I herd u liek…Hoenn: An Ode to Pokemon II

2016 marks 20 years of Pokemon…Twenty years, has it really been that long?! Twenty years later and I still love Pokemon. I don’t think I’ll ever not love Pokemon…So with that being said, nostalgia has struck again, as I have said before in an earlier post, Johto and the Gen 2 Pokemon games were my first introduction to the Pokemon world…Johto is where I fell in love with Pokemon, but it wasn’t until Gen 3 that I really began to get serious about it.

Prior to the release of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (ORAS), the third generation of Pokemon was generally panned upon it’s initial release. Some fans even credit Ruby and Sapphire for bringing about the beginning of Franchise Fatigue.

Honest Trailers definitely covers all of the things that pissed people off about the games. But with the release of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, fans of Pokemon seem to be singing a different tune about the third generation. I loved Hoenn from the beginning!

If Kanto is Spring and Johto is Fall, Hoenn is definitely the embodiment of Summer. Unlike distinct Japanese feel of the previous two generations, Hoenn gives the feel of a tropical resort….The Hoenn region, which means ‘abundant relations’ is based on the Kyushu island of Japan. Hoenn holds the same nostalgia that Johto has for me. I was raised in Johto, but Hoenn is where I grew up. I have fond memories of surfing the abundant waterways of Hoenn, popping wheelies on my Acro Bike, and shuffling around collecting soot for glass flutes. Hoenn is a lush and vibrant region, I distinctly remember donning my Go-Go Goggles as I crossed the desert on Route 111, using the braille code book to unlock the secrets of the Regis, and decorating my Secret Base with cute Pokedolls and Mats. There were so many secrets in Hoenn, and I was ready to unlock them all. But, before all of that, I needed to pick a partner to help me on my journey. I may have said this before (but if I didn’t here it is), I usually pick fire type Pokemon as my starters. But, when it came time to pick my first Hoenn Pokemon, I deviated from the norm by selecting Mudkip as my partner. I have a habit of naming all of my Pokemon, usually I go for practical names like Jamie or Mark, but for my starters I always name them based on some characteristic, a cute pet name. For this particular Mudkip, I decided on Muddy, because it’s the mud fish Pokemon. I’m the sentimental type, so I keep my starter in my party no matter what, but Swampert proved to be an absolute tank! It’s WATER/GROUND typing makes it a beast. While Blaziken may be the breakout starter from Gen 3, Swampert is by far one of my favorites. Thanks to forward trading introduced by Game Freak in the later games, I still have Muddy (now a Swampert), he’s sitting pretty in Alpha Sapphire, with the rest of my Gen 3 Pokemon.

I was super excited to hear that the third generation would be getting a 3DS remake. My inner child was screaming with joy while I watched the countless trailers and teasers on Youtube! Heck, I even bought the game on day one from my local Gamestop! Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (ORAS) was everything I could hope for in a remake and MORE! The games took everything that made Hoenn great and turned it up to 11! (Now I will admit that I’m a smidge upset that they didn’t include the Battle Frontier in the remakes, but we did get a kickass Deoxys themed post game, so I guess it’s okay…) Nintendo and Game Freak really outdid themselves this time. Everything from the music to the aesthetics, they did a great job of adapting the game for the next generation of Pokemon Fans and old fans like myself. The music is what really moved me the most, though, the additional instruments (especially the horns) gave the game more depth and power. I remember tearing up when I heard the opening theme for the first time. From the first cord to the last, I’d fallen in love with Hoenn all over again!

From my Glacier Gameboy Advanced to my Purple 3DS, Hoenn, and Pokemon have stood the test of time. I really hope that one day I can share my love of Pokemon with my future children.