Fifty Times Against Misty

Found an old Game Boy at a flea market in Munich—original gray model, battered, Pokémon Blue already in the cartridge slot. That was it. I was back, completely and immediately, no transition period required. The train ride from Munich to Berlin is four hours; I used all of it.

I picked Charmander. Obviously. Gary got Squirtle, which meant I spent the first ten minutes watching his pixelated face lose badly. Professor Oak threw me out of Pallet Town as a reward for humiliating his grandson, which has always felt like exactly the wrong lesson to teach a child, but fine.

Grinding everything in sight before the first gym—Pidgey, Rattata, whatever stumbled out of the grass—meant Brock barely registered. One badge, no drama. Then Cerulean City. Then Misty.

Misty beat me roughly fifty times. Not because she’s particularly hard—she isn’t—but because I kept refusing to prepare properly. I had a Charmeleon I’d been carrying since Pallet Town and a team of creatures caught without any strategic thought, and I kept throwing them at her Starmie expecting different results. Eventually I caught a Geodude and used it to grind her into the floor. It took longer than I’ll ever be comfortable admitting.

Now I’m on the road to Vermilion City, an insect trainer every ten steps, my patience for wild Caterpie at an all-time low. Current team: Pidgey (L13), Geodude (L14), Clefairy (L10), Charmeleon (L28), Paras (L8), Zubat (L10). Playtime: 2:45. Badges: 1. Pokédex: 10. That last number is the one that haunts me.