Ethan's Pokémon Halloween Memories
The memories of a Pokémon fan called Ethan, including a Pokémon-themed Halloween in 1999, and how the franchise continues to be a big part of his life
For many children, Halloween is the time of the year when we dress up in fun clothes and attend parties, visit the neighbourhood for some trick-or-treating, eat too much candy, and enjoy the company of our friends and family. For this feature, a Pokémon fan called Ethan shares his memories of Halloween 1999, and tells us how Pokémon has continued to be a big part of his life into adulthood.
The year was 1999, and the Pokémon craze had just swept the nation. My brother and I had just learned about the amazing world of adventure that was Pokémon, through the cartoons and endless merchandise. I never would have imagined how much a little electric mouse would come to influence my life and have a hand (or paw) in moulding my relationships. One of my earliest memories of seeing Pokémon was seeing it playing on a TV at a furniture store and seeing the Metapod and Metapod battle (maybe that’s why I was drawn to Butterfree as one of my favorite Pokémon, lol).
With the start of the school year in the fall of 1999, everyone at school was talking [about] their favorites and trying to get any Pokémon merchandise, like the pencils we had at the quarter vending machine at school – not to mention the recess trade sessions that came with the advent of the Pokémon trading card game. My stepsister getting me my first card, a base set Machoke, was something I will never forget. Eventually I was able to get one of my favorite cards, a holo jungle Flareon, that had gone through the wash in one of my friends' pants.
With all this excitement and cute critters to collect, my brother and I had to be Pokémon for Halloween. We begged our mom to make costumes for us. My brother picked Pikachu, and my mom made an amazing Pikachu costume, but left out the brown stripes on his back because she just didn't have a good reference picture. When it came to my costume, I shouted out Butterfree, because I liked how cute and strong that Pokémon was and loved it immediately when I had seen it evolve from Metapod. My mother whipped up some amazing costumes with her sewing machine and some cheap fabric, sewing elastic into the hoods, and was even able to make wings and antennae! I was so excited and wore it to school for our Halloween party. Some of the kids thought my outfit was girly and silly and called me a butterfly and made fun of me for it, but I didn't let that ruin my fun. I proudly donned my costume the following night for Halloween and ran out trick or treating with wings flapping and a giant grin on my face!
Pokémon was a way to bond for my brother and me. Not only that but Pokémon was something that I shared with so many friends throughout the years. Even every time I "grew out" of one of my Pokémon [games] I always came back to enjoy it with friends no matter what stage of life I was in. From getting my first Game Boy, a Game Boy Pocket for $12 from a local game store, and playing Pokémon Blue ‘til my thumbs hurt, to getting Ruby and staying up all night at sleepovers looking for secrets with my best friends. It always sucked me in and brought me closer to those around me. Even neighbor kids in high school would come over and GameShark events so I could get Deoxys and Mew. Pokémon always had an element of friendship that it carried with it.
Even in high school, my best friend and I got back into Pokémon when HeartGold and SoulSilver were released and played for months. I would also practice drawing the sprites and had a Pokémon ringtone because I never forgot my love for Pokémon even though I had "grown out of it". Now, in my 30s, I am more invested and dedicated at continuing my Pokémon journey than ever, starting an online trading card store called honeybeetcg where my wife and I work at bringing Pokémon to as many people as we can reach. I don't think I could imagine a life without continuing to try to catch 'em all!
Additional photographs
Special thanks to Ethan for sharing his memories with us, along with those fantastic photographs of him and his siblings. We hope Pokémon continues to bring lots of happy and positive moments to them in the years ahead.