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Why Pokemon?

I've played it since I had Blue Version; since then, I've been playing it for nostalgia and to see the new properties of the games that the creators devise. I always enjoyed the interaction of the types and how some Pokémon corresponded to others. Generation IV (especially HeartGold and SoulSilver) were the best to me; I didn't know how to play the games skillfully until Gold and Silver came out, and they were just fantastic, all the way up to the end. I didn't enjoy the fact that the functionality of the games changed in the 3rd Gen, but I became acclimated to it gradually, and, because of it, I learned about the game's mechanics in the 4th Gen. FireRed was excellent, especially with the rematch against the Rival and the Sevii Islands, and Colosseum, XD, and Emerald (even Sapphire at the beginning, although Emerald simply outshined it) were sources of incessant amuse. When I learned about how the statistics worked by the time Platinum came out, I took an interest in playing competitively and arranging the best teams I could match up. I grew doubtful there would be Johto remakes, but, then, they came out, and it was ecstatic, what with the starters and other Pokémon that I grew to cherish (and the PokéWalker allowing for things like Flying Pikachu and Selfdestruct Snorlax). The culmination of the 4th Gen was the zenith of its glory; it even exceeded the hopes I had that it would satisfy the desire I had for Crystal Version in the 2nd Gen. Since then, there have been some neat, new competitive aspects of the game, but now we've gotten so many Pokémon outclassing other Pokémon, and so many exploitable components of the game practically screaming to be competitively abused. All the events and tie-ins of the 4th Generation games were and will always be the best moments in the franchise for me. And, naturally, all the new games will always be fun.

...and there's always the fact that it's the first series of video games I've ever had.
 
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Pokémon is like a way of life for me. Wait, no, not like. Is a way of life. Let me tell you all a story...

One of my good friends introduced it to me when we were kids, and I've been hoked ever since. I went through all the phases: get hooked, become "too old" to play Pokémon, then slowly get hooked again. Pokémon has been there for me when I had nothing else to turn to, and I'm actually being serious when I say this. When I first moved away from my home, I didn't know anyone, and I wasn't a very active person to begin with. I needed something to pass the days, and my ol' Gameboy fixed that for me.

I got really into my Ruby and Emerald versions and ended up replaying them both to death. I moved onto my other games, such as Diamond, White, and I even became so hooked with Pokémon that I bought White 2. It wasn't long before the announcement of XY came around, and I ended up feeling more exciting for anything then I had in a long time.

It feels silly to say it, but I really don't know where I would be without Pokémon. Yeah, sure, it's fun and all, but there's a much bigger reason for that than why I love/play Pokémon.
 
SO MANY REASONS.

I'm a long-time player, I started with Blue in '99, and have been hooked since. I think I enjoy Pokémon because it... stands out, if you will. Pokémon is somehow not-hyper manga- or anime-esque, but not American at the same time. It's easy to play but can be difficult to master (I still suck at competitive battling). The entire crew of unique Pokémon drew me in, so many awesome designs and great concepts (with a few exceptions, but hey, no franchise can be 100% perfect).

I also am a giant nerd and have a weird soft spot for anything that is evolutionary, whether it be plate tectonics and continent arrangements, linguistic philology, or Darwinian evolution - if it changes over time, I like it. The fact that Pokémon evolve (and starting when I was still young, but I remember it like it was yesterday, breed and pass along characteristics like IVs and moves) has kept me pulled in.

Not to mention all that, it holds such nostalgia and is integral to me (oh god I'm starting to sound old and sad). I started playing Pokémon when I was about 9 - I'm 25 now. 65% (roughly) of my life has involved Pokémon. Hell, I gave out ice-type Pokémon cards for as Christmas cards one year (that was fun, actually).

As games, they're a blast. I can play for 5 minutes (if that's all I can manage) or 5 hours and I don't feel like the experience is any better or worse. I can spend hours just scrolling through the Pokédex and flipping the 3D models around just to see how my favorite 'mons finally look rendered in 3D - it's mind-blowing, even though I've had X since October, since I remember getting that weird canid-looking-thing (aka Eevee) in Blue, and now I see it wagging its tail in X.

tldr; I'm an old coot who is too damn ingrained to ever run away and I couldn't be happier.
 
There is something unique that draws me in, i think its the team building. Its such a personal experience, building, training and fighting with your team.
 
Pokemon was my first ever RPG and back then I didn't even know what that was! I've been playing since the Red/Blue days, I think I must have been about 10 at the time and with the TV show and the games I just got hooked. I, as I am sure most people my age did, sort of drifted away as it wasn't the "cool" thing to play but then hit the age where you don't actually care what other people think. I remember missing out gen 3 but them coming back to it very late on and then being very excited for D/P as I was hooked all over again. Now I never look back and Pokemon is always on the list of eagerly awaited releases.

Since the early days I have played all of the main series games and wouldn't like to guess at the amount of hours put into the games. I have never been a competitive battler, for me the joys of the game come from the journey. Getting the starter and then seeing the team you put together get stronger, I really do feel like the trainer when I play and not many games draw me in so much.

X/Y has simply been the icing on the Pokemon cake with the 3D models adding new life and character to the games. I have to admit, I am very much looking forward to heading back to Hoenn as it has some of my all time favorite Pokemon. :)
 
I don't know, but I still enjoy playing Pokémon even fifteen years after playing Pokémon Blue for the first time. It is rare for me to care about something for such a long time, Pokémon is probably the sole exception. I've actually tried to walk away and stop caring about the series a couple times, but it is so hard. :<
 
I was 6 when I started playing Pokemon. Back then, life was really suckish, and since I didn't have any friends (because I really wasn't allowed to have any -- somewhat long story there, lol), I got hooked, and my Pokemon became my friends. It became my way of escaping all the crap that kept happening, and it's always been really fun for me regardless.

To this day, I still play just as much as I did back then. My friends and I all have our own little things that we love/are obsessed with. For a few of them, it's Doctor Who. For my girlfriend, it's Fullmetal Alchemist. For me, it's Pokemon. Pokemon is just my thing, and nobody really questions that because they've all gotten used to it. xD
 
Because Pokémon, for me, is perfect (despite having countless stupid issues too)
I love the Pokémon themselves, I love the Pokémon world, ever since I started watching the anime and playing the games I just never stopped and if anything, only grew to love it MORE with the time... I used to be more excited over the anime than the games but sadly that seems to have changed ever since the DP series ended... but I'm still enjoying both
Pokémon is a part of me, anyone who knows me knows that, and this will never change... I will forever love it and it'll forever remain a big part of my life
Also, I remember way back in the earlier days, I constantly said that Pokémon will continue forever and that I'll always love it - people always laughed at me for making both of these claims yet here we are 10+ years later and... I was right
 
Why Pokemon? Because it's fun and it saved my life twice.

I was an adult when the games first came out and what drew me in was the merchandise, the plushies to be precise. Eevee was cute, reminded me of Teto from Nausicaa and I fell in love with it, so I collected Eevee items. Fast forward to the year 2000, when I'm living in Wisconsin with my significant other and stuck in bed due to a back injury. My (eventual) husband Prime came home with a yellow Game Boy Color and a pair of game carts: Pokemon Red and Blue. He also had the guide as well. They were meant to be a birthday gift but since I was so miserable, he decided to give them to me early. I took the copy of Red, picked Bulbasaur and named it Bruticus and started my journey.

I might have been laid up in real life, unable to even sit up without pain but in the game, I could do anything. Leveling up Bruticus kept me sane and took the focus off of the pain. The only good memories I have of that spate of time is telling my husband that I caught a new Pokemon or I defeated the Ghost in Lavender Town. Battling with my team, taking down my rival, facing the E4.... these things worked better than medication when it came to staying quiet and in bed. And so, I had found my new favorite video game.

Fast forward ten years, to November 2010. This was another key moment, one that changed my life and how I valued Pokemon.

On November 1st, 2010 I called my father to wish him a happy birthday. My mother then dropped a bomb on me: I wasn't an only child. I had an older brother who had been given up for adoption three years before my birth. I was stunned. I wasn't sure what I even was anymore--was I the child that was kept? Did my mother really want me or something to fill the void in her life? Did I have a place in this world? I was spiraling into depression and hit some dark moments.

Enter Golett and Golurk, my favorite Pokemon and golems to boot. If it weren't for them, I don't think I'd be here.

When Black was released, I began to take in abandoned Automatons. They were homeless, like I was to a degree. No one cared about them. They were creations that were built for reasons unknown, a bit like me. With each Golett I'd take in, I'd feel a bit... better. Saner. Whole. Nabbing a Golurk from a trainer who wanted a Chimchar made me feel as though I had done something important, that I did have a place and a part in this world. Black saved my sanity, my life. I can't say that about a lot of other things.

So why Pokemon? Because it kept me going when nothing else would. That's why.
 
Simply because there's no game like it. It's funny such a simple question yet I couldn't give a definitive answer. The first moment I played Pokemon back in 1997, I know I'll be hooked. It's now almost 20 years since I first played it and the experience continues to satisfy me. If I think deeper on why I love the Pokemon games, first thing that would come in to mind is there is no other game like it. And second, I have spent a huge amount of time playing Pokemon with friends. Those memories with them make the game more special to me.
 
It lets me escape my worries of the real world and let's me experience a fantasy world (TBH, I feel like my Pokémon are my only friends...)
 
Because I love control and symmetry. In pokemon everyone plays by the same rules for the most part and I long for control, Pokemon games give me a world where I was dominion of magical creature.

Also I love Pokemon.
 
I play Pokémon to see what all the latest features are. So I hope that they add exciting new additions, because I have grown tired of the current way of playing the games. Always, yes, even in a way Sun and Moon, the same pattern.
 
Travelling the world with your own little army of cute monsters, that's all I needed to know to want to play it really. I've always really liked the designs of Pokémon too, which makes me want to collect them and battle with them.
 
Because its simple , many fun , many strategy and interesting.
Other games are also good, but this one really needs brain and lets your imagination play more.
 
I've been playing for over half of my life, and never had a reason to stop.

As for why this series? It's magical, breathtaking, immersive, thought-provoking, enjoyable, heartwarming...so many things.
There's a reason why it's so successful. It just works.
 
You can collect monsters. You can take care of monsters. There are rare version of these monsters, called "shinies".
These 3 things are more than enough to get my attention. And what's more: it's not a knockoff trying to be like Pokémon. It's the actual thing. So, perfect.
 
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