You Made Me a...

(Pain!) You made me a, you made me a

Believer, believer

(Pain!) You break me down, you build me up

Believer, believer

(Pain!) Oh let the bullets fly, oh let them rain

My life, my love, my drive, it came from...

(Pain!) You made me a, you made me a

Believer, believer

-- "Believer", Imagine Dragons

Pokémon is many things to many people. It can be a source of entertainment, something to accompany days as they go by, and/or a means of flexing one's mind. For the most devoted of fans like me, it can also be a source of self-confidence - something to believe in - to get through each and every single day. That (and don't ask me how else) has led me to think of this hit song from four years ago, which has grown on me recently.

Conceptually, the song is a little bit like another song about believing that I also thought of about a year ago, only love is absent and hardship is more evident (the "pain" as mentioned in the chorus that I've quoted above). Here, the hardship isn't really a hardship but is instead a driving force to get one through life. Of hardships, there is one big one out there in the world right now, and that's a driving force to be sure. But it is also true that Pokémon has displayed its share of hardships as well, in both real and imagined happenings. A personal one of mine can be summarized by two lines that are spoken in the music video of the above song:

"I wanna stop."

"We can't."

Similar stop-or-go moments have been present in many of my Pokémon experiences, whether in the games and related media, or even in social efforts like this blog (in fact, this post itself has suffered from stop-or-go moments as I'm writing it). In the end, due to my attraction to Pokémon, much indeed went on and little didn't. So there are actually two driving forces in this case: Pokémon itself and the hardships that may be equivalent to pain in connection to Pokémon. In effect, as with the chorus, I broke down, built up, and became a believer with many of my Pokémon efforts.

Of course, to truly enjoy Pokémon, one does not need to (and in fact, shouldn't) put oneself through hardships intentionally. Yet life happens - in the current case, life really is happening - and one may be subjected to hardship as it happens. To still enjoy Pokémon with that may be considered a hardship in itself. But if the song above is of any indication, it may be that the hardship is intended to instill continued faith that the above can still reasonably happen.

One year ago: Let's Play and Pokémon

Two years ago: Pokémon and Music Games, Revisited

Three years ago: (Late and Great) Local Ex-Raid, 9/3/2018

Four years ago: Bandai Pokémon XY Swing - Pikachu