter pokemon or a team. Really, western games are always praised for their customization, but pokemon is one of the most customizable games out there. Sure the plot is linear, and the metagame is full of the same pokemon over and over, but you can beat the game with whatever you want.
Pokemon was a safe place in an otherwise absolutely terrifying and stressful world. (The worst years of my life was my childhood afterall) A world where a child actually has control and choice, and a voice. They learn about friendship, they learn the terms to help communicate and relate to other children, they even learn vocabulary (I've learned a bunch of actual, real words from pokemon). It encourages reading and learning...it's encouraging, in general, something that school is not.
it's really no surprise that I like pokemon as much as I do. It's always been a big part of me even though I'm not obsessed with it 24/7. But I really, really like it. I questioned myself, what is it that I like? my answer is pokemon. Pokemon is what I like. I loved it, I love it, and I always will love it.
(I just wish I had more people to play with...)
For me, aside from books like "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" and "The Hardy Boys", I learned to read mostly from RPGs. I played my first when I was roughly 8 (Dragon Warrior) and my determination to finish it drove me to figure out all the fancy terminology used in text-based storytelling and battle systems. Realizing how to know when to cast magic, attck, or run based on knowing what numbers could be exchanged in turn based battle really got me into thinking strategy and is likely why I totally dug MAGIC: The Gathering when I was a teen.
Truly, I love an adventure and being able to "Play a story" made it so fun. After all, in old RPGs like Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy you named your characters and got to imagine yourself out there saving the land or working with your best buddies to take down that great evil plaguing the land.
Pokemon did a great job of making this experience continue at a whole new level. Rather than being stuck with the same cast of maybe 10 to 20 characters tops, you had 150+ characters to bring with you to make a difference. Moreover, you felt extra special as you could build such a unique team compared to what your friends may create. The show being around added extra boost as I'm sure seeing the animated characters helped you visualize yourself in Ash's place with your own squad doing what needed to be done to topple team rocket. Good times!
A lot of my writing and creativity is grounded in my influences like Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy, and Yoshi. Knowing Pokemon is such a major player in your life means it can be the groundwork for your Phoenix-style rebirth in creativity and self-confidence.
Think of what made Pokemon special to you and write tales and draw doodles based on scraps of ideas you have lying around. Over time, the foundation influence of Pokemon will allow you to make your own framework to build upon with your once-forgotten and growing ideas to develop worlds of amazing possibility and confidence.
btw you play the games?