Unless you’re exceptionally daft, unaware, miserable or an exceptional combination of the bunch that defies Darwinism, you’ve probably heard of Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, the newest titles in the long running Pokemon rpg game series. As the introduction of the 6th (yes, 6th) generation of Pokemon not only will these games bring with them a whole mess of new mangled little monsters, but also the series debut on the 3DS, along with the first proper 3D Pokemon experience.

The Pokemon franchise has always gathered criticism as biting and relevant as a teething Totodile, with most of the mocking going along the lines of “It’s the same thing over and over again” or, “The games haven’t really changed since the 90′s”. It’s a fair call to be honest, but even with all the skepticism and apathetic attitudes justified, Pokemon remains one of the most popular and profitable video games in history.

So X and Y had their debut trailers put out to shock the world, announcing their global release in October this year. Although reception amongst Pokemaniacs was predictably positive, the downers have been pretty bloody grim to say the least, with journalists and fellow fans alike picking on Poketards and Nintendo from the get go, seemingly determined to kill the X & Y band wagon before it even got moving. But said skeptics can simply put, go fornicate with a cactus. Pokemon X & Y will be the huge Success these games’ve always been. And you want to know why?

Because of Gamers like me. 

I can’t wait for Pokemon X & Y, and I’ve always loved the portable RPG’s. Though I can’t say I’ve bothered to dip my toes in some of the other games to boast the Pokemon title, The core series is something I’ve just always adored, and with X & Y, I have even more reasons to be excited.

The Jump to 3D.

Even though it’s just something as simple as an Aesthetic step up, exploring the world of Pokemon world for the first time in full 3D is going to be an amazing experience.  No I don’t mean “3D” as in using the stupid slider and having the screen pop-out a little like a lazy puppet. I mean walking down a track, with wounded Pokemon in tow, and seeing that sweet sanctuary in the distance. Peering through a forest to see some secretive hidden item. Admiring my squadron of Cock-fightin’ critters in a new perspective, and enjoying the sense of scale and wonder that can only come from true 3D environments. Even if they do stick to the classic grid-style movement, the visual evolution alone will make X and Y great.

Oh you know me so well.

Nonchalant nostalgia aside, I really did grow up with Pokemon. I have many fond memories of starting off in a new town, chatting with my young and presumably widowed mother who doesn’t actually have her own room in the house. Meeting up with some botanically named old bastard and calling some scrappy looking kid who’s gonna give me stick “Scotty”, ’cause he doesn’t know the humiliation I’ll put him through. Choosing my starter before wandering out into the wilderness to viciously assault woodland creatures repeatedly until I’d grinded my monster up to level 12 or so…

Yes it’s almost always the same opening experience  but that’s exactly why I love it. Call it formulaic or predictable but there’s something about those first few hours of a Pokemon game to me that’re just absolutely timeless.  The sort of experience you could have a million times, and it would just never get old. I loved it in 1999, and I’ll love it in 2013.

My 3DS needs it.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; I love my 3DS, it’s sleek, sexy, and simply bubbling with brilliant potential. That’s why I’m so bummed there’s nothing worth bloody playing on the little Shelder. Sure there’s a handful of decent games, mainly the 9/10 nonsense Nintendo usually spews out without an inch of effort (see Super Mario 3D Land), but I’ve been waiting for the one killer title that you had to have. The game that’d make you smile at your system and say “Yep, I’m glad I got it.” Anyone with half a frontal lobe still synced in their synapse knew that Pokemon would come to the 3DS soon enough. And I for one am stoked that I’ll really have a reason to play around on my vita-destroying little dynamo for hours and hours on end.

An interesting line-up?

Though we all love Pokemon for our subjective reasons, the generations have been pretty up and down. A weak line-up of monsters often meant for a shoddy experience, that just wasn’t as interesting or enjoyable as those that debuted some more appealing collectible creatures. In my opinion the Regions went a little something like:

Kanto - The Classic, awesome in every way.
Johto - Wonderful, a creative and vibrant expansion.
Hoenn  - Utter trash. Some of the worst Pokemon poisoned by lazy localization.
Sinnoh - A few duds, but a big return to form and some real-stand out monsters.
Unova – Starting to get stale, half-assed throw-aways everywhere, but added a real sense of personality.

So far we’ve only seen the 3 starters and 2 key legendaries  for this new region, but unlike the last gen, they actually all look pretty appealing. Call it a bit of style or just the system of elimination, they’ve managed to make some flagship Pokemon that look great, while still keeping that familiar charm we love. Heres hoping there’s more good stuff on the way.

 A reason to get real.

Like any hardcore poke-freak, I spent hours and hours training teams of Pokemon to be deadly and dangerous. Selecting the best moves, breeding and strengthening ideal roles and then grinding them all up to max level. I did it all, well, because it was fun. I liked mashing away getting my Shuckle up to level 100. But even though Pokemon always encouraged player/player interaction, and had incorporated online functionality for the later games, there was still this sense of Isolation to it all. That all your hard work and spent time would rarely be put to the test against others.

But all that will change with X & Y. Now backed by the beautifully streamlined online functionality of the 3DS, we’ll be able to battle, share and best of all, TRADE with friends and strangers alike, all over the world with total, effortless ease. It’ll make every time you  sculpt that perfect combatant just that much more rewarding.

There are still plenty of reasons why I’m looking forward to Pokemon X and Y, but I won’t go into any more detail. Like I said before, fans like me are going to buy this game regardless of what others say. Those who love the Pokemon experience really have something to look forward to, and wether you want something to do on your 3DS, love super-simplistic but satisfying RPG’s or just want to get your game on, October can’t come soon enough.

Written by ChatterboxZombie.