 One morning, Daddy Gamer and Baby Gamer were playing in the living room. Mummy was getting ready for the day, and so Daddy had been feeding Baby breakfast. Somehow, Daddy's copy of Pokemon Soul Silver had ended up on the sofa. Baby Gamer spotted it, picked it up, and was very curious about it. She'd seen this logo somewhere before. It meant something to her. What could it possibly be? Oh, she said at last. It's a Pikachu thing. Daddy, can we play the Pikachu game? Amused, Daddy figured, why not? So he dashed upstairs quickly and fetched the little Game Boy pocket and copy of Pokemon Yellow that he and Baby Gamer had played previously. Together, they watched the exciting intro animation, full of pictures of Pikachu surfing and flying with balloons. Daddy crossed his fingers and hoped that the 20 year old battery inside the cartridge had saved their progress from the last time they played, and thankfully, it had. This time though, Baby wasn't content to merely sit on Daddy's lap and watch him play. She'd been practising at playing games a lot and had been getting relatively good at Mario Kart. She certainly spent less time smashing into the barrier these days. So, Baby Gamer took hold of the tiny handheld and jabbed at the buttons. Moving her little character around somewhat erratically. Daddy watched over her shoulder for a bit before reaching around her to try and help steer them towards adventure. Even if he had to admit that this felt strangely reminiscent of Twitch Play's Pokemon. Eventually, the pair made their way out of their small starting village and into the deep, long grass. They trudged a few steps before Baby Gamer encountered her first wild Pokemon. Unless you count her Pikachu, she'd been acting standoffish all morning. Out from the grass popped a tiny little creature. What's that? asked Daddy. I don't know, replied Baby. It's a little mouse, explained her father. He figured that Baby would enjoy seeing a mouse more than a rat. Beaker dashed up to the mouse and gave it a friendly greeting while Daddy and Baby said, Hello, little mouse. Before adding, bye-bye, little mouse, as Daddy explained that the creature was now going back to its family. This seemed to please Baby, and so the trio carried on with their walk through the grass. Eventually, they came to a big ledge. Talking with a nearby man, Daddy and Baby learned that they could jump down the ledge if they wanted. Daddy figured that it might be fun, so he led them down over the ledge with a little hop. As they turned to look back, they realized that Pico was still up at the top above them. At first, she looked around, confused, before she started waving and doing a little dance. Daddy was enjoying watching, but Baby insisted that they keep going. They had adventures to find. Before long, the group entered a new town and found themselves at a tall, square building. This is a Pokemon Center, Daddy explained. It's like a hospital for Pokemon. In they went, and they found themselves in a busy room that was filled with people and Pokemon. Daddy told Baby Gamer that if she wanted, they could hand Pico over to a nurse to make her nice and healthy. They strode up to the front desk, and Daddy lifted Pico up onto the desk, as Nurse Joy recalled the Pokemon to her Pokeball and placed it on the special machine. There was a flash of light and a little chime. Then the nurse handed the ball back and outburst Pico, healthy and full of energy. Now she's all better, exclaimed Baby Gamer. Next, Daddy took them to a nearby shop, where the owner gave them a package that they needed to take back to Professor Oak. Now they had options. Daddy explained to Baby that they could either go straight back home to the village they'd started in, or they could travel to the west to see if they could find the boy that they'd met last time with his fluffy Eevee. Eevee cried Baby, and off they went. As it turned out, Daddy had misremembered this part of the game. The boy and his Eevee were nowhere to be found, but thankfully there were lots of other Pokemon hiding in some grass that wanted to meet the adventurers. First the pair found another mouse, then a bird, then a hamster, and a monkey. They were all very friendly, and Baby had a good time saying hello to each of them. Baby got tired of Daddy pressing all the buttons when these Pokemon popped up, so she took the Game Boy for herself, lying on the floor with her legs crossed, tapping the A button to say hello to each new Pokemon they encountered. One by one, these Pokemon all said goodbye before disappearing. They've gone to see their families, explained Baby to Daddy, who smiled. At this point, Baby's attention span was running low. They'd had lots of fun playing together, but she wanted to do other things, and Mummy Gamer had just finished getting ready, so it felt like the right time to move on and do something different. While Baby insisted that she could do it herself, Daddy helped her by saving the game and carefully turning the power off. Then he took the Game Boy back upstairs so that he could keep it safe, while Baby contented herself by playing with Mummy. So, what's the moral of this story? Perhaps it's that adventure can be found everywhere, if we're willing to look for it. Baby Gamer was very content to wander around her little hometown, looking at the flowers and the trees. When she and Daddy went just a little further afield, there was plenty to do, from talking to the people they met, hopping down ledges, and hunting in the grass for friendly new Pokemon to say hello to. There are lots of opportunities for mini adventures on our doorstep, and things that seem mundane or familiar can become magical and exciting if we look at them through fresh eyes. The world around you is more magical than you realise. Never underestimate the adventures that can be had in your own backyard, or even sat on the living room floor with an imaginative child.