Me, Myself, and Karaidon

I think I spent more time doing character creation than running around Paldea. To be fair, this is a known problem with me. But also - character creation?! In my Pokemon game? From the start? With gender-neutral makeup and haircuts?

It really is a whole new world.

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I have some quibbles with this game. The controls don't feel as fluid as Legends: Arceus, which is weird because it came out afterwards. I don't love the number of long, unskippable, interactive, cutscenes. I don't know why I can't h ave Nemona's skin tone, which is extremely close to my IRL one. But meeting all these new creatures reminded me what it felt like to be ten years old and stumbling face-first into the mysterious and unknown world of Pokemon. And that's a pretty amazing feeling.

Welcome to the world of Pokemon

Hello! It's been a while! Since I last posted, I've traveled a bunch, graduated from college, moved across the country, so I've barely had time to touch my Christmas gifts - including a brand-new copy of Pokemon Scarlet!

The very first video game I owned for myself, instead of playing at a friend's house, was Pokemon Pearl. The last mainline Pokemon game I played was Pokemon White 2, more than a decade ago. I have a copy of Legends: Arceus, but it's safe to say it's a little.... different from your standard Pokemon fare. I'm excited to see how the series has changed, and go back  to my gamer roots taking on the gyms and Elite 4!

I have a vague idea of what goes on in this game - but I haven't watched any streams or even much in the way of trailers, so all I know is some secondhand Discord chatter. I'm really interested in getting to know the new Pokemon and new region.

Things I know about Pokemon Scarlet:

• Less linear structure, can kind of do things in any order
• You're a student at Pokemon University or something?
• Some kind of Breath of the Wild-esque mega legendary situation, which sounds fun
• The legendary is also a bike
• There is an NPC who is a lesbian who looks like a twink
• The Tauros will kill you
• There is a long white Diglett that allegedly looks like a dick
• There is also an olive

..... that's it.

When I did play Pokemon, I got really into type and Nuzlocke challenges. I'm also going to set down some ground rules for this playthrough, but much less stringent:

• I need to try to complete the Pokedex - if there is any Pokemon I have never caught before, I have to do everything in my power to try and catch it.
• I cannot, however, use any Pokemon from Gens 1-5 UNLESS they were single-stage Pokemon (does not evolve)
  
  • I basically never use single-stage Pokemon, so I think they deserve another chance.
• No looking up tutorials. If I take a wrong turn and end up in Victory Road, that's my burden and I have to suffer through it.

Ready? Let's go!