How did you get introduced to Pokemon and how did you became a fan?

[Caciualcdlac]

I don't know if this thread already exists, but there is no recent similar one so...
This year is the 20th birthday of the Pokemon franchise, and I'm sure that every fan got introduced to the series in a different way.

When I was like 5 years, in 2002-2003 I first saw an episode of the first season of Pokemon anime on a local channel. Since then, I just fell in love with the series, waking up every weekday at 6 a.m. to watch the two episodes before the morning news. I started collecting every merchandise I could found, like stickers, toys or even bed sheets. However, all this time I was unaware that the Pokemon anime was based on a video game series! In my country, the first Nintendo handheld released was the Nintendo DS, and I didn't have internet back then.

Suddenly, my interest in Pokemon faded, the local channel stopped broadcasting Pokemon episodes, and I nearly became unaware that Pokemon even existed...

Next time I've heard about Pokemon wad in 2008, when I saw a promo on Jetix about the Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl anime, and I was like "OMG, my childhood!" When I've first seen an episode of the new series, I said to myself "Hey, there's Ash! And Pikachu, and Brock! But, who is that new girl? And where's Misty?" Becoming interested in Pokemon again, I did some research and I found out about everything, about how the main girl changed twice, how there had been over 10 seasons of Pokemon, and, most importantly, that the anime is actually based on a popular video game series. Since I didn't know what a handheld game console is, I've managed to start playing Pokemon via emulators, Pokemon LeafGreen being my first game (and my first starter was Squirtle ) Back then, I was unaware that there was a postgame, so by this day, I never visited Sevii Islands. The next games I played were Pokemon Emerald and Pokemon Platinum, also on emulators.
In mid-2010, my parents got me a Nintendo DSi XL with Pokemon SoulSilver, and since then, I played every single main series Pokemon game on their respective consoles, becoming the Pokemon fan I am today.

So this is how I bacame a Pokemon fan. What is your story?

 

[Juliko]

To be honest, Pokemon's kinda been with me my whole life. I don't necessarily remember how I got into it or how I became a fan. I definitely loved the show, even as a kid, because the themes of kids pairing up with monsters and friendship just really appealed to me. But I actually started playing the games when I turned seven years old. Before that, I saw a kid playing a gameboy color and a pokemon game on it, and I remember seeing commercials for both. On my seventh birthday, my parents got me a green GameBoy Color and Pokemon Yellow. But back then I didn't understand much about completing games, so I mostly just played them. But it definitely cultivated my love for Pokemon and my love for it never wavered, even during its supposed Dork Age.

 

[Tactician Karina]

Mine isn't interesting at all, but I remember my dad giving me Pokemon Red for my birthday. Started playing it a lot, (Bulbasaur my first and favorite starter ) later on got Yellow version, then I found out about the show and got into that as well. Later started to collect the cards, wasn't super into the card game though. Pokemon has just been there my whole life pretty much, so I guess I should thank my dad for me getting into Pokemon and a few other series

 

[Bloodstained]

I got Red and Blue as a Christmas present I think when I was six or seven. I played Blue and looked through the manuals, seeing the known Pokémon. The next morning, I imagined I was taking care of an injured female Eievui. I was a weird kid. Now I'm a weird adult.

 

[Daren]

I learned about it through Nintendo Power, which had these little tear-out booklets about the games--shortly before they were released in NA, I think. I caught the anime on TV shortly after (I think my first epsiode was Pewter Gym, but I can't really remember that well...), and everything started from there.

 

[Like_Fahrenheit]

Exactly how is a blur to me. But I was introduced in the beginning. My brothers got Red and Blue, so I watched them play it. I watched the anime when it started and was instantly hooked. And the first card I remember holding was a base set Bulbasaur, by which I was wowed (might be why I like the Bulbasaur line so much). Over the next couple years my love for the franchise grew, and here I am today.

 

[Steel_Justice]

I remember is getting my first gameboy color and copies of red and blue from a friend of my brother's. The gameboy was new but the cartridges were second hand if I remember correctly. I'm not certain why I got in I may have seen the first episodes of the anime and got interested.

 

[GaryOak123]

I'm not completly sure that this was the way, but it seems like my earliest memory. Basically I woke up one morning to find the anime on tv I was about 6, the episode was the one where Ash caught Treecko, anyway later that day I was in Woolworths and saw litle figures of Treecko and Taillow and begged my mum to buy them; she did and I became obsessed, getting the original red on the old game boy and that was that

 

[Treacle]

Through the first season anime when it was being shown on The Den (on RTÉ2 in Ireland). So in October 1999, I believe. (I was 4!)

One of the first bits of merchandise was the original 'Pokémon Handbook' which I read cover to cover until it fell apart. I used to plan out teams and my 'journey' in my head back then before I got my first game. And use said teams in playground 'Pokémon battles' with my friends. My starter would always be Bulbasaur, haha.

The first pack of 'real' cards (I had loads of the Topps cards) I got was Base Set unsurprisingly. In that pack I got Scoop Up (my first rare *cries*), Dewgong, Magikarp, Maintenance, Vulpix, Gastly, Weedle, Nidoran (M), Gust of Wind, Lightning Energy, Psychic Energy. I only remember that because that was the only Base Set pack I ever got.

Going to see the first movie in 2000 was amazing for 4 year old me (and the second one that winter). I got the Mewtwo promo, so I was pleased about that. Seeing the new Pokémon, Marill, Snubbull, Donphan (especially since the name wasn't revealed), and (to me at least) Mew, was pretty amazing too.

 

[Octomo]

I was born a year before pokemon was introduce in NA. My older sister owned red and blue, me and my little brother used to watched her play the game. We believed she was the pokemon master till we discovered it got more competitive (which was 2008).
Since this year is the 20th anniversary, I want to thank my sister for discovering pokemon to me and my brother back in the late 90's and being in this community on this day.

 

[PaulTheProtist]

I actually started Pokémon with the TCG, way back in the mid-DP era (about 2008) after I obtained a theme deck and several other cards. First game was Diamond several months later.

 

[GeekyGamerZack]

Oh wow, this topic takes me back...

I remember back in 1999 (I was 11 at the time) looking through a Target catalogue and seeing pictures of two new Game Boy games. Yes, I'm talking about Pokémon Red and Blue Versions. After finding out that some of my classmates were into this new thing, I decided to check it out. A friend of mine from school had an Overgrowth theme deck from the TCG's Base Set and taught me how to play (though looking back, some of the rules were a bit muddled-up). I then decided I wanted my own deck, and a short time later, my parents bought me my very first Pokémon cards: a Zap! theme deck, which I still remember fondly. That same friend brought two of his Pokémon video cassettes to class for two show-and-tell sessions, meaning I was able to watch the first handful of anime episodes. Watching Ash's Caterpie evolve into Metapod, and again into Butterfree, was a truly wonderful thing for this then-preteen's mind to behold.

Christmas that year was awesome, as we went on holiday to stay with family in the Gold Coast. One of the local theme parks was celebrating the upcoming release of Pokémon: The First Movie, and there was a promotion whereby you could receive pieces to build a puzzle ball depicting a variety of Pokémon. Each triangular piece was coloured either red or white and displayed an image of a Pokémon, along with its name and Kanto Dex number. I was able to get enough pieces to have 20 different Pokémon (no duplicates), as well as it being coloured to resemble a Poké Ball. The main item I wanted for Christmas was Pokémon Blue Version, but because this was Christmastime at the height of Gen I Pokémania, my parents were unable to find it anywhere. They did, however, manage to get two volumes of the anime, which had six episodes from Pokémon Shipwreck to Abra and the Psychic Showdown. Even to this day, I can't think of the episode Bye Bye, Butterfree without getting just a little bit upset...

Early in 2000, two of my friends revealed that they each had received a Pokémon game: the friend from before had Yellow, while the second had Blue. When it became apparent that I would have a game of my own within a matter of days, I decided to get Red Version, to complete the trio. But when it came time to actually get the game, I remembered trying my cousin's copy of Red during my family holiday, and seeing that the Pokémon sprites looked...weird, completely unlike official art which was commonplace at the time; Koffing in particular stuck in my mind, since its face in RB was BELOW its skull insignia! That same cousin received Yellow for Christmas, which I also tried, and I noted that the Pokémon looked normal in it, as well as being in colour. Plus, Pikachu followed the player, which I thought was neat. So I got Yellow instead, and I spent that night playing it almost-nonstop, until the battery indicator on my Game Boy Color went dim. That was my cue to take a break.

Here I am, 17 years later, and unlike most people I knew back then (with all of whom I've lost contact), I didn't grow out of the franchise. But due to a combination of recently finding out about Pokémon franchise creator Satoshi Tajiri having Asperger's Syndrome (something with which I can relate) and hype for the 20th Anniversary of Red and Green (I'm more hyped than a Primeape after a cotton candy binge), my love for the franchise is stronger than it's ever been!

 

[PokePete]

I moved to California from Canada back in 1998 for a few years and met some friends down there which introduced me to Pokemon and the games. Then bought Blue first and Yellow later on and got hooked on them. I also watched the anime when it first came out which I enjoyed. Now I'm still interested in the games and anime.

 

[DoctorWhy]

I was introduced to the Kanto anime around age 5. I got super hooked and fell in love with Pokemon immediately. In that sense, my first experience was Kanto, except just anime. This was around 2001. Then, my first Pokemon game was Sapphire which I loved even more. Now, Pokemon has been a big part of my life for around 13 years or so.

 

[Deleted member 72389]

I had started watching the anime when it first aired where I live and quickly became intrigued and obsessed with it. Then later on I found out about the games and got a copy of Pokemon Red (I used to legit think that Ash and Red are the same person, lol. Same with Gary and Blue.)

And then later on I kept on buying more games, mangas, toys, watched a lot more of the anime, and basically ended up becoming a huge fan of Pokemon.

 

[Matleo]

The anime was my first contact.
Thats why I more like when things from it get implemented into the game sometimes.

 

[PinkIceFox]

I honestly can't remember how I got into Pokemon. It's part of the forgotten memories of my younger years. o-o I don't remember a lot of that time.

However, I'm pretty sure I saw a few episodes of the anime first, and then my brother and I begged our mom for Pokemon Blue (for me) and Red (for him) that Christmas. I was pretty much hooked at that point.

 

[ShadOBabe]

I was introduced when I was seven (1997 or so) by a couple of boys I was friends with. I fell in love with how cute they all were and got completely HOOKED once I saw the cartoon. I immediately started saving my money so I could by a Game Boy Color and Red Version. I got it and had a Charizard within 24 hours. XD

 

[Dorothy]

I watched the anime when I was a tiny Jabber in the late 90s, but I don't have too many memories of that period; I didn't start playing the games until my parents got me a GBA and Gold version around 2000 or 2001.

 

[lovandra]

I first, start to love this game after watched Pokemon animes. My family were really poor and even though I recall to have old NES games. I have no idea about pokemon games till around 2000. The country where I lived also not a place where pokemon games are really famous. And even though some of us aware and play them, not through regular way.

Pokemon anime was good but still not enough to make me hooked on them. Still, on early pokemon era, lots of merchandise about pokemon are around, fake or official one, Im not really sure. My cousin had that huge pikachu plushie and Im really jealous of her for having that cute doll when my poor and 'stingie' parent never buy me anything. They also have Pokemon Movie VCD that we watched over and over again till they are broke several years ago. Mewtwo's movie is the one that finally make me really fall to Pokemon Abyss.

Then they, my cousins, and my brother started to collecting Tazos and not official Pokemon TGC. We could get free Tazos from snacks with cheap prices but since my family were so poor, we rarely able to by that snack...

But I had some Tazos myself, won them through some game from my cousins. My favorite easily fall to cute and innocent look #37 Vulpix much until now. When one of our older cousin got a computer, she got from her friend an emulator to play GB/GBC (I think that happen around 2002). So I started to play pokemon, unknowing that it was illegal way to play it. We though back then, Pokemon was a game that made based on the anime. Some of my cousins may still think the same.

So I started to play pokemon via emulator, even hacked to my own old Nokia phones to make sure it capable to play pokemon with. Not until i finally get my own NDS and later 3DS when I finally play pokemon for real. Along with Pokemon, I also fall in love with Harvest Moon franchise near the same time, though I started to play HM games way more intens and often on PS1 and PS2.