#maybe a future legends game will take us to a distant pokemon past were these food pokemon were starting to become a thing

[bunniesbearsandadventures]

Okay so like the more regions we explore and the more Pokemon we come to discover . . . how do food Pokemon work??

Like it used to be like food adjacent Pokemon like seedot or tropius were it was like "yeah OKAY its food - ish but its mostly supposed to be a plant"

Or it was pokemon that just so happened to look like food like vanillish where its clearly just ice that happens to like icecream

But then some of these newer Pokemon I'm just so intrigued by their existence. Like slurpuff, fidough, alcremie where its just straight up living food.

Like when in Pokemon history did food start becoming sentient? Did Arceus command this? These food Pokemon can't be super ancient they have to be within the realms of Human existence. Unlike Pokemon like Tsareena and Nacklstack where its clearly a living plant or rock formation that just so happens to be edible. There are no such things as Whipped cream trees or dough mines out in the wild were Pokemon can be influenced by their environment, and evolve(?)/change overtime.

Dough is a man made thing. Sure the ingredients probably existed before Humans but humans had to put the ingredients together to make dough.

Which begs the question of how and why did food, like cream and dough, suddenly have properties of creating Pokemon life.

I can only imagine the Poor individual who was trying to make some bread back in the day. They set their dough to rise only to come back a few hours later and they have a new puppy in the bowl!

Very interesting stuff all around.

[zorubark]

so uumm, I was DEADLY WRONG GYAHAHAHAHA THANK GOD FOR POKEMON Z REAL GOD BLESS KALOS

God Bless Kalos.......

But now I have new predictions slash ideas for pokemon legends entries, I think that the legends entries will be about stuff that didnt get release, didnt get its spotlight, that was limited, like how Arceus only had an event outside of Sinnoh, Arceus was limited and for a while it was illegal to try to get him after that, and Arceus never got their own game

Zygarde was also in a limbo, it was supposed to be like Giratina, in Diamond & Pearl, Giratina was there but had no relevence in the story, they were just in a cave, just like our buddy Zygarde! But fate had that Zygarde would not get it's game, so just like Arceus, he got a sidequest in a different region, Alola

So I think Legends games will help fill loose ends, show how important pokemon things came to be, make many old things acessible, and continue what was discontinued, or what just never came to be.

SO MY PREDICTIONS NOW ARE:

Pokemon Legends Gray

Some people want a legends game set in the future, that's a cool idea and all but it's too time fucky for me, it would create a bunch of problems for the writers, a big Great Tusk in the room, the paradoxes(I said the thing!).

I hope a Unova legends game is medieval, but I want us to get the full dragon and I can't think of how we could see it in the past and keep it too, because it obviously split, so paradox again, or maybe not, it depends. In PLA we can catch all the legendaries and then Dawn and Lucas still get to catch them, I just assume that the PLA protagonists live a long happy life and the legendaries just get released, so maybe it could be like that, but it would imply that after splitting, at some point in history, they fused again, but it's never implied that, right now it seems like the two dragons never made ammends and stayed as separate entities

I think a Legends Gray could be not in the far future, but after black and white 2, where Truth and Ideals finally come together.

I actually have an idea for the protagonists, they would be two twins, if you choose to be a boy both the twins are boys, one resembles Hilbert and the other Nate, and the same if you choose to be a girl. But instead of being direct counterparts, these twins would be distant relatives, since Hildabert's mom says Rosa/Nate look so much like their child, I thought "wouldnt it be fun if they were somewhat related", but this idea was for an ancestor of Hilda, Hilbert, Rosa and Nate, but I just elaborated why essentially a continuation of BW2 would be good, so I can only imagine them as distant cousins

Pokemon Legends Eclipse

So, check out this bit of history on Alola:

"Necrozma, arrives in Alola through an Ultra Wormhole, stealing all of the light in the region and shrouding it in darkness. During the events it gets a hold of SolgaleoUS/LunalaUM and turns into Dusk Mane NecrozmaUS/Dawn Wings NecrozmaUM. Under the commands of Alola's royalty, the four tapu battled the now dubbed "pillager of light" to retrieve the region's light. With the help of a youth using a Sparkling Stone and Z-Power, the group had managed to defeat and banish Necrozma, restoring the region's light and freeing SolgaleoUS/LunalaUM from it. This had created Alola's tradition of the island challenge. All books related to Necrozma were burned."

I imagine the game could take place exactly there, it has a lot of important things that PLA had:

Showing the origin of things of Pokémon or the region(PLA: origin of pokebals and the pokedex, origin of sinnoh, etc | Eclipse: Origin of island challenge, could be used for the origin of z moves and sparkling stones, and much more)

It's also said that most historical books with necrozma were burned, a Legends Eclipse has a lot of room for new stories about Necrozma, and room for the writers to get creative.

thats all for today folks

I think what many Pokemon Legends game ideas get wrong, i think at least, is using a legendary for the name of the game, like "Legends kyurem" or "Legends Zygarde". Many times people use the third legendary of the main three for the title, but Giratina wasn't the one to get a Legends game, in fact it would have made more sense to have a Legends Giratina as a parallel to platinum, since it released with the Sinnoh remakes.

The one who got the spotlight was another important, but not heavily featured pokemon, Arceus, a mythical pokemon. So I think there's a higher chance for the next Legends game to feature a mythical with predominance. In Legends Arceus there was also many mythicals that we could catch without needing special events, making them more acessible, so maybe the Legends series will in general make mythicals more acessible?

I was thinking of a Kalos Legends game and I think Pokemon Legends Hoopa would be the best choice, it can teleport you back in time with it's rings, without the need for Arceus intervention. In ORAS because of Hoopa's rings we can catch legendaries from other regions and their themes aren't updated because they're supposed to be from the older games' timelines, this happens in USUM too, so I believe Hoopa is too interesting to not use.

Diancie and Volcanion should also appear, Volcanion has so little lore, the most interesting thing it has is the fact that in the southern part of the Kalos region, Volcanion is revered, people believe that a steam explosion caused by Volcanion created the plain where they live. This probably references the region of Occitania, the mountainous region that covers most of southern France and whose regional flag Volcanion takes its design from, which is really cool.

Diancie could also be integrated in the plot, maybe instead of her needing to make a new Diamond Heart for the Diamond Domain, the very first Diamond Heart could be made, or Diancie can be born, either works. Diancie is said to have been born from a Carbink that had undergone a mysterious mutation, the mutation could be related to the main story somehow.

In fact, I thought about a villain that wants to make everyone immortal, thinking it will create a Utopia, their plan will fail but create consequences in the region. Since Xerneas/Yveltal wake up every thousand years, I imagined the story would take place one thousand years before the events of X and Y, and the region would be medieval themed.

For Unova, it has no mythical with reality bending abilities and I sadly can't imagine anything except a Legends Kyurem, how is Victini, Meloetta or Keldeo going to hold an entire game like Arceus did? Genesect wasn't even created until recent events in the Pokemon world.

Because each mythical of Unova has a piece of history, it's hard to choose just one, they complete each other in a way

Some people speculutate on Johto remakes because of the many hints towards johto relevancy, and I think the Mythical main pokemon theory fits for Johto! Legends Celebi could work

I hope someone sees this theory and uses it for imagining new pokemon stuff or coming up with a Unova Legends game since I couldn't. I think a medieval, victorian, or early to middle 20th century Unova game would be really good, specially because if it were to be medieval, it could make kinda what Arceus made with Team Galactic and make Team Plasma into real knights, the Unova region has lots of medieval stuff and I think it's even better than Kalos for a medieval game

[beardycarrot]

It is entirely possible that tomorrow, we’ll finally get a real look at the Breath of the Wild sequel. I’d like to make a few called shots... or at least state what I would like to see.

So, in my mind, that scene from the teaser was right at the beginning of the game, almost definitely in some catacombs under Hyrule Castle. Ganon launched his attack from down there, and it seems that up until the calamity began, his influence could only reach so far, right? I don’t have a solid guess as to why Link and Zelda have gone down there... maybe there have been strange rumblings from under the castle, maybe they’re doing research on ancient Sheikah tech, who knows.

I think this is going to be the very start of the game, with you immediately taking control of Link and leading the way through the underground ruins. You’ll occasionally have to fight small enemies like rats, Keese and Chuchus, and use the companion button (formerly the “whistle to horse” button) to sooth your pack animal. A couple times, you’ll have to take control of Zelda (OR, your friend will control her, because this game has co-op) and use the Sheikah Slate to solve simple puzzles. Maybe hold the companion button down to switch characters? At some point, Zelda suggests that you make camp for the night, and you get a cutscene with a bit of exposition.

After you resume, you eventually find your way to Ganondorf’s mummified remains, and... I don’t even know, man. Maybe Zelda, overcome with scholarly curiosity, accidentally disengages the magic holding him in place. Maybe the Triforce, which was basically not even mentioned in BotW, allows him to break free. Sheikah techology? Whatever the case, Ganon escapes, and the magic that was used to seal him latches onto Link’s arm for some reason. Ganon, freed, then... I guess raises Hyrule Castle from the ground? That’s what it looked like the original trailer was ending with. Who knows what he does then, hopefully time travel is involved and he sends them into a future fully controlled by him a la Samurai Jack, or into the distant past, or an alternate reality, or a dream world, or SOMETHING. So long as it’s not an ugly dreary Dark World (I likes me some green grass and blue skies) I’ll be happy... and speaking of, it would be cool to be able to travel between that setting and the one from BotW, just to do Tarrey Town-esque projects and rebuild the ruins of Hyrule. Or the ruins of whatever this new setting is.

Anyway, it’s only after this short tutorial area, maybe during the scene of Hyrule Castle being... whatever’d, that you get the title screen. The Legend of Zelda: Reach of the Abyss. Or uh. Hand of Eternity. Or maybe... Grasp at Some Straws. Yeah, the title could be anything, depending on the setting and plot. That magic hand power Link gets is definitely going to be a major gameplay mechanic though, so I feel like it’s probably going to be part of the title.

I’m fairly confident that the hand is going to be the new version of dungeon items, with Link gaining new powers for it throughout the game, while Zelda has the Sheikah Slate. Ideally, you’d have the ability to control both of them the entire time, with Zelda also getting new Sheikah Slate abilities... but that’s probably wishful thinking. I can also definitely see the revived Ganon just straight up kidnapping Zelda. Anyway, the most obvious use for the arm is having it stretch, to work like a hookshot. It’s glowy, so maybe it just naturally functions as a torch? Big fist to act as a hammer, maybe an ability to repel Ganon’s malice? An ability to stop time would be neat.

What else... the ability to enlist the help of a wide array of characters and creatures would be cool, as would expanded cooking and outfits consisting of more pieces. I also like to see underwater stuff in games, especially with free movement... and I’ve always wanted Nintendo to do another thing where Link can take on various different forms. It was cool in Majora’s Mask, it was cool in Kameo: Elements of Power, it was cool in Summoner: A Goddess Reborn, it... actually looks kinda lame in Balan Wonderworld, but that could just be me not liking the NiGHTS Into Dreams style. I’m pretty sure that glowy hand is the game’s major gameplay mechanic though, so unless they pull a Super Mario Odyssey and allow Link to turn into any creature he touches, I unfortunately can’t see this happening.

Just think... by this time tomorrow, we could know what the next Zelda game’s like. If they’re doing a Direct now, they could also tease Pokemon Diamond/Peal remakes, promising a closer look on the anniversary in like a week and a half... or even just do a full reveal, since the presentation is nearly an hour long. We could get Mario Odyssey 2, a new Donkey Kong game... hell, now that I think about it, wasn’t Smash was mentioned in the announcement of the Direct? Sephiroth was two months ago, and Steve two months before that... who’s next?

The safe bet is Crash Bandicoot, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Direct announced a new Fire Emblem, and its protagonist was in Smash. I’d be... annoyed, frustrated, underwhelmed... but not surprised. Dr. Eggman’s another likely choice, especially with a moveset reliant on robotic vehicles, but if I were to choose a character I actually wanted... I would go with Goemon, who isn’t going to happen because he’s already in as a costume, or Alis Landale, who isn’t going to happen because nobody knows who she is.

Honestly, I’m expecting another Capcom, Sega, or Namco character. Crono or Sora would be great, but two Squeenix characters in a row seems unlikely. I want Monster Hunter or Phoenix Wright, but y’know what? Namco’s kinda owed another character, in my opinion, so my official guess for the next Smash character is either Klonoa or Lloyd Irving. I don’t know that either of them would have a really unique, compelling play style, but the alternative is, what... someone from Tekken or Soul Calibur? Meh. I’m sure they could do something clever with Klonoa if they wanted. Like, how many people seriously thought Steve would have mining, crafting, and building as part of a fighting game moveset?

[pokemon-inspiration]

Top 10 Potential Fossil Pokemon Inspirations

To be honest, fossil Pokemon are some of my favorites. It gives the creators of these games an opportunity to utilize some of the most iconic creatures of the past for their designs, even those we might find bizarre. Here’s some I hope they use in the future with some pretty close to truth potential Pokedex entries, in no particular order (with a personal fool’s hope number 11)...

1. Therizinosaurus

Possibly one of the strangest of the theropod dinosaurs, Therozinosaurus and its kin ate plants rather than meat like its more distant relatives. They had pot bellies, feathers, and long scythe-like claws that give the creature its name, resulting in a rather unique appearance. To me, this is a pretty iconic dinosaur, and a look-alike could be a very interesting addition to the Pokemon roster.

Type: Considering the name “scythe lizard”, I could easily see Steel/Rock type.

Pokedex entries:

“When it was first uncovered, its arms were mistaken for that of a turtle-like Pokemon like Carracosta. Though actually related to Tyrantrum, it ate leaves and berries.”

“Its theorized its long claws either helped with defense, stripping foliage off plants, or both. Through restoration, it has been concluded that it was a fluffy, feathery Pokemon.”

2. Mosasaurs

Though there many an aquatic reptile that could be here, such as plesiosaurs or ichthyosaurs, to me the mosasaur just sticks out the most. Along with being featured in Jurassic World, with a pretty accurate size I might add (the largest ones being over 50 feet long), they’re pretty widely known as the apex predators of the oceans in the time of the dinosaurs. They’re also lizards, closely related to today’s monitor lizards like the Komodo dragon. Having a Pokemon version of this mighty creature would be an amazing and terrifying addition to the world.

Type: Rock/Water. Kind of obvious.

Pokedex entries:

“This Pokemon ruled the ancient seas. Feeding on anything smaller than it, it often grew to massive proportions.”

“Though massive, this Pokemon preferred to live in the shallower seas common to its time. Its thought that these were primarily ambush predators.”

3. Iguanadon

I couldn’t very well leave out Dinosaur #2, could I? Though perhaps not as charismatic as the carnivorous dinosaurs, Iguanadon is nonetheless widely recognizable and well loved, enough to be prominently featured in the Disney movie Dinosaur. A darn good potential addition if I do say so myself.

Type: Tempting to say Rock/Steel due to the “stiletto” nature of their thumb spike, but I think a pure Rock type would be best. The thumb spike could be restructured to resemble a stalagmite or something similar to Mega Aerodactyl’s body spikes.

Pokedex entries:

“One of the first fossil Pokemon discovered, its thumb spike was initially placed on its nose. More complete fossils and later restoration placed it correctly on its front legs.”

“While its thumb spikes make for effective daggers, it is speculated that they were also used for prying open nuts with tough shells. Either way there’s little that can stand up to the thumb spike’s power.”

4. Velociraptor

What can I even say here, its Velociraptor. Made famous (though slightly over-sized and still unfeathered) by Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, these dinosaurs are now some of the most recognizable in the whole of the fossil record. If one’s upset about the actual size of these things, I can envision perhaps an evolution into a larger raptor-like Pokemon such as Utahraptor. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance to have a Pokemon version of one of these?

Type: Rock/Flying, if only to emphasize how bird-like these things were.

Pokedex entries:

“Though certain movies from Pokestar Studios have made this Pokemon out to be scaly, they in fact possessed a full coat of feathers. Though too heavy to fly, these Pokemon were very swift.”

“The sickle-like claw on this Pokemon’s foot was used to cut into the soft parts of its prey. Stay out of the way of its Slash attack!”

5. Dimetrodon 

Had to have at least one Permian representative on here, and what better to represent that period than the synapsid Dimetrodon? Though maybe not as charismatic as the larger dinosaur or megafaunal mammals on this list, I think a Pokemon based on this mammal like reptile would be interesting to play with.

Type: Rock/Grass or Rock/Fire, to play with the idea (though possibly outdated) that the sails of this creature were used to warm themselves up.

Pokedex entries:

“It was long thought that this Pokemon’s sail was solely used to absorb energy from the sun. With restoration, it is now suspected it also had a role in selecting mates.”

“A very ancient Pokemon, it is thought to have been an apex predator of its time. The function of its sail is the subject of much debate among paleontologists and Fossil Maniacs.”

6. Smilodon

Now we’re getting into some of the mammals, and we’re starting out with one of the old favorites. Smilodon, also known as the saber-toothed cat, is probably one of the best known extinct mammalian predators out there. Those teeth make for a striking profile, and a Pokemon based on such a fearsome predator would be incredibly cool I think.

Type: Rock/Steel, to maybe play with the “saber” part of its common name and make it a little more literal.

Pokedex entries:

“This Pokemon has been found alongside Mammoswine in ancient tar pits. Its thought they tried to prey on the trapped Pokemon and got stuck themselves. Their signature teeth were deadly hunting weapons.”

“Though this Pokemon’s long canine teeth were powerful, they sometimes got in the way of eating, leaving many scraps for ancient scavengers. They hunted in prides to take down larger prey.”

7. Platybelodon

Since we already have Mammoswine, I’m not holding my breath for another woolly mammoth Pokemon. Thus, I went with one of the more unique representatives of the elephantine dynasty. You can’t miss that distinctive jaw, and to be honest we need more elephant-like Pokemon in these games.

Type: Rock/Ground, again to kind of play with the concept of the “shovel tusk”, taking it a bit more literally despite the real Platybelodon likely using that jaw to strip bark. It could also be a good excuse to tie it to the modern ground-type Donphan.

Pokedex entries:

“This Pokemon’s powerful lower jaw and mighty frame helped it excavate deeply buried roots and tubers. Holes made by it may have been the precursors to today’s Diglett tunnels.”

“It was once thought to have used its long lower jaw to sift through swamps and gobble up submerged vegetation. It is thought to be related to or the ancestor of Donphan.”

8. Megacerops

As a kid I knew these guys as Brontotherium, but apparently this isn’t the correct name for these mighty mammals (the name Brontothere being used at the family level) being so we’ll go with Megacerops. A powerful herbivorous mammal, larger than any rhino we have today, I think these are good candidates for Pokemonhood, especially given the Sioux legends surrounding them being the cause for thunderstorms as “thunder horses”.

Type: Rock/Electric, given their Family name and thunderstorm legend. Plus you can kind of easily see electricity arcing between those horns of theirs.

Pokedex entries:

“This Pokemon is thought to have launched powerful electrical attacks from between its nose horns. Herds of these Pokemon were able to generate spontaneous thunderstorms.”

“Ancient legends say this Pokemon caused thunder by stampeding across the sky. Given its size and prowess with electricity, its not hard to see why.”

9. Hallucigenia

This one is a personal favorite, and a good representation of the Cambrian period. It is thought to either be an ancestor of velvet worms or arthropods, though its fuzzy ancestry is the least odd thing about its history. When it was discovered, it was actually placed upside down and backwards, with its spines thought to be its legs. All this confusion about it is why its common name referencing hallucinations. Something this strange is practically a Pokemon already!

Type: Rock/Psychic, as a funny way of explaining why it was oriented so oddly when first discovered.

Pokedex entries:

“When it was first discovered, residual psychic energies confused the paleontologists who found it, resulting in depictions of this Pokemon being upside down and backwards.”

“Even after millions of years the fossils of this Pokemon contain potent psychic energy. There is much debate as to what modern Pokemon it is related to, if any.”

10. Dunkleosteus

Probably one of the best known ancient fish, Dunkleosteus is a terrifying figure in the history of the world’s oceans. Possessing armored plating and extensions of its skull as its “teeth”, it definitely cuts an intimidating figure as another apex predator. I can definitely see Water and Rock type experts fighting over this one.

Type: Rock/Water, as you’d expect

Pokedex entries:

“The projections often referred to as teeth on this Pokemon were actually extensions of a rocky skull. Even tough prey like Omanyte or Kabuto were not safe from this Pokemon’s jaws.”

“This Pokemon had powerful armored plating on its body, protecting it from prey who were able to fight back or predators like Kabutops. Prey too small to be caught in its jaws were simply sucked up and swallowed whole.”

Personal number 11. Sauroposeidon/Argentinosaurus

Look, I know we already have Amaura and Aurorus as sauropod representatives as fossil Pokemon, but I’d love one that really communicates how large these creatures can get. To that end I’d like one that evokes one of these two, or a fusion of sorts, between the “Earthquake god lizard” and the dinosaur whose leg bones were mistaken for petrified tree trunks.

Type: Rock/Ground, for the Earthquake god lizard aesthetic.

Pokedex entries:

“This Pokemon was so massive, the first time its leg bones were uncovered they were mistaken for petrified trees. Its size meant it had few predators: even Tyrantrum had to think twice before taking it on.”

“Earthquakes are suspected to have occurred whenever this enormous Pokemon put its foot down. Herds of this Pokemon may have caused landslides and volcanic eruptions just by moving through an area.”

If you have any you think I missed, comment them or put them in the tags. This was fun to put together!

[ladala99]

Pokemon Sword/Shield Review - From a Dexit Critic

And no, I’m not here to trash the game.

So yeah, I noticed Sword and Shield went down in price a bit, considered how much that would make the Game+DLC, and decided it was worth a try. I was always intending on eventually getting the game for the purpose of having a primary source for Galar Pokemon for my collection, and the price drop was enough of an incentive to make it be now. Or, actually more like a month ago. I’ve let this sit before reviewing it.

Spoilers ahead!

What I Had Heard Before Going In

I had a very negative perception of the games due to pre-release info and the fanbase’s hate dump. These are the things I knew:

- Dexit - N64 Tree - Pokemon models and animations are the same as previous games, despite GameFreak saying they needed to be redone from scratch - Wild Area empty and uninteresting - No plot - Somehow there’s handholding despite the lack of plot - Game is too easy - Except Leon, maybe - Exp Share cannot be turned off - No one in the region will shut up about Leon - Hop will not shut up about type advantages - No exploration - There are two battle backgrounds - one for overworld that’s grassy and decent, and one for indoors that’s a white void.

The last one turned out to be objectively false - while certain indoor areas that have very few battles (like, 1 or 2 story ones) have the white void background, every route and major battling location has its own background, much like in Let’s Go, Pikachu and Eevee. And they look really good.

How I Decided to Play

Since I had heard that the Exp Share was stuck on and I had had really bad experience with that previously, I decided on a special ruleset. I would still use only 6 Pokemon on my team, but I would only ever have 3 Pokemon in my party at a time so they would level more individually.

I found that this ended up being just about the right difficulty. Lots of strategy, especially with the gimped team, lots of item usage, and lots of Pokemon Center visits. I did, however, end up having all 6 on me during Gym and Rival fights and the Champion Cup later in the game, though, as I noticed the difficulty ramping up.

I also decided not to get the DLC for my first playthrough. Part of what made me feel that the Game+DLC price was acceptable was the idea that I’d play the game once with just the base game, and then download the DLC and play it again as if it were a third version (on a second profile). And I decided that, after I finished the game the first time, I would set my calendar for three months afterwards to play again with the DLC. That time hasn’t come yet, so I still have only played the base game.

The Story

Now onto the actual review!

I seem to be in a minority, but I adore the plot of every Pokemon game Ohmori has directed, and Sword and Shield is no exception.

The story here revolves around the Champion Cup, which is pretty refreshing - the last game I’d say had the League as its primary plot (barring remakes) is Generation II.

And the story isn’t just about you - it’s about your rivals Hop, Bede, and Marnie. Each of the characters has a different reason to be pursuing the Champion Cup: Hop because he wants to be just like his big brother Leon, who is Champion; Bede because he’s an orphan adopted by President Rose, and he wants to live up to Rose’s expectations of him; Marnie because she comes from a small town barely holding onto Gym Town status since it doesn’t have a Power Spot, and she wants to make her town proud. As always, though, you don’t really have a story. You’re more of a force of nature that ruins everyone’s dreams.

Each of these characters has their own arc as well:

Hop goes from enthusiastic to realizing that he isn’t as strong as he wants to be when Bede (and you) beat him in battle. Bede, channeling Silver, taunts him for being weak and he takes it to heart, changing up his team completely for a while. Eventually, he realizes that using Pokemon he’s not close to isn’t working, and he returns to his original team. He gets really far in the Champion Cup, all the way until the challenger finals, but ultimately loses to you.

Bede desperately wants to be strong and make Rose proud. He collects Wishing Stones for Rose’s purposes while also crushing (most) battles in the Champion Cup. He has a drive to be the best, whatever it takes, and ends up destroying a mural for Wishing Stones. Rose finds out about the vandalism and disqualifies him from the Champion Cup, crushing his dreams. Opal, the Fairy-type Gym Leader, ends up deciding that he would be her successor, even though he didn’t want that role. Even though he couldn’t compete in the Champion Cup, he still challenges you to a rematch, disrupting the competition. Leon doesn’t mind and allows it.

Marnie doesn’t appear in your path too often, and her presence is mostly felt by the presence of Team Yell. Marnie just wants to compete fair and square, but Team Yell disrupt all of the other challengers for Marnie’s benefit, preventing them from moving on before Marnie finishes each Gym, and ultimately blocking the route to Spikemuth completely so no one else can compete. She tolerates her hometown fans up until they block everyone else, at which point she helps you out and scolds them. You face her first in the Champion Cup and I never felt more sorry for crushing her dreams because I felt for her trying to advance her town’s reputation.

The Legendary plot and the Villain plot do exist as well, and they feel pretty separate this time.

The Legendary plot primarily involves Sonia as she travels around the region learning about the Legendary Hero who turns out to be two heroes and two Pokemon. You accompany her to various statues, murals, and tapestries as she tries to piece the Legend together. Eventually, you realize the Pokemon depicted is the same one you and Hop saw at the very beginning of the game, traveling too far into the Slumbering Weald. You go back, find the Rusty Sword and Rusty Shield that the heroes wielded, and summon the Legendaries in the villain plot. In the post-game, as you and Hop return the relics, a couple of guys who claim to be royals and celebrities steal Hop’s relic and try to make that Legendary go wild. When they succeed, you battle that Legendary to calm it down, and your Legendary will appear to challenge you, at which point you can catch it. Hop then goes after his Legendary and befriends it offscreen.

The Villain plot is hinted at through Bede’s collection of the Wishing Stones, and there is a point where Dynamax Energy spikes where it shouldn’t be, but what’s going on isn’t apparent until the very end of the Champion Cup. Chairman Rose interrupts you right before the Champion match to awaken Eternatus in some vague hope to solve an energy crisis that wouldn’t happen for 1000 years.

How appropriate that this happens in a game where some Pokemon aren’t programmed in because “eventually there will be too many to fit" so they decided to stop well before there were too many to fit in the game. Because honestly: there’s room.

Eternatus goes crazy and causes “the Darkest Day” which happened in the past and was what caused the Legendary Heroes to be heroes when they stopped it. You and Hop awaken the Legendaries and do a Raid Battle against Eternatus, ending with you capturing it. Also there are some shenanigans with evil League Staff known as Macro Cosmos and a long elevator ride on the way.

A lot of the Villain plot Leon handles, much like Sonia handles the Legendary plot, both up until you and Hop need to awaken the Legendaries. So most of it feels out-of-nowhere even if some of it was foreshadowed.

The energy crisis, though. There’s no indication of that at all in the game. No one ever says anything like “the rate we’re using energy, we’ll eventually run out. But it’ll be long after we’re dead so whatever.” If enough people had that attitude, I could see where Rose is coming from!

But instead Rose just brings it up at the very climax, and he doesn’t have a good reason why he couldn’t wait even one more day for the Championship Cup to finish. It’s 1000 years in the future - you have time! To find a less-destructive method, even! Like, I don’t think the problem was solved in the end because you captured Eternatus so it couldn’t provide energy.

And no one afterward mentioned the distant energy crisis. No “we’ll need to think of ways to conserve energy so no maniac tries something like that again,” nothing.

In conclusion: Villain plot sucked, Legendary plot was okay, and Championship Cup plot was really good.

Gyms, Battles and Difficulty

Due to how I played, I can’t fairly score this versus other games in the series. I will say that if you’re underleveled, the game is really fun. Every battle on every route is a challenge, and the Gym Battles test your strategies and resources. Especially Raihan.

The fact that the Exp. Share is always on is annoying and caused me to play oddly. I think next time I’ll do a team of 12 instead of a split team of 6, though. Not having the right type matchups ended up making me reset a couple of times as the battle was unwinnable at my level with what I had in the party. I just worry that I won’t feel as attached to the team if I have 12 of them.

Especially since there really aren’t that many overworld battles. It’s especially apparent since the previous games were Kanto remakes, which meant games that had those maze-like routes with a gauntlet of trainers. Now there’s about  3-5 trainers per route, and there aren’t that many routes in the game. At the end of each route you will find one of your rivals that sort-of acts as a boss, but even then that’s still a very low number of battles.

All Gyms have 3 Gym Trainers and the Gym Leader, but what’s interesting in the puzzles. Especially since they’re the only puzzles in the game. Each one is different, and they’re all pretty neat. Also interesting is that Gyms don’t let you leave and heal after every fight. At least, I don’t think they do. I never needed to.

Overworld Exploration

I mentioned it in the previous section, but it really lacks. Routes are mostly-straight lines with some side paths for items, usually really short ones. Even Gym puzzles are really linear.

I’d say there’s two places you can get lost at all - Glimwood Tangle and the water route between Circhester and Spikemuth.

Overworld puzzles are limited to “go on this optional path” and “realize you can go between these bushes/behind this building for an item.” You can feel the lack of field moves.

The Wild Area

Okay, the exception to the linear routes is the Wild Area. The base game essentially has two, but they’re connected and you can access both parts right away.

It’s big, things respawn, the weather and thus spawns change every day, and the Raid Battles scale to your level. It’s really fun, but it feels like a side mode. It feels like something you would access by going to a different option on the main menu rather than something that’s a part of the rest of the game world, especially since it has its own currency.

It reminds me of the Sinnoh Underground except without the Secret Base option. As in, it’s something fun to come back to often, but, again, it’s not really part of the main game.

Yes, it has N64 trees, yes the pop-in is noticeable, and yes the terrain feels unfinished. It has problems, but I find it pretty fun.

My only real issue with it is that you have to beat all of the existing Raid Battles before more will appear, and they stay the same rarity when the date changes. I’m in the postgame, and I’m having trouble soloing 5-star Raids and I’m also having a hard time finding people interested in my base-game 5-star Raids. So I’m basically throwing myself against the same raid over and over again because I have no other options (I’m saving my Wishing Pieces for when I need a specific Pokemon).

Dexit?

Still a thing, and still an issue. I am attempting to obtain every ribbon my Shiny Minun can get on, and Galar still won’t let her in. It also means that if I use RNG on the full Pokedex to choose a team, I’ll have to double-check that that Pokemon can actually be used in Galar. It sucks.

The game tries to make up for it with a huge Pokedex, but that just makes finishing the Regional Dex harder. I used to feel that catching 386 Pokemon to complete the Gen III National Dex was impossible, and Galar has a Regional Dex of 400 species! (As did Alola in the Ultra titles, but it was split into three sub-dexes)

I’ve been tackling the Pokedex using the suggested catches, and I’m about halfway through and bored. I’m determined to keep going until it stops suggesting things, but it feels like an endless climb at this point, since every time I finish collecting a group, another group shows up, and since I’m not going in order, I can’t look at the scroll bar and see “wow, look at how much I’ve done!” I started with this method, though, and I’m going to finish with it.

The National Dex was never my issue, and making the Regional Dex humongous doesn’t help its absence. Because I don’t miss the checklist - I miss being able to use any Pokemon of my choosing without double-checking that I actually can. I’m actually glad the National Dex is gone since it means getting the Shiny Charm is easier. But with the Regional Dexes bloating in size, it’s not helping.

Pokemon Camp

Just going to mention that it’s really cute, but really shallow. And there’s not a reliable enough way to get berries for me to feel comfortable using the rarer berries in making better Curry.

It also gives Exp just from interacting with your Pokemon, so I avoided using it when I played so I didn’t have a chance of getting overleveled. Which sucks because I tend to really like features like this.

I don’t know if I’m going to try to complete my Curry Dex. With version exclusive ingredients that can’t be traded over HOME’s GTS, and the fact that I’m pretty shy about asking the community for things, I don’t know if it’s possible for me. It’s a cute feature, though. I just wish it didn’t require trading.

So Those Flaws?

Let’s look at them again, shall we?

- Dexit Still an issue - N64 Tree Yep. Wild Area is unpolished. - Pokemon models and animations are the same as previous games, despite GameFreak saying they needed to be redone from scratch Yep. - Wild Area empty and uninteresting It’s unpolished, but not empty nor uninteresting imo. - No plot Yeah there is, it’s just focused on the Champion Cup - Somehow there’s handholding despite the lack of plot You know, I never saw Sun and Moon as handholdy. This game is even less-so. - Game is too easy If you use a 6-Pokemon team that you keep in your Party, it probably is. - Except Leon, maybe I did not find Leon any harder than other fights. He is higher level, though. - Exp Share cannot be turned off Indeed. You really need to work around this to have fun. At least, I assume. - No one in the region will shut up about Leon It happened a bit at the beginning, but it didn’t seem gratuitous. - Hop will not shut up about type advantages He mentions it once a battle. Or twice if he hits you with one. I missed mid-fight dialogue, so I didn’t mind. - No exploration Very little exploration, yes.

So many are valid, but some of them aren’t as bad as people made them out to be.

Conclusion

Sword and Shield are very flawed Pokemon games, but they’re still Pokemon games and still fun.

They certainly aren’t all bad, and even do a few things right, like how well-characterized the rivals are and the Wild Area concept in general. This isn’t even going into Competitive since I haven’t dipped my toes in there yet.

I had a good time with the base game, better than I thought I would. But I can safely say Diamond and Pearl are no longer my least-favorite Pokemon games. That title now belongs to Sword and Shield.