Media Essays: Pokémon: 30th Anniversary Special Post (Part 1)

Happy 30th Anniversary Pokémon!

Flippin' heck...this franchise is officially THIRTY YEARS OLD now?! I remember being there when the franchise started! How far we've come since then...

For those who have been following my blog since the day I posted my first post, you'll no doubt be very aware of the fact I am a massive Pokémon fan. Heck, the second post I ever created for this blog was a Pokémon related post! And I've gone on to make many, many, MANY Pokémon related posts over the years. So yeah, I'm quite the fan. You're shocked, I can tell. XD

So with this being Pokémon's 30th anniversary, I naturally had to do a post for the occasion. This post will be going into detail about my experiences with the franchise, how I got started and then I'll be sharing a few of my favourite things from Pokémon. This will range from favourite generation to favourite starter to favourite battle and of course, my overall favourite mon of the franchise. I have a lot of favourites to list, hence this post will be split into two parts. So without further ado, let's celebrate this special occasion and get on with the post!

My Pokémon Story

I was born in the year 1994, a whole two years before the Pokémon franchise came to the west, so I was very much there at the time the franchise was new and when it became the big pop culture phenomenon as we know it. I can't remember exactly WHEN I first got into the franchise. It could've been either 1997, 1998 or 1999. I do at least remember getting into the franchise at least some time before Pokémon: The First Movie came out as I can remember seeing some of the advertisements hyping it up and even owning the VHS at the time. But all I do know is that much like with a lot of franchises I got into, I got into Pokémon thanks to my older brother. He was watching it one day and I just joined in with him. I distinctly remember the first episode of the anime I ever watched being "So Near, Yet So Farfetch'd". So yeah, I got started a bit late in the anime didn't I? Luckily on repeats, I was able to see all the other episodes before hand. I think I used to watch the show on channels like Sky One and Toonami at the time. But all this is to say that I, like many fans, got into the franchise via the anime more so than the games. But I DID have some exposure to the games. We didn't have any Gameboys at the time, but I do remember me and my older brother used to play Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon Gold on our PC. I presume it was via an emulator since I can't think of any other way we did it. Unfortunately, playing the games this way meant me and my brother couldn't ever save our progress, so we never got very far on them. I also remember playing the Pokémon TCG video game this way too. On that subject, my older brother did use to collect the cards as well. We never actually played them, me especially. I just admired the artwork. It wouldn't be until much later in life when I learned how to actually play the card game. XD

But those weren't the only exposure to the games me and my brothers had. There was also Generation 3 with the Ruby and Sapphire games that came out in the early 2000's. For Christmas one year, I got a Gameboy Advanced SP, quite possibly the first games console I ever owned myself, and I got Pokémon Sapphire while my older brother got Pokémon Ruby. I never really played much of Pokémon Sapphire, but I did try it out a few times at least. Otherwise I would more watch my brother when he played Pokémon Ruby. I also remember my older brother playing Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen too. As is, most of my childhood concerning Pokémon involved watching the anime (I got up to Pokémon: Advanced Battle and stopped after that) or playing with the toys. I even remember I had this thing of making paper Onix with whatever scrap paper I could find. I also watched at least three of the movies, those being the first, third and fourth movies. Later in life, I watched Pokémon: The Movie 2000 and Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! Overall, my childhood had plenty of Pokémon in it and I had a lot of exposure to the franchise.

But then after Gen 3 ended and the anime had the infamous voice actor change, for whatever reason I just...fell out of the franchise and thus throughout my teen years, I never really indulged in anything Pokémon related for a while. I have no idea why I stopped with the franchise, it was just one of those things I guess. It wasn't until later in life, around 2018 or 2019 I think, when I got back into the franchise. And what was it that got me back into Pokémon? Watching someone play Pokémon: Battle Revolution on the Wii. Yeah, that was all it took. XD I just saw them play the game, it looked cool and it reminded me of how I loved Pokémon back then and thus I wanted to play it for myself and it lead to me checking out on so many things I'd missed out on since Gen 3 ended.

I got myself a Nintendo DS and a copy of Pokémon Platinum at the London MCM comic con in 2019 and played it. Pokémon Platinum was the first time I'd ever played a Pokémon game all the way through and I had a great time with it. This lead to me playing many of the other games I'd missed out on like Diamond, Black & White, White 2, X, Alpha Sapphire, Sun and Ultra Sun while also replaying Sapphire and LeafGreen. I'd caught up with the franchise just in time to join in with the Sword and Shield hype. In 2020, just before Covid shut the world down, I managed to save enough money to buy myself a Nintendo Switch lite from CEX and a copy of Pokémon Sword and Shield each and spent most of my time in lockdown adventuring through Galar and becoming the very best like no one ever was. Since then, I've not missed a single Pokémon game that's newly released. I've gone on to play Let's Go Pikachu!, the Diamond & Pearl remakes, Legends Arceus, Scarlet and Violet, Legends Z-A and the DLCs for Sword and Shield, Scarlet and Violet and Legends Z-A. I've also watched some seasons of the anime I missed in that time such as Diamond and Pearl and X and Y and also watched Journeys as it came out. And of course, I've been following Pokémon Horizons since Episode 1, as you'll know from the many blog posts I've done talking about that show.

Oh and I'd be amiss if I didn't talk about how Pokémon has arguably impacted my life more than any other franchise I've indulged in. Why is that? Because it was playing Pokémon Sword and Shield and writing Pokémon fanfics that inspired the characters of Ruby, Emerald and Sapphire Silverlock and would later inspire me to create my own book series starring the trio and separate them from their Pokémon inspired roots. Yeah, you know my The Silverlock Sisters series of books? Pokémon of all things got that off the ground. Yes really. So yeah, I owe Pokémon the fact I'm now a self-published author who's writing his own book series. How's that for being inspired by your childhood favourite? So yeah, thank you Pokémon. Thanks to you, I've achieved my dream of becoming an author. Thank you from now and forever... ^^

And that concludes my Pokémon story. Childhood favourite, then I drifted out of it for a period of my life, and then I got back into it and haven't left it since. And I never intend to leave it again. It really does feel like I've had a lot of joy come back into my life ever since returning to Pokémon. Now that's done with, let's further celebrate this franchise's birthday with some of my favourite things from Pokémon...

Favourite Generation: Gen 3

To me, this was when the franchise truly peaked and was the best time to be a Pokémon fan.

I can't say for certain why Gen 3 is my favourite other than it's the one I feel the most nostalgic for. Yes, even more so than Gens 1 and 2. I just remember loving most of the Pokémon designs from this generation with the starter trio, the Legendary trio, Aggron, Camerupt and Metagross being some of my favourite designs to ever come out of Pokémon in general. The fact the first game I ever played myself and not with my older brother or watched him play was a Gen 3 game might also be a factor. Gen 3 gave us peak Pokémon designs and I don't think any generation has ever come close to topping it, as well as gave us fun new battle mechanics to play with like double battles or the introduction of contests to add another way to enjoy the games. This generation was also when the anime began getting more experimental with its formula and also started writing stronger companions for Ash. No offence to Misty and Brock, but they really were just kinda there to support Ash and didn't really have stories of their own while May marked the first time Ash's companions would feel like secondary protagonists to give the anime more stories to tell than just Ash's.

For many people, Gen 1 or Gen 2 was their era of Pokémon. For me, it was Gen 3 and I'm glad that Gen 3's impact on the franchise is still felt years later what with remakes of the Gen 3 games, double battles still being a feature or many Gen 3 Pokémon receiving the Mega Evolution treatment. This to me was when the franchise truly peaked...

Favourite Pokémon: Raichu

You've probably heard me say this in previous blog posts, but it bears repeating here. Of all 1,025 Pokémon that have ever been created, Raichu is my favourite. Always has been and always will be. Yes, even as a kid I was the kind of guy who would yell "Screw Pikachu, Raichu's way cooler!" and I hate how GameFreak always shills Pikachu at Raichu's expense. At least Legends Z-A gave it two Mega Evolutions, that was very much appreciated. Anyway, Raichu's my favourite Pokémon for many reasons. It's a classic design, it looks appropriately powerful as the evolved form of Pikachu, it's reliable to use in battle, the anime sold me on how cool it is (even if they have an annoying habit of portraying Raichu as an antagonist) and it's just a Pokémon I always have fun catching and using on the team. I just love the electric mouse even if it seems like nobody else does. Raichu is my definitive Pokémon and one I'll always be happy to have on the team...

Favourite Starter: Mudkip

Yes people, you herd I liek mudkipz.

Every generation has its own starter trio and I have my own favourites among them. If you're curious, my favourite starters from each generation include Squirtle, Totodile, Mudkip, Turtwig, Oshawott, Fennekin, Litten, Scorbunny and Fuecoco respectively. But when it comes to my favourite starter in general? It's got to be Mudkip. I mean...LOOK AT IT! How can you not love this adorable little axolotol mon? Who could say no to that face? Mudkip is precious and I'll protect it with my life! I love the design of Mudkip, how it's based on a relatively obscure animal and how it becomes a total badass when it evolves all the way into Swampert. Oh and Swampert can Mega Evolve too, so Mudkip becomes an even bigger badass when it fully evolves. All this and more are reasons why Mudkip is my favourite starter. You can guarantee that whenever I'm journeying through Hoenn, nine times out of ten I'll be picking Mudkip to start with. Now I wonder if we'll get a Legends game with Mudkip as a starter there...

Favourite Legendary Pokémon: Giratina

Legendary Pokémon are always a treat when it comes to the games. They're like the final reward you can claim before facing the Champion at the end of the game and an added powerhouse you can abuse to your heart's content. Many of them are awesome, but none are more awesome to me than Giratina.

Giratina has a design that just works for me as this huge ghostly dragon creature with two different forms, altered and origin. My personal favourite is origin forme Giratina where it has the large spider-like appendages on its back and looks more serpent like. The colours add to Giratina's menacing presence and I like how its cry in the games sounds like some kind of hellish scream. Speaking of hell, the satanic concept behind Giratina is really awesome too, giving it this "fallen angel" vibe that emphasizes how Giratina represents antimatter. It also shows how terrifying this beast is when you consider Arceus banished it to the Distortion World because of its violent nature! When you're a Pokémon so dangerous that the GOD OF POKEMON ITSELF has to seal you away? That says so much! It just further makes me love this thing for how it's not like your typical Legendary and looks so cool and threatening. It also made for an awesome boss fight against Volo in Legends: Arceus. I also have a soft spot for Giratina due to it being the first Legendary Pokémon I ever caught. Remember, it took me until obtaining Pokémon Platinum in 2019 to play a Pokémon game all the way through, ergo Giratina was my first ever Legendary capture.

With its demonic appearance, threatening nature, cool typing and how it's the satanic archetype of Pokémon, all this and more is why Giratina is my favourite Legendary Pokémon...

Favourite Type: Dragon

I once did a list of my favourite Dragon-type Pokémon and I outright said in that list that Dragon is my favourite typing. That has not changed since I made that list, Dragon still remains my favourite type.

It's very simple as to why that is: I love dragons, I love Pokémon, so of course I love dragon-type Pokémon. Also Dragon-types tend to be some of the most powerful and coolest Pokémon you can catch in the games with many of them like Hydreigon, Haxorus, Tyrantrum, Salamence, Flygon, Noivern and Dragapult boasting some of the best designs in Pokémon history and many of them really pull their weight in battle. The ones that can Mega Evolve are even more awesome because of that. I also feel that Dragon-types can be really powerful offensively when it's paired up with another type with Dragon/Steel being the best in that regard, as well as the best Dragon-typing defensively.

If I was a Gym Leader, I'd specialize in Dragon-types, no question about it. Now what would my team be? I'd use Salamence, Archaludon, Haxorus, Noivern, Baxcalibur and Hydreigon as my strongest team you'd battle against in the post game. I bet even Fairy-types would be nervous about fighting a team like this...

Favourite Battle Gimmick: Dynamax

This picture's from the first time I played Pokémon Sword. How long ago that seems now...

But back on subject, many of you Pokémon fans are probably looking at me in confusion. "Seriously Media Man? DYNAMAX is your favourite battle gimmick?! Why not Mega Evolution? You're a weirdo!" I bet that's what you're all thinking right now. If so, then screw you because I'm not a weirdo. =P If you're NOT thinking that, then allow me to explain. While yes, Mega Evolution is awesome and Legends Z-A made it even more awesome now more Pokémon can Mega Evolve, I just think other battle gimmicks like Z-Moves, Terastalization and of course, Dynamax, are objectively better battle gimmicks. Why? Because EVERY Pokémon can use them! Mega Evolution is too restrictive and basically forces you to have a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve in order to actually use it. But Dynamax? Anyone can use it and thus it means your team doesn't have to be built specifically in order to make use of the gimmick.

It also helps that Dynamaxing is both hilarious and awesome at the same time. I mean what's not to love about pummelling your opponent to death with a giant Pokémon? Certain mons have Gigantamax forms that also change their appearances when they Gigantamax and also gives them unique signature moves, which can make Dynamaxing those particular mons more special. That and Dynamaxing has so many benefits to it. First of all, all your attacks are 100% accurate so you can give your mons moves that have terrible accuracy, but it won't matter because when you Dynamax, the attacks will become Max Moves and never miss. Second, your mons get a huge increase in HP and Defence, so they can take more of a hit. Third, you can't block attacks from Dynamax Pokémon unless you use Max Guard or something. Fourth, Max Moves often have a secondary effect that can help you take down your opponents. All this makes Dynamaxing a useful power-up that can easily turn the tide in a Pokémon battle. Too bad it's restricted to Galar so only Galarians can use it. But that just makes the gimmick all the more special whenever I play Sword and Shield.

Pokémon has given us many cool ways to enhance the way we battle, but Dynamaxing I feel is the gimmick that towers above all others...

Favourite Region: Galar

I'm British, so I'm gonna be a bit biased in favour of a region based on my home country.

Still, it's not just me being British as to why I love the Galar region. Playing Sword and Shield as many times as I have, I've proper become invested in this region and its culture. I love how Galar accurately reflects like in the UK with the way the characters talk, how accurately they use British dialects and terms, how many of the cities and towns feature architecture that is commonly seen in the UK and especially how Pokémon battling is seen as a major sporting event, not just a thing other regions do. Let me tell ya, my country is quite obsessed with sports, especially football, so Pokémon battles being akin to a major sports event is so damn accurate to UK culture. Ironically, I'm a Brit and I don't get why sporting events are seen as a big deal. Now if said sporting events were all about Pokémon battles, THEN I'd be interested...

The Galar region is just so much fun for me to play through and explore due to how it's based on my home country of England and thus it's a region I feel the most at home in. But it also just looks cool in general from how the buildings are designed, how some of Galar's landmarks resemble famous UK landmarks like Big Ben, the London Eye and more, the presence of the Wild Zones that give you a wide variety of Pokémon to catch both old and new, some of the new Pokémon introduced in this region are awesome like the Galar starters, Toxtricity, Dragapult, Obstagoon, Drednaw, Sirfetch'd and many more, the DLC expands the world of Galar with two cool locations to try out and the history and lore of Galar is among some of Pokémon's strongest world-building yet. That plus the region being home to some of the most memorable characters in the franchise's history like Hop, Marnie, Mustard, Peony and all the Galar Gym leaders really make this an unforgettable location in the world of Pokémon.

What else can I say? It's a region that feels close to home and has so many things to love about it. If the Pokémon world was real, I'd love to visit Galar and see it in all its glory...

Favourite Game: Pokémon Sword and Shield

I know this is something fans will be looking at me dirty for, but that's the case with me. Sword and Shield are my favourite Pokémon games.

I don't care what anyone else has been saying about the game. Yes the story is weak, yes Chairman Rose was a weak villain, yes the trees have bad textures, yes the games are a little too easy and yes the DLCs are more or less a series of fetch quests. Do I care about all those problems? HELL NO! I still have a great time playing Sword and Shield. For me, this was when Pokémon games really took a step in the right direction and properly made the jump to 3-D, which contrary to what many people think, was the best direction for the series to go. Pokémon games are just so much more enjoyable than their 2-D predecessors ever were because of this change for the better. The fully 3-D environments actually make me feel like I'm going on a journey in a new region and not just walking across a map for several hours, the 3-D graphics look way better in these newer games than they did in the 3DS era and we're able to get more epic cutscenes that make the gaming experience more memorable, which you couldn't get in the previous games. Sword and Shield was the moment the games truly changed for the better, and it's one thing I love about them so much.

It also helps that they're so fun to play too thanks to Galar being an awesome region to explore, the characters being enjoyable (except for Bede, screw that guy) and fun to meet, so many awesome Pokémon to catch and train, the camping feature that lets you feel closer to your team as you play and make curries with them, the awesome Dynamaxing gimmick and for being a breezy experience that doesn't make grinding feel too much of a chore. The games have also been a big part of my adult life what with getting me through the pandemic era and all and also inspiring me to try out my first ever Nuzlocke challenge, which you can read here on FanFiction.Net. Oh and these two games were what inspired the creation of the Silverlock sisters due to playing around on the customization features and getting the designs for the trio that led to me creating those characters that have since gone on to be the protagonists of my book series. How can I NOT name Sword and Shield as my favourite games in the series for impacting my life as hugely as THAT?!

Oh and because they're my favourite games, I got Veronica Taylor to sign my copy of Pokémon Sword when I met her at a Comic-Con in 2025. You better believe I'm going to treasure this. :D

So yeah, I have many reasons as to why Sword and Shield are my favourite Pokémon games. There was a time where it was close between these two and Scarlet and Violet, but in the end I chose Sword and Shield because of how impactful they were for me and how these are the games that solidified my return to the Pokémon fandom. No seriously, it's thanks to these two I've carried on playing every new game that's come out since. That plus the fact these games led to me becoming the author I am today are the biggest reasons as to why Sword and Shield are my favourite Pokémon games of all time...

Favourite Season of the Anime: Diamond & Pearl

Despite missing this portion of the anime back when it first aired and growing up with the original series, I really do think of all the anime seasons I've seen so far (by that, I've seen the Indigo League, Orange Islands, Johto series, Advanced era, X and Y, Journeys and Horizons) that this is the best one. It would've been Horizons if it wasn't for certain dumb writing decisions and the time-skip era completely dropping the ball knocking it down several pegs. As a result, this reigns supreme to me.

I'm sure many fans will be happy to hear me say that since Diamond and Pearl is unanimously agreed to be among the best seasons of the anime with only X and Y being close to topping it. This was the season of the anime I feel played with its typical formula the best. Dawn was more or less the secondary protagonist and not just Ash's travel companion so the show had less filler since it had both Ash and Dawn's stories to juggle, Dawn herself was the best companion Ash has EVER had (objective fact), Ash was challenged as a trainer in ways he never was before, Paul was the greatest rival Ash has ever had, the battles were often exciting and run, it adapted the Diamond and Pearl games quite faithfully, it wasn't afraid to challenge its characters and put them in tough spots every now and then (need I bring up Dawn's infamous losing streak or Ash's crippling defeat to Paul at Lake Acuity?), Team Galactic were formidable villains who posed a genuine threat whenever they showed up and overall, the series was just a great watch from start to finish.

It isn't perfect by any means of course. Dawn had too many rivals so many of them felt pointless or underdeveloped, the filler episodes were still boring filler that we could do without, the series was four seasons long, which made it feel overly padded as a result, Barry was annoying as s**t and Ash's defeat at the hands of Tobias was pure Tauros-crap. Seriously, the writers really couldn't think of a better way for Ash to lose here? Some random guy with a team of Legendries was seriously the best they could come up with? Lazy and pathetic writing! But those don't ruin the series for me. I still had a great time with this era of the anime and I consider the Wallace Cup and Ash vs. Paul at the Sinnoh League to be among the best moments of the entire anime. If you have to check out only one era of the Pokémon anime, make it this one...

Favourite Movie: Pokémon: The First Movie

Yes, I know, the movie's not all that great. Do I care though? Not really. I still have a huge soft spot for it. ^^

Nostalgia does play a huge part in my enjoyment of the movie, I admit, but I still enjoy it for more than just that. I love how Mewtwo is portrayed here and how his arc was handled, the animation is still really pretty to look at, the stakes feel bigger than what we got from the show at the time and the whole scale of the movie just made everything feel more epic. Yes I can see the problems with the movie and how completely inaccessible it is to newcomers and how the whole "fighting is wrong" message is overly preachy, but I still have a fun time with this movie regardless. I do agree that Pokémon the Movie 3 is better, but this one just left more of an impact on me, so I tend to remember this one more fondly. I haven't seen every Pokémon movie yet, so maybe there are better ones out there (Before anyone brings up Detective Pikachu, I'm referring strictly to the anime movies. Detective Pikachu doesn't count). But as far as I'm concerned, this will be my favourite Pokémon movie and likely will stay that way for as long as I live...

Continued in Part 2...

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