Pokemon Moon: Over the Moon

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

I had no idea that Pokemon: Moon would keep me at bay for….Lord, when did I update last? Around Thanksgiving? This game has dominated my life and I am absolutely in love with it.

Moon is a prime example of how much the franchise has evolved over the years. When Red, Blue, and Yellow premiered it was mostly about training Pokemon to be the very best.  We were encouraged to level up our teammates, beat the Elite Four, and claim our Champion title. Many other games in the franchise functioned in the same fashion: train and claim. Pokemon: Pearl, Diamond, and Platinum, however, offered a new shift that only Pokemon: Yellow offered: the ability to walk with our Pokemon and in turn, become closer to them.

Yellow gave us a Pikachu to follow us and ultimately feel like Ash Ketchum, the hero of the Pokemon television series. Pearl, Diamond, and Platinum increased this notion by allowing us to select specific Pokemon to follow us. Heart Gold and Soul Silver changed this method so that any Pokemon could follow us from Chikorita to Unown. Black 2 and White 2 only allowed us to walk a Mienfoo in return for receiving a pearl once it was satisfied.

It was a matter of bringing trainers and their Pokemon closer outside the battlefield. Nintendo was attempting to implement the notion of not only being a Pokemon trainer, but a Pokemon caretaker. Someone who could fight alongside their best friend and becoming closer to them – much like Ash Ketchum or James from Team Rocket.

Yet the final form of this franchise came with XY wherein we could pet and play with our Pokemon.  Yes, we lost the feature where they followed trainers, but in return we were given Pokemon Amie: the trait of actually interacting with our Pokemon. We fed them specific pastries, we played games with them, and in turn they expressed their affection for us by means of becoming in sync with us in combat. They wished to land critical hits to earn our praise, they avoided an attack to obtain our admiration, and they even mega evolved when we commanded them to.

It was a wonderful, eye opening experience that I don’t believe my younger self would have ever thought possible. Bonding with my Pokemon allowed them to become what I call my dream team; a well balanced team of level 100 creatures filled with power for combat and affection for my trainer.  When they fight, they don’t fight for the money or defeat – they fight because it’s how they connect with my trainer. This team also consists of Pokemon that often remind me of when I played the other games through the years. Seeing Pokemon I grew up with like Mawile and Ponyta enjoying themselves in the company of my trainer made me smile. It made the game feel a bit more personal.

Pokemon ORAS (Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire) continued this notion, but expanded Pokemon showing their affection in contests. If they received high markings, they demonstrated a special move. My Skarmory took the contests by storm with a metallic twister of a move that blew my mind as well as the audience’s.

Now we have Pokemon Sun/Moon which gently coaxes you into becoming closer with your Pokemon. Not only is there the return of Pokemon Amie(now Pokemon Refresh), but now if your Pokemon receives a status effect they will approach you at the end of combat. Of course you can still use Antidotes and Awakenings, but would you shun the face of your own pained Pokemon? The Alola region prides itself on the notion of Pokemon and humans becoming closer with each other in friendship, transportation, and living in harmony. Even the Pokedex entries seemed to heavily tie into life on the islands to show how in sync Pokemon are with mankind.

Thank you for reading tonight’s entry. If you liked it, feel free to share, comment, critic, and subscribe.

So tell me, what do you think of Pokemon Sun/Moon?