Welcome to the Galar Region

Get ready folks. Pull down your Ash Ketchum hat, put all of your pikachu stuffies in order and crack open a white claw and hit start.

Listen. Real talk? I want that fucking elephant Pokémon and I want it yesterday. I’m already invested in his game and it has only been a few minutes. 

The wonderful world of Pokémon speech was delivered by a cool guy who seems to be the chairperson of the Galar Pokémon League.  This might be the first time that there has been a glimpse at the administrative staff behind the scenes of Pokémon and it is a nice little detail to add. Up until now, players only ever saw the frontline: elite four, gym leaders, champions. There must always have been coaches and chairpersons and executive officers, but we just never saw them. They are really staging this game as a real-world sports analog. We see this with the champion, Leon...

The champion Leon is an athlete with an undefeated Charizard. He is clad in a garish cape and crown hat, but also in what could only be described as soccer shorts and cleats. He strikes his trademark “Charizard pose” whenever he gets another victory and he comes home to his hometown to fanfare and applause. I do like this take on the Pokémon series—where people other than the player character are aware of the world around them. It makes the whole world seem a lot more lived-in. It really helps with the immersion.

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You are dropped into the game and come across a Wooloo trying to break down a fence to get to the “spooky forest on the other side”. I decided to leave this Checkov’s Gun loaded and followed my rival-of-the-moment, Hop, to meet with his older brother at the train station. As it were, Hop is the younger sibling of the aforementioned Undefeated Champion Leon. The schtick this time is that Leon wants to light a fire under his little brother and get him to take his Pokémon training seriously, so he instructs you to become a trainer to push him forward.

Happy to serve as a plot device if it means that I get a Pokémon, I agreed. I had pangs of regret when I saw the starters this generation. I actually like the design on all three of them so much that I actually felt bad having to choose only one. All of my regret was gone, however, when Grookey immediately jumped up and slapped me five. I made the right choice.

And what was that noise in the distance? It was Checkov’s Wooloo and it has just broken through the gate!

Current Squad——-