The Rise and Fall Of Pokémon's Region Design

Check out part 2 for my thoughts on scarlet and violet! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttLJ9EqA8Ts

Jesse Pinkman telling me how much he hates Galar’s region design was something I never knew I needed.

One of the most frustrating aspects of Pokemon is their absolute REFUSAL to bring back features. Apricorns? Hidden Bases? Decorating Pokeballs? Beauty contests? Daycares? Puffin making with berries? Battle Frontier? Extra region? Customized clothing? Cell phone to call characters? A rival that's actually challenging? Game corner mini games? Underwater diving? Pokedex completely replaced with Rotom? A bad guy team thats actually interesting or intimidating? There's tons more im missing

I specifically remember being amazed as a kid when I swam north from Cinnabar island and suddenly found myself back in Pallet town. I don't know if this was intended or not, but returning back to the starting town through a previously inaccessible, entirely unknown route really made me think about how far I had come since I left. It was such a satisfying way to tie the whole journey together.

33:10 The woman is actually a Zoroak disguised as a human. A special event allowed the woman to reveal she was a Zoroak and battle you. Really good breakdown of all the regions!

You forgot to say that in Black and White 2, the LAST town that your character visits is the town where you START in Black and White, and that you are basically going backwards compared to Black and White. That blew my fucking mind

I feel like Alola is handled way better in the anime than it is in the games. If there’s one thing that the SM anime did flawlessly, is that it made Ash experience and become a part of the culture of Alola. The world building of the region in the anime was great. It really stood out from the past seasons where they would spend an unhealthy amount of episodes wandering a forest that looks exactly the same as the one they were just in 2 episodes ago.

"I feel like we hit rock bottom with Galar"
Paldea: GRAB A SHOVEL B*TCH

Youngins don't realize how crazy was to discover that water right there in front of your house led to kanto.

24:25 I just HAVE to mention this: the "clouds" are actually supposed to be the shadows of the tree canopy and the light spots being pockets of the canopy that light filters down through. Even though we don't see the trunks of these supposedly MASSIVE trees, it's an amazing aesthetic that I think is unmatched in the series. It looks so cool. Gen 3 and 4 are my golden era.

Something i always liked about Kalos's routes is that while your playing through the story it gives off the implication that this game is happening over the course of a year, with the beginning of the game being these spring time looking routes, then you go to the coast which of course is summer then by the time the fifth and sixth gyms happen it's an autum looking route and by the seventh and eighth gyms its snowing.

‘Everyone remembers their first shiny’

Victory Road Gravellers in Gold know self destruct. I’m still upset all these years later.

I am developing a fan-game based on Costa Rica and this video was very useful for me to understand what makes the regions so memorable. Great video!

Speaking of the "Mature Breakup" in Unova, I'm pretty sure that has something even deeper. The two people who broke up actually aren't people. They are Zoroarks.
If you bring the shiny legendary beast from the Zoroark movie here, the female Zoroark will battle you and you can catch it.
The male Zoroark (the backpacker) however will show up in BW2, you can find him in this very forest, and he will give you a TM. After that, he will show itself and run away

That's the "Lostlorn Forest". It's a forest made up of Zoroark's illusion, therefore called Lostlorn Forest. A location full of lore and hidden content.

Unova’s seasons mechanic is the peak of region design. It’s absolutely amazing and special to see how the seasons not only affect the visuals but also can make different areas have more to explore like Twist Mountain.

Hurts so much that you're so right about Alola. I had so much fun playing Pokemon Moon on my first playthrough, but it's because I loved the characters and the story. The region was a set piece for the primary plot, not really anything more.

Man 🐴

i think you actually put into perspective how much firered and leafgreen mess up the aesthetics of the towns, lavender town especially, instead of being full of dread and sorrow, it's just as vibrant and alive as your starting town

The secrets buried in the Hoen region are quite under appreciated, I remember losing my little head when I figured out how to ride the ocean currents and stumbled upon a secret cave with braille on the wall

Ok ok the vid was sick but you forgot something absolutely LARGE. In heartgold and soulsilver your walkin’ pokemon reacts to the environment, experiencing the locations just like you and giving you insight into what it would actually FEEL like being there. (Sights, sounds, scents… etc.) That absolutely sold me on Johto.

Edit: That running from Cynthia bit had me dying.

Village Bridge is super GOAT tier. Didn't like a lot of the "YouTuberisms" that slow down the pace of the video for me, but the actual commentary you offer in combination with simple visuals and everything was great. Made me wanna re-visit some of these, and really makes me realize how hard it is to leave those lasting impressions.

Fortree City is instantly memorable. I have remembered it with no effort since I first stepped foot there. But I completely forgot about the lore of the warehouses becoming studios in Nacrene City. It's so interesting, so how did I forget about it? Not sure.

Lots to think about from this. Thanks for sharing, your thoughts were pleasant to listen to.