>2008, be about 11 years old
>platinum on the verge of coming out
>played my first pokemon game, leafgreen, a couple of months before and since been busy with pearl
>go on bulbapedia for information about things, read a bit about gold and silver
>read extensively about gen 2 and the johto region
>wonder about how incredible the game seemed, the expansive new region to discover, the ability to revisit kanto, all the interesting pokémon i hadn't seen before; i was obsessed with xatu and natu
>beg my parents to get me a copy of pokemon silver (because i loved lugia's design) and a gameboy color for my birthday, don't expect much
>september comes around, by that time i wasn't sure if they were going to buy it but didn't really mind since i could still read about gsc online
>they get me pic related and a green gameboy color along with platinum (gbc since suffered from battery corrosion)
>ecstatic as all hell, i pick cyndaquil because i thought he was the cutest
>uncover the mystery of the region i never got to explore (hoenn i did manage to play a bit of years ago on one of those chinese multi-carts)
>fall in love with it, playing outside on bright sunny days and under covers with a reading lamp at night
>never let my quilava evolve into typhlosion as i didn't like typhlosion's backsprite
>get that quilava all the way to level 100 after beating the elite 4 countless times
>still love lugia to this day

johto was always this mysterious region that i never got to see, with unique mons that i'd never encountered. i don't think i could contain myself when i finally got to play soulsilver. to this day, when im walking in the morning and smell the scent of pine leaves, i remember the time i spent playing silver outside and remember the route themes and just smile.