If one were to question how much of a booming impact Pokémon has had recently, it would be a shock considering how much Nintendo and GameFreak tried their darn best to celebrate its glory, especially this year. Of course, something as big as the franchise's 20th anniversary isn't to be left ignored, and by goly, they celebrated it. However, we're going back to 2013, when fans were starting to wonder when would Pokémon jump over to the 3DS. Surely enough, right at the very beginning of that year, the needed evolution was confirmed, and many marked their calendars to Children's Day for the 6th generation to come. I think we can all agree that the hype for each new Pokémon generation is a good time be alive, can't we? 
Pokémon X/Y follows the usual formula used for each mainstream installment. You're a young trainer, male or female, who's located in this region filled with various Pokémon in the roam, and as you give your word to the professor that introduces you to this world; you aim to be the very best, beating every gym leader and threats on your way, and of course, catch all Pokémon in sight for the Pokédex. Best to not fix what's already broken, and you still have traveling companions who will try their hardest to achieve their fullest potential. Of course, the ride will be a bit bumpy, as Team Flare is new the menace in town, but hey, you're a Pokémon trainer, so you can handle it just fine.
Arguably, the overall structure for this new generation comes with a simpler approach compared to some previous entries. Yes, Team Flare is all over the place to stop you and do their business, but when put side-by-side with, say, Team Plasma, they're not as threatening nor as interfering as the ladder. Yet again, there's nothing wrong with that; just saying in case you're expecting a heavy narrative like that of both Black/White and Black 2/White 2. That said, the journey was rather on the easy side. It was enjoyable, engaging at times even, but it didn't leave much trouble on your way to train harder and harder, only up until you reach the Pokémon League. Either way, this really didn't come to mind when I actually finished the game, as I was mostly distracted by the overall presentation for a good portion of the playtime.
Speaking of which, the way that Pikachu and all the other Pokémon moved from the DS family to the 3DS one is truly a fascinating evolution. We don't have animated sprites anymore, but fully 3D-rendered models and backgrounds. The soundtrack limitations are less strict, allowing for a wider variety of instruments to be used in musical fashion. With more open technology, the animation on the battles are much more fluid and flashy, giving more tense and heated sequences at the flow of battle. I can go on and on, but to sum it all up in a notch, GameFreak basically made a huge improved leap from the previous generation to this one. It's a truly impressive effort, it truly is.
With the overall gameplay, it sticks with what Pokémon has being doing fine with for a long while: Move around your character in various areas of the region, beating every challenger that comes in your way, and collecting any wild Pokémon that you don't have yet registered on your Poxedex. You still have multiple dozens of items to collect, Technical and Hidden moves to find scattered all around, and tons more. Thankfully, the Kalos region itself is pretty vast and varied, ranging from safe green areas, to one of the largest cities you'll ever see in Pokémon history, period. The music, again, is amazing in how it gets the job done by giving the deserved atmosphere to each of its areas, and darnit, it does its job maybe a bit too well in some areas. In the end, it all compensates to make Kalos feel like this brand new and unique region of its own; with many different things to be discovered, small and big.
Let's talk now new additions. One big notable addition to the mechanic of battles, and exclusive to a number of selected Pokémon, are the Mega Evolutions. Basically, once you receive your handy-dandy Mega Bracelet, and equip a specific Pokémon with his or hers Mega Stone, you can activate this Pokémon's Mega Evolution, raising its stats to as far as the competitive eye could see. They're a major boost to the overall gameplay, as they can give you a higher chance to fulfill the ever-so-wanted victory, if you know what you're doing with them correctly. Of course, it's a big game-changer, and one that might or not be good for those with a keen sense of strategy. It is a welcome addition, and seeing those fancy Mega Evolutions in action is always an eye-candy when they're in action.
What about the other additions, you say? Well, there's Pokémon-Amie, serving the purpose to build-up your connection with a Pokémon of your choice, the Super Training, functioning to faster raise some competitive stats, the Wonder Trade, which connects to a random someone around the world and trades that person's Pokémon with yours, and much more. It's a more intuitive and frantic game quantity terms of content, and while some of it may not last some years down the line, it is pretty helpful to become a completionist of that constant rising Pokédex, and become the very best by daring to meet other trainers eye-to-eye in the name of battle. I'm not a competitive trainer myself(even if I was participating in the Pokémon School around here before. I need to return to it sometime soon though :/ ), so take this with a pitch of salt, and roll with the factor that I don't participate in tournaments often. Yet again, there should be enough fresh material to make veterans feel straight at home on their sofas, and enough for newcomers to dig in all of what of this generation has up its sleeves.
For as long as Pokémon existed, every generation made sure to appeal to veterans and newcomers alike, as much as it branches could handle. 'Pokémon X', with six generations in, still carries that pattern strong, and even with a rather easy difficulty, and the smallest number of new Pokémon in a main series game to date, it is a spectacular effort to bring the franchise to the 3D realm, and despite this generation being the shortest one in its long-run, the team prefered to go with quality over quantity with this one, and being the first 3DS mainstream Pokémon title, it's understandable, as it we're all likely to be distracted by the natural 3D evolution of the franchise. Of course, there must've been a good game around here somewhere in the mist, and thankfully, it was sitting right there all along.
It's kind of hard to believe already that this generation is a thing from the past now, with 'Pokémon Sun' and 'Pokémon Moon' out already. It's even stranger that this one didn't even get an own definitive version, like how 'Pokémon Emerald' was to 'Pokémon Ruby' and 'Pokémon Sapphire'. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
Pokémon X/Y follows the usual formula used for each mainstream installment. You're a young trainer, male or female, who's located in this region filled with various Pokémon in the roam, and as you give your word to the professor that introduces you to this world; you aim to be the very best, beating every gym leader and threats on your way, and of course, catch all Pokémon in sight for the Pokédex. Best to not fix what's already broken, and you still have traveling companions who will try their hardest to achieve their fullest potential. Of course, the ride will be a bit bumpy, as Team Flare is new the menace in town, but hey, you're a Pokémon trainer, so you can handle it just fine.
Arguably, the overall structure for this new generation comes with a simpler approach compared to some previous entries. Yes, Team Flare is all over the place to stop you and do their business, but when put side-by-side with, say, Team Plasma, they're not as threatening nor as interfering as the ladder. Yet again, there's nothing wrong with that; just saying in case you're expecting a heavy narrative like that of both Black/White and Black 2/White 2. That said, the journey was rather on the easy side. It was enjoyable, engaging at times even, but it didn't leave much trouble on your way to train harder and harder, only up until you reach the Pokémon League. Either way, this really didn't come to mind when I actually finished the game, as I was mostly distracted by the overall presentation for a good portion of the playtime.
Speaking of which, the way that Pikachu and all the other Pokémon moved from the DS family to the 3DS one is truly a fascinating evolution. We don't have animated sprites anymore, but fully 3D-rendered models and backgrounds. The soundtrack limitations are less strict, allowing for a wider variety of instruments to be used in musical fashion. With more open technology, the animation on the battles are much more fluid and flashy, giving more tense and heated sequences at the flow of battle. I can go on and on, but to sum it all up in a notch, GameFreak basically made a huge improved leap from the previous generation to this one. It's a truly impressive effort, it truly is.
With the overall gameplay, it sticks with what Pokémon has being doing fine with for a long while: Move around your character in various areas of the region, beating every challenger that comes in your way, and collecting any wild Pokémon that you don't have yet registered on your Poxedex. You still have multiple dozens of items to collect, Technical and Hidden moves to find scattered all around, and tons more. Thankfully, the Kalos region itself is pretty vast and varied, ranging from safe green areas, to one of the largest cities you'll ever see in Pokémon history, period. The music, again, is amazing in how it gets the job done by giving the deserved atmosphere to each of its areas, and darnit, it does its job maybe a bit too well in some areas. In the end, it all compensates to make Kalos feel like this brand new and unique region of its own; with many different things to be discovered, small and big.
Let's talk now new additions. One big notable addition to the mechanic of battles, and exclusive to a number of selected Pokémon, are the Mega Evolutions. Basically, once you receive your handy-dandy Mega Bracelet, and equip a specific Pokémon with his or hers Mega Stone, you can activate this Pokémon's Mega Evolution, raising its stats to as far as the competitive eye could see. They're a major boost to the overall gameplay, as they can give you a higher chance to fulfill the ever-so-wanted victory, if you know what you're doing with them correctly. Of course, it's a big game-changer, and one that might or not be good for those with a keen sense of strategy. It is a welcome addition, and seeing those fancy Mega Evolutions in action is always an eye-candy when they're in action.
What about the other additions, you say? Well, there's Pokémon-Amie, serving the purpose to build-up your connection with a Pokémon of your choice, the Super Training, functioning to faster raise some competitive stats, the Wonder Trade, which connects to a random someone around the world and trades that person's Pokémon with yours, and much more. It's a more intuitive and frantic game quantity terms of content, and while some of it may not last some years down the line, it is pretty helpful to become a completionist of that constant rising Pokédex, and become the very best by daring to meet other trainers eye-to-eye in the name of battle. I'm not a competitive trainer myself(even if I was participating in the Pokémon School around here before. I need to return to it sometime soon though :/ ), so take this with a pitch of salt, and roll with the factor that I don't participate in tournaments often. Yet again, there should be enough fresh material to make veterans feel straight at home on their sofas, and enough for newcomers to dig in all of what of this generation has up its sleeves.
For as long as Pokémon existed, every generation made sure to appeal to veterans and newcomers alike, as much as it branches could handle. 'Pokémon X', with six generations in, still carries that pattern strong, and even with a rather easy difficulty, and the smallest number of new Pokémon in a main series game to date, it is a spectacular effort to bring the franchise to the 3D realm, and despite this generation being the shortest one in its long-run, the team prefered to go with quality over quantity with this one, and being the first 3DS mainstream Pokémon title, it's understandable, as it we're all likely to be distracted by the natural 3D evolution of the franchise. Of course, there must've been a good game around here somewhere in the mist, and thankfully, it was sitting right there all along.
The final verdict is:
It's kind of hard to believe already that this generation is a thing from the past now, with 'Pokémon Sun' and 'Pokémon Moon' out already. It's even stranger that this one didn't even get an own definitive version, like how 'Pokémon Emerald' was to 'Pokémon Ruby' and 'Pokémon Sapphire'. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
