Whether it’s superheroes, Bollywood/Hong Kong stars or anime, every single Malaysian had a favourite world we LOVED escaping to when we were kids. However, there’s one universe in particular that played a humongous role in not only livening up our lives but also forging new bonds with friends and even family – that world is … Pokémon!
Just thinking about the times we watched and played Pokémon really takes us back. ? To celebrate everything Pokémon, we asked a couple of Malaysians to geek out with us and share their fondest memories of the widely-popular Japanese media franchise.
1. Pokémon cards were one of the biggest obsessions ever!
Kieran, 33
“Pokémon was a HUGE part of my life during primary and secondary schools.”
Kieran, who was a hardcore Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) player back in the day, recalled having the first edition Pokémon cards in 2005. The best part was, he had no problem getting it as an only child.
“I was a spoilt kid!”
“I had to work for some of them though, especially the booster packs. I had to do things like house chores and doing well in my exams.”
When Kieran wasn’t trying to get new cards, he was either playing or trading with his friends every day. “We didn’t have the connection cable that Game Boys in Japan had to trade Pokémon, so Pokémon cards allowed us to have that bit of fun.”
Luke, 30
“My aunt was the one who got us into Pokémon!”
Luke was introduced to the world of Pokémon with Pokémon TCG (specifically, the Psych Out deck), which his aunt gifted to him. And it all started because she wanted him and his brother to bond with their cousins better.
Luke’s most prized possession: a base set Charizard card valued at RM1,100!
“We played it together as kids so much that the cards ended up becoming scattered and damaged. ?”
Luke loved the card game so much that he even attempted to draw them on his own! Really lah, when kids love something, they really go the extra mile to enjoy it even more. ?
2. Anime and movies = even more Pokémon to enjoy!
Hui Ying, 26
“I had a Pokémon bag, T-shirt, everything! And I never missed a single episode of the Pokémon original anime series!”
“I was blown away by the cartoon series because I couldn’t believe that Pokémon can have actual storylines!”
Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series is available now on the official Pokémon Asia YouTube channel!
One can imagine how kid Hui Ying felt watching the first-ever feature-length Pokémon movie, Pokémon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back!
“There was so much hype for the movie, with so many ads shown on TV and the Pokémon comics. It was all my friends could talk about.”
Pokémon The First Movie was remade from the ground up in CGI, reborn as Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Evolution.
Though she didn’t get to watch the movie with her friends (“we only had landline telephones so it was hard to invite anyone over”), she was still ecstatic watching it on TV with the family VCD player.
Amira, 28
Unlike most fans, Amira’s favourite childhood Pokémon movie is actually Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias!
Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias
“Even my baby cousin, who used to stay at my house a lot, still remembers that I watched Pokémon Heroes too many times.”
Even though Amir was a huge Pokémon geek, she didn’t know there was a Pokémon original anime series until its premiere night!
“I was just hanging out at my aunt’s place with my cousins when the very first episode suddenly aired on TV in front of us!”
Since then they were hooked and made sure to watch the series every Thursday night on NT7 together.
3. Video games, the OG – and arguably best – way to enjoy Pokémon
Kieran, 33
“Pokémon Green was the first Pokémon game I ever played.”
“When I told my Mom I NEEDED this game, she got it for me as a Christmas present,” Kieran said. Revealing that Bulbasaur was his first starter Pokémon.
Kieran LOVES Charizard the most!
Kieran admitted that he was SO addicted to it that he played through the entire game three times, catching every single Pokémon each time. Since then, Kieran has been playing one version of almost every Pokémon game (for the newbies, each Pokémon main game comes in two versions) to this day.
Luke, 30
“My aunt bought me my first ever Game Boy Advance and Pokémon Crystal!”
“I think I scored high marks for my exams or something, but mostly because she wanted us to bond with our cousins through gaming.” Such a sporting aunty!
Pokémon Crystal Version
Luke and his brother shared the only Game Boy Advance they had, so they took turns to play while the other watched.
“Watching each other play was equally as entertaining – that shows how much both of us were into Pokémon.”
The spirit of sharing consoles to play Pokémon remains until today, with Luke’s brother occasionally borrowing his Nintendo Switch to play the newer Pokémon titles.
Luke and Kieran’s first-ever Game Boy Advance and Game Boy.
Wah, these people are really big fans of Pokémon ah! In fact, we recently hosted a Pokémon trivia game with a few self-proclaimed fans to truly test whether they’re legit or not. ? See for yourself here ?:
Speaking of new games, I wonder how Pokémon plays like now…
Can you believe that the first Pokémon games, Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version, were released over 20 years ago?! Time flies SO FAST!
Fast forward to today, and you’ll find yourself spoiled for choices when it comes to Pokémon games.
One prime example would be Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Pokémon Shining Pearl, one of the newest Pokémon games available now on Nintendo Switch!
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Pokémon Shining Pearl
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Pokémon Shining Pearl has been powered up in many ways like its gorgeous graphics, all while maintaining the iconic look and feel of Pokémon. If it’s been a while since you played Pokémon, these Pokémon games are the perfect return for you!
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Pokémon Shining Pearl
Malaysians are invited to capture, train, and battle Pokémon on a journey to become the Pokémon League Champion, while uncovering the mysterious Team Galactic and searching for the powerful Legendary Pokémon, Dialga and Palkia!
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Pokémon Shining Pearl
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Pokémon Shining Pearl: Decorate your capsule to customize the effects of releasing your Pokémon!
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Pokémon Shining Pearl: Use Pokémon Hidden Moves to reach places you never could!
Better yet, check out this video we did on ‘Malaysians trying out Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl for the first time’, under the guidance of Pokémon experts:
A new frontier awaits with Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Once you’re ready to move on, then jump back in history by playing the latest Pokémon prequel, Pokémon Legends: Arceus!
Explore Hisui region, a long-gone era of Sinnoh, for the first time ever, as you study Pokémon and build the first ever Pokédex!
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Pokémon Legends: Arceus – Interact with the citizens of Jubilife Village and beyond.
Action meets RPG (role-playing game) as original developer Game Freak blends action and exploration with the RPG roots of the Pokémon series. Catch Pokémon by learning their behaviour, sneaking up, and throwing a well-aimed Poké Ball to catch them.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Pokémon Legends: Arceus – Ride a Wyrdeer on land.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus – Soar through the skies with a Hisuian Braviary.
This is just a tiny glimpse of what you can expect from the feature-packed Pokémon Legends: Arceus! To get a better idea of what to expect from this historical Pokémon game, we highly recommend checking out our hands-on preview of the game:
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