I Have No Childhood

I love Pokémon. I've loved Pokémon ever since it was first introduced to me in the form of the anime, at its release. It's a bit of a wonder, then, how White is my first step into a new region. My first games were Fire Red, then Soul Silver, two bits of nostalgia I'll never have. I feel I've failed somehow.

Spawning thoughts such as these was this little drawing (or series of drawings, rather) by the artist of the highly recommended webcomic Awkward Zombie. I don't know if it's jealousy or what, but my soul is a little crushed that I'm being sent back to freshman year instead of my childhood. My brain knows it's not my fault. It's not like I could scrounge together the kind of money it would take to get those games on my own. (First of all, it would have to occur to me to try that.) I've never felt this way about any series I've gotten into late before. What's so different about Pokémon?

I have no idea.

Let's rattle some other things off, shall we? Final Fantasy. I've never finished one, so I don't attach much emotion. Fable? It doesn't have the same magic. Halo was an acquired taste for me. And--hold that thought. Magic. What is this magic?

Huh. The Pokémon series has never really had much in the way of self-contained stories. There's a whole world of possibilities out there, and the highly customizable teams only provide the gasoline for your spark of imagination. Not to mention the ridiculously imaginative creatures that you're set loose with. That's probably why I am so constantly tempted to write and immediately regret fanfiction for it all the time.

Anyways, this was going to be a more conventional post of my first impressions, and not an essay on missed nostalgia. Which is a phrase I am going to wonder for a long time how to work into everyday conversation.

Our protagonist and his/her friends seem never to have stepped out of town before. That, coupled with the fact that they don't look ten years old this team around, and a few other things I can't focus hard enough on because I want to get this written so I can go back to playing and thinking of other ways to combat run-on sentences, seems to suggest some kind of growing-up theme. Also, the question of whether it's really right to train Pokémon in battle. (Though the answer's been around since Silver.) This is really early in the game, and probably common knowledge anyway, so not spoilers, right? Moving on.

The "nova" bit of Unova was probably no accident. Nova, of course, meaning new. This game is doing all sorts of things that have never been done in its series before. First off, you won't be seeing any of the Pokémon you've come to know and love until after the Elite Four, if rumors are to be believed. And at least the first tournament will only have new Pokémon qualify. Not to mention the less meta bits of the game. And this is something I can get behind. I have never had a chance before to see new Pokémon firsthand, learn their strengths and weaknesses, grow to hate and love them rather arbitrarily. I suppose I could have done it in the past by choice, but there is a large difference between that and being forced.

Aaand that does it. I give up trying to wax philosophical, if only because my dear Lillipup is calling my name with tears in his eyes. Well, it's either my name or "feed me."