How Do I Live, Without You?

And tell me now
How do I live without you?
I want to know,
How do I breathe without you?
If you ever go,
How do I ever, ever survive?
How do I, how do I, oh how do I live?
-- "How Do I Live?", originally sung by LeAnn Rimes

Something harrowing and regrettable happened after I shared the previous post I made on how earning PokéCoins are a lot like investing to my raid group. It made me feel very, very sad, something I haven't felt in a long time and not with a group of people who like Pokémon. One of my fellows has told me that things will be OK, but still, the damage had been done. It got me to think of what things would be like had I not become a Pokémon fan, and this in turn brought up this song. This song in actual fact has absolutely nothing to do with Pokémon, but to me it very much has connections to Pokémon.

It is very hard for me to imagine what my life would be like without Pokémon. As I've noted in this year's anniversary post, a reader said that Pokémon is a "savior" of sorts; I share the same sentiments. Without Pokémon, maybe I would have grown up to become a delinquent and caused lots of trouble for others, or maybe I would have grown up constantly feeling sad and empty, but I didn't. Pokémon filled the void that could conceivably have been filled by the negative sentiments I've mentioned, and possibly more. And I wouldn't have this blog, or any of the things now people know me for. It's like every bit said in the verses of the song, in particular one line: "I'd be lost if I lost you."

To take this connection one step further into Pokémon, I feel that this song also ties into one of the greatest links in the franchise: Ash and Pikachu. Based on the events of a particular adventure and the anime series overall, I'm convinced that Ash also can't become what he is without his partner. I would think that perhaps Ash would get up in the middle of the night and say the things that are sung in the song... or perhaps sing it outright. The connection seems not only believable but also powerful.

And now, I still feel quite a bit of sadness in my heart, but things go on. I still have this blog to write in, and I still have many, many Pokémon things to deal with so that I could put them into this blog, all with the hope that I can lift myself from this sad situation. It would be perhaps sadder still without Pokémon. I don't know how I would live and what things would be without Pokémon, but perhaps... that's not for me (or Ash) to know.

One year ago: Two Pokémon Notebooks