Vol. 3, Issue 1 - Erchon's Pokémon Memories
We kick off Volume 3 with the memories of a Pokémon fan called Erchon, who has been playing Pokémon since the late 90s
Happy New Year, and welcome to Volume 3, issue 1, of Johto Times! We are kicking off the year by sharing the memories of a Pokémon fan called Erchon, who shares his passion for the series and recollects on what Pokémon means to him.
Please note that our team is currently getting ourselves back up to speed after our December break, so this issue has been scheduled to go out automatically. Readers are encouraged to follow our Mastodon account and our Discord server for any breaking news announcements during this time. A recap of Pokémon news and announcements will be shared in our next issue on January 9th, 2025.
Feature: Feature: Erchon's Pokémon Memories
Eric (also known as Erchon) is just one of many Pokémon fans who grew up experiencing the world of Pokémon, each with their unique stories they have to share. In this feature, we are fortunate enough to get an insight into his memories of the series and the passion he still holds for it. Let’s go back to 1999 and see where it all began!
When Pokémon made it to America I’m not sure if it was anticipated how broad the appeal was going to be. It was 1999, and I was almost 16 when I first heard of the games. At the time the games were thought of as being for children much younger than me. Fortunately I didn’t know that until I was fully invested in playing them.
Outside of the ads for the games, I first saw the game through a friend who’d brought his Game Boy to school and asked to show it to me during lunch one day. I don’t think he realized the cartridge only had one save file because he let me start a new game, and I remember that I saved over his. I felt bad when I realized what I’d done but he also never mentioned it.
If I’m going to be honest, the first copy of the game I had was a ROM I downloaded before I could afford to purchase the game outright. I have very fond memories of my younger siblings gathered around to watch me play on an old hand-me-down computer.
One of the things I liked about this was that the emulator showed you the Super Game Boy frames, and I came to love [seeing the] charming art that encapsulated the play screen.
My first team consisted of: Bulbasaur, Pikachu, Haunter, Dugtrio, Gyarados (I bought the Magikarp at the Pokémon Center on the way to Mt. Moon), and Dodrio.
When I finally got to the Elite Four we all stayed up late as I challenged the Pokémon League for the first time. I failed again and again, but slowly levelled [up] with each attempt. Everyone cheered when I finally beat Lance. But we hadn’t known then about the Champion battle. It [was] an actual surprise when your rival was the final challenge, and my siblings and I all groaned when I faced him for the first time with only two [conscious] Pokémon in my party.
It was another grind before I beat him, and we all celebrated with the snacks we’d saved when I finally made it through and watched the hall of fame roll.
It was enough to hook me, and it became the motivation to get my first job so I could buy a Game Boy Color and [a] legitimate copy of the game. That was in no small part because I wanted to enjoy the social aspect of the game in battling my friends and trading Pokémon.
My first official Pokémon game was Yellow Version. About the time I purchased it my parents had agreed to convert our garage into [a] living space and make a small part of it my own bedroom. In the photo above I was hiding from guests in my newly finished room before I even had a bed set up. The Pikachu plush was one I snagged from a claw machine. Back then, any time I played Pokémon, my little Pikachu would sit on my lap or shoulder. I don’t know why my mom took this picture of me playing. I think she had her camera on hand from the family gathering which was going on and just snapped this picture of me playing when she came to look for me.
For a long time Bulbasaur was my favorite Pokémon. This plush was another prize from a claw machine. I took this photo just before leaving home, and finding it again now makes me very wistful. When I moved out of my parents’ house I was going on a church mission and I was unable to take my beloved Pokémon with me. I gave all my guys to my younger brother, but I snapped this photo to take with me just before leaving so I could keep it with me.
I kept up with the games and pre-ordered Silver Version which came with a promotional strategy guide. In fact, this guide is one of the few pieces of official merchandise which I still own. The poster from it is long gone, but I did find a photo I took of it on the same roll of film as the Bulbasaur.
It was a bit before I learned about the anime. The local broadcast television channels were airing it on weekday mornings at a time just after I was on the bus to school. It was my mom who realized it was related to the game I’d been playing and started recording it so I could watch when I got home.
Seeing the Pokémon on screen changed my concept of what it was completely. I’d enjoyed the game, I’d been decently creeped out by Lavender Town from the game, but seeing Ash’s story unfold made it something more for me.
I’d always been the type of brother who’d come up with imaginary games to play in the backyard, so it wasn’t long before I’d found a bunch of plastic Easter eggs called Poké Balls and began leading my siblings on Pokémon adventures in the backyard. Sometimes my siblings were other trainers, and other times they were my Pokémon, each pretending to be their favorite, be it Bulbasaur, Ditto, or Pikachu.
I’m not sure what my parents made of it when the games continued even on family vacations. We may have been at Zion National Park or Yellowstone, but what we were actually doing was hunting for Pokémon along every trail we hiked on.
While I was at my first job, my coworkers realized that I was not only interested in Pokémon, but very interested in Pokémon. It became a bit of a friendly joke, and my nickname quickly became Pokémon. After hearing my coworkers call me this for a few months, my boss eventually made me a Pokémon name tag which I still have.
I happened to work at the movie theater when “Pokémon: The First Movie” came out, and my nickname made me a favorite worker at the concessions stand. People would literally choose to line up at my till when other lines were shorter just to get their popcorn and soda from the kid with the Pokémon name tag.
I may have been a bit overworked while the movie was at the theater, but I was rewarded with a number of promotional Pokémon cards.
I wasn’t very interested in drawing when I was in high school, but nearly all of my doodles were of Pokémon, [mostly] Pikachu, since his body shape was simple.
I didn’t like keeping a journal but I was made to keep one as a writing exercise. I don’t think I was expected to just write a narrative of my playthrough of Blue Version. As it was, though, my high school journal is full of page after page of me writing myself into the game I was playing. Beat for beat, it details Pokémon battles and hunting for some of my favorite ‘mons.
I loved Pokémon and I still do. I may not write a fanfic of every playthrough anymore, but I still play the games regularly.
For me, Pokémon has been an ongoing adventure and a refuge. A place where I can become friends with the Pokémon on my team.
As an adult now, I still play Pokémon regularly. The games and anime still have a fond place in my heart. It's common for my husband and [me] to hum the Route 11 music from Red & Blue any time we are out hiking together; halfway in my head I’m still looking for Pokémon like I did when I was on imaginary adventures I went on with my siblings.
As a gay man, it's a place that has, over the years, allowed me to be me. From Team Rocket and hints of queer-coded characters in earlier games, to Drayton who will ask the player on a date regardless of gender, Pokémon has always felt like a place that’s been welcoming. Pokémon players I’ve met along the way have become some of my deepest friends.
Additional photos:
A huge thanks to Erchon for sharing his memories of Pokémon and all those great photographs and drawings! It’s fantastic to know that the series continues to mean a great deal to him.
That’s all for this week’s issue! If you enjoy what Johto Times provides, be sure to share our newsletter with your friends and loved ones to help us reach even more Pokémon fans. For Discord users, you’re welcome to join our server for the latest notifications from our project. We are still open to sharing your mailbag entries, so if you have anything you would like to share with us, drop us a line by visiting this link to contact us directly!