Pokémon Day 2018 - 22nd Anniversary

In 1996, one game - or rather, a pair of games - totally changed the gaming landscape. In 2018, that game series and all its related media celebrate the 22^nd anniversary. That game is of course Pokémon, and today is that very day for it. For this anniversary, I wish to consider the theme of "stories". Within those 22 years, there are countless memories, feelings, and experiences, but even more than that, they can be strung together into stories. I have mine, and every fan certainly has their own.

I had been chatting this morning with one of the recent readers of this blog, who also happens to be in my local raid group. The reader is also an all-around fan of Pokémon and is currently absorbed in one of the older Pokémon games. We were of the agreement that each day is a new experience, especially where Pokémon is concerned. Interestingly, it was pointed out that the reader considered Pokémon a "savior" of sorts during the teenage years. We concluded that everyone related to Pokémon has their own stories with it. And this led to the selected theme for this post.

As an aside, Pokémon Go has its own story for today. Similar to the Luvdisc special on Valentine's Day, today there is a Pikachu special - more specifically, it's a Party Hat Pikachu special, which is affectionately dubbed as "Partychu", with the special move of Present. The Party Hat accessory is also present on some hatched Pichu and remains on Raichu even after evolution; the move is only for Pikachu, though. I and my group have caught a number of these and witnessed others in action, and we think they're an interesting novelty, even if it's a repeat story - the same Pikachu was also encountered last year for Pokémon Day.

It's stories like these that are worth sharing so that others may know about them. I've written a bit about unknown stories, and it really is true; they're about experiences and feelings. I see why the reader I connected with earlier feels that way; in a way, I have the same feelings, and the similarity helps in the understanding. And then there are the experiences that we may not necessarily have the same of, even given the same circumstances. It becomes great to know and understand them through sharing.

It's been 22 years, and I'm certain that we the fans of Pokémon have many stories scattered in those years. If these stories from today are to go by, then they are as fascinating as much as they are unique. It's not hard to expect that many fans have similar stories, no matter which Pokémon games they play and who they connect with. May we continue to have many more stories in future years with Pokémon.

Happy 22^nd anniversary.

One year ago: Pokémon Day 2017 - 21st Anniversary