“Get him Vulpix!” My younger self yelled as I ran around my school playground. Pretending I was battling my friends Charmander. I have many fond memories of playing Pokémon when I was younger. I remember being one of the lucky ones who got a holographic Charizard, and in my first pack too! I almost foolishly traded it for a Ninetales but luckily came to my senses and kept it. I had a collection of Pokémon memorabilia ranging from a Tamagotchi Pikachu, a Pokeball flashlight and of course a toy Pokedex. Who wouldn’t be excited to relive such childhood fantasies?

Flash forward to the present. I would have never have imagined that I would be walking along the boardwalk in Havre de Grace holding hands with my boyfriend while in our other hands we are hunting pokemon with the new Pokémon Go app. It’s a beautiful summer day and therefore a perfect day for a Pokemon Go date! Nothing says romance like catching a Kabuto with your partner. Clearly everyone must love Pokémon if you are able to connect with another person on such a deep and personal level, right?

Apparently, I was incorrect in this assumption. It was another nice summer day when I was on a mini vacay with a good friend of mine in Ocean City, MD. Who knew that it would be such a gold mine for Pokémon?! I was finding Squirtles, Magnemites, and Sansdshrews galore! Finding and catching Pokémon in ocean city was simply glorious! Then…it happened. The Pokémon of all Pokémon. IT WAS A PIKACHU! Sure it started to rain, but I was determined. I looked over at my friend only to find that she had walked ahead twenty feet. When I said, “WAIT! THERE’S A PIKACHU!’ she had the nerve to turn around and roll her eyes at me. Doesn’t she understand the significance of this find!? This is my dream Pokémon and my friend is clearly disgusted.

I don’t know how I can make her see the magical world of Pokémon, but one thing is clear, I have a new mission now in addition to my Pokémon hunting.