Pokémon Together

A quality I love in people is when they aren’t afraid or ashamed to love something with all of themselves. When they share an interest in a topic, and during that process, you notice their eyes light up, and you understand how passionate they are about it. It’s vulnerable to be that open about yourself and not care how you are perceived for it. Somewhere along the lines, propaganda must’ve been spread that left so many equating being “cool” to being “dull”, a “nonchalantness pandemic,” if you will. A mindset like this is nothing short of a total vibe-killer. The things you love are inherently what make you interesting.

I would like to share an interest of mine that has completely shaped the person I am. For as long as I can remember, I have loved Pokémon. To be completely honest, there probably hasn’t been a day in my life that I haven’t thought about it. I am 100% confident that I could name any Pokémon shown to me, and probably tell a fun fact about them as well. In fact, this was a challenge I was tested on a few months ago.

While at an event at a friend's house, somehow the topic of Pokémon was brought up, and of course I told them that I could probably name every Pokémon, and they, of course, did not believe me. After successfully identifying every one thrown at me, my friend read aloud while typing, “What is the most forgettable Pokémon?”, before she hit enter, I responded, “probably Volbeat”. Then a picture of Volbeat appeared on her screen. Nobody questioned me after that.

A few weeks after that, after a local concert, I was talking to my friends outside. An acquaintance of mine (who was also at the event a few weeks prior) walked up to me and said: “It’s Pokémon Connor!” (His name was also Connor). It felt good to be associated with the thing I care so deeply about, and it was hilarious that someone I knew through a friend remembered me for that.

Let's shift gears and go through the different aspects of the franchise, starting with Pokémon cards! I grew up collecting the cards my parents would gift to me now and then. Unfortunately, I lost all of the cards I collected growing up. Once I moved out for college and had a (very small) disposable income, I started collecting here and there. Modern Pokémon cards have stepped up their game in terms of artwork. But alas, the sword is double-edged. The price of cards is at an all-time high, and I can’t afford them anymore. I have bought a few packs (no more than 10) in the past 2 years, but it’s unattainable for me to collect at the moment. I believe my most valuable card is worth no more than $2. I was at my aunt's house around a year ago getting a haircut when my little cousin showed me his Pokémon card collection. While looking through it, I pointed out one of his cards that was a favorite of mine. After I went home that day, I completely forgot about the interaction. Fast-forward to a month ago, I carpooled with my aunt and my cousin for a vacation, and out of nowhere, my cousin pulled out the card and gave it to me. I was incredibly shocked that he remembered (he is only 9), and it is my most cherished card now. It is sitting on my desk, and I am looking at it right now.

Moving on to the core of Pokémon: the mainline games. In 1998, Pokémon released its first set of mainline games in North America: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue. This is referred to as “Generation 1” of Pokémon. Since then, a new set of mainline games has been released every 2-4 years, starting a new generation. I started playing during Generation 4, with the game Pokémon Platinum, released in 2009. Since each Pokémon generation is started with the release of two (almost identical) games, this is where my brother comes into play. He is also obsessed with Pokémon, although I think I have him slightly beat. My mom always jokes that whenever we talk about Pokémon, it sounds like we are speaking a different language. Ever since Generation 6, we would both get the opposite games in a given generation and play them alongside each other. (For generations 4 and 5, we had to share a game). In Gen 6, I played Pokémon X, while he played Pokémon Y; in Gen 7, I played Pokémon Moon, while he played Pokémon Sun; in Gen 8, I played Pokémon Shield, while he played Pokémon Sword; and in Gen 9, I played Pokémon Scarlet, while he played Pokémon Violet. It has always been a tradition for us to experience a new generation together. I vividly remember on November 18th, 2016, running home after school and waiting all day for the UPS man to deliver our copies of Sun and Moon. We even set up an entire shrine with Pokémon merchandise to prepare for the release. Once they were delivered, we played side-by-side through the night since it was Friday (I would end up falling asleep, and would be angry that he made more progress than me the next morning). I have poured thousands of hours into these games, and I revisit them quite often. Generation 10 is set to release next year with Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves. I have already claimed Pokémon Waves, which means my brother will have to settle with Winds.

Next, I want to talk about an aspect of Pokémon that is undoubtedly my favorite. Shiny Pokémon. Every single Pokémon has a “shiny” version of itself, which is a different color. For example, Pikachu’s shiny is a dark yellow, Charizard's shiny is black instead of orange, and Eevee’s shiny is white instead of brown. While the color palette swap is cool, what makes these variants intriguing to me is the rarity. In most games, the odds of finding a shiny Pokémon are either 1/8192 (for Gens 2-5) or 1/4096 (for Gens 6-present). I found my first shiny Pokémon in Generation 5 by complete accident, by simply playing the game. It was a shiny Slakoth found in White Forest in the game Pokémon White. Since my brother and I had to share this game, he was watching over my shoulder while I was playing, and to this day, I don’t think we have ever freaked out as hard as we did in that moment. I have no idea where that shiny Slakoth is now, but I will never forget them. As funny as it sounds, I think the concept of shiny Pokémon helped teach me probability from a young age. In fact, when I took the ACT at age 17, I scored a perfect 36 on the probability sub-section within the math section. As a kid, I would compare any rare event to shiny Pokémon; for example, one time my siblings and I were lying out on our trampoline on a summer night, and we saw a meteor shower by sheer luck. I remember running to my mom and asking her if seeing a meteor shower was rarer than getting a shiny Pokémon.

The final topic I want to cover is Pokémon Go. Many casual Pokémon fans were introduced to the series with this game. It was released in July 2016, and I created my account in August 2016. I played this game with my brother, cousin, and best friend very regularly from 2016 to late 2018. But I grew up in a small town, which made it hard to play the game seriously, as many events would require a large group to succeed. I ended up stopping playing entirely in early 2020. However, in 2024 I moved into a city and realized that I would have a better opportunity to play. I started taking the game seriously again in the fall of 2025. Pokémon Go Fest 2026 just ended, and my partner and I were able to play with a huge group of around 50 people. It was amazing to see so many people still enjoying this game and franchise, and I felt right at home. This event featured the legendary Pokémon Mewtwo, which was able to be caught if 10+ people worked together to defeat it. It also had 1/20 shiny odds, and after a combined 88 encounters, my partner got a shiny Mewtwo. She traded it to me for my shiny Clefable, which is NOT a fair trade, but she insisted since “Mewtwo is ugly”. Which is fair.

Wow, that was a long blog; I guess I just love Pokémon. You may be wondering what my favorite Pokémon is, and to be honest, I don’t know. It’s too hard for me to rank them. I try to end my blogs with some inspirational message, or something to leave a good taste in your mouth, but I am going to end this one by listing a bunch of my favorite Pokémon. Thanks for reading!

• Deerling
• Masquerain
• Farfetch’d
• Lanturn
• Dratini
• Ditto
• Palpitoad
• Espeon
• Latias
• Kyogre
• Oshawott
• Mienshao
• Lapras
• Stufful
• Diancie
• Milcery
• Bounsweet
• Pichu
• Blaziken