One of the biggest appeals to playing Pokémon these days is building a team, forming complex strategies, and challenging others to competitive Pokémon. However, this may be the precise reason that Pokémon, especially its competitive scene, has been becoming more insular over the past few generations. Pokémon is notoriously hard for new players to join. … Read more
When Pokémon Red & Blue Versions first hit store shelves in the late 1990s, it was a different world: the dot-com bubble had yet to burst as the allure of the information superhighway led to extreme growth in internet usage. Meanwhile games journalism was primarily limited to magazines such as Nintendo Power and Electronic Gaming … Read more
In this recurring series, I’ll analyze the origins of Pokémon designs, their culture, and their historical allusions to British culture. In the August Pokémon Direct, we learned a lot of information about characters and Pokémon, including Weezing. It was revealed that they have a Galarian form in Pokémon Sword & Shield. Weezing’s design is based … Read more
It’s no secret that Pokémon has issues with balance. That’s why fans needed to create Smogon tiers—unlike in most other major franchises, where balancing issues are managed by the developers themselves. This issue goes all the way back to Gen 1 with the madness of Mewtwo and Psychic-type Pokémon. When I thought things couldn’t get … Read more
Like most modern games and Pokémon titles before them, Pokémon Sword and Shield are offering up incentives in order to get fans to pre-order them before they are officially released on November 15. The pre-order bonuses vary widely between retailers this time around, so it’s worth checking out which bonus is worth the most to … Read more
Eagle-eyed fans have noticed something peculiar about part of the new Pokémon Sword and Shield trailer: an auto-saving message appears. You can see for yourself at :45. Although it makes the game more convenient, there are several concerns about the feature: Resetting for shiny Pokémon Resetting for different natures Saving before tough battles or encounters … Read more