You know, when Zoroark was first revealed, I heard numerous complaints — not about the Pokemon itself, but just simply the fact that we were already going into Generation V. “But Generation IV just came out!” “What, more Pokemon already?”
The fact of the matter is that the gap between Generation IV and the new Generation V — Black and White — is actually the longest gap of time there’s been between any two generations of Pokemon games, so it’s really due time for a new adventure, for new Pokemon, and for a whole new way of looking at things in the Pokemon world.
Pokemon Black and White were announced not too long ago. Details have been trickling out slowly but surely as the release date draws nearer. Some of the screenshots revealed show a bustling metropolitan city that the player walks in, while some of the battle screenshots show numerous skyscrapers dotting the background. Despite this, there hasn’t been so much in the way of new mechanics and such revealed; only little tantalizing tidbits here and there.
That lack of finite details gives way for many avid Pokemon fans to imagine what the new games will be like. What new features will be introduced in Black and White? What sort of new Pokemon will there be? How will the games revolutionize the Pokemon world?
There are countless ideas out there, but I’d like to take a moment to blindly step forward and go ahead with some of my hopes out of the new games. Maybe they’ll happen, maybe I’ll be totally off-track. The fun is in imagining!
Isshu. Gesundheit! No, really, Isshu is the newly revealed region (at least the Japanese name for it) that will be in Black and White. From the looks of it, it looks quite advanced, highly civilized; a lot like a Tokyo or New York City of the Pokemon world. I’m sure you don’t need me to describe the screenshots to you, but what I’m wondering now is, what else lies in Isshu? Other than the big city, Hiun City, are there any other large cities? What of the other Gyms? Does Black and White dare to change the formula and perhaps introduce a new goal rather than the tried and true 8 Badges and then the Elite Four method? What sort of diabolical team, if any, is seeking to conquer Isshu?
Speaking of which, since we’ve already had so many epic Pokemon unleashed over the past generations — Kyogre and Groudon from Generation III; Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and even the almighty Arceus from Generation IV — what could seek to top any of them? How do you top a Pokemon like Arceus anyhow? What new elements could they touch on now that they’ve covered nearly every dimension possible?
A theory I have been hoping on is, perhaps, alternate dimensions or parallel universes. What if the Pokemon world as we know it took a drastically different direction? What if, rather than coexisting with Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh, Isshu is actually in an entirely separate timeline where civilization seemed to take off at an even more accelerated pace. What if the legendary Pokemon of Black and White are the Pokemon that are hinging between the two universes, or what if the evil-doers are the ones seeking to control them both?
It’s fun to think of possibilities, isn’t it? Who knows if that will happen or not. Zoroark seems to suggest something along those lines. Even the names of the games seem to hint at something contrasted.
Aside from that, there are a few elements I think would be fun to see in the new games. One or more new types would be much appreciated. Even though the 17 types we have now work very well together, there hasn’t been any update to that aspect of the rock-paper-scissors game in over 10 years — since Gold and Silver (Dark and Steel). I don’t know what types, specifically, they could add, but even from the days leading up to Generation III I remember thinking that a “Light” type would be cool to have.
We had a bunch of evolutions in Generation IV, so adding new evolutions isn’t all that necessary (although I’m still hoping for a Farfetch’d evolution), but I think it would be cool to see different branches of evolutionary lines similar to Vileplume and Bellossom, or Slowbro and Slowking. Additionally, I think it would be fantastic to see a four-stage evolution line, perhaps of a very powerful Pokemon that evolves into its fourth and final stage somewhere in the mid 80’s as far as level goes. That would be pretty awesome.
Hopefully they will still permit Pokemon to follow you around outside of battle, even if it is just optional, because that is a cool feature that I would hate to see go away, especially when so many players really enjoyed that implementation in HeartGold and SoulSilver. Even expanding on that would be excellent, having them do more while they’re out and about.
There’s certainly a lot to hope for in Black and White. They aren’t just remakes, they aren’t just third-in-the-series games (Emerald, Platinum, etc.) — they are the real deal, the new generation, the flagship of what’s next. I have no doubts that Black and White are going to be absolutely exceptional games. I’m just excitedly wondering what will shake the Pokemon series this time around just as the previous new generation did before it.
I guess we’ll find out later this year!