We’re just about to celebrate our 400th episode, and today Pokémon is celebrating its 20th anniversary. What a weekend.

I don’t think I know a single human being whose life hasn’t been touched by those adorable pocket monsters in one way or another. Essentially all of us here at Geekscape have spent countless hours and dollars, and thrown away a myriad (well, one or two) of date opportunities to feed our Pokémon addictions.

Be it the anime, manga, RPGs, puzzle games, stadiums, TCG, plushies, Amiibo, or otherwise, there are a lot of different ways to be sucked into this universe, and it’s nearly impossible to escape it.

So let’s celebrate! There are a myriad of different events occurring today around the country, and we thought that today would be a perfect day to share our favorite Pokémon memories!

Read our memories below, and head down to the comments to share your own!

Josh Jackson

Man, where do I even begin? I’ve been gaming for 26 years now, but I can’t think of many other franchises that have stuck with me as long as Pokemon has. From the moment I first heard of some Japanese game called Pocket Monsters that was taking the region by storm, (along with the stable brain activity of their children thanks to the infamous siezure episode,) to when I stumbled across the anime by accident, and all the way to when my Squirtle and I took our first steps on what would become a lifelong journey, there are far too many memories to count. I’ve traveled miles away for legitimate legendary Pokemon, journeyed across states to participate in tournaments, experienced triumph when completing my Pokedex without hacks in Diamond, heartbreak when I physically lost my cartridges, and a return to glory when I re-caught 718 Pokemon in Y. But more than any other memory, one stands out in my head more than any other, if only because of how embarassing it is.

As mentioned, the siezure episode in Japan had a huge effect on the series, which led to the featured Pokemon, Porygon, being banned from the franchise’s animation iterations, which still endures to this day. However, this wouldn’t stop Porygon from ruining another kid’s day. When my local GameStop announced a No-Legendary local tournament (meaning standard Pokémon only), I trained my favorite Pokemon to peak condition, led by my special attacking powerhouse, Porygon Z. Unfortunately, the store employees didn’t share my enthusiasm for the games and didn’t know what a Legendary Pokemon was, which led to them throwing their hands in the air and allowing anything. I never lost a first round before, so I was both scared and angry, coming to the resolution that all my hard work would be for nothing.

That feeling only grew when I went up against a Dialga that my young opponent, who couldn’t have been any older than 10, threw out at the start of battle. Keep in mind that Dialga is strong against Normal types like Porygon, AND it’s a Legendary Pokemon with high defense. Also keep in mind that I’m a 25 year old man. With that in mind, imagine my shock when the “not very effective” Hyper Beam one hit KO’d his Pokemon! In fact, in a display of maturity and humility, I spontaneously waved my hand in front of my face, trying my hardest to channel my inner John Cena.

Not realizing what I had done, I looked over and saw the boy in tears. I then proceeded to wipe up the rest of his team, which resulted in me beating him so fast that I got a bye in the second round, as my humiliated opponent slowly shuffled out of the store with his dad. A valuable lesson was learned that day. No, not that I’m a jerk, or that a Porygon can one hit KO a likely poorly trained Dialga, or even that the power of Hustle, Loyalty, and Respect can overcome any challenge. It was that Pokemon isn’t just a game, but a lifestyle, and I won’t hesitate to wreck children in my pursuit of the title of Pokemon Master. Train On!

Matthew Rodriguez

My favorite memory is of generation five (Pokemon Black/White). Before my wife and I got married, we were dating long distance and I would only see her once or twice a year. We would always play Pokemon through the internet, but there were other features that were specific to local multiplayer, so we would take advantage of those when we would physically meet. In Pokemon Black/White, they had special missions where you can go to another players world to do various tasks, like locate a missing item, or buying specific items from their world. Well, I proceeded to do a mission, this time relating to hiding an item in her world.

My wife enjoys using the dowsing machine to find hidden items on the ground. One day she calls me and she’s practically in tears, because she managed to find an item in her game that was very useful and it had my name attached to it–she was very happy that she was still connected to me in a different way, despite our long distance apart. She wasn’t playing the game as often at this point so it was a very pleasant, and touching surprise.

It was a moment that brought us closer, as Pokemon had done on more than one occasion.

Natalie Kipper

My favorite memory is more a series of memories centering around the bond I built with my Skuntank, Stinker. He was my first Pokemon to have maxed-out happiness from PokemonAmie. The little side comments during battle about how he tried his best for me and such actually helped me through some of my darker moods. I love my Stinker so much, and if Sun/Moon let me transfer him over, I look forward to another adventure with him.

Shane O’Hare

Pokemon will always have a special place in my heart. It was one, if not THE first RPG I ever played. It sculpted how I approach role playing games today. I have three extremely vivid memories of Pokemon that will stick out in my mind forever. Reading a random issue of Nintendo Power and turning a page to see all about this hot new game/anime called “Poket Monsters”. I was incredibly intrigued, and a bit frightened. “Who would want to collect MONSTERS?!” elementary school Shane thought. The one thing I remember most from that spread, was that Jessie and James were in black Team Rocket uniforms.

Then the hype started. More and more information about the Anime was coming out, and a US broadcast was soon coming. I woke up so early one day to watch one of the episodes on Fox. 10 minutes in and no Pokemon, I realized I was on PBS! I will never forget flipping to channel 4 and seeing Ash and the Bug trainer battling their Metapods in the Viridian forest. I was hooked.

Shortly thereafter we got our US release of Pokemon Red & Blue. I was so hyped for it. Talking about it for days and days. Then one late evening my Mother called me when she was coming home from Anchorage (a city about an hour away). She told me that she had just picked me up a copy of Pokemon Red! I WAS ECSTATIC! I was going to be playing Pokemon! She asked me if I would have rather had Blue. I sheepishly said yes, but that any Pokemon was a great Pokemon. She proceeded to make an additional thirty minute trip BACK to Toys R Us, exchanged Red for Blue THEN made the 1 hour drive back home. I will never forget that moment, and am eternally grateful for her.

The rest, is history!

Eric Francisco

I don’t care about Pokemon.

I mean, I don’t hate it. But looking back on our childhoods — all of ours — our generation was so fickle. Pop culture fads came and went like the coming and going of military regimes. But unlike everyone else in school, I stayed a devout Power Rangers fan through and through long after its expiration date (circa 1997). I beat the Power Rangers drum all the way through Pokemon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Harry Potter, girls… but especially through Pokemon.

Man, I was alone. Yeah, I watched Pokemon and played the games and collected the cards. (I still have them too.) But Pokemon was state, while Power Rangers was church. I only got into it so I wouldn’t be alone on the playground, but I was anyway so what was the point?

But Pokemon gave me something which I’m thankful for everyday: My best friend. Playing the games with him cemented a friendship that lasts to this day. For over ten years I saw how Pokemon began to influence him day by day, and now that nerd is on his way to becoming marine biologist — a career that could only come from catching and training wildlife and learning all about them. As I type this, he’s on his way to grad school in Louisiana, and I couldn’t be more proud.

So, thanks, Pokemon. You made someone’s life worth living.

Power Rangers still rocks though.

Derek Kraneveldt

There are way too many amazing Pokemon memories.

From one-sided trades that had student’s parents nearly in fisticuffs (somehow, my elementary school was one of the few that didn’t ban the cards), to the myriads of actual cash that I saw offered for cards around the playground, to the incredible amount of hours I spent playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game for GameBoy Color (via an emulator, unfortunately). I had a ton of incredible Pokemon experiences, even though I missed out on a lot of the RPGs by being a NeoGeo Pocket kid instead of a GameBoy/GameBoy Advance kid (until way later in the GBA’s lifespan).

My favourite memory has to be the actual, physical trading card game. From picking up the original starter kit (and unfortunately trading my Machamp way too hastily), to spending exorbitant amounts of cash on booster packs in search for that one card to perfect my current deck, everything about the trading card game was fun and addicting, which is probably a big part of why Pokemon is still so near and dear to us all these years later.

I loved everything about the trading card game, except for playing it with most people, that is.

See, I’m a stickler for rules and regulations. I’m the dude that would get a new video game, and sit at the kitchen table reading the manual cover to cover before ever putting it in my console (and I would still be doing that if games still came with manuals). Playing a board game, everyone is going to listen to me read the rules before that board even comes out of the box.

Kids sucked at playing Pokemon. Energy cards might as well not have existed. We’re two turns into the game, I obviously haven’t seen a Charmander or a Charmeleon, and you’re already playing a Charizard (and unleashing its Fire Spin, again, without any energy). Screw you, kids.

It’s probably one of the reasons that I (sadly) dropped Pokemon cards long before everyone else did and jumped into playing Magic: The Gathering with adults. They could follow the rules, and they could actually play the damned game instead of simply playing ‘I drew a better card before you did so you lose’.

There was one saving grace though. Playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game with my close elementary school pal, Graeme H (who I just had dinner with a couple of weeks ago, actually). Like me, he followed the game’s rules to a T, and it was a freaking blast every time that we got to play (because we were actually, really, playing). Eventually, the trading cards fell by the wayside to things like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and other Pokemon-level addictions, but these are memories that I still hold dear, and are moments that I try to bring up whenever we get to see each other.

Thanks, bud.

Adam Lemuz

Pokémon has always been a big influence in my life. Out of the countless games, cards, and tv shows released for it, my favorite Pokémon item has to be Pokémon Gold. This is why I love Pokémon HeartGold even more. The original Gold itself was pretty amazing alone. Being able to explore and catch a whole new generation, as well as being able to revisit the first, made this one of the longest games at the time that I’ve ever played. Bundle that with a beautiful graphical update, being able to have any Pokémon follow you around, and a few more tweaks here and there, and you’ve got a remake that almost feels like it’s completely different from the original. I would say to go out and play it, but odds are, you already have.