Embarrased? Never! :^D I play all the time. Fellow beachers, it all started when I was a child. My mother brought a plastic bag into the kitchen a few minutes after dinner, telling me that my aunt had got me a GameBoy Color and Pokemon Silver and Gold. This was when it first came out in 2000. Back in the day, these handheld games were all the rage. I immediately loved these games and would take them everywhere. I was a spiffety-hip guy because I had these games. My friends would go crazy over Pokemon and I'd let them play. This led to them getting Pokemon games too.
Now that we're all teenagers, most of them went to play other things as they thought Pokemon was too childish. But in middle school, I met some respectable children who were engaged in a Pokemon battle, so after the battle, I sauntered over to see if I could battle. Being the friendly dudes they were, they accepted my challenge. We battled, and it didn't matter if we won or lost, we were having fun (if you're still wondering who won, it was me ). From then, a few days every week, I took my Pokemon Diamond/Platinum to school. Hah! How some children laughed. HAH! How I ignored them and went on to explain EV/IVs.
In high school, I plan to play it there. People will mock me! Yes, but this doesn't stop me from doing the things I love. It is a passion for me, like the smell of leather. People who matter don't mind and people who mind don't matter. Now that I'm also crazy about the TCG! We should do the things we love regardless of other people's prejudice and negative thoughts on the subject.
In conclusion, there is no finer way to waste part of your day than by reading my positive rant.