Pokémon! No time to question my move, I stick to the path that I choose. Me and my friends we’re gonna do it right. You’ll never see us run away from a fight! To be a master is my dream, all I got to do is believe and I Believe. I've got a chance to win, I'm on my way to victory. Pokémon! I can be a Champion if I just believe. I'm on a Master Quest, Master Quest! I want the whole world to see, I believe! I'm gonna be the very best, ‘cause all I've got to do is believe in me. Pokémon!

This was the theme song to the show that hooked me on, in my opinion, the greatest videogame series in time! I have been obsessed with Pokémon for the past 11 years, and I don’t regret a single minute of it. Pokémon to me means a feeling of comfort and safety, anger and fascination, and overall, companionship. When I was a little kid, I tried Pokémon for the first time and fell in love with the idea that in the games, Pokémon were referred to as friends and companions. There are more than 700 different kinds of Pokémon, each unique in its own way. In the first few Generations, I thought that you had to choose the same one Ash chose in the anime, so I started with Charmander for Gen I, then Cyndaquil for Gen II, Treecko for Gen III, Piplup for Gen IV, Tepig for Gen V and most recently, Fennekin.

My favorite Pokémon has always been Rayquaza! I loved it so much that I have had one in every Pokémon game I've owned, even if it wasn’t available. Although Pikachu is the most favored Pokémon around, Rayquaza was the first Legendary Pokémon I obtained, and I am definitely the most proud of it, considering its 436-attack stat at level 100. In the first movie mentioning Rayquaza, Destiny Deoxys, you see Deoxys as an intruding alien Pokémon that fell from outer space in a meteorite and is damaged from its in flight experience. After self-regenerating from the impact, Deoxys is confronted by Rayquaza, who is meant to be the protector of the world because it constantly roams the Ozone Layer. Deoxys’ intrusion onto Earth crossed into Rayquaza’s territory and therefore threatens it, so because it knows nothing of Deoxys, being the first ever sighting in history, Rayquaza immediately uses the incredibly powerful move Hyper Beam which seemingly incinerates Deoxys.

What you barely see is the stone from Deoxys’ chest fall into the depths of the arctic waters, and the movie plays out. The reason I loved Rayquaza so much is because he seems like a very protective Pokémon, and whenever I have panic attacks I think of my Rayquazas as a kind of guardian. I know that sounds very childish, nerdy, and embarrassing, but one specific Rayquaza is the longest lasting friend I've ever had. I have come to truly think of Pokémon themselves as the only lasting friends.

In conclusion, Pokémon is the highlight of my day, and it helps the pain go away.