A Pokémon Forum Persona

Back when a good portion of communication on the Internet was done on online forums, I participated in a few of them. Of those, however, most weren't related to Pokémon, but all the same, I was able to meet a few people that like Pokémon as I do, or at the least appreciate it. It was this relation that allowed me to make connections and develop relationships with those people. It was also an enigmatic time with a lot of ups and downs, but there was also Pokémon to go along with it.

In those forums, in particular where Pokémon wasn't concerned, I also developed a kind of Pokémon "persona". Others began to know me as "the guy that likes Pokémon a lot", being that I incorporated it into many of my topics and posts. I and those other people also spoke and traded feelings about Pokémon, and this led to some long-lasting relationships even when the dynamics of online forums changed. I'm happy that this has happened, though.

One of those long-lasting relationships is with a guy whose screen name was "Sunner" or some variant thereof. Our relationship was kind of all over the place; I appreciated what he liked, he appreciated what I liked, and we both got a sense of each other. He shared with me his projects, and I shared with him my takes on them. Sometimes, we even went nuts about our stuff - but in a good way! 😁 Really, though, we recognized each other for what we liked; for me it was obviously Pokémon, though for him it was more closely related to animation. One time, he even shared with me a depiction of our relationship - he recognized my Pokémon persona and represented it as Ash, he encapsulated his as a swan, and in the depiction I was chasing him, a sign of our nutty relationship. It's all in good fun, though.

Coincidentally, it's his birthday today! If you're reading this, I wish you all the best.

These days, I'm more recognized for my Pokémon persona in other ways, but it's nice to know that this has happened previously in communication - through online forums - and it's fascinating to look back on this. I sort of miss the times we had when centralized social media wasn't prevalent and communication was more close-knit, though separated by sites. To carry a Pokémon persona in those days and to be able to link up with others that like it as well is nothing short of wonderful.