Where It All Started

My interest in Pokémon goes back, way back. It all began with these two things:

Those would be a Pokémon Blue Version cartridge and a Game Boy Pocket. I had a Game Boy Classic once, but then I'm not sure where it went. Thus the Game Boy Pocket took its place. It was where I played some of the games I liked... and it was this that led up into my first Pokémon game.

I was introduced to Pokémon by way of my friends playing it. They played it on their Game Boys during recess at school and I watched as they did so. At that time Pokémon was something revolutionary for me, as it was a kind of game I never played before. Watching creatures duke it out on screen as the player gave commands was a fascinating experience, one that I had to try. And indeed one of my friends allowed me to try briefly; in the process I also performed one of the central tasks of the Pokémon games - catching a Pokémon, a Psyduck to be exact.

Thanks to this experience, I was inspired to obtain the Pokémon games for the very first time, and I chose the Blue Version, the same exact version that I tried on my friend's Game Boy, and coincidentally the same version that I would have gotten even if I knew of its partner, the Red Version. It was a risk playing a genre of games that I had never played before, but the risk was well worth the reward, and the reward is something that I still enjoy to this very day and that I am glad to share with you now.

It's hard to believe that such a small beginning has a large and profound impact, but yes, it does.