Emotions have a significant role when it comes to making and retaining memories. I can’t remember yesterday (as it was a mundane kind of day), but I can remember something from 24 years ago. The late 90s was a great time for me and I have a lot of wonderful, happy memories of playing video games. I had my own job with my own money and was able to purchase the games I wanted. I still remember it today: the exact day and moment I got my hands on my first Pokémon game. It was September of 1998– my senior year in High School. I was at my local mall and had just left EB Games with my prize. I chose Pokémon Blue (for reasons unknown) and while I didn’t have my Gameboy with me at the time, I couldn’t help buy rip off the plastic wrap to get my hands on the instruction booklet.

I still remember its heft– most instruction booklets were a few pages long and half of it included legal language and warnings. This instruction booklet was a mini guide and only heightened my excitement to get home and play the game. Pokémon was not like any other RPG I’ve played before. I played my first RPG a year earlier: it was Wild Arms– a turn-based Western-themed JRPG for Playstation. Pokémon was turn-based, but your party was comprised of Pokémon that would fight for you. What made the game even more appealing for me was the depth of the game itself. there were not only 150 Pokémon to collect, but there were specific moves they could learn and each monster had it’s own type which would be strong or weak against other types. I switched the game on and it began– my journey into a universe that I would find myself a part of for the next two decades. I never completed my Pokédex in my play-through of Pokémon Blue (in fact, I don’t even remember if I beat the game). I have a confession to make: I have NEVER completed a Pokédex in any Pokémon game I’ve owned over the years (and I’ve owned them all). It has haunted me all of these years and while I cannot travel back in time, I can try again to complete every Pokédex in every game.

This time, 20 years later, I have the benefit of the internet and various tools that will facilitate easier collection of Pokémon. In fact, I will not have to play all of the Pokémon games released if I don’t want to, but this is more than just a task– it’s an experience. What if I played every Pokémon game in its original form and caught the Pokémon in the region they originally appeared to fill my National Pokédex? My plan is inspired by YouTuber Lyra. This will not be a short journey and I expect to have some hiccups and slowdowns along the way, but I’m excited to start this project and see where it takes me. You can expect updates several times a week to start out until I figure out a rhythm. I’m planning on creating a spreadsheet to track my progress, so hang in there for that. I’m thinking of making this site a mixture of Living Dex progress, news about the Pokémon games, personal stories about my history of Pokémon fandom, and maybe some deep dives into the history of the Pokémon franchise. I do not want to make promises that I cannot keep, but I have so many ideas swimming around in my head! I guess for now just stay tuned and enjoy the journey!