So, unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, you know by now that the world is gone a little mad for Pokémon Go. I’m one of probably three people in the world who hasn’t played the game yet, so you might wonder why exactly I’m choosing to write about it. My connection to Pokémon began about 1998 when my nephews discovered the anime series. It wasn’t long before they started collecting cards and playing (*gasp*) Pokemon video games.
One of the boys is on the Autism spectrum and, at 8 years old, had probably said a total of 5 words to me in his entire life. He had enough verbal communication to keep up with the kids in his school and get his daily needs met, but talking for social reasons was just not his thing. Our conversations usually went like this:
“Me–Hey Kid, how you doing?
Kid–*shrug*
Me–What game are you playing?
Kid–*stares at video game in hands*
Me–Looks like fun.
Kid–Mm.
Me–*sits down to stare at book in hands for the next two hours*
Kid–*plunks down and stares at game some more*”
I was pretty sure we understood each other. We were both nerds engaging in a moment of nerd-companionship and didn’t need a whole lot of conversation to communicate. He liked his games the same way that I like my books.
I could be totally positive though. Sometimes I wondered if he thought it was annoying or if he thought much about me at all. Then one day the conversation changed.
“Me–Hey Kid, how you doing?
Kid–*shrug*
Me–What game are you playing?
Kid–Pokémon Red.
Me–*tilting head like a dog* Like the show?
Kid–Kind of. *goes back to game*
Me–*sits down to stare at book in hands for the next two hours*
Kid–*plunks down and stares at game some more* *while still playing, randomly startts explaining entire plot of the anime, gameplay and differences between show and games, then LEAVES ROOM and returns with collection of cards and toys to show me*
Me–O..O *puts book down*”
Now, fortunately for us, my nerd superpower is the ability to absorb and follow vast quantities of complex information and detail without batting an eyelash. At the time, my mission in life was to be the cool aunt that followed the kids’ stuff and could talk about it, both with them and with parents who needed to know what it was about. That day, I spent about three hours talking to my nephew about all things Pokémon, because I valued him and that I was willing to take seriously something that mattered to him, even if I personally found it less exciting.
That’s called being a nice person, for anyone keeping notes. This concept of nice people will come up again.
