After many rumors, leaks, and speculation from content creators, fans, and writers–the wait is finally over. Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee were revealed by The Pokemon Company and Nintendo last night. These Pokemon games are coming to a Nintendo Switch near you on November 16, 2018.
These titles are not “core series” Pokemon games, but they share many features from those games. These are not the games teased from E3 2017 either since that game is scheduled for the second half of 2019.
Pokemon Go and the mainline titles came together to create better-looking version of GameFreak’s 1998 game, Pokemon Yellow. The original 151 featured in Pokemon Go will be transferable via Bluetooth to these games.
Furthermore, Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee will feature a new Pokemon that the trailer titled, a “special” Pokemon.
Players can control their characters with one Joy-Con controller. They can also control the characters with the new accessory called: Poke Ball Plus–which launches this year. The new titles will feature a co-op experience for players too.
Pokemon will no longer hide in the grass or ocean anymore. They’ll be in the overworld. Poke Ball Plus will be released on the same day as the games for 4,980 yen in Japan–according to IGN. The prices in other areas will be announced later–maybe at E3.
As for the gameplay, Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee are revamped versions of Pokemon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition. According to IGN–-the game will include the original 151 Pokemon and their Alolan forms. They believe we shouldn’t expect their newer evolutions like Umbreon, Blissey, and Rhyperior to appear in the game. Players cannot visit Johto or other regions in the games which is a bummer.
Battles against trainers are similar to the core series titles, but wild Pokemon encounters different–IGN says.
In Pokemon Let’s Go, wild Pokemon roam around you and this replaces the random battle gimmicks from the older games. When you touch these Pokemon, you’ll be taken to a screen similar to Pokemon Go.
This means most of the Pokemon GO mechanics will be implemented into these games. Which may sound bad to some, but not entirely awful.
Pikachu will appear on your shoulder while Eevee sits atop your head. Like any Pokemon game these two cover creatures will be exclusive partners to your preferred version.
IGN claims,
“Masuda said he and his team worked very hard to make these Pokemon as cute and expressive as possible, and are still working on this now. To make them even more adorable, you can dress them up with different outfits.”
Your Pikachu or Eevee won’t evolve, but wild versions will. Don’t forget about those Pokemon boxes–IGN says. You’ll have to carry a box with you this time, but it’s better than going to the Pokemon center to do it, right? Thank you, Bill!
Alongside your partner Pokemon, a loved feature from Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver makes a return in these games. You can have a Pokemon follow you in the game now. You can ride on the backs of large Pokemon like Onix, Charizard, and Lapras too.
“At one point we had people ride on the backs of of smaller Pokemon, and we felt sorry for them,” Masuda said to IGN.
The Poke Ride feature from Pokemon Sun and Moon hasn’t been confirmed yet, but Masuda assured to IGN that HMs will not return in Pokemon Let’s Go. Thinking about it now, if you can ride large Pokemon in the games, than maybe they’ll work as HMs too? It makes a lot of sense.
There will be version-exclusive Pokemon in the games, like the many Pokemon games before it. That’s been a staple in the series since the original Red, Blue, and Green versions. You can battle or trade online or locally, depending on your preference. Online ranked battles aren’t making the cut this time around. IGN quotes Masuda saying,
“We don’t have any plans to utilize the online service right now.”
There is no information on character customization at this time. Since this is a re-imagined version of Pokemon Yellow it makes a lot of sense since that feature was introduced during Pokemon’s 6th generation.
There’s two-player co-op in these games–a never-before-seen feature for a mainline game. According to IGN,
Once dropped in, the two players can roam the world, catch Pokemon, and battle against NPCs together, all on one shared screen. Even in the middle of a battle, a second player can shake the second controller and drop in to help.
Masuda expanded on how this mechanic works: “The bottom line… is that it really is to make the second player a support role. So the idea is that it’s the first player’s adventure. If you only have one Switch in the house and there are siblings, each sibling can start their own game.”
“This may not be a super great answer, but I don’t want to go into the exact mechanics of what happens if someone joins in mid-way,” Masuda said.
As part of his goal to make Pokemon Let’s Go share some qualities with Go, Masuda wanted to add an option to make it playable with parents, siblings, or friends, and this seemingly easy-to-use drop-in co-op option aims to accomplish that.
It seemed as though the second player shares the first-player’s Pokemon, and when battling, it becomes a two-on-one battle. When catching a Pokemon, the trailer showed that throwing Poke Balls at the same time would provide an extra bonus. For now, this is speculation based on the trailer and Masuda’s comments, and we don’t have specific details quite yet about how this mechanic works.
Once a Pokemon from Go is transferred to Pokemon Let’s Go, it will appear in the Pokemon Go Ranch, where it must be caught again.
Think the Pal Park or Pokemon Transfer Lab feature from prior titles. If a Pokemon is sent to either Switch game, you cannot send it back to Pokemon Go.
IGN continues,
If a lot of Pokemon Go Pokemon are transferred to Pokemon Let’s Go, you will be able to play special mini-games and receive other benefits in both games, but no other details are known for now.
John Hanke, CEO of Niantic, said, “When trainers connect their Go and Switch accounts, the’ll be able to do more than just transfer Pokemon, but we want to save some surprises.
Masuda confirmed that if a Pokemon is Shiny in Pokemon Go, it will still be Shiny in Pokemon Let’s Go.” Pichu, Pikachu, and Raichu with special hats will be unable to be transferred to Pokemon Let’s Go, as they’re a mark of a special celebration in Pokemon Go.
Though details were sparse, transferring a Pokemon from Pokemon Go to Let’s Go on the Nintendo Switch will enable you to send gifts to Pokemon Go, and allow you to meet a “special Pokemon” in Pokemon Go that is an “all new Pokemon that hasn’t been seen before.”
Poke Ball Plus will be sold separately from Pokemon Let’s Go for 4980 yen. Regional prices have not been revealed yet. It looks comfortable to hold and includes a wrist strap to boot.
It functions as a Joy-Con per the trailer footage and works similarly to Pokemon Go Plus. It’s used to take any Pokemon from Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee with you on the go. It’s basically an updated version of the Poke Walker accessory from Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
When you carry a Pokemon with you, the device will light up, make noise, and move. IGN claims,
“Masuda also said some other things will happen when carrying Pokemon, but he didn’t want to get into the details. Masuda said his team worked especially hard on making use of the Joy-Con’s six gyro sensors to ensure it felt right when a Pokemon is caught, and this technology was transferred to the Poke Ball Plus. Basically, you should be able to feel the Pokemon rock “realistically” in the Poke Ball Plus when it’s caught.”
That concludes this news piece on Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee for now. Huge thank you to IGN for interviewing Ishihara, Masuda, and others for the information. It’s exciting to finally play a mainline title on an HD system. However, the teased title is just as exciting. Looks like Nintendo will sell a lot of Switches this holiday season.
What do you think about this news? Will you be picking up these titles or are you waiting for the core RPG Pokemon experience in 2019? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter, and follow us for more news on Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee, and everything gaming too.
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