Revisiting Kanto - My Pokemon Trainer Is A Murderer Who Kills All The Swimmers

thegamer.com:

Hello again intrepid adventurers! At least, hello again if you are returning. I’ve been playing through Pokemon Blue again these past few months, trying to explore the region afresh to understand why it holds so much magic. Many of you have joined me thus far, but for any newcomers, welcome aboard. You can catch up on the story so far here. Last time, I left Fuchsia Town behind.

Fittingly for a weekend when we saw the first trailer for The Little Mermaid movie they’re making for some reason, this week we’re heading to the sea. On the swim (or Surf) from Fuchsia to Cinnabar, we hit the Seafoam Islands, but we’ll wait until next week to add that adventure to our diary. Today, just like All Saints, all we’re concerned with are the pure shores - and the water in between. Bon voyage!

Related: Pokemon Scarlet & Violet's Character Designs Are Giving Me The Heebie Jeebies

Part of the reason I’m documenting my return to Kanto is to try to think about what I’m doing from a different angle. When I played the game the first time, chunky manual by my side, I was fumbling around trying to figure out not only how to progress in this specific video game, but how video games themselves worked.

Pokemon Blue was the very first video game I ever played (much of my life since has been a disappointment), and so the language of video games themselves still needed to be deciphered. Things as simple as tapping A for ‘okay’ we’re discovered on the plains of Kanto. I was too busy learning how to play to think about how strange some of the game’s ideas are. And then returning for subsequent playthroughs, I knew the game so well that it was on autopilot. Going back to the game now, it’s bizarre that how we get across the ocean is by standing on