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Pokemon games used to be so weird, man.
The ones that werent afraid to make you fight actual ghosts or Dynamic Punch god.
We used to be a proper country.
As my age was increasing with time, the age of the shows target audience was proportionately decreasing.
Pokemon is undergoing the same trajectory.
Thats not entirely a bad thing.
For Pokemon to continue its success, it needs to attract new audiences.
Some of these changes are positive.
But theres downsides, too.
Youre gifted free items and heals on every step of your adventure.
There is no challenge.
Pokemon Has Lost Its Edge
Im replaying Pokemon SoulSilver at the moment.
Theres nothing similar in modern games.
Sword & Shield had some great town designs, but they were just facades.
I couldnt even name a city from Scarlet & Violet, they were that bland and generic.
Compare it to the myth of the Burned Tower, the Distortion World, or Lavender Town.
It comes up short every time.
I still own my old Pokemon games, and can dip back into them whenever I want.
Thats what Im doing right now and what made me think of writing this piece.
Pokemon is a notoriously easy series, but there are a few battles that can make you sweat.
