Gaming

‘Pokemon: Let’s Go’ Lets Your Pokemon Follow You And It Is Unbearably Cute

by Amanda Yeo  21 November 2018
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu!

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Playing the original Pokemon games, it always seemed a shame that your Pokemon couldn’t follow you around the map. I saw the special bond between eternal 10-year-old Ash Ketchum and the electric rodent that travelled with him, and I wanted something similar for myself. Now Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! are letting players experience that type of loyalty and love, and it’s better than we dreamed.

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Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! were released for the Nintendo Switch last week, remaking Pokemon Yellow for Nintendo’s latest console. Though Pikachu could follow players about the map in Pokemon Yellow, these new Pokemon games now allow players to select any Pokemon on their team to join them in their jaunts.

This development has resulted in some truly delightful movement animations, with each Pokemon having their own unique way of navigating the world.

Even Magikarp, the notoriously useless, gormless fish, suddenly becomes much more endearing when you see him desperately flopping along on dry land in order to keep up with his trainer.

The ability to let your Pokemon out of their Pokeballs and into the world has also quickly educated players on exactly how terrifyingly large many of these purported “pocket monsters” are. I had previously believed that Haunter was about the size of a basketball. I was wrong. So wrong.

Fortunately, with great size comes great possibility, as a few of the larger Pokemon don’t just follow you. Oh no. Some Pokemon allow you to ride them. This not only transports you more quickly, but it also broadcasts to everyone everywhere you go that you are a Pokemon Master, and are not to be trifled with.

The ability to actually fly on the back of a Charizard is something that I’ve wanted since my very first Pokemon game, and Kangaskhan carrying your Eevee or Pikachu in their pouch is adorable. But the best and most unexpected ride by far is Snorlax, who allows you to cling to his belly like a barnacle as he thunders about town.

How you remain attached to him is a mystery. Are you gripping onto his fur? Are you making a small, weird handhold of his flesh? Is it absurdly strong static cling? I don’t know and I don’t care. Allowing Pokemon to travel outside their Pokeballs is one of the best new developments in the Pokemon series, and I am here for it.