Pokémon · 12 May 2013
Photo courtesy Scott K. Miyoshi
Gotta catch ‘em all.
Everybody seems to be into Pokémon these days. High school kids are even playing the game on their old Game Boys. I thought it odd until I realized that they are all about the age of our middle son, Thing 2.
If anybody should be into Pokémon these days, it ought to be those in their early twenties. After all, they were the ones who were playing the game when it first came out. I remember our oldest, Thing 1, playing it. As a matter of fact, I remember playing it with him. But I could not get very far since I could only play his Game Boy when he was asleep since he would not share very often with me. Fortunately, he had a little brother.
Thing 2 was only two years old when he got his Game Boy. He begged and pleaded with his mom to get one because he had to play Pokémon. We gave in to his begging even though he was only going to be two years old. (Partially because we were going on a road trip that summer and thought it might be nice for him to have something to do in the car besides sleep and look out at the scenery.)
When it came time to open his gifts, I remember him ripping into the wrapping paper like all two-year olds do. He was grabbing it and ripping it off the small boxes trying to get at what he knew was inside. He gave a shout of joy as he first held aloft then hugged the purple Game Boy in one hand and the Pokémon red version in the other. I could see the sparkle of pure joy in his eyes.
Whether or not you have ever met any two-year olds or been to any of their parties, you can probably my wife, The Mindboggling Mrs. Miyoshi, calling me a liar again. I do not remember our two-year old ever begging. Nor have I ever seen any two-year olds rip open presents with much gusto. They and their younger counterparts are often content just to look at the wrapped presents and play with them. And kids of just about any age would rather play with the box a toy came in rather than the toy itself.
What I am trying to say is that I am making a confession.
The truth of the matter is that I got the Game Boy and Pokémon game for myself. I just could not admit it then. I was the one begging my wife to get the game for our two-year old son. I was the one who was excited for him to open the presents even though I knew what was inside. I was the one who wanted the purple Game Boy and the red version of Pokémon. I was the one who wanted to catch them all.
Eventually, I did catch them all. I finished the game. And by then, Thing 2 was about ready to play the Game Boy on his own instead of just waving it around in his hands.
The Mindboggling Mrs. Miyoshi likes to remind me that I really got Thing 2’s first hand held video game system and game for myself. (I did that with Thing 1 too, but he was old enough to use it.) And I am sure we went on the road trip at least a year before he got the game. (I was merely making an editorial comment about how our kids spend their time in the back seat on current road trips.) But all that is beside the point.
The point is that I am finally admitting that I got the Game Boy and Pokémon game for myself and not for my son.
But now, after all these years, I think I want them back (even though they were never mine in the first place). After all, everybody is into Pokémon. And I want to catch them all. Again.
© 2013 Michael T. Miyoshi
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