Looking back at Pokemon X and Y
With Pokemon Legends: Z-A on the way, I’ve had the previous Kalos games, Pokemon X and Y, in my head a lot lately. I actually started replaying these games at the beginning of the year, and had a really wonderful time. I was incredibly shocked and overjoyed that my replay timed perfectly for me to be in the Kalos mood, as Pokemon Legends: Z-A was announced!
To say I’m excited is a bit of an understatement. Pokemon Legends: Arceus is arguably my favorite Nintendo Switch game. I find it so fun and charming and creative and beautiful.. so for it’s sequel to be set in the region of a game I fully believe to be underrated and fantastic, it’s a perfect match!
This right here was my team for my 2024 playthrough of Pokemon Y! I usually pick grass type starters, but I really love the Fennekin line.
The three final starter evolutions; Greninja, Delphox, and Chesnaught, have a really clever inspiration! They’re all based off of traditional RPG classes! Greninja being a rogue/thief, Delphox being a mage, and Chesnaught being a knight/tank. This is a really fun callback to how Pokemon is really one of the most unique RPGs of all time!
Alongside Delphox, I had five other trusty teammates. Rather than using the Lucario gifted to you by Gym Leader Korrina, I raised my own Riolu to eventually become a Lucario that could Mega Evolve. I used Audino, a personal favorite Pokemon of mine, as well as Goodra, Gogoat, and Swoobat! Goodra is the “psuedo-legendary” of the Kalos region, and an incredibly powerful and reliable teammate.
Goodra evolves from Sliggoo, and is quite tricky yet fun to evolve! It can only evolve in the rain, when it’s level 50 or above. I have fond memories of walking through route after route and exploring, waiting to luckily stumble upon a rainstorm.
Pokemon X and Y is home to many beautiful locations. While Pokemon Legends: Arceus has my favorite visuals in the series, Pokemon X and Y has a beautiful art style and just general atmosphere that I can’t get enough of. It has such a toybox or dollhouse feel that’s nostalgic and charming, and full of color and live.
My personal favorite location is the area above, Laverre City. This town is locked in an eternal state of autumn, and has a fairytale feel to it. The orange trees, the fascinating gym thats half house and half tree, and the PokeBall Factory are all interesting sights, not to mention the music!
In Laverre City, you fight Gym Leader Valerie. She’s notable not just for her unique gym and really interesting fashion, but also being the first Fairy type Gym Leader in Pokemon!
A big critique Pokemon X and Y face a lot is their lack of difficulty. I understand this complaint, though I don’t find it to be a deal breaker. Personally, I like to make the game harder by not using my full team! Gym Leaders in this game usually only use three Pokemon; so I try to use only three as well! It gives a “Pokemon Anime” feel to the battle, as Ash Ketchum was often only allowed to use the same number of Pokemon as the opposing Gym Leader. It’s not a total fix for the difficulty, but it makes for much more interesting battles!
Overall, I find Pokemon X and Y to be an underrated gem in many ways. I think it’s charming and full of life, with tons to explore. (I didn’t even get into talking about the massive Lumiose City, full of things to do!)
This was the first 3D Pokemon game, and it truly did an incredible job at pushing the series forward in so many ways! Most of all, I think the Kalos region is full of life and charm, and one of the best regions in all of Pokemon to me.
I am incredibly excited for Pokemon Legends: Z-A, releasing in 2025, as I feel it will truly show the world what Kalos can do, and how wonderful this region was. There’s so much untapped potential, that I really hope and believe Legends Z-A will bring out!
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and if you happen to have a 3DS and copy of Pokemon X or Pokemon Y, I’d recommend replaying the game to get yourself hyped up for Pokemon Legends: Z-A! The future of Pokemon is gleamingly bright!
