Games
I'm knshow. I just found out from a post by a German user that the overseas version of Pokémon Crystal is missing the crystal pattern on the back of the cartridge.
I loved that design so much back then, so I'm honestly devastated. Game Freak, why did you take it away for the international release? (T_T)
Anyway, that's why I've been writing about games lately.
I translated this in a hurry before heading to work, so the proofreading might be a bit rough. Sorry about that!
Pokemon Memories by knshow
This post might reveal my age, but since you can probably guess it from my other posts anyway, I'll just go ahead and write it!
[Gen 1: Red, Green, Blue (Red)]
When I was very young, I begged my grandma to buy this for me while we were out shopping.
My parents were pretty mad afterward. lol
This was my first Pokémon experience.
I adventured with a team like Charizard (Lizardon), Pidgeot, and Dugtrio. I don't think I ever actually finished the game, though.
[Gen 2: Gold & Silver (Silver)]
Maybe the reason I didn't finish Red was that Gold and Silver were released so soon after.
I was so moved back then by the fact that you could travel through both Johto and Kanto.
My memories of the Crystal version get a bit mixed in, but I remember choosing Totodile (Waninoko) and Cyndaquil (Hinoarashi) as my starters.
I wonder if the anime was airing by then? I remember Ash (Satoshi) getting a Shiny Noctowl (Yorunozuku) and wanting to catch one so badly.
Oh, and I chose Silver because Lugia looked so cool to my younger self. Using its signature move, Aeroblast, really made me feel like I was using a Legendary Pokémon.
[Gen 2: Crystal]
This was the enhanced "third version" of Gold and Silver.
I think I got it because the transparent (skeleton) cartridge looked so cool.
Transparent electronics were a huge trend back then, right? I had the "skeleton" colors for both my Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance.
This game allowed you to connect a mobile phone via a special adapter to access the internet... it was way ahead of its time.
Since using the internet on a flip phone cost a fortune back then, I never actually tried it. Instead, I remember asking my parents to print out pages from walkthrough sites.
I spent so much time trying a "secret trick" in Ilex Forest (Ubame no Mori) to find Celebi, believing it was real. Of course, it was just a "Wazap" (hoax) rumor... lol
[Gen 3: Ruby & Sapphire (Ruby)]
The first title exclusive to the Game Boy Advance.
I was blown away by how much the graphics and sound had improved.Everyone at school was playing it.
The only thing I couldn't forgive was that they changed the sound effect for Hyper Beam (Hakai Kousen)... I was so disappointed.
I had a Link Cable, so I spent a lot of time trading with friends. Competitive battling wasn't a huge thing in my circle, and once Mega Man Battle Network 4 (Rockman EXE 4) came out, everyone switched to that. I bought it too, of course.
To be honest, I don't remember much more... mostly because I started using a Pro Action Replay (a cheat device).
It let me do anything, and I think that might have erased the genuine memories.
Just to clarify—since this can be a sensitive topic—I never transferred cheated Pokémon to later games!
They used to sell these devices in regular game stores. My parents liked PCs, so they helped me print out the cheat codes.
I had fun at the time, but the lack of memories proves my point: Effort becomes a memory, but cheating does not.
Learning that as a kid was a big life lesson.
After Ruby, as I got older, I moved away from handhelds to consoles and eventually got a PC, which led to my obsession with the internet.
[Gen 9: Scarlet & Violet (Scarlet)]
The first Pokémon game I played as an adult.
I had watched competitive videos over the years, but this was my first time playing in a long while.
I already had a Switch for Splatoon, which helped. I loved the world-building—attending classes made me nostalgic for my student days.
The graphics are incomparable to the Ruby era.
Nemona's over-the-top positivity was hilarious! lol
[Pokémon Legends: Arceus]
Personally, I found this one even more interesting.
The "catching" mechanic was so polished—sneaking up on Pokémon to throw a Poké Ball really resonated with me.
The battle system was different from the main series, but as a casual player, it didn't bother me.
If anything, I just felt bad for the player character getting bullied by the wild Pokémon, haha.
[Summary]
I've thought about trying the generations I missed (Gen 4 onwards), but based on my childhood, I don't really enjoy playing them alone.
To me, Pokémon is a game meant to be played with everyone, chatting and making a fuss together.
I thought about getting into the competitive scene in S/V, but I gave up because the "training" and learning all the meta-knowledge seemed too tedious.
Even so, Pokémon is one of the things that made me who I am today.
Writing this reminded me of a medley I used to listen to.
It's a popular medley uploaded to niconico back in 2009 with 2.85 million views.
I'll leave the link here to wrap things up.
[YouTube] THE MEDLEY OF POKéMON RGBY+GSC -3PBs- (2025 UPDATE)
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Last updated:
2026-05-03 07:50 JST (Japan)
2026-05-02 22:50 UTC (Universal)
Main Language: ja-JP
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