we forgot the point of Pokemon...

[@raskulx1664]

Excellent video! I'm so glad I watched all of it. Very relatable. I am 31 and have said several times that Pokémon is THE most definitive franchise of my childhood. And most beloved. What a gift it has been for so many.

[@lvl9gligar]

@raskulx1664 thanks for taking time to watch the whole vid and drop a comment, really appreciate it! It's nice to know there are so many like-minded people out there, as much as this is a personal POV, I thought it might ve relatable to some people

[@Wobuffet3]

"why did we stop exploring?" because game freak stopped giving us things to explore. every route is a hallway

[@ShizuruNakatsu]

That's actually what I thought the video would be about.

[@Pichuscute]

Very disappointed this isn't what the video is about. You can't explore in these games if the routes are hallways, the trainers heal you, the dungeons have been removed, and the content lasts maybe 15 hours tops (SwSh)....

[@5boxes]

I'm like "wait, people don't explore?" Then I remember the recent games are empty... at most I would be looking for glowing spots in the vast open (and very empty) fields filled with Pokemon cosplaying as intrusive ads. There's no actual exploration. Now when I go over a mysterious obscure cave and expect cool looking shit I only get rewarded by a Nugget. Not even a nice looking scene or an unsettling vibe with mysterious lore. (Sun and Moon still had those nice scenic views but it still had straight forward level designs.) Sometimes it's just a dank cave like any other but now with a glorified switch that does something unknown but also uninteresting (and tedious once you know what it's for). Not even some flavor text that adds lore to each stake and make it interesting. Activating switches in places that are hard to get to (takes a long time mostly) but are very obvious really isn't it. It's like they got a better medium to express themselves (3D) but they reverted to making flat uninspired designs.

[@KillerSkullX]

Recently I only started playing ROMS because Game Freak stopped caring about us. I used to play Pokémon ‘competitively’. I loved the easy and accessible EV training and IV grind in Gen 6, but it really fell off. I’m glad that the switch made some childhood dreams come true by having mainline Pokémon games on the big screen, but beyond that they haven’t done much. I miss the battle frontier and challenges, but I realized I’ll just stop playing the new games and play ROM hacks because of the love and effort they put for the games.

[@qwart22]

@@Pichuscutetbf scarlet and violets dlc is quite big

[@epicness877]

It is pretty insane how a series that started out trying to preserve the raw feeling of bug catching in your neighborhood and getting away from an overindustrialized world is getting obscured in an even more industrialized world

[@lvl9gligar]

I hadn't connected those dots directly but you're spot on!

[@E4439Qv5]

...and I long for the vanished gardens of Córdova...

[@mightza3781]

Ironically, only Pokemon Go catches the original spirit of the original games; in fact Pokemon Go is the natural evolution of the concept. All the mainline series games made after Gen 1 were little more than DLC and balance patches that were made so Nintendo/Pokemon Company/Game Freak could continue milking what became the highest grossing media franchise in the world. The way players interact with Pokemon in the mainline games had remained largely unchanged until Legends Arceus.

[@niicespiice]

@@mightza3781 legends arceus is a spinoff though

[@Chris_Thorndyke]

Legends Arceus is terrible. The graphics suck and the gameplay is bad.

[@CaPnBaLlBaG]

My grandma bought me my first Pokémon game when gen 1 dropped in the US. 1999 I think? I was 7. Just lost her to cancer two months ago and hearing you talk about your grandma brought back a lot of warm memories. Thank you for sharing man, that made my day.

[@lvl9gligar]

Sorry to hear about your Grandma, thanks for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed the video. Really appreciate it

[@intergalactic92]

My first game was given to me by my grandmother as well. For me it was pokemon Gold.

[@ProjectionProjects2.7182]

Sorry for your loss.

[@Mr6one8_]

Same. My grandma got me blue in October 1998.

[@MalorakPKMN]

I lived in a house with a VERY heavy metal ladder that lead up to an attic which I was allowed to turn into a cozy little room all for my own. I'd hide away there, playing Pokémon Stadium, the Gameboy games and sometimes invite friends over. It was awesome. I wasn't hiding FROM anything mind you, I just enjoyed having my own hideout. (which made me LOVE ruby/sapphires secret base feature lol) That beginning clip reminded me of that little place, thank you. Very cozy nostalgia.

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks for sharing, attics (or lofts in the UK) should be games rooms for sure 😂😂

[@Neogeddon]

Not just the secret bases, but Hoenn in general felt like a cozy hideaway for me. So many secret spots with few or no NPCs. Part of why I didn't like ORAS that much was that feeling is basically gone (why are there trainers underwater lmao) I also had a similar spot; we had a crawlspace upstairs that connected the two bedrooms and it was just tell enough for me to set up my lil tv and consoles and a beanbag chair : ]

[@2mccue4u27]

"We"? Actually come to think of it you got me thinking...and I blame X & Y. Kalos is beautiful, vast, open...& Yet, almost empty. Tons of places that are off the beaten path but most are just empty, feeling unfinished. ORAS kinda scratched that itch thanks to Soaring but then Sun & Moon's linearity crashed it. & Honestly i have not yet played SWSH or SV. Legends: Arceus gave me that thrill of exploration, but i didn't mind the lack of landmarks because Hisui was *supposed* to feel wild & untamed. I'd love to get immersed in a new game again. Hoping Legends: Z-A does that.

[@MalorakPKMN]

@@2mccue4u27 I just finished a playthrough of X/Y and while I really enjoyed it, good lord is it linear. Going back to the main city a bunch of times is a neat idea in concept but winds up making the game feel a bit same-y and it doesn't help that the game was NOT built for bigger cities like it. Camera sucks and it's way too big, I just get lost lol. Hope Legends Z-A truly does that, I'd love to get that game and a Switch again, I kinda sold mine a while ago x_x

[@KillerSkullX]

@@MalorakPKMNXY is a game I’d never replay but only use the competitive training feature.

[@infamoushaseo4320]

I always feel punished for exploring because I end up way over leveled from random encounters and trainer battles

[@Purpose_Porpoise]

Basically, this. They *NEED* to add a level-upscaling option. We can't explore because when you're overleveled, the whole point of the game, the battles, just devolves into the player mindlessly clicking a. No mental stimulation in that; no fun in that. Give us level-upscaling.

[@lvl9gligar]

They might do this one day, we can only hope!

[@Zek3nator]

I think an “expert mode” from Xenoblade Chronicles definitive edition would be better. Give the player an option to level down their team.

[@EIbows]

That's... the reward?

[@Neogeddon]

@@EIbows Agree. If you go out of your way to explore, the RPG implication is you're spending time away training up. Of course you'd return swole as heck and just steamroll. That's the fun!

[@cartoonistanonymous]

God that Pallet Town theme could be weaponized against me I'd die smiling

[@lvl9gligar]

Its quite literally the audible definition of nostalgia or a lot of us😂

[@t-greenrock404]

Personally I like Littleroot’s theme more, but they’re both so calming in their own way.

[@lvl9gligar]

@t-greenrock404 when I was making the video it was a real toss-up between Pallet Town and Littleroot town! But I went for Pallet town just because it was more nostalgic for more people. But I fully agree with you, I like the Littleroot theme a lot!

[@AlexTheChaosFox1996]

For me, New Bark Town's theme is the epitome of nostalgia.

[@theeducatedfool]

I hope the Pallet Theme is playing in the background when it’s time for me to die. It’d be a very reassuring soundtrack to go out on.

[@Mage-mc7mz]

That sacred box does not belong in the attic. Blasphemy and Heresy!

[@lvl9gligar]

Haha I have recently moved house so it's still in the storage phase! 😂😂

[@Mage-mc7mz]

@@rethardotv5874 Not everyone can get one of those machines as they are always sold out.

[@2l84me8]

@@lvl9gligarit’s a great collection!

[@animeloveer97]

Mostly the issue is no climate control leading to possible damage from extreme temps and humidity 😢

[@soupe_yt]

I've never had a video strike such a chord with me. Totally embarrassed myself by crying on the bus home from work while watching this. But I'd be lying if I said it wasn't one of those watches that will stick with me forever. It's reignited a flame in me that I hadn't realized had long since died out, and I'm ready to look at the world through a relearned viewpoint of wonder and curiosity. I want to explore again. (also yes, you have earned my sub. thank you for making this.)

[@lvl9gligar]

My intention wasn't to make anyone cry, although it seems I have done that to so many people, sorry about that😂 I'm glad you enjoyed it though and took the time to let me know that you did too. Thanks for the sub!

[@novvak168]

You've done something special. This video resonated with me so strongly. Amazingly, we have a lot of similar experiences, as do many others judging by the comments, I had tears in my eyes at one point. Even if you never become a big KZbin, keep in mind that this video you created caused so many strong feelings in hundreds, maybe thousands of people all over the globe. Very few can say that. You should be proud, very proud Ps. My first game was Emerald, emulated on the PC. All the best from a 26-year-old Pokemon fan from Serbia.

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks for taking time to comment and leaving such kind words. This was just a passion project I've been working on for about 3months, I'm beyond thrilled that so many people have enjoyed it the way that they have. Crazy to have had someone all the way from Serbia see my video! Thanks again for your comments 💪😁

[@mrgtmodernretrogamingtech6891]

Boomer Alert : Exploration died when the series jump in 3D, SUN and MOON onwards... I don't know why, but the limitation of 2D really makes you imagine and feel the world of Pokemon more real...

[@johnalddrumph456]

I think it’s because of the (lack of) graphics. I put quite a few hours into Violet and honestly I cannot remember a single location as being stand out. They all looked so bland and “samey”. Every grassy area just felt the exact same but with the bland looking trees and the random grass patches being in slightly different locations. Then you get to the desert part and it’s literally just that, a barren desert. No ancient ruins or partially buried structures, just sand. And more sand. And even more sand. The only slightly different feeling area was the zero area or whatever it was called, but that’s locked off until postgame. The 2D games were infinitely better at making interestingly designed areas that actually stood out from one another. I still remember almost every single route and city layout and “gimmick” from those games. And that’s just Scarlet & Violet, I’m not even going to touch that weird Legends game. You couldn’t pay me to finish that abomination

[@oORoOFLOo]

3d games feel like cheap junk, perhaps it could work, but they are doing awful job.

[@wesleyflocka]

I haven’t got teary eyed to any KZbin video in my life, hearing your nan was sick really hit me hard. My grandma was the same way always feeding into me and my cousins joy of Pokémon. Often buying us pokemon cards and watched the show with us. She too, passed away, before I got to graduate high school but still in that in between stage as a teenager/young adult going through those dark times with Pokémon also at my side. People who don’t play pokemon don’t truly understand why most of its OG fans stick around. It’s a comfort thing, a nostalgia thing. I am 25 years old and I can say that I haven’t bought the dlc for s/v but i did enjoy the main game. I’m not as hardcore of a fan as I use to be when it comes to completing the games 100% but I can say I still hold pokemon close to my heart. Thanks for the video and thanks for sharing your story.

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks for your comment, sorry to hear about your nan too. It's good that your nan had a positive influence on your upbringing and encouraged your love for Pokemon as well

[@Derjeniche1510]

Man, seeing all those games in their boxes makes me so sad. We never had much money when I was young, so I would always take care of the boxes and put the games back in the box after a play session. And I would just put them proudly on display because I was so happy about the few games that I owned. My Mum threw everything away because she thought it was only the boxes. I am so glad you still got yours.

[@lvl9gligar]

That's such a shame to hear, I remember hating it when my parents would clean my room because then I could never find anything. But having had the whole game and boxes thrown away is a different pain 😅

[@cs8712]

thanks, mom...

[@Derjeniche1510]

​@@cs8712She is a wonderful person, but that fuck up was major.😅

[@CoffeeArtThings]

I wasn't expecting to cry during this video but the moment the Eterna Forest theme started playing I choked up, PLA gets a lot of hate but I loved every second of it, I grew up on Gen 4 and it felt like a love letter to my childhood. Easily one of my favorite Pokémon games despite its flaws. Edit: SO happy to hear it's in your top 3, so many people disagree 😭

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks for the comment, I'm glad the video has resonated with so many different people in so many different ways! PLA is a gem om it's own pedestal for me!

[@mylesedgington4229]

I didn’t know Legends Arceus was disliked. Playing that game reignited that joy I felt when a Pokemon game made me feel like I was on a journey. Legends Arceus was what I think Pokemon needed after a lot of the lackluster Pokemon games on the switch

[@MLPGamer44]

I think seeing my nieces and nephews playing newer Pokémon games without my influence or involvement really made me realize, no matter my own experience, the younger kids still love it. They don’t know the down sides or the dramas, they just want to play a game with collection goals. I’m hoping to sit down and play with nieces, because while we’re 20 years apart, they still have that explorer spirit that I can help guide them in, somthing i didn’t have with my parents. They were too old, but I can can be there for the next generation with the same interests and mindsets.

[@Chris_Thorndyke]

Same. But legends arceus is still bad.

[@MLPGamer44]

@@Chris_Thorndyke I spent my time in gen 8, grinding in the wilds until level 40, never advancing, just battling, eventually just rushing through the story. I did the same thing for Arceus. I completed the Pokédex in Arceus before finishing the game and when I did finish Arceus, I basically just stopped playing it. There wasn’t much outside of the legendary pokemon quests. Which I did, but again I just dropped it afterwards. It didn’t have longevity. But I think kids enjoy the open world like we did as kids with Zelda or other games

[@houyo]

This video made me realize I'm not doing a lot for myself right now and my passion is pretty low. Thanks for that, it helps.

[@Chris_Thorndyke]

How nice.

[@lvl9gligar]

We all need to take time for ourselves sometimes. Hope you find your passion again

[@itsyagirlchelsc]

This video is so beautiful. The past several days I've immersed myself into reliving my love of Pokemon, and I've had a bunch of these thoughts in passing. This video has really encapsulated that. Thank you for this.

[@lvl9gligar]

I'm glad you liked the video! I just really think this franchise is something special, and has always been a huge part of my life. It's nice that this passion project has had such a positive reception from so many of you😁😁

[@toxicllama2766]

As a kid anything to do with Pokémon was strictly prohibited, hearing about you’re experience brings me so much happiness. I’m just now catching up on all things Pokémon at the age of 19 . I remember when I was 9 on the playground and some nice kid gave me his cubchu card as a sympathy card knowing I didn’t have any while everyone else did some other kids also gave me they’re low stat cards and soon I had a ragtag deck of Pokémon I carried with me everywhere I treasured them all so much going through my deck and admiring the art work on them everyday until my parents found out and threw them all away grounding me for a week for even bringing them in the house. I am now an avid Pokémon player and card collector, with many Pokémon plushies. I am slowly healing that inner child that saw those X & Y ad’s and dreamed of having my own copy of the game someday

[@sqwark4523]

this just came on my recommendations. even though life can get in the way, i’ve always played pokemon in some form of fashion. great video mate

[@lvl9gligar]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@Grvmdxl]

I stopped playing Pokemon since Diamond/Pearl era, I returned to the saga with Sword/Shield. It felt empty, soulless. I looked over the internet, no extra puzzles, no exploring, no cryptic stuff I remembered loving on pokemon. That was a sad day for me.

[@Chris_Thorndyke]

At least Sword and Shield was balanced for the most part.

[@maheshwaranpillai]

One of the most profound video essays I have listened to in a while. Excellent work!

[@lvl9gligar]

Wow, thank you! That's high praise!

[@rohankhatri3226]

A video that is so close to my heart. Thank you for making this. Pokémon has helped me get through a lot. I started my journey from Vaniville Town and that theme makes me cry even today. I loved every bit of Pokémon X. I lost my mum in 2019, and there was Pokémon Sword to help me through...just by diverting my mind away from the fact that I became motherless. No matter what or how the games were, it helped me through. Again in 2022, I lost my aunt, whom I was the closest to, I could share everything with...and a month later, PLA comes out. What a journey that was in Hisui...I genuinely feel, these Pokémon games have shaped me as a person and have helped me to remain sane inspite of constant family losses. Thank you for this video! ♥️✨️

[@cosmicsvids]

Sorry but pokemon emerald just shits on modern pokemon that game actually has stuff for you to do with your pokemon once you beat the game aside from playing with real life strangers with them. And there are actually tough challenges to complete.

[@rohankhatri3226]

@cosmicsvids and i don't disagree. But ofc I'll have a soft spot for Kalos, as it was my first so...

[@lucky-lu6tc]

thank you for sharing your story :) i hope you are doing better nowadays

[@lvl9gligar]

It's really crazy how pixels on a screen or the music from these games set your mind off in such ways. It's comforting to see someone who has had this franchise help them through tough times too, I hope you're doing better every day🫶🫶 all the best to you and yours

[@slushbucket707]

I wanted to have a fresh feeling of exploration when S/V came out so i decided to never look anything up. I still only have one treasure of ruin

[@lvl9gligar]

@slushbucket707 this is refreshing to hear, I remember before the Internet I would play games as I kid and get stuck for weeks trying to figure out what to do because I couldn't just Google the answers. In a way, I kinda miss those times 😂

[@jacobstewart9139]

Absolutely, bro! I remember playing gsc for my first game and getting stuck so many times

[@kipyt3501]

@@jacobstewart9139 Fr bro ive been playing all the old games for the first time I started in Lets go but I've been playing through all the old games building bonds with new pokemon and getting stuck and having to explore everwhere. I got stuck for like 3 hours trying to unlock slowpoke well lol

[@Acacius1992]

I hate nothing more then being stuck so i absoltuly not miss those times

[@BorisTheGoose92]

I've chosen to be blind with Pokemon since X&Y and I wholly believe my non existent awareness of what was coming made me love the game series again.

[@CoralReaper707]

I've grown to hate the forced exp share and the pc being accessible at all times. It takes away any challenge or sense of danger the game had. I LOVE exploring in video games because I am endlessly curious.

[@wailmerwithinternetaccess7934]

Sadly, some ROM hacks did this kind of stuff, claiming to focus on battle aspect.

[@CoralReaper707]

@@wailmerwithinternetaccess7934 (cough cough) Radical Red

[@wailmerwithinternetaccess7934]

@@CoralReaper707 Wailmer used Dive!

[@user-lp5vo6qb2i]

as someone who hates to grind, i dont mind the EXP share, i actually really like it. But i hate it when exploring makes me overleveled. I think this would just be fixed by adding a Level cap...simple as that, or Level Scaling. Both are super easy to add to

[@zandosdwarf-king]

@@user-lp5vo6qb2i swap your team more frequenly. Removing leveling (aka level scaling) makes RPGs worse

[@forgototherpassword]

I feel like, to an extent, recent pokemon games wants people to explore, but then also heavily disincentivises doing so mechanically. To explain: The game that had the greatest potential for exploration is Scarlet and Violet, but the game does things to make exploration negatively impact your journey: The always-on experience share means if you want to use a specific team, you'll always be overleveled. Yeah you can use more pokemon than just a single team of six, but I like having a single team that isn't switched out, and I know other people do the same. Despite the game wanting you to explore, you have a very tight budget for exp because of the gyms having set levels and an intended order. Sure, you could just overlevel for gyms and team star and the titans, but that removes any challenge from the game. They allow you to fast-travel from anywhere to any pokemon center in the game, and even some other spots too. Yeah I know fly has always worked like that, but Sword/Shield made it something you can do from the start of the game with the flying taxi system, and it frames travel and exploration as wastes of time. Why walk all the way from Levincia to Cascarrafa for the intended gym order, being forced to take a new path to get there across the top of the map, when you can just warp back to Cortondo and walk from there? The actual important events are marked on your map before you even leave for the first gym. All 18 events. There's no mystery of where the Titans, or Team Star could be. There's no question of "Oh I wonder if the next town has a gym" because it's a waypoint on your map. Now, this isn't to say that everything about exploring in S/V is bad. The game's take on the TM system encourages using the autobattle feature to collect materials, and the various items, some quite useful or valuable, encourage searching every nook and cranny of an area. On top of that there are the Treasures of Ruin, definitely one of the best sets of secondary-legendary pokemon as far as method to obtain goes, and it can be genuinely fun to find all the stakes hidden around the map to free them so you can catch them. I think there are some fantastic incentives to explore, but the game's structure mostly encourages not exploring until the postgame due to the fact that all the badge events are meant to be at specific levels, and if you just go from event to event, badge to badge, you'll get almost all the experience you need without exploring. I say all this as someone who has played through Scarlet twice, and I've even made a full living dex in the game. The exploration and the incentives for it are there, but I found myself constantly putting it off so that my team wasn't overleveled to the point that there's no challenge left. I couldn't excuse actually exploring until I was already in the postgame. In past pokemon games, especially gens 1-4, the game encouraged exploring by having enough experience between all the things you can do between gyms that you'll be just the right level by the next one. If you had a good route through the game, you'd be able to both have you exploration, and also your team should still be around the level of the next gym when you're done. As a little side note to end this section on: I honestly think the mechanic that disencourages exploration the most isn't the EXP-share, but the fact that you gain experience from catching pokemon. Yeah it makes sense that you'd get some experience from it, but it makes catching pokemon for the dex something you might choose not to do because of levels you'd gain. Like many other issues, the game becomes too easy if you let it. Looking back though, older pokemon games just had more to explore in the first place. I'm not referring to the main story, but optional content that you had to go out of your way to do. Kanto routes 13-15 are a redundant set of routes that you never have to visit in any version of the region. It also consistently has the highest density of rewards and trainers to battle in the game. You can choose to use 13-15 as your way to reach Fuschia City, but most people use Cycling Road, also known as routes 16-18. Many players never even touch 13-15. There's also optional dungeons you never have to touch in the Powerplant and the Seafoam Islands. In Johto, there's the whole "you can fight three of the gyms in any order" thing. Granted it's not the best executed, but it's exploration that encourages creativity. In that section of the game there are also multiple (mandatory) dungeons relating to the Team Rocket part of the plot. Then there's the fact that Johto's postgame is getting to explore Kanto again but with new developments and changes to the region. In Hoenn there's multiple sets of routes you never have to go to, the desert, and multiple optional dungeons again in New Mauville, the Abandoned Ship, and the back half of Meteor Falls. There's also the three Regis and having to learn to read braille in real life to know what the carvings are saying without just looking it up. Practically half of Sinnoh's map is hidden optional areas to explore, even if you don't count the postgame areas that exist only for that. For a short list there's the Fuego Ironworks, Iron Island, the Old Chateau, Snowpoint Temple, and Fullmoon and Newmoon Islands. There are other areas as well, but my point is that there is so much optional content that's out of the way in Sinnoh it's kind of insane. I kind of can't speak for Gen V much, as I haven't played a ton of it, but I do know that other than one use of cut all the HMs are used only to reach optional content. I don't know what it is because I don't want to spoil my own exploration, but I do know that much. Oh and the map changes each season, with how some areas are navigated changing in drastic ways, and there's the hidden grotto mechanic in B2/W2, which has you paying closer attention to the environment. From what I've heard, those mechanics make the Unova region have a surprising depth of exploration, despite the region being a circle. Kalos was the first place where I felt the exploration starting to slip. There weren't really any optional dungeons. Even the postgame where you work with Looker was kind of on rails the whole time. Kalso is a circle, but without the mechanics that gave exploration depth in Unova. Sword and Shield... Was mostly a series of Hallways leading from one stadium to another. Other than the wild area stuff, you were on rails the whole way through.... And the wild area was just for catching pokemon and grinding watts. Pokemon had great exploration back in the day, but in recent years what you CAN explore has dropped off significantly. Scarlet and Violet are a good step back in the direction of better exploration, but the game's design habits make exploration come at the cost of game balance.

[@Yous0147]

Exploration is about mystery and getting to know the unkown, some of it pleasent other difficult, but all of teaching you something new. You ask questions like, which cool and interesting Pokemon exist and where do I find them? And these questions have root in even deeper questions like, what are the nature of Pokemon? Why do they exist, where do they come from? The games should give you small pieces that hints at what their true nature is without showing you overtly. And then, in one generation of games, you find out that literally every Pokemon and the world was created by this God Pokemon named Arceus that looks like a mechanical horse and itself came from an egg, and its accompanied by Pokemon that are the manifestation of time, space and antimatter. Oh, and you can catch these primordial forces of nature too. And then it's no wonder the whole intrigue, mystery and need for exploration in the world of Pokemon deflates like a soggy soufflè. 4th gen still had great games, but that mindset was the beginning of what would define the newer games. It's why Zekrom and Reshiram began being "beings of ideals and truth" rather than natural guardians, like Lugia was the guardian of the sea. I feel 3rd gens Kyogre, Groudon and Rayquasa (along with Mewtwo and Deoxys) were the edge of which Pokemon should be in terms of influence and power in the world, without it becoming downright absurd to such a degree that it ruins the verisimilitude.

[@KuraiShine4]

The solution is much simplier.. just implement difficulty options and scaling options like most RPG has. Skyrim stock lvl openworld with scaling lvl dungeon and insides was amazing. You felt the growing power of being able to fight stronger and stronger ennemies in the outside and getting access to new areas while being still challenged in instanced area to a challenge consistantly no matter how much u farmed.

[@Shin_Mothra]

​@@Yous0147They should go the Digimon route and have no single, consistent canon.

[@forgototherpassword]

@@Yous0147 An interesting perspective. I'd not considered the nature of Pokemon themselves to be part of the exploration, but given that in gen 1 it's kinda implied that Pokemon just kinda appeared one day, it makes sense as an angle for exploration. I'd argue that you can still have exploration without this element, as my own complaints are about the regions not being realized in such a way as to make exploration feel good. However, I absolutely agree that the mystery of Pokemon themselves was a major factor in the exploration of gens 1-4.

[@forgototherpassword]

@@Shin_Mothra I mildly disagree, not with having multiple different canons that are not 1 to 1 with each other, but with Digimon as the example, as I don't think that goes far enough. Digimon are always Digimon, no matter what canon of the franchise you look at. Instead, I'd go with the Final Fantasy approach. You cast the same spells, but how they're learned/used, as well as their place in the world is different with every mainline entry, since they all take place in worlds that are different right down to how magic works. Sure, in world A, Pokemon are just wildlife, but in world B they can be a man-made "has science gone too far?" type thing, while in world C they're the result of Arceus reaching down and making them personally. The closest I can think of for Digimon to this style of approach is Digimon Survive, but even in that game, what Digimon are hasn't changed, only the context and the assumptions of the characters.

[@TrillForTheWorld]

This is such a gem man, it resonated so hard as a Pokemon fan and just as a kid who wanted to be like ash for so long, thank you

[@lvl9gligar]

I think we all wanted to be Ash in some capacity when we were younger. Thanks for commenting, glad you enjoyed it. I've been making it for about 3months

[@TrillForTheWorld]

@@lvl9gligar Glad you finally put your thought to action! can't wait to see what else you come up with :)

[@lvl9gligar]

@ToonTrill thanks man, the support has been so unreal. Next video will be a while away but I've got some ideas circulating already!

[@joeyrutherford6316]

Wow. I came across your video randomly and thought it was going to be an examination of Pokémon game design. I never expected such a raw and heartfelt examination of your own relationship to the franchise. I ended up sitting on my couch just speechless for a few minutes. Thank you for this video. I hope it felt as cathartic to make as it was for me to watch. Subscribed.

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks for your comment, I'm happy that so many people seem to have enjoyed the video so much. It's crazy. Appreciate the sub too!

[@areaxisthegurkha]

From the modern games, i find Pokemon Legends the best game to explore. Being able to enter areas you werent supposed to that early in the game is possible sometimes if put enough time (and a bit of deer jumping) and you get to see all these mysterious areas that you may unlock in the future (similar to Mewtwo Cave or the 3 spirit caves from DP/P). Although it will never triumph my curiosity as a kid when I played Emerald, diving in every deep water, digging every secret base possible, trying to figure out the Regi puzzles (looked up Braille language but still couldn't understand lol). Not to mention, so many rumours about the game were being made in that era, like how you can go to Kanto if you get all the gold medals in Frontier or how you can get Celebi by following a pattern of dumb movements (which many of us fell for, an example being the Mew Truck video). Still, i have hope for Legends Z-A. Seeing X&Y in a new light could grow my curiousity again.

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

I truly lovee exploration in Legends Arceus, and it's actually why I resent the Noble Pokemon fights so much. Because they stop me from exploring for a while. The first time I really felt that sense of exploration was in Crystal. I was surfing on route 34 and found the secret beach. I didn't care about the reward that much, but being rewarded for going out of your way was so great.

[@areaxisthegurkha]

@@shytendeakatamanoir9740 yeah I'll be honest, I also felt kinda cringe that Pokemon tried to make a Dark Souls type boss fight instead of focusing on Pokemon Battles.

[@maliksmith9003]

Haven't seen the video yet, but my two cents: the old 2D games still had HMs that allowed routes to have side paths that you could return to and give you little rewards for taking the time to comb through the map. The interconnected room-style map design allowed for designers to take liberties in- Oh Dear God. That's the plot of Up? 😢

[@cinderefell1399]

Nah, I never stopped exploring. The games just felt emptier than the last title. Break a rock and it's one single path to a dead end for a berry. The berry is not the problem here, it's the single path that doesn't branch out to anything.

[@slipsquid3797]

It's like that in older games too. If you're gonna call something out hold that same standard to everything else

[@M4x_P0w3r]

@@slipsquid3797 Not really. Sometimes you had full on routes that you didn't need to visit for story purposes, filled with many rewards.

[@ItsNep]

@@slipsquid3797 definitely not true. as the other guy pointed out there are plenty of side routes and optional locations/events in other titles. think about the abandoned ship in rse, the regi puzzle, ruins of alph, etc. i love gen 5 but that's when it started to get much more linear and yet there is still so much to be found going back to areas with access to new HMs, checking them out during different seasons for new encounters and items.. all stuff you had to go out of your way to find.

[@slipsquid3797]

@@ItsNep for every ruin of Alph there was a tree that only lead to apricorns I remember seeing those alot. Gen 5 had hidden grottos different routes for getting through places. I'd say they did it the best. Just one reason why gen 5 is the best gen but that's a different discussion.

[@pierreauburtin2218]

@@slipsquid3797 lol no

[@Nako3]

It makes me sad that there is nothing to explore anymore. I hope they bring it back.

[@NumaDestroy]

This really hit home... Pokémon is also one of my most beloved franchises, thanks to it I met friends who after 25 years are still there even though we can only meet twice per year. I have so many memories, the usual rumors in school about Mew in the truck or a secret 252 pokémon if you beat the entire game under 1 hour with a Rattata, reading the magazine for Oak's answers, go into a shop to buy a VHS that told me how to reach Mewtwo in Pokémon Yellow, my first shiny or roaming legendary, sleeping to the music while on a car ride... It's way too much. Gotta say although I kinda feel the same way some people in the comments are expressing about the hallways, redirections and empty places as of late (the thing I hate the most are definitely houses I cannot enter), I really REALLY enjoyed Scarlet/Violet to the point it's my 2nd favorite game and it's because of exploration alone; being able to look down a cliff and see a Pokémon Center along the shores and finding a cave that got to it, seeing an island far into the sea and check what's in it with my heart racing getting ready for a legendary or just verticality overall, not to mention the split story giving variety on playthroughs, the way you had to actually do stuff in order to uncover a legendary kinda like the regis back then, the Area Zero which felt so intriguing and mysterious whenever you got close before the end of the story and the music would just mute keeping your interest...and that's not to mention the way the rivals were written converging in going together to Area Zero or the difficulty in the DLCs with trainers using literal PVP items and moves... I get that there were bugs and the framerate was sometimes unbearable but I don't think that justifies saying the entire game is a bad or meh experience because of that, we forget we grew up with pixels and back then nobody was angry when we discovered the Abandoned Ship in Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald was hella tiny and once inside it was HUGE. I think SC/VI got underrated way too fast and 2-3 generations later they will get praised.

[@alexmoorhead2665]

I don’t think I’ve ever commented on a KZbin video before. From a random guy in the Midwest US, thank you for uploading this. From the sound of things, I’m probably just a couple years older than you. You’ve nailed what I’ve been trying to process, with many things also changing at once in my own life. Loss, obligations, cynicism, exhaustion, wounds both physical and otherwise, failure, work, they all have a way of wearing us down over time, even in short enough timespans as our own lives thus far. It unfortunately makes sense why the “grouchy old man” trope exists. Thank you for reminding me that exploration can exist in infinitely many ways. Personal exploration. Finding some new shop around the corner from where you live. Taking a walk around that small park you’ve never been to. Going to a meeting or get together with complete strangers, just to see what happens. “Just to see what happens”. I like that. Best to you and yours. And may your own journey be filled with exploration, adventure, and experiences that you too can say “I’m glad I did that”. Cheers

[@lvl9gligar]

Hey man, thanks for commenting. I'm happy my video helped you feel this way, I think sometimes we don't realise how things get on top of us and warp our perspectives. Really love how well articulated your comment is too. This whole comment section is a reminder that the Internet can be a good place sometimes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts man, good luck with whatever the future holds for you too🫡💪

[@nazimelon6653]

Because there's nothing to find anymore. In the earlier gens, every time I went off the beaten path, I found something new. A regi-cave, giratinas hideout, a missing plasma-leader, articuno. Any mythical pokemon, small side quests or even just lore. The disappointment started around gen 6, as most negatives about pokemon did. In gen 7, you got some of that back but then it's like 3 steps off the beaten path. And the few times it was more... You found the flyinium z with no story behind it. Later you found out that there was a story and that got canceled. In sword and shield, you found new dens and watt-traders at most. And in SV... nothing. I tried, really tried. Just walked and rode across paldea... but nothing. Area zero was inaccessible until the post-game and once I got there, holy fuck was it an experience... but going there again didn't do anything. No hidden pokemon, areas, items or more lore... just some roaming pokemon and cool areas. Which, while fun and all, doesn't really feel rewarding.

[@ArtyCollectz]

Pokémon will forever be a rock and safe haven for so many of us.

[@uncbun]

This is such an amazing poetic video. We've had a lot of similar experiences, and I can totally relate to this. I didn't expect to cry today but here we are. I'll forever remember this and the feelings I felt. Fantastic work!

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks man, glad you liked it. I'm also glad you understood it too!

[@Pierceson-up8fs]

I feel like we need to have a conversation about “quality of life” changes and how people use this statement too much to deflect criticism. I think these type of changes are the primary problem for why exploration no longer feels rewarding. The forced exp share, gift items, and constant access to the box remove any sense of threat in the world, which removes any need to explore. Exploring ends up hurting one’s enjoyment now, because it only serves to make the actual battles even more mindless. You’re too overleveled before you even start exploring, you have too many items that getting more from exploring isn’t an incentive, and you don’t even need the items because you have access to your PC and healthy Pokémon at any time. Pokémon used to be a game of resource management, but the “quality of life” “improvements” have rendered that side of the gameplay obsolete. It’s an annoying chore to even try to get the games to be the same level of difficulty they used to be, and I feel like it would be incredibly easy to fix this issue for fans that want a harder game without removing the option for an easier game for less experienced players

[@lvl9gligar]

I think it'll be difficult for the Pokemon Company to appease everyone, especially as they view their franchise as being for kids. I would love to see difficulty settings or something similar for the people who want that though. I think that's why I loved Legends Arceus so much because you weren't over levelled too much and the alpha Pokemon were threatening throughout the game. Hopefully they build on this in Legends Z-A

[@Pierceson-up8fs]

@@lvl9gligar I get why they’re afraid of it. Pokémon’s not just for kids, but it is also for casual’s too. I know people that love everything about the franchise except for the battles. They want to cater to people that want to engage with the battle system as little as possible, and that’s fine. I just really think they can do both, and it’s not just for adult fans. Kids vary greatly in skill level too; they’re often better than adults and is why games like Fortnite can be so popular with them in spite of it being difficult to win. I really think they can do both by just giving us options, very simple options at that

[@EWOODJ]

That’s what happens when people don’t agree with the criticisms.

[@gmerc1333]

you should make a video about this

[@lvl9gligar]

@gmerc1333 thanks for the idea man, I'll have a think about it

[@charlywthedarkness]

Thanks for the Video, im having a hard time with life recently, everything feels cold and gray, breakup, loss, lost my job and being diagnosed with emotional hypersensibility, your Video helped , let's keep strong together and catch them all

[@lvl9gligar]

You're doing a great job bro, keep it pushing 💪🫡

[@gaius5901]

I know people always complain about Unova and it being a literal "circle" and very linear, but at least 95% of all their routes had off the path areas you can freely explore and aren't just hallways

[@lvl9gligar]

I also think a lot of the Unova routes are aesthetically very pleasing too, and I like how different seasons affect how you can access parts of the routes too

[@anonanonymous9670]

"I know people always complain about Unova" Literally where?? I've only seen people praise Unova 24/7

[@Dinnos100]

@@anonanonymous9670 People used to hate Unova. You traveling in a straight line through the region was one of the complaints. One and a half decades later, the games are now beloved. Time strongly affects the perception of games.

[@anonanonymous9670]

@@Dinnos100 "Time strongly affects the perception of games." Yeah, it's the Pokemon cycle Eventually people who played the games will grow up and they'll be nostalgic for them Happened with Gen 3, happened with Gen 4 and happened with Gen 5 Will happen with other Gens too

[@mikerolfe1842]

When it came out it was heavily criticised. Looking back, 5th gen is amazing

[@JoeFallucco]

Imagine you kept everything from your childhood. What a crazy life you would have

[@lvl9gligar]

I think a lot of us would be rich too😂😂

[@sleeps_alm08]

I benefited from exploration by growing up with Pokemon and Zelda at the same time. Different premise but still lots of exploration and novelty.

[@cwinchcarwash2629]

The part about your nan is beautiful. Its my favourite part of the video ❤️ I'm very glad you got to know what sounds like such a great person and had them in your life, and that you have those memories 🙏 This turned out to be one of my fav KZbin vids iv seen, thank you

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks man, that's crazy high praise. Seriously. I'm taken aback everyday from all the insanely nice comments people have left. The idea of being one of someone's favourite youtube videos is really great to hear. Thanks for taking the time to let me know man, all the best to you and yours 💪🫶

[@vegamineral207]

I never forgot the point of Pokémon, the point was to catch 'em all

[@rainpooper7088]

At the risk of sounding like a genwunners, I think Kanto of all places did a pretty good job on the exploration side of things with what it had that no other region really replicated. I was playing Leaf Green for the first time a while back (only played Gen 1 on VC) and legitimately found myself looking at the map like "Ok, there's a Snorlax here and here and no entering Saffron until I get a drink at Celadon. Pokéflute is at Lavender, let's see where I'll get first." Even if you already know Kanto, there's still a bit of a problem solving component to it. None of the other Pokémon games do this. They're either very linear (more or less justifiably so) or if they aren't, it's just a random jumble of stuff that is nowhere near as interconnected as Kanto was. Yeah, you can beat Pryce before Jasmin and the other guy in Gen 2, but there's nothing to entering his city, if you went there ahead of time you likely just stumbled into it on accident and don't feel any sense of reward for making it this far. Same with just about everything in SV. Open worlds and "go wherever you want" are nice and all, but I'd rather see another game have a go at that puzzle component Gen 1 had.

[@lvl9gligar]

This is actually a very good take, I supposebwe don't think about these things anymore because gen 1 is so old and we know so much about it, and it's been remade a few times too

[@DaNooch669]

Excellent video my guy. I resonate with what you said about your personal life and journey so much

[@lvl9gligar]

I appreciate that, thanks for watching!

[@Inneys]

Damn, this actually just made me rethink a large portion of my current life status. Thank you so much for this!

[@lvl9gligar]

That's all good man, you're welcome I suppose🫡 enjoy what the future holds for you

[@SotraEngine4]

I think one aspect is the lack of the grass mechanic in newer pokemon games. Now you can much more choose if you want to encounter pokemon and which pokemon to encounter That said I felt I went exploring in pokemon Violet

[@animeloveer97]

On the other hand tho I feel like I have to check every single pokemon in case it may be shiny and it's driving me insane. You can't actually catch your breath and pause either 😂

[@celinepope]

Leaf Green was my first OWN Pokemon game too. Oh man. My hideaway was under my stairs. As a child with severe anxiety, that cubby under the basement stairs was my sanctuary. I explored the Sevii Islands to no end in there. One day, my game was suddenly missing. How I longed for that feeling. I don't know if I got Emerald before or after Leaf Green was lost..

[@lvl9gligar]

Yo man, I used to love exploring the Sevi islands too when I was younger. I remember the first time I saw a Heracross in the Patern Bush. Man I love that bug

[@jithinkumar7985]

People who don’t have this innate connection to Pokémon can’t really understand how much it has taught me and how much of who I am now stems from what I learnt from playing these games. Why blaziken is my favourite Pokémon stems back to my first ever elite4 in Pokémon ruby where I managed to win the league only because of sky uppercut and blazekick after using a random elixir and leppa berry I had left. I learned that I could find a win even in the worst of situations as long as I stay calm and assess the situation. I can’t explain this to people who have never played the games. I can’t explain how this was a lesson I could have only learned from Pokémon at that age. But I’m glad I clicked on this video. It makes me happy to see others talk about Pokémon the same way I do.

[@lvl9gligar]

Some people get it, some people don't. Glad you're in the same boat as me! Blaziken is a very cool starter Pokemon. The Hoenn starters are the only 3 I find it hard to pick a favourite from, personally. They're all really cool

[@lucky-lu6tc]

@@lvl9gligar yea, they are the best trio imo every other trio has a clearly worst starter

[@somegamer4071]

This was a great video, I'm a pokemon fan since gen 1, that intro of going to the attic hit me so hard. Gotta remember to explore :D

[@CaptainFalcoyd]

Terrifying sinking feeling when the video of a guy going up to the attic to dig out his ancient childhood Pokémon games reveals a gameboy advance and the third generation games rather than Red and Blue. Even the old fogeys looking to relive their nostalgia and share it in videos like this are now youngsters who didn't actually experience the origins of what they're talking about.

[@lvl9gligar]

I played Red, Blue and Yellow, I just played FRLG more so have more nostalgia for it personally

[@s.k.6100]

Pokemon Red is one of the only few good memories I have of my dad. He bought me Pokemon Red and a Gameboy Pocket. I remember I couldn't figure out how to leave your house and he figured it out in 5 minutes or so. After that, he gave it back to me and told me to have fun. My love for Pokemon really is something tied to him on that one Christmas and it's a memory I never take for granted. I've had a very estranged relationship to him and to this day I haven't talked to him in 15+ years. But this really captured how it felt to be that kid who had the game then and was just so eager to go out and explore. Pretty sure I still have my Pokemon Red game, but the battery inside died less than a year after I got it. Unfortunately, the save game is no longer around.

[@GalekC]

that's like the second time in a week someone randomly in a youtube video i see references that scene in ratatouille

[@lvl9gligar]

It's definitely a cultural reference from our generation 😂

[@Ninjacat25]

Thank you for this lovely video. Pokemon has been such a massive part of my childhood, and is basically a sentimental part of my soul. I hope your grandmother is at peace in a much happier place. She sounded like such a kind woman.

[@gnomefuel]

get a few quarters, go find a capsule toy machine, collect some “pokeballs” and go catch some bugs

[@765craven4]

Nuzlocking is the main way for Pokemon games to feel all that engaging to me anymore. Or at the very least playing on Set Mode with level caps and not using healing items in battle. It's crazy to me how the modern Pokemon games have made those things feel more and more necessary just to remain engaging, let alone challenging. I recently did a Nuzlocke of Leaf Green and the first big thing I noticed was that even having fought every trainer I could before Brock I was still underleveled, even my starter. And I never fled from a wild encounter. So it was either grind or chance a bad fight with Brock. Same thing happened again for Misty, and Surge, and so on. I added members to my team as the game went on so experience became spread thinner and thinner, so to some extent grinding was a necessary part of the Nuzlocke. These same things happened in Crystal, as well as Emerald. I was never getting enough experience just by playing the game to end up overleveled. Exploration felt rewarding for a large number of reasons, but one of the big ones is that exploring meant more battles, more experience, more valuable encounters for my Nuzlocke. I'd even find valuable TMs, Rare Candies, or Vitamins for my team. As someone who has played every core entry in the series expect Scarlet and Violet I think Black and White 2 were the last time exploration felt like a focus of the game in much of any capacity. Black and White even had an entire section of the map that you never had to go to very near the beginning of the game, and it even gave you a rare egg for Larvesta as a reward for exploring it. Generation 1 had Zapdos and Articuno hidden in optional areas, Gen 2 had the hidden areas in Ruins of Alph, entirely optional parts of Dark Cave and the Mt Mortar near the middle of the region, whcih you don't have to explore to beat the game, and more. Generation 3 had the Desert that you never have to go to, the area north of Rustboro City, areas in Granite Cave you can return to with a bike, most of Meteor Falls can't be explored without Waterfall, stuff like that. We don't get things like that anymore. It's sad.

[@KamiLeVrai]

Why did i stop exploring ? Because everytime i wanted to take an alternative path there is someone blocking me from going in that area, i can only follow the main direction. Was thinking Scarlet and Violet would be more funny but you have a map that show you every point where you have to go so you just do straight lines because the areas are empty... Its just a to do list : complete X objective that is pinpoint on the map to progress.. You dont get to discover things if you look at content on the internet because every content creator already completed the game Day 1 and post "The best Guide to progress in" "All the secrets in" before you even complete half of the main quest Then you have to rush to the endgame if you want to keep up with conversation topic online... No endgame content beside shiny hunting and competitive battle. I miss the battlefrontier, kanto exploration after johto ,side quests

[@ScionStorm1]

That just sounds like a personal choice problem for you with Scarlet and Violet. As soon as I got released to explore I went off the road at every opportunity. Wandered the canyons on the way to one town, and the hills in the other direction. Followed the water up stream. Scaled the southwest mountains even though there's no town or event on the map listed there just for the view. I tried to scale the backside of the mountain in attempt to reach Alfornada without using the cave path. I found a small cave that I could only get to by falling off a cliff in just the right angle cause I hadn't unlocked flying yet. I barely ever had to buy items in the early game because kept finding what I needed just by exploring wherever I was.

[@Chris_Thorndyke]

Scarlet and Violet’s lack of post game content is scary

[@CarlJoshuaPornelos]

Pokemon truely is a game we will continue to criticize yet we will still play and enjoy

[@cosmicsvids]

Problem with pokemon is you can only do the same thing so many times until it gets boring the only thing they have changed is open world and they haven't really done a good job of it because with out level scaling theres really only two gyms to choose from at one time.

[@sylvyboi]

I still play and enjoy older games. Stopped buying the newer ones ages ago

[@Chris_Thorndyke]

@@cosmicsvidsThis is very true. Game Freak needs to let another game company make their games because GF is losing their touch.

[@Chris_Thorndyke]

@@sylvyboiWhat’s your favorite Pokemon game?

[@sylvyboi]

@@Chris_Thorndyke If I had to pick one then I think BW2. But to me it's really hard to choose just one because a lot of Pokemon games up to the 3DS are amazing

[@brofessorbon]

Fantastic video my friend this really hit home and hard right in the feels. I may have gotten extremely emotional towards the end relating to your struggles. Thank you for making this and putting your heart into it. May the 900+ subs soon become 9M because you deserve to be noticed.

[@lvl9gligar]

Appreciate the kind words, 9M is a ridiculous number but who knows! All the best to you and yours 🫶💪

[@emmett4733]

My elementary/middle school friends and I would show off our card collections to each other, discuss hidden secrets rumored to be in the games, and act out pokemon battles on the playground. I drew pokemon and made OCs and crappy little comics and stories starting at like age 11, all the way to now at age 30, and made several friends over the years on Tumblr and DeviantArt from posting my stuff and interacting with other pokemon related content. I met my fiancee in early 2014 directly because of the friend safari feature in pokemon xy. (I was looking for hidden ability eevee and her safari had them, and we exchanged friend codes, which led to us talking to each other on tumblr!) And almost all of the money I’ve earned now doing art is from pokemon related commissions and pokefusion design sales. Pokemon has been such a huge part of my life; I genuinely can’t imagine how different of a person I would be right now if the pokemon franchise had never existed (or if I’d not been allowed to watch the anime, collect the cards, or play the games).

[@alecrutz6979]

I'm glad you found your fiancee through pokemon and all but something about that happening through the friend safari so that you could get eevee is hilarious to me

[@emmett4733]

@@alecrutz6979 oh yeah for sure, it’s a weird way to have met anybody but especially someone you also end up falling in love with and getting married to 😂

[@professorprofessorson4831]

This is a nice video, very calming but also thought provoking. I hope you the best moving forward and if you do continue making these kinds of video, I'll be watching it!

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks, really happy you enjoyed it. Thought provoking and nostalgic was the vibe I was going for, so it's good to hear you found it thought-provoking and calming. I have another video in the works right now. Its not as emotional as this one, but should still be good! Stay tuned! 😊🫡

[@zjmullan]

nice cinematic attic

[@lvl9gligar]

@zjmullan thanks bro, me and my bro used to play Lego up there when we were kids so my dad made it aesthetically pleasing I guess 😂😂

[@eriseasyeats5473]

Your Nan sounds like a total diamond. 💚 I’m so sorry she, you, and your family had to say goodbye in such awful circumstances. This video is brilliant and perfectly encapsulates how so many of us feel about this franchise. I’ve been incredibly forgiving of glitchy graphics in the later games, but that might be due to my tendency to suffer motion sickness if graphics are too good and because I’m just enjoying the gameplay so much. Thanks for making this trip down memory lane. 💚

[@lvl9gligar]

She sure was, I kinda wish she was still here so I could explain to her about what KZbin is and stuff, if that makes sense? But yeah I'm really glad you enjoyed it, especially as it's mostly personal and anecdotal. If been really nice to see so many people resinate with this video and this franchise 🫶

[@JtothePrez]

Good video, mate! I still remember where and when I was during my first encounter with Lugia in Gold. Spent hours crawling through the Whirl Islands and the shock when I saw that sprite in the water after all that effort. I still look at all the Pokemon I've transferred to Ultra Sun from the previous games like my dream world Arceus, and shiny Palkia, Dialga and Giratina I got from GAME when they were giving them out for a while. Me and my friends would have imaginary Pokemon teams that we would battle with on the playground at school and always be drawing up our own Pokemon in class. I don't think there's been anything that has impacted me that much since.

[@Gold_Er]

I nearly actually cried from remembering some nostalgic things as a kid. Very well made video❤

[@lvl9gligar]

Apologies for the tears, but I'm glad it made you think. That was what I wanted to achieve from this, thanks for your comment too

[@ProfessorRex]

I really miss that first couple months of Pokémon Go - it was a grand time for adventure. I really liked this video though. It’s making me think a lot about my ability to turn Pokémon into a Journey

[@lvl9gligar]

Me too man, everyone was playing it. It was such a good time to be a Pokemon fan

[@notachargeshot6325]

I was ruminating on similar ideas when I was playing Pokemon Black, the first Pokemon game that I had played extensively. I think it is a good thing to look back to those times and develop a new understanding of what you felt and are feeling now. I am happy to have listened to this video as I had hoped people were thinking and feeling similar things to me. Here is to the future.

[@bunny_wilder]

4 weeks vacation per year? I've had 14 days in the last 3 years, people in Europe have it so good 😭

[@lvl9gligar]

I assume you're American? If so, sorry for flexing with the 4weeks holiday😂 hope you get more holiday somehow soon bro. I'd say move to the UK but it's not great here 😂

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

​​@@lvl9gligarWe have to fix the representation issue we have that we fought you guys about first. Literally if you guys had the same number of people per seat in Parliament as we have in Congress, you'd have less than 90 MPs in Commons.

[@Dinnos100]

14 days in 3 years is absolutely criminal!

[@dannyjarratt5414]

This was a beautifully written video essay. It feels a tad self-centric, a personal experience argued that it is a universal experience. Regardless, you're young, and you're clearly passionate, so you made a lovely video. Thank you.

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks for your comment, this was just a passion project I had been wanting to make for a while, and was meant to be more for myself. I suppose that's why it feel very self-centric. That being said, judging by the comments, a lot of people actually feel very similar to me, or at least found one part they resonated with, which is kinda crazy. Glad you enjoyed it 😊🫡

[@eljuarez29]

This is the most relatable story of your experience with Pokémon I as well started with yellow with my bro on a green game boy color then moved to game boy sp with a copy of a silver and ruby and red mystery dungeon that I got at a swap meet and yeah as u get into high school you tend to grow up and out grow Pokemon my bro did as well and I got back into it by a friend at work stated that he love Pokémon and I was genuinely shocked that people still like Pokémon so I decided to look for my red game boy sp and I was able to find and restore it so I decide to get a 3ds with Pokémon omega ruby and it got me back into Pokémon again I’ve been playing Pokémon since and yeah the newer game kinda suck but I was finally able to play Pokémon heartgold which has a special place in my heart your video was so relatable that it made me appreciate your life experience and how Pokémon changed our life I want to thank you for sharing your story it made me love Pokémon even more

[@JacobBurchell]

What a fantastic video, you should be proud of yourself! I have much of the same feelings towards Pokemon as you do, especially the core memories with your Nan. It was my nan who first bought me my first Pokemon game, Red version, which ignited my love for Pokemon, and i will always cherish those early memoires I have of playing it endlessly at her house. Those were the days for sure.

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks a ton! It's been so surreal seeing how many people have the same feelings about this franchise and life itself. All the best to you man💪🫶

[@nintendonerdjoseph]

We "stopped exploring" because Gamefreak removed the emphasis of exploration from their game design.

[@unversedhero6028]

Because fans wanted Breath of the Wild with Pokemon.

[@thescribe4742]

I remember the first time I got to experience blue, I was around 15 or 16. I was visiting my mother and we went to a friend of hers. I was hanging out with their kids 11, 13, and 16, and just so happened to notice a Gameboy. I picked it up and basically marveled over how fantastic it was. The oldest asked me if I wanted to play it, so I turned it on. He let me know not to go to a new game and said not to save anything. I didn't think it'd make much difference, so I just booted it up, and I was plopped into the middle of a cave. The controls were fairly easy to learn, and before long, I was roaming around, beating up starfish, ducks, crabs, and some odd pink think with a tail. I spent a few hours exploring the cave. Eventually, I came to a deep part in the cave where there was this blue bird sitting. I turned to the oldest, handed him the Gameboy, and asked, "Is this special?". He didn't respond right at that moment, but the first thing I heard was a short glitter of notes. He was rather ecstatic after that, talking about how he could never find that bird.

[@Chrisezo]

Its good that you had a positive experience with Pokemon, but I think its too much of an assumption for you to say that as people “we forgot the point of Pokemon”, where it would have been more accurate to say, that Pokemon has changed and so has the people that were there from its beginning, because as you said it did start originally as a form of escape, especially for those of us who were kids at the time, mostly because of various circumstances not every kid has the same freedoms, so being able to play as a 10 year old in a game where you were shown an adventure beyond your wildest dreams, it was just very refreshing and new at the time, but not everyone played Pokemon for the same purposes, there were the “elite kids” that basically collected every form of merch and had access to various forms of guides and stuff, that would allow them to gain superior knowledge on how to collect Pokemon, or how to even raise the best competitive Pokemon, which in turn meant that at the playgrounds they would stomp people in Pokemon battles, and because some of these kids also had cheating devices such as gameshark or game genie, it meant that for most cases you had no way to literally keep up with them, but besides those kids there were also the Pokemaniacs, the people that were basically obsessed with Pokemon, and all they would talk about or even experience was Pokemon, and I unfortunately had a buddy that was in this group, but he was worse off because his parents prohibited him from having any of the games and stuff, because they came from a very religious group and they always told him that Pokemon was demonic, so the guy would only be allowed to obsess for Pokemon at school and stuff, and because Pokemon games only have 1 single save file, the time he messed up with my own cartridge’s save file, I told him that he was no longer allowed to play my Pokemon game, and this sort of made him snap because he actually stole my Pokemon game and even handheld, after he coordinated with a group of other kids, but even after doing that behind my back, he would still pretend to be my buddy, until I found out about it got proof and basically threatened him with a lawsuit if I didn’t get my stuff back, and that’s basically what started a downfall for me in my enjoyment for Pokemon, because I just couldn’t see the series again in the same way, since it had been the primal cause of a betrayal, and when you are a kid those experiences really affect you, so I kind of stayed away from the series up until college when I finally got a 3DS and eventually got my hands on Pokemon X, as I was also baited by the way they showed the Kanto starters and stuff and it appealed to my nostalgia, and for the most part I thought that Pokemon X was a pretty good game, but everything changed when I started working, and at the place I worked at there were other Pokemon fans in there, but they were the famous EV trainers and perfect breeders, so after being pressured for a while to get into a battle with a few of the folks there, I kept getting my butt handed to me because of their obvious advantages, but the thing that made me never want to get back into battling and stuff, was when one of those jerks wrecked my whole team which was fairly balanced and built, by using a Greninja with Protean that had perfect IVs and stuff, and that’s when I just decided that Pokemon was just not for me, because I can never become that obsessed or crazy over a game series like all of these people that I have seen, where they are willing to throw away hundreds of hours of their life just to perfect breed or EV train or whatever, and don’t even get me started with those freaking shiny hunters. Honestly the only type of creature collector I can sort of get behind, are games like Pal World that just let me chill and do my own thing, without being pressured by freaking crazies.

[@josephpapisan9491]

I feel that. I think it's even worse when you DO sink hundreds of hours into breeding/catching... and still get bodied by the meta.

[@LemonCait]

This is an amazingly written and wonderful video. Exploration really should be encouraged in so many different ways and hopefully ZA will embrace that as much or more.

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks for the kind words, glad you enjoyed it and agree with my stance on exploring. Let's keep it going 🫡💪

[@steviecollins8425]

Beautiful editing and script writing! Apart from the mic quality im blown away that youre new. Keep it up man! Great stuff

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks man, appreciate it😊

[@user-wp8yg8ju9y]

I have a confession to make: I've never played a single Pokemon or other Nintendo game in my life. I've never even whatched Pokemon anime. The way I've discovered Pokemon as a whole was through a Minecraft mod Pixelmon and a Slowpoke meme. All this made me curious about this bizarre world of monsters. And then... something marvelous came into being. It was about 15th of June of 2013. I was 10 at the time. And almost accidentally I discovered an old Russian website about Pokemon, not unsimilar to Bulbapedia. The website was outdated and almost abandoned, but it still had something. So I've studied the information about Pokemon with a lot of atention. More than 10 years passed since then. I've quit Minecraft, played Spore, abandoned it as well, got into biology, and did many more things. But my love for Pokemon and Nintendo never faded out. And if Pokemon becomes the worst videogame series of all human species... I'll be the last pokefan standing.

[@lucky-lu6tc]

Hope you are doing well with the current situation in Russia all of my russian friends left the country and currently live in Thailand, Finland or Georgia

[@lucky-lu6tc]

And thank you for your story :)

[@JohnDoe-wt2zz]

That regigigas quest line in gen 3 emerald was peak pokemon exploration/questline

[@ScionStorm1]

Regigigas was not introduced until Gen 4...

[@JohnDoe-wt2zz]

@@ScionStorm1 yes, its my bad for wording it this way. I meant the braille enigmas for regice and the other regis that were indeed in gen 3.

[@Solaxer]

Gamefreak will likely never release a good Pokémon game again, and that used to make me really sad. But after discovering romhacks, I couldn’t care less about what GameFreak does.

[@statlergrey2260]

That was a really nice video, dude. Thank you for making it, and publishing it for all of us to see. Take care of yourself, and keep following your dreams!

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks, I will sure try. All the best to you too🫡😁

[@ismasp04]

great video man, i'd like to advise you to invest a bit in a budget microphone so you get cleaner takes and don't need to go that hard on the denoiser, maybe a focusrite audio interface (so you can record and process your audio) a Solo 2i2 maybe, because you can buy them in a pack that also includes a very acceptable mic. I love this kind of content, keep up the good work

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks for your comment appreciate the idea for better audio equipment. I'll look into this for sure! Thanks for the suggestions🫡🫡

[@Canarye]

this intro was so good, it really matched the theme

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks, I had the idea for a while too. Glad you liked it

[@highsol222]

Oh it was so easy back then! Hiding behind the video game and exploring vicariously without the boulders of adulthood crushing my spirits everyday. The story of how I got into pokemon is weird, but it's basically everything real life is not. I'm randomly just given the pokemon game and things seem are amazing even as I was deep in poverty. My second game was leaf green. Took some convincing, but mum got it for me as a Christmas present, again with us being in deep poverty. The excitement in my heart was otherworldly in those years of my life. The crappy part is I'm not very good at keeping relics. Forget the save files! I don't even have a clue what happened to the games. Got a little jealous seeing your copy with the box and everything lmao.

[@lvl9gligar]

Sorry to hear about your upbringing, it sounded tough. I'm glad Pokemon gave you some respite during those times too. I've never gotten rid of any of my games, eventually they become retro and everyone wants to play them again, that's the circle of gaming it seems 😂

[@highsol222]

​@@lvl9gligaryeah it was freaking rough indeed, but pokemon did help to brighten my days. It's so nice that you kept everything though. Wish I knew to do that when I was younger.

[@stijnderksen1837]

What a great video. I was hooked to it the entire time. Thanks for making it.

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks for watching it, it's been something I've wanted to make for a long time. Glad it's had a positive reception!

[@sondrenorheim8316]

Great video! Have a feeling this will go viral

[@lvl9gligar]

@sondrenorheim8316 thanks man, glad you enjoyed it! Potentially, I'm just happy it's gotten over 1k views already, in my head I was hoping for at least 100😃

[@Laughy-Flaaffy]

During the pandemic, I fell back in love with gaming. I really felt like a kid again during 2020.

[@joanneclg]

Made a channel just to comment - this video was a pile of chopped onions for me too! You captured my sentimentality towards Pokemon perfectly! I also remember the period right before Generation 4 when I took to ROM hacking the GBA games because I was so impatient and wanted to create more characters/stories in the Pokemon universe. It's unsurprising and also heartwarming to see such online communities still flourishing - seems like many people retained the nostalgia. Amazing touch with the text box at the end, and taking a second to let that Mystery Dungeon dialogue roll. Cheers YT algorithm for suggesting this video😁 Edit: my first game was also Gen 3 Kanto, except it was Fire Red. Memories!!

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks for your little story, it was a great read! I really tried to use/think of all the things that I think of when I think 'nostalgia'. It's a shame that more people haven't play the PMD series of games because then they'd enjoy it even more I think! Gen 3 Kanto defo holds a special place in my heart for sure!

[@timothywolf6089]

Thank you for sharing! I am really encouraged by your video

[@lvl9gligar]

Glad it was helpful! Keep exploring!💪

[@retroredix]

Great video! i really enjoyed how your nan fostered your love of pokemon

[@lvl9gligar]

Thank you!

[@the518seminole]

Man that intro hit like a nostalgia truck Also, got to the point in the vid talking about your limited time with your beloved Nan. First, I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m currently spending as much time as possible with my gram, as she’s widowed with my pop passing from Covid. Your story and all your nostalgic sentiments hit real close to home for me. Thanks a ton for this video brother

[@lvl9gligar]

Hey man, firstly really glad you enjoyed the video and found it relatable. Secondly, sorry about your Pop, grandparents are really special to a lot of us. Thanks for your comment too, really appreciate it bro. Enjoy life and keep moving 🫡😊💪

[@spyfire242]

Pokemon S/V for all its faults has breathed new life into my love for Pokemon. Just having the open world and half decent writing for once has given me that sense of wonder and hope for the future of the series again. I hope they actually take their time with gen 10 because there is so much potential and I'd hate for it to be once again riddled with bugs and performance issues.

[@pikshromisbad]

If u want better writing try black and white and their sequels especially with a memory link if there are any emulators for that

[@UltraBall23]

Gen 10 is going to be out no later than 2026.

[@PyroGothNerd]

I feel the same. Sure, it had glitches, but there was so much to explore.

[@책쪼아먹는학헌]

Gen 10 for 30th anniversary isn't that bad Do your thing GameFreak pls…

[@RDPSteel]

Those mystery dungeon quotes hit every. single. time! This was a great video man!!

[@lvl9gligar]

Thank you, I love those games so much ans I feel like they really encapsulated a lot of the themes and feelings I was trying to explain throughout

[@NeoVenomStrike]

Fantastic video and definitely earned my sub

[@lvl9gligar]

Thanks for subscribing!

[@WillWonkeyTertel]

Pokemon blue was my first game in my lifetime. I had found a gameboy with it inside in the forest behind my house. We spent 2 weeks trying to find a owner and since no one came forth I began playing it. The series entranced me for many years but I did somewhat drop off for a few years after the black/white 2. One of the final gifts my mom got me for my birthday was a 3DS with pokemon Y. She passed away soon after. I had been taking care of her since I was 2 and her health just kept declining. I was around 21 at the time and still to this day hold my 3DS very close to my heart because of it. I think as many have stated the reason newer pokemon games don't have that sense of exploration is because you are usually forced in a direction or there is nothing to see in the other direction. While I do hope in the future they will make a game with decent exploration and a good story who knows when that will be. I actually enjoyed scarlet and violets story but the exploring was kind of bland and the game ran very bad.

[@pokegamerindia8831]

Wow such a beautiful and detailed video. Couldn't have said it any better. I never played Pokemon games in my childhood cuz they weren't available but when I discovered them I developed an uniquely liking to old retro games and decided to complete them. Also you should check out new GBA rom hacks which are being made recently. They're really great and you'd love them. I'm also thinking to buy a physical handheld like Anbernic or something and once again great video!!

[@lvl9gligar]

Glad you enjoyed it! I'm looking at trying to play some rom hacks in the future, I hear many good things about them. For a retro console that can play rom hacks, I'd recommend the 'Powkiddy x55' I've used one of these people and they're a really good bit of kit

[@iris-wn2do]

thank you for making me cry dude. jokes aside, i think i was meant to see this video today. so thank you for making it. i think it was meant to be as i was feeling quite unhappy with my life right now. i picked up pokemon ruby again on a gameboy emulator in my laptop about 2 weeks ago and it was the only thing keeping me sane the past few days. here’s to more Pokemon adventures for all of us here in the comment section 🎉

[@lvl9gligar]

Apologies for the tears, I feel like I've made numerous people cry. 😅 Nostalgic media really helps us get through tough times, I'm sure many of us have been there. Keep pushing, you're doing really well💪🫡

[@Pickers1997]

We stopped exploring because there’s nothing to explore

[@coltonxq2723]

Clicked for Pokémon, stayed for the nostalgia, emotions, and philosophy. Well done

[@lehearse662]

The point of Pokémon is to sell you the game twice.

[@L1nkk9E]

Just play with a friend?

[@valentds]

@@L1nkk9E who has friends now? especially who play the same game

[@armorbearer9702]

It is true that it gets harder to explore and discover new things as we get older. We get bogged down by life's difficulty. I believe that is why video games are so popular. A new world to explore is at your fingertips. This desire will never die no matter how old we get.

[@lvl9gligar]

This is a spot on synopsis of the whole point I was trying to make, im glad you understood the video. To exploring in the future 🫡