![]() ![]() This never happened, though, and it would’ve been cool to see the developers use this as an opportunity to catch the Mythical Pokémon Volcanion. One of its sections was inaccessible, which implied there might be some kind of event or update that would allow the player to enter. I’d also like to bring up the Kalos Power Plant again. It’s really a shame, because this large gap makes you think the game’s going to be long… and then the gap between gyms becomes much smaller. To get to Cyllage City from Santalune City, you have to pass through a town, several routes, and the aforementioned Lumiose City. The second Gym Leader is stationed all the way in Cyllage City – at the very left edge of the map – which is really far away. The first Gym Leader is located in Santalune City, which is accessible very soon after starting the game. ![]() The Kalos region has a problem, though: there’s a huge gap between the first and second gyms. Some areas that stick out to me are Geosenge Town, Dendemille Town, and Laverre City, among others. The rest of the region is rather well-designed, too. All in all, Lumiose City is clearly the heart of Kalos, and it truly lives up to its name. It has everything. You’ve got a Pokémon Center and Poké Mart, sure, but Lumiose City offers so much more. Cafés and restaurants that let you level up your Pokémon, the Pokémon Lab, the PR Video Studio, a hair salon, a boutique, hotels, herb shops, evolution stone shops… there’s so much here, in fact, that there are taxis positioned around the cities that will transport the player to a specified location within the city. Lumiose City, in particular, is one of my favorite areas in the greater Pokémon series. Kalos is varied, but not unrealistically varied, which is something I very much appreciated. There’s no way that part of the region can be super hot while another is ice-cold. As we discussed in the last post, Sinnoh included both a volcano and icy mountains. It’s got a desert, a power plant, snowy fields, mountains, forests, and much more. I like Sinnoh, too, but some of that might have to do with my irremovable nostalgia goggles. I’m going to come out swinging here and say that Kalos may be my favorite region from an objective standpoint. Let’s talk about the “newest” thing it ever introduced: the Kalos region. That doesn’t mean X and Y didn’t bring anything new to the metaphorical table. Where were Charizard, Pikachu, and Eevee? In some ways, X and Y felt like the exact opposite of Black and White: sticking with what works instead of branching out and finding something new. Long-time Pokémon fans may have found it jarring. Its regional Pokédex was comprised solely of newly-introduced Unova Pokémon. This might have something to do with how much Pokémon Black and White did differently. Of course, these issues weren’t as pronounced in X and Y, but they did – for the most part – find their origin here. Kanto pandering, soulless animations, lack of difficulty, and little to no postgame, to name a few. Fans have many complaints with Sword and Shield, and many of those complaints started here. Let’s take a look at the state of Pokémon games right now for a moment. That being said, though, there’s one major problem that I have with X and Y. They were a slippery slope for the Pokémon series. It introduced series staples, too: Mega Evolution, the Fairy type, changes to breeding mechanics, quality-of-life adjustments for competitive battling… it’s tough to deny that X and Y brought a lot to the table. The overworld, battles, and even parts of the menus are now rendered with full three-dimensional models, which helps to create a stronger sense of immersion while playing. First – and most obviously – its presentation evolved from 2D sprites to 3D graphics across the board. ![]() X and Y were firsts for the Pokémon series in many ways. Nowhere near as polarizing as Sword and Shield, though. The games definitely have weak points, as we’ll soon discuss, but it’s no secret that they’re kind of polarizing. At the time of writing, it seems they’re held in poor regard. On that note, it’s hard to tell where exactly the Pokémon community stands regarding X and Y. Near the time of its release, fans were enamored with its new features and changes… but it didn’t take long for that hype to fizzle out. This time last week, we talked all about Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum - my favorite Pokémon games! It’s only fitting, then, that today’s post discusses my second favorite entries: X and Y! I’m aware that this might be an unpopular opinion, but I’ve got … decent reasons. ![]()
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