While I’ve been pretty radio silent around here for a bit thanks to all the schoolwork I’ve had and some other new games taking up my time, but nothing can keep me from rambling my opinions into the void of blogging when it comes to new Pokémon getting unveiled – especially now that I have the ability to throw these videos right up in your faces.
Yes that’s right we’ve got four brand new Pokémon to look at, as well as some updates on the two that were leaked not too long ago! Let’s start with those older guys, just because it’ll be faster to get them out of the way.
While I made a post talking about the two new Pokémon unveiled for Sun and Moon just earlier today, it was pointed out to me that a brand new Japanese trailer for the game was released. This isn’t a reveal trailer like we’ve been getting either, it’s a serious made-for-TV “go buy this game” kind of trailer. There isn’t a lot of new features on display, but it does have some stuff in it that seems pretty worth looking at in my opinion.
Plus, I finally figured out how to embed videos in my actual post rather than just leaving a link, so this is a good opportunity to test that out too. Please enjoy this trailer, courtesy of Pokémon’s official Japanese YouTube page.
The first thing that really strikes me about the trailer is its general focus. From what I can tell, the serious push for Sun and Moon is both its beauty, accompanying the natural aspect that generally exists in the concept of Pokémon itself, and it’s continuation of Pokémon’s focus on childhood wonder, and being connected with friends. Granted, neither of these things is new for Pokémon as a whole, but there’s a special level of those feelings exuding from this trailer that I haven’t really seen in quite some time, even for the Pokémon X and Y lead-up material which seemed to be more interested in the international connectivity of Pokémon as a series.
For those of you who decided not to watch the trailer for whatever reason, I’ll sum it up in as simple an explanation as possible. A young boy, visiting a tropical location that I can only assume is Hawaii all things considered, starts Pokémon Sun and Moon as he’s arriving, much like the main character in-game is first arriving at the Alola Region. After losing a four way free-for-all battle royal to his friends, he becomes determined. He trains, he gets better at the game and he explores the region much like he actually explores the area it’s based on (along with the creatures that fill both worlds, of course). Eventually, through this personal growth and commitment, he becomes good enough to finally beat the friends that defeated him at the beginning.
To be frank, I think it’s an absolutely brilliant trailer. It perfectly reflects exactly what Pokémon as a series is based on and it shows it off in a wonderful, relatable kind of way. You can imagine the kid in the trailer is at least a real person, if not analogous to you, and that helps to emphasize that the series (now in it’s seventh generation of games) is, if anything, an even better reflection of childhood and all that accompanies it than ever before.
On top of that, it slyly shows off a bunch of the features and scenes of the game like a real tease, without providing too much explanation for certain things. The battle system, Pokédex and trading system are all shown off, providing the core that all Pokémon games have relished in from the series’ inception. It shows off the in-game environments, all of which look extremely well-polished and diverse, not that anything else was expected at this point. There’s a pretty heavy focus on the battle royal system to emphasize the interpersonal connectivity of Pokémon as said before, an idea that’s arguably more apparent than ever with Pokémon GO taking the world by storm.
You can see the new Pokémon from earlier today, Mimikkyu and Kiteruguma during the trading segment around 1:30. You can see your player character – both male and female – activating whatever bracelet they have on, which activates some sort of extra power in the starter Pokémon through flashes of colors and icons that don’t really clarify exactly what is accomplished through the act. On top of that, it seems a Pokémon-Amie styled grooming will be in the game, but it will perhaps be more complicated given the player can blow-dry their Pokémon. Whether this is involved in the game’s potential contest system, as seems to be implied by the dance moves and special battle effects around 1:20.
Also, there’s a pretty strong emphasis on riding Pokémon at the end of the trailer, one that shows off how you can ride Tauros, Lapras and Sharpedo in game. While Lapras and Sharpedo were technically ridable in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, they were just replacement models for the usual vague swimming Pokémon shadow with some slight changes like size and speed of travel. In the trailer above, it does seem like there’s something different about riding them in this game, which leads me to believe either they’re just special ridable over-world mounts in one area like Mamoswine and Rhyhorn in X and Y, or that using HMs could potentially be a very different experience depending on who we teach the HM moves in Sun and Moon.
So that’s just about all on how much I really liked this new trailer, but what do you think? Did it speak to you on as much of an emotional level as it did to me? Do you think the special features that were showcased in the trailer were more clear than vague like I interpreted them? Let me know in the comments below, as these details are especially the ones I love to have discussions and debate over!
As of today, I officially started my second Summer college course. Between the workload that’s going to come with it and the workload I already have for my first course, I’ll probably be nice and busy through mid-August.
But not as busy as the Pokémon Company is with showing off more new Pokémon, am I right?
…
Well lousy transition aside, there were in fact two new Pokémon leaked from CoroCoro magazine today, so it’s about time to talk about them, wouldn’t you say?
Here we have Mimikkyu and Kiteruguma, both seeming to be only the Japanese names but considering Togedemaru didn’t change from the Japanese to the English translations, who knows.
I’m not going to bury the lead or anything here, Mimikkyu is easily my favorite of the two released here, and perhaps one of my favorite Pokémon unveiled for Sun and Moon thus far. Not only is it super adorable just from it’s description/lore/backstory/whatever alone, it’s got an interesting typing to play around with and overall it’s just… I love it, okay? It kind of reminds me of Woodstock from the Peanuts comic strip with a sheet over its head if the sheet just so happened to be decorated in the style of a witch-varient of Pikachu from Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The whole children’s drawing style to the face really screams that to me.
While I don’t like this big bear quite as much as it’s revealed counterpart, it does have a certain charm to it. I suppose. Sure raising it is a danger because it nonchalantly snaps entire trees in half and that sort of thing, but it’s got a cute pink and black color scheme right? So it’s gotta be something. To be fair, one of my favorite Megas, Mega Lopunny, does have a Normal/Fighting-typing, and it’s pretty amazing in my opinion. Whether the typing will work quite as well with a new Pokémon that doesn’t have scrappy is still in question, however.
That’s about that, not too much was talked about for these guys considering it was only a fresh leak from the August issue that let us know what we currently know. I’m assuming we’ll hear more about them as time goes on. I do have some more to talk about regarding my continued experience with Pokémon GO, but I’ll leave that under the read more for anyone that’s curious about it. Otherwise, let me know what you think about these new Pokémon below!
Bit of a smaller Pokémon information dump today than we’ve been getting lately, but this new creature is an interesting new reveal to say the least!
Say hello to Salandit, Pokémon’s first fire/poison-type. Revealed at Japan Expo with this trailer at the helm, this little salamander bandit has quite a few interesting things about it. First and foremost would be it’s typing combination of course, being a totally new and unique one. It also has a pretty cool look to it, reminding me of a somewhat cartoony depiction of a French bandit or pirate from some source I can’t really remember off-hand. Also, if you watch the reveal video, it honestly has an infectiously funny sound. I wish I could have it’s noise as a ringtone, it’s hard not to smile when you hear how goofy a menacing laugh it was given.
However, probably the most interesting thing about this guy is it’s ability: Corrosion. Corrosion allows Salandit to poison /any/ Pokemon, including other poison and steel-types. Considering steel-types haven’t been able to get poisoned since their inception in Generation 2 (or technically fully implemented in Generation 3 according to the bulbapedia page), it’s pretty nuts that we’ll be able to poison them now. It’s especially poignant considering there are probably a few really bulky steel-types out there that could get taken out a lot easier by a Pokémon that can toxic them for scaling damage before dishing out some STAB fire-type attacks.
I also figured I would share Salandit’s official description from the Pokémon website, since it’s honestly kind of insane in it’s own right.
“Salandit emits toxic gas, together with flames, from the base of its tail. This poisonous gas has a sweet smell, and anyone who unknowingly breathes it in will become dizzy. Salandit is not a very powerful Pokémon, but its cunning nature allows it to battle fiercely by throwing its opponents off balance. Salandit females not only release toxic gases, they can also emit pheromones that attract males of all species, including Pokémon and humans. Inhaling these pheromones may cause opponents to be controlled by Salandit’s will.”
Yeah, this little guy not only decimates steel-types, it’s also apparently able to control people’s minds. Sure that’s technically only lore based for now, but who knows, we could be seeing something to that effect in it’s move pool somewhere.
That’s about all I’ve got for now, but I have to say I’m actually pretty excited for this new Pokémon! It’s interesting in quite a few ways and really seems like a great new addition to the cast. Also, between Salandit and Komala, there appears to be some kind of focus on messing around with status ailments coming for Gen 7, and I’m more than up for exploring it. It could mess with the competitive field a bit, and from what I know about the current metagame that might not be such a bad thing.
Lemme know what you think about Salandit, it’s general collection of things and how it fits into the pool of new Pokémon we’ve been getting. Also, let me know how you feel about the direction these new Pokémon games seem to be heading in with all of these unique abilities and such on the monsters we’re getting, I’m interested to know how you feel about anything and everything Pokémon related!
Nearly a year after the original teaser video was released, Pokémon GO is finally available for iOS and Android devices in at least certain parts of the world. I haven’t talked all that much about the game around here, but I’ve been really excited for the prospect since it was first announced!
So, since it’s available now in the United States and I’ve had a few hours to mess around with it, I figured I’d share some of my first impressions on the experience and aesthetics of Pokémon GO in it’s current Day 1 form. Keep on reading if you’re curious to see what I think, but honestly it’s also plenty easy enough to go check it out yourself – considering it’s a free download out of the app stores of the mainstream phone market. It’s something I highly encourage you do if you get the chance!
Jason's Blog - Work in Progress 