Hi everyone, it’s Sabrina here! Every few months or so, I play a video game and my life becomes absorbed by it for a few weeks. This Christmas, I got a Nintendo Switch and was lent the game Pokemon Sword, so I lost several weeks of my life to that. Was it worth it? Maybe not, but it was really fun. When I was a bit younger, I also got really attached to Pokemon Platinum, Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver when I played those on the Nintendo DS. It was a long time ago, but those Pokemon I raised still live in my heart 😛 Today, I want to recommend you books based primarily on the colouring of my party Pokemon over the years! I hope you find something here that interests you!
POKEMON PLATINUM
This was my first foray into the world of Pokemon games – I’d only ever watched the show casually as a kid so this was really an unexpectedly great experience for me. I quickly found out that though I loved grass types, I needed a more balanced party to fight the gym leaders. I also grew attached quickly, and most of my party was made up of the Pokemon I caught first or raised from an egg. I’m really happy with all the colour matches in this section, but my favourite pairing would have to be with Houndoom. It feels like almost a perfect design match to me!
TORTERRA
Drowned Country by Emily Tesh
adult fantasy novella
STARAPTOR
Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh
new adult sci-fi
BIBAREL
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
adult mystery
TOGEKISS
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
ya paranormal mystery
LUCARIO
The Yield by Tara June Winch
adult contemporary
HOUNDOOM
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
adult sci-fi fantasy mystery
POKEMON HEARTGOLD
Pokemon HeartGold was probably my first “big” purchase as a kid – I remember getting a Kmart gift card from my Papa for my birthday and immediately thinking this is what I wanted to buy. It was so exciting for me to have a new, current game. I must admit, I never really used the PokeWalker that came with it though – that would require me to put the game down! I also curated my party for this game – most of the Pokemon I used were the descendants of ones I caught in Platinum. My favourite pairing in this section is with Skarmory because I think the colours are the closest match plus there is a nice parallel with the steel type in the cover.
MEGANIUM
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim
ya contemporary
HERACROSS
When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole
adult mystery thriller
CAMERUPT
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
adult mystery thriller
TYRANITAR
In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
adult nonfiction memoir
MANTINE
Blakwork by Alison Whittaker
adult poetry collection and memoir
SKARMORY
Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer
ya paranormal fantasy horror
POKEMON SOULSILVER
I played this a fair while after HeartGold, so it was nice to experience the story and world again. Once more, I used mostly descendants from Platinum Pokemon and I did not use the Pokewalker at all. This was also the first (and only) time I ventured away from a grass type starter, so that was an interesting experience for me. My favourite pairing in this section is with Altaria – I think the colours match really well, and the design of the Pokemon is, if you think about it in a certain way, reminiscent of an airplane which also fits with the cover.
TYPHLOSION
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
adult mystery thriller horror
SALAMENCE
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
adult sci-fi
ALTARIA
Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali
ya contemporary romance
RHYDON
Legend by Marie Lu
ya dystopia
SHIFTRY
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
ya fantasy
WALREIN
Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
ya mystery thriller
POKEMON SWORD
Of course, this is the version of the game I have played most recently. It was so fun to raise Pokemon again and discover all the new creatures and mechanics and features introduced since I last played. I went back to choosing a grass type starter and collecting Pokemon as I went along rather than meticulously planning my team beforehand. My favourite pairing in this section is with Corviknight – I think it’s an especially good match with the Gigantamax version of the Pokemon, but I haven’t collected that yet myself, so I just included the standard.
RILLABOOM
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
ya fantasy
SEISMITOAD
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
adult contemporary romance
CORVIKNIGHT
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
ya fantasy
BEWEAR
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
adult fantasy novella
NOIVERN
The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon
ya fantasy
TOXTRICITY
You Should See Me In a Crown by Leah Johnson
ya contemporary
What do you think?
Have you ever played any Pokémon games? Which Pokémon creature is your favourite? Have you read any of the books I’ve listed? Let me know!
Wordy and Whimsical 
I LOVE posts pairing books with games/songs.. and you nailed it!! They all seem so perfect together.
Ive also been obsessed with playing pokemon ahah- but Arceus for me! 😅
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Thanks Kristina!! 😀
Oooh nice!! I’m still waiting to get my hands on that game so I’m glad you’re enjoying it.
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You’ve actually featured on of my all time favorite pokemon, which is Altaria!! I always try to get one on my team when I play.
You really created some perfect matches there! Loved this post 🙂
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Oh yay! I love Altaria too, and Swablu is super cute.
Thank you!
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I’m gonna age myself and say I’ve been playing Pokemon since Red and Blue came out on the Gameboy. I got my Gameboy colour when I was about 7/8 I think and I have been hooked ever since. There were a couple of versions of the game I didn’t get to play until I was older as I didn’t have the money to get the games but I always enjoy it. And you managed to raise a Togekiss your first Pokemon game? I love it, it took me forever to figure out how to correctly evolve them. I recognise so many of you pokemon Sword team, as well. I had a Bewear when I played and Toxitricity. But this should really be about the books shouldn’t it? I’m impressed how well you’ve managed to match the colour scheme for your covers.
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Ooh that’s awesome! Yeah, I had that issue too. Yes! I guess because I got Togepi as an egg and I just kept it in my party the whole time it made it easier – it was more coincidence/luck than anything else :’) Yay for Bewear and Toxtricity 😀
Haha, my post definitely ended up more about the Pokemon than the books anyway. Thanks Becky!
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This is SUCH a great post idea and I love your match-ups! I think SoulSilver is my all-time favourite Pokemon game, but I’ve been playing Shield a lot since I picked up last month. Gideon+Houndoom and Witch King+Noivern are SUCH good matches!!
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Thanks so much Kate! SoulSilver is a lot of fun! I think Platinum will always be my favourite, just because it was my first game. I’m glad you’re playing a lot of Shield too though! Thanks, I think so too!
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I love this post, Pokémon is my favourite game series ever!! I’ve been playing since the original Gold and Silver when I would steal my brother’s games and play them without saving (since the girl character didn’t exist since Crystal) and I’ve played pretty much every main game since Ruby and Sapphire. I’m glad I’m not the only one who has a pattern when picking starter Pokémon since I always pick the water type!
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