I have lots of memories with pokemon, especially pokemon tcg. But winning the nationals and first tournament is the biggest for sure.
<— All thx to this broken guy.
Love to hear this story someday:)
When I think of Pokemon, I think of the 90’s, great time to be alive
First thing I though of when I read the title was an image of Pikachu
Well, it’s probably not nearly as interesting as I hinted. The short version, though, is that a 1997 report by Peter Jennings marked the first time I had heard the word “Pokemon” spoken and actually paid attention. (I’d heard the word before, but paid very little attention.) The longer version is about how that report set in motion my getting involved in the hobby.
Oddly enough, 15 years before that fateful moment, Jennings also inspired me to become a journalist.
I never met Jennings personally, but I have colleagues who did. By all accounts, he was a giant among even the greatest journalists.
For me it started similar way as for @pokemonunboxing - I think I was 7 years old if I remember correctly. I woke up in the morning and checked what cartoons will be on tv that morning and then I saw “Pokemon”. I had no idea what it was but I wanted to watch it as I always watched cartoons on weekend mornings. It was the very first episode and after that I ended up watching it again every week and that was the start for me.
I don’t have a specific card which brings me back some memories but honestly I have to say the TOPPS trading cards do the thing for me. Those were cheaper than the TCG boosters so my mom bought those for me and my sister. I always tried to trade them for some TCG cards though. I remember trying to trade some cards with a boy who was our neighbor but he wasn’t stupid, he knew the TCG cards were more valuable than TOPPS so he really didn’t want to trade holo cards. From these times I also remember Merlin’s Pokemon Sticker Album which I still have and it’s almost complete. I used it as my “PokeDex” and I always took it outside with me as it included some information of all the Pokemon 
Other thing I always had was Pokemon Gum. The package had big Pokemon stickers inside, but I used to treat those stickers as cards because they were the same size as cards.
Here is the sticker album. It’s in very bad condition and there are dirty pages because I always took it outside with me but this is one thing I’m going to keep forever, it’s such a nostalgic piece of Pokemon history for me 
Exactly this. If I hear Pokémon the first thing that comes to mind are the first Generation games, the TV series and everything from there. No much excitement or fancy story, but the best memories are the simplest ones.
pikachu going pika-pi and shaking his little chubby checks its amazing the only pokemon to stay with amy from start to finish but he nver gets old think its a testiment to how adored that pokemon is
and pissed off they chose to pick raichu instead as a base set holo anyone else think the base set should of only been the orgial 150 and then mew as a secret rare
I think of my collection.
I think for me it would either be the screen with pikachu that starts the announcements where he goes “Pika” or just general good times. Growing up as a kid eith pokemon in full force is something I wouldn’t trade for anything.
I think of the time when I went with my parents and my little sister out to Walmart. I remember going to the toy aisle and seeing all the Pokémon items on the shelves and hooks. I remember begging my parents for the dragonite power bouncer which I don’t have anymore because I must of lost it, but I was able to find the exact one I would have had several months ago(picture provided). I also remember asking for the Poke ball blaster (picture provided) because I thought the Poliwag was so cute (bought the poliwag, poliwhirl, poliwhrath online several months ago). These items along with the afternoons spent watching the anime with my younger siblings are my fondest memories. 
Very first thing that I thought of after reading the thread question was: Blastoise
There are several things that I remember, coming as a cascade of events:
- Running up the stairs at 10 A.M on Saturdays to follow Ash Ketchum in his adventures
- Bumping heads in the recess to watch my friend play the Blue Version
- Pokémon Yellow + GameBoy Color Christmas Gift and the hysterical reaction that followed
- Exchanging cards with my friends
- Inevitable…and last, watching my Base Set Blastoise disappearing in someone else’s binder and having a fossil Zubat and Omastar in return
Well, obviously I knew his work well considering my age. He was most certainly special. Was the story he was talking about have anything to do with seizures?
Love Shack baby;)
Purchasing that Poliwag now is what collecting is all about. I tried to explain the secret on another thread about no rarities but this says it all:)
My mind drifts back to my wonder at how Pokemon were caught and called out in the anime. I thought it was so cool that you could catch them, and then the ball would shrink and clip to your belt. The way they are caught as red light and then sent out in a flash of white light is dope.
When it comes to cards, I think of base set Venusaur since he was the first of the big 3 I got my hands on.
Once the rubber dried out you could break apart the ball to retrieve the dragonite figurine within 
Love it