Man, I love the Steam Deck

 Before this past January, I was a Nintendo Switch purist. It was the only gaming console I owned, thanks largely due in part to its handheld console nature. But with Nintendo doubling down on the blasted thing so late into its life and with support dwindling from developers, I needed another way to get my fix, and no way was I going to buy an Xbox or PS5 because I simply cannot and do not want to play games on my TV nowadays unless I am recording footage for something.

So when I first noticed the Steam Deck really taking off, being capable of playing titles like the Resident Evil 2 remake and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, I started looking at it more seriously. And in my search, I discovered the emulation side of things and was immediately sold.

It's only now that I am just finally settling in with this beast of a gadget, having customized it with my very own UI sound system, a nice comfy grip with a kickstand, and a nice meaty SD card for roms. My library blew up from five games in December to nearly 60 now thanks to the various sales that are always going on. 

And while I have yet to really commit time to an RPG via Retroarch, I did get this unbearable craving to play a Pokemon game. But not just any random Pokemon game, but the entire flagship series—In order!

So I booted up Pokemon Red Version and flew through the game. I have gotten to a point in my life now where I am a-okay with using QoL features that playing via emulators can bring, particularly that of save states and fast-forwarding for quicker level grinding. 

I finished my trek through Pokemon Red with 60-something hours on the in-game clock, but in actuality probably put maybe five or so in total. This was my first time replaying the game since it had been re-released on the 3DS eShop several years back and I had a blast doing so. Actually, I'd say even more so with the addition of RetroAchievements being a thing, breathing a bunch of fresh life into the classic.

I missed a lot of easy-to-get achievements in my hurry.

One thing I wanted to do in this run was finalizing my legendary team with my modern sensibilities and knowledge, so now I'll go over the lineup from the victory lap at the end of the game.

I originally named Charizard "Godzilla" in my very first run of the game in 1998. I wanted to pay homage to that original Charizard, but didn't exactly want to name it Godzilla or Zilla.

Two fire-type Pokemon on one team?! Heck yeah, I wasn't abandoning Charizard, and I certainly wasn't going to not have Freya appear in all her Gen 1 glory.

Another Pokemon that I have never used beyond Red. Nessie was my star water type back then, so I brought her back and did her right this time with a versatile moveset that was more than just all water moves.

Jolteon will forever be my favorite Eeveelution, and while she didn't get named Sierra until Gen 3/FireRed, I figured why not finalize her Gen 1 appearance here and now.

I couldn't remember what I had named my Pidgeot way back when, but with my current addiction to Star Wars and Pidgeot being a bird, I felt Skywalker would be a fitting name.

Dugtrio was added to the team this go around for some extra type coverage. I named it Molebit after the little mole-like creatures in my book.