Staring Blankly, Lobbing Poké Balls

slowpoke

After starting and stopping a few times, I’m finally putting in the time to progress through Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! The game is stupid easy. Like, it’s bad enough you don’t even battle wild Pokémon and just lob Poké Balls at them like in the Pokémon GO mobile game, but there are plenty of evolved critters just roaming around. I’ve never played any of the Generation 1 games prior to this one (I only got into Pokémon in 2016 with GO), but I always thought it was a BIG DEAL evolving the Pokémon and not readily catching a Butterfree, Raticate, or Graveler freely roaming the overworld. Should I bother to evolve a Graveler, or will I encounter a Golem derping in the field as well?

Cerulean Gym
Just a bit salty.

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! is a $60 Pokémon GO with a story. Still, the game is sort of fun, the world is vibrant and beautiful, and I’m glad I’m finally touring Kanto.

Ride Pokemon
Yeehaw!

Currently, I endured the trainers of the Rock Tunnel and am now in Lavender Town climbing the town’s Pokémon Tower, a mausoleum for Pokémon. This I find fascinating, as there is something to be said about including death in what’s basically a kid’s game. Not said by me though because I’m way too uneducated for that kind of scholarship. However, I do think it’s inappropriate to be BATTLING IN A MAUSOLEUM.

Pokemon Tower mausoleum
Paying our respects to the Pokémon no longer with us.
Pokemon battle
Meh. Let’s battle!

But, then again, it is a Pokémon Mausoleum, and the critters do love a good battle, so maybe it’s quite appropriate after all. I’m tempted to see what is out there as far as “Pokémon & Death” scholarship. I’ve only gone so far as the Internet fan theory concerning the loss of your rival’s Raticate in the original Red/Blue, but I think I need to fire up the ol’ EBSCOhost at some point.

Concerning Diglett
Lady, I’m just a kid.

My motivation for playing Let’s Go, Pikachu! this time around is actually to obtain a Mystery Box in Pokémon GO in order to go about catching Meltan in the wild. Apparently, once you get to Fuchsia City and have access to the GO Park, a special Pokémon preserve, you can transfer the creatures from the mobile app to the Switch game which grants you the Mystery Box in Pokémon GO. This convoluted process is what I live for, and it’s much more fun than doing the menial tasks required for the Let’s GO, Meltan special research in the mobile app. I just hit 2/9 with that one. Likewise, I’m at 3/8 with A Mythical Discovery. It’s been over a year, and I’m nowhere near to catching Mew. Maybe the research tasks are fun for some people, but using 108 Berries to help catch Pokémon for A Spooky Message is such a menial task worthy of a PlayStation trophy. Just no. I’m at 1/3 there. My plan had been to play Crystal before I got the sudden urge to acquire Meltan, but now I’m thinking I’d like to give Yellow a playthrough, especially after I learned of the Mew glitch. At any rate, I have a lot of Pokémon to keep me busy before Sword & Shield release in November.

Slowpoke doing nothing.
Goals.

Author: Stephen Oravec

Stephen Oravec is a writer from Ohio.