I came here to rant

[Aphelli]

But after over a year's worth of lurking I changed my mind. 

 

I feel like a not so tiny bit of story is needed to explain. 

 

I've been a Pokemon fan for some ten years, from my early childhood to (approximately) high school graduation and/or 6G, but I somewhat stopped in the couple of years after, because math is awesome as well (and I had much to do). Afterwards, my interest dwindled to the (so far unthinkable) point where I did not even buy the original 7G games. I got Ultra Moon when my little brother was offered Ultra Sun as a present, but I wasn't much interested in the postgame too. 

 

At some low point in an internship in a foreign country, about fifteen months, I started watching Pokemon-related videos on Youtube to fight off boredom. This is how I stumbled on some well-known Youtuber's playthrough of Pokemon Insurgence, which throughly entranced me. I've read enough in the forum to know about people that don't like the game at all (and it has issues for sure), but it was orders of magnitude richer, harder, and more complete than any of the official games (which were all I knew from the franchise). The taster of the story which I had got from the playthrough appealed to me as well. I started theorizing about the plot and the twists to come, to the point where I had to play the game instead of waiting for the next episode to come through. 

 

So I binge-played through Insurgence. And I loved it. 

 

What's the link with Reborn, you may ask? 

 

Since that moment, I started watching Pokemon-related Youtube videos on a much more regular basis. And I stumbled on a couple of Youtube comments mentioning a hard fangame named Reborn where one had to play chess to make progress.

 

A Pokemon game where one had to play chess? I just had to have a look.

 

So I binge-watched a playthrough. Even now, I cannot exactly put my fingers on how I felt at the time. I was definitely very annoyed at how, in-universe, every silver lining had a thunderstorm, without exception. However, thinking back, I wouldn't have reacted that way if the game hadn't appealed much to me as well. So I found here and came to rant. Yet, after reading a bit more about the game and its "philosophy" (here and a bit on tvtropes IIRC), I changed my mind. 

 

I downloaded the game during a very long train trip and binge-played it again. It was a rough ride -- despite my decade of "training", I still am pretty terrible at Pokemon -- but I had a great experience. The enormous world, all the exploration, the sidequests and hidden Pokemon, the best parts of dialogue I had missed, the impossible battles, the puzzles... You never really tried the "impossible puzzle" if you didn't attempt it (for the first time) after midnight. Also, I have brand new Pokemon nightmares and Pokemon that impressed me. 

 

From my time lurking in the shadows, I also really enjoyed reading the epics some members wrote of their runs (of Reborn and Rejuvenation too). 

 

But enough "backstory" already about my Reborn experience.

 

I'm a European guy (not a native speaker, if that weren't already obvious) in his early twenties, and a math "early grad student" (the correspondence between years isn't straightforward). I am of course a Pokemon fan (although I am quite poor at the game), and I enjoy math very much. I also play the piano, and like reading and programming. I think that fulfills all the criteria for a nerd (even though I've never been too clear on the exact meaning of the word). Besides, except maybe for math, I am not really good at any of these activities. I'm rather shy and usually disinclined to talk much (most of the time at least) or talk at all. 

 

And now I'm embarrassed; I don't know what to say as an end to the post. Maybe thank you for your time (your courage for reading all of that?) and the welcome? That's as good an end as any, I suppose?

 

Spoiler

That's a post scriptum. 

Please don't go further if you haven't played through E16

Spoiler

The Alolan Vulpixes in the Grand Hall are a fantastic finding. I was for once surprised and got teary eyes. 

 

 

[Candy]

Henlo and welcome~ I'm glad you enjoyed Reborn despite its hard level We're a bunch of n3rds too so you'll fit right in

[Alazir]

Welcome fellow recently-revealed lurker! Hope you enjoy your stay on the forums.