My First Pokemon: A Tribute To The Original Series

#Pokemon20

I am sure that all of us that had played Pokemon when it first came out have extremely found memories of the game. The first time we inserted our chosen game cartridge into the Gameboy and watched as history was being written in front of us. We began our journey in Kanto and had to meet the Legend that was Professor Oak. He introduced us to the world of Pokemon and gave us a choice of three to help us begin our journey. It was a journey that would become an obsession to catch all 150 Pokemon (151 if you count Mew via a glitch). However, not all Pokemon could be caught in one game, you had to make trades with other players to get those that weren’t available in your own version and some pokemon relied on being traded in order to evolve (Graveler and Haunter to name a few).

My first experience was not on the Gameboy or Gameboy Colour but on the N64. It started with Pokemon Stadium Which was an amazing game in its own right and it brought all our favourite Pokemon into the 3rd Dimension, much like Super Mario and the Legend Of Zelda. Bringing Pokemon to life in this way gave depth to our loveable Pokemon and also seeing their attacks in full effect was astounding, even now it still looks pretty good. The graphics may look a bit sub par now compared to what we have now and have came to expect. Pokemon Stadium had all 150 Pokemon to choose from with their own moves and levels corresponding with each particular tournament class.

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Playing with the default Pokemon was all well and good but they were let down by their own statistics. They lacked strength and were no real match for the tougher stages of the tournaments. The plus side was that you could bring your own Pokemon into Pokemon Stadium using the nifty Transfer Pak that allowed you connect your game cartridge of Pokemon Red, Blue or Yellow to the N64 Controller and opened up a world of options. You could bring your own Pokemon into Pokemon Stadium to compete in the tournaments. You could take on the Elite Four in 3D and finally face off against Mewtwo again to become the true champion of Pokemon. You could also trade Pokemon in the Transfer Lab and best of all, You could play Pokemon Red, Blue & Yellow on your TV. It was here I entered the real world of Pokemon.

I remember the music, the sound effects, the pixel graphics, the way every town had its only coloured background. The fights with wild pokemon, Trainers & Gym Leaders. The long enduring hours spent on leveling up the pokemon in my team to take on the likes of the Elite Four and my Rival to become the ultimate Pokemon Champion. My first starter Pokemon was Squirtle. I love the water and all manner of sea creatures and so Squirtle was my obvious choice. He also had the kickass evolution form Blastoise which was a huge beast with Cannons and lets face it, other than Charizard fans, who didn’t like Blastoise. I trained and nurtured him all the way to Lv. 1oo and made him a true force to be reckoned with.  This game became my life for many months as I made it my mission to collect all the water Pokemon I could. Of course I collected as many of the others as well, but water was my forte. Saying that, My team did not consist of all water types. It was made up of many different types to gain the best advantage, including Blastoise, Alakazam, Arcanine & Kangaskhan to name a few.

The added plus with playing it on the N64 was that as you completed certain tournaments you unlocked extra speeds so you can play the game faster. It made the sometimes long winded attacks and battles more rapid and fluid. but best of all was when you saw your very own Pokemon come to life in Pokemon Stadium. Their strength, stats and moves, carefully tailored and prepared for anything. Pokemon Stadium was a great game to play but what made it great was the privilege of playing Pokemon Red, to really get involved in the world of Pokemon. The highs, the lows, the victories and defeats, it was a truly defining game and one of my all-time favourite experiences in gaming. I may not have a clue of what to do, or how to train pokemon in  Pokemon X or Y or even Alpha Sapphire or Omega Ruby. I don’t even know what half of them are or supposed to be but I will always remember the Original Series and the good times I had playing it.

Until Next Time, Keep On Gaming!!!