Ashley shares with us his fondest memories in the 20 year history of Pokémon, from his first time with Pokémon Blue to a visit to Japan, a childhood internet friend and... One Direction?

I was a fan of Pokémon before it came out.

I don't mean for that to sound hipster, but I'm aware it really does. What I mean is I can remember reading about it in some magazine (probably whatever Official Nintendo Magazine was calling itself twenty years ago) and being keen to play it. I vaguely recall it coming out after this.

I don't know what it was that attracted me so before I even played it. Maybe it was the inevitable buzz in the magazine. There's a strong chance it is the animal-like creatures as I've always been fond of animals, although ironically Pokémon was inspired by bugs and we have a love-hate relationship - they love the taste of my blood and I hate them for it.

For whatever reason I wanted it. I remember getting it and playing it intensely. Every kid had games they played after their parents put them to bed. Pokémon Blue was mine, back in the days when this required a clunky battery-operated light attached to your handheld. Hipster and old for those keeping track.

In thinking about this article a lot of random memories about the franchise came back to me and I'm going to share them as they come. Obviously they're personal but you may have similar. That's the beauty of the game, you form a personal bond to it, to your trainer and to your Pokémon. My memory isn't good enough (or I'm not sentimental enough) to remember the nickname I gave my Squirtle (the best choice as we all know) or entertain you with stories about how it all looked like it was over but then at the last moment a potion helped me turn it all around. 

No. Instead this collection is of little memories. To me that's what the franchise is about. Each little memory building a bigger picture. Gotta remember 'em all.

1. Convincing my mother and nan to take me to a shopping centre to get Mew.

2. Meeting someone online through a mutual appreciation of Pokémon (and other video games) and being the first online person I met in real life. With my mother and his father in tow because this was when Carol Vordeman was still warning parents about the dangers of the internet. We went on to know each other for years, he briefly dated my friend and then I don't know what happened. We drifted apart as years went on and honestly I forgot about him until five minutes ago.

3. Playing the Trading Card Game with a school friend and being convinced they stole my shiny Charizard and falling out over it.

4. Seeing the pre-order box for Gold and Silver in Game and excitedly telling my mother who seemed less interested.

5. Buying Pearl for my cousin as her first Pokémon game along with a guide. As an adult it seemed like she might need help but a lot of kids figure it out so I don't know why I thought this.

6. Running GAME a few days after Christmas when a parent came in and was quite displeased that the second-hand copy he got his son for Christmas had a Chimchar nicknamed Prick. I apologised and refunded out of good will and explained how we don't erase game save data (we'd spend all day doing it if we did) but all the while knowing it was one of my staff that played it on the shop floor one day when bored and gave it that nickname.

7. The Pokémon Store being one of the first things I did when I got to Tokyo. I'd been up for nearly 24 hours and needed to remain awake for another 10 to adjust to the time-zone so I wanted to do something simple. The store was hard to find as it was above others at the time (tip: look up in Tokyo, there's a lot of stores up there!) so it took me a while. The cashier then having to talk to me like an idiot (sleep deprivation) and explain if I said a certain phrase, which she fed me, I'd get a free Pokémon hand fan.

8. Using that fan a lot in Japan as it was summer.

9. Going to the launch party for Black and White where I met some people I'm still in contact with today. Meeting Keeley Hawles and One Direction before they even had a single out. I'll leave it up to you to decide if they're the people I'm still in touch with.

10. Having my photo taken with a giant Pikachu and another with the starters where I was holding a glass of red wine.

11. One of my staff at my former job finding the Pikachu photo recently and mocking me. In fairness it's on Facebook so it's not hard to find. [I was told I couldn't put it on here either - Ed]

12. Having an affinity with Ash. I never had anyone ‘famous’ who I shared a name with, while all the Davids at the time were dining out on Beckham. To this day it's still the best because the only competition is Cole or Olsen.

13. Going on a date with someone that had a Venonat tattoo.

14. Renting Pokémon Snap and my friends seeming uninterested.

15. Being traumatised by the episode where Ash meets his Charmander.

16. That awful “how do you get a Pikachu on a bus?” joke.

There's a lot more, but I fear I'm turning into Grampa Simpson.

What does this tell you other than I've had a tumultuous history of friendships? Probably not much. But hopefully it's got you thinking about how it's impacted on your life too.

The median age of our readers is late 20s to early 30s meaning they too were young when it came out. Many are still fans. Personally I tend to pick up the new games with enthusiasm and by about the fourth gym unintentionally given up. I don't have the free time I used to, but I'm still fond of the franchise as are many people our age.

It's weird what nostalgia will do. Go a few years older and it becomes less common to like it. They were teenagers when it came out and was largely seemed uncool to like. Maybe it's our Daria or Beevis and Butthead. Some people will venn nicely, but the cultural and shared experiences are as large an influence as the products themselves.

It's weird to think it's been 20 years. That's most of my life. It's weird to think it might still be around in another 20 years when I'll be pushing 50. Mostly I'm just scared of pushing 50.

Whether it will or not remains to be seen (and how many Pokémon we'll have then) but the franchise has supplied me and many more with happy memories and for that I'm grateful.

And for those wondering about the Pikachu, you poke him on.