Pokémon is a massive media franchise, mainly known for its 
video games, trading card games, and its anime
series. They released their first game in 1996, with the original Japanese title being "Pocket Monsters". In the game, players progress throughout different zones while levelling up their pokémon. Pokémon can then evolve
into different forms through a variety of means. Pokémon has been a huge part of my life since I was a little kid. I was introduced to it through the trading card game, which was quite popular in my elementary school.
From the moment I had internet access, I began engaging in any pokémon content I could find. I continued collecting cards throughout much of my childhood, never actually playing any of the video games until very
recently.
The first Pokémon game I've ever played was Pokémon LeafGreen. I picked bulbasaur as my starter, who I named Benny. Along the way I picked up a mr. mime, a gyarados, a machoke, a raichu, a paras, a butterfree, an aerodactyl, an onix, and eventually a xatu.
Mr. Mime absolutely carried the team by the way. He's strong as hell in generation 1.
Galarian zigzagoon is one of my favourite pokémon. When it was first revealed, I was initially split on whether or not I liked it. But over time, it's grown on me. It's appearance is inspired by glam rock bands, one of my favourite music genres and types of fashion. It also has a kickass pink and blue shiny. The Galarian zigzagoon line also gave me a greater appreciation for linoone, which I once found incredibly underwhelming.
Honourable mentions include Flaaffy, Mr. Mime, Delibird, and Xatu.
When I was younger, it was super hard to actually find any Pokémon merchandise aside from cards, especially when it came to plushies. The only place that ever stocked them was Toys R' Us, which is very far from me, or the occasional plastic toys at McDonald's. Nowadays it's a lot easier, my local stores often have plushies of the more popular Pokémon.
While I currently own two Pokémon plush toys, in the form of Bulbasaur and a very cute Dragonite from Build-A-Bear, there's still some I would love to have! Those being the Mr. Mime and Clefairy sitting cuties, they just look adorable!
Just look at these little guys! They're precious! I only wish the Galarian Linoone and Zigzagoon plushies were as cute...
I actually have very bizarre recurring dreams of going to stores in an attempt to buy a Clefairy plush, only for something to inevitably happen that stops me from getting it. So it's kind of been a goal of mine to actually find one in stores in real life!
