Have you ever 'dipped out' of Pokémon?

[BlueWaves]

I haven't dipped out yet, but I've been burnt on the series since USM and SwSh. As a result, I'm going to have to wait for reviews before I pick up BDSP.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

I was burned out on Pokémon in 2017 because I felt like I knew too much about the franchise to be surprised by it and form my own opinions anymore, and also because fan discussions get really repetitive after a while.

 

[MadisonSteel]

I did somewhere in the middle of gen 6 and completely missed gen 7, but started playing again in early 2020.

I'm upset I missed gen 7 since it contains so many amazing Pokémon (my favorite when it comes to percentage of Pokémon I like) and I loved Ultra Moon.

 

[R1ke]

Yeah I have been for a while recently. I don’t have a switch so gen 8 has the first main series games I haven’t played. I’m honestly not that keen on them anyway, since let’s go isn’t made for me and sword and shield aren’t that enticing to me. Even with anime nowadays I usually just drop by whenever I’m interested rather than for the sticking around for the whole journey (or at least during the middle portion). That being said, Legends looks sick and I’m keen to see how it plays out.

A break was needed for me since I’ve been hooked onto the franchise for a long time. It was always my main interest, although I’d played a fair amount of other games too. But I got a ps4 last year and have had a blast with it since. It’s nice just trying new things and getting involved in other franchises for a while. Not that I’ve got anything against pokemon (it’ll always hold a special place in my heart no matter where things go from here) but it’s more of expanding my horizons rather than being sick of the franchise as a whole.

 

[Fairy Type Arceus]

In 6th grade I was using a card as a book mark which fell out of my backpack and a friend went all like "you still like that?"
Which was a surprise to me because I was sure until a few months ago so was he. And I had thought it would be more gradual like hearing friends say "I'm getting less interested in the games" or something but this was sudden. It made me feel like I was behind or something on maturing so I forced myself to stop liking Pokemon and sold all my games except emerald (and platinum which I was going to keep but my dog chewed it up)

Come 9th grade and I no longer go to school with this kid and I feel like watching a play through of the new games so I watched a black playthrough on Super Skarmorys channel. It didn't get me back into it but I then started the next one black 2 saw riolu was catchable early on and decided to get it for Christmas. Been back into since. Really only missed hgss and bw but I got them shortly after xy was announced.

Also it helped that many more people at my high school liked pokemon than people ever did in my elementary and middle school.

 

[KJNanika]

Honestly I dipped when Gen 7 started, but SwSh's release both brought me back to Pokémon and caused me to finally buy a Switch Lite

 

[Epic Spheal]

I've been a fan since red and blue but I kind of dipped out towards the end of gen 5 through gen 7. I loved BW/BW2 but I was one of the ones who was disappointed with the BW anime (since I was originally got into Pokemon through the anime). I still bought the gen 6 and gen 7 games but I wasn't as involved online and I didn't follow the anime or manga much then. Gen 8 was what me brought back into a "Pokemania" mode again

 

[Puddle]

I dipped out of the game series during most of Gen 4 because I didn't have a DS, but I never stopped being a fan. I kept playing my GBA games, and had a go on my friend's copy of Pearl a few times. I spent a lot of time reading about Sinnoh and printing off pictures of the new Pokemon.

I was given a DS as a Christmas present not long before Black and White came out. I caught up on the Gen 4 games I'd missed, and have played every game since.

I may dip out of the games again for a while when the series moves onto the next console. Pokemon is the only video game I play, and it's become quite an expensive hobby! Whether I'm keeping up with the latest games or not, I'll always be playing the ones I already own, and engaging with other Pokemon media. I've nearly caught up on all the movies now, and I'd quite like to start reading some more of the Pokemon Adventures manga because I've always been really impressed by it.

 

[techitisJ]

I got into Pokemon at a young age, practically grew up with it for the first 8 years or so of my life, but I didn't play the games till I was 16. For a good 8 years or so, besides watching some of the movies, I stopped showing interest in the franchise. I think it was because my brother was moving away from it and because the girl I was friends with for a few years thought it was too babyish, and I desperately wanted to be her friend. Then, around the age of 16 in my sophomore year of high school, I just stopped charging about what other people thought of me and started watching the series again. That's when I decided to start picking up the games. It's been 8 years since I got back to the franchise now, and I don't think I'll ever leave it again.

 

[Cute Charm]

The only time I've dipped out was around the time of Gen 3, mostly due to burn out from spending the last 5 years at that point obsessed with all things Pokemon (Ages 9-11 were lost to the Pokemon Craze). I still played Ruby, Sapphire, and Fire Red...but by the time Emerald came out it was more like what was the point. So I never did end up playing it.

I didn't come back until like a year and a half after Gen 4 started since it took me forever to get a DS. TBH, I don't think it's going to happen again anytime soon. It's just been a constant in my life for so long now that I'll probably be like 90 and be playing the Gen 20 games.

 

[Jenneta]

Oh, totally. I became obsessed with Pokemon in late summer of 2012 thanks to some kid leaving their copy of Platinum at my grandma's house and her giving it to me, and from that until spring of 2014 it was Pokemon all day erryday. I got Black, White, Emerald, Leafgreen, Heartgold, Soulsilver, Pearl, Black 2 and White 2 and X & Y during that time and played them all to completion (beating the champion, that is, not finishing the Pokedex for most of them.)

Anyway, in spring of 2014 I was getting burnt out and just wanted something new, and Pokemon took a step to the side while Fire Emblem came and stole my heart. I remember ORAS being announced and I wasn't entirely excited because up to that point the Hoenn games were my least favorite. I still got them, though, even though it took me forever to complete them because of my lack in interest of them + my Fire Emblem craze.

I got Sun and Moon when they released and played them somewhat...But then stopped. It just didn't have the same magic as it used to, so from 2016-2021 I wasn't into the Pokemon scene and rarely played them.

Then, N came into Pokemon Masters EX and I wanted him. On New Years Eve, I downloaded the game (I had downloaded it before but didn't play it, it was boring to me) and tried my hardest to get N but never did get him (until just recently when his banner came back, that is!) I gave up, but around February I was just tired and bored of my interests that I had been obsessing over and wanted something different, and Pokemon was still stuck in my mind. So, I downloaded Masters EX again, was p'eed since I joined the last day of Silver's event since I wanted him and I had no idea how to play the game, but kept playing it and I fell in love with Pokemon all over again. It's been refreshing to come back to it and see what's new and what's not. I'm super excited for the Gen 4 remakes, and I'm hoping to put some cash away to get a switch and at least one of the games by Christmas or so.
My interest is waning just a little at the moment, but it's still there and I'm happy to be back. ♥

 

[zoroarctic]

I went on an 8-year hiatus after playing Ruby in summer of 2003. Didn’t really think about getting back into Pokémon until summer of 2011. I was in Walmart trying to think of a way to spend my free time outside of college studies right as I was walking by the video games section and saw a display for Black and White. Two weeks later, I ordered a DSi combo pack with White, and the rest is history. Next Wednesday marks the 10 years since my return.

 

[Puddle]

Re-reading my last post, it's occured to me that I never really dipped out of Pokemon at all. All I did was stop keeping up with the latest games for a while. I don't think that really counts as dipping out, not when I was still playing the older games and consuming other media. Likewise, if I decide not to buy the next console, that won't really be dipping out either, not if I'm still a fan.

I think perhaps I have a bit of "fear of missing out" when it comes to the games: I feel as if I'm not a "true" fan unless I'm keeping up-to-date with the latest ones. Which is silly, because Pokemon is a multimedia franchise and the games aren't the be-all and end-all. And plenty of fans still play the old games.

I used to have "phases" as a child, where I would switch between different interests periodically - my main ones were Pokemon, Digimon, prehistory and space. Even today I still do this to an extent, switching between different hobbies and creative endeavours. But I've always considered myself a Pokemon fan even when I'm having a phase on something else.

 

[Neyo]

I’m kind of dipping out of it right now. But I’m going to stay on the forums. They’re really fun

 

[Plaid]

Pokémon is... maybe best described as one of my "background/backup" (and cyclic) interests these days? I had been a consistent fan of the games for a while starting with Diamond and Pearl. Pokémon was at the forefront of my interests for a good chunk of my pre-teen and teen years, then gradually started taking a backseat to other franchises that I've grown to love in the time since.

My overall interest shot through the roof during Gen 5, fell during 6 (it helps that I was the last person in my social circle to get X/Y, and the only one wanting to play ORAS), spiked again during 7, then... just sort of went dormant once more after Sword and Shield released. I don't entirely know why I burned out all of a sudden, since I had been looking forward to SwSh despite all the controversy that surrounded those games pre-release. Like with most of the games in my growing backlog, though, I just haven't been able to get myself to play Sword much the past year; as of writing this I haven't finished the main campaign yet or bought any of the DLC, and haven't been keeping up with any news about other current and upcoming Pokémon titles. The only related thing I've done recently has been playing Rescue Team DX out of nostalgia for the originals. I can't imagine that I'll ever completely stop being a fan, though.

 

[Maniacal Engineer]

I mentioned this both in my Platinum Let’s Play and I think a couple of places here on the forums, but I’ll mention it again.

I flat out stopped playing Pokémon during Gen 3. Sapphire was the last game I played for a long time, with my best friend playing Ruby alongside me.
I will fully admit that it was because I felt like I was getting “too old” for Pokémon, and that I shouldn’t like “childish” things.

My interest was rekindled during my senior year of high school. It’s a funny story, and I don’t think I told it before.

I was taking an elective class with a very popular teacher, and we were one desk short in the classroom. Since I never needed a desk surface to write on (as I took notes on my laptop), I volunteered to sit on the table at the back of the room.
From that vantage point, I could see what all my fellow students were up to during class, including the others who “took notes” on their laptops.
Well, turns out one of my classmates wasn’t actually taking notes and was playing Pokémon FireRed. I had never seen FireRed before, since it came out after Ruby/Sapphire, and I was fascinated.
Shortly thereafter, I started playing Pokémon FireRed alongside my classmate, and we had a running joke where we’d nickname Pokémon after our other classmates. I also started learning about the subsequent Pokémon games that had been released at the time, which were Emerald through HeartGold/SoulSilver.
I started watching Let’s Plays on YouTube. Superskarmory and chuggaaconroy were my favorites, and I became more interested in the newer games.
Eventually, I started playing the newer games, and caught up right around when Black and White were released. I haven’t missed a generation since then.