I know this is going to sound weird, and maybe a little cheesy, but this fat little squirrel has helped me improve not only my mental health but my relationship with my husband and family.

To begin, I have a seizure disorder that causes me to have about 4 seizures every week. Due to this, I am constantly exhausted and unable to work. I have been trying for disability benefits but the process is slow as I am getting denied over and over again due to my youth. As such, my husband is the only one working. I feel terrible knowing he is fighting so hard to keep us afloat while I am unable to do much in return. I isolated myself from my family and friends due to how much distress I am in.

My husband and I have bonded mostly over Pokémon during the course of our relationship. We’re always talking about Pokémon, watching Pokémon, and playing it. We’ve done many nuzlockes and have recently achieved the accomplishment of logging 999:59 hours in Sword and Shield because we’re always battling, shiny hunting, or doing raids together.

I’m a competitive Pokémon player, but I am definitely lax during my battles. I enjoy stall play and gimmicks (I know, shoot me) and just generally having a good time. Basically, a win for me is either knocking out an Uber mon with a not-so-great team or hax. When I first began creating some new sets for the new Pokémon in Sword and Shield, I created a competitive Greedent as a joke, naming her “Fat Deborah” in conjunction to Little Debbie.

She became a staple on all of my teams once I found out she was actually…good. She can eat hits like a champ and has actually won me countless battles.

I’m not sure what, but something about that fat squirrel made me happier. My husband and I would make jokes about her and memes among ourselves for laughs. Anytime I had a bad day, or began to spiral into one of my depressive episodes, my husband would bring her up and it would instantly make me smile. Sometimes, when I come out of a seizure, he has her waiting in Pokémon Camp for me. Her goofy grin and waddling walk makes me forget about how much I’m struggling for a while.

My family began to pick up on my love for this Pokémon, and used it as a way to bring me out of my shell and take my mind off of my depression and other anxieties. I used to never visit my little cousins for fear of getting over-stimulated and having a seizure in front of them and frightening them. Now I can visit them without worrying, because we all know, no matter what, there’s a constant there; there will always be a goofy fat squirrel smiling and bringing us together.

I knew I was getting better when my six year old cousin said he had a surprise for me. He asked for a trade in Pokémon Sword. He traded me his own Greedent dotingly named, “face stuff.” I told him he didn’t have to do that, because it seemed well-loved, with ribbons and a higher level than his other Pokémon. He said, “I wanted to give him to you since he makes you feel better and that makes me happy.” I now have three Greedent’s I use competitively, Fat Deborah, face stuff, and Cleetus, my shiny that my husband helped me hunt in raids. I love that Sword and Shield makes it to where I could make face stuff competitively viable. My little cousin loves to watch me battle with him.

For Christmas, my husband got me a Greedent plushie. Since I’ve had it, it’s helped ground me before I go into a seizure and remain calm. I sleep better with it at my side. Somehow, it feels like everything will be okay. My mom texts me everytime she sees a squirrel now, saying, “I saw Deborah today!”

I know it’s not entirely due to Greedent itself, but my love for the Pokémon has helped me bridge the gap that my illness had left between me and those that I love. Now, whenever I see Greedent, I not only think of how much I adore it’s design, I think of the love and support I feel from my family, husband, and friends.

I am so thankful for Pokémon giving people like me these oppurtunities and something to bond with others over. No matter what, all of us in the community are tied together by one thing; our love for these little creatures.

Life isn’t perfect, but I do my best to keep a smile and store happy memories in my head like Greedent does berries in its tail.