I was in my mid-20’s when Pokemon came out so I really don’t remember much beyond the cards. I never paid much attention so I don’t remember when the craze died down, but it seemed to become less popular. The next thing I know, people were bumping into things and getting into wrecks playing some Pokemon game on their smart phones. Huh? Again, I never paid a bit of attention to it except for wthe bulged eyes and the “What do you mean you don’t play?!’ when people would ask to add me as their friend on PokemonGO.
My son turned 6 in 2016, and all of the sudden, POOF: a Pokemon fan.
He collected cards, stuffed animals and other memorabilia. He watched the cartoon like it was his religion and his salvation depended on it. This obsession continued straight through leading up to his 7 th birthday – which naturally was a party complete with everything Pokemon. Making his birthday shirt, birthday party bags, decorations and cupcakes with various Pokemon depictions was not an easy task having absolutely no clue what it was about and who was who. I remember him rolling his eyes at me as I tried to work through the colors of the various characters and items. “Momma,” he would sigh…”How do you not knowwww?”
Timing wise, his Pokemon obsession worked out well because my husband had just retired from the Army. We were supposed to move from Washington State to Texas a few weeks early, but CJ begged us to stay so he could have his last birthday party in Washington with his friends. Our home had been packed up for more than a month before we actually left and, between the 3 of us, our pets and the belongings that we would need to make the big road trip + survive until we closed on our house and the military delivered our stuff, there wouldn’t be room for a party full of gifts.
“Pokemon cards would be great!” became our standard answer to “What would he like for his birthday?”
He received tons of cards and they kept him quite busy for much of the road trip. Each package opened was another squeal of excitement and another explanation of each character and their forms and powers. Being the good parents that we are, we nodded, “oooohhhed” and “aahhhhhed”, pretending to be as interested in each and every character and each and every fact as he was.
By Christmas, he made sure that Santa knew that his dad needed his own cards. Of course Santa obliged and the boys sat on the living room floor for hours at a time with Pokemon cards and playing boards covering all available floor space. It was great to watch them. They were making memories, making up for lost time, bonding and just being boys. It was their thing…their time.
Fast forward to the summer of 2019 and he discovers PokemonGO and begins playing. All of a sudden, he wants us to play too. He wants to go for walks to find Pokemon and hatch his eggs. He had always enjoyed being outside but after having his tonsils out right after school let out he had become somewhat of a hermit. We were so thrilled that he was wanting to get off of the couch and back outside that we jumped on his new interest. Recent months had been a bit stressful and somehow this little yellow guy named Pikachu and his friends were bringing us together. It gave us something mindless to talk about. He takes us on walks, to parks, the beach and around town. We compare and trade Pokemon, give daily gifts that don’t cost a dime but make everyone happy. Even though at times we may seem to be buried in our phones, we are completely engaged with each other. As new Pokemon are found, CJ, the Pokemon encyclopedia tells us everything there is to know about each and every one. Sometimes I am amazed at how much he has stored in his 8 year old brain.
Fresh air, exercise, the stress free family time and renewing the feeling of being in this together has been great. We walk an average of 2-3 miles per day while we are hunting.
If you see us around town, be sure to say hi! Just look for the 8 year old in the Pikachu cap!
