I Love Cheap Pokémon Thrills

Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight
(I love cheap thrills!)
Baby I don't need dollar bills to have fun tonight
(I love cheap thrills!)
I don't need no money
As long as I can feel the beat
I don't need no money
As long as I keep dancing
-- "Cheap Thrills", Sia

I was out with a few of my friends today when I heard this song, one that I'd heard a few times before but have never thought about much. But when I heard it today, I realized that it makes sense given what I do with my attraction to Pokémon and its games in particular. I really do like cheap Pokémon thrills in the sense that I like spending the least amount of money to get some Pokémon fun, but not in the way that you'd expect.

What I'm talking about is that I like having Pokémon games that continue to have a lot of replay value for what I spend on it. Obviously the main series has this in spades as you can concoct a huge variety of teams for just about any battle, and the Mystery Dungeon series have extended ultimate missions that serve as a challenge for the best of the best. That way, I can say that it's a "cheap thrill" because I already have the game and I don't need to spend too much more on it to play out the game to the fullest - I just have to play and play. Though it's a little not cheap at the beginning, it's still cheap as long as it's being played.

For the new breed of games that allow purchase of items, a "cheap thrill" means spending as little as possible to achieve as many things as possible. I finished Pokémon Picross without spending any money at all, though it did take a long time to do it; I could have finished faster by spending for Picrites, but then after the game is complete there is not much in the way of replay value, so I'm glad that I have taken the time. Pokémon Shuffle, meanwhile, is an open-ended game (at least for now), so I don't mind spending a little so that I can make greater progress. I wouldn't go to extremes of spending like some other players, but a little may be fine the way I deal with these games.

Thus, "cheap thrills" for games, including Pokémon ones, means making the most of a game (that is, playing it) without spending more on it - or at the least much more - than what has already been spent. For that, Sia's song above really rings true that it is (and should be) possible to have fun without needing to have cash on hand or more than absolutely needed. It is what I personally consider appreciable and applicable in regard to many Pokémon games.