Games That Made Me

When I had decided to make this blog, I knew this post was going to happen. I just didn’t know when. Growing up, I was a Poke-Fanatic. Even now when I look around my room, there’s at least 3 pieces of Pokemon merchandise within easy eyeshot. I carry a Jigglypuff keychain wherever I go, and trust me that key chain has been through a whole lot. Jiggly’s looking a little scrappy after 14 years.

This is after washing her again. Yikes.

What’s even weirder is that the keychain is old enough to get a driving learners permit in some states. The thing I put my keys on are almost old enough to drive my car. That’s more than a little freaky to me. But Pokemon’s always been there.

This one holds a special place in my heart. Pokemon Yellow was the first game I ever bought for myself, on the first system I ever bought for myself. I had saved up all of my allowances for over a year and didn’t spend any money or ask for anything for my birthday, except for my mom to take me to the Toys ‘R Us. I was going to buy a GameBoy Color in Nintendo Purple, and Pokemon Blue. I had heard of Pokemon Yellow, but my little 7 year old brain could not remember release dates or had the means to look them up. I knew I really wanted it, but I could wait until it came out if I got my hands on any Pokemon Game. But when we got to the store, they were out of Pokemon Blue. I was devastated, and started to actually cry in the middle of the store.

Not the one I went to, but the closest looking one. Ours was torn down in 2006.

But this is where my late 7th birthday present to myself became special. My mom noticed that an employee was putting up copies of Pokemon Yellow into the case, since the release day was exactly one day after we came in. The store was almost closed, and I wouldn’t get the chance to come back for two weeks because we were about to go on vacation. There were also so many pre-orders that they were expecting to sell out first day. But she went over anyways, asked the clerk if we could get my GameBoy Color in Nintendo Purple, and asked if they were out of Pokemon Blue. They said they wouldn’t get another shipment in for a month, but he just looked at my face. The next thing I knew I was holding Pokemon Yellow, Super Mario Brothers, and my GameBoy, standing at the register paying for everything. It took me years to realize that what he did, and how special that was to me. Some young man took pity on a little girl, obviously paying for the game herself with how many $5 bills she was clutching, and broke street date rules so a little girl could have her dream game for her first game.

The closest Pokemon-related pic I could find for pure kindness.

That’s why this Game That Made Me will be a little different from all the others. Like my Books That Made Me, I try to replay the games that I felt influenced me to see if they hold up in an unbiased way. But in this case, I can’t be unbiased. Not because of the nostalgia factor for the game itself, but because of what it represents for me. I can’t review pure human kindness. I may be overly optimistic, but  I don’t think anyone can be as cynical as that.

I know it’s a statistical impossibility that the man who did this will ever read my blog, or even remember I existed. But if he ever does read this, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for making me a lifelong gamer, and really who I am today. I know since Pokemon is still making games, I’ll probably never actually “catch ‘em all”, but I did catch something because of you. You’re what made this blog possible, and you’ll probably never even know. Thank you.

Oh, and to end on a lighter note, here’s the dream team that I always tried to catch:

Pikachu, Jigglypuff,Oddish,Poliwag,Vulpix, Eevee.

I have a soft spot for the cuties.

D'aww

Thanks for sticking with me through a very personal edition of Actively Nerdy. And remember, it doesn’t matter what you’re nerdy about. Just as long as you’re active.