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Happy 20th Birthday Pokemon :)
9 years ago
Man, Pokemon has been with me for most of my life. I can't believe its been 20 years already. To be fair, its been less than that here in America, but only by about 2 years. Still most of my life though. Heck, most of the fandom nowadays is younger than the series itself. Its always strange to think about that, all the people who weren't around during the height of its popularity. Those were some interesting times.
Its safe to say that Pokemon has shaped me into who I am today. Pokemon Red was the first video game I ever owned, and the first one that I spend significant time with. I have so many good memories about that time. My childhood was rather unusual and traumatic, so nearly every happy memory from my childhood is related to Pokemon. Thats why the series is so close to my heart.
My story regarding the series is a bit different, as well. Recently I read an article about how Pokemon helped someone cope and learn with their disability as a child, and I was surprised and happy to read it, as my story, despite my disabilities being differ, mirror quite a lot of what is said here:
http://nomadicdec.kinja.com/how-pok.....ing-1758562552
This is a very interesting article and cool to see how things can accidentally be accessible. And it may help people who aren't disabled understand some of the struggles we face.And how such a simple thing like Pokemon can be such a major positive force.
My playthrough was a struggle as a result of my autism especially. I remember restarting the game so many times. Any time I made a mistake that I felt was irreversible, I started over. For example, nicknaming a Pokemon accidentally, since I didn't know you could change it. I remember restarting because I didn't know how to get Omanyte out of the box and thought it was lost forever.
The repetition of the games allowed me to recognize patterns as well, something I struggled with at the time. And although my reading level was much higher than my grade level, my vocabulary and ability to accurately describe my thoughts and feelings was severely lacking. Playing Pokemon improved these skills significantly, and as a result of playing it, allowed me to properly communicate to others - something that I could not do before.
It eased me into playing other games that required things like reflexes and quick thinking. Something I became good at later in life thanks to other games, but had I started with games that needed those skills, as opposed to just reading and remembering stuff, I probably would have given up on gaming.
My love for Pokemon might have also been a catalyst for my love and skill of memorizing information. Because of the limited nature of the game, and lack of easy access to information during the time, you had to memorize a whole lot with Pokemon, moreso than any other game. Like how a lot of games had descriptions on what things did, Pokemon didn't have any of that. You had to just know. I found out that this was something I'm particularly skilled at. (As a side note, this and my perfectionism is why I was diagnosed with autism later in life, because despite my social and communication issues, I was always an exceptional student for this reason so no one ever cared enough to test me for it.)
In addition, going back to Pokemon's popularity at the time - my level of obsession with the series was not seen as unusual. As an autistic child, it was my special interest. But, given that nearly every kid at the time was obsessed with Pokemon as well, my obsession was normalized and not seen as a "bad" or "strange" thing. It helped me stand out less from my peers, and as a result, I became capable of socializing with other kids. Not well mind you, I still had no friends in school. But I wasn't bullied as harshly as I had been, and had some positive interactions with classmates.
I may not be as into Pokemon as I was back then, but my love for the series is still strong. And is nice to know that its popularity is as well.
Its safe to say that Pokemon has shaped me into who I am today. Pokemon Red was the first video game I ever owned, and the first one that I spend significant time with. I have so many good memories about that time. My childhood was rather unusual and traumatic, so nearly every happy memory from my childhood is related to Pokemon. Thats why the series is so close to my heart.
My story regarding the series is a bit different, as well. Recently I read an article about how Pokemon helped someone cope and learn with their disability as a child, and I was surprised and happy to read it, as my story, despite my disabilities being differ, mirror quite a lot of what is said here:
http://nomadicdec.kinja.com/how-pok.....ing-1758562552
This is a very interesting article and cool to see how things can accidentally be accessible. And it may help people who aren't disabled understand some of the struggles we face.And how such a simple thing like Pokemon can be such a major positive force.
My playthrough was a struggle as a result of my autism especially. I remember restarting the game so many times. Any time I made a mistake that I felt was irreversible, I started over. For example, nicknaming a Pokemon accidentally, since I didn't know you could change it. I remember restarting because I didn't know how to get Omanyte out of the box and thought it was lost forever.
The repetition of the games allowed me to recognize patterns as well, something I struggled with at the time. And although my reading level was much higher than my grade level, my vocabulary and ability to accurately describe my thoughts and feelings was severely lacking. Playing Pokemon improved these skills significantly, and as a result of playing it, allowed me to properly communicate to others - something that I could not do before.
It eased me into playing other games that required things like reflexes and quick thinking. Something I became good at later in life thanks to other games, but had I started with games that needed those skills, as opposed to just reading and remembering stuff, I probably would have given up on gaming.
My love for Pokemon might have also been a catalyst for my love and skill of memorizing information. Because of the limited nature of the game, and lack of easy access to information during the time, you had to memorize a whole lot with Pokemon, moreso than any other game. Like how a lot of games had descriptions on what things did, Pokemon didn't have any of that. You had to just know. I found out that this was something I'm particularly skilled at. (As a side note, this and my perfectionism is why I was diagnosed with autism later in life, because despite my social and communication issues, I was always an exceptional student for this reason so no one ever cared enough to test me for it.)
In addition, going back to Pokemon's popularity at the time - my level of obsession with the series was not seen as unusual. As an autistic child, it was my special interest. But, given that nearly every kid at the time was obsessed with Pokemon as well, my obsession was normalized and not seen as a "bad" or "strange" thing. It helped me stand out less from my peers, and as a result, I became capable of socializing with other kids. Not well mind you, I still had no friends in school. But I wasn't bullied as harshly as I had been, and had some positive interactions with classmates.
I may not be as into Pokemon as I was back then, but my love for the series is still strong. And is nice to know that its popularity is as well.
