Man Just Go!

Today, February 27th, 2026, known globally as Pokémon day, marks the 30th anniversary of the initial releases of Pokémon Red and Green for the Game Boy in Japan. This release would mark the beginning of what is now the Pokémon franchise. I joined in on the fun in 1998 with Pokémon Yellow for the Game Boy and the trading card game. I began watching the animated series a year later. As time passed and new Pokémon generations released, I eventually stopped keeping up with the franchise but have never stopped loving it. I was ecstatic when I learned that ports of the Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Game Boy Advance remakes were releasing today. I considered the games solid and remember vividly how much fun my buddies and I had training, trading, and battling using the bundled wireless adapter. The system definitely changed the face of gaming for the long run. For me, Pokémon has always felt like the comfort of being wrapped in a warm fluffy blanket made of pure adolescent joy- calming, centering, and enough indulgence to slow me down and appreciate everything the role playing game has to offer. 

For those also partaking in today’s fun, fellow fans of the franchise, and nostalgia buffs; Here goes my team from the original Pokémon generation, in no particular order:

Charizard- To remain pure to the essence of the original Red and Green versions, I’m only including one starter Pokémon on this list. Charizard just might be the most popular Pokémon of all time. In my opinion, it was definitely the coolest of generation one’s starter Pokémon’s final evolutions and Charmander was absolutely adorable. A decent special attack power, ability to fly, and a hilarious relationship with Ash in the animated series gave Charizard a permanent spot on my gen. one squad. Also, the priciest Pokémon card sales typically involve Charizard cards fetching north of $250,000. 

Nidoqueen- If you started gen. one with a Charmander, chances are you needed some back up to get through the first three gym leaders. I went with training a female Nidoran that also wound up keeping a spot on my team throughout the entire game. OG Pokémon fans will acknowledge the legend of double kick. If you know, you know. 

Raichu- Raichu has to be one of my personal favorite Pokémon of all time. Richie’s Pikachu Sparky had a super spunky attitude and Ash’s Pikachu was always a total bad ass. I remember Ash’s battle with Drake on the Orange Islands, where Pikachu was able to defeat Drake’s mighty Dragnoite by hopping on top of its head and striking it with thunder. In my opinion, this may have been the greatest animated series scene of all time. Let’s not forget that Lt. Surge’s Raichu sent Ash’s Pikachu to the Pokémon center in their first bout. 

Dragonite- While Raichu is one of my personal favorite Pokémon, Dragonite actually is my favorite. I purchased my Dratini after hitting on a few slot games at the Celadon City Game Corner and trained the shit out of it for the rest of the game. Every millennial male has a little dragon fanboy in them. Let us not forget about the gigantic Dragonite that visited Ash and Bill at Bill’s lighthouse during the Indigo League. There’s just something about a friendly looking seven-foot-tall dragon with wings that shoots hyper beams out its mouth and body slams its opponents that astonishes me. 

Alakazam- Alakazam made my list because A) I wanted to include a psychic type and B) Alakazam really looks like a telekinetic with a Fu Manchu. After training my Abra to evolultion, I traded my Kadabra back and forth with an old school buddy to evolve it into an Alakazam. Also, in LeafGreen and FireRed, Alakazam appears as an enemy Pokémon on Saffron City Gym Leader Sabrina’s team, a character that I always felt emulated my real life love interests.

Vaporeon- Last but not least on my list is Vaporeon. Vaporeon holds a very special place on my team. Growing up, my sister’s favorite Pokémon were Eevee and Vulpix, and also, someone has to do the surfing. Train Eevee until it learns bite, get yourself a water stone, and then you’ve got yourself a jet ski that lowkey has a higher special power than that of Charizard’s. Vaporeon is also quite the looker.