What does Pokemon mean to you?

[Flyg0n]

Pokemon as a franchise has such a wide scope. It has a diverse, wonderful world, teeming with possibilities.

So what does Pokemon mean to you?

In case you feel stumped, here are a couple questions to get you started:

Spoiler

1. When did you first get into Pokemon?
2. What made you get into it? Manga, games, show, etc.
3. What themes in Pokemon resonate with you?
4. Do you write fanfiction? What themes from pokemon do you always strive to use in your stories?

Of course, you don't have to use these questions at all! Feel free to answer in as long or short form as you like.

For me, Pokemon represents hope, possibility, and unity. A world where people choose to try and be their best selves, where truth and justice and compassion and kindness are common.

I absolutely LOVE the friendship and bonds aspect of pokemon. There's nothing that really gets me the way Pokemon and Humans, standing up for one another.

For me, the very essence of what I love about Pokemon is shown in Pokemon the First Movie and 2000.

"We do have a lot in common. The same Earth, the same air, the same sky. Maybe if we started looking at what's the same instead of what's different -- well, who knows."

The human sacrificed himself, to save the Pokemon. I pitted them against each other, but not until they set aside their differences did I see the true power they all share deep inside. I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.

"Lugia! Why are all those Pokemon down there?"

"Because they feel they must be here, in case they are needed. "

"But what can they do to help?"

"They are not sure and that is why they are here."

"Whaddya mean??)

"That just one Pokemon could help the world is worth the journey for thousands of them any day."

I love the way Pokemon (particularly Ash) embodies self-sacrifice and heroism. The way Pokemon and humans love each other, well near unconditionally. And the ways Pokemon help us become better people.

Not to mention the magic and wonder of it. Adventure! Fun! Ambition and drive!!! Friendship! Rivalries! Hope and joy!!! AHHHH I love it all!

This is my bread and butter too. These kinds of bonds... This is what gets me every time.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU_3BniydHk


These are the things that I love about Pokemon, and try to incorporate into my stories.

So, what does Pokemon mean for you?

 

[IFBench]

1. I first started with a copy of Explorers of Time back in 2011 or so. I couldn't figure out the controls and never played for more than 15 minutes. A few months later, I played Soulsilver, but never made it to the Elite Four. I didn't pick the franchise up again until back in June, when I started reading the manga. I then started playing RTDX in mid-July, and I've been hooked on PMD ever since.

2. The manga, I guess? Though the PMD games are what REALLY got me into it.

3. Friends can be found in the strangest of places.
Even in the darkest times, there's always a glimmer of hope.
It's not how long you live that matters, it's what you accomplish with your life.
Every end is also a new beginning.

4. Yes! I write Eternal Shadows, a PMD fic taking place after Super. You can find the link to it in the footer of this post. From the themes I mentioned above, I primarily use "Friends can be found in the strangest of places," "Even in the darkest times, there's always a glimmer of hope," and "Every end is also a new beginning," in it.

 

[cynsh]

Oh boy. Where do I begin? I've been a pokemon fan since I was given Fire Red when I was about 5. Although, the main series games haven't held a great deal of interest to me since gen 3 and 4, which I have replayed numerous times. Most of my recent pokemon interest comes from PMD.

I rediscovered PMD a few years ago. I don't think I've ever been so absorbed by a world, so attached to fictional characters. All the PMD games have this kinda, 'let's do our best, power of friendship' type beat to it, which I guess is cheesy but I can't help loving it. I remember reading a comment about why PMD is so impactful that really resonated with me. In fact, I'll just shamelessly copy it here.
By removing the 'people' from the story and replacing them with cute animals, I think it somehow makes the story more concise and affecting, possibly because you're not distracted by very human things such as physical appearance, and can focus more on character traits.
The climatic scenes in Explorers is probably my favourite moment of any video game ever, maybe even media as a whole. Way too good.

Do you write fanfiction? What themes from pokemon do you always strive to use in your stories?

Doesn't apply a whole lot to Fighting Nature (that's much more of an unusual take on pokemon I feel), but the last PMD story I wrote was very much trying to emulate the vibes of strong bonds between characters, lots of personal struggles, and ultimately good triumphing over evil. So I guess it's similar to what you identified @Flyg0n, even if you were talking about the maingames 😄

Pokemon just... allows me to express myself, I suppose. It's like a safe space from the hell that can real life. I don't know what I'd do without it. Thanks for coming to my ted talk-

 

[Dragonfree]

When did you first get into Pokémon?

The year 2000, age ten, when my cousins foisted it upon me after I'd been determined it was stupid.

What made you get into it?

The aforementioned cousins made me play Yellow, and I realized quickly that oh no I kind of loved it. What captured me first was the monster designs and the battle system.

What themes in Pokémon resonate with you?

I've always been drawn to media about animals or nonhumanoid creatures over humans, and loved fantastical creatures; this franchise was obviously a great match. The environmentalist themes that come up a bit were definitely something that resonated. I'm also hugely fond of media about friendship, and Pokémon has that in droves. It's also delightfully utopian - I like that the franchise strives to depict a world that's fundamentally good and built on cooperation and partnership.

Do you write fanfiction? What themes from Pokémon do you always strive to use in your stories?

Well... I don't really place any kind of restriction on myself there! My two flagship chapterfics are extremely different in tone, mood, interpretations of the Pokémon world, etc. So where The Quest for the Legends tries to largely retain the overall feel of the canon even if it has darker elements than canon would go for, Morphic is an entirely different, grittier and more cynical universe that's more based on real life but with Pokémon, because that's what suited that particular story. My one-shots have been set in several different sorts of universes, depending on what tickles my creativity at that particular moment. So there isn't really anything I strive to always use in my stories.

Because I'm into friendship, though, friendship is a major theme even in Morphic. Less because it's an element of the Pokémon canon than because it's something I happen to enjoy, though!

 

[DeliriousAbsol]

When did you first get into Pokemon?

Back in 1999 when my Dad got my sister and I Red and Blue for Christmas. We begged for the games early, and were playing them in November. I've continued to follow the franchise, while my sister still likes it but prefers the nostalgia. We both really enjoyed watching Detective Pikachu =D

What made you get into it?

The games! My Dad got me into it by getting my sis and me a Gameboy Colour one year, along with a Nintendo magazine. He was raving about the article. A few months later, we finally watched the anime.

What themes resonate with you?

Friendship and hope, standing strong in times that can seem dire. I also really like the environmental aspects that are brought into it. Corsola's Galarian form hits hard! The harmony between humans and nature in the games is lovely, and something we need to consider for our world, even if it's not going to be easy. We were put on this earth to care for it, something I am very passionate about.

Do you write Fanfiction? What themes from Pokemon do you always strive to use in your stories?

I write fanfiction, yes! I'm not sure about the themes. Pokemon allows a lot of creativity when it comes to fan works, and I go all out. My stories are often quite dystopian, although hope is a key element I try to convey. Friendship is often another element I use, and given the stories are very pokecentric, I don't get across that human/animal friendship (unless you count Switch from the System universe, but he was in a world inhabited by anthropomorphised critters!) I tend to deviate away from game lore, tbh, and put my own spin on things. I also try to incorporate my faith using metaphors that will be familiar to any serious Pokemon fan.

Anything else?

I love the friendships we can make through this fandom. The VGC side is great, although I find it hard to make friends in person as I'm pretty shy. I feel I've made good friends online, however, and I love being a part of this community.

 

[K_S]

When did you first get into Pokemon?

I was a bit of a latecomer to the series. While I knew of it's existence as a young child I only became interested in the games in my teens.

What made you get into it? Manga, games, show, etc.

It was a weird mix mach of the manga and the games, though I adored the card games first rather than the video games. My first invested experience with the game was ages ago we had an underground gym league that I helped run (underground because the card games, all of them, magic, yougioh, ect. were seen as gambling and strictly prohibited) and I was one of the gym leaders. We had an impromptu badge system where you had to meet with the leader at lunch/rest period and if you won against eight of the "leaders", there were fifteen of us to make sure everyone had a fair shot, you had to go against the best player in the school... And if you won you got that title thrust upon you and everyone else cuing to take you down. Fun times.

What themes in Pokemon resonate with you?

I'm fond of the exploration and rough and tumble nature of the journeys. The idea of two species (humans and 'mon) working together to either conquer their little corner of the world/league or explore the world around them. I adored the manga for it's rather dark themes and the ideas it pursued more than the mainstream stuff.


Do you write fanfiction? What themes from pokemon do you always strive to use in your stories?

I do write fanfic. I don't really strive for certain themes I just like batting ideas around and seeing how they mesh together. I'm fond of the found family troupe though and tend to have it be generational. Seriously my main series have Oak all but rearing Giovanni(while alive and utterly corrupt his parents range from wildly neglectful and abusive, Oak was a slice of normalcy for Gio that helps the man pull his head out of the sand much earlier than canon and while not avert total tradgedy he's a humanizing force enough that Gio learns when to stop before things get out of hand) and Giovanni eventually matures enough under Oak that he starts to take the various younglings on their Journeys under his wing evne while he's a villian. The possitive influence Oak exerts is enough to culminate with Gio hauling himself out of retired monster retirement to take Ash under his wing and start rehabilitating the boy and a broken and corrupt league system that's throwing all the children that go through it under the bus

 

[Luxray1000]

1. When did you first get into Pokemon?
   Probably around 2006/2007.
2. What made you get into it? Manga, games, show, etc.
   My first exposure to Pokemon was in the form of Pokemon cards that were being traded among my friends at school. I was interested but had no idea what they were, so one day I asked one of my friends while visiting his house, and he was kind enough to give me a few cards and introduce me to the series. That Christmas, I got Pokemon Diamond which is what really kickstarted my love for the series.
3. What themes in Pokemon resonate with you?
   Friendship, and a general level of wholesomeness, though that's not to say I don't enjoy the occasional dark moments. In addition, being a fan of non-human-centered stories, I like PMD in particular for having that as a core element of the setting.
4. Do you write fanfiction? What themes from pokemon do you always strive to use in your stories?
   I write shorts from prompts and have dabbled in (though not posted, yet at least) longer stories. These tend to be PMD stories and I tend to like including the classic theme of companionship, though some of my ideas take a more deconstructive route.

 

[Katanaeyegaming]

1. In 2010 when I got to play Pearl and Heartgold
2. Nothing really made me get into it I just did tbh.

Pokemon is a vast franchise and one that can only be described as unique. I enjoy various aspects of it and no matter what this passion has only grown by the day :)