Evolution

This is something I thought (and kinda hoped) I would never write:

I bought a Pokemon game.  And I'm having a great time.

My first brush with Japanese pocket monsters was when I was around 15 and rockin' the Star Wars CCG something fierce.  Magic was going through the heyday that was the Rath Cycle, and Star Wars was the other big juggernaut on the CCG block.  Pokemon was also insanely popular but looked down upon as fodder for first-graders with sticky binders full of worn cards, or for that guy who wore the weird animal hats and bought manga online.

I recognized that Pokemon had some strong gameplay at its base and probably other vaguely-redeeming values, but as the craze took off onto Game Boys and TV shows, I turned away and said "No thanks; not for me.  It'll burn itself by the time these kids hit middle school."

12 years later those kids are in college, I'm standing at a GameStop needing a new RPG fix, and I hear Professor Oak whispering like a creepy guy on a street corner wearing a trenchcoat...

"Just give it a try.  What can it hurt; nothing says you gotta catch 'em all, right?"

Back to Basics


Here's what I didn't realize about Pokemon; it has all the elements of games I consider really fun.  Turn-based combat, leveling up through repeated random encounters, even a unique form of customization.  I mean, the trainer avatars all look the same, but it's really all about your starting lineup, and your Pokemon.

My first investment is Quilava.  He's a step up from one of the starting monsters you can pick from, and easily burns through the Grass-types you run into constantly in the beginning.  I evolved him purely on accident, and as he ran around setting other small critters on fire I knew I was hooked.  He'll eventually evolve into Typhlosion, and for right now he's my heavy hitter.

I also apparently picked up one of the best versions of the game to start with; Heart Gold is a remake of Pokemon Gold for Game Boy, and is not only one of the highest-rated Pokemon games but also one of the highest-rated handheld games.  I've been relying on some walkthroughs and strategy guides to help ease my way into the game, something I didn't do on Dragon Quest IX and caused me to stall out on it for now.

Poke-Neva-Gonna-Happen

Thankfully, the used version at GameStop did not come with the Pokewalker, a pedometer you can load one Pokemon onto so it can "walk" around with you.  Steps can level your Pokemon one level per day, and earn a currency called Watts that can be used in minigames to catch items.  I wouldn't be caught dead actually using one outside of a gaming convention, but I might have clipped it to my cat's collar so she could run around and play with it, a Pikachu inside screaming for help as she bats it up and down the stairs.

Good times.