My Yearly Pokemon Binge

There are two video game events I look forward to every year. My Zelda binge and my Pokémon binge. I am currently working through the Pokémon binge.

It makes sense in a way. I pick up anyone one of the six out of seven generations of Pokémon games I own, play it, and when I am done I’m still not satisfied so I pick up another.

The thing that makes playing Pokémon so wonderful is every play through is a little different. You never know what you will catch to fill up your party, and if you get anything interesting or useful you can pass it up through the pokebank. When I get tired of it, all my mon will be waiting for me next year.

Competitive Pokémon is full of number crunching and complicated strategies which I really respect, but so far I haven’t had the patience for things like breeding a perfect Pokémon or EV training. Instead I’ve really enjoyed self-imposed challenges like Nuzlocks. For those who don’t know, a nuzlock is when you can only catch the first Pokémon you see in an area, and if it faints it’s dead. I generally give myself a little leeway. I can catch rare things as long as I don’t use them, I box rather than release, and I like to give myself a rare traded Pokémon near the start of the game just to make things different. I do sacrifice a captured Pokémon to get it however. The last one was a Mankey that unfortunately died soon after coming aboard. This time it’s a Gloomy that will hopefully last a bit longer.

Nuzlock purists will probably scoff at the liberties I’ve allowed myself, but that’s the great thing about the series, there are so many ways to play. You can play normally, competitive, nuzlock. You can do all of these to one degree or another.

Each generation also has its own charm. I have both Leaf Green and the virtual console of Blue. Even though they tell roughly the same story they are very different games, as the mechanics in the third generation are not the same as the first. If pressed I prefer Leaf Green if only because I can play it on the big screen via GameCube. On the other hand I prefer Emerald to Omega Ruby despite the improved mechanics.

It’s all this that makes Pokémon such a solid game series, and why Game Freak can get away with putting out pretty much the same game time and time again. With so much to do and see, the need for innovation is minimal. It’s far more important that each generation and game has its own flavor, like chocolate or vanilla ice cream. As much as people talk about craving something new and original, they also love simple variation on a theme with a dose of nostalgia, and there is nothing wrong with that. Pokémon is successful because the formula works.

Anyway, I’m glad I got into it shortly before the announcement of Crystal. That should be fun. It has been a long time since I played a second generation game and it will round out my collection. I only hope my interest holds out through February. 

-Gedaemon