After a long period of focusing on one of the most important subjects at hand – social media – I come to you this time with something far simpler and far more fun than anything I have ever experienced.

It all started when I purchased a Nintendo 3DS XL – Hyrule Edition (based on a gamer friend and co-author of mine – Maher Kahwagi) and ever since I switched it on, I have become waist deep in unveiling the content of every nook and cranny, winning the trials and catching as many Pokémon as possible. My child side unraveled with this tiny two-screened console. And despite the fact that the graphics aren’t that brilliant and the colors not that vibrant, I came accept that the charm of the 3DX resides in the imperfections rather than in anti-aliased forms.

I had already started my journey with Pokemon years ago with Pokemon Yellow and the original roster of characters starting with Ash and Professor Oak, down to every single pocket monster there is. I still remember the graphics and lo-fi sounds. I used to love that game and bought it not long ago in order to experience that fuzzy, warm feeling on my 3DS XL.

I first opted for Pokémon Sun as I am more partial to fire and warmth than to the cold in general; an ironic thing to say as I reside in a cold area (refer to my article about Bikfaya) and I am used to the fog and snow. As the game kicked off, my heart skipped a beat, fearing disappointment as the legacy left by the first collection of Pokemon is unparalleled since – in my opinion – they covered all elements in the simplest way possible starting with the docile Pidgy to Charmander, Squirtle and the most coveted and cutest of all, Pikachu. Yet, I can objectively say that new roster of monsters seemed interesting and actually quite well designed, with the exception of some weird looking insects that looks like a mash-up of a magnet and a bee … that one … I did not catch and avoided at all cost, not because it was powerful, but did not seem to fit into this world.

Okay so, the journey starts with you choosing your first Pokemon and moving around four islands that make up all of Alola. Fights are well animated and feel fluid in terms of motion; Pikachu’s electricity, Gyarados’ water attacks and Vulpix’s extrasensory are amazing, you enjoy all of your Pokemons’ ability as they fulfill your need to be in the game and part of the action. The dialogue is quite funny, with random, verging on nonsense with strangers and defeated rivals. What felt like a shock to me was the way Team Skull members expressed themselves, these villains did a good job annoying me with their never-ending rant about being numbskulls, their aim to steal pocket monsters and their constant rapper-ish hand movement. This, however, did not affect my love for the game as I enjoyed evolving my Pokemon and felt utter excitement at the prospect of teaching it new moves.

The moment I caught Solgaleo was the highlight of my 40-something hours of gameplay; that lion-like creature looked great but the level-55 ultra beast was weaker than my level-60 and level-70 ones, which proved to be a slight disappointment and I had to press it’s abilities in order to increase its level. But I guess it all boils down to having players grind and fight rivals and other players online. Speaking of which, the game’s online feature is very refreshing and allowed me to test my skills as a Pokemon master (yes, I like saying that I am a Pokemon master, I admit!), which were (bows head in shame) insufficient to win me any match. Yet, I pledge to keep on training until I find the best selection of pocket monsters in order to beat other players.

On last thing I’d like to share is the trading system, which is also a very nice feature that allows players to specify what they are looking for, trade their Pokemon for new ones, and sometimes be lucky enough to hit the jackpot and receive an amazing one right out of the blue. There are many features that I did not tackle in this short article, but I do call you on to give this game a whirl to experience the magic of the Pokemon first-hand.

The Pokemon world always felt mystical to me, and fighting alongside my amazing Gyarados, Incineroar, Solgaleo and Vulpix brought back some really good memories. I will be tackling Pokemon Moon in the coming month. I sure hope that I will be able to evolve my own skills as well as my Pokemon’s and maybe beat all those really good players online. Fingers crossed!