Pokemon cards marked many years of my life. I remember spending countless hours going through my huge binder of Pokemon cards. I'd have fat stacks of hundreds of energy cards that were so thick they'd be busting out of the binder. I'd spend hours going up and down the neighborhood streets battling and trading cards. Looking back, it wasn't much different than what the characters did in the show. We were living the dream.
I remember my first Pokemon card game tournament. I went with my friend, who ended up being my first opponent, unfortunately. He ended up beating me only because I couldn't draw any Pokemon cards (a stupid rule). I was so upset. To be defeated by my friend in such a dishonorable way. It killed me. I still carry that loss until this very day.