Jay's Pokémon Memories
The memories of a Pokémon fan called Jay, and a special grandmother who embraced and encouraged his love of Pokémon
Jay is a Pokémon fan who, like many others, grew up living and breathing Pokémon, exploring everything the franchise had to offer. However, Jay was incredibly lucky to have a grandmother who encouraged and embraced his love for the series. This feature shares some precious memories and the very special bond the two shared over Pokémon.
Like many other millennials, I fell in love with Pokémon in the late 90s. I grew up in a quiet suburb of Minneapolis, and my introduction to it was through a Scholastic News article in school in 1998, but I became properly entranced the first time I saw it on TV. The Bulbasaur episode was my first, and I came to school the next day determined to convince my friends to watch the show when they got home. We all became fans, and then over summer break my little brother and I got Pokémon Blue and Red, respectively. By then, I had become totally entrenched in my love for Pokémon, from the cards to the toys to everything else. Being a part of the Pokémon phenomenon was just magic.
My parents had no taste for any of it, but my grandma was quite the opposite. She raised me more than anyone else, and [her] encouragement of my art and creativity shaped the artist I became. She loved Pokémon right alongside us, even playing Pokémon Blue, at least through the first two gyms. She loved the TV series as well and couldn't miss the opening song. As soon as she heard the song start on UPN's afternoon block, she'd take time out of reading her books or playing solitaire to sit in the living room with us.
We didn't have a lot of money, so a lot of my toys and cards came from garage sales, thrift stores and school or church sales. When Grandma was out hitting up neighborhood garage sales one summer weekend, she brought home a handful of Pokémon cards she'd picked up from one, for 10 cents each. Among them was a Shining Charizard from the Neo Destiny set, a card which I was so excited to have. I had no idea of its value at the time, although the fact that it was a Charizard was enough for me to be thrilled – I had two other Charizard cards, the base set card I bought from a kid on the school bus for $10 (something which would have made my parents irate, if they had known I had spent that kind of money on a shiny piece of cardstock) and a non-holo Dark Charizard I'd pulled in a booster pack. But this one was unique; I'd never seen it before.
I lost my grandmother a few years ago and I think of her often. Going through my old school card binder always brings back such fond memories of summers spent having picnics at the park, checking out library books, and hunting for fun toys and cards at garage sales. The monetary value of the card is a neat bit of knowledge I have about it now, along with some of my other first edition and shadowless childhood cards, but it's the sentimental value they hold of some of the best memories of my life so far that I really cherish.
I am so thankful to Jay for telling us about the happy memories that he and his grandmother shared and how Pokémon played a big part in them. It was an incredibly touching tribute, and his grandmother clearly knew how to spot a bargain! While I am incredibly jealous of that Shining Charizard, I hope that it will remain a part of his collection as a reminder of those times.