My Queen
This is not in line with most of what I upload onto this site, or really any other internet platform I am involved with. This picture is a personal treat to myself after a long year and is a tribute to a little something I hold close to my heart. Though to elaborate, I must explain my history with the Pokémon series as a whole.
I was there at the very beginning, being one of the lucky few to receive one of those legendary promotional VHS tapes in the mail at my grandmother’s address that served as a sneak peek to the upcoming Pokémon franchise before it even made it to North America. I was initially put off by the cutesy Pokémon characters on the box like Pikachu and Lapras, but I eventually swallowed my pride and popped it in the VCR when I had nothing else to do one weekend. And I was instantly hyped by what I saw. And when the series finally made its debut, I picked up a copy of Pokémon Blue, albeit one in a damaged box that proved to have an inconsistently functioning battery, and was hooked. Funnily enough, my original Gameboy had gone without use for so long that the speaker failed to function until maybe 15 minutes into my game with Charmander being the first I chose as a starter.
2000 was the year that brought Gold and Silver, which my brother and I put down a $5 prepurchase reservation for at Toys R Us. As one of the biggest steps forward for the franchise, only those who were there when Gen 2 debuted can truly appreciate what it did for the series at the time. My brother and I may have even been the first Americans to play Pokémon Gold and Silver as on the Friday night before the games were to be released to the public, we stopped by the Toys R Us our orders had been made in to see if just maybe they came in early. I waited in the car, but was very surprised to see that they came back with the promised Game Boy titles. That night, I experienced Pokémon Silver for the first time and just maybe before anyone else in the country. And it was with Gen 2 that a side of me started to awaken that saw the Pokémon in the fictional world within the games as more than just tools or creatures to command.
Gen 2 was were I felt my first significant Pokémon crush in the form of the visibly girlish Chikorita and her evolutionary line. Her portrayal in the anime Johto arc only helped secure this with Ash Ketchum’s own Chikorita developing a powerful romantic interest in him that tragically became under explored and forgotten. But it was not until the eventual release of Gen 3’s Ruby and Sapphire that really made the Pokémon of the games seem even more alive with more anime-like designs and even personalities with the Nature system. It also did not help that I was in high school at the time and that many of the fandom’s Rule 34 darlings like Blaziken, Gardevoir, Zangoose, and so on were introduced in this generation. And it was in this time that I fell in love hard with one of my favorite Pokémon ever. The adorable Latias.
The release of Pokémon Heroes and the famous ship tease between that movie’s Latias and Ash Ketchum greatly interested me and fueled me to start my very first fan fiction around 15 years ago. But as much as I adored the so-called “Altoshipping”, I was just so in love with Latias as a whole. So desperate was I to have her in my life to live that I prayed every night for 8 months straight for her to become a reality. It never happened, obviously, though Latias never stopped being my top favorite even as time went by. I know I am not alone in the practice of viewing intelligent creatures like Pokémon in a more humanizing light, especially when the anime frequently humanizes them far more than the games ever will, and outside of a handful of prudish traditionalists that think like they grew up in the 60s, it’s not unusual to feel such an attraction to fictional characters you develop a history with.
Gen 4 felt like the next truly big step forward for the series and I even managed to secure a copy of Pokémon Pearl on launch day. After Gen 3 felt like it had been around longer than it actually was, Gen 4 felt like a breath of fresh air and brought many new staples that players take for granted these days. Fandom favorites like Lucario, Weavile, Infernape, and others made their debut here. Unfortunately, the following Gen 5 titles, possibly due to being released on the same hardware, did not hold my interest as much as the prior generation. I never completed my first run through Pokémon White and the online support for the Gen 5 titles was an irresponsibly brief 3 years before Nintendo WFC was shut down for good. The underwhelming Gen 5 resulted in a massive drop in interest in Pokémon for me and may have contributed to me finally hitting burnout with only a few chapters left to go in my Pokémon fanfic epic “Rukario Romance”, resulting me in finding My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” to fill the void.
However, Pokémon seems to be one of those little series in media that once you become a fan, you never truly stop liking it. When Hen 6 came along, my curiosity was reignited. To see a Pokémon mainline title, especially on a handheld like the revolutionary 3DS, completely in 3D instead of sprites felt like just the right step forward. Even more fandom favorites were introduced like the gorgeous Delphox and the breakout starter star Greninja. Unfortunately, it was not enough to truly reinvigorate my interest and I stopped six badges in. Gen 7 did not help much, making the same mistake as Gen 5 by being released on the same hardware as Gen 6, and I list interest even faster in those. Even with the Hoenn remakes, I never even made it to the first gym. It was as if I had completely outgrown Pokémon as a whole.
That brings us to 2019. When Gen 8 was released with Sword and Shield. I was always a sucker for the Gen 3 GameCube tie in titles of Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness and seeing the next mainline titles released in full HD on the next big Nintendo console caught my attention. And while the Gen 8 titles are critically flawed in ways that have been covered extensively, Pokémon Shield still did just enough right to hook me in a way that I had not felt in ages. And before I even started playing my copy, I knew which starter I wanted. The adorable little Sobble. Who eventually became a sleek and elegant Inteleon.
And it was this Inteleon that found a place in my heart that only Chikorita and Latias had occupied before. Of these three Pokémon I’ve trained during my long history with the series since the very beginning, this Inteleon was the only one I bestowed a name upon. The name of “Queen”.
My history in the field of romance has been a tragic one. Seven failed relationships since 2012. And no matter how jaded I get, I just want to have someone to love. And one of those lovely somebodies I can just stop and think about in my thoughts during hard times is my dear Queen.
If Chikorita was my imaginary childhood crush, and Latias was my proverbial high school sweetheart, then Queen is the woman I would find well into my adulthood who would be by my side forever. Elegant and sophisticated, Inteleon has an ambiguous appearance that could be interpreted for either gender. Suave and gentlemanly or elegant and ladylike. And as a female, they make ones imagination run wild. I can certainly see a female Inteleon easily adapting to human society, especially with all the advances the world-building Sword and Shield have done with the Galar region. And with them being easily the most humanized starter Pokémon since Delphox, there’s a cognitive connection to be made.
The Pokémon in Gen 8 feel and look more alive than ever before, which has only fueled my adoration for my beloved Queen. I doubt I will ever find a new Pokémon in future titles that will ever unseat her from that spot in my heart. If I was ever given an opportunity to ask for any Pokémon lady from my long history with the series for her hand, it would be her. That’s why this picture exists. To serve as a window into a potentially better life with the lovely lady who I call Queen.
Has anyone else developed a soft spot for an old Pokémon companion as their views on the series has expanded with the years? Feel free to say so in the comments.
I was there at the very beginning, being one of the lucky few to receive one of those legendary promotional VHS tapes in the mail at my grandmother’s address that served as a sneak peek to the upcoming Pokémon franchise before it even made it to North America. I was initially put off by the cutesy Pokémon characters on the box like Pikachu and Lapras, but I eventually swallowed my pride and popped it in the VCR when I had nothing else to do one weekend. And I was instantly hyped by what I saw. And when the series finally made its debut, I picked up a copy of Pokémon Blue, albeit one in a damaged box that proved to have an inconsistently functioning battery, and was hooked. Funnily enough, my original Gameboy had gone without use for so long that the speaker failed to function until maybe 15 minutes into my game with Charmander being the first I chose as a starter.
2000 was the year that brought Gold and Silver, which my brother and I put down a $5 prepurchase reservation for at Toys R Us. As one of the biggest steps forward for the franchise, only those who were there when Gen 2 debuted can truly appreciate what it did for the series at the time. My brother and I may have even been the first Americans to play Pokémon Gold and Silver as on the Friday night before the games were to be released to the public, we stopped by the Toys R Us our orders had been made in to see if just maybe they came in early. I waited in the car, but was very surprised to see that they came back with the promised Game Boy titles. That night, I experienced Pokémon Silver for the first time and just maybe before anyone else in the country. And it was with Gen 2 that a side of me started to awaken that saw the Pokémon in the fictional world within the games as more than just tools or creatures to command.
Gen 2 was were I felt my first significant Pokémon crush in the form of the visibly girlish Chikorita and her evolutionary line. Her portrayal in the anime Johto arc only helped secure this with Ash Ketchum’s own Chikorita developing a powerful romantic interest in him that tragically became under explored and forgotten. But it was not until the eventual release of Gen 3’s Ruby and Sapphire that really made the Pokémon of the games seem even more alive with more anime-like designs and even personalities with the Nature system. It also did not help that I was in high school at the time and that many of the fandom’s Rule 34 darlings like Blaziken, Gardevoir, Zangoose, and so on were introduced in this generation. And it was in this time that I fell in love hard with one of my favorite Pokémon ever. The adorable Latias.
The release of Pokémon Heroes and the famous ship tease between that movie’s Latias and Ash Ketchum greatly interested me and fueled me to start my very first fan fiction around 15 years ago. But as much as I adored the so-called “Altoshipping”, I was just so in love with Latias as a whole. So desperate was I to have her in my life to live that I prayed every night for 8 months straight for her to become a reality. It never happened, obviously, though Latias never stopped being my top favorite even as time went by. I know I am not alone in the practice of viewing intelligent creatures like Pokémon in a more humanizing light, especially when the anime frequently humanizes them far more than the games ever will, and outside of a handful of prudish traditionalists that think like they grew up in the 60s, it’s not unusual to feel such an attraction to fictional characters you develop a history with.
Gen 4 felt like the next truly big step forward for the series and I even managed to secure a copy of Pokémon Pearl on launch day. After Gen 3 felt like it had been around longer than it actually was, Gen 4 felt like a breath of fresh air and brought many new staples that players take for granted these days. Fandom favorites like Lucario, Weavile, Infernape, and others made their debut here. Unfortunately, the following Gen 5 titles, possibly due to being released on the same hardware, did not hold my interest as much as the prior generation. I never completed my first run through Pokémon White and the online support for the Gen 5 titles was an irresponsibly brief 3 years before Nintendo WFC was shut down for good. The underwhelming Gen 5 resulted in a massive drop in interest in Pokémon for me and may have contributed to me finally hitting burnout with only a few chapters left to go in my Pokémon fanfic epic “Rukario Romance”, resulting me in finding My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” to fill the void.
However, Pokémon seems to be one of those little series in media that once you become a fan, you never truly stop liking it. When Hen 6 came along, my curiosity was reignited. To see a Pokémon mainline title, especially on a handheld like the revolutionary 3DS, completely in 3D instead of sprites felt like just the right step forward. Even more fandom favorites were introduced like the gorgeous Delphox and the breakout starter star Greninja. Unfortunately, it was not enough to truly reinvigorate my interest and I stopped six badges in. Gen 7 did not help much, making the same mistake as Gen 5 by being released on the same hardware as Gen 6, and I list interest even faster in those. Even with the Hoenn remakes, I never even made it to the first gym. It was as if I had completely outgrown Pokémon as a whole.
That brings us to 2019. When Gen 8 was released with Sword and Shield. I was always a sucker for the Gen 3 GameCube tie in titles of Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness and seeing the next mainline titles released in full HD on the next big Nintendo console caught my attention. And while the Gen 8 titles are critically flawed in ways that have been covered extensively, Pokémon Shield still did just enough right to hook me in a way that I had not felt in ages. And before I even started playing my copy, I knew which starter I wanted. The adorable little Sobble. Who eventually became a sleek and elegant Inteleon.
And it was this Inteleon that found a place in my heart that only Chikorita and Latias had occupied before. Of these three Pokémon I’ve trained during my long history with the series since the very beginning, this Inteleon was the only one I bestowed a name upon. The name of “Queen”.
My history in the field of romance has been a tragic one. Seven failed relationships since 2012. And no matter how jaded I get, I just want to have someone to love. And one of those lovely somebodies I can just stop and think about in my thoughts during hard times is my dear Queen.
If Chikorita was my imaginary childhood crush, and Latias was my proverbial high school sweetheart, then Queen is the woman I would find well into my adulthood who would be by my side forever. Elegant and sophisticated, Inteleon has an ambiguous appearance that could be interpreted for either gender. Suave and gentlemanly or elegant and ladylike. And as a female, they make ones imagination run wild. I can certainly see a female Inteleon easily adapting to human society, especially with all the advances the world-building Sword and Shield have done with the Galar region. And with them being easily the most humanized starter Pokémon since Delphox, there’s a cognitive connection to be made.
The Pokémon in Gen 8 feel and look more alive than ever before, which has only fueled my adoration for my beloved Queen. I doubt I will ever find a new Pokémon in future titles that will ever unseat her from that spot in my heart. If I was ever given an opportunity to ask for any Pokémon lady from my long history with the series for her hand, it would be her. That’s why this picture exists. To serve as a window into a potentially better life with the lovely lady who I call Queen.
Has anyone else developed a soft spot for an old Pokémon companion as their views on the series has expanded with the years? Feel free to say so in the comments.
5 years ago
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nice job on the retrospective here ^^
I like Latias, Suicune, Shaymin, Keldeo, Glaceon, Serperior, and Meloetta, among others