Character Sheet: Jamie/River

JAMIE/RIVER

And now we come to our new playable characters debuting in Generation VIII. We have three that are not part of the PokeDex this time. They are:

1. Akari/Rei

2. Jamie/River

3. Leah

Next up, we have our protagonists of New Pokemon Snap, taking over from Todd Snap in the original game. They will be echo fighters of Todd, with most of the exact same moves, except with some adjustments like the Illumina Orb.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Camera Flash

Side B: Pester Ball

Up B: NEO-ONE Lift

Down B: NEO-ONE

Final Smash: Illumina Orb

Entrance: Descending in the NEO-ONE

Taunts: Up, using a pair of binoculars. Side, snapping some pictures of the other players. Down, developing the film.

Kirby Hat: Jamie's hat

Kart: NEO-ONE

Special Move: Illumina Orb

Spirit Battle: On Lental Island Tour, with plenty of Poke Balls appearing throughout.

Victory Screen: Holding up pictures from the battle.

Losing Screen: All of their pictures not coming out.

Color Swaps: Jamie, River, and costumes based on the professor, Todd, rival, and assistant. Maybe a couple more based on someone like Red or Blue.

Thanks for reading! Next up, Leah brews up a strategy.

Character Sheet: Akari/Rei

AKARI/REI

And now we come to our new playable characters debuting in Generation VIII. We have three that are not part of the PokeDex this time. They are:

1. Akari/Rei

2. Jamie/River

3. Leah

Akari and Rei are the protagonists of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, with heavy design inspiration pulled from Lucas and Dawn of Generation IV. One is a modern day kid, isekai'd by Arceus and sent back to the past. The other is a kid living in the past as part of the Galaxy Expedition Team who befriends the other upon their arrival. They may be Lucas and Dawn, they may be the ancestors of Lucas and Dawn. It's complicated. Either way, Legends Arceus had just enough of a distinct playstyle from the core games that I felt giving them their own moveset was warranted.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Old PokeBall

The player will toss an old wooden PokeBall, like those used in the game, to trap an opponent inside. The ball will not hold as well as a modern PokeBall would.

Side B: Wyrdeer

One of the player's mounts will appear and charge forward, attacking with its antlers. Sneasler and Ursaluna might also be part of this attack.

Up B: Hisuian Braviary

Hisuian Braviary will appear, catching the player and carrying them upward over the battlefield.

Down B: Sneak Attack

Works best on enemies facing away. The player will crouch and hide in long grass for a second. Any other attack performed in this state will work slightly better than before.

Final Smash: Alpha Assault

A group of alpha Pokemon will appear and chase after the nearby opponents, attacking them relentlessly until defeated.

Entrance: Dropping out of a hole in the sky.

Taunts: Up, tossing a Pokeball in the air, then jumping when it steams. Side, adjusting their obi and then posing. Down, crouching and rolling.

Kirby Hat: Akari's bandana

Kart: Wyrdeer, or based on it

Special Move: Hisuian Braviary

Spirit Battle: On Jubilife Village, possibly with Trainer System characters like Professor Laventon, Kamado, Cyllene, Adaman, or Irida helping.

Victory Screen: Their pose after they win a battle.

Losing Screen: Their defeated pose.

Color Swaps: Their main blue colors, then the colors of the different corps in the Galaxy team, plus Diamond Clan and Pearl Clan colors, and maybe Ginkgo Guild colors as well.

Thanks for reading! Next up, Jamie and River get the perfect shot!

Gen VIII Miscellaneous Games

GEN VIII MISCELLANEOUS GAMES

And now, let's cover all of the smaller games that came out during this generation that I skipped over. First up, we have Pokemon Medallion Battle, a Facebook game where you can compete against another player with teams of Pokemon collected using digital cards. Then we have Pokemon Tower Battle, another Facebook game that's sort of a Jenga type game where you stack cards with Pokemon on them and you lose when you knock your tower over. After that is Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX, a remake of the first two Mystery Dungeon games, with enhanced graphics and some quality of life changes, but that's about it. Pokemon Mezastar is another arcade game made by the same people who made Battrio, Tretta, and Ga-Ole, and so the gameplay is fairly similar. And finally, we have Pokemon Trading Card Game Live, the newest entry for that series, though it would quickly be replaced by Pocket two and a half years later. We'll get to that later.

And that's about it! Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

All new Pokemon

Leah

Jamie/River: clone/semi-clone of Todd, with Illumina Orb in their moveset

Akari/Rei: gimmick rep for Legends: Arceus

Trainer System:

Victor

Gloria

Akari

Rei

Hop

Bede

Marnie

Professor Magnolia

Professor Laventon

Sonia

Ball Guy

Milo

Nessa

Kabu

Bea

Allister

Opal

Melony

Gordie

Piers

Raihan

Leon

Chairman Rose

Oleana

Swordward

Shieldbert

Mustard

Klara

Avery

Peony

Peonia

Kamado

Cyllene

Zisu

Beni

Adaman

Irida

Mai

Arezu

Iscan

Melli

Sabi

Lian

Calaba

Palina

Ingo

Gaeric

Volo

Ginter

Cogita

Charm

Clover

Coin

Stages:

Postwick

Wedgehurst

Motostoke

Turffield

Hulbury

Hammerlocke

Stow-on-Side

Ballonlea

Circhester

Spikemuth

Wyndon

Freezington

Isle of Armor

Slumbering Weald

Wild Zone

Galar Mine

Glimwood Tangle

Rose Tower

Dynamax Stadium

Smile-based stage? I don't know how that would even work really.

Pokemon Cafe

Florio Island

Belusylva Island

Maricopia Islands

Voluca Island

Durice Island

Aurus Island

Remoat Stadium

Auroma Stadium

Shivre City

Mer Stadium

Theia Sky Ruins

Jubilife Village

Diamond Settlement

Pearl Settlement

Ancient Retreat

Obsidian Fieldlands

Crimson Mirelands

Cobalt Coastlands

Coronet Highlands

Alabaster Icelands

Temple of Sinnoh

And that's about it! And now, the characters begin. First up, Akari and Rei return from the past!

Pokemon Legends: Arceus

POKEMON LEGENDS: ARCEUS

Next up, we have the start of a new era of Pokemon games, fully taking Pokemon into the realm of open world games that allow you to run around and explore and catch Pokemon, something the series had been sorely lacking for way too long. The game takes place in Hisui, the ancient name of the Sinnoh region, and is set in the Pokemon equivalent of the Meiji Restoration period of Japan's history, involving the colonization and conquest of the Hokkaido region.

You star as Rei or Akari, a child from the modern day (Possibly Lucas or Dawn but they're not totally clear on that. There's definitely design influence anyway) who was pulled back into the past by Arceus to help avert a disaster. You are found by the opposite gender protagonist (this one probably the actual ancestor of their D&P counterpart) and Professor Laventon, a Galarian researcher and ancestor of Leon and Hop of Sword & Shield. Basically, a good majority of the characters here are the ancestors of characters from the present day games, and take heavy design inspirations from them.

You are taken in by Laventon and Akari/Rei and taken to the Galaxy Expedition Team, a military corps surveying the area of Hisui in order to establish settlements there. The leader of the team is Kamado (ancestor of Professor Rowan), with six teams under him led by Cyllene (Cyrus), Zisu (Flint and Buck), Pesselle (Mira/Nurses), Tao Hua, Colza (Gardenia), and Sanqua (Karen). Another notable member is the cook/assassin Beni (Wally).

The native residents of Hisui are the Diamond and Pearl clans, two rival clans who war over the nature of their god Sinnoh (later revealed to be both Dialga and Palkia). The two clans leaders are Adaman and Irida, neither with any clear modern descendants at the time of release, though the Gen IX character Perrin bears certain design similarities from both. Do with that implication what you will. Across the five major regions of Hisui, both clans have a warden over it, one who will give you access to one of five riding Pokemon in the game, while the other will tell you about an alpha Pokemon gone rogue that acts as the region's boss. The Diamond wardens are Mai (Marley), Arezu (Mars), Iscan, Melli, and Sabi (Cheryl). The Pearl wardens are Lian (Clay), Calaba (possibly Mina, it's a little iffy), Palina, Ingo (the acual guy. He got Isekai'd too), and Gaeric (Wulfric).

Other major characters in the story are the Ginkgo Guild, a group of traveling merchants whose number include Volo and Ginter. Ginter is an ancestor of Volkner, and Volo's ancestry was intentionally obscured most of the game, with Volkner and Barry both being possibly candidates, but in the end, he turns out to be the true villain of the game, obsessed with Arceus and becoming its master, and is the ancestor of Cynthia, complete with a full matching team and theme song. He also introduces you to Cogita, also an ancestor of Cynthia, a mysterious wise woman who helps guide you in your journey. Last but not least, you regularly encounter a band of thieves, the Miss Fortune sisters: Charm (Bertha/maybe Agatha), Clover (Candice), and Coin (Saturn).

Major locations in the game include Jubilife Village, the Diamond Settlement, the Pearl Settlement, the Ancient Retreat, and the five warded areas being Obsidian Fieldlands, Crimson Mirelands, Cobalt Coastlands, Coronet Highlands, and Alabaster Icelands, with the Temple of Sinnoh at the very top of Mount Coronet.

I think that's about everything we need. Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

All new Pokemon

Leah

Jamie/River: clone/semi-clone of Todd, with Illumina Orb in their moveset

Akari/Rei: gimmick rep for Legends: Arceus

Trainer System:

Victor

Gloria

Akari

Rei

Hop

Bede

Marnie

Professor Magnolia

Professor Laventon

Sonia

Ball Guy

Milo

Nessa

Kabu

Bea

Allister

Opal

Melony

Gordie

Piers

Raihan

Leon

Chairman Rose

Oleana

Swordward

Shieldbert

Mustard

Klara

Avery

Peony

Peonia

Kamado

Cyllene

Zisu

Beni

Adaman

Irida

Mai

Arezu

Iscan

Melli

Sabi

Lian

Calaba

Palina

Ingo

Gaeric

Volo

Ginter

Cogita

Charm

Clover

Coin

Stages:

Postwick

Wedgehurst

Motostoke

Turffield

Hulbury

Hammerlocke

Stow-on-Side

Ballonlea

Circhester

Spikemuth

Wyndon

Freezington

Isle of Armor

Slumbering Weald

Wild Zone

Galar Mine

Glimwood Tangle

Rose Tower

Dynamax Stadium

Smile-based stage? I don't know how that would even work really.

Pokemon Cafe

Florio Island

Belusylva Island

Maricopia Islands

Voluca Island

Durice Island

Aurus Island

Remoat Stadium

Auroma Stadium

Shivre City

Mer Stadium

Theia Sky Ruins

Jubilife Village

Diamond Settlement

Pearl Settlement

Ancient Retreat

Obsidian Fieldlands

Crimson Mirelands

Cobalt Coastlands

Coronet Highlands

Alabaster Icelands

Temple of Sinnoh

And that's about it! Now, let us go and cover all of the smaller games from this generation that I skipped over.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

POKEMON BRILLIANT DIAMOND & SHINING PEARL

And now, we come to the Generation IV game remakes, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. They are pretty much basically just flat remakes of the original games, just made in the chibi toy style we saw with things like the Link's Awakening remake, with no quality-of-life enhancements (not even the ones added in Platinum carried over), no additional content. Nothing. It just might be one of the laziest things we've ever seen Game Freak make. Actually, as I understand it, they didn't even really make it themselves.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

All new Pokemon

Leah

Jamie/River: clone/semi-clone of Todd, with Illumina Orb in their moveset

Trainer System:

Victor

Gloria

Hop

Bede

Marnie

Professor Magnolia

Sonia

Ball Guy

Milo

Nessa

Kabu

Bea

Allister

Opal

Melony

Gordie

Piers

Raihan

Leon

Chairman Rose

Oleana

Swordward

Shieldbert

Mustard

Klara

Avery

Peony

Peonia

Stages:

Postwick

Wedgehurst

Motostoke

Turffield

Hulbury

Hammerlocke

Stow-on-Side

Ballonlea

Circhester

Spikemuth

Wyndon

Freezington

Isle of Armor

Slumbering Weald

Wild Zone

Galar Mine

Glimwood Tangle

Rose Tower

Dynamax Stadium

Smile-based stage? I don't know how that would even work really.

Pokemon Cafe

Florio Island

Belusylva Island

Maricopia Islands

Voluca Island

Durice Island

Aurus Island

Remoat Stadium

Auroma Stadium

Shivre City

Mer Stadium

Theia Sky Ruins

And that's about it! Next up, while this game wasn't so hot, the next game just might go down in history as one of Pokemon's Legends.

Pokemon UNITE

POKEMON UNITE

Next up, we have Pokemon UNITE, a mega-multiplayer online battle arena style game, similar to other games like League of Legends: Wild Rift and such, though I don't play games like those very often, so I'm not totally certain how they all compare. Basically, you play as an unseen player character, selecting Pokemon to battle for you across a big battlefield, each competing for a select goal and such.

Your playable options currently include Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Pikachu, Alolan Raichu, Clefable, Alolan Ninetales, Wigglytuff, Meowth, Psyduck, Machamp, Galarian Rapidash, Slowbro, Dodrio, Gengar, Mr. Mime, Gyarados, Lapras, Vaporeon, Snorlax, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Dragonite, Mewtwo, Mew, Meganium, Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Azumarill, Espeon, Umbreon, Scizor, Blissey, Suicune, Tyranitar, Ho-Oh, Blaziken, Gardevoir, Sableye, Absol, Metagross, Latias, Latios, Empoleon, Garchomp, Lucario, Leafeon, Glaceon, Mamoswine, Darkrai, Crustle, Zoroark, Chandelure, Delphox, Greninja, Talonflame, Aegislash, Sylveon, Goodra, Trevenant, Hoopa, Decidueye, Tsareena, Comfey, Mimikyu, Dhelmise, Buzzwole, Zeraora, Cinderace, Inteleon, Greedent, Eldegoss, Cramorant, Sirfetch'd, Alcremie, Falinks, Duraludon, Dragapult, Zacian, Urshifu, Meowscarada, Pawmot, Armarouge, Ceruledge, Tinkaton, and Miraidon, all filling Attacker, All-Rounder, Speedster, Defender, and Supporter roles depending on your playstyle.

The game takes place on a region called Aeos Island. The different stadiums for the matches are: Remoat Stadium, Auroma Stadium, Shivre City, Mer Stadium, and Theia Sky Ruins. Mer Stadium is kinda the one I always picture in my head for the game. Other cast members include Professor Phorus and her assistant Erbie, but there's not really much distinct gameplay I can ascribe to them, so they're mostly just here.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

All new Pokemon

Leah

Jamie/River: clone/semi-clone of Todd, with Illumina Orb in their moveset

Trainer System:

Victor

Gloria

Hop

Bede

Marnie

Professor Magnolia

Sonia

Ball Guy

Milo

Nessa

Kabu

Bea

Allister

Opal

Melony

Gordie

Piers

Raihan

Leon

Chairman Rose

Oleana

Swordward

Shieldbert

Mustard

Klara

Avery

Peony

Peonia

Stages:

Postwick

Wedgehurst

Motostoke

Turffield

Hulbury

Hammerlocke

Stow-on-Side

Ballonlea

Circhester

Spikemuth

Wyndon

Freezington

Isle of Armor

Slumbering Weald

Wild Zone

Galar Mine

Glimwood Tangle

Rose Tower

Dynamax Stadium

Smile-based stage? I don't know how that would even work really.

Pokemon Cafe

Florio Island

Belusylva Island

Maricopia Islands

Voluca Island

Durice Island

Aurus Island

Remoat Stadium

Auroma Stadium

Shivre City

Mer Stadium

Theia Sky Ruins

And that's about it! Next up, a pair of games I hear were so Brilliant, the reviews for them were positively Shining! Right?

New Pokemon Snap!

NEW POKEMON SNAP!

Now, let's cover a new entry in the Pokemon Snap series, with much more updated graphics and way more Pokemon to photograph than just the Gen I ones. The gameplay is more or less the same, with you traveling along a mostly fixed course through several different areas, taking photos of Pokemon in their natural habitats. The biggest difference is the illumina orbs that cause various effects throughout the games.

Todd returns as a supporting character, while Jamie and River are your new customizable player characters in the game. You are helped throughout the game by Professor Mirror, as well as his assistant Rita, and your rival Phil. Instead of the one island and track, you now have an archipelago called the Lental Islands, with each island having a different biome. Florio Island is mostly a generic grassland/forest type area where your research camp is located. Belusylva Island is more of a dense jungle, the Maricopia Islands are home to a mostly beach and underwater course, Voluca Island is a desert and volcano combo, Durice Island is a frigid snowland area, and Aurus Island is the big finale area for the game.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

All new Pokemon

Leah

Jamie/River: clone/semi-clone of Todd, with Illumina Orb in their moveset

Trainer System:

Victor

Gloria

Hop

Bede

Marnie

Professor Magnolia

Sonia

Ball Guy

Milo

Nessa

Kabu

Bea

Allister

Opal

Melony

Gordie

Piers

Raihan

Leon

Chairman Rose

Oleana

Swordward

Shieldbert

Mustard

Klara

Avery

Peony

Peonia

Stages:

Postwick

Wedgehurst

Motostoke

Turffield

Hulbury

Hammerlocke

Stow-on-Side

Ballonlea

Circhester

Spikemuth

Wyndon

Freezington

Isle of Armor

Slumbering Weald

Wild Zone

Galar Mine

Glimwood Tangle

Rose Tower

Dynamax Stadium

Smile-based stage? I don't know how that would even work really.

Pokemon Cafe

Florio Island

Belusylva Island

Maricopia Islands

Voluca Island

Durice Island

Aurus Island

And that's about it! Tomorrow, let us all UNITE to cover the next game!