During my lunch break today, I stopped through the Goodwill Store just to browse for some secondhand steals. They had a Nintendo Game Boy in there. I hadn’t seen one of those in a good 15 years. I almost purchased it but they didn’t have the must-have game for the console: Pokémon Red. It wouldn’t be worth it to acquire a Game Boy and not have a chance to do damage against the Gym Leaders with Charmander. I spent many a PE blocks on the bleachers at Parker High doing just that. That brings me to this week’s moment in the Flashback Friday series: my miniature Charmander.
How I first came across this moment? For me, it all started in January 2000. That’s when one of my classmates introduced me to Pokémon Red on Game Boy. He let me get in a few runs with his Charmander. I had heard about Pokémon a couple of years earlier but I mistakenly though Pikachu was the Pokémon as opposed to a type of Pokémon. My classmate gave me the rundown on the types and I found Charmander to be very intriguing. Later that year, with a portion of my first check from Domino’s Pizza, I purchased the Charmander figurine from Game Stop.
What it meant to me then? It was purely for show back then. I kept it in my room. It symbolized my love for Charmander.
What it means to me now? Today, it’s one of my prized personal possessions. I’ll literally hurt somebody if they f***ed around with my Charmander.
