What does Pokemon mean to you?

[charlycicero]

Hey guys, I wonder about what does Pokemon as a franchise, "universe" or concept mean to you. I wondered that myself. I could be just a passing hobby or interest all the way to defining important aspects of your own life (maybe, for some, it is no longer just entertainment, but something more). There may be some people who are interested in it due to one game, Pokemon Go or any other spin off, a movie, etc., and eventually move on to other franchises. But some make a living out of it (like the Poketubers). Some enjoy it so much, it kinda redefines them. Maybe.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this matter. Cheers.

 

[colours]

let's just say it got me through some really rough spots in my life, so of course pokemon as a franchise would mean a lot to me. i may get burned out on the games periodically, and i don't really keep up with any other facet of the franchise (except maybe the merchandise), but that won't stop me from loving pokemon for what it has done for me.

 

[charlycicero]

let's just say it got me through some really rough spots in my life, so of course pokemon as a franchise would mean a lot to me. i may get burned out on the games periodically, and i don't really keep up with any other facet of the franchise (except maybe the merchandise), but that won't stop me from loving pokemon for what it has done for me.

I'm kind of in a similar situation, where a few months I got quite physically sick and I was laid off my job (willingly in a way, I wasn't happy there anymore at all). Since then, I have had not only more time (thus more time to worry about things, you could say), and Pokemon as a whole has helped and is still helping me go through this rough patch. I've always liked Pokemon and I have also had my burnouts and timeouts from the franchise, but lately I do have to say it has become (especially as of late) my most favorite franchise of all entertainment and media. Not only videogames. And I've have had a few franchises that mean a lot to me for a bunch of reasons (TMNT is a prime example).

I usually don't follow anything else from the Pokemon franchise besides the main games and a few spin-offs, I don't really like the anime (I enjoyed it at times) and I have not even seen any of the TGC cards in person. But the concept, mythos, designs and lore of the Mons themselves and everything surrounding Pokemon has won me over.

I got to say that, if Pokemon never existed, I would probably be fine, but I'm sooooooo glad it does, because I love it and it gives me a lot of joy (even with dead Pokemon in the nuzlockes ).

 

[Giant Octopodes]

To me Pokemon means "Pocket Monster"

It's a game I like, it is not associated with anything else for me. I don't feel more strongly about it than I do say Final Fantasy 6 or Diablo 2, other games I enjoy tremendously and have played many times. I have played the games, collected the cards, watched the shows. It's given me lots of enjoyment and consumed a fair amount of my time, and I enjoy talking about it. But for me that's ultimately all it is, entertainment, nothing more.

 

[hanecco]

They are just games, but they're games which have given me lots of good memories, and continue to entertain me today. They introduced me to a lot of my other interests, such as anime, and also provided something for my lonely younger self to make friends over. I don't think my final years of primary school would have been any fun without Pokemon.

Of course, that doesn't explain why I keep coming back to it. It helps that the games have a combination of features which can't be found in many other franchises: a light-hearted, bright and cheerful world, while also having a lot of mystery, lore, and conflict. The battles can be challenging but they're never too hard, and it's satisfying to watch my Pokemon slowly grow stronger as I move through the game. There are complex mechanics to learn, but you don't need to bother yourself with them unless you want to. It's just a good game to relax with, kind of like how people treat Animal Crossing, except with a lot more action and stats-related stuff.

 

[Couple's Consoling]

It's sappy, but it's HOME to me. There's very little that makes me feel as cozy, or that I feel I can enjoy in so many different ways.

It's just a good game to relax with, kind of like how people treat Animal Crossing, except with a lot more action and stats-related stuff.

Yeah, like that. Though I do like dipping my toes into the competitive side of things once in a while.

 

[Leaf_Ranger]

To me the Pokemon world is a universe to where I travel to escape from the reality. It started in 1999 with the anime and then the games which helped me to want to learn English and improve it. The games where a reflection of the Japanese culture, more so when Gen II. came out and I loved to have a japanese product so excitingly new in my hands.
It's been a long ride...at the moment and more since Canalave's myths, Arceus and Team Plasma as well as the Ranger games, I have a lack of fulfillment from the traditional main games' stories and I want to be someone else in the Pkmn world different than a hunter for badges.
The recent changes in how the games are made and also in seeing the same skeleton being reused over and over again has left a bitter taste that drives me back to older games due to their simplicity. I don't have the will nor interest to spend 999 plus hours like I did in Sapphire and HG: I finished Moon and never got back on it (my only interesting new Pkmn where Lycanroc and Salazzle), I skipped Kalos as well as Galar and I see Pkmn news with some nostalgia and desire but then I remember how these games where dissapointing and I get some distance. GF'S recent situations have ended my trust on them as well as the TPCI as a whole and they look more like Ubisoft these days and so I don't want to endorse them.
With Metal Gear on a stasis, with Castlevania made again by IGA, Yamane and Kojima being just a dream, Pokémon is the only one franchise that's left in some way or another and so I'm somewhat in a limbo of nostalgia and hope for better times. All of the games from these franchises are time machines that when turned on also take me to different times and moments in my life.

 

[prog rocker]

They are just games, but they're games which have given me lots of good memories, and continue to entertain me today. They introduced me to a lot of my other interests, such as anime, and also provided something for my lonely younger self to make friends over. I don't think my final years of primary school would have been any fun without Pokemon.

Same here, except the introduction to anime part. That was going to happen with or without Pokémon. Man, I miss when TV put anime not named Naruto, Saint Seiya, Captain Tsubasa or Pokémon here.

 

[Kitasuki]

To me this franchise is love.
To explain it better, my father used to beat up my mom and brothers. Once they finally separated the first thing my brother did to me was to give me a copy of pokémon silver (I was born in 1995 but we had almost no money back then). My father was not the same as his. However he never held that against me and gave me that present. And I played it all on that old game boy that used 4 batteries and was green and black. My sister, on my birthday gave me a huge squirtle plush. She saved her money so that she could do it. Once again not the same dad. Once again she was a victim of my dad. When I began to grow, I felt that poverty. I saw the anime in the television, when I could and played those weird Pokemon crater like games on the school computer. My dad, in one of his gifts to try to buy something of me, gave me a game boy SP. However I still had no money for games. A friend of mine gave me his copy of red mystery dungeon and said to his mom he lost it and his mom gave him another one. However, he gave it to me so we could play together. He's was always my best friend and till this day we talk about Pokemon. Later, my first work, at 17 was to earn a little money, but my family told me to buy something nice with the first paycheck. I bought an used 2DS and Pokemon Y. I remember being at that shitty job and playing the game in my head because I couldn't wait to arrive home. Now, I still don't have a house of my own. Am in another country with my girlfriend, but we play pokémon. We hunt for shinier, we collect cards, we watch the anime. When everything gets sorted out, I will share this with my kids.
Not saying Pokemon was the responsible. But, believe it or not, I almost committed suicide and was only stopped because I thought of all the pokémon that might still be released and that I wanted to see them. (That was how little I had to go on at the time)
Pokémon was there when people showed me love.
Pokémon was there when I needed life.
Pokémon is here, with me and my girlfriend in my household.
In conclusion is a franchise made of made up creatures that messed up human beings used to show love.
This is my story with it

 

[PinkIceFox]

To this day Pokemon is still the only thing my mom knows I love without needing to ask. She randomly got me a Rowlet plushie for Christmas a couple years back. She also thinks its funny when I tend to buy at least one new plush every time we'd go shopping since then. I have.. a lot of plushies now. Like over 30? They are all on my bed.

I've always been kind of obsessed with pokemon since day 1. There was a short time (between the release of Ruby and Sapphire until a bit before heart gold and soul silver came out) where I didn't buy any new pokemon games (I have Platinum and fire red and leaf green now so I basically caught up on what I missed ownership wise... still need to play through a lot of the games actually), but I've always had pokemon in the back of my mind.

As a kid I would spend late nights during the summer with my copy of the official pokemon handbook (delux edition- I still have it even!) where I'd pretend it was a textbook and I was a pokemon trainer studying pokemon in school. Nowadays I'll pretend I'm a researcher or something studying pokemon with Bulbapedia and other information sites.

To me, Pokemon is fuel for my imagination. I've struggled with being able to imagine things as I've gotten older thanks to my strong onset of anxiety and depression for the past decade, but pokemon has never failed to help me think of ideas for little stories while I play. It also means happiness to me. Because for whatever reason, just looking at my plushies or the few figures I bought in the past year puts a smile on my face. I just love knowng I have them for some reason.

 

[charlycicero]

To this day Pokemon is still the only thing my mom knows I love without needing to ask. She randomly got me a Rowlet plushie for Christmas a couple years back. She also thinks its funny when I tend to buy at least one new plush every time we'd go shopping since then. I have.. a lot of plushies now. Like over 30? They are all on my bed.

Well, that is awesome! I'd love to have an Axew plushie myself (real size). I was fortunate enough that my sister has given me Ultra Sun and Shield as birthday gifts (well, she didn't give me Shield, but got me another game I already have and I traded it for Shield).

 

[AuraCaller]

It's basically a full time hobby for me. I play the main series games and read the manga sometimes when I have time and occasionally keep up with the cartoon. I don't know if I'll ever outgrow the franchise.

 

[prog rocker]

It's basically a full time hobby for me. I play the main series games and read the manga sometimes when I have time and occasionally keep up with the cartoon. I don't know if I'll ever outgrow the franchise.

I don't think it's one of those things that you outgrow, to tell the truth. In fact, you might end up liking it better as an adult for one reason or another. I think Awkward Zombie had the right idea on how these things go.

Spoiler

 

[Juliko]

Pokemon has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I can't remember a time when Pokemon wasn't a part of my life. I watched the anime during my childhood and still do to this day. On my 7th birthday, my parents bought me a green GameBoy Color and Pokemon Yellow, both of which I no longer have (The former broke beyond repair and I sold the latter). Heck, Pokemon Adventures was the very first manga I ever read, albeit in a flipped, censored format. Since then, I owned all the mainline games and the consoles they're required to play on, I've seen every episode of the anime, am currently on a quest to read and own the entire Pokemon Adventures manga (I have yet to read the Diamond/Pearl and X/Y arcs). I'm even working on a huge Pokemon fan fic right now. Pokemon has been my long time friend and support my entire life. The fuel for my imagination. A safe space I can retreat to when I'm scared, anxious, and need to cope with bad events. It's practically a part of me, and knowing that Satoshi Tajiri is autistic like I am makes it even better.

 

[RTLfan]

Well it's actually been one of the biggest constants in my life....I've been following it since 1999! That's 21 years!
It's an interest/hobby of mine but not one of my main ones.