Custom #Pokémon25 Survey & Discussion

[bdt2002]

(Not my picture, credit goes to The Pokémon Company and Nintendo)

Hello there, everyone! In just over a month from now, the Pokémon franchise will be celebrating the 25th birthday of the first Pokémon games, Pokémon Red and Green, being released in Japan for the Game Boy. To celebrate the occasion, I've been working on a sort of survey that we can fill out and discuss our answers to in an effort to celebrate the franchise we all know and love. I'll be posting my answers at a later point in time, but for now, let's get into the questions. I hope you all enjoy this neat celebration idea of mine. Here's to even more wonderful Pokémon memories and experiences! (Feel free to answer only the questions you want to answer.)

Part 1: "General" Questions

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?
2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)
5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

Part 2: "Favorite" Questions

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?
7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?
8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?
9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)
10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?
b. Legendary Pokémon?
c. Shiny Pokémon?
d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
g. Overall region in Pokémon?

 

[Pikachu315111]

Part 1: "General" Questions

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?
2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff)b you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)
5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

Generally Answering

1. I was a 9 or 10 when Pokemon made its debut and everyone I knew, friends and classmates, were playing it. I think I first saw the card game being played, then I started watching the show, and then that Hanukkah I and my brother got a Gameboy and copy of the game (I got Blue version, he got Red; ironically I chose Charmander as my Starter and he chose Squirtle, lol).
2. (Points to above answer).
3. I think my first Pokemon Spinoff was the original Pokemon Pinball right when it came out.
4. Games with anime being second, used to be in the TCG but fell out of it as I didn't really play the game all that much and I wasn't that much of a collector.
5. Huh, that's tough. Like the most cliche answer would probably be the first time beating the Champion and entering the Hall of Fame. But, you know what, I'll go for a most recent event: Ash finally beating a League and becoming a Champion. That was a pretty big moment and for a short while got people looking back at the anime for the first time in years.

Part 2: "Favorite" Questions

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?
7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?
8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?
9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)
10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?
b. Legendary Pokémon?
c. Shiny Pokémon?
d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
g. Overall region in Pokémon?

Guess Question 8... oh wait you want me to answer them

1. Charizard.
2. N.
3. Gen V. On a superficial level it's based on New York where I live so it felt like a region I could connect with such as I imagine the Japanese audience connected to the Japanese-based regions if they lived there. Another thing is that Gen V actually tried to tell a more in-depth story and more complex themes, even involving the player into the story, making it feel like a more epic adventure (and instead of an enhanced version they made sequel games allowing for more development & exploration of the region and characters).
4. Doing an entire soundtrack is a bit cheap, though I also can't say just "this one song/piece of music" is my favorite, at least without being specific. To give some of them: my favorite battle track I'd give to the Gen 8 Gym Leader theme, may be new but it's pretty great. Favorite overworld theme I'd give to Unova Route 10, you just got you're 8 Badge, you walk onto that route, and that music plays which gives you many kinds of feelings: pride in getting all 8 badges, determination as you got the League ahead of you, and a little bit of sadness as it also means your journey is almost over. Character associated track I'll give to Gen V's "Emotion", a very powerful piece that brings out all sorts of, well, emotions. Finally I'll end it on my favorite (English) anime theme which would be 8th season's/Advance Battle's "Unbeatable", that song just describes the feeling the player has when they're just blasting through opponent's left and right without even needing to break out a Potion.
5. A. Charizard
   B. Victini
   C. Charizard
   D. Gym Leader is Burgh (odd choice, I know, but he's such a bro to you in BW I took an instant liking to him; he even throws you a parade after beating the League!). Trial Captain I'd go Kiawe cause his trial was the funniest. Bonus: Favorite Kahuna is Nanu, I can only wish to be as "doesn't give a s***" as him when I'm that age.
   E. Sticking to "dedicated" Elite Four member, I guess I'd go with Flint as I find his friendship with Volkner gives him depth we don't really see with other Elite Four members. For Champion it's Alder for a similar reason of depth of his character.
   F. Favorite villain team I'll go with Team Skull, but favorite villain team leader is Ghetsis.
   G. Unova.

 

[Siggu]

Part 1: "General" Questions

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?

I don't remember. I mean, it was either the anime, or coming across the games in a diskette containing a Pokémon Blue ROM and the NO$GMB emulator, but I can't remember which one was first.

2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?

As I said, it was Pokémon Blue at around 2000 (it's the earliest possible moment as that was when my family got a PC). I was slightly late to the party.

3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff)b you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team, and it must have been shortly after it was released (but still, on emulators).

4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)

Mostly the games, but sometimes I take a peek on something else.

5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

Playing it "legally" for the first time in 2016, with Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon (and Moon shortly afterwards).

Part 2: "Favorite" Questions

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?

The Snivy line overall, with that "golden ratio" of cuteness and coolness.

7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?

Can't say for sure. It would be easy to say N because he's the first one with significant development (while not being obnoxious like Lillie).

8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?

In terms of Pokémon designs, it would be tied between Gen III and Gen V, but in a final decision it would be the latter due to the quality of its games.

9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)

None at all. I don't pay attention to music (be it videogames or anything else) and I turn it off whenever possible.

10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?

Snivy, as said above.

b. Legendary Pokémon?

Tied between Yveltal and Lugia.

c. Shiny Pokémon?

I don't have any particular preferences as shinies have never been a big deal to me, but if I'd have to pick one... I'd say it's the Porygon line.

d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?

Raihan, who should be the baseline for future Gym Leader challenges.

e. Elite Four Member or Champion?

Not technically the "Champion", but since he fills a similar role, it's Professor Kukui in the original Sun and Moon. His team is the only "Champion" team that feels like there's some thought behind it, instead of just throwing as many powerful Pokémon as you can.

f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?

He's not evil, but Piers fills that role in Sword and Shield, and he's a really cool guy to hang around with. Or at least, while not in a concert.

g. Overall region in Pokémon?

I don't have any particular preference.

 

[Suspicious Derivative]

Here are my answers:

Answers

Part 1: "General" Questions

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?
It was through the TCG. When I was a kid and in second grade at school (I think, don't remember exactly but that must have been when it was) back in 1999, Pokémon reached Europe and it got extremely popular. Everyone at my school talked about the TCG and many of the kids traded cards with each other as well. At first, I thought it was extremely overrated and I wanted nothing to do with it, but I gradually grew more and more interested (it was pretty hard to resist) and I eventually ended up becoming a fan myself. Thanks to the TCG, I later got into the anime, and then the games too.

2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
I believe it was Blue, which was my first Pokémon game. It must have been in 2001. I know that before I played Blue, I had bought the GBC version of Lego Island 2 which was released in 2001 from what I can find. I can't find an European release date for it, but I'm guessing it must have been released at around the same time as in North America.

3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
It must have been Pokémon Stadium 1 which I played at least once when I visited a friend. Can't remember exactly when but it must have been during the Gen 1-2 days at least. I never owned a N64 or any of the Stadium games myself, but Stadium 1 was still the first spin-off I played. The first one I owned myself was Pokémon Colosseum in 2005.

4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)
At the moment, games (main series mostly) and manga (Adventures), as well as non-anime animations (like Generations and Twilight Wings). I used to be interested in the TCG and the main anime as well, but I have lost most of my interest in both of them at this point.

5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?
This is hard, but I have one moment I want to share. It is from the older days, which I feel can be good to say something about for once. As mentioned above, I first got into Pokémon through the TCG. I remember that I first bought a full TCG pack (which must have been this one) at the local candy shop in the small town where I live. I didn't have quite enough money for it, but the guy at the shop was kind enough to let me have it anyway. But then I lost intrest in Pokémon and gave away all the cards to some friends and classmates. After that, I regained interest in Pokémon again and decided to buy some more TCG cards, this time a small booster pack with 11 cards. I bought it, and I remember that I opened it in the car on the way home from the store. I got very surprised as one of the cards was a Holographic Blastoise, one of the most wanted and valuable cards that existed at that time (on the schoolgrounds, if nothing else). I'd say that is the moment when I became a Pokémon fan for real. Sadly, I later lost that Blastoise in some stupid trades, but the memory of it will live on for all eternity. So that's my most memorable moment as a Pokémon fan: when I first became a Pokémon fan for real.

Part 2: "Favorite" Questions

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?
This is hard because there are so many Pokémon I like... but I tend to prefer Pokémon from the newer generations, and my favorite Pokémon line from Gen 8 is Cufant/Copperajah. So I'll go with Copperajah. Close runner-ups are Haxorus, Sylveon and Lycanroc.

7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?
This is hard as well, but I'll go with... Black from Pokémon Adventures! Because I find him funny, inspiring and relatable.

8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?
Generation 5, no contest. The short answer is because I find the Gen 5 games the most fun to play. When it comes to the things I consider to be the most important in Pokémon, they did the most right and the least wrong. I also love the Gen 5 Pokémon.

9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)
Entire soundtrack: the soundtrack from the Gen 5 games.
For a single track... I'll go with Black Tower:

10. Who or what is your favorite...

a. Starter Pokémon?
Cinderace. But I am also a huge fan of Primarina, Greninja, Serperior, Infernape and Swampert.

b. Legendary Pokémon?
Right now I'd say Zacian. But I also love Reshiram, Xerneas, Necrozma and many others. My favorite mythicals are Magearna, Keldeo, Shaymin and Zeraora. My favorite UBs are Celesteela and Blacephalon.

c. Shiny Pokémon?
Volcarona.

d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
Gym Leader: Clay.
Trial Captain: Mina.

e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
E4 Member: Caitlin.
Champion: Iris.

f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
Evil Team: Plasma.
Evil Team leader: Colress.

g. Overall region in Pokémon?
Unova.

This was a really fun survey. Thanks for making it, I hope you'll get many more answers!

Edit: I missed the "and why" part for the favorite Generation question, so I updated it a bit.

 

[Ironmage]

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?

I was at some summer camp, in the waiting area before we went in. A bunch of other kids were showing off and trading the cards, and someone was kind enough to give one or two (presumably junk commons) to me and my sister so we could participate in this. I remember absolutely nothing else about this particular summer camp.

2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?

Emerald, around '05-'07. I know it wasn't that long before DP released.

3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff)b you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?

PMD blue, at least a few months before Emerald. Me and my sister were looking for pokemon games for our DSs, and we split the decision, with her getting Ranger.

4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)

Games, pretty much exclusively. My casual interest in the TCG had found a less microtransaction-infused way of collecting, and since I didn't grow up with much in the way of TV networks, the anime never had a chance to pick up in my interest before my nerdbrain locked in the game rules and started complaining about the inaccuracies.

5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

I had just arrived at university, and was looking through the booklet for orientation week activities. Almost all were not things my asocial self was interested in. Except one: the video game club was hosting a Gym Challenge on one of the later days. Basically, they had members stationed as Leaders in important buildings, and participants were given a map and told to go forth. I was still riding the high of my nostalgia team that happened to be monosteel, so I had a small collection of poorly optimized monotype teams. I spent the first couple days holed up in my room finishing up my Water-type one, more hyped for an orientation activity than I'd ever been before. I didn't even end up using that team lol.

my record if anyone's curious

1: Steel Vs Fairy (win)
2: Poison vs water (loss)
3: Ice vs ground (loss)
4: Psychic vs normal [4v4 doubles] (loss)
5: Steel, but with mega gallade vs dark (win)
didn't have time for the others

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?

Skarmory. I've posted elsewhere as to why.

7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?

Most likely Steven. Mostly by association with myself, as someone else who got their start in Hoenn and has a tendency to run teams featuring the likes of Skarmory, Aggron, Metagross, and Claydol.

8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?

Either 3 for the original nostalgia and Battle Frontier (I'm a sucker for a postgame that lets me keep making sets), 5 for its mon and region designs, or 6 for when I started understanding teambuilding, megas, and a remake of my nostalgia region

9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)

PMD Sky Tower

10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?

Jolteon. What? it was a possible starter evolution in PMD, XD, and Conquest. Most of the traditional starters that I like are for reasons separate from having used them as a starter (i.e. an early pick that remains significant through the ingame), but Jolteon was both the evolution I chose for the first file I got deep into PMD's postgame and my main pick for Conquest (vanguard's one heck of an ability). Of the standard set, probably Empoleon, because the allure of a Steel-type is too much.

b. Legendary Pokémon?

If UBs don't count, Heatran since I have more history with it
If they do, Celesteela since I like defensive mons and having something so close to the Grass type be so inorganic entertains me greatly

c. Shiny Pokémon?

I never really paid that much attention to shinies tbh

d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?

Is Giovanni a cop-out since most of his screentime is outside of being a gym leader? If so, Wulfric for recognizing that the Ice type is designed to be in-your-face action.

e. Elite Four Member or Champion?

Steven, as mentioned previously

f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?

I like my mad scientiests, so either Cyrus or Maxie.

g. Overall region in Pokémon?

Hoenn

 

[R_N]

Part 1: "General" Questions

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?

Family was staying at a friends house and they had a preview tape for the anime (well I think it was for the series as a whole, but mostly anime). I was hooked, I watched it like 3 times just for the pokerap alone lmao.

2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?

Red Version, though I never really, like, paid attention to dates as a kid. I just remember my parents coming back with it (and my Dad got blue, he liked it too) andddd I'm pretty sure the gameboy color so...huh guess it must've been november of that year. Lucky little me, getting an early christmas present like that.

3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff)b you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?

I believe it was Pokemon Pinball, looking at the dates of the era's spin offs. Liked it a lot, definitely remember playing it off & on over a summer; remember being annoyed it didnt have a case though.

4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)

Game by far, followed by the anime. I was really into the Anime as a kid though.

5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

I was playing Silver in the car and ran into a shiny Zubat in Mt Moon. I am pretty sure I had no Pokeballs, and no way to weakne it anyway since, you know. OBVIOUSLY i was running around with my level 100 mewtwo and didn't know catch rates.
It was the only shiny I found for about a decade.

I'm still mad about it.

Part 2: "Favorite" Questions

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?

I have many favorites but I am legally obligated to default to Articuno.

7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?

I'm cheating but will call it a tie between Lillie & Opal. Lenora is close behind.

8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?

It might be marred by questionable design chocies but honestly probably 7. I just loved a lot of things about it. The characters, the story, the region, the new crop of Pokemon. Even USUM I have a lot of love for.

9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)

Very hard to pick, honestly, feels like every time I think of a song I go wait no what about THAT song. What about THAT song. AND THAT ONE.
But I think overall it'll be BW2 (I'm cheating and counting all the BW1 tracks in with it). Just so many great songs that stuck with me; I even bought the album!

10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?
b. Legendary Pokémon?
c. Shiny Pokémon?
d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
g. Overall region in Pokémon?

a. Hmmm I'll go with...Chimchar
b. Calyrex Articuno
c. Articuno again. The light blue color pallet is lovely.
d. Opal
e. It's cliche but...Cynthia
f. Lusamine
g. Alola

 

[Zetalz]

Part 1: "General" Questions

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?
2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)
5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

General Answers

1. Memory is pretty hazy but I think my first exposure was seeing some of the episodes of the original series on WB Kids. Dunno if it's the first one I saw but fsr I distinctly remember the episode where Scyther got ketchup or red paint or whatever it was on its face and went berserk.

2. Pokemon Silver. It's weird how I acquired it because I just found it in a pile of stuff that managed it's way into my room at the time and asked about it, but no one knew where it came from. This was back in like, 2002 I think? Gdi I'm getting old lol.

3. Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team. Unlike my first exposure to the main series, I actually went out and purchased this one and BOY did it make me cry like the lil bitch kid I was lmao. I don't think this was the same year it was released, but I think it was still before DP came over so it must've been '05 or '06.

4. I guess the games at this point, though my interest has been slipping since USUM came out. I've also been sporadically into the anime and watched most of the series with the exception of BW. I think I might've been the only kid at my school that didn't collect pokemon cards though lol, I was the weird kid more into Yugioh and other knock-off brand stuff like Duel Master.

5. Holy wow that's a big question. There's simultaneously so many memorable moments and yet at the same time I'm struggling to think of one as THE moment that has stuck with me the most. It's hard to pick just one, but one that I'll always remember is the strange bonds I formed over one of my usual bullies when I was in the 4th grade. He was in the class ahead and we were forced to sit next to each other during a field trip, and I'd brought my copy of Sapphire with me to pass the time. I'd been stuck on the strength puzzle in the Deepsea Cave for weeks or more at this point (being the stupid like 8 year old I was lol) and he took an interest in it and offered to help me get through it. I was hesitant at first since he was such a prick but we both got super excited when we finally got past the puzzle and got to fight Archie and witness Kyogre waking up. We ended up getting all the way to battling Wallace before the trip ended but didn't have time to beat him before my battery ran out. Unfortunately after that day he fell back into his usual routine of harassing me, which was all the weirder now that I'd seen this other side of him, however briefly.

Part 2: "Favorite" Questions

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?
7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?
8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?
9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)
10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?
b. Legendary Pokémon?
c. Shiny Pokémon?
d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
g. Overall region in Pokémon?

Favorite Answers

6. The Ralts family. I had pretty sporadic favorites when I was younger, pretty much changing with every new movie or game that came out. Gardevoir and it's ilk however stood out when I first discovered them, and my appreciation just became cemented when Gallade came along in DPP.
7. Damn that's another big one, there's just so many to think about. I love so many of them. But I supposed if I had to choose one that I enjoy for a multitude of reasons, I'd probably pick Brock.
8. I think I'd have to go with either Gen 2 or 3. I don't consider them the peak in terms of the series quality, but I can't deny the nostalgia I feel so deeply for them.
9. Hoo boy I could go on with this one for hours, but to save time I'll just say I really enjoy Battle Themes the most out of the series soundtracks, but have a particular weak spot for the series End Credit themes and those super chill and zen tunes like National Park.
10a. Greninja
b. Deoxys, or if mythicals don't count for whatever reason, Zygarde
c. Mega Gardevoir. Still peeved that they didn't keep with the black colors for Mega Gallade
d. I'll cheat for this one and just say most of the trial captains, sans like Hapu and Ilima. I love them and their personalities so much.
e. E4 I'd go with Drake, Champion is 100% Cynthia.
g. Hoenn without a doubt. I was never one of the types that complain about all the way or the loops the game sends you on. It manages to have quite a few varied locales without causing some strange out of placeness like later regions tend to do (lookin at you Kalos and Galar).

 

[TerrickTerran]

I'll just answer part 2


6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family? Geodude family
7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise? May
8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why? Fifth. Black 2 and White 2 had so much fun stuff to do and really liked a lot of the pokemon (shame about the levels though)
9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care) No answer
10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon? Blaziken
b. Legendary Pokémon? Lugia
c. Shiny Pokémon? Tyrantrum
d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain? Olivia
e. Elite Four Member or Champion? Cynthia
f. Evil organization and/or organization leader? Team Magma
g. Overall region in Pokémon? Hoenn

 

[ZettaiRyouiki]

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?
2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)
5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

1. Technically the Game Boy Camera, but with awareness was via a magazine talking about the game America was playing now. I am European so the wait was long.
2. Blue, shortly after we got it.
3. Either Pinball or TCG which I got for Christmas 2000.
4. The games. Pokémon Special/Adventures is also really good for my tastes. The anime is sometimes okay, especially Kanto and Alola. The TCG got too complex for me.
5. When Gold/Silver came out. Felt like an eternity until they did. Kids...

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?
7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?
8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?
9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)
10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?
b. Legendary Pokémon?
c. Shiny Pokémon?
d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
g. Overall region in Pokémon?

6. My top 5 Pokémon are Snorlax, Hawlucha, Excadrill, Tsareena, and Magnezone.
7. Hilda for representing my favorite generation.
8. As said above, Gen 5. I loved everything about it.
9. Dialga's fight to the finish! Also both Gym Leader themes in Gen 2 are nostalgiatastic.
10.
A. Incineroar. Love its design and color scheme, and it's fun in Ultimate.
B. Victini and Marshadow. Cute and strong critters are great.
C. Rapidash looks cool and is the first shiny I found wild.
D. Maybe Blaine/Kiawe/Kabu as I like hot blooded characters. Blaine in Let's Go is funny too.
E. Steven Stone as I have a friend who favors Steel types and stones, and Metagross wss his favorite Pokémon until Aegislash came.
F. Ghetsis as I like asshole villains. Guzma is cool too, especially in Rainbow Rocket.
G. Unova is pretty and I don't mind the lineality.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Ah, a most interesting survey, I will eagerly answer all of these.

First, for the general questions:

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?

I had heard of Pokemon for a while, especially after they started advertising Diamond and Pearl pretty heavily. But I didn't *really* get into it until a friend of mine let me play her copy of Sapphire for a bit one day and that's where I really started to get into Pokemon. I grew up with the DP/HGSS era mainly (ie late 2000's).

2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?

Sapphire was the first one I technically played, then later on I got my own copy. I don't remember when I first played it though, sometime in elementary school though.

3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?

Never played the spinoffs. Not much of a spinoff person tbh.

4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)

Games by far, but the anime is a close second. DP series is of course, my personal favorite and Dawn is my favorite character there.

5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

Oof this is a HARD one. I think it HAS to be defeating Cynthia in Diamond. That was one hell of a fight, and I managed to win with only my Infernape left standing against her Roserade. I managed to get a critical hit on Roserade and KO it with Flamethrower. Man that was close but I won! That whole battle was tough, and there's a reason why Cynthia is so popular even today.

Now for the "Favorite" questions!

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?

I have a lot of favorites so they tend to change, but considering my username I am obligated to say Scraggy and Scrafty, of course. Scraggy is cute and Scrafty has a really cool design that's interesting in an odd way that only Toxicroak manages to invoke. And it absolutely kicks butt in BW1 and BW2 in-game which also left an impression.

7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?

From the anime, I'd say Dawn. I loved her development over the course of the series and her friendship with Ash plus how the two helped each other out and learned from each other all the while pursuing their specific goals, it was excellent. Plus her friendly, positive attitude is very infectious, yet at the same time she has her quirks that make her very human. Very inspiring to me when I was very young.

As for the games though, I'd say it's a tie between N and Alder. N because he had a very compelling arc about his relationship with Pokemon and what he believed was right, and Alder because he was a Champion who was a free spirit, going out there to help the younger generation and be a mentor to them, and even though he lost to N he was forgiving towards him and fought with words and heart. He also had a very strong backstory that made him a really great, albeit underrated Champion.

8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?

I grew up with 4 so it's a close second in my favorites (Gen 4 is a fantastic generation and I absolutely LOVE DPP and HGSS). But as far as my favorite, it has to be 5. BW1 and BW2 were such amazing games with a compelling story and adventure, a great roster of new Pokemon, and just overall the fell and vibe of the games were amazing. I hold so many memories of Gen 5 in particular and that Gen is extremely special to me: the content, the characters, the story, the Pokemon: it's just an all round fantastic generation.

9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)

Okay Pokemon's soundtrack and music is GOATed so there are so many great choices to pick, but if I had to pick some

Route themes: Johto's Route 38. Makes you really feel like you're on an adventure. Also Sinnoh's Route 225, but I like a lot of Sinnoh's Route themes as a whole. Collectively speaking Johto and Sinnoh have my favorite route themes though! Kalos's Route 18 and Hoenn's Route 120 are very good though.

As for battle themes, Unova's Elite Four theme is my favorite. Runner ups would be Cynthia's theme and Red's theme.

a. Starter Pokémon?

Going to just list my favorite from each gen so:

1. Bulbasaur
2. Cyndaquil
3. Tie between Treecko and Mudkip
4. Chimchar
5. Snivy
6. Froakie
7. Rowlet
8. Scorbunny

b. Legendary Pokémon?

The Regis. All of them. That entire group is the greatest set of legendaries ever.

c. Shiny Pokémon?

Bisharp. That blue coloring is just perfect and complements the normal's red extremely well.

d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?

Gym Leader: Raihan
Trial Captain: Kiawe

e. Elite Four Member or Champion?

E4: Flint (his relationship with Volkner is great, hope they showcase it even more in Sinnoh remakes whenever those happen)
Champion: Alder

f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?

Team Plasma

g. Overall region in Pokémon?

Hoenn!!! Though close seconds are a tie between Johto and Sinnoh, because I love the mythology in those and the dungeons/dynamic routes respectively they provide which reward exploration a lot!

 

[Yung Dramps]

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?

One time I got to play PMD Explorers of Sky on my cousin's DS and I thought "woah this is cool". Then I got a DP sticker book. Then I got Pokemon Pearl. Rest is history

2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?

As I said, Pearl probably around like 2008/2009? Something in that timeframe

3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?

Explorers of Sky at a similar time but a bit after Pearl (I got my own copy)

4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)

The games

5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

My mono-drampa metronome battle I had a few years back against Drampa's Grandpa

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?

Drampa

7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?

Guzma, alpha male incarnate

8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?

Generation 7, nearly everything about it is perfect from the region to the characters to the Pokemon to the side features adjdke it's so good. Stop hating it on it, gamers.

9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)

Temporal Tower, tied for fav final level theme ever and the best Pokemon song I've heard.

10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?
b. Legendary Pokémon?
c. Shiny Pokémon?
d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
g. Overall region in Pokémon?

a. Turtwig
b. Deoxys/Necrozma
c. Galarian Legendary Birds
d. Allister probably
e. Kukui
f. Guzma and Team Skull
g. Alola

 

[RocketSurgery]

Part 1: "General" Questions

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?

The true answer to this is lost to the sands of time. I had relatives in Japan that would visit in the summers, so I either got introduced to it by them or I heard about it from Nintendo Power and then pestered my relatives about it when they visited.

2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?

I got Pokemon Blue, probably for Christmas after the games were released in North America. (There's an outside chance I played a bit of the Japanese version from my relatives the summer before the NA release)

3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?

It was either Pokemon Pinball or Snap. Pinball is the only one of the two I owned, so probably that.

4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)

Games (main series & Pokemon Go). I like watching the VGC scene the last few years (wish I had time to actually participate). I like to get merch of my favourite mons too.

5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

Oof, this is a very difficult question. I don't think any one memory stands out as the most memorable, so forgive me for listing a few short ones from the early days (which must be the most memorable if I still remember them over two decades later!):

• Going to the like one Toys R' Us event that ever came to my area and curb stomping some other kids in a couple of battles because I had caught Mewtwo and they hadn't.
• Trading with someone to get a hacked Mew to complete the full 151 Pokedex.
• Actually testing out the strength-on-truck method for getting Mew (in Pokemon Yellow?)
• Sharing packs of Pokemon cards with my brother and being dumb and taking the Abra card because I liked Abra instead of the holo card (a Chansey maybe? Pretty sure it wasn't a Charizard ...)
• Eagerly leafing through some third-party gaming magazine to get previews of the new mons in G/S, which included an awful drawing of Misdreavus with like a... dog-face or something.
• Trading with my brother's friend for a Misdreavus egg in Gold so I could use it on my in-game team.
• For some more recent memories, there were a few battle spot competitions/seasons that I really enjoyed, with a few notable battles I really enjoyed [Ultra final competition rundown post, BSS Special Season 11 rundown post ]

Part 2: "Favorite" Questions

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?

Marshadow

7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?

I don't think I really have a favourite human character. I think I empathized a lot with Wally playing RS, maybe.

8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?

Gen 7 because it introduced a ton of awesome ghost types and I finally got to do a natural-feeling mono-ghost run in USUM which I was pretty pleased with.

9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)

Hmm. Too hard to pick just one! Guidepost, Hau'oli City day, or the old school anime "intense action" music. Red/Blue champion theme & Lavender Town are classics of course (especially with Lavender town playing during Halloween in Pogo; it's the only time I turn in game music on).

And since we're being all nostalgic I can't not list these classics from the Mewtwo strikes back soundtrack too:
Don't say you love me (I have no idea why this was on the Pokemon movie soundtrack, but when I think of the soundtrack this is the first one that comes to mind)
Catch me if you can (not really a classic since most people probably don't remember it, but it's... catchy)
If only tears could bring you back to me
Brother my brother

10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?

Squirtle! It was my first ever Pokemon, it will always hold a special place in my heart.

b. Legendary Pokémon?

Mewtwo (after Marshadow, of course, if we're counting Mythicals in this group).

c. Shiny Pokémon?

I don't think I really have a favourite shiny, but I'll say Zeraora, since when it was datamined I saw the shiny sprite first and was disappointed when I found out it was the shiny palate.
Actually, I take it back, while I do like shiny Zeraora better than regular, I love shiny Decidueye's palate, so much better than the regular scheme. If each soft-reset for the starter in SM/USUM didn't take 8 years I would have gone for it. Was pleased to finally Masuda the shiny in SwSh.

d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?

I like Morty's redesign for HGSS, at least in his official art that's at an angles where it kind of looks like he doesn't still have his GS mullet. This is mostly because it's the ghost-type trainer in-game that looks closest to me :P

e. Elite Four Member or Champion?

Probably Blue or Leon. I actually find Leon's characterization entertaining.

f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?

Probably Rocket for the team, since they had the most realistic/sensible goals. Guzma for leader, he was the best developed in terms of in-game motivations and character.

g. Overall region in Pokémon?

As an environment, I really like the Crown Tundra. It is by far and away my favourite place to explore and just absorb the sights and sounds. Especially with overworld Pokemon it just feels the most immersive and I really hope future games build on that experience. If only the rest of Galar lived up to the Tundra this my just be my overall answer.

As a holistic region, though, including the environment and the Pokemon? That's tough. Kanto is of course a contender since it was my first experience going through the Pokemon world and it's definitely the region I've gone through the most at this point so I remember it well enough (Blue, Yellow, Leaf Green, Let's Go Pikachu... is that all?). It's been a while since I've played through a lot of the other regions, so they don't feel as memorable to me.

Overall, however, I think I like Alola best. I like the environment and its music (see: Hau'oli city, above), and I like a lot of the Pokemon in this gen, especially the ghosts and regional variants and the ultra beasts. The photo-spots were a nice touch too, a glimpse of the immersion that the wild areas would offer in gen 8.

That was a nice dive into my Pokemon memories. :)

 

[Imperial Magala]

Part 1: "General" Questions

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?
2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)
5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

1. General Pop Culture Osmosis, i.e. just passive learning, but I have a hazy memory watching Jirachi: Wish Maker in a hospital as my earliest encounter.
2. Diamond sometime in 2007.
3. Battle Revolution before I played Diamond. It being lackluster without a game was the reason I got into Pokemon.
4. Games, but I've started collecting cards of Pokemon I like.
5. The GTS website. It's a site that showed off trades that were happening in real time. Seeing so many Pokemon I didn't have access to because I only had Diamond gripped my imagination.

Part 2: "Favorite" Questions

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?
7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?
8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?
9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)
10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?
b. Legendary Pokémon?
c. Shiny Pokémon?
d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
g. Overall region in Pokémon?

6.
7. Cynthia and N.
8. Late Gen 5 and 6. Late Gen 5 has Unova Pokemon finally being marketed alongside previous Pokemon, leading to cool images like this.

Late 6 felt like a celebration of Gens 1-4 (Sorry 5 and 6) with all the Megas, Anime, and marketing.
9. As Long As I Can Hold My Breath... I thought this song was unbelievably good even for Pokemon when I first heard it, and still think so.
10.
a.
b.
c.

d. Raihan
e. Lance/Cynthia
f. Team Plasma for having more follow-up than any other team, beside Team Rocket showing up again and again.
g. Unova. Having a large part of the region being postgame helped it feel very large. Having new areas and parts of the postgame being in the main game in B2W2 made it even cooler.

 

[Yoshiblaze]

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?
2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)
5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

1. People playing TCG and Black & White in school in 2nd grade. I distinctly remember one kid showing off his Game Sharked copy of White with wild Reshirams showing and not even thinking much of it
2. I first played Crystal but the first game I owned was X in 2014 or 2015
3. I think Pokémon Shuffle in 2015
4. Games but I initially got super into Pokémon because of the anime
5. Watching Ash vs. Volkner and Ash vs. Paul in the Sinnoh anime, which were some of the first episodes of the anime I ever watched

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?
7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?
8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?
9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)
10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?
b. Legendary Pokémon?
c. Shiny Pokémon?
d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
g. Overall region in Pokémon?

6. Combusken - always loved its design and May's Combusken was super cool, plus Spontaneous Combusken is one of my favorite episodes of the anime
7. Nanu - I don't care for most of the human characters, at least in the games, but just how little he cares about everything was always hilarious to me
8. Gen 6 - Purely a nostalgia pick as the games aren't that great, but they were the first gen of games I owned and it was the time I most actively played competitive Pokemon, watching Twitch streams and playing in FFAs, playing in draft leagues, and playing on Showdown a lot more than I did in Gen 5
9. I can't pick one song, Gen 5 probably has overall my favorite soundtrack with Gens 7, 8, 4, and 6 all being an extremely close second
10a. First Stage - Torchic, Second - Combusken, Final - Feraligatr
10b. Kyurem
10c. Heatmor and Gliscor
10d. Nanu
10e. Steven
10f. Guzma
10g. Post-DLC Galar (Without DLC, Unova)

 

[MegaFlareon]

Fun survey!

Part 1: "General" Questions

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?
Pokémon became popular in our school community back in 2006 so I decided to join the fun. First, I collected TCG then a few months after I started playing the games.

2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
Pokémon FireRed back in 2006.

3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team. One of the best games I have played and I was incredibly invested with the storyline.

4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)
Games mostly. There were short periods of time when I was interested in the Manga and TCG but the games is where I am most consistently interested.

5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?
This is the hardest questions out here but off the top of my head it would be when I played Pokémon X. Kalos was beautiful, Megas were hype, and after many years I finally got to use Blastoise in my in-game team again.


Part 2: "Favorite" Questions

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?
Squirtle is my first ever Pokémon when I started with FireRed and it has grown a lot to me to the point that Blastoise is my undisputed favorite Pokémon.

7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?
Blue. I like the diversity in his teams as well as his cocky attitude. Exeggutor and Rhydon are among my favorite Pokémon and he uses them so plus points for that!

8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?
Generation 1. Lots of memories with these Pokémon since Pokémon FireRed was the first game I ever played. I also love Generations 6 and 2 a lot!

9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)
Kanto Gym Leader/Elite Four (LGPE is my favorite version of it). Honorable mentions to Diantha's theme and Blue's FRLG theme since I really love their themes as well.

10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?


b. Legendary Pokémon?
It was the ultimate Pokémon back then.

c. Shiny Pokémon?

Blue flames baby!

d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
Giovanni. I love him as a villain and the plot twist was awesome!

e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
Blue. Since I have mentioned him above, I'd say I also like Blaine because Hah! You better have BURN HEAL!

f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
Team Rocket because of how intimidating they are and how realistic their goals are. They didn't have to control the legendary Pokemon nor destroy the region, they just want to make money out of Pokémon. Of course USUM refuted some of those points by virtue of Rainbow Rocket but they are still the most intimidating. Giovanni for the leader.

g. Overall region in Pokémon?
Kalos because of how beautiful it is. It also contains a HUGE amount of Pokémon (more than Galar if you exclude DLC, I think).

 

[bdt2002]

Well. I’ve certainly enjoyed reading everyone’s responses so far. Now seems like a good point to start the actual discussion part of this thing. That being said, I also wanted to list my answers now before going onward.

1. It was a day in third grade, most likely 2010 when I overheard some friends talking about it, and as things turned out I was given a Lucario card from the Platinum era (and a fake Rhyhorn for some reason lol) and I remember walking out of school that day saying the following: “Hey, Mom? I like Pokémon now.”

2. I said main series first, right? The answer to this has been something I’ve been looking at for years, but I’ve narrowed it down to Pearl and SoulSilver, with both games being bought extremely close to each other.

3. This was the spin-off one, I believe. That’s easy. Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs, no question. There’s even a good chance this was my first true Pokémon experience outright, and this game has provided me with endless comfort amongst other fans who actually know when they started playing the games.

4. I’ve collected every main series game from DP up to USUM and also had the Virtual Console games on my old 3DS before it broke. I also used to be really into collecting the TCG cards and watched the anime from 2012 to 2015, stopping because of XYZ’s over-hype. I especially like the movies, to which I’ve seen almost all of them. Finally, I absolutely love most of the DS/Wii era spin-offs, especially the Ranger series.

5. There are two moments both in 2019 that come to mind. I can’t possibly pick between them. During my lengthy 100% Completion run in SoulSilver, in April 2019, I ran into and caught a random Shiny Zubat in the back part of Dark Cave just after getting Surf. This is significant since I had already found a Shiny Ekans just after beating Falkner a few months before. Slow progress, I know. I’ve had a thing for Shiny Poison-Types ever since. The other moment involved an exact prediction coming true for an Epic Espeon in Pokémon Rumble World, a game that I still loved collecting in to this day, causing August 7th, 2019 to go down in history due to odds I can’t even interpret with the human brain. It was INSANE.

(Part 2 coming soon, this is already so long smh)

 

[Dialganet2]

Well, this sounds fun! Here goes nothing, let's see if there's anything funny to say...

Answers

Part 1: "General" Questions

Answers

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?
Fall 1998. All my classmates were talking about this unbelievable cartoon were monsters with powers went at each other. And they could be cute or menacing, breathing fire or dropping bolts of lightning... I honestly didn't get the appeal. Then I saw it, and the rest is history.
2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
Dec. 13th, 1998. I still remember the actual date. I pestered my parents so much that my mum gifted me a Game Boy and Pokemon Yellow. My complaints, and the fact that my aunt had already purchased an English version of this game to my cousin, and probably my mum didn't want to lose face with her sister... couple of months later and I was a better trainer than my cousin, which is not my merit at all, because no 8 year old can keep up while playing in a language you don't speak... I still wonder what my aunt had in mind: brutal English teaching maybe?
3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
Fast Forward to 2020. Go, because I wanted Melmetal.
4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)
Games only.
5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?
When my two neighbor friends and I purchased Ruby and Sapphire. We played in the yard bonding for the next two years, amidst imaginary World Cups of soccer.

Part 2: "Favorite" Questions

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?
Tyranitar.
7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?
Alder.
8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?
Tie between Gen 3 due to the bonds I built with my friends and Gen 4 which is the one closest to my tastes in terms of Pokemon and region.
9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)
A toss up between Gen 3 Cover Legends's battle music, the Regi encounter original soundtrack (now that I think about it, the Regi ruins music as well), DPPt's Champion Chamber's piano entrance music. Oh, and Sky Pillar's own OST in ORAS. Pure chill. Don't know any music outside the games.
10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?
Chimchar line.
b. Legendary Pokémon?
Kyogre.
c. Shiny Pokémon?
Gyarados.
d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
Winona.
e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
Alder.
f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
Archie as leader, Galactic as a team.
g. Overall region in Pokémon?
I guess this counts as "unpopular"...Sinnoh, due to the lore of legends, the best starters, and...yes, my favourite route(s) in all of Pokemon are routes 216 and 217, when you progress one tile every minute in the snowstorm. Those routes are just freaking amazing.

 

[CTNC]

Part 1: "General" Questions

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?
2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)
5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?

Hide

1. This doesn't feel like the right answer to me, but it was the anime because it was on TV. I feel like the real answer is my cousin and that leads into the second question.

2. Technically my cousin's Pearl. I didn't know this at the time, but I'm pretty sure it had came out recently. I don't know how recently because he bought it while visiting because it's pretty hard to buy games in the Florida keys. He let me play a little and I found a kind of rare Pokemon he'd been looking for, Pachirisu. He let me name it but he was naming all his Pokemon after food but I didn't want to mess with his name plan. (Off topic: His Turtwig was named Taco because of having a shell and"lettuce" after evolving.) I feel like the real answer is Emerald though. When my mom bought me a game she asked if there was any game I wanted. Pokemon came to mind immediately because I remembered my cousin likes it and I knew next to nothing about video games. I don't remember how much later Fire Red was and it's just mom buying me a game again, but Diamond is a funny story. I asked for Diamond for Christmas because I thought that meant Santa would have to give me a DS. I know that sounds clever, but it may belong in the facepalm worth moments thread because of one thing, I was in fifth grade. I still thought Santa was real. I asked if the Tooth Fairy was real and my mom said, "What do you think?"

3. Ranger. I wanted a Manaphy. 'nuf said. Mystery Dungeon Explores of Darkness definitely deserves a mention though.

4. The games. I don't think anyone here won't say the games, but for me, it's just the games. I watched the anime during Gen 4 though. I quit because Ash's Gen 5 friends sucked.

5. Finding a Shiny Snover while hatching an Eevee to evolve into Glaceon. I'd heard of Shinies but I'd accepted that I'd never find one because they're so rare. (Funny in hindsight after having a box of Shinies) I screamed, "SHINY POKEMON! SHINY POKEMON!" My sister and I stared at it and she broke the silence with, "Catch it." I was a little annoyed that she thought I wasn't going to.

Part 2: "Favorite" Questions

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?
7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?
8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?
9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)
10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?
b. Legendary Pokémon?
c. Shiny Pokémon?
d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
g. Overall region in Pokémon?

Hide

6. Altaria. I've said this before, but the Flying Gym's Altaria in Emerald was giving me lots of trouble so I thought it was really strong and caught one. The game basically became an Altaria solo and ended at Level 80 and it became my first Level 100.

7. First though: Is the player an option? I don't care about the humans. Second thought: Team Yell? Their leader is... Piers. Yes, Piers. Also, I think you can hear his mic feedback when he moves it in battle. For the sake of not repeating myself with favorite Gym Leader, I'm going to lie and say N.

8. I never think about this so I just say Gen 3 because of Nostalgia. Kind of ironic when Gen 4 was technically the first one I played.

9. Ultra Necrozma, Smash Bros N's Castle, Zinnia, and probably half of Mystery Dungeon's music.

10a. Treecko was my first starter. This isn't why I picked it, but I thought he looked kind of like Yoshi because of the nose, Grovyle's back sprite reminded me of the Mona Lisa, (Seriously.) and Sceptile... Now that I think about it, did I ever fully evolve it? That would explain why Sceptile's my least favorite stage.

10b. Rayquaza. I could say Emerald was my first game, 'nuf said, but I can also say, it's an awesome Dragon, 'nuf said. There's also the banned from Ubers thing. Mega Rayquaza, because Doexys Attack Form's offensive stats needed bulk, a better typing, and a devastating move set.

10c. I never think about how some Shines look better than others, just that they're shiny. Blue armed Snover is pretty cool even though its shade of brown is uglier.

10d. Piers again. He's also my favorite evil team boss, if you can even call them evil.

10e. Leon. I think it's because he looks cool (Am I weird for thinking that? Actually, why do I care? I'm weird for lots of other things. :P) and he actually has presence in the game other than a couple of short moments.

10f. Team Yell is so ridiculous. The best moment is when they're guarding a Silicobra to make sure no one wakes it up. They let an old lady pass, but the silent protagonist? No, yelling about how loud trainers are. There's also the grunts getting to shine instead of just their leaders.

10g. Alola for being scenic and having lots of variety. Gens 1 to 6 were limited by 2D grid style maps and Gen 8 just makes me think of the Wild Area, which I've spent enough time in to get tired of.

 

[bdt2002]

5. There are two moments both in 2019 that come to mind. I can’t possibly pick between them. During my lengthy 100% Completion run in SoulSilver, in April 2019, I ran into and caught a random Shiny Zubat in the back part of Dark Cave just after getting Surf. This is significant since I had already found a Shiny Ekans just after beating Falkner a few months before. Slow progress, I know. I’ve had a thing for Shiny Poison-Types ever since. The other moment involved an exact prediction coming true for an Epic Espeon in Pokémon Rumble World, a game that I still loved collecting in to this day, causing August 7th, 2019 to go down in history due to odds I can’t even interpret with the human brain. It was INSANE.

Replying to my own response to Question #5 because in the past three hours, I think there might have actually been another, far more recent moment worth mentioning. By any chance, has anyone been breeding Oshawotts lately?

Responses to Questions 6 through 10 coming tomorrow afternoon, in the meantime. Quick spoiler that my favorite Shiny is any Poison-Type after 2019. How could you not expect me to say that? It's even the most common Type of Shiny I've found, with eight total counting Pokémon Go and the one failed Gastly in that game.

UPDATE: I will only respond to the last five questions once another person posts on the thread. This isn't me asking for attention at all; rather, this is me wanting to follow the OI rules and regulations regarding what is better known as "double posting".

 

[Volt-Ikazuchi]

Part 1: "General" Questions

1. What or how was your initial introduction to the Pokémon franchise?
My cousin had Pokémon Gold, and was a pretty big fan. Played it a bit, turned into one too.

2. What was the first Pokémon video game (Main Series) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
Outside of borrowing said Gold cart for a bit, so no save deleting, my first game was Blue.

3. What was the first Pokémon video game (Spinoff) you ever played, and if possible, when did you first play it?
Stadium. Uhhhhhh... Almost 20 years ago?

4. What parts of the Pokémon franchise are you most interested in? (Games, Anime, Manga, TCG, etc.)
Games and the Manga.


5. If you had to pick off the top of your head, what would you say was the most memorable moment for you so far as a Pokémon fan?
Don't really have one. Of course, some kinda stick out a bit more than most like the first time you beat each Champion and Frontier Brain. St2 Lance, Plat Cynthia, St1 Mewtwo and Gold Emblem Tucker stand out a bit more than most to me.

Pulling a clutch sweep with Banded Scizor on a big PBR Screen with like, 20 people watching in an anime con was probably the biggest one tbh.


Part 2: "Favorite" Questions

6. What is your favorite Pokémon species and/or evolutionary family?
Gallade and Scizor.

7. Who is your favorite human character in the Pokémon franchise?
This is a tough one... I think maybe Lance and Steven because they actually team up with you against an evil team instead of just being useless?

Guzma is actually pretty cool too.

8. What is you favorite overall "Generation" of Pokémon and why?
Gen 4. It just brought so much to the table in terms of not only the Physical/Special Split, but also because of all the new moves it introduced so you legit had reliable STAB for all types (for the most part. RIP Luxray.)

9. What would you say counts as your favorite Pokémon franchise music? (From any source, can be an entire soundtrack for all I care)
Ten Carat Hill's theme. So good, so wasted... Mt. Coronet's Summit is also a banger.

10. Who or what is your favorite...
a. Starter Pokémon?
Empoleon
b. Legendary Pokémon?
Mewtwo
c. Shiny Pokémon?
Charizard
d. Gym Leader/Trial Captain?
Plat Fantina, Viola and Flannery.
e. Elite Four Member or Champion?
Steven and Lance
f. Evil organization and/or organization leader?
Guzma
g. Overall region in Pokémon?
Sinnoh and Hoenn.

This is pretty cool, looking forward to everyone's answers.

 

[bdt2002]

Hello again, everyone. I'm finally able to finish typing my answers out again. As a reminder, I didn't do this until now because I wanted to follow double posting rules. So without further wait, let's keep this discussion rolling. Here's my responses to the last 5 questions. Enjoy!

6. My favorite Pokémon and evolutionary line has always been and will likely continue to be the Totodile family, for the same reasons it has been since 2010 onward. Many Pokémon have attempted to take the throne from Feraligatr as my all time favorite over the years, ever since my incredible history with it from the glory days of me playing Pokémon SoulSilver around when it first came out. None of them have been successful.

7. Well... this is a weird answer to say the least, but boy, do I have my reasons for this. Most people answer this question with, say, a Gym Leader or maybe someone from an evil team somewhere. But have you ever seen anyone say that their favorite human character is one of the game protagonists? Let alone one from a spinoff game? I'll leave it at this because I want to see if any of you can figure it out. Read my answer to Question 3 again, and then look at my profile picture and specifically my username. Let's see who can be the first to get what I'm hinting at, shall we?

8. Before I get into this, can I quickly inform the user above me that Luxray is in the Isle of Armor? Cool. Now onto the answer. As nostalgic as I am for the DS/Wii era of Pokémon, there's no way I can't say Generation 3 to this. Why? It really feels like the most complete Generation, if that makes sense. I've always been jealous of missing out on the synergy between the GBA and the GameCube, and we also have "Gen 3" to thank for introducing many things like remakes, the Mystery Dungeon series, the Ranger trilogy, some of the most underrated TCG sets, and by far the best selection of movies from any Generation to date. Honestly, all of this is just scratching the surface.

9. From the games, this would have to be anything from Mystery Dungeon series. The entire series has incredible music that packs a serious emotional punch for anyone who played any specific games growing up. I'd like to point out that I'm one of the few people I know who started with and absolutely loved Gates to Infinity and by extension that game's music. As for the anime, it's easily either Lugia's Song or Oracion (from the Darkrai movie) from the Pokémon movies, and maybe Meloetta's singing from the Black and White anime. Relic Song hits different-

10. Speed run time. Let's do these answers quick and end this with a bang.

a. Totodile (although Squirtle and Treecko have been rising fast lately)
b. Tie between Palkia and Lugia (funny how their signature moves are so similar)
c. Any Poison-Type (see my response to Question 5)
d. & e. Koga and Iris, because I have no other standouts and they both got upgraded at some point
f. If we don't count N as part of Team Plasma, then my second choice is Team Galactic with or without Cyrus
g. Oblivia, the region where Guardian Signs takes place