Being Young and Proud

We're much too young
And life's so big
We don't know yet what the future brings in its hands for us
What tomorrow brings the future knows
No matter what you say, no matter what you do, we are united
Young and Proud, Young and Proud
We're on the same side of destiny
On the same side of destiny...
-- "Young and Proud", Ace of Base

One of the things that I like and find charming about Pokémon (and perhaps other people do too) is its prominent feature of youths as main or key characters. It's no surprise, as Pokémon is partly oriented to children and youths, something I've discussed every now and then. Yet that doesn't stop me and others from liking Pokémon, and that in fact may lead to a sense of pride. That brings to my mind this song, a classic from the early days of this music group.

The part that I've quoted above is the initial verse of the song. It seems it would be something perfectly applicable to a young Pokémon Trainer starting out on a journey. For someone so young, the world (and life) really is big, and the future is something of an unknown. But with a Pokémon alongside, anything may happen; whether good or not so good, the Pokémon and the Trainer are together. It may be a source of pride regardless, for the both of them.

Though much of the latter half of the song (including the chorus) speaks of unrequited love, it can also be construed as a desire to have this spirit, and thus, Pokémon. This might explain why many people, including me, still play Pokémon to this day. It becomes a longing for the good old days when they were younger and prouder. Perhaps the latter may not have changed, even though the former is no longer true. The spirit is what is sought after.

Pokémon features things that appeal to younger audiences, but in spite of that, older people also enjoy Pokémon. For me, this is not too much of a concern, and my friends who like Pokémon don't seem to be concerned about it either. What seems to be most important is the spirit of youth and pride, something that becomes the main theme of this song. I'm not (too) young anymore, but at least I still have some pride that I enjoy Pokémon. Why not - it's still a great thing to (long to) be young and proud.

One year ago: PokéNumbers