From Pallet to Cabo Poco

On a quest to play every main series Pokémon game in order | Currently playing: X

[ladyappletun]

Why are the Alola Games so Unhinged?

Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon have some of the most off-the-wall writing choices I've seen in the Pokémon games. It's not any of the big stuff; they don't make any super-bizarre choices regarding the plot or anything. But your character's unchanging placid little smile? The Team Skull shenanigans? Your character climbing into strangers' beds and sniffing them?! What was going on during this game's development?

[ladyappletun]

Generation 7: Pokémon Ultra Moon

Team: Slowking, Lycanroc, Alolan Muk, Oricorio, Alolan Dugtrio, Mimikyu

We've made it to Gen 7! I'm excited to go back to Alola, especially because public opinion on these games has shifted a lot in the past...ten years since they were released?! Too much stuff is turning ten this year.

When Sun and Moon first came out, people seemed excited about the new Pokemon and the changes they made to the Pokemon League. I totally agree; it was so refreshing to have the Island Challenge instead of gym battles. I wish they had continued to innovate on this idea more. These days, however, I think a lot of people are frustrated with the long introduction and hand-holding in these games. I definitely forgot how tedious this was when I last replayed the games. However, I really loved a lot of the characters and how everyone knew everyone else. It felt like I was becoming part of a community instead of just sightseeing.

Now, I know there are some significant differences between Sun and Moon and their "third version," Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, especially regarding the story. Off the top of my head, I think I prefer the story in Sun and Moon, but the extra bells and whistles they added to the Ultra games (better/more character customization, Totem Stickers, and the Rainbow Rocket postgame story) won out for me. If there's anything you like about Sun and Moon that didn't get carried over to USUM, let me know! I do think it's kind of hard to pick between the two versions; the tradeoffs don't really make one better than the other.

[ladyappletun]

My Favorite Pokémon Improvements

Generation 6: X to Omega Ruby

The DexNav! Admittedly, I didn't use it to its full potential to get Pokémon with rare moves or better stats, because I really struggled with chaining for some reason, but I loved being able to track my Pokédex progress as I moved from one area of the game to another. I didn't go for full dex completion on this playthrough, but it was so satisfying to fill in all the Pokémon I could. Plus, having the background of each map use the Gen 3 graphics was such a cute callback to the original games!

Organize Boxes: When you first meet Lanette, the lady who maintains the PC in Hoenn, she lets you move the "Organize Boxes" option in the PC menu from the third space to the first space. I prefer using "Organize Boxes," especially in all the DS/3DS games since they have a touch screen, so this was super helpful. As Shoogles mentioned in his review of Omega Ruby, it is weird that you're only given this option after you've played through, like, a fourth of the game, but it's still appreciated.

Super Secret Bases: I've always been a big fan of customization/decoration in video games, so I like the Secret Bases in all the Pokémon games, but I think they hit the nail on the head in ORAS. They took all the interesting parts from RSE (locations scattered across the map, different designs/layouts) and let them thrive with the wireless multiplayer capabilities of the 3DS. I'm sad the servers are down now, because it means I don't get to play multiplayer as much, but it was still a cool idea.

360-degree movement: When you use the circle pad to move, you're able to move a complete 360 degrees instead of 8 directions like in XY. It's great in general, but I especially love it when riding the bike; it really makes you feel like you're riding a bike.

You can Fly to routes! Do I even need to explain why this is better?

Fly via DexNav: I just learned this on this playthrough, but if you open the DexNav map you can tap on a city or route and the game will ask if you want to fly there. It's a little less tedious than opening the Pokémon menu and selecting Fly from there.

Flying with Latios/Latias: But do you know what's even better than flying with the DexNav? Riding around the Hoenn region on Mega Latios's or Latias's back! First of all, it's just really fun to fly around a space yourself and discover hidden secrets. It kind of reminds me of the airplane minigame in Wii Sports Resort, which I played the heck out of back in the day. The mini map of Hoenn you fly over is really cute, too, and much more detailed than I expected. But the best part is that you can register the Eon Flute to the Y button, so you don't have to open a bunch of menus. It feels like a test run of the ride Pokémon feature they introduce in Sun and Moon. I wish they had found a way to do this with more HMs in ORAS.

[ladyappletun]

Green Thumb

I didn't mention this when I played Ruby, but the berry mechanic is definitely a good addition to the series. I'm not sure why I didn't mention it back then; maybe berries have just been so prevalent in future games that I didn't really notice, or maybe I was frustrated with time-based mechanics because my game's battery was dead and I couldn't participate in time-related stuff.

However, when I played X, for some reason I decided to test out the berry cross-breeding feature by trying to get every type of berry available in the game. Since a bunch of berries are easier to get in ORAS than XY, I did a lot of gardening in my playthrough of Omega Ruby, too, and swapped berries back and forth between the two Gen 6 games. I realized how much berries have changed the series since their introduction, from being a source of infinite status-healing to resetting EVs. So, yeah, I like berries, and I should have mentioned that in my overview of Ruby.

[ladyappletun]

Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dive (HM07)

Way back when I played through Ruby, I mentioned how much I loved the Dive mechanic but the movement speed was frustratingly slow. I also hoped that it would be better in ORAS, when I finally got to that game. And boy was I right! Diving is great when you're not going the speed of a snail.

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Generation 6: Pokémon Omega Ruby

Delcatty, Aggron, Salamence, Sableye, Camerupt, and Milotic

It's ORAS time! Since I started with Gen 4, I didn't think I would be super nostalgic or excited for this game when it was announced, but man, when I first opened the game and saw the intro with Professor Birch, I realized how wrong I was. In my early days with Pokémon, I did play secondhand copies of RSE I got from GameStop, after all, so even though they weren't my first games I definitely had some childhood memories with them.

And now ORAS is old enough that I'm nostalgic for those games, too. Fall 2014 was a pretty distinct time in my life with a lot of good memories, so when I think about my first experiences with ORAS I'm swept right back to that time.

Of course, how can I talk about ORAS without mentioning YouTuber Shoogles's 7-hour video on the game? It's an incredibly well-done video essay, further improved by his video on BDSP. I've watched it more times than I can count, especially when I'm sick. His calm narration and talented critique are the perfect distraction when I feel awful. Obviously, the thought and effort that went into the project deserve the most praise, but I can't discount the emotional benefit it's had on my life, either.

[ladyappletun]

My Favorite Pokémon Improvements

Generation 6 (Black 2 to X)

Character Customization: I love, love, love this feature! It kind of goes without saying at this point, because many people have talked about the appeal of customization/aesthetics in video games as a means of self-expression and socialization, but I am an absolute sucker for stuff like this. I love changing my hair and clothes to reflect different styles or to just be myself. My only complaint is that the stores are scattered around the region and have rotating daily stock, so you have to Fly back and forth on multiple days to be able to buy everything you like. I kind of wish the stores worked the same way Poké Marts do, with stock updating based on story progression.

Mega Evolution: I can't totally speak to Megas on a competitive level, but just generally I think they're super cool. Something about the extra details in their design and how hyped up their power is just really struck me. I was so disappointed that Megas became harder to get in later games, and I'm so hyped they're back in Legends ZA.

Realistic Touches: Your character will squat down to talk to children and small Pokémon, and you can sit now! It's the attention to details like this that makes the world more engaging.

Language Selection: I believe this feature was mostly implemented so the games could be released at the same time worldwide, instead of making some parts of the world wait for localized versions to be produced, but as someone who speaks multiple languages, I absolutely love the accessibility of this feature. X & Y were the first games I ever played in French, and it's been so convenient to just have one copy of the game where I can play in any language. To this day, it is still very difficult to hunt down French versions of the earlier games if you don't live in a French-speaking area. I do wish you could swap between languages without restarting your save file. Animal Crossing: New Leaf did it (though you could only switch to the handful of languages programmed into the console, like English/Spanish/French/Portuguese for North American 3DS's).

Starting with the Running Shoes from the beginning: Enough said.

Starters have a STAB Move at Level 5: From this point on, when you choose a Starter at the beginning of the game, they have already learned a STAB move in addition to the basic Tackle/Scratch and a stat-changing move. I think this is a great way to introduce the type system from the get-go, instead of waiting a level or two to test it out.

Pikachu uses its cry from the anime (Pika-pi!) instead of the sound byte it used to have.

Gaining Exp. for catching Pokémon: Before this was introduced, I never understood why it didn't work this way. Your Pokémon is literally experiencing a battle, even if the opponent doesn't faint at the end. Plus, I think it incentivizes catching Pokémon and completing the Pokédex.

The PSS: Multiplayer connectivity is so easy to use, and the connection works very well most of the time. In Sword and Shield, for contrast, my partner and I could only connect to each other in local mode (not even using the internet!) by dancing our Switches around each other. In Gen 6, local and internet connections were fast and easy.

Pokémon Amie: As a Nintendogs and Webkinz veteran, I absolutely love this feature just for the sheer fun of it. Every Pokémon has unique animations, which must have been insane to program. Plus, it ties in with the new Affection stat, which gives your Pokémon bonuses in battle.

Super Training: I've never been much of a competitive player, but I definitely respect and appreciate the effort to make training and competitive play more accessible. There are tons of features in every Pokémon game that aren't explained clearly, so all efforts to be more transparent about how the game works are appreciated in my book.

The Fairy Type: It's so nice to have a more accessible counter to Dragon-type Pokémon than Ice, and I think it levels the playing field while still retaining the cool/rare/powerful aspect of Dragon types.

Wonder Trading: I have used Wonder Trading in every Pokémon game since it was introduced. It's got all the thrill of gambling without losing money, and it can usually help you fill in the Pokédex a bit, too.

The Berry Farm: There is now one centralized location for growing Berries, instead of having dozens of 2-5 tile plots scattered around the region. Every Pokémon game includes features that require you to hop around the map once a day to participate, like NPCs who ask to see a different Pokémon every day. I basically never do these because I can't be bothered to remember every location and Fly around the map every day. I don't have a good solution for the NPCs, but at least the Berries are all in one place now.

Battle Backgrounds: Did you know you can change the appearance of the battle menu on the bottom screen? It's in the Options menu. There's a variety of options, too, from Pikachu and Eevee-themed ones to sci-fi.

[ladyappletun]

A Lot of Flash, Minimal Substance

I remember being so, so excited for Pokémon X and Y when they were first announced and released. The move to 3D graphics was a big deal at the time, even though many people (including myself) are pretty disappointed with it now. X & Y do look gorgeous, though, even after all this time.

All of the new features were exciting, too: character customization, the PSS, Pokémon Amie, the Fairy type. When I replay X & Y, I can remember how thrilling it all was, and I still love a lot of these features to this day (as you'll see in my Improvements I Liked Post next week). However, the graphics and the new features aren't enough to carry the games on repeat playthroughs. There just isn't a lot to the story, the characters don't stick with you, and the revised Exp. Share takes away a lot of the challenge. From what I remember of future games, they ironed out a lot of these problems, but X & Y was definitely a growing period.

[ladyappletun]

After you beat Calem/Serena in Victory Road, they'll say something about how you're similar to them and that's why they don't want to lose to you, which is funny because they're just the opposite gender of the player character. Like, yeah we're alike; we're basically just different gendered versions of the same person.

Also, this scene is absolutely gorgeous at night; there's like an entire galaxy behind you. I couldn't find any screenshots of it, and most of the Let's Plays I looked at recorded this scene in the daytime, so I highly recommend playing through Victory Road at night to see the scene for yourself.

(Screenshot taken from "Pokémon Y playthrough ~Longplay~" by FCPlaythroughs on YouTube)

[ladyappletun]

Tierno's Sad, Sad Team

One of the common complaints about Pokémon X and Y is that the player's friends (Calem/Serena, Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor) aren't very interesting characters, and they tend to interrupt the player a lot. As I said in my first XY post last week, I'm not super fond of them either. I was always particularly surprised by how Tierno is handled more than anything.

Tierno's gimmick is that he loves dancing and wants to build a team of Pokémon dancers. At first glance, this is pretty unique because there has never been a dancing mechanic in-game before (Contests and Musicals are close, but they're not in XY). Series veterans might assume there's a new dancing mechanic because Tierno's character is so focused on that, and, frequently, Pokémon assigns characters a special interest like this to introduce new mechanics. However, there's no dancing mechanic in XY. I like this a lot, because it expands on the world-building in Pokémon without attaching everything to gameplay. But it doesn't go anywhere! Tierno doesn't perform, or talk about auditions or other opportunities or anything. He just builds his team and that's it. As far as I remember, he doesn't even say anything about being happy that his dance team is ready. Worst of all, his team barely has anything to do with dancing! His Pokémon know Swords Dance or Petal Dance, but that's literally it. Not only are there other moves based off dancing (especially if you take creative liberties with the interpretation), but there are tons of Pokemon at this point in the series that are inspired by different dance styles who can learn moves like Swords Dance! It just feels like such a missed opportunity for teambuilding, since he could have teams designed around a theme or aesthetic instead of a particular battle strategy. Slapping Swords Dance on a few random Pokémon that can learn it seems like the most basic way to create a dance-inspired team.

I decided to brainstorm some new team ideas for poor Tierno to give him a little more variety. Here's what I came up with!

Disclaimer: I'm not a competitive player, so these teams are not optimized. They're more inspired by aesthetics/themes.

Fight 1: Route 5

Surskit is a pond skater, and skating and dancing are quite similar, plus Masquerain can learn Quiver Dance later.

Fight 2: Route 7

This is all setup for the next fight; all of these Pokemon's evolutions can learn a dance-type move and/or their designs are based of dance styles. There's not much to do with dancing at this point, but it's building up to the final fight with Pokémon that are available on or before Route 7.

Fight 3: Route 19

Here's the payoff for all the previous fights and the big finale! As mentioned above, Masquerain can learn Quiver Dance, earning its spot on the team for gameplay reasons alone. Aromatisse is based off a cancan dancer. It can also learn Rain Dance by TM and some sound-based moves. Bellossom can learn Petal Dance and it looks like a hula dancer. Charizard can learn Swords Dance and Dragon Dance. I know when the player chooses a starter, the other rivals usually get the starters the player didn't pick, so they are designed with three different teams. I'm not sure if this would be Tierno's team if the player picked Squirtle in Lumiose or if he would just inexplicably find a Charmander somewhere. Exploud can learn Teeter Dance, plus it could be the music/speaker system with its other moves inspired by sound, like Uproar and Echoed Voice. Finally, Mega Medicham can learn Rain Dance, which probably won't have a lot of strategic value unless it's sent out before Masquerain, but most importantly, it's based off a belly dancer. This also gives Tierno the chance to use a Mega Pokémon on his team, since Calem/Serena are the only other rival to use a Mega Pokémon at all.

What do you all think? Let me know if you have other ideas for party members Tierno could have, whether it's for aesthetic reasons or based off moves/abilities/etc. I had a lot of fun redesigning his team based around a theme!

Images taken from the Pokémon Team Planner tool at https://richi3f.github.io/pokemon-team-planner/

[ladyappletun]

Generation 6: Pokémon X

Delphox, Vespiquen, Medicham, Manectric, Goodra, Banette

We're moving on to Gen 6, and just in time before Legends ZA comes out in the fall! I know this gen is a mixed bag for a lot of people, and it kind of is for me, too. Especially when I first played the game, I loved the graphics, the music, character customization, Mega Evolution, and the variety of Pokémon, but when I revisited it a few years ago I realized that some aspects hadn't aged as well as I remembered. I particularly dislike how the camera operates, especially in Lumiose City, and I'm not crazy about a lot of the characters (which is a pretty common criticism).

Since I love Mega Evolution, I've decided to take advantage of the revised Exp. Share in this game to try to get every Pokemon that can Mega Evolve in Gen 6. I will transfer them all to Omega Ruby when I move on to that game and continue the hunt there. Unfortunately, since most of the Mega Stones are only obtainable in the Battle Tree in Gen 7, it seems that for now the easiest way to have a collection of all the Megas is to do it in ORAS, so that's why I'm doing it now. And also because it's fun. I've used a few Megas before, but definitely not all of them, and it'll be fun to have a little collection.

Does anyone out there remember the hype for this game? Internet fan culture and especially YouTube had really hit their stride when the games were announced, so there were lots of people around to talk about Pokémon news and just enjoy it. Plus, theses games really did introduce a lot of new features, so with every leak there was a whole slew of people ready to share their thoughts on it. Even though X and Y aren't remembered as fondly today, it was still a fun time to be a Pokémon fan.

[ladyappletun]

Bittersweet Endings

I always feel a little weird finishing a Pokémon game. You get a bombastic finale after you fight the Elite 4 for the first time, followed by a cathartic and nostalgic credits sequence. But then there's the post game, which usually gives you a lot of exciting stuff to do. Once you're done with that, however, you usually just kind of put the game down, especially if you remember to tie up any lose ends after the Elite 4 rematch, like I usually do.

[ladyappletun]

Pokémon Improvements I Loved

White to Black 2

So, the list this time is actually pretty short. This is only my second time beating B2W2, so I didn't remember it as well as the other games when I started playing. I guess I thought there were way more cool features than there actually were. However, a lot of the improvements in this game actually appeared in BW 1 and were just carried over, so that may be where I had my wires crossed. Either way, here are the improvements:

Animated Trainer Sprites: I believe the first time we saw an animated trainer sprite in battle was in Platinum, with the first rival battle. However, animated trainer sprites were originally reserved for special characters, like the rivals and Gym Leaders. Now, every trainer has a little animation that shows off some of their personality before they send out their Pokémon.

Pokéstar Studios: This. This is my absolute favorite side feature of any Pokémon game. I played the heck out of this when I first got the game, even resetting to see the differences each film had between the male and female player characters. I did all of the films on this playthrough, too, and I loved every second of it. The challenge to use the provided Pokémon to follow the script is such a unique way of battling, but it doesn't require you to spend time preparing a contestant like the Contests do. And the movies were so goofy, too, just a great excuse for the writers, localizers, and the player to have some lighthearted fun.

Would you like to use another Repel?: If your Repel runs out and you have more in your bag, the game will ask if you'd like to use another. Saves so much time it's not even funny.

Last Healing Item: When you use your last of a specific healing item, like a Potion, the game will let you know, so you're not caught by surprise the next time you need to heal.

Memory Link: If you played Black or White 1, you can sync that copy of the game with your playthrough in Black or White 2. This unlocks a bunch of cutscenes that fill in some of the gaps between the first and second games' stories. You can also find and catch all the Pokémon N used in the original games; they have his Trainer ID, max friendship, and a special animation when they're sent out in battle. Finally, when characters from the first game refer to the player character from BW 1 (who is a different person from the player in B2W2), they'll use the name you gave your character in that game instead of saying "that trainer/person" or something like that. It's a neat way to connect your experiences in the first game with the second and make it feel like it's really a continuation of the same story instead of something completely separate. I'm not sure how they would implement this in other games, since most Pokémon games don't clearly define how they connect to previous titles the way B2W2 do, but if there was a way to make it work it would be fun to see again. Especially if we could connect the Kanto and Johto games, since those are the only other games to date that are direct sequels.

[ladyappletun]

Champion Iris

I've never been super attached to Iris as a character, but she's such a fun champion! Her battle theme is just so upbeat and positive, and its lighter tone really sets her apart from earlier champions. One of my favorite parts of Pokémon is making it to the Elite 4 and buckling down for some tough fights, and the music definitely adds to that, but with Iris it just feels like she's in it because she enjoys it. She's not a serious, battle-hardened professional with a strong sense of responsibility, she's a kid who's living her life to the fullest. I can totally see her saying, "Yeah, I'll be the champion, but can I get a poofy princess dress and wear a crown while I'm at it?" and I love that for her.

[ladyappletun]

Gosh, Colress's theme is so cool, especially because it includes a voice counting down during part of the track. I absolutely love how much Gen 5 experimented with music, including the addition of vocals in a few pieces. I wish they had done it more in the gens to follow.

[ladyappletun]

Generation 5: Pokémon Black 2

Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Espeon, Umbreon, and Glaceon

I have a confession to make: I started this playthrough back in April 2023, right before I decided to play all the games in order. When I decided to do this challenge, I set Black 2 aside and resolved to pick up where I left off after I finished the first Gen 5 game. I'd rather not restart my save file, since I spent a lot of time playing through Pokéstar Studios and building up Join Avenue and I don't want to do that work all over again. However, I promise I'll be careful to note as many improvements as I can, even if they first appeared at the beginning of the game.

I'm sure I'll have quite a few. I've only played through BW2 once and it was a long time ago, but that playthrough really stuck with me. I absolutely love Pokéstar Studios, for one, and I really wanted to play through all the movies. This was also the first game I picked up after my brief hiatus from Pokémon, since it was the newest one out at the time. I have a lot of fond memories with it and with returning to fan culture, especially watching Let's Plays of the game on YouTube.

As for my team, it's because of those Let's Plays that I got the idea for an Eeveelution team in the first place. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe it was a Super Skarmory (now King of Zeal) video on this game (or a comment on one of his videos) that mentioned it would be a great game to have an Eeveelution team in since Eevee is available in the wild before the third gym. I've always wanted to try it, and now's my chance!

[ladyappletun]

Pokémon Improvements I Loved

SoulSilver to White

X in Menus: Hitting the X button in a menu closes out all menus and returns you to the overworld! You don't always need it, but when you do, it's very convenient.

Low Health Music: Especially at this point, I think everyone is very annoyed with the beeping sound the game plays when your Pokémon is at low health. It was a stroke of genius to play a different song in battle instead, even though the beeping has been incorporated into the song, which is still a little grating.

Dynamic Music: They did so many awesome things with the music in Gen 5! There's the low health song that I mentioned above, music that changes if you're walking vs running, and even NPCs that will add instruments to the song when you talk to them. The Gym Leaders even get a special theme when they're down to their last team member! It's so subtle if you're not looking for it, but it adds so much to the experience.

Poké Marts are Inside Pokémon Centers Now: Enough said. It's 1,000 times more convenient.

Infinite-use TMs: It's so lovely to be able to play around with the moves my team has without feeling like I'm wasting rare TMs. If only they made it so you didn't need a Move Deleter for the HMs, this game would have been godlike. I wish they had never changed this feature in later games.

Speech Bubbles: Instead of having some characters' dialogue in a full-size text box, short phrases will appear in little speech bubbles around the characters' heads. This allows multiple characters to say something at once and it saves a little time, since you don't have to scroll through smaller and more insignificant lines of dialogue. Animal Crossing: New Horizons does this, too, and I think it adds a lot of character to the world without shoving every single line of dialogue in your face. It's a nice time-saver for the little details.

Registering Items to Y: You can now register multiple items to the Y button! It's nice to be able to have even two items at such close reach, even though the game allows you to register up to 25!

Revised Exp. System: I'm definitely not an expert on how this works, but from what I understand, a Pokémon will gain more experience points when it battles a Pokémon at a higher level, and a higher difference in levels will yield more experience points. In Gens 1-4, it was more of a static number that didn't take into account the level difference between opponents. Even from my experience playing these games with limited knowledge of how the system works, it definitely feels a lot better. You're more willing to take on challenging opponents because, if you manage to win, your gains will be a lot higher. I'm not sure if this is also part of the revised Exp. system, but I also felt much more equipped to take on Pokémon that were higher-leveled. My team was between levels 64-67 when I fought Cynthia (whose whole team was 75+) in Undella Town, and not only was I confident enough to try with such a big gap, but I won on my second attempt.

Animated Battle Sprites: I wasn't won over on this right away, especially because I did most of my playthrough on a 3DS XL and the sprites were too blown up. But on a DS Lite or a DSi, they look much better! And they're super charming! There are so many little details put into each Pokémon, not to mention the details that affect every Pokémon across the board (how hard they land when sent out into battle, closing eyes when asleep, slowing down at low HP, etc.). I'm not the biggest fan of the 3D models that are coming in Gen 6, so revisiting the animated sprites in Gen 5 was very refreshing.

Quality of Life with Healing Items: Say you go to your bag to use a Potion. The game opens the menu with your team, and then you pick the Pokémon you want to use the Potion on. Then it stays in that menu and lets you use another Potion on another Pokémon! This is so convenient when I have to use items on multiple party members, which happens often.

NPCs Who Heal You: If you find a Doctor or Nurse in your travels and beat them in a battle, they will heal your Pokémon for you whenever you ask. I've heard people say makes the games easier, which it kind of does, but I'm the type of person who runs back and forth to the Pokémon Center a lot, so it was a nice time-saver for me.

Strength: When you find a rock you can use Strength on, there is always a hole nearby that it is supposed to go into. Not only does this make the Strength puzzles more puzzle-like, but the rocks will also stay in their holes for the rest of the game! I wish they had done something like this for all the HMs. It serves as a great way to mark progress in the game (if there's a rock in a hole, I know I've been here before) and it saves so much time! Pokémon games are usually pretty linear, but there are often several reasons to return to previous areas in every game. Solving an HM puzzle once can be fun, but solving the same puzzle every time you want to access a certain area is so tedious.

More Version Differences: Pokémon's had multiple versions of the same game for years, and while it was an interesting gimmick at first, I think the series outgrew it a long time ago. The games are so similar that you have never needed to buy both versions to get the full experience. One of the biggest version differences at this point is the version-exclusive Pokémon. And with how big the internet is now, version-exclusive Pokémon feel more like a perfunctory feature than an engaging mechanic. Some Pokémon are so rare (e.g., a 1% encounter rate on one specific route in some games) that I think that would incentivize people to trade even if they all have the same version of the game. There are always going to be some people who are more willing to seek out rarer Pokémon and others who don't want to put in the effort. Plus there are shinies people can trade. Or if you play with your friends or family, you might want to trade Pokémon just for the sentimental value. Honestly, I think that makes trading more memorable and engaging than simply swapping out the version exclusives with another person. If the developers really want to keep multiple versions, though, I think the more features they add to set the games apart, the better. Even things that don't significantly change the gameplay experience would be more engaging and encourage people to talk about the games more, like the different versions of Opelucid City in Black and White. Opelucid City is functionally the same in both games, but it's fun to compare the two. If we have to keep the two different versions, I would love more concrete differences like that!

The Elite 4: You can battle the Elite 4 in any order you want in this game. While their teams are all around the same level, which is a bit less of a challenge, you get to decide how you want to tackle it. You can go for the team you have the best advantage against first to make things easier for you, or go for the team you're weakest against as a challenge. My only complaint is that there's no way to tell which room belongs to which Elite 4 member until you go inside.

Saving: At the very end of my playthrough, I noticed that when you go to save there's a little note at the bottom of the screen that tells you when you last saved. That's so convenient! I usually save multiple times in a row because I zone out and forget whether I actually saved or not. Having a little note of when I last saved would have cut down on how often I did that, and I wish I had noticed it sooner!