"Friends, you might not know it by scrolling through my author page here at , but there were a few years where I was really disillusioned with Pokémon. For a few generations, I played the games, but I wasn't living and breathing Game Freak's monster-catching RPGs like I am now and did as a kid. This wasn't because the games weren't resonating with me, but because I'd been kind of annoyed by the types of competitive-focused fans I suddenly found myself surrounded by in my high school years."
"They stopped caring about who their favorite little guys were and started crunching numbers and making spreadsheets, suddenly becoming very concerned about the competitive viability of these monsters above all else. I tell a guy Beautifly is one of my favorite Pokémon and he starts preaching to me about how she's a weak point in my team because she's a frail bug. Bro, I don't give a fuck, look how pretty she is."
A period of disillusionment with Pokémon arose from confrontations with competitive-focused, gatekeeping fans during high school. The competitive obsession among peers shifted conversations from character affection to numbers, spreadsheets, and viability, making fandom feel hostile and alienating. A personal favorite like Beautifly became the subject of unsolicited competitive critique, which eroded enjoyment of the social aspects of the hobby. Interest returned after experiencing Detective Pikachu's mystery-adventure tone and later film and game releases, which reconnected emotional and narrative interest. Competitive play is now observed at arm's length, with preference for story, aesthetics, and personal attachment to Pokémon.
Read at Kotaku
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]