Forever Six Years Old

No matter how old I get, there will always be a part of my brain, however small, that is forever six years old. That part of my mind surfaces at least every three or so years, because there’s one thing that will always, ALWAYS speak to it:

NEW POKEMON STARTERS.

You’ve got Grass Cat, you’ve got Chubby Crocodile, you’ve got DUCK IN A HAT.

The call is primal. It hearkens back to a time when making choices was fun instead of exhausting/terrifying. It invites me to spend 30-60 hours doing repetitive, soothing tasks in a video game. It feels like a cozy adventure where nothing can actually go terribly wrong, like re-reading The Hobbit.

Last I checked, Pokemon is still the most profitable franchise on the planet, so who knows how long this can go on for. But every time, I’m going to look at my three choices, immediately pick a favorite, and wonder an unhealthy number of times if the game is out yet.