Marriland

Pokemon! Where do I even begin?  Well I guess my pokemon journey started way back in the third grade with Pokemon Sapphire Version.  Not knowing what the heck pokemon was (I hadn't even seen an episode of the anime yet) I picked up this small, blue cartridge and popped it into my GameBoySP.  This is where it gets embarrassing.  So on my first visit to the main menu of Pokemon Sapphire I simply hit continue game because I was young, and admittedly stupid.  I did the usual stuff that any new player would do, walked around, talked to some npc's, fought some wild pokeomon etc.  Unknown to me was the fact that I had in my party a level 100 Jirachi, Deoxys, Kyogre, Blaziken, and Salamence, as well as a level 4 zigzagoon (my least favorite pokemon, but that is irrelevant)l.  Like any other seven year old with a short attention span, I got bored and decided to delete my game, which was "to complex of a task" for my feable brain to handle, so it took me about two hours and even then I needed my dad's help. I am so embarrassed that I did not realize that those pokemon were in my party, because I will probably never use them again as Jirachi and Deoxys are event only pokemon. Finally, however,I figured out the "up","select", and "B" keys and continued on my amazing and fascinating journey to becoming Hoenn League victor, witch by the way had not even begun yet.  Clicking new game was probably the most exciting step for any new pokemon champion.  You have no idea of what to expect in the new world that you are walking into.  You don't know if you are going to be the best, or the worst.  You don't know if you'll be happy with the game or sad, and you don't know if you'll get better along the way or if you'll just stay the same.  I guess we can all agree that the first steps into a pokemon game are definitely the most exciting, because deep down inside, we are all the same.  Curious to explore new worlds, and meet new creatures big or small. This is how it was for me, and I was so excited to get started.

My Sapphire experience began like all of the others, stepping out of the moving van, talking to my mom, setting my clock, walking around town and then meeting may (or if you are may, then the boy character) and talking with her before you decide to walk out into the open wilderness, with no pokemon!  You walk up the route, when the little girl who was originally there to block your path decides that you can go through, if you will save the professor.  I remember rushing to the professor rescue (or walking since you can't run without running shoes) and choosing a pokemon that would assist me in defending the professor against the worlds most vicious Poochyena!  I remember standing there, looking at the three poke balls. I just couldn't make up my mind. There was the cute water type Mudkip, alongside the equally cute Torchic, and finally the cool looking grass type, Treeko.  All were perfect contenders for a pokemon that would accompany me on my journey, but the professor needed my help, and I swore to that little girl back in town that I would help him.  With a great gasp, I hit the "A" button, and proceeded to teach that Poochyena a lesson for attacking the Professor.  The battle began and I saw the snarling Poochyena glaring at me, but I was not afraid.  My virtual Character threw out his pokeball and retreated as a bright light emanated from within the pokeball and out came my trusty... Treeko!  That Poochyena didn't stand a chance as I proceeded to hit it with tackle after tackle after tackle.  

With that, my journey finally began.  With my trusty Treeko "LilGreen", I concurred the various Gyms and trainers throughout the vast Hoenn region.  LilGreen soon became a Grovyle and then finally, a fearsome Sceptile, the King of the Forest.  He led me all the way to the Hoenn League where I battled and defeted the elite four and finally challenged Steven!  My level 100 Sceptile, the only pokemon that I had used was out of PP, and Stevens Aggron was putting up a fight.  I don't know how, but my Sceptile had struggled its way through all of Steven's pokemon, but he was  dangerously close to death.  Maybe it was a stroke of luck, or maybe that Steven went easy on me, because in the instant that that Aggron would have killed me, he missed.  With tears in my eyes, I screamed so loud that my neighbors down the street could hear me.  I had won the title Champion of the Hoenn League.

I remember purchasing my first Pokemon game. My friend in school watched Pokemon and I immediately took a liking to it as well. When I saw Sapphire version at a store I was prompted to buy a Gameboy (that also happened to be bundled with Crystal version) and picked up playing. I loved reading the guide books alongside the games in order to fully understand my opponents and the other hidden secrets inside the games, such as the mysteries of the Unknown and the Regis in RSE. I knew all of the types and weaknesses and especially enjoyed planning out teams and strategies for  gyms and other important battles.

As I grew older, I became especially interested in the inner game mechanics of Pokemon. I was amazed. The sheer power my EV trained Pokemon exhibited easily outclassed anything I had seen before. I even managed to defeat Palmer in the Battle Tower! I had never gotten very far in the Battle Tower before, but with the help of my bulky Miltank, I was able to do the impossible.

I continued studying Smogon. I joined Pokemon online and participated in a few battles against real Pokemon players, something I had never done before. I also learned other interesting things, such as how a Pokemon’s stats are generated through the Rng and how to convert binary numbers into decimals.

Pokemon has taught me many things, but the most important thing I learned to accept myself. The happiness and strength I feel while playing Pokemon has overpowered the doubts I used to have about myself in the light of others. I may not be able to walk up to someone and say hi, but I can certainly challenge him to a battle.

-Mildrith

I was not old enough to know what the Pokemon games were, except Battle Stadium, my parents were always fighting I had great sisters who shielded me from all the noise. The escape from fighting, school, and any other childhood fear I had, was Pokemon. The show was the main thing I had that was Pokemon at the time, I would come home from pre-school and be home just in time to see the Johto journeys  theme come on. Now, my dad was usually out working 'till the late hours of the night, so my mom would always be mad about that. Seeing my mother in such rage was horrid. But with my childish brain, I would block out the bad memories and only remember the good. Pokemon would always be my get away for bad situations. Children have the wildest imaginations about fantasy worlds, I was no different. I had a sweet poliwhirl plushie that would comfort me in times of pain, whether emotionally or physically. Pokemon would not play a major part of my life until later years. Being an 8 year old outcast is not fun and is quiet lonely, unless you have Pokemon. An 8 year old's imagination is much better than a child's. I would pretend to be a Pokemon in class(otherwise known as going through Japanese puberty) this made me a social cancer, as well as teachers pet. Now that I look back at it, I feel like the teacher must have thought I had a mental disability. My story is not sad or anything, it is just a story of how Pokemon affected my life and shaped me as a teen. Words can not express my love and passion for Pokemon. I am just a loyal fan who would never hide his love for Pokemon. Even though Pokemon is going through a rough patch for new ideas for new Pokemon, I will always love it and support it.     

My first experiences with Pokemon came from the anime and seeing the merchandise absolutely everywhere. Pokemon lunchboxes, backpacks, popsicles, tighty-whities, you name it. Pokemon was ginormous when I was in elementary school. So much so that Pokemon cards were strictly banned like they were hard drugs (which might not have been a bad comparison for how they were to us). I wasn't the richest kid around so coming across the cards was a major deal. My first and only card for a little while was Pikachu from the Jungle Set. A kid from school gave it to me after I claimed I didn't have any. I would hold it up in bed and study every detail of it. 50 HP. Little lightning bolts coming out of his face. I just wanna pinch those chubby red cheeks! (face). Not too much later, I acquired a base set Kadabra card. I would battle my friend every morning on the bus (with how we assumed the game was played) with this Kadabra against his Arcanine. I would go first, (having the lower level), hitting him with a Super Psy for 50 damage. He would hit back with a dangerous Take Down for a whopping 80 damage and knocking out my Kadabra. He would take 30 recoil damage which would always NEARLY knock himself out, but it never would. I didn't care. Just playing was what made me happy.

One student in my class had an astounding TWO holographic base set Charizard cards. Needless to say, this was the direct result in him having the equivalent to what is known today as "swag". I once claimed to him to have several cards that hadn't even actually been released yet, such as Ditto, that I would trade him for one of his Charizards. He agreed, and handed me the card. I looked at it for a few wonderful seconds, and passed it back. I told him I made up having those cards and only wanted to be able to tell my grandchildren that I had once owned a Charizard. And I will.

My friends and I would spend many hours after school playing our Red, Blue, Silver, and Gold versions together. Treating AA batteries as if they were currency. My best friend and I would attempt to battle and trade with my awful link cable with hilarious results. On the off chance the game even acknowledged the cables existence, we would be interrupted mid-battle by a glitched mess of hilarity. "Apparently you just withdrew your last remaining Pokemon and sent out a poisoned Pidgeotto!" This became an infamous inside joke and today, when battling our 5th Generation games, we claim the other person just sent out a "poisoned Pidgeotto", as if the game is glitching out. I've considered actually bringing a Pidgeotto equipped with a Toxic orb for one of our battles. This is a guy that has always named himself "Ear" in the games, so you'll know he'll appreciate it.

By junior high and high school, my friends and fellow students would act like they were too cool for such childish things and would even tease someone else for still being a fan, but then went home and searched everywhere for AA batteries for their Game Boys so they could train up their team to take on Clair's Dragonairs. After high school, a lot of my friends just stopped trying to hide it and now half of my Facebook feed is full of them making Pokemon jokes, posting meme pictures, and talking about battling and trading with each other. Maybe because it's "cool" to be geeky and "uncool", like with this hipster culture deal. Perhaps it's for nostalgia, longing for a simpler and happier time. For me, it's definitely more of the latter, but then again, I'll be longing for these exact moments in another ten years, reminiscing all the while turning on whatever current Nintendo system to continue my Pokemon journey, creating new memories to be nostalgic about.

Pokemon... Even that simple word sends chills down my spine. The creatures, the people, and the unities they form have been a large portion of who I am since I was a little girl. Pokemon has certainly changed my life, even in ways still unknown to my teenage-self.

I first learned about pokemon when I was about six years old. I went over for the first time to a new friend's house and found pokemon posters plastered upon the walls. When I asked her what it was, she was shocked that I had never heard of it. She proceeded to show the first episode. I knew before the "Who's That Pokemon?" interlude that I was in love.

My passion for pokemon held strong as I started to mature. I loved the Hoenn League... Especially May. May played the part as my female role model, one I looked up to, one I truly cared about, and one that drastically altered my mindset at an important time in my life. She not only looked like me (she was one of the first female brunettes!), she thought like me. The first time I was introduced to the idea of pokemon contests, we shared the same initial reaction... excitement. May not only inspired me to follow my artist dreams, she is the reason I have my artistic dreams, and I could never ask for more than that.

As fanatically attached to pokemon as I was, I had never even heard of pokemon video games until I was around nine or ten. By then, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl had just been released, and a good friend of mine lent me her Pokemon Diamond in which to create an account. The excitement was unbearable, knowing that I could finally be the trainer I was always dreaming about in my mind. As I started out the game, I named myself "JENNIFER" (this is not my real name, just a substitute I use for this site) in all capital letter because I did not yet know there were lowercase options. When asked which starter pokemon I would use, my friend advised me to pick Piplup, considering how cute it is. If she hadn't convinced me, I have no idea what would have happened. The point is, she did convince me, and I chose Piplup as my companion. I named him (yes, him) "FIFI." At that point I hadn't fully grasped the idea of pokemon genders, or understood what the female and male symbols stood for. I never finished that game and I have no idea what happened to it, or the friend that I once had. After a couple of distant calls and texts, I never heard from her again.

I wanted to buy Pokemon Diamond. I asked my parents for it for Christmas, but they accidentally got me Pokemon Pearl instead. I didn't mind... they were close enough, right? I don't know why I wanted to play that game so much. I think it's because I wanted to prove my friend wrong, in a way. To show her that I am strong, and I can be the very best (Like no one ever was...). It was my childish, nine year-old self in a boiling rage. I beat that game. I beat Roark. And Gardenia. And Maylene. And Wake. And Fantina. And Byron and Candice and Volkner. I beat my rival "WILLIAM" and Aaron and Bertha and Flint and Lucian and Cynthia. I caught Palkia and Uxie (on my last pokeball). I destroyed Team Galactic and kicked trainer butt at the Battle Tower. Pokemon Pearl was an outlet for my pain and anger at my ex-friend.

Pokemon also made me feel wanted. Like I belonged somewhere. I have an interesting family situation; I have two half-sisters much older than I am that live far away. I rarely see them. I think living like an only child, but knowing that I wasn't, made me a more of an introverted person. Pokemon let me express my desires to be something. It gave me something to hold onto... even if I don't have any friends, I'll always have pokemon. This has held to this day, as I struggle emotionally with what I believe to be chronic depression. No matter what happens, I'll always have Bulbasaur to grin at me. I'll always have my Empoleon to fight for me until he faints. I'll always have Flygon to remind me of the days where I enjoyed my life. I'll always have a second life I can escape into, one where everyone has to notice me, where I can feel like I am actually talented. Pokemon gives me hope, and gives me a reason to look forward to the future.

To everyone out there who feels as I do, remember to NEVER give up hope. Remember that even if your friends or family won't, Pokemon will always be there to make you smile. Remember that you beat the elite four. You beat Mysterial on the final battle of Pokemon Revolution. You proved to your rival Silver that it is worth it love pokemon, so please, please, PLEASE prove to yourself that it's worth it to love you. Pokemon will always be there... I owe my life to that.

My fondest memory of a Pokemon game, was in the original Silver for Gameboy color. I've just opened it up, started my game, and chose my starter. To my surprise, the starter, a male Totodile, was shiny. It was then that I vowed to become a hunter of shiny Pokemon. Pokemon taught me to never give up, no matter how hopeless it seems. Whether facing the Elite 4 with just 1 Pokemon left, or hunting for a specific target, never give up. Being a shiny hunter also taught me patience. It taught me that, if you work towards your goal, little by little, the rewards will be greater then you can ever imagine, and the feeling of accomplishment is the best in the world. My longest hunt so far was two months in Black. I never did get my shiny Zoura egg, but I will get it one day. That much I know for certain!

In this entry, I'm going to talk about how I learned from Pokemon, how Pokemon affected my life, and my best Pokemon experience.

It all started when I was 3. I was playing Pokemon Blue at the time. My sister gave it to me because she got the new Pokemon Sapphire game (It was new at that time) and she didn't play Pokemon Blue anymore. I picked up the game and I just started playing it. I didn't know how to read at the time, but I actually learned how to read from playing Pokemon Blue. Of course, I couldn't learn much because I had limited vocabulary, but I learned the Pokemon moves because of those animations. A couple months before preschool, I would go through the game and just read the sentences and I asked my dad what most sentences meant and I took off from there. Pokemon taught me basic math as well. I learned how to add and subtract from looking at the HP bars. When I started preschool the next year, I learned enough from Pokemon that I was ahead of my class by a long shot. In fact, because of this I was always ahead of my friends in education. Also, in the later years, my brother and sister lost interest in Pokemon and I picked up all of their copies. I got the whole collection of 1st generation, 2nd generation, and 3rd generation. Then when I was 9, I got Pokemon Diamond version for my birthday. I was so excited to play this series! It looked really cool because DS graphics were the brand new thing. Then I came across your videos Marriland. Your videos got me through the game without any trouble. You inspired me to do let's plays and I started my own YouTube channel. I have been doing this for three years and I am still enjoying every bit of uploading for my fans. On February 14, 2012, I received a partnership with Yeousch and my channel went through the roof! I would like to thank you for posting your videos. If you didn't make videos, I would only be an ordinary viewer which isn't a bad thing, but I would be missing out. Then I bought all of the games from then on!

When I started my YouTube channel, I had a really crappy Polaroid Camcorder that shot 240p and I commentated through its crappy mic (which didn't sound too pretty). I kept making videos to try to get out to the YouTube Community and to find people who could get me advice. I found some people who were willing to do that. They helped me find new ways to record and I tried them. They were okay, but I decided to try stuff on my own and I found new ways to record and made my content so much better. Once it improved, (which took a year) I started gaining a decent amount of subscribers. I only got 100 subscribers that year, but it felt good that I was improving. The first LP I started was Pokemon Sapphire. The LP was 20 episodes and were absolutely horrifying. Then I made a Fire Red LP and it was slightly better, but then I started Soul Silver. That LP took off. It was my best LP for a long time until White came along which was way later. This just shows that if you keep doing what you do, you'll improve. Unfortunately, this Summer, a hacker broke into my account and deleted a ton of videos. It was the worst day I have ever had. All of that hard work.....Gone! I kept moving on and made up for that hacking incident and got back on track.

Pokemon Blue was my most played game when I was little, but my second highest was Pokemon XD : Gale of Darkness. I got this game when I was 7 and I had a blast with this game. I loved the Gamecube which really helped. The first time I played, I used plain, old Eevee for my team member and a Teddiursa. That was my entire team. At the end of the game, my Eevee and Ursaring were each level 77. I mostly killed all of the Shadow Pokemon, so I had to catch them all after the game from that horrible Miror B! I had to snag at least 40 Shadow Pokemon from this jerk! I put 30-40 hours into the save file, but I enjoyed every minute of it!

My favorite Pokemon experience was when I found a shiny in Pokemon Emerald. I ran into a shiny Makuhita and I thought the game glitched up when I encountered it. I weakened the Shiny Makuhita and threw a Poke Ball and I failed every single poke ball until my last one. I was nervous and I threw it and I caught it! I yelled, "I CAUGHT A GLITCH!" At the time, I had no clue what shinies were. I searched up "Weird colored Pokemon" into the Google bar and the results showed pages about shinies. I opened one page up. I believe it was Bulbapedia. I looked at the information and I saw how rare shinies were and I was jumping up and down non-stop screaming and my dad came in the room thinking I was hurt, but he saw my face and he smiled. I told my dad, "I found a shiny Pokemon!" He was happy to see me so excited.

I know I'm only supposed to only have one favorite Pokemon experience, but my next favorite experience was when in Pokemon Ruby, I trained my Blaziken and Groudon to level 100. I did that by completing the Hoenn Pokemon League 118 times. When I reached level 100, I saw that the exp was not going up anymore, so I thought I broke the game. Haha! Another Google search later, I found out that Pokemon only go up to level 100 and I was bummed out for a second. Then I felt good that I got two Pokemon to the highest level! Blaziken is my favorite Pokemon because of this.

So, those were my experiences as a small child. I decided to try to pass on Pokemon to my younger brother by giving him my Pokemon Blue Version and so far, it is working really well. Pokemon had a huge impact on my life and I will always continue to love Pokemon throughout my lifetime.

I first started playing Pokemon in the days of Pokemon Blue & Red. After that, Pokemon practically consumed my life. I went through a lot of personal problems as a child which, for obvious reasons, I wouldn't like to post publicly, but whenever I played Pokemon, everything just turned out better. Pokemon made me happy. I used to beg & beg my mum to buy me Pokemon cards, yet I didn't know how to play the trading card game until the game came out and even then, I didn't play it, I stuck to the games. 

My first experience with Pokemon was when I saw my friend's older brother playing it. We sat for hours watching him play & on my following birthday I got Pokemon Blue & Red, which wasn't long after the release thankfully. From that day until now, I own EVERY Pokemon game released in the UK & nothing can ever stop me from my first love - Pokemon.

My most memorable experience in Pokemon is when I encountered a shiny Houndour in Pokemon Crystal, which I lost merely weeks after catching it. I was devastated because Houndour was, correction - still is, one of my favourite Pokemon. (Obviously nothing can beat Eevee, how can it NOT be your favourite Pokemon?!) With the release of Heart Gold & Soul Silver, I got so excited it was unbearable. I bought it the day after release (Soul Silver, Lugia > Ho-Oh) & being back in Johto brought back so many memories, which shortly made me hunt down my Pokemon Crystal, which I found after searching for 5 hours!

Just over a year ago I was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat & I was hospitalized for 3 months awaiting some surgery. I called my mum every opportunity I had, asking her to bring me a new Pokemon game because I had beaten the most recent one I had with me. Not many people visited me because I tended to ignore everyone & play on my Pokemon games, mainly the Kanto or Johto games, my favourite being, of course, the Johto games, ever since that faithful Houndour... Who unfortunately lost his way. Playing Pokemon helped me take my mind off the fact that it may not have been possible for me to have the surgery needed. Next summer I am expecting a child with my girlfriend & I am definitely going to ensure they play the games, which is perfect because my girlfriend isn't a huge fan of Pokemon. :cutewink:

I hope this is good enough, it's been a long time since I entered a contest.

Thanks for the videos & information Marriland!! - Kyle

P.S, it's taken me this long to register an account due to the fact I never realised you could, silly me!

The year was 2003. Living in India was tough and there weren't any video games. A year or 2 before I went to there( I am back now), I had gotten a Gameboy advance. Unfortunately, I never got any real games for it, but the sheer fact of just turning it on was satisfying enough for me. Now, seeing as my dad was a business man, he occasionally went to America, and while looking through my gameboy box, i found something. It was an ad for the gameboy advance SP. It was only a small pamphlet, but boy did it excite me. I didn't understand anything, but just the fact that it had backlight. So I immediately phoned up my dad and asked him to buy it for me. Being a cute 5 year and all, he couldn't refuse. So on Christmas Eve, 2005, my father returned home carrying with him, the gameboy advance sp. But not only that. Being a huge fan of pokemon, my dad had brought 2 games that changed my life forever. Pokemon Ruby, and Pokemon Sapphire. It may not seem much, but they were the first video games I ever played. Ever since then, those games have left a mark on me. It doesn't matter if they were considered to be the worst, but its because of the sentimental value it has on you. Even though it's only a cartridge, whenever I think about those games, I just tear up because those games formed a physical attachment to me, that no other game had. Even so i say this, I still take these values for granted today, as i never saw these games in that manner in the past, and lost those games. Today I am frantically looking for those games, hoping to rekindle with my long lost past.

I'll begin with saying that Pokemon Blue was the first game that I ever received. The awkward part is I have never beat the game, but I am working on an emulator (lost the cartridge, NO!!!!!). Pokemon has affected a large portion of my social life because pretty much all of my friends have played some part of Pokemon, starting from first gen to other parts of the series, and I end up being a bridge for those that are separate because I am not a generation specialist (trying not to sound mean). It has also affected what I want to do with my future. I'm not talking about being a Pokemon trainer or starting to work on some Pokemon website. It has translated from virtual reality to actual reality, as I am currently in college working on a degree in Veterinary Technology (pretty much nurses for animals), and I am wanting to work at the zoo. If any game has influenced me, it's Pokemon. I can't say that Pokemon has taught me anything, but it has helped me with memorizing breeds and kinds of animals required with the program I am taking. The best experiences I have had with Pokemon is talking with little kids about Pokemon. I work at a summer camp every year that I can, and so many kids I have had in my cabin have talked about Pokemon so much. Their amount of knowledge of Pokemon is rather impressive, but still lacking, and having growing up for so long with Pokemon I was able to teach them what they wanted pretty much off the spot. One kid though was playing Heart Gold back at home and working on the Kanto side, and I had not played that game for a quite a while. When I tried to explain things to him I could tell that he was confused, so I drew a map of the Kanto region from memory and it was pretty accurate except for me forgetting the name of Lavendar town at the time. I was surprised that I had known that map so well, especially since it was from a game that I had never beat (referring to my lost Blue) or played for so long. I also feel like one of the biggest geeks for that as well. Anyways, I have to got to study for a big exam I have tomorrow, so see you later.

Ok i was about 6 years old when my older sister bought me pokemon yellow so as the natural nerd i am i decided to complete the pokedex and read every single pokedex entry then i came across hypno. Hypno's pokemon entry was that it "hypnotizes people and one time hypnotized a child and took it away" so after that entry i was terrified a hypno would come into my room and hypnotize me and try to hurt me. So my older brother showed me " hypno's lullaby" and it was the scariest most horrifying song ever. I think i slept untill 3 am every morning and had to have my dog right next to me to sleep. I had to lock the doors of my car and had to always look in the seat behind me to make sure hypno wasn't hiding in my car waiting to hypnotize me. Most people see hypno as a cuddly yellow fur ball. I see him as a hypnotizing ,evil , monster. So i was  traumatized by a fictional character.

Since around 5th grade Pokemon has been a fairly large part of my video-gaming life. I'll never forget how my younger brother got a Gameboy color before I did and received Pokemon red for his birthday. Eventually, after much complaining and begging, my parents bought me my own Gameboy and Pokemon blue. From that first moment when I selected Squirtle as my starter to finally catching Mewtwo, I knew that I was hooked. I can remember all the guys on recess either playing Pokemon red/blue on our gameboy colors or trying to get the best trade for our cards. It almost became our own little tournament on the jungle gym, link cables all over the place. I think the fact that we weren't playing tag or red rover or whatever 5th graders normally do on the playground shows just how much of an impact Pokemon has had on all our childhoods. Even though it kinda dropped off with some of my friends, some of us kept our secret attachment to Pokemon hidden away throughout the rest middle school and high school. At the time of the release of Pokemon White, I didn't have a Nintendo DS. So I saved up some money and bought the special edition box set for Pokemon White. My friends and I played through the story together, trying to build the best line-ups we could to see who could top the other. I don't think I've ever been more frustrated than when I was trying to level up my Deino to get it to evolve into Hydreigon. Now I have my first, non-rare candy level 100 Pokemon, and thinks to him, I haven in my opinion I have one of the toughest line-ups I've ever had. Totally worth all that walking around and battling wild Pokemon :). So hopefuly you think this is worth a 3DS. 

Thanks, Bravesfan2010

My favorite pokémon experience is when I first battled my sister. She was a little noobish so i matched her pokémon's levels. She proved herself of beeing worthwhile strategist. It was realy fun we had 2 match. 1 loss, 1 win. After these results, we decided to leave it there. We are alot closer now!

Well, it started with my brother, yadda yadda yadda, Then I got older and he let me play on his diamond version, used his master ball on a bidoof. :\ Then he was playing on his souls silver, and beats the Mewtwo with a level one Rattata. He told me about it, and I realized it's luck that matters. I also learned from pokemon to be more brave, I was always really shy, and I was playing the end of Black, when the gym leaders came and held back Team Plasma. I thought to myself, "My friends would probably never do this," then I realized, I only had one friend. He would do that. I decided to get more friends, I got more friends, and i'm happier now. 

Well, I'd have to say that my most favorite memory in all of Pokemon, whether it be through anime, videogames, or Internet, is probably when I took down the Elite 4 with only an Empoleon. See, In 2007, I got Pokemon Pearl for the Nintendo DS on Christmas, I believe. I've never played a Pokemon game before, besides my brother's Pokemon Ruby game, in which his Pokemon were ridiculously strong, and my constant grinding at the Elite 4 only on his Blaziken wasn't helping much, either. Anyway, It was my first Pokemon game ever, and I was having a lot of fun with it. Sure, I caught a Starly and a Shinx, just like any first timers would if Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, or even Platinum was their first Pokemon game, and like usual, I evolved them into Staraptor and Luxray. And sure, they were powerful, especially since I had Close Combat on my Staraptor, and Crunch and Shock Wave on my Luxray, but what really got my on that game was Piplup. Piplup, and Prinplup, and, ESPECIALLY, Empoleon. GAWD, I LOVE EMPOLEON!!! Not only is it my second favorite Water starter, just behind Blastoise(You can never go wrong with classic Pokemon), but it's a Steel-Type also!!! And my favorite type is Steel! Love it! So, I trained it especially hard. And it was the only Pokemon I used through Victory Road. And The Elite 4. Yep. All of them. Aaron, Bertha, Flint, and Lucian. Most likely, the biggest challenge was Lucian, only because of his pesky Steel and Psychic Type Pokemon Bronzong. But, I overcame the tough challenges, and I beat them! Then, it was on to Champion Cynthia, all with her Spiritomb, Gastrodon, Milotic, Roserade, Lucario, and goody two shoes Garchomp level 66. I'm actually surprised I remembered that! But nonetheless, I used Luxray, Staraptor, and a couple other Pokemon I came across in Victory Road such as Medicham and Graveler as healing sacrifice. Basically, what healing sacrifice is is when my Empoleon faints, I send out one of my Pokemon and use a Revive on Empoleon. That's it. So, I just kept spamming Surf. After Surf. After Surf. Her Milotic was a real pain for this reason. I occasionally used Aqua Jet, Hydro Pump, and Hydro Cannon, because that was my move set at the time, all water same type attack bonus moves. I just kept attacking and healing over and over again. Then, eventually, I won. I was so EXCITED! MY EMPOLEON GREW TO LEVEL 65! YAY!!!! Then I had to go to bed...