My love for Pokémon

Pokémon has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. It was the first game I ever played, the first content I was introduced to other than Disney Movies or PBS kids. I was five, and my late father gave me his DSi and his copy of Heartgold, and told me to play. So I did. He bought me plushies and things whenever my mom would make him visit since they were divorced. He died when I was nine years old via suicide, and I inherited the rest of his Pokémon games and the scraps of his cards that weren't picked through by his new girlfriend at the time. The rest of his Pokémon stuff was given to her, and I inherited nothing other than his military clothes, some money, and the items mentioned beforehand. The series, though, I do not like my biological father, reminds me of the good times I did have with him, despite how horrible of a person he really was. Turns out, my stepfather, is a very big fan of it too, and a collector of many things related to the franchise. He bought me my copy of Omega Ruby and my 2DS when Pokémon Moon was a new thing. Though we didn't exactly have a good relationship at first (I was not diagnosed with autism at the time, and he was pretty hotheaded), we have become closer through the games, even if he knows absolutely nothing past gen 3. I have enjoyed pretty much every mainline game within the series, besides Scarlet and Violet, and it's a franchise I hold close to my heart for its signifigance in my formative years.

Some of the plushies my late father gave me, and his console, with the case he gave to me.

Why's it a different colour?

As a kid, I was never all that big on shiny huntintg, but I knew they existed. One day, in 2023, I found myself a funny looking zigzagoon in Omega Ruby. It was, dun dun dun, a SHINY! My first ever one! After however many years of playing Pokmon, I finally had one! After that, I eventually got my shiny tentacruel in Heartgold. HEARTGOLD! A very impressive shiny, especially when the odds were so low. I honestly didn't deserve the catch with my lack of Pokéballs, but one great ball and it was mine! My third was the infamous shiny raichu (if you've read my journal), I ended up failing it, since it spawned right when the time distortion disappeared! I still hate raichu for it, but I'll have to redeem myself... eventually. My fouth, and the last one at the moment, was a shiny swirlix in ZA, in that rooftop area with a dip into a park full of them! I've caught more shinies in ZA, all full odds, too, but I was actively hunting, so I don't think they count, even if they're cool.