I have a lot of mixed feelings going into the release of Pokémon Sun and Moon…
For starters, what the hell has Pokémon become? No, seriously, I haven’t played since Pokémon Gold and Silver. I’ve been seeing things in the trailers about Z-Moves, Ultra Beasts, different forms… This is not the Pokémon I remember.
And you know what? I love that! There’s been nearly 500 new Pokémon added to the roster since I last played the game, and with even more on the way, I’m going to have no clue where to start. I’ve been calmly awaiting the release of Sun and Moon for a few months now, ever since I got my 3DS XL, and for the first time in a long while, I have that Pokémon itch.
I sated my desire to catch ‘em all by reliving the glory days in Pokémon Yellow (thanks, Eric), but it wasn’t enough. I’ve retread that tall grass a thousand times in my day; I want something new. Personally, I think I’m lucky to have skipped all the generations in between. First off, having not experienced the incremental upgrades with the other titles, the power upgrade from a Gameboy Color to a 3DS XL is going to make the Alola Region feel like a wholly new way to play Pokémon.
On top of learning how Nintendo and Game Freak have developed the series’ game play, I also get to chase after over 600 Pokémon that I know nothing about. That stick thing? Catchin’ that. That ice cream cone Pokémon? You bet it’ll be on the roster for a day or two. That Pidgey over there? … I’m good. You get the point—I get to dive into a whole world of Pokémon that I have no idea exist and get to learn all about how they battle for the first time. I don’t know if my ADD can handle it all.
Thanks to the power the 3DS, I’m going to be able to battle my friends from back home all over again, too. On top of the crew here at Bit Cultures, I also have a few childhood friends that bought a 3DS just to play the new Pokémon. These are kids that I used to battle back in the day, with the OG 151 and the translucent purple connector cable. Most of them moved on from gaming entirely as they got older, but something compelled them to get another handheld. Something pushed them to want to play Pokémon again. I don’t care what it was, frankly; the fact that I get to battle these kids again, this time from across the entire country, is an awesome feeling.
I honestly can’t believe I’m 25 and about to get back into Pokémon. I would never have thought I’d be a grown adult, still chasing after the dream of catching ‘em all. Perhaps it’s just my inherent millennial need to constantly surround myself with fragments of childhood nostalgia, but I prefer to think of it as the eternal power of Pokémon to create a damn good video game. The core concept of catching Pokémon I hope hasn’t changed too much, as that was always enough for me as a kid to keep me walking in the tall grass. With so much more content to offer in Sun and Moon, I’m hoping Pokémon can capture that essence of adventure that so engrossed me as a child.
…
I think I’m gonna go with Rowlett.
