In mid-November, the release of the long awaited “Pokemon Sun and Moon” will arrive. Fans across the world have been anticipating this glorious day, sated only be the trailers that are released on occasion. Many, myself included, are really interested to see what these set of games will have to offer in terms of fresh gameplay, and perhaps what they might bring back to the franchise that has long since left the series. There are a lot of theories flying around the internet right now, but even with all the heresy, I have things that I want above all these alleged rumors.
1. The return of Mega Evolution.
One aspect of “Pokemon X and Y”—the games that came out before “Sun and Moon”—was that they had something called “Mega Evolution.” Certain Pokemon would be able to equip an orb-like item and obtain massive power spikes. It was something that hadn’t been seen in the series until then, and I’m really hoping that they bring it back. While it was only one set of games ago, none of the trailers have mentioned this beloved and sometimes feared feature. I can only hope that they bring it back and give Pokemon deserving of this special evolution their chance in the spotlight. (*cough* Flygon *oough*)
2. An increase in difficulty.
Anyone who has been playing Pokemon for more than one generation can attest to the fact that the last set of games were incredibly easy. You were given items that enabled an easier level system, and you didn’t have to allocate attention to a singular Pokemon when training them. The battles were easier and required less thought. And while playing something easy is nice and all, I’d much rather spend my $40 getting all that I paid for, difficulty included.
3. An actual endgame.
One other gripe I have about the last set of games is that they didn’t have an actual endgame. In older “Pokemon” games, players had chances to travel to areas that were unlocked after you beat the main storyline. These usually came with new Pokemon as well as new challenges to face. In “X and Y,” all we got was a little island where you could battle your rival over and over again. And let’s face it: that gets old quick.
4. Alolan forms.
One big feature that the new games are introducing is called “Alolan Forms.” These are forms of Pokemon that are region-specific. Because the region we are being introduced to is more tropical, there are certain Pokemon that will change with the new environment. One thing that players should know about these new forms is that, so far, only Pokemon from the first generation have received new forms. And I really, really want some forms for other generations, especially the gen-two starters.
5. Good starter evolutions.
Perhaps one of the most popular topics in reference to “Sun and Moon” are the evolutions of the starter Pokemon. The Pokemon that a player chooses to be their partner in the beginning isn’t something that can be changed unless you do a full reset of the game data, and that just sounds like a waste of time. What I really want to see is one of the rumors that have been floating around the net that talks about how starters might get something called “Split Evolution.” What this means is that during a certain set of circumstances, a starter might turn into one evolution or the other. This fascinates the hell out of me and I really want to see it happen.
I could ramble on and on about what I hope to see in “Sun and Moon,” but I won’t. I’ll just have to wait like everybody else until the middle of November to see once and for all if these games are everything that we hope they will be.
