Favourite fictional character....favourite fictional series..? The choices immediately narrowed down to the Potterverse and the world of Pokemon.
I never thought about which one I'd prefer. For as long as I can remember, both fascinated me so much, that I'd often subconsciously travel to hogwarts, or the the kanto region.
I asked myself, Who would "I" want to be? Do I wanna fight Lord Voldemort in the forbidden forest? Or do I wanna erase the sins of XYZ and finally defeat Alain with my Greninja in Kalos league final?
There were no second thoughts, as I realized how much emotionally invested I am in the world of Pokemon. Fun fact, Pokemon was the first series I ever started following religiously back when I was in grade 4 or 5, and nearly 20 years later, is the only show I still follow religiously.
I can't explain exactly why I love pokemon so much, but I do remember this - Pokemon provided me with a fresh air of relief, an escape from the tiring school hours, homeworks...as a kid when academics started to get all a bit too overwhelming, it was Charizard burning Ash's face over and over that momentarily teleported me to a world of freedom.
In a strange way, pokemon kept that innocent kid alive in me....even after all these years of scars and struggles of the real world. Somewhere in between life happened. And yet, the emotional breakdown I went through when Ash released Charizard, was equally repercussed almost 20 years later in an emotional turmoil Ash said goodbye to Greninja. Sure, as an adult life has taught me to restrain emotions, but the heart knows what it knows. Oh Greninja....
That childish innocent excitement still lives inside me...so much so that when it was finally announced last month.....after 8 years of his departure, Greninja will finally return....I just impulsively had to talk about it with my wife (to-be back then 😉), even though she knows nothing about pokemon. I just needed to talk about it. That's how much Pokemon means to me, that's how deep of an impact it has left on my childhood.
April 29th is marked on my calander, for Greninja will return to us, Finally!
I heard about the Pokemon when growing up, they were even printed on tee shirts and polos when growing up. You even marked it on your calendar wow. It is great to see