Being a 90’s kid, Pokémon was immensely popular at the time. I was around 9 years old, playing the Gameboy games on an emulator, and trying to catch every Pokémon. One of the most memorable scenes was in Lavender Town, being in the tower and not being able to fight any of the ghosts because I didn’t yet have the Silph Scope to reveal them.
The eerie music played continuously in the background. I don’t remember what the music was, but reading more about it, it is the source of an urban legend surrounding the “Lavender Town Syndrome”. Apparently, there was a brief peak in suicides among 7-12 year old kids shortly after the release of Pokémon Red and Green in Japan. I don’t remember being that frightened by the ghosts when I was little.
I also remember talking to the old man in Viridian City who taught the player how to catch Pokémon and then using him as an exploit to get to MIssingNo off the coast of Cinnabar Island.
All sorts of weird stuff happened like seeing level 100+ Pokémon and the massive replication of items in the sixth inventory slot (that’s a lot of Masterballs and Rare Candies).
And then there was Gary, who was probably the biggest jerk ever encountered. At every step of the game, he’d ALWAYS be one step ahead of the player. In the beginning, he purposely picks the Pokémon that is your pick’s weakness. And later in the game, after the player gets all the Gym Badges, it turns out Gary got them all before the player. And he still remains ahead even after fighting the Elite 4.
At least, at the end, there is a great feeling of satisfaction after beating him. If I remember correctly, according to Professor Oak, he didn’t give his Pokémon “trust and love”. Gary was a bit of an ass, so I guess he deserved it.