>>11984958
I actually encountered Digimon first, when it initially aired on UK television in I believe 2000. I literally caught the 2nd episode the very first time it aired in the country. I became instantly obsessed with it and taped every single episode from that point onwards on VHS.
Some time afterwards I got my first game console, and N64 bundled with Pokemon Stadium. So I never believed Digimon was a Pokemon clone, if anything I believed the opposite.
I remember being really disappointed when friends would come round my house as a kid and I'd try to introduce them to a Digimon episode or one of the PS1 games, and they'd say "Digimon? That's just a Pokemon ripoff!" I'd get legit mad.