Try and catch them all
By: Megan Lavoie
Pokémon, the number one game since 1995, is on its way back to the top. “Gotta catch ‘em all” was the catch phrase every little kid was talking about, and now at Green Valley it has most every teen saying it.
Students started playing the Pokémon video game around the same time. The differences occured in the way the students were exposed to the phenomenon.
“I had seen the television show before and my friends had been talking about it and I just got hooked,” senior Andrew McGovern said.
According to senior Nick Hevrin, he has been playing the video games since he was eight years old.
“I got started when my grandma bought me a Game Boy and my cousin loaned me Pokémon Red version,” Hevrin said.
According to www.Serebii. net, there are now around 649 Pokémon, but there are always more in development.
“There are some crazy colors for versions, like diamond and pearl, but there are a lot more now,” McGovern said.
Hevrin believes the game has become better over the years.
“Students have carried Pokémon on for so long because they want to see if they can ‘catch them all’,” Hevrin said.
While it may have started out as a game for children, it has continued to evolve and stays viable for people in high school and beyond.
Pokémon was a part of most students’ childhoods and some have kept on playing past their childhood because the games have continually improved over the years.
“The games have everything constantly moving and triple battles,” Hevrin said. “They have three pokemon battling instead of one, but that isn’t what happens all the time, they still have one on one.”
According to Hevrin, you should not judge the game until you try it.
“Pokémon is good, clean fun so whatever floats their boats, it’s okay if they want to play if they are in high school,” McGovern said.
Some students who took a break from it recently picked it back up.
“I started playing the video games when I was seven,” McGovern said. “I have stopped since, but that used to be all I would ever do.”
According to McGovern, it’s all about the new video games now, not the cards. Old school games are what it’s all about.
“The new game is a mix of the original games but with new Pokémon,” Hevrin said. The game was about the “catching them all” theory and with Pokémon being released at different times made it difficult to keep track of. “To catch them all was my ultimate goal, look at the theme song and you will see what my life was all about,” McGovern said. “My favorite Pokémon of all time is Charmander, it was the best in the video game.” “Everything you need or need to know about the games is all on the www.Serebii. net website,” Hervin said. “It shows you literally everything about Pokémon; I found it when I was in sixth grade,” It has gotten to the point where teachers have children that are playing the samegames as their students.
“My son became interested in the game, and I know that it is about the Pokémon battling each other,” biology teacher Cindy Kern said.
Since its origins in the 1990’s, Pokémon has created a lasting legacy for itself. Revamping the games and characters over the years, Pokémon has continued to captivate its teenage audience.
