"[Spoiler] Regarding the scene before the Elite 4"

I just came home and read the post about the scene that plays in front of the Pokemon League.http://ift.tt/2iNBzpJ sentence in the picture of /u/rpgislove 's post got me thinking."Looking back at your first partner, the first Pokémon you ever chose in your adventure..."After reading that, I had to stop and think for a bit. And then, suddenly it hit me. Quite hard. In two regards.First, thinking back to all the generations, to all the versions of games I owned over the course of the ~20 years, there was actually one mon that accompanied me through all generations, since the beginning of my "career", in one way or another.No, it wasn't Bulbasaur. Not Squirtle. It wasn't Charmander or Pikachu, either. Thinking back further, before I ever played my first Pokemon game, there was another ...... Let me tell you a story:November 1999. The Pokemon craze had hit Germany a few weeks before. 6-years old me had heard of this awesome new series called "Pokémon" for the Game Boy from the son of my mother's best friend and was already captivated by the little he showed me (Fun fact, it was literally this scene).Capture and befriend fantastic creatures? Explore a whole land by yourself? Fight with your team against friends and foes alike? Count me in!I just couldn't wait until Christmas to finally get my first Game Boy and my copy of Pokemon Blue. To ease the wait a bit, my grandfather set out to get me something Pokemon-related, against my parent's better judgement.Even though his birthday was just around the corner, so it should have been my turn to gift something to him. But no, he wanted to make me a present.He arrived late evening, a few minutes before my bed time, with two plushies from Hasbro.A Pikachu ... and a Gengar.I never hated Pikachu, but I never became friends with that yellow mouse either. Especially now, I think it just gets too much attention with other Pokemon getting the shaft (*cough* Porygon *cough*).But that purple, mischievously-grinning ghost. I liked it in an instant. Since my family or neither one of my friends didn't have internet back then, infos where difficult to come by. And still, with a bit of grade school level sherlocking and common sense, me and my friends were quick to discover where to find that elusive purple ghost.Well, I'm already rambling too much, so back 2 topic:Yes, the first Pokemon, the first-ever thing related to the francise I ever "owned", was - in my eyes - none of the starters. It. Was. Gengar.Now, looking back, I actually had Gengar in my team(s) in every Pokemon game I played (R/S/E were a difficult time for leaving behind my pal in Gen II, until FR/LG came around and eased the pain a bit). And finally, after venturing a bit into the competitive scene in Gen IV, I have a decent Gengar, named Duskaz, that has stayed with me ever since.What about you guys? Is there a Pokemon that has a special place in your heart? Even more so than the starters of your first game? One that has always a place in your team?...... Oh well, rambling again. I still haven't got to the actual point of this (too) long post of mine. Sorry about that and thank you to those staying with me, still. Just wanted to give a "bit" of context and content to discuss in the first place, as under which I post this. Also, maybe it's because I needed a place to write it down. For those that might be interested in this "little" story.Now, to the actual point of post, that "second" point mentioned, that hit me."Looking back at your first partner, the first Pokémon you ever chose in your adventure..."As I looked and thought back, how I felt that Gengar was my first Pokemon, my first partner, my virtual pal that stayed by my side all those years, I also remembered how this came to be, also - the stroy of which I told you above. Now, I just came home after visiting the graveyard. ... Sadly, quite fitting, giving the Ghost-type of Gengar ...The reason this simple sentence in a "child's game" hit me so hard, harder than most heart-wrenching dramas that you can see in movies or deep, story-driving games, was because it reminded me of the one person I had to thank for "bringing me together" all those years ago with my to-be favorite Pokemon. With my first Pokemon-partner.The one person that sadly couldn't be here any more to see me continuing this journey.23th November 2017. He would have turned 73 today. Happy Birthday, Grandfather. Rest in peace. And thank you. For everything and all pieces of advice for life you gave me. via /r/pokemon http://ift.tt/2hZSGYi