Vol. 1, Issue 44 - Rachael Gater's Pokémon Memories
As we enter the festive season, we are happy to share the personal Pokémon memories of Rachael Gater from Christmas 1999!
Welcome to issue 44 of the Johto Times! As we enter the start of the festive period, the Johto Times team are winding down for the remainder of the year to take a well deserved rest. This will mean that I am taking a break from adding news and mailbag entries to the newsletter and focusing on features exclusively. Any major news announcements will be shared on the Johto Times Mastodon account, and I will do my best to recap any highlights in the new year. If you would like to contribute something to our mailbag for next year, you can find our contact email on there if you wish to contribute something to our mailbag for next year.
In this issue, we are sharing the special memories of a Pokémon fan called Rachael Gater, dating back to Christmas 1999 when she and her brother received copies of an exciting new Game Boy game!
Feature: Rachael Gater's Pokémon Memories
For many kids in the late 90s celebrating Christmas, it’s likely that something Pokémon-related was lurking under the tree. This was certainly the case for Rachael Gater and her brother. We are proud to be sharing her memories from Christmas 1999!
Both me and my brother had been obsessively watching the Pokémon anime EVERY day after school since its first airing in the UK. We had caught full blown Pokéfever!
Much like our friends, classmates and generation at the time it satisfied so many childhood comforts and interests. Adventure, collecting, varied animal species and of course... the friendly competition and high-adrenaline fun of battling! (Wrestling was at an all-time high and we were already fully entrenched in the high energy anime of Dragon Ball Z, play fighting in the garden and on our friend's trampoline.) Whether you were a kid who liked fighting, exploring, cute creatures or otherwise, Pokémon had something for everybody!
Our excitement around Christmas 1999 was at an absolute high. Not just myself and my brother but the whole school; it was all we played in the playground, all we talked about in class. It felt like everybody was hyped to finally play the game. As seen in the photo, my teal Game Boy Color went everywhere with me. You name it! Long car journey? Trip to an old person's house with no cable? Day with the parents shopping for clothes at a shopping centre? Game Boy got you covered, fam.
I still have it and my original grey Game Boy to this day! You could tell a lot back then about a kid depending on their Game Boy and the state it was in. Some chose to cover theirs in stickers, others had their name Tipp-Ex'd or Sharpie markered on, some had lost their battery flap completely... I remember cutting out a tiny Pikachu that I drew and stabbing a hole in the cheek to sellotape over the light on mine (I felt so cool, but in hindsight it looked awful!)
Back to Christmas Day though, my brother and I were so happy and grateful to have received the games from our parents. I was gifted Red, my brother Blue. My starter was [the] reliable Bulbasaur, whom I named Charlie! My brother chose a Squirtle, [which] was his favourite at the time, but unfortunately their name escapes me. (I have a feeling it may have been 'Bubbles'.)
We sat side by side for most of the day playing, our parents happy to let us enjoy the games and not being too strict about the amount of time that we played. I do recall that we chatted together as we played, checking in with each other now and then about the other's progress ("Wow, look at this one!", "Where did you catch that?") Despite not owning a link cable at this point in time, we still played the games 'together'. I do remember our parents looking over our shoulders throughout the day and being impressed by the at-the-time cutting edge tech!
Boxing Day rolled around, and ever since we were born, this is the day that we spend together with our extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins). Whereas in previous years I would lament having to leave my latest Christmas game for a whole day after just receiving it, [this time] we had the luxury of bringing them with us!
It was a nice balance. We weren't permitted to sit in the corner and game the whole day, of course, but when the adults were talking and enjoying themselves in the evening they were more than happy for us to be entertained.
In some ways it was the last of our 'childhood' Christmases as our parents split a couple of years later, but I think that's why the time really stands out in such a wonderful light to me. I even remember the smell on Christmas Day that year; our mum had bought these scented candles. I can't recall the name but they were very festive and kind of spicy-smelling.
We want to say a big thank you to Rachael for sharing her Pokémon memories, and for reminding us just what it was like for so many kids who undoubtedly had similar experiences on that very same day all across the world!
Kanto Word Search Puzzle
Since it’s the holidays, I decided to do something a little different! In the word search below, twenty Pokémon from the Kanto region are hidden. In fact, one of them has even appeared twice! (Maybe it’s a Ditto?) Your challenge is to discover all of them! Simply highlight all the Pokémon and send your answers over to us! We will publish the answers in issue 46, which releases on December 21st. Good luck!
