Confessions of a First-Time Pokémon Player.

So it seems my computer will not automatically put the ´ above the e in Pokémon. It does, however, recognize that Pokemon is not a word, while Pokémon is a word. Pokémon is truly an international craze, but one that for some reason I just totally missed. I would like to think that it is a generational thing, just like how I loved Gummi Bears and kids now love Dora.  But the truth is, many of the people my age got into the Pokémon craze, even if they were on the older side of the revolution. This is embarrassing to admit, but until X and Y, I had never played even one second of a Pokémon game. I have had a few of you folks admit to me that you’re in the same boat; perhaps you have only watched a few people play (probably mocking them), have played a few minutes here and there, or maybe you’ve never played either, like me. I have been playing X now since it came out, and so I thought I would give my first impressions, reactions, and pose some questions. Keep in mind, this is not a review, nor is it going to be informative in any way. I am a noob when it comes to this game, though I am enjoying it immensely.

1. The Relationship

The first thing that confuses me about Pokémon is the actual relationship between the Pokémon and the humans. If you have never played Pokémon before, let me try and sum up the relationship (again, this is based entirely off of what I’ve gleaned from X). So you’re a Pokémon trainer, in training, so to speak. You travel through the world battling other Pokémon trainers and trying to get more training cred. A battle consists of you literally throwing a Pokémon into a battle area, where another Pokémon waits, and then they do things like headbutt and incinerate each other until one of them runs out of “energy” and “faints.” To get Pokémon to fight for you, you have to find them in their natural habitats, usually grass or flowers or caves, and fight them until they’re weak, and then trap them in a ball. Once you have trapped them, they go into your database (seemingly disappeared into binary code or something, until you call on them to come fight for you). Or if you’re like my friend Napa, you release all the Pokémon except the ones you can carry, because who are you to take them away from their homes and force them to fight for you?

So, they’re a little like a pet in a manner of speaking, particularly similar if you look back to the evolution of species like dogs. Dogs were originally wolves that over generations gained affinity for and dependence on humans after being fed by hunters hanging out around campfires and such. The Pokémon relationship seems a bit more problematic, since you force Pokémon to fight for you (which, yes, may happen with dogs). However, this way of treating Pokémon is glorified and normalized in the game. Now, I’m not saying there is some kind of slave or abuse narrative happening here, but the relationship does confuse me quite a bit. So, if anyone has some insight, lay it on me.

2. The Vastness

One thing that has absolutely astounded me about this game is how vast it is. There are so many Pokémon, so many different areas to search for them, and each is unique in some way. A quick google search reveals that there are 718 unique Pokémon in X. “Gotta catch them all” seems less like an exciting proposition and more like a daunting task when you think about the shear number of Pokémon. However, I have caught over 80 Pokémon so far, and I have really barely even progressed through the game because I am so obsessed with catching all the possible variations in each patch of grass. While I’ve caught only about 10% of the total number of Pokémon, it hasn’t gotten dull or boring in the slightest. In fact, with each new Pokémon I catch, I want to catch more. More. MORE. The only problem I am having with this, though, is that you can only carry 6 Pokémon with you at a time. So while I’m playing 75 Pokémon are sadly sitting in the computer terminal staying level 7 or 8 or whatever. It doesn’t seem daunting to catch them all, but I’m trying to get them all to level 20, which is taking FOREVER. Maybe a seasoned pro should tell me if my time would be better spent progressing through the game (or is catching Pokémon progressing through the game… mind blown).

3. The Combos

The properties (or types) of the Pokémon, whether they are a grass type or a fairy type, has been one of the best parts of the game so far. If you haven’t played, let me sum this up: each Pokémon is at a certain level when you capture it. Then as it gets experience and such, it levels up. When it levels it gains new abilities. But also as the Pokémon levels, it reveals what “type” of Pokémon it is. You can have a Pokémon with multiple types, for example I have one that is a Bug, Flying type named Bugles, who also has grass powers, which is a bit confusing (why do I have grass powers if I’m bug/flying?). Each type is vulnerable towards certain things and strong towards others. There are 18 total types: grass, bug, poison, water, fire, normal, fighting, electric, ground, rock, psychic, steel, ice, dragon, ghost, dark, flying, and fairy.

I haven’t figured out how these exactly work, but I feel the same amount of excitement and overwhelmedness as when I played my first game of Magic: The Gathering. There is so much to learn, but at the same time, it’s exciting (well done, video games). I probably will never master Pokémon, but at least I’m having a blast playing it. If you haven’t played a Pokémon game before, and you like resource management games, strategy games, or simulation games, I suggest giving it a try. It has been a blast.