What does Pokemon mean to YOU?

Written by | December 22, 2010 | 36 comments | 1,449 views | Rating: +7

Hey Guys, Peter Bae here to write an article once again. Today, it will be a little different and a bit more personal. It has nothing to do with the gameplay mechanics of the game, but your feeling towards Pokemon.

I decided to write this article when I was on Pojo and saw a thread that asked the exact same question. This question caused me to stop all motion and reflect briefly on why I play the game.

Pokemon is my happiness.

What does Pokemon mean to me?

Pokemon is my freedom.

Pokemon is my escape from reality.

Pokemon is my own unique world.

Pokemon is an example of a perfect world.

A perfect world where despite the conflict that may occur between 2 individuals, they will band together when some things go wrong.

A perfect world where people are willing to help out            the newcomers, outcasts, and strangers in your                                       society.

Well, there it is, folks. This is what Pokemon means to me. It is my escape path from reality. It is my secret resting place from everything else. I might have over exaggerated it, but Pokemon has brought me to great, new people and many good friends. So, what does Pokemon mean to YOU? Leave a comment below! Is Pokemon your way of making money? Or does it mean something more than that? Let me know!

Send an email to peterbae6p@hotmail.ca for questions you may have and I will surely answer them. Also, send decklists, article ideas, and such so that I can write many more articles for this site. I’m trying to get a Youtube Channel started and I want everyone to sub’ my Channel. I have yet to upload a video, but I will be doing so after Sunday because that’s when Cities are for me, and I would like to upload my Cities report and some full matches. Thanks!

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Image Credits: Pokemon Paradijs, Pokegym, Pokebeach

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  • Anonymous

    I just play it to have fun in competitions, leagues, and to meet new people

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_C7OQD6BLJCXQBNSHNZWVWLRXHE George

    Pokemon is what has given my son with Autism an area where he can be socially accepted, interact on an equal level with others, meet new people, and help build his self-confidence and people skills. It has been a miracle and I credit Pokemon with my son’s growing ability to cope with day-to-day life.

    Before Pokemon, I had a difficult time getting my son to have a conversation with me that wasn’t parroting of something he watched or experienced beforehand. Now we analyze the TCG Meta game, seek for ways to use obscure cards in decks, preview coming TCG sets, and plan for their use and compatability with the current sets in play. Before Pokemon, my son didn’t think like this. It has literally changed my world.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

      wow.. that is very inspiring. I’m shocked. I’m very happy for you

  • Anonymous

    POkemon is my escape fomr reality. wheneveri get stressed or angered i go play pokemon and then i feel happy and relieved. i have met so many great friends from pokemon and my life would never be the same without pokemon.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jordandbaker Jordan Baker

    …

  • Anonymous

    It means nothing to me really, just a somewhat interesting card game.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

      I highly disagree with your comment. You could say that it means nothing to you really. But if it really wasn’t that big of a deal and you didn’t have any real motive to playing the game. You wouldn’t your spend time on SixPrizes reading articles on Pokemon

      • Anonymous

        Well sure it can be fun, but it has no big role in my life. “Nothing really” means that it is not special in any way. I also spend time reading the newspaper or drinking coffee. They are things that can be nice when doing them, but that do not really mean anything in the major perspective of your life.

  • http://www.youtube.com/user/pgmcsskater pgmcsskater

    Pokemon gives me a way to escape from all the stress that is work and school and meet new people. They people I have met in Pokemon have been very generous and kind. I like when I can go into a tourney and when standing in line people say, “Hey whatsup” when they pass by. It also helps me keep my brain functioning constantly solving problems within a match. Lastly, Pokemon gives me another way to strive to achieve goals and make my way to being great at something. Why did i quit 6 years ago…

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001734489773 Dakota Streck

    Pokemon is my way to just chill out and relax. Pokemone is a great way to meet new people and have fun, I personally love to use it as a way to really help test me mentally.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dane-Carlson/100000196466246 Dane Carlson

    Pokemon is my hobby turned obsession. :) It is my way to meet new and great friends, to get away from my siblings (LOL), and to have fun. Pokemon is my life (well, not literally, but you know what I mean). :) In my opinion, Pokemon can only be explained in the following 7 letters: A, W, E, S, O, M, and E. :D

  • Anonymous

    Pokemon gives me a way to escape from all the stress, when I’m mad I go play Pokemon, when I’m sad I go play Pokemon, when I’m sick I go play Pokemon, when I’m happy I go play Pokemon, and there is one way to get away from this comment, play Pokemon!!!!! :D

  • Anonymous

    I guess the main reason I play Pokemon is to be the very best, like no one ever was.
    to trade them is my real test, to train them is my cause!

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000151165244 David Ho

      I will travel across the land, searching far and wide. Each pokemon to understand, the power thats inside!!

      • Sam Marshall-Smith

        Pokemon! Gotta Catch em all!

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QO4S7QW7T4CSNWCDUSKIWUUAUA Eric

      Gentlemen’s Version:
      I wish to become the unquestionable champion, unlike any gentlemen had the pleasure to exist. To barter thine is my true task, the discipline thine is my enterprise! I shall traverse this widen space, my search conducted distantly and thoroughly. Educating the apprentices to fathom, thine energy that exist within! Portable Atrocities! (Must be encapsulated in masse!) It is thine and I, for I am certain that this is my fate. Portable Atrocities! Verily, though art my greatest ally, upon a planet that requires protection! Portable Atrocities! (Must be encapsulated in masse!) Thine spirit is so steadfast, Our fearlessness shall carry ye to safe harbour. Thou shalt trade me, thy Luxray G, Portable Atrocities! Must be encapsulated in masse, Must be encapsulated in masse! Portable Atrocities!

  • Anonymous

    I play pokemon because it is an intellectual battle of minds to achieve a common goal: Have fun (and win).

  • Travis

    I feel I obsess about the game too much sometimes. It’s because my life goes; Work (Crappy), College (Boring), Real Life (Difficult), Social Life (Back when it existed), then Pokemon Cards. The card game is really all I have to look forward to every week.

  • http://twitter.com/yoyofsho16 Alex Dickens

    yeaaaah it sounds like you get a druglike experience from cards.

    Well it’s sorta just a hobby, I mean I spend a lot of time doing it but I don’t think it’s changed me mentally all that much. None of my friends play it anymore really so maybe that’s why. It is meaningful in that way, that I refuse to let go of its grip. I mean it’s a cool part of my life. Yeah.

  • http://twitter.com/yoyofsho16 Alex Dickens

    yeaaaah it sounds like you get a druglike experience from cards.

    Well it’s sorta just a hobby, I mean I spend a lot of time doing it but I don’t think it’s changed me mentally all that much. None of my friends play it anymore really so maybe that’s why. It is meaningful in that way, that I refuse to let go of its grip. I mean it’s a cool part of my life. Yeah.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

      I wouldn’t say Pokemon is my drug. It’s one of those things I really look forward to. It’s like my day of the week where I can be ME. Like what Travis said, just some days, it is absolutely disgusting. Your work goes shitty, school is just haunting you, you have family troubles. But soon as you arrive at your league, or tournaments, nothing matters. Just Pokemon :P

  • http://www.facebook.com/Osakawise Jason おさか Wise

    I love Pokemon for the Bonding me and my good friends have experienced all these years, from the old Days when i traded my Shiny Charizard for the useful Wigglytuff, to the real life in game trades from Red/Blue all the way to Diamond/Pearl and soon to be Black/White, the Pictures i took in Snap and the 3D battles from Revolution, and now i have a Wife who loves Pokemon as much as me, I find it a nice way to go on living knowing the wholesome values that it has taught me

  • http://www.facebook.com/Osakawise Jason おさか Wise

    I love Pokemon for the Bonding me and my good friends have experienced all these years, from the old Days when i traded my Shiny Charizard for the useful Wigglytuff, to the real life in game trades from Red/Blue all the way to Diamond/Pearl and soon to be Black/White, the Pictures i took in Snap and the 3D battles from Revolution, and now i have a Wife who loves Pokemon as much as me, I find it a nice way to go on living knowing the wholesome values that it has taught me

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Austin-Mitchell/100001472467418 Austin Mitchell

    I play pokemon cause its fun, not cause its some kind of escape or whatever.

  • Anonymous

    I’m sure a lot of us have been around since the beginning of Pokemon. Watching that Nintendo Power VHS with the cheesy acting and sneek peeks to the release of Black and White in Japan and HGSS sets. Some of it may have become lackluster but it’s something that has grown into how much it meant to me in the beginning. Only second to Super Mario Bros in the video game franchise, the company and name blew up over these last 12 years in the US. I can’t say I wouldn’t want to live in that world, even now at this time in my life I’ve only grown to hate this world more little by little. It is a positive influence to me for sure, and almost an unhealthy obesession but I can’t really say what it means to me. It just means a lot to me. I don’t use it to escape, I have fun with it. I don’t have fantasies living in the world but I would want to.

  • Anonymous

    I just ate a Hot-Pocket….

    • Anonymous

      why would we care?

    • Anonymous

      why would we care?

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_445NRBQJW5UEAJ52HXIIEX5CAM Dominick

    pokemon is something I do so I have something to do and to be good at something. Its also something to releive my stress from school and peer pressure

  • Anonymous

    Pokémon grew on me. It wasn’t as if one day I said, “I want to play Pokémon.” It took several years for me to get to the point of wanting to play. Most of the credit goes to my son, Jayme, of course. Young children have a way of keeping you young if you let them.
    The fact is that once I got into it, it did a number on me. It helped me feel like a young kid again, and that is a feeling many adults lack nowadays. It also helped me to feel “lighter,” as if the troubles in my life were not as troublesome as I had thought. As they saying goes, “You can’t be eating ice cream and not smile at the same time.” That’s how I feel when I play Pokémon and some of what it means to me.
    I love the innocence of the cards and the game. It’s hard to find other activities that feel as childlike. But, don’t be fooled, you have to be smart to play and win this game! It takes great mental effort, and as a new Pokedad friend of mine said, Pokémon is like playing Poker and chess combined.
    And speaking of friends, one of the main reasons I like Pokémon is because you can make wonderful friends by playing in a League. Nowadays, for many reasons, people are easily isolated. Whether it be the allure of technology and the internet, or the great distances imposed by suburban sprawl, you can make great friendships playing this game face to face. I look forward to making new friends, especially other “Pokedads” out there, who value the opportunity to play with their children through this fun game.
    I think that if parents truly grasped how fun, entertaining, intellectually challenging, and wholesome this game is, they would be bringing their kids in droves to Pokémon league events. So, I hope to have the good fortune to meet you sometime at a Pokémon event.

  • Anonymous

    Pokémon grew on me. It wasn’t as if one day I said, “I want to play Pokémon.” It took several years for me to get to the point of wanting to play. Most of the credit goes to my son, Jayme, of course. Young children have a way of keeping you young if you let them.
    The fact is that once I got into it, it did a number on me. It helped me feel like a young kid again, and that is a feeling many adults lack nowadays. It also helped me to feel “lighter,” as if the troubles in my life were not as troublesome as I had thought. As they saying goes, “You can’t be eating ice cream and not smile at the same time.” That’s how I feel when I play Pokémon.
    I love the innocence of the cards and the game. It’s hard to find other activities that feel as childlike. But, don’t be fooled, you have to be smart to play and win this game! It takes great mental effort, and as a new Pokedad friend of mine said, Pokémon is like playing Poker and chess combined.
    And speaking of friends, one of the main reasons I like Pokémon is because you can make wonderful friends by playing in a League. Nowadays, for many reasons, people are easily isolated. Whether it be the allure of technology and the internet, or the great distances imposed by suburban sprawl, you can make great friendships playing this game face to face. I look forward to making new friends, especially other “Pokedads” out there, who value the opportunity to play with their children through this fun game.
    I think that if parents truly grasped how fun, entertaining, intellectually challenging, and wholesome this game is, they would be bringing their kids in droves to Pokémon league events. I hope I have the good fortune to meet you sometime at a Pokémon event, and I hope Pokemon is equally as meaningful to you.

  • Hojin Ryoo

    hmmm….