The Pokemon Center Just Released The Best Thing Ever & I Am Crying

gamepur.com:

To say I am a Pokemon fan is probably a bit of an understatement. I saved for my first Game Boy when I was seven years old. I’ve played every generation as they’ve released, and my office is literally decorated from top to bottom with plushies, posters, figures, and TCG Elite Trainer Boxes. It is over 25 years of dedicated adoration – and I have not a sliver of regret for the energy that has gone into it. However, the newest release of Trainer merchandise from The Pokemon Center has taken me by surprise, with Galar Trainers bringing tears to my eyes.

Pokemon Sword & Shield was released in the fall of 2019, and, I won’t lie, I had my reservations. Huge wild areas to wander around? Shortened routes? Super-Sized Pikachu? It felt a bit too far from my pixelated adventures through Kanto, and I was nervous to experience the change. However, as I fell into Galar, I found every aspect of the region was everything I’d always wanted. I certainly didn’t know it was going to save me the following year.

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In 2020, I found myself housebound, pregnant with my son, and locked away from everyone I loved. I was extremely lonely as I went through changes that were going to alter the way I lived my life completely. One night in May, I pulled out my Switch and booted up Pokemon Sword. I walked out into the Wild Area, over the bridge beside the Motostoke Riverbank, and I stood there, looking at the sky. As trainers raced by me on their bikes and Pokemon scuttled through the grass, I felt like I could breathe for the first time in months.

After that, I began organizing play sessions online with my friends. We jumped in