Yes. Generation 8 confirmed. Now I know someone will read this, and they will be probably thinking, "What is this daft blogger ranting on about?!" And to that I say, where have you been the last 23 years? Do I seriously need to explain that Pokemon is a video game franchise from the 90's, becoming an overnight pop culture icon and timeless classic thanks to it's monster-training premise and heartwarming tales of how friendship and the bond between humanity and nature can overcome any challenge? Do I need to explain why every child growing up in that time period dreamt about life as a Trainer? Do I need to explain the memorable dialogue and scenes that have become subject to in-jokes and parodies on the Internet? The answer is, no. I don't NEED to explain Pokemon. It's a thing that exists and it's never going away.
First things first! Generation 8 now has an official title! Pokemon Sword & Shield, which, if you ask me, is the most epic name for a Pokemon game ever. Yeah, yeah, it fits the the whole "All Pokemon games are named after things that come in pairs" theme literally the entire franchise has. But still, "Sword & Shield" is quite catchy (side note: the logos are really nice). Also, this game's region (titled Galar) is based off of the United Kingdom. And you know what that means!
Football! And no, not that barbaric drivel us Americans have to tolerate (and it became even less tolerable with the whole "taking a knee" controversy). The proper kind, where feet, the foot, and phalanges at the end of legs play a role in the sport. Yes, the sport that simpler folk would rather call "soccer" even though that name is stupid. I'm sorry, but Americans being the hipsters of sports is not a justification for giving one of the best sports in the world an objectively inferior name.
Anyway, Pokemon Sword & Shield looks pretty good! It's not a drastic change from Pokemon Let's Go!, but the artstyle seems like a better quality version of that game's artstyle. The color Pallet seen so far looks pleasant and even a bit homely. Like that building in the background is easily the nicest looking building in the franchise. To be fair, that's not saying much when the competition is a giant white box with windows textured on to it. But still, the fact that Game Freak's digital architecture design skills are improving past giant boxes is a plus in my book. There's more variety to the region than just homely meadows and nice looking buildings though. There's a snowy/wintery area (with even more nice buildings), an underground mineshaft, and a steampunk city. And I love steampunk, so that city is by default the best city in all of Pokemon.
| Every time I look at this image I just think of Bilbo at the Shire, running off "ON AN ADVENTURE!!!" |
First up is the Fire-Type starter, Scorbunny. I do not like it's name. It doesn't sound right. Don't get me wrong, I love this guy's design, he looks adorable. But Scorbunny is just a really lame sounding name. If I roll with him/her I'm definitely giving them a nickname. BUT! It has a bandage on it's nose and feet. That is a character design trope for characters who specialize in martial arts. Do you know what that means? It means there is a reasonably high chance that Scorbunny will evolve into yet another Fire-Fighting type hybrid. Which will inevitably cause the Pokemon fanbase to foam at the mouth with primal rage burning hotter than the fury of a thousand dragons. Here's hoping he's more unique, like either a pure Fire-type, or something that comes completely out of nowhere, like Fire-Steel. Actually that type combination isn't that far-fetched, now that I'm thinking about it. Oh! How about he evolves into a Fire-Ground type? Rabbits do dig burrows and stay underground for safety. Yeah, I know, we already have a Ground-type rabbit, but Diggersby is lame, nobody likes him, and Scorbunny has a chance to do something awesome with the Ground-Type.
Here is the Water-type starter, Sobble. I'm saying it right now, I am definitely rolling with him first time through. You wanna know why? Because he's the Surprised Pikachu meme but turned into an actual creature. Don't believe me? Here.
I rest my case. But anyway, I am serious about rolling with him. I love lizards, and Sobble's personality and abilities seem the most interesting to me. He is incredibly shy, and can turn invisible. But since Pokemon Sword & Shield takes place in a region heavily inspired by the UK, I have a feeling that Sobble will evolve into a Loch Ness Monster-esque creature. Which, I'd be down for, actually.
And last, but not least we have the Grass-type starter Grookey. He's a groovy monkey. Out of the starters I will say Grookey is the cutest. He's nowhere near Rowlet levels of cute though. But I can't help but wonder what he evolves into. I kind of want to see them go the whole "groovy monkey" thing the whole way through and make him evolve into a gorilla (or similar great ape) playing some kind of instrument, preferably a drum of some kind. Like imagine a Gorilla that attacks by playing a song on bongos. It would be beautiful. As for a secondary typing this guy could have... I have no idea. Grass-Fighting? Because he's a monkey and monkeys get in fights frequently? Grass-Steel? Because he might get a drum kit upon evolving and drums are metallic? Look, I don't really know. I want to say he's going to stay pure Grass-type but that would be kind of boring. But again, he could come out of nowhere and be Grass-Psychic.
But aside from Gyms returning, and the three starters, we don't that much about the game's plot or characters. So until they reveal them, let's make predictions, because why not!
Calling it right now, the Legendary Pokemon of Galar will be based off of characters from Arthurian Legend. How would that work? We have one Pokemon that is basically King Arthur (let's make him a Fighting-Fairy/Steel type, referencing Arthur's status as a war hero, and referencing Arthur's enchanted sword, Excalibur), who would work similarly to Arceus, being a lone Legendary, and not officially part of a group like the others. But in the lore, our Arthurian Pokemon could be the "king" of the other Legendaries. The other legendaries could include a Steel-type knight, who would be Galahad, Lancelot, Percival, and Gawain (aka the Knights of the Round Table) all rolled into one, a wise druid Pokemon based of Merlin (Psychic-type, referencing Merlin's magical power, and for the sake of dark comedy, have Grass as a secondary type, referencing how Merlin died). Oh, and have a Dark-Fairy sorceress Pokemon represent the main antagonists of the King Arthur mythos, Morgana and Mordred.
As for what kind of plot we can expect... Probably the usual plot of most Pokemon games. That is, a 14-year-old teen and his/her six-man-band of colorful monsters go on a quest to prove that they are worthy of the title of Champion of the region, and halfway through the game they get distracted by a criminal organization whose evil plans could potentially end the world. At least Pokemon Black & White played with the formula, since the criminal organization in that game were a well-intentioned but ultimately misguided animal rights group who inadvertently caused more harm than good. And Pokemon Sun & Moon also played with the plot elements, namely showing what happens when a Trainer's career hits a dead end and is forced to get an alternative living. Here's hoping Sword & Shield does something unique with it's story.
And that's all I have to talk about. I mean, I guess I could talk about the trailer music, but I don't really feel that's really necessary. I mean, it was catchy, but not "OMG I CAN JAM TO THIS FOR HOURS" catchy. It was more like, "Yeah I can enjoy this song on multiple occasions." But anyway, are you excited for the new games? Are you a newcomer to Pokemon somehow and just joining *Satoshi Tajiri's Wild Ride for the first time? Do you have any predictions? Which starter are you leaning towards? Share any of these with a comment or something.
*- Satoshi Tajiri is the creator of Pokemon. So you have him to thank for the biggest cash cow franchise since Star Wars.
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