POKEMANIA: WHY THE LITTLE CRITTERS ARE STILL SO LOVED
Here was a protagonist my age given a chance to explore his world, surf across oceans, dance with dragons. And every adult in this universe (even his mom!) encouraged him to roam free
ones you and your friends discovered and shared. And that spirit of community, of people gathering offline and ‘exploring’ together, is what would make Pokemon Go such a sensation 15 years later.
In 2016, Pokemon Go got people to pick up their smartphones and head outdoors. In a time of textbook answers and rote learning, it forced us to think, think laterally, and ask ‘what have I missed?’ I once spent an entire weekend ‘running between five cities’ trying to figure out why a wiggly tree still stood between me and in-game progression. It turned out all it needed was to be watered.
My favourite memory of the franchise comes from Pokemon Gold: When you were finally done exploring the region, had defeated the final boss, the Elite Four and the Champion, seen the end credits roll, you learnt that a new region had been unlocked, with new Pokemon, stronger opponents and a new Elite Four. The end-credit sequence was an entire game!
We’ve come to the franchise in different ways. Your start may have been the trading cards, the manga or the TV shows. Maybe you caught on to games from later generations. Or perhaps you were there on day one, with Pokemon Red and Blue. Whenever it was that you strapped on those running shoes, the reason for staying with the franchise was always the same, a unique sense of adventure.
That promise of never-ending adventure continues this weekend, with Pokemon Detective Pikachu, a film about a kid who goes looking for his lost father accompanied by a talking Pikachu.
Around the world, the game is still giving children sanction to explore. To quote the video game’s intro sequence: ‘Welcome to the world of Pokemon… Your very own Pokemon legend is about to begin.’