Pokemon first hit store shelves in 1996, 1998 in the U.S. These little creatures were born 18 years ago, five years after me. Just thinking about it makes me feel like a grandpa. I was in elementary school when I first picked up Pokemon. Now I play it as a college student. But it’s not the same game.
Pokemon has finally reached maturity. It’s no longer the whinny adolescent with nothing interesting to say or show. Its subtle changes were only noticed by those who spent the most time with it. And in 18 years a lot has changed.
Leveled Up Pixels
Kids look at Pokemon Red and Blue and think it looked terrible. Twenty years from now kids will look at Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and think it looks terrible. Having lived through the cycle I can say Pokemon definitely had plastic surgery.
Pokemon went from black and white with less pixels than a classroom with kids to full 3D. 
Of course the transition didn’t happen over night. Seventeen years passed before Nintendo make Pokemon in full 3D for its handheld systems. Pokemon went through stages: colorless, slight color tinges, full color, flat sprites, vibrant sprites, water texture, battle animations, environmental improvements, etc…
With each generation I noticed little improvements that changed the way I looked at Pokemon. Maybe it’s because I’m an adult I can appreciate how far the series has come visually. In Pokemon ORAS (Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire) I stood still and just looked at the game. The street lights in the picture above may appear to be a small inclusion, but it adds something that was missing from previous games; realism.
ORAS is alive. Red and Blue were stagnant worlds. The towns and people didn’t feel like they fit. In ORAS there are street lights, roads, detailed buildings, waves and light on the water, moving grass, Pokemon flying, swimming or sitting in the world. But the most prominent feature I noticed were the facial expressions of the main character. I’ve never been so happy to see the character I controlled look so mad.
Evolution
Pokemon is about evolution. You catch and train them until they become stronger by evolution. What was once the simple staple of the franchise became a complicated endeavor to make your Pokemon stronger. The classic level them up method of evolution is still present and will be forever, but each generation brings new methods of evolution. Had I just jumped into the series now I would be lost on how to obtain some of the more cooler and stronger Pokemon.
Eevee currently has 8 different evolutions, Sylveon is missing from the picture. In the originals it was evolved using evolution stones. Then it evolved depending on if it loved you and the time of day. Generation 4 gave it two more evolutions it could achieve depending on where it leveled up. Now it can become Sylveon if it knows a fairy type move. Just leveling up isn’t enough anymore.
Pokemon can level up by:
- trading them
- trading while holding item
- using an evolution stone
- leveling up
- leveling up in a specific area
- Pokemon has to be happy with you
- Pokemon must know certain moves
- leveled up at night/day/raining
- must be holding certain item
- certain Pokemon in party
- empty party slot
- turn the 3DS upside down
- certain Pokemon type in party
- gender based evolution
- stats based evolution
I’ve been playing Pokemon for more than 15 years. I loved seeing the small implemented changes and the big ones like Mega Evolution, yet another evolution, and Pokemon abilities. I haven’t been disappointed with the changes yet. Here’s hoping I won’t be.
Plugged In 