Retro Games

Pokémon Let’s Go: Instagram Trainer Stories

Pokémon Let’s Go: Instagram Trainer Stories

It’s a triumphant return to Kanto this week with Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu and Pokémon: Let’s Go Eevee spawning on Nintendo Switch. It’s the first traditional RPG to grace a home console; a retelling of the 1998 classic, Pokémon Yellow! It’s time to step back, triumphantly, into the world of Kanto! We wanted to zip back through history and uncover some Pokémon Let’s Go: Instagram Trainer Stories to engulf you with a dollop of much-needed nostalgia!

Pokémon Let’s Go: Instagram Trainer Stories

Pokémon Let’s Go: Instagram Trainer Stories

To celebrate the release as part of Pokémon Week, we caught up with our favourite Pokémon Instagrammers to discover how they first encountered Pokémon in the wild! Whether it’s a glimpse of the popular animé series or trading birthdays for a copy of the game, everyone has a first Pokémon story to tell!

Be sure to check out each of their Instagram pages, Twitch and YouTube channels for a heap of deliciously geeky goodies. Professor Oak, approves these incredible Pokémon Let’s Go: Instagram Trainer Stories!

A leafy discovery for @retro_space_girl

I don’t really know life without Pokémon being in it. At five years old I first discovered Pokémon through Leaf-Green for the GBA. The brightly coloured cartridge had me hooked and all these years later I’m still playing, collecting and loving the franchise!

 

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An enlightened Pokémon experience for @steamy_streamers

My first Pokémon Game related experience was almost 19 years ago, when I was 8. It was my First Holy Communion (a Catholic tradition every Irish kid goes through) and people give you money. What did I do with this money?

I bought Pokémon Blue; one of my greatest gaming investments! However, I had to visit my family all over my hometown, pretending to feign interest whilst chatting with the adults. All the while Pokémon Blue was in my hand. It was torture!

Little did I know, one of my cousins ended up taking the game for the day and I was gutted that they picked Bulbasaur and had given it a nickname. I didn’t realise at this point in my gaming life you could delete saves, let alone how to! So I continued with this imposter-adopted Pokémon until I reached Misty (19 years ago that took me forever). One day a buddy showed me how to restart the game and I finally got to pick my own Pokémon. That day Charmander and I were best of buds!

 

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Pokémon is a way of life for @wonderswann

My first Pokémon game was actually the first video game that I owned, it was the Blue Version on a purple Gameboy Color. It was the start of my lifelong love for Pokémon (and gaming, too!) My brother had the Red Version, and we traded and battled all the time using those old school link cables. Back then Pokémon wasn’t just a game, but truly a way of life!

 

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@_queensnorlaxette_’s treasured birthday gift

My first Pokémon Experience was at my 5th birthday party. My Great Grandma bought me Pokémon Crystal and a Lime Green Gameboy Color to play it on. I didn’t even open any of the other presents. I wanted to see what the game was all about because I liked Suicune on the front. I instantly got hooked and couldn’t put it down for weeks.

After that I slowly started getting Pokémon Yellow, Blue, Green, Red and so on. The addiction kept building, the card collection started growing and I’ve never been able to shake it since! My Great Grandma and I would always play together. Every time I get a new card these days or play the games I still think of her and that time. I’d say I had an amazing first experience thanks to her.

 

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Find @_queensnorlaxette_ on Instagram and Queen Snorlaxette on YouTube

 

One epic race, one incredible adventure for @b.ar.d

My first Pokémon experience was the animé series when I was on holiday in the US. I was around 11 years old, watching Ash ride a Ponyta that evolved into Rapidash (sorry, spoilers) to clinch the race. Anything with animals in it was going to win me over, and Pokémon was no exception.

I remember trying out Pokémon Blue for the first time with awe; the idea of catching these wonderful creatures and befriending them was a winning formula!

 

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Sibling Pokémon rivalry with @pokemon_megan

My first Pokémon game was Pokémon Blue on the Game Boy! It truly was the game that got me into gaming. I remember super long car journeys in the car where I used to try to beat the elite four! Plus endless fights with my sister when I had the Game Boy a little too long!

 

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A link cable to @harik87’s past

My first and favourite Pokémon game is Pokémon Blue. I always remember spending entire weekends playing it. My friends would come over with their Game Boy and we would get our Link cables out to trade.

I also remember loving the anime and TCG. Pokémon was a huge part of my childhood, Pokémon Let’s Go looks like it will bring back a lot of those great memories!

 

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A fiery Pokémon passion for @bulbadork

Hi there! My name is Jordan but I frequently go by “Bulbadork” here on the interweb!

With the release of Pokémon: Let’s Go Eevee/Pikachu just around the corner, I have found myself reflecting a little bit on how far the Pokémon games have really come. The first Pokémon game I played was Pokémon: Red Version! I bothered my parents so much over this game, it was just something I had to have.

After an enormous amount of pestering, begging and pleading, my mother caved & purchased both it and my first Gameboy. I distinctly remember the first time I flipped my Gameboy to “on” & heard the chime at the beginning. That feeling of pure joy is something that has survived the last twenty years.

My passion for the entire realm of Pokémon has grown & flourished as the Pokedex has continued to grow larger. The older I get, the more I just enjoy the games in my spare time and typically alone.

However, since the release of Pokémon Go in 2016, I have really discovered the wholesome community that lies within! I’m reminded of when I was younger, playing the original games with friends. Even though the technology now is far more advanced, I can’t help but feel a bit nostalgic.

But, as always, I am anxiously awaiting another journey in the world of Pokémon & I’m certainly looking forward to “catching them all” in Let’s Go Pikachu!

 

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@retrovladyyy’s Pokémon Friendship

My best friend at the time had Pokémon Red and told me all about it, urging me to catch the Blue Version to help him grab all 150. I was sold at this very moment. Maybe I’ve got collector issues because of this game, haha!

A few days later my mum, sister and I went to a big store really far from home and I did what I still do now, heading to gaming section upon entering a store. I saw Pokémon Blue on the shelves. Tons of them. My mum caved in. Shame on me. Now I think about it, it’s really selfish but all I care at the moment was to catch them all. We didn’t have cellphones at the time so I had to wait during hours to tell my friend. The wait was killing me. As soon as we got home I called Cedric and knew we could start our Pokémon journey.

What a memento, nostalgia is filling me. These were good old days. Life was simpler. I spent hundreds of hours playing Pokémon. Beat the Elite 4 and captured Mewtwo. I didn’t have many games back then so I played the hell out of it.

I also remember when animé came out. It was madness. I remember the Nintendo marketing was massive, way more powerful than now. It was everywhere: cards, pogs, plushies. On one big French channel, we had three episodes every Saturday. I waited the entire week for three new episodes. At my grand parents’ house, I saw Ash Ketchum chased by Spearow and got struck by Pikachu over and over again.

After that I always loved Pokémon and I legit captured the 150. Always loved the series until Sun and Moon which I didn’t like at all. Also I won’t buy Go Pikachu and Go Eevee for now because these aren’t for what I fell in love with in the first place. No fights with wild Pokémon? I’m out… I’ll have them eventually for collection purposes, but for now I’m not hyped at all.

 

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It’s a-me, @teechudesigns

Pokémon was a massive, massive phenomenon in the playground. Everyone craved that elusive shiny Charizard card. Lunch money thrown into the fold in order to nab the legendary, and super-rare gem. That Charizard TGC card is worth a lot of money today. Interestingly the cards invaded before the games in our school, and then came Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue.

The games were a massive step up from anything that had come before it; a huge world to explore, adorable critters and a meaty battle system. I just had to have it. After saving up pocket money for months, the time came. A challenging stroll along a busy road, under tunnels, over hills and there it was: Toys ‘R’ Us. Wandering in, I knew exactly where Pokémon lived, standing proud behind a magnificent glass shelf. Pokémon Blue was my game of choice, and I absolutely loved battling alongside Jolteon and little Raichu!

 

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What are your earliest Pokémon memories?

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About J

J is TeeChu's founder and resident artist, a big Sonic and Zelda fan. Born and raised on hedgehogs and forest adventures!

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