Hi, everyone! I'm Ferny! My pronouns are they/he, I'm from the US, and I've been a Pokémon fan for about 24 years now!
I don't recall exactly how I first got into the series, but as best as I can recall, my first experience with Pokémon was catching an episode of the original anime series on TV when I was a little kid. A couple of years later, I met my childhood best friend, who introduced me to the video games via their Yellow, Silver, and FireRed games; to the TCG, by giving me my first card (a Misty's Poliwhirl); and to the toys, by giving me a Horsea figurine.
My first game was Emerald, and my very first starter Pokémon was a Torchic named Fire Eye. He went on to become the first Pokémon I ever raised to level 100! I also caught my first shiny Pokémon in this game--a shiny Poochyena. I lost my save file on that cartridge at some point, but I still have and play that same cartridge today. Now, my oldest surviving save file is my copy of Diamond, where I've got an Empoleon from 2007. I have since played at least one version of every mainline series game pair/trio, except for Gold/Silver/Crystal, which I'm currently working on (playing Crystal first); and Ultra Sun, which I got for Christmas last year and have only been able to play a little bit of so far. My favorite game is still Emerald, followed (in no particular order) by Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, HeartGold/SoulSilver, Crystal, and Legends: Arceus.
I have a decent collection of TCG cards and merch, and I am especially fond of my late 90s/early 2000s merch, as well as my plush collection. The only TCG cards I'm actively collecting now are Vulpix and Ninetales--my goal is to obtain one copy of every Vulpix and Ninetales card that has been made so far! I've got a ways to go, but I already have some of my favorites.
As you may have guessed by now, my favorite Pokémon is Ninetales, followed closely by Vulpix. I prefer the original Fire-types, but I love the Alolan forms, as well! I especially love Shiny Ninetales--this has been my most favorite Pokémon for almost as long as I've known about the series! Having a Shiny Ninetales in-game was my dream for nearly 20 years before it finally happened. I eventually caught a Shiny Vulpix in Pokémon GO, transferred her to one of my Pokémon games on the Switch, and I've enjoyed battling with her in several games since then! Some of my other favorite Pokémon are Blaziken, Luxray, Vaporeon, Latias, Lugia, Zorua (both forms), Mightyena, Typhlosion, and Pikachu!
I love the Pokémon fandom, and I am especially fascinated by seeing how many people dedicate their time and efforts to preserving Pokémon history. I have, at this point, read almost every post on the Johto Times website, and I have really enjoyed reading about so many people's memories with the series, as well as finding so many awesome fan sites and seeing the work that all of these awesome people are doing!
I am also glad to see a resurgence in forums and other aspects of the "Old Web" coming back, and I'm really excited to be here! This seems like a great community, and I look forward to making new friends. It's nice to meet you all!
