I’ll go first. Back in 2010/2011, I was ten years old and played Pokémon Pearl religiously on my DS. Every single time I powered it on, I would click the "Mystery Gift" button. I didn’t know what it did. This was a time when I couldn’t even fathom googling something to find an answer. I just believed that if I clicked it enough times, one day, something would happen. Nothing ever came through, though.
It was a rare outing, my family and I went to IHOP, something we only did on special occasions due to my mom being a health nut. I brought my DS, as I always did, and booted up Pearl, clicking mystery gift as I always do. But this time… Something actually happened?
For once, it prompted me to receive a gift. Finally, all my attempts had come to fruition. A Pokémon appeared on my screen, one I’d never seen before. It was majestic, and mysterious, I added it to my team immediately.
It was powerful. Way beyond the level of my team. I didn’t understand why it ignored my commands in battle, it acted as if it barely acknowledged me, but I didn’t care. I loved it anyway. I kept it with me, dragging it out in every fight, even if it wouldn’t listen. I thought it was just stubborn, like a wild animal that hadn’t learned to trust me yet. If I kept battling, surely it would come to like me over time!
I didn’t know it was shiny. I didn’t even know what a shiny Pokémon was. It wasn’t until much later, years later, that I pieced together what had happened on that day.
That day, next door to the IHOP we went to, there was a GameStop. And that GameStop just so happened to be hosting a Shiny Entei event. And I so happened to click mystery gift. And my DS, somehow, caught the signal. The odds were microscopic. A one in a million chance. I feel like, on that day, Entei chose me.
by Emmabebe