Pokemon - A Complete Retrospective

[@idunno_]

I don't think I've heard anyone say gen 5 looks ugly before. Out of all the criticism I've heard about that generation, this is the first time I hear someone say anything negative about the visuals

[@mars.unreal]

Nah i also think they suck. They are a ugly mix of 2d and 3d.

[@Kuatier]

Damn I am dying on the hill that gen 5 is this uglies pixel art gen. its just awful

[@sentoworf]

I've always thought that gen looked ugly. Part of the reason it took me so long to try it out.

[@Encyclopedia_Brown97]

Anecdotally, I hated the look of Gen 5 so much back in the day that I skipped Black and White entirely

[@cccg838]

I don't mind the bleak overworld of gen 5 but man I don't like how fangames/romhacks use or base on gen 5 sprites for Pokemon. They use dark and boring colors for little dudes and it's one of the reasons gen 5 Pokemon fly so low

[@lettttuce]

Genuinely confused at what youd actually want from the games? Its a story based jrpg? A lot of the criticism in this really comes off as wanting a different genre entirety.

[@LilianOrchard]

I'd like them to focus on making the story better by playing to Pokemon's strength (character based, low to medium stakes storytelling) and not focus on padding their word count. "It's a story based JRPG" I'm sorry is there some rule in Japan that RPGs have to waffle and say nothing for the first six hours?

[@LilianOrchard]

@insertnamehere979 1. Protagonist having dialogue and being able to take part in the story beyond being a combat bot 2. Characters talking TO you, not talking AT you. Is this getting through? Should I say it slower?

[@lettttuce]

@@insertnamehere979 bro gtfo my comment lmaoo

[@AshleyTheFighter]

1:57:05 maybe take another watch and gander homie

[@JoeyP946]

what's the original pokemon story? A kid who wants to be the best pokemon trainer, that's pretty much it

[@Aphelion87]

Chairman Rose starting the darkest day is the equivalent of Jeff Bezos interrupting the Olympics to announce he’s summoning satan

[@SHAWNJX]

😂

[@davidfilipe4460]

Wait when Jeff bezos did that ?

[@moonylime]

@@davidfilipe4460 yes

[@davidfilipe4460]

@ReiBeyondTheHeart yes

[@maddiemcnugget1076]

Galar is just the funniest thing looking back at it. All the graphics and stuff aside, I think it would’ve been funny if they had the British museum in there. Also this video made me realize Opal is just the queen in some kooky fashion.

[@walaceandrade4046]

"Pokemon is old, really old. You wont believe how hugely vastly mindboggling old it is..." Me being as old as Pokemon: hey man, thanks for reminding me.

[@luciantendogaming]

Me been a teenager when Blue and Red came out 😌

[@ashleylightheart126]

As someone who absolutely loved how awkward nemona was and loved how she was trying her best to control herself. And as someone who as a kid and teen had a lot of difficulties controlling her excitement making it hard to make friends, it means a lot to me that there are other people who saw that as well. Especially, after seeing all the "yandere" stalker memes of her.

[@miaurakimchi7349]

I love Nemona, she is the exact rival we needed. I see myself in her too. ❤

[@eitteb_em]

I loved Nemona so much I saw a lot of myself in her and even the thing she says to you after you complete the little quest thing for her hit hard. Im Autistic and do try and find any semblance of asd representation and Nemona is that to me tbh

[@octavioherschberg5280]

Nemona is my new favorite rival. I love the build up to the final battle. You really feel it before the final battle when she says " all these people came from farand wide and of everyone I'm the most excited by a mile."

[@sadgurlvibez]

I absolutely adored Nemona as a rival. It was really nice for once to have a rival who was already very accomplished and wasn’t trying to truly compete with me or outdo me. She was already confident in her abilities and just trying to have a good time. ETA: However I do feel a bit sad for Nemona in that her talents are so wasted in Paldea. I would absolutely love a game or movie that’s just Nemona exploring other regions, especially battle-heavy ones like Sinnoh or Galar, where she can truly excel. She’d have a blast trying to fight Cynthia.

[@SiriusGalilei]

I don’t understand why so many people started see her as a yandere like character. To me she seems like a nice girl who has trouble making friends, something I can definitely relate to. She’s awkward, but I don’t see how some might see her as a stalker. Stalkers can sometimes be socially awkward but not every person who’s socially awkward is a stalker. She’s actually very refreshing compared to previous rivals who are most of the time in your face and don’t seem to recognize it, whereas Nemona actually recognizes when she oversteps and apologizes for it. It makes her feel more real than Hop or Hau. I would say she and Blue are the best rivals since their relationship with the player feels more natural than other rival characters. Blue has these snarks, but it feels more good-natured like he and Red are old buddies who have a healthy competitive relationship, like when good friends can toss insults and jab at each other because they know each other long enough to know when a insult is meant to be an insult or a good-natured jab.

[@JAD-nb1io]

I will never understand why people hated Iris. She was the best thing to come from gen 5 that wasn't a pokemon. She's a wholesome girl who deserves the world. Also the internet does Nemona wrong, she honestly reminds me of my past trying to make friends with other people and just getting brushed aside for being 'weird'. That weirdness of course being undiagnossed autism.

[@LilianOrchard]

Racism is the reason

[@AutumnBlaze689]

@@LilianOrchardGuess that explains the reception between Iris and Misty in the show: they’re both tomboys that are hot-headed and like to throw shade at Ash. And the white one who came first is loved as one of Ash’s best companions and the dark skinned girl that came later is seen as way too brash even though Ash did some pretty dumb things in the beginning of Unova. Well that and nostalgia for Misty practically carries her too

[@bleakautomaton4808]

While I am still no fan of Gen 5, I do like Iris (yes I did begrudgingly try B2/W2). The gyms were pretty fun, but that and the Elite Four and Champion were honestly the most memorable thing (not terrible but I am going to always have fond memories of X and Moon in a different way).

[@AutumnBlaze689]

⁠​⁠@@ItsAlmighty21That’s what I’m saying! Also she really only milks it in the first half of Season 1 and everywhere else it’s in small bits. It’s more to do with nostalgia to Misty. And that applies to me with Iris since Black and White was the first section of the anime I watched and how I got into Pokémon

[@LilianOrchard]

@@nebolisaeneli4397 Didn't ask

[@therotryzit]

Lily in Gen 4: Mom, dresses are not really my thing. Lily in Gen 6: CALEM WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOT WEARING A DRESS TO THE FINAL BATTLE! Lily's character development is a sight to be hold.

[@LilianOrchard]

In Gen 4 I literally cracked an egg

[@drmeatball711]

@@LilianOrchard thats not true and you know it. you know for a fact that she is just a normal girl and you have a fetish for making 10 year old girls be as mentally messed up as you are.

[@LilianOrchard]

@drmeatball711 I was talking about the Togekiss you stupid, delusional, backwater fuck. I understand paying attention is difficult, but I'm sure your mother-aunt taught you SOMETHING before kicking you out into the swamp.

[@thewikiddreamer]

Lily you silly, you played the wrong version! In Shield there are *THREE* gym leader thirst traps. Yes, we Stan Icy Thiccums in this house.

[@MoeChiller]

The funny thing I see Bea as the third thirst trap for some reason in Sword.

[@colbaltmind5696]

Lily's jokes about Blue and Red being boyfriends is even better when every appearance of them after gen 1 they act like an old married couple

[@TheBeastlySort02]

Lol

[@Gameprojordan]

They're literally children stop forcing your weird gay fetish into everything

[@yeetboi-os5kb]

heh heh heh heh heh old married coupe I could not imagine being like 65 years old

[@rowan2901]

I was shiny hunting during the entirety of this video in gen 6 for a skitty, I really like shiny hunting. Yes, they don’t actually matter at all but I think it’s fun and rewarding to look at the shinies I’ve managed to collect

[@TaurusOxford]

"...and THIS kid who is begging for a kick in the teeth." will forever be how I describe Bede from now on. Great video.

[@Borchert97]

Nemona is maybe the greatest rival character yet. I like how she's a representation of us, the longtime players, we are all Champions just entering a new journey, and she does the same in-universe alongside us, it's really cool. And I just enjoy her character's positive energy to be honest.

[@darkcheaker]

On the other hand she's just an annoying one dimention cunt

[@jacktaylor6253]

And if you play it again, now you're BOTH making another team to challenge your rival

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

​@@RazHolly Whenever I play Pokemon (or any multiplayer game) with my friends we never do just 1 round/battle. It is normally like 1 hour of back to back battles using various teams. Even for Yugioh or games like Chess you do at least a best 2 out of 3.

[@davidingleby7341]

"Chinwag" is a real thing we... USED TO say... We don't earn very much respect for the fact we don't say that very much these days. We kind of gave that up by... doing many silly things. "Leaving the Pokemon League" was one of them. Loving the shade coming our way. Love the video!

[@toast4teddy]

2:03:25 Yes, Cheren is still like that even if you play as male. So he's still weird and patronizing towards you, but not specifically because you're a girl.

[@LilianOrchard]

Okay just curious, Brendan was pretty sexist so I wouldn't put it past Game Freak

[@gameygeemer4142]

I can't wait to watch this at least once a week on graveyard shift

[@crazycubedude]

You me both my friend!

[@dokikicingene1517]

Already doing so

[@FlameWizard5]

Amen

[@studmuffin-Tga]

Just started doing that now

[@sardineBro]

literally me rn

[@TemLightKiBlade]

After all these years... I have been finally called out. I will admit it, I named Silver '???' the first time I played because that's what the game told his name was!

[@MAXIMILLIONtheGREAT]

Sames. Thought it was the games way of saying "I don't know."

[@thecardboardgamebox6095]

Gen 4 is technically my favorite but that's because it was one of the last gifts I had gotten from my father before he died. In terms of a game for playing it would be probably be Arceus for the fact that you ca catch pokemon that are just walking around without engaging them in battle. Also I haven't payed for a pokemon game since sword and shield and that's not likely going to change any time soon.

[@navybluebunny]

Sun and Moon have a big place in my heart and you are 10000% right about it the excessive dialogue. Replaying it is near impossible without mods. I’m surprised you didn’t mention a lot about the ultra pokemon. I loved the goofy lil aliens they added thats the kinda of energy pokemon needs not pokemon but bigger.

[@LilianOrchard]

I didn't mention the other Legendaries all that much.

[@Flaremc26]

When I first played my copy of Sun and Moon, I just read a book and clicked the button until I stopped hearing the ding for dialogue sound

[@camwellarts]

It took me embarrassingly long to realize there was supposed to be actual strategy in the pokemon battles. I brute forced my way through every single gym, type advantages/disadvantages be damned, because I was going to win with the starter pokemon I'd grabbed, god damn it. My sister took that strategy to the extreme and spent most of her time grinding her pokemon until the levels overrode the type disadvantage. Laughed a lot at the chaotic commentary. Love our mutual murder bug, she deserves the best in the world, and all the blood of her enemies.

[@henrikleppa7632]

To be fair, as Lily pointed out, the early gens often did not have enough exp for a full team of 6, and unlike most RPGs, exp isn't shared automatically until the later gens (where your team now gets too much exp). In general, the games are really bad at teaching you the game mechanics *besides* the "elemental rock paper scissors" (which they over-focus on). Pokémon Stadium 2 is one of the few games that actually tries to teach the mechanics with its trainer school (which is kinda sad).

[@katalystkatapatheticalyssa5987]

I didn't realize it until I played another franchise. 😂

[@briddishlove]

This video made me realize this lmao. I had never thought about strategy outside of type until today

[@Wormy_fren]

I mean.... Bashing in your opponents face in with an elementally flavored pipe is technically a strategy.... Just not an engaging one.

[@peacefusion]

beating Onix with Charmander.

[@brandongrove-howard4887]

Honestly I had a very different read of the Starfall Street storyline. Maybe it's the fact that I've only played the story once (and good GOD I'd still need some time, Scarlet and Violet take a long time to finish), but I took their story much less as them BELIEVING they were the villains and more that their actions got them branded as villains. From the rest of the school's perspective, these random kids got together and souped up giant Pokemon-run cars in cartoonishly outlandish outfits and started beating up other kids, and it really feels like their actions brought the hammer of the school board down on them simply because they just had to be the MOST about getting back at their bullies. Like, I don't think Penny actually feels bad about trashing her bullies, I think she just doesn't want to see them expelled because adults are stupid and don't understand that their actions were reactionary rather than unprovoked. They actually recycle that story a bit for the DLC, where the tituallar Teal Mask Pokemon got branded the villain by ignorant townspeople who didn't understand what was happening, who then uplifted the bully Pokemon that Ogrepon beat into the fucking dirt as "defenders of the town," because from the townspeople's perspective this scary ogre thing just came down and beat the absolute tar out of three Pokemon for no reason. So yeah, it read to me much more of "Adults dropped the ball on who was the bully/bullied," and it takes an entire Undercover Boss moment from the fucking principal of all people to realize that they need to do better by these kids Still doesn't excuse Penny's stalker tendencies and the extended move sessions tho lol

[@munchrai6396]

Totally agree, the reason that I really like Starfall Street is because this is exactly the sort of thing my teenage brain would think up if I lived in the Pokemon world. Want your bullies to stop bullying you? Just show them up in the raddest way possible

[@trainerrichard6859]

Well the reason they’re branded as bad guys is because the school tried to pin the blame on them.

[@SoraKingdom3]

@@trainerrichard6859 If I remember correctly, it was the school's way to basically shut down the case like "No, there were no bullying in this school, it's Team Star that started everything" and because of that, the Team Star members started believing themselves they were the bullies. That's why the current principal of the school didn't know about that story, the previous one erased all the details that could lead to showing the real story.

[@nebolisaeneli4397]

I always interpreted N as a chracter people could love or hate on purpose. If you like N you the final battle is like a sad battle between friends. But if you hate him their are like a million scenes where he gets roasted 🤣

[@egg_l0rd13]

I never saw it that way. I personally like N, but I do really like your interpretation of what his character is supposed to be.

[@nebolisaeneli4397]

​@egg_l0rd13 Fair I like N too! I guess what I meant is that you don't have to like N his whole (likely) character contradicts your belief in Pokemon. So if you do like N, it's likely cuz you feel bad for him and if you do hate him well the developers low-key expected that.

[@wowwar2]

As someone who does appreciate story and dialogue in video games in general, It is funny that you had the exact opposite views when it comes to pokemon gens 5-7 and gen 9

[@richardsmith2719]

4:34:20 “And Raihan… who is also there.” Me: “And Raihan, who I’m sure the internet will be very normal about.”

[@LilianOrchard]

Oh no were people weird about Raihan? I must have missed that.

[@richardsmith2719]

@@LilianOrchard Not extremely weird, but the sort of thing you expect from a Pokemon character… Like, I’ve heard more people talk about Kabu (Good taste, bi-the-bi), but there’s so much more product of Raihan to find, whether you’re looking or not.

[@CassiCartwright]

Your Pokemon retrospective has been a real comfort listen for me lately, especially for something in the background when I went back to replay Pokemon Emerald. I've gained a new appreciation for a lot of Pokemon and NPCs and more thoughtful battle strategies through that video. You honestly breathed a new kind of life into a childhood favorite of mind. Thank you, Lily.

[@illdoittomorrow2368]

Honestly, the only reason I don't like hm's is because they restrict team building. Surf and fly make it mandatory to have a water or flying type on the team.

[@LilianOrchard]

So? Team building doesn't need to be that optimized

[@illdoittomorrow2368]

@@LilianOrchard True, but my team of six jumpluffs is not gonna surf the water, no matter how hard I try. I like jumpluff.

[@davidjackson2295]

@@illdoittomorrow2368 That's why we enslave other pokemon to do the job that the main team can't 😃👍

[@dexterity494]

As someone who's lived in Hawaii their whole life, I appreciate the alolan region trying to connect with the culture, but it feels like it's the regional equivalent of nostalgia bait. "Hey guys the gym leaders are now called Kahuna! Did you get that reference? Hey guys, the Pokemon like malasadas! Did you catch that?" Yeah, thanks gamefreak. I know. How about something genuinely interesting about the mythology or land history? No? Just more huts on stilts and some recolored Pokemon? Alrighty then.

[@LilianOrchard]

It seems like the "research" that Game Freak does for most of their regions is just Masuda going on vacation.

[@Cutie_Amor]

​@@LilianOrchardhonestly more research than most game devs do into other cultures

[@Demios40]

There is something to be said about the fact that they couldn't even let your main character have the perspective of somebody from Alola. The first time a pokemon game takes place in a significantly different culture and they make a point to make you what is essentially a colonizer. I get why they did that for plot reasons (they wanted the character to be like the player and have them being introduced to the culture for the very first time), but it does carry some fucked up baggage.

[@maroonstarsface]

Feel the same about sword and shield as an Englishman, shame they diddnt do a deep dive on the mythology and just went for the football culture

[@frankorious534]

Aren't the Tapus based on Hawaiians gods tho?

[@EthanEvans-nx7dn]

Gen 4 had the best story, just not in the mainline games. Explorers of Sky had me hit an emotional peak at 10 years old

[@laciewallace7970]

I watch this video every few months, when I'm at work and itching to play Pokémon. I find it so humorous and comfy and just overall love it. Thanks for making such great content (:

[@calebroth2064]

You had me at Trubbish is peak design! I also appreciated the Kingdom Hearts callback and that I'm not the only one with the "Eee eee oo oo ah, not Clayton" nightmares. The only place I feel I disagreed was with the Rivals. I enjoy the added battles with them, but I love battling with my friends more than Online so maybe I'm not bothered by my "in game" friends constantly challenging me to a battle or bugging me on my journey. Great video!

[@ConnorJNagi]

I don't know how this channel and video got recommended to me, but I watched the entire thing. I agree with a lot of points made and honestly had a great time with this video. ✌️

[@zerozeroren]

What a lovely video! Your sense of humour truly shines here, I cackled more than once ^^ watched parts with the hubby, and we're probably going to buy Scarlet and Violet for Nemona's sake ^^ Additional kudos to Mikay for providing these fabulous illustrations!

[@egg_l0rd13]

Despite gen 5 being my favorite generation (mostly for the sequel games, I’ve never played the original Black and White), I do really appreciate the willingness to criticize something that so many people unquestioningly love. I will continue to love BW2 for all the improvements it made over the original, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that these games do have flaws that a lot of people overlook because of nostalgia or misplaced loyalty. But yeah, overall- Really great video! Loved listening to your opinions for nearly 6 and a half hours, even if I don’t agree with some of them. (Also your idea for Lillie being the player character in Sun and Moon is so genius and I genuinely think those games would have been top tier if they just did that.)

[@ninevehgrey]

Honestly when i saw all those stalker memes about Nemona i believed them since i play a lot of pokemon and know how weird the rivals can be, so when i found out she was just easily exited and passionate about her interests i felt really bad since IM that kid. I have never related more to a character then when she had a worried moment when she thought she came on too strong and scared the player away since i tend to do that.

[@voidofecto]

You honestly bring up some of the most interesting Pokemon related takes I’ve ever heard, including your section on Gen 5 (my favorite Gen) and can totally see your point there. Great to see nice things about Gen 6 for a change too.

[@heavennunya809]

I personally thought Lusamine was interesting. It's implied she wasn't always this controlling, but that she went insane after her husband went missing (spoiler: husband was sucked up by a wormhole and spit out on an island in the middle of nowhere without his memories. He is alive, but has no idea he has kids or a wife, and he's living a pretty happy life in harmony with pokemon). It seems she became controlling in response to that, which makes sense, something outside of her control turned her entire life on its head, it makes sense she would chase control. And then continuing her husband's research in a desperate bid to somehow bring him back, she runs into an ultrabeast that poisons her and twists her long term goal born of desperation to get her husband back THROUGH researching ultrabeasts into short term obsession with said ultrabeasts. I don't think this is a testament to women in power, it's pretty heavily implied she wasn't ALWAYS like this and was once a loving mother and not some twisted psycho as a leader. That love got twisted, along with other traits of hers, due to mental illness born of trauma. It's not that she's a woman in power, it's that she's insane lol. That's why she says that to Lillie at the end. It's not that she "suddenly thought Lillie was beautiful", it's that by separating her from Nihiligo permanently you've kinda..... set her on the path to mental recovery. She may not ever completely recover, but she can get better now. Lusamine is just a tragic tale of a woman who had to force her way through trauma despite the mental damage, because she had responsibilities to the Aether foundation, because she had kids, becuase maybe, just MAYBE she can get her husband back if she works hard enough. And then an opportunistic and evil ultrabeast harmed her further. This is part of the reason Gladion takes over for the Aether foundation after his mother finally takes the time she needs to recover. He was old enough to have memories of his mother before she went insane, when she was a loving mother. He recognizes that she's ill and needs help. Lillie seems to recognize her mother was sick as well, though it's shown that her memoirs of before are foggier than Gladion's. I personally liked the story, it's thought provoking and really interesting. There's also not really a bad guy in the game except for the Ultrabeasts. Guzma is desperate to feel needed to someone, Lusamine is mentally ill and being used. I suppose the one scientist who was ALL FOR experimenting and torturing pokemon could be considered a bad guy, but he didn't exactly have the power to be a real bad guy. Just an employee who also used Lusamine's mental illness to his advantage.

[@mrundy9351]

I stand on the precipice of a six hour video about one of my favorite franchises. Thank you for making long form to keep me from scratching my brain out at work.

[@xHiraeth1880]

The Patrick Stewart voicelines over Fuecoco's no thoughts-head empty stare got me good. I'll be repeating "Today, I saw a balloon" for months after that.

[@ohyikes7104]

i love nemona. oh my god. thank you so much for pointing this out!!

[@kikaaaaaa2614]

It took me all day to listen through it and I had a blast! I especially liked how positively you talked about gen 3, 6 and Nemona specifically. I’m also proud of you for making this HUGE video Lily, It’s amazing!^^

[@Emilyrox]

Honestly, your praise, gushing, and analysis of Nemona alone made me want to check out Pokémon Scarlet just so I could meet this character and see if she's just as amazing as you hyped her up to be. And she IS! I also got a Sprigatito plush since that was my starter pokemon and I named him after my cat. So congratulations, Lily. In one video you accomplished what my sister has tried to do for more than 5 years. You got me interested enough in pokemon to play it.

[@MooneyBabbler]

Hey I also named my Sprigatito after my cat!

[@AutumnDasher]

5:26:16 you edited the animated boarder lines so they all match on the cut. Neat! But actually on topic, as someone who’s interest in Pokémon begins and ends with “cool aminals” this was fantastic. funny, interesting and a little confusing

[@PreciousTheShinyShuppet]

4:46:38 The catch is Rose is a moron and forgot Electric Pokemon already exist. Literal living, breathing, clean renewable energy, just feed them Leppa Berries and you're golden for life.

[@mudkip846]

X&Y and emerald are my favorite games, and while emerald is universally applauded, it was nice to see X&Y get some well deserved love! 10/10 video

[@miaurakimchi7349]

Me too! I actually really like X&Y for what it is.

[@Gyrono]

@@miaurakimchi7349 X&Y was really good for me, as it was the first Pokemon game I'd played since Gen 3, and it helped remind me why I enjoyed the series.

[@johnwebb2736]

X&Y was kind of my first game. My sister asked me to play her game when she got to the Elite Four and I from there was interested in Pokémon.

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

X&Y was the game that burned me out of the mainline series. Just sort of embodies everything I dislike about Gamefreak's failure of game design.

[@Beleth420]

I'm just glad they did something different tbh.

[@eldritchinsomniac]

I think this might actually be the best video you've ever made. It's an absolute masterpiece, well done.

[@Mysterygii69]

Man, everything you said about nemona and everything adjacent to that really got me to think about how I write. I’ve been trying to strike a balance between character drama and laying on the societal themes that I want to tie the story together. You put it nicely in (and sorry I can’t recall it that well) “yeah he killed hundreds but your main reason for being there is because he hurt your friend.” And I find it interesting that I teared up a bit hearing about Nemona because I know for a fact it wouldn’t have happened without the six hours going over every other Pokémon game prior to it. While I like your other brand of videos I like this format a lot too, even with how risky it is it’d be nice to see more like it going forward.

[@santawithaflamethrower2758]

never once has a 6 hour video kept me engaged the entire time. Bravo. You had a honestly perfect balance of fun playthrough comedy and video essay. Its genuinely perfect. Both as content and as a review.

[@MyFreeball]

Wild. You HATE N and team Plasma. They are my legit favorite evil team and one of my favorite characters! I’m not a huge fan on Unova. But I love Plasma and N

[@powerhouse6165]

Thank you for finally bringing attention to how unjustly maligned X and Y are. To this day I will scream from the rooftops that X, Y, and the 3ds gen 3 remakes are absolutely the best pokemon had to offer.

[@markthomaskiec2453]

Just wanted to get a few quick thoughts out of the way: I never got the hate for X and Y, and I especially never understood how that hate kept growing over the years. It gave basically everything that Pokemon fans were clamoring for for years with the only exceptions being HMs, which were reduced to like 5, and most of them were moves you'd want on your team anyway. So you saying it's the second best was validation I was very happy to see for once. Over the years there have been two main things that I've noticed that this company is great at, one of which is never talked about. Firstly, character and creature design. Even at their worst, these guys create some memorable and amazing designs that people can obsess over. However, the part that's really been saving them is that Gamefreak is marketing at its finest. I don't know who's in charge of their marketing but for the last 6 years, they've been hard carrying this company in ways I didn't think were possible, learning over the years on which words to focus on for their games, with the last two gens leaning heavily focusing on the phrase "Open World" which gaming as a whole has had an unhealthy obsession with for like the last ten years. I think that aspect alone is why most of the new games have been selling as well as they have. I'm so glad someone on the internet with a decently sized audience finally mentioned how anti-climatic gen 5 was with the story, especially with how early they revealed the twist.

[@luizguilhermelunardi4887]

4:03:24 the eileen clip fucking sent me lmao You were so fucking done by that point. On a note related to Lily and Gladion, I strongly believe the latter only exists, not just for being a mandated edgelord like Silver, but because the main character of Sun & Moon, Lily, is an effeminate female girly girl girl, which they probably thought would drive away all of the guys with fragile masculinity who play these games, and so they made the aloof “literally me” guy who’s above all the others’ nonsense, Gladion. If that’s the case it’d certainly explain why he’s so superfluous to the plot, he was made as a band-aid to patch a wound that doesn’t exist. Quoting one of your WoW in a nutshell videos: “it’s just misogyny”.

[@danielflores1738]

This is my first video seeing of you guys, really loved it. I was lmao at times and tearing up with yo at others. Really good, I subscribed for more.

[@durpudink6344]

i just finished watching this video yesterday and i'm already rewatching it again lol. amazing work lily, been waiting for this one with big excitement! actually, gen 4 and 5 were my fav pokemon gens (platinum was the first pokemon game i played on emulator and white was the first game i played on my first actual console). however, i haven't replayed these games in like 10 years or so, watching your video i realised that they are a lot less good than i remember them being. as a tween i really liked N too and now, looking back at his dialogue...and considering i barely spoke english when playing pokemon white... he really isn't tha good lmao. and FINALLY, someone who looks at nemona's character like a sane person, she was my fave part of gen 9 too! i chuckled many times throughout the video, and really liked your thoughts on everything! i hope you'll have a good rest after tackling this monster of a video!

[@lollyhail6149]

Wow! This was an incredible watching experience! I've loved your video essays for a long time, but the goofier tone of this one was so endearing to watch. A video this long and on so so so many games must have taken an ungodly amount of time to make, so the fact that it turned out so thoroughly entertaining is a clear demonstration of your skill and the passion you put into this project. I'm not even a big pokemon fan myself, but I will happily rewatch this again! I hope a nice break is coming your way after all this!

[@PotluckB]

I came here for Gen 1 and 2 because I'm older than dirt, but I stayed and subbed for the energy you brought to this. Nice work.

[@givemysundaeback]

As much as I don't see an issue with Pokémon trying its hand at darker stories, it's SO nice to see Gold Silver and Crystal ranked high. After Pokémon Challenges convinced everyone they hated it more than anything else in the world, it's great to see somebody actually talking about what GSC did right.

[@bleakautomaton4808]

That's actually kinda nice to hear.

[@commonviewer2488]

I love Johto, it's my favorite region, but those criticisms are valid. Going to use Smithplay's mod whenever I'm feeling nostalgic. Not a difficulty mod, it's so that Johto does a better job repping itself. Like finding Houndoor and Larvitar in Johto, and a Johto mon on every Gym Leader's team. (And they are not "garbage")

[@givemysundaeback]

@commonviewer2488 Oh, there are def valid criticisms against Johto, but he caused the biggest hate parade in Pokémon history over it being competitively unviable, and not any of its glaring flaws. I love Johto so much and I absolutely agree it missed the mark in pretty major ways on a few occasions but that isn't why it got so much hate

[@rossobrien7358]

​@@givemysundaebackah yes, because that's what casual players will worry about the most in a pokemon run: competitive viability- Jesus fuck Jan take off your nuzlocke glasses for 5 seconds smh

[@givemysundaeback]

@@rossobrien7358 There is genuinely no reason to call any Pokémon game worse than SwSh

[@kurotalkz]

only 10 minutes in and the storytelling and humor is perfect for me, very excited to chip away at this video while at work

[@scootusproductions8497]

My main problem with Scar/Vio was how it ended for Arven. I don't think Arven is that interesting himself (I agree with what you said he's a character we've seen before) but I like dog getting better, so that made me happy. My main problem with the ending of the story is the game pretty much telling Arven "your parents were valid for caring more about their own research than you" and I feel bad for Arven just being forced into believing that his parents were fine for abandoning him and dying chasing their own research. I really just felt bad for him. Penny is also just bad in almost every way, I really don't like her.

[@D0MiN0ChAn]

I wouldn't even say I actively dislike Penny, I just really really couldn't even care less about her, she's just too bland overall. Like, how is she even remotely comparable to both Nemona or Arven? Definitely the odd one out and not in a good way, if that makes sense.

[@email.164]

sooo Glitch bug and other problem is not a problem wtf....how old are you?

[@JustAStranger2840]

update to the whole Gen 9 companion kit, Penny has officially been outdone as the companion with the most toxic storyline. Kieran came with the DLCs and *oh my god, he's awful* Idk what any of the devs were thinking when they released this spiteful, angry kid who interprets everything through the lens of jealousy & vindictiveness. Idk what the fandom sees in him other than the internet sad boi archetype but I'm sick of this kid already, please bring back our girl Nem.

[@moiav-nj6zr]

I interpreted those lines from Arven as sarcasm to be honest. But 🤷‍♀️

[@Eternalbluejays]

Penny was a character that felt like she was made for aesthetic purposes first and story last. You just know half the reason she exists is so the company can start selling that eveee bag. It’s like she’s Marnie 2.0 with bulling and # “relatable nerd girl” being her main character beat.

[@MDB2KEntertainment]

Watching this in a single sitting was amazing, such a journey and I loved every second of it! Can’t wait to see more videos like this!

[@archertreloar4806]

There’s a part of me that likes Gallade’s design, typing, etc., but the gender stuff is really stupid. The solution to me is to just give Gallade the same 50/50 gender ratio. Means you don’t have to specifically look for a male Ralts if you want a Gallade (given Ralts is already a rare percentage encounter as is) and, most importantly, it’ll let you use a cool warrior woman with swords for arms on your team

[@tillychee]

as someone who has gallade as her fave pokemon, i agree that it being genderlocked is stupid

[@henryapplebottom7231]

How can you make "a complete retrospective" on a series that is not complete, nor is it in retrospect yet.

[@LilianOrchard]

The original title was Pokemon Re:Play but that was too Kingdom Heartsy

[@henryapplebottom7231]

@Lily_Orchard Ah, understood.

[@blockeontheleafeon]

Thanks to this video, I have a newfound appreciation for Nemona. I was also one of the unlucky few who only saw her as the Yandere stalker the memes portrayed her as before watching this.

[@xx_bloodmarch_xx]

Holy crap! This vid is over a year old! Man, I thought it came out 4 months ago.

[@xoids126]

Very good video! Also made me realize that if I care to watch a ~6,3h long video of yours, that i should probably subscribe.

[@Mortal2064]

Fantastic video, Lily. I loved your take on the companion from X and Y, on Lillie's potential in Sun and Moon, and especially loved your take on Nemona. Really gave me a new view of the character that I appreciated to the point of almost buying Scarlet or Violet. And, i very much agree with your analysis on what kinds of stories Pokémon should tell.

[@TumbleroseStudios]

Okay so after finishing the video I do have to say: despite it's problems I love *half* of gen 5, white 2 was my first game and Trubbish is my favorite Pokemon , but aside from nostalgia it was fun to trek through, N isn't in it as much so his verbosity just leads to you saying "why is the green man shouting I am right here" and with the addition of adding previous gen pokemon back the sequels fix the worst aspects of the originals. Plus Hugh being grumpy that the Pirate Knights stole his little sisters cat is a hell of a lot more compelling than whatever pouty bs cheren was doing. Yeah the story railroads you at points and the villain team just being Gen 2 Team Rocket as frosty pirates is really fuckin dumb but otherwise I think it holds up better than the originals at the very least.

[@MalevolentMinun]

Can I just say how refreshing it is to hear someone praise Nemona? The sheer amount of memes and slander she's had has been insufferably unwarranted. She immediately skyrocketed to my favourite rival. I LOVE her design and her infectious battle-loving attitude was adorable. Plus the battles themselves were great. Her biggest "crime" was being excited to see you, THAT'S ADORABLE. Whereas Penny committed a genuine crime with how she handled the Team Star nonsense. I already didn't care for Penny but when she started shit-talking Nemona in Area Zero, my opinion plummeted so hard for the dork. Nemona is a sweetheart who just wanted a friend who not only could challenge her on equal terms, but also share her enthusiasm for battling. Girl was neglected by her snobby, useless parents and just needed someone to be there for her. And I will be pissed if she doesn't make a big appearance during the Indigo Disk DLC.

[@PsychoDiesel48]

Holy cow what a wild ride this marathon is! Love it so far and will continue to listen while I work! Great job Lily! Also, grass type starter supremacy let's go! XD Sad I didn't get to see my boy Torterra rock up but oh well :P For a second I misheard bunnelby as bunneary and had whiplash when you killed it XD 2:42:30 Oh sweet! 4:27:00 HELL YES! Grass monkey baby!!

[@bunnyareawsome]

I think this is my first comfort KZbin video

[@Flaremc26]

What makes Starfall Street worse is that YOU DON'T EVEN GET ANYTHING! At least with the titans, you get to upgrade your bike and help a sick puppy. Starfall gets you jack, fucking, and shit

[@eddietb7575]

I was so excited for this video to come out, and I’ve been watching it but by bit for the past 5 days, and MAN. I was really looking forward to hearing your perspective on these games, especially cause I haven’t touched many of them in years 💛 and what an AMAZING ride this was 💛💛💛💛

[@doodlesack1218]

3:23:08 replayed this bit so many times just because i love the delivery of "because you're fucking ugly"

[@mikailaturkleson7472]

I LOVE HER DELIVERY SO MUCH!

[@bleakautomaton4808]

When I mentioned the villain's plot to my mom as "a guy wants to end the world to keep it beautiful forever" and she, no joke, said "that is very French". I just...lost it. I'm glad it wasn't some tired joke about white flags, it did take me off guard a second.

[@katalystkatapatheticalyssa5987]

I 100% named Gen2 rival ??? That's what he said! I've been with Pokémon since the beginning and I never questioned why Oak left my house. 😂

[@hayleycanales7196]

Finally got around to watching the whole video and I have to say this is easily the funniest video on your channel. Especially with the gen 6 portion of the video at one point I woke up my partner from laughing too loud. Even though there was obviously some things I disagreed with I still just had a really good time listening to your opinions on everything or even some parts of the franchise I liked. You should be very proud of this video Lilly!!!

[@timothygiger3098]

Love watching these long videos like a podcast while I do homework. You are such a good analyzer Lily and make my day :)

[@Eternalbluejays]

Honestly I hold more nolstagia for Gen 6 than Gen 5. Despite Black and white 2 being the first mainline games I played of this franchise. Honestly I remember very little about the actual story about black and white beyond it being about you beating up a cult and collecting badges on the way. Had no idea the first game was that difficult to sit through. Meanwhile Gen 6 gets shit on for being so easy. You said it best about the free megas being passed around like candy. For all its faults though, that’s the game where I could finally have my ace, Raichu. Couldn’t get her naturally in Gen 5 so in Gen 6 and onwards I always had a Raichu. She’s so fat and squishy and way more cute than Pikachu, who got put on weight watchers apparently. Needless to say Raichu is the one Pokemon I can’t go without.

[@Sassycpr]

I just started watching this but I've gone ahead and liked it because 6 hours of content is a ton of labor :)

[@kajasinis4166]

Just found your Channel And this is this first video I have seen of yours. Your viewpoints, memes, and comedy style fits me perfectly I wish we were friends. keep up the good work❤🎉

[@PiixiieThiing]

This entire video is speaking to me and my opinions perfectly and im so glad someone else sees what i see and wants what i want Thank you sweet human 😢

[@CosplayCore]

Just a few minutes in and I wanna say first… As someone who grew up playing Pokemon without all the features you mentioned, honestly for me, I still love the games. I almost never had friends to battle with or trade with or adventure with because none of my friends had Pokémon despite the fact that they were really into it, too. Pokémon came to the US when I was 7 years old and I never had a single person to use the “features” with until I was like 15 or 16. So I have always enjoyed Pokémon just for the main game, although being able to trade now is a bonus.

[@maxpaspirgilis3967]

The Businessman in the gen 3 Forest is not a capitalist, hes a worker. Mr. Devon is his Capitalist...

[@IvoryAspen97]

Generally, I think that we disagree on which Pokémon games are better because we value different things. I was one of those Gen 4 babies you were talking about, so personally Platinum is my favorite, Black and White 2 closely after. Part of that is definitely nostalgia. Over time tho, Gen 2-3, and 6 have grown on me. I don’t think I will ever compete a Gen 1 game. Not enough going on. I can see the effort in Gen 9, but I can’t forgive the state of the game itself. It’s appalling that they shipped it this way. I’ve always had generally positive thoughts on Gen 7, and Gen 8 is meh.

[@egg_l0rd13]

I generally agree with your sentiment, just switch around gen 4 and 5 with me. It’s nice to be able to have a different opinion from someone and still recognize that their points are valid, and that’s generally how I felt about this video.

[@Alex-gg9ht]

What do you think about gen 3?

[@IvoryAspen97]

@@Alex-gg9ht even tho I’ve never played one of the originals (not remakes) to completion, I acknowledge that they’re up there with the greats, and would recommend them to beginning trainers.

[@dom8429]

this is amazing! love your style

[@Borchert97]

Roxanne wasn't a teacher, just a senior student. She's believed to be somewhere in the age range of 15-17, so kinda like player characters starting from BW, whereas you're a 10-12 year old in the Hoenn games so basically you're beating up a senior from the Trainer's School when you beat her lol

[@RayGainbows]

first video ive seen of yours. Instantly subscribed at seeing the 6hr mark on a pokemon playthrough. I adore this so much. You have no idea.

[@lbean9828]

I love the chaotic energy in this video. The whole benedryl bit during Sun and Moon made me cackle so hard. A BEEG smile on my face the whole video

[@Amaya6Korai]

Fun video! Loved the commentary and the drawings!

[@kristaygayle]

“Padded like a menstruating firehouse” I didn’t know I was in this video

[@Dimension2364]

Gosh, I enjoyed this video so much! I finished it on three consecutive evenings - constantly rewinding because I didn’t want it to end to soon.

[@TheFirstOkiro]

By the grace of Zordon, I can already tell this is going to be one of your best videos. I remember it was a long video like this. That first brought me to your channel considering I haven’t played Pokémon in half a decade, I’m interested to see where the series has gone. I’ll report back in six hours!

[@mikailaturkleson7472]

Always a pleasure to see you, Okiro!

[@TheFirstOkiro]

@@mikailaturkleson7472 always a pleasure to be around two of my favorite people!

[@TheBlackboxgameingCo]

I’ve come to the conclusion that pokemon is a franchise loved in-spite of itself. The core of it, the games, are not and have never been thing that drives engagement and wonder. The concept and base mechanics are what gets people excited and interested in the series, with the tertiary elements really being what hold the franchise together. Want a fun, entertaining adventure story through the world of Pokémon, watch the cartoon. Want expressive, mechanically interesting gameplay that lets you use your favorite mons, here’s the card game. Want it just collect stuff and admire you favorite characters, here’s the toys and other merchandise( and also the cards too). At this point it honestly feels more like the games are just obligations, that they need to make the games so that rest of franchise has stuff to base off of. That could be why the over all quality is struggling at best it seems. The games don’t need to be good because, yes people will by them anyway, but also because everything else that happens around the games is so much bigger it hardly matters. All that does matter is that they come at in time so everything else can as well.

[@madeleineevelinaguekguezia550]

25:26 So, I never named my rival “???” but one of the first times I played Crystal (on a friend’s gameboy) I named him “Stu P. Id” because I’d played enough of it before to know that the rival was stupid and annoying but I couldn’t just name him “Stupid” because (in my whatever year-old brain) “Stupid’s not a real name.”

[@Mugenryujin]

This was so awesome! Ty 🫶🏼

[@XainRussell]

I won’t lie, I feel a bit of vindication that Gen 6 made it so high in your rankings. I’ve been saying for years how much I loved X and Y and I always got a weird look, like I just said the wallpaper tasted funny. But that was the last time I felt like Gamefreak was actually hit it out of the park and gave us something fun to play without any massive asterisks involved. Objectively, Gen 3 is better, and I do often go back and forth on which gen I’ll say is my favorite, but I will alway go to bat for Gen 6. Absolutely phenomenal work on this video Lily, I had a smile on my face nearly the entire time, and once it’s public I will absolutely plug all this hardwork everywhere I can.

[@cameron224_]

As somebody who stopped playing Pokemon after Diamond/Pearl (excluding Heart Gold and Soul Silver), I had every intention of watching through until you finished those games and then exiting the video. Evidently, I watched all six hours (well, 3 since I watch at 2x speed) and thoroughly enjoyed your commentary and insights. I felt your opinions were thoughtful and critical in the right ways. Even for the games I didn't play, I felt i got just enough summary to make it engaging and just enough wit and charm to make me laugh and continue. This video was A+

[@PsychoDiesel48]

23:32 Which is why Scarlet and Violet were so damn cool. You can do whatever you want, nearly whenever you want. Just make sure you picked up the traversal abilitys while you trounce about the world collecting pokemon and battling trainers, or treasure hunting, or herb grabbing. It's why it pains me that the games were so poorly optimized for so many players. The graphics just stutter way too much to be excusable. Npc's are locked at 5ps if you wander 20 feet away. And while a lot of areas are very pretty, the graphics are not really anything to write home about. But strip all that away, and the gameplay, breeding, and exploration are the best they have ever been. The characters, story, and quests are nothing to sneeze at either. I love the characters and their designs.

[@Alector12]

18:50 Love the deconstruction of the psychic types reputation as the ubiquitous best type in Gen 1 while Sabrinas Alakazam is clinging onto his dear life. With that said, had the developers not given Sabrina the worst possible TM to sully her Alakazams move slot with Psywave then maybe she would have made a better impression still.

[@casualgameronline5890]

I think one thing I liked about Gen 7 is that it took their notion of the over-the-top villain and amped it up to 11. Like you, I was getting pretty bored of Pokémon villains who took themselves way to seriously only to be defeated by a child. Yes, Lusamine does think her motivations make sense to her, but to the outside world, she's completely unhinged. And I actually enjoyed that. It made the absurdity of "10-year-old stops end of the world" story slightly more palatable. That being said, I agree it has way too much dialog and the silent protagonist issue is a problem. I has a hard time getting into the start of Sun/Moon, but I liked some of the momentum once it got going.

[@B-Dawgg]

Nemona is a Goku without a Vegeta.

[@Wolfer02]

your Blue take is based as hell and I agree entirely. I was replaying Yellow about three months ago and just... Blue isn't mean at all? He's just ribbing you in a friendly way and tells you about stuff. Never saw him as a mean guy and that replay cemented it. You're just childhood friends! And 10!

[@lennartweinrich7381]

My biggest respect for that project I really love Gen 6 and I am happy you liked it too