In a post that I made here long ago, I mentioned that one thing I really like about Pokémon is the actual Pokémon themselves. But I did not write very much about that, so I want to expand my thoughts on it a bit.
I really like most Pokémon that exist. There are so many of them, and there are so many different varieties. There are Pokémon that are cool, cute, tough, beautiful, weird, odd, unexpected, crazy... there's even Pokémon that doesn't look like Pokémon! I like nearly all of them. I also like how they are coming up with new Pokémon and new surprising ideas for Pokémon in every generation. If there's one thing I'm always looking forward to in a new generation, it's the new Pokémon. That is something I have never been disappointed with in a new generation.
In addition to the above, there's one more thing I like. The number of Pokémon that we have nowadays. There are a lot of Pokémon now, but it hasn't always been that way. Looking back, I feel that during Gen 1-2 as well as Gen 3 and even Gen 4 to an extent, there were too few Pokémon. But from Gen 5 and forward, the total number has been great. I don't think that there can ever be too many Pokémon, but when I look back now, I think that there were too few in the past. This might also be one of the reasons I have enjoyed Pokémon more as an adult compared to when I was a kid. There's more Pokémon now which makes the games and the franchise more enjoyable for me.
A while ago, I thought a bit about what I like more about Pokémon. Three main things I like are the games, the Pokémon Adventures manga and of course the Pokémon themselves. But there's a fourth thing. The Pokémon world. Nowadays, there are many regions, places and environments in the Pokémon world which makes it feel large and more real, compared to how it was in the past when there were only a few regions. One thing that made me think about this was Pokémon Generations, I think the mini-series managed to showcase the Pokémon world really well.
In addition to the above, I like when there are references to other regions in the games. It creates some great world-building and it makes the Pokémon world feel more alive and connected.
A minor thing I thought about recently that is somewhat related to the above. I like the museums in the Pokémon games. I really like how they manage to tell the player about both real-life facts and random minor tidbits about the Pokémon world. The Slateport and Pewter museums are good examples of this. Or how they sometimes only showcase various aspects of the Pokémon world, like how the Lumiose and Lilycove museums shows artwork of various things from the Pokémon world.
Next up, something different. I like how in some generations, the main legendaries have a different theme compared to what can be expected at first glance. I think the best example here is Gen 6. When X/Y were first revealed, many fans speculated that Xerneas and Yveltal would have something to do with genetics or mathematics, but that turned out to be wrong as their themes are life and death. Looking back now, I think it was cool how they had such an unexpected theme.
More on the topic of legendaries. One other thing I like about them is that in the recent games (starting from Platinum), they respawn if you defeat them and then defeat the Elite Four again. This makes it easier if you want to catch the legendaries after beating the game instead of during the main story (providing the game lets you do this) or if you accidentally defeat one without saving before facing it.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I like how the Gentleman/Madame's clothes in Gen 7 have Pokémon patterns. But it turns out that they are not the only ones. I recently noticed that the Preschoolers in Gen 7 also has Pokémon patterns on their clothes. The boys has a Vikavolt pattern and the girls has a Komala pattern. And on the subject of preschoolers, I like how in X/Y, the boys have a Charizard doll in their backpack, while the girls are holding a Buneary doll. So cute!
Next up, a big thing which I like but I don't think I have ever posted about it in this thread before. I thought I should post about it here after seeing some negative discussions about this subject in other threads recently. I like battling in Battle Facilities. It has become one of my favorite things to do in the Pokémon games. I am not a competitive player as online/competitive battling has never really appealed to me that much (though I'll admit that I haven't tried it that much, only a little in Gen 3 and 6). But I really like battling in Battle Facilities. I got started with battling in them thanks to the Emerald Battle Frontier, and then I have continued with it in all generations that has been released afterwards. I think that battling in them is a lot of fun, and it can be very challenging too. I'd say they are my favorite challenge in the series. I also like how you can set your own goals regarding Battle Facilities. Some players are satisfied with beating the lines and getting things like Symbols, Prints, Trophies, Trainer Card upgrades or Passport Stamps, while others want to win 100 and/or 200 battles in a row to get the special berries you get from that, and even others are trying to get streaks over 1000 and/or trying to be number #1 on the leaderboards. Plus various other ideas and things I have seen regarding Battle Facilities over the years. There's a lot of different goals to have in the Battle Facilities. Not everyone has the same goals but everyone can find something to strive for. I originally posted this in the Battle Tree thread in 2017 but I decided to repost it here as well since it is suitable for this thread too.
However, I know that some people find the threshold to get into any Battle Facility to be too high to start with. You have to learn and take into account the existence of IVs, EVs, Natures and more complex battle strategies compared to the main game, which the games doesn't explain very well at all. That's a valid complaint, and I can understand if that prevents some players from getting started in any Battle Facilities. But I do personally not care. I have done it for so many generations and games now that I'll do whatever it takes, as many times as I have to. I guess I just have it in me. I also find it a lot easier nowadays with all the luxuries we are gifted with in modern generations. For instance, traditional breeding back in Emerald was an utter pain compared to all the things that can be done with in the modern generations. Destiny Knots, Power Items, Ability Capsules, Hyper Training, QR Codes... those are just the main things on top of my head. So I guess I should say that I like battling in Battle Facilities, and I like how it has been getting easier to obtain good Pokémon for them in recent generations.
One more thing I like regarding Battle Facilities. I like how the standard Battle Facility keeps getting improved in every generation. I never battled in the Crystal Battle Tower that much but I remember that it was extremely hard to win even one battle there. The R/S Battle Tower was a lot easier to win at, you could even use your in-game team to win several sets of battles there. But it still offered serious challenges if you were up to that. It made the challenge more balanced, which I liked. The D/P Tower was mostly the same as the R/S Tower, but with one new thing. It had a boss trainer, which was something the R/S Tower lacked. The Subway in Gen 5 decided to improve a bit more as it split the lines into the Normal and Super lines, which meant that you only had to go through the first boring 21 battles once for each line, letting you get started on the harder battles right away in the Super lines. I also found the Subway to be considerably harder than the Gen 4 Tower/Frontier, it feels like they increased the difficulty a lot there. The Maison in Gen 6 added Triple and Rotation lines, making 5 lines in total for even more fun. This is one of the few instances in the games where you can try a lot of Triple and Rotation battles as they aren't that common otherwise. I am especially fond of the Super Triple line since Triple is my favorite and probably also best format. The Tree in Gen 7 did sadly remove the Triple and Rotation lines, but instead, they made it considerably more challenging. I find the Tree a lot harder than the Maison, which is a good thing since Battle Facilities are supposed to be really hard and challenging. They also added a new thing in that they let you face a special trainer every ten battles, which is a really cool idea. Sadly, the Tree in S/M made a big mistake in making the normal lines unnecessarily difficult, making it harder to unlock the Super lines. But US/UM fixed that, which is something I really like and I have written more about it in a previous post. To summarize, the standard Battle Facility has improved a lot over the generations and that is something I really like. I think it is a very good example of something in the Pokémon games that has improved a lot over the years and something which has been improved in every new generation.
Lastly, one thing that I just happened to think about. It isn't really a Battle Facility, but a bit similar. A Battle Challenge, maybe? I like Mt. Battle in Pokémon Colosseum/XD. This was a really fun place. I like how it can be a bit difficult but never super tough since you get healed after each battle and you can win easily as long as you know exactly what you are doing and take breaks when needed. I also like how it is a challenge with a sort of goal, to get up to the top and face a boss in the 100th battle. There were some cool rewards for it too, Colosseum let's you get a Ho-Oh if you complete 100 battles in Battle Mode while XD allows you to obtain a Johto starter with a special move if you can do 100 battles in a row without taking a break or changing your team. I remember that I went through the entire thing three times in one of my XD files just so I could get all three Johto starters. That was a ton of fun. Mt. Battle is also a pretty good training spot in the Orre games. So yeah, I really like Mt. Battle and I would like to see something like it again. I guess the closest we have gotten in the main series are Black Tower/White Treehollow in B2/W2, which were also amazing.