Any Pokémon fan [1] will remember the glory days of booting up your Game Boy and spending hours playing the game. And while we're pretty happy that Pokémon Go [2] is making people try anything [3] in their quest to become a Pokémon master [4], we know that we were here first — and aren't just discovering the game and its characters for the first time. Don't call us bitter; just call us fans who want everyone else to know what it's really like to see everyone playing Pokémon Go.
When you know this was the original Pokémon starter pack.
You could never own one too many Pokémon games, ever.
When you start up any Pokémon game and immediately start singing the show's theme song.
You didn't even have to try and memorize the lyrics — you just KNEW them.
What it feels like to play Pokémon now vs. back in the day.
You just NEEDED to press the B button to make sure your Pokémon didn't escape.
When it took more than PokéStops to collect and gain items.
Get at me when you see this kind of number to pay for an item.
When you know the original 150 Pokémon names by heart and someone can't pronounce Charizard.
Sing me the Pokérap [5] or say nothing more about your love of Pokémon.
When the song from Lavender Town continues to haunt you to this day.
Prepare yourself for creepy dreams after hearing this.
When you kept buying new consoles just to play the new games.
Sure, you were turning 16 but you needed the Game Boy Advance SP to play more Pokémon.
When you had to think about how to play in the dark without a backlight . . .
. . . and yet, people these days complain about battery life.
When your friends would get together and play for hours on end.
Your best friends wouldn't hate Pokémon [6] — they would play with you!
When you knew exactly where to find hidden Pokémon.
A secret Pokémon location map [7]? PLEASE, as if you needed that.
When you spent all your money to get the special-edition Pikachu Game Boy . . .
. . . that of course had Pikachu follow you around.
When you knew there was only one enemy and his name was Gary.
Team Valor, get on Gary's level.
When you carried an egg around and didn't know how long it would take to hatch.
You wouldn't know how many kilometers it'd take to hatch or buy an incubator for it.
When you knew you could also leave your egg at the day care.
Why carry it around when it can hang around other Pokémon?
When you wish Pokémon Go had this interactive Pikachu feature.
I just want to know how my Pokémon really feel.
When you're so glad Pokémon fever is back . . .
. . . even though it never really went away for you.
