My First Time

Everyone one of us had that moment where we fully entered wonderful world of geekdom. Maybe it was Star Wars back in the day, or a certain comic book that fully drew you in. Although I'd collected comics for as long as I can remember, it was a new copy of Prima's Pokemon guide that really set the hook.

I still remember how it happened. I was a gangly 7th grader with big glasses and a Brett Favre jersey (the jersey is a safe bet since I had 6 in my clothing rotation). I got to band class early and my friends had made a haphazard circle with their chairs. They were talking excitedly and thumbing through a large magazine. Being perpetually shy, I stood on the fringes of the group and didn't ask what all this random vocabulary meant until later in the day.

My friend Justin, the owner of the Pokemon guide, chatted my ear off all day about this new game he was playing. I'd heard of the game before - we'd hosted a pair of Japanese students a year ago and they'd let me fumble my way through their Japanese copy. But I had no idea that the game I'd played then could sound so amazing.

A few days later my friend let me borrow his guide, and I spent hours reading through the thing. I had no idea what anything meant, but it was like reading some sacred text that held the secret to immortality. I was reading about weaknesses and resistances, gym leaders, and the Elite 4. There was a turtle that started cute and then turned somehow ended up with cannons coming out of his back! I was engrossed in it, and I hadn't even played the game.

With a piddly allowance and no money saved, it was going to be awhile before I could buy a Gameboy and Pokemon. I'd pushed it off for awhile, content to listening to my friends talk about a new Pokemon they caught or watching them trade Graveler for a Kadabra and watching them both evolve into awesome new forms. Then one day, the Fates decided I should get sick.

I wasn't sick with the Pokerus (something only hardcore Pokemaniacs will get). Instead I had a nasty flu that put me down for most of a week. That first day I rested on the couch in a daze. It seemed to be fate, then, that the very week I'd be sick is when a cable station decided to have a Pokemon marathon, starting with episode one and ending... sometime (I had to go back to school Thursday or Friday). But as I watched that first episode, and Ash got his Pikachu... I was helpless to resist.

I soon struck some deal with my mom to get a Gameboy and a copy of Pokemon, and I spent much of my free time battling through gyms and sighing as another wild Zubat appeared. I was finally able to join my friends' conversations, and I began absorbing any piece of information I could. Of course this is before I learned the magic of the internet, so it took me awhile to discover an entire community of fellow geeks.

As the years have progressed I've kept an eye on Pokemon. It's nearly impossible to play a game now, both because of the time required and because the new Pokemon totally suck. But I still enjoy a funny Pokemon pic, and I get excited when IGN writes up a story. Pokemon was my first love; my inception in to the brotherhood of geeks. I'll always be a trainer at heart, no matter how old I get.

Looking back, it's interesting to see how so much of my life has been shaped by that silly little Prima book. What about you? I'd love to hear what hooked everyone into a lifelong commitment of enjoying awesome things alongside awesome people!

See you tomorrow!