The Pokemon franchise is nothing if not iconic in the gaming industry, spanning decades while seeing massive success since it first launched the generation 1 games as well as the anime. Watchers and gamers from all walks of life have probably played the games or seen the anime, and many regular people at least know the Pokemon mascot, Pikachu.
Because of this popularity, the series has expanded past the video game and television spaces; in Japan, there are theme parks dedicated to the franchise, including Pokemon playgrounds based around Chansey. Similarly, Universal Studios has been making deals to create their own theme parks for Pokemon in the United States.
The franchise even expanded into the live-action/CGI movie industry with hit Pokemon movie Detective Pikachu. The movie, starring Ryan Reynolds as the cute detective, the movie now stands as the most successful video game movie of all time, raking in over 430 million dollars. To say that the franchise as a whole has been influential is an understatement. To that end, one Pokemon fan has recently explained how the games have helped to keep their skin condition at bay.
Reddit user ShinyCatherine dedicated a post to explaining their skin condition; called dermatillomania/excoriation disorder, they explain the condition causes them to compulsively mess with their skin in any way they can. They explain there is no real cure for the disorder, save for a potential curbing of the disorder through therapy. However, the compulsion can be distracted, and ShinyCatherine does so through the pastime of shiny hunting. As explained in Sword and Shield's shiny hunting, the activity is defined by hunting for incredibly rare, differently colored Pokemon called shinies. This activity, while also surely being the inspiration for their username, has helped keep them distracted enough to ignore their disorder while allowing them to enjoy the Pokemon titles.
Reddit users were very supportive of ShinyCatherine, expressing their happiness for them having found a way to combat their disorder. One user explained how they combat their anxiety using Pokemon, showing solidarity with ShinyCatherine. Another user wished ShinyCatherine good luck in their hunting as well as joking that shiny hunting became a disorder for them, causing them to buy several consoles to do so.
Jokes aside, ShinyCatherine's story is a wholesome testament not only to Pokemon, but to video games as a whole; studies have shown their ability to help with mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. In the case of shiny hunting, including recent phenomena such as unobtainable shiny hunting in Pokemon, the possibility for distraction is truly endless, and for ShinyCatherine, that is the perfect pastime.