Excited but Apprehensive

I can't wait for the new games - this is the first time I've been genuinely excited for the release. Having owned all the previous games, I'm looking forward to meeting the new Pokemon and seeing what they have to offer.

My only worry is that this is going to be too much of a departure from the main series for my liking - my only exposure to the games so far has been the demo because I want no spoilers at all, but the demo gave me the impression that the game is more of a separate adventure in the style of other RPG games rather than a Pokemon game. Does anyone else feel the same way?

Oh I'm definitely not saying it's a bad thing, I'm just worried that it could be. I'm not sure what made me thing that they're going to be different, but the overall feel of everything was just not what I've come to expect from a Pokemon game.

I like that the new Pokemon have a Hawaiian feel in their names and such, but I do find it strange that the first 6 generations seemed to have their own naming conventions which were consistent throughout, and now this.

Also, Alola forms. I thought I'd like the idea of them, turns out I don't.

I didn't know only the originals were getting Alola forms! That makes me dislike them even more - it seems so strange to me why they would only introduce new forms for them now, when there has been plenty of other games that would have been good a opportunity to introduce them - the idea seems solid, the execution just puts me off.

That's not exactly a spoiler so I don't mind xD But yeah, I'm still looking forward to getting the games and playing through them, exploring everything there is to offer!

Yeah, I do get what you mean. It does feel like Sun & Moon are making some substantial changes from previous games, but that could really be a good thing! I'm looking forward to these games and the new trials are just one of the many changes I'm stoked to try out.

I was apprehensive when I first heard of how many changes could happen. I don't think it'll deviate too far away from the main-series Pokémon we grew to love though. I totally understand the concern though.

As much as I'm looking forward to Sun and Moon's release and me getting a copy of one of those versions, there are a couple things I'm apprehensive about, such as Gyms being replaced with Trials and the Bicycle being removed. I feel that some of the other changes could turn the upcoming games into a 'make it or break it' moment for the Pokémon franchise.

I've been avoiding spoilers too and I'm also apprehensive about these games. I really want to enjoy them but was let down by X/Y (found it too easy, childish) and am afraid to be let down again.

Otter Mii-kun said:

As much as I'm looking forward to Sun and Moon's release and me getting a copy of one of those versions, there are a couple things I'm apprehensive about, such as Gyms being replaced with Trials and the Bicycle being removed. I feel that some of the other changes could turn the upcoming games into a 'make it or break it' moment for the Pokémon franchise.

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OMG!! I did not know they were excluding the bike in this game, that sucks so bad. It's my favorite item. I cannot believe this even got past the first meeting over at GF. The bike is a huge staple and feels like it's part of Pokemon's identity. Then again so were gyms and we all know what happened to those.

Well enough of that rant. I feel like these games are going to be very good and much better than Gen 6. From what I have heard of the music and just the feel of the games from the demo I get such a Gen 4 feel from it, which makes me so happy. And dat Team Skull, best evil team ever!! When I saw them for the first time doing their gang signs I had to stop and really see how long that animation would go for. It really blew my mind how ridiculous, cool and adorable they were at the same time. All in all, I wouldn't say I am apprehensive, but their are things I do not appreciate being removed. But then again those things that are changing are what is making the games unique so I'm not too worried. Long story short, I think GF knows what their doing and definitely don't want their 20th anniversary games to turn out like X and Y.

I'll say that I'm in the same boat of being excited to have new games, but pretty unsure about all of the changes. I've always liked the Pokemon series for its stability, and while I'm hoping the new direction will be fun (or a one-off thing, perhaps), I'm worried that the series will follow the same trend of a lot of other Nintendo series that I haven't been too happy with lately due to deviation from the elements that I enjoyed. One of the things I enjoy about Pokemon is its consistency, and I don't know if I'll feel the same way about these games or not. I'm also feeling a bit disappointed by some of the elements of the Pokemon selection that have been revealed (won't mention details here), so I'll have to see how that turns out.

That said, I haven't had time to play the demo yet (that'll probably happen this weekend), so I don't know how I'll feel yet about the way the gameplay actually turns out. I just know about what I've read so far.

My main apprehension is how few new Pokémon there are. I was hoping for something akin to BW where every wild encounter was a new creature I'd never seen before. It was exciting and drove my anticipation levels through the roof. I can't help but feel this is going to be a real let down in terms of wild Pokémon; constantly encountering Pokémon I've seen a million times already with the occasional new one. A bit like XY I guess, but with even less chance of running into something new.

I think the change in the formula is a good thing for the series. It is one of the few things that have me extremely excited for these games, especially since I tend to prefer Mystery Dungeon over the main series. The only thing I'm apprehensive about is the potential easiness in the game. One of the things that really put me off about Gen VI is how easy it was. Plus, it felt like Game Freak was holding your hand a bit too much, especially during ORAS. A free Latios or Latias before being the fourth or fifth gym? You have got to be kidding me...

Gyms are completely replaced by trials? I thought they were just an addition. Plus people saying there aren't many new Pokemon and the idea of kind of using field moves of Pokemon you haven't caught... I'm getting more and more worried for what these games have in store and might do to the series! I'm still going to get one or both, but I don't want to hate them!

Yeah, I fear this too. I like a lot of new things in Sun and Moon, but it's getting to be too much.

I love the new features, graphics, etc and all, but some of these concepts do stray too far from the original Pokemon games. I'm up for something different but some of these ideas are bizarre. Here are my opinions:

Some features I like :

-Poke Pelago. Finally, a way to use your Pokemon even if they're in the box! This helps me especially because I have a lot of Pokemon in the PC, and it would be great for them to find stones and grow berries without any effort, find rare pokemon without trying, and level them up without battling. Awesome!

-Festival Plaza. Dang, there seems to be a lot to do here! Can't talk about this too much, because there's a lot of details, but I'm just gonna say it looks fun.

-Pokemon Refresh. Basically Pokemon Amie, but better.

-Hyper Training. Finally, an easy way to train IVs! Makes me wonder if Super Training is still a thing for EVs, though. I kinda want to keep that too.

-Return of Trainer Customization. Not only has this returned, but it's much better!! I love how there's so much more variety now, and if you want a certain color item you can dye it?? Thank you, GameFreak. This proves you've listened to us. XD

-Battle Royal. Seems interesting, and even kinda difficult. Seems to be quite a challenge.

-Poke Ride. No more HMs? YES.

-Rotom Pokedex. It seems this is a way of letting trainers where to go next if they are stuck, or to let them know about a cool place in a city or town so you don't miss out on anything. Pretty helpful.

Things I'm "meh" about:

-Trials. I'm not devastated about Gyms being gone, but just looking for items and fighting random wild pokemon is a lot less exciting than battling a Gym Leader. It would be more fun to fight a trainer's strong team instead of taking on just one giant totem dude. Seems a lot less fun. They could've made trials better, I thought it would be something like Gyms just slightly, but apparently it's just a scavenger hunt.

-Poke Finder. A cool throwback to Pokemon Snap, but I personally could do without taking bunches of pictures of random Pokemon.

-Z Moves. I can see how they're kind of doing mega evolution but with moves, but I don't really think Id be using these during battle. Seems boring tbh. And in a way kind of complicated. Mega Evolution was better. Just, I'm not a fan.

-Alola Forms. The first few revealed were pretty cool! But, the rest not so much..if you're going to rehash Kanto, at least rehash the Pokemon people actually liked, not Dugtrio, or Muk, etc.. And if you did rehash a good pokemon, you made it look downright goofy. I feel bad for Persian and the Golem line. Also, they were hardly any Alolan Forms anyway. What's up with that?

Things I don't like:

-Hardly any new pokemon. Seeing the pokedex leaked was very disappointing. There wasn't enough new pokemon, and it feels like GameFreak pretty much just made Alola Forms and Ultra Beasts as an excuse to fill the Pokedex. Some Pokemon that should've evolved (like Komala and Ribombee) didn't, which is disappointing. Then some cool looking pokemon got terrible evolutions, which was even more disappointing! (Looking at you, Pikipek.) also, the unrevealed pokemon are mediocre at best. That..that anchor..just..sigh. Unova was good. Kalos was good. Now I can safely assume GameFreak is running out of ideas. Don't get me wrong though- most look great.

-Ultra Beasts. Oh my god, what were they thinking?? I mean, I guess the first few were ok, but after seeing the rest leaked??? They're hideous!!! I see they're trying to make them look alien, but dear god those designs are awful!! They don't even look like they're supposed to be anything. I think it's cool to save the world from aliens, have an actual "boss" in the Pokemon games, and yadda yadda..but...you can catch these?? These overpowered aliens..are..Pokemon??? Deoxys was one thing. Because Deoxys looked good. And felt legit. But these Ultra Beasts make me feel GameFreak is losing it. They look like they were designed by a kid.

I can understand why you'd be apprehensive, there's a lot of new features and stuff coming in Sun and Moon that really change the gameplay. I don't think that's a bad thing though and there sure is loads to be excited about, it's okay to feel anxious because as Pokemon fans we've been subjected to the same formula for 20 years but I really feel like Game Freak are turning a corner with Sun and Moon :)

colours said:

A rant, if you will. I really want to get my honest feelings out there, because some of the replies I've been seeing, while understandably skeptical, some other replies are... troubling to me, to say the least.

Game Freak has been making Pokemon games for 20 years now. I wish I had a quarter or a dollar for every single time that I have heard the "Game Freak is/are running out of ideas" statement because I'd be swimming in serious money. This isn't to sound callous or rude of any sort; I just question what the seriously low expectations are; is it because some of us dislike change? I suppose that's a fair enough point in itself, but a reminder that we still know largely next to nothing about the progression and the gameplay of Sun and Moon. A reminder that this is Game Freak's third Pokemon game on the 3DS handheld and they've proven more than adept to reform the graphics alone as well as the character models and including possibly an interesting story on top of that. I'd give Game Freak their due credit, if I'm going to be honest.

As far as Ultra Beasts go...yes, some people don't consider them Pokemon because they don't look like how Pokemon traditionally look like to us, but they're not from the same world as the Pokemon we know, hence their strange appearance. They're supposed to look alien and freaky; I'm honestly not sure what people were expecting, if I'm going to be honest? Personally, I'm super excited to fight and catch my first Ultra Beast and see what it's like to use them in battle! Maybe they're equal to legendaries, or maybe they're equal to psuedos. Who knows, really? What are their stats like? What about types? What moves do they learn? These are the kinds of things that I'd really love to be able to find out and it's exciting and a breath of fresh air to try something completely new that's unfamiliar to me.

This isn't really out to change anyone's opinions because at the end of the day, our own opinions can only be formed by experiencing the game ourselves. Perhaps then, I hope for the day when those that are apprehensive and super wary and/or were/are expecting a complete letdown of a Pokemon game would look back and think "Wow I was silly for ever thinking this would suck".

If, after that, you feel you still aren't a fan, then fine, at least you gave it a shot. But going into the games with an open mind is important.

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I'm really hoping that the games will make me think I was stupid for doubting them, because I'm super excited to play but I feel like the more I find out about these games, the more trouble I'm having imagining myself loving them as much as I want to. The biggest thing I'm worrying about now is the fact that a whole bunch of the new Pokemon are now starting to look like terrible fan made creations that don't fit in at all.

Who knows though, maybe they'll turn out to be my favourite, unique mons that I want so badly! Here's hoping!

Boynsy said:

I'm really hoping that the games will make me think I was stupid for doubting them, because I'm super excited to play but I feel like the more I find out about these games, the more trouble I'm having imagining myself loving them as much as I want to. The biggest thing I'm worrying about now is the fact that a whole bunch of the new Pokemon are now starting to look like terrible fan made creations that don't fit in at all.

Who knows though, maybe they'll turn out to be my favourite, unique mons that I want so badly! Here's hoping!

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I have a feeling we'll all get used to the new Pokemon looking like "terrible fan made creations" soon enough. Personally, I've felt that way about a number of Pokemon for the past couple of generations (a bunch of the gen 5 and 6 starters, as well as some others), and I've definitely heard similar complaints from others. Yet in the end, I've come around. While most of those Pokemon still aren't my favorites, I like them better than I did to begin with, and they look less out-of-place than they did before. That being said, I generally still prefer the Pokemon from the first couple of generations. But there are some "normal" looking Pokemon in the mix this time to offset some of the stranger designs, and I think that'll help.

The changing mechanics, though still strike me as a potentially big issue. While there have been some changes mechanical changes that I hated the sound of but came to love (the physical/special split particularly stands out), there have been other changes I haven't cared for (e.g., mega evolutions. I use them, but I still don't like them very much, and I still think the series would be better without them). Eliminating gyms strikes me as a major change, and I'm worried that it will change the gameplay too drastically. (Not that gyms really matter that much in the long run, as I spend hardly any of my game time actually clearing them, but still...)

Maybe some of this is my frustration with [in my view] Nintendo/Intelligent Systems' killing of the Paper Mario series by turning it into something different than it was before, but I'm afraid that the changes seen this generation could mark a shift in the Pokemon series that will ultimately make it unrecognizable. I have a feeling I'm wrong about that, as GF seems to have a better grasp on what elements make up the core of their series than IS does, but still, it is a fear. And in a year where I personally have seen a lot of creators of series (games, books, movies) from my childhood take steps in directions I don't like, I suppose I'm a little more eager than normal to avoid significant changes in the Pokemon series and maintain the status quo, with small improvements here and there.

Imperator161 said:

I have a feeling we'll all get used to the new Pokemon looking like "terrible fan made creations" soon enough. Personally, I've felt that way about a number of Pokemon for the past couple of generations (a bunch of the gen 5 and 6 starters, as well as some others), and I've definitely heard similar complaints from others. Yet in the end, I've come around. While most of those Pokemon still aren't my favorites, I like them better than I did to begin with, and they look less out-of-place than they did before. That being said, I generally still prefer the Pokemon from the first couple of generations. But there are some "normal" looking Pokemon in the mix this time to offset some of the stranger designs, and I think that'll help.

The changing mechanics, though still strike me as a potentially big issue. While there have been some changes mechanical changes that I hated the sound of but came to love (the physical/special split particularly stands out), there have been other changes I haven't cared for (e.g., mega evolutions. I use them, but I still don't like them very much, and I still think the series would be better without them). Eliminating gyms strikes me as a major change, and I'm worried that it will change the gameplay too drastically. (Not that gyms really matter that much in the long run, as I spend hardly any of my game time actually clearing them, but still...)

Maybe some of this is my frustration with [in my view] Nintendo/Intelligent Systems' killing of the Paper Mario series by turning it into something different than it was before, but I'm afraid that the changes seen this generation could mark a shift in the Pokemon series that will ultimately make it unrecognizable. I have a feeling I'm wrong about that, as GF seems to have a better grasp on what elements make up the core of their series than IS does, but still, it is a fear. And in a year where I personally have seen a lot of creators of series (games, books, movies) from my childhood take steps in directions I don't like, I suppose I'm a little more eager than normal to avoid significant changes in the Pokemon series and maintain the status quo, with small improvements here and there.

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This is me pretty much. While I can't really think of a Pokemon's design that I have outright disliked in previous generations, I have noticed a sort of general decline. However this one seems to have gone too far with the iffy designs and I am not a huge fan, but you never know!

It's already been 20 years and to be honest from someone whom have been playing the game since RBY, I've been wanting a major changeover for quite a long time.

I do agree that this game seems very different from the previous generations, although I first feel a weird (And failed imo) big changes in BWB2W2. XY gave me a good feeling though, so I am sure Sun and Moon would do good, too :)

colours said:

A rant, if you will. I really want to get my honest feelings out there, because some of the replies I've been seeing, while understandably skeptical, some other replies are... troubling to me, to say the least.

Game Freak has been making Pokemon games for 20 years now. I wish I had a quarter or a dollar for every single time that I have heard the "Game Freak is/are running out of ideas" statement because I'd be swimming in serious money. This isn't to sound callous or rude of any sort; I just question what the seriously low expectations are; is it because some of us dislike change? I suppose that's a fair enough point in itself, but a reminder that we still know largely next to nothing about the progression and the gameplay of Sun and Moon. A reminder that this is Game Freak's third Pokemon game on the 3DS handheld and they've proven more than adept to reform the graphics alone as well as the character models and including possibly an interesting story on top of that. I'd give Game Freak their due credit, if I'm going to be honest.

As far as Ultra Beasts go...yes, some people don't consider them Pokemon because they don't look like how Pokemon traditionally look like to us, but they're not from the same world as the Pokemon we know, hence their strange appearance. They're supposed to look alien and freaky; I'm honestly not sure what people were expecting, if I'm going to be honest? Personally, I'm super excited to fight and catch my first Ultra Beast and see what it's like to use them in battle! Maybe they're equal to legendaries, or maybe they're equal to psuedos. Who knows, really? What are their stats like? What about types? What moves do they learn? These are the kinds of things that I'd really love to be able to find out and it's exciting and a breath of fresh air to try something completely new that's unfamiliar to me.

This isn't really out to change anyone's opinions because at the end of the day, our own opinions can only be formed by experiencing the game ourselves. Perhaps then, I hope for the day when those that are apprehensive and super wary and/or were/are expecting a complete letdown of a Pokemon game would look back and think "Wow I was silly for ever thinking this would suck".

If, after that, you feel you still aren't a fan, then fine, at least you gave it a shot. But going into the games with an open mind is important.

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I agree, I can't stand when people say Game Freak are "running out of ideas" when they're clearly not. Look, the Pokemon of this generation haven't been my favourite, but I can certainly see Game Freak putting an extraordinary amount of effort into creating them and making them unique. They almost all have great lore and relate to something from Hawaiian culture which is neat, just to me, I prefer more simply "badass" designs if you will. Charizard, Garchomp, Haxorus, Scizor, Blaziken, Metagross, those type of designs are the ones that appeal to me the most, and we haven't gotten a whole lot of them with 7th gen (or even 6th, really) but that doesn't mean that they are running out of ideas, they're just taking a different creative approach. The old Pokemon will always be there for me to use and I will keep using them and I'll also try the new ones as I could potentially like them after using them some more (it happened with 6th Gen).

As for being negative, I think it's alright to keep your expections low to a point, after 6th Gen kind of let me down being stripped of a lot of my favourite parts of Pokemon (Lack of likable characters in XY, painfully easy games, legendary hand outs, no battle frontier/PWT, short post games) and I think some things about SM are rubbing me the wrong way but I think I can still have a good time while playing it anyways. SM are also impressing me in many ways, the fresh gameplay, riding on Pokemon, removal of HM's, beautiful new model and engine, more customization options, Trainers seen in battle, and now the Battle Tree. I want to keep my expectations low so I don't get dissapointed again, but a gut feeling makes me think these games might be up there with my favorites (HGSS, Platinum, BW2)

Also Ultra Beasts are kinda weird but UB-02 Absorption looks like a Stand so I want it.