We all had to start out somewhere - what was your introduction to the world of Pokémon? Was it the games, or maybe the anime? The trading card game? What made the franchise so appealing that you've stuck with it for all this time...if indeed you are as much a fan now as you were when you first discovered it?
I was 3-4 years old and at a auction dad used to go to (it has since closed down, changed owners, and closed again). Among a bunch of toys and junk I spotted a stack of Pokémon cards. I was learning how to read, and found the images very interesting. They were all Trainer cards, no actual Pokémon, ranging from Base to Rocket sets. The 3D model ones really wowed me, and I spent a long time looking at them. I told my dad about them, and I guess he didn't really think much of them, because he bought them and even fueled my love of Pokémon for several years. Lol, now he just doesn't give a crap and isn't that fond of it anymore. One card that really stood out to me was Recycle. Recycle, if you remember back then, featured a beat up Jigglypuff being held by a claw machine. I didn't know Jigglypuff, or why it was so beat up, but I wanted to make that pink puffball feel better. Jiggly still holds a spot in my gaming heart, although I struggle to use it in games ( I have done it before, though. In one Red run I got to the E4 with a lv 60 Wigglytuff before I forgot about the game ;o;.)
As I mentioned in one other thread, I was at a Boy Scout summer camp. A bunkmate had a Gameboy (which I'd only previously seen in my dentist's office, and that with Tetris) with this game that I'd never seen before, and he allowed me to play it. I couldn't put it down (likely to his consternation), though I never got past Viridian Forest due to lack of additional save slot. It was only a bit later that the show began, and the rest (as they say) is history.
The Time: Fall/Winter 1998 The Place: My house I had just received the latest issue of Disney Adventures (RIP) in the mail, and one ad on the very last page intrigued me--a bunch of weird creatures about to be caught in a giant net. One of those creatures stood out to me--a little yellow mouse with a thunderbolt tail. I keep the little guy in mind as I put the finished magazine on the shelf with my other back issues. The next day at school, I asked one of my good friends at the time what this "Pokémon" thing was that was taking the school by storm. He shows me a figurine of the mouse Pokémon, and tells me its name is "Pikachu". Later that day, I saw the bus commercial on TV, and the rest was history--I got Blue that weekend.
Can't remember too well but I'm pretty sure it was with the anime first through classmates. I quickly got into the games as well, which was a huge help in learning English since I had just moved to America at the time. :> in the late 1990s as well! probably 1998 or so, like with wavepearl above
7-8 years of age, I received SoulSilver for the Nintendo DS. This game brought me into the franchise, but it didn't solidify me into Pokémon initially. That honor would go to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, which I received a year later. I already liked Pokémon, but being able to be one solidified my place in the Pokémon community. So, yeah, besides the TCG, which I didn't know existed until 2016, those are why I like Pokémon as much as I do.
My brother introduced me to the games when I was maybe in 2nd grade (I’m not exactly sure when) and I loved it. I’ve been playing ever since. My first game was Diamond on my metallic pink DS. Only later (maybe 3rd grade) did I discover the anime and TCG- neither of which I liked as much as the games.
I watched my class mates playing TCG as a 10 year old kid, got interested and asked for a deck a while later. Got one for my bday and became hooked.
I was introduced to Pokémon thanks to LeafGreen back when it was released. My brother, who knew about it thanks to his classmates and the anime, got it as a birthday present, and we both got really hooked to the franchise since then.
As for me, I first discovered Pokémon through a next-door neighbour, who bought one of the old Pokémon Master Guides (those were so good! I still have mine somewhere!) and a couple of action figures over once. Then I watched the first episode of the anime on SMTV Live (I'm no doubt showing my age to any British people here...) and shortly after that got a copy of Pokémon Red. ...then the craze happened, and Pokémon was literally everywhere. EVERYONE loved Pokémon, so naturally I did as well. xD
I was in sixth grade, age 11, when I got Pokémon Yellow for Christmas 1999 from my aunt, whose son was into Pokémon at the time. At the time, I didn't care at all about Pokémon, but I was told that I would like that game. Needless to say, after I got home and loaded the Game Pak into my Game Boy Color (which I got from my mom Christmas morning), I was hooked almost instantly.
My older brother was into Pokémon for as long as I can remember. My only time actually playing the games back then though was the Pokémon gold and Game Boy Color we kept in the car and only used for log car ride. I also watched the anime when it first aired but I still wasn't hooked on Pokémon until Ruby came out and I could play Pokémon whenever I wanted. I fell in love with the series and the rest is history.
I think I watched the anime a bit because of my brothers but I was more into power rangers and Yugioh if I got up early enough in the morning Digimon too but then in yr 4 my still very good friend showed me three Pokémon cards, espeon, umbreon and crobat and said I can choose one. I was shocked cos we'd just met but heck I chose espeon and from then I guess I got really into it. I have a whole fanfic I was writing in yr 7 I think I may revisit it one day.
My Mom bought me some cards that were on sale and I was immediately blown away by my Glaceon card. A year later, I picked up Heartgold version and got hooked on the games
A cross between my elder brothers' faults(?) and the Pokémon TV show. My elder brothers, all around 10 years older, are very much game nerds (and so is my mom, thinking about it) and I used to steal my brother's GB to play Emerald when I was little (I have pretty clear memories of playing it, and that one time I accidentally erased all my bro's saved data, whoops!) and watched Pokémon every time it was on the TV, and my love of Pokémon just continued to grow from there, along with a number of other game series. (I.E. Zelda, Halo, Original CoD Games, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy... and a bunch others, now that I think about it.)
At school when I was younger, there were a lot of Pokémon cards, and I liked keeping the ones I found looked nicer (didn't care about the actual card game). I also remember some other time with a friend who was older than me, we played with random character creators we found on deviantart, some had Pokémon. I think she had a Pikachu or Eevee wallpaper on her computer. Pokémon was really never much for me, until… that day when the ORAS demo installed itself on my 3ds. I played it, liked it, asked for the full game, and that's how it started!
It was on my 10th birthday or so when my mom got Pokémon Platinum for me. I didn't know anything about Pokémon back then, I only knew that it was a TV show because I watched it with my mom sometimes. But when I started playing it I was immediately hooked. I grew to love the world of Pokémon rather quickly. A little later I also got into the TCG and started collecting cards like crazy. My best friend at that time was also a huge Pokémon fan. We used to meet up and play on our DS or go outside and act like we were Pokémon Trainers and did imaginary battles. And yeah, that's pretty much how it all started.
I got introduced to the series because of my friends having Pokémon cards and I remember being fascinated by the holographic art etc.
