Podcast Cohost Lauren 9/14/2023

Confession time: I’ve never actually caught them all. I’ve played the Kanto and Hoenn regions and have handily bagged up the elite four, captured the legendary pokemon, and starred in Hoenn’s Pokemon Contest, but I have never finished a Pokedex. And I don’t intend to now! But where does our anime protagonist stand?

Ash Ketchum (in the English version) has been traveling far and wide on his quest to become a Pokemon master since 1997. To my knowledge, he has been ten years old ever since. Izzy and I checked in on the Pokemon Journeys arc starting in season 23 following Ash’s return to Pallet town from the Alola region where he earned his first ever championship. The first episode is a flashback to Ash’s childhood (younger than 10) that sets up Ash’s chronic tardiness, introduces our new co-protagonists, and gives us Pikachu’s tragic backstory. We don’t know how close the adoptive Kangaskhan parent was to Pallet town or how a Pichu got fat enough to be too heavy for Kangaskhan to continue carrying. After the first episode, we skipped ahead to episodes four and five where Ash and new companion Goh travel to the Galar region at Professor Cerise’s suggestion. It appears that know-it-all Goh is the real protagonist of this arc, since Ash behaves like he has been reduced in age as well as plot significance. Ash is the familiar face for the audience to learn about the world of Pokemon through the eyes of, and serves to highlight the two repeating goals of any Pokemon game: Ash want to be a Pokemon Master, and Goh seeks to complete the Pokedex.

Journeys concluded in season 25, after which a new arc without Ash begins with new characters from the Paldea region. The previous arc only recently finished airing in English, so the localization for Pokemon Horizons is not yet available. However, the games Pokemon Scarlet and Violet set in the Paldea region have been out since November 2022. I picked up Scarlet version this summer and am struggling to meet the requirements to join a seven star tera raid before MewTwo disappears from them on September 17th. Wish me luck! I’ve been playing Pokemon Go, so the game mode of raiding with friends was not new to me, but I am still behind on the myriad of temporary evolution mechanics that have been introduced since Pokemon X and Y. Three storylines must be completed in Pokemon Scarlet: the pokemon league, team star, and the mystery of the crater. Narrative really drives gameplay in this open world, but I find myself missing obstacles and puzzles from the older generations played on a top down map. While I love scaling walls on my Koraidon, I long to get stuck in a switch maze. This generation is ideally for anyone who plans to cosplay any of the Team Star bosses and those who want a Pokemon game that actually facilitates multiplayers.

Q: In the Pokemon: Journeys episodes we watched in the Galar region Ash and Goh ate scones, befriended a tsundere Scorbunny, and witnessed a Gigantamax Snorlax lying on a railroad track. Since you’ve played Pokemon Sword & Shield, I want to know what its selling point was for you. Were there any new gameplay features you enjoyed, and where do you think the game loses engagement?

A: Ok Izzy here! Honestly Galar for me was like mostly the vibes? I liked the character designs and the Scottish vibes. Like all the sheep and tartan.

And the wild area was really neat, plus seeing the all the wild Pokémon in 3D walking around was awesome. And I think the dynamax was a really good idea that spiced up the formula and made gym battles really interesting.

Unfortunately for me I lost interest cause while I liked grinding for the money to buy all the cute clothes and some of the new Pokemon were super cute, the game just didnt engage me past a few gyms. I got thru about 5 then just kind of, stopped playing. Nothing dramatic happened just kind of lost interest .

I am not sure I can say for sure if it is something the game did, I liked a lot like how they did fossils and some of the new Pokemon, but I think how easy the game was (which is fair its not for me) and how the multiplayer raid system was not well set up for working with friends, did not help me continue play.

I have it on my switch and it is something I could see myself bored playing but I doubt I will even finish it.