Hoenn
Why is Hoenn bashed? I've been guilty of this myself, but I have to stop and wonder...why? With the release of HGSS, I realized that Hoenn doesn't deserve the bashings it gets. In fact, I never even imagined bashing this region until the internet. To me, it was a fun Pokemon game. I was bitter that it wasn't backwards compatable, but also thankful. My youth was sealed in those colored game boy cartridges. I would never discover what a horrible trainer I had been :P
Johto is my favorite region. Replaying through HGSS, I realized how cramped it truly is. I just said I loved Johto, so don't go bashing me. I call Johto my home region anyways (as do the actual playable trainers FROM Hoenn). I can't compare these games to the graphics and such found in DPPt and HGSS because that's just stupid. Lets compare the NES to the Wii while we're at it. Hoenn is spacious and fun to explore. The landscapes are beautiful and, while taking away the day/night feature due to space constraints) introduces reflective water, volcanic regions (with a realistic town that is nestled in the cranny and gorgeous, untouched by harsh weather), weather effects like rain, falling Ash, and intense sunlight.
The region is so lush and just gorgeous! My favorite area was Meteor Falls (disappointed with the change to Emerald). I especially love some of the town designs. Rustboro is very old style town, Lilycove is a gorgeous seaside area, reminiscent of the town I was born in, Pacifidlog was a town I loved because it's built on the backs of Corsola (a concept that always fascinated me) and it's fun to run around on logs, Mossdeep with its space center was awesome! Space and the ocean are the things that fascinate me most! In fact, ocean life is my favorite kind ever! I have so many books on aquatics XD so being able to dive down and explore its depths was just...wow! I loved the addition of dive.
Another thing I loved was the visual braille of the Regis. I love ancient civilizations and discovering secrets. one of my favorite things in Johto were the Ruins of Alph. The Regi ruins were even more so because it presented a mystery and an "ancient"language you had to decipher. God I loved it so much. Probably my favorite thing in the game. And then finding where the regis were! These seemingly pointless mountains became a portal to adventure! Great back story and the fact that there was a bigger plot in the games than just Team Rocket takeover was great! I'm partial to Team Aqua, but the two misguided teams that actually ended up accomplishing their goal was awesome! Took a space dragon to stop them. So yes, I feel this game is rich with history as well.
The music is another thing. Superb! My favorite music in all of Pokemon is in this game. That being when you're in Meteor Falls. I spent SO much time in that cave listening to the music <3 Also the desert theme was great! I love the theme for the ruins as well <3 so magnifient and mysterious. Lily cove, Sootopolis, and Petalburg have more of my favorite music! Where ever you went, there was a fiesta of music that's pleasent to the ears. Props to you Hoenn.
What about new features? Oh boy did Hoenn have them. Tired of the same old battling? Double battles offered a unique edge and spiced up battling as there was more strategy involved and the pace tended to be quick and furious! Don't like battling? Try contests! I do like the changes made to contests in DP, but I was a bit disappointed that they were all in one spot. It was cool to have contests spread out as well, almost like getting a badge. A quest for those who don't like to battle. It may be more convenient to have them in one location, but not more fun ;3 DP contests are also a lot easier to win than Hoenn contests. There you had to have some real strategy. Contests in the final rounds could get harder than the champion of the Elite four! In addition to contests, my favorite new feature was the Secret Base. I LOVED having one and decorating it! It was fun to run in there and play with my music mats and admire my pokedolls. There were so many different kinda and ways to decorate. And then visiting the bases of friends you connected with was so cool! I loved battling my friends in their bases :3 I was disappointed with how the bases are treated in DP. As much as I love the underground, secret bases down there just aren't as much fun.
Another new feature people forget is the PC. THE PC!! In the days of old, the PC was SO FRUSTRATING to deal with. GRRRR. This one was fast and easy! Also, Pokemon had individual icons instead of the generic type icons from before. That was cool! You could also store items. (YOU HEAR THAT DPPt, YOU CAN STORE ITEMS IN A PC) which is something not available in DPPt and causes me great frustration in the game. Yeah, I know, put them on Pokemon in the PC, but neh, not the same. HGSS fixed this problem, though. Anyways, the PC had been adapted and was easy to use! I also loved the trendy phrases XD making nonsense about kindergarten was my specialty.
Now for the people. I won't deny other regions had their share of people that are awesome (and sometimes some of them are lame GARDENIA I HATE YOU (though I'm biased in my love for James)) Hoenn had its share. Wally comes to mind. He's a sweet boy who is sickly and you help him capture his first Pokemon. Then you meet back up with him a few times. Through his bond with his Pokemon, he becomes stronger and even attempts to head to the champions! Then there's the family of 5 above the electric gym. Four battle you and rave about the son who will be a master, yet you find him in a cave near the end of the game and he's just not strong enough. Quite a realistic tale. I also loved the reporter duo XD always pestering me for battles and stories. I loved the trainers all around the electric gym because that was my favorite route to train on XD the two school girls fighting together (I SO TOTALLY DID NOT SHIP THEM SHUT UP), the man racing on his Dodrio, the breeders with their six pokemon and garunteed level up :3
Now for important characters. Steven Stone is awesome, hands down. He had a cool design, a cool character, and he was the champion (except in Emerald, which is sorta cool to see why a champion may no longer want to be one). Wallace was awesome as well (and provided great shipping opertunities with Steven). Many of the gym leaders had cool designs. Roxanne had a cool school girl thing going on, I didn't like Brawley or Watson, Flannery is just plain cool (especially considering why she's a gymlader and how she tries to fill big shoes but it doesn't quite work), it was cool to have to fight your father as one of the gym leaders, Winona is just <333, Lisa is cool, but Tate isn't because he's a secret boy (I thought he was a girl until the anime). The Elite 4 isn't anything super special. I like Phoebe and Glacia, though. Cool designs.
Battle frontier in Hoenn is, to me, better than the one in Sinnoh. Why? It's more the variety of battling than the people. In Sinnoh, the battles were all the same, just different rules. I loved the variety available in Hoenn's! The luck tube where I kept RUNNING INTO FRIGGEN GENGARS, the pyramid where it was an adventure to the top, the one where your pokemon battled for you (which was so amusing to me), the one where you have three rounds to battle and a winner is decided based on how things went, and so on. Of course I love the factory and was so pleased it made a comeback in Sinnoh. The people there were awesome, too. Very varied and I liked that. Tucker scares me. Anabel is sweet. Lucy is the most bad ass person in all of Pokemon. I just adore her design and personality :3
Lastly that brings us to Pokemon. The Pokemon of Hoenn included some much needed additions. Finally we had a big variety of dark, ghost, and dragons! Some of those only had two to claim to their entire line. While some Pokemon were atrocious (I hate you Hariyama, Whismer line, and Ludicolo) others were just awesome like Flygon, Sableye, Altara, etc. Some people complain there was another butterfly and moth. Think, is there only one type of each in our world? No. Then why should that limit the Pokemon world? There were some flops, but a lot of great Pokemon that were more than able to hold their own in battle and looked the part, too. There were gimmick Pokemon (Luvdisc) but there are always gimick pokemon (Delibird, Pachirisu) that are there for the fun and not the battles (even though Pachi was on my main team in Diamond >>). The starters also had really cool lines and is one of the only ones where the middle evolutions seemed to get as memorable roles as the final and starters. Moreso Combusken and Grovyle than Marshtomp.
Anyways, I'm tired of writing. Mostly I was thinking this because I restarted my Ruby cartridge to take a break from Soulsilver. I just don't understand the bashings or the dislike/hate. I loved Hoenn until I came on the internet and realized "I should hate it". Now I'm of my own opinion once more and I love Hoenn and all the regions. Johto moreso than the others, but they all are special to me as the next one will be.
So comments here, why the hate? Please take my points into account when commenting.
Johto is my favorite region. Replaying through HGSS, I realized how cramped it truly is. I just said I loved Johto, so don't go bashing me. I call Johto my home region anyways (as do the actual playable trainers FROM Hoenn). I can't compare these games to the graphics and such found in DPPt and HGSS because that's just stupid. Lets compare the NES to the Wii while we're at it. Hoenn is spacious and fun to explore. The landscapes are beautiful and, while taking away the day/night feature due to space constraints) introduces reflective water, volcanic regions (with a realistic town that is nestled in the cranny and gorgeous, untouched by harsh weather), weather effects like rain, falling Ash, and intense sunlight.
The region is so lush and just gorgeous! My favorite area was Meteor Falls (disappointed with the change to Emerald). I especially love some of the town designs. Rustboro is very old style town, Lilycove is a gorgeous seaside area, reminiscent of the town I was born in, Pacifidlog was a town I loved because it's built on the backs of Corsola (a concept that always fascinated me) and it's fun to run around on logs, Mossdeep with its space center was awesome! Space and the ocean are the things that fascinate me most! In fact, ocean life is my favorite kind ever! I have so many books on aquatics XD so being able to dive down and explore its depths was just...wow! I loved the addition of dive.
Another thing I loved was the visual braille of the Regis. I love ancient civilizations and discovering secrets. one of my favorite things in Johto were the Ruins of Alph. The Regi ruins were even more so because it presented a mystery and an "ancient"language you had to decipher. God I loved it so much. Probably my favorite thing in the game. And then finding where the regis were! These seemingly pointless mountains became a portal to adventure! Great back story and the fact that there was a bigger plot in the games than just Team Rocket takeover was great! I'm partial to Team Aqua, but the two misguided teams that actually ended up accomplishing their goal was awesome! Took a space dragon to stop them. So yes, I feel this game is rich with history as well.
The music is another thing. Superb! My favorite music in all of Pokemon is in this game. That being when you're in Meteor Falls. I spent SO much time in that cave listening to the music <3 Also the desert theme was great! I love the theme for the ruins as well <3 so magnifient and mysterious. Lily cove, Sootopolis, and Petalburg have more of my favorite music! Where ever you went, there was a fiesta of music that's pleasent to the ears. Props to you Hoenn.
What about new features? Oh boy did Hoenn have them. Tired of the same old battling? Double battles offered a unique edge and spiced up battling as there was more strategy involved and the pace tended to be quick and furious! Don't like battling? Try contests! I do like the changes made to contests in DP, but I was a bit disappointed that they were all in one spot. It was cool to have contests spread out as well, almost like getting a badge. A quest for those who don't like to battle. It may be more convenient to have them in one location, but not more fun ;3 DP contests are also a lot easier to win than Hoenn contests. There you had to have some real strategy. Contests in the final rounds could get harder than the champion of the Elite four! In addition to contests, my favorite new feature was the Secret Base. I LOVED having one and decorating it! It was fun to run in there and play with my music mats and admire my pokedolls. There were so many different kinda and ways to decorate. And then visiting the bases of friends you connected with was so cool! I loved battling my friends in their bases :3 I was disappointed with how the bases are treated in DP. As much as I love the underground, secret bases down there just aren't as much fun.
Another new feature people forget is the PC. THE PC!! In the days of old, the PC was SO FRUSTRATING to deal with. GRRRR. This one was fast and easy! Also, Pokemon had individual icons instead of the generic type icons from before. That was cool! You could also store items. (YOU HEAR THAT DPPt, YOU CAN STORE ITEMS IN A PC) which is something not available in DPPt and causes me great frustration in the game. Yeah, I know, put them on Pokemon in the PC, but neh, not the same. HGSS fixed this problem, though. Anyways, the PC had been adapted and was easy to use! I also loved the trendy phrases XD making nonsense about kindergarten was my specialty.
Now for the people. I won't deny other regions had their share of people that are awesome (and sometimes some of them are lame GARDENIA I HATE YOU (though I'm biased in my love for James)) Hoenn had its share. Wally comes to mind. He's a sweet boy who is sickly and you help him capture his first Pokemon. Then you meet back up with him a few times. Through his bond with his Pokemon, he becomes stronger and even attempts to head to the champions! Then there's the family of 5 above the electric gym. Four battle you and rave about the son who will be a master, yet you find him in a cave near the end of the game and he's just not strong enough. Quite a realistic tale. I also loved the reporter duo XD always pestering me for battles and stories. I loved the trainers all around the electric gym because that was my favorite route to train on XD the two school girls fighting together (I SO TOTALLY DID NOT SHIP THEM SHUT UP), the man racing on his Dodrio, the breeders with their six pokemon and garunteed level up :3
Now for important characters. Steven Stone is awesome, hands down. He had a cool design, a cool character, and he was the champion (except in Emerald, which is sorta cool to see why a champion may no longer want to be one). Wallace was awesome as well (and provided great shipping opertunities with Steven). Many of the gym leaders had cool designs. Roxanne had a cool school girl thing going on, I didn't like Brawley or Watson, Flannery is just plain cool (especially considering why she's a gymlader and how she tries to fill big shoes but it doesn't quite work), it was cool to have to fight your father as one of the gym leaders, Winona is just <333, Lisa is cool, but Tate isn't because he's a secret boy (I thought he was a girl until the anime). The Elite 4 isn't anything super special. I like Phoebe and Glacia, though. Cool designs.
Battle frontier in Hoenn is, to me, better than the one in Sinnoh. Why? It's more the variety of battling than the people. In Sinnoh, the battles were all the same, just different rules. I loved the variety available in Hoenn's! The luck tube where I kept RUNNING INTO FRIGGEN GENGARS, the pyramid where it was an adventure to the top, the one where your pokemon battled for you (which was so amusing to me), the one where you have three rounds to battle and a winner is decided based on how things went, and so on. Of course I love the factory and was so pleased it made a comeback in Sinnoh. The people there were awesome, too. Very varied and I liked that. Tucker scares me. Anabel is sweet. Lucy is the most bad ass person in all of Pokemon. I just adore her design and personality :3
Lastly that brings us to Pokemon. The Pokemon of Hoenn included some much needed additions. Finally we had a big variety of dark, ghost, and dragons! Some of those only had two to claim to their entire line. While some Pokemon were atrocious (I hate you Hariyama, Whismer line, and Ludicolo) others were just awesome like Flygon, Sableye, Altara, etc. Some people complain there was another butterfly and moth. Think, is there only one type of each in our world? No. Then why should that limit the Pokemon world? There were some flops, but a lot of great Pokemon that were more than able to hold their own in battle and looked the part, too. There were gimmick Pokemon (Luvdisc) but there are always gimick pokemon (Delibird, Pachirisu) that are there for the fun and not the battles (even though Pachi was on my main team in Diamond >>). The starters also had really cool lines and is one of the only ones where the middle evolutions seemed to get as memorable roles as the final and starters. Moreso Combusken and Grovyle than Marshtomp.
Anyways, I'm tired of writing. Mostly I was thinking this because I restarted my Ruby cartridge to take a break from Soulsilver. I just don't understand the bashings or the dislike/hate. I loved Hoenn until I came on the internet and realized "I should hate it". Now I'm of my own opinion once more and I love Hoenn and all the regions. Johto moreso than the others, but they all are special to me as the next one will be.
So comments here, why the hate? Please take my points into account when commenting.