Pokéfans

I've been looking through my Pokédexes to prepare myself for the incoming GameBoy Micro and the extra Pokétime that will be accompanying it, and I've really thought about why so many people stopped loving Pokémon and why they've developed such a woeful hatred for the awesome creatures.

I understand to some extent why people didn't accept the new generations of Pokémon. I can relate, actually. I loved the first generation, and spent so much time playing Pokémon Yellow that there is visible wear on my cartridge. Getting to play as Ash only made me love the cartoon even more. The second generation came along, and in our household, we only had a copy of Pokémon Crystal, which didn't play nicely with my original GameBoy and much preferred my sister's GB Color, so I was left out of the loop for the most part.

Then came the third generation, which I still call terrible. A plethora of water Pokémon, forgettable legendaries and a yet-more-forgettable region... There are only a handful of species from that generation that I like, and maybe one or two that I even get excited about. So, I understand when you say that Pokémon went downhill. It did.

[I'm going to take a moment here to tell people, please, please, don't ever say to me, "The new ones suck, and the originals were the best." Two reasons: One, we all know that the originals have a special place in everyone's hearts. There's no reason to bring it up in a matter-of-fact, hipster fashion. It's just rude. Secondly, I'll let you say that the new ones suck if you can name me just one Pokémon from the newest generation, or even tell me how many generations there are. It'll validate your statement, and I'll trust that you've done your research.]

Here's my real question, especially to the ex-hardcore fans: Why did you stop liking it, then? Yeah, the franchise was taking a turn for the worst, but did that ruin all Pokémon for you? Were you just in it for the franchise? I liked Pokémon because the games were fun, and because they're magic animals that you can do battle with! How is that not fun?

You didn't like Cyndaquil, so you abandoned your Charmander? You were put off by Hariyama, so you got rid of the Machamp you traded for? You thought Clamperl was stupid, so you deleted your Cloyster?

You didn't like the new games, so now you hate the old ones?

When people get full of themselves because they think Pokémon is some stupid thing that's lame now, I just feel sorry for them. They're the kind of people who probably stopped playing because someone said that to them when they were little.

It's too bad, too, because Platinum, Black and White are the best Pokémon games I've played since the originals, and the newest Pokémon are beyond-words awesome. If you have a DS and you haven't played them yet, you're doing it wrong.